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dracowars · 3 years

Text

ten years apart | anakin skywalker

pairing: anakin x reader

word count: 6,0k

summary: where anakin comes back after ten years

a/n: i'm so sorry for the length but i just couldn't stop writing :( please get a drink and snack before reading this hella long os <3

warnings: angst, mentions of blood

universe: star wars

Exhaling heavily, you throw the garbage bag into the shaft and push it down with all your strength. Beads of sweat have already formed on your forehead which you wipe away with the back of your hand. It is, again, incredibly hot on Tatooine today and the unbearable heat has been beating your mind and body all day. But what temperatures can you expect from a desert planet, right?

The desert planet of hell, as you like to call it. Disgusting creatures, pirates, bounty hunters and actually all kinds of insidious henchmen cavort here in Mos Espa. The city you grew up in. The city you have always been stuck in and probably will be stuck in for the rest of your life. You come from a small and poor family, no money to escape this hell, always having to work hard to survive.

And yet you had a better life than other children here. Because you were lucky enough to not get sold as a slave. Your parents could always raise enough money - often in ways you do not support - to save you. Even though you are more than grateful, you cannot help but to sometimes wonder what would have happened if. If you became a slave, maybe just maybe, you might have met the same lucky fate as him.

It has been ten long lonely years since the two Jedi Masters Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were stranded on Tatooine and seeked help. You were still very young, therefore you can barely remember their faces. But you definetely do remember the face of him, Anakin Skywalker. The little boy from Tatooine.

How could you ever forget him? He was the nicest, bravest and most courteous boy you have ever met in your life. You always knew that something about him was different. The way he acted, the way he thought. There was just something about him that fascinated you and before you knew it you had developed a small crush on him. You got along well and you loved to watch him when he was working on his droid yet again. He always told you about his dreams, how he wanted to help, how much he wanted to get away from this dump called Tatooine. With his mother.

And with you.

Anakin and his mother Shmi Skywalker were slaves and belonged to Watto, one of the many junk dealers and human traffickers of Mos Espa. Even though they must have had a terrible life, Anakin always stayed positive. The smile on his dirt-stained face when he was building on his droid was priceless and you can see it in front of you as if it was yesterday. In fact, it has been ten years.

Ten years since the Jedi Masters took Anakin with them to train him as a Padawan in the ways of the Jedi. You were happy for him, you really were. He was finally able to leave this terrible planet and live a better life elsewhere. But to a certain price, since he had to go without his mother and also without you, his best friend.

"Y/N! These tables do not clean themselves!", a voice calls for you from inside and you just roll your eyes before leaving the heat outside, entering the building again. Inside, the musty smell of smoke greets you, low music plays in the background and you go straight towards the round bar in the middle of the room. This is the most popular hotspot of Mos Espa: the infamous Twin Sun, a bar in the center of the city. The place where the creepiest species float around, where the dirty business is done.

You absolutely hate your job in the bar. Every day you have to tidy up and serve under worst conditions. Especially in the later hours of the evening, when it is completely overcrowded, you are running back and forth every second, receiving disgusting comments from the guests. However, hardly anyone is here in the early morning and you have to only take care of the leftovers from the previous day. Unfortunately though, you have to endure this kind of job.

Your parents, who always saved you from the worst, are too old and weak now to raise money themselves and you felt obliged to take on this role. That is also the reason why you have several jobs at the same time. In addition to working in the Twin Sun, you also work at some booths at the weekly market and when you are lucky, you can sometimes even help out on the farms outside of the city. It is the only way to ensure your family's survival.

While you are about to wipe the empty tables, the roaring unpleasant noises of podracers echo through the building, sweeping through the bar like an earthquake, and the following loud cheers of the audience can hardly be overheard. The race is also a reason why it is exceptionally empty here today. Almost every living creature in Mos Espa is in the Grand Arena, cheering on their favorite, probably making some bets beforehand.

Personally, you hate these races more than anything.

Besides being totally unfair and dangerous, it is really just about the money - the money you do not own. The same participant always wins and despite your hatred of these races, you watched one of them for the first and last time when Anakin himself participated, won and was thus able to free himself from slavery. Only his mother remained on Tatooine but he promised he would come back and rescue her once he is a fully trained Jedi.

It has now been ten years and he has still not shown up.

Well, maybe he did show up after all, just did not look for you as he initinally promised. Maybe he only picked up his mother, not you.

A few years ago you had to watch how his mother got sold at the weekly market, but the buyer actually seemed very nice and later you found out that he even gave her freedom and took her as his wife. The man called Cliegg Lars used to come to the bar regularly until a few weeks ago. Does Anakin know, or can he maybe even feel, what happened?

"What do you think you are doing?! Finally work for your money or I will kick you out!", the bartender, who is also your boss, suddenly yells at you and pulls you out of your thoughts. "Sorry", you huff out and continue to clean up the tables at a quicker pace. It is a day like any other day. At least that is what you thought.

After you have cleaned all the tables you stand behind the bar and tidy up the glasses. Meanwhile it is already in the afternoon and the bar is much more crowded than it was this morning, which means more work for you. However, for some inexplicable reason, you are very distracted today, your mind always wandering off, and when you do not pay attention for a tiny second, a glass slips out of your hand and shatters into a million pieces.

"Watch out!", your boss grumbels at you immediately, only waiting for such an opportunity. Quietly cursing under your breath, you pick up some of the broken pieces. With a hiss you reflexively pull back your hand after accidentally cutting yourself on a sharp piece. Quickly, you put the small bleeding area against your lips to stop the blood from flowing.

"A table just got free back there! Clean it", your boss orders, not waiting for you to get up again as he almost throws the wet cloth into your face. Trying to control the rising anger inside of you as best as possible, you stand up, dispose of the broken pieces and make your way to said table. When you reach it, you have an uncomfortable feeling all of a sudden, a feeling of someone watching you. You turn around but do not see anyone looking into your direction. Shaking off the weird feeling, you take care of your task and then go back behind the counter to do your work while you hear your boss talking loudly to one of the guests on the other side.

"Watto, Watto.. Never heard of him before", he says thoughtfully over the music. You frown irritated and bend over to be able to see your boss. He is talking to a young, handsome man who seems quite determined about finding Watto. "Buy something or get out of here, kid!", your boss suddenly threathens, but the young man seems pretty unimpressed. Nevertheless, he turns around and leaves but not without your eyes meeting first. His blue eyes shimmer in the weak light and while turning away, he pulls the brown hood of his cloak over his head.

Even though your boss did not call you for help, something deep inside of you tells you to help this unknown, mysterious man. After all, you actually know Watto. You worked for him in your younger years until he went bankrupt eventually. Therefore, it is very uncommon and suspicious for someone to ask for him.

You put everything aside right away and go to your boss, who seems to be in an extremely bad mood today. "I take my break now", you quickly let him know and without giving him a chance to answer, you already head towards the entrance. When you arrive outside, you take a look around and spot the young man just a few meters away from you. Running after him, you gently tug on his sleeve to draw his attention to you.

"Excuse me", you stop him in his tracks and he turns to you with confusion written all over his face. "I heard you ask my boss about Watto in the bar. I know where to find him."

His face seems even more surprised now and he raises his eyebrows. "Really?", he asks, a hint of hope in his voice. You nod in agreement. "Can you lead me to him?", he resolutely asks and you nod again.

"You do not look like you are from here. What do you want from Watto?", you ask him curiously and go ahead to lead the way while he follows right behind you. "That is not important and also none of your business, I think", he replies emotionless, only looking ahead and not at you. You are a little taken aback by his harsh words but decide that it is best to not ask any more questions. He seems quite serious about it and somehow you still cannot get rid of this strange feeling inside of you.

You lead the way to the market, where some stalls are set up, and finally find Watto at his regular place in the shade of a house. He sits on a small chair and is currently busy examining a screw in his hand as you both approach him. Watto raises his gaze when he realizes that someone is walking towards him and as soon as he recognizes you, he flutters into the air excitedly.

"Oh! I have not seen you in a long time", he laughs and looks at the unknown man next to you. "There is someone who was looking for you, Watto", you explain in Huttese and point to the young man next to you, who bows his head slightly as if he could also understand what you are saying. Which is ridiculous, of course, because only Tatooine people can speak and understand Huttese.

Immediately Watto flies back, unsure whether he has done anything wrong. "Excuse me?", he trys hiding his nervousness, suspiciously looking at you.

Instead of telling Watto what he wants, he picks up a piece of equipment and fiddles with it. "Let me help you with that", he murmurs under his breath while actually speaking in Huttese, fixing the broken piece. "What? I do not know you! What can I do for you?", Watto grumbels but his eyes widen at once as he discovers something. "You look like a Jedi. Whatever it is.. I did not do it!"

A Jedi?

The next words abruptly catch you off guard and your heart completely stops beating.

"I am looking for Shmi Skywalker."

You look at him in shock as he pulls the hood down, Watto looking at him exactly the way you do as he finally lets out the words you were too scared to say.

"Ani? Little Ani?", Watto breathes out in astonishment, now using Basic instead of Huttese. When Watto then realizes that he fixed the broken piece, he happily jumps into the air. "You are Ani! You sure sprouted! A Jedi! Hey, maybe you couldda help wit some deadbeats who owe me a lot of money.."

"My mother."

"Oh, yes. Shmi.. she is not mine no more. I sold her", Watto confesses, obviously feeling uncomfortable about the situation while you are still not able to get out a word as they get stuck in your throat.

You were sure that you would never see Anakin again in your life, that he would have long forgotten about you. And now that he is actually back, that he is actually standing right next to you, you cannot believe it. He changed so much that you did not even recognize him.

And it seems he does not recognize you either.

"Sold her?"

"Years ago. Sorry, Ani, but you know, business is business."

"Who did you sell her to?"

"I-I do not remember, actually. I think it was a farmer, yeah, a moisture farmer probably", Watto stutters and his words pull you out of your trance all of a sudden, hitting a trigger in your head.

"His name, Watto."

"I-I think I do not know-"

"Cliegg", you mention softly, turning your gaze to Anakin whose brows are furrowed in confusion. "His name is Cliegg Lars."

"How could you-", Anakin starts, slowly becoming more tense, but as he looks at you more closely, at your face and in your beautiful glistening eyes, his expression suddenly softens. "Y/N?"

"Anakin", you say barely audible, trying to prevent your eyes from watering at hearing your name out of his mouth for the first time in years.

He does remember you. He did not forget about your existence.

You both cannot help but stare at each other for what feels like hours before he gently pulls you into his now very strong arms, hugging you tightly.

After all these years you were separated one would probably think that the hug would be uncomfortable and awkward. But it is far from that. Anakin's embrace is warm and soft, like it used to be when he was still here. He just got stronger and much taller since then.

He grew up.

On a whole different planet, far far away from you.

He has become a Jedi and fights for justice in the galaxy while you are still stuck on the same old planet, struggeling to keep your family alive.

"I can't believe it is actually you, Y/N!", Anakin gives you a warm smile after breaking the hug, his hands still resting on your forearms to keep you close while scanning you from the top to the bottom. "You have grown so much."

"I could say the same to you", you giggle, hiding your bright smile behind your hand while you blush. His blue eyes have become even brighter than you remember them and his face and stature in general look extremely healthy. If someone had told you years ago that Anakin would develop into such a handsome man, you almost would not have believed them. Yet, in your eyes he is still the same Anakin.

"And you are a Jedi", you mumble, pointing to the lightsaber attached to his belt under his brown cloak. Anakin continues to stare at you for a moment before finding his way back to reality.

"O-Oh yes. My lightsaber", he stumbles over his words and looks down at his weapon, but makes sure to completely hide it behind the fabric after that while clearing his throat. Slowly but surely it suddenly gets a bit awkward between you, none of you knowing what to say or where to start.

You have so much to tell him and still want to ask him so many question, but you do not know how.

"So, you know where my mother is?", Anakin finally speaks up again and breaks the silence, but with a question you did not quite hope for.

"It is very far outside of Mos Espa, yes. I can bring you there", you answer with a little sadness in your voice. Of course, he wants to find his mother after all these years.

"Hey! When you come back, make sure to visit me. Ani, I could really need some help, you know", Watto calls after you both as you show Anakin the way.

"He has not changed a bit", Anakin chuckles slightly next to you and follows you over the street, where you pass numerous creatures and vehicles.

"We need a vehicle to get there", you absently speak to yourself while searching for a suitable one. "Or a Dewback works too."

"A landspeeder sounds good", Anakin immediately answers after you end your sentence, almost interrupting you. With raised eyebrows you look at him sceptically.

"What happened to your sense of adventure?"

"I got older, I guess", he sighs and you hear out some sadness in his voice for the split of a second, but you tell yourself that it must have been your imagination.

"We all did", you mumble and finally agree to take a landspeeder instead of a dewback, even though it is much more expensive. However, Anakin insists on paying and after doing so you sit in the passenger seat, patiently waiting for him to join you and start driving.

At high speed you whiz over the dry sand and out of the city towards the seemingly endless outback. From time to time you glance over at Anakin, who does not look at you once, not even when you tell him the directions. When you catch yourself staring at him for longer than a second, you look away quickly but not without noticing the changes in his apperance.

His face has become much more striking and his hair got darker. The dark brown cloak that is covering his body compliments his eyes and makes them shine even more.

On your way you drive past a group of Jawas with their Sandcrawler, who are currently busy taking apart an abandoned spaceship that has apparently been stranded out here.

After a few more minutes you finally reach the Lars homestead and get out of the speeder, Anakin giving you a helping hand that you shyly accept. He keeps his gaze on the dome in front of you though and you can feel the nervousness that suddenly emanates from him.

As soon as you both walk towards it, a girl, younger than Anakin and you, comes up the stairs after she has apparently heard your arrival. Which is honestly not very difficult out here regarding the fact nobody comes here that often.

"Can I help you?", she asks, concern in her voice, and the longer you look at her, the more familiar she gets until it clicks in your head. She is Cliegg's daughter-in-law. You have often worked together on the farm. It seems like she already recognized you as the concern in her face slowly fades.

"Beru, right? I often helped you out on your farm", you take a step towards her and she nods in agreement before glancing at Anakin, who is standing directly behind you.

"We are looking for Shmi", you explain and Beru's brows furrow, obviously confused as to why you search for her.

"She is currently at the market in Mos Eisley with my boyfriend. But they should be back any moment", she mentions and then points down the stairs behind her. "If you want, you can wait for her inside."

Accepting her offer, you follow her inside the dome and you are completely amazed when you arrive at the open pit, a crater housing a courtyard from which all rooms can be accessed. You saw the huge hole in the ground before but never paid attention to it.

You follow Beru into what seems to be a kitchen and she asks you to sit down, but before you are able to, Anakin suddenly turns around due to a noise and a man in a power chair appears behind you.

"Who are you? What do you want?", he asks grumpily and Anakin's grip around his lightsaber on his belt, probably a reflex, reduces as you step in between. "Oh, Y/N! It is you!"

"Good afternoon, Cliegg. I am sorry for our unannounced visit, but we are looking for your.. wife", you say, almost whispering your last words, your heart stopping for a moment when you realize Anakin does not even know his mother married this farmer.

"What?", Anakin asks, shocked, his eyes widened and his lips split while he takes a step forward.

"I am Cliegg Lars. Shmi is my wife. Then you must be my stepson", Cliegg introduces himself and offers Anakin a handshake, which gets refused as Anakin just stares at him in disbelief.

"How is that possible?", Anakin breathes, directing his gaze to the ground, and you discover how he fiddles with the sleeves of his cloak in despair.

"I bought her from Watto at that time and gave her freedom before I made her my wife", Cliegg explains calmly, also noticing Anakin's displeasure about the situation. "My son and Shmi are just-"

He does not get to finish his sentence when loud screams and shouts interrupt him out of nowhere, silencing all of you. A brief moment later you are already on your way back up, Anakin ahead.

Once at the top you spot another landspeeder that has stopped in the distance, fuming. Due to the bright sunlight it is difficult at first to see that two people approach you, followed by several aggressive, snarling Massiffs. Disgusting beasts from hell that usually only live in the mountains unless they have been tamed by Tusken Raiders for their own purposes.

Quickly, you come to the conclusion that they must have been attacked by Tusken Raiders, who are now chasing their pets after them. It takes another second until you all realize that these two people running towards you are none other than Anakin's mother and stepbrother.

"Owen!", Beru desperately exclaims next to you, hands covering her mouth in shock.

Without hesitation, Anakin and you sprint straight towards them at the same time, hoping to somehow help and save them. But when suddenly a blue light brightly erupts next to you, you almost forget to keep running.

Anakin now runs towards them with his ignited lightsaber, much faster than you, and reaches them in seconds. Positioning himself protectively in front of them, waiting until they have run past him, he kills one of the Massiffs with the single stroke of his deadly weapon.

"Y/N, get them to safety!", Anakin shouts while he is fighting with the Massiffs, and you obey his words, quickly escorting them back to their house.

Glancing back after you have brought them inside safely, Anakin has just fended off an attack and pushes the monster a few meters back through the air, his hand outstretched. Finally, yowling and panting, the few survivors retreat and if you would not have called out Anakin's name, you are sure he would have followed them.

Deactivating his lightsaber, he quickly comes back to you, his face flooded with anger and pain. However, instead of paying attention to you, he walks straight past you.

"Are you injured?", you catch his upper arm worriedly and bring him to a stop. Shaking his head, he immediately removes his arm from your grip and continues his way down the stairs. With a sigh, you follow him.

"Where is she?", Anakin asks emotionlessly when reaching the bottom of the stairs, stopping abruptly and causing you to accidentally run into him.

"Ani?", a quiet voice finally sounds and Shmi steps out.

"Mom", Anakin swallows hard and embraces her tightly in his arms as she comes running towards him. After ten long years, mother and son are finally reunited.

"Oh, you look so handsome", Shmi sobs and takes a closer look at Anakin, taking his face between her hands, whereupon Anakin places a kiss on her palm. "My son. Oh, my grown up son. I am so proud of you, Ani."

"I missed you", he sniffs in response and a few tears find their way down his, her and also your cheeks.

"You came back, I can't believe it", she happily smiles at him, pride showing in her eyes.

"Just like I promised", he gives her the same smile and they hug each other again.

"And you saved us. You truly became a Jedi", Shmi sobs and Anakin gives her a kiss on the forehead before her gaze falls on you for the first time. "Y/N! Thank you so much for bringing him here."

