#tbh I still did kinda like him this whole time but knew I shouldn’t bother trying | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writer-darling · 1 year

Text

Folie à Deux

READ PART 1 HERE

Rating: T - TEENS (13+)

Pairing: Marcus Pike (The Mentalist, 2008) x GN!Reader

Warnings: Gender neutral reader. Pre-established relationship. Post-breakup. Whole lotta angst. Cursing. Mentions of being drunk. Love confessions. Crying. Marcus done goofed big time and he knows it. Reader is stubborn but still loves him. Lotta groveling. Poor Marcus gets ragged on but tbh he kinda deserves it. Teresa Lisbon slander. Both Marcus and Reader are touch-starved (it’s my favorite trope, leave me alone). If there are any that I missed, please inbox me to let me know and I will add them in :)

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary!: Inspired by Pedro’s “For All the Lovesick Mad Sad Geniuses” monologue for The 24 Hours Plays channel on Youtube

******

You wish you could say that you stormed your way into his apartment, guns blazing, and demanded to talk to him. In reality, you almost chickened out halfway to his place. But you knew that if you didn’t go now, you’d absolutely never go again. And you needed to see him. You needed to talk to him. You park behind his Grand Jeep Cherokee and take a second to calm the nerves in your gut. His lights are off and you begin to think maybe he’s asleep already. Oh well.

You step out of the car, walk across the small lawn, and knock on his door. Waiting a couple of minutes, there’s no sign of him being inside. That doesn’t stop you from knocking again.

“Oh, I’ve been looking for that shirt.” That’s the first thing out of his mouth when he opens the door, his eyes fixated on your torso before meeting your eyes. You roll them in response to his nonchalance and push your way past him into the house.

“What the hell kind of game are you playing, Marcus?” His dark brows draw together in confusion as he closes the door behind you both as you turn to face each other.

“I’m, um, not-not playing a game. I just missed you.” He admits. He’s still buzzed, but his speech pattern is a little more stable and he doesn’t look as crazed as he did in the video. Still, you know it’s from tonight. He’s wearing the same white t-shirt with the red bullseye and his facial hair is as long and unkempt as it was then.

“You miss me?” You ask, scoffing.

“Is that really so hard to believe?” He asks, his hands in his grey sweatpants’ pockets.

“Uh yeah, considering you’re the one who broke up with me.” You reply, your eyes turning to slits as you give him your nasiest death glare. He grimaces, looking down.

“I-I know, honey I’m sorry. I should have never-”

“Don’t call me that.” You cut him off, the pet name just feeling like salt on the wound. After not hearing it for so long, it stings, sitting like acid in the back of your mouth. He nods, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and glancing up at you.

“Right, um sorry. Force of habit.”

“Why did you send me this video? To mess with me?” You ask. You hold your phone up to him with the text thread open.

“What? No, of course not. I um, I just thought that uh maybe I could… Jesus, I don’t know, get all my feelings out without bothering you. You made it clear on the day we broke up you never wanted to see me again, and I stayed away. But I- fuck, I just missed you so much. I… I needed to see you. I knew if I sent that video, you would come.” He moves closer and you take a step back, even placing a palm up to warn him to stay away. He respects that and moves back again, even as his eyes lock with yours, pleading with you. You sigh and run a hand through your hair, pacing in place. He continues on, watching as you move in a small circle back and forth.

“It’s pathetic, I know. But, I just-” He swallows, unable to stop himself from taking another, smaller step towards you. “Really fucking missed you.” You scoff.

“You’re right: it is pathetic.” You respond, stopping in your tracks with venom in your voice. He doesn’t argue. You sigh, running a hand down your face. “I shouldn’t have come here, I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.” You take a step towards the door but he moves, not towards you but placing half of himself between you and the door.

“But you came. You’re here. Please, don’t go.” He pleads, still keeping distance between you two but you notice his body twitching with the urge to cross the room towards you. You cross your arms over your chest defensively in response to that.

“Marcus-”

“Breaking up was a mistake. I never, uh, never-never meant to hurt you, I never meant for things to turn out like this between us. I-I- shit - I was a fucking idiot to ever break up with you, and I’m sorry for everything.” He looks like he’s about to drop to his knees and your heart tugs at the sight. You’re silent for a few moments, letting the pause linger between you two.

“What about Teresa?” You ask. He’s shaking his head.

“It’s-It’s over. She never wanted me, and I knew it the moment I tried to make it work with her again..” He insists, but he can tell you don’t believe him “I knew she was only playing me. But I still fell for it. I wanted to believe that she cared about me like I used to care about her but uh, I guess she didn’t. And-And I tried to love her like before, but I couldn’t. I knew I wanted you.” His eyes flick up to your again. “I ended it months ago, I swear.”

“Swearing isn’t gonna just fix things, Marcus. Neither is some drunk excuse to see me.” You respond.

“Then what will? Tell me, please, Christ I-I’ll do anything.”

“Anything? Gee, why don’t you pay for my next $100-dollar-an-hour therapy session?? Or uh I know, how about giving me the last ten miserable months of my life back??” Your tone is cruelly sardonic, but you don’t care. You’ve been through hell for almost a year and he never once tried to reach out until now. He still doesn’t argue, just gives you those same sad eyes, and that makes you angrier. “You broke my fucking heart, Marcus. And what’s worse is: you did it for your fucking ex.” The ex that practically used him as a rebound. The ex that broke his heart and then threw it away at the last possible second like yesterday’s garbage. No tears come this time, and you’re glad for it. You don’t want him to see you cry.

“I know I did, and I’m more sorry than you’ll ever know. So, let me make it up to you. Let me show you that I won’t ever make that mistake again.” He tentatively approaches you, his eyes searching you for any sign that you still want him to stay away. You don’t though, your resolve lessening, and that gives him courage. He places his hands on your upper arms, still moving as slowly as he can. When you don’t push him or step away, one corner of his mouth turns up into a small smile. “I’m an idiot and an asshole and I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

“No, you don’t.” You say, but the anger in your voice is gone, visible shivers going down your back from his touch. He brightens up a bit at that, a hopeful glimmer in his eye.

“I know… Stay, please? Even if it's just for tonight? Please?” He asks again. He uses your ultimate weakness, rubbing open-palmed from your elbows up to your shoulders. You shiver again, the warmth of his hands making you lose your focus, even making you shut your eyes. Damn, you really had missed him. “Please, honey, stay with me. Let me make it all up to you.”

You shouldn’t do this. Giving him another chance would destroy you, wouldn’t it? And, shit what does this say about you?? Going back to an ex just like him. It’s stupid, pointless! But ever since stepping into his place, since even seeing him, you’ve been itching with the urge to touch him too. To be near him again. He waits as you think, his eyes scanning your body language, your face, for any inclination to what you’re thinking. Finally, you make your decision. You open your eyes and meet his gaze.

“You can start by taking a shower because you smell like a fucking liquor store.” You respond, stepping away from him. Your tone isn’t angry or cruel, just serious. Your body immediately misses him. He grins wide, and immediately turns to go, not even giving you time to change your mind. That doesn't stop you from speaking up though, "Marcus?"

"Yes?" He asks, looking at you from over his shoulder.

"The facial hair looks good on you." His grin returns, wider this time, and he goes.

Your attention zeroes in on him the moment you hear the shower shut off. When he exits the bathroom after a few more minutes, he’s sobered up and smelling like his tea tree oil shampoo. You’ve been sitting on the couch, waiting for him. You’re exhausted now, this rollercoaster of emotions draining you more than you could’ve expected.

“Better?” He asks, making you take a good look at him. The healthy post-shower flush gives his skin a glowing rosiness, his hair is slicked back, water droplets plopping down the fabric of the dark blue t-shirt he’s wearing. His brown eyes are no longer glassy or red-rimmed, making him look more alert. He’s kept the facial hair, though it’s trimmed and neat now, making him look less disheveled. Your eyes can’t stop themselves from travelling down further, taking in the planes and angles of his body. The urge to touch him again overtakes you and he notices, smirking a little. You avert your eyes, sighing and standing up.

“It’ll do for now.” You respond. You walk over to his linens closet and open it up, grabbing some extra blankets and one of the extra pillows he has in there. He stays quiet, until you begin spreading one of the blankets out on the couch.

“What are you doing?” He asks as he watches you..

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m setting up the couch so I can get some sleep.”

“What?? No, absolutely not. Go to the bedroom. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He says, making a grab for the other blanket.

“Marcus-”

“Go.” He says, his voice soft but unwavering as he meets your eyes. You give him a long look but he just smiles, nodding in encouragement towards the bedroom. “C’mon, for me, hon.” You reluctantly let the blanket go, into his hands. You’re too tired to argue anymore. You take a few steps towards the bedroom, but pause when the scent of him wafts over to you from the open bathroom. You turn to look at him over your shoulder.

“Come to bed with me.” It’s not a question, and he doesn’t have to be told twice, immediately walking over.

“Are you sure?” He asks. You decide to be honest, shaking your head as you grab his hand in yours and guide him to the bedroom.

“No.” You give him a tentative smile and he returns it, nodding and following along quietly.

There’s a brief moment before fully waking up that makes you think this is another dream. Another perfect subconscious scenario where you wake up in Marcuses’ arms and you’re perfectly happy. Right before there’s literally a rude awakening and you’re forced to ignore the hollow sadness in your chest for the rest of the day. But this time, it doesn’t come. His warmth doesn’t melt away as your mind pulls you from your fantastical refuge. The tears don’t suddenly flow from your eyes as you take in your surroundings. Your heart doesn’t skip and stutter when you realize you’re alone and lonely as ever.

Instead, the arms around you pull you closer once he feels you shift. The wispy strands of his hair tickle your jaw from where his face is tucked into your neck. His breathing is even and warm against your skin, while his chest is even warmer against your back. Now, tears do come, but this time for an entirely different reason. You try to keep quiet, to keep him from waking up, but you know you fail when he lets out a groggy, gruff, “Honey, what’s wrong?” He releases you to let you turn in his embrace. He’s alert now, and he grabs your face in his hands, wiping the tears that prick the edges of your vision.

“Nothing, I’m-I’m fine, actually.” You let out a soft, disbelieving chuckle. “For the first time in a long… I’m fine.” You admit. His worried expression softens and he kisses your forehead. You decide to change the subject, embarrassed by how much crying you’ve done in the last 72 hours. “How did you sleep?” You ask him, sniffling a bit.

“The best I’ve slept all year.” He replies. You can tell he means it too. You nod quietly, smiling and he smiles back. “You wanna get up yet?” You shrug, enjoying this too much but wondering what he has in mind. He’s always thinking ahead.

“What’s your plan exactly?” You ask. He hums pensively and lets out a relaxed exhale.

“Consider this my offer, for now: I want to take you to Betty’s Breakfast, come home, and spend all day making this whole mess up to you. I’ll buy you flowers on the way home. I’ll cook for us both. And I’ll shower you with affection.” His offer is tempting. You pretend to mull it over for just a beat too long, and he smiles again.

“It’s gonna take more than one day, you know?” You say, meeting his eyes.

“I know; I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that’s what it takes.” He swears. You laugh softly again and he grabs one of your hands, bringing your palm up to his jaw. You cradle his cheek, staying quiet. He pauses, his gaze flicking down to your lips before returning to your eyes. You give a soft nod and he moves, kissing you first. You kiss him back, melting into him. It might take days, or weeks, or months, but you know Marcus will make it up to you. And you look forward to letting him.

******

I’ll be 100% honest and say: I did not expect this story to get as much traction as it has been. However, I am very glad for it because it proves Marcus P is a highly underrated Pedro character who deserves so much more hype. I know I racked on him here but hey, c’mon, he kinda deserved it. I left the bedroom makeup stuff up to interpretation, which I don’t usually do, but I liked the ambiguity of it. It gives you folks a chance to decide what you think might have happened. Anyway, thanks a million for reading, hope you enjoyed, and see you in the next one!

Tag List: @luz-introvertida @castleamc @moralesfish @december-gal1 @castleamcc @hillarymurray4 @supernaturalgirl @supernaturalgirl20 @sherala007 @littlemisspascal @practicalghost @donnaa @scorpio-marionette @kayleezra @amandanik23 @maxpbxtch97 @lowlights @shadesofnerdlygrace @harriedandharassed @carefulnowprincess @amneris21 @horton-hears-a-honk @xdaddysprincessxx @trickstersp8 @mandy-sings @mswarriorbabe80 @permanentlydizzy @teddy2510 @pedrocentric @mandynik23 @klara-luise18 @supernaturalgirl89 @pbeatriz (hope it’s ok that I’m tagging you all!) (hope it’s ok that I’m tagging you all!)

Non-TL: @heythere-mel

Links!

Join the Tag List here

Ao3 link here

TikTok here

#Pedro Pascal #jose pedro balmaceda pascal #pedro pascal x gender neutral reader #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #the mentalist #marcus pike #marcus pike x gender neutral reader #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x you #marcus pike fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #writer darling

64 notes · View notes

rayofsunas · 3 years

Text

pretending you’re not his s/o. [1]

A/n: happy Thursday!! whew, the week is almost over thank goodness. I hope you’re all doing well and thank you for being patient while I knock out these requests <333 Scaramouche’s is long for obvious reasons (I simp) ALSO thank you for 800 followers, I hit that milestone yesterday ahagdwcsh omg I’m growing so much wtf. thank you all :) <33

Summary: the boys having to pretend their s/o is their secretary, maid, friend, etc. (someone other than their s/o)

Parings: Childe/Reader, Venti/Reader, Kaeya/Reader, Diluc/Reader, Albedo/Reader, Aether/Reader, Xiao/Reader, Chongyun/Reader, Xingqiu/Reader, Scaramouche/Reader, Razor/Reader, Bennett/Reader, Zhongli (fem and gn mixed)

Warnings: violence tbh (in Scara’s especially chile), swearing, crack, angst?, fluff

Word count: 1.7k

Requested by bestie @mintydump

Refuses (tells people you’re his s/o and compromises the mission)

Childe: for some odd reason, he was sent out by the Tsaritsa to retrieve a man who was impersonating one of the eleven harbingers and you were to go along. she said men were much more willing to follow along, if there was a beautiful woman promising affection, etc. the only problem was, to win over the impersonator, you had to pretend to be Childe’s co-worker. he hated this idea, and the minute he left, he reassured you he would not call you his partner unless it was romantically. so hell yeah, he’ll compromise the mission and will return without the impersonator. he does not care, you’re not his co-worker. he’ll just be like, “sorry, next time send me alone.”

Venti: jean why... ofc you'd be great company duh, but why did you need to be his babysitter on this expedition?!? sure, Venti may look like a child, but this was stupid! he’s loose-lipped anyways, so he’ll accidentally let it slip to whoever that you’re not his babysitter and that you’re his s/o. he’ll be like, “oops.” with the biggest shit-eating grin. he doesn’t care though, you’re not his babysitter grrr.

Razor: he also accidentally lets it slip you’re his s/o. hunters were after him and his friends, you included (you’re human, he considers you family though, therefore wolf) and he just yells, “don’t touch my mate, GRRR” before ya know, ending them lmao. it never crossed his mind that maybe it wasn’t in his/your best interest to say what you were to him. other hunters could be nearby listening and then target you at a later date. but, tbh he will worry about that another day. as long as you’re safe now, he’ll always be there to protect you.

Refuses (he doesn’t refuse the mission, but he refuses calling you someone other than his s/o/he won’t say if you’re his s/o or not.)

Kaeya: he definitely won’t be calling you anything other than his s/o but he also won’t offer this mission to anyone else. he’s more than capable and he can do this without you having to be in danger too. if someone asks who you are, he’ll just cooly respond with, “none of your business.” and move on. he’ll use that whenever someone asks who you are. even if someone gets a little pushy, he won’t use anything to clue them of your relationship.

Xingqiu: he was supposed to borrow steal a book from someone. he needed it for personal purposes lol; it would be great for his collection. and from his understanding, the person who has it wasn’t using it. though you were confused on why he needed to break into somewhere to retrieve it. you just happened to be with him when he broke in, he says it was an accident that you were there, but tbh it’s all part of the thrill and his mischievousness. despite Chongyun warning him that he shouldn’t have brought you, he still did. and when the person who owns the book whips out a sword and then asks why you were brought along if you seemed timid and unreluctant to steal, Xingqiu’s response is, “well she’s my girlfriend! duh.” cue deadpan. legit no hesitation.

Scaramouche: this mission is happening no matter what. the Tsaritsa’s life is on the line; highly trained assassins from all over Teyvat were sent into Snezhnayan territory to kill her. she could protect herself, but Scaramouche was feeling feverish for battle; he was one of the more unhinged and dangerous harbingers, she entrusted this task upon him. he never turned down a mission. plus, it’s your fault you’re even here. why are you here again!? he left you home in Inazuma days ago. also... who the hell was looking after your daughter if not you...?? when you caught up with him once he was well away from Liyue Harbor’s docks (so he couldn’t force you to get back onto the ship, smart) you told him you weren’t some housewife and you missed the thrill of adventure, so you snuck on the ship too. he wasn’t sure how you got on in the first place without alerting The Kanjobugyo (you’ve snuck out before, so he’s told them not to let you leave, though he assumed you used your former title of a Fatui to gain clearance) let’s just say he’s not happy you’re here, but he’s not turning back now, he’s determined to end this. in the end, he kills all the assassins (ofc). on your way back to Liyue Harbor, arguing about why you’re here (you’re losing), another assassin comes out of the shadows; intent on killing the both of you. he’d managed to grab the end of your hair in his fist and was going to slit your throat. Scaramouche will say, “don’t touch my wife, you insolent scum.” he doesn’t have a problem telling those who have a death wish of your intimate relationship, because they’ll die in the end anyway; therefore to him, it’d be like they never knew.

Zhongli: not many people know you’re his s/o anyways, so if he has something to do, especially dangerous you’re not coming along. he’ll make sure of that. on missions or something, he refuses to call you anything other than his s/o, but if he can’t/wants to keep it private he’ll call you by your name. if you’re facing off against someone, he’ll be like, “y/n, please watch out, I’ll handle this.” he never wants to put you in danger, and tbh even someone threatening who knows your name is a risk, but if they ever found out that you were not only his s/o but the s/o of an Archon? yeah, you’d be on a hit list just like him.

Accepts (he will do this and won’t ask any questions)

Diluc: sorry y’all, but once this is discussed in full and you agree, he’s going to accept it. this mission is important. it’s not often people travel into Inazuma, so he was very lucky his wine is sold there and that he has a popular, well-known name. shipments of his wine weren’t making it into the borders and he was to find the culprit behind it; someone was stealing obviously. you were to go along with a few other soldiers and when jean told him it would be safer to call you his maid and not his fiancé, he agreed. you wouldn’t be a target that way. if anyone wonders why he took his maid, he’ll just say, “she’s to travel everywhere with me.” don’t worry, after the missions over he’ll reassure you he doesn’t think of you as his maid, definitely not. he’ll apologize profusely. “please don’t think of yourself that way, you’re not my maid, I adore you very much, sweetheart.”

Xiao: he already doesn’t go around calling you his wife or telling just anyone, only the Archons know and the fallen Yaksha once knew (you’re one of the female Yaksha) so being talked into this wasn’t a big deal at all. before, he didn’t run around Liyue telling people about your relationship because you both enjoyed the privacy. but now, having to call you his fellow Yaksha who’s been working alongside him for centuries, kinda feels like he’s ignoring or not acknowledging you. sure, you do hold the same titles (Yaksha) and yes you’ve known eachother for centuries, but really, you’ve been together for centuries. if you’re not bothered, then he doesn’t mind. but if you are? he’s very apologetic and will repay you in some way. “you’re not a weakling, you have no reason to worry.” he needs to do this task, he’ll never turn away from the people and if you have to be known as your Yaksha title to him and others, so be it.

Chongyun: it’s not that he doesn’t want to call you his s/o. it’s just he’s a quiet guy and never has told anyone about your relationship; only Xingqiu knows. so he has no problem introducing you as his friend to absolute strangers, especially if you’re okay with it. if you’re not and tell him, he’ll be sure to never call you a friend again. he’s really looking out for your safety, people can be two-faced as he’s learned from Xingqiu’s fantasy books. he wants to protect and keep you safe, and if you need to be addressed as his friends a few times then that’s how it’s going to go.

Accepts (he’ll accept but he has so many questions on why and hates it)

Albedo: he will accept if there’s a logical reason. for example, if you absolutely need to come because you’re his assistant or something and can offer your expertise, he will accept. but if you have no need? you’re not coming, please stay home. the whole time, he hates this. yes, you’re his assistant irl, but you’re his s/o, not just an assistant. it makes him sick that he has to call you that tbh, even if it’s your occupation. but it’s necessary for a lot of reasons you two have already discussed. after the mission is complete, he’s never going to stop apologizing. “love, please do not take what I said to heart, you’re not just an assistant.”

