#otp: the greatest love story ever told | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

immaturityofthomasastruc · 10 months

Text

IOTA Reviews: Transmission and Deflagration (The Kwamis' Choice)

Well, it only took until almost halfway through the fifth season, but we're finally getting a two-part episode that isn't a season finale. There have been a few episodes I think could have benefited from having an extra part, like “Cat Blanc”. So obviously, after all this time, there has to be a reason for putting a two-parter here. The story told here has to be big. It has to be huge. It has to be something that will alter the very way we see the plot and these characters, and—it's more Love Square stuff. God dammit...

Let's get into the tenth and eleventh episodes of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Transmission and Deflagration

“Transmission” starts with Marinette having another depressive episode, which seems to be worse than usual, with her offering her Miraculous to Tikki so she can choose someone else. While Tikki tries to remind her of all the good she's done as Ladybug as footage from earlier episodes plays, Marinette points out how she's a terrible Ladybug, once again referencing how she lost the Miraculous because of her feelings for Adrien.

Tikki: You’re overreacting, Marinette!

Marinette: Really? Then, how come I lost the Miraculous I was entrusted with all because of love? Love only ever causes problems. I’ll never fall in love again! Love is weak! And I can’t be sad about it; otherwise, I might get akumatized!

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous. We're ten episodes into the season, and whenever Marinette brings up her failure at the end of the last season, it's the same song and dance: She feels guilty about it, she needs someone to try and make her feel better, and she doesn't change anything about the way she and Cat Noir operate. If it isn't that, it's a complete strawman or character who we know already hates Ladybug like Chloe or Lila calling out Marinette for her failure specifically so any negative feedback she gets can be easily brushed aside. The whole point of a hero having to comprehend a major failure is to see how they deal with the consequences to their actions and find a way to improve to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. If Marinette came up with new ways to strategize with Cat Noir, or seriously reevaluate the way she sees Adrien that isn't just brushed aside, I'd get it. Instead, all she does is whine about how much her life sucks over and over, which is the same problem I've had with Adrien for the past few seasons.

And once again, for a show with the lyrics “The power of love always so strong” in its opening, it seems like the writers want to make a bigger point in favor of showing how love can only ruin things. Yes, getting emotional can cause someone to make more impulsive decisions, but at the same time, feelings of love and kindness can get good results, like Ellen Ripley's maternal instincts motivating her to save Newt in Aliens. The problem is that we never get a lot of arguments as to how love can benefit the heroes, not only when we see how much it screws up Ladybug and Cat Noir's partnership, but once again, how Marinette's romantic feelings for someone led to her greatest failure. The closest we get to an argument in favor of love is whenever Marinette and Adrien's friends try to make their OTP come together without considering if it would actually make things better or not.

Speaking of which, after the episode's obligatory pointless Chloe line that's only there so Selah Victor can pay her rent that week, Ms. Bustier asks Alya to deliver Marinette's homework to her, only for Nino to convince her to have Adrien do it instead. Somehow, she thinks this minor favor will help Marinette and Adrien realize their true feelings for each other. Because it's not like Alya learned that she shouldn't choose who she thinks Marinette would be best with last episode, right?

Marinette and Adrien talk and it seems like they're starting to grow a little closer, but Tikki and Plagg panic, trying to intervene so they don't know each other's identities. The attempt fails, but Marinette kicks Adrien out anyway. It's a pretty somber scene, so let's cut to something stupid instead, like Marinette and Adrien's classmates throwing a party under the assumption that Adrien simply delivering something to Marinette means they'll get together now.

All of you are really gunning for the Biggest Idiot Award today, aren't you?

Of course, even though she went along with one of these weird “force Marinette to do something she doesn't want to” schemes before in “Crocoduel”, Zoe seems to be the only one with a smidgen of common sense.

Zoe: Alya, did you hear Marinette’s voicemail message?

Alya: Yeah, but that was before, Zoe.

Zoe: “Before”? Before what?

Alya: Before when Marinette was a complete wreck.

Nino: But Alya sends her the perfect mechanic.

Alya: Adrien!

Nino: He’s fixing her up as we speak.

Rose: Wow! When they come back to school, they’ll finally be an item!

Marc: A perfect plan!

Zoe: But... you guys don’t actually know for sure.

Alya: Trust me. This is it this time!

I'm starting to think that maybe Marinette should reconsider who she chooses to be temp heroes once she gets the Miraculous back.

Adrien starts crying as he leaves Marinette's place, which attracts the attention of Monarch... who then immediately backs out as soon as he senses him, transforming back into Gabriel. Meanwhile, Tikki and Plagg discuss Marinette and Adrien's situation.

Plagg: Sugarcube! Having to force them to choose between love and their mission is just awful! Maybe Master Fu was wrong to choose them.

Tikki: No, they’re made for each other. Love is what gives them their strength.

Plagg: But the impossible part of that love is destroying them, and I know a thing or two about destruction.

Tikki: (sighs heavily) What can we do?

Plagg: We must free them of that impossible choice. We must... free them of us.

youtube

Yep. This is the titular Kwamis' choice. They seriously think that Marinette and Adrien's romantic problems are more important than them being superheroes, so their best option is to just take away their Miraculous even though Monarch still has fifteen more of them. I'd be more forgiving if this was towards the beginning of Marinette and Adrien's superhero careers, but this is Season 5, where the stakes have never been higher thanks to Monarch's arsenal. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that MARINETTE IS STILL THE FUCKING GUARDIAN, AND TAKING AWAY HER MIRACULOUS DOESN'T CHANGE A THING! IT'S NEVER EVEN MENTIONED IN EITHER EPISODE, SO HOW THE HELL DO YOU FORGET SOMETING THAT IMPORTANT?!?!

It doesn't even make sense that only now are Tikki and Plagg against Marinette and Adrien actually getting together when they were never shown to have any problems with it in earlier seasons, and just last episode, Plagg encouraged Adrien to go after Marinette after doing so as Cat Noir didn't work out. It comes across as the writers struggling to come up with new ways to have opposition to the Love Square, even if this idea somehow leads to a minuscule amount of progress in that department. Yeah, you figure that out...

Also, it's pretty weird how after four and a half seasons of Marinette suffering from the burden of being Ladybug, only now does Tikki decide to relieve her of that responsibility, but only because of how it affects her love life.