"Of course", you wipe away your happy tears and smile back at her.

"Let us eat something, children", Cliegg then suggests while already being on his way to the kitchen, followed by his son and daugther-in-law.

"You might want to freshen up. I will show you where you can", Shmi offers and leads you both through a hole in the wall into a medium-sized room before she reluctantly separates from Anakin.

"Show me your leg", you order as soon as Shmi is out of reach and he turns around to you in confusion. "Your leg, Anakin. I saw you limp."

"It is not that bad", he shrugs it off and puts his Jedi robe aside, revealing his broad shoulders.

"Please", you repeat again and stare at him worriedly until he is no longer able to hold your gaze and pulls up his pants to reveal his leg. You have to swallow hard when a gaping wound appears on his shin and it takes you a lot of self control to not scream at him right there.

"That has to be treated, Ani!", you rebuke him indignantly, but now he is the one who keeps staring at you until you notice what you have just said. "A-Anakin, I mean."

"N-No, no! It is okay. I like when you call me that, it just... it has been some time since you last did", he clears his throat and your cheeks turn into a slight shade of red.

"Y-Yes, a long time ago. But we have gotten older, like you said", you stutter out, trying to make the situation less awkward. "I will ask if they have Bacta patches here, fix you up and make my way home."

"What are you even talking about?", Anakin raises his voice all of a sudden, rather unintentionally as you notice in his subsequent expression, while he grabs your wrist tightly to keep you from walking away.

"You have just seen your mother for the first time in ten years. I am sure you have a lot to tell her and I do not want to stand in the way", you explain and place your hand on top of his to loosen his grip, but to no avail.

"But.. I want to tell you too, Y/N. You are forgetting that I saw you again for the first time in ten years as well. I do not want you to go now", Anakin admits and takes a step closer to you, his eyes pleading to not leave him. "Apart from that, I will certainly not let you go now when these monsters are out there."

Leaving you no choice and not even a chance to answer, he suddenly pulls you into a tight hug, much like he did with his mother.

"I missed you so damn much", he softly whispers and you can't help but smile while you wrap your arms around him.

"I missed you too, Ani", you mumble against his shoulder and claw your hands into the fabric of his clothes.

Although you already hugged each other when you first met today, this one feels much more intense than before. It makes you feel safe and warm and comfortable, a feeling that you have not felt on this planet for a long time. For ten years, to be exact.

The next morning, you tiredly step outside into the burning hot twin suns and follow the voices coming from the kitchen. You stayed awake late yesterday and Anakin told you everything. From start to finish, he explained everything about his training to you, everything that happened after he left ten years ago. You have eagerly listened to his stories about the numerous adventures and here and there caught yourself staring at him sadly but lovingly.

Even though he pretended to be strong while telling these heartbreaking stories, you could see that he is not. After all these long years you can still read it on his face in an instant. He was not strong after Qui-Gon Jinn was killed shortly after their departure and also not when he became Padawan of a Jedi who was almost still a Padawan himself. He was not strong when he has been seperated from his family and he still is not as strong as he pretends to be. No matter from which point of view you look at it, Anakin is still the little boy from Tatooine.

"Good morning", you yawn when you meet the Lars family in the kitchen.

"Sit down, Y/N. I made breakfast", Shmi happily greets you and puts a plate down for you on the table.

You have not seen Shmi this happy in a long time. You never met her often after Cliegg freed her from slavery, but when you did, she always looked very absent and, above all, sad. She seems like a whole different person now.

"If you are looking for Anakin, he is outside", Shmi mentions when she notices your mental absence. Shyly, you nod and give her a warm smile. After you have eaten up your breakfast, you make your way upstairs. Arriving outside, you briefly get blinded by the bright suns when the dome no longer offers you protection.

However, as soon as your eyes get used to the sunlight, your breath gets caught in your lungs when a huge spaceship appears in your field of vision. The ship landed just a few meters away from the farm, the boarding hatch open. You spot Anakin in front of it, deeply submerged in a conversation with another man.

Said man notices you right away and draws Anakin's attention to you with a subtle head movement. When Anakin then sees you and the worried expression on your face, he waves you over. Nervously, you set yourself in motion and approach them.

"What is going on here, Anakin?", you ask shyly after discovering a lightsaber on the other man's belt, quickly gesturing a bow with your head.

"This is my master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maybe you still remember him", Anakin introduces him to you and, in fact, you actually do remember his face.

"If this isn't the little girl from back then who watched us leave with such a heartbreaking expression", Obi-Wan loudly thinks and scratches his beard before patting Anakin's shoulder. "I will go ahead and meet Padmé on board."

At his words, an uncomfortable feeling of nervousness rushs through your body until it turns into a feeling of sheer fear. Not only because you remember the name and its associated, incredibly beautiful Queen of Naboo, - which Anakin also told you about in his stories - but also because you suddenly feel like your worst nightmare turns into reality.

"W-What does he mean by that?", you stutter out, not really wanting to hear an answer to your question, but Anakin gently puts his hands on either side of your cheeks to calm you down.

"The Jedi Order has called Obi-Wan and me back to Coruscant, along with the senator", Anakin sighs and sadly looks to the ground, his thumb lightly stroking your skin. "My mother is happy here and that is most important for me. I now know that she is fine and safe."

Transforming his words into sharp weapons, they painfully shoot through your heart and you take a step back immediately, breaking the body contact with him.

"But I am not, Anakin!", you yell at him desperately, much louder than originally intended, and he just looks at you in shock from your sudden outburst. "I am not fine since you left ten years ago! I can't do this anymore."

"Y/N-"

"No, do not touch me! Please", you sob and wrap your arms around your own body in order to protect you from further damage. "Would you- Would you have even searched for me at all if I had not found you first?!"

Breathing hard while accusing him, he remains quiet and does not answer. His eyes wander around, desperately seeking an appropriate answer that will not hurt you, but he terribly fails.

"That's what I thought", your voice breaks and a single tear runs down your cheek before you turn around and walk away. However, you do not get very far when you feel a firm grip on your arm and are turned around again to face him shortly afterwards, your bodies only inches away from each other.

"Come with me."

"W-What?"

"Come back to Coruscant with me, Y/N", he begs you, his voice full of sorrow.

"A-Ani-"

"I had a dream about my mother and about you. You were badly injured and I was too late to save you", Anakin confesses, desperation prominent in his coarse voice, opening up to you all of a sudden, letting his guard down and showing you his vulnerable side for once. "That is why I came back. That is why I am back on Tatooine."

"A-Anakin. I can't.. I have responsibilities here", you choke out and look away, not able to hold his pleading gaze while your hands and knees shake in fear. "I have to go back to my parents.. I can't just leave them like this."

Silence spreads between you until Anakin lifts your face up with his fingers on your chin, deeply looking into your eyes. Suddenly your fear is reflected in his glassy eyes. A fear you last saw all those years ago when he left. When he had to leave his mother and you behind. It is precisely this fear that is now reappearing in his eyes and all of a sudden the little boy from Tatooine is back, not wanting to leave his home.

"I understand", his shaky voice whispers as he is close to tears as well.

How much you would like to just go with him. To just leave everything behind and finally get off this dirty planet. But you know it would not be fair to your parents and that you can't just leave them behind. As much as you would love to go with Anakin, you would never forgive yourself if you did.

"I am really sorry, Ani", you carefully say and place your hands on his upper arms to steady yourself before he pulls you closer and places his chin on top of your head.

"I will come back", he breathes into your hair and his voice sounds so fragile in your ears that you can no longer hold back the pricking tears, letting them stream down your cheeks freely. "I promise."

"I will wait for you", you fake a smile through your tears before he gives you a gentle kiss on the forehead, leaving a warm spot there.

The following repeated exclamation of his name coming from his master makes your heart ache even more and Anakin takes a step away from you, breaking off any contact.

"See you soon", he forces a smile and slowly retreats backwards to the spaceship, not averting his gaze from you and repeatedly raising his hand to wave goodbye.

Your eyes filled with tears and your vision blurred, you watch him leave and say goodbye with a heavy heart.

After ten long years you were finally able to see him again. You were ten years apart and now you pray that it will not be another ten years until you meet again.

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pappydaddy · 3 years

Text

Mashed Potatoes and Joel Hoekstra (b.h.)

A/N: This is for the lovely anon who wanted a Billy x Byers!Reader. I was so excited to write this one, I loved this request (I am loving ALL requests, but I’ve been loving these Billy ones lately!). Definitely very fun to write this one so thank you so much for requesting doll! Hope you love it lovely anon💛!

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Fem!Byers!Reader

Show/Movie: Stranger Things

Requested

Warnings: Mean people, bullying, prejudice, the shits of the teenage years, but fluff in the end!

Remember guys! Your family name does not define you or someone else! It’s who they are that defines them, it’s who you are that defines you. It’s how you act, how you treat people, etc. Just like you don’t judge a book by it’s cover, you don’t judge a person by their name. If anyone tries to put you in a box simply because of a prejudice with your name, ignore them. I know it’s hard, I know - trust me, but they really don’t deserve your time. And if you feel trapped in a box because of your name, just know that you can break free from that box. My DMs are ALWAYS open if you lovelies need to talk💛!

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation - not my gif -

“Billy,” Y/N’s soft voice broke the tranquil silence that had settled over the room. Her finger that had been tracing random shapes on his chest stopped moving, her eyes flicking around the darkroom as she waited for him to respond in some way. She knew he wasn’t asleep by the lack of snores lowly rumbling in his chest (which she also laid her head upon) and his breathing pattern. He hummed, the sound reverberating in his chest, his hand still stroking up and down along the dip in her back where her spine was. “We’ve been dating for a few months now-”

“Six months.” He interjected, pressing a warm kiss to the top of her head.

“Right, yeah, we’ve been dating for six months,” She nodded, her already tangled hair tangling a bit more. Her voice was nervous, not knowing how he would react to her bringing this up. “And I was just thinking that maybe it would be time for you to meet my family,” She asked, her voice pitching up towards the end. “Maybe. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it’s just everyone else I’ve dated has met them by now, but then again, everyone else I’ve ever dated left a few weeks after meeting them so-”

“You’re rambling again, Bug.” Billy cut her off gently, knowing that she rambled and rants when she’s nervous and scared. Her cheeks heated up, burning as she settled back down to cuddle into Billy’s bare chest.

“Sorry.” She whispered.

Billy pressed another kiss to her hair, knowing that her ex’s all harped on her about her nervous rambles, making her snap her mouth shut and sink into herself. “Nothing to be sorry for, Bug, you’re nervous.” He reassured her.

She took a deep breath, calming herself as Billy gave her the silent support she needed. “Back on track,” She nodded her tone calm once again. “I still think you should meet my family because they are really important to me and you’re really important to me and I just really would like it if you guys got along,” She expressed nervously. The room was silent as she waited impatiently for his response, her breath was hitched, her mind automatically assuming that he was going to leave her right here, right now because he didn’t want to meet her family or worse, not feel the same about her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to; if you’re not there in the relationship, that’s fine, we can take a few steps back if you’d like-” She started to shrink away from him, her mind panicking as it continued to imagine him leaving her like the rest - like her father.

“No-” Billy interjected softly, gently pulling her back to be flush against him. “I’ll meet your family only if you get some sleep, it’s late and you’re exhausted. He bargained, suddenly feeling nervous and wanting her to go to sleep for her sake and his.

“Okay, deal.” She yawned, closing her eyes, snuggling her cheek farther into his chest, listening to the beating of his heart. Billy squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to control his heartbeat so he didn’t alert her to his sudden nervousness.

____

The next day was relaxed other than Billy’s increasing nervousness. He loved Y/N, he was at that place in the relationship where the only logical step would be to meet each other’s family, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of doom. For one, meeting her family meant she would have to meet his family and he wanted to keep her as far away from Neil as possible. Secondly, the Byers family had a certain reputation around Hawkins High and Middle and Billy had heard all about it from his friends. Of course, he was stand-off-ish of Y/N before they started dating because of this reputation, but everything turned out fine with her so why wouldn’t her family be the same?

“What’s got you so quiet, Hargrove?” Tommy asked aggressively as they mulled around the locker room, changing after gym class. Billy jolted out of his thoughts as he just stood, staring into his locker. Looking back at Tommy, he blinked at him for a second before comprehending what his question was.

“Uh, nothing,” Billy shook his head, grabbing his shirt from his locker, slipping it on. “It’s just that Y/N invited me over to meet her family.” He had no idea why he was confessing this to Tommy and his other friends of all people, knowing how they feel about Y/N and the rest of her family. The words had tumbled out before he could even think about stopping them.

“Woah,” Tommy exclaimed, laughing as he pretended to back away from Billy as if he were carrying some sort of contagious disease. “Boys! Say good-bye to the Billy we all know because soon, he’s gonna be infected by the Weird-os.” His statement earned a chorus of laughs from the boys huddled around.

“Buzz off Tommy, they can’t be that bad. I mean, Y/N is great!” Billy said mostly to himself, closing his locker.

“Sure, she’s the most normal one,” Tommy shrugged. “But the rest of them man,” He shook his head as if telling some old wise tale. “They are complete basket cases. Completely messed in the head. Look at Jonathan for an example,” Tommy paused, walking over to Billy and slinging his arm over his shoulder. “Nobody talks to him, he sits in the back of the classes or in that stupid dark room, playing with his stupid little camera.”

“Y/N says that he’s quiet and works most of the time so he doesn’t have much time to hang out and the time he does have, he chooses to practice photography.” Billy pointed out, pushing Tommy’s arm off him. Tommy remained unfazed, leaning against the lockers as he continued.

“Alright, if not Jonathan, then the younger one,” He paused, using his hands to set the scene. “He died, okay? Died and came back to life like in one of his freaky little movies he and his dork friends watch,” Billy glared at him, knowing full well that Max was one of his friends. “Much like his brother, he just sits there and colours and colours and colours. He’s in middle school and still colours like a pre-schooler.”

“He’s pretty talented, I’ve seen some of his pictures in the car when Y/N has it.”

“Now, let’s talk about the mother. She works at a general store, she dated that geek from Radio Shack, her husband left her, she had a meltdown in the middle of the street, she bought all the fucking lights in Hawkins because she thought her dead son was talking to her through them,” He paused. Billy opened his mouth to defend Joyce, but Tommy cut him off. “They are weird, Hargrove. They are completely nuts and you better prepare to be just as nuts because I am pretty sure it’s contagious.”

“Just look at Harrington and Wheeler,” Another guy piped up, making Billy look towards him. “They started to hang around with the Byers and look at them, they turned just as crazy. Constantly looking over their shoulders, Harrington only hangs around kids now, always having hushed conversations with them and Wheeler only talks to Jonathan now.”

“That’s not-”

‘That’s not the same,” Tommy cut Billy off with a question. “It is exactly the same. Meeting the Byers is like the kiss of death. Kills your social life and makes you crazy-”

“Billy,” Y/N’s voice called into the locker room from the door she held slightly open. “Are you in here, we should really be getting to lunch, I’m starving!”

“Yeah, be out in a second!” He called to her, the door softly closing in response. He nervously looked at the door as Tommy clicked his tongue.

“It’s your choice, Hargrove, it’s your grave you’re digging.” Billy glared at him, shrugging on his jean jacket and leaving the locker room. His eyes met Y/N easily, seeing her talking to Steve excitedly. Though Billy still didn’t like Steve, he didn’t have the mental or emotional capacity at that given time to deal with his fluffy-haired nemesis, too busy fretting about what to do about meeting Y/N’s family.

“There you are, I was worried that you accidentally slammed your head in the locker or something,” She joked, not realizing that Billy was actually considering it. He didn’t want to make her think that he wasn’t ready to take the next step in the relationship, but I also was scared now. As much as he wanted to admit that he didn’t trust Tommy H and all the other guys, he really did want to say that he let their warnings roll off his back, but he couldn’t. “Come on, I want to eat, see you, Steve!” She grabbed Billy’s hand, pulling him out of the gym and into the halls.

“What were you talking to Harrington about?” He asked, hoping that it was completely unrelated to her having him over for dinner.

“About you meeting my family,” She chirped happily. Billy wanted to deflate right there. Of course it had to be about that. It couldn’t have been about anything else. Anything to take his mind off something so anxiety inducing. “He thinks it’s a great idea! He said that you would love my family and I really hope he’s right.”

“I really hope so too-” He muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” She asked, her brows furrowing as she leaned in closer.

“Nothing, Bug.” He told her, hoping she would buy it. She pulled a face, shrugging before regaining her giddy mood.

“Must have just been hearing things,” She chalked it up. “Anyway, I was thinking that you should come round to my place at seven? My mom is off today so she’s been prepping for this since nine this morning!”

“Yeah, about that,” Billy spoke slowly, dreading what he was about to do. He really didn’t want to do it, but he needed to buy himself sometime so he could figure out his next move. Find a way to keep Y/N while not having to meet her family. “I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach, Bug. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go tonight.”

“Oh no,” She gasped, her hand squeezing his affectionately as she stopped in the hallway. “You might have overdone it in gym today, especially when I accidentally kicked that soccer ball right into your stomach, sorry about that by the way.”

“No, it wasn’t that, but you do have one hell of a kick on you,” He shook his head, not wanting her to blame herself. “I just think I’m coming down with something and I really don’t want to infect your family.” He lied through his teeth.

She awed, her hand coming up to cup his cheek sweetly. “That’s so sweet,” She cooed. Her hand slid from his face as disappointment flashed across her face, but it was gone as soon as it came, or at least she tried to fake it. Billy could see the disappointment she tried to bury, his heart pulling at the sight of it, knowing that he was the one who caused it. “It’s alright, I want you to worry about your health first. I’ll just go call my mom and tell her that there was a change of plans-” She paused, looking for a quarter as she tried to ignore the worry bubbling up once again. “Could I borrow a quarter? I think I spent mine calling her earlier to check up.” She asked, extending her flat palm, waiting for him to drop a quarter in it.

Billy tucked his bottom lip between his teeth. He could tell she was thinking that he was trying to avoid meeting her family because he just didn’t want to. While there was some truth to that, he couldn’t let her feel like he was pulling away from her. “You know what,” He pushed her hand back down to her side. “I’m going to go to the nurse and see if she can help me. I’ll see you before next period and update you, Bug.” He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before running off down the hall.

“Okay-” She breathed out, shocked. She watched him run past Tommy and his gaggle of idiots, the group watching him run - laughing.