Aether: he has to be talked into this a lot. once kaeya and jean tell him the seriousness and importance of seeing his sister again, especially after all they’ve discovered about her, he’ll agree. no matter how much he hates calling you his travel partner, he has to. his sister has turned to the dark side for whatever reason and this meeting already is risky enough. if she finds out you’re his girlfriend, who knows how she’ll react; she’s very unpredictable now, a little unhinged even. but it does hurt to have to call you that, let’s be real. he never wants to say or hear that ever again.

Bennett: he knows he’s quite unfortunate, so you going with him on expeditions is just stupid and you could face something awful due to his bad luck. you go either way though, what a good s/o :) he almost slips a few times, especially facing off against a few lowlife Fatui. but then you remind him of the dangers of doing that and you’re immediately just a friend/member of Benny's Adventure Team. pls, he hates this so much, like why can’t he call you what you are?!? he’s constantly like, “well why can’t I just say you’re my s/o already? they won’t harm you as long as I’m here!” ?!?!?!? HE JUST DID?!?!?!?!

2.25.21, rayofsunas

2K notes · View notes

liannelara-dracula · 3 years

Note

🥀😭 for Uta

Hi Love,

I will be including both.

-Jade

---------------

Prompt

---------------

How they make her cry + their reaction to doing it + comfort

Kaneki:

photo

It isn’t so much that you fight, or anything, it’s what he gets himself into. I mean he hardly yells anyways. But of course, it leads to you two, to fighting. And you know it’s serious when he’s mad. Now although it takes a while for him to grow upset being in a relationship with him still means you two will fight. I don’t think it’s what he says that hurts the most when you two argue but more or so his actions. When he’s mad at you or disagrees with you he will without saying anything, and he’ll be bitter about the whole thing. He also gives you the silent treatment.

“I didn’t bother to stick around if this is how you want us to be.” You’d say kinda annoyed.

He’d turn to look upset by your statement. “I never asked you to stick around, Y/n. You made the choice yourself. But you’re not being hundred percent honest with me so why should I?”

This made you upset for sure, “You know exactly why! And I know that I know that it was my decision to stay and it’s also my decision whether I choose to tell you about how I feel.” You’d raise your voice just a bit.

“So it’s just when it’s convenient for you?!” He’d arch a brow being ticked by such a response.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” You’d shake your head, angry.

“Then what?! What can’t you tell me?!”

Seeing he was yelling now, it made you react the same, “A lot of things--because there is so much I swore to tell no one! I—I can’t just open my heart up to you like some—little girl! Ken, we’re in a world where we’re at odds!” You’d explain, waving your hands around.

“If it weren’t for that stupid doctor, we wouldn’t have even collided and I wish that was the case right now!” He’d say clenching his jaw a little.

“What are you saying?” You’d ask, not liking where this fight was going.

“I’m saying I’m not in the mood for this back and forth with you anymore, Y/n!” He’d exclaim, looking extremely stressed.

You’d look at him with your eyes watery, “So that’s it, you’re just walking away?!”

“Yeah! Cause we don’t work!” He’d yell now shattering the brick walls you put up when you wanted to cry.

A tear slid down your cheek, “Leave then!”

Knowing he made you sad is a little surprising to him since you two hardly ever fight and so I don’t think he sees you cry, especially over a fight. But when he did he felt horrible tbh. I don’t think he likes seeing you mad but seeing you cry is another level like he crumbles.

He comforts you by bringing you flowers and by apologizing at your door.

Hide:

photo

Now you two don’t fight, it hardly happens. But I think it happens more often than Kaneki because Hide doesn’t always take things seriously so you can get upset when he just isn’t listening and understanding how he made you upset.

“Chasing after this investigation could get you killed.” You’d frown.

He’d shake his head disagreeing, “I’ve done this before, besides I won’t get caught.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.” You’d place your hand over his, worrying over him.

“It’s fine, besides I know what to do.” He’d say brushing you off.

“Then at least let me help you.”

“Babe, I’m fine.” He’d shake his head not wanting you to be involved.

This was surely the last straw for you before you spoke up, “You’re getting too involved!”

“Don’t be a drama queen.” He’d tease not taking you seriously.

You’d cross your arms, “Hide, I’m serious!”

“Babe-“

“No—there’s a limit to being involved.”

He’d raise his voice now, “Kaneki’s my friend and I’m not giving up on him!”

“You’re going to get killed because of this!” You’d argue.

“Stop getting in the way of it!”

“You’d really go on the line for that!?”

He’d grow annoyed by your selfishness, “What choice do I have?! It’s not like you care or understand!”

“Hide, we can talk about this!” You’d approach him not wanting to fight.

“There’s nothing to talk about!”

“There is plenty to talk about, you are obsessed with figuring this out when it’s basically impossible. A-and you don’t even listen to me! Y-you can’t even see what’s right in front of you right now because you’re so damn blind!” Now you were mad and not getting into a fight would seem impossible.

“Blind?! You’re the one telling me to give up on my friend!”

“I’m not telling you to give up. I just want you to be smart about things and realize you’re only human! You can’t help him like you think you can!”

“You wouldn’t understand!” He’d insist.

“Hide, you’re too upset to think straight--don’t go in this blindly! You could get hurt trying to save him!”

He’d be taking back by your focus and get angry, “Is that all you care about? What about what I want?”

“Maybe so! Because at this point Kaneki is a lost cause!”

“You’re selfish, Y/n. All you care about is yourself.” Though this was true in this moment you were tired of him telling you he’d stay with you when he’d risk his life. It was a tiring cycle you couldn’t continue.

“Selfish? Okay, and I suppose now you’re going to tell me I’m overreacting just like I always do right?” You’re eyes clouded with tears as you were about to explode from this.

“Y/n--”

You’d wipe the tears that slid down your cheeks, “N-no, you k-know what I--I don’t have to h-hear this. Besides, you just keep making b-broken promises to me . . . I mean it’s clear as day I don’t matter to you. I c-can’t believe I thought otherwise.”

He doesn’t believe he had this effect on you and knowing he did he hated how he wasn’t keeping his promises. And he seemed to feel guilty even if your request was a little selfish he understood why you felt the way he did. Hide needed to shape up of you mattered or he needed to let you go because you were becoming his last thought. How he’d make it up to you is by spending time with you and little you help him and he’d listen to you a little more.

Ayato:

photo

Gosh, he doesn’t have the best personality so fighting can happen between you two. Maybe a lot even. Now you two are polar opposites which leads you two to argue and disagree and it makes you want to change his mind. And let’s just say you’ve been trying to change him for the better but it is just making him mad. Overall you’ve been in his space in a way because you want to come to agreeing and making him a better person.

“Ayato.” You’d say walking faster to catch up behind him.

He was beyond upset and he kept ignoring you as he walked faster.

“Ayato, please. . .” He’d turn to you as you’d finally caught up to him and touched his arm.

“Talk to me.” You’d whisper, not wanting to fight.

He’d look away walking off again, “Tch, leave it Y/n.”

“Ayato, quit being so stubborn!” You’d stop, balling your hands into fists.

“I said enough, Y/n! . . .Just quit it with all this crap!”

“There is nothing wrong with caring or being good to someone.”

“Maybe you’re forgetting something Y/n I’m a ghoul—a monster! Kindness is weakness!”

“You are not a monster! Because if that is the case I am not different! And you are not a m-monster—yes we’re ghouls and we can’t change that! But I don’t want you to hold grudges and be angry at the world and your father Ayato! I don’t want to see you like that—love doesn’t make you weak.”

“Don’t you dare bring my father up!”

“Ayato—“

“He was a weakling I will never forgive and I’m a monster because I am a ghoul! If you think I’m just going to deal with things how you want, then too bad.”

“All I’m asking is that you try! But you never once listen to me, do you?! Hatred is that the only thing you’ve ever come to known?! . . .Ayato, if there’s one thing I know it’s that love is not a weakness our relationship is—“

“This relationship is bullshit Y/n! You’re mending it without me in it. You just change everything and expect me to follow because what? You want me to be a good man!? Well, I’m not and I never will be!”

“If you really think that t-then you s-should’ve just said so.” You’d say coldly a few tears running down your cheeks.

He’d seemed regretful, “Y/n.”

“Don’t, please. Just leave!”

Ayato knew girls typically cry but seeing you cry after what he said shattered him, he was touched and he hated himself in that moment. He’d make it up to you after coming back one night he wouldn’t say anything but you knew he wanted to apologize and he ends up staying with you and just through time you start to talk because he is being kind to you. It’s just small things.

Yomo:

photo

He’s quiet, so getting into a fight with him? Yikes! This is bad but also really important.

“I can take care of myself, Yomo. I don’t need you to protect me. I can handle myself just fine.”

“You and I both know you can’t.”

“I can. I’m sick of you always looking after me. I’m your girlfriend, not a child.”

“Y/n, I know that but it’s better this way.”

“Ren, I’m fine.”

“Y/n please.”

“What? Why do you always make up the rules?”

“Because it isn’t safe!”

There was a moment of silence between you both.

“I—I didn’t. I don’t want you to end up like my sister did, okay?!”

“I’m not her! You can’t be so set on the past.”

“Y/n I’m not risking this again!”

“Ren-”

“It’s dangerous!”

“Everywhere we go is dangerous! There is no place for us! And you just want to keep me in the dark?!”

“I’m trying to protect you!”

“I don’t want to be protected! I want us to have a life, a relationship!”

“Y/n—we”

“Why do you do this to yourself? You push yourself over the edge for me and you make it so hard to love when it’s not!”

“Y/n-“

“No. . . No i-it shouldn’t be this hard.” You’d say a tear running down your cheek.

He’d wipe your tears away and would be mad at the situation. He wanted to make you happy and safe and instead, he made you cry.

Uta:

photo

You two bicker but that’s fun and games. What’s not fun is seeing Uta’s true colors and being in a problematic relationship that functions on nothing but a rollercoaster of emotions. And most of the fights are always about him lying and hurt you in some way. He may care for you but somehow you two are always fighting for your love and it honestly feels like it may kill you one day. He’s put you through hell when you guys argue and it’s the worst.

You whimper a little as you continued to sob as you stepped out from his mask shop.

“Y/n.” You ignored him and continued to walk off.

“Just leave me alone Uta.” You’d say sniffling as tears continued to pour.

“Y/n, listen to me.” He said grabbing your wrist.

“Stay away from me!” You’d scream.

“Damn it Y/n, just listen to me!” He’d shout making you gasp as more tears fell from your lashes.

“What?! What can you say that would change a-any of this!?”

“I didn’t do this to hurt you!”

“Y-you lied!. . . “ You shook your head, tears falling down your lashes.

Taking a breath you continued, “You lied about the c-clowns, y-you’re a part of!—-y-you lead the clowns!” You hiccup feeling betrayed.

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you!”

Your eyes red and filled with more tears, “Y-you’ve been lying to me this w-whole time.”

“It was to protect you!” He argued.

“Uta--You k-killed those people, for no reason—for what, a show? To make s-some grand entrance!?” You stammered wiping the tears that kept falling.

“I’m a ghoul, Y/n! . . . And so are you. That’s my life! I make bad decisions all the time because I don’t care! So why is it so important for you to keep me in check?!” He exclaimed, angry at the way you tried to see the good in him.

“I know what we are . . . but sometimes I wish you didn’t always have to act like one! Just because we’re monsters by nature doesn’t mean we have to live by that.” You’d yell turning away from him only to sob more.

“Maybe that’s what you wanna do, but someone like me can’t.”

“You don’t have to be this way--no one told you to be. How is this relationship supposed to stand if I’m going in one direction and you’re going in the opposite?! Don’t you care at all?! About yourself? About me? About anything?” You looked at him with widened eyes as you couldn’t believe him.

“I don’t care what you think of me anymore, Y/n.” He turned walking away from you knowing you two were too different and can’t work this out.

He hated seeing you this way. Uta didn’t want you to cry or be sad—he never wanted to hurt you and he did. After some time, he would probably make it up to you because he reflected and he changed and you decided you could give him another chance.

Furuta:

photo

Ladies, I’m gonna come clean and just say it, he’s abusive. Seriously, watch yourself. Like I don’t see his relationship as something good, it’s always toxic. Now, this fight was probably just general about jealousy. He was possessive and he didn’t like it if you had a male friend let’s just say.

“Furuta, what’s wrong?” You frown touching his shoulder seeing he was upset and ignored you.

“You were talking to him.” He stated still ignoring you.

“So?” You questioned.

“Which means you weren’t being faithful to me.” He pointed out.

This hurt to hear. “Faithful, Furuta I’ve been more than faithful. I care about you.”

“Prove it to me.” He stated bitterly.

“P-prove it, but Furuta I have already done that. Besides, I just know the guy but I don’t like him or anything.” You clarified.

He turned away to fix something on the desk. “That’s not what he feels.”

“But that doesn’t matter. I only like you.” You say approaching him.

He turned to you, his eyes and cold. “You say that, but it doesn’t appear that way. You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Then why did you let him touch you!?” He glared.

“He didn’t many anything by it he just brush his hand against me!”

“How many more times are you going to lie to me Y/n?!” Furuta only seem to get even more upset.

“Furuta please, I’m not lying.” You backed a few inches away from him.

He continued cornering you. “What is he to you huh?! What am I to you!”

“He’s nothing, you’re my boyfriend!”

Titling his had he asked, “Am I really, it doesn’t seem that way to me?”

“Please Furuta, I don’t wanna hurt you and I never would.” You shake your head your eyes widening.

“That’s bullshit!” He seethed, grabbing a fist full of your hair.

“Ahh! Stop please!---A-ahh please!” You screamed, tears brimming your eyes at the pain you felt.

He inched closer to your face yelling and demanding for an anwser, “Tell me the truth, are you or were you ever sleeping with him?!”

He continued to tug on your hair making you lose balance and crouch down crying, “Ahh--Furuta please! You’re hurting me!”

“Tell me!” He demanded.

You shook your head, “No! No! I never did! The only person I like---I want is y-you, please!”

“Please stop, stop this right n-now. P-please I’m begging you.” You continued.

“Oh you poor thing.” He cooed, his grip loosens a bit seeing you cry.

“S-stop. P-please make it s-stop.” You sobbed into your frail hands.

He crouched down to your level, his expression changing as he’d comfort you. “Shhhh, don’t cry angel I’m not mad at you.”

It was madness and he made you confused in this toxic relationship. “But you said—“

“Shhh, everything is fine. You’re okay, you don’t have to cry.” He frowns bringing you into his embrace as if to cradle you from the thing which made you cry.

“Please. . . l-let me g-go, F-Furuta. ”

“Shhh, why don’t you fall asleep sweetheart?” He rocks you back and forth trying to making you calm down.

“No P-p-please.” You shook your head crying, not wanting to do this any longer.

Overall, you probably didn’t end up talking to him. But if you did you’d just be stuck in some toxic relationship.

Takizawa (ghoul):

photo

You two don’t fight much because you try to let things go. But then too much tension builds up and then you both explode. Your fights are always serious and they hurt a lot and they both are emotionally driven. He may be crying in the moment or after because he doesn’t want to hurt you—he Ioves you.

“Hey you know we can talk about whatever’s on your mind.” He says sitting next to you on the bed.

“It’s okay Taki, I’m fine.” You say getting up as he did the same.

“Y/n, why do you push me away?”

“Taki, I don’t want to talk about this right now, please.” You raise your hands feeling a little annoyed.

“Y/n. Please just tell me—if it’s something I did.”

“I said I was fine.” You sounded bitter but couldn't help yourself.

“Y/n-”

“No.”

“Why can’t you ever let something be about you?”

“Why do you care!?” You turned to him now growing upset.

“Because you’re so much better than what you believe! You taught me that yourself and yet you don’t see that!” It's true you made him not be as brash as he was--you were his anchor.

“People like you are not me, Taki that’s the difference! I’m not like you or others! There’s too much that I can’t—-I don’t even—-I’m a mess that can’t be fixed which means you should be with someone who’s pretty and not some used up girl!” You shout.

“Y/n you have so much more than that.” He disagreed shaking his head, he seemed hurt knowing you didn't value yourself.

“There’s nothing here for me anymore! Stop saying that I can change or you can change me. Stop saying I matter or value to you! I’m not worth it!”

“Why can’t you believe anything I say?! Is it that hard to take a compliment?!” He yelled.

“Because no man is ever sincere! The only compliments I’ve ever had are about my body! How do you think that feels?!—To be s-sexualized?! To people, I have no p-personality, I’m just . . . an object that guys think they can use. I’m a c-chewed-up piece of gum and so when I hear from your mouth, the words, ‘you’re pretty or ‘you’re b-beautiful’ a-all I can think about i-is h-how I’m n-not.” You shake your head, tears falling down.

“Others may think that but I don’t, Y/n I love you.” He confessed.

“No, no you don’t—-Y-you’re just confused.” You shook your head wiping your tears.

“Damn it y/n! You just never want to believe you’re good enough! You matter to me okay! I value you! And I couldn’t imagine not meeting you! You were the only girl who bothered with me—why are you this hard on yourself?!”

“Because I’m not what you need! And I can’t love--I’ve never--I don’t. I can’t. I don’t love, I don’t let people in--because I’m so afraid that one d-day you’ll disappear or that y-you’ll leave because everyone I love gets hurt. And I d-don’t what that to h-happen.”

“Y/n-”

“No-no I c-can’t.” You wave your hands in front of him still crying.

“Hey, hey it’s okay.” He comforted bringing you in an embrace.

You accept his hug and look up at him, “Everything feels like my fault and I just, everything--Everything is because of m-me!”

He'd say stroking your hair and making you relax. “No, no, that’s not true, Y/n.” He’d say embracing you. His hug was the best thing you probably haven’t felt in forever.

He never wanted to hurt anyone and most certainly not make you cry. He felt horrible and couldn’t live with himself seeing you that way.

#tokyo ghoul headcanons #tokyo ghoul #anime #anime headcanons #tokyo ghoul hcs #tokyo ghoul kaneki #tokyo ghoul uta #tokyo ghoul ayato #tokyo ghoul hide #tokyo ghoul yomo #tokyo ghoul furuta #tokyo ghoul takizawa #ken kaneki #ayato kirishima #hide nagachika #renji yomo #furuta washuu #furuta nimura #seidou takizawa

110 notes · View notes

arhvste · 4 years

Note

dad hcs with your top 3 HQ boys? 😚

my top 3 haikyuu boys? #exciting 😌

KUROO, IWAIZUMI AND ATSUMU AS DADS

KUROO

he’s always wanted 3-4

growing up the only child in the household with his grandparents and father got a little lonely when he wasn’t with kenma

so you, y/n his wonderful and beautiful wife, fill his world with much more joy by bearing his children

you have 3 so far and phew good luck

two boys and a girl

kuroo has already started teaching your kids his trademark catchphrases

to your despair your youngest son’s first words had been “oya oya”

your face dropped while kuroos hyena laugh roared through the house

“wHY WOULD YOU TEACH HIM THAT”

“because bokuto dared me??”

for the first few weeks all you can hear is little mutters and screeches of “oya oya” and it’s driving you ✨insane✨

kuroo is however good with kids

and he will put a stop to it by giving your kid a pacifier to keep quiet

kuroo would love if his kids took an interest in volleyball

but he won’t force it on them

he’ll support whatever they want to do

your kid wants to try ballet? kuroo will buy several pairs of specially made shoes

art? kuroo is more than happy to hire a whole studio for the day

swimming? he’ll have a pool installed in your house

material arts? kuroo will find a ninja to train your kid

he wants to be the best dad he possibly can for his kids

i’m not saying he plays favourites but he does have a soft spot for his little girl

he will absolutely try and encourage her that boys are the worst and she shouldn’t date them until they get his seal of approval

he has a ridiculously high standard for the type of boy your daughter can date

you could be a high achieving graduate, astronaut in training, saved 36 old ladies on the street and a candidate for president

and kuroo would still be like

“is that it? 🙄”

good luck to your daughter then

he is there for every event

his whole schedule will be made around any birthdays, graduations, shows etc

he will make sure of it

he doesn’t care if he’s scheduled a meeting with the highest world leader

if that meeting falls on the same day as his kids sports game he will not be sat in an office chair but rather in the crowd cheering his kid on alongside you

he wants to give his kids the best in life but he also doesn’t want to completely spoil them

he was raised pretty normally so you and him agreed you should try to at least do the same

however when uncle kenma or uncle yaku babysits his kids 👀

“dad uncle kenma bought me a new pc!”