We get another scene showing how stupid Marinette and Adrien's friends are as they talk about how happy Marinette and Adrien must be now, interspersed with scenes of Marinette and Adrien crying their eyes out. Just like that one scene in “Evolution”, I don't get the setup. Is this meant to be a joke, or a serious moment? After Nathalie takes a call for Adrien telling Nino that he can't be bothered at the moment, Gabriel comes into the room to comfort him, giving him an Alliance ring in the process.

Tikki and Plagg talk to their respective holders and tell them how they feel that the burden of being heroes is crushing them. Marinette and Adrien obviously bring up the situation with Monarch, but as soon as their Kwamis mention that not being superheroes means that they can pursue their love lives with no stress, they immediately take off their Miraculous and give them back. After five seasons that this episode confirmed happened just under a year, and this is what causes them to give up their Miraculous: a bad case of heartache. We're supposed to see this as the breaking point that causes the two to not want to be superheroes ever again? They don't consider the innocent lives that could be in danger, or the fact that this heavy burden will most likely be forced on two new and inexperienced schmucks who will struggle even more than they did thanks to Monarch possessing powers of the other fifteen Miraculous.

I'm sorry, but I don't see this as an emotional scene. All I see is what I saw with Adrien in “Kuro Neko”: these characters simply giving up because of how much they're prioritizing their personal feelings over the lives of others. If this was something Marinette and Adrien came up with and made an agreement to quit at the same time (even choosing their own replacements), I'd sort of get it, as they'd at least be on the same terms, but neither of them ever learn the other quit until later on in the episode.

After Adrien breaks down even more, we learn that the whole reason Gabriel hesitated to akumatize Adrien the last time was because he didn't have an Alliance ring on, so now that he does, he's taking a mulligan. However, the Akuma is stopped at the last minute when Adrien sees the homework he was supposed to give Marinette, so he runs off as his negative emotions fade. Instead, Monarch chooses to akumatize someone else with five different Alliance rings.

Monarch: Rejoice, dear Kwamis! Five Alliances enables as many Miraculous powers to transfer at the same time! This villain promises to be exceptional! (laughs manically)

Pretty sure you hyped up Style Queen the same way three seasons ago, yet you still didn't get the Miraculous then, so I wouldn't gloat too soon.

The next scene with Marinette and Adrien is actually a really nice one. Marinette starts stuttering as usual when she tries to talk, but Adrien comes up with another idea: He'll ask a series of yes or no questions, and Marinette can raise her right or left hand to answer them. Adrien asks Marinette about her feelings for him, and Marinette accidentally answers no before changing her mind. Before Adrien leaves, he asks Marinette if she wants to spend more time with him in the future, to which she accepts. This scene was handled really well, and nothing really felt forced here.

Back with Alya, she and the others are once again coming up with a plan to get Marinette and Adrien together (because none of them have lives outside of the Love Square, I guess), when Nora suddenly calls.

Nora: Geez, sis! You never pick up the phone when I like, actually need your advice!

Alya: I couldn’t pick up. I’m at school!

Nora: Yeah, right. So, you see, I had no choice but to deal with it myself.

Alya: Oh, no... Nora. I told you before, you gotta talk before you act!

Nora: Yeah, but I did talk, like, I said stuff in front of Kouki's bros.

Alya: Nora! Not “talk” like that!

youtube

Yeah, outside of a few references to Nora trying to call Alya earlier in the episode, I didn't skip anything here. We're just thrown into this plot with little to no explanation as to what's going. What Nora and this Kouki guy were arguing about, much less what Nora said to his friends is never explained. I don't even known if they're supposed to be in a relationship or not. It's not like in “Sandboy” or “Oblivio” where the motivation for how the person got akumatized was only explained near the end of the episode. The episode acts like we're supposed to know who Kouki is and why he and Nora are fighting when this is the first time Kouki has ever appeared on this show.

As the conversation goes on, Tikki chooses Alya to be the new wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and Plagg chooses Zoe to be the new wielder of the Cat Miraculous. Okay, outside of Zoe being the only one in this episode who isn't a complete idiot, I can see why Plagg would choose her, since she has experience as a superhero, and her identity wasn't exposed. As for Tikki choosing Alya? Yeah, Alya did a good job as Scarabella in “Hack-San”, but she doesn't mention that A) She and Cat Noir still needed Marinette's help to stop Robustus, and B) Alya's already had her identity exposed twice, to the point where she was the one to suggest she not be trusted with one before Marinette lost the other fifteen Miraculous at the end of the last season. Alya's not a bad hero, but these factors don't exactly make her an ideal successor to Ladybug. Also, it's pretty dumb how the whole reason Marinette and Adrien quit was for romantic reasons, yet the whole reason Alya blew her cover last season was for romantic reasons (Rocketear).

Back with Adrien and Marinette, the former plans to leave, but is interrupted by the akumatized form of Kouki, named Kikou.

Kikou's design is... I mean, it's not terrible, I guess? Putting aside the fact that this is the second Akuma in the series to go with the “black boxer” stereotype (who is also a dumb brute like Anansi was), the gold jewelry is a decent touch, and it makes sense that he has the five Alliance rings to show off his wealth. As for his powers, because he has five rings, he has five different powers, the Tiger Miraculous' Clout to power his Gum-Gum Pistol-esque punches, the Turtle Miraculous' Shelter to protect his head where the Akuma is obviously hiding, the Horse Miraculous' Voyage to move around quickly and make up for his size hindering his speed, the Ox Miraculous' Resistance to protect the aforementioned Shelter, and the Mouse Miraculous' Multitude to clone himself with. This is the Akuma that really made me realize that the gimmick of every Akuma this season having the powers of whatever Miraculous Monarch gives them is just an excuse to half-ass writing any new Akuma powers in favor of the same fifteen abilities the other Miraculous have.

Kikou attacks the city, but Alya transforms into Scarabella, soon being joined by Zoe, AKA, Kitty Noire.

Kitty Noire's design is... pretty weird, all things considered. The green lipsick just doesn't look that good, I don't get the green hair extensions, and why are they eyes like that when even Lady Noire's eyes stayed green? At the very least, the hair looks marginally better than Catwalker's, and I like the detailing on the suit itself.

While Scarabella and Kitty Noire quickly get to know each other, Marinette and Adrien get used to being civilians again pretty quickly as they watch them fight off Kikou, the two new heroes struggling to keep up with Kikou's five Miraculous powers. Of course, Marinette and Adrien only look mildly concerned, not even regretting their choices in the slightest.

Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen.