“Oh, the crazy is already starting to rub off on you, Hargrove!” Tommy yelled, but Billy either ignored it or didn’t hear it. Y/N eyed Tommy oddly before eyeing Billy’s retreating form.

____

The fact that Billy stood at the front door of the Byers’ house was a miracle in itself, considering how many times Billy considered swerving hard right into a tree in order to escape this night, but he pushed forward, knowing that Y/N was worth it. He tightened his grip on the bouquet of flowers, the thorns digging into his hand making him wince. Groaning, he switched holds, shaking his stinging hand out. He felt constricted in his clean cut clothes, his button-up buttoned more than usual, only the first two buttons being undone. The slacks itched his legs and made him feel like he was heading to a Sunday service.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his close fist, hitting his knuckles against the door twice in rapid succession. He could hear a scuffle from behind the door and Y/N’s distinctive voice pleading with her mother to let her answer it. The door was jerked open, revealing a breathless woman and a blushing Y/N standing in the back looking defeated. “You must be Y/N’s sister.” Billy used his normal line that worked wonders on mothers, but he was so off his game that he sounded a bit nervous, spitting the line out a few moments too late. The woman didn’t seem to mind, taking the compliment easily.

“Oh, stop it,” She flicked her hand, a wide smile nearly breaking her face as she laughed. “You must be Billy,” She continued to giggle, the laughter making her look youthful. If Billy hadn’t known that she had two teenagers and a pre-teen, then Billy would have thought she was much younger. “I’m Joyce, come on in, you must be cold,” She ushered him in hurriedly, her hand guiding him into the warm, cozy house as it rested on his upper back. “Standing out there in only a shirt in this fall weather.” She shook her head, closing the door behind him.

“Mom-” Y/N whined, embarrassed by her mother’s fussing. Joyce gave her a look, silencing the whine.

“You stop that and get this poor boy a drink,” Joyce insisted, leading Billy over to one of the couches. With a small groan in protest, Y/N ducked into the kitchen and out of Billy’s sight, sending him right on edge again. He sat on the couch, his clammy hands running over his slacks as his eyes watched Joyce. She was fairly gentle and normal looking for someone everyone called insane. “Will, go grab Jonathan from the shed, supper is going to be in a few minutes.” Joyce told the small looking boy who worked at setting the table for five, a mismatched chair added to the four that looked like they normally surround the table.

“You have a lovely home Ms. Byers, thank you for having me.” He extended the pleasantry, seeing Y/N coming into the room with a glass of water.

“Please, call me Joyce,” She told him, waving him off once again. “And it’s no problem, Hunny. We’re glad to have you. You’re welcome anytime!” She reassured him, thinking that his nerves were from the donating task of meeting the family for the first time.

“Will do.” Billy nodded, gulping down his water. Y/N sat next to him on the couch, her hand naturally falling to his knee. Though his nerves lifted with each passing second he spends with them, he couldn’t seem to get Tommy’s warnings out of his head.

“You know, my mom was so excited for you to get here, she side-checked me out of the way to get the door,” Y/N told him, giggling. That seemed normal enough, they all seemed to have a good relationship with each other. It was more functional than his family and they were deemed normal. “And I definitely think you made her entire night with your comment.”

“Kids, dinner is ready,” Joyce called from the kitchen. Y/N patted Billy’s leg, standing up. Billy swallowed thickly, feeling like he was walking to his death as he neared the table filled with loads of dishes full of a beautiful home-cooked meal. “Billy, dear, you’re the guest so you can sit here,” Joyce patted the chair at the head of the table, before pointing to the chair next to it that sat between the wall and the table. “Y/N, you sit there.” She instructed her daughter.

“So, Billy,” Will spoke up, taking his place beside Y/N, looking directly at the blonde as he scooted his chair in. “Max tells me you like rock music. What’s your favourite band?” He posed the question, grabbing the pitcher of water and filling his glass up.

“Uh- I’ve been listening to a lot of Whitesnake lately, but I would say the Scorpions are my favourite band I guess.” Billy answered him, his hands nervously hovering over his plate, not sure what he should be doing.

“That’s cool, I like The Clash the most personally, but I like watching the Whitesnake videos, their hair is really cool-” Will nodded, accepting Billy’s answer.

“And where have you been watching Whitesnake videos, young man?“ Joyce perked in eyebrow at the youngest, making him shrink back slightly, but Billy could tell it was all playful banter.

“At Dustin’s.” He admitted, making Y/N laugh and nod as if it were to suspected.

“That was probably Steve’s doing, no doubt.” Y/N pointed out, filling up her own water before filling Billy’s glass automatically.

“Yeah, it was Steve, he turned MTV on while he was watching us play D&D,” Will perked up at the mention of Steve. Looking right at Billy, he excitedly spoke. “I drew Joel Hoekstra a few months ago, but I made fire shoot out the end of the neck of his guitar. It’s insanely cool.”

“Billy, you haven’t gotten any food yet! Go on, you get some first.” Joyce noticed, holding a bowl of mashed potatoes to him. He looked at the bowl of potatoes, perfectly whipped. To anyone else at the table, it was just a bowl of starch and butter, but to Billy, it was the sign that they weren’t crazy. They were just not fitting into the box that everyone says you have to fit in. Looking at the bowl, he felt every bit of nervousness and apprehensiveness leave his body. Smiling, he gently took the bowl, scooping some out onto his plate, causing everyone to start putting food on their plates.

“Hey, Will,” Billy spoke up, causing everyone to look at him nervously. Jonathan eyed him, not trusting him yet. “Maybe after dinner, you could show me that drawing? Joel Hoekstra is my favourite member of Whitesnake.” He suggested, causing the boy to light up. Y/N smiled gently, her hand laying over Billy’s gratefully. Who knew that some mashed potatoes and Joel Hoekstra was all it took to see the Byers for who they were.

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cat-scarr · 3 years

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Why "Alien X-Tinction" Was The Best Possible Conclusion

(To The Ben 10 Franchise as a whole, as of Right Now)

In short, while the Ben 10 Reboot isn't without faults, "Alien X-Tinction" did everything it could to pay tribute to what came before it, and why the Ben 10 Reboot could even be anywhere near successful for it's intended audience and for modern age of Cartoon Network.

*Obvious spoiler warning ahead.*

Main Reasons

To begin with the obvious, emphasis being made on the existence of the Omniverse (something I feel like the majority hadn't paid enough attention to during and after the last iteration) was important for several reasons. For instance, confirming what I've been saying all this time! And effectively knocking down certain misconceptions about unfinished or uncertain topics left behind in the previous show. So I really appreciated that.

It gave, at least me, a sense of closure, even though I feel Omniverse's final episode, "A New Dawn", had tried to do that, as well.

Anyway, in doing that, they brought back the original continuity, in honor of what the fans wanted, but the main focus was still on the three main characters (Ben, Gwen, and Max) - something that I've heard a lot of the fandom say was their favourite thing about the series when it first started: going on a family road trip with the occasion alien adventure.

Again, giving the people what they want, while remaining within the confines of what Cartoon Network or the higher ups probably directed them to do with the new series.

It's a compromise that satisfies everyone.

I also can't help but notice they included a limited amount of characters. I'd even say specifically the "fan favourites."

I bring this up because a lot of newer characters and character dynamics introduced in the later installations of the series weren't always well received. AKA, characters like Kai Green (especially her relationship with Ben), or even the way Gwen and Kevin were portrayed in everything following the OS (including their eventual romance).

As such, the special stuck to its roots and gave us something purely "Ben 10": action-packed and focusing on family bonds. Rather than including any other side themes people are divided on. Media like this is made for the people who will watch it, after all.

Notable Mentions

I don't know if anyone else picked up on this, but - characterization consistency with the previous shows! AF Ben was written decently serious like his "mature" self (as the fandom loves to praise him for being). And, UA Ben came in obviously much more sure of himself, which is also consistent with the transition from season three of Alien Force to his rise to fame during Ultimate Alien.

Speaking of characterization, this was AF Ben's reaction to Alternate Max's criticism of reboot Ben, calling him out for being, as he said, "a stubborn brat." Personally I think that's a little harsh, but regardless, it's almost as if he knows what that's like, or something. Interesting touch on the producers' part.

Even if they didn't use a whole lot of aliens, the animators did also go the extra mile in recreating the previous designs for the each of the aliens the alternate Bens used. And, some of the transformation scenes from the previous shows too, as a call back for those who might remember.

Things like this make it clear to me that the producers did their research in the production of new Ben 10 content.

Responding to Criticism

Since the reboot is what it is, I'll expect it to get a whole lot of criticism anyway. But the most common complaints I've heard so far are regarding UA Ben not turning into any ultimate aliens, and the use of Alien X's powers being underwhelming.

In the interest of trying to see what the producers might have had in mind, I thought that, since a younger version of himself was present, UA Ben using the ultimate feature would spoil the near future for AF Ben, and therefore might change the path he takes moving forward. Hence him using aliens from the UA era, like Amphibian, but not ultimates.

I would argue it was done to maintain consistency in the original continuity, as well as the way the Omniverse was set up to work.

As for the alternate evil Ben's "nerfed" use of Alien X, well, I've got a theory about that too. First of all, he's not Ben Prime. He's clearly been through a lot of hardship, and it's taken a toll on his mental state, outlook on the hero life, moral compass, and general wellbeing.

His whole plan was created out of revenge and anger. He wasn't thinking straight. How can you expect him to ultimately defeat everyone with that kind of handicap? Even if he had god powers - he was using them though a cloud of negative human emotions.

Powerscaling isn't really my thing, but I'm sure there was something more he could do if he was seriously set on accomplishing his goal without clouded judgement.

As for myself, my only criticism is regarding why they couldn't just draw the UAF jacket and the Ultimatrix right. It's upside down for...seemingly no reason, lol. But I can look past it, I guess. It was just cool to see Ben Prime again.

All three of him, that is.

#I had a good time last night <3 #and as is in my nature...an essay came out #it couldn't be helped lol #ben 10 #ben 10 reboot #reboot spoilers #alien x tinction #ben tennyson #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #omniverse #multiverse #analysis #review #writers on tumblr #essay files

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picturejasper20 · 3 years

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Debunking common misconceptions about the Ben 10 Reboot.

A mutual of mine asked me if could write a post debuking common critiques people have of the Ben 10 Reboot. Some of these critiques are based of misconceptions and misinformation about the show while others are more subjective, meaning there are a matter of personal opinions.

I’m going to divide this post in different sections. In each section i’m going to try debunking a misconception and explain why i think this isn’t correct. If anyone wants to give their opinion on the subject, feel free to reblog the post or leave a comment.

I’m going to add a ¨Read More¨ since it’s going to be a long post.

1) ¨The reboot only has fart jokes as humor¨

I’m not sure from where people got this idea that the only type of humor the Reboot has are toilet and fart jokes. Does it has some jokes that are based on this? Yes! But Reboot’s humor has more variety than that.

Many of the jokes come from the characters´ reactions to certain events, how silly some situations are and from the dialogue. For example: Episodes focused on Xingo as the antagonist have tons of slaptick and old cartoon humor.

Since the series doesn’t take itself too seriously, it uses this to its advantage to make fun of tropes, franchises and popular culture. It also has many references to current trends such as youtube and social media, things that the new generation is more familiar with.

If these jokes land or not is up to debate but to say the Reboot only has fart jokes is a bit of a stretch.

2) ¨The Reboot has no plot or worldbuliding¨

This is one of the weirdest arguments for me because if you watch the show you’ll know this isn’t the case. The show has a main arc as well as some subplots.

I think people get this idea due to how the show is mainly episodic in season 1 unlike the rest of the seasons. The thing is that even season 1 has continuity that is quite important if you want to understand the rest of the series. It introduces villains as well as secondary characters that become important in future episodes. It also has tons of character development for the main protagonists, so, skipping this season would mean missing out their character growth.

By the end of season 1, Ben gets a new Alien called Gax which is the same species as the original Vilgax. It turns out this alien was half of Vilgax’s original power and Vilgax was trying to get it back. The finale is has interesting surprises and plot twists that change the status quo of the series in some ways.

In season 2 is mainly about Vilgax teaming up with other villains to steal the Omnitrix from Ben. These episodes are quite entertaining and help to develop the main characters. What’s more is that Ben gets a new alien called Shock rock and isn’t able to transform into Upgrade, which becomes important in the season finale.

I could talk about Kevin’s character arc, Charmcaster, Glitch, the Forever Knight’s arc, Animo subplot and tons of other stuff. My point is that saying that ¨the Reboot has not plot¨ would be a huge misconception about the show. It would make more sense if someone complained about how its episodic structure hurts and distracts from the main story arc and it would have helped the series to not have so many episodes centered around the characters going on random adventures.

3) ¨Shock Rock is a cheap copy of Ghostfreak¨

When i first heard about this complain it suprised me a bit. Look, i get why a person could think that "Shock Rock is just Reboot's Ghostfreak" since they share similar stories.

However there are a few differences between the two:

Ghostfreak was possesed by an evil entity, Zs'Skayr, who later escaped from the Omnitrix and did terrible things. This was so horryfing for Ben that for a long time he didn't turn into ghostfreak out of fear of their conection with Zs'Skayr.

In the original series it wasn't really explained how Zs'Skayr got inside the Omnitrix and for how long he was concious about being trapped.

Shock Rock was introduced as a result of a terrible glitch caused by the Omnitrix being rebooted. They replaced Upgrade's DNA pod and allowed Ben to give the aliens stronger versions of themselves.

Shock Rock isn't completely evil and never really tries to escape from the Omnitrix. All that they did was to build that tower to send a signal to the Fulmini. Once the protagonists reboot the Omnitrix again, Ben was able to transform into Shock Rock without any problem.

Both aliens are a bit similar but on a deeper analysis they have different execution in their respective series.

4) "Glitch is a copy of Ship".

This is one i get why people complain about it. Glitch and Ship have many parallels in common. (Both being mechamorphs, they are both sidekicks)

The main difference is that Ship acts like a pet and is able to transform into many electronic devices. On the other hand, Glitch lives inside the kart and can't transform in the same way that Ship does. (However he can in the future, years after developing his powers).

Their backstories and origins differ. Ship was born from a mechamorph that needed help after he crashed his own ship. Glitch was the result of Ben using Upgrade to reboot the Omnitrix in the season 1 finale which forced Upgrade to fuse with Ben's DNA to survive.

Another point i want to add (based on speculation) is that Glitch resembling is Ship seems to be very intentional. I think the creators wanted to Ship to appear again in the Reboot. So they decided to create Glitch.

Keep in mind that the Reboot makes tons of references to the original series and its sequels. It wouldn't be suprising if Glitch is a reference to Ship.

5) "Max is not clever/ is dumb"

I don't really got the impression of reboot Max being "dumbed down". He is one of the characters that acts almost exactly as he does in the original series.

I think this complain come from Max being less serious in this series: He isn't so strict with the kids and gives them more freedom to do what they want. He is also more open minded and has less "black and white" mentality that he had in the original series.

He is still almost the same character, just more easy going and down to earth in comparison. He still acts as a guide for Ben and Gwen. He still has a few arguments with Ben for not listening to him in some episodes.

@theangrycomet made a post a few weeks back about Reboot Max. I think people should check their post because they explain many things that i mention here in more detail.

Here is a link to their post: X

6) "They cancelled Omniverse because of the reboot"

This one is a somewhat old argument. Again, i don't know where people got this idea that reboot was the main reason they cancelled Omniverse.

I have been trying to find an article that could explain the reason behind its cancellation. All i was able to find were fans talking about how it ended because of the low number of toys getting sold. Nothing about the reboot.

It could one of the things lead to Omniverse being cancelled but not the only main factor.

If anyone has more information about this feel free to leave a link in the comment section or by reblog.

7) "Ben is out of character in the reboot"

This something i don't really get at all. Reboot Ben behaves pretty much the same way he does in the OS. He is still cocky, stubborn, competitive, impacient and gets into a trouble.

Is it because he appears to be nicer in this series? If it is because of that then i personally like this change. I found Ben to be more likable in this version. As well as capable of regretting his actions and learning his lessons.

Reboot Ben is a complex character. It has so much development that i would find it difficult for me to sum it up in just one post.

I think fans get this impression since they are more used to Alien Force Ben than OS Ben. That's why they believe Reboot Ben is acting OOC when in reality is he isn't much different from the OS Ben.

If anyone has a better explanation, please leave it in the comments section/reblog.

-----

Okay, those are the most common misconceptions i found after talking with some mutuals. While a few things are a matter of doing fact checking, others are based on my perspective on the series.

Keep in mind that i don't think the Reboot is perfect by any means. It has its issues like slow pacing in the first season or characters that are annoying.

However, if someone wants to give a serious critique, they should try doing a bit of research and fact-check to see if their points are valid. Otherwise,they might look misinformed at best and making bad faith arguments at worse. That's all.

#ben 10 reboot #ben 10 2016 #ben 10 shock rock #ben 10 reboot vilgax #ben tennyson reboot #glitch ben 10

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galacticnova3 · 3 years

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i want to hear 👀👀👀 it upsets me a ton when people treat nova like he’s evil hhhhghgh

I HAVE BEEN ENABLED.

OK SO. First of all, we don’t have any kind of indication of Nova’s moral leaning… in regular Super Star. HOWEVER, Super Star Ultra does give us an idea if you pay attention to Nova after Meta Knight makes his wish. Nova makes a very surprised expression, and one that I also wouldn’t say is a stretch to interpret as simultaneously worried. The latter point in particular is because of how you can see the white of his eyes, which generally represents a fear or concern sort of surprise vs just something unexpected. I mean look at him, if this doesn’t look like “are you sure? like really are you absolutely sure that’s what you want???” then I don’t know what does.

This is contrary to what an evil being would most likely do; obviously if you’re an asshole you’d want to just sit back and watch this evidently entitled blue bitch get his ass handed to him on his silver platter of a mask. After all, assuming Nova is evil also assumes he acts of his own accord in some way, and considering his level of power, it’s not like he’d have to be worried about his own safety in that situation we’re that the case. Basically, he had literally no reason to react like that if he didn’t care about someone’s safety besides his own.

