#I just think that the way most of them serve as foils to their partners (buffy + xander + willow) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

byoldervine · 23 days

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Writing Tips - The Dos And Don’ts Of Writing Foils (with examples from Miraculous Ladybug)

TL;DR at the bottom for those who don’t wanna listen to my rambles first

A writing foil is when two characters are compared and contrasted in order to highlight the qualities of one of them, usually done to highlight the positive traits of the protagonist against the negative traits of the antagonist. But there are times when foils can miss their mark, and I can’t think of more blatant examples than in the show Miraculous Ladybug to show the difference between good and bad use of foils with protagonist Marinette and antagonist Chloé

I’m a firm believer in analysing bad examples of writing as well as good ones, and as much as I can enjoy watching MLB it’s good to acknowledge its weaker points when they come up

Comparison 1 - Evillustrator

Episode Summary:

The titular villain-of-the-week, aka Nathaniel, wants to get revenge on Chloé after she outed and mocked his crush on Marinette - and at the same time, Chloé’s undervalued friend/lackey Sabrina latches onto Marinette as a new friend now that she realises how toxic and manipulative Chloé is

Foil 1 - What Chloé Did:

At the start of the episode, Chloé, Sabrina and Marinette are made partners for a class project, much to Marinette’s dismay. Chloé starts insisting that Sabrina and Marinette do all the work, and when Marinette says this isn’t fair, she’s assured by both girls that this is the way it’s always been since they started school and that if Chloé presents the work that Sabrina and Marinette produce then it’ll all be fair. Marinette again refutes this and says Sabrina is being used by Chloé, not treated like a real friend, especially when Chloé tries to bribe Sabrina with a hat. Sabrina is incredibly touched and inspired when Marinette stands up for her and quickly rejects Chloé, instead latching on to Marinette

Foil 1 - What Marinette Did:

A couple of hours later at most, Sabrina shows up at Marinette’s house to work on their project. Sabrina also did Marinette’s geography homework for her since that’s what was expected of her during her friendship with Chloé, which Marinette initially tries to politely refuse, but reluctantly accepts just this once when she sees how upset the refusal makes Sabrina. She then apologises to Sabrina but says she won’t be able to work on the project as something important just came up (a supervillain had just broken into her house) but offers to meet up with her later to get the work done. Sabrina responds by yelling at her that she’s making excuses to get out of doing work ‘just like Chloé’ always does. She takes back the homework and storms off to do the project on her own, fully done with Marinette, and later goes back to Chloé, who she believes was her real friend all along

Foil 1 - Assessment:

Chloé’s unapologetic history of dumping all the work on Sabrina, which has gone back years, is not the same as Marinette cancelling last-minute one single time. It’s frustrating, absolutely, but even if Chloé had genuinely good excuses and Marinette was just blowing her off, Marinette still didn’t have a habit of it and even offered to reschedule, which Chloé didn’t do. If memory serves Chloé didn’t even apologise, just said she wouldn’t do it and expected Sabrina to work it out. And not only does the comparison not work, it also drags Marinette down rather than building either character up; it makes out that our protagonist is manipulative without rectifying it or presenting it as a skewed perspective by Sabrina as she struggles to fully break away from Chloé. With this being all the foil achieves, I’m gonna say it’s a bad use of foil

Foil 2 - What Chloé Did:

At the start of the episode, Chloé discovers Nathaniel’s crush on Marinette and starts showing the whole class his art that depicts his crush, loudly mocking both his artwork and his taste in women. This is what leads Nathaniel to be turned into the titular villain Evillustrator, with the power to make anything he draws come to life, by our main superpower-dispensing supervillain

Foil 2 - What Marinette Did:

While working with one of the superheroes to try and defeat Evillustrator, which would turn him back into Nathaniel, Marinette agrees to go on a date with Evillustrator in order to steal the cursed object that gives him his superpowers. The plan is briefly successful, and when Evillustrator catches on, he laments that Marinette is just like Chloé because she was ‘teasing him, mocking him and leading him on’. Marinette even follows this up by complaining about the fact that people keep comparing her to Chloé tonight

Foil 2 - Assessment:

At no point did Marinette tease or mock Evillustrator, these were all things Chloé did but it’s shown multiple times that Marinette is genuinely impressed by Evillustrator and enjoying his company despite the situation. Moreover, at no point did Chloé lead Nathaniel on; she was purely insulting towards him, and only Marinette lead him on. The comparison falls very flat when all the reasons the two girls are apparently ‘just like one another’ weren’t mutually inclusive at any point. It’s like saying that Batman and Superman are just the same because they both live in ice fortresses and wear masks to fight crime

Comparison Summary:

Both attempts at foils drag Marinette down rather than building her or Chloé up, so why are we supposed to root for her over Chloé? I didn’t gloss over any narrative contrast where these comparisons are framed as wrong, these are supposed to be lessons that Marinette learns from, which supports the idea that these views are correct. Not to mention that both foils ignore the difference in intentions; Chloé is very blatantly bullying and using people, whereas Marinette was only trying to do what was right, even if someone felt hurt in the process there was always an intention to do good. These differences are never brought up, the foils are purely to make Marinette look bad with no nuance attached, and that alone is the mark of a failed foil in my opinion

Comparison 2 - Despair Bear

Episode Summary:

Chloé calls the fire department to the school in order to interrupt a special class, coincidentally taught by Marinette’s dad, and Marinette spots her in the act. Chloé blackmails the principal into letting her out of the school-wide punishment for this action, but this is the last straw for her childhood friend and crush, which results in Chloé hosting an extravagant party for the whole school in order to prove that she can be a good person and win her friend’s approval back

Foil 1 - What Chloé Did:

Chloé isn’t interested in the peasant work of a one-off baking class, and after complaining about it to all her classmates, she steps outside to call the fire department, informing them that there’s a fire at the school. Once the FD arrive, the whole school is gathered while the principal demands to know who called them. After nobody fesses up, the principal calls for the entire school to clean the premesis for the rest of the day as punishment - but Chloé threatens to call her father, the mayor, to complain about being punished for ‘someone else’s’ actions, and so she’s the only one who doesn’t have to clean

Foil 1 - What Marinette Did:

Marinette knew Chloé had been complaining about the class and wanting to get out of it, and she saw Chloé making a phone call a few minutes before the FD arrived. She was going to say this when the principal asked who had called the FD, but her friends told her to ‘not stoop to Chloé’s level’ and that it would make them just as bad as each other. At very least the class were all confident that Chloé did it, and she didn’t deny this afterwards, but the whole school was still punished regardless because Marinette didn’t speak up

Foil 1 - Assessment:

How is providing evidence that someone may have done something equivalent to abusing emergency services and blackmailing people? Genuinely don’t understand this. I have no idea what the comparison is supposed to be and that’s a pretty good sign of a bad use of foil

Foil 2 - What Chloé Did

Chloé and Marinette share a friend/crush, Adrien, who threatens to no longer be friends with Chloé if she can’t prove to him that she can be nice to people. This friendship means a huge deal to Chloé, so she throws an over-the-top, extravagant party and invites the entire school so that Adrien can see how nice she really is. She frequently starts to be mean to people again, but her butler helps encourage her to be nice by basically saying “Your teddy bear wouldn’t approve” and it actually works for a bit until this tactic is exposed and she fires the butler. She later helps the heroes defeat a supervillain and is deemed a good enough person for Adrien to forgive her and remain friends with her - which leads her to instantly start being mean to all her guests again, to which Adrien chuckles fondly about how she’ll never change

Foil 2 - What Marinette Did:

Marinette, like literally everyone else in the whole school, attended Chloé’s party, with Marinette only going after finding out that Adrien was going so that she could spend time with him. Despite also attending, Marinette’s friend remarks multiple times that Marinette attending the party makes her no better than Chloé because both are using this party as an excuse to improve their relationships with Adrien. She does make unkind remarks about Chloé during the episode, such as calling her a bratty snob and a faker for the ‘BFF act’ she’s putting on with her guests, but she never insults Chloé to her face or makes any baseless accusations all things considered, and she’s hardly the only one making these comments. She’s no more or less guilty in that regard than the majority of Chloé’s guests

Foil 2 - Assessment:

This one really frustrates me because they definitely could’ve gone somewhere with the whole ‘they’re only hosting/attending the party to improve their relationship with Adrien’ thing, but once again they failed to provide any nuance or divergence of intent/results. Marinette only going to the party because a guy she liked would be there is framed as a bad thing because it makes her ‘just like Chloé’ and drags Marinette down to Chloé’s level, but then Chloé is later rewarded for her efforts and praised as ‘a nice person deep down’ despite her frequently insulting her guests. Not to mention the context to this; Chloé is only throwing this party so she looks good, and admits as much, but of course Marinette wouldn’t want to attend the party of the biggest bully in the school who ruined her dad’s class and got her and all her friends in trouble for it just that same morning. Is it such a morally questionable thing to say “I won’t attend this party unless I’ll be in good company”?

Comparison Summary:

The comparisons are mostly fabricated and baseless, with circumstances once again being ignored. Like many aspects of this show, there’s some interesting setup and potential that is sadly either not followed through on or poorly executed, and it hurts the writing. And once more, the foils focus more on dragging our protagonist down and not building either character up, yet Marinette is still the hero while Chloé is still the villain

✨ TL;DR: ✨

So what can we learn from two of Miraculous Ladybug’s most prominent foil episodes when it comes to writing foils?

Remember the surrounding context. Looking into why your characters think and act the way they do is often key for comparing them

Consider intentions, executions and outcomes individually. Just because characters had the same intentions or performed the same actions doesn’t mean that they’re ’just the same’; similar intentions may be executed differently and similar executions may have been inspired through different intentions, and of course the outcomes should reflect both of these

Recognise the purpose of your foil. Do you want to build someone up? Drag someone down? Both at once? It helps to know what you’re aiming to achieve to ensure that the foil has the desired impact on your reader

Assess the validity of your comparison. If a character in-universe is making the comparison, it has to be understandable why they would see things that way, even if it’s not wholly accurate. The narrative should generally try to take a truthful perspective on it as well, rather than agreeing with the unreliable narrator that two actions or intentions are just the same regardless of context. Especially avoid making a comparison where your examples don’t apply to both characters unless to highlight them as different

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olliethescribe · 1 year

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Maybe it’s the time of year and I’m really getting in my emotions, but damn, thinking about Warren and Hypno is making me super emotional. Reread one of my favorite fics tonight to decompress and wow, I sincerely love them.

It absolutely shouldn’t work, their relationship. They’re opposites of each other in all the ways that lead them to complete the other - narrative foils as I keep saying. Hypno started off as a forgettable human that never reached high levels of fame or recognition, likely wasn’t considered attractive (the guy had been tricked and toyed with romantically a few times given his reaction to Mikey tricking him in Newsworthy), and is this humble and sweet guy that’s very sincere and also quite petty (choosing to ignore the attempted murder). Being mutated made him formidable, a memorable and dazzling act. He had nothing to lose and gained plenty in becoming Hypno-Potamus. He commands attention and is actively seen as a threat. The only reason someone wouldn’t remember Hypno is if he hypnotized them. Beyond that, he has quite the presence.

Then there’s Warren. He was a famous guy that starred brilliantly on TV as a news anchor, was actively being looked for as his disappearance was alarming, and considered an insanely attractive guy. Becoming a mutant ruined his life and cost him everything; a forgettable and unremarkable person that is easily passed over. He can call himself a villain all he wants but there’s nothing anchoring that title to him. He’s more blood-thirsty than Hypno, however (hell, he killed a guy on-screen and smiled as the ELOM clapped). Warren is loud and self-serving, putting on a show for himself, essentially, as no one else puts in the effort to even acknowledge his existence (even the camera pans away from him in Newsworthy, much to his chagrin). What was once a big shot reduced to a rain drop in the ocean.

The differences pile up in other ways. Hypno loves his animals, even going as far as to try and resurrect his previous hippo assistant, Doug, on multiple occasions. Warren got annoyed with a pigeon once and reduced it to ashes before laughing manically. Hypno is very into fashion (“who wears knit caps?! In summer! Who does that?!” As well as the entirety of The Clothes Don’t Make The Turtle). Warren’s a bit on the frumpier side, not expressing much of an opinion on clothes but very into keeping his hair in order. Hypno sticks to his promises and Warren picks betrayal.

They shouldn’t work. They almost didn’t! Their first meeting was full of animosity and Warren was the only thing keeping Hypno from killing four children. Yeesh. But, down the line, Hypno took Warren in and they made a domestic life together work. Falling into a rhythm, surprising the other with gifts and acts of service (Warren takes care of cleaning up around the house despite there being a chore chart, and Hypno made Warren a birthday cake and jumped out of it for him), encouraging the other’s acts and schemes, willing to do anything for the other. Hypno runs away the most out of any side villain in Rise, but took several punches for Warren just so his ‘roomie’ would be okay. They cry for each other, beg their enemies for help to make sure the other can be saved, that they could resume their lives and be together at all costs.

They’re so in love. They’d have hated each other if they met as humans, or at the very least would be unimpressed. They were too different as human beings in all the ways that make them perfect for each other as mutants. To find solace in someone going through the exact pain as you, in a similar career field no less! Spending late nights making fun of game show contestants and enjoying the other’s company. And it isn’t perfect but they have each other, can relax in the security of their relationship and know that the other isn’t leaving anytime soon. They’re partners in crime, makers of magic, co-hosts as they take the airwaves by storm illegally, long term roomies, lovers, husbands even.

Ain’t that magical?

#hypnowarren #hippoworm #short essay #shitty analysis #headcanon #Canon mixed with a few headcanons #warren stone #hypno potamus #hypnopotamus #rise of the tmnt #they’re in love your honor #feeling very normal about these two - the normalist /j #rottmnt

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controlledchaosetc · 2 years

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Ask game

Tell me about your favourite npccccc

Alsooo tell me about a time the party took you by surprise

(Im a playerrr if there be spoils tell me I'll eat my hat but I won't look)

Favorite NPC

So my favorite NPC is probably the hardest question to there are so many of them and I love them all, so ill just list a bunch of my favorites

So I created an NPC adventuring party to mirror everyone's characters. I dont remember exactly where the idea came from, but for a party of characters who are mostly NPCs (shady sellsman, mysterious fortuneteller, stripper clown) and morally gray, it would be funny to have an actually good traditional adventuring party to go up to each of their characters. They were just going to show up very occasionally, but my partner cried at me to have them in every arc just somewhere, you also agreed on that, so here we are XD

Sorcha Fiddlecloak is a happy go lucky trickster cleric gnome who is the head of that party. She hates when people don't like her, so she will go out of her way to have them do so. She's a direct foil to Todd, a PC who is a fiendish warlock, capitalist enjoyer, and gnome hater. She currently thinks they are friends, and will continue to annoy him for the foreseeable future.

Palen Nightvale is a werewolf blood hunter who's kinda the bitch (figuratively and literally I guess lmao) of the group. Pulled from an old character sheet of Yikes' when he was a COMPLETELY different character, she now serves as his foil by dealing with acceptance and perception issues. She ask Doesnt Like Him after Yikes messed with her a little after she misspoke on changelings. She has a whole tragic backstory and mission and stuff that the party hasn't learned yet, so I'll keep that for a separate reblog with all the spoilers lol

Roza Vova is the newest addition to that party after our newest member, @sleepyforestbeast , joined with their character, Husk! She literally only got talked to last session, but there's a WHOLE lot surrounding her after Yikes thought she was the person who tried to STEAL HIS SKIN. Thankfully, she isn't, but she's the identical triplet (there's another sister out there in the world lol) of her. The party has some suspicions of her, but that and her tragic backstory will again probably be a separate post to not give you direct spoilers XD

Anzor is the last member of the party, a human paladin of Kelemvor, and I think he narrowly beats Roza in being my favorite of the party (but I love all of them and wanted to talk about them lmao). He's the foil to Azule (the person asking the question's character actually!!), a mysterious fortuneteller and medium who's actually a fraud and also a changeling and also a necromancer. Anzor is probably the character talked to the least, or at least the one who's gotten the least info talked about him other than what you can just see. He has A LOT with him, NONE of which has been revealed in game, and he is probably the best foil imo to one of the characters, and I can't say why that is here, which again, probably going to get that in a separate reblog.

There's a lot more characters I seriously love, but I think my top two outside of the adventuring party are Gleam and Frizzle

Gleam is an elf wizard who is based on the character from the Witchlight campaign. She was given to me by my partner to have as a member of The Eclipse, the traveling circus Yikes is at. I, however, have never read Witchlight, and turned her into an exploited child star who grew up to be a mall goth. Her interactions with Yikes are immaculate, protective of him but ready to insult him at a moment's notice. I think I described it as "annoying kid next door who always annoyed you, but now he's grown up and hot now???" She also keeps having to deal with problems, the most reoccuring one is Kera, a runaway from a town that joined because she's also into the goth aesthetic, and Gleam hates kids. She's great, love her.

Frizzle is a fire genasi warlock, and an NPC from the original mini campaign that kicked off the game. She was a maid at the mansion that everything originally went down at, and for most of the game, kinda in shock and non-functional. She does not do well in extremely stressful situations, especially not in those where her closest friend at the time dies when you weren't in the room and then you get accused of his death. However, after leaving the mansion (which was set on fire) with all of her belongings gone and burned, she's hit the "ok what the fuck do I do with my life". I stumbled onto this character motivation/aspect with her, and I've really been enjoying putting that to different use. She's currently just working as a cook at the Eclipse because she has culinary experience, but she just doesn't know what she wants to do, and that's really interesting to me.

Party Took Me by Surprise

Honestly, half of the Husk has been doing has made me go "ok we're doing this now" in the best way possible XD. It's been a really great exercise in improv and doing things on the fly which I've been getting much better with!!!

Probably the biggest time I've been taken by surprise with the entire party is still just how impressed I was with how you guys did with the original mini-campaign. Many more people were intended to die, but you did a great job keeping everyone together, and only 4 people of the 12 in that house died.

#the graveyard shift #murder mansion dnd #yikes dnd #azule dnd #todd dnd #husk dnd #dnd 5e #dnd campaign #dnd dm #dnd ask

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arlakos · 3 years

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Why the show should add Lukadrien and Kagaminette (or why making Miraculous more queer would make it more fun)

I’ve long since given up the idea that the writers would ever try to make Miraculous Ladybug an interesting show to watch.

Time and time again I have been let down by some of the ridiculous plot decisions made in this show. The whole reason the an ancient magic order fell because some incompetent twat was hangry and made a sentimonster because of it. The events of miracle queen exposes a bunch of heroes' identities?

Nah, lets keep them on a temp heroes no worries, hell lets even make one permanent because she’s Ladybug’s best friend! (Even though the whole reason one member was kicked of the team was soley for the reason that Hawkmoth knew who she was, but lets ignore that ;) ).

Marinette can’t directly confess to Adrien and so makes stupid plans for 3 seasons to try and woo him, only to act like she’s given up when Kagami actually makes progress with Adrien as a proper relationship should. Hell, for the sake of the Love Square not concluding until the ultimate dramatic season 25 finale (tm), lets make an episode showing why Adrien and Marinette can’t fall in love!