Scarabella uses her Lucky Charm, getting a parachute, which is totally different from the kind used in the final episode of the first episode. Scarabella and Kitty Noire taunt Kikou, Scarabella drawing Kikou's fire while Kitty Noire recruits a bunch of firefighters, who then get some paint from the art store Socqueline runs. The firefighters then load the paint into their truck's hose, which is then used to fill up the parachute. Kitty Noire cuts the rope, and the paint blinds Kikou, and as soon as he deactivates his shield, Scarabella breaks his headgear, freeing the Akuma.

Scarabella de-evilizes the Akuma, sort of helps Kouki and Nora make up, uses Miraculous Scarabella to fix all the damage, while Marinette and Adrien compliment the new heroes from afar before promising to meet up at school tomorrow.

The first episode ends with Gabriel's Alliance recording the unusual data in two Alliances, meaning that Scarabella and Kitty Noire's identities have already been exposed... even though Tikki should have known this since “Jubiliation”. Yeah, you all know where this is going.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... TIKKI

While the competition was tough, Tikki was able to get the win for going along with this asinine plan in the first place that prioritized the personal feelings of two people over the fact that Monarch was at his most dangerous. Not only that, she forgot Marinette was still the Guardian, she forgot that Alya's identity was already exposed twice, and that even if she didn't know the Alliance rings were a front for Monarch's plan, forgot that these hi-tech rings track the everyday movements of its users, not even telling Plagg this before he chose Zoe.

The second part, “Deflagration”, immediately starts off with Kitty Noire saying that Ladybug and Cat Noir have nothing to feel guilty about even though they essentially abandoned Paris when Ladybug was shown to be getting backlash for her failure, but of course, that isn't mentioned here.

Kitty Noire: We’ll accomplish our mission just like they did, because the goal we all share is to defeat Monarch, isn't it?

News Reporter: Or perhaps Ladybug and Cat Noir renounced their mission so they could finally live their love story?

Scarabella: They were never in love or in a relationship, and neither are we.

Kitty Noire: (in a flirtatious tone) So far anyway!

I'd make a “The Ambiguously Gay Duo” joke here, but we all know Alya is already in a relationship.

Alya and Marinette meet up, the former congratulating her successor on another great job. The two talk about Adrien, and Alya once again encourages Marinette to focus more on pursuing a relationship with him, no doubt planning another stupid party in her mind.

We then get a scene that actually reminds the audience that Chloe and Zoe are supposed to be sisters. I understand if you might have forgotten, but don't worry. I'm pretty sure the writers did too. Of course, I think the writers might be running out of new ways to make Chloe mean to someone, because this time, she just yells at Zoe for being near her and not being in the “half-of-a-sister zone”. In order to appease her sister and make sure she doesn't call their mom, Zoe offers to wash all of Chloe's shoes. Plagg talks to Zoe about possibly standing up to her sister.

Plagg: How about I Catacylsm that sister of yours instead?

Zoe: It’s pointless, Plagg.

Plagg: Zoe, you can't let them treat you that way; no one speaks to me like that! Just ask the T-rexes... That is, if you can find one! Because they're not so smug anymore now, are they?

Zoe: It’s best to stay out of trouble in this family if I'm going to protect my secret identity.

Plagg: You start by giving up cheese, and then you end up giving up on dignity, freedom, and justice!

Zoe: I feel like you like to blow things out of proportion, don't you?

Plagg: Yes... especially when I’m starving.

Talking about standing up to your mean sister, contemplating murder while casually discussing genocide. Same thing, right?

We cut to Gabriel, who's over the moon about the recent revelation regarding Scarabella and Kitty Noire, even dancing a little. He tells Nathalie and heads to his lair to plan his next scheme, but not before chatting with Emilie's body once again. Gabriel transforms into Monarch and gives himself the powers of the Bee, Mouse, Rooster, Ox, and Horse Miraculous, traveling to the school himself.

Meanwhile, we cut to the Resistance, where we see Max has set up a system where, through the use of the Alliance rings and their phones, the members can alert the school to whenever there's an active Akuma... even though one of the features included in the Alliance includes an Akuma alert (Multiplication), and there's also been an Akuma alarm since Season 2 (Riposte). So once again, this brave and totally important Resistance has contributed absolutely nothing. Okay, there are some other parts, like some of the members planning to fight off the Akuma with paintball guns if there's no other option. You know, this is proof that this show takes place in France, because if this was America, they would most likely have actual guns.

At lunch, Marinette and Adrien get closer, to which Lila uses as an opportunity to manipulate Chloe into trying to break up the moment, but not before we get a joke where Chloe needs Alliance to define the word “generous”. Okay, I'm not sure if the joke was that Chloe is so selfish, she doesn't know the meaning of the word, or if the writers are now resorting to using “dumb blonde” jokes for Chloe now, which totally isn't a cliche that was overused twenty years ago to the point where there was an entire movie starring Reese Witherspoon made to subvert it. Either way, NOT FUNNY, DIDN'T LAUGH.

Chloe tries to ruin the moment by telling Adrien Marinette is in love with him, but he's not having any of that. She tries telling jokes that are supposed to be unfunny, they're funny, but it lacks the charm of something like Hank Hill attempting to tell “yo mama” jokes. Zoe stands up to Chloe, which pisses her off so much, she willingly accepts an Akuma from Monarch (currently invisible thanks to the Rooster Miraculous), turning into Sole Destroyer.

Sole Destroyer is... wow... Just... WOW... they didn't even try with this one. At least Miracle Queen made sense as an upgrade to Queen Wasp, but this? They literally just took Sole Crusher, whose design resembling Chloe made sense thematically in that episode, gave her a new pair of sunglasses, some more gemstones and spikes, and made her eyes glow as if she was a character in an episode of The Nostalgia Critic. Why go to this effort to make a new Akuma when so little is done with the new design? Wouldn't it make sense to bring back Antibug, given Chloe has been against Ladybug since the end of Season 3? As for Sole Destroyer's powers, it's just Sole Crusher's magic kicks, only instead of growing bigger in size after absorbing each victim and making her more of a threat, they transform into singing shoes. You know, guys, it just dawned on me how... how weird this show is. Kinda goofy...

Alya and Zoe attempt to transform, but Monarch, using a combination of the Mouse, Bee, and Rooster Miraculous' powers, stuns the two and steals the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous from them. Plagg attempts to Cataclysm Monarch, but Monarch uses Resistance to block it, immediately going to unify. Before the process can be completed, both Tikki and Plagg use Lucky Charm and Cataclysm respectively, Tikki summoning a trash can with the side effect of creating a new Eiffel Tower, and Plagg destroying the Cat Miraculous. Doing so ends up creating an endless cycle of things being created and destroyed, and unlike in “Dearest Family”, they don't reuse footage from “Style Queen”.

