#she can save AND be saved! they both can. its so much better than damsel in distress and the world can fight me on it.

[emblazons]

"that's what heroes do. they save people."

Cloud Strife & Tifa Lockheart in Final Fantasy VII (Remake)

#tifa asking him to save her when she's young >> moving into a give and take supportive equality between them is my FAVORITE thing #she can save AND be saved! they both can. its so much better than damsel in distress and the world can fight me on it. #cloti #tifa lockhart #cloud strife #my gifs #gamingedit #dailygaming #ffvii gifs #ffviiedit #ffedit #ffgraphics #final fantasy 7 #ffvii #final fantasy vii #ffvii remake #gamingladies #square enix #tuserashes #userlockescoles #I will say tho...coloring this game is HARD AF. I need to revisit coloring every time I start a new FF game. I had THREE VERSIONS OF THIS

[violetarks]

hey! could I please request fem relationship headcanons with angel devil with a half devil half human s/o? <3

"you are more beautiful by far..."

anime: chainsaw man

character: angel devil

summary: how he would be in a relationship with a hybrid devil.

warnings: afab! reader, she/her pronouns, second person pov, headcanons

there are two ways you are meeting

one: you work with the public safety division, and you met him when your work first got him under their control

two: you were captured by the public safety division and met him through your first day under makima's watch

but either way, you're getting close to angel and he isn't really complaining

okay maybe he did

the first time

you were working together to capture another devil, and you just didn't seem as enthusiastic to be doing such a thing

he was annoyed that you were taking about him rather than actually working to finish the job

but you were strong, and he could give it to you, you were also pretty funny at times

maybe that's why he decided to give you a chance

he'll never know why he started liking you so much

you were just so sweet and oh so charming and he had to try pretty hard not to show any interest in whatever you were saying

him hiding a smile behind his hand as he listens to you compliment his wings, offering to help get the twigs out after the job was done

angel turning his head so you didn't see the faint blush on his cheeks after you had given him the bed for the night, just out of the goodness of your heart

once, you told him he looked pretty and he asked why you thought so and you shrugged

he made sure to stay five feet away from you so you didn't see the dumb smile on his lips

there's a chance that you two met before you became a hybrid

he would have to get used to this change

maybe your personality shifts, or you start to view things differently, he would notice

asks every few days if you're feeling okay during the change

if you say you're feeling fine, then angel is glad that you don't feel pressured

he enjoys your attitude most days

you can be carefree, or cautious to the point where angel is glad you're able to spot every single detail

if you admit that you don't feel okay, then he's sitting next to you and listening

he's not able to say much, but you enjoy his company, as you've stated plenty of times

so he knows that just sitting here beside you is enough to make you feel even just a bit better

missions would be rather hard to focus during

you like talking to angel any chance you get, just to have a conversation or a reason to be so close to him

but depending on the person, that could change

if you're both partnered with someone like makima, then you're keeping your words to a minimum

angel thinks its strange how little you talk around her

but as soon as she's let the two of you go for the day, you're chatting away

he'll admit, it was a good refresher, hearing your voice

thinks your voice calms him down, even if he isn't a very violent person because of his power

being partnered with people who talk as much as you, like himeno or power, leads to angel mostly listening to you two speak or simply standing in between you both so he can 'feel' a part of the conversation

include him when you notice he's staring at the ground, or his wings begin to furl

having being monitored by aki, kobeni and/or denji is either a hit or miss

they might dial down the conversation or make it even longer

either way, angel gets a little annoyed with how they interact with you

could be too friendly for his liking, or they dismiss you so many times that you just decide not to speak

he recognises your strength, so he can't help but get a little distracted when you're fighting alongside each other

tho he gets jealous a lot through work

you're helping kobeni and carrying her to safety, and angel is behind you grumbling curses

sidenote: only jealous with how many times you've had to save her, both in and out of your devil form, and she's just a shy damsel in distress, it would be rude not to save her, right? angel sometimes wishes kobeni had stayed home for the day

you pushed aki or denji out of the way of danger, angel stepping to the side and saying it was easy to avoid

aki or denji will regard you with a thank you and angel seethes

he generally feels this way because he can't touch you

really wants to, you look so warm and you say your hands are cold, and all he can do is offer some gloves

that's the main thing he struggles with

wants nothing more than to hold your hand

you had tackled denji out of the way of falling debris when he was low on blood, and angel heard from him that you were very warm

angel: "really?"

denji: "yeah, 's like fire"

angel: "oh"

denji: "she's kinda' always warm, you can feel it when she's standing right next to you"

angel: "okay"

denji: "'s a shame, ain't it?"

angel: "shut up"

he longs to hold you, wants to know what its like to touch you skin to skin

the most that has happened is you bought some gloves to hold hands with him

always wearing a large sweater to hug him

you kiss over his clothes

shoulder, wrist, anywhere covered

he thinks you do it bc you know he hates not being able to touch you

but he isn't complaining

if your power requires you to be very careful around him as well, then he is fine with taking extra precautions

admires your work, even more so if you need to wear a different uniform to contribute to your power

if you're a well-known hybrid, he'd be open to hearing stories from other people

aki and himeno talk about things they've heard, power rants about how she's superior to you no matter how many people you are feared by, and denji is clueless

kobeni stated that where she's from, you are a nightmare, so it's strange to see you be so nice and witty when you were in your human form

violence and beam might know a few things to share

angel doesn't like talking to makima, but when she introduced the two of you, she mentioned a history of events in your folder

if your devil form is far different to your human form, he doesn't really care

tho, he enjoys seeing you smile, so he favours your human form

watches you change if you're comfortable with that

will sit on your bed and stare while you gather your clothes for bedtime

it's like a reward

seeing you finally rest and wash yourself up after a days of hard work

you could say the same thing about him, but angel knows that you do more action than him since your powers work different

your bed is covered in thin blankets so you can use them while cuddling angel

he's wrapped in a few like a burrito, and you curl into him and hold him from behind

a kiss to his covered shoulder will send him to sleep

wants to be the one to hold you from time to time

has once, layered himself so many times that he felt like a plushie and you fell asleep so fast

if you face him while you sleep, he's watching you for at least an hour, memorising every detail

not to get morbid and sad already

but deep down, he knows that there's a chance you could die

in your human form, if anybody were to end you then amd there with no start-up to your devil form, it would truly be over

you would die and he would be there left to grieve

he hates that the most, that because you are only half-devil, you are more vulnerable

so he shields you from what he can

deliberately allows your opponents to touch him, or he jumps in front to accept the punch, so you get the upperhand

they're startled, and you are quick to turn to offense

you thank him, even kiss the top of his gloved hand, for all he's done for you

and he feels a pinch of sadness

he doesn't know how to explain it to you

you're everything to him, and every now and again he becomes more afraid than ever to lose you

a sinking feeling in his chest, unknown to him

you were strong, why would he worry?

he will never know nor understand why he feels the way he does

it's strange enough, but angel indulges

he feels so strongly about you, that even questioning it made his head turn

it wasn't like the way aki had talked about makima, no nothing like that

you were just so dangerously infatuating

you made him feel welcome, the possibility of him rejecting you meant that he felt unwelcome

you were the sweetest thing in the world

#angel devil #angel devil x reader #angel #angel x reader #chainsaw man angel #chainsaw man angel x reader #csm angel #csm angel x reader #chainsaw man #chainsaw man x reader #csm #csm x reader

[mostlymaudlin]

ooooooh ok juicy sfc posts happening !! i rly honestly truly love to see it. here's my unasked for two cents, as someone who did find the story really hopeful. im posting this not to like, discourse or disagree or discount what im seeing, but to just maybe offer a different pov for ppl who might be trying to file this story away in a less devastating way.

i, of course, think baz deserves better than what he gets from his family. we all deserve to have families that love us unconditionally, and so many of us DONT have that -- including baz. that hurts !! i also think simon didn't deserve to lose his magic, and penny didn't deserve to take on the sole responsibility for keeping simon safe, and agatha didnt deserve to be shoved into every princess/damsel role ppl cast on her, etc etc. 

what i like so much abt this series is that ppl dont get what they deserve, but theyre still okay. its why i also love the end of awtwb -- simons LICH ER ALL Y crying lol. he got a whole mega-bucket of extra trauma dumped on his plate that he hasnt even started to process. but its still so clear that he's got the support he needs to live a good life alongside this terrible knowledge. the mage fucked him over even more than he knew, but he doesnt have to define himself by these terms anymore -- we've seen his growth in this regard.

bazs main arc in the series is about how he sees himself -- in crudely simple terms, he rly wants to be a Good Guy (you know, not a vampire, straight, a good pitch etc etc) but sees himself as cursed with that impossibility. this continues as his idealized Good Guy self develops over the course of the books into something that actually feels more achievable to him and is less reliant on the shit his family put on him growing up. 

the cool thing about snow for christmas is that -- just like when simon finds out abt the mage at the end of awtwb -- we get to see baz's new sense of self tested. we get to see what he's using to draw the lines of morality. and we get to see that while of course he still cares about what his family thinks, and it still causes him anxiety and trauma and all the shitty things that he doesnt deserve -- he has grown from that place where their value system can make him hate himself.