Even though Chat could have told Ladybug who he was after he was deakumatized and end the show right then and there but FUCK IT. IDIOCY REIGNS SUPREME!!!

So yeah I've given up on an interesting miraculous show, but frick it! I still think it could still be fuuuuuuuun >:) .

Despite some of the outrageous writing this season, I still got a laugh out of a couple of things, such as Chloe cutting Hawkmoth off when he does his usual spiel of “get me the miraculous” in Queen Banana. And I think the show could use more fun stuff.

And I think that the best way to do that would be to replace the more “ahem” controversial love ships that cause wars, known as Lukanette and Adrigami, and instead replace them with some fresh takes!

Hi this is Arlakos, welcome to my TED Talk, and today I’ll be discussing why Lukadrien and Kagaminette would not only be better ships for the show, but also make it much more fun!

Lukanette and Adrigami and why these ships are a mega FAIL (in show, fanon’s still cool)

When Luka and Kagami first came out, they were kind of introduced as characters that were new, and that’s it. I mean you could say there was some hinting towards them being romantic partners it but at first I didn’t see it. All I really saw were new people introduced that served to flesh out the show, with Adrien having a new friend with a similar background to him and Luka being Juleka’s older bro (at least until the retcon) which Marinette found a friend in.

The only thing I could really say about either of the new characters was that both had elements that contrasted yet were similar to each other, Like how Kagami and Marinette both were bluenettes that were determined in their goals, but unlike Marinette Kagami came off as more antisocial, only talking to people that genuinely interested her.

The same could also be said for Luka, who was a kind and soft spoken person like Adrien, but unlike Adrien’s obliviousness to people’s feelings, Luka was the type of person to accurately guess peoples emotions, and could be there for people more due to his life having more freedom unlike Adrien's. At this point both characters were just people who were new and served as foils/complements to the characters they had similarity to, and the remained that way for most of season 2.

But then Astruc saw the ship rumours and realized he could create more “drama” by having the main characters have alternate love interests. And oh boy did shit went south hard.

What was once peace in the realms of the miraculous fandom had devolved into all out war as these new and enigmatic races (known in their archaic tongues as “Lukanette” and “Adrigami” shippers) declared wars on the races of the Lovesquare kingdom. Artillery was fired in forms of text posts that explained why “Lukanette was better because Luka is better than Adrien”, which were fired back with posts that declared “Luka is the physical embodiment of that wonder wall song and bland as bricks”. Meanwhile propaganda was made in the form of shipping pictures showing romance in the desired ships, as well as filtered pictures of scenes from episodes, sometimes showing with music lyrics on the pictures. The two sides would put aside their differences when the Tragedy of the Shapeshifting Lizard occurred, creating a race of horrifying mutants and sodium chloride filled abominations that threatened the realm known as “The Salters” (also known by their pseudonym designed to disguise their vile appearance: “Maribat shippers”). However, once these abominations were pushed back into the dark abyss known as the “Miraculous salt” tag, the two warring factions would eventually return back to fighting, which is said to continue to this very day.... War....War never changes.... wait wrong show-

But if you were to ask a dumb bitch like me what I think of this whole mess, I think that both the Lukanette and Adrigami ships were full of problems from the get go:

At least regarding Lukanette, the trope of a girl falling for soft spoken rival is as bland as a pile of bricks, and if Luka’s hair wasn’t dyed and was blonde, it would be more obvious, buts its “fine” because “hur dur Luka plays music” and “Luka is now a hero so that gives him character”.

Both ships neither had time to properly develop, both due to a lack of episodes and the fact that when they were on screen, it was overtaken by the forced addition of Akumas in these episodes, which are part of the show for the hero stuff, but it honestly meant that less time allowed for the ships to develop meaning both ships were rushed instead of allowing for scenes where both ships interacted as actual couples. I’ll say it once and say it again, some episodes need to be just civilian only episodes, while others could work better if they focused on the hero stuff.

However, that isn’t to say I personally hated either ship, and despite them hooking up at the end of season 3, and I was genuinely excited for where these new relationships would take the show! Perhaps the two heroes dating other people would allow for more character building and help make the story more better!

...Except not really because both these ships were ruined in the first two fucking canonically episodes and both were grounded into dirt, because Astruc and the writers realized that the ships would mean actual relationships would have to occur and that would include actual writing, so instead they hit the reset button, all in the name of adding more ship teases!

So yeah that went to shit. Honestly I would have preferred if neither ship actually occurred if it meant they were to be immediately ditched first two episodes into the season. I would get it if the breakups occurred somewhere near the finale, but it was LITERALLY THE. FIRST. TWO. EPISODES. OF. SEASON. FOUR. AND WE DIDNT EVEN HAVE EITHER SHIP KISS! That was unfair, and I genuinely felt sorry for the people who wanted that moment for their ships, only to be copped out of their OTP being proper for a season, and having what little was given being literally blocked by the unending curse that is the Love Square.

So... it was bad. It was underdeveloped, ham-fisted in for the sake of drama and was ditched not even two episodes into season 4 because haha ship teasing is so good after the 5000th time.

Anyways... here’s why Lukadrien and Kagaminette would be better ships!

Lukadrien

Ok I'm not gonna lie, Luka does be having that energy that screams secretly hot and suave. Like he’s the type of guy that would woo girls with a smile, make guys question their sexuality and make women that swing for the other team suddenly wander if they want to switch back (at the very least for him).

But I reckon that Luka, for all the people he could woo over, would only have one person that he has sights for, and for me the answer was clear when I saw this end card screen.

So yeah, that made me realize Lukadrien would be more fun.

So hear me out - at the end of Hardrock, Adrien finally comes onto the ship, Luka raises his hand in order to shake with Adrien’s, Marinette is blushing at seeing her crush finally appearing...

- When all of a sudden Luka takes Adrien’s hand and kisses the back of it, elicting gasps from all the girls on the boat. Luka tells Adrien that he’s glad to meet him and hopes they can get along more, and while Adrien is glancing down at his hand in confusion, Luka turns his head to Marinette and gives her an evil looking wink.

And this is when Marinette realizes... that this means war!

So yeah, this is how i see the ship would go, with two bluenettes fighting over the sexy and hot yet lovingly oblivious blonde boy. Marinette determined to win her crush’s heart while the smirking guitar playing gremlin tries to serenade Adrien with his music.

Because seeing the age old story of a girl choosing over two pretty boys? I sleep.

Seeing a story about a clumsy fashion girl and a guitar playing boy who is secretly a cheeky gremlin fighting over an oblivious blonde sunshine boy? Real Shit.

So aside from that plot change forcing Marinette to get her shit together and actually ask her crush out, I could see so many fun moments on Luka’s end doing anything to flirt with Adrien. Perhaps he invites him over for some “private” guitar sessions where he woos Adrien with his favorite song (WONDERWALL! XD jk, but for real though imagined he played this version instead XD). Perhaps the next Kitty Section concert has a song Luka made specifically for Adrien, to Mari’s simmering jealousy. Just imagining Luka and Marinette fighting over who’s helping Adrien with his costume preparation brings me a giddy glee I haven't felt since this scene in Party Crasher.

AND THATS NOT EVEN INCLUDING VIPERION! God there are so many scenes that I could include with Viperion. Perhaps just a scene of Viperion saving Adrien while flirting with him afterwards while Ladybug is getting fed up of Luka and his BS. Not to mention what would happen if Luka knew that Adrien was Chat Noir! Though it would probably lead to this amazing picture (art belongs to the amazing Calamity Fortune!)

(Nothing says “plot” like watching the most punny hero and the most suave hero staring into each others eyes while a heroine watches with a deadpan glance not realising her plan of 3 kids and a hamster are going up in smoke. Reckon Viperion would make some good flirty puns?)

Kagaminette

Regardless of what you think of either Adrien or Kagami, you can’t deny their lives are very similar. Both are individuals who haven’t had many friends until recently, have led very strict lives controlled by their parents, and both are good at fencing.

So if they have to many similarities, I thought to myself, then surely they have similar taste in people. Namely bluenettes that are strong, skilled, and are also superheroes.

Now, am I completely biased because I wrote a fanfic about Kagaminette? Yes

And did I just now self-advertise by linking said fanfic in this post. Yes

I admit to both and I don’t care. :3

Now, when it comes to this ship, I wholeheartedly think that due to Adrien liking Marinette, I have no doubt in my mind that Kagami would also be someone to fall for Marinette. The only difference between the two is that Adrien would probably be in denial saying that she is just a friend, while Kagami would immediately go for what she wants.

So when Kagami would request a rematch with Adrien, It would definitely be for a chance to win Marinette. And even though Marinette is just a friend, you all know that Adrien would be compelled to accept this challenge.

Wait, I just basically referenced my favorite comic dub. Oh well, gotta give credit where Credit is due:

youtube

(Adrien’s VA saying “what” in this scene at 0:06 gets me laughing, the way he says it so dark and grizzly after his first line being so smooth gets me laughing every single time.)

Now back on topic, I have a good belief that aside from Kagaminette being my guilty ship, it would also be a fun thing to watch. You know that Kagami and Adrien would be having duels every week to see who would have the honour of hanging out with Marinette for the rest of the day, only for them to probably end up in a draw each time and all of them awkwardly hanging out together after the match. All the while Kagami is “trying” to woo a confused Marinette with her trademark smile (you know the one, from Ikari Gozen) while Adrien is having an existential crisis with Nino later on about whether Marinette is just a friend or not, all the while his best friend is seething because he can’t just say that Marinette likes him and that the two should finally KISS ALREADY because ALYA SAID SO. (I can imagine Adrien would do this while watching anime together that Adrien likes and Nino just watches because it makes him happy.)

Adrien late at night in a onesie: SHE’S JUST A FRIEND! A FRIEND IS ALLOWED TO HANG OUT WITH OTHER FRIENDS, RIGHT?! But why do I get upset when she hangs out with Kagami?! What do I do Nino?!

Nino in pyjamas: *Internal screaming*

Going back to Kagami however, that's not to say that they wouldn’t have their cute moments together. After all, Marinette always did have a thing for rich people who don’t have many friends, are somewhat socially dumb and occasionally moonlight as heroes in spandex, so who’s to say that she wouldn’t fall for her Bluenette friend, especially with her award winning smile that she has!

(Sigh, truly a smile that 10/10 dentists recommend. You wonder if her fencing career is sponsored by Colgate? XD)

Also, If I didn’t make it clear before....

Two girls romantically fighting over a boy? I sleep

A boy and girl viciously fencing with each other to the death every week over the chance to be with a girl while said girl is confused as to what is going on? Real Shit. You could make an anime out of this and I would watch it for 5 seasons.

Also, imagine Lila trying to pull that threat stunt on Marinette in Chameleon only to turn around and see two pissed off love interests who also are expert fencers? She’d be a pin cushion before Hawkmoth’s Akuma could even reach her, and that's the real victory here.

Also just like our previously mentioned ship, Kagami going hero mode just to save Marinette would be something I would die for and would be too cute for this world. Especially if there was a moment in the show where Multimouse and Ryuko could interact. Maybe not as flirty as Viperion and Chat would be in the pic above, but having two heroes interact that must pretend to not know each other but also that one of them is crushing hard over our fashion making bluenette would be mega adorkable and allow for some cute scenes.

Also, since I haven’t added as many images in this part, enjoy my low quality meme of how Kagami would flirt with Marinette.

(Don’t underestimate the importance of... Body Language! - Ursula, The Little Mermaid)

And with that, I have given my reasons on why Lukadrien and Kagaminette would be great ships that would make this show much more fun to watch!

No wait.... I actually have one more.

Adrien x Marinette/Kagami/Luka (Otherwise known as Adrien’s Bisexual Harem Of Bluenettes, or BHOB for short)

Its no surprise that Adrien likes Bluenettes. What would be better than one bluenette? A harem of 3 bluenettes. I have ascended the fandom and found the ultimate miraculous ship.

And with that, I have declared my reasons on why Miraculous needs more gay ships and why they would be more fun than the canon show. Now, if you excuse me, I have to run from the Lukanette and Adrigami fans who have now declared eternal war on me and my newfound followers.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk!

#Miraculous Ladybug #long post #Like REEEEEEEEAAAALY LONG post #be warned mobile users.#no salt this time #just gay fun stuff #Move aside Lukanette and Adrigami #these are the new ships in town!#Lukadrien #is best ship #Kagaminette #is also great #I love both these ships #if this long post wasn't already an indication of that #I'm pretty sure I was high on life while making this #Especially after my recent posts which were huge salt fests.

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ilikekidsshows · 3 years

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What do you think Gabriel feels for Nathalie? Contrasting their villain partnership with the way he's always disregarding everything about Adrien, it almost feels like she ranks higher than his son, although that may just be coz she is his only support/confidante. I was rewatching Felix and the way he reacted to Adrien giving his blessing made me wonder if it was so harsh coz he does recognize on some level that she is replacing Emelie, even for him, but if he admitted that to himself, then heP1

P2 would be forced to deal with the fact that what he's been doing was pointless and a mistake and he doesn't want to do that. There's probably also some layers we don't know about yet, since he keeps mentioning a promise, but his justification has always been that he's doing all this out of love and for their family and that makes it ok. If he acknowledges that's not or no longer true... Idk, it would be another parallel between him and Marinette if he was in love with his partner but in denial

I brought up in my Adrien/Nathalie character foiling analysis that Gabriel respects Nathalie's autonomy more than he does Adrien's and that this is most likely because, when given the freedom to choose, Nathalie will choose whatever will align with Gabriel's desires, while Adrien wants to make decisions for his own benefit, even when his decisions are in conflict with Gabriel's desires. Gabriel is fundamentally a selfish man. His wife's death/illness is all about him. He wants to bring her back for himself, since he certainly hasn’t consulted Adrien about it, and Adrien is not allowed to move on because Gabriel doesn't want to move on.

It's the duty of every parent to feed, clothe and care for their child to the best of their abilities, and even that Gabriel does selfishly: Adrien has to eat at home, where Gabriel can keep an eye on him, Adrien has to wear Gabriel Brand clothes to promote his father's company every moment he's out and about and Adrien is only involved in Gabriel's life as an employee, except that at least one employee gets to take liberties with Gabriel Adrien would never be allowed. Nathalie can question Gabriel, she can bring forth her own opinions without him snapping, and she can touch him without him flinching; there’s a difference in his reactions between Adrien hugging him in ‘Captain Hardrock’, and Nathalie embracing him in ‘Timetagger’. In addition, Adrien can't even pick his friends because Gabriel hasn't vetoed everything beforehand.

During the liveblog my bro and I saw a connection between Gabriel's obvious affection towards Nathalie and Adrien's obvious affection towards Marinette, my brother even coined the term "Just-a-Friend Mayura" for moments where the villain partnership read a lot more like a personal partnership than a partners in crime type of relationship. However, Gabriel might be a self-centered man, but he knows love, and I've earlier drawn parallels to Gabriel's pursuit of Emilie and Marinette's pursuit of Adrien being similarly one-sided (for now) endeavours. It is very likely that Gabriel is aware of the chemistry between him and Nathalie and is simply willfully ignoring it rather than being oblivious, just like Marinette is ignoring her feelings for Cat Noir that could challenge her dedication to Adrien.

This is why Nathalie's closed off nature is a key factor. Because Nathalie is so content to simply suffer in silence for love, Gabriel can enjoy the intimacy between them while never facing his feelings for her. Even in their villainous partnership Nathalie is much more Gabriel's partner than his kwami, Nooroo. This is because Nooroo tries to serve as the angel on Gabriel's shoulder, a balancing element. One of Nooroo's more iconic interactions with Gabriel is encouraging him to spend more time with Adrien. But Gabriel is too self-centered to seek compromise with Nooroo, or value his opinion, preferring to scare him into quieting his dissenting opinions with the threat of actually silencing him. Meanwhile, because Nathalie doesn't challenge his priorities, Gabriel relies on her a great deal, and Nathalie, in return, helps him draw together his plans.

Statistically, widowed men have a harder time mentally and emotionally than widowed women, because it's rarer for men to have a support network that could help them deal with their loss. For many married men, the wife is the only source of emotional support. As it is, Nathalie has very much become the "replacement wife" in this sense, being Gabriel's only support network in Emilie's absence. And it's so easy to love the one person who's the only constant in a life that's going through upheaval. The closeness in the Ladynoir relationship is also based on this, "You and me against the world" and all that.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #gabenath #gabriel agreste #nathalie sancoeur #ml meta #long post #popular

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reflectingiridescent · 3 years

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On Harry Wilson

From a writing perspective, Harry Wilson is quite brilliant. You bring an outsider into an established world but leave just enough left over to bring the newbies in (while understanding that most will go back and watch the original show because of the age of the binge watch).

I don't really want to spend most of this comparing him to Nate, but he can't help but be a foil. Nate began knowing what the team could do. Harry knows nothing. They're both from educated, white collar backgrounds and come from fields where they served corporate interest over people.

But as many have pointed out, where Nate suffered a loss as a catalyst, we don't come in with a clear catalyst for Harry. His family is alive, but he hasn't delivered on being a good father and husband. Nate has a vice, but if Harry does, we don't know it.

As Sophie points out, Nate had a cause to channel his (unhealthy) anger. He burned, then burned out. Harry is presented to us as more of a water presence. He wants redemption, but he doesn't know how to channel it. Sophie sees him as a temporary presence, meant to do something greater. Sophie's great at reading people, but she's suffered quite a big loss herself.

Then there's the new team setup. Sophie has one eye on the new guy. She found him, but he's not as honest as she'd like...but everyone on the team's hidden things from each other, and there are certainly things about him she likes. "Our Mr. Wilson" has Watson-esque undertones, and I love that they made the last-minute name change.

This is even more interesting because in Leverage's first iteration, Nate and Sophie were quite literally given parallels to Holmes and Adler, specifically because Adler could keep up with Holmes, even beat him. But now Sophie's in the lead, and it looks like Harry understands the caliber of her loss. They're of similar ages, and it's very comforting and familiar to see them share drinks at the end of episodes.

And just as Nate and Sophie's relationship presented a common but underutilized scenario in dramas (a later-in-life relationship between an ex-spouse and parent who's lost his child and partner who's been in serious relationships but never seriously attached + she's really good friends with the ex-wife who is very supportive), Sophie and Harry present a really interesting proposition. Harry's an ex-husband and father. Sophie's a widow. There's on-screen chemistry for sure, but is it just Sophie acting the way she was before, much like she said she was in the pilot? Is this classic Sophie/Sophie-character charm? Or is this the beginning of a relationship in a different phase of life? We've got cuff link and tie scenes (and we got them very quickly) which seem to be foreshadowing the latter. But at this point, no one knows.

Either way, there's potential for a layered partnership there, and it's very compelling to see where it leads.

I think Harry Wilson is also a sign of the way that audiences in this genre want to see male leads. We all know that Hollywood loves a white male lead even on a show with a strong, established ensemble, but Harry's got softer edges. His pain reads less jagged, with no undertones of the anti-hero so popular in the aughts. He spends a lot of the time getting out of everyone else's way. He embraces not knowing everything.