Marinette gets the trash can, and realizes what's happening, and while Adrien and Nino plan to have the Resistance try and stop Sole Destroyer, Marinette works on making her own Ladybug costume. Monarch orders Tikki to tell him what the hell's going on, Tikki explains that since Plagg destroyed the Cat Miraculous, he lost his only method of communicating with the physical plane, and all Monarch needs to do to get what he needs is to take back the Lucky Charm Tikki created. Just then, Marinette arrives, dressed up as Ladybug, and seemingly having the Lucky Charm in her hands, only for Monarch to steal it, unifying into Monarbug.

Given how stupid he looked as Shadow Noir last season, it's not exactly surprising to learn that Gabriel looks just as stupid unified with the Ladybug. The red and black polka dots just don't go with the black and purple. The one thing I'll give them credit for is that the eyes look kind of cool.

The Lucky Charm turns out to be a fake, and Nino jumps in to save Marinette from being hit with Venom. The rest of the Resistance also arrives, somehow having beaten up Sole Destroyer off-screen and turning her into a battering ram. Monarbug undoes the Akumatization, but Rose, Ivan, and Kim dogpile Monarbug, leaving Adrien to steal back the Ladybug Miraculous for Marinette.

Marinette transforms back into Ladybug, and uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage and fix the Cat Miraculous. While Ladybug fights Monarch, she learns that he reforged the Miraculous before Monarch uses Multitude and Voyage to make his escape, swearing that he'll beat Ladybug someday, “We'll meet again, Spider-Man”, yadda yadda yadda.

Tikki and Marinette talk about finding new holders, only for Marinette to choose to take back the Miraculous, figuring that since Monarch doesn't know their identities (once again forgetting what the Alliance rings can do), that's the best option. Plagg takes back the Cat Miraculous and goes to say goodbye to Zoe, reassuring her that she was still brave enough to stand up to Chloe, because I guess to hell with the people who somehow managed to restrain Chloe while she was Sole Destroyer. And so this episode, and by extension, this two-parter, ends with Ladybug and Cat Noir talking about how their Kwamis saved the day... even though they were the reason Monarch almost won in the first place.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... CHLOE

In addition to somehow not knowing the definition of the word “generous”, she failed to come up with a good comeback against Marinette, chose to get akumatized to get revenge, failed at that, betrayed Sabrina and Lila, her only allies, for no good reason, and somehow got defeated off-screen by a bunch of civilians with no superpowers, not even getting to fight either of the new heroes, including her sister.

But yeah, in case you can't tell, these episodes were pretty bad. The entire premise of Tikki and Plagg deciding that Marinette and Adrien's love lives were more important than stopping Monarch was a hard pill to swallow, especially since their replacements didn't get to do anything outside of a single Akuma fight. You'd think that with the buildup Zoe got standing up to Chloe, she'd at least play a role in stopping Sole Destroyer, but instead, she and Alya are benched for almost the entirety of “Deflagration”. It's also really dumb that the ending tried to make them out to be the MVP's of the fight, when their idea was what caused Monarch to almost get the Miraculous.

Even Marinette and Adrien didn't really make a lot of progress here. All they did was talk a little, but even after “Deflagration”, not much else happened. Yeah, Adrien stood up for Marinette, but they still haven't officially started dating yet, even when they had every reason to after giving up their Miraculous. It's still better than nothing, but after four and a half seasons, I think we're allowed to want a little more development with the Love Square Wouldn't it have been interesting to see Marinette and Adrien try to start a relationship during their brief retirement, only to struggle to maintain it after becoming superheroes again? We're almost halfway through the season, and the Love Square is still progressing at a snail's pace. Then again, I guess it's better than nothing at this point.

“Transmission” was pretty boring, all things considered. Other than the first act, nothing really happened. The Akuma fight was like the others, just with two new heroes, and Marinette and Adrien got to bond for a few minutes. Nora and Kouki's drama wasn't interesting, and it wasn't even properly explained like the motivations of other Akumas.

I will say that “Deflagration” was the better of the two, if only because Marinette, Adrien, and Gabriel made some smart choices here. Unlike in “Evolution” and “Destruction”, there's no gloating or wasting time. Monarch cuts straight to the chase, and Marinette comes up with a quick plan to trick him with. Also, while I still don't really care about the Resistance, I like the idea of the civilians standing up to Monarch, and think it was executed better than it was in “Heroes' Day”. Even Sole Destroyer got a few reactions out of me for how exaggerated her facial expressions were. I don't know why they decided to give her One Piece levels of weird faces, but kudos to the animators on that front. Of course, Sole Destroyer was still one of the most pointless Akumas in the show's history, as you could take her out of the episode and nothing would have changed.

Overall, while I appreciate the effort to try and tell bigger stories, this was a really weird choice of an episode to make a two-parter.

169 notes · View notes

friends-to-lovers-tournament · 8 months

Text

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Quarterfinals, Match 4

propaganda under the cut!

Zosan:

They’re rivals yes, but first and foremost they’re best friends. They know each other better than anyone. Sanji asked Zoro to kill him if he’s ever not himself (long story), the implication being that Zoro knows him so well he’d be the first to tell (he would). Your honor, they are friends and they are in love.

Percabeth:

Submission 1

they are the cutest thing ever with 5 books of slow burn

Submission 2

HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THEM?? THEY ARE THE BEST OTP! THEY START OFF WITH UNCERTAINTIES BUT ANNABETH CHOOSES TO BE HIS FRIEND, HER FIRST INDEPENDENT STEP TO NOT CONSIDER THE OLYMPIAN'S WISHES WHEN MAKING CHOICES. SHE IGNORED HER MOM'S OPINION GUYS, THAT IS BIG! AND HE DOESNT REALLY HAVE FRIENDS UNTIL THE SUMMER HE TURNS 13 AND SHE IS ONE OF THEM. SHE AND HIM ARE ALWAYS BY EACHOTHER'S SIDES (METAPHORICALLY AT LEAST). THEY WORK TOGETHER ON QUESTS SOO WELL BECAUSE THEY KNOW EACH OTHER THAT WELL. AND SHE KISSED THEM DURING THE LABYRINTH QUEST AND HE KINDA IGNORED IT FOR LIKE A YEAR. AND SHE WAS HIS ANCHOR TO THE MORTAL WORLD. AND HE TOLD HER ABOUT HIS ACHILLES HEEL. AND SHE BACKS HIM UP ALL THE TIME. AND IT WAS THE GREATEST UNDERWATER KISS OF ALL TIME. AND WHEN HE WENT MISSING SHE DID NOT SLEEP. AND SHE WAS ALL HE REMEMBERED WHEN HERA TRIED HER SHENANIGANS. AND THEY FELL TOGETHER. AND THEY ARE EACH OTHERS BEST FRIENDS (sorry grover, but you get it) AND I LOVE THEM TOGETHER SO MUCH. THEY EMAILED EACH OTHER AT 13 BECAUSE CELL PHONES WERE A BIG N O! AND HE KEPT A PICTURE OF HER IN HIS BINDER. AND SHE WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING PERMANENT WITH HIM.