“uncle yaku bought me a pony!”

that’s it

kuroo will spoil tf out of your kids from time to time just to one up his friends

overall he is such a doting dad

yourself and the kids mean the absolute world to him

and he appreciates you to no end for bringing them into this world

together the two raise such humorous, perceptive and successful children

and he couldn’t be more proud of his family

IWAIZUMI

years of practically babysitting oikawa have prepared him for this

he has the patience levels built up

he is also extremely responsible and level headed

the two of you have 1 son who is 4 years old

the toddler has iwaizumi wrapped around his little finger

iwa denies this though

whenever your son misbehaves or makes a mistake (which is rare btw) iwa is looking down at him sternly

“s/n, you know better than this”

but all it takes it one pout and iwaizumi is all soft again and swoops your son into his arms

lmao i just know he’ll teach your son to insult oikawa

“say trash-y-ka-wa! that’s my boy!”

“iwa-chan stop teaching your baby to bully me i can’t even handle it from you alone 😩”

sometimes iwaizumi takes your son to work if you’re feeling particularly tired or have somewhere else to be

he definitely will wear on of those baby carrier harnesses

that’s kinda hot tbh

bokuto and hinata are all over your kid while iwaizumi is trying to train team japan

while he manages to get both players back over he notices his son is missing from the portable baby chair he brought with him

“omi omiiiiii look! baby germs!”

atsumu is running around with your son securely in his arms while sakusa is SPRINTING away from the blonde shouting profanities at him

needless to say, iwaizumi tries not to bring his kid along whenever serious training needs to be done

he will bring him to more laid back sessions though

iwaizumi is THE responsible dad of the year

he cooks, he cleans and he knows how to handle your son

by now your son has started to develop into his personality more

being around his calm and level headed dad has really rubbed off on him

he doesn't get too overexcited and knows how to behave well

there is something that bothers iwaizumi about your son though

his first words

“iwa-chan~”

iwaizumi’s face dropped when the familiar phrase left his sons mouth

“shittykawa i will FLY over to argentina to personally beat you up”

“it’s not MY fault s/n likes hanging out with his uncle tooru 😗”

oikawa is a doting uncle too

whenever he can he visits your family and spends time getting to know your kid

the nickname ‘trashykawa’ did happen to stick though

iwaizumi considered it fair now that your son called his best friend after the nickname he taught him

another dad who would like if his son took up volleyball, but won't force it

your kid does actually pick it up though

and he’s damn good at it

not to be clichè but he will like the position of ace the best

this is to your husband and bokuto’s delight

iwaizumi will be there for every game and will absolutely let him come to work with him more often as he gets older so he can watch pros up close

maybe one day your kid will end up on the very team his father trains

and he’ll be there alongside you cheering him on

ATSUMU

atsumu is blessed with the gift of twin daughters

hey, twins are in his genes it was bound to happen somewhere down the line

his girls are the most precious beings to him

other than you obv

to him, you are his heart, soul and everything inbetween

he treats his girls like princesses

like kuroo, boys are off the table

“oi if ya think you’re bringin boys home you can think again!”

“baby, it’s only their first day of preschool please calm down 😀”

unless these boys can beat him at setting, they’re not allowed within a 48 mile radius of your daughters

he will defo want you to bring them to his games

put them in personalised jerseys and he will be showing them off to his team and the crowd

every point he scores he’s pointing at you and your girls

“THAT ONE WAS FOR YOU MY PRINCESSES!”

when his team wins he will absolutely bring the three of you out onto the court and pull you all in for a tight hug and shower you all with affection for the world to see

your kids take a liking to sakusa believe it or not

they find his presence interesting in comparison to the other msby players

lmao sakusa will show your girls his flexible wrist trick and they’ll giggle in excitement

“uncle omi is so cool!”

hang on a minute

‘UNCLE’ omi???

atsumu is in shock

“how come’s ya nice to em and not to me omi omi?”

“they take after y/n more than you. they're not annoying and gross like you that’s why”

as he’s apart of the dedicated dad society, atsumu will make sure he’s there for every event he can too

if his games fall on the same day as an event with your daughters you can bet ur ass he is there as soon as his game is over

celebratory drinks with the team? not on his watch when his daughter has a dance recital

any moments he misses when he's playing an away match or can’t get out of training he asks you to record so he can watch it back multiple times later

probably cries when he watches your daughter win her sports match or perform in a dance show

his camera roll is FULL of pictures of you and your daughters

insists on posting them all so he can show the world what a beautiful and loving family he has

uncle osamu makes sure he tells your daughters embarrassing stories about their dad

“and then your dad turned around and told the girls to stop squealin like pigs when they were only showin their support”

“wth dad that's so rude 😠”

“thEY MESSED UP MY SERVE SAMU SHUT UP”

your family is raised super close

atsumu always knew he wanted both of your families involved with his daughters upbringing so he makes sure everyone is included and the two girls are familiar with their whole family

it’s important to him that they’re familiar with his volleyball family too

he loves the fact they're so comfortable and familiar with his teammates

uncle bokuto and uncle hinata are a hit with the twin girls

but its uncle omi who takes the crown for favourite

there is never a dull moment in the miya family

and atsumu couldn’t ask for better people to be involved with his daughters upbringing

requests are open!!

624 notes · View notes

florrickandassociates · 3 years

Text

TGF Thoughts: 5x10-- And the violence spread.

So, that’s it for season five. I’m still trying to sort out how I feel about the season as a whole and Wackner’s arc. I’m hopeful that writing this will help me decide.

This episode has a Previously, and it’s rather conventional. I’m guessing it’s here to bookend the season, with conveying information being only a secondary objective.

Did we see Rivi scream, “You’re done, Wacko, you’re done! Canceled! Canceled!” in the last episode or is that new to this previously? I feel like I absolutely would’ve had things to say about a) Wackner being called “Wacko,” which has been RIGHT THERE this whole time, and b) the use of “Canceled,” which is a thing Rivi would never say but is VERY thematic (you know, cancel culture and also Wackner having a TV show and also this being a TV show that’s wrapping up* Wackner’s arc).

* The way things end this episode, I’d say we’re done with Wackner. The Kings have said they aren’t sure about the plan for season six, so never say never, but I think that if we see Wackner again, it will be as part of a different arc.

I went back to 5x09 and while we do see the same shots of Rivi screaming, whatever he’s saying in 5x09 is in Spanish. So either he was saying this in Spanish or the dialogue here is totally new.

I’m a little sad that I knew in advance Robert King had directed this episode, because I want to know how long it would’ve taken me to guess. I’d like to think this first shot, of Diane flopping down on her bed in a very pretty floral print dress, then Kurt flopping down in the opposite direction, would’ve given it away. We usually don’t get shots that are both striking and kinda balanced unless RK’s directing.

This also has some big season three opener vibes—the scene where Diane turns to Kurt and says, “I’m happy,” thus jinxing the entire season.

Diane and Kurt are about to go on vacation, which means, of course, that Diane and Kurt are definitely not about to go on vacation. I’ve watched 12 seasons of this show; I know all the tricks!

If I didn’t get it from the initial staging of the opening shot, the camera panning to Diane and Kurt’s suitcases and then back would’ve been another clue that RK directed. He ALWAYS has the camera in motion.

I love that Diane’s travel outfit is a dress you could wear to a fancy party and a statement necklace. Of course it is.

And if I needed evidence that RK and MK wrote this episode (which I didn’t; it is a finale so I knew they wrote it), Diane quoting Waiting for Godot is a clue there.

I really should read Waiting for Godot, shouldn’t I?

“Wow. Educated and a good lay,” Kurt responds. I know that the political stuff between Diane and Kurt can get more than a little murky, but banter like this reminds me why they stay together and why politics never drive them apart. Also, it’s really nice to see Diane and Kurt have some fun banter that isn’t about politics.

And Diane making kissing noises and asking Kurt to meet her halfway! This just feels like I’m spying on someone’s private life and I love it. Not in a voyeuristic way, since this is actually a little uncomfortably private, but in a, “ah, yes, these do feel like real people” way. This is the kind of “a little goes a long way” character moment I always want more of, and Kings episodes ALWAYS include stuff like this.

And there it is. The phone rings as Diane and Kurt are about to start out for the airport. Diane thinks the call must be for Kurt, but it’s for her. It’s a very flustered Liz, informing her that STR Laurie’s execs are on their way to the office for a surprise visit.

If the Diane/Kurt scene didn’t tell me that Robert King directed, I almost certainly would’ve gotten it from the sudden cut to Liz, walking through the hallways and doing a million things at once with a ton of background noise. No one loves chaos the way Robert King loves chaos.

This episode STRONGLY reminds me of the Wife season five finale. It is equally chaotic and also spins a ton of plates. But, mostly, the similarity I see between the two episodes is that they are both extremely fun and captivating to watch because of how much momentum they have, but everything just feels slightly hollow and not exactly focused on the thing you want to see.

(Shout out to my friend Ryan, who messaged me the 5x22 comparison before I could message it to him!)

I decided I should rewatch the first few minutes of 5x22. I am now 15 minutes into 5x22 of Wife and 2 minutes into 5x10 of Fight. Oops.

Apparently, STR Laurie planned a surprise visit because they heard RL was dysfunctional. You don’t say!

I felt like 5x09 concluded with STR Laurie being won over by Allegra and the RL team, so this is a bit of a surprising place to start the episode. But, since Diane seems surprised too, I’ll allow it.

Now Liz and Diane have 90 minutes to agree on a financial plan! Kurt’s on the phone with the airline before Diane even hangs up with Liz.

Diane is determined not to lose out on her vacation and asks Kurt to change the flight to 8:00. “Kurt, we are going on this vacation if it kills me!” is a line I would worry was foreshadowing on basically any other show.

The RL/STRL PowerPoint template is pretty ugly. They want to call 2021 their best year yet, thanks to the deal between Rivi and Plum Meadow Farms we saw last week. Even though we saw champagne and signatures, the deal isn’t done yet because Plum Meadow can back out if Rivi goes to jail.

RK also loves close-ups more than any other director on the show; I do not love close-ups.

The Plum Meadow deal is such a big deal that for the quarter, they go from $45 million to $5 million without it. They should just not say numbers. I can believe it’s big enough to take them from a modest profit to being behind projections or whatever, but I can’t believe that they have $5 million in other business and $40 million on this one deal.

It seems that Rivi was arrested. I don’t think it is ever said in this episode why. I assume the arrest relates to his behavior in Wackner’s court, since there were police officers there, and I suppose that Rivi is a big enough deal the police would actually take him to real court, but are we not going to address the weirdness of Rivi being arrested in a fake court where his employees are being tried, then taken to a real court by the same people who just an episode ago were disillusioned with real court? This seems like a plot point.

Carmen on a frantic phone call in the backseat of a car feels very 7x22.

Who is James that Carmen has in her contacts!? And why does everyone always put Liz in their contacts as “Elizabeth Reddick” when everyone calls her Liz?

Carmen calls Marissa to go argue in Vinetta’s court since she’s on Rivi duty. Carmen doesn’t take Marissa’s job in Wackner’s court seriously and then notes that this instruction is coming straight from Liz, so Marissa falls in line.

Wackner’s case of the week is about rural Illinois wanting to form its own state separate from Chicago. There’s a farmer who feels like his tax money is only going to the big city and he wants it to stay in his community.

They’ve just now added stage lighting to the set of Wackner Rules, dunno why they wouldn’t have done that earlier!

I don’t know what standing you’d have to have to bring a case about wanting to divide the state in two to court, or if this is even something a court would or should decide, but, sure, Wackner and Cord, go for it. There are no rules!

This map splitting Illinois into two new states that Cord is holding is a dumb prop because Galena, where this farmer is from, is in the same section as Chicago. Do I pause every reference to Chicago on this show and then google information to see if the writers bothered to look it up or pretend they’ve ever set foot in Chicago? You know I do.

“Secession!” the audience screams. Does the audience of Wackner Rules really want to see this?

A Good Fight Short! And it really is short: “Stop this obsession with secession and breaking up the Union. It’s boring and it’s dumb, end of song.” I feel like that’s the thesis statement for this episode, or one of them (that this episode seems to have about ten thesis statements is kind of my problem with this episode, tbh). This episode is very much about danger of things becoming too fractured—the COTW, the copycat courts, the firm drama—and I feel like the writers come around to just saying no, this is enough, we need structure and consistency.

But more on that later. MUCH more on that later.

Marissa is swearing more because “the world has required it.” She notes this to Wackner as she calls him out on the secession case. Cord barges in.

Take a look at the employee of the month poster on the back of the door at 5:39. Then at 5:40, look at what’s in the box just to the right of the center of the screen: it’s an employee of the month poster with Wackner on it! Cute easter egg. (Would Marissa definitely notice this and have questions? Yes. Is this here as a cute easter egg for eagle-eyed fans? Almost certainly.)

“Insane is just one step away from reality if you get people to believe, and you know what makes people believe? TV.” Cord explains when Marissa asks how they can possibly be litigating this case. That’s thesis statements two and three, folks. The first is that if you get people to believe, then anything is possible, which sounds like a tagline for a Disney movie but is actually super dangerous; the second is that reality TV is a way to persuade people and change opinions.

So we’ve got: (1) Factions are bad. (2) People are persuadable and the rules don’t actually matter. (3) Reality TV changes minds. Let’s see if there are more.

(Yes, these theses do kind of add up to a whole—The rules don’t matter, so if you persuade people, through reality tv, you get factions of people believing their own sets of rules and facts—but what I'm interested in tracking throughout this episode is how well the writers actually bring these theses together.)

(And this is setting aside that key themes in previous episodes, that I think many of us were looking for resolution on, included outlining the flaws with the extant “real” justice system and exploring the role of prison in the justice system. From this episode, I don’t think the writers ever intended to really tackle either of those issues. That’s fine—I'm not sure that TGF has something to say about prison abolition and I don’t want a thought experiment where the writers actually try to fix the legal system—but feels a bit disjointed. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but 5x08 and 5x09 needed to do a better, clearer job of setting up this finale. The key themes of Wackner’s arc were always present, but they needed to slowly narrow the scope so the resolution felt inevitable and clear. Instead, we spent time on things like parking spaces (when we could’ve had a real plot about how Wackner’s court gains legitimacy through violence, incarceration, and playing on people’s frustration with the real systems) and Del’s focus groups (when we could’ve instead done a plot about Wackner gaining fans who wanted to use his methods to do ill). Everything I just mentioned in the parentheticals is in the show! It’s not subtext! We see it all! We see Cord use violence and prisons to enforce Wackner’s rulings; we see the cops turn to Wackner out of frustration; we see that the people drawn to Wackner Rules and to Wackner’s court are increasingly sounding more and more like right-wing populists! I can’t be too hard on this arc because, again, all these ideas are there. I’m not coming up with them on my own!)

I’m just saying: this ending would’ve been a lot clearer and a lot more interesting had the writers focused on what I mentioned above instead of the distractions of the last two episodes.

Whew, that was a ramble. Hope you’re ready for more rambles.

On a similar note, I’d like to reiterate my problems with how the writers used Marissa after the private prison reveal. I don’t have much more to say than what I wrote last week, but it’s another example of the same problem. Marissa objecting to Wackner’s court because she notices what it’s becoming and how Cord plans to use it for political gain (two Illinoises (??) changes the Senate and the Electoral College...) always was going to be part of the endgame. Marissa only seriously objecting after the fourth or fifth line Wackner crosses feels bizarre.

Cord does NOT like that there is another court, and wants to protect Wackner’s IP. Wackner, as we saw last episode, does not feel threatened by the other court. In fact, he seems to be excited by it.

I love Liz questioning Diane’s outfit like it’s unprofessional. It’s a little low-cut and showy, but I don’t think unprofessional is the word I’d use for it.

Now they have 45 minutes to decide The Future Of The Firm and Diane wants to be considered a name partner. Oh, that debate is still raging?! Every time I think it’s done it comes back, which should probably be a sign to Diane that her options are to leave and start something new, jettison Madeline and the others, or step down. Staying on as name partner and calling it a black firm is just not an option.

“Diane, there is a split in the firm that...” Liz starts, before asking some associates to leave the room. Ha! The reveal Liz and Diane aren’t alone is a pretty fun touch.

“The Black equity partners don’t want to be in your work group,” Liz informs Diane. “Because they think they’ll be punished by this firm?” Diane asks. “No, that’s paranoia. We don’t punish here,” Liz responds. “Of course you do. My fracking client. My union client. The Black lawyers who work on those cases—they're considered traitors” Diane says. “Because those CEOs are racists,” Liz counters.

Lots going on here, and I’m not sure I understand it all. Why would the equity partners—who are partners—feel like they’re being punished by being in Diane’s work group? (And also what does a “work group” mean and why haven’t they talked about it in the past?) When Diane starts talking about the lawyers who staff her clients, she’s not talking about equity partners; she is talking about associates.

And people are giving associates shit for working on Diane’s clients whom they happen to be staffed on!? That’s sad, though believable.

“So what do we do? Only bring in clients who can pass the racial smell test?” Diane asks. I mean, actually, yes. IF the goal is to be a black firm and to have that designation mean something in moral terms rather than marketing terms, then yes.

“It’s okay if you’re a drug kingpin like Rivi, but it’s not okay if you want me as lead attorney?” Diane says. Also, yes. Diane makes good points here.

“Diane, this is not about you,” Liz counters. Um, sure, but it has to be about something, Liz. Unless you’re trying to build a firm you don’t control that makes 88% of its revenue from a drug dealer (40 million out of 45 million this quarter = 88%; I told you they shouldn’t give me numbers) but happens to have black people in charge, you have to grapple with this question. I don’t think anyone who’s fighting for the firm to be a black-led (not owned, bc STRL) business is the type of person who thinks that having a black-led firm that does all the same shit as any other firm is in itself a good thing, so you NEED to address your client list. Madeline is anti-Rivi, anti-Cord, anti-Wolfe-Coleman (the rapist guy), pro-social justice, and pro having a black led firm.

“I mean, why... why do white people personalize this?” Liz asks. “Oh, now I’m just a white person?” Diane responds. I... don’t know what to do with this! Liz is right that Diane is taking this personally; Diane is right that Liz needs to deal with the rest of the client list. But no one is saying the things that REALLY need to be said: That all their decisions are meaningless in the shadow of STRL, and that deciding to be a black led firm isn’t the end of the discussion if they haven’t decided what types of clients they want to have.

“What happened, Liz? Last year we were intent on an all-female-run law firm,” Diane starts. Oh, THIS AGAIN! Diane never learns, does she? She never seems to realize that no one she’s approached with this idea is NEARLY as in love with it as she is. She probably still wonders to herself why Alicia—who partnered with her at the end of season seven basically just because it was the easiest, most frictionless thing to do—didn't seem more committed to their firm.

“Diane, there is history here that we are trying to...” Liz says, but Diane cuts in to note that women (women like Diane Lockhart!) have history too! In fact, she’s spent “35 years fighting gender discrimination to get to this position.” “And we have spent 400 years fighting racial discrimination to try and, you know...” Liz starts, before cutting herself off to get back to the ticking clock.

Sigh. Just talk about the actual thing instead of talking around the thing, guys. Diane is obviously deserving of A name partnership, in the abstract. This is an undeniable fact. And while Diane is definitely making this about herself rather than the big picture, I don’t think Liz trying to trump Diane’s 35 year career with the history of black people is going to win her any arguments? Like, just say what you mean and say it clearly. What Liz, I think, wants to express is that Diane’s individual accomplishments aren’t the issue here and everyone thinks she’s deserving (though Liz suggested Diane was not deserving a few episodes ago, which I didn’t understand then and don’t understand now). The problem is that Diane is trying to fight a battle that’s about something much larger than herself with, “but I'm a good lawyer!”

And that’s KIND OF what Liz is saying here, if I add all her sentences up and read between the lines, but, again, why not just say it?

“Alright, now we have 43 minutes to fix race relations, gender relations. STR Laurie’s gonna fire our asses, and you know it,” Liz says. I am curious what that would look like. Wouldn’t that just mean that STRL wouldn’t control them anymore? I’m sure being fired would be bad and all, but wouldn’t it free them from the contract they wanted out of last year?

“Let’s split the firm down the middle. I hire half the lawyers, you hire the other half,” Diane suggests. What does this mean? Why are you hiring your employees? Huh?

“You hire the white associates, and I hire the black associates?” Liz confirms. This seems like a very bad idea that would make things a lot worse and open them up to lawsuits! I also still do not know what they’re even talking about. And I don’t know why Allegra isn’t a part of this conversation.

“I’m not saying it’s good. I’m just saying it’s what we’re left with. It's what we can agree on,” Diane says. I really wish I understood what “hire” meant in this context because I don’t understand why they have to split anything or why this has to be done now and I don’t understand why this would possibly be a good solution. Can you imagine the backlash when people realize all the white people report to Diane and all the black people to Liz and that people were taken off of the accounts they’ve worked on for years to accomplish this? And this must be something that the employees would know about eventually; otherwise they could just randomly assign half to Liz and half to Diane.

I’m sad Madeline isn’t in this episode because I feel like we needed to see more of her POV as well as the associate POV. I don’t really understand the divides at play within the firm or what the staff and other partners are asking for, but I suspect it isn’t this.