Also, there's no need for one "hard skill mentor" (Nate) and one "soft skill mentor" (Sophie) like there was before. There's plenty of character development that's happened, and no one needs to tell Harry to step in and lend an ear if someone is struggling. He just does it. Just like the rest of the team does it.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed. They've managed to insert a character and change up the dynamic of the whole team without him becoming overbearing. You never forget the core team, and he never takes anything over. If anything, he gives the other team members even more reason to shine, which I love.

#whew that was long #didn't know I had that in me anymore #I know timing is weird because of grief and hollywood and the show not knowing if it has another season #but I like harry #I like him for the team #I like him for sophie #I like that he's another person they're helping #harry wilson #and some #sophie devereaux #nate ford #leverage redemption #leverage

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lovecolibri · 2 years

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What do you think about all this lucy promo the show is doing? Because Im not worried about her being a LI, as much as I don't trust the writers I think they already assasinated buck's character enough during 5a, so I don't see him cheating. But I still would like for them to focus on the protagonists, I don't care about lucy, so why this massive promotion.

Sorry I'm going to be a "middle of the road" person again, I can't help it.

On the practical side of things, 911 is not doing promo for the 911 fans per se, they are doing promo to entice new viewers, and to entice casual, general audience viewers. So, a new character gets the promo for the hype. Now, why only Lucy is getting the hype and not Greenway? I have a couple of guesses, one being that she's around longer/more/has a larger role because she's here as a foil for Buck and to shine a light on some stuff for him (bless you @stagefoureddiediaz and your post about name meanings), another being that the show has several hot leading men, and they want to promo another attractive female being on the show to draw in viewers, and finally, the actress is (apparently) at least somewhat well known from other things, and doing promo for her is a great way to draw fans of her into 911 and gain new viewers. Promo is ALL about creating buzz, and the stills they released are targeted towards creating the most buzz from the widest range of people, and intriguing new viewers into watching.

This doesn't always end up being great for fandom fans because I literally could not care one single iota about this new character we know next to nothing about who is going to be taking up screen time with Buck after a half season of him languishing in that miserable relationship and not really getting lots of scenes with his normal scene partners (something apparently a lot of the cast were struggling with during 5a as the whole team is fractured). I just want stills of the characters I know and love because they are the ones I want information about!

So, on the less practical, "think of the worst case scenario so you'll be pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed" side of things, I get people being at least a little trepidatious about all of this because we literally just suffered through 5a's pointless focus on the reporter for scenes that we didn't need. And already, I'm hearing people saying that of course Lucy isn't here as a love interest, she's her own person with her own arc or hoping she has her own story outside of being "just a love interest" and it's like...did you all learn nothing from Ghost Stories?! Past is Prologue?! She is currently here to serve a purpose very must like Lena did for Eddie (the season 3 mirroring is very loud) but if people keep it up, we're going to end up right back here again. 🤷‍♀️

The other thing a lot of people seem concerned about/annoyed about people being concerned about, is her being a love interest and Buck cheating because "he would never do that". And besties...*sigh* I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, Evan Buckely as we know him would never. And 911 isn't in the habit of just totally throwing out years of character development so I'm not like, irrationally worried. But.

Evan Buckely is not a person, he's a character. And therefore his actions are subject to the whim of the writers. Because honestly? I can't imagine Evan "loyalty streak a mile wide" Buckely would have any desire to continue to pursue a woman who flat out told him she fought to the point of involving lawyers to air that footage of Bobby. Everyone knew Bobby didn't want to give an interview for her, and when she realized Bobby could no longer say "no" to an interview, and in fact was so incapacitated he had no idea an interview was even being conducted or filmed, she pressed forward to get information out of him instead of immediately calling and informing someone that multiple, compromised firefighters were currently driving a firetruck through the streets of LA and responding to a medical emergency. Like, I know that scene is played for laughs and it IS funny! One of my favorite scenes because it's not real so it's just silly fun, but it's something to think about. If Chim had been dosed as well? If he saw that lady with the shoe in her face and panicked and pulled it out causing more damage? If the driver of the firetruck was dosed and crashed? There could have been some serious lawsuits and repercussions to that event because the one person who knew what was going on made the choice to actively NOT tell anyone in order to exploit someone else specifically to get ahead at her job and get herself on tv. 😤😤😤 Every time I think about her actions I am filled with righteous fury.

Sorry, I digress. The point is, Buck knew all this. He knew by the end of 2x06 what kind of person the reporter was, and she is the antithesis of everything he strives to be in life. There is no world in which him continuing to pursue her, to the point of bringing her around Bobby and Athena specifically, makes any sense. I get where we are right now, and we are going to see Buck learning some lessons, but literally any rando women probably could have worked. Now, there's always the theory that the brought her back specifically because people already didn't like her and they wouldn't have to worry about too many people latching on to her character because she wasn't sticking around for that long (though it's definitely already been TOO LONG at this point). And that can be backed up by how every interaction with her and Buck in season 4 reinforces how much they do not trust each other and are not on the same page about anything (she even says they make a bad team!), and don't work. But then again, all that made a lot of us believe she was here just to be a friend for Buck and everyone got hyped about it, and then we all had the gall to make shocked Pikachu faces when they had her kiss Buck, right on the heels of one of THEE most romantic coded Buddie scenes ever.

So you know what? I get why people are a little more cautious and a little worried about this new character. It's NOT in character for Buck to cheat, and it's not in character and doesn't make narrative sense from where we are sitting right now for him to move on to a new relationship immediately after breaking up with Taylor. But. Given that we are just barely on the cusp of Buck having his breakdown? Once Maddie and Chim and Eddie are back where they belong and he's helped as much as he can and has been pushing back his own needs and emotions for so long and might finally have the space to face them? The writers could absolutely make a plausible reasoning for Buck to do some wild "out of character" things. I don't think they will, but then again, I didn't think they'd take the emotional beat of Eddie being shot in front of Buck and make us watch Taylor of all people being the only one to see and attempt to comfort him in the immediate aftermath, or have him start a relationship with her, or have her and literally no one from the 118 be at Eddie's welcome home party, so 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

#my sweet nonnie friends #911 #911 spoilers #evan buckley #anti bucktaylor #anti taylor kelly #i'm not tagging this with lucy because i'm not trying to harsh people's vibes #i just do not care about her At All right now #i'm sure once the show starts i'll be able to enjoy what's happening and have fun #like i don't think i'll hate her on site and i feel the potential for her and buck to have some fun banter #which i wouldn't mind because it's been SO LONG since we saw him smiling and having a good time #but again i'm always keeping that skepticism in the back of my brain #also sorry this is so long i haven't eaten yet and i'm grumpy and can't ever shut up

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lamelinam · 3 years

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The maid and the Cat, Ren and Akira: some musings

What gloomy love brightened the half-lives of the Sohmas’ most Cursed ones?

I often wonder what the relationship between the former Cat and his attendant would have looked like, twisted and sad as it must have been. Precious little is shown about those two, and only through Kazuma’s pov. We know she took care of and pitied the Cat, to the point that she even slept with him and bore his child. This is not unlike Kureno’s relationship with Akito. She might have treated him with the same kindness and devotion, distant, perhaps harmful, yet selfless.

Selfless? I think another way to extrapolate on the story of Kazuma’s grandparents is with Ren and Akira’s relationship.

Many great meta writers have already pointed out that those who fill in the positions at the extremes of the Sohma hierarchy, the Cat and God, or in this case the Cat and the idolized, deified family head, are foils to each other and are the ones that are dehumanized and isolated the most.

But now I think that you can also compare the way the previous Cat and Akira both chose ("chose" being a relative term in the case of the Cat) a romantic partner.

(Akira wasn’t God, but as the family head, he was worshipped just like Akito. His sickness also contributed to making him stand apart. Not only was he kept inside the compound because of his frailty, the hold that death had on him blessed him with this ephemeral, divine aura. “Was it the sorrow that befell him at such a young age that gave him that otherworldly beauty?»)

Both Kazuma’s grandfather and Akito’s father were doomed, Akira to die an early death, Kazuma’s grandfather to live the life of a living dead. Both were buried alive in the Sohma estate, either at the outskirts or at the center of it.

Both reached out to their progeny. (But Kazuma rejected the offered cake, and will endeavour to atone and honour his grandfather’s memory. Akito clung to every memento she had of her father and will need to learn to let go of him.)

And both the previous Cat and Akira found some measure of comfort in the affections and arms of their female caretakers, Sohma servants who saw their loneliness and expressed their compassion, though not in a particularly healthy way: Kazuma’s grandmother acting out of pity, Ren out of obsessive love.

It’s interesting to me how their respective position was reflected in their partners’ feelings : the imprisoned, despised Cat, Kazuma’s grandmother looked down on. The respected, otherworldly beautiful Akira was adored by Ren.

Kazuma sums up his grandparents’ relationship thusly:

Those correspond to the main "duties" that a wife is traditionally supposed to provide her husband.

The day-to-day caring.

Childbearing.

Attending their husband’s deathbed.

Obviously Ren wished she could have skipped the second one and be there for the last one. (I headcanon that she had prepared her last words years in advance, finding small pleasures and comfort, on the back of the wave of despair anticipating Akira’s death, in rehearsing the declarations of passionate love she would address to the dying man.)

The Cat’s companion attended her partner’s deathbed, seemingly very composed, even cold, as seen in Kazuma’s memories, while Ren, deprived of her husband’s last moments, that she felt were “stolen” from her by Akito (in reality by the maids :@), was mad with grief.

"The only one who can save him"

Those parallels make me wonder whether or not the Cat’s companion might not have developed a saviour complex, like Ren, both believing that they were the only one able to save this lonely, condemned person they were taking care of, and relishing it.

“I love you” vs "I pity you"

On Ren’s side though, it seems that she believes she truly saw Akira, as the person hiding behind that otherworldly aura, filled with sadness and fearful of death. Seeing that Akira agrees with her ("Ren noticed I was lonely"), fought against the Sohma leaders and regretted on his deathbed that he and Ren couldn’t reconcile, I believe this is not a delusion of hers. Her love was genuine and passionate, and she and Akira were happy. Unfortunately, that happiness didn’t survive her pregnancy, for she was also jealous and obsessed.

Kazuma supposes that his grandmother believed that she was doing something good. I wonder at her expression. It is shadowed, enigmatic. Is it a smirk or not, is she sad or not? i wonder whether she was selfless in her pity, like Kureno, or selfish like Kagura, perhaps feeling better by «sacrificing» herself in associating with the Cat for the sake of a miserable soul.

(Whatever you can say or imagine about her, Kazuma doesn’t seem to suffer from the stigma of being the Cat’s grandson, nor does he bear any trace of an abusive upbringing - in fact, he was among those doing the abusing - or even the echoes of the previous generation’s, so my guess is that she was an okay mother and grandmother... which would have made Kazuma’s disappointment and hurt at her words all the sharper... Like Tohru thinking of the zodiacs members she finds so kind and adorable secretly looking down on someone else she realizes she cares about more than she thought.)

There is no way to know how the Cat reacted to a pity-love. But considering Kureno and Akito’s relationship, this might also have been but a superficial balm, and potentially just as hurtful. Then it depends on the interpretation. Kureno’s pity cocooned Akito and kept her from moving forward, but the Cat was condemned anyway to an eternity of imprisonment. Moving forward was forbidden to him. And if his self-worth was already completely destroyed as his role and his treatment are meant to do, he might have just felt grateful towards the attendant. There’s no way to say for sure whether he would have been hurt or not by the truth, and I don’t know which option is the saddest!

... but I know what could be sadder. Because is the maid entirely to blame? We know that in Fruits Basket, love requires a measure of selfishness. The one cursed with the Cat has no self, no existence, no wants and no future, and they accept this fate. They believe they deserve it. (Which is why the Cat's Room doesn't need bars in the manga, nor locks. Rin was under lock and keys because either Akito didn't completely trust her to keep her word or she didn't want someone to discover her.)

It would be very difficult for someone to fall in love with a person who has renounced to everything, perhaps including love. Because who's to say that the Cat loved the maid too?

Recognition vs indifference

How depressingly fitting that we don't even learn the Cat's name, while Akira’s is remembered by all and echoes back and forth in the later part of the story.

Ren marrying the Sohma family head was such a big political deal it provoked a family schism. The Cat’s story with the maid gets completely ignored. It is probably known, just not "officially recognized", says Kazuma. Like everything related to the Cat, it was relegated to the back of the minds, in the dusty closet of the things that are uncomfortable to think about but that you tolerate if it doesn’t upend your little world-view. Ugh, some maid is being inappropriate with that monster! Well, as long as she doesn’t free the loathsome creature, who cares. (And she wouldn’t, because she’s no Tohru.)

In contrast, the maids of the main family thought that Ren was stealing Akira from their grasp. Ren didn’t seem to care for the family, and in a way, her love allowed Akira to also escape from them, "snatched away" by "that woman”, for the old attendant. Unlike the Cat’s attendant, Ren felt like a threat to the Sohma strict hierarchical system. (Fortunately, God will be born to bring back the right order of things, phew! Certainly she he will accomplish what Akira-san was momentarily too misguided to do and rid us of that woman!)

Inheritance.

Both women's profession of their true feelings deeply marked their progeny and the way they view relationship, whether personal or not, romantic or filial.

While her mother affirmed that "a woman only needs one man", Akito leaned on the love of the zodiacs ; Kazuma viewed and loved Kyo as a human and dreaded that his son would find himself in the same situation as his grandfather but also with the same kind of companionship. (His reaction to Kagura speaks of a long-held anxiety). But Ren's hatred for Akito coloured the way Akito interpreted her words, while Kazuma’s grandmother’s declaration shook Kazuma, his personal relationship with his grandmother notwithstanding.

This comparison isn't about good or evil, neither to judge those characters. Furuba isn’t about that. Obviously, they are not blameless. But it is very difficult to say whether or not Kazuma’s grandmother was wrong to act out of pity if it provided a bit of comfort to a prisoner. And is it surprising that Ren developed this saviour’s complex when it seems she was the only one willing to breach Akira’s isolation bubble?

Anyway, Takaya-sensei is really good at making foils. Either because she does it on purpose or because her characters are so deeply intertwined with the themes of the series the parallels appear on their own. But in this case, I don’t think it’s for nothing that the chapters recounting Ren and the Cat’s attendant stories follow each other (chapters 114 and 115).

Of course, this meta is less an analysis and more suppositions and conjectures (frankly, I wonder if I might not as well have written a fanfic). From the little we see, the Cat’s companion and Ren work as distorted yin-yang mirrors, their differences highlighting the similarities of their situations, from the ugly effects of the inner workings of the Sohma cult to the messed up inner workings of the heart. Genuine but obsessed, jealous love... Pity, perhaps self-serving, in the guise of martyred love.... One thing I can say for sure is that these two both gave me chills in their own way.

#ren sohma #cat's companion #the cat spirit #zodiacs #fruits basket #fruits basket manga #fruits basket season 3 #fruits basket meta #love vs pity #meta #akito sohma #akira sohma #kazuma sohma

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lukin08 · 3 years

Text

All Summer Long

Here is my submission for the Summer Lovin @frozines. A big thanks to @punkpoemprose for putting this together. Amazing, as always

Rating: T

Words: 5261

Also available on AO3

The bell dinged over the door as Anna pulled it open. She took pause at the sound and looked around. At first glance, the store looked exactly as it had from her childhood. Knotty pine planks lined the walls and ceilings matching the cedar siding on the outside of the building. T-shirts ran across the top of the long back wall, all beckoning tourists to purchase them. The racks leading over to the checkout were full of snacks and hats for anyone unfortunate to have forgotten their own. Anna walked over reading all the fronts of the baseball caps. She had to use all her self-control to not grab the pink and black one that read ‘Boat Waves, Sun Rays and Torch Lake Days’.

After closer inspection, much had changed to Pabbie’s. New floors, a quick serve area that had about every grab and go food you could think of, and most importantly, a bakery and ice cream counter all filled out the large space.

She was flipping through a rack of sweatshirts when a voice called out. “On your left, Red.”

Anna jumped out of the way as a man passed her quickly carrying two large boxes over his shoulder.

“Sven!” A middle-aged woman called, following quickly behind him.

“Gotta go. We’re on fire today!”

“You tell him I need his order today before 5.”

“I’ll try.”

“Do it or you’ll be out of luck next weekend! No pilfering from the store when you run out of supplies anymore. It’s messing up my books!”

“Love you too, Bulda!” He said, flashing her a grin then disappearing out the front door.

The woman stopped next to Anna, put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Those two will be the death of me, I swear.”

“Everything ok?”

The woman looked at Anna and smiled. “It gets busier earlier every summer. Used to be until the third week of June when the water got warm when the crowds started, but we’ve been running full steam since before Memorial Day.”

“Wow. That early?”

“Who would have thought? Guess we aren’t the best kept secret of Michigan anymore.” The woman took a long look at Anna. “Anything I can help you with?”

Anna glanced out the window at the marina. “I actually had a question about an installation for a dock. Do I need to go next door?”

The woman waved her hand. “No need for that. Follow me.”

Anna followed her over to a counter at the other end of the room. The sign above it on the wall read ‘Torch Lake Marina’. There was all sorts of literature on boat rentals and storage and marine services on the counter.

“I didn’t realize the marina was part of Pabbie’s. I had to double check the address when saw it.”

“We purchased it a few years ago. Now what can I do for you?”

“I need to schedule a dock installation.”

Anna gave her the information and after a few minutes she had a time for the next week for the Marina to come out.

“Arendelle. Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in years. There was a family that had a place on Cherry Road named Arendelle. Are you any relation to them?”

“Yes. That’s me… I mean that’s my family. My parents owned the house. We used to come up here a long time ago.”

“I remember your father. He was in here all the time with the boat in the summers. Got along well with my father. How is your family doing?”

That was all it took. One simple question and Anna was off, spilling her guts to a stranger. She explained her parents' passing five years prior and the over ten-year absence due to her parent’s intense focus on her sister’s health. But Anna was back with a vision for the house and being up at the lake this summer was just what she needed. Internally she was screaming at herself to just stop talking. But Bulda kept asking her questions and seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying that Anna just couldn’t stop.

“That all sounds amazing, dear. You must keep me updated with how things are going. Can I give you one piece of advice?”

“Sure.”

“Make sure to take a minute to breathe now and then. You can blink and the entire summer will be over.”

“I will. Some friends from home are coming up tomorrow. I think we are going to head over to the sandbar. It should be fun!”

“Or at least entertaining. The sandbar on the weekend is always good for that.”

-------

This wasn’t what Anna had envisioned for a day out on the water. The morning had started fine. Anna was thrilled to be back out on the water again. To understand the depths of Torch Lake’s beauty and appreciate its deep aqua and turquoise colors, you really had to take it in with your own eyes on the lake. It was even fun at first when they anchored at the sandbar. But things took a turn for the worse as the day went on.

They anchored with a group of boats and the faces were all familiar. The uppity groups she remembered from school, all in the same social circles her family were in hadn’t changed a bit. They played their music too loud, drank too much and Anna quickly remembered why she left Ann Arbor as soon as she could. As much as she was trying to rekindle old relationships, perhaps some of them were better left as old friends.