#friends to lovers tournament #one piece #riordanverse #zosan #roronoa zoro #vinsmoke sanji #percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #tournament polls #polls

100 notes · View notes

arkiwii · 6 months

Note

for the ask game: 8 (a quote that means a lot to you), 1 (the moment you started shipping your otp), and 17 (a worldbuilding aspect you have the greatest admiration for)

Fandom (8)

I can't just not quote my favorite quote from NoriZC's scrappaper collection on Saria and Silence's arts; "Because grass and rocks always complement each other over time." It's just beautiful, simple, it's peak, I love it. But it's not in the game or canon so let's throw it away

I really like Frostnova's song, Lullaby - and my favorite quote in this song is "In your dream, in your dream, are you seeing formidable adventures? How will you grow up, little one? Who will protect you?" (Unofficial translation but I like the wording better) It just. Speaks to me to a level I can't imagine. The fear of growing up, to be alone, to have to face the world and life by yourself

And if we don't count songs, a quote I LOVE from Reed's module's story: "Ever since, the fire never truly went out. It burned within (their) eyes, inside (their) heart, in the night of every festivity. [...] Slowly, (they) became used to the heat, to the scorching that stabbed through (their) body with each breath. (They) believed this undying flame would be with (them) for life, even chasing (them) in death. Until (they) received this present. (They) realizes, and it startles (them). So there were people who'd still try to put water on these raging flames." (I they/them Reed, apologizes) It's just beautiful I think, the metaphor of the fire as their pain, and people who cares about them, trying to put it out. It's beautiful

Fandom (1)

OK THIS IS FUN BECAUSE. The answer is before I ever started the game. A friend of mine showed me some characters, specifically Liberi, because they know I love birds SO MUCH. And they showed me Silence, I immediately fell in love with her design. So they told me a bit more about her, mostly how she had a child and was incredibly divorced from Saria. The thing is. I thought it was canon. Like that they REALLY were divorced, canonically. I simply got a lot of affection for these characters and aimed to get them in game, all together.

But if we speak about when I really really started to get into it, my very first ship fanart of Sariasil was done in March 19th this year, so like a month or two after I started the game? And oh god I never stopped drawing them since then

If anyone wonders, this is the first art I drew of them, I never posted it as it was done before creating this blog. Notice how my artstyle changed AHAH

Fandom (17)

Everything. No seriously, how am I supposed to pick only one.

There's many aspects I love but it's just, how all of them just answer to each other, how this world lives, outside of the main story, how everything is linked together and how the world move. I admire this as someone who tries to build a world for a story.

But if I have to pick one, I'd say the political stuff behind each faction. I suck at politics, so I admire this a lot. Arknights has been a huge inspiration for my own project, and I started to think more about politics in my own universe. Just like what I said above, each has consequences, each has influence, and that's how this world lives.

And most of all, each artist behind have their own part, they work together and create this world together, and that's beautiful to me

#arknights #stalkiwiart #olivia silence #saria #askiwi #ask game

21 notes · View notes

princesssarisa · 1 year

Note

Character ask: Hades and Persephone

I'll give my answers for the mythical characters, and in Hades' case, for Disney's Hercules. I'm not familiar with Hadestown despite it's popularity, so I have nothing to say about those versions of Hades and Persephone, or any other modern reimaginings.

Hades

Favorite thing about them: In classical mythology, I like the fact that, while stern and grim, he's a just god and not cruel, and has fewer stories of petty or sadistic deeds attached to him than most of the other gods and goddesses. It's too bad that modern Western culture tends to conflate him with the Christian Satan and portray him as the token evil god, because to the Greeks he wasn't.

In Disney's Hercules, even though he's a classic example of a demonized, Satan-conflated Hades, he's still one of the best Disney villains: a funny one with a witty "used car salesman" personality, yet imposing when he needs to be, and easy to "love to hate."

Least favorite thing about them: In mythology, the kidnapping of Persephone. In Disney's Hercules, the fact that he's a villain who tries to kill Hercules, imprison the other gods and goddesses, and take over Olympus.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I have dark hair, as he's traditionally described.

*I don't leave my home very often.

*Like Disney's Hades, I have a temper. (Though I don't literally blaze with fire.)

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm female.

*I'm not a deity of the Underworld.

*I would never kidnap anyone.

Favorite line:

From The Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

"Go now, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother, go, and feel kindly in your heart towards me: be not so exceedingly cast down; for I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore."

From Disney's Hercules:

"So is this an audience or a mosaic?"

"Memo to me: maim you after my meeting,"

"I've got twenty-four hours to get rid of this bozo, or the entire scheme I've been setting up for eighteen years goes up in smoke, and you are wearing his merchandise!!!"

"We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, we go home happy. What do you say? Come on."

brOTP: His divine brothers and sisters, when they're not pitted against each other.

OTP: Persephone, in the versions of the myth where their marriage is ultimately happy.

nOTP: In Disney's Hercules, Meg. In mythology, well... I hope no one ever ships him with Cerberus!

Random headcanon: For Disney's Hercules: Even though the ending implies that he'll be trapped in the depths of the River Styx forever, I think he'll eventually get out. He can't drown, after all, he's immortal, and even if it takes him a few centuries, he'll eventually get out and cause trouble again. But he'll always be defeated in the end.

Unpopular opinion: While I agree that it's unfair to constantly demonize him, I also think it's fair to portray him as the antagonist of the Persephone myth and not romanticize her kidnapping. That said, I don't think retellings that romanticize their marriage are inherently bad and problematic either – it all depends on how the story is told. But either way, I do think it's high time that mythology adaptations stop portraying him as the single dark, cruel god in contrast to the benevolent, shining Olympians. That's distorting the myths through a Christian lens. Zeus and most of the other Olympians also chased and kidnapped unwilling love interests, and did many even worse deeds too. They're all morally gray.

