#HE CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THE MISSION BC HE WAS ALREADY SHOWN TO HAVE A FUCK TON OF GUILT AND SELF DOUBT ABOUT SENDING THEM IN THE FIRST PLA
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ive been trying to take these as if they’re in good faith but like. im sorry if i get one (1) more ask about mr benedict wanting to boink miss perumal im going to mcfucking lose it
#1. why does it need to be a straight romance why does it need to be a romance at all like im not saying you cant have ships obviously but li#like. THAT IS NOT WHY HE DID THE THINGS HE DID.#2. OH MY GOD THAT IS NOT WHY HE DID THE THINGS HE DID IT ISNT IT ISNT IT ISNT#WHY WOULD HE BE THINKING OF IT AS A DATE WHEN HE IS EXPLAINING *WHY HER CHILD/STUDENT IS IN DANGER AND ABOUT HIS MISSION AND HIS EVIL TWIN*#AND LIKE. NO . NO THAT ISNT WHY HE CHANGED HIS MIND. WHY WOULD HIM WANTING TO BOINK HER--WHICH HE D O E S N T--CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT SOMETHI#SOMETHING THAT IMPORTANT? YOU REALLY THINK HE'S THAT SHALLOW? ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING HES SHOWN NO INDICATIONS OF ATTRACTION TO ANYONE LET AL#LET ALONE SPECIFICALLY HER? IM GOING TO EXPLODE YOU WITH MY MIND.#HE CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THE MISSION BC HE WAS ALREADY SHOWN TO HAVE A FUCK TON OF GUILT AND SELF DOUBT ABOUT SENDING THEM IN THE FIRST PLA#PLACE. AND HAVING SOMEONE PERSONALLY CLOSE TO ONE OF THEM TELL HIM OFF OUT OF WORRY PUSHED HIM OVER THE EDGE HE WAS *ALREADY ON*#HE WAS ALREADY WORRIED HE WASNT DOING THE RGIHT THING! ALREADY GUILTY ABOUT PUTTING TEHM IN DANGER! IT WASNT!#BECAUSE! HE WANTED! TO BOINK HER! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA#LIKE THAT JUST ISNT WHAT IS HAPPENING IT ISNT I DONT KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU#ARE YOU WATCHING THE SAME SHOW? IS THIS ONE PERSON SENDING THESE? OR THE PERSON I ALREADY BLOCKED BUT USING A VPN? OR DO MULTIPLE PEOPLE HAV#HAVE SUCH AN INCORRECT ICY COLD TAKE#and i mean hes like over a decade older than her and technically consenting adults blah blah but it feels WEIRD not to mention again! they j#they just! they dont! they dont have romantic tension or whatever! what are you talking about!#and i mean i get having a ship god knows milligan and nicholas certainly dont necessarily have canonical romantic tension (although ive neve#never claimed they do! or that that's the reason either of them did anything!) but like. WHAT#WHY THESE TWO#WHAT IS HAPPENING#if you MUST ship miss perumal with someone rhonda is right there i am just saying.#but REGARDLESS.#ive lost my patience im sorry i cant do it anymore crying shaking and throwing up my crops are wilting#theyre NOT going to kiss i hate this so much#if i see one more ask about this i am simply deleting it and then crying for a bit in the bathtub
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First Date -[HC]
Pairing: Joaquin Torres x GN!Reader
Summary: Joaquin strikes up the courage to ask you out on a date. He takes you bowling then to have dinner.
Warnings: just fluff
Word Count: 729
A/N: I was actually super excited to make this! I might make a second part if people enjoy it. I hope you like this!
Masterlist
The two of you met at a party for a mutual friend. It had been a large gathering and it was safe to say you only knew two people.
Unfortunately said people had left you to fend for yourself sitting in a corner petting the pets.
Which is EXACTLY where Joaquin found you, and his heart was soaring with affection at the sight.
It took him a bit to work up the courage to sit down next to you and strike up a conversation. It came easily to you as if you’ve known him for so long, though you were still just as nervous as he. But he still shied away whenever you looked his way during the conversation.
Even after talking for so long, he would be sooo nervous to ask you out. You’re everything he’s ever dreamed of and more, so the fact that the two of you have talked absolutely blows his mind.
You immediately accepted, agreeing on a day, place, and time.
You both thought it was a great idea to go bowling, work up an appetite, then grab dinner afterwards.
He had shown up to your place six minutes early with a small bouquet of flowers and a huge smile when he saw you open your door.
After putting them away, you two chat during the car ride to the small bowling alley nearby.
It was a short ride but he learned that he absolutely loved your laugh and cracked out many jokes to hear it as much as possible. He was already down bad for you.
Once the first game ended, the both of you realizing that both parties were actually really good, the competition for the next two rounds began.
“You have to be cheating somehow, how are you winning?” Joaquin was genuinely surprised, it felt like he was competing against a pro.
“Oh you know, pure luck.”
Cut to you two finishing the last game with a crowd around, cheering you on as you were reigned champion, both games with full strikes.
The owner even asked to take your picture for the wall of best bowlers, you agreed, pulling Joaquin with you into the picture with big smiles while you hugged him tightly.
He asked for two copies of the picture so you both could have one. If all went well tonight with the rest of the date, he was definitely going to keep his copy of the photo with him every time he went out for his tours and deployment missions.
The restaurant reservation wasn’t for another half hour so you had plenty of time to kill and made no rush to drive there in a hurry.
The sun was starting to set, and you had the bright idea to get to the parking lot and view the beautiful sunset change the colors of the sky.
Cue some cheesy exchange:
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, it is”
Blushing from both parties bc you both knew you were talking abt each other :’)
He got a text on his phone, letting him know his dinner reservation seating is ready.
It wasn’t too fancy of a restaurant, but it was definitely someplace where everyone was dressed up a little.
You were sat at a cute table for two, facing each other. There were lit candles in the middle illuminating the area with a soft glow.
Joaquin was very nervous about if you liked the place or not. It was recommended to him by Sam, who said if he 'wanted to woo her' he should definitely go there, and that the food was amazing.
You honestly liked the place, but it was really Joaquin that made it amazing. You were practically swooning every time he smiled or chuckled. You were also down bad for him.
At some point during the meal you ended up holding hands on the table. Fingers laced and everything, meals finished and long forgotten.
“You know, you’re cute when you smile,” you left him blushing.
“If I’m cute then you’re breathtaking.”
He paid the check, which you said you could cover but he insisted on it and told you that you could pay for the next date if you wanted.
Overall, it was truly a spectacular day. You even got the goodnight kiss after you were dropped off that left you feeling like you were floating. You had a feeling he was it for you.
#kyleraynermybeloved#joaquin torres#joaquin torres headcanon#joaquin torres x reader#joaquin torres x gn!reader#joaquin torres fluff
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thoughts on fablehaven coming to live action
WARNING. i ended up going on a rant that isnt totally relevant to a live action fablehaven but enjoy!
i would love to see more fablehaven content and possibly bring more people into this universe by a live action show or movie! and hopefully they would find actors that fit the characters’ looks and personality too.
on the other hand though… a lot might not live up to what i’ve already imagined in my head. it could prove to be very hard to find good actors to play these characters.
i think someone else pointed out how bad dragon cgi can be and this gives good reason to fear an adaptation of SotDS. If these books are going to be made into a show or movies then i want them brought to justice and unfortunately that doesnt always happen.
i’m not sure how much the live action should stick to the source material because some things could be cut and some things could go into more detail than they did in the books. (one thing they should cut is the kids going with errol in the second book bc that just sends a bad message😂)
i knoww these are kids books with kids at the center but at the same time i wouldnt mind more time jumps with them growing up between books (especially between fablehaven and dragonwatch) some things i feel i would take better if more time had passed and if the character were older
for instance, seth going into grunhold or being on the mission to wyrmroost. i feel like i would take that situation a bit better if seth had matured both physically and mentally from the boy who opened the window on midsummers eve and that seth wasnt just consistently being arrogant and ignoring everybody’s warnings like a child would but instead had grown up and when he did defy everyone people wouldnt say its bc he’s a dumb kid but would actually consider his actions to be that of a brave man who took the time to think about what he was doing [not saying that seth isnt brave but it is often shown that seth has some selfish or childish reasons for doing things]
i dont mean to say they should get rid of all his faults bc a big part of seth’s character is making mistakes and learning from them. (also the consequences of seth’s mistakes make up most of the plot😂) but cmon he consistently defies everyone bc he thinks he knows better which whether or not he does help in a situation it can be annoying to see someone like this get their way all the time. i’d like more maturity shown with seth character in between his crazy stunts to break up all the impulsiveness.
all the crazy stuff that they go through all happens in the span of like 3 years? theyve thought each other were dead, actually watched people die, suffered some serious betrayal, and faced death numerous times so yeah give these kids some time to breathe! idk if im alone in thinking they should physically grow up through the series bc it is a kids’ series with them in the spotlight but im just sayin.
would it be sending a bad message if they did physically grow up though? would that be like telling kids you CANT change or be better until youre older? bc obviously children can learn from a mistake pretty quickly but i just feel like with all that happens itd be better if they aged more than they did in the books.
also if they did adapt the books wouldnt they have to make the characters older? bc it would take a while to make a tv series or movies and the actors would obviously age right?
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I wasn't sure if I was going to post this, but I may as well.
I keep starting to reply to things and then stopping bc the words just aren't there, and I suppose I figured out the core of what bothers me so much (and is making me have such a rollercoaster of a fan experience) about the show.
(cut for length)
It's not well-written. My opinion is my opinion, so I'm saying this subjectively, take it or leave it, but ... I feel that it's not well-written. The overall story is fine, and the plot is fine, but I don't know if it's because of the limited number of episodes not being enough to house the story, or because of the relative inexperience of the writer/showrunner+director, or both, or something else, but -
In an earlier reaction post to episode 4, I mentioned really wanting to sink my teeth into all of the subtext I picked up on. That was what made me initially enjoy the episode so much - there were a lot of little moments that I initially felt revealed so much about the characters and about Loki, and I wanted to analyze them. But at some point, as I gathered more information, my perspective changed and now I no longer want to analyze the subtext bc ... subtext = good. Subtext w/out payoff = not as good.
I'll go into more detail in a moment, but I think the tl;dr of it is that I feel like the narrative requires the audience to work way too hard to put together all of the moving pieces here and, like, I kinda just don't want to do that work? Not so much of it, and not in vain. A lot of the enjoyment of Loki's characterization is coming from fans who are rationalizing why he's behaving as he is, but the narrative never actually confirms those rationalizations. It's asking us to figure it out and maybe our conclusions will be correct but maybe they won't, though. At some point, subtext isn't enough without explicit follow-through.
I thought my issue was with the lack of character development - that is, not having enough narrative space to really earn the big things that are happening now, like Loki/Sylvie or Mobius turning against the TVA. And that's still true, to an extent; I still feel like the pacing is all very off and it seems like most of these things kinda came out of nowhere (but are not unbelievable - just undeveloped).
But, yknow, it is what it is, it's a limited series, and I can excuse some things. Ultimately, my issue isn't a problem with what the narrative isn't doing, it's a problem with what the narrative already failed to do and probably cannot recover from at this point.
The narrative has left out significant details that should at least help us do some of the work here. If a person turned on Loki and started episode 1 and had no background knowledge of the character besides that he tried to take over New York - how would that person interpret Loki? Would that person say, oh, well, he's been through X, Y, and Z, and plus A happened, not to mention B, C, and D, so really, it makes sense that he seems off-the-rails, or that he'd want to get ridiculously drunk at the worst time ever.
Maybe we'd like to believe they would, but how would they be getting to that conclusion? The narrative hasn't led them in that direction so, no, they would not say well we have to consider this, this, and that. It would be impossible to really understand Loki as a character from just what we've gotten in the series. The general audience would probably interpret Loki as being out of his element and so it becomes, I wonder how this character is going to get the upper hand here. And, while that's not wrong, it's just so limited.
The narrative at face value does not address Loki's identity crisis from Thor 2011. It does not address his hurt and devastation at being lied to, nor does it address how complicated his self-image is (bc it sucked to begin with and that was before he found out he was part of a race of "monsters," as he'd been taught his entire life). It does not reference Loki being so broken at the end of Thor 2011 that he deliberately let himself fall into the void of space (aka tried to kill himself). It does not reference that he was tortured by Thanos or even that he went through a seriously dark time in between Thor and Avengers, and it absolutely does not reference or address any influence or control of the mind stone.
These are all things that we, the fan audience, know because we've already invested our time into this character's story. But tons of people, the general audience, wouldn't know these things. Or if they did, bc they saw Thor and Avengers, they wouldn't be thinking about them as deeply as we would, nor contextualizing them with how Loki is behaving now, or why it would make sense that he needed to get drunk, or why it's understandable that he needs to keep going-going-going in order to not have a spare second to think or feel.
They'd probably look at Loki, again, as a character who was a villain and is now getting his comeuppance in a place where he has no power or control, and no literal powers, and even when he manages to escape and catch up to the variant, he proceeds to fuck up their plan for seemingly no real reason except that he wanted to get drunk bc he's hedonistic. Which Sylvie even berates him for! I mean. This is not exactly a complex character breakdown, nor a very flattering one, but that's what the narrative has given us.
(If the narrative has addressed Loki's mind control, his torture, his mental breakdown, his suicide attempt, and his general shitty self-esteem as a result of his upbringing, please point it out to me. If the narrative has explicitly acknowledged and referenced these things anywhere and I am missing it, please show me where. Please explain to me how the casual viewer would know any of these things that they need to know in order to actually understand what's happening in this story.)
So I mean, okay, we have a narrative that doesn't paint a full, accurate picture of Loki. Fine, sure. But because the general audience starts out on the wrong footing, they're not going to get out of the overall story what the writers probably intended them to. For example, in episode 3, a lot of us theorized that Loki had some kind of plan - that he broke the timepad on purpose, for some reason, bc otherwise it wasn't believable that he'd be such a failure. But episode 4 revealed that no, there was no bigger plan, Loki just plain old messed up. Which is fine if, again, one is only considering the surface-level portrayal here, but it's not true to Loki's actual characterization.
I mean. Loki is not perfect and Loki actually fails a lot, this is true. He fails for a lot of reasons, but incompetence has never been one of them. Usually it's that either things grew beyond his control, or there ended up being too many moving parts, or he had to change his plan at the last minute due to some roadblock or another being thrown his way, or even that he got in his own way - whatever the case may be for his plans' failures, he was always at least shown to know what he was doing.
That wasn't the case here. The "plan" to fix the Timepad failed as a direct result of Loki's actions, which were careless and made him seem incompetent, like he couldn't even handle this mission. "You had one job," etc. And there were pretty big consequences for this; they were not able to get off-world in time and would have been killed had the TVA not shown up at the last second.
And maybe none of these things matter bc the writers never intended any of this to be a reflection on Loki's character, positive or negative. The situation exists solely because the writers needed to put Loki and Sylvie together in some kind of hopeless scenario so that they could get closer, and thus the narrative could set up their romance. I get that - but, there were other ways to do it that didn't require Loki to look foolish.
Furthermore, the whole reason they needed to set up the romance is to show Loki eventually learning to love himself (like, figuratively but also literally). The audience is supposed to gather that Loki and Sylvie fell for one another, possibly due to the high emotional aspect of, yknow, being about to die (in addition to the variant-bond). The intent is clear: Loki and Sylvie almost die but get rescued at the last minute, having now created an emotional bond --> Loki and Sylvie team up and the narrative further establishes that Loki, at least, has caught feelings --> Loki might confess them but is pruned before he gets the chance --> he somehow survives, he and Sylvie are reunited and don't want to lose one another again, and the combined power of their love is enough to break the sacred timeline and spawn the multiverse, and the reason that the power of their love is so, well, powerful is because it's about self-love and self-acceptance as much as it is about having the capacity to love someone else. The end.
I get all that. The writers more or less said all that. And, I mean, it's certainly not the way I would have chosen to go about it, but it's a fair enough arc to explore. I don't really have an issue with the intent - but my question, however, is this: if the narrative has so far not addressed Loki's background issues (as outlined above), and has furthermore kinda gone out of its way to portray Loki as hedonistic and narcissistic, among other things (like kinda incompetent), and the context the audience starts with is that Loki's this villain who deserves what he gets -
- my question is 1, why should the audience care whether or not Loki gets to a point of loving and accepting himself (thus to make the theme of self-love, via the romance, hold weight) if they don't know that he hates himself to begin with and 2, why should the audience root for Loki to reach that point when so far the perception of him is that he's "kind of an asshole"? if he's a hedonistic narcissist, he probably already has a pretty inflated sense of himself, right? A misplaced inflated sense of himself, at that, because, again, the narrative has made him out to be not that capable of much of anything. (And it didn't start out that way! It seemed to start out with Loki being capable and intelligent but it's like episode 3, in trying to set up the romance, just jumbled it all up somewhere. I think this is why I'm harping on the Loki/Sylvie aspect so much - it's frustrating bc it kinda messes up the whole story and can't even accomplish what it's supposed to anyway.)