Fending wanting to check out more of the sandbar, Anna decided to venture away from the group. It was easy getting around. Barring the occasional deep spot, the water wasn’t more than up to her thighs most of the time and in some stretches it was only at her ankles. There was over two miles to walk if she wanted, but Anna was on a mission.

Rumor was there was a pontoon that served food on the sandbar. She didn’t really believe it, but she was intrigued enough to go in search of it. After a few questions and only getting turned around twice between all the boats she looked up at the large yellow and black sign that read ‘Burger Barge’ stretched across the pontoon.

After spotting what looked like the area to order, Anna went up the side of the boat. As soon as the person in front of her was handed the foil wrapped sandwich, she stepped up closer. “I’ll have a burger. That’s all you have, right? Or is there something else?”

The man up at the boat was in front of the grill. He didn’t bother to look up. “A little busy here.”

“I can wait. How long do you think?”

He pointed his spatula down to the end of the boat. “Order in the back, princess. Just like everyone else.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I saw you hand a burger to someone. I thought-“

“Does it look like I take orders here?” he snapped. “Do you see the prices anywhere? You think I’m going to handle everyone’s money and cook all the food at the same time?”

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Do I know you?” He had stopped what he was doing and was staring at her now.

“Excuse me?” Anna tried to make out his features, but his blond bangs hung over a wide bandana covering his forehead and sunglasses obscured his eyes.

“Do I know you,” he said slower, dropping his sunglasses down to get a better look. His brown eyes glared over at her.

Anna crossed her arms in front of her, annoyed at the tone he was taking with her. “You most certainly do not!”

He grinned, which only infuriated Anna. “Good. Line’s at the back of the boat. Get moving.” He pointed again and went back to flipping the food on the grill.

“Well maybe I don’t want to eat here anymore.”

“Suit yourself. Good luck finding something else to eat out here.”

“Rude,” Anna said under her breath. She went to walk away because he did not deserve her business. But her stomach rumbled in protest and what other option did she have?

The line was long and snaked behind a few other boats. It only gave Anna time to stew on the conversation and what an absolute ass the cook had been.

“Hey, Red! From Pabbie’s right?”

Anna was almost taken back at the smiling face in front of her. “Yes. Sven? Did I get that right? I think that’s what the owner called you.”

“You got it. I’m always having someone chase me down calling my name. What can I get you?”

Anna bit her bottom lip looking at the choices. “What do you recommend- the chicken sandwich or the burger?”

“You can’t go wrong with anything, but,” Sven leaned forward. “We’ve got the best burgers on the lake. Trust me, I know the cook.”

“Oh, him.”

Sven glanced behind him then back at Anna. “From here or…somewhere else?”

“A few minutes ago.”

Sven’s face relaxed and he smiled again. “Don’t mind Kris. His bark is worse than his bite.”

“I don’t plan on talking to him again, but thanks.”

“Stick with me Red this summer at the Burger Barge. I won’t steer you wrong.” Sven handed her the burger and a canned drink. “The Coke’s on me. For your pain and suffering.” He winked at her before turning away to take the next customer’s order.

------

The truck pulled onto the driveway, the long trailer behind it making a metallic rattle against the sections of dock it was carrying. Anna got up from her chair on the beach and threw on a shirt over her bikini top, not bothering to button it up. Old shorts and cover up seemed appropriate enough to meet with the dock installers. She was halfway back to the house when two men got out of the truck.

“I don’t know. Go ring the doorbell.”

The voice that got out of the passenger side was familiar, but he was turned away from Anna. She jogged over, waving her hand. “No need. I’m here.”

“Red!” Sven turned and grinned. “We keep running into each other!”

“Hi Sven. And it’s Anna. Anna Arendelle.”

Sven tipped his hat. “Pleased to meet you, Anna…officially that is. How was the burger?”

“Best one I’ve had in years.”

Sven laughed. “I knew it!” He pointed across the truck. “I think you’ve met my business partner.”

Anna looked through the windows of the truck and recognized him immediately. He was standing there with his head down, clearly not happy. “Oh no.”

Sven bumped Anna’s shoulder. “Relax. If it makes you feel any better, he’s probably freaking out right now.”

Anna giggled as she looked through the window again and saw the man take a deep breath and go to walk around the truck.

“Anna, Kristoff,” Sven said as he introduced them.

“Ma’am,” Kristoff said.

There was a part of Anna that was pleased with how nervous he looked, but she decided to let him off the hook. “Just Anna please.”

Kristoff nodded. “Anna, could you show us where you want the dock?”

A few minutes later, Sven and Kristoff were rolling the sections of the dock down to the beach. Anna took her place back on the beach and picked up her notebook. Sven made small talk with Anna as she went through her plans for the house. Kristoff, on the other hand, kept his words short and only talked to Sven about what they were working on. Still, Anna found herself drawn to Kristoff, watching him from behind her sunglasses. He was easy to keep an eye on, watching him work in the water with just his swim trunks on, the muscles in his back flexing against the weight of the dock. A girl could get used to a view like that.

“Pay no attention to my rude friend,” Sven said as he leveled the two closest sections of the dock together. “He doesn’t like talking to anyone who isn’t a local.”

“I’m a local.”

Kristoff barked a sharp laugh. “For what, five minutes?”

“Ok. Then how long until I’m considered local.”

“Make it past Labor Day and we’ll talk.”

A little later Sven ran back to the marina to pick up extra posts, leaving Anna and Kristoff alone. Anna watched as Kristoff looked like he was mulling something over. After a few minutes he took a deep breath.

“I’d like to apologize for how I talked to you on Saturday. It was rude and unprofessional, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“No you shouldn’t have.”

“The guy in front of you was trying to scam me for a free burger. Said the order was wrong. It wasn’t. What a crook.”

Anna laughed remembering the scowl on Kristoff’s face. “Apology accepted.”

“Thanks.”

“So, you aren’t just the Burger Barge’s master chef, I see,” Anna said as she watched Kristoff work.

“That’s just a weekend gig Sven and I came up with to make extra money when we were in college. It just took off and we haven’t stopped. I run the marina most of the time.”

“So that’s connected to Pabbies?”

Kristoff nodded. “Family business. It was my grandfather’s. My mom and dad took it over when I was kid and have been running it for years now. We bought the marina when I came on full time after school.”

“We used to go there all the time. It’s one of the good memories I have of my childhood. Spending time on the lake and going over to Pabbies to get a snack was the highlight of my summers. I was so sad when we stopped coming up to the lake.”

Kristoff was leaning against one of the posts now, watching Anna. “So, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Its just you in this giant house by yourself? Seems like a waste.”

“My sister didn’t want to deal with it anymore. It's all part of her freeing herself from worldly possessions process she’s going through. I couldn’t bear the idea of selling it and I needed a fresh start, so I bought out her half from her.”

“So, you’re just here with no plans?”

“If you must know, I do have plans. I’m updating the house and turning it into a bed and breakfast. And I’m going to run it.”

“Great. For more rich tourists to find the lake.”

Anna shook her head. “No. I want it to be affordable. I want people to bring their families and get to enjoy the lake like I did as a child. I want them to have those memories. As many people as possible. There’s so much land on the property, I was thinking of eventually expanding if it goes well. Maybe even hosting weddings. This house was built to be filled with joy and laughter of many people. I feel it in my bones.”

Kristoff went back to anchoring one of the posts. “Sounds ambitious.” Anna was about to argue with him when he added. “But nice. We need more of that around here.”

-----

Anna wasn’t exactly sure why she was nervous, but she was pacing up and down the landing outside of Pabbie’s waiting for Kristoff. They had struck up a bit of a working relationship, with Kristoff working on several smaller outdoor projects on the house as the main work inside was being done. She looked forward every day when he strolled onto the property after his work at the marina, often staying for dinner when she absolutely insisted. He seemed less and less resistant to stay every time she asked. Today was the most excited she’d been all summer. Her boat had arrived at the marina and Kristoff called her that morning saying it was ready for her to pick up. Now she was waiting for her to bring it around and take it out for a test run.

“Need a lift?”

Anna spun around only to see Kristoff pulling up along the landing with a big grin on his face. He put the boat in neutral and waved at her to come over to the edge. In one strong movement, Kristoff lifted her at the waist and into the boat. Anna let out a small squeak when he put her down, breathless at how effortless Kristoff made that look. He went slowly out of the marina area and past the no wake zone of the sand bar. As soon as they were past the buoy, he turned to Anna. “I’ll take it out then show you where everything is. Then it’s all yours.”

“Sounds great!”

“Where to?”

“Anywhere.”

“Want me to open it up? This baby goes fast.”

“Yes! I love to go fast!”

Kristoff gave her another grin and let open the throttle.

-----

They were out in the middle of the lake where Anna had stopped the boat. She was laying on the back of the boat without a care in the world. The water had been too tempting, and she couldn’t resist jumping in. Safely that is, Kristoff insisted on her wearing her life jacket out in the open water. Now she was laying on the towel, stretched out enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun. Anna felt Kristoff’s eyes on her, but she didn’t dare look over.

Kristoff leaned back on the seat, stretching his legs out. “We’ll get the boatlift put in tomorrow then I’ll bring the boat over.”

“Sounds like a plan. Hey, I need an opinion.”

“Ok.”

“How many boats do you think I should have for next summer? I want the guests to be able to go out on the lake and enjoy it. I was thinking about one pontoon, but is that enough?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Duh. That’s why I asked you?”

“None.”

Anna lifted her head and looked at Kristoff. “Wait, what? None?”

“You heard me. Boats are a lot of work and you already have one. What you need is kayaks and paddle boards, a couple canoes and maybe a raft for swimming. That’s all. Keep it non-motorized.”

“But don’t you think I should have something?”

“Not everyone will want to use them. Plus, the expense of keeping them up and the insurance is only going to force you to keep your rates higher.”

“Mmm, suppose you’re right…for once.”

“Watch it.”

Anna pondered her options for a few minutes before sitting up, stretching and wrapping the towel around her. “I’ll just have to recommend Torch Lake Marina as our exclusive source for rentals.”

“I think we may be able to work a deal out with…wait, have you come up with a name for the B&B yet?”

“Working on it.” Anna looked up at the afternoon sun, wishing the day could last longer. “I suppose we should head back. I’ve kept you out too long.”

“I didn’t mind. It was nice spending the time with you. Let’s just hope Sven Actually did some work while I was gone.”

Anna tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “It was nice today, wasn’t it?”

“Hey Anna?”

“Mmm?”

“I won’t be able to come out to the house for a few days.”

She sat down in one of the seats, feeling a sense of disappointment that she wouldn’t be seeing Kristoff, but also that he hadn’t asked her something different.

“Of course. Is everything alright?”

“Just gearing up for the 4th. It’s going to be hectic. Sven and I are going to be out on the boat at the sandbar all week. I wish we could both grow an extra set of arms its going to be so busy. But I’ll see you for the fireworks if you still want to go.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Oh wait! I just had the best idea!”

“What?”

“Do you trust me?”

------

“Who thought this was a good idea?” Kristoff was tapping on the wheel of the pontoon waiting at the landing at Pabbie’s.

“This was all you, my friend,” Sven said with a laugh. “Relax. Anna will be fine, and we need all the help we can get this week.”

“She’s late. We should have left by now.”

“Five minutes isn’t going to change anything.”

“Have you seen the boats out there already?”

Sven rolled his eyes then pointed to the parking lot. “There she is.”

“What the hell is she carrying?”

“I’m here!” Anna yelled walking as fast as she could with the large cardboard box. As soon as she got to the boat, Sven grabbed the box and helped her step on. Kristoff was already in the process of untying the ropes and started moving before Anna sat down.

“Don’t mind him, Red,” Sven said. “He’ll calm down once we get anchored in a good spot. What did you bring?”

Anna smiled. “I’ll show you as soon as we get set up.”

She took the short time it took to ferry out to the sandbar to relax. Anna wasn’t sure what Kristoff’s reaction was going to be with the surprise, but she hoped he was open to it.

“Absolutely not.” Kristoff shook his head when Anna showed him the t-shirts that read ‘Burger Barge Torch Lake’ on them with a silhouette of the pontoon.

“Why?” Anna and Sven whined simultaneously.

“How are we going to sell those and the food? And I don’t have the money to pay you for those, Anna.”

“Relax. You have me to help and I promise I won’t sell a single shirt that gets in the way of the food orders.”

“No one’s going to want those.”

“Wanna bet? You take care of the burgers and I’ll stay out of your way and help sell these. You can pay me back out of the profits from the shirt sales. If they don’t sell, I’ll eat the cost.” Sven and Anna stood there holding their breaths. Finally, Kristoff relented, his face softening. “Ok, but the food is a priority.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

“Don’t start.”

-----

The fire was soothing as Anna sat near it on the double swing. She was bone tired from working these last few days on the pontoon and staying up for the fireworks tonight. But it was a good tired. An ache from an honest day’s work and pure satisfaction. Kristoff came over and sat next to her. He handed her a stack of bills.

“What’s this?”

“Your cut from the week.”

“I don’t need-“

“You earned it. We made more than ever, even splitting it three ways. There’s also the money for the shirts.”

Anna gave Kristoff an impish grin. “I already placed another order. Told you we’d sell out.”

“You were right, and I was wrong.”

“Mmm say that again.”

Kristoff nudged Anna. “Seriously. Thank you for helping us.”

“Anytime.” She rested her head on Kristoff’s shoulder. “How do you do this all the time.”

“You get used to it. Its only for a few weeks in the summer then it quiets down.

“Still impressive.” Anna looked over at the property’s dock and noted the flags flying. “So, who’s the Michigan State fan?”

“Oh that? It’s where I went to school.”

Anna chuckled. “My dad would not be happy with you.”

“University of Michigan alum?”

“Worse, he was the president of the school.”

“The president? Let me guess. You and your sister followed suit.”

“My sister went full ivy league. I pushed back against every expectation and went to Ohio State.”

“Ohio State?! That’s treason. I’d tell you to fly that flag at your place, but it would be like putting a target on your back.”

“Guess I should fly the Michigan State flag then.”

“Nope. Not allowed unless you have someone that lives there.”

“Maybe one day,” Anna said through a yawn as her eyes closed.

The next thing she remembered were warm strong arms carrying her back to the truck to take her home.

-------

“I can’t believe how much nicer it is on the sandbar today!” Anna looked around. There were people, but the masses were gone. There were places to move and not a drunken party every ten feet.

Kristoff was sitting on the back platform of Anna’s boat, legs hanging in the water. “Sven, tell Anna the rules of the sandbars for the locals. Since she isn’t one, she needs to know.”

Sven came over to the group and hopped up on the platform. “Rule 1!” He called out. “Never go to the sandbar on the weekend!” Everyone raised their drinks and cheered. “Rule 2. Stay away from the west side. Only tourists go there! Rule 3. Don’t act like an asshole! And Rule 4. The most important of them all. Don’t engage with the tourists!” Everyone cheered. “Here’s to making it through August everyone. One more week and the summer season is officially done.”

They all clinked their glasses together in solidarity.

The rest of the day was a blast. Anna spent her time talking to everyone, playing games and even making plans to meet up with a few of the girls the next week. It had taken all summer, but Anna felt that she was finally starting to feel at home. She found herself walking with Kristoff later. She also found herself being a little flirtier than usually, a little more playful than normal. Maybe it was her comfort level, maybe it was their seclusion away from the group. Whatever it was, Kristoff didn’t seem to mind.

“I bet I can.”

“No way.”

“Three tries.”

“Three. That’s it. Then you have to admit you can’t do it.’

“Deal,” Anna said in agreement. “Now hold your hands out like that. Remember if you take a step, then I win.”

“And what do you win?” The grin on Kristoff felt dangerous. Anna didn’t want him to stop.

“I’ll tell you after I win.”

She squared herself up to Kristoff, lined her hands up with his, pulled them back and then pushed as hard as she could, contacting his palms. Kristoff stumbled back, surprised at Anna’s force. But then he took another step back, losing his balance as he stumbled and fell into a deep spot on the sandbar.

Anna was doubled over in laughter when he came out of the water soaked and hair flattened down past his eyebrows. “You think that’s funny?” he said, brushing his hair back with his hands.

“N-no, no!” Anna said, trying to talk and laugh at the same time. “I got you. I totally got you!”

“I’ll show you something funny!”

Anna didn’t stand a chance. She screamed in laughter as Kristoff scooped her up and ran. “Kristoff, put me down!”

“Oh, you want down?”

“Yes!”

“Ok.”

Kristoff unceremoniously threw Anna off the edge of the sandbar. Anna screamed, hitting the water. She didn’t stay under long, a strong arm grabbing her, bringing her up. Kristoff was standing just where Anna couldn’t touch the bottom. He held her tight, his hands wrapped around her bare waist.

“You dirty rat. I won.”

“Yeah, what are you going to do about it?”

They didn’t move, locked close together. Anna’s breath hitched at the way Kristoff was looking at her with a want in his eyes. She gave into it too, closing her eyes, leaning in ever so.

“Kris! Anna! Where are you? Time to go! We’re heading out!”

Anna broke away from Kristoff, the moment lost. “We should head back,” she said, walking back to the boat without waiting for him.

-----

“Oh hi, dear.” Bulda was restocking the shelves with shirts. “Anything you need?”

“I was actually looking for Kristoff. Is he over at the marina?”

“He took off early to do some work over at my house for me.”

“How’s he been?” Anna was following Bulda around as she went to clean up the counter near the bakery section.

“Fine. A little quiet. But nothing unusual. Why? Is there something I should be concerned with?”

“No. I just haven’t seen him since before Labor Day and I was wondering how he was.” Anna looked down, wringing her hands. “Bulda, can I ask you a question?”

“Anytime dear.”

“Have you ever tried to do something that you wanted to do, I mean really want to, but then miss your opportunity? And then make it worse because you doubt yourself and over analyze everything. Then make it weird and even more worse by avoiding it all together?”

Bulda stopped what she was working on to listen to Anna. “I don’t know about anything that specific, but I will say that holding something back never helps. Best to just get out what you need to do and move along. Otherwise, it festers.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Anna turned to look across the street at the home on the lake. “So next door?”

Bulda nodded. “In the backyard.”

She knew he saw her, pretending not to notice, then giving in and walking over to the swing.

“Hey.”

Anna patted the seat. “Sit with me.”

He sat, dropping the weight of his body the last few inches with a weary sigh. Neither of them said anything at first as they slowly swayed back and forth.

“Anna, I'm sorry.”

“Kris, there’s nothing to be sorry about."

“But there is. I’m sorry if I read something wrong and made you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.”

“Then why have you been ignoring me?”

Anna turned to face Kristoff. “The house is finished and the permits came this week. I think I can start having guests this fall. I just need to get the staff up and running and the marketing done.”

“That’s great. But I don’t understand what that has anything to do with what we’re talking about.”

“It does. The house. The project. It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to do something truly for myself. Where I can say this was my idea. This is what I want to do. Do you know how scary that can be?”

“I guess.” Kristoff was leaning forward, elbows on his thighs, clearly concerned with the conversation. When Anna placed her hand on his thigh, he looked up at her.