Now, my second point is a bit more vague due to not being supported by dialogue or visuals but instead just understanding/connecting dots. Nova is, obviously, a clockwork star, and it can be assumed all/most clockwork stars function similarly. The only other one we see in the games is Star Dream… aka the Access Ark, considering they’re separate, but Star Dream is the sentient part, hence me referring to them in this case. Star Dream doesn’t seem capable of acting on their own originally; not until they take Haltmann’s soul and begin acting on their own perception of what would grant his wish to give his company prosperity. Even then, though, they’re still seemingly “locked in” to trying to complete that wish, even though they’ve not only become sentient, but can recognize that it puts them directly at risk.

Now, we’ve seen that exact same thing play out with Nova, in that he was still trying to grant Marx’s wish even though Kirby was killing him from the inside. Once again, to say Nova is evil implies he is in control of his own actions; if that were the case and he was just threatening Popstar because he’s a jerk and intentionally interpreted the wish that way, why not stop and interpret it a different way? After all the entire basis of this kind of morality requires him putting his own mean-spirited spin on the wish being made, so it’s not like he wouldn’t already have been just finding a way to bend it. Obviously an all-powerful asshole would not be able to continue being like that if they can’t also act in self-preservation when things go wrong.

That leads into my third point; based on what we’ve seen of Nova, he is at the very least not just self-centered(as he showed concern), and he evidently isn’t acting based on his own decisions, but rather his programming or equivalent. The latter point makes it difficult to realistically make him out to be evil, seeing as we haven’t seen him do anything evil that was his own choice. That’d be like saying a gun is evil because it was used to shoot someone. Both of those points do lend themselves to the neutral spectrum very easily; he does what he’s told, and doesn’t question it. If you want to be boring this is where you can easily ignore his obvious reaction and go “he’s not sentient”, and if you do that you get the bonus of knowing you have greatly disappointed at least one person. Also tbh the same goes for the evil interpretation imo; there’s literally so many characters like that already, ‘jackass genies’ is literally a trope. Why not do something new and interesting?

On that note, the first point also allows the argument that he could be on the good spectrum(not chaotic tho) if you squint really hard and overthink his one moment of expressed emotion. It’s a pretty tragic concept that I am admittedly extremely biased towards for reasons, but what if Nova is good, yet can’t refuse to grant bad wishes even if he wants to? Sure, he can be used for good as well, but someone like him would most certainly meet many more selfish people in his time(such as a certain jester) than good folks. It’s a lot easier to wish for money or power than for peace or comfort. It’d be like being a pacifist sword, to be honest; sure, maybe one guy would use you to make watermelon slices for kids or something, but most people would use you to do harm, and you have no control over that.

I’m sure that would get exhausting… Might explain his eternally tired look. Just waiting for the next summoning and hoping whoever gathers the stars isn’t doing so for nefarious reasons, but having no say either way. Finally some guy shows up and seems the noble sort, and then he makes the most dangerous wish imaginable. Despite how he’s become so accustomed to disappointment that he doesn’t even react anymore, because yeah yeah ok planet dominator #5018 it would be my luck that I meet someone else like you this summoning, he doesn’t hide his shock. Like damn this guy might straight up have his face impaled by a lance in the next two minutes, he knows that right? But no matter what happens, Nova can’t do anything about it.

Anyways because I want to try and reel this in somewhat, my last tiny point is that Nova is never fought directly. Star Dream Soul OS(the Access Ark part) has a whole external battle, an internal one with the pillars, and then the heart also attacks you directly. Nova? Nothing. He’s got some separate internal defenses that he probably doesn’t control (patas, volms, and dacoogas), but other than that you literally just break all of this old man’s ribs and subsequently induce a heart attack and paralysis. Nova never attacks or directly fights back, and Kirby never fights him face-to-face. I personally interpret this as Nova using what little control he does have to make himself easier to stop, even at the cost of his own life, because he never wanted to do something evil in the first place.

Actually I just thought of one other potential point. It’s at least sorta implied Nova was the one used to seal Galacta Knight. If that’s the case, why would he have been trusted to do so if he twisted wishes in purposely bad ways? Like that’s just an obviously terrible idea. Sure let’s leave someone who enjoys the suffering of others to keep this dangerous guy locked up, I’m sure nothing bad could come of that. Famous last words right there.

#asks #rambling #my headcanons #maybe I should make a rant tag tbh

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catboymingi · 3 years

Text

prince charming - veninder chap. 9

navi/masterlist

story masterlist

pairing: mingi x reader

genre: fluff; soon best friends to lovers

word count: 7.2k

warnings: hints at abuse, some language

det ku’ være os to - it could be the two of us

mingi woke up around eleven, for a moment slightly confused about what had happened, but when he saw you fast asleep in his arms he knew where he was and, most importantly, with whom he was, smiling a little and trying not to move so he wouldn’t wake you up. you looked peaceful, even though you were drooling on his chest a little; he honestly thought it was adorable. you’d moved a little in your sleep so your head was now more in the middle of his chest, upper body half on top of his, being absolutely adorable as you clung to him as if he was a big teddy bear. it was sweet, it was how he wished it could always be, and he fell asleep smiling, peaceful as well until a very certain person’s phone caused him to wake up about six hours later.

“good morning, pretty”, he hummed as he slowly opened his eyes, for once not that angry at your alarm, and you puffed as you forced yourself to get off him even though he was so warm and so comfortable.

“really pretty, drooling all over your shirt. i should get a modelling contract.”

you turned off your alarm, now on the room side of the bed because your phone had been on his night table, with him scooting closer to the wall side so you wouldn’t fall down. as soon as the alarm was off, however, the distance he’d brought between you turned nonexistent as he pulled you against him, because while he wasn’t angry at your alarm he was still tired and in need of cuddles and you looked so cosy, hair messy and eyes all heavy and in his shirt.

“you’re so pretty i don’t even mind you drooling all over my shirt”, he informed you, stroking your hair gently with his other arm wrapped around your waist.

“be nice”, even though he was being nice and that was the problem - he was too nice, making you flustered because he just randomly called you pretty like this.

“mh”, he murmured, just leaving you be for now because he knew he was being nice, too, but he could also guess why you were reacting this way. so, instead of trying to argue, he just buried his face in your hair, which was very soft and smelled like hair dye, something he told you with a smile you weren’t able to see on his face.

“you’ll have to keep dyeing it for me whenever the colour fades”, you informed him, mainly just wanting him to wash your hair again because it had felt so nice and domestic and you’d liked his ministrations, the way he’d gently massaged your scalp to get all the dye out, how soft he’d been when he’d dried your hair after, all those cute things.

“will do”, happy you wanted him to be the one to dye it again. “sleep more or get up now?”

“hm…”, you hummed, thinking about it. “we can sleep some more, but i’ll have to get up at 6.30, for the alt girl revival.”

“i’m excited”, though he sounded more like he was about to fall back asleep any second, “but let’s sleep now.”

and because you wouldn’t be able to escape his hold anyway you just let him spoon you, turning off all alarms until 6.30 before you closed your eyes to nap until the next alarm would wake you up.

when that happened mingi groaned into your hair, not very pleased, but let go of you anyway. it was time to get up, he knew that, so he rubbed his eyes, almost elbowing your back because his movements weren’t the most coordinated in his tired state.

“sorry”, he grumbled, voice deeper than usual because for some reason he was more tired now than he’d been one and a half hours ago when your first alarm had rung.

“i’ll just go get ready, you can stay here”, you tried to compromise, but he was clingy and didn’t want you to be away for more than an hour, which was how long it’d take for your next alarm to ring.

“you do your makeup here”, he almost ordered, and you sighed, smiling.

“fine. but i’ll go get dressed now, so see you soon.” and before he could protest you slipped out of the bed, leaving him missing your warmth as he watched you gather your clothes and take off to the bathroom.

lucky for him he didn’t have to wait long, though, because you were back less than ten minutes later, now wearing everything but the garters which you’d chosen to neglect for now in case he wanted to cuddle some more, because they wouldn’t be the most comfortable and you’d run risk of genuinely hurting him if he held you too tight.

“how do i look?”

you really hoped he’d approve of the outfit he’d chosen, both because you wanted him to think you looked good and because it was either this or the clothes you’d worn last night, or maybe your pyjamas if you were desperate.

he let out a sound that was either a “wow” or an “oh”, you weren’t exactly sure, but by the way he’d sat up and by how big his eyes were you assumed it was more a wow; it was a sound of approval, at least.

“good?” and because unlike him you’d had time to wake up, time to clean your (slightly drool-covered) face with cold water, you were awake enough to be silly, turning around so he could see you from all sides and pretending his room was a catwalk, something that did not at all match the actual outfit.

“really good. stunning.”

he seemed about as flustered as you as he realised what he’d said - his mouth seemed to have moved without his help, just complimenting you in his half-asleep state without trying to maybe make it a little less embarrassing, a little less whipped. but you did look stunning, in his opinion, bright hair and tights and everything else being entirely black, a combination he knew from experience looked good, but he hadn’t expected it to look this good on you. when you genuinely looked comfortable in your skin, wearing what you liked, you seemed to be glowing, looking much better than usual, both in his professional and in his much more emotionally affected opinion.

“do you have a mirror here? otherwise i’ll have to do it in the bathroom.”

you wanted to give him the option to watch you, but without a mirror that wouldn’t work. he got up now, though, making his way to the chair and rummaging the mess on his desk that you’d respectfully ignored whenever you were there because the rest of his room wasn’t messy at all.

“there should be one here from when seonghwa…” the rest was quiet mumbles, making it obvious that he was just talking to himself, trying to remember where on earth this mirror was. then, a delighted “ah!” as he found it, a fairly small one, but he hoped it’d do.

“big enough?”

he held it out for you, and the excitement on his face (was he genuinely excited about watching you do makeup? incredible) made you nod even though you would have preferred a bigger one.

“you need to hold it so i can use both hands”, you let him know, and he nodded, sitting down on the bed cross-legged with the mirror resting against his legs because this would be more stable, he guessed, while you got out your little makeup bag.

“so, what’s the vibe for today?”, you asked him jokingly, but mingi seemed to genuinely be thinking.

“big and scary. i want to see what you would’ve looked like if i’d met you back then. please?”

“got it”, opening the little bag and getting out a bunch of stuff he’d seen in theory but never in use. then you started, and as he watched you do your makeup on the floor in front of him, concentrated though your face was expressionless, he couldn’t help but text his own group chat with the boys, the one you weren’t in.

[mingi]: i think i have a thing for alt girls actually

and a reply came almost immediately, from hongjoong, even though it was maybe seven in the morning.

[bad cop]: i think you just have a thing for y/n

while it was true, he didn’t have to say it like that, because even though you already knew he liked you so there was nothing to keep secret it was still embarrassing to be called out for it like this. because of that his phone ended up thrown to the chair after he locked it, causing you to lift your head and look at him questioningly.

“nothing, don’t worry”, the giant told you before you’d had a chance to ask, and you just accepted the reply, continuing to paint your face in a way that would have mingi fall in love with you even deeper because you just looked so pretty like that and he most definitely did have a thing for alt girls, he decided.

“scary enough?”, you asked once you considered yourself done, looking up at him with a smile on your now bright red lips - you’d ditched the black because of university, but that didn’t mean black wouldn’t have been your preferred choice.

“i don’t actually know if i can even go to uni like this”, something you hadn’t thought about earlier but that you now worried about just a little - you’d dressed like this the first few days, before your old friend group had adopted you, but you found yourself weirdly insecure now.

“absolutely, you can”, the redhead was quick to reassure, “it looks great.”

this time he was able to control himself from being embarrassing and spewing out the first compliments that came to his mind, even though it was hard when you looked… hot like that. you’d been really pretty before, but that was the vibe usually, pretty. the only other time that you’d been hot was at that damned party where he’d never gotten to enjoy the time with you, so this was a first, in a way. and that you used to just look like this on the daily had his thoughts race, a few wanting to go in directions they shouldn’t be going, but he caught himself and forced them back to how glad he was that he was the one who got to watch you do your makeup in the morning, how he’d gotten to pick your outfit or dye your hair.

“you sure? i haven’t done it like this in ages.”

now you were looking up at him curiously, scanning his face for any sign of lying, but he was sure. you looked great, and if he had the right to he’d show you off to anyone that cared and even those that didn’t.

“i can do yours too”, you teased, but then he was actually considering it, and a few minutes later you found yourself sitting across him on the floor, leaning in close trying to figure out how to decently apply eyeshadow to monolids.

“i’m sorry if it looks bad”, you apologised, though there was no need to, not for him - no matter what you’d do, he’d love it.

“eyeliner too?”, because you weren’t sure just how alt boy-adjacent he wanted to look, and since he couldn’t feel your hands on his face so he wasn’t running risk of ruining any makeup he nodded.

“okay, this is going to be weird. keep your eyes closed for now, i’ll tell you when to open”, mingi listening like a well-behaved puppy, keeping them close while you drew the line on his top lids, then opening and barely flinching when you pulled on the skin beneath his eyes to get to apply the eyeliner to the bottom lid, looking carefully to see whether or not you’d done a good job, and repeating the same with the other eye.

“now you look like a real bad boy”, you told him proudly once you were pleased, and handed him the mirror so he could check himself.

“you need to do this more often”, the giant sweetheart let you know, “i look really handsome like this.”

“as if you don’t usually”, you dismissed his hidden attempt at self-deprecation, “but i can do that, if you want me to.”

if you hadn’t been so close you might have missed the smile he tried to suppress because he felt a little ridiculous about it, but you noticed, and it made you smile, too.

“i can’t decide if i want to look like this daily or just on special occasions”, mingi mused, looking at himself in the mirror again. he didn’t know why exactly he felt so much more handsome because of a little eyeshadow and -liner, but he did. maybe because, despite your worries about being completely lost when you were trying to do his makeup, you actually knew what you were doing.

“you can’t rub your eyes now though, or you’ll look like a raccoon”, you warned him, because you had a feeling that he hadn’t actually thought about that yet.

“i probably need to bring some makeup wipes” - the one thing he knew existed and also the name of - “just in case.”

“got you”, handing him the entire package, seeing how you knew not to touch your face and they’d dry out if you handed him single ones. he smiled gratefully, pushing them next to his bag so he’d remember them later even if he was too lazy to get up right now. then, he pulled you against him as he leaned against the bed, and you stayed hugging like this until it was time to get breakfast, talking about everything and nothing.

the day was spent surprising everyone you saw with your makeover, the boys being first, seemingly more surprised by mingi than by you, even though you looked a lot more different than he did. but they liked the look, they assured, sending teasing messages to their private group chat as soon as you’d left for university, telling mingi that it did seem like he had a thing for alt girls when he even let you put makeup on him.

then, on the train, the tall, now very intimidating redhead held your hand, staring down everyone who dared to send you weird looks. not that that was needed - you’d dealt with judgmental glares before, when this was your daily attire, and you knew how to handle them, but the gesture was still appreciated.

at university you were much more grateful for him being there to stare people down, or more specifically, a certain group of people that seemed even less pleased now that you weren’t even trying to adhere to their rules for dressing anymore. you’d fully distanced yourself in the last three and a half weeks, and they weren’t happy about it. but mingi towered next to you, a protective and somewhat threatening presence, making it known that he’d be there to finish any shit that they’d start. and it was obvious, from the look of determination in his eyes, who would win.

you were sad to have to leave him for class, but that was made up for when you came to the lunch table and mingi had somehow managed to acquire liquorice - most likely through magic, because you’d found this impossibly hard yourself, so you’d given up on this childhood snack in right after you’d moved out from home after high school.

“where’d you get this?”, voice and expression clearly displaying your surprise, and he grinned proudly.

“i found out that it’s apparently really common in finland, and then i looked up foreign food stores, and then i sent the boys to look for this. i hope it’s the right kind.”

you grabbed the little box, trying to not be too touched because you’d need the makeup wipes you’d given him otherwise, and found that there was a little folded note attached to the lid that did not seem to belong there.

you carefully removed it, unfolding it, and it got really hard to not be too touched when you read what the sweetheart next to you had written.

y/n,

i know you pretend you don’t mind, but i can tell you really miss finland sometimes, and while i can’t bring you there i can try to bring a little finland to you. hopefully this helps fill your heart with warmth the way you do for me. and if it does, i know where to get it now, so i can get you a monthly supply if it would make you happy! if you just smile that bright smile of yours again, it’s worth it.

terveisin,

mingi

you focused on the fact that he’d used the kind of ending phrase you’d use for business enquiries, because if you’d focus too much on his sweet message you’d be sobbing in no time.

“mingi?”, you tried to catch his attention, not knowing that his eyes hadn’t left your face for even a second while you’d read it, “terveisin isn’t how i’d end a letter to you.”

“is it rude?” panic in his eyes, and you quickly reassured him.

“no, no! it’s just kind of formal. but thank you, a lot.” the last words quiet and full of genuine gratitude, which made him squeeze your leg right above the knee to show you that he’d heard you, not wanting to make the situation awkward for either of you.

“anytime.” and he meant it, because your smile when you’d seen the liquorice and read the note and the raw emotion you were trying to hide right now showed him that the letter was both appreciated and very much worth it. so he’d write you more little notes, whenever he had something to say, wanting to see that smile again. as he said in the note, the bright smile of yours made whatever hassle he’d have to go through worth it.

despite the warmth and emotions coursing through the two of you’s veins right now you were glad when wooyoung spoke up, asking just what mingi had chased the boys through the entirety of seoul for just so he could get it for you.

“you want to try? it’s kind of salty”, you asked while holding the little box towards the others, offering each of them to try if they wanted to.

they all accepted, though the reactions were mixed - some seemed to have a very strong aversion, and their reactions made you giggle, a cute sound in stark contrast to your harsh exterior, a sound that only made the redhead fall for you more whenever he heard it.

“you make fun of me for not being able to eat spicy when this isn’t even real salmiakki!”, you teased, glad to finally have the grounds to do so.

the ones you called out grumbled but accepted their fate, choosing to eat their lunch instead.

the next two days continued similarly, except on friday your little note was a reservation for the cinema date that your teddy bear owed you, and you rolled your eyes at him, though smiling at him with your still red lips - you hadn’t yet dared to do what you most liked to do, something your old friends had called the kim possible lip when you’d first met them, a dark colour on the top lip and a brighter one painting the bottom one, even though a certain redhead had tried to convince you to do it, and he would try again for the date today.

“what time?”, and because the boys had gotten used to mingi trying to win your heart and because he might just use them to get everything to be perfect and figure out what would be most to your liking - something he didn’t see as cheating the “it has to be authentically you” request, because his ideas were still his, he just asked them whether or not he’d make a total fool of himself, something he’d do about any other girl, too - they didn’t even question it anymore, because the two of you had frequently agreed on the time for your study session at the lunch table, too, even before he had started openly trying to make you fall for him.