Anyway, that's beside the point. What I'm ultimately getting at is, at what point is the audience supposed to get invested in Loki's personal growth journey?
They can't, not really. Without understanding and having the context of everything Loki has been through up until now, and why he hates himself, and why it's so important that he learn to love himself, then the "payoff" becomes kinda pointless bc the significance of it is lost in translation. So suddenly we're left with this romance that comes off as either "Loki loves Sylvie bc of Reasons" (best-case scenario) or "Loki loves Sylvie bc he's vain, narcissistic, and kinda twisted" (worst-case scenario). Neither of these conclusions are what the writers intended or were going for, I'm positive, but there we are, regardless.
In order for the writers' intent in these storylines to land, they need to address the context of what makes these particular stakes high for Loki. So far, they haven't done that. They're asking the audience to pick up on all of these things, and they're showing things that subtextually make sense and are relatively in-character - but only if you realize there's subtext in the first place.
But you can't expect the audience to do all of the work for you. If you don't want the audience to think that Loki is a narcissistic asshole and instead you are trying to convey that, worst-case scenario, he thinks he's a narcissist but is an unreliable narrator, then you have to address that. If you need the audience to understand why you're going the selfcest route and why it's important to explore Loki's capacity to love himself and others, you have to address where that exploration is starting from and why it matters. Etc etc etc.
The narrative isn't doing any of that. And it isn't like it'd be that hard to do it. They don't need to reinvent the wheel here; a lot of the pieces are already there. A few lines of dialogue for context, a brief scene here or there addressing the issues, a little more care and consistency in how Loki handles things - these are all little things that could go a long fucking way in making the narrative stronger.
I'm rambling. My basic point is that my rollercoaster of emotions with this show is because
- as a part of the fan audience, not the general one, I can contextualize and analyze the subtext and come to the conclusions the show wants me to, and thus find the story and the characters more or less enjoyable,
- but I am also going to be using the subtext to come to conclusions that aren't there but probably should be (I think it would be a better story, for example, for Loki to confuse platonic love with romantic love bc it would pave the way to explore just how fucked up Loki's understanding of love - whether of other people or of himself, and the different forms it can take - actually is)
- and when they're ultimately not there, then I think, okay why am I bothering doing all this work just to ultimately feel very unfulfilled? They don't even have to write it the way I would, I'm not saying that, but they do have to do something to make the story feel rewarding.
If we don't get some confirmation of what Loki's been through, and where his headspace is, and why it matters for him to love himself, then the story remains pretty shallow and, for me, it's not fulfilling enough. It's not engaging enough. There isn't actually anything to sink my teeth into, so it becomes kind of boring. Maybe it's rewarding to other people, and that's great for them, but like - I need more than whatever this is.
So I'm just like - well, I had a lot of worries about this show, but my being bored wasn't one of them and now there's only two episodes left and am I really not going to get anything out of this, in the long run? No new canons, no new depths or layers, no new information on Loki's experiences? This is it?
I don't dislike it. I didn't start out disliking it, and I probably wont end up disliking it. I mean, there are a lot of good moments, and good things, and fan service-y things that I appreciate. As far as inspiration for fic goes, it's a goldmine, both plot-wise as well as aesthetic-wise. All of that is great. I don't dislike this show.
But I am disappointed in it, and I feel like I'll be watching the next two episodes lacking the sense of anticipation that would make it exciting. I'll still enjoy them, probably, if for nothing else just the sheer Loki content, but whatever it was I felt watching episodes 1 and 2 is gone and I'm sad about that, too. Because I really wanted to feel fulfilled by this series; I wanted it to fill up the void that Loki's death in IW created three years ago. And I just ... don't feel it. Maybe, maybe that'll change over the course of episodes 5 and 6. I don't know.
Everything that I end up enjoying long-term, I think, will come about as a result of my own interpretations and analysis and while theoretically there's nothing wrong with that, if I had known all I'd get out of this series was more headcanons or support for my current headcanons then, well - that's fine, I suppose, but I'll definitely a little bit robbed.
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Shizune’s Character Study...ish
This is an answer to this comment <3 I always love a good character study
First of all, I found your observation about Shizune not being in love very clever and astute. This was exactly what I intended to show through my writing without spelling it out. Shizune left the village for what? Close to two decades? She spent more time away then in Konoha and she came back to a mountain of responsibility. Sure, she loved Genma when she was a child and some of it lingers, especially since Genma is, well, Genma. He’s a lovable hottie and a total flirt. But I don’t think she really let herself fall back in love with him.
Now, this is a specific answer to your rb but also to a lot of reviews I got for the last chapter, so bear with me while I take this and go on a tangent xD
DoF is Sakura’s story. While we get a few sneak peaks into other characters’ PoVs, this is ultimately a story told by what she sees and understands. For over four years Sakura kinda shut down this part of her life that was “holding her back” before she became a proper ninja. She focused on her career and her training and just now she’s realising the repercussions of that. Namely, not being aware that people in her own team were together, the Genma and Shizune situation and in a way the impact she has around Konoha. So Sakura doesn’t know the whole story here and Genma x Shizune isn’t the focus of this story so while I explore some of it, it will mainly be the part of it that affects Sakura directly. People are allowed their privacy and even though Team Ro is close, that doesn’t mean that they have to know every single thing that goes on with each other.
So yeah, back to Shizune. When you said she was just waiting for him to fuck up and not telling everyone was a way for her to have a clean way out, you were absolutely right. This is the video that inspired me to write Shizune telling Kurenai about their relationship. In my head, she wanted to vent for a while but was scared of other’s reaction and then it slipped when she was drunk talking to her friend. Shizune is allowed to be cautious with her heart. Just like Sakura is.
I think there’s a trend in media that we need to break when it comes to how we see women. A man can be a jerk and then be called deep because he was just protecting his feelings while a woman is a bitch when she’s looking out for herself. This comes from a place where we hold women in a position to always be nurturing and kind, to put others before her. Women can’t be mean, women can’t be angry, women can’t be assertive without being immediately judged by us as bitches (*cough* specially asian women, tiger women? yeah i see u *cough*). So yeah, Shizune is a bitch for not trusting Genma when he’s shown to be deeply afraid of commitment, a frankly unreliable partner with his long days away on extremely dangerous missions.
Now, all of this I will briefly touch upon in later chapters (I think about three chapters from now? It’s already written) but you have to keep in mind the type of person Shizune is. She’s the Hospital Director and she’s aware there’s a very serious war brewing in the shadows. She works a lot and she’s always in the village dealing with all of this bullshit while Genma is a part of the most dangerous team in ANBU. She’s scared and frankly she’s tired. She wants stability and she wants something that she might not find in Genma. Y’all know I love Genma but in my eyes there’s no way Shizune can be condemned by the way she’s acting. She should be mindful that she’s hurting Genma (and she is, you just don’t get to see it bc again, not their story) but she can’t hurt herself in the process of making things comfortable for him.
Now, there’s something that worries me about some of the comments I’m receiving. I get that a lot of people love Shizune and heavily ship Genma x Shizune but you have to take a step back and actually read the characters I’m writing. See them for what they are in this fic and kind of let go of your preconceived notions about them. Either that or stop reading the fic, lol. Anyways, some people were worried that this would drive a wedge between Sakura and Shizune and were sad because they feel like Sakura needs more female relationships and that they wished to see their closeness in a way they didn’t get to see in canon...
I get that. Y’all know that DoF was created with this heavily in my mind and it’s something very important to me, to give these characters that were done wrong some form of justice. That does not mean I’ll simply put every single female as super close friends and call it a day and yay female power. This is also a current trend I see where authors (and I mean screenwriters and the such, mostly) are heavily leaning into this woke version of feminism that just feels demeaning to me and while it’s leagues better than blatant misogyny it’s not exempt from criticism.
My female characters have depth and they have their own personality which does mean that they’ll clash sometimes, there will be girls who don’t really get along with other girls, there will be petty grievances, there will be angry women, and sad women, and fucking deranged women. Because that’s what I want to see in mainstream media. I don’t want a simplistic version of what it means to be a women broadcasted to everyone and I will never write that even though I don’t have all of that reach.
Oof, all of that to tie back to Shizune’s and Sakura’s relationship. In canon, I did miss seeing a strong bond between them but not in the way that some people want to see in this fic. I wanted them to be family. And you don’t always have to have a lot in common with family, or even like them, to deeply care for them and love them. DoF!Sakura left the hospital work after six months. She trained her ass to the ground and she was most often away on missions. She moved into the Senju Estate but Shizune always had her own place. DoF!Shizune is buried in hospital work, she has responsibility and most importantly, she has distance from Tsunade. She’s still seen as her former apprentice and she’s still her pseudo niece but she’s making her name outside of Tsunade’s shadow here. She’s not an assistant and she’s not always glued to Tsunade’s side, she’s the fucking Hospital Director. Sakura and Shizune drifted apart and no amount of woke let’s-scream-feminism-at-the-top-of-our-lungs can change that when they simply do not have that much in common. They grew apart and that’s okay. They still love each other.
@hatake-sakura88 , I won’t answer everything in your comment because some things will be addressed later on and I don’t wanna spoil anything yet. Thank you for caring enough about my fic to engage and for being super polite and a sweetheart in general <3
This post will probably be reblogged later with a more in depth character study of Shizune (both in canon and in Daughter of Fire)
#yeesh#this got away from me#lmfao#sorry all#I have very strong feelings#xD#thank you all so much for engaging with me and raising great topics to debate#kindly forget genma x shizune for now and let's focus on the next mission yeah?#it has absolutely nothing to do with this#lmao#daughter of fire#dof#fire friday#character study#shizune character study#feminism#kind of personal rant#females in writing#female characters#naruto female characters#so far people didn't say a peep about smth that is kinda important#lol#shizune overshined everything in the chapter xD#shizune#sakura
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Part of the Team (4/?)
Miniseries for @mushyjellybeans writing challenge. Hope you enjoy it!
Pairings: fem!reader x Natasha Romanoff
Summary: Reader returns to the compound after a very long time and you try to adjust to everything again while the team deliberate about what to do with the truth.
Warnings: Angst, lies, nightmares, and amnesia. This gif bc she’s cute.
The team prepared everything for your arrival back at the compound. They set up your room and they cleaned almost everything, wanting you to feel as comfortable and at home as they could.
After getting rid of everything that you even remotely enjoyed out of spite years ago, Tony made sure to replace everything and fill your old room with your old decorations and the snacks that you once liked.
Every time they put a box of your favorite cookie or snack on the self or your favorite drink in the fridge, their hearts twinged a small bit.
You were such a good friend and you took everything they gave to you, and now you couldn’t even remember it.
They all in some way hated themselves and they didn’t need Thor to remind them of that.
You and Nat walked off the quinjet, with her carrying your bags and you carrying what little stuff you could. A little bag of clothes that they peeled off of you in surgery, the toiletries that you have been collecting in hospital and your new medication.
“Well, nothing looks like it’s changed.” You said, squinting slightly as you looked up at the compound and the sun invaded your vision.
“Tony actually had a movie room installed.” Nat looked back at you.
Your eyes widened. “He did?”
“Yep, now we have proper movie nights after a mission.” Nat’s smile fell slightly, you had been very excluded from those movie nights when it was installed. There were nights when she walked passed the living quarters and you had fallen asleep alone on the couch with movie credits playing.
“I know the best seat in there, I’ll save it for you.” She winked at you, causing you to blush.
Walking through the compound to the living quarters, you were met with the team.
“Welcome back June!” Wanda cheered as she saw you enter, running over to give you a soft hug.
“Hi!” You said happily. The rest of the team came over slowly and gave you gentle hugs, careful not to hurt your still recovering wounds.
“It’s really good to have you back here.” Tony said with a nice smile.
“I’m glad to be home.” You had little greetings with everyone before you moved onto your room.
Nat led you to a room that was right next door to yours.
“Is this my room now?” You asked in confusion. Your room used to be up another floor with Clint and Sam.
“Oh,” Nat said in realization. “Yeah, when we got together we put in a request to have us moved closer together so Tony moved you down here.” She explained.
“That’s nice.” You smiled at that thought, you did think the rooms were a bit bigger on the lower floors.
She pushed open the to see a perfectly decorated room, like you had never been moved.
Photos had been placed on shelves of you and your family, also ones of the team. Your bedding had been replaced and some artwork was laid across the walls.
“Courtesy of Stark.” Nat said as you stared at the strange abstract artwork.
“Huh,” you mumbled in response. Looking at all the shelves a shine caught your eye.
A framed medal stood proud on the shelf, shining under the window light. A tiny circular medal with an A inside it.
“What’s this?” You ask, mostly to yourself as you lift the face carefully and hold it to close for you to see.
Nat turned from where she was unpacking your clothes to see you holding the frame. She had it framed the day after you left and set it in her room. She is very proud of you for that and decided that it should be shown off even if you hated it.
“Oh,” She forgot her words for a moment. “You, uh, you were awarded that a little while ago.”
You turned to her, surprised and very confused. “Why me?”
“Because you were a part of a very important and private investigation almost three years ago. It ended a couple of months ago and you and a few others were given a medal.” She explained. “It was a big investigation. And we didn’t know about it. That caused a few problems in the compound.”
“Was that the misunderstanding that broke us up?” You asked.
Nat’s body stilled. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to tell you how brutal she was to you. She hated the fact that she caused the most hurt for you.
“Yes, it was. But that was not your fault.” She got closer to you, watching you observe the medal. “You saved a lot of people. A whole country from corruption.”
You looked up at her, tears starting to form in your eyes.
“And you deserve it, June.” Nat lifted her hand to your face, gently caressing your cheek.
You stood in her embrace, her green eyes connecting with yours, she searched your eyes for the emotions that you were feeling, she hoped to read you.
You couldn’t help but lean into her. You felt the need to be as close to her as you could.
She leaned into you as well, your lips just touching. But before you could kiss her, she hesitated.
You pulled back to look at her face and frowned in confusion.
Nat just gave you a closed-lipped smile and rested her forehead against yours.
“Believe me, I really want to.” She almost whispered to you. “I really want to. But you just got back.” She swallowed before continuing. “You’re recovering. You barely know me.”
“I know you perfectly well, Nat.” You said, reassuring her. “And during this relationship, I can get to know you more.” You reached up to her hand on your cheek and put pressure on it, keeping her close.
She caresses your face, feeling the skin she has so long wanted to feel. She was soaking up this moment, but she had to pace herself and allow you to heal. From everything.
“Ms. Romanoff, your presence has been requested in the common room.” F.R.I.D.A.Y’s voice spoke through the room.
Natasha sighed. She gave you a light kiss on the forehead and gently pulled away from you.
“I’ll see you later. Get settled back in.” She told you before leaving the room.
-
“We have to tell her eventually.” Bucky said.
“And we will.” Tony told him. “But we should really let her settle in first. She just got back and she’s still recovering.”
Nat nodded. Bucky was right, and so was Tony. She should know but she should be able to feel welcome and know they are sorry when she does know. Both came from the best intentions.
“But if we wait too long then it will backfire.” Steve gave his thoughts.
“You’re all right.” Fury said, announcing his presence. “She should know, and when she is ready, she will know. Don’t give it to her to fast, it might confuse her and scare her off. But, try before she remembers it on her own.”
He turned to Natasha. “I think it might be best if you break it to her, you might be the one she trusts the most at the moment.”
Nat watched him walk away. The guilt was eating at her and the fear of reliving you walking away from her only fed that guilt. And now, the pressure was added. But eventually, you will need to know. You deserve that much.
~
“June! Get out of there!”
“He’s going to get away!”
“He’s not worth your life!”
Voices were screaming at each other in your mind. Different accents around you and flashing images of people in uniform, a dark building and lots of smoke.
You saw men running with guns, a tall woman running next to you and the sound of gunshots ringing through the air.
“Stop! June!” The British tall woman ordered you.
You stopped, but lights were coming at your face quickly.
-
You wake with a gasp as the lights made impact. Sweat dripped down your neck and made you feel bothered.