“There’s other things that I want too. But that’s just as frightening sometimes to trust my feelings.” Anna took Kristoff’s hand and led him to sit back up and face her. “I’m the one who’s sorry. For ignoring you and for ever doubting what I want. Because I know. I truly know there’s nothing more I want right now than you.”

Anna felt Kristoff's whole body go from rigid and defensive to relaxed. He grinned at her, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. “You know I have a rule,” he said resting his head against the back of the swing.

“Still won’t consider me a local. Ridiculous.”

“Well, you did make it past Labor Day, so I guess you are officially a local now.”

“Would you stop talking and kiss me?”

“Gladly.”

His hand cupped Anna’s cheek pulling her into a soft kiss. Anna closed her eyes, grinning through the kiss as she savored the moment, never wanting it to end. A cool breeze blew in from the lake. Kristoff wrapped Anna tighter in his arms as she shivered. It was a reminder of how quickly things could change and this time Anna welcomed it with arms wide open.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I finally have a name for the B&B.”

“What’s that?”

“The Toasted Marshmallow.”

Kristoff let out a hearty laugh.

“You like it?”

Kristoff leaned down lips brushing Annas. “I absolutely love it,” he said before kissing her again.

#All Summer Long #Edin what did you write #Frozine #Summer Lovin Frozine #Torch Lake

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ot7always · 4 years

Text

My Fair Lady

Word Count: 8.1k

Pairing: Crown Prince!Taehyung x Captain of the Guard!Reader

Genre: Historical/Fantasy AU, fluff, smut, angst

Warnings: Sparring (swordfight/fistfight), I’ve literally never fenced in my life I’m sorry for any errors, pining, mentions of battle scars, angst angst angst, angsty sex, crying during sex (and not in a sexy way), unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), fingering, it’s super angsty but I promise it’ll be okay

Rating: 18+

Summary: His brother unable to spar with him that day, Crown Prince Taehyung comes to you in need of a partner.

A/N: This fic was such a wild ride of a writing experience, and I literally lost chunks of writing because of my laptop crashing multiple times. But this fic is my baby, please let me know what you think!

Huge thanks to @wwilloww for beta reading for me, and also @peekaboongi for crying with me as I wrote.

Tagging @moonmintrails @ppersonna @irissilujm @dee-ehn

Masterlist

You gaze swept across the palace training grounds, hands clasped firmly behind your back. You watched as your soldiers trained, whether it be alone or with each other, and kept an eye out for any glaring errors – incorrect form, weak footwork, and the like.

As the youngest Captain of the Guard in history, it was your duty to ensure each of your soldiers, men and women alike, were in prime condition. Though the position was not passed through bloodlines, you had taken over from your father following his retirement from duty. He was a very well-respected man, and you were determined not to disappoint him. You would continue to prove time and time again that you deserved the honour of your place.

You kept your eyes forward even as you sensed a tall presence settle beside you, taking on a similar stance to your own.

“My Lady,” a deep voice greeted. Your nose crinkled at the title. While it was true your family was of noble station, you much preferred to be addressed as “Captain.” You sought to distance yourself from your cousins who enjoyed hosting fancy balls and tittering about the latest messenger visiting from overseas.

You gave the man beside you a brief once-over, eyes quickly returning to your soldiers in the field. The Crown Prince was looking particularly fresh today, white cotton shirt laced neatly and tucked into black pants that moulded to him like water. His dark curls appeared freshly washed, small tendrils swaying in the wind, having escaped the small tie at the nape of his neck. He smelled suspiciously of lavender. Perhaps he had been delving into his sister’s perfumes once again.

“Your Highness,” you nodded curtly, ignoring the pang in your chest at his appearance. While you tried to put up a good front, you were not immune to the Prince’s charms.

“You know I don’t like when you call me that,” he smiled bashfully at his feet before turning the entirety of his attention to you. “I am in need of a favour,” he continued, gaze imploring.

“What can I do for you, Your Highness?” you responded, suppressing a smirk when you heard him sigh at your words. Having grown up around him, even sharing lessons and training together before you surpassed his abilities, you would consider the two of you friends – more, even. However, you had an image to keep up, barriers that needed to be kept in place lest anyone question your ability to prioritize the royal family’s safety without distraction.

“I require a sparring partner.”

“Do you forget yourself, Your Highness?” you grinned at the notion. Not many dared to challenge you to a fight, and the last time Taehyung matched you in skill he was perhaps a foot or two shorter.

“I beg of you, Captain. My brother is feeling out of sorts and I am in need of a distraction. I have been meeting with courtiers all morning and I cannot begin to express how tiring-”

“He’s taken ill?” you cut in, eyes wide and tone laced with concern as you finally turned to give the Prince your undivided attention. His younger brother was only 15, and you had developed a soft spot for the boy over the years. The plague which tended to come and go from your Kingdom was no joke. While many recovered, many more slowly but surely lost their lives.

“Don’t worry yourself too much, My Lady. Our doctors have assured us it is simply a minor ailment.” His heart warmed at your obvious affection for his brother, knowing how much you cherished his younger siblings. He wondered whether he himself held a similar place in your heart. “Let’s not concentrate on that which will resolve itself quickly in time. Rather, I am still in dire need of a partner. Please?” he appeased, giving you his best impression of a pout. You tried not to crack a smile at the resemblance to his sister.

Your hesitation did not last long – you found it difficult to deny Taehyung anything, not that he asked much of you very often. “Very well, then. Though, we are not exactly dressed for the occasion, are we?” you chuckled, meeting his eyes. It was true. Having only recently left a meeting with those who would accompany Their Majesties to town the next day, you were dressed in a white blouse, dark leather bodice laced on top. While your leather boots allowed for sufficient footwork, the suppressed movement of your torso was not exactly ideal for a fight.

“We both know that you are more than capable of fighting in such attire. Come,” he said, giving you no time to refuse before you were led to the central combat ring. The ring was often used to host friendly tournaments and was clearly visible from any spot in the field.

“Are you so keen to showcase your defeat to my entire squadron?” you teased, shooting the Prince a grin as you caught the foil he tossed to you. Light, thin, and dull, it ensured you did not cause any serious injury lest you accidentally hit him. Cotton, after all, was not the most ideal material to prevent bruising. As for you? Well, you didn’t plan on getting hit anyway.

You took up your position opposite him, bent slightly at the knee, sword in hand, opposing hand clenched comfortably behind your back. You watched as Taehyung settled into the same posture. You clicked your tongue in disapproval upon seeing his form. Shoulders tense already, you sighed. Well, you would just have to see if he fixed his error later on.

“Ready when you are, Sweet Prince,” you smirked, exhaling a laugh as his face flushed. It was a nickname given to him by the men and women he’d seduced and bedded over the years. Even if he’d invited them into his bed only once and never again, they never stopped singing his praises. A part of you was desperate to know what he did to impress them.

“I don’t have all day, Your Highness,” you called out, smile slowly lighting up your face at his embarrassment. A lie, of course. If he asked you to stand there and wait for hours while you simply stared at each other you would do it. You liked to tell yourself it was because of your royal duty, but in reality you had never been able to say no to him, even in your childhood. There was something so charming yet shy, so mature yet naïve about him, that had you wishing for his happiness at every moment. He was a walking contradiction you wanted nothing more than to solve.

Having collected himself, Taehyung launched himself at you quickly, sword flying its way toward your shoulder – easily parried. You figured the two of you would ease into a proper match. After all, neither of you were properly warmed up, and you refused to listen to the Prince’s complaining of sore muscles if you could avoid it.

You remained light on your feet, focusing solely on defending against his basic lunges rather than attempting to retaliate. That would come in time. It wouldn’t be so enjoyable if you didn’t toy with him just a little, right?

After several minutes of rather simple steps, you figured you were ready to break a sweat. The next time his blade swung at you, you batted it aside and thrust your own at his chest, tip poking into his shirt before he could even blink.

“Come now, Your Highness. Shall we see what my father taught you?” you taunted, backing away to your original position. Your heart warmed when you saw the fire light in his eyes at the challenge, his playful expression temporarily replaced by sheer focus. You couldn’t conclude which was more handsome.

The next time he flew at you, it was with newfound ardour, the clink of metal on metal a familiar symphony to your ears. The Prince was skilled, you would give him that. Not that you were surprised – you recalled a time in his youth when he dedicated himself fully to training in this exact spot.

You gave yourself fully to your reflexes, blade swinging left, right, and circling round as you blocked his attacks. Quickly side-stepping a stab toward your neck, you grinned. Despite your original hesitance, you were enjoying yourself. Seeing the sweat form on Taehyung’s brow from his effort, you were happy to see him dedicate himself to something so completely. His technique focused on agility over power, something well-suited to his long limbs and lean muscle. You were the same – fight smart, not hard, your father used to tell you.

Backing away suddenly, Taehyung pouted slightly as he caught his breath. “I can tell that you are going easy on me, Captain. At least try to hit me, I swear to you that I can handle it.” You chuckled at his words.

“Very well, Your Highness. Though if I may point out, perhaps it would serve you better if you relaxed your muscles more. How can you expect to hit me when your shoulder fails to follow through?” you chided. Taehyung bit his lip at your words.

“My apologies, Captain. I find it difficult when I am near you.” Your brows furrowed, unsure whether you heard correctly. He has trouble relaxing around you? You preferred not to pick apart such a statement.

In answer, you lunged at him, a tide of satisfaction flowing through you when he moved immediately in response. You allowed him to continue on the offensive, though this time you followed up every few parries with a riposte, ensuring you never actually hit him with your blade.

Steel was flying through the air so fast it was a blur, your focus lying solely on the flurry of blades between your bodies. You quickly lost track of time, though based on the slight burn in your calves the activity must have gone on for quite a while.

It became almost like a rhythm – feet dancing, you blocked thrice, circling around for a responding thrust. Little did you know, in your focus you missed Taehyung’s wistful glances as he took in your appearance – gaze sharp, hair around your face flying as it escaped your tight knot at the back.

While you did your best not to make contact, your efforts were not perfect. Because as the Prince stepped left rather than right as you had expected, your blade made full and hard contact with his abdomen, confirmed by the faint oof that accompanied the motion. Broken out of your trance, you stared wide-eyed. “My apologies-”

You let down your guard for only a moment, but it was enough for him to swipe your blade aside, his own resting right between your collarbones. Raising your eyes to meet his own, you found only a grin, no sign of pain. That little-

“KIM TAEHYUNG!!!” you bellowed, ignoring the nearby gasps at your blatant show of disrespect. The eldest soldiers only shook their heads in dismay, having become used to your antics over the years. You whipped the side of his blade with your own, force enough to send it flying out of his grasp. “I was worried about you!” you shouted, stalking your way over to his retreating body, met only by a full-bodied laugh and hands raised to defend himself.

He took hold of your shoulders, keeping you at arms’ length as you glared up at him. The look only sent him into another fit of laughter. “The look on your face was magnificent, Captain,” he snickered, ignoring the betrayal on your face. “I’m perfectly fine, also. You needn’t worry so much-”

“Oh, you will not be fine by the time I’m done with you, Your Highness,” you seethed, picking up his discarded blade only to chuck it at him with just a little more force than necessary. “If you wanted a fight, Kim Taehyung, you’ve found one. I will pray for your recovery.”

Taking up your position for the third time of the afternoon, you scanned his features opposite you. He had no blaring weak spots, though you would be surprised if he did after all his years of training. He was fast, though you would bet that you were faster. Defeating him at his full capabilities would not be extremely easy, but if you gave it perhaps 80% you supposed you could be done within minutes.

“Any last words?” you goaded, grinning at the fleck of worry that crossed his face. “You look afraid, Your Highness.”

“It is perhaps in my best interest to remain a bit afraid, My Lady,” he chuckled lightly, eyes keen as they awaited your first movement. The narrowed your eyes, taking him in, planning your actions. He’s not wrong, you thought. Everyone in this field was just a little bit afraid.

Taehyung jumped when your blade made contact with his own, a high-pitched screech ringing out as he fought you off. You gave him no time to contemplate his own actions before you lunged relentlessly at him, delivering strike after strike without pause. He was forced to remain on the defensive, putting in his full effort to parry and step away in time.

Despite his struggle, you were impressed he was able to keep up with you as well as he was. He’s been training more, you noted. His improvement was clear compared to the last time you fought only several months ago. However, in a game of stamina, you were sure to win.

The top of your bodice dug sharply into your chest as your breaths quickened, but you were no stranger to discomfort. Over time you had learned to put aside such trivial things. Aches and pains were part of your job, and you’d be damned if you didn’t do it well.

Unwilling to let go of your pride, your steps quickened, Taehyung’s blade moving frantically to keep up but inevitably slowing slightly as you did not give him time to breathe. If you hadn’t focused all of your energy into this alone with no distractions, you perhaps would have poked fun at him.

When his sword arm lagged only slightly behind, arms slightly too wide, slightly too open, you struck hard. Batting his blade to the side only centimetres above where he held it in his grasp, you simpered, watching his shocked face as his blade went flying. His eyes darted between you and the blade, metres away, seemingly contemplating whether to give up or to pounce on it.

“What now, Little Prince? If this were a battlefield, would you simply cower in fear?” you coerced, eyes predatory. Perhaps it was sadistic of you, but you relished in the look of dismay in Taehyung’s face. He’d been thoroughly defeated – it was only a matter of how long you would draw it out.

Tossing your own foil to the side, you stretched your limbs before beckoning him over, fists positioned in front of you. It was a petty move and you knew it, for soldiers were much more well-versed in hand-to-hand combat than the Crown Prince, who was known to favour his swords and bows.

Taehyung had no complaints, however. A fight was a fight, after all. As he came after you with one, two, three jabs to your chest, you danced aside as you evaded easily. The difference in speed between his punches and sword thrusts were clear, the former much less practiced than the latter.

You unfortunately had not thought this idea through, because your options for victory without injuring the Prince were limited. While you were aware Taehyung would not mind, it would not be the best image for you to beat the life out of the Kingdom’s Crown Prince in open view of a squadron sworn to protect him.

“Are you so eager for my company that you would draw this out?” he joked, a weak punch toward your face easily shoved out of the way by your forearm. “Or perhaps you find pleasure in cornering me, My Lady?”

“You think so highly of yourself, Your Highness. Is it so disconcerting to find yourself put in your place every so often?”

“Quite the opposite, I think. I’ve never enjoyed myself so much,” he beamed, eyes shining. “I’ve quite missed you, Captain.” You faltered at the admission. While you loved to give him a hard time, you knew he was well aware of your fondness for him. However, you don’t believe you’ve ever said something so forthright to each other, and the statement awakened something in you that you thought you had buried deep.

Noting your slightly frozen state, Taehyung charged at you. However, you would not be fooled twice. The audacity of this man-

Twisting your arm to grab hold of his, you leaped forward. Suddenly taking the force of your full weight, Taehyung had nowhere to go but down, groaning as his back thudded against the canvas floor. Knee digging itself into the Prince’s ribcage below you, you sighted your previously discarded blade nearby. Grabbing hold of it, you held it to his throat.

“Yield,” you whispered, words escaping you much softer than intended. He made no effort to move, only staring up into your face with unspeakable emotion.

“And what if I am happy where I am, My Lady?” he murmured, taking in your appearance. Chest heaving, escaped hair wet with sweat, blouse crinkled – you were perhaps the finest sight he’d ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on. Though his words might have been taken for humour, you saw the look on his face. He didn’t even attempt to mask the desire, shameless through and through.

Before you could even think to respond, smatterings of applause broke out across the field at your victorious display, though they could not even begin to understand what was happening between the two of you. Moment broken, you quickly hopped up, helping Taehyung to his feet but avoiding his gaze. You were afraid to admit how much your heart fluttered when you heard his words, afraid of how much it would hurt when you would be forced to walk away and never speak of this moment again.

It was for the best.

“Y/N,” he called out softly, hands reaching for your own, but maintaining a respectful distance. Your eyes flew up to meet his, unused to hearing your own name in the palace nowadays. The look he gave you was honest, sincere. “Do you feel this too?”

You paused. Though he didn’t quite say what this meant, you could guess. In fact, his knowing gaze told you he only wanted you to admit what he already knew. The man had always been perceptive, and you had more memories with him than with your own family. You were certain he was familiar with your every expression. After all, you could write novels about his face – the way his eyes shone in his passion, the way the corners of his lips twitched when he was repressing a scowl.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Pleading ignorance was the best defense. Admitting to your desires was foolish, and would not change your circumstances. You knew this was deeper than physical desires, but that just made it all the more impossible. Princes were destined for arranged marriage – nobody could simply form a relationship with a future King, least of all the soldier who has pledged her life to his parents. No, a proper relationship was not within the realm of possibility. But neither could you lay with the Crown Prince in good conscience – how would the public trust you to put the King and Queen’s safety above all else if you were warming their Prince’s bed?

Every option to act on your desires was fated for failure.

Taehyung’s hands moved from your palms to your wrists, his thumbs pressing into your pulse firmly. “Your heart is racing,” he murmured, eyes staring into your own as though he knew your every secret. “Why do you hide it?”

“You know why,” you stated, voice soft. “Of course I feel it, but it matters not.” The admission coming from your own lips shocked you. You had danced around each other for years, orbiting each other like binary stars, but you’d never admitted your attraction to him.

“It matters to me,” he whispered, thumb stroking at the soft skin of your wrists with care. “Come to my chambers after dinner.”

Your brows shot up at the suggestion. This was not a light request. You were no longer children, no longer laughed in his company until the maids shooed you away, chiding you for making so much noise.

This was real. As much as you grew to accept your desires, you had never even fathomed acting on them. Not when you knew it couldn’t last – not when your reputation, perhaps even your position, were at stake. “Your Highness, I couldn’t possibly-”

“Please,” he begged, staring into you with an expression you would liken to a puppy begging for scraps. You attempted to turn away, but he only followed. “Please,” he repeated, noting your conflicted expression. It was hard to deny him anything when he was looking at you like that, but even harder to deny yourself when every part of you wanted nothing more than to say yes.

“Very well,” you breathed, sealing your fate. “I shall come when the clock strikes eight, Your Highness.”

You couldn’t do it. As much as your heart craved him more than anything, you couldn’t. He was untouchable. If you were any other person, if you were just a court lady, you would jump at the chance. It wasn’t a secret that the Prince has had many partners, and nobody gave it a second thought. But to be with you?

It was improper. Impossible. How could you be trusted to do your duty fully and objectively if you’d laid with the Crown Prince?

After bathing, you made your way to his bedchambers, clad only in a loose blouse and cotton pants, hair flowing freely around your shoulders, still wet. You could not join him in his bed, but he at least deserved a rejection in person rather than your absence.

Knocking lightly on the door, you were startled when it swung open, your arm still raised. He gave you such a sweet smile it was almost painful, still dressed in his earlier attire but hair loose around his face. You stepped into the room, taking in its appearance, having not seen the room in years. It smelled of him, of vanilla and lavender and musk, a scent you would breathe for the rest of your life if it was possible. The room was exactly as you remembered it, mostly barren if not for the set of throwing knives on display – a gift from your father for the Prince’s coming-of-age.