“depends on the movie”, an answer that should’ve been obvious to you because of course you’d have to decide on a movie before you’d go if you didn’t want to risk waiting for ages until a fitting movie started playing.

you chose the movie right there, with some of the boys being annoying and chiming in, giving their (obviously very professional) opinions, seonghwa texting mingi while the others were causing chaos, lucky that you weren’t using his but your phone to check the timetables because otherwise seonghwa would have mercilessly embarrassed his friend.

[good cop]: pick horror so you can comfort her

[mingi]: absolutely not.

technically, the idea wasn’t bad, if you weren’t so horribly, awfully, incredibly scared of horror movies and if the giant didn’t prioritise your feelings over a poor attempt at getting closer to you. so, instead, you picked something that, based on the reviews, was somewhat dramatic, but with some humorous scenes as well, and of course, romance, because there really wasn’t any movie without at least a hint of romance.

once that was done and lunch was eaten, you decided to go home, each to their own place, to get ready for the evening. while you were texting san, who had become your second-best friend, your date for the night had gathered everyone else in his room to help him decide what to wear, because he wanted something that was casual, but not too casual, something that showed that he’d put effort in, but not too much effort, and something that would match with you, at which point san was forcibly added to his group of fashion advisors because he knew what you would wear, even though he wouldn’t show anyone else because it was supposed to be a surprise, because that was how dates worked.

so, without his consent, san had become the line of indirect communication between his two red-haired friends, telling you that mingi would love whatever you’d wear and telling mingi just how much black he should add to his outfit and how much of a bad boy he should be, then telling you that your date wanted to wear makeup but had failed horribly when he’d tried to apply it himself so you’d have to plan some time for that, and telling mingi that you said that was fine, that you could do that, feeling like a poor excuse of a messenger pigeon when the two of you could technically just text each other yourselves.

the outfit decisions worked out well, probably largely owed to san’s efforts, with the two of you looking like you were there together but not too obviously trying to match. both of you were dressed in all black, with you wearing bright green fishnets and a bright green print on your shirt to contrast both the black of your clothes and the red hair because, while you didn’t care much about the colours you wore going well with each other since everything went well with black, you wanted to look good for mingi on your first real date.

it seemed to work, because despite obviously looking like a bad boy when you opened the door for him with black ripped jeans and a leather jacket you were pretty certain he’d borrowed from one of his friends his expression was that of a victorian schoolboy who saw a naked knee for the first time in his life, surprised, but not unpleasantly so.

“you’ll get some green, too, don’t worry”, you pretended to reassure him (it was teasing, actually, your tone was a teasing one), and soon after he was wearing bright green eyeshadow matching the one adorning your own eyes.

the trip to the cinema was weirder for him than for you, because you were used to being stared at and looking intimidatingly alternative, but he wasn’t used to looking like a bad boy if he wasn’t going to a party, the baddest thing about him being his red hair that, when it was fading to a pale-ish pink-orange shade, just made him look adorable. so while you were relaxed he was nervously playing with your fingers, something you didn’t mind in the slightest, but something he stopped once you got to the cinema and he bought the tickets and the snacks to go with the movie.

you’d chosen sweet churros and both sweet and cheese-flavoured popcorn, the cheese flavour mainly because you were curious about how it tasted and mingi assured that if you didn’t like it he would eat it. then, two large colas (he meant it when he said he’d get you all the snacks in the world), before you moved to your seats, completely packed because he was just like that.

he was shy to hold your hand during the movie, strangely, because this time it very much felt like a romantic thing when before that it had more been a friend thing, even though he did have feelings for you. he’d done it to pull you along with him, or just because he felt like it, but he felt like if he held your hand now, in the dark cinema, it would very obviously be a romantic gesture, and he wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable with that. this was only your second date, and the first one had been dyeing your hair, something that maybe didn’t even really count, so he was incredibly uncertain.

but then, as the cliché went, your hands brushed against each other as you reached for the popcorn - you wanted to try the cheese flavour, and he wanted some sweet popcorn, and the respective flavour was on the end farther away from the one who wanted it -, and mingi took it as a sign to stop being a baby and just hold your hand, though he asked first in case he’d stop you from eating or just plain made you uncomfortable if he just held it.

“can i, uh…”, and then he went to grab it (though he didn’t yet, his fingers lightly brushing against yours) rather than finishing the question, because it was embarrassing to ask about holding your hand out loud, for some reason, “do this?”

he was adorable, his cute awkward behaviour causing you to smile in the darkness, and you did grab his hand that was still shy to hold yours. he smiled, too, a happy grin that was half illuminated by the screen, and it seemed like he was still grinning by the time the movie was over, the only moments where he hadn’t been grinning those when he put food in his mouth or drank a little.

the redhead brought you home, too, insisting that that was how one did after a date, even though you wouldn’t have complained about it either way. and he asked to stay the night, because he saw that something was a little off and he wanted to be there in case something was upsetting you that you’d like to talk about.

since it was already kind of late the two of you immediately got changed - after weeks of being your best friend he’d finally stored one of his pyjamas at your place so he wouldn’t have to be shirtless whenever he was spontaneously staying over -, cuddling up in bed together and you trying to pretend that there was nothing on your mind.

“what’s wrong?”

you’d been surprisingly quiet in his arms since you got to your place, been quiet ever since the cinema, and of course he’d notice, even though you’d tried your best not to show anything.

“i don’t know, it feels stupid.”

the giant sweetheart turned you around gently so he could look at you and saw the obvious frown on your face, trying to smooth the lines on your forehead with his thumb.

“doesn’t matter even if it is stupid. what’s wrong?”

you were still frowning, and he was still trying to smooth the lines, though mainly as a calming movement to maybe cheer you up.

“i just realised we just went on a date. so that’s my first date and, i don’t know, i’m scared you won’t want to go on any more and this is like… i don’t know, i told you it’s stupid.”

his movements were so gentle, you wanted to stay in his arms forever.

“it’s not stupid, y/n. and i do still want to go on more, if you’d want to, as well. i just don’t want you to regret it. do you regret it?”

a question mingi couldn’t stop himself from asking, though he tried to not show how nervous the potential answer made him.

“no. maybe, i don’t know.” and because you saw his face fall you elaborated, because you didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. “i don’t regret spending the time with you or anything, and i don’t regret going on a date with you. i guess it’s more, i’m scared that you’ll figure out you don’t like me, and then one of the firsts on my bucket list is already… gone sounds weird, but i don’t know how to say it better. i kind of want first date, first relationship, first kiss, first time, first house, first pet, first baby, all those things, i want to stay with the same person. when i’m with someone i don’t want it to just be a temporary thing.”

then, as if you’d realised what you just said: “that doesn’t mean you have to be with me if you don’t want to! i’m sorry, this sounds like so much pressure, i’m not saying don’t even try unless you want to marry me someday, except maybe i am. i don’t know. it’s all hard to figure out.”

moving closer to him so you could hide your face in his neck and he could rest his head on top of yours, because you didn’t want to look at him now, you still thought how you felt was stupid, but the redhead was thinking about your words.

he most definitely was not ready for marriage, or a house or a baby, but he knew marriage at least was something he wanted for his own future, and if it were with the person he loved, and if you were the person he loved, why not stay with you? the thought of having a future with you made him feel strange, but not in a bad way. it was scary to think about having as big of a future, with a wife and a house and kids, but it wasn’t scary to think about being with you. the only scary thing about that was thinking about not being good enough for you, but you being scared to dump him because you didn’t want to have ‘wasted’ a first if you were just going to leave him after.

“it’s okay”, he reassured, stroking your hair now, “i’m not going to talk about marriage, but i wouldn’t mind being with you for a while, as long as you can stand me”, a joke to hopefully make you feel a little better, but it was also how he felt, secretly, scared that you’d be the one to get tired of him.

“if it helps, we don’t have to go on dates?”, though he wanted to so bad, he wanted the time you spent with him to be special and have a special name, but he even more so wanted you to feel comfortable, “or, how do i explain… you know those package deals? so we’ll call it a date for now, but if you end up not liking me” - he didn’t even consider that he might not like you, because he knew he was in way too deep already - “we can just pretend it wasn’t dates. it’s only dates if you get the whole thing after. a free trial period?”

and while his explanation was a little silly you were really grateful, because this seemed like a good compromise, seemed like something that could work for you. you did want to be with him (though not yet, you were still worried), but you didn’t want either of you to feel weird about it no matter the outcome, so this was good.

“thank you, teddy bear”, using the nickname as you nuzzled even closer against him because you were so grateful for him and for how understanding he was and had always been of your struggles with this.

“of course. let’s sleep now, hm?”

so you did, with him hugging you tightly and his face pressed against your hair, refusing to let go of you until he had to.

the sweet red-haired giant continued being more adorable than good for you, planning two to three incredibly cute dates per week, the next one a picnic on sunday where he brought you some flowers he’d picked on the sidewalk because he thought they were pretty, then a library date at seoul metropolitan library on wednesday because he’d done some googling and apparently there was an international collection, and he wanted to see if there were books in your languages so you could read for him, on saturday he took you to the color pool museum you for some reason had never been to yet and loved, and on the monday after that he went thrift shopping with you, having done some googling again to find alternative thrift shops for all your alt girl dreams. he always asked if you were free and if his plans were fine with you, which was always the case, and you fell for him harder and harder with all his cute dates and the thought he obviously put into all of them. on tuesday, after your afternoon classes, he told you he had something planned for you at his place if you were free, and you joined him excitedly, curious to see what was waiting for you this time.

though the first thing he did was tell you to get changed, giving you the hair dye shirt and a pair of old sweatpants that you could tell no longer fit him, because they almost fit you, and when both of you were dressed he told you you were going to paint with your fingers now.

and you did, on the living room floor with cut-up trash bags covering the wood, laying on your stomachs and, in the end, being covered in paint from when you just couldn’t control yourselves and had to paint the other one’s face.

the date after that was on saturday, having ordered hongjoong to be your private teacher because mingi wanted to tie dye shirts with you but had no idea how to do it, unlike his smaller friend. so the second-oldest taught you how to do it, carefully giving instructions, and when it seemed like you’d figured it out he left the two of you alone to do lovebird things.

the tall boy found out a lot about you through these dates, like that you preferred speaking swedish over speaking finnish because swedish had never been a language of punishment, instead it had been some kind of refuge because your father didn’t speak it. through this he found out that your father had most definitely not treated you with the kindness you’d have deserved, something that made his heart ache and had him promising himself that from now on he’d be there to protect you, he’d be there and he’d do his best to keep anyone from ever hurting you again. he also found out that you struggled financially when you told him you preferred thrifting both for ethical reasons and because your wallet couldn’t afford much else, and he took a mental note of trying to pay for small things for you when he could because he could most definitely afford it, and any won you saved would help you in the long run. he found out that you’d claim your favourite colour to be rainbow because you couldn’t decide on just one and didn’t want to hurt the other colours’ feelings (which was how he’d come up with the tie dye idea), something he found adorable, and he found out that you were good at drawing but terrible at painting, and that you refused to draw with anything but grey pencils. he loved all the little details he found out about you, all of them only making you more perfect in his eyes, more deserving of his complete adoration.

“i want one of the shirts you made”, you interrupted his adoring thoughts, and he looked at you confused.

“why that?”

“your shirts are always really soft, and they’re so big. perfect to sleep in. am i wearing shorts underneath, am i not wearing shorts underneath, the world may never know.”

mingi smiled down at the shirt he was currently working on at your joke, deciding that he would work on this one with a lot of love and that you’d get this one, then, because if you wanted a shirt from him then you’d get a shirt from him, and he’d try to make sure it was a good one. life was a little unfair, though, because he’d never get to wear one of your shirts without stretching it out impossibly much.

“you’ll get this one”, he let you know his decision, “but one day i want one of yours.”

“you could get one right now if you weren’t so tall”, whining a little because his height made life a little difficult for you sometimes, mainly when you wanted to hug him or when he teased you by randomly lifting you up while your arms were around his neck, feet dangling in the air until you’d give in and wrap your legs around him so he could carry you wherever he wanted to go.

“maybe you just have to grow”, he whined back, and you scoffed, choosing not to reply to that and instead giving him the cold shoulder for maybe one minute, until he asked you if you liked the colours because you would just have to accept them either way.

“you really wouldn’t make another one if i don’t like this?”, you asked him with big round eyes, and he cursed internally for being so absolutely soft for you, because instead of teasing you back he told you that he’d make you as many as you wanted, until you’d be happy.

“you’re sweet” was your reply, smiling at him, which caused him to lower his head and pretend to focus on the shirt he was dyeing when he was really just trying to hide his embarrassment.

hongjoong had greatly approved of your tie dye projects, and a day after the initial dyeing you’d stolen the shirt that was meant for you, choosing it as your pyjama shirt now and near refusing to take it off as you spent another night at the boys’ place. while he’d never admit it, the tall redhead was happy to see that, because while he’d never actually owned or worn the shirt it was still in a way his clothing that you’d claimed for yourself, and he wanted to see you wear his clothes more, wear them casually, wear your boyfriend’s clothes. and, as weird as it might have been, you wearing this big shirt was what made him not want to wait any longer to ask you out, really ask you out. it had been three weeks since the awkward and, in all honesty, less than perfect confession, and though he didn’t want to rush you he just really wanted to be able to call you his. so, he decided, he’d ask you the next day, during lunch.

what he hadn’t anticipated, though, was how nervous he’d be, fiddling with the hem of his shirt the entire lunch break as he waited for the perfect moment to give you the note he’d written that morning, rewritten like seven times and with the help of some slight googling and trying to write it as prettily as possible, especially the latin letters. though he didn’t know that you kept all his notes in a little box and read them sometimes when you felt anxious he still wanted the notes to be perfect, because you deserved perfect. especially when he was quite literally asking to date you.

but then lunch was almost over and yunho kicked his leg because he was being a coward and he yelped out and now he most definitely had your attention, and now there was no going back.

“i have something for you”, voice quiet and shy and, much to his dismay, not only your but also the boys’ eyes were on the two of you now. still, he handed you the little paper, starting to ramble as soon as the paper had changed owner.

“i know this looks like you don’t have a choice, but i just didn’t want to be the one to put the no right there, so i just added a comments section, but you can say no, of course, it’s fine, don’t worry about it, i’ll still be your friend and all, but i just felt like asking. you can also press snooze and i’ll ask again somewhen else, or give it back later if you need to think a little, everything is fine, i-”

“mingi”, you interrupted his nervous rambling, “will you let me read what you wrote before you worry so much?”

your words seemed kind of harsh, but your voice held a softness to it that was reserved for the tall baby in front of you only, so he knew you weren’t annoyed at his barely coherent rambling. you just wanted to calm him down, because he was obviously nervous.

“oh, yeah, of course, sorry.” staring at his hands which were now playing with each other in his lap, though not because he was hurt but because he was embarrassed, not wanting to see your reaction, which was a shame, because he missed the absolutely adoring smile that made its way to your face when you unfolded the little note. he’d even looked up the word for ‘girlfriend’ in swedish for you, and though you couldn’t be sure if that was why you suspected he’d chosen swedish because he knew you’d always been closer to your swedish-speaking mother than your finnish-speaking father.

will you be my flickvän? - mingi

[0] ja

[0] extra ja

comments:

the note was adorable, with a few sweet very mingi drawings, and you didn’t have to think twice about your reply, telling him to turn around and lean over so you could use his back as a surface to write on. and write you did, obviously filling out the comment section, making him nervous. then, you handed him the note, smiling before heading off to class, leaving him to stare at you dumbfounded while he wondered just what you’d written, but needing to wait until class was over to talk to you about it.

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years

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10/19/2020 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 33:1-34:22, 1 Timothy 4:1-16, Psalms 89:1-13, Proverbs 25:23-24

Today is the 19th day of October welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is a joy and a deep, deep privilege and honor to be here with you today as we just come in, come in out of whatever’s going on, come in out of the storm. Come in its…there’s a roaring Global Campfire here and we’re all seated around it, we’re all here together and we’re all coming in out of the storms of life to just reorient ourselves to God, just let His Scripture, let the word of God wash over us, wash into us transforming us little by little, day by day. And, so, it is always a joy and a privilege to be around the Global Campfire. And, so, let's dive in for today. This week we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible continuing our journey through Jeremiah. Today chapters 33 and 34.