You sat up and threw off the covers, quickly moving your feet to the door and walking at.
Your knuckles rap on Natasha’s door quickly before opening it.
“Nat.” You whimpered, closing the door behind you. She was already out of the bed and standing.
Without thought, she opened her arms for you, which you immediately run into.
You let the tears flow into her singlet as her fingers went o your hair and massage your scalp.
“Shh, it’s okay.” She nuzzled into your hair. “C’mon. Sleep in here.”
She gently pulled you to her bed, climbing in with you. She wrapped herself around you to keep you safe and warm. You kept your forehead and nose pressed against her chest, breathing in her scent and allowing yourself to calm down.
You feared the unknown, but what you did know was that it was safe and comfortable with Nat, and those longing feelings were never going away.
Nat quietly whispered in your ear sweet words, lulling you to sleep and running her fingers through your hair.
And that’s where you slept for the next couple of months.
With Nat.
Tags: Please show some love by reblogging, liking and commenting. I really appreciate it, my loves.
@geekysimmerthings / @blackluthxr / @panoramahearts / @lesbiiionist
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#fem!reader x natasha#natasha romanoff x reader#natasha romanoff x fem!reader#fem!reader x natasha romanoff#natasha romanoff angst#avengers x reader angst#avengers angst#bucky barnes angst#tony stark angst#steve rogers angst#avengers x reader#ems250challenge
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Going Swimming - Spencer
HELLO DOUBLE UPLOAD DAY. so i decided to finish this one while I was on a break to eat lunch. It is a bit shorter compared to my other ones. I think this is fluff. im calling it fluff bc nothing dramatic happens.
Request: Hey! I thought it would be really cute for a story where Spencer and y/n have been dating for a bit, but he’s never really seen her without makeup before because she’s insecure without it. Maybe he does something to help show her how beautiful she rlly is! I love your writing, thank you so much for being you!
((also: thank you lovely anon. you touched my heart.))
___________________
You and Spencer had been together for 2 blissful months. Even when he was gone, he talked to you as much as he could, calling you each time he was in the hotel room or texting you when he had good news. He always wanted to share what he could with you, even if it was vague without any details. He could never share the details but he loved telling you that he successfully talked someone down. Those were his favorite days.
Today was an off day so the two of you spent it lounging around at his apartment. You liked his apartment, it was full of so many interesting books and you were on a mission to read them all while you guys were still together. So far, things were going well and you couldn’t imagine any reason that you couldn’t get through all of them.
“Do you want to go to the pool?” Spencer asked. He was only wearing swim trunks and a towel around his shoulders. Damn he looked good like that.
“Pool?” You asked, wondering what got into him. It was a nice day to say it was summer but you wondered where he would have access to a pool.
“The apartment complex built one and it’s finally complete.” He smiled.
“Oh.” You thought about it, you really did. “No, that’s okay.” You said, going back to some book about mathematics and physics.
“Are you sure? It will be fun.” Spencer said, getting a little down.
“Spence, I don’t have a bathing suit.” You said, trying to avoid the idea.
“You look good in your bra and bottoms, I promise.” He smirked, walking over to you.
Your body took up the whole couch since you were stretched out with your legs up on the other seats so he sat near you on the floor.
“I don’t want to swim, baby. But I can sit poolside and watch you swim, if you’re that set on swimming.” You smiled, kissing him on the forehead.
“It’s not fun without you, y/n.” He said, pouting.
Spencer tried to come up with an answer to all of your points but he couldn’t come up with anything. He sighed, turning so his back was leaning on the couch. While one hand held the book, the other hand naturally went to play with Spencer's hair. He sighed again, this time a little louder before turning back around.
“I’ve never seen you without make-up.” Spencer said, studying your face.
“Okay?” You looked up from the book that was giving you a headache. The concepts were going over your head.
“Why?” Spencer was just wondering innocently. He was inquisitive so it was natural that he would ask questions he didn’t have the answers to, which was rare.
“Because?” You said. It wasn’t something you were defensive over because you knew he was only asking since he was curious.
“Because why?” He said, scrunching his eyebrows a little.
“Because I just feel more comfortable with it on. If I’m going out in public, I’d prefer to have my best face forward.” You looked back down at the book, satisfied with your answer.
“Do you feel like you have to put it on for me? Or is it more for yourself?” Spencer turned his body completely to look at you, criss crossing his legs and putting his hands in the gap. You thought he looked like a 5-year-old who was waiting for nap time.
“No, it’s not you. Well it’s you a little bit but it’s just how I am. I grew up like this and it stuck.” You said, shrugging your shoulders.
“Oh.” Spencer wasn’t getting it and you could see it on his face. “What do you mean?”
“When I was growing up, I learned the hard way that people think you’re prettier when you look perfect. While girls were putting on makeup, I liked being natural. For a while, no one cared. Then I started to notice that people only wanted you if you wore make-up, dressed a certain way, acted like you didn’t care about anything. I got bullied into wearing make-up, basically.” You paused to collect your thoughts.
“When I got older, I noticed that boys only liked me when I had make-up on. Even just a simple look was better than showing my natural face. So I decided that I would just look my best at all times so nobody could catch me on an off-day. Even when I’m lounging at home, I wear something because I don’t like my reflection otherwise. I’d rather be perfect.” You finished.
Spencer was quiet for a moment. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
“So… Why do you feel the need to wear it around me?” He asked, wondering how he played into everything.
“Because I just like to look perfect around you. I like knowing that I’m my best for you.” You said, looking at your feet. It came out in such a quiet voice, you weren’t sure he heard you.
“I know it’s not my place and my opinion doesn’t matter but I think you’re perfect already… There’s very few things that could dissuade me from my opinion about you and whether or not you wear makeup is not one of them. I think that your experiences with selfish, superficial people has given you a tainted view of the world and I understand. Generally speaking, the golden ratio does seem to exist. It’s a very western culture way of thinking but being conventionally attractive is valued greatly and anyone who is not up to that standard isn’t-”
“Spencer, I love hearing you talk but you’re going to stop being helpful if you continue down the path you’re on.” You said, looking over at him. He didn’t even realize he was going off on a tangent.
“Right. My point is that I appreciate you as you are, with or without makeup. I can only hope that during the course of our relationship, you become comfortable enough to show me another side of you that I haven’t seen because I would like to give that face a multitude of kisses. I always want to kiss you but I’m scared of messing up your hard work so I restrain myself a lot of the time. Garcia has shown me makeup videos on the Tube website about how long it takes and how much the stuff is and all the different designs and stuff and I admire the hard work that goes into the process. But I want you to know that you don’t have to look perfect when you’re perfect as you are to me.” He said, grinning.
“You promise you won’t judge me?” You said, finally looking up at him.
“I promise I won’t judge or change my mind about you.” Spencer smiled.
“Okay. Maybe next time.” You said standing up to grab a different book.
“I have one more question.” Spencer said, standing up. He lost his balance and fell forward onto the couch.
“Go ahead, babe.” You grabbed The iliad.
“Can I try that stuff you put under your eyes to hide dark circles? Mine are getting out of control.” He said standing up and walking over to where you stood, in front of the bookcase.
“I don’t have your color but we can try it just for fun. But I have to say, you with dark circles is really hot. I’m attracted to guys who look like they haven't slept in a millenia.” You chuckled.
“Oh really? Well maybe I don’t need it, in that case.” Spencer smirked. “One last question.”
“Just ask, baby.” You smiled.
“Can I kiss you? You’re wearing my favorite lip gloss, the minty one, and I’ve been dying to kiss you all day.” Spencer hovered just above your face, your noses barely touching.
“You don’t have to ask.”
________________
tag list:
@dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal
#spencer x reader#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid#cm#criminal minds#criminal minds imagine#spencer reid fluff#spencer reid imagine
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My Thoughts on RWBY’s new intro and chapter 1
This is going to be long so is there’s someone or something specific you want to read, I’d suggest using ctrl+f
WHITLEY
ngl i just want to start with my boy bc I’m so glad to see him back. Half of this is speculation and theorizing with no real merit ngl, but it’s something I’ve been thinking of for awhile
First of all this is a,,, very uncertain and conflicted look on his face here. He has his arm wrapped around his stomach and he looks very pensive. imo, Whitley’s going to be faced with a choice, one with no easy answer for him. And an answer that
might not bode well for the schnee family
Those clouds are, of course, Salem’s. Which makes me fear that Whitley may fuck up badly, and end up siding himself with the wrong people and it is likely going to be up to Weiss to bring him back.
Whitley isn’t a fighter. and if Whitley does cause the downfall of the Schnee family, he wont be at use for long. And once Whitley outlives his usefulness, there is no reason for her to keep him around.
But there’s a line that has been in my head for the last couple days. Namely Whitley’s line of ‘what could one huntsman do that an army cannot?’
Again, Whitley is no huntsman, but what it boils down to is ‘what can one person do?’ And I think Whitley is going to have to answer that question himself.
I do think that Whitley is going to have to act at some point. Do something that puts him out for the greater good. I don’t expect him to suddenly join the fight, but I do think he will have his Pacifica moment. Where there’s something that he is physically capable of doing, but emotionally and psychologically it’s a mountain to him. Something only he can do, and Whitley will have to be the one person who changes the outcome of something dreadful. And most likely, i do believe it will involve Weiss
NORA & REN & RENORA (but mostly Nora)
ngl i am STOKED for this divide here
I love renora. it is one of my favourite ships. probably my third favourite i have to admit.
what I don’t like is how its been going lately. while i do have the initial shipper reaction of ‘YES’ to the kiss, nora forcing it on ren sits wrong with me. Even more so their song last volume. It’s a bop of a song, true, but so much of it is nora telling ren to tell the truth only for her to tell him to love her. and while i’m sure he does love her, nora’s forcing it out of him and assuming is not healthy for either of them. Ren needs to come to terms with his own feelings, and these two need a wedge between them for a moment to develop separate from one another.
and while i think ren will come to understand and accept how he feels
i think nora might give up on the pursuit and will put their mission above her feelings
But I do absolutely love the focus on Nora and I hope that’s a sign we are getting her backstory this volume. Nora is going to be a major piece in all of this and I personally cannot WAIT
I will say tho that I think her siding with Ruby’s plan is a little,,, strange to me. She was all gungho for protecting mantle last volume and i find it odd that she’s not on team ‘protect mantle first’. i get that she needs to be in that group because of what is shown in the trailer, but personally i would prefer her reluctantly forced into that group because of her usefulness. to keep the devive, that would mean ren would need to side with the ‘protect everyone’ but I don’t think it would have been that hard to spin his mindset that way
I’ve seen some talk about winter maiden nora and, while i personally would have preferred it, giving the power to penny only to give it to nora next volume is a little,,, cheap to me. ignoring the fact that it would likely mean penny would have to die and i am not about that life
i still think penny shooting lightning bolts at nora to power her up would be OP as FUCK tho
CLOVER
NO I AM NOT USING THE ONE SCREENCAP OF CLOVER THIS VOLUME YOU CAN’T MAKE ME
WARNING: Talk about dead bodies. Both fictional and real.
now i won’t lie, i am avoiding that shot like the fucking plague so I’m working mostly from memory here
I have seen bodies hours after someone has passed. Unless the body has something what effects the colour, here’s a greyness to the skin. Yes, this includes all skin colours. there’s also a distinct blue colour to the lips though clover doesn’t,,, exactly have distinctive lips.
But seeing his body gave me the same nauseous and horrified sensation as seeing a long dead body. Of course not nearly as strong as he’s fictional and it’s animated, but it was the same. that sick greyness I’d expect from a body. ngl that shit,,, i wont say it triggered me, but it got damn close. it brought back memories and left me feeling very sick. It’s obvious he is very dead.
but even with that feeling, that didn’t stop me from being very fucking confused when I realised where the body was.
Now there’s a number of reasons that clover’s body would be there
They could have tried to save him and failed. They’re in a state of emergency and all the doctors are brought to one collective spot to deal with the potential rise of people needing medical attention. Maybe Atlas just works this way who the fuck knows. Most likely, they just wanted the Ace Ops to witness James and having Clover there just makes it easier to do that. but jfc if you’re going to have bodies in the medical area can you not install curtains??
ngl if i was at the hospital and they had a dead body uncovered and in full view of my room i would be
I didn’t want to go back and see that image again, so i poked around the clover tag to see what people were saying in case i’m dumb and missed something. but i think if they were trying to bring clover back, they’d make it more obvious. and they sure as hell wouldn’t have coloured him that way. but I don’t blame people for being confused about if he’s dead or not when they literally put him in with people getting medical treatment and give him a patient number
but talking about Clover fuck i miss you so much brings me to
THE STAFF OF CREATION (with mentions of ‘that’ theory)
Ozpin: [mentions that using the staff will make Atlas fall]
Joanna: [talks about plans to move mantle citizens into atlas’ crater]
While it is debatable what the staff will be used on, I think we can all agree this bitch is coming down. Personally I think it’s how the volume will end. with the staff used, and atlas dropping. It’s a fantastic cliffhanger but fuck imma be so mad if that’s really where it ends.
let me,,, get to that theory first. we all know which one i mean.
I’m not going to lie, i haven’t read much into it. mainly because i’d rather not get my hopes up and be pleasantly surprised than get my hopes up and be disappointed. Do i think it’s plausible? Well... after steven universe i think anything is possible. If it has even the slightest merit behind it I wont rule it out.
Do i think it will happen? debatable. i don’t think it was their plan but i also wouldn’t be surprised if they added it after the reaction to clover last year. but i’m not holding my breath. i’m leaning far closer to ‘no’ but i’m open to being wrong
Do i want it to happen? god yes i fucking miss him okay i’m sorry i’m selfish i love my dumb fisherman himbo
the problem though is, if it can be done, there needs to be some form of payment. I know there’s been talk about a life for a life, and these are the options that come to mind:
James: Don’t like this. James is a character rooted deep in the story and I think trading his life for Clover’s is,,, questionable. idk something about this doesn’t sit right. Especially when he has far more history with qrow than clover did.
Tyrian: this feels cheap. trading a villain for a hero? that’s not even a payment, that’s hitting two birds with one stone. I do believe Tyrian wont survive the series, but this way is,,,, very cheap
Qrow: pppppppppffffffttttt honestly this would just be a dick move that’s some monkey paw shit right there
either way, reviving clover would drop atlas and put both the people on atlas and under in danger. so the question is, is reviving clover worth it.
ethically, no. it’s not. one life will never outweigh thousands.
but would my selfish ass rather risk thousands of lives for one comfort character? you bet your sweet ass i would. it’s fiction, see if i care. storywise tho, we probably shouldn’t
But there’s nothing in the OP to suggest that Qrow is after the staff. and while it could be left for volume 9, i don’t see this volume lasting without dropping atlas after this volume started with the reminder that’s what would happen.
but ruby is shown reaching for it. (also is it just me or do those look like nuckelavee arms?) which makes me wonder just what she could want it for. Sure, she could be reaching to protect it, and that’s highly possible. but if we’re already talking about bringing characters back, i would not be too surprised if ruby considers the same idea. Namely with summer (though pyrrha is also an option). If she does consider that though, I don’t think she’ll succeed. and I doubt she’d really try if she knows atlas would fall.
though if she wants to use it to save the world, if there’s something she can make with it that will stop salem, then i might believe she’d risk it. but even then i have a hard time believing she’d risk peoples lives.
but who else could and can get her hands on the staff?
PENNY
our sweet and dear penny, who has already suggested giving herself over to salem. and who is shown divided and framed opposing the team
While her being hacked is an option, and one i think james would consider letting watts do, from a story point I believe it’s far more interesting if penny is the one to decide this for herself.
Penny is a protector. And she wants to protect everyone. And one way she could possibly do that is by cooperating with salem. And with that gd whale having docking stations and a whole damn room inside it, penny going to salem fits with the whole ‘being eaten by a whale’.
and if penny is the cause of atlas dropping, that girl is going to be dealing with even more guilt than she already has.