Hallucination Jesus is back, and at least there’s actually a point to him this time (he shows up when Jay is in Vinetta’s court and reminds Jay that Vinetta will rule based on her religious beliefs). I still dislike the hallucinations.

Jay advises Marissa, who is Jewish, to talk a lot about Jesus in her defense.

Charmaine Bingwa is really great as Carmen, and obviously she is not fluent in Spanish, but it’s so funny to me that the only time you can hear that she’s Australian is when she’s trying to say Oscar like she’s speaking Spanish.

"I know you’re hiding something when you speak English,” Rivi says to Carmen. Heh.

“Community court” is such a nice, unthreatening term for referring to Wackner and his copy cats. Thanks for that, Carmen!

It’s a smart plan to mention Jesus a lot, I guess, but Jay and Marissa both should’ve realized that Vinetta is too smart to tolerate obvious pandering. I’m a little surprised Jay doesn’t get up and argue since Marissa is, obviously, not familiar with the New Testament.

Marissa wins this round with facts and logic.

Why is the judge who was handling Rivi’s previous charge now in bond court? Make it make sense.

I like that Carmen calls out the ASA for swearing hahaha

Why... would this Matteo kid just casually mention he was holding a gun, omg.

In Vinetta’s court, you can be charged with murder and tried because... you had a gun and also there were murders at other times. Coolcoolcool no problems here.

Community courts for civil cases? Sure. That’s basically arbitration. Community courts for criminal cases? Bad, bad, bad idea.

Vinetta’s reasoning: “Those murders happened on our street, and the police haven’t convicted anyone because they don’t care. We care. This is self-defense. And how is it different from your court?” Aside from the whole imprisoning people in her basement thing, Vinetta’s not wrong. I almost brought this up last week but hesitated because I couldn’t remember the details enough to decide if I wanted to recommend it, but there’s a book I read a few years ago that seems relevant here: Ghettoside by Jill Leovy. Again, been a while so don’t take this as a wholehearted endorsement or anything, but from what I remember, the central issue at the heart of the book (it’s non-fiction) is that a poor black community (I think in LA?) doesn’t trust the police (in part) because the police don’t solve murders, and then with no way of getting justice through the court system, there’s more violence as a stand-in for justice. https://www.vox.com/2016/8/26/12631962/ghettoside-jill-leovy-black-crime

I’m not sure if that’s QUITE what Vinetta is saying but it seems similar, and it’s a decent point (though not a justification for her court). Why should she trust the system to improve her community when it’s ignored her community for years?

I like that the writers chose two very different, very understandable characters for their community courts. It’s easy to see why Wackner and Vinetta feel the need for alternative courts; it’s easy to see why others would trust them. This arc doesn’t really work unless there’s a legitimate frustration with existing systems...

Marissa calls Wackner’s court a “joke,” which she should understand by now isn’t the case. (Marissa’s smart; she knew it wasn’t a joke the second she saw David Cord get involved.)

Vinetta accuses Wackner of copying her court, which alarms Marissa. This isn’t addressed again, and I don’t know if it’s true! I could really go either way on this. On the one hand, I absolutely believe that Wackner saw/heard about it, liked it, and did it himself without thinking much of it—and if this is the case, then the ending where Vinetta gets in trouble for violating Wackner’s IP is a lot more of a gut punch. On the other hand, I don’t really feel like the seeds for this were planted. We see Wackner innovate a lot and try new things and he has an explanation for why he does everything—how much of that is Vinetta? And Vinetta clearly watches the show and likes it or she wouldn’t have recognized Marissa, so it’s a little hard for me to just believe her claim when literally all I know about her is she has a court that looks like Wackner’s and she is aware of and feels positively towards Wackner rules. Also, Wackner knows about Vinetta’s court (from Marissa) and sounded excited about it last episode. Sure, he didn’t necessarily know which one it was, exactly, but I assume if he’d copied the idea and then heard about a case involving people from the exact same community where he found the idea... his reaction would be different. So IDK. My reasons for doubting Vinetta’s claim are probably based a little too much in things I’m not meant to spend that much time paying attention to.

“I fucked up. It’s in the same court, but now it’s a murder case,” Marissa tells Diane. I do like hearing characters admit when they fucked up!

Diane hears that STRL is delayed, so she heads out to help Matteo. When she goes to change into her pantsuit, she finds that she’s grabbed Kurt’s bag by mistake. “Of course. That makes sense,” she reacts.

Diane pushes her flight to the next day, also telling Kurt, “And yes, for some reason, I took your suit instead of mine, so fuck it.” I love it when the characters feel like real people.

I am not sure why Kurt is getting to the office when Diane is leaving or why Kurt is there—to pick Diane up on the way to the airport, maybe?

Carter Schmidt walks into RL at the worst possible time, threating to blow up the Plum Meadow deal. Another 5x10 to Wife 5x22 similarity: he’s in both episodes.

Liz heads out to help Carmen with Rivi, and then STRL arrives. Oops.

Credits!

One thing about Wackner’s court that should definitely be a warning sign even though it seems noble: he ignores just about every warning sign, like this rowdy crowd screaming WE LOVE YOU WACKNER or the potential interests at play in a case about secession, because he thinks his fair judgement can overcome these obstacles. If the world worked that way, there’d be no need for his court in the first place.

Is anyone representing the State of Illinois in this trial? If not, then... how is it happening?

Dr. Goat, some dude who claims to have some hidden historical document about how Illinois is actually two states, is clearly making stuff up and yet Wackner indulges him and Cord. I feel about this the same way as I feel about the Devil’s Advocate: That Wackner would not allow this to go on for more than five seconds before calling bullshit and therefore there is no reason I should have to sit through it.

Why is some guy screaming, “No taxation without representation” like dude you absolutely have representation. But of course, I’m expecting him to be logical, and the point is that he is not.

Dr. Goat’s Latin phrases—shock!-- don’t actually translate into anything like what he said. Even though this information is verifiable by a quick google search, the crowd starts screaming “Liar!!!!” at Marissa. If only I could say this felt unrealistic.

Wackner asks Dr. Goat to bring in the document.

“You look like you’re heading to the beach,” Vinetta says to Diane, who looks like she’s heading somewhere but definitely not to the beach. Vinetta asks where Diane was headed on vacation. Diane says she’s headed to Lake Como, and unnecessarily clarifies that “It’s in Italy.” She assumes Vinetta doesn’t know that... but Vinetta does.

“So you’ve been there before?” Vinetta probes when Diane says it’s beautiful there. “Just once. We don’t get away often. We thought we’d splurge,” Diane says. Vinetta stares at her and smiles, and Diane hits her head on a basket that’s hanging in Vinetta’s kitchen. If I just write out the dialogue here, it sounds like a perfectly average conversation, but everything about this conversation is so charged: Diane is afraid to look like a wealthy white woman; Vinetta’s pleasantness is pretty clearly also a way of sizing up Diane.

Vinetta shows Diane pictures of neighborhood children and young adults killed as a consequence of gang violence. You can see she’s not trying to do anything other than help her community, even if her methods are highly questionable.

Diane argues that Matteo should be given over to the police; Vinetta disagrees: “The police haven’t arrested anyone for those murders, any of these. Since the BLM movement, they’ve pulled back from our streets. No one’s coming to help. That’s why I started this court. It’s not a joke to us.” Wait I’m sorry did Vinetta just blame lack of good detective work in black communities on... the BLM movement?!?!?! Is there any foundation to this!? Why can’t it just be that the police weren’t actually doing a good job of policing/finding justice and were being antagonistic towards the community instead of being helpful and no one trusted them?? That explanation is literally right there.

Jay suggests the Jesus strategy, again.

“It’s women! We could just move on, install men,” STRL guy says. I don’t know if he’s joking, but ugh. Also, what is RL if it has neither Diane nor Liz? A bunch of lawyers who will all promptly quit when they see their bosses get fired and a few opportunists?

Kurt is watching golf in Diane’s office, and the STRL people love it. Of course Kurt accidentally makes friends with them.

Court stuff happens. It’s not good for Rivi, and then Liz and Carmen come up with a theory: Plum Meadow is stalling the deal so they can find Rivi’s more stable second and make a deal with them instead.

Wackner giving Dr. Goat a single point on his stupid little board, for any reason related to his obviously fake totally unverified document, is dangerous. Why would you signal to a crowd that’s clearly not interested in fact that they have a point? That’s basically egging them on.

I know Wackner’s judgment is obviously not 100% sound—need I remind you of the PRIVATE PRISONS?-- but I thought it was more sound than this.

Wackner shows off his knowledge of paper and proves that Dr. Goat’s document is a fake. Why... did he just give Dr. Goat a point???

Or is he moving the point from Dr. Goat to Marissa?

Dr. Goat sounds like a fake name I would call a character in my recaps long past the point of anyone other than myself remembering the joke. (See: Mr. Elk)

“The truth is ugly. The only thing uglier is not pursuing it,” Wackner tells Marissa. How is taking on a case about very obvious falsehoods, funded by someone with a vested interest in the case, that gets people riled up, some noble pursuit of truth?

STRL and Kurt are now drinking and discussing hunting, while Diane’s arguing for Matteo in Vinetta’s living room. Vinetta is—as was always obvious, sorry Jay—far too smart to fall for this patronizing bullshit. She screams at Diane and plays back a recording (on a baby monitor) of Diane coaching Matteo to lie about his faith.

Soooooo yeah no you can’t do that, that is bad, recording conversations between lawyers and their clients is not good even if it leads to you exposing their schemes...

Then Vinetta places Diane under arrest, which obviously isn’t going to end well for Vinetta.

Liz and Carmen suggest a post-nup to Rivi to see if Isabel is planning on turning on him.

“I’m going to have to kill her,” Rivi says sadly. I don’t think Rivi will ever kill Isabel because we already did that with Bishop.

I’m going to assume that Diane chooses to stay in basement prison instead of calling one of the many, MANY, MANY people she could call to get her out/take down Vinetta because she doesn’t want the situation to be publicized or further deteriorate. That said, it’s really not clear why Diane just accepts being sentenced to basement prison with a cell phone.

Love the STRL man looking at that picture of Diane and HRC. They’ve gotten so much mileage out of that photo.

Wackner’s court has no rules, but at least since it has no rules, I can’t complain about how its rules make no sense!

What is this, debate practice?! Ugggghhhhh I can’t deal with this case for much longer.

Marissa takes a breath, then decides to pursue a strategy she knows could blow everything up.

“Then why care what Judge Wackner decides? Why should you defer to him? Why defer to anyone?” Cord says that’s the point—the people have decided to trust Wackner. “So if you don’t like this court’s decision, you’ll just start a new one?” Marissa asks. “I guess,” Cord concedes.

“So then why does this matter? This court?” “It matters only insofar as we continue to agree that it matters,” Cord says. “So if you don’t like Judge Wackner’s rulings, you can just ignore them and create a new court?”

Good point, Marissa. Good point. (Does this count as a thesis?)

“I’m guessing that I will like the way the judge decides,” Cord says. Well, that’s basically a threat.

Wackner takes a break and heads to chambers—without Marissa.

Kurt goes to visit Diane in basement jail. He’s granted a conjugal visit, which means Matteo gets moved up to the bedroom so Diane and Kurt can have some alone time.

Diane is staring at an image of Lake Como in her cell. I thought it was odd she brought a printout of her vacation destination with her, so I LOVED the line where she explains that Vinetta printed it out for her. COLD. (You know who also would’ve done this if they’d for some reason had a basement prison? Bree Van de Kamp. You know what show DID do a basement prison arc I’d rather forget? Desperate Housewives!)

I love how Diane responds to basement prison by making jokes non-stop.

“I thought the craziness would end with 2020,” Diane says. Nope.

Kurt brought alcohol; Diane brought pot gummies.

I love that Kurt has never had pot before. I was going to say that I bet Diane’s had a few experiences with recreational drugs when I remembered we had a whole damn season of Diane microdosing.

Christine and Gary’s acting and their chemistry really bring these basement prison scenes to life. The writing and directing are really sharp, but it’s the actors who make these scenes something special. You can tell Diane and Kurt love each other a lot. You can tell they’re disappointed about their vacation and exhausted by the chaos of the day. You can tell they’re in disbelief over this situation but also find it funny.

Didn’t Rivi and Isabel have an adult daughter who died of COVID a few episodes ago? Weird she isn’t mentioned in this scene. Maybe from a different marriage/relationship?

Isabel called the SA’s office because she thinks Rivi’s a threat? I think this is a power play.

Heh, Carmen saying, “Shut a black woman up!?” in disbelief in court. Love it.

Isabel instead flips her story and supports her husband and fights for his release. With no intervention from Plum Meadow, this gets the judge to free Rivi. I don’t really understand what’s happened here or why. I get the resolution, but I don’t get why Isabel called the SA or why this went away so quickly. I still don’t even get why Rivi’s been arrested.

Diane and Kurt put up Christmas lights for ambiance and talk about how they never go on vacation.

“I wanna see the pyramids on this coast!” drunk & high Kurt insists, hilariously. “I mean hemisphere. I like the Aztecs. They, they care about people.” I’m not going to transcribe the rest of the dialogue because it loses its magic when you’re not watching the scene.

After some fun banter about travel and movies, Diane changes the topic. “I should quit, shouldn’t I? That judge upstairs? She looked at me like I was the most entitled white bitch on the planet. And that’s the way they look at me at work.”

Kurt tries to say that’s not true, but Diane knows it is: “Yes they do. I’m the top Karen. And why do I care? I mean, I... I could find another firm. I could quit. I can’t impose my will on people who don’t want me.”

YES. I see a lot of debate over what the “right” thing to do is here. But I think we are long past “right” and “wrong.” At a certain point, this stops being about absolute moral truths. If Diane doesn’t have the respect of her partners and employees, that is a very real problem for the firm and for Diane. How can she continue to impose her will on a firm that doesn’t want her, all the while claiming to be an ally? (The back half of that sentence is the most important part.) Forget whether or not Diane “should” have to step down. Forget what’s “fair.” If the non-Diane leadership of RL thinks the firm should be a black firm, and the employees of RL think so too, and Diane just doubles down on her white feminism, she’s creating an even bigger problem for herself and ruining her reputation in the process.

Kurt stands up on the prison cot and warns Diane she might make a decision she’ll regret. This scene is so cute. Why can’t other shows do drug trips where the characters just act silly and have great chemistry? Why does it always have to be some profound meditation on death whenever characters get high?

“I think I like starting over. I like the chutes and ladders of life. I mean, I want the corner office, but then I wanna slip back to the beginning and fight for the corner office. I mean, I think maybe it’s better that I don’t get the top spot,” Diane says. LOVE to hear her admit this. I’m not sure I would’ve come to this conclusion on my own, and it sounds like it’s a bit more about how the writers like to write (you know, the “we love our characters to always be underdogs”) than Diane, but... you know what? I believe it. I fully believe it. Diane LOVES to fight, LOVES to feel like she’s in the right, LOVES power plays and to be making progress. She LOVES winning. The fact that she isn’t just choosing to retire right now, even though she’s past retirement age and has a great reputation, is in itself enough for me to believe that she would find it fun to repeatedly start over.

Plus, it’s a fun new direction for the show to take in season six, because they’ll get the same sense of conflict without the actual conflict. This season’s arc was firm drama and resulted in a firm name change... but it didn’t feel like a knock-off of Hitting the Fan. Diane trying to work her way back into power (I assume by becoming a better actual ally, otherwise doesn’t she just end up in the same exact situation?) should also provide conflict without being repetitive.

Hahahahahaha Kurt immediately reacting to this serious statement by being incredibly silly and horny and then Diane singing “I Touch Myself” to him, man, I love these two. I want to know the story behind this song choice.

Wackner emerges from his chambers. The score is tied. Wackner calls Cord corrupt and notes that they can’t just decide to call Downstate Illinois a new state based on his ruling. Now it’s thesis time!

“I was taken by Mr. Cord’s arguments of individualism. So much of our country has been built on people finding their own way, not being held back by bureaucracy. Yet, if we only follow individualism, that way lies chaos. And that was not the point of this court. Or at least not my point. Judgment for the defense. There will be no Downstate Illinois.”

“If we only follow individualism, that way lies chaos.” is probably the clearest of the many theses of this episode. To recap, we have:

(1) Factions are bad. (2) People are persuadable and the rules don’t actually matter. (3) Reality TV changes minds. (4) Institutions only exist when we collectively agree they exist (5) Individualism = chaos.

But let’s put a pin in this for now and let the chaos of individualism play out.

The crowd does not like Wackner’s decision, and decides that an appropriate way to express their displeasure is to make anti-Semitic remarks towards Marissa and then start throwing chairs. What nice people.

As the crowd goes totally 1/6 on Wackner’s court (thanks for pointing this out to me, Ryan—I cannot believe I didn’t make the connection myself!), the door slamming into the desk finally pays off since Marissa and Wackner are able to use it to keep the crowd from reaching them.

They immediately turn to the police, or they would, if they could get service. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that as soon as things get bad, they want to involve the existing system.

Wackner Rules is, somehow, still taping in the midst of all the chaos. I don’t know if I think they’d air this, but someone certainly would. (I wonder if any of the cameras we see in these scenes are actually the cameras filming the other angles of the riot.)

Cord shakes his head and walks out, unharmed.

“You think they’ll kill us?” “I think they might,” Marissa and Wackner fret.

“My dad said the whole world would be a better place if everybody realized they were in the minority. ‘No matter where you are,’ he said, ‘Make sure you keep an eye on the exits, and make sure you’re closer to the exit than the Cossacks are to the entrance.’” Marissa says. Love Eli Gold coming through with thesis number 6 (and maybe thesis number 7).

“Your dad sounds a little paranoid,” Wackner says, correctly. Remember how I mentioned I accidentally wound up watching 5x22? Eli calls Alicia and responds to her hello with, “DISASTER!!!!” I miss him.

“He was, but he wasn’t wrong. He said, ‘Stay away from parades. They’re cute until they’re not. And don’t trust any pope who was Hitler Youth.” “What’s that law called?” “Godwin’s Law. My dad said anybody who argued for Godwin’s Law has never been near an actual crowd. Crowds love you, they hug you. Then they grab a gun and try to kill you.”

“Why? Why do they do that?” “I don’t know. Hate is fun. It’s clear-cut.”

I really like all of this. It is a little preachy, but it isn’t wrong and it’s self-aware. And, more importantly, it’s in character. I absolutely believe that Marissa would tell lots of stories about Eli in a moment of extreme stress. It’s nostalgic, probably comforting, and it also helps her feel like she’s on the right side with the right arguments. So, even backed into a corner, she’s still a winner: she has theory on her side.

Wackner speaks a foreign language (I do not know what language but I wish I did) and says, “A guy could get killed doing this,” which makes him and Marissa laugh as things crash around them.

Idk about you all, but I couldn’t really get myself to actually worry about their safety during this scene. Maybe Wackner’s, just a little, but I got the sense we were supposed to focus more on the chaos and destruction and monologuing than on the actual danger. That’s not to say the stakes didn’t feel high, but rather to say that this didn’t feel like an action sequence where you don’t know what’s going to happen next. The point was to watch the court fall and think about why it fell, not to worry about if Marissa would live.

Diane and Kurt are woken up by sirens and loud noises. The cops arrive and are shocked to find professionally dressed white people in a basement cell. They let Diane and Kurt out with compassion, but scream, “don’t you fucking move” to the people on the floor.

“It’s okay, they didn’t do anything,” Diane says. This is, as I theorized earlier, probably why Diane just sits there until her punishment blows over instead of escalating things.

If the cops weren’t there to free Diane, why were they there? Why, because they like David Cord and David Cord has gotten Chicago PD officers to protect Wackner’s IP.

If I had to say one thing in favor of Vinetta being the originator of the community court idea, it would be that it’s SUCH a gut punch to watch Diane and Kurt walk away from their bizarre little adventure as Vinetta gets arrested in the background, and it hits ten times as hard if Vinetta’s only being charged because some white guy is claiming IP that’s actually hers.

(I think Vinetta is probably, at this point, actually being arrested for imprisoning people illegally, but, still.)

“Pfft. Some judge,” one of the cops who adores Wackner says of Vinetta. Racist much?

Marissa and Wackner emerge from the backroom. “I think I better get back to work,” she says, meaning her RL job. "Me too,” Wackner says, grabbing a Copy Coop apron. He’s an employee of ten years.

I don’t think this lands as well as it’s meant to. I think the point is supposed to be that Wackner’s just some guy—not a billionaire, not an academic, not a judge, not a lawyer—with an idea. But it’s a little too neat. And it doesn’t explain how Wackner financed his court initially, nor does it explain why he has basically unlimited access to Copy Coop space and resources. I’d buy it if he were the OWNER of Copy Coop, but I have so many questions about him being an employee.

Diane tells Liz she’s actually going on vacation this time, and they laugh about how Kurt bonded with STRL.