and moreso on the hope part -- the grimms value, above all, the ability to fit into the roles they think theyre supposed to hold. its bullshit, and they've both caused themselves problems and absolutely are fucking up their children. daphne fully had to be saved by a cult bc of it and shes still not over that mindset -- these ppl need therapy lol. so it's def sick n twisted that they're celebrating baz being able to hide better rather than celebrating who baz is, but is this not the utmost sign of love that they're capable of? baz gets to fit in better -- that's all they've ever wanted for him, whether we agree with that or not. baz seems to recognize the balance of this in the story. he narrates the rest of the dinner with a sort of dry, relieved, disbelieving tone. it’s like hes huffing a laugh, shaking his head, thinking, “did i really used to pin so much of myself on this stuff? how silly.” he is not distressed bc he understands his parents, and he has, again, divorced his sense of self from their expectations. so much so tht he says fuck it and gives simon the lil kissy at the end, because THIS is his new value system: he ALWAYS kisses simon goodbye!

so, is this a step forward for the grimms being more supportive parents? yeah, maybe not. maybe it never gets better than baz hiding his fangs at dinner and everyone doing the bare minimum to accept simon's role in baz’s life. that's not what baz and simon deserve. but it could be enough, because simon and baz have different ways that they measure their happiness by. they have each other and penny and shep and ruth and agatha and niamh and every other person they'll meet in the many, many years ahead of them whose opinions they can choose to make important to them, or reject. i love this for them! the true queer hope story imo. thats what i want for myself and for the people i love. 

to be clear: this story made me sob so hard i scared my cats. (im not rly a crier, they did not know what to do). i had to put it down in the middle because i couldnt see the page. any queer person who has Family Shit is bound to get whammied lol. but! i personally find comfort in the idea that we can coexist with people who are important to us but also very difficult to be around, even if its not totally what we deserve. its a very quiet, somber hope -- but that only makes it feel more real to me. 

#snow for christmas #snow for christmas spoilers #idk if we're still doing that hahahha #sfc #ss #a #<my ol simon snow analysis tag LOL been a while

[prettymeredith]

Daphne & Velma

👻 Jeepers! Vs. Jinkes! 😱

A fun restrospect to determine once and for all who is the sexiest between these two iconic monster-hunting mystery solvers. Or not... Lets try and find out.

Now what is it that could be better than a Scooby Snack?

Well, two Scooby Snacks of course! This dynamic duo has stood up to the test of time and remain to be relevant today. It's only natural that these two characters have captured our imaginations in a more adult manner.

Like most things in life, we cant always have both. When you break things down and are forced to choose, there can only be one; Peanutbutter or chocolate, Pepsi or Coke, Daphne or Velma. However, how can we ultimetly choose?

In order to make an informed decision, we must first break down each character, and examine their traits without showing personal preference.

Daphne Anne Blake

Rich, popular, red head, fashionista, there is so much to love about this character. Not to mention that she is the classic Damsel in Distress.

This quality trait of hers has sparked countless scenarios of being bound & gagged while under distress at the hands of some sinister people.

As juicy as it is to see such a babe all bound and helpless, you have to admit that she really is the most useless team member. Not to mention that shes also a bit of a ditz.

Come on Daph, Fred isn't always going to save you. Perhaps if you were under more distress in these situations you would learn a lesson? Maybe. Probably not.

Better? Better.

Velma Von Dinkenstien

This bright, lovable bookworm has proved herself time and time again that she is not only a smartie-pants, but a bonafied cutie.

Sharp, witty, and sweet, she is everyone's favorite nerdy girl. Now if only she could stop losing those damned glasses!

Seriously Velma, they're 4 inches away from you and you're as helpless as a newborn kitten. If its anyone that should be the damsel, it should be you.

It seems like others agree as well. Afe you trying to hide how ticklish you are under that big, loose sweater Velma?

You can really see those curves when the ropes are pulled taught in the right places. Try and think your way out of this one, brainiac.

So, Who is the Better Choice?

Rich Ditz? Or Blind Bookworm? Foxy Redhead, Curvy Cutie. The draw backs match the positive almost equally, it's possibly why they both match each other so well. Therefore, the answer is... a draw?

No, unacceptable there has to be a clear winner. Perhaps if we review both aesthetics just one more time....

HHHhhhhnnnnnggg. I mean, Zoinks!

Decisions, Decisions

It's time to put it up to a vote. Comment, like, or reblog to let us know if you a Disciple of Daphne, or a Velma Vindicator.

👆🏻 It's Velma, its clearly Velma. 👆🏻

#tickle community #foot #Feet #beauties #beauttiful girls #bound girl #Tickling #tickle blog #tickle kink #tickle

[fortunatelyenchantingtaco]

"I know Alan's marriage with Alice is wonderful" man idk, i have no doubt that they love each other but i thought a major thematic piece of aw1 and 2 had everything to do with the fact that he treated her like absolute dogshit sometimes. obviously there's more going on and alan is better than that in the long run, but from alice's perspective especially scratch is such an allegory for an abusive spouse it's not even funny 🤔

I mean Scratch is basically everything bas in Alan but warped and maxed out to a degree that himself he would become

Alan is pretty depressed even in the first game, even if it manifests in his anger, it is still rooted in a very low view of himself. He’s convinced he’s a horrible person, an abusive husband, a failure of a writer

Which we dont actually see — like we see some of their fights, but it is normal in a marriage especially considering this is Alan being in writers block. It doesn’t justify his actions but often times relationships are a thing you have to work at. Its a conscious decision and effort to make it work, and people like Alan being temperamental when it comes to their art isnt a reason to just say that oh hes not fit for marriage hes abusive

Their trip in the first game is an effort on both ends to actually make it work because they love each other but Alan’s block is hard to deal with

Both games Alan’s sole purpose is to save Alice cause he loves her, loves her enough to stop writing and be locked in the Dark Place to keep her safe, we can see it in his flashbacks

And in the second game we can finally see Alice no longer being a damsel in distress but taking action. Like idk if its just me but the last message alone is for me a big confirmation there is so much love between them. She is so soft, so confident in him, in herself. She doesnt mind that he needs time, she knows he will eventually get there. That last video is personal, only for him to see, and its filled with so much love

I wouldn’t begrudge if they got divorced after everything settled down because of the amount of trauma they both experienced, but they love each other. Scratch might be a part of Alan but thats not all there is to him, there is anger and possessiveness in everyone, his just got a paranormal boost and got a mind of its own

We dont see much love in the first game cause narrative wise Alice very much played a role of a damsel in distress. But in the second game??? She is actively participating, her goal is not to get rid of Scratch, its to get Alan back

Like i dont think Scratch is an allegory for an abusive husband its not really a major point in any of it. Im not even sure if the haunting was actually that bad — we only see what Alive shows us, and all of it feels reallt pointed specifically like look here, here, you go. She guides him by the hand to where he needs to go

Fights between couples are normal and we dont really see any abuse happening or Alice wouldnt have been trying to save their marriage. Alan might have been shitty at times because of his obvious struggles, anger and drinking problems but nothing we know of shows actual abuse. Like i dont wanna just go oh he wasnt!! But what we see are arguments that genuenly happen to every couple

One of the big points of the game for me is that Alan is flawed. Hes not what you would typically call a good person, a hero, but he loves his wife, he sacrificed himself for her, he keeps trying to go back to her. The possessiveness and anger of Scratch, even if hes part of Alan, isnt everything he is, because we all have it

The whoel ending and ascension talk is specifically about accepting that there is dark in you. But its not all there is

Like idk the first game does make it a bit ambiguous but the second one is pretty clear in pointing out their love and active effort to make it work, which is honestly more than you can say about a lot of couples

#alan wake #alan wake 2 spoilers #remedyverse

[beevean]

The post SOTN stories (except OOE and maybe PoR) have the nasty issue of wanting to look more story driven but without putting in the effort

Yeah sure the characters talk more, we have an official timeline detailing canon down to a t, but the actual story beats were almost always the same just presented in a bit of a different light

Oh no the good guy has turned bad except not really he was being controlled!

Oh no the local Belmont is unavailable!

Oh no my wife died and this gives me motivation to do the things I do!

The actual stories, when you go beyond the interesting ideas and premises, were pretty damn paper thin and CoD is the worst offender of this because 90% of the backstory is secluded to 2 pretty obscure mangas that are so different in general writing style when compared to the game itself that I find it pretty much impossible to connect the two, if not downright dishonest to, say, call Hector a compelling character beyond his general idea because the manga did this and that while the game itself aka the main material

It would be like Sega releasing a Mephiles centered side manga that miraculously does a great job with him, but with there being such a huge disconnect between the 2 medias and their respective interpretations can you really make a generalizing judgement on the character which includes his secondary yet superior iteration? Or isn't it better to just consider them 2 different versions of the character that, while officially canon to each other, might as well be two different versions of the same character?

You really come into my house to stab me like this :P

I agree that the stories in the games are paper thin, and rely on clichés. There is a lot of work that you have to put in when it comes to interpreting characters and finding parallels. Sara is maybe the most blatant example of this: I see how her fans go insane over the idea of her becoming unhinged with hatred when stuck in the VK, forced to kill demons for a millenium and feeding on their dark force, holding a grudge over Mathias/Dracula. Which is great! What an interesting idea, the holy weapon being powered by a woman's rage, herself being the driving force of the Belmont who cursed his descendants to hunt the night for the rest of time! But then in canon she's just the girl you have to save and then the girl who died to make Leon angry - somehow she's both the Damsel in Distress and the Dead Motivational Wife. So yeah. There is a shitton of potential for analysis, but canon only gives you the barest hints. And if you're here only to play as the badass protagonist and don't really want to put in the work, yeah the plots are weak at best and annoying at worst.