JAMES
me: okay, i know james shooting oscar was a big dick move, but james has done so many good things too. imo it’s questionable writing, but james’ stance is understandable. he’s still a good person-
listen. listen. listen. I... i don’t know what the fuck the writers are doing with this one. it would have been just as easy to arrest him but we just... gun happy i see. but james being gun happy makes me very nervous for qrow and that ‘if you were one of my men, i’d have you shot’. qrow’s out for james’ blood, but I don’t think qrow could ever actually kill him. and normally i don’t think james could try and kill qrow, but these are,,, not normal circumstances, and james has a semblance that will absolutely help him pull the trigger
i still love james. and i still understand both sides of the fight. and i still believe james is a good person. there’s so many good things james has done, but fuck if the writers aren’t trying their hardest to make the fandom hate him. and for the most part, it’s working. my gf already hates him lol
when all is said and done, there’s a lot that james is going to feel guilt for, but it’s guilt he’s willing to bare
while i understand the reason behind making james the bad guy, i will admit that i’m bitter about it. namely because in volumes 2 and 3 there were so many people expecting james to be bad, only for him to prove himself as a good person. and now the story is doing its best to take that back
THE ACE OPS
Again, one of the main reasons i think they put clover there and confused the fuck out of people. I think there’s going to be a divide in the ace ops, and i think we see which side people fall on here
harriet and vine are going to be harder to turn, but i think this moment just planted some uncertainty in elm and marrow. I dont think it’ll be an instant thing, but this isn’t something they’re going to forget. this is going to bother them for a good long while. yeah, the writers are trying to turn the fandom on james, but storywise it’s planting the seeds of betrayal and giving the ace ops a reason to switch sides. but i don’t think they’ll come into fruition until the end of the volume
And while we’re talking on betrayal, Winter is edging herself closer too. but while i think she’ll turn faster than the ops, i also think she’ll be the most understanding and caring of james of them all.
Yang vs Ruby
pitting them together is honestly a good thing for yang’s character. they still love each other. they’d still fight for each other.
they may see things differently, and they may go their own paths, but there’s no animosity. they can work together and have each others backs, even when they don’t agree.
and that’s something team rwby/ornj and friends and james/aceOPs need to work towards
Yang was never happy with Ruby keeping secrets, and personally i think it’s good for her to voice it and go a path she sees as right
Tyrian (and nuts and volts)
we’ve seen a lot of tyrian’s smiles. he is a very animated person who broadcasts his emotions. in fact, the only time he ever quiets down is in front of salem
this smile is the most ‘you bitch you’re lucky mum is here’ smile ive ever fucking seen on this man grhueiorfubgnjfroe
look, i don’t think tyrian and arthur are romantically involved. but i do think tyrian is fond of arthur. whether that’s romantic or platonic is up for debate, but tyrian has always spoken foldly of arthur.
tyrian obviously does not like cinder or her crew, though he does love picking on them
while i dont think he has that level of dislike for hazel, hazel is the sort of person to not like unnecessary killing, so i don’t see them getting close. Arthur crafted him his tail, and he organized a plan where tyrian got to murder often. out of the bunch, i think it’s rather obvious arthur is the person closest to him, and I also think he’s absolutely looking forward to seeing arthur again
Emerald/Mercury/Neo
first of all, FUCKING FINALLY! MY KIDS HAVE NEW OUTFITS! now there’s things i like and don’t like about mercury’s. personally, i like his old outfit better, but he NEEDED new clothes so i don’t miss it!
Emerald is looking GOOD!! i don’t give a fuck what anyone says, she looking fine as hell
hazel tho, what the FUCK did they do to your hair?? who the fuck did this?? how DARE YOU
that’s all i have to say about hazel bc boy is quiet but WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE??
while we talking about new looks, winter is looking FIIIIINE too
Neo is, very obviously, finding this whole situation fucked up. i know a vast majority of us thought Neo would turn on Cinder, but at this point i believe she was content with finding a new reason to live. but the more cinder brushes her aside, and the more she gets to know salem, she’s looking more and more disturbed and annoyed with it all.
emerald is an obvious turn. with her whole Aladdin tale, i wont be surprised if she takes the lamp from salem and uses the last question. (i’ll admit though that i’m curious what salem’s question(s) is). now i still think neo will want to kill ruby, but i don’t see her staying sided with salem and cinder.
i will say tho that I find it fucking HILARIOUS that salem has no fucking idea who she is. how much of cinder’s plan did salem even know? did she know about roman? did she know about mercury and emerald before they went to pick up her silver eye’d ass? Salem cut Cinder down for ‘acting without salem’s say so’ but how much of that has cinder already been doing before now pffffttt
but mercury’s the only one that isn’t showing that much hint to turning. and personally, that makes sense. Mercury’s been shown plenty of times being disturbed by it all. he’s always stood beside emerald, equally frightened or distrusting. but if salem is calm and mercury’s in no real immediate danger, mercury has always tried to play with the big boys. he has a better poker face than emerald and neo, but he doesn’t belong there nearly as much as he pretends to.
but mr pokerface isn’t perfect. the moment he notices cinder, his attention goes back to emerald, and he watches her. he’s told her before that cinder doesn’t care for them. he’s tried to break that to her, and when they come to face cinder he’s not happy. less so when emerald instantly runs back to her. he knows emerald’s goiing to get hurt, and while he’d like to think he’d be the type to say ‘i told you so’, he’s not going to take pleasure in seeing her hurt
but one think about emerald is that she reminds me a lot of nora. they were both starved and homeless, and were ‘saved’ by someone else. but cinder is no lie ren, and emerald’s gone a very different path. not to mention her ‘saviour’ came much later in her life, and nora is on equal footing with ren and has saved him right back.
but nora has been shown to empathise with mantle and its condition. which makes me wonder if emerald will too. she described the attack on vale as ‘sad’. So emerald, how will you feel when you take in the situation in mantle?
CINDER
i’ll be honest, i don’t like cinder. I’m sorry ;n; she just never interested me. she has a nice design, but other than that i just,,, never clicked with her. but i am happy we’re getting a backstory for her. mostly because it’s damn well due, and for her fans. y’all enjoy your food
that is,,, where i’m going to leave it. it’s late and i need to sleep. there’s probably things i missed, and if there is i’ll add to it in the morning. but these are the immediate thoughts that come to mind.
please feel free to discuss. and remember these are just personal opinions and thoughts, many of which probably will lead to nothing.
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CHANGE MY MIND PT. 2
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.” ━ 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺
warning(s): cussing
word count: 4,282
authors note: i honestly didn’t know when i was going to get this done bc the writing process has been kind of slow, but my bff and i got vip pit tickets to two 5sos concerts in sept and i’ve literally been so happy that i finished writing!!! as always, thank yall for reading, commenting, liking and reblogging– it means a lot and i love you all for it. enjoy part 2 of my new series!! :)
*Boone's P.O.V*
He knew there was a catch.
There was always a fucking catch.
Never once in his life had he ever gone on a date and had it go well. There was always some twist whether at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the date. Hell, even with his ex-girlfriend shit never went right, yet he dated her for three years. Of course, those were three, extremely toxic, years where they spent more time arguing and trying to screw with the other's mind, rather than working on having a functional, loving relationship. Even his many one-night stands within the last year hadn't even ended up anywhere near normal. There was the girl who locked herself in his bathroom. The time he had to get Seth and Josh to bang on his apartment door pretending to be cops just to get a girl to leave. The last four years of his romantic part of life had been one hot mess after another– and he expected this dumb blind date that Josh had begged him to attend, wouldn't be any different.
But it was.
It was actually one of the best dates he had been on in YEARS and that fact alone was surprising to him, especially considering all it consisted of was sitting in a slightly busy coffee shop and chatting over hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. There were no sexual innuendos he often experienced throughout and there definitely wasn't any post-date sex. Sitting there at the small table and just talking about the small things in life and never touching the subject of hockey or fame, was refreshing. It was the big breath of fresh air that he never knew he needed or wanted.
You were like the big break he'd been looking for and it killed him to think that he might actually have to thank Josh and Bailee for setting this up. He already saw it– the smirk on both of their faces when he told them how fun the date was and how he had already been thinking about asking you on another one. He needed to get to know you better, he wanted to figure out just what it was that separated you from the rest. The perfect date.
Until it wasn't.
Because the twist he'd been waiting for and was relieved that had never shown up, had been revealed the moment he walked you home. Only this time, shockingly, the twist wasn't some psycho act, refusal to leave or even a snarky attitude. Instead, it was a little girl wearing frozen pajamas.
At first, he wasn't even sure if she was just a figure of his imagination, if you had the wrong apartment or if you were babysitting for the girl who had just rushed down the hallway like it was on fire. But the moment that the word 'mommy' left the little girls' lips, it was like he was frozen...literally.
It was all a blur after that. He swore he could hear you say goodnight and something else, but his mind was so focused on the disappointment of the surprise, that he barely even heard you. He wasn't even sure if he looked away from the little girl. Hell, he barely even remembers what he said to you before disappearing down the hallway.
Disappointment and Anger, those were the two reactions he had been feeling since last night. Disappointment that the date he thought was perfect, of course, turned out to have a hidden surprise. And anger at Josh and Bailee for never even bothering to give him a heads up about it.
He pushed open the locker room door, immediately looking in the direction of Josh's locker to see it empty. "Man on a mission, Boone?" PLD joked, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees.
"Where's Josh?" He asked, heading over to his locker and tossing his water bottle into his locker.
"Last I saw he was returning the heating pack," Zach replied, nodding his head in the direction from where Boone had just come in. "He should be back in a few."
No sooner than the words left his mouth, the locker room door swung open again and Josh strolled in, following behind Seth and Cam, the three of them laughing. He waited before Josh sat down in his cubby before storming over there, standing over him. It only took Josh a few seconds to realize that Boone was standing there and he raised an eyebrow and went to speak. But before Josh could even get out a word, he cut him off.
"A kid. She has a kid."
He watched the smile fall off of Josh's face before he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, exhaling soon after. "So you met Riley."
"Yeah, I met the child," Boone said, giving Josh a sarcastic smile. "Why the hell didn't you tell me she had a kid?"
"Uh, probably because it's not my business to tell?" Josh replied, rolling his eyes before bending down to finish getting dressed. "I'm surprised you even met her this soon. Y/N usually never gets to that point."
"Oh no, she didn't tell me about the kid. She got some phone call and I drove her home and walked her to the door and then some...blonde girl comes rushing out and leaves and before she could say anything that," he waves his hands nonchalantly before dropping them to his side. "child, throws up all over the floor."
"'That child'?" Seth laughs, raising his eyebrows as he plops down in his locker. "You know you sound like an ass right now, right?"
"Well excuse me for being real," Boone replied, rolling his eyes. "I don't think you understand how off guard this all was, Seth."
"What's so off-guard about it? I mean, think about it," He rolled up his rashguard sleeves and bent down to slip on his skates. "If you were in her position, most likely a single parent, would 'hey, I have a kid at home' be the first thing you'd talk about on a date with a random stranger? Especially if it's only the first date and it could or could not go anywhere?"
It was probably extremely visible at just how taken aback Boone was at his comment. He literally could feel himself step back at what Seth had said. And it wasn't any better when he looked at Josh for backup, only to see Josh raising his eyebrows with a 'he's not wrong' smile on his face. Boone sighed and glared at the two teammates. He knew they were right, that maybe, he was being just a little overdramatic. But after spending most of the night thinking that there was no dramatic twist and then finding out there was one– it was hard not to be understanding. Instead of further arguing, he huffed and walked over to his locker and started to get dressed for practice.
"Besides the surprise, how was the date?"
"Date?" Zach chimed in, looking over at Boone. "What was it this time? Did you have to sneak out of your apartment? Call building security?"
"Fake a vet call for your non-existent dog?" PLD laughed, gaining a few touches of laughter as well.
Boone rolled his eyes, tugging his rashguard over his head and pulling it down before giving them a sarcastic smile. "Haha, very funny you assholes." He grabbed his pads and sat down, bending over to put them on. "But no...it was really nice. We talked over drinks and it was cool."
"What kind of drinks are we talking about? Shots? Margaritas?"
"Hot Chocolate and Cinnamon rolls."
The silence was deafening from the group of guys as Boone stayed hunched over and putting on his pads. When he sat up, he was greeted to looks mixed with confusion and awe. "What?"
"Hot Chocolate and Cinnamon rolls?" Cam chimed in, shrugging his shoulders with a smile on his face. "Sounds kind of domestic to me, especially considering your...interesting past."
"Oh shut up you assholes, there's nothing domestic about hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls," Boone groaned, standing up and putting on his practice jersey. "You guys are just being–"
"Teammates, who are tired of your horrible taste in women?" Josh added in, continuing to tape his stick.
Boone had no answer because Josh was right. His history of hookups has proved to be very...troubling. That and the guys were too busy laughing for him to even give a clear answer. "Alright, alright, shut up all of you."
"Just tell me this," Seth said, standing up and pointing his water bottle at him. "At any time during the date, did the thought of inviting her over to your apartment to have dirty, first date sex, cross your mind?"
Boone sucked in his lips and kept his gaze on his stick, never losing focus as he taped it up. The silence around him was deafening, which alone told them his answer– and he realized it for the first time since last night. Not once, did he ever consider offering you to come over to his place for a drink and to have meaningless sex, just to send you off later that night or even the next morning Whereas, on his other dates, that was usually the offer within the first 15 minutes. That alone made him nervous about you. He hadn't felt that way on a date since his ex-girlfriend, and everyone knew how well that relationship turned out.
How was he sure that this was going to be any different? That you were going to be any different? Especially since you had a kid.
"Ho-ly fucking shit," Seth scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You need to ask her on another date."
"What?" He ripped off the tape and tossed his roll into the locker. "Why should I do that?"
"Because uh, she's normal?" Zach said, shrugging on his practice jersey.
"That," Seth chimed in, pointing at Zach before turning back to Boone. "And your other crazy hookups have cost me plenty of extra hours of sleep in the mornings. So she has a kid? What's the big deal?"
Boone just turned his back to them as he finished getting ready for practice, looking into his locker and making sure he had gone through his routine perfectly. When he grabbed his helmet and turned back to walk towards the locker room door, Josh was waiting there for him with a smile on his face. Boone sighed a defeating sigh and made his way over to his teammate, coming to a stop just beside him. "So?" Josh smiled, further making Boone just want to deck him in the face.
"What's her number?"
❒❒❒❒
This was stupid.
He sighed, standing outside your apartment building with a hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll wrapped up from your date cafe in hand. As he looked up at the building, another thought crossed his mind.
This was also really fucking creepy.
He only dropped you off at your place once and now he was about to show up out of the blue, not even knowing if you were home. It was Saturday afternoon, so he kind of figured you'd be home– assuming you didn't have any plans. Josh said that he knew you didn't have plans with Bailee, but what if you had plans with other friends? Or another guy?
"Yep nope, this is a bad idea," he huffed, turning back away from your building and facing the street. "But, I was kind of an ass, so its at least worth a try."
When he turned back around, he came face to face with Bailee. She stood there with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. "Talking to yourself there, Boone?"
His eyes went wide when he realized that Bailee saw him here...outside of your apartment. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Just out...for a walk."
"Isn't time about time for your pre-game nap?" She walked down the apartment steps and looked around before smiling back at him. "And last time I checked, you lived about hm...10 minutes, in that direction."
He could feel his face heat up the longer that he stood there with her staring at him and his mouth open, unable to find an answer. He cleared his throat and held up his offerings to you. "I asked Josh for her number, he gave me her number and her address and I just thought that I'd–"
"Make-up for being a total douchebag for running off as you did?"
Ouch, he felt that one.
Oh, shit...he felt that– her snide comment...actually made him feel bad? He could only imagine how his quick exit last night had made you feel and for the first time in a long time...he actually cared. "I-"
"Listen, Josh and I didn't set you two up for the hell of it or just because we think it'd be cool that two of our friends are dating," she sighed, walking down all of the steps and coming to a stop in front of him. "We both care about you guys and the two of you are more similar than you think."
"Bails, I swear I didn't mean to run off like that I," he raised his arms in a lazy shrug and shook his head. "I just...it was weird? Scary? I don't know."
"Try being in her shoes, Jenner." She patted his shoulder and started to walk by him, digging in her purse for her keys. "But a word to the wise, I wouldn't go up there right now. She's in a pretty heated argument with her boss and only one is winning."
He could feel the disappointment weigh down on his shoulders as he looked at his hot chocolate and cinnamon roll. "Any chance you'd want this?"
"Nope, I've been doing this 30 day no sugar thing and I'm on day 29. So I politely decline your...delicious sweets. I'll see you tonight!" She pulled her keys out and started to walk down the street.
"Yeah, see you."
She unlocked her car as he walked up the few steps and sighed. "Boone, wait!" He turned to see her standing next to her car, looking all serious. "I love you for doing this because it means that you're well aware that you pulled a grade-A dick move last night. But I love Y/N more, she's my girl, my person...she has been since we were kids. So do not make me regret setting this up or so help me God I will not hesitate to kick your ass. Professional Hockey player or not."
