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amariemelody · 3 years

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Under the Bonnet Debate, it Smells like Misogynoir

I know that the discourse over Black women wearing bonnets, scarves, head wraps, do-rags, etc. in public is nothing new. I know a lot of the discussion on what Black women can and cannot, should and should not say or do in public period is nothing new.

I am a Black woman who admittedly would not wear a bonnet (I'll shorten the many coverings we can wear to just "bonnet" from here on out) in public. The most I'll wear it outside is if I'm just checking the mail box, picking up a package outside the door, and/or taking some trash out. Otherwise, I'm inside my home when I wear my head wraps. I sport an afro and admit I've only started wearing coverings regularly as recently as last year. They've helped my hair retain moisture and start to grow even more; they've helped me stop an anxiety tic of mine wherein I pull, tug, twist, etc. at my hair until it's breaking off and my hands have leeched all the moisture out; they’ve also helped protect my hair from the heat of my shower, right under my shower cap.

So I'm a Bonnet-in-the-house Black girl...and I am still 10,000% down for Black women who wear bonnets outside of their home.

There seems to be a reinvigorated camp for those who say that Black women should never wear bonnets outside of their house. I'm not surprised but one of their justifications stands out to me because it is...an empty, dangerous platitude. That platitude is, to paraphrase, "We should want to look and be our best at all times. Because remember one of us represents all of us."

One of us represents all of us.

Initially it can sound...comforting and empowering. Simple social common sense for Black women constantly under besiege from misogynoir. It possibly even echoes of popular expressions and movements like #BlackGirlMagic or #BlackGirlsRock, both of which I use and enjoy quite a bit.

But it's not any of those things.

And I don't despise it simply because it's wrong-I despise it because it's actually only half-true and it is a half-truth Black women the world over should reject.

When it comes to bonnets, we're being told that we shouldn't want to be represented on one side of the half-that is, the half wherein we appear less than presentable in public. And bonnets in public are considered less than presentable.

This is playing into a game that all Black women of all shapes, sizes, shades, socioeconomic status, etc. are well familiar: the game of body policing.

Body policing based upon white supremacist, kyriarchal standards. Body policing that neither really benefits anyone nor lets anyone win-not even cishet, able-bodied, conventional white men can win at the end of the day and certainly never Black women.

And truly the policing of bonnets is but a longtime sibling of overall body policing, which begins even before anyone cares about what we do and do not put on our heads. And that body policing is not just dangerous because of the immense psychological and emotional damage it can create, but because for the most part 1.) black women cannot readily escape our bodies and 2.) a lot of the vitriolic misogynoir is often directed at how our bodies simply naturally occur.

Take my natural body for example. Regardless of the fact that I don't wear bonnets in public myself.

I am a plus-sized, dark-skinned black woman. I am 5"6; weigh well over 200 lbs (stress been making me gain weight long before the pandemic); have broad/wide shoulders; have a natural 'fro; and did I mention that I'm plus-sized?

From the time of my childhood, because of the intersections of misogynoir, sizeism, and fatphobia against my natural body, I have been made to feel that:

Just by existing in public, I automatically take up too much space/more than my fair share of space. It is always space that I do not deserve and I should always work to shrink myself as much as possible and stay out of other people’s way.

I am automatically aggressive, antagonistic, and angry/easy to anger. I'm a hair trigger always just waiting for my moment.

I am naturally dirty/unhygienic and unkempt.

I am neither attractive/desirable (at least not within the context of my own agency and consent) nor should I even think about expressing attraction/desire for someone else.

There's no way in the world I possess any kind of varied, valuable intelligence and thoughts.

There's no way in the world I possess any kind of healthy, mature communication skills.

That was a lot to unpack in not so many bullet points.

And understand this is just what I've learned is projected onto my body as it naturally occurs. This is before I even open my mouth to say "Hello". This is before getting to what I’m wearing. This is before getting to my actual demeanor/aura.

All of this comes before whatever I may or may not be wearing on my head.

On a side note, I hadn't realized how much of this I had subconsciously internalized and how it influenced how the way I moved and navigated my body in public. For example if I need to brush past people, I of course always say, "Excuse me"; I also often give a smile if the person can see it. I do this so easily that it's all but a reflex. But because of the breadth of my body and the brownness of my skin, there's been many a time when I feel that I actually bowled the other person over and shouted at them to get out of my way.

I'm still working on feeling safe and comfortable enough to naturally claim public space.

But yes, that is my natural body which, again, is something that I can neither readily change nor escape. It is often found quite wanting for being positive representation of my fellow Black women.