“I want you and Allegra to be name partners. I’ll be an equity partner,” Diane says. “Why?” Liz asks. “Five years ago, when I hit rock bottom, this firm took me in. So I don’t like the idea of splitting this firm in two. And I can’t lead if no one will follow.” “And your clients?” “We’ll manage them together.” YES! I love this. I don’t love it because I necessarily think it had to go this way, but because it’s so refreshing to see Diane say that she actually is willing to take a step back because she cares about the firm and the people there more than she cares about being a name partner. This isn’t something we usually see. When we hear “this firm took x in” it’s usually being said incredulously against someone who’s decided to leave and steal clients (cough, Hitting the Fan, cough).

It’s been pretty clear for most of this arc that Diane and Liz like working together and they like their firm, but that no one (other than Diane, I guess) is willing to let RL lose its status as a black firm, and that the employees and equity partners weren’t going to be satisfied until Diane stepped down. Diane really had three options: Stay and piss everyone off and claim the whole firm for herself, quit and go somewhere else and totally abandon the good working dynamic she had, or step down and put her money where her mouth is.

Also yeah the clients were never actually going to be an issue! They were only an issue because Diane intentionally went about informing them she was stepping down in a way she knew would make them worry!

“I think I need to prove myself,” Diane says. I’m not sure that’s the key issue or that she can ever prove herself fully, but we’ll worry about that next year.

“I missed you,” Liz says. “I’m here,” Diane replies. “I know. Thank you,” Liz says.

Diane decides she’s going to move downstairs so Allegra can have her office. I think there’s another office on this floor, since she, Adrian and Liz all had offices. This feels a little bit like Diane’s in love with the idea of making things difficult for herself and maybe hasn’t fully grasped the point, but, you know, I’ll take it.

Diane tells Kurt her decision and he asks if it was the right thing to do. She says she doesn’t know—but she says it with a smile. Kurt notes he’s going hunting next month with the STRL folks and will put in a good word for her. Ah, yes, because STRL still controls all of this and all of this is moot! Thanks for the reminder Kurt! Diane says she wants in on the hunting trip. Of course.

And the elevator doors close. Remember how closing elevator doors was a motif earlier this season??? It’s back!

Then we get a little coda with Wackner Rules airing a new episode that’s just violence and destruction. This sequence seems to straddle the line between being there for thematic reasons for the viewers and there to show what happened in the show’s universe, but I think it’s main purpose is theme, so I will not go on a full rant questioning why Del would want to air this.

A white blonde lady in an apron watches the destruction of Wackner Rules. She looks concerned. “That was violet,” she says with dismay. And then we see she’s holding a guy in a jail cell in her kitchen.

And then we see other courts, as America the Beautiful plays. One’s in a garage debating kicking someone out of the neighborhood; another is across the street about the same case. There’s one in Oregon about secession. There’s one among Tiki Torch Nazis deciding only white people can own property. There’s (inexplicably) one about pronouns. There’s one with arm wrestling, one that happens while sky diving, and a bunch of others. It’s pretty ridiculous, and not necessarily in a good way. It feels at once like the natural extension of the Wackner Rules show and like an over the top parody you’d see on another show. Tiki Torch Nazis screaming “only white people can own property!” is the opposite of subtle writing. Tonally, this sequence feels more like the zany humor of Desperate Housewives or the insanity of BrainDead than anything TGF has done before (and TGF’s been plenty surreal), and it doesn’t quite work for me. It feels like it is trying to prove a point in the corniest, most on the nose way possible. It almost feels like it’s parodying its own plotlines.

On my first watch, this ending for Wackner left me stumped. I knew the writers were making an argument against individualism (Wackner’s speech + the repeated references to The Apprentice) and cults of personality. But I couldn’t figure out a real life analogue to Wackner’s court, and since this ending was so obviously trying to be About Something, that bugged me. Sure, that last sequence could be an argument against people making community courts, but WERE people making community courts? I didn’t see the urgency.

And then I talked to @mimeparadox. And as soon as he said that it was about factions and people playing by their own sets of rules beyond the justice system, it clicked. I’d been looking for Wackner’s plot to be a commentary on the legal system. It is much broader than that. It’s a commentary on the weakening of democratic systems (the Big Lie, etc.), more broadly, and Wackner and his common-sense approach are just a way to get liberal viewers to go along for the ride.

Now that I understand the point, or what I think is the point, I like this conclusion. Circumventing the system leads to chaos; that’s why we have institutions and bureaucracy, and I think the show is arguing that these institutions should still be respected despite their flaws. The many theses of this episode all come together to make this point (though the reality TV stuff is a little more tenuous and I'm a little shocked we got through all of this without any commentary on social media?): If we stop having a shared belief in institutions and instead follow individual leaders (whom we may learn about through reality TV), the rules will stop mattering and we’ll end up with a fractured country and widespread violence.

But, and maybe this is just about me being upset I missed both the obvious 1/6 parallels AND the point of the arc the first time through this episode (my defensive side feels the need to also note I first watched this episode at like 5 am when I was barely awake), I don’t know that I actually think this episode does a great job of driving its point home. There are SO many moving pieces to the Wackner plot and SO many references. There are so many threads we never return to from earlier in the season, and there’s so much that strains credulity (like Wackner taking Dr. Goat seriously for more than a split second). It’s pretty clear what the themes are—even though I’m saying I missed the point my first time through, I've hit on all these themes separately in past recaps and posts—but, I dunno, something about this episode just feels scattered. Maybe it’s all the moving pieces, maybe it’s all the moments where it sounds like the characters are voicing related ideas that don’t quite snap together to form one coherent picture, or maybe it’s that Wackner’s plot gets two endings (the actual ending + the coda) and it’s up to the viewer to put together how they relate.

I really don’t know. At the end of the day, I think there was a little too much going on with Wackner and that the writers needed to use the episodes between the private prison reveal and the finale to narrow—not broaden—the scope of what they were trying to do with Wackner. But I also think that what they were doing with Wackner was really, really smart and original. I don’t think I can overstate how impressed I am that the writers took an idea that sounded, frankly, awful when I first heard about it and turned it into something captivating and insightful that I was happy to spend nine weeks watching.

Overall, a few bad episodes aside, I thought season five was the strongest season of TGF yet. I haven’t seen this show be so focused in... well, maybe ever. Having two overarching plots that received consistent development and felt like they were happening in the same universe at the same time REALLY helps make season five feel like a coherent whole, and I can’t wait to rewatch it.

#tgf thoughts #the good fight

13 notes · View notes

0pretty-setters-squad0 · 4 years

Text

Hugs (F) Kakashi x Iruka

Woot, time for my favorite Naruto ship of all time. I ship Kakashi and Iruka so fucking hard, it makes my heart happy. Now let's get on with the story. Also, I'm pretty sure that Iruka rly would give the best hugs tbh.

Kakashi POV "Are we almost homeeeee?" Naruto complains, walking next to me. "Yes, for the fourth time in the past three minutes, we are almost home," I sighed.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and I were all headed home from our mission to take Tazuna home. The mission was a success, in a way, but it was more stressful than expected. I just wanted to be home already. A few minutes passed as we walked toward the village. Sakura was always either watching Sasuke, or asking me a question about chakra. Naruto was pretty loud, rambling about what a great ninja he would be. Sasuke was silent the whole time, just walking with his hands in his pockets. I was reading as we walked, but my mind wasn't focused on the words in front of me. I was thinking about Iruka waiting for me back at home. Now, we weren't together or anything. I'm not even sure if his door swings that way. I wish we were together, though. He probably gives the best hugs after a long day. Or a long mission, like this one. I was pulled from my thoughts by Naruto yelling. "LOOK IT'S THE VILLAGE GATE! WE'RE HOME!" "Thank god," I whispered under my breath. After what seemed like forever to me, we made it to the gate, splitting up and each going our own ways. The first thing I had to do was to go to the hokage's office and give a mission report. That hopefully wouldn't take too long. After that, I could go and find Iruka. As expected, the mission report with the hokage didn't take too long. I was just walking out the door of the hokage's office when I felt someone run right into me. I looked down as I closed the door behind me to see who had run into me. When I saw who it was, my heart skipped a beat. Jesus, keep it cool, Kakashi, you idiot. I tried, but I couldn't help it, he always gave me butterflies. "Oh, hey Iruka, what are you doing here?" I asked smoothly. "I was actually looking for you," he rubbed the back of his neck, regaining his balance from when he stumbled. "Well, you found me," I gave him a kind smile, "What did you need?" "I was gonna ask how Naruto did on the mission, I was worried about him." "He did fine. He did overwork himself a little bit, but he was alright otherwise. No major injuries or anything like that. I'm not sure how he feels emotionally, he seemed a little shaken when two other ninja died." "Oh, I didn't realize the mission was such a high rank that someone would die," Iruka looked nervous. "Well, it wasn't supposed to be, but it ended up escalating pretty quickly. We ended up having to face Zabuza and a young boy he was working with, Haku. Both Zabuza and Haku died during our mission." Iruka seemed shocked when I mentioned Zabuza. "I'm sorry to hear that, Kakashi," Iruka looked kinda sad if I was being honest. I shrugged. "It's not your fault, no need to be sorry. Although, you could still make it up to me." "H-How?" Iruka seemed flustered. He always seemed flustered around me. I hated that. I wanted him to be comfortable enough around me to relax. "Come with me to get some ramen, I'm hungry from walking so far to get home." "Okay, sounds good," Iruka accepted my offer. The two of us walked to the ramen shop, Iruka telling me about the academy and what happened while I was away on the mission. We sat at the ramen place, and of course I used my speedy eating technique, so I finished a while before Iruka. Even though I was done eating, I obviously sat with Iruka, just pleasantly chatting as he ate his own food. As we finished, I pulled out my money to pay. "I got it," I told the brunette, paying for his food. "Kakashi, you didn't have to, let me pay you back," Iruka looked at me with those kind eyes. "No worries, I already paid for it, and I'm not letting you pay me back." We then walked out onto the street, beginning to stroll to the park. It was a beautiful day, and it was nice to be outside, but I was tired of the mission. "Iruka, I'm getting a little tired from the mission-" Iruka cut me off. "Oh of course, sorry to keep you so long," Iruka rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Let me finish," I spoke with a gentle smile and a chuckle, "I was going to say that I was gonna head home and ask if you wanted to come with and hang out there." Iruka seemed surprised by my offer. His cheeks grew a little pinker than normal. I have to admit, the thought of being alone with Iruka made my cheeks heat up to, but thank god for my mask covering it up. "Oh, well I don't want to be a bother." "You're never a bother, Iruka, it may be more of a bother if I had to just sit alone." "In that case, I'd like that." The walk to my home passed fairly quickly. As we arrived, I unlocked the door and held it open for Iruka to step in. Once we were both inside, we slipped off our shoes. After, we walked to my couch and sat down with a fair amount of space between us. My house wasn't decorated much, but it was alright. I had a black couch and a small matching chair, with a coffee table in the center of the room. The walls were bare, aside from the heather grey paint that covered them. As for the rest of the house, I had an island in the kitchen, with four stools that sat at it. My bedroom was probably the most furnished in the house, having my bed, a stand next to the bed, a small chair and a lamp that sat next to it. "You want a drink?" I questioned Iruka, moving from the couch and to the kitchen. "Sure. Water?" I grabbed two glasses and filled them with water, pulling out one of the island stools and sitting down on it. I slid one glass across the island to Iruka, who stayed standing, but leaned forward and supported himself on his elbows. "How's everything going at the academy?" "Good, but I have another energetic one this year." "Yeah? Which one is it now?" I chuckled. "Konohamaru," Iruka sighed, "You ever met him?" "I've definitely seen how energetic he is, if that's what you're asking. He looks up to Naruto, and they sure do make a pair, don't they?" "Yeah, they definitely do," Iruka let out a laugh. "Well, I'm glad things are going smoothly at the academy," I spoke, "What about with you? How are things?" "Same as always I guess," the shorter man shrugged. Iruka POV Why was he asking about me? I'm not that important. "How about you?" I asked the silver-haired ninja. "I guess everything is the same with me too," he breathed out a humorless laugh. "That good huh?" "I don't know, I guess I'm just a little down." "Care to share?" I asked him, concern evident on my face. "You don't wanna hear about my issues, Iruka." "Well, I asked didn't I?" I shot him a reassuring smile as I moved around the table to sit next to Kakashi. "It's stupid, makes me feel like a damn school girl." School girl? What in the world is he talking about? "I have a crush, of all things. I think it's more than a crush, too, and I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure if he even likes guys." HE? KAKASHI LIKES GUYS. Calm down, Iruka, just because he likes guys does not mean he likes you. "Well, I'm sure he likes you too. The only thing you could do is tell him, you know." "So you think I should tell him? What if he thinks it's weird?" "I'm sure if he's a good guy, he'll be fine if you have a crush. I mean, how many girls have had crushes on you over the years? Crushes are normal, Kakashi." "I told you I think it's more than that," Kakashi took a breath, "You know what? Fuck it, I'm just gonna tell him." Well, I hope he likes you as much as I do. I hope he treats you well. "I like you." "What?" I was taken aback by what Kakashi had said. "It's you, Iruka. You're the guy I like." "Me?" I couldn't believe it. A guy like Kakashi.... liked me. "Yes, you. God, I knew I shouldn't have said anything. You can go if you'd like, I don't want you to feel like you have to stay." He turned to stare at the glass of water in front of him, avoiding looking at me. He slowly stood, moving the glass to the sink and dumping it out. His hands were bracing against the edge of the counter as he let his head hang down, eyes locked on the faucet. "Kakashi," I spoke gently, gaining his attention. He was now facing me. I stood and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him into a hug. I felt his arms lay on my shoulders, holding me even closer. Kakashi POV I was right. He does give the best hugs. They're warm and soft and he smells so good. "Does this mean you like me too? Or do you just feel bad?" My chin rested on the top of his head. "Of course it means I like you. You're a likeable guy," Iruka giggled shyly. "You're too nice to me, Iruka." As Iruka pulled away, I let my hand fall to his, intertwining our fingers. I began walking towards the couch again, letting myself fall onto it. Iruka came down with me, landing next to me. In one bold move, Iruka let himself scoot to sit on my lap, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, his head cuddling into my neck. "You comfy, there, Iruka?" I laughed. "Yes very much so," he giggled back. I reached up and grabbed one of his hands, bringing his fingers to the top of my mask. I guess I've wanted him to really see me since I liked him, I was just never sure how to tell him that. "Really?" he asked, his fingers slowly hooking into the fabric. "Really." I pulled his hand down, letting the mask go with it. "You're very handsome, Kakashi." Iruka complimented me. I blushed at the compliment, but I didn't have the mask to cover it this time. "Thank you, but you aren't bad yourself." "And I know you would never admit it, but you're very cute when you blush," he brought his hand up to the side of my face. "Iruka, can I say something that may sound stupid?" "Sure," he laughed. "I really want you to kiss me right now." Without another word, he leaned forward and allowed our lips to meet. Iruka's lips were even better than I could've imagined. They were soft and smooth. And the way they moved against my own was absolutely perfect. When he pulled away, I noticed his own blush had made an appearance. "I really wanted you to kiss me too," Iruka said quietly. "I'm glad, because I'm gonna want to do that a lot more now." He giggled. "Me too." He cuddled back into my neck and I let my arms wrap around him, holding him close. Despite the fact that we were still sitting up, the exhaustion from the mission made me fade into sleep, Iruka's gentle breathing lulling me there. I could get used to this when I come home from missions. Being in his arms made it all okay.

~fin~

My heart rly went UWU on this one didn't it? I don't even care, these two are the cutest ship and you guys can't convince me otherwise. Don't forget to do all the normal jazz. Like comment, blah blah blah. Well, love you guys! Until next chapter!! -Smutty-Chan

#kakairu #fluff #kakashi hatake #iruka umino #naruto #Kakairu fluff #fluffy

176 notes · View notes

more-pokeimagines · 4 years

Note

Could I request a soulmate au where you turn a certain age and you get a string leading you to your soulmate, bedes birthday comes but he doesn't get a string and feels hurt by the world but once the readers birthday comes they get connected to each other and they find each other

Tbh, I love soulmate AUs and this one was so much fun to write, so thank you for sending this in! :) Hope you have fun reading.

Once in a lifetime – Bede x reader (soulmate!AU)

Living in a world where everybody had a soulmate was great and intimidating at the same time. Great because he knew that there was someone out there who was meant for him and him only. Intimidating because he wasn’t sure if meeting your soulmate was the same thing as falling in love. What if he met his soulmate and they couldn’t stand him? He didn’t grow up with his parents and the carers in the orphanage didn’t talk about their relationships very often, so he had no more than a vague idea about the whole concept of soulmates.

When he was younger, maybe six or seven, Bede had always looked forward to the day he would receive the magical string that was supposed to lead him to his soulmate. He had dreamed of meeting you and he was sure, so sure, that the two of you would be the perfect match.

Most people got the red soulmate string when they turned eighteen, and he had even crossed out the days leading up to his birthday this year.

But nothing had happened. He still didn’t have a clue how he should find you… or if you even existed. He had spend his whole birthday anxiously waiting for the magical cord to appear but as the hours had passed he had become more and more dispirited. And then, at midnight, he had finally started to realize that he wouldn’t get the string to lead him to you.

Two weeks had passed since then, and Bede still felt like the whole world had turned against him. Like his friends darted pitying glances at him whenever they thought he didn’t notice it. As the days went by, he started to distance himself from them more and more. He didn’t want anyone to pity him because he obviously didn’t have a soulmate. Then, he tried his best to forget it but every night he lay awake and stared at the ceiling while he asked himself what he did wrong. Everyone he knew had a soulmate. Why didn’t he have one? Was it because he hadn’t had a happy family when he was younger? Or because he had made quite a few mistakes in the days of his early youth?

With a groan, Bede pulled his blanket over his head. He was tired of wondering why the soulmate string hadn’t appeared but it almost seemed like it was all he could think of since his birthday, even though there were a whole lot of other things he needed to take care of – his college applications, his graduation, his plans for the future. But he could barely focus on studying, especially since he felt like the majority of his classmates were talking about him behind his back. He was the poor guy who didn’t have a soulmate. What a pitiful person he was.

Bede didn’t even know why it bothered him so much. After all, he was used to being alone, so it shouldn’t be a big deal that, apparently, he didn’t have a soulmate. But somehow it was a big deal, no matter how often he told himself that he was perfectly fine on his own. And he hated to feel like this – like he was abnormal and incomplete. He wanted to be like everyone else.

That night, he dreamed about his soulmate again. You were everything he could’ve wished for and you seemed almost too good to be true. When you reached out to touch his face, Bede leaned in to kiss you. Just a few more centimeters and your lips would press together in a long awaited, sweet kiss…

And then, Bede woke up, left with nothing but a bitter pain in his chest.

Eight months later, you sat in your dorm room, staring down at a bunch of birthday cards and a crushed cupcake. You couldn’t help but giggle when you read the kinda awkward birthday wishes from your best friend Hop who had moved to another city for college. He wished you to finally find your soulmate because you were “way too great” to stay alone, and he also encouraged you to send a picture of your soulmate as soon as you had found them.

So far, the magical string that should lead you to the other half of your soul hadn’t appeared but you were positive that it would happen sooner or later. Though you had tried not to get too hyped about meeting your soulmate you were beyond excited. Every time you thought about your first encounter you felt butterflies in your stomach and some kind of impatience you had never experienced before. It was just so thrilling to know that you would meet the one who was meant just for you soon… it was like living your personal fairytale.

In that moment, you felt an unfamiliar tug at your wrist. As you looked down you felt like your heart was skipping a beat. There it was… glowing in the color of fresh red roses, the soulmate string felt almost warm on your skin, and for a few seconds you could only stare at it. Then, you started to smile. Finally!

Your head felt too light for your body for the rest of the day. As you wandered around on the campus to take a look around you tried to keep an eye out for your soulmate too but so far, there had been no sight of them. You knew that the string around your wrist was invisible to everyone who wasn’t your soulmate but you still felt like everyone stared at it. You covered your wrist with your hand but when you felt a tug again you forgot your worries. A thin, glittery cord had unraveled from the string, and it almost felt like a supernatural power tried to pull you into a certain direction. You held your breath and took the first step towards your soulmate.

Bede couldn’t believe his eyes when the soulmate string appeared around his wrist. For a few seconds he even thought that he fell asleep in his dorm and had a dream about finding his soulmate yet again but even as he blinked a few times and pinched himself twice, the cord didn’t disappear. Still, it was hard to believe that he wasn’t hallucinating. After all these months of waiting he had almost accepted the fact that he didn’t have a soulmate. He had convinced himself that he had never asked for a happy end and therefore didn’t need one but as he stared down at his wrist he realized that he had been lying to himself the whole time. He wanted a happy end.