He had to admit, Bailee could be intimidating as hell– all 5 foot 5 inches of her. He gave her a polite smile before jogging up the rest of the stares and finding his way to the elevator inside before she had a chance to run after him. When he got into the elevator and pressed your floor number, he felt perfectly fine...until the doors closed. Then, he realized that maybe this was a mistake.
Would you find it endearing that he brought you snacks?
Or just plain borderline stalkerish?
As soon as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, he knew that there was no turning back. He took a deep breath and sighed as he walked out of the elevator and down the hall to your apartment door.
He dug out his phone and opened his message from Josh
apartment 338A
He felt stupid, the fact that the quick thought of how it must be fate that the two of you be together because his jersey number just happened to be your apartment number. So just as quick as that thought came into his head, he pushed it out. As he came to a stop in front of your door, he contemplated knocking and engaging in conversation before hoping you'd invite him inside. But based on just how Bailee had said minutes earlier about your conversation with your boss, he thought that probably wasn't the best.
So instead, he'd leave a note.
Digging into his jacket pockets, he groaned as his hands were met with emptiness. Why he thought that he'd just happen to have a marker or even a pen with him, he didn't know. Though considering how many kids ask him for autographs on the street in his day-to-day life, he probably should start carrying one around. Defeated, he sighed and placed the hot chocolate and paper bag down in front of your door and knocked three times before making a break down the hallway. The boys would be chirping him with no mercy if they saw him right now, ducking behind a corner by the elevator, peeking around to see if you'd opened the door yet. When he heard the door open and then your voice, he quickly ducked behind the corner, scared of being seen. When he felt like it was safe to look, he slowly peeked back around to see you bending down and picking up his gift before walking back into your room.
He let out a breath he wasn't even aware that he had been holding before pressing the elevator button and walking into the opened doors. As the doors closed behind him, he dug his hands into his pockets and smiled, shaking his head.
Borderline stalkerish? Maybe. But it was worth it since he was more than positive that he had seen you smile as you acknowledged his gift.
❒❒❒❒
As much as he shouldn't have done it, he spent the entire game wondering whether or not you had known if the surprise left at your doorstep was from him. To him, it was obvious that the gift could have only been from him, but how was he to know that Bailee never had the same order before and you thought she had come back and left it behind as a pick me up?
While he did spend the game with the lingering thought in the back of his mind, he was able to take out the unnecessary anger and disappointment he'd still been harboring inside, out on every Pittsburgh player that crossed his path. He wasn't necessarily still angry at Josh or even disappointed in you hiding your kid, but more along the lines that he was angry and disappointed in himself and honestly in fate in general.
How cruel could the world be to dangle a woman who seemed to be the one he could be serious about for the first time in a long time...and then throw in a twist?
If the two of you chose to actually move forward and date, how would the little girl factor in? What is he to her? Does he have to do anything? What comes along with dating a woman who already has a child?
Even after scoring two goals in their 6 to 2 win against their rival, he couldn't stop thinking about it. When he got back into the locker room and after all the press and pleasantries, he hoped to see something from you on his phone. That maybe you had figured out it was him who left the treats and you had asked Bailee for his number to send a text. But when he grabbed his phone, all he saw were football notifications, a text from his family group chat and girls sliding into his Instagram DMs. He was surprised when he answered the text and ignored the dm's, even rolling his eyes as he tossed his phone down and proceeded to get undressed.
He never turned down a DM, especially if it was from someone who he had already hooked up with prior. But for some odd reason, and he couldn't pinpoint it to any kind of feeling...he just didn't even bother with them.
When he was finished with his shower and got dressed back up into his suit, he saw that Josh was still waiting for him in his locker. They planned to go to the small bar down the street with Bailee and just have a drink or two to destress after the game– but when he saw his still empty phone, he didn't feel like going anymore.
"Ready? Bailee's waiting outside." Josh said, standing up and adjusting his suit jacket.
"Listen, about that–"
"Oh no, no way," Josh groaned, as the two of them walked out of the locker room. "There's no way you're ditching me."
"You're ditching drinks?" Josh and Boone both looked up to see Bailee walking over from her place against the wall with an amused smile on her face. "What? Suddenly you're not into a beer for destressing?"
Boone went to say something when the movement behind Bailee caught his eye. He first recognized your hair, the way you had it pulled out of your face– the same way you had worn it the night before. Then, he recognized your soft smile, which he was assuming to be your signature trait. And of course, and he couldn't help this, he definitely recognized the way that your jeans hugged your legs and waist. Then it dawned on him.
You were really here...at his game...standing directly in front of him.
"Hot chocolate?" He asked, mentally smacking himself in the face. He could have said anything, literally anything, like 'hey' or 'thanks for coming' but no...instead, he blurts out 'hot chocolate.'
He ignored Bailee's snicker as she moved towards Josh for a hug and only focused on you. He took notice of how his bumbled word caused you to blush and look down at your feet for only a second before you tucked a loose piece of hair behind your ear. It was beautiful in a simple way.
"Thank you, for the hot chocolate and cinnamon roll." You smiled, finally looking at him. "I mean, I didn't get to enjoy it because a certain five-year-old said it was hers...but I appreciate the gesture. Though I am wondering how you disappeared down the hallway so fast."
"Dude...did you ding dong ditch her apartment?" Josh asked, nudging him in the arm.
"What?" Boone scoffed, suddenly feeling really embarrassed at the gesture he hoped that none of the guys would ever find out about. "Bailee said you were on the phone and I didn't want to disrupt you–"
"So you ran...down the hallway and hid?" Josh laughed, clapping Boone on the shoulder. "Please further tell this story at drinks, please."
"Actually, I can't go." You chimed in, sighing as you hugged your jacket close to you. "I've got housework to do and other stuff I need to finish over the weekend."
Boone was disappointed, there was no doubt about that. When he saw you here with Bailee, he was excited about getting to know you more over a beer or two. See how you were when you were carefree and in a fun environment. Plus, it meant he didn't have to be third-wheel with Bailee and Josh. It was a quick glimpse at Bailee when he saw her nudge her head in your direction and smile.
It was his chance.
"Same here actually," he said, patting Josh on the shoulder. "I'm feeling a little tired and I think extra sleep will be a better destresser than two beers."
"You guys suck." Josh pouted, rolling his eyes before looking at Bailee. "At least you're still with me right?"
"To the end babe," Bailee smiled, kissing him before grabbing his hand and turning to you and Boone. "Y/N came with me in the uber though...Boone, can you drive her home?"
"Absolutely, I wouldn't mind at all." He smiled, catching a glimpse of you giving Bailee a look he couldn't make out.
"Perfect, let's go."
Bailee had planned this– there was no doubt about it. She probably knew that you had no intention of going to the bar with them after the game. And since she saw Boone at your apartment to make amends earlier in the day, she knew that the moment you said you weren't going...he wouldn't either.
She was a mastermind.
When the four of you reached the parking garage and waved Bailee and Josh goodbye, he helped you into his car before walking around and getting in on the drivers' side. As soon as he got into the car, he took notice of the comfortable silence that settled between the two of you, and even how it stayed comfortable the moment the music came through his radio speakers.
He didn't know who was going to break the silence first, you or him. He could start by saying sorry about last night, that would be a good way to get the conversation going. But he wasn't even sure if you wanted to talk to him. After all, you never agreed to have him take you home. Coming up to a stoplight just outside of the arena, he turned to you to say something, only to see you already looking at him.
"Do you want to go get a hot chocolate or something? Maybe talk a little bit?"
He was shocked and flattered at the same time. Normally it was him making the first move, besides the initial move often being a girl reaching out to him in a DM. He saw the uncertainty flash across your face and he realized that he had been too lost in thought that he hadn't replied yet.
"Yeah," he cleared his throat, smiling at you. "I'd like that. But only if we get one of those chocolate croissant things."
You laughed and he felt a flutter in his chest as the soft sound echoed through his ears. "Deal."
#cmm fic#boone jenner imagine#boone jenner oneshot#boone jenner one shot#columbus blue jackets oneshot#columbus blue jackets imagine#columbus blue jackets one shot#columbus blue jackets writing#nhl writing#nhl imagine#nhl oneshot#nhl one shot#hockey writing#hockey imagine#hockey oneshot#hockey one shot#my writing
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The "waifu bait" criticism of Edelgard is so dumb given that most of the cast is technically waifu/husbando bait in one way or another, they're all meant to appeal to players as romance options, and she's the only one getting flack for it. (Well, not the only one, there were some people giving Dimitri shit too for being "wish fullfillment for stupid teenage girls who think they can fix a man," but I see the complaint most often with Edelgard.)
Yeah. I mean, you can boink Rhea and Jeritza!
It’s not like satelite love interests aren’t a plague onto anime and fiction in general, but I only ever hear this “you only like them because they’re waifu/bishie” thing directed at characters who very much DO have personality, unique compelling features and plot relevance.
I’ve also seen this thrown at, say, Evangelion’s Miss Ayanami, as if all the fascinating sci-fi concept stuff and compelling narrative about finding your own worth and making a connection in a cruel lonely world wasn’t there - and at least we do see her through a “main character’s love interest” sorta lens. (I was thinking about how Byleth is actually quite similar, except more proactive with more of a dorky side, and less philosophical/reflective, but because Byleth is the MC we come off with a fairly different impression. )
Meanwhile with Edelgard they really didn’t pull any punches, the whole story is set in motion and dominated by her active choices, most the unique designs/outfits she gets are geared to look elegant/powerful. (Apart from the usual ‘individually wrapped boob armor would break your sternum’ thing but you’d really have to know physics for that/ could be fixed easily by making the fit more sweater-like), she has a specific discernable philosophy and makes impactful choices, that can genuinely be agreed or disagreed with.
You can’t swag her into your way of thinking - you can only ally with her under the presupposition that you already actively agree. (See all the people complaining that you cant “criticise her more”, expecting her to be like Dimitri basically even though they are exact opposites. You can only get on her route by making two deliberate choices. I mean they wrote this with your first playthrough in mind, in-universe you’re not there because you wanna complete all aroutes but because you actively chose to join her after she spent a year unsubtly trying to recruit you to her cause)
You don’t talk Claude out of his tactics either. (and forcing it all into this comparision often leads ppl to overlook that he has ambiguities or character development at all, maybe he isn’t vilified but he gets simplified and therefore wronged just as much in the end. They’re not all Dimitri. The whole point of having three or four different potential deuteragonists to choose from is that they’re different)… heck, even if you look at Dimitri, you only get him back to what he really wanted to do back in part I before his black-and-white thinking and exaggerated sense of duty got the better of him.
With all three, joining them eventually just enables them to get closer to their actual vision. Back when you meet her in Remire, Edelgard outright tells you that “with your power on my side, we could courttail the slitherer’s atrocities much more efficiently”. You don’t change her mind at all; You enable her to use “Plan A”. Same with Claude, who otherwise plains much more defensively both because he has less support and because he’s more jaded. And Dimitri essentially pulls a Sayaka, ie being unable to live up to his own unrealistic standards drive him to lose all hope and become the very opposite of the hero he wanted to be, but you do help him get back to that, or to a more balanced mature understanding of that.
The best proof of that is that the popularity poll numbers actually went down after the release, ie a lot of ppl who liked her just bc they liked her design were turned off that there’s a specific personality there that isn’t necessarily their type/ a MO they don’t necessarily agree with. Or all those peeps complaining that the S-support was too understated for them. Claude got that too - They’re just not the most open/expressive people in the world, one would think that after playing through their routes you would know and understand that. Whereas Dimitri has been super emotional from day one (which is both his greatest strength and greatest weakness), so it figures that he’d be more conventionally romantic.
- Hardly things that would happen if she were written to be “blandly pleasant”. I mean generally speaking she’s not the best as showing her feelings and when she does she’s often pretty blunt at it even with her closest friends (El: ”Hubert! I order you to tell me what it is you’re not telling me!” Hubert: [elegantly weasels out of answering] El: [after he’s left the room] I’m worried about him tho. )
Seems senseless to claim that she’s blandly pleasant when she’s absolutely gotten a love-it-or-hate-it-marmite-reaction all across the board. It also seems to go along with the implicit idea that everyone who likes her is heterosexual boys. I’m neither, and it’s not like heterosexual boys aren’t ever interested in “plot” or “writing” I mean geez. Though I would resist the temptation to fully ascribe it to things like that.
To an extent it’s simply confusion. “How can they like this thing that obviously sucks? Must be an ulterior motive”, whereas in reality ppl who like her have probably parsed what happened here differently to begin with (It depends greatly on how powerful you concluded Rhea was, ie, wether what Edelgard is doing is a conquest or a revolt. She certainly sees it as a revolt. Even today in the modern day most of us see revolts as legitimate, or at least, if they get overly destructive, as a fault of the bad government. Heck, there are many on this very site who would label all revolts legit by default (”eat the rich”, the more ‘original sin-like’ variants of privilege theory) which is further than I would go )
There certainly are a bunch of ‘cute’ scenes post holy-tomb scene and under the assumption that Edelgard is this my-way-or-the-highway type of person that many have her pegged as I can see how they might think that it “makes no sense” but that’s really down to wanting her not tp step outside of that idea they have of her. I mean even supervillains have silly everyday situations. Bin Laden loved Disney Movies, Hitler loved his dogs. By itself that has nothing to do with morality or likeability. It’s just being human. Supervillains blush, not because they’re not villains, but because they have blood vessels in their faces. It’s only logical that once you get close to someone and get them to trust you, you get to see more of their silly or vulnerable sides. It’s the same with Rhea. (except that the same people argue that having personable vulnerable sides at all makes Rhea good s of course it causes some cognitive dissonance when Edelgard also has them. I’ve yet to see ppl calling “waifuism” on Rhea (whom I would consider a full-fledged villain), and they shouldn’t - it’s characterization.) Same with ppl calling Edelgard a “manchild” for liking stuffed animals and sweets. She’s actually very mature and adult for her age, having some interests that aren’t super high-minded is just realistic and if you looked at her as a full 3D person who can have more than one trait you’d see that.
This also goes with that tendency of holding up AM as the gold standard complaining about the lack of AM-like plot that they completely miss the different but equally compelling character arcs in VW and CF. That’s not a lack of arc, that IS the arc, it’s just a different arc: We get to see this tough, in-control high-minded character who’d completely given up on the normal life she wanted so much and resigned herself to never being understood finding out that she is very much still capable of normalcy and humanity and finding friendship and love and I think that’s beautiful. It’s my jam.
And it’s meaningful precisely because it’s a change from only seeing the tough leader guise otherwise. Complaining about that is like complaining about getting to see Claude’s more wistful, dreamy, benevolent, not-entirely self-interest side in VW or claiming that the writing would be better if he were just a straight-up selfish trickster. Actually, if you removed their heroic traits you’d end up with a lot more generic characters. You’d simply get every wild card trickster ever, and every “Nietzschean” villain ever. It’s the fact that they’re unconventional heroes that makes Claude and Edelgard so unique, compelling and interesting. If you like conventional heroes, Dimitri is right here. Your basic heroic fantasy ‘rightful king returns/ soft peace loving hero’, plus your basic jrpg guilt-ridden angsty protagonist. I mean there’s good reason that these character archetypes are popular. Plus he’s especially well-executed and recontextualized by the contrast to the others, but there he is, enjoy him! We’re not stopping you.
It’s really Seteth who came up short arc wise. You could have given him an arc, the potential was there, he essentially transistions from protecting himself and his family to taking on his family’s heroic quest and rising up to that, but he doesn’t get like, a scene reflecting on that. Or you could’ve sent them on some mission to actually curb some corrupt cardinals etc, shown them actually reforming the church and realizing that it wasn’t all perfect, after all he very much knows that Rhea herself wasn’t all perfect.
For all that much of media is obsessed with making characters “hot”, the truth is that if people like them for any reason, they will find them hot anyways, regardless of whether that was the intention. (unless the people in question are aroace, or the character is a literal, realistic prepubescent child)
You don’t have to “make” a character hot for ppl to find them so.
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A hypothesis: why Nilfgaard is so weird in the Netflix show?
Perhaps one of the most striking changes between earlier media from the Withcer universe and the Netflix show is the portrayal of Nilfgaard. And I’m not talking about ZIMMERIT CHESTPLATES unfortunate costume design choices but about the general image, motivation and perception of an average blackclad soldier and major nilf characters.