Song I associate with them: None in particular.

Favorite picture of them:

These ancient statues:

This Italian statue from 1588:

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's statue The Abduction of Proserpina, from the 1620s:

And in a drastic change from the elegance above, these pictures from Disney's Hercules:

Persephone

Favorite thing about them: Her status as a nature goddess who embodies the changing seasons makes her a fascinating character. Not only does she split her time between the upper world and the Underworld, but as a result she has a dual personality – the gentle, sunny goddess of spring, and the stern, feared queen of the dead – which makes her unique among the Greek deities.

Least favorite thing about them: The fact that in some versions of the story of Minthe (the nymph who became the first mint plant after her death), she brutally kills the poor nymph out of jealousy of Hades' affair with her. Fortunately, not all versions of the myth go this way – in another version, it's Demeter who kills Minthe for boasting that she's more beautiful than Persephone.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I have both a light side and a dark side.

*I'm close to my mother.

*I like pomegranates.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not married.

*I've never been kidnapped.

*I'm not a goddess.

Favorite line:

Her account of her kidnapping from The Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

"We were playing and gathering sweet flowers in our hands, soft crocuses mingled with irises and hyacinths, and rose-blooms and lilies, marvellous to see, and the narcissus which the wide earth caused to grow yellow as a crocus. That I plucked in my joy; but the earth parted beneath, and there the strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in his golden chariot he bore me away, all unwilling, beneath the earth: then I cried with a shrill cry. All this is true, sore though it grieves me to tell the tale."

brOTP: Her mother Demeter (in traditional versions of the myth where they have a warm, loving bond, not the versions where Demeter is controlling and Persephone is glad to escape from her), and the nymphs with whom she plays and picks flowers just before Hades kidnaps her.

OTP: Hades, in the versions of the myth where their marriage is ultimately happy.

nOTP: Her father Zeus. Brother/sister incest and uncle/niece or aunt/nephew incest might be normal for Greek gods and goddesses, but not parental incest!

Random headcanon: This isn't a headcanon so much as "which of the different versions of her myth I like best." I prefer the Homeric Hymn to Demeter's claim that Persephone spends just four months each year with Hades, and eight months with Demeter, to Ovid's claim that she spends six months with each. In versions where she's happily married to Hades, then I can accept the equal time split, but if we take the traditional view that she was kidnapped and married against her will, then I prefer for her to spend most of the year on earth and only a small amount of time in the Underworld. Besides, in my experience at least (though I know climates vary), autumn is a pleasant time, with comfortable weather and with so many fruits and vegetables at their best. It makes more sense to me that Persephone should still be with Demeter then.

Unpopular opinion: I'm open to different interpretations of her story. There's no such thing as "one true meaning" of any myth. I can accept versions where Hades is sympathetic, where Persephone falls truly in love with him (whether she starts out as his prisoner but then is slowly drawn to to him, a la Beauty and the Beast, or whether she goes with him willingly from the start), where she comes into her own power as his queen, and where she willingly eats the pomegranate seeds, knowing full well that they'll bind her to Hades, because she wants to stay. I see the appeal of taking Persephone's traditional story of helpless victimhood and making it empowering instead – which is valid, because she's always portrayed as a powerful queen in the myths of the Underworld set after her marriage. I see the appeal of not demonizing Hades either, and of telling a romantic love story rather than a story of a miserable forced marriage. But I also see the value of versions where Hades is the villain, where Persephone is brutally kidnapped and just as unhappy in the Underworld as Demeter is on earth without her daughter, where she's either forced to eat the pomegranate seeds or naïvely eats them without knowing what the result will be, and where the ending is bittersweet, as she divides each year between happy months with her mother and sad months in the Underworld. It is valid to read the myth as an allegory for the pain of a mother and daughter separated by the daughter's loveless arranged marriage, and/or for a young girl's death and her mother's grief. Myths can be retold in many ways, with many possible meanings. I'm open to them all.

Song I associate with them: None in particular.

Favorite picture of them:

This ancient statue:

Bernini's statue:

Dante Gabriel Rosetti's 1874 painting:

Frederic Leighton's painting The Return of Persephone, 1891:

From Disney's Silly Symphony The Goddess of Spring, 1934 (her movements are sometimes laughable, but her character design itself is pretty):

And from D'Aulaures' Book of Greek Myths:

#character ask #greek mythology #hades #persephone #ask game #fictional characters

14 notes · View notes

blubushie · 1 year

Note

TF2 questions for ya:

Favorite ships if any?

How well do you think you'd get along with the various mercs? Not how much you like em as characters cause I know I very much enjoy Soldier as a character but I could not last 5 minutes in a room with him before we started arguing and it would probably end poorly for me.

I love canon so SoldierZhanna is my only "real" OTP but I basically consider HeavyMedic canon at this point and I enjoy that ship and their chemistry a lot. I also very much enjoy ScoutPauling because Scout's so cringefail but I also want him to be happy and get the girl of his dreams because I'm a sucker for romance and happy endings, and I think he'd be great for helping her relax and have some freedom aside of work. I also enjoy SniperScout because "never shuts up" and "never talks (much)" is a fun dynamic to me.

Favourite crackship is AdminSniper because they're married IRL and I don't think shagging your boss is very professional so it's funny to me. Be professional (except when you're shagging your boss).

How well do you think you'd get on with the mercs?

I kinda covered this here? I'm going to copy-paste some of that but also add more because reasons.

Scout: His incessant yabbering would probably get on my nerves at points but it'd also mean I'd always have someone to talk to. We could discuss baseball and shit. His idiocy is endearing to me and I would constantly take the piss out of him in subtle little ways that he probably wouldn't even notice. Probably easily impressed too. I could skip a rock and he'd sing my praises and I appreciate a little ego stroking (and I'd laugh my arse off when he goes "Pssh, I can do that to" and the rock immediately sinks). Honestly I'm just a sucker for rays of sunshine. I enjoy peoplewatching so I'd love to take him camping and sit down in a folding chair with a beer and watching him try to figure out how to pitch the tent (and then be surprised when he finds out I don't usually even use a tent).

Soldier: Reminds me of my dad. I'd like to get in his head and talk about the military and shit (not that he ever actually was in it, but still). Would take him off-roading but end up dumping him like an unwanted dog when he breaks my Hula Girl.