He felt a tug at the string and slowly stood up. It seemed like he wasn’t able to control his actions anymore but he had faith that the cord would finally lead him to his soulmate, so he didn’t try to refuse. Somehow, he knew that he needed to go outside if he wanted to meet you.

His heart was facing. It still was hard to believe that this was really happening.

When he stormed out of the building, he bumped into someone, effectively pushing the person down to the floor.

“Ouch,” you mumbled and rubbed your back. “You’re quite stormy, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” Bede said and reached out to help you stand up. When he noticed the bright red string around your wrist he froze. You followed his gaze, realizing that your soulmate strings were connected, now glowing in a much deeper red as they grew warmer and warmer before they vanished as quickly as they had appeared previously.

Speechless, Bede stared at you. He had no idea what to say but as he looked into your eyes he realized that there was no need for words in this moment. When you smiled at him, he felt like the weight of the whole world was lifted from his shoulders. You were here. You were his soulmate.

He never had to be alone again, and just for that, he took you into his heart without even thinking about it.

Bede didn’t know how things would develop from now on but he was positive that the future would be brighter as long as the two of you were together.

#trainer bede x reader #trainer bede imagine #trainer bede drabble #bede x reader #pokemon bede x reader #gym leader bede imagine #gym leader bede x reader #gym leader bede drabble #pokemon imagine #pokemon swsh #trainer bede #gym leader bede

133 notes · View notes

heckyeahepithetswitched · 4 years

Text

candaru liveblogs reading her own writing: episode 6

it still absolutely makes my day when people get excited over me talking to them; like habgsdklfgh I’m not Jello I’m just an awkward bean who likes to write?? anyway today’s been pretty good

GHHGASDGAKSDLFH I LITERALLY FORGOT I WROTE THE OPENING LIKE THIS

PFFFFF I GET DONE W/PRAISING JELLO AND THEN IMMEDIATELY GO ON TO ROAST HIM

Gorou being absolutely oblivious and his minions being the ones to drive the plot is hysterical tbh

every once and a while I write a line and then have to squint at it until I figure out where I stole it from because I hear it in a VERY specific voice in my head so I know it’s a reference but even I don’t know to what

anyway (Kirbopher vc) I’M NOTTA SQUIRE!

IT’S THE SWAP VERSION OF WHAT GIO DID TO SYLVIE IN THE MUSEUM

I’m not overly fond of the original bar fight but I wanted to go with the same goofy cartoon brawl aesthetic, so I spent quite a while throwing around ideas before settling on “Nightmare Fuel, but it’s Gorou so instead of being actually scary it’s giant talking donuts trying to eat the people”

I think that was a good idea :)

this was just my personal vendetta upon learning Gorou’s original powerset haijgklsdfhgbh

...but also a good excuse for a swap!version of the “nah, I’m just awesome” line XD

soooooo this was a BIT of a cheat, but I had to have someone drop Molly’s name and I knew it couldn’t be Molly herself because she wouldn’t be dumb enough to do what Gio did (no offense Gio) and every other way I tried to make it happen had other problems, so. Gorou gets to hint at Molly’s backstory! yay!

he used to buy toys for himself and the Banzai Bees even tho he was already very much an adult :’)

this is a joke

but also a very subtle reference to the fact that the cat (who is in Howdy Morning’s role) was part of a plot-relevant “government experiment”

I absolutely love that last one ngl habsdlkpfaghfsd it’s just so absolutely something that would happen in EE

just. a bunch of minions way more competent than their leader but they all refuse to be promoted and “leave the others behind” so they end up as these very highly-skilled but low-ranking Banzai Blasters

OH I TOTALLY FORGOT UNTIL NOW

THIS WAS THE EPISODE I WROTE THROUGH A DEPRESSIVE ATTACK

AND I’M STILL REALLY PROUD OF THE WORK

don’t let your mental illnesses stop you from achieving your dreams, kids

and thus everyone’s favorite nickname was born

the most-loved scene in this entire thing, by FAR, and honestly I’m perfectly happy with that

everyone please salute Anime Campaign, proof that even your dumb friend group RPs can be turned into a masterpiece as long as you’re open-minded to change things

...I forgot I actually DID put Howdy into this basghsdklfgh (tho most of the joke was that none of his lines needed to change at ALL)

this episode is just full of jabs at Jello, huh?

BUT SERIOUSLY, SIR PLEASE. WHY COULD RAMSEY REMEMBER PERCY’S EPITHET? DO ERASER CUFFS ONLY MAKE YOU FORGET YOUR OWN? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE MERA AND INDUS HAVE A PRETTY SOLID BREAKOUT PLAN IF THAT’S THE CASE. AND EVEN SO, HOW WOULD PERCY KNOW THAT ONE OR TWO “ZAPPY TOWERS” WOULD BE ENOUGH TO KNOCK HER OUT? SHE DOESN’T HAVE A NOTE AND SHE’S UNDER THE ERASER CUFF EFFECTS. SHE SHOULDN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT PARAPET. SIR PLEASE—

one of the reasons I didn’t like Redwood Run as much as the Museum Arc was bc I felt that Percy and Ramsey didn’t have much time to actually develop their dynamic, so what they did have felt kinda forced and rushed. of course that’s not exactly Jello’s fault bc he only had THREE episodes to work with and a lot to set up, but I still did my best to give the swap duo as many little moments as possible.

I cared NOTHING for Yoomtah before writing this episode and by the time I was done I LOVED her

one of my fav artists drew this scene PERFECTLY and I now see it in their style whenever I read it

open/confirmed spoilers up ahead regarding Yoomtah:

so the whole “Yoomtah is a robot/cyborg who runs faster than anyone and has electric powers (?)” thing REALLY bothers me because Jello NEVER established that there was magic besides Epithets during the ENTIRE SHOW SO FAR (same with Phoenicia being a magical girl) and that’s just,,,, bbghdsjkg it took me a long time to go “okay, this was based on something else first, I get it, I can get used to the new rules” but gosh I just wish that had been set up better. then again I guess it’s nice that even the writers I admire the most make mistakes.

anyway, got off topic but I love how in the swap version, Yoomtah being a robot/cyborg/??? is just vaguely implied and never actually confirmed, it’s such a good running gag

also

I had. SUCH a hard time coming up with a reason for Sylvie and Yoomtah to have a rivalry, since Sylvie’s got no interest in construction work

and then literally my friend was like “isn’t Yoomtah the one who never sleeps?” and I was like “yeah, why— oh”

SEE? THINGS LIKE THIS. I THINK BUGSY & ARNOLD ARE MORE FUN AS OBVIOUSLY-CORRUPT COPS, AND I THINK YOOMTAH IS MORE FUN AS A CHAOTIC NEUTRAL WHO ISN’T ACTUALLY PART OF THE BAD GUY TEAM BUT IF YOU GET ON HER BAD SIDE SHE’LL TURN INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE FOR .00092 SECONDS

idk I guess I just really like “characters who break the personality stereotypes of their moral alignments” which REALLY fits the rest of EE to a T

the case of the “golden buttocks”

I know I talk about this a lot but I was really so, so proud to finish this (& then the next script) on the deadline. I have discovered that shockingly enough, I like (creative) deadlines. Deadlines make me happy.

maybe I was fated to love EE just because of the opening intro or smth idk

#candaru liveblogs reading her own writing #epithet erased #epithet switched

11 notes · View notes

animeboysloveyou · 4 years

Note

Can I have some headcanons for Gaara, Kakashi and Itachi with a s/o that kept quiet about their birthday so they had to find out from somewhere else?

asdfgh ABSOLUTELY IM LOVE THESE BOYS!

Keeping your birthday from them

💛 Gaara

Tbh I feel like this boy might’ve done the same in the past. Like, with his own birthday. He’s just very shy about making a big scene of himself, and especially during the first time he tried to change himself and his image around, it’s SUUUPER hard for him to reach out.

So whatever reason you have, he understands. And even if he doesn’t quite understand, he still respects it.

If someone tells him he’ll be kind of worried. He doesn’t want to impose on your privacy. If there’s a reason for you not to celebrate your birthday, he wonders if maybe he shouldn’t bring it up??? But in the end he knows how nice it can be for someone to go out of their way like that for a special day like that :’)

Will bring it up casually, maybe with a little gift. It’s small and improvised - and he feels a little bad about it - but you can be sure that Gaara will find something meaningful!! He’s such a softie at heart!!

Would definitely like to know why. He’s just worried someone hurt you in the past, or something bad happened - he’s worried it’s a painful memory more than a nice one. He’d want to help

Hey, have you ever imagined Gaara trying to slow dance? I definitely encourage it because I can see this happening. Just. Having a beautiful and romantic evening together (even if a bit clumsy). He’ll want to make it special, to create beautiful memories!!!!

💛 Kakashi

Oh god when someone asks him what he did for your birthday he goes into panic mode bc “FUCK DID I FORGET??”

Honestly will be SO worried about having forgotten your birthday but. He plays it cool. Worried? kakashi? never.

Will definitely bring you flowers and act like he totally knew. Which will probably be a bit weird to you because most likely you didn’t tell him so??? What’s up???

But he’ll take it seriously eventually. At least as seriously as you’re taking it. If you “just” didn’t want to bother anyone, he’ll shake his head at how silly you are, and will definitely try ot plan something nice for you. If it’s something that happened because you have some other underlying problem, he’ll be there to listen. Honestly, he’s been through so much shit, he can definitely listen to you.

Not really the kind of guy to hype up a birthday TOO much. So if you just don’t like the stress of it all, he’s cool with that. He likes showing you that he thinks about you almost every day, so there’s no need for a special day to celebrate you. He appreciates you EVERY day. Yes he can be an idiot but he really, really does.

Might be a TINY bit hurt and inside that you didn’t tell him something so fundamental about yourself. Kakashi believes firmly in being open with each other, and he definitely tells you as much as he can will himself too. So why didn’t you share this with him??? He’d like to know, but again, it’s probably not that big of a deal, he’ll get over it!!

Will definitely NOT ever forget your birthday. He got a shock for life. If your reasoning for not telling him was more lighthearted, he might tease you a bit, acting as if he DID forget, but honestly, the date’s burned into his mind now XD

Depending on your reasoning and your feelings toward birthdays and celebrations, he’ll definitely prepare something nice for you the next year to make up for it

💛 Itachi

Special days like that always have him feeling super emotional. Birthdays, anniversaries, the whole lot. He definitely tries to show you he cares every day, but it can be hard. So special days like that are really important to him.

Will be kind of confused as to why you wouldn’t want him to know. Kind of like Gaara, he understands that different things can be tough for different people, so if you have a personal reason, he’ll definitely be very understanding.

Depending on where HE is at that point in his life, bringing you a gift might prove quite difficult. But he’ll definitely want to bring you something nice. Preferably, something that’ll remind you of him. He might give you an item of his (a necklace, etc), because he thinks those kinda gifts are just really nice to hold onto :’)

Not the type to plan a big birthday party either. But he’ll want to be together, at the very least. He wants to be close with you and the people you love, if possible.

Understands if you don’t want to share certain things with him. He’s had to lie so much before, too. But in general, he’d really prefer being able to be open and honest with you, but it’s okay. He gets it.

If he finds out before your birthday ends, he’ll try to set up a little something for the two of you. Just a sweet little date, nothing too fancy. Just to show you he cares. If you ask him how he knows, he’ll just give you a mysterious smile. The Uchiha know shit.

Won’t exchange too many words about it. Doesn’t make it a big deal unless you secretly really want it to. He holds your hand, and he kisses you, and he tells you that he appreciates you being in his life. He gets sappy like that.

#Anonymous #naruto imagine #gaara x reader #kakashi x reader #itachi x reader

139 notes · View notes

bangtansfavwriter · 4 years

Text

💘bangtan as boyfriends: jungkook💘

-oh my god this soft boy

-still can't quite believe you guys are dating and sometimes still blushes very heavily when you kiss him

- it took ages for him to ask you out and he probably wouldn't have done it without a pep talk from seokjin who hyped him up before you and jungkook went on a date together

- he was so timid and tripped over his words a lot, so when you asked "are you saying we should start dating?" he went "oh my god yES PLS"

-he know tells everyone that you asked him out first bc "the golden maknae of bts, bangtan sonyeondan, behind the scene, world's best band tbh has to be asked out"

seokjin: makes sense, bc said golden maknae looked like he was gonna pass tf out before you two met

jk: .. hyung why you.... I asked y/n out!

seokjin: lies

you: he did... kinda

seokjin: LIES

jk: I find your lack of faith disturbing, hyung..

seokjin: nerd 😚

jk: 😔✊🏼

- a nerd indeed, but cuteee

- very loyal, it already took him long enough to call you his, so he sure af won't give you up

- also very selfless, he loves helping you out with whatever you need help with... even when you don't ask for it

- like when you had a project due and you were stressing out about it bc you had no time for anything else and stuff... he was really worried you'd skip meals to do your work, so he made sure that you'd eat by either coming to your place or calling/texting you, whenever he couldn't come over personally

-he was afraid he'd bother you while you do your work so he was always very cautious but you reassured him it's fine

-but you felt bad bc you couldn't talk much while doing your work... he looked at you and smiled: "it's ok, I'll write some lyrics maybe.. and you do you. we'll give each other strength with our presence, alright?" he started laughing when you got up and cozied up to him. you spent the next 10 mins cuddling, as this was the only reasonable thing to do after he was being so sweet. "so much for no distractions, hm?"

- you still got your work done btw, so no worries

- movie nights are a huge thing for you two, your range is broad af but mostly consists of marvel, disney and studio ghibli. he has a thing for 80s movies tho, felt ferris bueller on a personal level

- cried when he watched the princess diaries for the first time and will end u if anyone hears about it

-rather savage irl but he cries during some movies, especially when he's tired, he gets emotional and even whiny

- for example: he was very sleepy when you first watched the mandalorian together and you swear he started weeping when he first saw baby yoda and he's been obsessed ever since btw

- very thoughtful and caring

- remembers the smallest things about you, will bring you your fav ben&jerry's when you feel down and enjoys the fact that you look at him like the saint he is

- also memorizes your habits and reads your body language so well that it still surprises you even after all the time you've been dating

-you poke his cheeks on any given occasion and kiss his nose, he's not quite sure why but he enjoys it too

- his hugs are just warm ... they make you feel like everything will be ok

- many pancake mornings together

- will never ever forget any birthday or anniversary, he once did tho and he still beats himself up about it but he was busy as hell during that time so you were ok with it in hindsight (which was greatly appreciated bc he truly felt awful)

- very down-to-earth, it doesn't have to be all fancy with him, he's doing just fine with netflix and ramen

- your personal laundry fairy

- looots of laughter and giggles with this one, always cracking jokes

- you guys have like 48394 insides jokes

you: hey.. hey

jk: ?

you: second goose right left

jk: LMAOOOOO WOFT

you: LMAOOO

jk and you: -dying-

rm: this sounds like some terror code

hobi: or a stroke

- sends u memes at 3am, his go-to are kermit memes as reaction memes, he sometimes forgets to use actual words tbh

you: kook, i can't come over today, working late :( but tomorrow is fine tho, you free ?

jk: -kermit crying under the shower meme-

you: jungkook, words pls

jk: oh sorry babe, yeah im free 🤗

- either uses the cutest nicknames or the weirdest which are pretty cute when he explains it (like left shark "bc you stand out")

- displays of 'strong manly man' when he picks you up, and spins you around only to kiss you --- displays of 'babie boy's when pouts until you give him attention or your last pockys ("we can share, you know 👀" - "oh worm? 👀")

- a true romantic deep down, he once surprised you when he decorated your entire house with candles and flowers bc he knew you had a tough time and you legit just started crying. he was overwhelmed for a sec but knew this was just bottled up emotions and relief coming through so he just smiled and hugged you until you calmed down."it's alright, love... let me take care of you." you nodded and smiled at him, while wiping your tears away. "you're the sweetest, you know that?" - "well, obviously. but fire safety was never my forte, so let's be careful, ok?" he said and you both started laughing.

-sings to you very very often, get used to it, even when you're not right next to him you can still hear him humming from afar and it makes always makes u smile

-you two are fiercely competitive, there is no "it's just a game"... you guys play mario, sonic, rayman etc and there's always a whole lot of screaming

-there was a time namjoon jin got so fed up with this that he took the playstation away (+ mario kart) and jungkook and you had to find other gaming options

-some examples of truth or dare sessions between you (in the safety of your own home):

you: i dare you to dance to begin

jk, in his pyjamas: wha- ... no!

you: truth it is, then. what was the dumpling incident about?

jk: nevermind, I'll do the dance.

you: squeeze the ketchup bottle empty with your thighs.

jk: ?????? jesus, you take your kinks to a whole knew level. choose something else, the stains will be nasty as hell.

you: wear booty shorts👀

jk: you wants thighs and booty, huh? 👀

you: you bet 👀👀

(a blessed day for u tbh)

jk: babe, i dare you to dance to fire.

you: ?????? well, I can try, but you should get me an inhaler, my lung capacity may not suffice for this

(jungkook laughed so hard when did it that he was the one that needed an inhaler)

-takes lots and loots of pics of you when you're together and of the location you went together , posts the view on twitter sometimes and jokes about you two being official (to fans) without really being official

- you two go on walks together, have coffee shop dates, go to concerts (and go fckn feral when u go see iu), visit art galleries where you mostly imitate everything and touch things you shouldn't touch, go to karaoke places ... and you also do art together! that was actually his idea were he bought a shitload of acrylic paint and huge linen sheets and you had your first painting date, which has become a tradition ever since.

- something that jungkook absolutely loves and appreciates is that you guys never run out of topics to talk about

-the intellectual stimulation he gets from you is pretty much unmatched and that's also something that made him realise he's into you before you started dating

- 2 sides of the same coin: smart, charming and kind // absolute crackhead (remember the vid with his goggles? vids like that are now your exclusive content from yours truly)

- once chased down chickens when you visited a village together and ran away screaming when a huge ass rooster chased after him ( u filmed it ofc)

- lives for dramatics, gains new life power on Halloween when you two do shenanigans on bighit's annual party

- he loves the fact that you're still a child at heart and that you're not too stuck up to scare hobi and jin with michael myers masks on (but you did feel pretty bad about it when hobi almost fainted)

- you're super savage when you want to be and he loves it when you are... ngl... you being assertive and all kinda turns him on lmaoo

-your green card to get him to laugh whenever was saying "you sexy beast" and he'd forget whatever issue you were having before, as long as it wasn't something too important obviously

-loves you show you off, especially when you guys are all dolled up and ready for a night out "look at us being all sexy and shit, like, how dare we look this hot, jimin-hyung hates it when someone looks hotter than him" - "hmmm kook, imagine if I'd have jimin as my date today, the place would burn up" - "...." - "kook, i was joking..." - "right shark" - "I WAS JOKING BABY" - "........say it. you know the deal." - "i would rather die" - "go hang with hyung then, i'm gonna stay home" - "you...." -

👀👂 - "YOU SEXY BEAST" - jungkook laughed until he couldn't breathe when yoongi, who just passed by you two, and you stared at each other, completely mortified. you: how to unsay things... / yoongs: how to unhear things/ jk: -on the floor and in dire need of an inhaler"

- you couldn't face yoongi the whole night, whereas jungkook occasionally stared down jimin who had no clue what the heck was going on and munched on some appetizers

- jealousy is not a big thing for him but he still doesn't quite like it when someone is too touchy with you

- he trusts you, absolutely no doubt about that or he wouldn't have even entered a relationship with you, as he has high standards about who to let into his life, especially with potential lovers

-that's why everyone knew you guys were serious about each other and it was hardly surprising that you got to meet his family shortly after you guys started dating (his mother loved you btw)

-has like 200 pics of the day you met gureum

- an absolute sucker for you, you could say you want the n seoul tower to flicker in purple and pink lights and he would get it done somehow

- very sensitive to touches so ......👀

- loves your room bc he says it always smells like your lotions and laundry

- you sometimes surprise by setting the mood with some smooth music and nice fragrances and the world comes to a halt for him, it's just him and you

-shower him in affection and he's putty in your hands, legit, when he first performed euphoria and did the high note at the end you spammed tf outta your messenger and hyped him up and he actually got so hype he jumped around backstage after the concert and sprinted to you when he saw you, twirled you around and, for the first time, kissed you while the guys were there

-he still gets teased about it tho, but he doesn't really care bc your support means the world to him and he values it too much to care about the guys

-you guys went home that night and he serenaded you while you were cuddling. you guys started talking about songs, especially your favourites. you got sleepy when he started talking about 'home' and softly sang it to you, until he realised you dozed off. he smiled to himself and caressed you hair, as you had layed your head onto his chest. admiring your sleeping figure, closely entangled with his broad frame, he said to himself: "this is home..."