I honestly felt a little betrayed about how Cahir was portrayed, mostly because I really liked him in the books - he is a promising young officer saddled with an (how it later turned out) impossible mission. He is persistent and very loyal, able to go for great lenghts to fullfill it - also because he knows that the emperor is ruthless to those who don’t succeed in fulfilling his demands. This ‘the emperor’s word is a reality or I’ll be in trouble, probably dead’ attitude is very clearly present in Nilfgaardian behavior in the games too - an order is an order and has to be fulfilled, no matter the ethics or the cost. This is one of the main themes of ‘Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales” where apart from the sheer numbers of Nilfgaardian army, the combination of ruthlessness, discipline and cruelty is what makes them such a terryfying foe to face.
What is interesting to me, however is that is none of the previous Witcher media is the Nilfgaardian behavior framed in a religious light. Nilfgaard is an example of a society in which there is a very prominent personality cult and where discipline and obedience to the sovereign is a most important value. Don’t get me wrong, THERE IS AN AURA OF FEAR and awe surrounding the Emperor, The White Fire Dancing On The Barrows Of His Enemies is quite a bombastic title - but he’s not some kind of a living god. He may be treated in terms of a chosen one, and is most definetly treated as a military genius who cannot be wrong and whose every decision will lead to victory. If it led to defeat? Well, it has to be a commanding general’s fault and the Emperor will no longer tolerate them and that ends either in an execution or an (aided) suicide.
Then we’ve got a Netflix show version which paints us a very different picture of Nilfgaard - foul dark magic, mind control, brainwashing and practically religious following of the monarch. An average, dying Nilfgaardian soldier out of whom Geralt tries to get some information tells him a piece of some ominous prophesy that shows the emperor as some unstoppable force of destiny. We have Fringilla who either believes in this prophesy or pretends to be a religious fanatic and uses this fanaticism as her weapon to win greater political influence through Nilfgaard’s victory. We’ve got Cahir, who’s two steps away from praying to the emperor for strenght. That’s some drastic change, and I wondered why it was made. Why change the Nilfgaardians, who were already terryfying, nilfgaardians who would already do anything for their emperor?
I think that the change was motivated by the fact that Nilfgaard reflects what the creators - culturally - fear the most. Nilfgaard in Sapkowski’s books and CDPR games combines traits of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. It’s autocratic, it has overwhelming numbers like the soviet army and technological leverage of the reich, it puts up ultimatums, has spies everywhere, forcibly drafts people of the conquered lands into their army. The nilfgaardian belief that the leader is a genius who doesn’t make mistakes and said leader distributing ruthless punishments for a smallest failing (even if it wasn’t someone’s fault and the person in question was unwaiveringly loyal) is very reminescent of stalinist soviet union. While Nilfgaardians are not outwarldy racist to non-humans, they look down at a whole of the Northern Kingdoms as a place that needs to be ‘civilised’, with contempt and superiority. I feel that the similarities with the nazis are even more prominent in ‘Thronebreaker” where there is explicitly shown that the blackclads don’t hold back from slaughter of the innocents as a “punishment” for the resistance, are setting up forced labor camps and literarily enslaving peasants and moving them into the Empire. Beside, they greet each other “Hael Haer’zaer” and seem to have a very uniform-like sense of fashion (in the books some of their allied units’ uniforms were described in a way which made them suspiciously similar to SS uniforms).
Nifgaard in a show made (mostly) to appeal to American market is however way more reminescent of a religiously extremist state. They’re not troubled when they sacrifice their wizards just to inflict terror in the northerners (pretty much a suicidal acts of terror) - in general, their power seems to be built on a belief that it’s an Emperor’s inevitable destiny to rule over entire continent, and destiny is a big thing in this universe. They’re brainwashed to the point of average line soldier citing aforementioned prophesy when dying. The most terryfying thing that Nilfgaard inflicts on the heroes are mind control spells, again very strongly associated with fanaticism and brainwashing. Fringilla Viggo comes to the council and brings her gang of nilf wizards looking like cultists. Her attitude is ‘yup, Emhyr WILL win, if you’d like to you can join the club of the winners bc Nilfgaard is the future and that’s the fact. So either you’ll come with us and do cool things (spoiler, these are not really cool things but we won’t tell you, that’s how cults work) or you can stay here and help the northern losers and when Emhyr will get you you’ll burn at the stake :)’. She even further brainwashes Cahir (who’s already pretty bent on fulfilling the mission) so that he doesn’t fail.
TL;DR: IMO Nilfgaard’s most important characteristics are different in the show because Nilfgaard reflects the enemy you most fear. In Polish adaptations Nilfgaard has traits of the Third Reich and Soviet Union and in American adaptation it’s reminescent of a cult or a fanatical confessional state.
#the witcher analysis#the witcher#nilfgaard#idk if I'm right#it's just a hypothesis#don't mind me#but Nilfgaard's characterisation was pretty consistent in the games and the books#you know#the author likes to give some hints rather than speak openly#but even before the games the Nilfgaard's ruthless method were quite obviously inspired by authocratic giants from the WW2#show analysis#fringilla vigo#cahir aep caellach#tw: suicide#tw: death#tw: slavery#tw: war#tw: terrorism#nilfgaardian#literary analysis#the witcher spoilers
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hey you said you finished The Mandalorian and thought it's not good, care to elaborate? Not attacking, I'm just curious why you didn't like it
oh boy SPOILERS
I don’t think it’s bad per se, it’s just not “good”, and mainly because conflicts lack narrative tensions and themes are not dramatized properly.
For example, let��s take the first overarching conflict - “Will Mando save baby yoda?” Or, more accurately, what’s against Mando saving baby yoda? The guild is against it, but they are portrayed more as greedy scumbags. Mando acts like a hardass in the first episode, but that’s just tsundere shit, we all know he likes baby yoda at the time when he gives it to the Imperials.
We can sort of reason out that Mando wants to get paid bc he has to provide for his clan, and like, fair enough. But why is his clan appearing to save him when he went back to save b!yoda was framed as cathartic, as if it resolved some narrative tension between Mando and his clan? Because there was some tension with his clan, but it wasn’t about saving b!yoda. Some Mandalorian dude came up, saw that the beskar had Imperial marks and shamed Mando for working for them, being a dishonorable coward and not a real Mandalorian. Armorer asks Mando if anyone saw him without the helmet, he says no, and she’s like “That’s enough, he’s legit, this is the Way”. Mando doesn’t tell them that he plans to save b!yoda, he goes alone and then when the guild attacks, we just get Mandalorians ex-machina, but it’s framed as triumphant. Like??? It’s just so disjointed. Mando was accused of being dishonorable for working for the Imps, but cleared by Armorer because he always wears helmet, and then saved and saluted by other Mandalorians when he is saving b!yoda. Like, was the implication that his clan wanted him to go attack the Imps? Bc like working with them is dishonor? But why do they not help him kill actual Imps then and only fight the guild?? Why is it shown as so triumphant, like one of the flies by and salutes while uplifting music plays. Why do other Mandalorians care about saving b!yoda? And if they don’t care and they are just there to help Mando and it’s a norm for them, then why haven’t he asked for their help in the first place and why it’s presented as cathartic?
Also, how is “he never takes off his helmet” lets him off the hook for working with the Imps? Like what, you can do whatever dishonorable shit you want as long as you don’t take the bucket off? That’s the Way?
Then Kreia was right ONCE AGAIN when she said “They will die a death that will last millennia, until all that remains is their code, their history, and in the end, the shell of their armor upon the shell of a man, too easily slain by Jedi.”
Now, let’s imagine how the same conflict could be done instead. For starters, I would make the bounty hunters guild more sympathetic instead of one-dimensional greedy incompetents. Sure, leave some assholes in, but also show that there are people who are just trying to get by in the harsh world. There was a perfect opportunity with that young kid Mando was helping, but he just turned out to be shallow duplicitous betrayer. Instead, we could’ve shown that survival is harsh and Mando is better than other hunters because he actually had an advantage - military training and starting equipment. So the kid realizes he’s not good enough, but not because he’s useless, but because he never had resources that Mando had to get good, and when he double-crosses Mando, it’s because he doesn’t have any other way to get these resources. We could’ve played on initially humorous “I don’t have beskar” line when he does betray Mando, because then it would find deeper meaning. The kid cannot AFFORD Mando’s honor. And we can show that there are people for whom the guild is really a community they are clinging to just as Mando to his clan, just because they don’t have anything better.
Second, let’s give Mandalorians some world-building, for fuck’s sake. Right now they are a mess. Let’s restructure the very same confrontation, but make it about baby yoda, our primary conflict. We already have a perfect opening - Mando refuses a sigil of honor, because he didn’t earn it, his enemy helped him to kill the beast and saved his life. *That’s* what the outrage should be about. The same guy who ranted about Imps instead goes “So you owe your enemy your life and you didn’t pay back? That’s dishonorable!” Mando is like “I was bound by the contract. I had to fulfill it, or it would be dishonor too.” The Honor Guy goes “Then you should’ve gone back AFTER you fulfilled the contract and shoot the damn Imps! This is the Way!” Then the guy we’re calling Survival Guy chimes in like “We cannot compromise ourselves like this! The Imps are a powerful enemy, and we’re struggling as is!” then the Armorer does her “did u take the bucket off? No? THIS IS THE WAY” thing, but we show the Old Guy who just grumbles bitterly “Is this all we are now? The rats in the sewer wearing helmets? Then we’re already gone.” We have a conflict inside of Mandalorians, the honor vs survival. Mando leaves, shit basically goes the same, he almost leaves on the ship, but then changes his mind and goes to save baby yoda.
But first he calls his clans on complink so we have explanation of how they know it. He’s like “I have to pay back for my life. I will go save the yoda baby. This is the way.” And the survival guy is like “No! We can’t afford to expose ourselves like this!” Mando is like “Then I will go alone.” and cuts off. Everything goes the same, he shoots off the Imps, saves baby yoda and then confronted by the guild.
But now the guild leader is like “Listen, Mando, I understand you’re attached to this thing and I sympathize with you. But I cannot let you do this. You’re a member of the guild, and the Imperials will see all of us as the enemy after. And also, other people won’t work with us, because who wants to hire bounty hunters who kill their own employers? You know the contracts are scarce as is, we’re barely getting by, I just can’t let you ruin us.”
So now it’s actually grey morality, not “saving baby” vs “greedy”, but two communities equally struggling to survive clashing in interests, two of Mando’s identities - bounty hunter and the Mandalorian demanding him to choose, when he doesn’t even have support of his clan on this mission for honor. And still he chooses his Mandalorian honor, even if it means ostracism from everyone, and this is what it makes it impactful and proves he’s a real Mandalorian following the Way when no one else would. And when after THIS the Mandalorian clan shows up and it’s cathartic because it resolves honor vs survival conflict, because they chose to follow the Way at the risk for their lives.
And like, in the show they actually pay the price, they die in the 8th episde, but they died kinda for nothing instead of *decision* to follow the Way, and Mando spends 10 times more time in Terminator2 rip off scene with droid going into lava to die instead of his entire clan being dead. Like????? The fuck are your priorities, writers?? Did you just want to free him so he could go off trying to get baby sorcerer yoda to the Jedi? yikes?
TLDR they should’ve made it grey morality conflict of two identities\communities trying to survive instead of the pointless shit they did
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Name ten favourite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people
I was tagged by the dear @gffa who clearly enjoys making these lists and seeing everyone else also struggling with just choosing ten. It’s hard but I shall do my best sdfk <3
1. Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
Okay, let’s just get it out: I prefer reboot!Lara. idk I know some people think she sucks and the games suck for whatever reason, but I found the games and their mechanics super fun, and Lara’s story really compelling. She was a young girl who was determined to make her own way in the world, and instead went through something extremely traumatizing. She kept pushing through, kept getting back up no matter what the world threw at her. She went on this clear journey that was compelling and fun and messy. She wasn’t perfect. She pushed people away, she fucked the world up because she was determined to find the answers she felt would make all she went through make sense. Her survivor’s guilt was present really well in RotTR but most especially in SotTR. People were dying but she was so focused on finishing her personal mission. She was numb to it despite the fact it still horrified her. And her arc ended well. She finally was able to reach a place where she was able to let go of her losses and try to join society again. And I’m gay for her. So, you know.
2. Senua - Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
I cannot recommend this game enough. It’s tough to play bc it’s not just a horror game but you feel a lot of Senua’s anxiety, which is part of the point to the game. Senua’s a Celtic warrior who suffers from psychosis, and the game devs worked directly with both professionals and those who experience psychosis. There’s a whole mini doc to it which is great, even if you can’t stomach horror. You’re in Senua’s head with her throughout the game. You see what she sees, you hear all she hears, and she talks to you directly at times. But the beauty of the game is Senua’s true journey. She goes on a quest to try to rescue a loved one she lost to Vikings, but the real story is about a girl realizing she’s not a monster for seeing the world differently. That the abuse and ableism she faced weren’t her fault at all. There’s so many little things I can point to in this game that just made me so emotional, and it’s such a beautiful and necessary story to tell. Senua is great and deserves a hug.
3. Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars
If you asked me at what point in my life Anakin became one of my favourite characters, to the point I frequently talked about him even on my main blog at random intervals, I couldn’t tell you. I haven’t the faintest idea; he just was. And if you asked me why he was a fave early on, I also couldn’t tell you lmao. It might partially be that I grew up on the prequels, and maybe at such a young age I didn’t really grasp at first that this was a story about a guy who was already revealed to be a villain, but I haven’t the faintest clue. He just is now, and I’m so passionate about his story. He’s complex and difficult and written so well. You want him to be happy, you feel heartbroken seeing a good character fall so deep, and you want to smack him upside the head a whole lot. You laugh at his silly dialogue (which he has as Vader too smh), you cry when you see him struggling, you become horrified by his actions. His story’s also a great inversion of the Chosen One trope - whereas usually we see Chosen Ones struggle, become imperfect and undoubtedly traumatized, they remain heroes the whole time. Anakin doesn’t. He becomes the bad guy, one of the worst in the series (Palps takes the award tho). But even then, when you think this guy has nothing to offer but an intimidating villain, he’s shown to have good. And then we see how much good he had all along, the good he forgot and was punished for and hated himself for. His heart that had good intentions but he chose the worst actions. He’s complicated and I love him. And more over, I love how many people who struggle or have mental illness can relate to him. I love that he wasn’t treated as a guy whose actions were glorified, but that were honest in both the good ones and the bad ones. Anyone can fall, and anyone can get back up, if they choose to. I just. Love him. He means a lot.
4. Commander Shepard - Mass Effect
I know that Shep is technically the player’s character and can be any combination of person, but anyone who’s played Mass Effect would get why they were put here. The original trilogy for Mass Effect touched on so many things, and was a really emotional one. You had your great moments with friends, you had your struggles against both unknown horrors, and horrors close to home (so to speak). There are so many small moments that stick out to you, and idk how many people can say that playing this story didn’t impact their life in a meaningful way, bc I can’t see how it couldn’t. I’ve played the games many times, but even after all of this, there are moments that I not just still get emotional to, but take on new meaning as I go through my life. And Shepard’s the hero of the story. They’re not perfect, and they can downright be an ass if you play them that way, but their story is one of perseverance, of fighting on even when entire worlds are being lost and everyone is still looking to them. Everyone needs them to find a solution. But even then, it’s a story about friendship too. About tons of amazing characters that all have their own motivations, their own pasts and goals and hopes and failures. About how all these varied characters become a found family. And so Shepard’s the hero of the story, but their companions aren’t just there to be sidekicks, but end up with all their own accomplishments and arcs and you go on this journey with all of them. idk the whole series is great dsalkkljads
5. Lexa & Clarke - The 100
Let’s not talk about how terrible this show got and how messy it was because we all know. But it started with a really compelling story that was interesting, and to see two characters on screen who were flawed but understood each other, and to have them both be women - one who was a lesbian and one who was a bisexual?? It made me so excited and it’s a really flawed show but it meant a lot to me at the time to have a couple like that on a tv show, and so despite all its flaws, that relationship still means a lot to me.
6. The BAU team - Criminal Minds
Yeah, I put the entire friggin team down, and that means all of them. There was only maybe two or so characters that were on it I didn’t like so every iteration is put down. Criminal Minds isn’t exactly a complex show; it’s a typical crime drama, and its unique feature is that it looks into the behaviour and minds of criminals instead of finding the science, like we saw with CSI. But the episodes were compelling and entertaining to watch, and, what do you know, there’s a found family at the center of it all and naturally I’m a sucker for it. Strangely enough this show is kind of a comfort one to me, bc it’s entertaining but not always overwhelmingly emotional. I can put it on at any time and just have it on in the background, or when I’m not feeling well, and I’ll enjoy myself. Also strangely enough, I’ve seen almost every episode enough times that there’s a game in my house to see how long it takes for me to recognize the episode and its plot once a rerun is put on lmao. There’s a lot of good shows like this out there - I enjoy SVU a lot too - but something just draws me to the characters on this one. We’ve been with them for, what, 14 seasons?? And we’ve seen them go thru some shit, we’ve seen them grow and change and they’re all really unique. It’s not a complex show but it is good enough to just binge. A part that plays in it is probably the time in my life I started getting into it too, but I’m alright with standing by it.