“I’m so glad you came-”

“I’m sorry,” you cut him off, turning to face him. “I came to put a stop to this before it’s begun, Your Highness. You're trying to start something that will be too painful to cease.” Your words struck him, and it physically pained you to see his face transform from excitement to distress.

“But I am not imagining what we have, am I? I have longed for you for years. Am I wrong to think you have too?” he pleaded.

“It doesn’t matter what I want, Your Highness. We can’t possibly do this – think about it. Not only that, I cannot have the palace thinking I earned my position through your bed. There are so many reasons we cannot – I want you but I cannot have you!” You didn’t mean to raise your voice, but you couldn’t help it in your grief. Eyes brimming with unshed tears of frustration, it hurt to look at him standing so close, and yet so out of reach.

At your anguish, Taehyung reached for your face, thumbs wiping away the tears you didn’t even notice had fallen. His tenderness only sent another wave of sorrow through you, chest heavy. “I’m sorry. I know it was selfish to call you here. I know this is easier for me than you. Please forget I ever asked.”

“I know it’s wrong, but...”

“But?” he urged gently.

“Is it so foolish that I want it anyway?” you whispered. You looked at him wide-eyed, gaze pained, searching his face as if it held the answers to the universe. For you, perhaps it did.

“Y/N...” he begun, the sweet sound of your name coming from his lips the final nail in your coffin. Denying that you wanted this more than anything would be the greatest lie you’ve ever told. It was brash, and stupid, and irresponsible, but you wanted to feel this at least once. You wanted to indulge in his touch, his affection. You needed to feel his hands on you, his mouth on your skin, and you didn’t know if you would ever be brave enough to accept him again if you didn’t do it now.

“It can only be once. Nobody can know.” You couldn’t risk the noblewomen catching on to your activities. They were unusually observant, and you didn’t doubt their abilities to discern your relationship with even the faintest of hints. Taehyung knew better than anybody that the palace ladies treated gossip as currency, and word traveled especially quickly on matters involving him. He nodded at your words, but the grave look on his face told you he wished things were different.

“I will cherish our time together, My Lady” he breathed, but his conflicted expression spoke volumes. “We don’t have to do this-”

You shook your head, closing the space between you until your chests were pressed together. Stomach in knots and chest tight, you ran your fingers along his broad chest and down to his abdomen before wrapping them loosely around his waist. You would savour every touch, make note of every expression, save away every delightful noise from his lips, and you would pray for it to be enough to satiate you for a lifetime. Because it had to be.

Tilting your head back to meet his eyes, your heart nearly leapt from your throat at the look on his face. The adoration, the warmness – but most of all, the pain. This was torture for both of you, and you knew it. It was selfish and self-destructive, but the two of you always seemed to bring out both the best and the worst in each other.

Without speaking, you reached up to grab hold of his head, yanking it down to smash your lips together without ceremony. He responded with fervor, moving against you, arms tugging until there was not even a millimetre of space between your bodies. You tried not to think about the desperation in your movements, the saltiness of the tears still present on your face. You dragged your hands over the planes of his chest and down to his biceps, nails digging in slightly when he bit at your bottom lip.

Harshly tugging his shirt from his waistband, you traced your nails up his bare skin, relishing in the uneven breath he let out in response. You would dedicate yourself to memorizing every inch of him. Every dip, every curve would be ingrained in your mind for eternity, your hands tracing patterns into his skin like a brush on canvas.

He did the same to you, his large hands finding their way beneath your blouse and chemise, lifting them both above your head to toss them to the floor. You were bare underneath, having planned to leave for your own bedchambers only minutes after arriving. He sucked in a breath at the sight of you on display entirely for him. His careful fingers traced the scars on your abdomen, accumulated through years of training and fighting on the frontlines. While ugly, you were not ashamed – these were proofs to others and to yourself that you would put your Kingdom above all else.

Bending at the knee, he traced his mouth down your jaw, down your throat, kissing you reverently as he continued his path. Passing over your breasts, he moved lower to mouth gently at the scars littering your belly, his gentle presses causing new tears to spring to your eyes. Was this how it felt to be worshipped? To be loved?

Taehyung took in the sorrow painting your features, but did not comment. There was nothing to be said – he understood perfectly. Perhaps if he pressed his face more firmly into the softness of your skin, he would spare you having to see the twin look of despair he was unable to hide.

Sliding a hand into his hair, you softly brushed it away from his face, gently pulling his chin up to look at you. Your heart wrenched at the sight of him, eyes looking at you as though you were a treasure, as though you weren’t the thing causing him so much pain. As though you wouldn’t leave him alone after this.

Tugging lightly at the collar of his shirt, he quickly got the memo, shucking it off in a direction you didn’t see, too focused on what was just revealed to you. If not for the honeyed gold of his skin, you would have been convinced he was carved of marble. You traced the lines of his body, a tiny smile breaking through at the shudder he gave when your nails scratched over his nipples. Though your actions were slow, he did not rush you. He only watched the awe in your gaze, eyes wide as though if you blinked, he would disappear. The childlike wonder in your face warmed his heart, pleased that you would let your guard down here with him.

You blinked out of your stupor at the sensation of a warm hand on your cheek, the sight of Taehyung’s soft grin at your antics lighting a small fire of embarrassment in you. “Bed?” he asked lightly, nuzzling his face into your neck. The hot breaths near your ear sent a shiver down your spine, tugging him ever-so-closer as you nodded in response.

Pulling away from him, you tugged lightly at the drawstrings to your pants, biting your lip when you saw the Prince follow your every movement. Taking his hands into your own, you brought them to your waistband. “Help me,” you breathed, heart racing at the knowledge that you would soon be laid bare to him.

He took a deep breath before releasing the knot at your waist, tugging your pants ever so slowly down your legs. He knelt at your feet, removing the fabric from your ankles until the only cloth left on your body is your underwear. Eyes falling on your face, he thumbed the waistband, looking up at you in question. At your quiet “please,” he removed that too, your folds revealed to him, shiny with your arousal.

Groaning at the sight, Taehyung latched onto your clit before you could even process the movement, the sudden pleasure making you weak in the knees. He sucked at your bud lightly, taking pleasure in the way you sunk your hands into his hair to ground yourself. When you wobbled slightly in your bliss, his left arm rose to hold you steady at the waist.

When his other hand rose to thumb through your folds while his mouth continued its ministrations, you moaned out. Eyes falling down to observe the Prince, the sight brought a small whimper to your lips, your hips grinding down onto him. He looked absolutely sinful, his eyes heavy-lidded as he delved into your heat with such abandon, focused entirely on your pleasure. When he inserted a finger into you, quickly followed by another upon feeling your wetness, you were sure you would have fallen if not for his arm holding you steady.

“What-” you started, but ended up cutting yourself off with a loud moan at the sensation of his fingers scissoring inside you. “What happened to going to bed?” you managed to get out, utterly breathless.

You let out a gasp when he pulled from you abruptly in response, picking you up at the waist and throwing you onto his mattress. You had no time to reprimand him before he was spreading your legs, mouth and fingers returning to you as he joined you on the bed. Any words were stolen from your throat at the stretch of a third finger, your hips bucking up to get closer to the source of your pleasure.

“You taste so good,” he moaned out, panting. You didn’t miss the way he grinded his clothed crotch into the sheets, heat shooting through you at the sight. When his fingers curled inside you, the heat spread throughout your whole body, abdomen tight and walls clenching tightly around his fingers. You were so close to the edge, it would take only one breath before you fell over.

“Give it to me, please,” he pleaded, tongue flicking over your clit as his fingers continued to nudge that spongy spot inside you. Needing no more encouragement, you fell apart, moans forced from your throat, hips grinding against him as he worked you through your orgasm. When a dull ache begun to replace the pleasure, you pulled away from him, pushing him onto his back.

His arousal was clear, his cock straining in his tight pants enough that it must have hurt. Though, his face held no complaint, only dazed wonderment clear on his features, almost as if he still couldn’t believe what was happening. He let out a sharp hiss as your nails traced the outline of his cock, his teeth biting furiously at his bottom lip.

Deciding not to torture him after the ecstasy he brought you, you tugged his pants and underwear down in one go, Taehyung groaning in relief as his cock sprung free. The tip was angry and red, the slit leaking precum. After freeing him of his clothing, you reached out a hand to pump lightly at his cock, noting the way it twitched in your hold. It looked almost painful, the vein running up the underside big and angry.

You began to lower your mouth to him, eager to return the pleasure he gave you, but were halted by a gentle hand on your cheek. “Please,” he begged, “I can’t. I need you,” he expressed all in one breath, eyes pained and needy.

Taking mercy on him, you rose, shifting until you were seated in his lap, mouth seeking his out. He cried out into your mouth at the sensation of your slick folds rocking against him, grinding down onto his cock. Hand reaching down to position him at your entrance, you pulled your face away to watch his as you sunk yourself slowly onto his length. The moan you let out at the stretch was crude, and it didn’t appear that Taehyung was faring any better, his breaths coming in pants, eyes screwed shut.

He’s beautiful like this, you thought, your own eyes wanting to badly to flutter closed, but your need to take in his every expression won out. Your head tipped back in pleasure as you seated yourself fully, moans escaping as you rocked against him, his pelvis pressing into your clit.

Losing yourself in the sensation, you fell forward to bury your face into Taehyung’s neck, his scent only adding to your pleasure. His hips rocked against your own, thrusts shallow, both of you letting out low moans at the movement. The friction against your clit had your abdomen tightening again, his tender hold on your body the best thing you’d ever felt. But as the pleasure reared in on you again, it was at that moment you remembered the totality of your situation.

You would never get this again.

The thought was like ice-water thrown over your head. How could you have forgotten? His cock deep inside you, his hips rising to meet your own, his hand clutching at the small of your back, his moans – it was all temporary.

You shoved your face tightly into his shoulder, hoping your sob would disguise itself as a moan. But at the shaking of your shoulders, Taehyung paused his actions, hand rising to cradle your head. “Y/N?”

“Tae,” you cried out, heart wrenching. It wasn’t lost on him that this was the first time he’s properly heard his name from your lips since your promotion – no teasing, no games. His heart broke at the sound, your sobs guttural, and he wanted nothing more than to take the pain away. The gravity of the situation brought tears to his own eyes, unable to suppress the emotion any longer.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he whispered, your head lifting to meet his glassy eyes. Your eyes were red-rimmed, your lips quivering. This was an agony that only the two of you could ever understand.

“Taehyung, I-” you faltered, choking on a sob. I love you. You couldn’t say it. What good could it bring you now? But your eyes spoke volumes, the emotion clear on your face. He knew how you felt just as much as you knew how he felt.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he repeated, tears finally escaping his eyes as he tugged you closer. There was no way to be more intimate than this, arms cradling each other as you cried, his cock still nestled inside you.

It would have to be enough.

As your bodies shifted minutes later, the friction against you had you shivering, remembering the position you were in. You pulled your head from his neck to gaze at his face, his eyes meeting your own. It hurt, but there was sad acceptance in your eyes, mirrored in his own. You tried to force a small smile onto your face, but you were unsure whether it appeared as a grimace. You instead elected to press a soft kiss to his lips, eyes falling closed as he returned it.

You rocked your hips together slowly, relishing in the light sighs and quiet moans of the other. Your movements were tender, careful, full of love and affection you would never get the chance to verbalize. When you felt your release creeping up on you again, you arched your back, grinding into his pelvis. Wanting to help you along, Taehyung grabbed hold of your hips, holding you steady as he thrusted up into you, every so often holding himself deep, grinding against you. The emotion of it all had your breath caught in your throat, your orgasm washing over you in gentle waves as you writhed against his body.

You could tell he was coming undone, his thrusts erratic, breaths heavy as he pulled away from you to leave open-mouthed kisses on your collarbone. You moaned at the overwhelming sensation of his movements so soon after your orgasm, but you wouldn’t dare rob him of his pleasure. Not now, not like this.

Groaning loudly, you felt his cock twitch inside you as he continued his thrusts, feeling the warmth of his release coating your walls. He shook in your arms, and you couldn’t bring yourself to confirm whether he was overwhelmed with pleasure or sorrow.

Letting out a whine as you pulled yourself off him, you wiped the mess between your legs on his sheets. His maids would clean for him come sunrise, and you were anxious to escape the room before you lost yourself fully to despair.

You allowed yourself to bask in his presence momentarily, laying alongside him for several minutes before you rose to get dressed. You kept your back to him, unwilling to show weakness despite your vulnerability only moments ago.

“Stay,” he begged, his voice still husky from the passion you’d shared. Your heart sunk at the suggestion. You wanted nothing more than to stay, but every minute you spent here knowing the outcome only shattered you a bit more.

Fully dressed, you made your way to the door. You could still feel where his hands touched you, where his lips pressed against you, where his cock had been inside you. “I’m sorry,” you breathed, misery colouring your tone. You turned to him, taking in his bare appearance for the last time. You stared, hoping to burn the image into your retinas.

“I know,” was his only response. What more was there to say? Your eyes swept over each other, locking this moment away in your hearts forever. Finally, you turned back to the door, turning the knob and stepping out into the hallway without looking back. The sound of the hinge falling into place behind you felt like waking up from a dream, the period at the end of a sentence.

Your tears fell freely and silently as you made your way back to your chambers. Your heart ached a bit more with the increasing distance, every step leaving a piece of you behind.

It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? You supposed whoever could claim such a thing had never loved like this. Because walking away left your heart in a million pieces, the only glue that could piece you back together still staring at his empty sheets, the dip from where your body once laid still warm to the touch.

Months went by without speaking of that night. The tonic you’d taken upon returning to your room had worked well, your body having bled weeks later. You had still talked to Taehyung – you had to; your duty required it. But the pain never ceased, only dulled. You told yourself you would move on, that there was no use in dwelling. But the heated glances you caught him directing at you, desire and heartbreak in his eyes, always took you right back to that night.

He hadn’t been with anyone since – not that you were listening. You couldn’t help but to overhear the palace ladies gossiping, spreading word of the Crown Prince denying their advances. You didn’t know what to do with the information.

Having just returned from mapping out Their Majesties route to a neighbouring city, you returned your horse to the stables. While not necessary, you much preferred to prepare yourself for every possibility of attack, taking note of any weaknesses in visibility along the path. Every second counts when you’re under attack, after all.

“Captain!” a voice called out to you urgently. Having just handed off your horse to the stablehand, you turned to meet the man, his hands on his knees as if he had just run a mile before coming here. “I have been looking for you everywhere, Captain. Their Majesties have requested your presence in the throne room.” Unusual, since you had met together only this morning, but you would not keep them waiting.

“Thank you, sir. I will head there now.”

You went directly to the throne room, pausing outside to nod to the royal family’s assistant stationed outside. He smiled to you briefly before pushing the door open.

“Captain Y/N to see you, Your Majesties.”

“Let her in, thank you,” a kind, feminine voice rang out.

You stepped inside quickly, taking a knee until the King gestured for you to stand. “I deeply apologize for my appearance, Your Majesties. I had just returned from planning our route for tomorrow and thought it better not to leave you waiting.”

The King smiled at you, the warm-hearted expression reminding you of Taehyung’s. Your chest ached at the thought, but you kept a blank expression. “Hard at work as always, I see. We had something we would like to discuss with you.” At his words, you noticed that not only were the King and Queen present, but Taehyung was stood off to the side as well. Your heartrate increased slightly at the sight of him.

“Your Highness. Forgive my disrespect, I had not seen you there,” you bowed respectfully, ignoring the heat that rushed through you at his appearance. His hair was loose, his outfit form-fitting. He was beautiful. You tried not to think too much on what he looked like beneath the clothes. “What can I do for you, Your Majesties?”

“Captain, my son came to us earlier today with quite the startling proposition,” he began, and your brows furrowed in confusion. When he failed to elaborate, you spoke up.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean, Your Majesty.”

“You see, he came to us in a frenzy and asked, ‘Father, what would you say if I wanted to marry the Captain of the Guard?’” You froze, eyes wide. Marry? You? Taehyung? Your heart pounded violently at the notion.

“Sire, I promise you this was not my idea. I apologize-”

“My dear, do not panic. We are not angry. But we wanted to ask your thoughts.”

“Your Majesties, I couldn’t possibly marry your son.” You made effort not to look at the Prince, lest your composure fail. “I have no lands to offer. No gold, nothing. I cannot offer you any alliance, I cannot bring anything to your family,” you turned to Taehyung, his expression unreadable. “You cannot marry a soldier,” you whispered, heart breaking once again as the possibility was dangled in front of you, lingering just beyond reach.

“Captain, do you know that the people adore you? That they sing your praises when we pass through their villages?” the Queen asked, a bright smile painting her features. Your face grew hot at the mention. “Your soldiers respect you. Your hometown throws festivals in honour of your birthday. Dare I say that you’re more popular than us?” she joked, giggle chiming lightly through the room. Taking in her appearance and mannerisms, it was no question why Taehyung was as handsome and as loved as he was.

“Ma’am, of course not,” you responded, hand raising to awkwardly scratch at your head. You were unsure where she was going with the statement.

“You’ve earned the Kingdom’s trust, Captain. You’re perhaps the most loyal person I’ve ever laid eyes on. Might I also add that you are not just some nobody? Your family has served ours for generations. You are of noble birth,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Do you consider yourself so unworthy?”

You paused at the question. It did not seem to be a trap, and the Queen was certainly not one to be malicious. Glancing around the room, you noted the King and Prince were observing your reaction expectantly. It was not an environment good for your nerves. “A soldier is not fit to be the future Queen,” is the statement you settled for, attempting to maintain a mask of indifference.

“My dear, do you remember what you told me only a few years ago? When I asked you if you were afraid of trying to accomplish what nobody else in history has?” the King’s deep voice rang out. Your gaze snapped up, knowing exactly what he was about to say. Oh no...

“‘Damn history. I will write my own history,’ I think it was.” Chuckles broke out across the room, the Queen tittering, Taehyung snickering. You’d never told Taehyung about that encounter, embarrassment flowing through you every time you thought about it. You focused your gaze on your feet, face burning at the reminder of your words.

“I have since learned to control my words, Sire,” you muttered ashamedly, fingers tangling together.

“Y/N,” the King’s voice called, grabbing your attention once again. “You have guts. Daring. You’re smart, well-trained. And there’s nobody I would trust to guard my life more than you.” You bit your lip at the praise, struggling to hide a proud grin. Being praised by the King was a feat not many experienced. “It would be an honour to call you our daughter.”

You stared, slack-jawed, processing his words. You didn’t notice Taehyung approaching you until his fingers laced with your own, his opposing hand moving to raise your chin. The open affection on his face, the love - it was everything you’d ever dreamed of and nothing you’d ever dared hope for. Your breathing quickened as he sank to his knees in front of you.

“Please,” he beseeched, vulnerability clear on his face. “Spend eternity with me, together. Will you marry me?”

Tears filled your eyes, but for once they were tears of joy, not tears of despair. You dropped to your knees to meet him, arms thrown around his neck. He barely had time to catch you as you threw yourself at him, bodies the closest they’ve been since that night in his bed. Raising your head to lock your eyes on his, you knew the same love you had for him was written all over your face.

“Yes,” you cried, hands raising to cup his jaw. “Yes.”