75 notes · View notes

atopearth · 4 years

Text

Ayakashi: Romance Reborn Part 2 - Koga (Book II Dawn Chapter)

I assume that just like the heroine, Akiyasu probably has around 5 ayakashi contracted with him, and one of them is Kagemaru? Ooh, so not only did Akiyasu steal the Tome of the Forbidden, he also started the Wraiths and is trying to use the heroine as a sacrifice to revive the dead? I honestly appreciate the explanation because I kinda forgot some stuff since the last time I played the story haha. And that's why he kidnapped the heroine's father, because he wants to use him as a bargaining chip with her. In accordance with all this, he wants to summon a great Wraith that is slumbering somewhere in the capital to I guess destroy the soldiers and everyone he hates for killing his father and other Onmyojis? Well, Kyonosuke is very controlling, he has no right to stop the heroine from going after Akiyasu or even interacting with him considering the circumstances with her father. Especially since her father got hexed protecting her and who knows how he is doing now, like sure they'll keep him alive but to what extent? The only reason it is a bad idea now is that they don't know where they are and their forces so they have no choice but to wait anyway though. I'm glad the heroine realised how silly she was to fight alone instead of needing Koga to reprimand her. She was the one that told him it was reckless to fight by himself but here she is doing the exact same thing. It's nice that she was able to realise how irrational she was being because of her father, but I'm glad Koga didn't shout at her and instead was there to listen to her since I guess he knew how wrong it was for her to be here alone. I'm glad Koga reasoned with her that her father is most likely alive because Akiyasu still needs him for leverage, and they wouldn't bother hauling him off with them if he was dead lol. I really liked how kind and attentive he was towards her since her emotions were all over the place, it was really wonderful to see him care for her like that.

Ooh, Koga knew Masanobu's older brother, and that's probably why he cares for him and his family so much. It's sad though, not only did the brother die, the father was possessed by a Wraith and imprisoned/left to die since it's impossible to rid of a Wraith without an Onmyoji... The poor people who couldn't be saved... Well, tbh, although it's terrible that the soldiers kill those possessed because there's no other way they know of to save them, I'm not sure leaving them to die is any better. Like, I know at least they're not killing them in cold blood, but imagining them suffering in agony as their souls are consumed by Wraiths doesn't sound any kinder. So really, I can't blame them for that, but I would blame them for killing all the Onmyoji that could have helped all these people and their whole situation. I didn't think that Akiyasu would give his body to be corrupted by the Masakado Wraith in order to exact his revenge against the capital... Also surprising that Koga allowed himself to go into his carnage form (where he loses control of his mind and relies on instinct; some kinda rare condition that some Oni ogres have) in order to stop Akiyasu. I felt bad that Kuya was burdened with killing him if this ever happened, so I'm glad the heroine remembered about the sachet (through her dream of the past her) to help him seal his strength again. I thought it was really nice that the sachet was just the catalyst in getting Koga to come to his senses, but it was her and his feelings that gave Koga strength to overcome that part of him and regain himself back. It was really cute how shocked he was when she shouted at him for drinking sake instead of resting though haha. No wonder why Koga said he doesn't think that he deserves to be Masanobu's brother... It's because when his parents were killed in a fire (possible murder), his mother wasn't able to make him the medicine to stop his carnage from going out of control, and it was then that he encountered the brother and killed him without even knowing... It's such a terrible story... It's kind of saddening that Koga actually knew about the heroine before they even met because he dreamt a lot about the past her's death and how she would always die in his arms because he couldn't protect her. That's hard. But if he gives up on his life now without even trying his best to find ways to cure his carnage, then she will like him have to carry the guilt of his death forever. He shouldn't lose hope yet! I love her relationship with her father though, he knows something is going on but understands that she can't tell him anything, and just silently believes in her and cares for her, it's really sweet.

Kyonosuke really plays so dirty that I'm honestly finding it hard to like him. He has no respect towards Onmyoji yet expects the heroine and her ayakashi to do the government's bidding because this is the "regulated law" whereas whatever they're doing is like renegade stuff. He even practically decided to kill them because they're not listening to him, like wow, are you sure dude? Even if they're disobeying, you do realise that the reason you reached out to the heroine was because you knew you couldn't handle the Wraiths through normal means? It's just pretty crazy how Kyonosuke thinks he has all the power and authority when the government is more of the one needing help. Honestly, just with Kyonosuke's attitude, I'm more keen on siding with Akiyasu, but only if he weren't so crazy either lol. His methods may be wrong but I do understand Akiyasu's motivations. I'm glad she's listening more to Akiyasu and understanding more about what kind of person Kyonosuke is and how it's people like him who has caused Akiyasu to rise up and fight violence with violence. Listening to Kyonosuke will not bring peace to the capital and I'm happy she's decided that she must go against him, or basically just not align herself with him. Like, he probably has his own issues to deal with inside the government etc, but honestly, he's pretty ruthless towards anyone that doesn't agree with the government and it's hard to empathise with him when the cause of all this trouble is because the government killed all the Onmyoji. Anyway, Koga coming to his senses because of the heroine was cute. I really like how they've basically confirmed their feelings for each other by the heroine asking Koga to never leave her, and him replying that he'll never leave the woman he loves. It took a long time for their sort of reincarnation to reunite, but it was all worth it.

Overall, I knew there wasn’t much romance in these Book II stories from what other people have said, but I still quite enjoyed it. Sure, it’s not very focused on the romance but I’m cool with it because I think Koga’s story was relatively interesting and I think the book helped to develop his character, which I think is much more important before the romance really comes haha, well hopefully there’s a continuation, I mean, there’s gotta be! XD Anyway, I enjoyed how mature and understanding Koga is balanced with how thoughtful the heroine is. They’re not the most interesting couple but I think they work well seeing how considerate they both are towards each other.

#ayakashi romance reborn

12 notes · View notes

kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

Text

August 13: 1x10 The Corbomite Maneuver

So I watched The Corbomite Maneuver with my mom and B together today. It was interesting... Tbh I would almost rather watch each ep twice with each of them alone but I figure there’s no non-rude way to say that lol.

At any rate this is one of my favorite episodes. Heck I should just rewatch it by myself lol.

Bailey’s out here in the wilds of undiscovered space ad he’s complaining lol, way to make a first impression.

Spock’s so intense in this early episodes. He likes to raise his voice a lot.

Oh no, it’s.... a windows screen saver!

That sounds mocking but I love the little floating space buoy.

Uh, Sulu, steer around it.

Spock: “Lol why are you yelling??”

Spock in the Captain’s chair: hot.

Kirk working up a sweat: also hot.

Pre-Chekov, the Navigator seat was definitely cursed.

Love how Kirk doesn’t even bother to put his shirt on when he walks out of medbay. Such gratuitous nudity.

McCoy and Kirk are so good in this episode. I feel like people put too much emphasis on McCoy’s grumpiness--he is and you can see that, but he’s also rather sweet and funny. “I’m a doctor, not a moon shuttle conductor.” “I’m going to start talking to myself.”

Kirk walking through the hallways: Lady Gaga plays over the PA system.

(This is a walk walk fashion baby reference.)

Is changing first really necessary? This is an emergency situation.

But of course he doesn’t bother to totally put on the shirt before he calls Spock.

“Have you considered getting your adrenaline gland removed?” At least Sulu appreciate Spock’s humor.

Scotty: I don’t know what’s going on here. And that’s my report.

“I’ll take that into consideration... when this becomes a democracy.”

Twenty-fourth century staff meetings: still a drag! Sulu literally falling asleep at the desk.

“And you don’t recommend sticking around.” Come on guys, laugh at the Captain’s joke! (He’s such a nerd omg.)

The infamous Emotional Security Scene... Honestly Spock don’t you know the main job of a First Officer is to provide emotional security?

Also they’re in love just fyi.

“Gentleman, do your homework, or I shall send you to your rooms.”

He demands the best from everyone but no one more than himself!!!

If Bailey was promoted too fast then how did 22 year old Ensign Chekov end up with the navigator position?

GREEN LEAVES? FOR A MEAL?

Lbr a male yeoman would be no easier for Confirmed Bisexual Captain Kirk.

A red alert! Excellent excuse to abandon the salad.

I gotta say I still don’t know what that big-ass ball is? A planet? A ship? A space station? I think a space station. Anyway it looks too much like a virus for me.

Kirk introducing the Enterprise as an Earth vessel... ah the good UESPA days.

I adore this Kirk speech. It’s really the essence of Star Trek to me. The core of the utopian vision of traveling out into the unknown with good intentions and goodwill and optimism and hope. We want to meet new beings and make new friends. And when we have misunderstandings, we continue to believe that our core good faith will be reciprocated. I’ve just been really disheartened by all the bad faith in the world, and it makes me value good faith more and that’s what Kirk and the Enterprise crew always had, and it’s so soothing.

Also this is the speech Simon P/gg literally just wholesale stole from so there is that.

Sulu out here doing two jobs because Bailey’s asleep at the wheel.

Well at least Spock’s enjoying himself, learning new things.

Bailey, go to your room.

“Jim, it’s time for my allotted single use of your first name.”

This is another good K/S moment though!! Their connection! That “I’m sor--” Fuck that’s good shit.

Bones, breaking out the threat of making notations in the official record again. That really is his main weapon and I love that.

“Bones, you’ve given me a great idea--poker!” Kirk’s so smart. I love him so much. I don’t have anything deep to say I just adore him.

WHAT

I COMPLETELY FORGOT THIS WAS IN HERE. RANDOM SAREK REFERENCE I’M???

Like.... my mom and I are still talking about this. He’s just gonna interrupt the crisis to be like “hey this random alien reminds me of my father, who was also distant and authoritarian and a little scary but whose approval I desperately seek to this day.” And everyone’s like “weird?” and Spock’s like “my dad’s great though even though I haven’t spoken to him in nearly twenty years.”

Did Sulu set that countdown up himself?

More K/S flirting. “You interested in poker, Mr. Spock? I’d.... love to teach it to you.”

A great Sulu expression there.

Kirk’s really having fun now. At least he and Spock are having a good day.

“I hope I’ve satisfied your curiosity, SPOCK.”

Janice is so underrated. Using a phaser to make coffee.

Scotty just wants a BREAK lol, give him and the ship some REST.

Another thing I love about Kirk is that he never hesitates to do whatever he has to do to save other beings. Ever. There is no question that if the alien is in distress, he’s going to save the alien. And Spock seems kinda surprised at this but like he really shouldn’t be? He is himself a pacifist who cares deeply about protecting life.

Taking Dr. McCoy to take care of the aliens and Baily to learn some stuff.

“Captain, permission to--” “Denied.” Wow, rude.

Spock just wants to see the aliens.

“I need you here” tho??

This is one of the few times they actually discussed what they were beaming into lol.

Lol @ McCoy not feeling adventurous.

What a decadent little alien.

I’d actually forgotten about the puppet face... I’d only remembered what the real alien looked like, not that he had a fake persona. I find it a little weird that he thought he knew enough about humans to know what they would find scary or not--I guess he might have been able to tell by looking at them when they did get their connection going, that they were much bigger than he was, at least.

Spock would have LOVED this opportunity to check out the alien ship.

I love the ultimate Lesson of the ep but I also can’t BELIEVE Kirk is out here just giving away Starfleet officers.

So... I get that the distress call was fake because he wanted to test them--a test Kirk passed EASILY btw--but was the rest of it real? Did he really take offense at their destruction of the buoy? What is the point of the buoy? (Because it really did seem designed to keep people away.) Was he really going to kill them, or take them prisoner? Is the First Federation real?

Like many other Star Trek episodes, it leaves a lot of questions for further consideration.

I like to think the First Federation is real and that Balok was just on the outer edges of THEIR space (hence why he’s all alone) and that eventually the First Federation and the United Federation become friends, perhaps with Bailey as Ambassador.

Also it’s way too late and I’m still hungry and so I can’t really unpack this but...there’s also the whole question of how Kirk sees himself in Bailey. I mean there’s a lot to contemplate in that. I didn’t think Bailey was all that tbqh and he also wasn’t what I picture young Kirk to be (not nerdy enough) but he was obviously included to give us yet another aspect of the Captain, in what my mom rightfully pointed out was his big introduction (considering this is literally ep 2 in production order).

Next up: The Menagerie Part One! Some good old Pike action.

#star trek tos #the year 2020 #2020: fandom thoughts #2020: star trek

3 notes · View notes

murasaki-murasame · 5 years

Text

Thoughts on Sarazanmai Episode 4: “I Want To Connect, But You’re So Far Away”

Or maybe I should say, ‘I Want To Connect, But You’re Soba Away”? :V

There’s a whole lot going on in this episode, but above all else I’m gonna have the scene with Mabu saying ‘that’s yesterday’s noodle’ stuck in my head for the next while.

tfw you’re yesterday’s noodle u_u

Anyway, thoughts under the cut.

In this episode of Sarazanmai, we learn that on being a teenage drug dealer, Toi has also literally murdered a dude before. Which actually isn’t all that surprising, considering that we’ve already seen him waterboarding a dude with his brother before.

It sure does say a lot about this show that you can say that the reveal of one of the main characters having shot someone when he was a child is almost underwhelming because you’ve already seen him torture a dude, lmao.

I did really like how all of the flashback sequences were handled in this episode, though, especially the secret leaking sequence. This episode in particular makes me feel like I’m missing out because I haven’t watched Penguindrum yet, since everyone says that Nobuyuki Takeuchi [the episode director for this episode and one of the head directors on this show as a whole] was responsible for the best episode of it. But I know him mostly for his work on the first season of Bakemonogatari, and at the very least I can say that you can REALLY tell he worked on that show as well. Especially with all the shots of urban environments and cityscapes and whatnot.

The only thing that really felt weird about the flashbacks was how it felt like Kouki Uchiyama barely tried to change his voice even when he was voicing Toi as a little kid, so that immediately sounded kinda weird and jarring. But other than that it was all great.

You could piece together the gist of Toi and Chikai’s relationship from what we’d already seen of them, but it was nice to get a deep dive into exactly what’s going on. So basically Chikai got involved in gang stuff, stole money from another gangster to pay off his family’s debts, which lead to Toi shooting that dude, and now Toi is trying to become part of the criminal underworld so that he can stay near his brother, even while Chikai is clearly trying to push him away so he can live a normal life.

We’ve technically already heard it from the first PVs ages ago, but Toi’s whole monologue about how anything and everything can disappear and be forgotten is even more interesting now with the whole context of how whenever each kappa zombie gets defeated, they very literally get erased from existence, and from the memories of people who knew them, and even from stuff like photos they were in.

And on the note of kappa zombies, this week’s one was another mostly unimportant background character who was a bit of a sexual deviant that got caught by Reo and Mabu and made into a kappa zombie. It at least continues the trend of the zombie of the week being some sort of a foil to the character being focused on, since this whole episode was about Toi’s history with his family’s soba shop, and the kappa zombie was someone who ran a different soba store, and who basically had a fetish for wanting to use his girlfriend’s bathwater to make a giant soba bowl for them to soak in. With how all of the zombies are silly and exaggerated versions of the sorts of desires that the main characters have, you can see how it relates to Toi wanting to protect his family’s soba shop and live with his brother.

Everyone keeps saying that episode six will be where things really get shaken up plot-wise, but I feel like the next episode might also be pretty interesting, going by what Reo and Mabu talked about with them wondering if they should change things up.

And on the topic of the next episode, I’m hoping that we actually get to see Kazuki’s whole ‘let’s literally kidnap Sara so I can take her place at the handshake meeting all so that I can keep up the weird ruse I have going on with Haruka’ mission play out. It sounds so incredibly bonkers that I just want to see how it goes.

It’s kinda funny that, considering what this episode was actually about for the most part, pretty much everything Kazuki does feels more strange and unsettling than anything Toi’s done. I think it’s mostly because Toi’s motives are spelled out very explicitly, and he doesn’t try and hide any of it, whereas Kazuki’s one big complicated mess of mysterious motivations and feelings. And even though Toi has fully committed to being a criminal, Kazuki is in this uncomfortably creepy grey area where he clearly doesn’t want to acknowledge that anything he’s doing is bad, but he’s also completely willing to happily tell Toi about how he wants him to help him kidnap Sara. He even had a whole map printed out to help illustrate the very specific plan he wants the two of them to go through with to make it happen, which includes Toi knocking Sara’s manager out and locking him somewhere where he won’t bother them. There’s just something distinctly creepy about the boundaries Kazuki crosses and the attitude he has about it, and I kinda love it.

While I’m thinking about it, I should also say that I’m starting to think that Kazuki is very intentionally using his Sara disguise to manipulate Toi. I think he’s already figured out that Toi has a bit of a crush on him, at least in his Sara outfit, and this episode really makes it seem like he’s exploiting that to his benefit. The part where he runs up and hugs Toi stands out in particular, since he didn’t really have any specific reason to be so pushy and suggestive about it. Before the episode came out and we just had the preview images, I thought it’d be the sort of scene where, for example, Kazuki is running from someone and ropes Toi into acting like his boyfriend or whatever, which would have explained the sudden hug and the hushed explanation of what he wants Toi to do, but nah. He just did that, entirely of his own volition, instead of just walking up to him and talking like a normal person. In general he seems to be having a lot of fun getting into the Sara persona when he’s alone with Toi, which I think is very telling in a lot of ways.

I really hope that some sort of a legit love triangle starts to develop here, if only because I think it’ll lead to a lot of juicy drama, and tbh it’d feel a bit weird if a lot of this stuff didn’t actually go anywhere.

And as yet another element of Kazuki being surprisingly hard to understand, we have the whole post-credits stinger scene of him giving his dish to Toi and finally revealing that he actually hates Haruka.

There’s a lot of ways this can go, so for the most part I’m just gonna wait and see, but I agree with basically everyone else that my initial guess is that it’s probably some sort of resentment toward Haruka because of the special attention and accommodations that have to be given to him because of his disability. Which would also make sense based on how apparently the light novel makes it a bit more clear that whatever happened to Haruka might have been a relatively recent accident, and so it might have been a much more disruptive and unexpected force in Kazuki’s life.

As a disabled person, this sort of topic always hits really close to home with me, in some really uncomfortable ways, so even though I’m excited to see where it goes, and I have faith that Ikuhara will handle it well, I’m still kinda apprehensive. It’s not like it’s an unrealistic or ‘bad’ topic to write about, but it just always makes me uncomfortable and self-conscious when stories have able-bodied characters that resent disabled people they know because of their special needs. The fact that Kazuki’s the cagey and neurotic one while Haruka is just a normal little kid who clearly wants to just have a normal relationship with his brother gives me hope that it hopefully shouldn’t at least devolve into straight-up ableism territory.

Either way, I’m excited to see where the next episode goes.

And on a side note, in a few weeks I’m probably going to be importing the ReoMabu prequel manga. I really want to get the light novel as well, but I think I’ll wait until I can at least order both volumes of it at the same time.

#murasaki rambles #sarazanmai #all of the main cast members are messy bastards and I LOVE them

20 notes · View notes

ca-3 · 5 years

Note

From the send me a character: Mahiru

wow two asks for Mahiru OvO;;) well okay then!

First impression: Somehow seems both like your typical average shounen main character… but also a lot different for other anime mc’s that I have seen before??? Not sure if he’s really brave or just kinda insane…. 😅 Oh well, at least he’s cute. 😂💕

Impression now: Oh my gosh, I can’t even begin to explain how proud I am of Mahiru’s character development!!! I don’t even know where to begin, but the only issue I have now is that I feel like the more we learn about Mahiru’s character the more tragic his character seems… he’s gone through a lot in recent chapters…(with being injured, us learning about his real father… and then the untold story about his mom) and while he seems to be handling most things well so far, there’s still a lot Mahiru is unaware about… and I feel like everything is going to hit him at once at some point,,, and that makes me real sad for him. ;;; I’m sure he’ll stay strong, but Strike has been full of surprises lately so I’m extremely skeptic to say that fksafkajdlsj

Favorite moment: Huh. I just suddenly realized I have never thought about my most favorite Mahiru moment… I have several tbh but Mahiru vs. Touma was all pretty awesome!! Well expect for one certain part if you know what I mean…it made my arm hurt too….

Idea for a story: jlkjkas I have so many random aus including Mahiru already. 😂 I think my favorite is age au? and married au heheehehe~

Unpopular opinion: Most of these are very rare now, but at one point this was pretty prominent? But I don’t like when Mahiru is treated like he’s super dainty or weak. :/ and he’s always “the uke uwu” and then people use that to treat Mahiru like he’s some kind of damsel in distress? Like… I’m sorry but what part of Mahiru is weak? He’s literally braver and mentallystronger than a lot of other characters. I know Mahiru makes very reckless decisions and can be overly trusting sometimes and has to be saved from that,-oh when will he learn? Mahiru may be a human character and isn’t as strong as a vampire, but come on he’s not that pathetic or dumb. Another thing I’m not really a fan of is Mahiru being gender bended so much….? I don’t usually care that much when people do Rule 63 stuff or whatever we call it these days. It’s just when it’s only Mahiru being a girl?? and no one else usuallyfor some reason?? But mainly for only two reasons:

I’ve just personally never been into that kind of thing. Many fandoms I’ve been into over the years do the whole “take a ship that’s originally two boys or two girls and make one of them a girl or guy so the ship is straight now” I couldn’t ever really get into it,,, I always found it really odd no matter what the context was. Not like context is usually ever given tho…? It’s just weird to me.