Pyro: Scares me. Would still do a tea party with him and let him dress me up in a skirt or paint my nails even but only if he promises not to chop my hand off or start a bushfire. Would kill to be a badass and light a dart off his flamethrower. Also would just enjoy reading to him as long as he doesn't tell me to slow down.

Demoman: So many stories. Would love to share a bottle of single malt Scotch with him. I need him to rate my mixology skills (of which there are none. I can make a screwdriver and that's it, but I try). Would love to discuss chemistry with him and have him show me how to make [redacted by the ATF]. I don't know much about Scotland so I've love to discuss legends and cryptids native to our homelands. I can cover two countries!

Heavy: Would like to discuss Russian literature with him. Gives me "alcohol and heavy machinery weapons don't mix" vibes so I probably wouldn't be able to drink with him, but I'd love to discuss books and philosophy and hang shit on communists and go shooting with him. Bonus points if he lets me shoot literally any of his miniguns.

Engineer: He makes me wish I was taller so I could tease him about it. Bonus points if we're just the same height because that's even funnier. "I'm short but I've been told I'm Spiritually Tall, therefore I'm taller than you." Also if he wouldn't mind a little extra work I'd let him have a butcher's at Matilda to find out why her engine makes that ticking noise sometimes when I got over a hundred. I'm not very smart with machinery (my greatest achievement is making a battery out of a lemon) but I'd love to hear him explain it to me even though I wouldn't understand a goddamn bit of it.

Medic: Bloody hell you have no idea how much I wish I was mates with him. Look at my blog and is it any wonder? Oh, to be his assistant for just one day. I've got steady hands! We can discuss bush medicine and natural toxins and all kinds of weird drugs and a million other things. Would let him scar me. I want him to literally rearrange my guts and chat with him all the while because I'd be awake and watching and asking dumb questions like "Is that my appendix?" despite knowing fully well that it's on the other side behind my liver and not my stomach just to hear him correct me. I want him to praise me on the condition of my heart and liver and then backhand me about the condition of my lungs despite me not inhaling. I should've listening to my parents and gone to medical school.

Sniper: ...Aheh. The bush is lonely and bushmen have a tendency to stick together (when we aren't at each other's throats threatening to kill each other territory). I want to make him brekkie with something I hunted (or fished) and we could talk firearms and snares and wildlife and Australia and stars and whatever else. I want to do shrooms and DMT with him. I want to hear the story of every scar he has, I want to exchange stories of our time in the bush and Outback, I want to ride horses with him and have him be my muster mate for just one ride. I want to hear about the world and all the places I've never been from the eyes of someone who gets it like I do. He is the only person I would ever allow to shoot my rifle.

Spy: French, incredibly obnoxious, but I'd still like to be mates with him. I'd love to hear his stories of espionage and women and jobs gone wrong and jobs gone right. I want to sit in his smoking room in a silk smoking robe and enjoy the finer side of life for a while. I want to smoke a $6000 Cuban cigar and taste its flavour on my tongue and chase it with a sip of Scotch that's so rich I'll dream about it for years to come and cost more money than I'll ever see in my lifetime. I want to indulge and discuss tobacco and fine liquor and antique revolvers. Only bloke I'd ever dress up for and I'd put up with him taking my measurements for a suit.

#blu whos #tf2 #sniperposting

8 notes · View notes

bethhiraeth · 1 year

Note

your opinion on perachel ?

*deep breath* honestly, no.

I usually really hate having strong negative opinions on ships, but I have to say, I really dislike perachel.

As a preface, I love rachel. I think she was done dirty by the whole 'pining after the hero' thing, and it really reduced her to just the rival love interest for Percy to create conflict, which I REALLY hate. I think she is an interesting character.

firstly, Rachel is now the oracle. While it is extremely archaic, I believe the rule was that you couldn't be in a relationship as one. But honestly I really like this for her character; it allowed her to be her own person, to have a place within the story outside of the side love interest.

I also have a theory that the reason Percy was attracted to her in the first place was that she was someone outside of the demigod world, she was somewhere he could escape to and feel safe. He mentioned I think in tlo that with rachel he felt safe because of that reason, but also that he felt like he could sort of tell what she was going to say/do? I'm not saying that he doesn't genuinely like her as a friend, but maybe that was part of the reason he thought he might like her in a romantic sense. Rachel even mentioned that she was first drawn to percy because it was her entrance to the other world.

And finally, and most obviously, it would get in the way of percabeth, which was my first otp and I still believe is one of the greatest love stories ever told. Percy and Annabeth have such an incredibly unique connection, and you know that they would do anything for each other. I'm sure I dont need to explain. They love each other to the point of not just dying, but falling into literal hell for the other, and I think thats all that needs to be said.

Ultimately I think its just better for both of their characters. (also I get pretty strong lesbian vibes from rachel, so there's that)

#what about you?#percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase

10 notes · View notes

a-problematic-writer · 2 years

Note

imma run and yeet stella at you for list stuff and run awayyy!!

OUGH STELLA 🥺

send me a character and I’ll list:

favorite thing about them She's just so fun! It's hard to pick one thing. But if I had to choose, it's her personality. I love how she puts on this front of glamorous and like that celebrity facade but really she's just a dork.

least favorite thing about them Definitely how she treats Lluna. It's like her worst quality. But she does seem to really care about her despite it.

favorite line "That's right! It's Petra, armed with her mighty sword Miss Butter! Ha! And by her side is her best friend, the greatest hero in the world, Jesse! Together, they can take on--uhh--Hi! Hello."

brOTP Ooh, probably her and Radar! I think they seem very found siblings core. They probably used to gossip and gush over the New Order a lot together 💚

OTP Ooh, okay, listen, I'm a multishipper from hell. So like I don't have one ship for her that I prefer above the rest. But I do really like her and Aiden. Character parallels, MY BELOVED. Also, her and Jesse,,,, teehee, told you, can't pick. If we're talking OT3s definitely her, Jesse, and Petra 💚

nOTP Her and Radar. They're siblings, your honor.

random headcanon Although she seems the type to not want to ever lift a finger, she enjoys gardening, immensely. She grows all manner of things and is really good at it too.

unpopular opinion Ooh, I don't know that I have a specific, like, unpopular opinion. Other than maybe how I headcanon her sexuality? That's a whole disaster bi, your honor.

song I associate with them Primadonna Girl - MARINA

favorite picture of them does all of your fan art count? This one 💜

[Image ID: A screenshot from Minecraft Story Mode: Season 2 in Stella's Treasure Room. Petra is looking at Stella who is looking back at her and using Miss Butter to lean on with her legs crossed and a hand on her hip /.End ID]

#answered asks #dorkousloris #mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm stella #feel free to send me more of these!#Thank you for the ask lori!#I don't often get to talk about stella #which is a tragedy because she is one of my favorite characters

6 notes · View notes

5typesoftrash · 3 years

Photo

15x09 || Dean's prayer

#destiel #deancas #casdean #supernatural #supernatural spoilers #supernatural season 15 #supernatural s15 #spn spoilers #spn season 15 #spn s15 #spn 15x09 #supernatural 15x09 #spn #dean winchester #purgatory #otp: the greatest love story ever told #deansil gifs #blue #dw

672 notes · View notes

arestomomentum-reborn · 3 years

Text

This is inspired by Painted in the Worst Light of asecretchord.