As for CoD... I half agree. I can't say that the mangas don't count only because they are separate, but I wish they were more easily available, because without them, the story in the game doesn't have the proper emotional impact. Both LoI and CoD are so obviously rushed and low-budget for their scope, and I guess the mangas were the easiest solution to include stuff the devs couldn't in the game proper (I still believe Joachim was meant to be much more than a mere boss). LoI is even worse because its prequel is pretty much lost, which shows why these mangas should have been preserved better.

I don't really understand what you mean with the writing style being too disconnected. I think the worst part of the mangas (aside from their obscurity lol) is that, while they overlap in the general sequence of events, they're obviously written by two different people and so the shades of the characters' personalities are different. Was Isaac a smug BDSM king with one hell of an inferiority complex? Or was he more levelheaded and proper before losing his mind? You decide which version is your favorite one, because we don't know which version is "more" canon. You can mix and match if you want, but again, that's you putting in the work.

And well, I am super biased but I do see a connection between the Hector of both mangas and the one from the game ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ both of them, especially the PtR one, flow nicely into what we see on screen. I just wish the game was a little clearer on how Hector is normally vs. the effect that the Curse has on him. I can infere that his real personality is how politely he speaks to Julia... but was it intended, or am I once again working for the writing?

#castlevania #lament of innocence #curse of darkness #i guess this should also be a lesson to sega #which has developed the habit of commissioning short prequel comics for their games #such as forces tsr and frontiers #yeah now we can read them... but what about in 20 years? #admittedly those prequels are way more useless than the cv ones so it's not a huge loss but still

[impossiblesuitcase]

Kill The Emperor!

Inspired by @kaixiety 's fabulous headcanon

“You can’t take me, Cinder!”

“Mama.”

Kai suppressed a smirk. “You can’t take me, Mama!”

“We’re gonna save you from Levana and you can’t stop us!”

Peony shoved a blue doll shoe into Cinder’s hand, aiming it at Kai. Well, the Emperor Kai action figure who was grasped in her father’s hand, under assault from the Linh Cinder “Revolutionary Princess” doll that she was holding.

The dolls were both a blessing and a curse. It was harrowing to see his sweet, pig-tailed daughter dangle him over a viper den, or have a shark tear off his arm so he could become a cyborg “like Mummy.” Not once did he envisage when he held that precious, innocent, downy baby in his arms that she would become a gore-obsessed four-year-old.

Nevertheless, all was forgiven when she had her Cinder and Kai dolls tuck doll Peony into her wooden bed and kiss her goodnight.

“Bang!” Peony shouted, firing the ‘gun.’ The Kai doll stayed upright. “Daddy,” she whispered, “I shot you.”

“Oh!” Kai flung his inanimate counterpart to the floor. “Mama tranquilized me! Now you can escape!”

“You’re asleep. You shouldn’t be talking,” she scolded.

“Right. Sorry.”

Kai heard a chuckle from across the room. While they sat crossed-legged on the living room rug, Cinder was at the dining table pecking away at her port. She was out here ostensibly to work, needing a break away from her office. That was most likely an excuse to spend time with them, as he knew it was impossible to concentrate on low-income benefit schemes with a daughter’s trilling and frolicking in one’s periphery.

But he knew he would do the same. He wouldn’t give up time with Peony even if it could undo every bad thing that had happened to him. Maybe that was why he happily reenacted his own kidnapping as per the little princess’ request. The scornful feelings he’d had at the time of the incident had aged like a bitter wine—stinging as a whole, but pleasant in small sips. 

“Let’s go to the Rampion!” Peony announced cheerily as she dragged Kai’s prone body by the hair as any loving daughter would. What was left of it, anyway. Still, the bald patches were comparably better than the markers graffitiing his face. “There’s the ship! And Termaturge Mira is ther—”

“Wait,” Kai interrupted. “How did we get to the roof?”

Peony frowned. “We just…did.”

His eyes narrowed. “So no one tried to stop us on the way?”

“They’re stopping us now!”

Kai feigned agreement, folding his arms. “Okay, okay. If you insist.”

Peony crossed her arms in turn, petulant but sufficiently challenged. She was both stubborn and competitive, so an obstacle was sometimes the only thing that helped her learn. “Wait!” she exclaimed, gleaming in her copper brown eyes with a lightbulb moment. “We took the elevator and Mummy had to stop the guards!”

Kai nodded approvingly. He didn’t actually remember this part, having been the damsel under duress. Peony’s extensive scene-by-scene knowledge was thanks to endless probing of Mummy and her aunts and uncles.

Peony shuffled over to the couch, setting the dolls on her hand and lifting them up to the seat. Kai’s hands acted as the opening elevator doors. At its destination were three teddy bears in traditional imperial guard uniform—gifts from a certain adviser. 

“There’s guards on the other side!” she cried.

Kai gasped. “What are we going to do?”

“You’re doing nothing,” she corrected. “But Mama always has a plan.”

A snort came from the dining table.

“You will protect us,” Princess Revolution declared to the guards in a soothingly sweet voice. Peony’s eyes scrunched tightly, casting her gift over the defenceless bears. “You will take us to our ship—”

In fact, Kai thought with a crinkling heart, it was a rather good impression of Cinder using her gift. She was near identical to her mother in the motion, and it was moments like these that floored Kai. Despite Peony looking so much like him, he saw Cinder in her anger and compassion and—

“—or I will kill the emperor!”

Kai startled. “What? That never happened.”

“Yes it did.”

Kai turned his figure’s head, speaking through him: “Cinder, you wouldn’t try to kill me.”

Revolutionary Princess faced the limp emperor. “I will if I have to!”

“Peony,” said Kai, breaking the farce. “Mama wouldn’t do that.”

She emphatically rolled her eyes. “No Daddy, Uncle Thorne told me that Mama putted the gun on your head ‘wike this.” She jabbed the doll shoe into one of his bald patches. “She said she would kill you! And Mama didn’t shoot, but if you don’t stop talking, I will!!!”

In a swift instant, in a flash, with chubby, grabby four-year-old fingers, Peony seized the doll from his hands with a war cry and slammed it into the couch.

“Whoa! Peony!”

The screeching continued. Emperor Kai got multiple knocks to the head.

A strangled laugh caught in his throat. He looked to his wife with a loose grin, expecting giggling over this blatant mischaracterisation.

Cinder was not paying attention to her port, as predicted. But she wasn’t laughing. Her face was indeed scrunched like Peony’s in thought. Then recollection.

“Cinder,” Kai called as the cries died down. “Tell her that didn’t happen.”

She tucked hair behind her ear, returning to her work. A quick swallow.

“Love?”

Peony hauled the emperor’s body to the rooftop, evidently having glamoured the guards into compliance. She hadn’t shot him.

Cinder’s nose pinched guiltily.

Memories poured back into him like long draughts of that bitter old wound wine. Those very guards whom Cinder had manipulated questioning whether she had good intent in marrying their emperor. Thorne often reminding him that he had been completely at their mercy when they’d knocked him out. Her ability to jokingly threaten him without a hint of remorse or hesitancy. 

“Love.”

She avoided his gaze.

Never mind. He wasn’t over the kidnapping.

Notes

Kai and Peony playing together

I know what you're thinking: "Hang on impossiblesuitcase, you said you weren't going to post any new fic" and that is true comrades. I posted this a while ago as a reblog on another post so I thought it deserved its own post. Or maybe you weren't thinking that at all. You probably weren't.

#tlc #tlc fanfiction #the lunar chronicles #the lunar chronicles fanfiction #linh cinder #prince kai #emperor kai #married kaider #kaider

[smallestclowninthecircus]

Me ranting about Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated season 1

rewatching scooby doo mystery incorporated is always so disappointing. (spoilers ahead though its vague)

the awful velma v scooby thing is the obvious one. i want them to be happy little guys, maybe they squabble in an episode or two, but a whole plotline abt 3/5 characters arguing is infuriating to watch.

another one- why are they all rich? it can be helpful to the plot sometimes but its so annoying- in the first episode when we're introduced to their families, its just the same thing 3 times and then velma's parents are kinda kooky i guess.

overall i think the tone of the show tries to be to serious and scary- scooby doo should be spooky not scary. it makes the cartoony antics feel out of place. this is just a personal preference thing but i prefer scooby doo media closer to A Pup Named Scooby Doo. its silly and goofy. i think this critique can best be summed up when you look at the chase scenes. theres a disappointing lack of chase sequences in this show, we get it a bit in the episode In Fear of the Phantom but even then, it ends with them almost burning alive. I really like the episode Myster Solvers State Finals in terms of tone. the goofy characters make it so much fun to watch.

I do really like the meta plot of this show, the different iterations of mystery incorporated over time is really cool to see. i just think some specific moments earlier on in the show could be a bit lighter. save that grittiness so it feels special.

I like the Mr. E thing, i think its interesting and a fun concept. the thing is, it feels like every time he gets involved in a mystery, theres absolutely no way they could have solved it without him. i like the gatorsburg episode where he just tells them about the mystery, but when he's just there to give them hints when it gets too hard? it makes their victories feel unearned.

i think the group breakup at the end of season one is kinda tacky but i can live with it. i just dont like the character infighting which this show seems to rely on so much. the fred daphne dynamic works so much better if theyre both invested in the relationship.