That means that I have to contend with one side of that half-truth: my natural body as it simply exists is deemed not positive representation of Black women as a whole, is considered to be the rule proven.

And the rule is that, as a Black woman, I am not presentable no matter what I step out of the house looking like. Bonnet or no bonnet.

Now when you get to my personality, traits, habits, etc…I’m very much the opposite of what is projected onto my body. The contradiction people don’t expect often starts with my voice: it’s naturally soft, pretty low in volume, and a little high in pitch. I smile readily and easily (hell, sometimes I smile and make funny faces in my bathroom mirror to make myself feel better). I’m often so agreeable and companionable that when I was a senior in high school I won the senior superlative of “Friendliest” out of 400+ other senior students. And to this day people still say that I am [one of] the sweetest, kindest people they’ve ever met.

I am a giant nerd who absolutely loves to learn and has generally done well in school all my life; when I can quiet and clear my mind enough for it, I am an avid reader. As an adult, I still often find myself being as inquisitive about the world around me as when I was a child.

More or less to White and non-Black people of color, all of these are considered positive representations of a Black woman. And people typically just have to get to the “Hello” phase with me to find out one of my above traits.

But when those positive traits are brought to light-and they’re often brought to light quickly-I am now pigeonholed on the other end of the spectrum. That is, I am no longer the rule proven but the exception to the rule.

The psyche of bigotry cannot and does not want to conceive that their target can ever be anything other than the negativities and deficiencies it projects onto them. When said target proves those projections wrong, it is just often far too difficult-possibly even unthinkable-that that single positive can renew and refresh the perception of the whole. Instead, it is much easier for the single positive be treated as an outlier, an exception so that the perception of the whole can remain the same.

White supremacy has many neuroses in place that make sure to always allow White people to win while people of color, especially Black people, always lose. One such neurosis is that when people of color have negative attributes, setbacks, traits, etc. applied to them, they remain the sore thumb that proves the rule, but if they have positive attributes, accomplishments, traits, etc. applied to them…they then become an exception to the rule.

The true phenomenon is not, “Black women, every time you step out of your house, you represent all of us as a whole” but actually, “Black women, every time you step out of your house and you say/do/are something bad or simply perceived as bad (i.e, wearing bonnets in public), then you represent us as a whole. But every time you step out of your house and you say/do/are something positive or simply perceived as positive (i.e, not wearing bonnets in public), then and only then do you represent yourself as an exception to the rule.”

And to digress a little, in my experience it honestly is not fun being deemed the positive exception. It caused me to grow up suffering a huge disassociation between who I was and what I was. From everyone including other Black girls that bullied me for being different from them to well-meaning White teachers, I started to internalize that my personality meant I was not a typical Black girl. Or barely a Black girl at all.

Long story short, it wasn’t until about my early twenties that I was able to start on the road to un-internalize that terrible mess. I learned that I can say that I am nice and kind and smart and giggly and still Black. I am a lot of good things and I am also Black Black Blackity Black. Generally positive traits are not paradoxical with Blackness because to be Black is not a bad thing that must compensated for.

Black girls and women can be and are a lot of good things and our Blackness is one of those good things.

So I’m definitely not saying that being considered an exception to the rule is any kind of accomplishment. It can actually be very psychologically damaging and take a long, long time to unlearn it.

It’s true that Black women will always be burdened with the dichotomy of the half-truth “One of us represents all of us!” because it is an inescapable part of the many neuroses of white supremacy-we lose no matter what we step out of the house looking like.

The core of the issue is not Black women leaving their houses and being visible in public with bonnets on, but Black women leaving their houses and being visible in public period. For goodness’ sake, once upon a time it was the law for Black women to cover their hair in public-hello there, Tignon.

But being unable to escape such a burden does not mean we should be surrendering to it.

We shouldn’t want to believe and buy into the idea that part of taking care of each other is taking on the impossible strain of all of us representing each other. That is not an empowering statement-it is disempowering to the extreme because it’s perpetuating the mindset that we are a monolith undeserving of our individuality. My god, we Black women come in every kind of shade and shape and size and music taste and food taste and language and dialect and we don’t all know each other and we don’t always even like each other.

I just…I’m not yet that old, but the older I get the more and more I feel that sometimes as black women we can not only be our own worst enemies and each other’s worst policers. And I wish deeply and desperately that black women would stop policing each other and policing each other for, of all things, an arbitrary acceptance that ultimately means nothing even if we could achieve it.

One of us represents just that: one of us.

#Misogynoir #Internalized misogynoir #Anti-black racism #Black hair #Anxiety tw #Amarie talks

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actualbird · 4 years

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nobody asked but here are my personal top five pat gill videos | a 2.1k word long post where i rank and review pat gill’s videos for just way too long.