There’s another personal reason…It was only super early in the fandom I knew a small group of people who liked Fem!Mahiru and I thought the ideas and stuff were cute when I listened to them at first, but… then I learned that they preferred Mahiru ONLY as a female? and they hated ALL “yaoi” ships?? So the only time they would make anything KuroMahi was only when they gender bended Mahiru… they did that for many other ships I learned too, While it might not really bother me in other circumstances people should be allowed to enjoy their fiction the way they want to and we should all be respectful of that, But that was the only case when it started to really rub me the wrong way. What’s even worse was when they explained why they liked Mahiru better as a girl… “He’s basically a mom already xD, and does super girly things like cooking and housework anyways!! He’s the perfect housewife!! It’s just so easy to gender bend him!!!” I’m sorry but that’s all kinds of fucked up to me because a man doing housework shouldn’t be considered overly feminine or weird. Because knowing how to do those things are important for anyone to know, especially when you live alone. So it should be considered normal that a guy knows how to cook and care for his home, but noooo. To them it’s only a women’s job I guess. So therefore Mahiru is better off as a girl. Stop. It’s sexist. Like… why ship a ship that’s two guys in the first place when you only like the ship when only one of them is a girl? Just ship an actual straight ship instead lol I’m glad that’s NOT the case for everyone, but only that specific time it really bothered me, so it was hard for me to get back into it ever. Also cause op admitted to being homophobic anyways. So yikes. wow this section got long…. ksdsjlfakjf ;;;

Favorite relationship: Sakuya and Mahiru or Kuro and Mahiru (or better yet KuroMahiSaku lol) I’ve always liked both individual ships in their own different way. Both have always fluctuated being either romantic or platonic to me, it’s always just depends on certain things. I only like when they are portrayed just right. 👌 I’ve seen both ships portrayed in weird ways lol But for both I’m fine with either being portrayed as a romantic relationship or even just a really good friendship. 💙❤💚 The reason I started liking both relationships in those ways is because just how important Mahiru is to both Kuro and Sakuya. Mahiru cares about them both like how he cares about all his friends. ;w;) Honestly, I like all of Mahiru’s other friendships too. I wish we could see Mahiru interactions with his other friendships too ;v;) I would love to see more eve and eve friendship moments. Like with Misono, Tetsu or even Licht. Also Ryusei and Koyuki… where are they?

Favorite headcanon: It’s too hard for me to pick just one– but all the hcs recently about what Mahiru really is have been super interesting!

okay it’s 12 a.m and I ramble aaaaAAA

Send Me a Character

#ca3 asks #anon #i don't know why the spacing is so weird on mobile #but its fine on desktop???#oh well lksjflasjd;

15 notes · View notes

ralfstrashcan · 5 years

Text

3x11 Reaction / Commentary

So I haven't even started the episode and I'm already confused.

Why did Netflix put 3B in a separate folder? I mean, they didn't with 2B. What's the matter with that. Or is this just the German Netflix??

Smoooooothe move. Somewhere Derek Hale is smiling proudly.

Wtf why they so slow. I was half expecting this to be a simulation or sth because they took ages to arrive and then were walking super chill???

Seelie guy doesn't use this obvious distraction of the others to try and escape, since he knows he's just a minor character and shouldn't interfere.

Beautiful grieving sequence, especially Jace with the sketch of himself. I knew there would be a portrait of him in there before he even turned the page, I could feel it. I love how sensitive and therefore predictable the show is.

Ooooh nooooo Clary is still aliiiiiive, who whould have thought?!?!?! Okay sorry haha I had to.

lol didn't he look in a mirror recently and realize there's still no real resemblance? I mean, at least now he's not charred anymore, so I guess there's more resemblance than before, but you know what I mean. And I get it, this is supposed to be a parallelism to Lilith saying the same thing, but if memory serves right, at this point in time Jonathan was a) in a thick glass casket and b) dead so I'm wondering how he could have heard that.

wtf I'm getting sooo mixed signals from him. Does he want to give off creeper vibes or play house? Because he's kinda doing both?? Play Creeper House???

YEAH LITERALLY I WANT TO SEE THEIR HEATING BILLS

This...... doesn't sound as reassuring as it sounded in your head, Jonathan.

So, points for Clary for that ploy, but my heart is already pre-emptively breaking for Jonathan when he finds out she's playing him. The poor guy just wants family after being used and abused his whole life, man. Is that too much to ask.

More points for Clary for being sensible and grabbing a coat!!

“Clary, come on. You can't go out there. You're never gonna survive.”

Hahaha that had me laughing out loud. So Clary.

Okay, minus points for Clary for not actually wearing the coat. You had a winning streak of common sense but all good things must end, I guess.

Picturesque. But, uh, since Jonathan isn't following her she could slow down. And if she was a Slytherin, she would have waited til after breakfast with her daring escape.

LISTEN I LOVE THIS CASUAL DOMESTICITY

Also if you're more make-up versed than I am (which, admittedly, isn't very hard) and realized something was off about the way Magnus held that eyeliner stick (?) then check lynne-monstr's eyeliner salt club tag because it's hilarious. I also want to rec volunteer_of_hufflepuff's fic smile even though your heart is breaking because it's awesome.

...........................really. Really. That's how they want to play it? Ugh, okay. Ugh.

You know, I've had a whole lengthy extensive (dare I say exhaustive) rant ripening in my head since I saw this bit in the sneak peek but I'm just not in the mood, so let me cut it short: I get Simon's reaction emotionally, since losing Clary must be a horrible experience for him, but I'm still bitter about early 3A where blasting that werewolf across Taki's yard and knowing he might never walk again didn't bother Simon for one second. Repercussions should always matter, regardless of how close you are to the person affected.

Oh dear, she's still running. And her hair still looks like that?

Sure. Also

How can he keep up with her when he's walking and she's running? I mean he's not that much taller than her. Or does she run ten feet, pause to gasp and pant a little, runs again, stop and go, y'know? So on average she's just powerwalking.

Ok srsly I need to stop this nonsensical commentary.

Yeah and I guess he didn't notice the Clave-approved vampire-torture-sunlight construction Aldertree installed in this very same office (shown in 2x04 if you care to remember).

........who are you and what did you do to Alec Lightwood? You seriously want to tell me he'd consider not bringing up a violation of the Accords, and more importantly power abuse and torture, because of political reasons and he's “scared” to lose his standing with Jia? Please. He'd be enforcing Clave law. He'd be well within his right. We're talking about the guy who flat out refused to do the Inquisitor's bidding because it went against his moral code. Compared to that, this is a walk in the park. So. Please.

“I understand the kind of pain you're in, Jace.”

“No you don't. I'm sorry, you don't.”

“You're right...

Oh my god this isn't about Clary, or at least not for the most part. Jace is frikking traumatized because he wasn't in control of his body or his actions or his frakking mind for days. Btw I'm actually impressed and surprised they bothered to focus on anything but the Clary-Drama, namely Jace second-hand-killing like 33 people. And Imogen. And almost Alec. The way I see Jace he'll focus on his guilt, not the pain he feels over Clary's loss. Clary will be on his mind and that's one more thing to feel shitty about, because how can he be so selfish and think about his own pain when he brought so much more pain on other people? Jace has an incredibly intricately self-destructive mind and I love how it was portrayed here. Also loved the scene in general with some Izzy&Jace sibling feels, the tender way she talks to him, his kiss to her hand. But the focus (mainly because of Izzy) returning to Clary annoyed me a little.

And by the way, there is one person who can understand Jace. Alec. Because he was possessed by a demon and forced to kill someone, too. Granted, he doesn't have the memories of the action itself, but he saw it on tape. He blames himself because the demon fed off his own hate against Jocelyn. So I would really really love to see those two talking about it. I'm extremely thrilled to watch on and see if they do (but lol kinda hoping they don't because then I can finish writing my ficlet about it, which I sadly didn't manage to before 3B aired).

MY LIFE EXPECTANCY JUST INCREASED BY AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OKAY

Also what a damn badass nightlight, I want one as well even though I hate not to sleep in absolute darkness, that's how pretty this is.

HAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHA I C A N ' T

ALEC'S OFFENDED FACE AS IF THIS IS NEWS TO HIM

Wow I'm so glad they didn't forget about Iris. I was scared, not gonna lie.

Tbh I don't find Madzie's reaction that realistic. I mean, Valentine – the first person to talk to her after she got ripped from her normal life in her normal home – told her Clary got Iris into trouble. At some point they must have told her that Iris isn't coming back. But did they really tell her Iris was breeding warlocks? I highly doubt that. At most they told her Iris did some bad things. But, since they probably said the same thing about Valentine (and he was always “nice” to her) and told her Clary wasn't in fact evil, that kind of loses its meaning. And let's not forget, she is a child. A probably traumatized child, I might add, since Valentine used her to literally kill at least ten Shadowhunters that we see on screen, likely more. Her perception of what is right and what is wrong is easily swayed. And personally I think she neither really registered that Iris is supposed to be the bad guy now nor that living with Catarina / Magnus and Alec is sooooo much better than living with Iris ever was, so her having such a strong opposition against going with Iris seems unrealistic to me.

Love this. So good.

This is actually really beautiful

This is actually really dramatic for no reason and I'm soooo here for it.

Soooooo am I the only one wondering why the F Cat didn't put some wards on Magnus's place? I mean????? There is no explanation given for that, and frankly I can't come up with one. If not for Magnus, then Cat would at least put wards there while Madzie stays with him. Or....... do they want to imply Cat doesn't know that he lost his magic?? Hä?! If so, who the hell patched Alec back up from his neat little life-threatening arrow wound? Cuz I had assumed it was Cat. Since, y'know Jace pleaded with Magnus to help Alec, implying (to me at least) that an iratze alone wouldn't cut it this time. Except of course, if he asked because he didn't want to be bothered with taking out his stele and activating Alec's healing rune, but when Magnus refused because no magic he had no other choice.... and let's be real, the first scene of this episode heavily implies that a healing rune can cure just about anything in 0.3 seconds flat.

Alec wanting to bench Magnus makes no sense. Keeping him around and/or at the Institute makes more sense than, oh I don't know, telling him to stay in his loft where there are no wards. Wtf is logic anyway, right?

I liked this scene, don't get me wrong but... what's with the tough love? Alec isn't usually like that?? He's soft and firm reassurance, not aggressive and authoritative reassurance. Did he try that route before and it didn't work?? I need some answers.

“I had no idea.”

“How could you? You weren't there.”

“Me leaving had nothing to do with Simon. I just needed to be alone.

Okay, what, am I supposed to blame Maia now for needing time for and taking care of herself? She's so defensive as if her leaving was objectively wrong, and it wasn't.

“I guess when times get tough, some people need to be alone. And others need to be around other people.

Please, this is a dirty lie. Remind me again, who was it that pushed Alec away after he found out about her yin fen addiction, insisted she could handle it on her own, ran away and finally confiding in some random stranger she had just met? It wasn't Maia. Who stayed up late all night, disregarding her own emotions and rather tearing herself apart trying to fix the drama of her brothers than to mention to anyone she wasn't alright? Wasn't Maia either.

I feel strongly about this because this seems like a really cheap way to break up Saia and set up Sizzy and I don't like cheap things. I don't like Sizzy either, but my main demand is quality, not a certain content. I'll accept Sizzy if it's done correctly. But this isn't it. This is laying blame on a character who's not to blame, and making claims about another character that are plain untrue if you look at the last three seasons.

I've said it before, there would be good ways to break up Saia. For example their attitude to violence differs greatly from one another. Maia is trigger-happy and sees no harm in it, Simon is more or less pacifistic (at least when he's not having his I-don't-care-about-anything-but-my-gig-mood). Creating a conflict out of this would have been in character. Claiming Maia is somehow to blame because she wasn't there is not only unfair, but also invalidating all Maia has done for Simon before, and that was a lot. Putting up with her shitty ex, helping him search for Lilith, fighting her own pack so they don't bully him. She was about to have a face-off with the Seelie Queen – the very same creature that held her hostage not too long ago – just to be by his side. Is that all suddenly not worth anything anymore, just because she had the audacity to take a little time for herself, to sort through her own issues?

Seriously, he let her walk in that? No wonder she collapsed. Jonathan should have gotten her nice hiking boots.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS

CAN WE JUST.... CAN WE...... APPRECIATE.......... HOW HE BATS ALL HER MAGIC ATTACKS AWAY....... LIKE............ MAGNUS................ H O W

Btw if this is supposed to sway me and make me see that benching Magnus would have been the right call, then it's not working, because fine, let's assume Magnus had gone home. Then Iris would have had an even easier job to snatch him away, because a) no wards and b) no sword. And on top of that Alec wouldn't have had a way of knowing that Magnus was even taken, since I doubt Iris would have let Magnus call or text him.

Do you even know that? I'd like to see what you're willing to do after being tortured for ten years. Just saying. But fine. Stay there on your high horse.

Ohmygod I am stunned. I couldn't have written that summation any better and to be honest I had assumed the show would just blackpaint Jonathan as evil villain and be done with it. This is so much more than I expected. I am impressed. (And of course now I hope that there will be a redemption arc for Jonathan, but I'm afraid I'm setting myself up for heartbreak with this one.)

Do they intend to tell me that this whole place is warmed by the fireplace? Why not by a heater? Since the three billion lamps

imply there's electricity somewhere. Or was that line about firewood just Jonathan's way to exit the scene? Who knows.

“Ollie? Doesn't remember a thing. Praetor was good about getting her and Samantha relocated. New identities. They're safe now, like everyone else.”

I'm still high-key bitter about this. I love Ollie a great deal, okay, so this is a pretty disappointing solution to outsource her from the plot. Just let her forget all the shit so she doesn't have to deal with trauma. Guess she thinks now her mother died in an explosion caused by a gas leakage or something. I wonder what the mundane police has to say about that and how long it'll take them to find her, since, y'know, they have evidence against her and all that.

Edit: This doesn't actually make sense if you think about it. Did Ollie just get dropped into a witness protection program for no reason she can remember? Or does that “new identities” actually mean they have completely new identities because they don't remember ANYTHING from their old life?? I need answers.

I get it. This is supposed to make me see how rundown and wasted Luke is. But is he purposefully trying to make himself look like a confused hobo? I mean couldn't he like, prepare the notes he wanted to show Jace? It's like he's trying to reinforce to Jace he shouldn't listen to a thing Luke says because these are clearly the actions of a desperate man. Presentation is half the battle man, man.

Hah, badass. There's a reason I love him.

I totally dig Magnus in his kiddie clothes, but I also need a lot of answers because there's blood on his hands and bodies at his feet and this doesn't look like magic gone haywire, this looks like a massacre and I need answers. I wonder if they're gonna explain this flash or just let it sit there uncommented. (I hope they address it and I hope it has something to do with Asmodeus and their time together.)

Ugh do I honestly have to reiterate that parking Magnus in his ward-less loft wouldn't have helped? Also, he's a grown-ass man and can make decisions for himself, dammit.

Owning up to his mistakes unrestrainedly. There's a reason I have a soft spot for Raphael.

New York, huh? What a coincidence. Wouldn't want him to live somewhere else and have Maia burn through the other half of her paycheck to pay some warlock to portal them again, right?

Also, not to be controversial, but why don't they ask the Praetor first? Since they had a whole ass book on the mark of cain and everything. And figured out what it is. And getting rid of something so dangerous is basically their job. I mean. Just saying.

You know I always marvel at this. Just because he's old he knows shit? Is there really an age where knowledge pops into your head just because? Because I'm still waiting for that to happen to me, let me tell you. Just like being immortal somehow grants you immediate access to celebrities and the questionable honor to be in the midst of all historical events of the slightest relevance? Srsly if I was immortal I'd still be glued to my lappy and hate going out.

LOL give Iris a front row seat on how you smashed her XD XD XD

IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE

<3 <3 <3

This exchange thing is a ploy, and to be honest, a painfully obvious one. I find it really kinda hard to believe Iris falls for it. What I've been asking myself since this plot line started is, why didn't Iris have that idea herself? Like, I honestly expected her to use Magnus as a hostage and tell Alec he either hand over Madzie or she'll kill Magnus. Makes way more sense than her just trying to find Madzie herself and then what, try to break her out again? That didn't work last time, and since the warlocks are warned by Magnus's abduction it'd be even unlikelier to work now. I get it plot-wise since it'd be a little awkward if Iris out-blackmailed the Shadowhunters, but like. Seriously. What's the in-universe-explanation for this???

I don't know why, but Magnus looks super cute in this shot.

Five bucks say this is Izzy with a shapeshifting rune, and ISTG if this is actually Madzie then I can just shake my head at them.

Okay, I totally dig Lightwood siblings working together but. Why do you have to simultaneously hurt me with plot holes.

1) Where did they get Seelie Magic? Did they employ Meliorn? Srlsy. Also, the Seelie Magic at the beginning of the episode could move so why was Illusion!Madzie standing there like a display dummy? That was super suspicious.

2) Why didn't they use a shapeshifting rune? The illusion would have held longer, Izzy could have gotten closer and tied Iris up more easily, without Magnus getting smashed first. But, drama I guess.

3) Where the f is Catarina? Please. Her ward almost gets kidnapped and all she does is go “Oh shit, gotta relocate her to some other High Warlock lol.” Her best friend gets kidnapped and all she does is go “Oh shit, but whatever, here have a fake ransom note but don't think I'll move my ass from this super important Bitching and Drinking Conference. I payed like 200 bucks to get in.” Wtf. This is shitty ooc behavior from her. Wtf. She's either suuuuuper confident that Alec and Izzy will get Magnus back no problem, or she doesn't give a shit about him, and sorry, I don't believe either of those two options.

HAHAHA I'M SCREAMING LOOOOOL!!! Is this code for “We wanted to kill her but Lilith was quicker so we'll pretend we weren't even interested in killing her in the first place”? The Clave, man. Always good for a laugh.

No, dummy, this is their R&D Department.

I'm not even kidding, remember 2x04:

Oh the good old times.

This was. Really good. Really. I'm like, reeling. I feel like show writers read too many fanfics and therefore the Malec scenes this ep were exquisite. Magnus evasively running around and not liking his “powerlessness.” Alec there to reassure him with the sweetest of words. Their kiss, not to short, but hard and determined, with feeling. Top tier shit.

Wow, even though the words that left their mouths were reassuring and good it still feels like their relationship is suddenly dying. I wonder why that is? Oh, right. Because Sizzy, that's why.

I love.

Ooooh guess the residual electricity finally ran out. And I guess Clary turned all the candles off to match the mood? Also, since it was dark outside before and now isn't anymore.... was Jonathan out collecting firewood the entire night? That's dedication, man.

.......what a coincidence that their healing rune is in the exact same spot. On that note, I've been wondering.... if the ressurection resetted his skin to a state it hasn't been in for ten years, effectively un-charring it, shouldn't his runes have disappeared as well? Did he spend the “days” Clary was sleeping with putting runes all over himself?? On that note, why the hell did Clary have to sleep for days when Jonathan was the one who came back from the dead? All that Clary did was running at Simon in slow motion. I mean, I know what I would find more taxing.

I soooo appreciate the blood on her teeth. Such care for detail <3

Okay, so I realize that this makes Jonathan look like a fanatic, but I actually understand this scene like this: He's not an idiot. He knew Clary wasn't really going to give him a chance. But this, this is his chance, because now she has no choice but to stick with him and see for herself.

Btw if you're wondering why I'm so pro Jonathan, you can read the beginning of this post where I got out all of my Jonathan Feels. Basically, until I actually see him act intrinsically evil I refuse to believe all hope is lost for him. He did terrible things, yes, and he's aware of that, but the way I see it he did them because he wasn't ever presented with an alternate choice. And now that he has one, he's holding onto it tooth and nail. He wants to leave all the pointless violence behind.

I'm aware he's a sadistic psycho in the books, but this wouldn't be the first time the show gave a character a make-over (for the better) and so far the only compelling piece of evidence on the show in favor of Jonathan's demon blood causing him to be unsavably evil was Jocelyn's vision of him killing a flower as a baby, and it's not even clear if that was intentional. So excuse me if that's not enough for me to write him off.

Gif Sources: Malec cheek kiss, Magnus being cutesy with his croc impression, Magnus brandishing his sword *facepalm* you know what I mean, Magnus batting Iris's magic away

#shadowhunters #alec lightwood #magnus bane #jace wayland #clary fray #isabelle lightwood #jonathan morgenstern #simon lewis #maia roberts #luke garroway #jia penhallow #raphael santiago #malec #magnus is badass #reaction

12 notes · View notes