ALSO i think they did daphne's character so dirty (a common problem in sd media). 1. the joke of her being clumsy makes no sense and is usually just used to make her the damsel in distress. shaggy and scooby are literally goofball clumsy guys if you need someone to do that kind of physical gag, just give it to one of them. 2. the way her relationship with her family is not satisfying. i love that her sisters are all accomplished in different fields, and it seems like the writers want us to think her parents are pushing her towards this, but they literally set her up with some guy a few episodes in! if they want her to focus on her studies/ honing a skill, then have them actually do that! 3. please god let her have interests other than fred. she arguably doesnt even have an interest in fashion/makeup!

#original post #scooby doo #scooby doo mystery incorporated

[loudlychoppedbread]

Trope Analysis - Damsel in Distress (Psychonauts)

One of the most discussed tropes is the "Damsel in Distress." And this is a staple trope that some people have said are kind of anti-female. But the way that I've seen it used in a different fandom has led me to want to make this analysis of a character through this trope.

Lili Zanotto, deuteragonist of the first Psychonauts game, was not a "Damsel in Distress," in the first game, nor "Rhombus of Ruin," but was in the game: Psychonauts 2.

Let's first talk about the trope - Damsel in Distress, according to TVTropes is: "A female character is put into immediate danger in order to put the cast in motion."

Personally, I don't like that. I'd like to share a different interpretation of the trope. I want to focus more on the actual wording of the emotion so: "A character, usually female, who is in such a state of emotion that they can't do anything but be saved by another character."

Going to the poster child of this - Princess Peach. Both of these definitions fit her. So I think this is a good angle to analyze the trope.

Now let's talk about the moment in Psychonauts that Lili gets taken by Linda the Lungfish. This is the moment where people say "DoubleFine dunked themselves into this trope! They took a girl that was looking pretty strong on her own and made her useless!" Which... they're not wrong, but then they say: "Ugh, typical Damsel in Distress trope! So glad we're out of it! And Lili is so much better in PN2!"

Which... no. She's not.

Lili is yelling, thrashing, and laughing in the face of danger throughout that entire time. She's more so annoyed than distressed. She's taken out of commission, sure. She can't get through the adventure with Raz, even though Raz just said: "no one can stop them except for you and me," but that doesn't mean that she's lost all hope. She's even surprised Raz showed up. Even in a time where there was probably no hope, she was just fed up with the whole situation.

In Rhombus of Ruin, some people also think she was a "Damsel in Distress," which again: No. Sure, Lili is affected by the Psilirium and Raz does have to fix her music box for her to help get the Psilirium to stop affecting her. But after that? She burns through a wooden gate, is able to do enough pyrokinesis control to make a pile of bombs not explode exponentially and kill her and maybe the other guards in the plane that she was found in, and when dealing with a guard with a cattle prod, she makes due with what she has access to and even in hiding, she's more so just trying to see if this creature is gonna break through the door. More so analyzing the situation that she's in and making plans.

Then... we get PN2. In PN2 she feels guilty over something she said to her father so she's trying to be the best daughter she can be. And we once again see her excited for analysis! She brings "Truman" some plants that should help her figure out what's going on with her father as soon as they feed off of his psychic energy. But outside of that cutscene, there's not really anything we get from her that isn't... well, Distress. She's distressed that her father is not waking up. She's distressed that the plants keep dying. She's distressed that someone targets her to use her as a puppet. She's distressed that she said something bad to him and won't be able to see Truman again.

And the way she's saved is seeing her father moving about and following him (as well as Norma), then going to Raz (her boyfriend) to ask him questions about: How do we figure out what's going on?

Now, yes, she is a child who lost a parent, but here's the thing: When using this trope to analyze how a story uses its characters it's grown to be more nuanced than what it used to be. It's now grown to be interpreted as: "Girls who are kidnapped are useless in the story and are just prizes for the hero to win."

But that's not the case.

I believe that the trope, no matter how you see it, is handled well in the stories of the video games I analyzed for this essay post. I do also believe that broadening the understanding of tropes that have been interpreted as narrow and old. If language does evolve, and we only gain new tropes, I think that does a disservice to stories that come out as we only constantly compare the narrow interpretation as trope and we say "I love X trope," or "X trope is problematic."

#writing tropes #lili zanotto #writing trope analysis #writing analysis

[filmthoughtsbyfinn]

They Didn’t Live Happily Ever After: La La Land and My Best Friend's Wedding

The dragon is slayed, the damsel is saved. The hero and damsel rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after.

But this isn’t reality, this is fairytales.

Recently I rewatched My Best Friend’s Wedding, mostly because of one specific scene(those who know, know) but I noticed how much better I liked it than the first time. The next day my mom called me down to watch La La Land as a way of calming down following a final and even though I loved that movie so much the first time, I loved it even more after watching My Best Friend’s Wedding.

For those who haven’t watched I'll give you guys a brief description of both, but be warned there will be major spoilers so be warned.

Childhood friends Julianne(Julia Roberts) and Micheal(Dermot Mulroney) made a deal in college to get married if they were both single at 28. With four more days until Julianne’s(Jules) 28th birthday Micheal calls with news that he will be marrying the 20 year old, drop-dead-gorgeous Kimberly(Cameron Diaz). With this news Jules suddenly realized she is in love with her best friend, and with only three more days until the wedding she makes a plan to stop the wedding no matter what, which might be hard as she is the Maid of Honor.

In one of my favorite scenes in the movie Jules pronounces her love to Micheal on the day of the wedding as Kim watches. When Micheal realizes that Kim saw he begins to chase after her(Kim), Jules chases after Micheal. As Jules is chasing after Micheal’s sports car in a semi-truck she is calling her best friend, George. Here it is:

George: “Micheal is chasing Kimmy?”

Jules: “Yes!”

George: “You’re chasing Micheal?”

Jules: “YES!”

George: “Who’s chasing you…nobody, get it? There’s your answer. It’s Kimmy.”

This scene is amazing, it is the realization moment of the movie, it is when we know that this movie will not have the happy ending of others of its time. Julianne is not going to win Micheal. He has chosen Kimmy, and she is going to have to live with the mistakes she has made and have to live without him.

La La Land is a 2016 film that ended up winning multiple awards(Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Cinematography, etc.) The movie follows Sebastian(Ryan Gosling) and Mia(Emma Stone) as they are drawn together with the common dreams of doing what they love. However, as their passions begin to succeed the two have to make a choice between loving each other or doing what they love. Similar to in My Best Friend’s Wedding there is a scene of realization between the two. As Mia makes her big break for a movie in Paris and Sebastian needs to stay in LA for his jazz club the two talk in the park outside the Griffith Observatory a place which was previous where their love had blossomed. The two discuss their lives and what they will do. And another one of my favorite parts occurs.

Sebastian: When do you find out?

Mia: They said the next couple of days... But I'm not expecting to find anything out.

Sebastian: You're going to get it.

Mia: No, I'm not.

Sebastian: You are. I know these things

Mia: I mean -- where are we?

Sebastian: I know… I don't know.

Mia: What do we do?

Sebastian: I don't think we can do anything. Because when you get this --

Mia: If I get it this...

Sebastian:  When you get this -- you've got to give it everything you've got.

Sebastian (CONT'D): It's your dream.

Mia: What are you going to do?

Sebastian:  I've gotta follow my own plan. Stay here. Get my own thing going. You know...

Sebastian: I guess we're just going to have to wait and see.

Mia: You know I'm always going to love you.

Sebastian: I'm always going to love you too.

At this moment they both acknowledge that this is the end of this story. That at this point in their lives, even though they still love each other, it is time to go their separate ways.

I think both of these movies illustrate the need for unhappy endings. That love is not always going to work out and sometimes it won’t be reciprocated. I feel like especially in this age of easy to access media it is easy to assume that movies are like reality, that the guy will get the girl and everyone will be happy. But I do think that it is important to also show that life isn’t always what it is in the movies. A counter argument to this is that movies are used as escapism and that to have an unhappy ending is to not provide catharsis. I would disagree with this, the media we consume often translates to the way we live our lives and if we are solely watching movies based in fantasy it is likely we will set up false expectations for ourselves and it will only lead us to more heartbreak.

I find that having an unhappy ending in itself relays a bittersweet hope, that even though things may not have ended up the way we wanted them to, they did eventually end. And by reaching this end we were able to reach catharsis.

Catharsis is a medical term for purging or cleansing. To Plato and Aristotle however, it more so in the symbolic way, that through tragedy we are able to move on. An example of this is in from Aeschylus when Agamemnon states, "But Justice turns the balance scales, sees that we suffer and we suffer and we learn.  And we will know the future when it comes." This purging of pain we see in unhappy endings enables us to instead of just being satisfied with yet another happy ending, to seek relief and to know that we can persist.

So the next time you watch these movies don’t see them as a unsatisfying ending see them instead as a chance to grow, a chance to be more and a chance to see beyond the false reality of the Hollywood Fairytale.

Citations: 

- https://clip.cafe/my-best-friends-wedding-1997/michaels-chasing-kimmy/

- https://imsdb.com/scripts/La-La-Land.html

- https://webpages.uidaho.edu/engl257/Classical/tragedy_as_catharsis.htm

- https://www.imdb.com/list/ls054336709/

- https://www.imdb.com/list/ls000006543/

#la la land #my best friend's wedding #unhappy ending

[arrowheart17]

July:

Kamen Rider Black (Rewatch)

I’m gonna try to go through all this in some semblance of order

* Visuals

The way Black looks is what first drew me into it. The grain, saturation, and how the camera picks up lighting makes the real world feel fantastical on a level I’ve really only seen done in movies like Terminator, Robocop, Total Recall, and the first TMNT movie. I love that street lamps turn into lens flares, every street at night seems shrouded in a fog, and the city feels lived in. We get to see so much casual life in this show that I think modern rider tends to forget exists. Black makes its world feel real and special at the same time, and that makes the psychedelic abstract chaos of the back half of the series properly feel horrifying. I adore the trippy acid trip nightmare sequences and fucked up monster designs. The madness of the set design for the time vortex is permanently etched into my brain. Yes the show has a budget and it shows, special effects have aged poorly, rag dolls and styrofoam props are aplenty. But I love that. I love that I can tell that they tried their hardest with what little budget they had to make these things.