The other day I did another aesthetic.

I loved their relationship in this long and I had to do something about it.

It was delightful reading of a trial and of an important part of the canon 😌❤️

I love when the writers fit EVERYTHING so well.

Hope you like it.

I'm very glad of this work 😚

81 notes · View notes

anastiel · 3 years

Text

for love, for dean

(read on a03)

Snowflakes float down from the sky, spiraling in midair, landing in Cas’ hair. The metal bench under him is icy, the snow-melt soaking through his pant legs but he barely feels the chill. Inside him a burning has started in the shape of Dean’s name, a tiny snuff of a fire, intensifying with every passing second.

He’s alone, for now, but he can sense Anna’s presence nearby, the ozone-clean scent she leaves behind. Resting his elbows on his knees, Castiel leans forward, covering his face with his palms. Anna’s warning reverberates in his mind, clear and terrified.

You’re starting to love him, Castiel and it will be the death of you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inexplicably, Castiel finds himself drawn to Dean. In the early mornings Castiel flies to Earth when Dean is fast asleep, the only time he is able to find some semblance of peace. Hidden in the shadows obscured by his own ebony wings, Castiel watches him, entranced.

Even in sleep, Dean remains the most beautiful human Castiel has ever seen -- the soft rise and fall of his chest, his lips slightly parted, palms pressed together almost in prayer beneath the pillow. His soul shines bright, vibrating a melodic sound, calling out to Castiel’s grace.

Castiel yearns to touch him, to stroke his fingers through Dean’s hair, trace the line of his jaw, over the dusting of freckles on his cheeks. Lust, foreign of a feeling, burdened with the weight of all Dean means to him. It’s not only carnal desire Castiel wants, if it were, this would be easier.

Stirring in sleep, Dean shifts under the bed sheets, sighing soft and nuzzling into his pillow. Murmuring in his sleep, nonsense syllables Castiel can’t make out as words. Dean smacks his lips together and stills, a quiet snore echoing in the room around them.

Castiel settles onto the edge of the windowsill, just out of sight shrouded in darkness. Here he will sit and wait until a few hours now when Dean awakens and brings daylight back into the room. If he could, Castiel would spend a thousand years like this, observing Dean existing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doubt is a fickle thing. At the first instance of it growing inside him, intertwining with his grace, Castiel leaves. He flies away from Earth, the planes of heaven to the far stretches of the galaxy until he’s outside looking in -- far from his brethren and most importantly, Dean. Here, the Milky Way exists as a twirling speck of dust, sparkling with thousands of stars, all in the process of dying, some of which Castiel placed with his own hand, spun into existence from sun-rays, morphed into stardust.

Alone in the middle of space, looking down on the galaxy he helped bring into being, Castiel remembers how finite this all is. Hundreds of thousands of years from now, maybe millions if they’re lucky, the Milky Way will blink out of existence. And all will be forgotten.

Dean Winchester is a blip in the enormity of your existence, why does this one man mean so much to you?

Castiel can’t answer his own mind, why of all the humans in the entirety of creation that it’s Dean that gets to him. In less than a hundred years Dean will die like all the others, gone back to dust and Castiel will live on for millions of years, with only Dean’s memory tied to his grace, an invisible string, keeping Dean with him, always.

He’s not worth losing everything.

An image of Dean’s smile flashes through Castiel’s mind, the blinding shine of his soul, and how he exists and loves without apology. Dean will save the world, he’s going to save everything and Castiel wants to be at his side when he does.

He is worth it, Dean Winchester is worth everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Billie pounds her fist against the door, and it shakes under the force of the blows. The warding will hold, but not long enough. There isn’t time, they’re going to die here, Dean is going to die and when he does the world will cease to exist. He can feel the terror reverberating from Dean’s soul, not of dying, but the knowledge that if they die, that everyone he loves will die too. Even in his last moments, Dean thinks of others before himself. And right now, here at the end of all things, all Castiel can do is think of him.

His deal with The Empty was made in a spur of the moment decision, knowing inherently that Dean can’t love him how Castiel wants him to. Castiel thought that might save him, but he knows now how naive he was.

Loving Dean isn’t just something he does, it’s who he is. Loving Dean is tied to his very essence, ingrained into the fabric of his grace since the moment he seared his palm to Dean’s arm and raised him from Hell. He lived and loved Dean, and that was enough. All that’s left is to help Dean see the good of who he really is, how his love for the world made Castiel love the same world right along with him.

Because you cared, I cared. I cared about you. I cared about Sam, I cared about Jack... I cared about the whole world because of you.

I love you.

The Empty rushes forward to swallow him whole. Castiel looks to Dean, he always looks to Dean. Their eyes lock and Castiel feels the anguish in Dean’s soul reaching out to him, begging him not to go. It’s too late.

Peace engulfs him and then, he’s gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eternity is dark, a soundless landscape full of endless sleep. Until, one day, Castiel hears a voice. Quiet at first, shuddered sobs echoing the sound of his name. Familiar, a friend. Dean.

Castiel hones in on Dean’s voice until the force of it fills him, makes him tremble in its intensity. Then all at once, Dean’s words come through loud and clear.

I love you too, Cas. I love you. Please come back to me.

Castiel’s grace soars and lights him up from the inside out. Around him, The Empty burns bright with a white hot light and confused sounds fill the void, awakened beings coming to life in the sudden sun. It’s only a matter of time before The Empty itself shows up, enraged and ready to throw out whoever disturbed its sleep.

Focusing on his grace, the parts of it still tied to Dean despite the distance between them, Castiel sends out a message. He hopes that it’s strong enough that Dean will hear him.

I’ll come back to you, Dean. I’ll always come back to you.

#destiel #deancas #fanfic #destiel fanfic #mine #otp: the greatest love story ever told

82 notes · View notes