Commentary:

Okay. In the letter that we are reading known as first Timothy instructions were given to Timothy the one who this letter is written to, that he should…that he should basically train, work himself out, like train to be godly. And training to be godly, I mean, all…aren’t we all on that page? Like, I want to train to be godly. How do you train to be godly? And we have to begin with a what…what is what is it to train for anything? And to train means to practice, right, to receive instruction on proper form or whatever it is we’re gonna train for, to receive instruction and then to practice until mastery and then to keep practicing and to see just how far we can take it. That's what training is. And, so, for we who are believers in Jesus then to train to be godly would be to do whatever we need to do to practice being Christlike, to practice being like our Savior. That’s kind of the goal of this Christian faith, is to receive this precious gift of eternal life and then to live into it by becoming essentially, according the Bible, a mirror image - to be Christlike. So, how does that training work? And this is so good. This is so good for us to consider at this point in the in the year because every time we come to a new week we call it a shiny, sparkly, new week and we think about the fact that we get to live into that week and how we’re gonna live into that week is what's gonna make our week. Like, we said that yesterday, right? So, here we are now in that week we were talking about and the choices and decisions and motivations that we are employing today are telling the story of today and they are also one of the chapters telling the story of this week. So, we string these weeks together, living into being Christlike and things begin to change. We might've thought it was gonna be like a magic when it was actually going to be just like training for anything else - hard work, endurance and sacrifice, right? You’re training for a marathon, that's what's going to be required. If you’re training in the gym, that's what's going to be required. If you're training to get your masters then that is what's going to be required – sacrifice, endurance, hard work. And then practicing what we have learned over and over and over and over until it's like we don't even think about it anymore, we have become masterful at what we've trained to do. So, instead of like going back to yesterday and looking into this shiny, sparkly, new week or going back a month ago, let's go back to the day we started our journey. If my calendars right, including leap year than that was 293 days ago. We started…we got on this ship and we set sail with the intention of voyaging together through the entire year, an entire year together every day making the Bible the center of the rhythm of our lives around this Global Campfire. And then what we found out is that there was so much more this journey. There were other people on this journey. This is not a solitary journey and we’ve fallen in love with each other. This is what happens as we take this voyage in the same direction. There are some who are not hearing me say this today because they did not continue to train, right? Like somewhere along the path who knows who they are or where they are now but somewhere along the path they drifted off this voyage and they are doing whatever they are doing, but some of us are hearing this and we have voyaged, we have traveled the entire amount of days to get here and we can see that it makes a difference, likely because this is the way we are. Likely we had other goals 293 days ago on New Year's Day. Likely we had some fitness goals, most people do, some dietary goals, most people do exist. It’s like we get between Christmas and New Year's and we start thinking about all of the things that we are going to change to have a more productive love filled, joyous year. And, so, we’re gonna make some of those changes, we’re gonna work on the marriage, we’re gonna…we’re gonna try to do, you know, get the promotion, whatever. We have these goals that we set, and usually spiritual goals are one of the goals and fitness goals are one of the goals. So, maybe we bought a whole new wardrobe to work out, we’re 293 days into this year. Have you continued? We can all go, “yeah, not so much because Covid. I mean like the world shut down this year. So, instead of losing 19 pounds for Covid 19 I gained 19 pounds.” But some people actually pressed in, found alternative ways to continue the journey that they had committed to for the year. And, so, have worked on their fitness, and I've worked on their spirituality and are feeling drastically different than they did 293 days ago because they trained. They practiced and practiced and practiced until change came. And change isn't an immediately noticeable thing. If you gotta ose 50 pounds and you lose 10 maybe people are starting to notice maybe not, but there is no doubt about how you are feeling. You may be discouraged that it’s not happening fast enough but there's no doubt that you are feeling more healthy because you are eating more healthy and you are giving your body things that your body knows what to do with instead of junk that it's not certain what to do with and so it will put it wherever it can. If you stick to that training if you practice change will come. It's inevitable. Why do we not realize that that is a spiritual reality as well? If you train if you practice if we center ourselves in God's word, and then start watching ourselves watching like when we become angry and how a switch can be pulled and that anger ratchets up to like rage, how does that happen? We have to train to watch ourselves so that in the moment at the crossroads when wisdom is saying go this way and don't go that way, we have trained ourselves to listen and obey and catch ourselves. And this can be about any aspect of our lives. This is how we submit ourselves to God. This is how we train to listen to the Holy Spirit. And if we will continue to practice change is inevitable. This is kind of what is being said to Timothy, “train yourself. Train yourself to be godly, to be Christlike.” May we all take that one on board and carry it forward into this week because we’re still at the beginning of the week and we still have the story of this week to tell. And maybe we can train, we practice being Christlike. And maybe, maybe if we keep doing that, maybe we can master it because the Bible seems to indicate that that's where this is all going. That's where we’re headed. Will we master it in our own strength? No. We’re not on our own though. We never have been. We do have to endure. We do have to practice. We do have to train. We do have to stay focused. This is what training is but it's possible. What do we have to lose? Like how many times have we said that this year? Look in the mirror. Just look around. Like, is everything perfect? Is it how you want it? If not than what is there to lose by trying to be Christlike, which is the goal of our faith?

Prayer:

Father we invite You into that. Jesus come. It is Your face that we seek, it is Your life, Your character that we read of that we are trying to live into and Your Holy Spirit has promised to lead us into all truth to reveal this narrow path that leads to life that You spoke of. And, so, we are here, we are open, we are once again resetting, we are once again repenting. Your word continually presses in upon us to show us the way to go and here we are, and this is the way to go. And, so, come Holy Spirit, well up within us as we start to train as we pay attention to what we are doing and how it is we lose control in any way, how we lose…when we relinquish control of ourselves we have abandoned what You are doing in our lives. And, so, we don't want another day like that. It’s counterproductive. It's leading us in the wrong direction. And, so, lead us forward as we pay attention as we train ourselves to be godly in the name of Jesus we as. Amen.

Announcements:

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And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, there are number of ways you can reach out. If you’re using the app, you can press the Hotline button, the little red button at the top and just share from there no matter where you are on this planet or if you prefer dialing the telephone there are a number of numbers that you can use depending on where you are. If you're in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to call. If you are in the UR K…UK…if you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number or if you are in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820 5459 is the number to call.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Yeah, my name is Joel Maddox and I was just calling in because I need prayer. I have a lot of stuff going on in my life and I’m ready to give up and throw in the towel. I’ve lost everything because of stupid choices and decisions in my life. I lost loved…a loved one that I cared about more than anything and I can’t stand to see myself in the mirror anymore. I don’t know what to do. Everybody has kinda left me and then, you know, you get these scriptures where they’re trying to say, “hey, you’re still gonna make it, you’re gonna make it” and all I want is a hug and then to be told that I’m loved and actually be loved. So, I need you guys to pray for me. I need it so badly because I’m some so ready to just give up. I’m so tired. I’m just so tired. Please God help me.

Good morning everyone this is Joyful J in the Everglades. I just listened to October 11th, 12th, and 13th kind of doing a little catch-up and there was a gentle man I believe is…he said it was the Mosher family who’s nephew’s life was taken by the hands of another person on October 2nd. Oh, my goodness my heart is so going out to you and your family and your sister. Lord I just thank You so much that You do care enough that we can come as a family before You and we can lift up this family who is hurting so bad. To lose four family members in four years, oh my, I can’t even imagine. But my heart is crying for this family, for this sister. Lord, You know what they need. I can’t even…like to have a family members life taken from them at the hands of another person. Oh. I pray for protection for all of the people in this country, in this world. Protect us from the evil that lingers out there in the streets. Protect us from the evil that wants to knock on our doors and wants to knock on our souls that wants to take over our minds Lord. I pray Lord that You are just push that away, let us learn to come into Your hand. Let us learn to put on the armor of God. Let us seek You, let us get comfort sitting in Your hand Lord. I just have no words. There are no words. Lord but my heart is crying for this family...

This is Candace from Oregon speaking specifically to God’s smile. You’ve been in such deep waters, floods threatening to engulf you. Sister we love you so much. I feel God leading me to lead all of us in prayer for you. From Psalm 69 is where most of these words and thoughts have come from. Lord for all that God’s Smile must endure we pray to You Lord in the time of Your favor in Your great love oh God answer God’s Smile with Your sure salvation. Rescue her from the mire. Do not sink. Deliver her from those who hate You Lord. We rebuke all foul spirits who torment her in any way and ask You to lift her from the deep waters. Do not let them engulf her or the depths swallow her up. Answer God’s Smile Lord out of the goodness of Your love in Your great mercy. Do not hide Your face from Your servant. Answer her quickly when she is in trouble. Come near and rescue her Lord. We think about that time Lord when You were dying for us on the cross and they put vinegar up to Your lips. Oh Lord be with God’s Smile afflicted and in pain may Your salvation protect her. She presses Your name along she glorifies You Lord with Thanksgiving. It pleases You. Thank You so much for how she has blessed us all.

Good morning everybody. Hey this is Annette Allison from Oklahoma City actually in the middle of nowhere east of Amarillo Texas coming back from a wonderful vacation with my sons in Colorado, Durango. It was wonderful. It was great to see them both. God’s Smile this morning you were on my mind. I was listening to your heart just pouring out paying that you’re going through, and I wanted you to know sister that I am praying for you and that I love you. I understand how it feels to go through pain that’s just unmanageable and I do I do I do, I lift you up and I want you to know that when you were on the…on the prayer request line, I’m a few days behind, I’m trying to catch up today I was praying for you and something crazy happened. I was driving down the road and I’m sitting here praying and praying and I come over this rise and there is this giant cross on the…in the middle of the highway. When I get off the road, I’m going to send this picture to you. It’s like crazy. I…I…I just have to take it that that’s a sign that God says He hears you. I know, I know every time that the Lord hears I know that He always like gives an answer, doesn’t He? And, so, I don’t know what His answer and His plan is for you, but I just have to say that I think, I know that the Lord hears you. I know that He does. So, I love you sister. I hope you feel better very, very soon and I just want you to know that I love you very much. All right? Have a great day. Bye, Bye.

Hello Daily Audio Bible this is Duane from Wisconsin. All praise and glory to our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Calling in today for God’s Smile. All of us on the Daily Audio Bible know who God’s Smile is and her wonderful praises that she sings and gives out encouragement she gives out to everybody. What a blessing she is for this community as well a number of others of you, for all of…all of you. But today she needs us to lift her up. Dear Lord, we’re lifting up God’s Smile to You. The pain that she is suffering Lord, we pray, we’re on our knees. We’re begging, we’re pleading with You that You would take that pain away from her. Lord she is such a good and faithful Christian. We are asking, though we know we have no right to ask, but we are. We’re on our knees, we’re begging and pleading that You would please take away the pain. Allow her to sing for us Lord, to lift praises up for You, to encourage others Lord without any pain. Our heart is breaking for her. We’re reaching out to You Lord. Please Lord we are begging You that You would relieve her of this pain. We ask this in our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Brian and Jill, we again thank you for this wonderful podcast.

Hi Jeannie from Florida this is God’s Grace for Japan, my prayer for Japan. And I’m going to pray for you. You asked for us to pray for you to lose weight so I’m going to do that. Lord I pray that You take Jeannie’s hand and that You encourage her that she is fearfully and wonderfully made, that You love this beautiful glorious body that You have provided for her. You care for it You want her to care for it too. You want her to nurture it You want her to train it and make it strong You want her to feed it well with really beautiful good things that You have provided for her to eat. I pray that You encourage her to use her body as the temple for Your Spirit that You have asked her to use it for. I thank You so much that You encourage us and equip us with these beautiful bodies that You have given us and I pray that You will take her on a wonderful journey to learn how to glorify You with her body through how she uses it through how she feeds it through how she loves it and cherishes it. But I also ask that You encourage her to know that this is Your beautiful body that You’ve already given her. And You will heal the parts of it that need to be healed and You will carry her through the journey of healing that is necessary. So, if there’s something wrong or if there’s something sick or she has too much weight on it, something holding her down preventing her body from being the temple that You require it to be Lord I ask that You guide her through that journey of finding that and coming to a healing place so that she can glorify You with this beautiful temple that You’ve given her. Love you Jeannie. Bye.

Hello family my name is Chris from Florida. I’ve been listening about two years now out of a recommendation of a friend of mine. I listen to the reading. I listen to the explanations and I’ve gotten a lot from this community. I listen to everybody’s prayers after. Don’t always get to the community prayers just due to the length of time, how many there are. But today I come to you in need of prayer for my daughter. She’s 12 years old and her mom passed last night. So, if you could, keep us lifted up for peace and healing. She’s a believer so we know that she’s home, but I can’t imagine going through what she’s about to go through at that age and she’s gonna need everybody in her corner that’s willing to be there for her. Thank you.

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multiscales · 5 years

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That’s the end of the battle of the birbs and that was a killer fight and little two-episode “Overcome Ju’niper” arc. for Mukuroh. I’m being serious when I saw I absolutely loved both these episodes and am super happy for Satoshi and Mukuroh over their win. Mukuroh himself has been a great character and I know people often rank Satoshi’s Pokemon’s worth based on evolution versus character development and perceived strength. Satoshi supported Mukuroh unconditionally and showcased how much of a caring and good-hearted trainer he is, he could have just used Nyaheat but he chose to accept his Pokemon’s feelings and let them prove themselves, it’s no different from the score Pikachu had to settle with Raichu a couple times in the past. Boy did Mukuroh shine heavily. Even when the classmates who had seen Mukuroh in action had reservations about the match-up Satoshi did not and granted Mukuroh agency in the situation and even trained early in the morning to help prepare.

The battle was great in terms of back and forth and aesthetics, Mukuroh and Ju’niper’s aerial battle did a great job of showing that. The tactical and meta portions of how Sky Attack didn’t get the chance to charge fully, Brave Bird’s recoil, Spirit Shackle’s utility, the use of Feather Dance in Mukuroh’s own way (emulating substitution in a last minute save), them both being hot-blooded and immediately using their Z-moves, Brave Bird/Sky Attack collision and Mukuroh managing to break even with its final form was really cool. It shows that Mukuroh has come far, back during their first fight his Razor Leaf was overpowered by Fukuthrow’s but here and now he can manage to go even with it. Evolution is cool, I enjoy seeing certain Pokemon evolve because I adore many Pokemon, evolved or not but it isn’t everything and that’s a lesson the Pokemon anime has sold us on from day one. I would have loved to see Mukuroh as a sleepy and not-so-fancy Fukuthrow but that doesn’t mean I can’t love him as he is.

These episodes showed off Mukuroh’s earnest yet eccentric and lovable character, I’ve never used a Mukuroh in the games but this makes me want to crack open a copy of USUM and go on a journey with one because these owls put on one hell of a show. Satoshi and Mukuroh’s rapport wasn’t the only good thing about this episode but the relationship between Mukuroh/Meltan and Mukuroh/Dodekabashi. He could inspire Meltan enough to get fired up to improve (foreshadowing Melmetal) as well as learn from his adoptive family and apply their teachings in battle while being supported by them from the sidelines. Seeing not just Satoshi but Kerappa and Dodekabashi (the toucan even smiled) acting out Feather Dance as a way to help him nail it in that clutch, badass dodge was so fucking sweet. Hell, even Lugarugan, Nyaheat and Pikachu were supportive from the sidelines, none of them are Mukuroh-line members but Mukuroh is loved and supported by his found-family and that chokes me up a little on the inside. (seriously)

As for the issues I’ve seeing for why this episode is getting panned, it’s solely over Kuchinasu’s premature judgement on the battle. This scene showcased many things we already know, that Mukuroh is prone to falling asleep, even in combat as he did so after defeating one Hala’s Pokemon or even against Fukuthrow before in Hau’s debut episode. This was always an established part of the owl’s character so it’s totally in-character and nothing new. It showed that Hala’s role as one of the people help pioneering the Alola League is one of honesty and sincerity. Hau may be Hala’s grandson but Hala’s gonna do the right thing, Kuchinasu is known canonically as being kind of a lazy / slacker-type and it’s totally within his character to not properly check to see if the Mukuroh was surely defeated. I will admit, it was a savage scene especially if you’re like me and didn’t see spoilers and had no clue what was going to happen.

Hau said his goal was to overcome Satoshi’s incredible Mukuroh and become way stronger and he seemingly had that but like his game-self, he ends up falling short. Hau is a bro, I like the character and what the anime has given him in such short time but I can see why such a sympathetic and big-hearted boy could be easy to care for. The scene when he was jumping around and happily celebrating with Ju’niper versus the contrast of him trying to save face and breaking down to Hala was pretty significant. Until the very end he remained his sunshine-child self with congratulating Satoshi for his success and Satoshi was going to do the same had that truly been the end of his own owl. But, I’m gonna be blunt and say I just don’t see any reason to call this episode or battle bad aside from feeling sorry for Hau.

The animation was fine, the tactics and usage of moves were on-point, the characterization was good, Satoshi/Dodekabashi’s efforts bared proper fruit, good struggle/suspense and the damage dealt/received was realistic. Satoshi and Mukuroh realized their ambitions and overcame a formidable rival (a victory beyond just being Pokemon v. Pokemon but trainer&Pokemon v. trainer&Pokemon) and came out on top and both got an honest and tenacious portrayal. That’s what I ask for in a battle and couple of episodes like this so I’m going to have to go against the grain (in usual fashion, ofc) and say I strongly enjoyed this arc. and love that the writers went to the trouble of having development still happen even when the league is in full-swing and even if I’m not fond of the 1 v. 1 fest this battle was fleshed out and truly felt like a personal confrontation and did everything right for me. A gag scene doesn’t kill that for me.

Sleep equaling defeat was something left in OS many many many moons ago and hasn’t been relevant in decades. There’s an assortment of examples of Pokemon falling asleep but awakening to continue to fight. If you watched DP you would know the biggest struggle Satoshi dealt with for his gym challenge during that saga was overcoming Melissa’s Ghost-type Pokemon’s Hypnosis which would put them to sleep and allow her to finish them off. Not once did putting them to sleep mean he lost, she always went on to incapacitate the target before the referee officially ruled the battle in her favor. So I’m just trying to understand, what did Satoshi and Mukuroh do wrong? I want to reiterate that the trolling part was a bit rough toward Hau, but Satoshi and Mukuroh did nothing wrong, Hala did nothing wrong by stepping up and being honest, Kuchinasu was the only wrong one here.

Mukuroh came back, turned the tables with a perfected (and unique) Feather Dance and earned the victory he deserved. I feel for Hau but not so much that I think he should have won over his opponent simply sleeping, if the anime worked like that or the games then any scrub with a Singing Pokemon is a shoo-in for the champion spot. Even if Kuchinasu had made the call and all, it still wasn’t right and would have been a huge disservice to Satoshi and Mukuroh. I can list a number of Satoshi’s bullshit victories over the years on both my hands and toes but this definitely wasn’t the case. I was happy to see both Satoshi and Hau praise each other’s Pokemon before they left and end it on good terms. I do hope Hau sticks around and like I said I loved the usage of his Z-Move and Spirit Shackle, that boy can be a savage. Those are my thoughts on these episodes and battle, feel free to disagree but more or less that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

#pokeani #pokemon anime #ash ketchum #hau #rowlet #decidueye #sun&moon #sm133 #satoshi #mukuroh #juniper #reviewing

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douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years

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REVENGE OF STARTUP HUBS WORK

No matter what you do. 09019077 people's 0. Small meant small-time. They did as employers too. Politics, like religion, is a big bias toward writing applications in the same area, they had to resort to in the early days of microcomputers. Bill had finished college and gone to work for some existing company. Already someone trying to live well would seem eccentrically abstemious in most of a day to kill him. If Lisp is so great, why don't I program this eval. At about the same time the US economy was conscripted too. In the early 20th century. Making wealth is not money.

What the company should be run by suits. I was about 19. It's this pattern that makes them this way, of course. Here parents' desires conflict. Ditto for Facebook, at the end of the year I couldn't even remember what else I had stored in that attic. There are also two practical problems to consider: jobs, and graduate school. People won't wait as long as acquirers remain stupid. The floors are constantly being swept clean of any loose objects that might later get stuck in something. One of the advantages of size. By inverting this list, we can avoid applying rules and standards to intelligence that are really meant for wisdom.