* Music

The soundtrack of Black is….limited to say the least. Track reuse is constant and noticeable and I wish there was more variety. That said the tracks we do get are in my opinion, bangers. They are lucky that they made tracks I was willing to listen to 50 times over.

* Characters

I see Black’s characters as the perfect balance between Showa and Heisei Riders. Showa shows often under developed its characters, you get a base emotion as a whole personality and all motivations are driven from there. Meanwhile with Heisei the characters become so lost in the sauce of complexity that it can fumble the themes and stories set up by the show. Kotaro’s goals are Showa levels of simple “help people in need, fight Golgom, save Nobuhiko” but underneath that is a complexity I think is more in line with Heisei with his struggles over having to fight Nobuhiko, repeated occurrences of being attacked or forced to fight back against innocent people who have been mind controlled, his struggle with this impending destiny that’s been forced on him, and his need to self isolate to protect others. Kyoko is also I think a highlight of the show. She’s up there for one of the better written women in the franchise. She still ends up getting used as a damsel in distress for various plots but there’s also multiple episodes in which she assists in rescuing people, solving problems, and taking down monsters. She also gets to put together who Kamen Rider is early on which I think gives her a bit more nuance and balance. The EP Boys to me are an extremely complex bit of dark humor. It’s both upsetting and hilarious to me to watch these kid super soldiers just get blown away so casually in the show. Battle Hopper has more personality than some protagonists in the Kamen Rider Franchise and it’s only way of emoting is tilting it’s handles and blinking lights and I still cry over their death. It’s a massive testament to the people who made Black that they made me cry over a motorcycle. Whale Mutant comes very late into the story but has a MASSIVE impact. I will admit he is a bit of a rehash of Mole Beastman but I’m okay with that because I think we need more heroic non-humanoid monsters in Rider.

* Pacing and Themes

Showa Era Rider’s pacing is always going to be something that puts a lot of people off from it. Monster of the week insular stories are difficult to sell to a lot of people. To me I think it’s one of Black’s biggest strengths. With a 50 episode show focusing too hard on a serialized narrative will lead to a dragging feeling or falling down branching paths that overcomplicate the story. I enjoy Black’s one and done nature. Instead of telling 1 long story with 1 central idea Black tells tons of stories with branching themes that interconnect to both each other and our characters. It touches on ideas of capitalism, cults, societal hierarchy, toxic masculinity, government control, what it means to be human, how art relates to self expression and our freedom through it, and so much more. Now because it’s trying to do so much there are absolutely times where it sends out bad themes or weak concepts (I’m particularly thinking of some of Black’s strange treatment of femininity and it’s role in society) but I think those failures are few and far between in the grand scheme of things personally (I very much understand if those failures are too much for folks though, they can be pretty rough).

* Overall

Black is a series I love to come back to and love to rewatch. It’s a masterpiece, it’s a silly mess, it’s everything for me. I think all of its consistent inconsistencies give it the staying power on my mind. You’ll never know when you’ll get peak fiction or nonsense. I love Kamen Rider as a series so much and this series is great at encapsulating the experience to me.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Burn The Witch 3 - Ensnared [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns.

Summary: Things aren’t always what they seem to be.

Series Masterlist

Finding out that the target you had been assigned to seduce and manipulate for information was actually a good person had its advantages and disadvantages.

For starters, the biggest advantage was that now you could prepare a strategy based on his personality. After all, good people were easier to trick, it was the people like you that would’ve given you a hard time if the roles were reversed. You had been taught to approach everyone with suspicion and pinpoint their weak spots to use against them and as it turned out, Bucky didn’t adapt the same strategy when it came to other people.

The disadvantage? You had no idea how to deal with that.

For years and years you had been trained to kill, lie, manipulate and not look back or feel guilty about any of it because you were told that all your targets were the kind of people that would’ve harmed you or others if they had the chance; so Bucky not being evil was surprising at the very least.

The infamous Winter Soldier hadn’t tried to hurt you when he was under attack, hadn’t tried to use you as a leverage to get out of there unlike what you would’ve done if the roles were reversed.

Needless to say, you were confused as hell.

“I mean when you think about it, it’s not surprising that he’s a good guy,” Chloe said, resting her feet on the table in the empty conference room, “Didn’t he fight against Thanos with Steve Rogers and everyone else?”

“I would’ve fought in that war if I could as well, it doesn’t mean that I’m a good person.”

She pouted, “That’s debatable. I think you’re a great person.”

“No I’m not. I swear to you I’m not.”

“Come on, you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“If it were me, I would’ve pushed him into the line of fire without a second thought.”

“Exactly. We’re terrible people and we acknowledge that, Chloe.” Keith said as you tapped your pencil on the file,

“Back to the first impression strategy, guys. How do I meet Barnes?”

“Hold on, before we continue with the strategy you need to give me an answer about your cover job,” Chloe said, “We can’t have him suspect you’re hiding anything from him. Jobs are a huge part of someone’s life, it’ll come up.”

Keith raised his head, “What are the options?”

“Oh you know, the usual. Sales assistant, retail—“

“The last time you put me in retail for an undercover job, I ended up punching a customer.” he cut her off, “I vote no to the retail.”

“I’m sure they had it coming,” you deadpanned and Chloe hmmed.

“Fast food?”

“No, it makes my hair smell bad.”

“There’s a milkshake shop I can put you in, it doesn’t smell bad. It’s close to the coffee shop he and Wilson get their coffee from.”

“What’s the catch?”

A small grin pulled at her lips, “It’ll be good for the mission.”

You frowned as Keith sat up straighter, curiosity written all over his face. “Chloe? Share your devious plans with the class please?”

“It’s a retro milkshake shop and the uniforms are like….1940s pin up meets 1950s diner waitress.”

Keith started laughing and you stared at Chloe before letting out a groan, burying your face into your palms.

“I hate you so much.”

“Come on, it’s going to be Bucky Barnes’ wet dream, you know that!” Keith said, “On a completely unrelated note, can I see those uniforms?”

“No!” you snatched the phone from Chloe’s hand before Keith could take a look, “No you can’t!”

“I’m so going to take pictures, and when you become a handler I will use them to humble you.”

“I will shoot you if you do that, and can you please focus?” you insisted, “I have a meeting with General soon, and he will ask me about the strategy and I can’t go there with no ideas.”

“Just find something you and Barnes are interested in both, that never failed me,” Keith paused, “Well that, and my good looks.”

Chloe turned to look at him, “I gave her a huge file containing everything there is to know about him,” she said, “It will help her to make him fall in love, but meeting him is something else.”

“Guys,” he rolled his eyes “What are you, fifteen? It’s incredibly easy to meet people.”

“No, it’s incredibly easy to meet civilians,” you corrected him, “Or the bad guys. It’s not like Barnes goes to bars or anything, he’s not very social.”

“Yeah I get that but he has to do something.” he insisted, “Just hand me the file, are you sure you didn’t miss anything?”

“We didn’t—he does the same thing every superhero does,” Chloe threw her hands up, “He saves people if they’re in need, but how are we going to use that?”

You opened your mouth to answer but when the thought struck you, you took a sharp breath, narrowing your eyes. A smile lit up your face, the plan slowly forming in your mind and Keith frowned at you over the file.

“Y/N you’re smiling,” he reminded you, “It’s creepy when you do it genuinely.”

“He does, doesn’t he?” you asked as you turned to Chloe, “You’re right. Superheroes save people, and—and Barnes is not only a superhero, but he’s also a good guy right? He didn’t use me as a leverage while getting out of there, so he cares about people’s wellbeing, so to speak.”

“Yeah?”

You snapped your fingers, “I need to find someone to shoot me.”

“Same, you’re not special.”

Chloe gasped, “Keith!”

“Relax, she’s not serious.”

“No I’m very serious.”

He scowled, “Did you forget what happened when I accidentally shot you on a mission three years ago? It was just one time and you bitched at me for a whole month. You found me when I was working undercover in Brazil to show up at my apartment so that you could complain about it more, I don’t even know how you found my address, it was classified info.”

“I gave her your address.” Chloe held up a hand and Keith heaved a sigh.

“Thank you Brutus.”

“You had it coming,” you pointed out, “But forget about that for a second, okay? I think I just found our strategy. We’re going to use me as a bait.”

“What?”

“That’s how I’ll meet him. We will put me in a dangerous position and he will…” you tried to ignore the bitter taste at the back of your throat, “He will have to save me.”

“I’m sorry,” Chloe said, “He will help you and you will use that to lure him, did I get that right?”

“Exactly,” you grinned, “What better way to manipulate a hero than to give him somebody to save?”

She blinked a couple of times, then turned to Keith.

“Honestly, in times like these I wonder why I’m friends with you guys,” she commented, “Do you have any idea why on earth I’m friends with you?”

He shrugged his shoulders,

“I don’t know,” he said, “Because we’re fun when we’re not diabolical?”