7. Korra - Avatar: The Legend of Korra
I probably don’t need to wax poetic about atla or atlok much at all. I just love her journey, as a brash and overconfident girl who realizes that being the Avatar is hard, the people expect so much and there’s a lot put on your shoulders. That, when things go wrong, people will blame you. She went and became this giant blue monster thing, but her struggles were all human. Her PTSD was shown really well, despite it being a kid’s show. She’s fun and her journey is lovely and it’s definitely true that Korrasami did it way better, and both characters are bi women too (◡‿◡✿) We Do Not Talk About That Dumb Love Triangle Nonsense Though
8. Chloe & Max - Life is Strange
What can I even say about this game? I don’t know. If you’ve played it, you’ll know why it’s here. It’s.... way deeper than you’d think it’d get at first. I love the story, and I love the journey Max and Chloe go on together. I love their friendship, how Chloe was always trying to uplift Max and encourage her to follow her dreams, and Max just doing the impossible for Chloe. I love their relationship, because it was built on support and love and struggle. I love their complexities, their flaws, their strengths, their times together. I just fskljdjlksfd love them, I love this game and all its various stories and character arcs. It’s all so beautiful and raw and unique and yay, another pair of ladies loving each other is on this list.
9. Solas - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Okay. There’s a TON of characters I adore in Dragon Age, and to be honest, I don’t know he’d be my absolute top one. But I do like his story. I love Dragon Age companions, because, like in Mass Effect, they’re all their own characters with their own stories and journeys. Solas is flawed. Like, really flawed. Here’s another guy on my list who went and fucked up the world a bit. His worst actions (and the consequences of them) were built on good intentions, on his desire to help his people. We can get into the way this direction BW went with the elvhen religion was icky, but it’s a different conversation. I adore elvhen lore and I love exploring theories on it all the time. For Solas, I just like that he’s complex. I mean, he’s still silly and kinda weird, and he loves to hear himself speak on topics and loves Lavellan for encouraging him to never shut up, but most of all I kind of like their relationship? A friendship with Solas is still great, but I like that it’s an asexual one (don’t fight me on this, idc, it’s how I see it). It’s soft, built on mutual respect, one with no pressures or expectations. Solas asks for time and Lavellan gives it. There’s no fade to black s.ex scenes that so many times aren’t optional in BW games. I just really like my asexual wolf god egg ok
10. Mulder & Scully - The X Files
Okay, it’s super hard to choose characters for this holy heck. BUT I really, really, really love their relationship. Mulder is an idealist who believes in the supernatural, and Scully his pragmatic scientific counterpart. And we could talk about how Scully’s character as a woman in science meant to a lot of people, and how Mulder’s tenacity to not give up on his beliefs is a nice one (when it’s not getting him into trouble). Their relationship is the slowest of slow burns in television history, I think. But it’s good that way. Scully starts out thinking Mulder’s just a delusional guy, one who’s intelligent but wastes his accomplishments, and he knows that. Then they go through shit, they’re a team and many times it’s them against a whole bunch of unbelievable stuff (and their own government). What I loved most was also their son, and I’m literally deleting all knowledge of the new seasons from my brain bc I think it was gross and took away from the story, but I liked that they were so close, loved each other so much despite there not really being a romance yet, that Scully trusted to go to Mulder to donate to her bc he was the only one she could think of for this. It’s another asexual relationship on screen, and it’s built on a love that happens over time. I just fljksdfkjl could go on about it too.
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This was hard lmao. I wanna give an honorary shout out to Peggy Carter since she had wonderful lines like: “I know my value. Anyone else’s opinion doesn’t really matter.” Which is *chef’s kiss*. Peggy was the true unsung hero of the MCU and they gave her and Steve a weird ass ending.
idk who to tag bc I’m not sure who’d be into this, but if you’re willing, I’d love to hear from @sapphicfinalpam, @mariaromanovs, @vinterskald, @zombiefishgirl, @nb-aziraphales, @serkonans and anyone who feels like doing it. Feel free to obvs ignore this, or only make a list without rambles, idk. I am never too sure about who’s into this or not, but if I didn’t tag you and you wanna do it, you can just say I tagged you and I definitely wanna read what you have to say!
#liz.txt#long post#there are others who were left out bc this shit's hard!! jldskljf#thanks gffa (◡‿◡✿)
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Hi, I was wondering if maybe you had a method, or an experience, anything actually, to advise on this, because you seem really, really knowledgeable on everything touching fiction and construction of it around characters' arc. But above all, do not force yourself to answer if you don't want to bc I don't want to bother you! It's been a while, since I'm a child, that I've characters in mind for a fiction. I often daydreaming of them, especially since I tried to create a plot and an universe.
But it isn’t deep enough (the MC miss a real stake so oc, the end doesn’t exist, just subsidiary things that can make arcs but not a guideline for articulate all the work), and even though it’s pleasant to ‘rave’ about potentials scenes, I wish to write this one day but can’t even give a proper direction like that. It’s possibly getting on a fantasia universe, but at the same time even if I wish to have a personal universe I don’t want it to be a repetition of every declination
of fantasy models universe as it’s often the case with this kind of projects. So maybe it’s just going to be a SF in real word idk… anyway, if you have an idea of smth to advise in this case for creating a universe even if the process is supposed to be the opposite process (universe - plot- chara) I would really appreciate it very much. Sorry to have bothered you, if you don’t have don’t worry, you’re not obliged to answer. At worst I would find this by myself one day! Wishing you a good day!
Hello anon!
Thank you for your kind words, I feel really flattered :)!
When it comes to your ask, I will try to answer it, but you should consider that I will talk generically since I don’t know much about your idea. In other words my suggestions might sound too generic and you might not know how to immediately apply them to your story. However, I hope they can be of some help.
From what you say, it seems to me that right now you should not really worry about the worldbuilding, but rather you should try to develop what you already have aka the characters and (I guess) some themes linked to them. As a matter of fact it seems to me that it is in these elements that your main idea lies.
I will try to explain myself better. A story is made of many elements (characters, themes, the world, the conflict and so on). All these elements are interconnected and the more they are coherent with each other and intertwined the more the story itself becomes cohesive and thightly written. What is more, among the above-mentioned elements, conflict is probably the most important one since the main conflict of a story defines the kind of story you are gonna tell.
In summary, we can say two things.
1) All the elements of a story are (idealistically) intertwined.
2) The main conflict of the story should be decided early on.
Now, every story is born by a simple idea which is then developed in something more complex and sometimes this idea is transformed to the point that it becomes difficult to recognize the original inspiration. However, a first and primitive idea is always needed. This first idea is about (at least) a specific narrative element. For example, it can be about a world with special attributes or about a specific theme the story wants to explore. In order to develop this idea it can be useful to understand the different possible conflicts it can give birth to, to choose one which is interesting and to determine the other elements of the narration in a way which is coherent with the initial idea.
Your basic idea is about the characters and since you have some ideas about the arc you want your main character to have you probably also know what this character must convey thematically. In other words you may also have some ideas about the themes of your narration. You should now try to shape these elements in an interesting conflict which is the struggle your character will go through.
You mentioned you are not convinced about your current draft because the stakes are not high enough for your character. A way to try and have a best result might be to give your character a different objective from the one they have right now.
TRY TAMPERING WITH YOUR CHARACTERS’ FLAWS AND OBJECTIVES
Generally speaking, characters are defined by a flaw and by something they want aka an objective. Usually their flaw goes in the way of their objective.
Let’s also highlight that to be more precise characters usually have two objectives which are one internal and the other external. The relationship between the internal and the external objective can give birth to different arcs structurally speaking.
For example, I mentioned in this ask that Kogami from Psycho Pass has the external objective not overlapping with the internal one. In other words, it is a case of what you need and what you want.
Kogami’s internal objective is to become a detective and to stop living like a hunting dog. This is what he needs.
However, his external objective is to kill Makishima. This is what he wants.
It is obvious that if Kogami wants to realize his internal objective he must give up his external one and vice versa. On one hand if he gives in to his flaw (his desire for revenge and his most instinctual pulsions) he will be successful in his external objective, but fail his internal one. On the other hand if he overcomes his flaw he will fail his external objective, but be successful in his internal one and change, so becoming the protagonist of an arc of transformation.
I will now make an example of how a narrative can be structured starting from defining a specific character. My objective is to show that just by thinking deeply about things like a flaw, an external objective and the way a transformation can happen many different stories (well at least many ideas for many different stories) can be born.
I will talk about Elen from Requiem of the Phantom. It is not necessary for you to truly know the series because I will simply discuss some aspects very generically.
Elen’s character has an arc of transformation and is also the character who lives the most important conflict in the series. She starts as a person who has no will of her own and her internal objective is to develop one. These two aspects are her flaw (lack of will) and her internal objective (developing a will of her own). Now, it is obvious that said like this they can seem very abstract elements. However, it is from developing and specifying these two elements that a more defined character and story can be born.
First of all, once it has been established that her flaw is a lack of will, one must come up with some reasons for it. Why does a person lack a will? Different answers can be given and from each different answer a different character will be born. In Elen’s case the answer is that she has been caught by a criminal organization and transformed into an assassin. Because of this, she has developed a very frail sense of self. In short her lack of will is the result of a specific coping mechanism she developed to survive.
Secondly, there is the problem of how to convey the fact that by the end Elen has a will of her own. In other words her internal conflict needs to be given an external representation. This must happen because we are in a story and stories show conflicts and do not simply tell them. So how can you show an internal transformation like the one Elen must go through? The answer the series gives is to create the character of the Scythe Master aka the main antagonist. Elen’s internal conflict is conveyed through her conflict with Scythe who wants to control her. In order to make the story more cohesive Scythe is not only the character who wants to control Elen in the story itself, but also the one who is responsible for her abuse and so for her initial situation.
A situation where a character must fight another who wants to control them is a good conflict to talk about themes like freedom and self-affirmation (and this is also why you find it in many stories). What is more, it is a conflict with the potential of being very dynamic and it can be used to write many different stories by changing some elements like the character’s personality (e.g. Ash in Banana Fish lives a similar conflict, but his personality is the opposite of Elen and so he has a different flaw which lets the narrative develop in a different way).
Finally, let’s also highlight that other than choosing a flaw and an objective you must come up with a situation which kicks off the character’s change. How is it possible that this character changes? In Requiem for the Phantom the answer is that Elen changes because she meets Reiji aka a person who is put in a situation very similar to her, but that reacts differently and in this way shows her a different path. Once again, this is not the only possible answer.
For example, in BF Ash is challenged not because he meets a person in a similar situation as him, but because he meets Eiji aka a person who comes from a completely different background and who makes him experience a different reality.
Let’s also highlight that in BF there is a dynamic where a character is challenged by another who has had a similar upbringing to his, but is reacting to said situation in a different way. It is the case of YL and Ash. Yut Lung is shown by Ash that there are other ways to react to a specific situation, but YL, differently from Elen, develops jealousy and is almost self-destroyed by his flaw until he meets another person (Sing) who helps him out.
Let’s now try to give other possible answers to the question: “How can Elen change?”.
For example, she might find herself without Scythe Master. Being removed from him might force her to start acting on her own. So now the question becomes “how is she removed from him?”.
He might die and leave her a last mission to complete. Elen who is lost without orders could choose to follow this post-mortuous order, but might come to realize throughout this last mission that she is her own person and she might choose to act against her orders and to use what she knows to go against Scythe’s last will. As you can see the plot becomes completely different from the one of the series. In this version the external conflict is determined by what is Elen’s last mission and it is obvious that she will have to face situations during the completion of this mission which will challenge her.
Elen might be removed from Scythe also for some external tampering. For example, she might be kidnapped by a rival organization. And we could also add some supernatural element. This rival organization has developed a technology which lets two people swap bodies. They might be wiling to send a person to spy the criminal organization Elen is a part of and she might find herself in another body and far away from Scythe. In this new environment she might meet situations which will let her grow. For example, the organization which kidnapped her is actually made of a bunch of misfits who live emarginated from society, but try to use their skills to fight criminality and have targeted Inferno (Elen’s group). In a healthieir environment Elen might feel accepted and grow.
I have added this last example to start discussing about worldbuilding and fantastic elements. As a matter of fact the body-swapping technology is a fantastic element and if it were to be added would modify the genre of the narration and add some supernatural aspects. Such a choice needs to be developed. For example, how does this body-swapping device work? If we choose to introduce it, then it would be a waste not to develop it further which means that it would be great if it added more conflict and more thematic meaning to the whole story.
It could be done this way. The device might still be a prototype and so, it works only if at least one of the two people involved in the swapping has a very weak will. This might also be the reason why Elen is chosen as a target.
This could be interesting because Elen’s external objective might become the one of going back to her own body, so that she can keep obeying her master’s orders. However, her internal objective is to develop a will and to affirm who she is, so in the end she might very well choose to fight her master and not to go back to her body. In short, her external objective is to go back to be herself physically, but in the end she becomes herself in a psychological sense. What is more, since her arc is about developing her own will, she is going to do so gradually and this means that ironically the more she develops the less chances she has to go back to her own body because the device only works if one of the two people involved has an enough weak will. This could lead to a series of minor conflicts between Elen herself and the members of the group which swapped her. On one hand they might start to develop a relationship with her, but on the other hand they might be worried about the person in Elen’s body who will found themselves stuck if Elen develops.
Finally, body-swapping is a trope which can be easily used to develop themes linked to empathy since it lets a person be in another one’s shoes, quite literally. So, we could use it to develop this theme as well in relation to the character who swapped with Elen. This character may have a personal grudge against Inferno and may initially despise Elen. However, after seeing how she is usually treated by the Scythe Master they might develop sympathy for her and they may wish to help her escape.
Let’s also underline that this body switch device might very well become something Scythe Master himself grows interested in and he might want to take it for himself because, if coupled with people like Elen who lack a will (and he is good at creating them), assassinations will become easier.
Now these are just random ideas and it is not important that they are good or bad ones. My aim is simply to show that by modifying some elements different kinds of conflicts are born and in this way different possible plots.
Because of this, it might be useful for you to tamper with these elements as well. You might realize that the external conflict you are thinking of might be more interesting if coupled with a character with a different flaw (e.g. a scared character will struggle more if coupled with a conflict which challenges them to be brave, rather than with one which challenges them to be generous). You may also have to think of an external objective which creates a more interesting conflict. In this case, remember that this objective must show in a concrete way what your character is going through in their interiority. Moreover, if you think about an objective which is important for your character, then the stakes will automatically get higher. In order to do so you might have to rethink or to elaborate on some details of the character’s background. As a matter of fact, the more specific and personal the objective you come up with is the easier will be to better characterize your character and to build the story.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON WORLDBUILDING
You specifically asked about worldbuilding, so I will make some very general considerations.
First of all, worldbuilding is an element present in all narrations and not only in stories with a fantastic setting.
Secondly, in all stories it should do at least two things.
1) Add to the conflict.
2) Add to the themes.
Let’s consider once again Requime for the Phantom because it has a realistic setting, but its worldbuilding fulfills the two conditions above.
As mentioned above, in Requiem for the Phantom there is a criminal organization called Inferno who forces Elen and the other protagonist Reiji to work as assassins.
This organization is pretty realistic in how it works, but it still has a thematic meaning. As a matter of fact it is the physical hell the characters must escape from. What is more, it is made by traitors from other organizations and in this way it is linked to the theme of betrayal which is present in the series as a whole.
Moreover, the organization itself and how it is structured contributes to the conflict. As a matter of fact many of the conflicts which interest the protagonists are born because of other characters wanting to obtain more power within the organization itself.
When it comes to your story, you must come up with a setting which is coherent with your conflict and with your major themes. Consider that it is something which might come naturally later on once you have developed the story more. That said, you must see if a fantastic world is necessary for the story you want to tell or if it better works in a more realistic setting. Be it one way or the other you will still have to create a universe which is good for your story.