#vantaenet #heartsforbts #taehyung x reader #taehyung fluff #taehyung smut #taehyung angst #bts fic #bts smut #bts fluff #bts angst #bts fanfic #bts fantasy au #bts historical au

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violetren · 3 years

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My first theory for volume 9 while the second half of volume 8 is fresh in my mind!

Volume 9 is gonna be the therapy season, but in the most traumatic you'll need different therapy afterwards kind of way. Instead of paying a therapist they're all just be bargaining with the universe like "yo I've had this trauma for a while, and I'm feeling pretty done with it. Here you take it back and uhhh I'll take a new guilt complex. Maybe a fear of falling? IDK, fuck me up bro."

The foreshadow-y Alice in Wonderland-esque fairy tale Oscar told to himself/Oz while in captivity is my guide post here.

Aaaand this is gonna get long so! 10 ideas of shit that's gonna go down next volume beneath the readmore, each one about 1-2 paragraphs each.

In the fairy tale the girl runs away from her problems into a new land, but because she never learned from her problems they just followed after her. Yeah? So first--second? First discounting the volume therapy theme theory.

FIRST BIG THEORY: The girl from the fairy tale was real, and she used the Spear of Creation. And like Weiss and the crew, she was fucking smart about her wording. She offered up materials that'd last even after someone else inevitably used the staff. IDK what materials she woulda used. Maybe there's a story about a missing continent we just haven't heard of yet? Maybe the Brother of Light's pool, since Salem seens to have claimed the Brother of Darkness's one but no sign of BoL's these days. Maybe there is a reason the land beyond Menagerie is so uninhabitable beyond desert + grimm? idk. Point is, it's a thing that happened, and since Ambrosius can't destroy/directly kill she's still in her wonderland. For themes sake I'm gonna call her Alice from here on out.

So Alice made a pocket dimension to flee from her problems from.

SECOND BIG THEORY: Her problems were relic related. She needed to hide em, and hide herself from Salem. Tbh I'm not sure how into this one I am. Maybe she had other shit going and some version of Oz was like "hey you don't want to be here, I have some property that I don't want to be here, lets make this happen!" THE POINT IS, the little pocket realities the relics are in, are aalllllll places in her pocket reality. When the team said "hey Ambrosius just make the middle ground into one of these type places" that's what he did, cause that's how he do. What better way to make sure it works like those places than to be kinda connected to em?

THIRD BIG THEORY: Ambrosius was buds with Alice once upon a time, but knew staying in her pocket world ultimately drove her crazy. He knew his middle ground worked like the pocket dimensions because it touched em or something, so he gave a vague ass warning not to fall, because he knew where they'd fall to.

Back to the fairy tale. It's implied Alice was never able to leave/give up her wonderland because she never learned from her mistakes.

FOURTH BIG THEORY VERSION 1: RWBY + Jaune can't figure their way back to reality until they adress a major personal issue and break out of whatever cycle it's got them in. This one I feel is shaky because they all have such different issues and are in very different places with each of them, trying to do one big arc on em would be too much of a mess. Plus it doesn't account for saving any of the many civilians that may have survived the fall.

FOURTH BIG THEORY VERSION 2: nobody can leave until Alice either leaves, dies, OR is convinced to let them go. As we're following good kind people this means we watch the kids try to give someone else therapy that THEY need. RWBY+J work through their shit through variations & combinations of witnessing mirrors of their struggles in Alice/other wonderland inhabitants, and just having time and space to slow down and breathe whether they want it or not.

FIFTH BIG THEORY: Alice is the "antagonist" of the underworld because she is the obstacle to overcome.

What about Neo you may be asking. Well I want her to let go of the revenge schtick, or at least redirect it back onto Cinder thus calling a truce with Ruby. However it's more than likely she's gonna be on team keep Alice as an obstacle at least as long as it takes to kill Ruby, and so Neo will be the "real" Antagonist™ within wonderland.

SIXTH BIG THEORY: Neo because of her unwavering determination to enact revenge is gonna die this volume. She'll be the comparison against which RWBY+J will be measured. As they grow and get closer to leaving she'll become more wrapped up with whatever strange classic wonderland logic this pocket universe has. Potentially depending on how things go with helping Alice, Neo may just end up trading spots with her, and end up trapped while everyone else goes back. But dead or trapped, I have a sad feeling this could be our last volume with Neo. My only hope of her surviving at this point is that she like Emerald switches sides, and in doing so joins Winter as a Cinder foil. While Neo grows and lets go of revenge and thus survives, Cinder stays dedicated to her own desires for revenge and other self serving instincts ringing her own death toll for either the end of the volume, or maybe somewhere in vol.10.

SEVENTH BIG THEORY: Ruby is gonna be grieving and maybe even getting full on angry about being expected to fix everything just because she's the optimistic one. She shouldn't have to deal with this brand and advanced level of childhood stealing just because she wanted to do what was right and won(lost) a genetic lottery for magic powers type anger. Jaune is going to have SO MUCH GUILT to work through, mostly the survivors kind. The bees will be experiencing couples therapy, they've both been pretty solid about individual growth leading up to this, Underworld will be them learning what it means to them to be partners now that they are so different to who they were. Weiss is different. Weiss is at first gonna feel like she's there just because it was a way to really shove all the other Schnee's into their therapy arcs and gave RBY+J neutral presence to rely on. Weiss is gonna go in the most stable of the bunch. But then, slow boil style, she'll start to realise how fucked up basically her whole life has been, especially upon realising that her "good years" with her new family have been spent getting sucked into being the last line of defense against the apocalypse, but will be too busy helping the others, so at the end of the volume when everyone else is actually doing pretty good and refreshed for the fight against Salem she'll only just be beginning her breakdown.

EIGHTH BIG THEORY: All this therapy shit is gonna be mirrored back on Remnant by the others grieving the percieved loss of the hearts of the team. Both sides of these story are gonna deal with some heavy shit, but the Remnant side is gonna be the depressed side, at least as long as it takes for Oz to tell them maybe the other's aren't dead leading to desperate attempts to get the staff OR the make desperate attempts to get the relics back anyways and inadvertently find out from Ambrosius what is up. But anyways. Winter is gonna be dealing with survivors guilt and the loss of both her little sisters (friends are great but Penny was little sister zoned and it's a hill I am prepared to die on. good sisterly relationships are friendships too). Nora is gonna be doing her self discovery thing. Ren is gonna be building on his end of vol.8 developments. Oscar will continue his grappling with the merge stuff. Qrow and Willow might get forced into AA. Whitely is gonna learn his own definition of being a Schnee instead of what his dad taught him.

NINTH BIG THEORY (OR FOURTH VERSION 3): The other way they get out is QORN obtain and use the staff to bring them home, potentially by trading enemy lives for them.

BONUS CONSPIRACY THEORY: QORN if presented with needing to trade for their loved ones & lost civilians have a lightbulb moment and decide hey why not trap Salem in a pocket universe since that is a thing Ambrosius can make? Like, if this bitch hasn't budged on her not learning to appreaciate life and humanity or whatever (which I'n pretty sure is the other way to break her curse instead of stopping remnant from turning) then she's a prime candidate for shoving into a personal reality that you can only escape if you can face your problems long enough to break the cycle they have you in. It'd be really fucked up but I think it might actually be possible to run the place using her as her own material component. Like kill her over and over and redistribute the energy to make the pocket world, but because god given power + Ambrosius can't actually destroy she just reforms anyways. MIght take a few hundred thousand deaths but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Or use the BoD oasis/grimm pools to make a world that mirrored the one she chose to live in on Remnant really make it hard for her to break that cycle....

Anyways.

TENTH BIG THEORY: Working on the idea that the relics are actually hidden in secret protected pockets of the underworld RWBY+J are gonna have a secondary quest of trying to get the relics from this side, and either finding a new place to hide them ages away from their vault doors. If you wanna make it a FOURTH VERSION 4, they're specifically gonna seek out the sword of destruction (HOLY VORPAL BLADE ALLUSIONS BATMAN) either with the intent of cutting their way out underworld--ahem wonderland--or with the assumption that someone is inevitably gonna have to open the vault door, because that's just how things be these days and they'll be able to cross to Vacuo from there.

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sorcerersofnyc · 3 years

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The Last Thing Left (Zemo x F!Reader) 9/9 - The Epilogue

If it wasn’t so painfully ironic (and hilarious to watch,) Helmut would find the relationship between Sam and James a little sad.

Ghosts weren’t enough to hold two people together.

While they wait for Torres to locate Donya Madani, Zemo brings Sam and Bucky to the home he once shared with you.

You reunite and he reflects upon his relationship with you (his wife’s friend and his friend’s wife) and your journey from being people with mutual friends to partners.

Part Nine: You Carry On

Angst, brief allusions to sex, I use Serbian Cyrillic as a stand-in for Sokovian.

Note: Main Character is neutral in most regards, but the story was written with my own cultural background in mind. (In other words, I won’t say what she looks like but I envision her as being black.)

First Chapter | Previous

***

You watch him go.

You watch him leave you once again— watch him go off into some dark, unknown future you can never be a part of.

And it hurts.

It hurts to know how much you’ll miss him, hurts to think you'll never see him again.

You take a deep breath (and another and another and another) but the pain only spreads faster as dread closes in all around you.

You feel lost in it, drowned by it, changed by it—but you won’t surrender to it. You’ve walked this road before and you know the way forward. So you take a step, then another, and you turn away from the outside world with a heavy, ragged breath.

The kitchen is far too cheery now. The sun streams inside through the open curtains, and the smell of coffee lingers in the air. Helmut washed the dishes before he left, leaving only his favorite mug behind. It stares at you from its place on the countertop, its dark ceramic gleaming in the light.

You don’t feel your knees buckle or your hands shake, you don’t feel the mangled sob rising up from your chest, you don’t feel the tears that gather at the corner of your eyes and pour down your cheeks like heavy rain.

Your body lurches forward. You reach out to steady yourself but somehow manage to knock the mug over instead. It strikes the title with a sickening clink that echoes through the air.

It chips, but it doesn't shatter. The coffee spills from the mouth and spreads fans out in every direction, staining the tiles on the floor.

Helmut would never know you chipped his favorite mug—but you cry about it anyway.

You cry for the life you could have had together, one where you dumped the stale remnants of his coffee every morning, one where your first kiss wasn’t also the last, one where he held you every day, and you healed your hearts together instead of apart.

You cried because your feelings had no place else to go.

Time passes.

You’re alright; you don’t break, or bend, or toil beneath the weight of your grief. The world moves forward, and so do you:

Anežka returns. (“How was the Baron?” She asks you. “We’re the two of you able to… become familiar with one another?” You wish.)

You learn Helmut was taken to the raft. (You order his affairs and have his things sent over to him.)

Sam Wilson becomes Captain America. (He gives a speech that inspires the world to do better.)

The Flag Smashers are killed in a car bombing. (‘No suspects as of yet,’ the report says and your heart tightens at the thought of who might have been responsible.)

You carry on.

You receive a package in the mail one day, a thick brochure from The Raft outlining the specifics of a Prison Work Rehabilitation Program.

The front photo was disturbingly picturesque, framing the facility as less of a prison and more like a seaside resort.

'Propaganda,’ you think as you flip through the glossy pages. The program is endorsed by some guy named Thaddeus Ross. You think he was a general or a secretary or something but you aren’t quite sure.

The back of the brochure displays an image of a happy family reuniting and you roll your eyes. Prisoners on the Raft don’t get to go home to their families.

You toss the brochure away without a second thought.

A few weeks later, you’re sent flowers after an art show. It’s a beautiful arrangement; twelve thick-stemmed roses wrapped in gold foil.

It adds a classic touch to the modern look of the Visiting Artists’ Office, standing out amongst the dark tables and chairs. But it’s the card that catches your attention; it was left completely blank.

You aren’t sure how you feel about having a secret admirer but you take the flowers home regardless. They’d look nice in a vase near the window, the bright reds mixing with the autumn leaves.

The trip home is short and uneventful and you thank your driver on the way to the door.

You slide your house slippers on and are surprised to see Anežka’s pink one’s by the door as well. You can hear her in the kitchen, opening and closing the doors of the pantry as the air grows warm with the spices of her favorite tea.

“Anežka,” You call out, “I’m home!”

You set the flowers on a side table, barely conscious of the soft footsteps trailing in from the kitchen till Anežka sets her mug down on the coffee table.

“Look what I’ve got. A 'secret admirer’ sent them. Should we put them here or downstairs?” You take an artful picture of the arrangement.

“Neither is a wholly appropriate place.”

You freeze.

Your mind draws blank as it fails to process the words you heard someone other than Anežka speak.

You turn around quickly, knocking the flowers off the table as you do.

“Helmut?” Your voice lowers as a million feelings bubble up inside of you. They threaten to explode.

Helmut is there—right there—dressed in nothing but a bathrobe and his house slippers with a cat-like smile stretched across his handsome features.

He strides forward with confidence, stopping so close you nearly reel back.

“These are special flowers, драга, brought all the way from Ecuador.” He kneels before you, the hem of his robe splitting at the knee to offer a very seductive glimpse of his thigh.

He reaches around you, grabs the fallen bouquet, and sets them gingerly on the table as he stands. “We should place these in your bedroom so you may admire them every night.”

“What’s happening?” You finally manage to ask him, “what’s going on?”

“I’m home,” Helmut teases, speaking as though you failed to notice his soft brown eyes, his damp hair, or the heat that surges between you as he stands close enough to touch, to kiss if you wanted.

He brushes a hand against your cheek.

“Helmut,” you whisper again, but your voice is stern and more controlled this time. “How are you here? You’re supposed to be in Raft.” Despite your words, you lean a little closer, resting both hands against his chest, near the opening of his robe.

“It seems someone of great influence decided my sentence was better served outside the walls of the prison.”

“Like civil service?” You ask, but then you remember the brochure you received in the mail— the propaganda, or so you believed. “Or… Prison Work Rehabilitation?”

“Something like that. There’s a team,” he makes a flippant gesture with his hand before bringing it to rest on the curve of your hip. “Though I needed time to address the matter of my… financial limitations.”

“Limitations?”

“Of course.” He pulls you closer, encircling you in his arms. “The holder of my assets is quite a formidable woman. I thought it best to pay her a visit, to request access to the full extent of my resources. As stubborn as she is, I assume it will take a great many visits.”

“That would be wise,” You nod slowly, a wide smile coming to your face.

“I can’t be with you always, драга,” he tells you, “but I will be here.”

And you don’t quite remember what you promise in reply (or if you promised anything at all) because he kisses you.

Your fingers slide down his chest, brushing past his chest hair and the little charm he wears around his neck.

You don’t know how long you stay there, kissing, and sighing, and melting in the arms of the man you love, but you’re vaguely aware of being walked back against the wall, of the front door opening and closing at some point, and of Anežka pausing by the threshold, groceries in hand.

“Anežka,” He greets her, but his dark and hungry gaze lingers on you, only you.

“Hello, Baron… It’s good to see you.” Her voice waivers, but the sentiment is real. “M-Miss,” she nods in your direction.

“Hi, Anežka.” You’re not quite sure what to say.

“Why don’t you take a few days off?” Helmut suggests, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll take care of things here.”

“O-of course, Baron—Thank you.” Anežka glances between you one more time before setting the bags down near the door. “Good luck, Miss!” She calls out before leaving.

And as her footsteps grow quiet and hush in the distance, his eyes meet yours and his kiss finds its home upon your lips.

(And later when Helmut comes undone beneath your gaze and the rocking of your hips against his, you bring him home once again.)

And he keeps coming home to you.

***

And so we've reached the end. Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate all the support. This was my first fanfic in many years and I'm glad I could bring it to a close.

The end is a bit of wishful thinking on my part but I wanted to end on a happy note.

I'll probably write one or two bonuschapter that's basically just smut. So if you're 18+ and would like to remain on the taglist (or be added,) just let me know!

Taglist:

@actuallyanita, @fillechatoyante, @viviace, @buckyandlokicanhaveme, @sapphiredreamer26, @robur-bellicum, @apparrio

#Zemo #baron zemo #helmut zemo #mcu zemo #reader x zemo

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oof-big-oof · 3 years

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ACOTAR and Setups Part II: Tamlin and Rhysand

SPOILERS: ACOTAR series (and Macbeth too ig)

Part 1: Feyre

In "Macbeth", Macbeth and Banquo are narrative foils to each other. While Banquo is loyal to the king and uses language of growth and imagery of nature when he speaks, the traitor Macbeth's words are full of references to destruction, fire, and unholy happenings. Foils are not just good ways to explore character traits, but also excellent for setting up conflicts and exploring the thematic concerns of the world.

I think it's safe to say Tamlin and Rhysand are foils. They have opposing imagery (spring, flowers and sun for Tamlin, winter, snow and night for Rhysand) and always stand in opposition to each other when it comes to Feyre's narrative, switching in and out of being the "bad guy" and the "good guy". But the way this is handled is .... eh.

I'm going to look at shifts in Feyre, Tamlin and Rhys that work of this foil - and try to look for when and how they were set up.

1. Feyre's shift - TW: discussions of abuse, mental health issues

In the first book, Tamlin is a source of protection and love for Feyre. But by the second book, Feyre is not only struggling with her PTSD but has begun to realise that life at the Spring Court as a dolled up accessory might not be for her. By the end of the book, she has found her place in the Night Court - by Rhysand's side. And honestly? Go girl! Go live up to your potential!

The problem arises with how this is done - that is, Sarah J Mass never does the brunt work of showing us why Feyre cares. It is plausible she is motivated by a desire to protect the human lands, but we never actually see that. There isn't a moment where she realises she needs to work for a greater good, or a moment she realises that she needs to protect those more vulnerable than her - instead, the narrative has her tolerating abuse until she finally has had enough.

Which is great. I have got to admit that I really like the explicit rejection of a happily ever after storyline for Feyre because it took away her agency. But we get this radical shift in character motivation from wanting to be protected and comfortable with those she loves to desiring agency and understanding of herself in two lines:

"The girl who had needed to be protected and who had craved stability and comfort... she had died Under the Mountain"

and

"I didn't know how to go back to those things. To being docile"

hhhhhh. I mean - if you have to say it that explicitly, you're already doing something wrong. But also, why? We never see Feyre struggling with herself in her new body, and wondering why she does not want the same things as she did when she was a human, never see an impetus point for when her desires shifted.

But honestly? I don't mind Feyre's arc. I think it's a bit confused and lacks clarity or intent, and as a result, it is harder to root for her because you don't quite know what she wants, but I think it's still quite good. Where I really have problems are with Tamlin ad Rhys.

2. Tamlin - TW: discussions of abuse, mental health issues

I am not a fan of Tamlin's arc. You could argue that it is part of the thematic message of the series: that things are not as they seem. Tamlin is the wolf to the savour to the abuser, Rhysand is the "most beautiful man " Feyre had ever seen to Amarantha's monster to Feyre's eventual mate. But - the constant twists are unnecessary, more importantly, they and have little to no foreshadowing and just seem like retcons- making it seem as if they are there to keep the audience guessing rather than genuine plot progressions. This becomes even more obvious when the series abandons its core theme of "appearance vs reality" altogether, and as a result loses a lot of its cohesion: a direct consequence of having a bad setup.