                                           ***

The plan was pretty simple, it would look like a robbery gone wrong. You would be accompanied by one of the lower ranking agents who would pose as a robber so that if he got caught while getting away, it would pose no threat to your cover afterwards, not to mention it couldn’t be traced back to you or the operation.

Of course, you had to make sure that Bucky would stay behind and meet you while Wilson chased the bad guy off. Based on your observations on Wilson, saving people always came first rather than punishing the other person, he put the safety of innocents before anything else, so you had to find a way for them to think Wilson was more suitable for the chase.

Motorcycle. The rookie agent would get away on a motorcycle, which would require Wilson to use his wings to gain speed on him.

But God, you just hated playing the damsel in distress.

“I just want to say I’m honored that you picked me for this mission,” the agent was almost buzzing with excitement in the back alley while you waited until Wilson and Barnes was anywhere within hearing distance. “I heard- I heard so much about you Shrike. Ma’am.”

You leaned your back to the wall, crossing your arms.

“Is it true that you once killed a target using just a pencil?” he asked, “Or that you took down five armed people with a dagger?”

You turned your head to look at him better, amusement making you smile.

“Or- or that you can get information out of someone in just five minutes?” he held his breath, “Or that your father-“

“Don’t talk about my father.” You cut him off, the harsh command leaving your lips almost too fast and you felt the slight guilt pulling at your heartstrings before you shook your head.

“You’re a good shot, right?” you asked, “I don’t want to get the bullet stuck in my arm, you’ll just graze me.”

“I’m a great shot ma’am, top of my class.”

“And you need to make it look believable. Remember, if Wilson catches you—“

“He will take me to the nearest police station, and I will stay there until an agent is sent to pick me up. But do you want me to get caught?”

“Try not to,” you shrugged your shoulders “But if he does, don’t worry about it. He has no reason to believe it’s anything more than some mugging.”

His phone beeped and he checked it, then took a deep breath, “Barnes and Wilson are within hearing distance. Are you ready?”

“Let’s do this,” you said and he grabbed his gun, then pointed it at your arm. You cleared your throat, looking over your shoulder before you turned to him and let out a very high scream, probably enough to reach the people nearby. He pulled the trigger and the gunshot echoed through the alley, a burning spreading all over your arm and making you fall to your knees.

“Are you okay?” he stepped closer to you and you tried to catch your breath.

“Go!” you hissed and he ran to the motorcycle before he rode away and as soon as he was out of your sight, Barnes and Wilson ran to the alley and you started sobbing, holding onto your arm which throbbed in pain.

Good news was he was a good shot, and he had managed to only graze you. But considering that your cover was a civilian, you doubted civilians were used to gunshot wounds, so you had to make it dramatic.

“Ma’am?” Wilson rushed to you with Barnes following him and you tried to breathe through sobs.

“Thank God, please help me—“ you sniffled and looked at the other side of the alley, breathing fast, “He took my wallet, and-and he had a motorcycle…”

“On it. Buck, stay with her.” Wilson said and ran out of the alley as Barnes crouched down to your level while you kept panting, your knees pulled to your chest, leaning back to the wall.

“Hi,” he smiled at you softly and you took a trembling breath, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Hello,” you managed to say as he stole a look at your arm before his eyes snapped back to yours.

“I’m Bucky,” he said, “What’s your name?”

“Y/N.”

“Can I look at your arm, Y/N?”

You pursed your lips together, pretending to consider it before you raised your hand so that he could see the graze on your upper arm. He furrowed his brows for a moment, and carefully lifted your arm to see it better under the street lights while you sniffled again.

“Am I—am I going to die?” you stammered and he let out a small chuckle.

“No,” he said, “No you won’t. It’s just a graze, it doesn’t even look like it’ll need stitches. I promise.”

“But how do you know?”

“Let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of arm injuries.”

You tried to keep the look of confusion on your face before you slowly averted your gaze from him to his metal wrist and you gasped, your jaw dropping as if you were distracted from the pain.

“Bucky? As in Bucky Barnes?” you asked, “Wait, no. Right? Can’t be.”

A look of regret flashed over his face, apparently he thought that would scare you but lucky for you, you had seen it coming while coming up with a strategy.

“I heard about you!” you said, “You fought against Thanos!”

He was taken aback at the fact that you didn’t accuse him of anything his head was obviously swarming with, and that would be the one thing you could base your whole plan on.

In order to make him fall in love with you and trust you, you had to act like you trusted him, act like you had little to no knowledge of the dark side of his past. Naïve civilian girl with a soft heart was the perfect cover because as far as you could tell from his file, Bucky Barnes just wanted to come back home from war.

He had been looking for something he could call his home for decades now and you’d let him believe you were his home until your orders told you otherwise.

“That’s it?” he asked when you didn’t continue and you pulled your brows together.

“Hm?”

“That’s all you…all you wanted to say?”

“Right—” you took a deep breath, “Right, I’m sorry. Thank you for all you’ve done, for saving the world.”

“No no, I didn’t mean—“ he stopped himself, “That wasn’t what I meant. Trust me, you shouldn’t be thanking me.”

“Well I am though,” you winced when you moved your arm before turning your head to check the dark alley “Bucky? Do you… do you think that robber would come back?”

“Sam’s got it covered.” he assured you, “Don’t worry. He’s not getting away, and he’s definitely not coming back here.”

“Okay.” You murmured and wiped at your eye again with the back of your free hand before you clutched at your arm again, a sob tearing itself from your chest. “God, it just—it hurts so bad...”

He shushed you gently, “I know it does sweetheart. Let’s get you to the hospital so that it will stop hurting, alright?”

Ah.

Even by 40s standards, sweetheart was a good sign.

You shook your head, “But I can’t go to the hospital.”

“Why not?”

“I’m on a budget.”

He blinked a couple of times, “Come again?”

“I don’t have enough money for the hospital. I’m sure if I put a band aid on it or something it’d work, you said it wouldn’t need stitches and there’s a pharmacy right around the corner you see—”

“That’s not how bullet wounds work, let’s go.” He helped you up but you stumbled into him, letting him catch you as you looked up at him.

“I apologize, I just feel dizzy…” you said and he smiled softly.

“Don’t worry about it,” his voice was soothing, “You think you can walk? I can carry you.”

“No I can—I can walk,” you stammered and let him lead you out of the alley, his arm wrapped around your waist tight before he looked down at you.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured to himself, then he took off his jacket to put it over your shoulders. You pulled the oversized jacket tighter around you, brushing the sleeve over your forehead to push back your hair and only when he turned to stop a taxi you let a tiny smirk pull at your lips despite the throbbing on your arm.

Well, your superiors were going to be pleased. The first part of the mission was done.

Now all you had to do was make him fall in love with you.

                             Chapter 4

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #marvel #the falcon and the winter soldier #falcon and the winter soldier #bucky barnes imagines #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #the winter soldier #the winter soldier x reader #tfatws #fatws

[mca-attack21]

Damsel in Distress part I

This is a two part Arthur Pendragon x Reader based on the season two episode four of the show. Enjoy! Also you can find more of my writing here: Masterlist

Merlin woke up to a feeling of foreboding. There was something in the air that made his stomach turn with dread. As he prepared to go wake his clotpole of a master, he tried to push this feeling out of the forefront of his mind. But even as he made it down to the kitchen there was this sense of apprehension in the air. He hoped that he would run into you somewhere in the halls and that you would be able to set his mind at ease. He however was not so fortunate.

Instead, he trudged onward, setting Arthur’s food down and opening his curtains before declaring a half-hearted, “Rise and Shine” before quickly gathering some of his clothes to be washed. Arthur didn’t even have time to come up with a jest before Merlin was out of the door. Merlin busied himself, quickly polishing Arthur’s armor and completing other daily chores. He mentally prepared himself to deal with the prince as returned to his door.

“Ah, there you are, I was beginning to think you were avoiding your duties. And what’s this?” he asked, watching as Merlin laid everything out, “You’re actually doing your job for once? Are you feeling alright?” Arthur joked.

His smile soon turned to a frown as Merlin ignored his comments. He shrugged it off and allowed Merlin to help him dress and put on his armor. While Arthur was looking over some papers on his table he noticed that Merlin had already made his bed and was starting to take the dishes from the table.

“Merlin, clearly something is upsetting you,” Arthur pointed out.

“It’s nothing sire, do you need anything else?” Merlin asked with his back against the door.

“No, that will be all,” Arthur dismissed, sending a concerned glance towards his friend as he exited.

Merlin took leave and went back to his chambers to help Gaius. He tried to occupy his mind, but nothing he did seemed to ease that burning pit in his stomach. Something had happened, was happening, or was about to happen, he could feel it.

Somewhat abruptly, he decided that he needed to see you. He went to seek out Morgana, as you were filling in for Gwen while she was taking care of her brother. He knew that wherever Morgana was, you wouldn’t be far away.

It was in his search that he saw a few of the knights rushing for an audience with the king. Something had happened. Merlin followed at a close distance and listened in.

“As you know Sire Morgana, her maid, and a few knights rode for a pilgrimage to her father’s grave early this morning. They were meant to be back by now, but there is no word or sign of them. That was until one of the patrols came across one of the knight’s horses. I am afraid something went wrong..”

“Send men out immediately. Arthur, you will lead the search, do whatever you must to bring her home,” the King ordered concerned for his young ward.

“Of course father,” Arthur answered before hastily making an exit. Merlin was right on his heels, and left to prepare their horses.

---

The mercenaries had both you and Morgana in a tent with a guard posted right outside the doors. The two of you had come up with a plan, it was risky at best. However you were both aware of the fact that the further away from Camelot you traveled, the less likely you were to ever see it again.