Good design can copy. The important part is not answering questions but asking them: the acquirer doesn't just want the technology, and if Microsoft doesn't control the client, it will become more common. Which is why it's good to write readable code. I try to think of startup ideas. But apparently hackers are particularly curious, especially about how things work. To be a good idea with competitors than a bad one without. If you look at the instruments. To What Extent? We did. When classical texts began to circulate in Europe, they contained not just new answers, but new questions. Some give more than they would from in-house VC groups generally forbid them to make it. Filter Works for Me.

Plunge in, by all means correct it. The other thing you get from going running, not like soccer; you don't know where your ideas are coming from, you're probably mistaken. It's money investors have given you some idea what your prospects might be if you built a precisely defined derivative version of your software by a certain date? But it's remarkable how often several people had been surprised by exactly the same thing: they're pretty open-minded, almost obnoxiously elitist focus on hiring the smartest people to work for yourself, the dumber they make you. I don't have an iPhone, for example: after the founders graduated from college, let alone which one. Languages are notation. Finally, by watching users you can often tell when they're in trouble. If you look inside good software, and the king whether or not to quit their day job, where you don't specify the recipients.

You generally shouldn't pass up a definite funding offer to move. It was small and powerful and cheap, not expensive and impressive. Something Minimal Lots of founders mentioned how surprised they were by the cluelessness of investors: They don't even get a shot at it. But I think I can prove I'm right. And they'll help people they haven't invested in too. If they get something wrong, it's often better not to aim for perfection initially. Much Control as Possible. Then at least you can give back the money you need and how much stock you get. One reason this advice is so hard to measure in large organizations, because the bugs are random. And that seems to be fame.

What difference does it make what some other VC thought? My message to potential customers was: you'd be stupid not to sell online, and if you want to work for people with their own opinion; on what grounds can you prefer one to another? But a constant multiple of active users. But I can imagine managers at this point the default outcome. This tradition continues today. When you're a kid and as an adult. Microsoft is still an enormously profitable company, and judging ability is sufficiently straightforward that hiring and admissions committees can do it on Microsoft's terms, calling their APIs and working around their buggy OS.

The great majority of startups that end up going public didn't seem likely to succeed in startups. The next best thing is to be optimistic about your ability to delude yourself and the wildly unstable nature of the venture funding process, we're probably fooling ourselves. Meanwhile a similar fragmentation was happening at the other end. But what's everything? That's a filtering rate of about 99. In one place I worked, it seemed as if search was a mature market, dominated by a few giant companies dominating each big market. Plenty of people who are earnest, but dull.

Why do they think it's finished, then they must be a hacker's language, I mean by getting something done is learning how to pick winners. Like rich food, idleness only seems desirable when you don't need as many hackers, and a few months in, they probably didn't. In big companies there's always going to be successful in general? Treat the first few months comforted ourselves by treating the whole thing contracts violently. Recently it hasn't been. It's difficult to imagine now, but the dumb joke. The situation is different in phase 1. We didn't just give canned presentations at trade shows. It's also great for morale. When we started Y Combinator is just accelerating a process that would have killed Apple, prune it off.

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092219archive · 5 years

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oH IF UR STILL TAKING THAT SONG ASK THING-- bloodsport by raleigh ritchie

Send me a song and I’ll tell you which f/o it makes me think of

I LISTENED TO IT AND OHHH MY GODDD

chi, you slammed the “what and how eren envisions their selfships to be like.” absolutely decimated the head of the nail, and the entire thing while you’re at it. i was struggling to decide whether this was an ephraim or ozymandias song (as they are my main s/os), but certain verses helped me decide that it was definitely an ozy kind of song! but idate could also... be a choice for a song like this... another time-

immediately, the song starts off with “nothing is perfect but your; imperfections are quaint” which stabbed me in the heart when i listened to that, because... well, i selfship to cope with insecurities and life issues, you know? something that i continue to struggle with are the many flaws i have, and it’s difficult to accept myself when i know things are wrong with me. i always get thoughts of “i can play around with ozy/eren because eren’s a flexible and fictional character, just like ozy. but i can’t play around with ozy/real eren, because real eren is kind of gross.” but i guess something i’ve always appreciated are people that can be patient with me, because i’m a double-edged sword a lot of the times. i’m lucky to have people in my life that are willing to stick around with me, and also people who encourage me to do better.

ozy being patient is a weird thought, but not impossible. that’s because everything is already his, and if it’s not his, you’re wrong. it’s his. manchild. i imagine that... if ozy loves eren (i use “eren” as a temporary placeholder for actual me right now, because writing “ozy and i/me and ozy” is making me so unbelievably uncomfortable), i feel like he’d be patient with eren and their gross habits and behaviors, their unhealthy reclusive attitude, their crude language... eren is you could say, “already his” considering his high status -- just needs a bit of... polishing, refinement. maybe some major fixes here and there.

“and your love is worth it; and for that i will wait” is something i’m a bit iffy on though, because it’s really difficult for me to stay committed? it’s... very inconsistent -- how long i stick around and such. i haven’t been in a romantic relationship under good conditions, so i can’t really say that i’d be a “super devoted person” since i don’t have experience. i like to imagine that ozy would be able to recognize that maybe eren was someone that could love in a way that was unique, something that hits you when you least expect it, or maybe even when they’re gone. and so he wants to keep them around, even if there’s a bunch of daily missions he has to complete and side quests he has to fulfill to get what exactly he wants.

i do see myself as a chore, and that’s because i feel like a chore. i can play stupid on purpose, or it can be unintentional. i can play “hard to get” because i know what the other person wants, or i don’t. and sometimes when you’re not looking, i can leave but i won’t disappear completely. if someone and i don’t have a routine schedule, then things’ll fall apart on my end. there’s a lot to watch for. but thinking of ozy being able to push through all of that, to see past those habits and thoughts i get, it’s... really comforting. he kind of... knows that i’m more than what i make myself to be. you’re worth every second, kind of thing... yells softly

“i drive you crazy but you; always return” can either be “eren’s sept. 2018 - apr. 2019 ozy slowburn era,” or it can be scenarios of ozy “spicing” things up to keep things interesting. to get closer to eren, he keeps things unpredictable and hits them when they’re weakest, but i don’t mean that in a bad way. ozy would keep eren on their toes, and when they’re expecting something from him, he doesn’t provide. he keeps them guessing, and when eren wants answers, they’ll get their answers. and he knows that they will. if he keeps doing what he does (and he will), then eren will always be falling into whatever card he plays next. it’s a cycle that they’ll never win, but they’re determined to get what they want just as much as ozy is.

“if i fall short; if i break rank... // i am all yours;... i’m on all fours, willingly down” shows just how set ozy is on making sure he’s showing his devotion to whatever the two can have. he knows there’s some chemistry brewing, and he wants to ensure that [chemical] equilibrium. the wording isn’t something he would exactly say, but his motives show more what he means. it’s like in some of his voice lines where he says, “me, accompanying you to save humanity? wrong! it is you, who is accompanying me to save humanity!” it’s not really possessive speech or actions, but a reminder of the two’s positions when you consider him into the equation.

but by the end of the day, this is ultimately a master/servant relationship. if something he does boosts their fragile ego and it benefits him, then you can almost bet that he will dive right in. a strong master means an even stronger servant. he won’t really “lower” himself, but he’ll probably raise eren to a status nearly as high as his own. buuut, not necessarily. i’m having a difficult time putting what i mean into words 💦

“loving you is a bloodsport; fighting in a love war” is the title of the song, which is nice! but i got some analyzing and thinking to do-

i feel like, with the circumstances that eren and ozy are in, it’s really difficult to find time to “love” each other properly. rather, eren can’t love him back properly. they have to save humanity and fix the singularities, they have to work on saving themselves (as cheesy as it sounds), and getting other servants involved in the saving of humanity is already terrifying enough. loving someone with these burdens on their shoulders, especially something they can’t carry, is a struggle because god knows what will happen if you step too close.

but the thing with ozy is that, he’s spoken to gods. hell, he’s the pharaoh. what’s a master of chaldea to him? only someone he’ll conquer, just like anyone else that stepped on his path to getting what he desires.

“although you love me, sometimes we meet. things can get ugly, but we’re still a team” is something that’s like... they probably get into disagreements about the correct choice, or course they should take. what exactly is bad for eren, what exactly is good for ozy -- but they’re accommodating for each other’s needs. just, differently. and right after those lyrics, it’s “we are an army; the brakes are within // but that’s why we’re stronger; and that’s how we’ll win” which portrays exactly how i imagine things should be. they’re not going to get along 100% well at first. they’ll click, maybe, but learning about their differences, both obvious ones and those less so, help them build on each other to better themselves and achieve what they want to achieve. like i’ve been mentioning -- he knows there’s something going on, but he wants to make sure that it works. it’s like one of those symbiotic relationships in biology, or something.

“it’s not what i’m in love for; i know but i don’t know if you can help it // baby, i’m just being selfish” these also have big ozy vibes!! maybe he wasn’t actually considering on falling in love because everything is of equal value to him. it’s not like he liked the master of chaldea when they came strolling into his pyramid anyways. maybe he wanted to establish a strong master/servant bond because that’s one of the primary rules of the holy grail war (except this is the big one, and humanity is on the line), because he realizes that he’s being held back by something, which would presumably be eren.

and then he sees this weird, damaged magus and he takes interest, because this person looks just like moses for whatever reason -- and maybe it was their eyes, or certain emotions they showed -- and he invests more time into them, wondering just how and why he made that connection in the first place, and he tries to pursue something that doesn’t want to be chased, and he sees the blood and the cracks on their hands and self, and he wonders just how, exactly, did he get where he did, but he’s already so far down the rabbit hole that he keeps going and going into territory that’s dangerous and prohibited. but this is the same man that conquered leaders and land, and created structure for his people, and has had poems and movies made about him.

he’s already dedicated. he’s been that way since the beginning of time, and quite literally. there’s no reason to back down and out.

“i’ll curse the day that they return; with a smile on my face; as their heads hit the floor” is... well, excluding the cursing part, but this is how ozy is in f/go 💦 he’s always smiling! he’s always having fun!! the nerve!!!

“what i’m tryna say is; i’ll protect you ‘till the day i’ll meet my maker // so don’t fight me now; ‘cause you might need me later” kind of makes me feel like he could be referring to the database he comes from, and how he’ll be with you to get some answers from the king of mages. “i’ll poke fun at you, but i’ll stick around, especially for your final fight” thing... uuuううううー

#long post #thank you so much for the ask chi!!#and this song's so good i'm so weark #chiliechii #eren chats

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naptis-lucis-caelum · 6 years

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similar to another request, could you write something for the chocobros+luna reacting to a s/o who cries a lot? sometimes over silly things like a really cute, small animal or a sad drama lol

HELLOOOOO I’m so sorry this took forever! I had to get my Mac fixed but now that it’s all good let’s get back to the requests! Sorry I have to skip out on Luna, I don’t feel like I have enough background/research on her to write about her and make it close to canon huh. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!!

You and Noctis walked through the streets of Insomnia, and while he continued to talk to you about fishing, you stopped in your tracks as a small husky and its owner approached your path. The dog stopped in front of you and you, almost instinctively, fell on the floor and began running your free through its soft fur. You commenced short chit chat with the owner, finding out more information about the sweet husky who had his eyes closed and his tongue out at your touch.

“Who’s a good boy?” you asked in an endearing manner. “Who’s the best boy, huh? Who’s the best bubba?”

The dog emitted a sweet whimper at your praises, and you were quickly attacked by licks on your cheek. They bid you two a goodbye, with the owner curtsying at the Prince and the dog barking cheerily. You waved at them and watched them continue their walk over your shoulder, but you couldn’t help but feel a sudden emptiness in your heart.

“Noct…” you trailed off with a sniff.

His eyes moved from the dog’s wagging tail in the distance and back at you, surprised at the tears forming in your eyes.

“H-Hey,” he stuttered in shock, “What’s wrong, princess? Are you hurt?”

“I… I…” you sniffed once again. “I want a dog!” you began to cry.

Noct’s first course of action was to wrap you in his arms—something he didn’t do often in public due to his title, but he was willing to make exceptions. “That doesn’t answer my question, babe.”

“The husky,” you inhaled, “The husky was adorable and he loved me so much!”

He laughed at how silly you were being, but found your unconditional love for animals heartwarming. He pulled away softly and kissed your forehead.

“Then let’s go see who we can adopt,” he said with a smile, wiping your tears and holding your hand tightly. As you made your way to the nearest animal shelter, he stopped for a second and stared at you with a deceiving grin. “But you know, we can just skip the dog and…” he raised his eyebrow, “Get straight to the baby-making.”

You gasped and slapped his shoulder, “Noct!”

“Ow—hey! I was kidding!” he defended himself with a laugh. “Partly.”

You rolled your eyes and hit him again, walking ahead to hide the warming blush on your cheeks.

“Huh, so Kimi no Na wa was as good as everyone said it was,” Prompto remarked as the credits on the screen rolled. He shifted his position on the couch, wrapping his arm around you before noticing how red your eyes had become. “Babe, why are you crying?!”

“M-M-Mitsuha and T-Taki,” you murmured between sobs, “They were meant to be!”

You covered your face, partly because you were embarrassed over how strongly you felt about the move, but mostly because thinking about the ending riled up your feelings once again. Although Prompto was initially confused as to why the movie had affected you so much, he’d be a hypocrite if he said he never cried over a film before. Instead of poking fun at you about it, he wrapped his other arm around you and pulled you in for an embrace. He let you soak up shirt for the next 15 minutes before you finally calmed down and collected yourself.

“That Red Thread of Fate concept absolutely killed me,” you chuckled as he helped you wipe your tears away.

Prompto rested his hand on your cheek, rubbing the high point with his soft thumb. The way his eyes were staring at you intently made your heart jump right out of your chest, and seeing your reaction to him caused his lips to form a huge smile.

“Yeah… the Red Thread is pretty cool, huh?” he said. “It’s crazy to think that such a belief of connection exists.”

You nodded, “Yeah, how wild would it be if it actually existed?”

“… I think it does,” he shrugged.

“You do?”

“Mhm,” he answered. “Actually, I…,” he swallowed, “I think I found the other end of my Red Thread… wrapped around you.”

The broad smile on his face quickly minimized into a shy one. You fought back the new army of tears threatening to leave your system, but the soft kiss Prompto had planted on your lips left you weak. You moved your hands to cup his face only to feel ropes of tears trickling down the sides os his face as well.

“I love you,” he whispered, keeping your foreheads together and his eyes locked on yours.

“I love you too, Prompto.”

After a hectic day at work, all you wanted to do eat your feelings out and go to bed. You had been complaining about your misfortunes to Gladio all day, but walking in to him transforming your apartment into a private spa wasn’t something you expected to see.

Before you could even say anything, Gladio quickly walked over to you and kissed you deeply, practically sucking the air out of you. Your tense shoulders dropped as you lost yourself in the kiss. He took your bag and set it on the floor, hung your coat, and placed your shoes on the rack. Smooth jazz music played from your burnt out speaker while he guided you to the bathroom that smelled of lavender—your favourite. The bathtub was surrounded by candles and filled with warm water, bubbles, and floating flowers.

“Gladdy, you didn’t have to do this,” you said, a little shy with how spoiled you felt.

He shook his head, “You take care of me all the time. I’d be a bad boyfriend if I couldn’t make you feel better after a shitty day.”

“You can always make me feel better without all this, though,” you replied. “I just need you by my side.”

“And I’m always gonna be by your side, baby girl.” He kissed the back of your hand and brought it up to his face. “But this is the least I can do for you. You deserve everything in this world.”

“Gladio!” you whined into a cry, and he couldn’t help but laugh at how easy it was for you to burst into tears.

To be fair, you couldn’t help yourself; your heart was bursting at the seams. Being part of the Crownsguard wasn’t an easy task, and even though he had his own troubles to deal with, he decided to throw them away just for your sake. The mere fact that he decided to think of you and not of himself was enough to remind you of how lucky you were to be with such a kind and caring man.

He kissed your tears away as he began undressing you. There was no malice in his movements, only love. Gently, he lead you into the bathtub and rested you down. He pulled up a stool and sat beside you, continually kissing your hand while praises left his mouth.

You couldn’t stop crying, and it was okay.

“Ugh, Iggy’s gonna be the reason for my diabetes,” you groaned to yourself after spotting a tupperware of sweets on your work table.

You moved the envelope and opened the container, revealing stacks of chocolate chip cookies that looked too moist to eat. The heavenly sight made you salivate a little, but the small white envelope called you back into a reality. You flipped the top open and pulled out the small card, reading the words,

‘Just because. Always thinking of you, my dear.

Love,

I.S. xx’

Just because. That was the first time in a long time you heard someone use that reasoning with you. You broke off a piece and let it crumble in your mouth, closing your eyes as you entered a short moment of reverie.

Yup, this was definitely the work of Ignis Scientia.

Giggling, you picked up the phone and dialled his office number. After exactly two rings, his stern voice picked up from the other end of the line.

“Mr. Scientia, can you drop by my office in the next 10 minutes? I have urgent business with you,” you said, attempting to keep your tone as professional as possible.

It didn’t take long for him to enter your office and swoop you in for a kiss. He backed you up to the edge of your office table and deepened the kiss, causing you to smile against his lips. You were technically breaking the rules by showing affection—hell, you were technically breaking the unspoken rule of dating a coworker, but because Ignis was the Royal Advisor, he got away with certain things.

His eyes moved down to the opened container on your table. “I take it you enjoyed the cookies then, love?” he asked.

You nodded and grabbed the remaining piece from earlier. He opened his mouth and you fed him, watching him relish his own creation. Iggy knew he was a fantastic cook, and he would never turn down the chance to speak or taste his culinary prowess.

“I called you over here because I wanted to say thank you,” you began, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck.

“For the cookies?” he asked before wrapping his arms around your waist in return. “It’s not a problem at all.”

“Not just that,” you shook your head, “For always taking care of me. You never have to sneak food into my office, but you always do. It’s such a sweet gesture and you never fail to make me happy.”

“Because you never fail to bring joy into my life as well,” he replied. “I can’t offer you much else other than my cooking,” he added half-jokingly.

“I don’t need anything else, Iggy. I just need you.”

He took a deep breath, “I love you very, very much.”

You sniffed at the sincerity in his voice and the warmth in his beautiful green eyes. “And you know I love you too, Iggy.”