His reason for doing the abusive things he does is conveyed to us in two lines, in the same monologue that Feyre's motivation is:

"Tamlin had gotten his powers back, had become whole again - become that protector and provider he wished to be"

Sure. He was much more powerful than Feyre when they first met, so I am having a hard time buying it is the return of the powers that his making him act this way. We know that his actions come from a genuine desire to protect Feyre - this is the guy that was willing to sacrifice his life multiple times and the future of his entire court to keep her safe. The only justification we have left then for the way he acts is that his PTSD, borne out of the trauma and torture he underwent and watched Feyre undergo changed him in some way.

This is why the endless villainizing of Tamlin makes me really uncomfortable. While it is true that the abused can become the abuser, and figuring out how to help them while protecting yourself is something that absolutely needs to be discussed and explored - the way it is done with Tamlin is horrendous because he is never given a chance to heal. Instead, he is thrown from plot point to plot point, an eternal punching bag for the Inner Circle and others to seem morally superior in front of.

And his treatment of Feyre is just weird. If he's so concerned about her safety - why does he not wake up when she has nightmares? Is he instead trying to pretend like everything is okay - if so why does he give Feyre an escort of guards? If his core motivation is protecting Feyre at all costs - why does he lash out at her?? And the text really tries to tell us how to feel about him in this regard, but it doesn't do it very well. For example, take the scene where Tamlin says "There is no such thing as a High Lady". Feyre a second before expressed her desire not to take on any responsibility, and Tamlin responded with this - and the text really makes us want to hate him for it, but all you can see is a person who is perhaps not the best at reading subtext trying his best.

In conclusion - Tamlin's shift to the villain of the narrative is hamhanded and underexplained, making it hard to genuinely hate him, and further confusing the narrative.

3. Rhys the foil gets the girl - TW: discussions of abuse, sexual assault mental health issues

Rhysand in the first book is interesting - he clearly has a heart and a soft spot for Feyre but is also a schemer with dubious motives that drugs and sexually harasses Feyre. There are places in the set up where we understand he cares - but never where we can begin to see he might be a genuine paragon of virtue.

And I will address this more in my post on ACOMAF, but the point I am trying to make here is: we are told through the constantly opposing imagery that Rhys and Tamlin are wolds apart - but never actually given examples of how. Rhys is said to be different from Tamlin because he respects Feyre's choice - but he drugs her in a bunch of weird scenes (that serve no clear narrative purpose by the way - like what was he trying to achieve? why he couldn't he just let Feyre in on that part of the plan?) and withholds information from her about life-threatening situations. Rhys is said to pull less rank - but we multiple times see others defer to him, especially in later books, and never actually see rank being enforced in Tamlin's court with his treatment of Lucien (many times described as his partner, and openly questioning him) and later Ianthe. Rhys is said to have less archaic laws in opposition to Tamlin's Tithe - but he abandons the Court of Nightmares to the monsters who rule it, and never takes serious actions against the Illyrian people who clip of women's wings, and a lot of Tamlin's idea of racial superiority and general superiority just come completely out of left field in the middle of ACOMAF.

Both of them are problematic - it's just that the text tells us to root for one, without actually showing us how one is better, or setting up any clear ideological difference between them. And that cheapens Feyre's character shift and lessen the efficacy of the foil - turning it into Feyre hopping from one lover to the other with little to no character consistency and no nuanced exploration of the theme of the series or trauma.

#tamlin #rhysand #feyre #anti rhysand #anti feyre #tamlin deserved better #critique #anti sjm #anti acotar #anti acomaf #god adding tags exhausting #anti sarah j mass

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yurimother · 4 years

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LGBTQ Manga Review – Yuri Is My Job Vol. 1-5

Yuri is a genre deeply rooted in its history and traditions. Dating back over a century, many of the scenes and situations from early "Class S" literature still predominate Yuri titles today. Common elements include senpai-kohai relationships between a bright and cheerful younger girl and an older, more assertive upper-classman. The bonds between the two were not the romantic and sexual love of lesbian narratives, but more sate or "pure" relationships often devoid of lesbian identity or attraction. The presence of S elements ebbed and rose over the past century, but they experienced a surge at the end of the 20th century. Contemporary S literature dominated the Yuri scene for at least a decade, and even now, its effects are still seen in many works today.

Naturally, as with any genre that becomes too entrenched with tropes or clichés, Class S literature became the subject of parody, commentary, and deliberate defiance. And while numerous works have repeated, twisted, rejected, and exaggerated tropes, perhaps none have done so quite as masterfully or as enjoyably as Miman's Yuri Is My Job! The series uses S Yuri's ideas uniquely and masterfully weaves a narrative in and out of them with a layered setting and great characters. The constant balance between and integration of reference, humor, and a strong core narrative had me gleefully enthralled and thoughtfully pouring over every page. I ravenously consumed the series, not just because of the cute cakes and elegant young women, but because I was so invested in the story and intrigued by the manga's premise.

Breaking down every reference is far too daunting a task that frankly deserves its own dedicated article. Still, to briefly overview, Yuri Is My Job! is set primarily at a café themed after an all-girls mission school, Liebe Grils Academy. The servers of the café act as the elite students of the fictitious academy and offer outside visitors, patrons of the establishment, a glimpse into their forbidden world of elegance and sisterly love. The series follows high school student Hime after she starts working at Liebe after accidentally injuring the manager, Mai. The series takes off from there, with Hime participating in the various themed events and navigating challenging relationships with coworkers, including her hostile schwester, the upperclassman who mentors her, and, in the world of the café, partners her.

Yuri Is My Job! is much more enjoyable with an understanding of S literature and themes, as references can slip by readers otherwise. However, particularly after the first volume, the series opens up a little more with an overarching plot that dips in and out of the thematic S material. Even without a grasp of S tropes, readers can enjoy watching server Kanoko struggle with her hidden affection for Hime or get caught up in the excitement and scheming during a popularity competition between the staff.

Throughout the first five volumes, multiple shorter narratives, such as the cook getting sick or Hime learning how to serve guests, are interwoven with the overarching character and relationship-driven story. Although almost every character has plenty of time to shine and distinguish themselves, the main plot revolves around three characters, Hime, Yano, and Kanoko.

Hime, the protagonist, maintains a constant facade of the sweet and beloved princess. However, her adorable and charming act is just that, and only two people in her life know her secret, Yano, and Kanoko. Inside the café, Yano acts as Hime's "onee-sama", holding her close and praising her to the delight of Liebe's patrons. However, she is terse and often angry with the girl, unable to move beyond a misunderstanding in their shared past and her insecurities about Hime's true feelings. Kanoko however, acts as a foil to Yano. She relishes Hime's facade, specifically in that she is one of the few privy to the truth, and harbors an attraction to her; she hides these feelings rather than wear them on her sleeve as Yano does. The dynamic between these three drives much of the "action" in the manga.

The more I read Yuri Is My Job! The more I was able to see and appreciate the distinct patterns of storytelling and how the main plot is woven between three layers. The first, and most prominent, is inside the café, in a world dominated by S tropes. Here, characters play politics and plot against each other using their performance and the audience's reaction. For example, thinking how they will get votes for themselves or others during a contest, or else Hime acting cute and loving around Yano, forcing her to return the affection to maintain their roles as schewstern. Outside the fictional world of the café, elements of the story alternate between more grounded drama and thematic moments featuring Yuri tropes. Miman beautifully navigates the relationship between the plot and the parody, weaving a delightful story in and out of different classic Yuri scenarios.

Miman matches this creative story and setting with excellent artwork. Character designs are distinctive and well constructed. So much, that when characters say something "off-screen", a small sketch of their eyes and mouth in the speech bubble is more than sufficient to identify the speaker. Of course, the robust and developed personalities also assist here, as most lines are easily attributable thanks to solid writing and strong personality. The art also features very creative paneling, with almost every page having an entirely different layout. However, the order is still easy to follow and reads naturally.

Not only is the art pleasing to look at, but it also adds to the manga's setting and parody of Yuri tropes. Panels feature the girls holding each other in dramatic and literally flowery poses, like a shot straight out of Strawberry Panic, complete with a backdrop of lilies. Appropriately, these fantasy-inspired poses occur in the café, often to the pleasure of adoring patrons screaming in celebration (thus mirroring my reactions). Like the other Yuri tropes, these artistic presentations occasionally jump outside of the café in more emotional or poignant moments. However, in a few crucial scenes, those more related to the narrative when it steps outside the boundaries of Class S, feature more grounded, although still dramatic, art. A particular shot in Volume 4 where Kanoko confides her hidden feelings to her senior, Sumika, and is comforted, sticks out in my mind just for this reason. It is a perfect example of art assisting the themes of the narrative and changing to suit the situation.

Yuri Is My Job! focuses mainly on Class S style storytelling, and thus, while it has plenty of traditional Yuri imagery, there is a starkly limited amount of lesbian content. Sure, readers can enjoy a decent number of illustrations featuring girls holding each other in a dramatic pose, but this is the act put on for the cafe, which is copying the "practice" relationships of S literature, themselves devoid of lesbian attraction. It is an imitation of an imitation, not queer content. Of course, this is by design, but it does mean that if readers want a grounded lesbian romance, they will find the series lacking. A bit of lesbian content does exist, Kanoko's crush on Hime exists outside the boundaries of work and S tropes, a relationship told in a flashback was, at least to one of the characters, "real," and there are signs of an eventual romance. However, the lack of lesbian identity should not be a reason to avoid this excellent manga.

Yuri Is My Job! is one of the most brilliant and exciting Yuri works out there. The ways Miman plays with the tropes and expectations of the genre are hilarious, complex, and exceptionally compelling. The characters are exciting and watching their stories weave through different classic Yuri scenes and tropes is as breathtaking as it is enjoyable. My sincere thanks to Diana Taylor, and Jennifer Skarupa and editor Haruko Hashimoto, for so deftly translating this series and preserving the S ties. I cannot wait to visit the students, or rather employees, of Liebe Girls Academy, in Volume 6.

Ratings: Story – 10 Characters – 8 Art – 9 LGBTQ – 3 (Yuri 10) Sexual Content – 1 Final – 9

Review copies provided by Kodansha Comics

Get Yuri Is My Job! digitally and in paperback today: https://amzn.to/3gNNeRt

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#yuri #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+#queer #gay #romance #manga #art #reviews #yuri is my job #lesbian #shoujo #comics #literature #girls love #wlw

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dalekofchaos · 3 years

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Harbinger and The Illusive Man

Something I think would’ve fixed Mass Effect 3 while also keeping the plot and the dynamic of The Reapers and Cerberus as the main threat is making Harbinger the big bad and The Illusive Man as his puppet or as The Illusive Man could’ve put it his “partner”

My other ME3 metas

ME3 mistakes

ME3 ending fix

I cannot state how much I hate that Harbinger is almost nonexistent in this game.

The thing that annoyed me most about ME3 is the fact that Harbinger is not the main threat. The Illusive Man is. Harbinger has been built up as the big bad since ME2. "YOU HAVE FAILED. WE WILL FIND ANOTHER WAY." He says as he discards the Collectors. Then his speech to Shepard as the base blows up. "Human, you've changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction. You will surrender your potential against the growing void. We return, and you will rise. We are the harbinger of your perfection. We will bring your species into harmony with our own. Your species will be raised to a new existence. We are the beginning, you will be the end. Prepare for our domination. Prepare for our coming." Then in Arrival, he came pretty damn close to unleashing quick subjugation and harvest upon an unprepared galaxy. Upon Shepard foiling his plans. "Shepard. You have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to serve us. Know this as you die in vain: Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the Arrival." The perfect final villain right? Unfortunately, Cerberus was more focused on than The Reapers. My problem with Cerberus and no Harbinger is Too many Cerberus, too few Reaper forces in plot. We fight Cerberus more often than the reapers. Hardly any boss fight and the one with Reaper Destroyer on Rannoch was more an interactive movie than fight. During the Horizon mission in Mass Effect 2, Harbinger was solidified as the Big Bad. It was menacing and ominous, with just the right amount of annoying. It taunted us throughout the game, telling us how insignificant we were, and how our actions were pointless. It was willing to posses drones through the Collector General to fight us personally, and when we killed the host, it tossed them aside. Harbinger even gave the typical “You haven’t seen the last of me!” villain rant. It made any fire fight frustrating, and that made me want to kill it even more; I hated Harbinger. Many games fail to do that. Harbinger was an enemy which I looked forward to defeating. I had the desire to annihilate. In Mass Effect 3, I got a codex entry and a cameo. Harbinger just swoops in at the last second and blows my friends and I to hell(and lets the Normandy save them), then flies off. Personally, I would have loved to hear Harbinger’s menacing monologue, it drove me on. I would have felt a deeper motivation to take the fight back to Earth if it told me how much destruction the Reapers were causing, how many lives were lost. I felt cheated when I got to the final mission, only to suddenly realize it was largely absent from the game. Harbinger has been replaced. Replaced by the Illusive Man and Kai Leng. The former is an old acquaintance, albeit one now controlled by the Reapers. The latter is a space ninja from a terrible book.

I will admit. The Illusive Man is a worthy foe and someone worthy enough to be Harbinger’s Saren. Kai Leng however is a terrible counterpart for Shepard.

Kai Leng. Sucks. Period. Here is a long in depth version on why he sucks. Even in the novels Leng is a terrible character. He’s a edgelord racist. He couldn’t even kill Anderson, he almost got taken out by an aging Drell with stage 7 Drell cancer. Oh but he has snarky one liners and he sent that stupid fucking email after Thesia. KAI LENG SUCKS! He is not even interesting. I genuinely fucking sighed when he was introduced. When he killed Thane, all I could think of was “really?”. When he sent that little email I just rolled my eyes. When I saw him at the temple all I could think of was “not you again”. When he “beat” me on Thessia(I would have unloaded my N7 Typhoon and sent his whiny ass into oblivion, but game mechanics said I couldn’t) I just felt angry that such a stupid character ever made it past the writing board. Oh and BULLSHIT. Thane and Kirrahe would have killed Kai Leng. Even near his death bed, Thane could still kill Kai Leng. Kirrahe is a hardened veteran, he is AN STG MAJOR! Kirrahe would have killed Kai Leng in a blink of a fucking eye. Here is my take on Kai Leng. He should have been killed on Priority:Citadel. If you do not save Kirrahe or don’t talk to Thane. Shepard should kill Kai Leng. If you saved Kirrahe but don’t talk to Thane. Kirrahe comes out of cloak and bombards Leng with Scorpion rounds and Leng blows up. If you talked to Thane, Thane would blow Kai Leng’s head off. The only reason why Leng is presented as a threat is cutscene logic and bad one liners.

But back to The Illusive Man and Harbinger

To make Harbinger work as the big bad, we need to have Harbinger constantly “ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL”

Near the end of the first mission, before Shepard contacts the Normandy, we would see Harbinger’s hologram appear like it did in Arrival. Harbinger taunting Shepard. that the harvest begins.

Instead of suggesting Control, The Illusive Man is basically saying The Reapers can uplift Humanity and ascend them and dominate the other races. With Harbinger’s help, Humanity will be the ultimate force in the galaxy

Everytime we fight Reaper forces, Harbinger is there to “ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL”

Kai Leng dies on The failed coup on the Citadel. The Illusive Man does not care as he is close to finding The Catalyst

On Rannoch, instead of a Destroyer Reaper talking to Shepard, Harbinger’s hologram will appear. Harbinger will continue to taunt Shepard, but Shepard shows that everyone is coming together to end the Reapers once and for all. Harbinger would not say that the Reapers are needed to keep synthetics from killing organics. He would say The Reapers are there to ascend and are your salvation through destruction. Harbinger’s end quotes from ME2 is basically the premise of The Reapers end goals. That's all it needed to be.

On Thesia, The Illusive Man will explain to Shepard that Harbinger chose him. After The First Contact War, TIM found a Reaper artifact. In that artifact, he was contacted by Harbinger. He lost his human vision, but awakened to the truth and because of Harbinger’s guidance, he founded Cerberus. Strength for Cerberus is strength for humanity. TIM believes he and Harbinger together they could uplift and empower humanity over the lesser races. The Illusive Man is to Harbinger, as what Saren was for Soverign. He will then tell Shepard, he plans on using the Crucible to finish what the Collectors started. Completing the Human Reaper. Then TIM sends a group of Phantoms, Nemesis and Cerberus Dragons to face Shepard in place of Leng. Thesia falls.

Sanctuary is used to create Husks and harvest humans to help create the Human Reaper

At Cerberus Headquarters, TIM says Harbinger knew more about the Citadel than Soverign. There is more than one Conduit and he found it. Vendetta will reveal that the Citadel was moved by Harbinger and taken it to Earth to complete the harvest

The confrontation between Shepard, Anderson and TIM happens but we know how TIM is on the Citadel and if you read my ending fix, you will know that Anderson would’ve went to the beam with Shepard and they are transported to the same place

Shepard will ask “Why didn’t Harbinger kill me?” “Because, we need you to understand and we need you to believe”

Same confrontation ends with either Shepard shooting TIM dead or TIM killing himself after Shepard uses paragon or renegade to reveal that Harbinger used him all his life

After Anderson passes. Harbinger “Assumes Control” over TIM’s dead body. Harbinger will explain the purpose of the Harvests. The explanation is the original ending of Dark energy. The Reapers as a whole were ‘nations’ of people who had fused together in the most horrific way possible to help find a way to stop the spread of the Dark Energy. The real reason for the Human Reaper was supposed to be the Reapers saving throw because they had run out of time. Humanity in Mass Effect is supposedly unique because of its genetic diversity and represented the universe’s best chance at stopping Dark Energy’s spread. We have a choice either Sacrifice humanity, allowing them to be horrifically processed in hopes that the end result will justify the means or use The Crucible to destroy The Reapers and find a way to stop the dark energy from spreading and it shows it is hopeful with a united galaxy. However, if we choose destroy, Harbinger will attempt to stop Shepard. A Reaperfied TIM appears and Shepard fights him, while The Normandy fights Harbinger. If we choose sacrifice humanity, Shepard will be the final catalyst to completing the Human Reaper. But obviously no one will choose that choice as the entire point of the trilogy is to destroy The Reapers. So we get a hopeful ending. The united galaxy will work together to stop the spread of dark energy, as Hackett said “If we can put aside our grievances long enough to stop The Reapers, imagine what we can do together”

There, I came up with a way to have the best of both worlds. Harbinger and The Illusive Man as the big bads.

I also made The Reapers motivation to actually work. They are there to control the chaos. The harvests end with a creation of The Reaper and The Reapers are the pinnacle of evolution Harbinger’s speech at the end of ME2 was enough for a motivation. The Reapers are our salvation from the coming void. They want to ascend humanity to perfection. That makes complete sense and makes more sense than destroying everyone to save everyone????? WHo fucking wrote this Starchild garbage???

The point is, The Reapers and The Illusive Man could’ve worked as the big bads collectively together.

#Mass Effect #Mass Effect Legendary Edition #Mass Effect 3 #Commander Shepard #Femshep #The Illusive Man #Harbinger #Cerberus #The Reapers

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