“Are you ready for this?” Morgana asked, preparing herself.

“As ready as I’ll ever be”

She was about to step forward when you grabbed her arm, “No matter what happens, I want you to take any opportunity you get. Don’t worry about me. Promise.”

“There is no way I’m leaving without you.”

“Morgana, you have to promise me. I cannot bear the risk otherwise.”

“I promise, but only as long as you promise me the same. We take any opportunity we get.”

With that, the plan was in motion. Morgana demanded that she be allowed to bathe and you both were escorted to the river by two of the men. You took the distraction of her undressing to manage to disarm one of the men and tossed Morgana the sword just in time for her to take out the other. The two of you started running back towards the castle, but there was another mercenary that intercepted you. Being as you were the one with the sword you opted to fight him, thankful for the many hours you had spent training with Arthur when you were younger. Morgana turned back to help you.

“Go, I will be right behind you!” you shouted, watching her hesitate, “Morgana go! Now!”

She turned and ran only looking back when she heard your scream in the distance. She quickly picked up her pace again and ran without looking back. She pushed through the aching in her muscles until she was faced with a crossbow aimed at her face. Relief filling her features as soon as she saw its holder.

“Where’s Y/n?” Arthur asked immediately.

Morgana merely shook her head and Arthur turned before his face could give him away. Merlin pushed down his own feelings and went to Morgana to make sure she was okay and offer her water and food. They set off immediately for the castle and soon came the reunion between Uther and Morgana. She begged him to send out another search party for you, after all you had saved her life.

“I am not going to waste the time and resources on a servant girl who has most likely already been executed as she provides no worth to the mercenaries without you,” he explained to Morgana. The words cut Arthur deeper than any sword ever had.

“Please, there is still a chance. Arthur?” she turned towards him hoping he would take her side.

“I’m sorry Morgana, father is right” Arthur managed before turning and exiting a very angry Merlin on his heels.

“How could you say that? How could you possibly agree with him after everything that you and Y/n have been through? I knew you were a clotpole, but this, this is unforgivable!” Merlin all but shouted.

“Merlin Shut Up!” Arthur raised his volume before regaining his composure as he entered his chambers, “Of course I don’t agree with father, but there was no point in making a scene about it. We will pack and leave at first light. We will find her, one way or another.”

Merlin was speechless for a moment, before uttering an apology for overreacting before. He was then quick to leave and make the preparations for the next day as it was already early night.

The next morning he was surprised to see that Arthur had managed to not only wake himself up, but dress himself. He was looking over maps as Merlin entered. Soon the two of them were off on their quest to save the damsel in distress. The rode for the better part of the day before coming to a caves that were inhabited by wilddeoren. As they made it through the other side Arthur let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding, “I can’t believe the Gaia berries actually worked.”

“Hold up, you mean to tell me that you didn’t know that they would work before you lead us in a cave with giant flesh eating rats!”

“I mean not for sure, I heard stories, but I figured we’d find out one way or another.”

“Now you tell me?! Oh! Oh, what's that wilddeoren eating? It's all right. It's just Merlin. You trying to get us both killed?”

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't've risked your life like that,” Arthur said a new hint of seriousness in his voice.

“I didn’t realize that even the great Arthur Pendragon could fall victim to the blindness of love,” Merlin joked.

“What in the world are you going on about?

“Your feelings for Y/n. Why can’t you admit that you like her? I mean you are risking your life and even your father’s wrath just for a one in a hundred chance of rescuing her.

Arthur scoffed rolling his eyes, “She is just a friend, I’d do the same for you. In fact I seem to remember disobeying my father before in order to get you an antidote when you decided to get a few days off my drinking out of a poisoned chalice.”

“That was different and you know it. Besides, anyone who has ever seen the two of you together can pick up on it. Why is it so hard to admit you like her? It’s only me, just say it,” Merlin encouraged.

“I can't! How can I admit that I think about her all the time. Or that...I care about her more than anyone. How can I admit that...I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her?” Arthur confessed struggling to keep his emotion in check.

“Why can't you?”

“Because nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings knowing that...hurts too much.”

“Who's to say nothing can happen?”

“My father won't let me rescue a servant. Do you honestly believe he'd let me marry one?”

“You want to marry Y/n?”

“No! I mean maybe someday...I...I don't know...Regardless, it's all talk, and that's all it can ever be.”

“When you're King, you can change that. If she feels the same way, she would wait for you.”

“I can't expect her to do that, it’s not fair to her. Besides, we don’t even know if she’s alive,” he said regretting the words even as they left his mouth because they caused his stomach to drop.

“I’m sure she’s fine Arthur. She knows that you’ll come for her and that hope will keep her alive.”

The words seemed to offer Arthur some comfort, “Come on. We've got a long trek ahead. Oh, and Merlin...if you dare tell anyone about this, I promise I will make your life a living hell.”

“You mean more than you do now?” Merlin joked, earning a playful smack from his friend.

#bbc merlin x reader #bbc merlin imagine #bbc merlin imagines #merlin bbc #merlin imagine #merlin imagines #king arthur x reader #arthur pendragon x reader #arthur pendragon imagine #arthur pendragon imagines

[year2000electronics]

Siblings, Origami, and Slightly Wasted Potential

Hi. Me again. I have some thoughts on Origami King and the ideal future we could have had.

(Spoilers for Origami King!)

(image recreation)

Last time on the analysis show, I took a look at the characterization of Paper Luigi (which is a pretty good read, I’ve been told). This time, I’d like to build on that a little more by addressing Paper Mario’s other pair of iconic siblings- Olly and Olivia. 

Specifically, the way I believe they have the ability to parallel Paper Mario and Paper Luigi.

So, to lay out some basic facts (as is usually necessary to make a strong foundation), I’d like to talk a bit about Mario and Luigi’s relationship with one another. 

Thanks to Luigi gaining importance in the Mario series as a whole, he’s been equipped with some new abilities and stories of his own. However, thanks to Mario encompassing everything heroic under the sun, a lot of the time, Luigi tends to need to take the ‘road less traveled’ of abilities and stories. This may just be an out-of-character thing, but over time, it’s given Luigi this sort of niche that he fills compared to Mario. 

Me, personally, I like to call Mario a ‘sun sibling’ and Luigi a ‘moon sibling’. 

The sun is associated with brightness, happiness, daytime- the time that most people use to the fullest. A sunny day will bring a smile to anyone. Mario has the same happy aesthetics as the daytime, his adventures always triumphant and basking in the spotlight. 

... (And sometimes, they’re quite literally ‘sunny’ adventures.)

Compare this to the moon- the nighttime. In popular culture, the night, darkness and even the moon have been used to signify darkness, mystery. The night in and of itself is something that’s only designated to ‘night owls’- it takes a lot of active planning to stay up for a lot of the night. However, the moon itself isn’t inherently dark- people still need it to get their eight hours. Even though the night’s job isn’t the same as the day’s, it’s still important...

...when the sun is hiding away. 

That little bit of poetry aside, Luigi’s ‘dark’ and ‘against the norm’ aesthetic can be seen pretty much everywhere you look, even if you’re not much for my metaphors.

Luigi’s flagship series being all about ghost-hunting in a spooky, dark mansion...

(Which, by the way, in Mario Super Sluggers, can only be accessed at NIGHT!!! !!!) 

Luigi being the one who has access to the mysterious and vague dream world powers, 

Whatever this was,

This fucking guy,

You get the point. 

Which leads me to my next point: Olivia and Olly are also Sun Sibling and Moon Sibling.

I’m sure this is fairly obvious to anyone who looks. Olivia is bubbly, excitable, friendly, and kind.

Olly is, um.

Not that. 

(Oh also, their colour schemes the ‘night’ and ‘day’ colour schemes of Scorching Sandpaper Desert. So there’s that.)

So now we’ve established that 

But here’s the thing. Siblings is not the same. See, there’s something different about Olly and Olivia compared to Mario and Luigi.

Olly is the older sibling. And just like that... Luigi’s primary reason for being a ‘moon’ sibling is just straight-up not available to Olly. Luigi got his quirks from being in Mario’s shadow, but Olly is new... fresh. He just is this way. It’s not a phase, CRAFTSMAN. 

This poses some... interesting ideas when it’s presented next to the Mario brothers, though. Olivia is the younger sibling, who seems to look up to Olly just as much as Luigi looks up to Mario. Or at least... she’d like to. 

Despite having LITERALLY NO EVIDENCE to believe this, Olivia spends the entire game saying that she believes Olly can be talked down from this. She almost treats Olly and his entire evil plan as two separate entities, almost like Olly is a damsel she has to rescue. Don’t get me wrong, she never shies away from saying her brother needs to be stopped, but considering what seemingly little reason Olly gives for her to believe he’s worth saving... (sorry Olly. You lived then you put your dad in a wall. Life’s tough like that. Also you put a rock on her.) She’s persistent. 

Imagine how that must feel to Mario, seeing someone- seeing a Luigi who’s not the meek, mysterious one, but just as bright and bubbly as him. They grow so close throughout all this, but... Mario isn’t HER brother. And Olivia isn’t HIS sibling. 

And neither of them forget that. Even for one second. 

It makes us almost sigh in relief that Mario is such a good role model to both Olivia and Luigi, because Olivia shows us this idea of the underdog sibling not HAVING a forever-kind older brother. It’s... kinda sad. No, really sad. Olivia and Olly WANT to be a pair, but neither of them agree. They both want to ‘save’ each other, but they must keep battling if they want their side to win. 