If you choose a realistic setting you might have to research some aspects of it (for example, if you set it in a hospital you might want to research how hospitals work; this could also help you with the plot because you might discover unexpected things which might come in handy to create interesting situations).
If you choose a fantastic setting you will have to establish how that world works. What is more, the fantastic elements should not appear in the story just because, but should have an important role.
Idealistically the world you set your story in is the only world where your story can be told. This means that if you change some aspects of it another story will be possible, but not yours.
In short, the choice of the setting should be useful to your story as a whole and not be simply something extra.
For example, if you want to write a story about a skater who becomes better and better in her own discipline it doesn’t make much sense to set it in a hospital. The world you are gonna explore is gonna be the one of professional skating with all its dynamics and rules.
It is not that you can’t have a story with a skater in a hospital, but it will have to be about something different than her becoming a champion. It could be about her having to solve a criminal case which involves her roommate for example. And in the end she will solve it because of something she has learnt in her skating days (because if her being a skater is not important for the story, then why should she be?).
The same goes for fantastic worlds. If you are gonna put your story in one, you should think why putting it in such a world is necessary and as you do you will create a specific fantastical world with attributes which are original and functional to your story.
For example, you might choose that your character’s objective is to find a magical object to solve a certain problem. You must then establish the problem which might be linked to your character’s flaw. let’s say your character is a coward, so he chooses to go find an object not to be a coward anymore. Of course through his journey he overcomes his flaw without the need of a magic object (this is the idea behind the Wizard of Oz after all). Another hypothesis is that your character has a problem, finds an object which seems able to fix it, but it turns out that an even bigger problem is created and so your protagonist has to fix it. Another possible structure is that your character has a curse (which might very well be linked to themes or their character flaw) and their objective becomes freeing themselves from said curse.
As I am sure you have noticed these are all common structures you can find in many different stories. They work and the stories which have them are all different because of how they are declined. Which kind of curse fits my character best? A character who puts a lot of importance on physical looks will be challenged by being changed in a horrible monster. Who cursed them? A jealous witch? Or maybe in a comic twist it might be the person who must marry them who found the way they looked previously disgusting. Such a premise could very well be used to explore themes like how beauty is relative to an extent or how it is wrong to try and change one’s own partner. Then how can the curse be lifted? Maybe the character will have to overcome some trials. Or maybe they must pass the curse to other five people and so the MC will have to select their targets. If they are a good person, they might not really be willing to do so and they might feel guilty about it, so they might choose to find people who “deserve” it and so on.
I hope I gave you a general idea.
To summarize:
- It is not really important the order you follow when you plan your story, but it is useful to start with one or two elements you have ideas about.
- These elements will help you shape your conflict (which can also be the element you start with).
- It can be useful to build the other elements in a way that they are coherent with your original idea. In other words, what you want to convey can help you in thinking about which kind of elements you have to introduce.
Finally, this way of planning might seem a little too rigid, so I want to make one thing clear. These are instruments and not strict rules. The one I talked about is simply a method to approach and plan a story and it is useless if one has not an idea they want to convey.
From what you say, I think that you clearly want to convey something and you are clearly very passionate about it since it is a story which has been with you since you were a child and you have even been dreaming your characters. Looking at it with these instruments (even if it might be strange at first) might help you better realize what you want to say and you might even discover you have more than what you thought and that you simply need to organize it differently. You might also be able to come up with a plot you like more by simply changing a small element. In short, this method is simply a way to look at your story from a different perspective and it might be helpful.
Another way to go at it is to talk about your story with someone you trust. This person might tell you what they like about it and which are the aspects they find more interesting. By starting from these aspects you might be able to develop these ideas more and you might make progress.
I hope I was of some help and good luck with your story!
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Since most of y'all Don't seem to Know her.... Let’s DO THIS BRIEF HISTORY OF ROBIN!STEPH BUCKLE TF UP BITCHES
(Note: For the most part, Steph’s time as Robin is included in the War Games TPB, especially because it serves as a catalyst for said event. Highly recommended the read, but mind, like, everything about it) ((also also tumblr only allows 10 pics, so I'm cherry picking my fav panels/most important ones. + offering a bit of meta. take this with a grain of salt and Please read War Games and draw your own conclusions blah blah))
So to start with, a little Context to Steph’s Start as Robin:
Tim’s dad found out about his Robining & made him hang up the cape+mask. As any Concerned and Reasonable parent would. Steph is still operating as Spoiler at the time, despite many attempts by many members of the batfam (but especially Batman) to dissuade her from crime-fighting.
Due to a gross misunderstanding (as these things tend go in comics *sigh*) Steph, who is dating Tim at the time, sees a girl who was interested in him make a move & thinks that Tim is cheating on her. She channels this grief/mourning/anger into making her own homemade Robin costume and convinces Batman to take her under his wing (he sets the conditions that she must follow every order, with a ‘one strike, you’re out’ kind of policy). She undergoes an unspecified training period to get in Proper Shape For Crime Fighting and Batman starts taking her on various patrols and investigations.
During this time, she also teams up with Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) on more than one occasion (one of my fav panels below, just bc its so stylized lmao. its Cute)
During this time, in true Robin Tradition, Steph builds up quite the rapport with Batman, providing a lighter/comedic side and being a general breath of fresh air and foil to the Dark Knight. (just LOOK at this banter & Bargaining for the batmobile!!! a TRUE ROBIN)
There’s a couple cases that I won't get too far into (but one i want to briefly mention involves Zsasz and Steph going almost a bit too far when trying to subdue him. its a very clear parallel to Jason & serves as foreshadowing for how War Games will play out i.e., Steph’s fate)
Now during this time, there’s an assassin/merc who is killing off teens who were suspected to be Robin (Tim Drake), which Batman catches wind of and the Dynamic Duo moves in to put an End to. (look at this smug lil robin, catching the Bad Guy™ off guard. ADORABLE)
Another thing to note now, is how Eager Robin is to jump onto the case and into the fray. and how carefully she toes the line when following/questioning batman’s orders. this is touched on many times often either with her able to juuuuust reason with the caped crusader enough to Bend his own orders or even to change his mind on occasion.
(a thing i want to note here with this panel and with this particular time in Steph’s career as Robin is that the writer had her referring to Batman as ‘Boss’. whether this was intentional or not, it most closely resembles, to me, Carrie Kelley’s mannerisms as Robin. i.e. another Robin that the writers may have been using as inspo/to parallel. Carrie’s time as Robin is also defined by Batman’s grief from losing Jason, and is given a very similar probationary status that Steph is given during her time as Robin. coincidence? maybe. but i think not.)
While they lose track of the villain initially, Steph’s quick thinking to place trackers on her is what saves the mission. at the Moment at least. Batman makes a decision to bring Robin along when tracking their prey, but orders her to stay behind in the batplane & ‘not touch anything’ unless ordered to do so. which is where we get the Defining Moment:
When Steph, against orders, jumps into the fray. its something to be admired, and very Typical Robin Behavior (bc where would they be if they weren't impulsive and, well, KIDS, amirite?) but unfortunately, her decision costs them the chance of apprehending the villain, and Batman stays true to his word...
and she's Fired (g o d I'm not the biggest fan of damion scott’s art but this look BROKE MY HEART. i can practically HEAR those choked back tears and see that quivering lip like... G O D BRUCE NO. GIVE HER ANOTHER CHANCE. ANYTHING ELSE THAN WHATS GONNA HAPPEN)
here’s where I'm gonna TL;DR War Games for y’all bc.... holy shit its a LOT. and Steph’s involvement really only begins it, and essentially ends it. (literally lmao. she's featured a little throughout but like. its a Crossover Event™ for a reason. everyone gets a little bit of the spotlight, which means a bit of shuffling around ofc) but Anyways
tl;dr - steph takes one of Batman’s contingency plans on her way out of the cave & implements it w/out being aware of a few Key Details. all out War breaks amongst the different gangs of gotham, with Batman & company trying to regain control of the city & maintain order. Black Mask resurfaces, catches and tortures Steph to learn details about the plan and makes his own grab for power (fun fact, for those of you paying attention to the Big Picture: this essentially sets up for his position later on in Under The (Red) Hood when Jason starts wrestling that control away from him) Steph manages to escape, Batman takes her to Dr. Thompkins clinic, and Leslie reveals that her condition is critical. bruce makes it back in time to be by steph’s side for this:
and then she dies ;-;
BUT THIS IS COMICS- so its revealed initially that Leslie withheld treatment to save Steph’s life to Make A Point and try to dissuade Gotham Youth from following Steph’s path. BUT-BUT WAIT THERES MORE BC THIS IS ~*C O M I C S*~ so its ALSO revealed later on that steph DIDNT die. Leslie helped fake her death and blah blah blah, Steph comes back, gets to be spoiler again, then batgirl and the rest as they say is history
anyways. STRAIGHT FROM THE BAT’S MOUTH THANKS. Steph WAS really™ a Robin™ and as much as DC wants to pry that from my gay goblin hands they WONT be able to. and anyways... She Earned It. okay. give this girl the Respect she deserves.
(now since I'm a Shipping Blog™, ima add some thoughts regarding her parallel to other robins and how Theoretically a relationship with raven might work out)
Again, the biggest parallel that DEFINES War Games and Steph’s time as Robin, is that to Jason Todd. (fun fact/sidenote: they’re both Leos, so like. Another Connection btwn the two lmao) They’re both impulsive and eager to prove themselves, and follow Batman with unwavering faith and loyalty (up to a Certain Breaking Point that is). They’ve got especially cheeky attitude and flair for drama, and hey. Narratively speaking, writers seem to have a penchant for drawing a few connecting lines between them (again, by starting the WG TPB off with Bruce mourning on Jason’s bday & setting a Tone for the overall event. and then again, by having a major character for UtRH be the very same villain that killed our former girl wonder)
Now with those lines drawn, and with an understanding of how Jason has interacted with Raven in-canon (with mostly cordial interactions and for the most part respectful analysis of each other’s abilities & strengths), & no known connection between Steph & Rae as of yet, we can really only assume a few things:
-like most of the batboys, Raven is very likely to get along with Steph and to respect her abilities given that Steph respects her in turn.
-Steph’s bright, extroverted personality could again work as a good foil/compliment to Raven’s more introverted/muted one.
-theyve got what i like to call the Bad Dad™ connection (with Steph’s being a former Gotham Rogue™, and Raven’s... well.. y'all Know) Steph’s already shown great Morbid Humor regarding this part of her life (shown in her interactions with Cass) and is very willing to bond with others over Sucky Parents
-while stephanie has a canonical Love™ of Waffles, and raven (at least in regards to her Most Popular fanon from the 03 cartoon) has a fanonical love of them as well. Hence, they ARE the Waffle Queens (embrace the ridiculousness, guys. DO IT)
-Since steph is not an Adopted member of Bruce’s family (& again, more often than not they have attempted to dissuade her from vigilantism) and similarly, due to Batmans Dislike of meta-humans/outsiders messing with Affairs in His City, as well as some of his canonical Distrust™ for Raven due to her mysterious background/nature. this could be another minor/potential bonding point between the two
-likely more??? its getting late, and not much else I can think of off the top of my head, but i might add more to this later.
as a ship StephRae has as much potential as any other, and since there’s not a lot of canon to really go off, fans can really take it.... wherever and i think thats beautiful
#randywrites#steph meta#long post#<- for mobile users in case that cut doesnt work bc OMG THIS DID GET LONG IM SO SORRY#I'm still So upset abt war games and i could probably move on & start reading her 09batgirl run but like.... I'm not Emotionally ready yet#she's FUN and she's GREAT and there's a very Obvious Reason why the fandom ignores her as a Robin and i WILL be bitter until they start#giving her the respect she DESERVES DAMMIT#its a Read so be sure to grab some popcorn kids
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Notes on Eto
Seems like tossing thoughts into the tumblr void helps, so here’s a corkboard for Eto. Nice and tidy under a read more bc I hate long posts:
I don’t think I have to actively convey that Eto is an unreliable narrator (come on - Tokyo Ghoul is right there), but I’m not entirely sure how to show it without resorting to other POV? And I’m not sure how good I did presenting Eto’s POV, anyway. It doesn’t feel like theres as much internally happening as there is externally, which is the polar opposite of Sugar, and it feels unbalanced. Maybe if I remixed it I would feel better and be able to work with it more easily.
Internal things I want to work with, an incomplete list:
1 Eto essentially didn’t have a childhood. From one extreme to the other in terms of survival, and the loss of her only guardian in Noroi so early really removed her any understanding of ‘good’ parental love. The closest she’s ever come to being cared for was with Shiono, when she already felt like an adult in ghoul terms and had been living on the streets like so many other ghouls had to. Yes, he cared about her and delivered snacks to her apartment and helped her succeed as an author, but it would have been brotherly at best. (It was exasperated at most lol)
2 Eto knows her parents. Both of them. She obviously knew who and where Yoshimura was - was HOW she knew ever addressed? Did Noroi tell her? Was it a description of Antiek that let her know? Scent memory?? - and she had the journals her mother left her. She had both parents, just not physically. Not in a way that counted.
There’s a lot of resentment there, especially for her father, who was alive and doing just fine after abandoning her, and I feel like she views her mother as the parent who told her the truth due to the journals. Even if she learned about V and how Yoshimura honestly thought he had no other choice, if Eto grew up believing that her ghoul father killed her human mother, that would do so much to shape her perception. Of both of them. She doesn’t seem to view her lost mother as some sort of romantic martyr, and describes reading the journals with an objective understanding and acceptance. i would peg Eto as being greatful that her mother gave birth to her, and views her as an unnecessary casulty, but also fully believes she would have abandoned Eto also if it came down to a choice between Eto and her mission/objectives.
“I am the surplus of that relationship” perfectly captures how she has her mother’s social context and her father’s silence to paint her views on herself, leaving her to feel like an unsuccessful science experiment on ghoul/human relations.
She probably loved reading Frankenstein.
3 She doesn’t hate Yoshimura. She can’t, by the point most of the series takes place. Hatred implies actively keeping feelings about a person, keeping them in your thoughts, and not moving away from them. Hatred becomes stagnation easily, and Eto protests this as a character. She gave up all her feelings about her father years ago, letting him go as easily as he let her go, and I don’t believe she’s ever once taken his personal philosophy or interests into account in her life. Eto’s smart; she can contextualize how he viewed peace as a thing freely given from aggressors to the oppressed by virtue of Good Behavior on ghoul’s part from Antiek’s function in the ward without ever having to meet him.
It wouldn’t have been much longer than figuring him out that she came to the conclusion that he was wrong about the world and only drifting by easily on the path of least resistance, especially with the human POV her mother left in her journals. A human woman died so a ghoul could live more easily, that isn’t special. It’s daily. Eto would not be impressed by her father, or see him as anything other than a coward. He’s not someone to be inspired by, or for her to fear coming after her to finish the job, or even someone who would ever offer her a true, heartfelt apology.
Yoshimura is a nonentity that happens to share some of her genetics, which means he’s useful in the biological sense, since she doesn’t want to experiment on herself. Full stop.
4 Eto has a very intense mind/body connection. When she tortures, she combines physical pain with emotional pain in symbolic ways - forcing female nudity on Kanae while also sewing their eyes shut against it, for example - so it seems like her understanding of herself as a hybrid is very solid. I don’t think she sees herself as a ‘ghoul’ trapped in the body of a half-human with poor genetics; Eto is fully a hybrid, raised by ghouls and living as a human, with two identities that she wields social power with in each half.The merging of the two halves of Eto when she outs herself feels very cathartic - and for her, nothing changes. She doesn’t demand to be called Eto instead of Takatsuki, she doesn’t change her basic behavior, everything keeps marching to the social roles she created for herself as a figure of power in each world.
5 Eto saw destruction of the entire system as the only way to cure the systematic ills plaguing the world, and she was right. Look at the ending achieved by an unfinished destruction: the CCG is different, yes, but a new organization sprang up to take it’s place; it’s implied that ghouls are still in hiding, and the hybrid children of the garden are still being used by those organizations. The ultimate end to crush those deeply rooted inequalities wasn’t able to occur, and so a lukewarm compromise made by mostly humans is installed instead, with the easy potential to reverse with only another social turnover against ghouls.
It’s an uneasy peace, at best.
6 Eto is willing to use anyone to achiever her goals, in which ever way is best to sway that person. She convinced Arima with words alone, tortured when she needed someone to -
actually, is Kanae the only one she actively is shown torturing? Does she convince all the male characters with words and promises of power and it just magically happened to be the one trans/ character that gets a page of violence? Hmm. Hmm. hmmmmm
Gonna look into that.
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