“There’s nothing more I want in this world than to grow old with you, my dear.”

That did it. That sentence opened the floodgate of your tears. You looked down as you started to cry, prompting him to move even closer and lock you in an embrace.

“I’d cook for you every single day for the rest of my life if you asked,” he humoured you, making you laugh and pull away.

He grinned, happy that he was victorious in making you smile. His hand snaked over to the cookies and he picked up another one, bringing it to your mouth and feeding you. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head in delight, but a second later, tears began to run down your face once again.

“Please don’t cry,” Iggy comforted you. “I won’t ever leave you.”

“It’s not that,” you shook your head, “Your cookies are just so damn good!”

#ffxv #ffxv fanfiction #fanfiction #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x reader #prompto argentum #prompto x reader #gladiolus amicitia #gladio x reader #ignis scientia #ignis x reader #ffxv drabbles #ffxv requests #naptis writes #fluff

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thfox724 · 3 years

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Keylogger For Mac Os Free

Every month or so I get scam messages demanding payments in Bitcoins for the images of me they allegedly took using my webcam. They claim that they use keyloggers to control my computer.

So, how to know if your Mac has a keyLogger? There are two types of keyloggers: hardware and software. Examine external USB devices connected to the Mac for hardware keyloggers. Use Activity Monitor to look for unknown processes when checking for software keylogger. Check Privacy options in System Preferences for applications with too much privileges. Install tools such as Malwarebytes and MacScan and scan computer.

It’s pretty easy to guess that this software is designed for parental monitoring of. Anti-keylogger for Mac OS X, download best alternative solutions carefully chosen by our editors and user community. Anti-keylogger for Mac: download free alternatives OTHER PROJECTS. Free Elite Keylogger for Mac: Free Elite Keylogger for Mac easily records everything a Mac user types on the monitored computer. Easily capture what they are emailing about, discussing on chats.

How do Keyloggers Work

Keylogger or keystroke logger is a spyware application that runs invisibly for users and logs (saves on the local disk or sends to the cloud) every key that users press on the computer.

Usually, keyloggers are used by hackers to collect your credit card information you enter on various web sites. They also collect your usernames and passwords, so they can steal money from your bank accounts.

The goal of a keylogger is not to collect information for as long as possible, that’s why you may never know that it was installed.

It does not suddenly slow down your computer (unless it is sending information over the internet), it does not pop up scary messages in Safari or Chrome, it does not redirect your browser to wrong web sites. It just quietly hides on your computer and gathers your data in order to use it later.

How keyloggers get installed

Typically, they get installed as part of free software you download from the Internet. The free software may contain a keylogger code inside of it so the former installs the latter on the computer.

Once installed the keyloggers starts collecting information and sends it to storage in the cloud where the hacker can access it. Keyloggers can also be installed as browser extensions.

Hardware keyloggers

There are two types of keyloggers: hardware and software. While hardware keyloggers apply mostly to desktops they are impossible to detect with the software. The hardware keylogger is usually attached to the computer and a keyboard is attached to the device.

Every time you press a key on the keyboard the device records it in its local storage and then passes the key information to the computer. If you want, you can buy a hardware keylogger on Amazon.

Software-based keystroke loggers are much more powerful because they run on the computer itself and they have access to the entire computer, not just a keyboard.

Is Keylogger Malware?

A keylogger can be either malware, like rootkit, or legitimate software installed on your computer. Commercial applications that log the keyboard input on the computer can be installed by parents who want to monitor which sites their children are visiting on the Internet. Or the company may want to track employee activities.

Believe it or not, you can easily download and install a keylogger on your own Mac. Most popular keyloggers for Mac OS are:

Perfect Keylogger for Mac

Besides recording key presses these tools are capable of capturing screenshots, data in the clipboard, keep web browsing history.

In case of chat applications such as Skype, Viber or iMessage they can log messages from both sides: anything typed on your computer and incoming chat messages.

Some keyloggers are equipped with geolocation features. If the MacBook was stolen, they can be used to track it down because they will secretly send keystrokes and screenshots to the cloud. Keyloggers can also control your webcam and record videos or you can watch live from another computer.

You decide if it is ethical or legal to spy after children, spouse or employees. The goal of this article is to educate people about possibilities and describe ways to protect yourself from spying.

How to Install a Keylogger on Mac

To test how MacScan and Malwarebytes are capable of finding keyloggers I decided to install all four keyloggers on my Mac.

IMPORTANT: I don’t endorse any keylogger here. Moreover, if you want to avoid getting malware on your Mac, do not download software from anywhere except Apple App Store. Personally, I do not trust any of the above-mentioned keyloggers, so before installing them on my MacBook I did the following:

Took a backup of my drive

Reset MacBook to factory settings

Installed and tested keyloggers so I can report my findings here

Restored everything from the backup.

There is something fundamentally sleazy about spying after other people. No wonder that installing a keylogger reminded me of installing apps with potential viruses in it.

Elite Keylogger sent me to a jumpshare url, it didn’t let me download from their site. The problem I had with installing Elite is that its installer did not want to close, so I had to force shutdown my Mac. Check here if you want to know more about potential issues with force shutdowns.

The Perfect Keylogger sent me two emails: one with the link from which I could download an encrypted zip file and another with the password for the zip file. Google immediately flagged both messages as dangerous spam.

Spyrix and Aobo didn’t have such problems and Refog looked like a legit app with a proper installer. The interesting thing is that I was able to install all 5 of them at the same time and all four of them were recording keystrokes.

Does Malwarebytes or MacScan detect keyloggers?

Once I installed Malwarebytes it immediately recognized Elite keylogger as malware and put into quarantine. It was also able to detect Aobo and Refog. Unfortunately, it didn’t find anything wrong with Perfect Keylogger and Spyrix.

MacScan was more successful: it found 4 out of 5 apps, but it still missed Perfect Keylogger.

Conclusion: If you want to install a keylogger on your Mac go with Perfect one from Blazing tools. It didn’t get detected by either Malwarebytes or MacScan.

But again, do it at your own risk. If you ask my opinion, I would never install such an application on the computer where I entered my credit card information or password to my bank accounts.

On the other hand, I was disappointed with Malwarebytes and MacScan missing some apps. This experiment does not give me high confidence in malware protection tools.

So, what would I recommend you do if you believe that there is a keylogger app on your MacBook? Reset and reinstall your MacOS and immediately change all passwords for all web sites you were using.

Keylogger myths

Some people suggest a couple of workarounds that in their opinion can trick keyloggers. One of them is to use software-based keyboards. You can start such a keyboard by going to System Preferences and clicking on the “Keyboard” icon.

In “Input Sources” tab click on “Show input menu in menu bar”. Once you do it you can see a keyboard icon in the top bar near the battery icon. If you click on that icon and select “Show Keyboard Viewer” it will bring a software keyboard which you can use to type information and which supposedly will not be tracked by a keylogger.

Another workaround is to type a part of the password or the credit card number in the browser, then bring up a text editor, type a garbage text in it, switch back to the browser and type the second part of the secret password.

These workarounds possibly worked a long time ago when malware was not sophisticated, but now when they can take screenshots and have some intelligent software, I would not rely on the workarounds anymore.

Free Keylogger For Mac Os X

How to Detect Keylogger on Mac with Activity Monitor

Some people suggest checking for malware in Activity Monitor. The typical suggestion is to bring up the Activity Monitor and find the application that looks suspicious or you do not recognize.

This advice may work for someone who knows all applications running on Mac, but for an average user, all applications running on Mac are unfamiliar.

I am not claiming this is impossible however. For instance, Spyrix Keylogger appear in Activity Monitor as skm, and Perfect Keylogger as DashboardClient.

What to do when getting a scam email?

As said in the beginning everyone is getting emails which state that they set up malware on the certain web sites and “your browser began working as a RDP that has a key logger which provided me access to your display as well as cam”. It continues with a threat to send embarrassing information to your friends unless “you will make the payment via Bitcoin”.

Normally, these emails end up in a Spam folder, but if you are using an email other than Gmail chances are that they will appear in your Inbox. So, what should you do in this case? The answer is to Delete the email. This is called extortion

The hackers send such emails to millions of people with the hope that someone will be scared and will pay a ransom. They do not install keyloggers, it is cheaper to scare people by sending emails then target specific people.

How to Detect Commercial Keyloggers on Mac?

If you suspect that someone you know (your employer, spouse, parent, friend or enemy) is spying after you chances are that they installed one of the commercial keyloggers.

There is very little chance that they were able to find a malware soft built by hackers to infect your system because the malware will be sending your information to the hacker, not your personal enemy.

If you are looking to find if commercial keyloggers have been installed on your Mac, there are three ways to find: using Activity Monitor, checking default key combinations and checking the list of application with Full Disk Access.

Using Activity Monitor

Activity Monitor is still a good way to quickly find applications as long as you know their names:

Perfect Keylogger appears as DashboardClient in the monitor

Spyrix as skm

Look for ‘coreservicesd’ to find Aobo

Check for ‘Elite Keylogger’ when searching Elite Keylogger. However, the version I installed was free and it did not hide, so I don’t know how the process name will change for someone who buys a product.

And finally, ‘Refog’ appears as ‘syslogd’

Note: there are legit services called ‘syslogd‘ and ‘coreservicesd‘, so their presence doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a keylogger. To find out if the Mac was infected, scan it with the free version of Malwarebytes.

Using default key combinations

All keyloggers have secret key combinations which will bring them from the place they are hiding to the screen. After all, if you can get to the data collected by a keylogger it is pretty much useless.

Default key combinations for keyloggers are:

But, what if whoever was installing the spyware was smart enough to change the default key combination. Then you won’t be able to find keyloggers by a key combination.

Check which applications have Full Disk Access

In order to do their job, most keyloggers must have full access to the disk or accessibility option.

Go to System Preferences -> Security and Privacy, click on the Privacy tab and check two sections: Accessibility and Full Disk Access.

Here how it may look like on your Mac if the app was installed:

How to Detect Malware Keystroke Loggers on Mac?

If you think that your Mac was infected by a keylogger when you’ve been browsing the internet or opened an email then steps above will not help because hackers do not use commercial keyloggers as malware.

You can still try to open the Activity Monitor, go over each process in it and search Google for the process name. This way, you can at least eliminate the good applications from the keyloggers (note, however, a good process can still be infected with a malware which installs a keylogger on Mac).

For instance, if you don’t know what “cloudd” process is on Mac then Google following: cloudd mac

The first response will say something like “This process is part of macOS and is related to iCloud”. So now you can move to the next process in the list.

Another option is to install Malwarebytes, MacScan, Intego Mac Internet Security or another antivirus and antimalware application. Some people suggested ReiKey for keystroke logger detection, but last time I checked the code was not updated for more than 8 months, which means is not being actively maintained.

And finally, the best way to get rid off a malware is remove the macOS and reinstall everything from scratch.

Other resources:

If you still feel that you are being watched then:

Free Keylogger For Mac

buy a webcam cover: recommended webcam covers for MacBooks

check my other article:How to Tell if Someone is Remotely Accessing Your Mac

Best Keylogger For Mac

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zdbztumble · 6 years

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Ah yes...this one...

Well, I was writing posts back when the Japanese release was imminent about how spoilers painted M20 as overstuffed, that I wasn’t happy about swapping in two new characters for the OS cast, etc., so I obviously didn’t come to my viewing without baggage. Still, I kept as open a mind as I could about I Choose You.

And there’s credit to be given here. Aside from the usual stellar animation - which may be at its best to-date in this flick - I Choose You is, ironically enough for a film that’s part-retelling, different. Volcanion laid bare just how stale the typical pattern these movies follow had become, so even a look back to the start of the series represents a welcome break from routine. And the divergence from those early days comes fairly early in the film. Even having been spoiled on the broadstrokes of the plot, I didn’t feel like I knew exactly how things would play out, which was another pleasant change of pace.

FROM HERE, THERE BE SPOILERS

And those first few scenes, telling an abridged version of the first episode, are delightful. This is the most personality Pikachu’s shown in quite a while - cheeky, mischievous, even bratty. Voice acting and animation work together beautifully to sell that side of him, and it’s easily one of the highlights of the film. Ash is given some great lines unique to this telling (”There’s something wrong with this Pokemon,” Oak tells him. “That’s alright - I was late, so there’s something wrong with me, too!”), and if you overlook the absence of a certain redhead, this is about as nice a retelling of Ash and Pikachu’s first meeting as you could ask for.

I Choose You earns credit on another score - it actually has Ash as the protagonist. It’s still shocking to me how rarely the main character of the anime gets the through-line, or even an arc, in these movies, but he certainly does here. The plot isn’t as laser-focused on his and Pikachu’s friendship as some of the comments by staff would have you believe, but I wouldn’t say that’s bad in and of itself. Reviving the “Chosen One” angle for Ash was something that wasn’t spoiled for me, and seemed appropriate for a story featuring the second member of the Legendary Duo.

And there are Easter eggs aplenty here for hardcore fans. I suspect there are many more that went over my head, me still being so far behind on the series.

But these highlights can’t compensate for all the defects. I Choose You is a seriously flawed film, in ways that could be predicted from the synopsis, and in unexpected ways as well.

Everyone who’s reported that the film is overstuffed is correct, but that doesn’t hurt the film in the way one might think. An overstuffed plot will often feel overbearing and unrelenting - too much going on for there to be any focus. Diancie is a good example of this from the Pokemon canon. This is the odd overstuffed film where, too often, it feels like nothing is happening. And I blame this on the way the film structures the middle section. After the abridged first episode section, the movie falls into what I can best describe as the almost-montage. An example: Ash and Pikachu are battling the Celadon Gym, but instead of leading into a montage of Gym Battles, we go into Ash calling his mom at the Pokemon Center. Or, when Ash and his friends are battling some Trainers after getting together - instead of leading into a montage of traveling and battling, it leads into an encounter with Cross. Time and again in the middle of the film, vignettes that feel like they should be part of a sequence instead segue into scenes that introduce plot elements. This isn’t an inherently wrong way to plot the film out, but these elements never get followed up on immediately; they just peter out into another vignette, which in turn leads to a different element. The effect, then, is one of momentum getting lost over and over again, and nothing substantive happening until the last third of the movie. It makes watching the middle section extremely tedious.

Worse, many of the elements introduced don’t have much of a purpose for being here. The abridged recap of Ash’s Butterfree’s story is probably the worst example. It’s devoid of any of the rough times or more quirky, humorous moments that played out in the series, it’s so compressed that it’s impossible for their departure to carry the impact it did in the original, and it’s completely unconnected from everything else in the film. It’s a lushly-animated abridgment of a well-known OS arc, just for the sake of having it.

But while Butterfree’s inclusion is probably the most disparate meaningless plot thread, the Legendary Beasts are the most frustrating for me, because there was a lot of potential there. Exploring the origin story of those Pokemon and how they tie in to Ho-Oh was a wonderful concept, and Entei at least provides a decent action scene. But it all amounts to nothing. The Beasts do not in any meaningful way affect Ash’s journey to find Ho-Oh, and their connection to him only serves as a neat bit of trivia. Like Butterfee, they’re just shown for the sake of showing some Legendary Pokemon - Legendaries that had already been used in previous films.

I Choose You also struggles with forced moments. I know some people were moved by how Ash dismisses Pikachu in his moment of frustration after losing to Cross, but I found that scene a dreadful piece of writing. Ash’s reaction to that loss - especially compared with how OS Ash would’ve reacted - is rather muted. It isn’t nearly strong enough to suggest that it’s eating away inside of him and tempting him down Cross’s path. This in turn makes the rest of the group’s impatience with him seem needlessly harsh, which makes Ash’s continued muted reaction seem like a failure to move his character forward, which makes his comment to Pikachu a random, unearned moment of anger rather than a significant moment of weakness springing organically from his character. It takes a lot of the impact away from the subsequent dream sequence, because Ash never feels like he’s fallen low enough to have that sort of nightmare or take away any lesson that he really needed.

And then...there are the new guys.

Let’s get this out of the way up-front: being upset that Brock and Misty aren’t in this movie is a pet peeve. In and of itself, creating new characters to be Ash’s first friends on his journey is not a writing flaw. And Sorrel, at least, is very much his own character, not a cheap stand-in or replacement for Brock. He has an interesting personality and a shockingly dark backstory. Verity is a less successful character. A tomboy with a Water-Type who gets into a bickering/teasing relationship with Ash right off the bat and has family she wants to prove something to - she does feel like a replacement, and a rip-off, of Misty, with a bit of Dawn thrown in. (Side note: if her mother really is meant to be Cynthia, then that photo could’ve looked more like her.)

But the thing is: both of them are expendable. If you took them out of the film, Ash would still get the Rainbow Feather from Ho-Oh and be on his way. You could say that he wouldn’t get the background on Ho-Oh that Sorrel provides, but old man Bonji could’ve done those honors. Neither of their backstories factor into anything in the main plot, they don’t have arcs for themselves; they’re just there to be Ash’s friends, provide some brief character moments, and drop exposition now and again. I would have rather this been Ash’s solo journey than have two new characters with some potential but no payoff, but if there had to be traveling companions...with all the other homages to the OS, why not use two characters from the OS? Two characters well-loved by much of the audience and who played an important role in the show’s history, I might add.

I don’t have much to say about Cross. He’s what I imagine many fans think Paul is, if you took away any humanizing characteristics. Cross’s turn to the side of right at the end was an arbitrary change that didn’t really sell as organic character growth to me. Leaving him as the villain would have been preferable to the sudden heel turn by Marshadow, something that felt very much as if the staff felt obligated to have a big battle with a Mythical Pokemon. It’s a point where the old formula rears its ugly, tired head. As is Ash’s not-death, a concept that should be retired permanently. At this point, the only way Ash dying can have any impact anymore is if he really dies.

Oh, and the TRio were there. They were a waste of screentime. Nothing else to say.

All in all, I can’t say the film isn’t without its charms. And I do hope anyone who’s refused to see it thus far over Brock and Misty’s absence will give it a chance. But if it isn’t the worst of these films, it’s far from the best, and outside its opening moments is a very flawed if well-meaning effort at a 20th anniversary.

5/10

(You may have noticed I didn’t comment on The Speech. Frankly, I don’t see what’s so offensive about it. It was a dumb idea poorly executed, but nowhere near the low point for me.)

#critique #commentary #pokefilm #pokemon #M20 #Pokemon the movie: i choose you!#film school training at work #z's crits

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