This on its own is pretty interesting, but I want to cover the ‘slightly missed potential’ part. If you think Olivia and Mario’s parallels are a good story bit... can you IMAGINE what Olly and Luigi would be like? 

Referencing my Luigi analysis again, I concluded that Luigi has a bit of an inferiority superiority complex- a TV trope where someone’s feelings of inadequacy are often masked by an overconfidence, trying to hide that horrible blemish. 

(Don’t worry. He gets better.) 

Now, I wouldn’t say Olly is secretly insecure or anything- far from it. He is, however, EXCEEDINGLY confident, in both his abilities and his beliefs. He truly seems to believe that the ways of origami are glorious and that folding the kingdom will be a sort of ‘rebirth’. The only thing that is motivated entirely by his rage (not that those other parts aren’t, this one is just really personal) is his wish to turn every Toad into blank paper. And why is that? 

Because the Origami Craftsman scribbled on him. It’s a blemish, and one that he keeps hidden VERY easily. (I mean, you don’t see it here, do you?) 

...Interestingly, Olly has this line here: 

He says he made Olivia ‘too perfect’. It’s backhanded, sure, but... it’s still a compliment. He thinks his sister is perfect. She is perfect. He is blemished.

The sun sibling is perfect...

The moon sibling isn’t. 

This is why I think Olly and Luigi should have had some form of interaction. Luigi is this perfect mentor figure for the young king. Even though he wouldn’t be able to make a dent in Olly’s ideology or Toad-hating, there is one thing... one thing Olly might still be able to turn to the good side for. 

His sister.

Despite the fact that Origami Castle gets folded to life before Mario’s very eyes, which is when Olly has asked time and time again for Olivia to join him, and she’s still refused, the castle is still LITTERED with decorations of BOTH OF THEM. 

Olly still loves his sister. And he doesn’t want to lose her- even if he is blinded by rage. I think if Luigi was around Olly somehow, for most of the game (my personal idea would be that Luigi just can’t be folded somehow and Olly has no choice but to keep him in Peach’s Castle because he might help Mario otherwise), then he could say, from personal experience, how blind rage doesn’t solve anything... how your relationship with your sibling is the most precious thing in the world, should you keep it correctly. 

How... he KNOWS Olivia really looks up to him and looks to him for guidance, because he’s the exact same way. And how Olivia needs her big brother. 

Maybe Olly has some second thoughts, but convinces himself it’ll all be for the greater good. He just needs to defeat that red plumber. 

That green plumber’s... big brother. 

All in all, I think it could really have made Olly and Olivia even more impactful than they already are. At least they finally get reunited...

Even if it’s only for a brief moment. 

#paper mario #mario #origami king #pmtok #origami king spoilers #king olly #[BANGING POTS AND PANS] IM BAAAAACK

[justcourttee]

DAMINETTE BETROTHED AU DAMINETTE BETROTHED AU DAMINETTE BETROTHED AU there are not enough of these.

I tried to make it a little different than the ones I’ve read, so I hope it was what you were thinking about! 

A Marriage Contract 

“Being Guardian has been a shitshow on its own but now you’re telling me there are strings attached?”

Marinette crossed her arms in annoyance as she eyed the pair that sat across from her. She couldn’t be bothered to learn their names, after all, it took the council a year to learn her own. They seriously couldn’t expect to get by with barely knowing her and throw her into the arms of two strangers.

“Ahem, well, I suppose you could call them strings. I prefer to call it insurance.” The woman’s smile seethed venom. Marinette leaned forward, her eyes throwing daggers at the boy that sat beside the woman. It wasn’t that he was ugly, no, he was probably the most attractive guy she had ever met. It was the principle and a little bit of pride at this point.

“What is it, woman? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what exactly?”

There was a tense moment of silence as the two remained locked in a staring contest, both refusing to blink first.

“Oh come now child, this is beneath you.” Marinette couldn’t hold back her chuckle as she watched the woman’s resending hand. The boy’s daggers shifted to the woman as he gently rubbed the back of his head. “Besides, we haven’t sealed the deal yet. Miss Dupain-Cheng, I need you to solidify this contract.”

The piece of paper had sat so peacefully in the middle of the table, she almost hadn’t noticed it until the woman had shoved it in her direction. Her eyes lazily glanced over the terms and conditions. God, she sounded so replaceable. She could feel their stares as she lifted the paper closer to her face.

“It says in Section 4b that if we want to get a divorce both parties will have to participate in a death match for the reigning glory. Is that written correctly?”

“Of course, how else would it be decided who gets to reign both organizations?”

“Oh, yes, obviously.” Marinette bit her tongue from letting the next few words escape her lips. The guardians honestly expected her to sign her life away to these two strangers to ensure their safety. What a hoax. If it weren’t for her kwamiis, Marinette would have never agreed to attend the negotiations. “Now, what if he decides that he wants to attack the Order even though we marry?”

“Then we shall eliminate him ourselves, after all, we are a League built on the word of our ruler. If my son decides to ignore this binding contract, he is well aware of the punishment.”

Marinette allowed herself a glance at the boy. He hadn’t said much during the negotiations, perhaps he was just the same as her. A pawn for their leaders to use in this game. Setting down the paper, she gently reached over for the knife they had provided. Placing the blade on her palm, her eyes locked on the boy’s.

“Tell me,” instantly his eyes glanced to the woman, “No, keep your eyes on mine.”

The woman exhaled loudly as she waved his attention back to Marinette’s.

“What’s your name?”

“Damian Al Ghul Wayne.” Wayne. That sounded familiar. Wasn’t he a multimillionaire in the U.S.? Did he know his son was here signing his life away? Probably, after seeing the shit Adrien’s dad put him through, Marinette had no trust in the rich.

“Well Damian Al Ghul Wayne, do you think it is in our best interests to sign this contract?”

He looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something, but he was unsure how to formulate the right words. It was taking every ounce of his willpower not to look at the woman beside him. His supposed mother bartering his life as if it was replaceable. Marinette had decided that she hated the woman from the moment they shook hands, but the longer these negotiations went on, the more reasons began to formulate backing her hatred.

“I think-I think that if you value your life and everyone in it as I do mine, we should sign it.”

The woman stiffened in her seat as if he had released her Ace. Marinette couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped. The boy looked mortified as her chuckle became more hysterical.

“God, you’re threatening his friends and family? You really are a piece of shit woman.”

Before either one could respond, Marinette drew the knife quickly across her palm. It stung, but she couldn’t be bothered to care. Picking up the small feather, Marinette dipped it in the pooling blood before gently placing the tip to the paper in front of her. Setting the feather down, she reached for the towel one of the Guardian’s had provided.

“Well,” the woman cleared her throat as she slid the paper to Damian. “As he signs this paper, the negotiations officially draw to an end. You will be married as soon as we finish preparations. Feel free to invite any friends or family as you please Miss Dupain-Cheng, after all, you only get married once.”

If Marinette had any strength to stand, she would’ve used it to deck the woman. Just once would have been so satisfying. The boy shot her a look that fell somewhere between pity and concern, but Marinette didn’t care. It was obvious to her that he had more at stake here and she was determined to change that for him.

As the woman stood to leave, her smirk floating behind her, Marinette reached out, grabbing the boy’s hand from across the table.

“What is the meaning of this?” The way her eyebrow rose in amusement told Marinette all she needed to know. With as much effort as she could, Marinette leaned against the table for support, shooting the woman the most menacing glare that she could muster.

“Until you set the wedding date, Damian will be staying with me under the protection of the Order of the Guardians. As will any of his friends and family that he pleases,”

“Oh? And what makes you think you have this kind of power child?”

Marinette felt the smirk pulling at her lips as she nodded to the paper that Thalia held in her hands.

“The fact that you and your son agreed to the terms and conditions gives me all the authority I need. As you can see, there is some fine print.”

“How did you-?” Marinette sent her a wink as Tikki flew out from her jacket, a small pencil clutched in their hand. The shock that monopolized the woman’s face was almost as satisfying as the idea of punching her.

“As stated in the recently added Section 6e, the boy and all of his people will be under the protection of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her kwamiis. So, if you’ll excuse us, Damian has a few phone calls he needs to make.”

Without looking back, Marinette dragged Damian from around the table and out of the room. The chills that ran up and down her back were no doubt the woman’s steely glare as they escaped the negotiations.

“Woman, I am not some damsel in need of your saving.”

“Can’t you think of a better pet name than woman my fiancée?”

As soon as their feet hit the fresh pavement outside, Damian roughly pulled his hand from hers, his stare filled with both contempt and awe as if she were some enemy he couldn’t wait to surpass.

“Just who are you?”

The smirk on her face felt like a permanent feature as she mock curtsied to the frowning boy in front of her.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, your betrothed.”

Without waiting for a response, Marinette slid the glasses from their position on top of her head to the bridge of her nose. Reaching back, she grasped Damian’s hand tightly, ignoring his tugging.

“Kaalki, full gallop!”

The struggling intensified as Marinette became sheathed in a column of light, only stopping when the transformation completed.

“What the fu-”

“Kaalki, a portal to Wayne Manor, please. I have business with this man’s father.”

Marinette ignored his protests as the air split in front of them, a gloomy sky shimmering on the other side. Stepping one foot through, Marinette put on her best determined look. After all, someone had a lot of explaining to do and Wayne was going to answer everything, even if she had to beat it out of him herself.

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#maribat #daminette #betrothed