Right around the tail end of April, 2020, I fell into the rabbit hole of my current obsession; Polygon Dot Com Video Content. As a consequence of this was being introduced to the phenomenon of Pat Gill. A dire consequence of that consequence was me slowly, deeply, irrevocably, finding myself attracted to this marionette of a man. So, I enjoy his content and I think he’s hot and that combined with the fact that some of my friends bully me over that latter fact has inspired me to do this: rank my personal favorite Pat Gill videos in a post that’s entirely too long.

Before I get straight into the rankings, I need to explain my process.

First, I needed to narrow my scope. Polygon has a lot of videos. Polygon has a lot of videos with Pat Gill in them. If I didn’t narrow my scope, I would either go bonkers yonkers or have a list that would be kilometric in length and thus miss the entire point of ranking altogether. So, for my sanity, I am excluding any videos that are a part of a Polygon video series. This means no Overboard, no Gill and Gilbert, no Video Game Theatre, etc. If I included these, I would cry. I do not want to cry over Polygon Dot Com Video Producer Pat Gill.

Second, I need a criteria. If I just ranked videos with no system, I would find myself endlessly rearranging my list based on whatever thought comes out on top in my mind at the given moment. I am a disorganized person, so I need rules. I have decided that I will rank Pat Gill videos using the EEEH criteria.

Entertainment. Do I smile, watching the video? Do I chortle? Am I filled with the embarrassing urge to show this video to my sister and derive glee from her laughing at the exact same moment I laughed? Entertainment is key.

Education. Did I come out of this video knowing something I originally did not know? More importantly, was I engaged in the learning process? I come from a family of teachers, so I have high standards when it comes to education. If I am to learn, I must learn well.

Exaltation. This is a bit of an oddball criteria, but it is important to me. The word “exalted” is defined as “elevated in rank, character, or status.” This criteria refers to how good it is at exalting, elevating, pulling me out of a depressive episode. That is to say I’ve been in a depressive episode for the past month and whether or not the video made me stop crying and brush my teeth is essential. Polygon video content has been integral to my serotonin production lately, and thus the video’s ability of acting as an audiovisual antidepressant for me factors into the rankings.

[BONUS POINTS] Hotness. How Hot Is Pat Gill In It? I felt bad, morally, ranking videos based on how good looking I thought Pat Gill was in it---because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that, and people don’t exist to be beautiful, they just are, and I agree---so I’m relegating this criteria as a bonus point. Standard is 0, because he’s always hot in my mind, but he gets plus points if he is exemplary in the hotness department.

The maximum score for each of these criteria is 5 points, making the perfect score a 15, but because of the bonus points, a 20 is, hypothetically, possible.

With that out of the way, let me dive right into it.

5. The fastest interview ever with Ben Schwartz from Sonic the Hedgehog

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Entertainment: 5 Education: 2 Exaltation: 2 Hotness: +2 Total Score: 11

Pat Gill is a good interviewer, he’s engaging and fun and keeps the interview interesting, but this interview is particularly special because it seems that, and let me quote Youtube user AudreyN who left a comment on this video stating “ben schwartz consumed all seven chaos emeralds prior to this interview.” Pat Gill and Ben Schwartz’s dynamic is amazing, and by “dynamic” I do mean “Ben Schwartz absolutely just fucking dunking on Pat Gill for 14 entire minutes.” and it is glorious.

For Entertainment this scores a solid 5. Quite honestly the funniest interview I’ve ever watched in my entire life. Just the sheer beauty in the exchange [Pat] “You would use Sonic’s power to gaslight me?” [Ben] “Just you.” In terms of Education, I guess I did learn a bunch of things about the Sonic movie that I didn’t know before, but the avenue by which it was portrayed in was not exactly the most engaging, more like I was absorbing it via watching two experts discuss on a webinar. I would have given just 1 point to Education but I made it 2 because of the wonderful knowledge that Pat Gill can draw a pretty good Sonic in a few seconds. When it comes to Exaltation, I must admit that while this video got quite a few laughs out of me, it didn’t make me want to get out of bed and take a shower.

BONUS: Pat is +2 hot in it. His short hair makes him look very handsome. He’s a spiffy boy, in this video. Very, very good.

4. Pat Will Not Tweet at Nintendo This Week Because He is Resting at Home — PLEASE RETWEET, Episode 12

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Entertainment: 5 Education: 0 Exaltation: 5 Hotness: +1 Total Score: 11

I know I’m breaking a rule I set for myself a few paragraphs earlier by including an episode of Please Retweet, which counts as a video series, but this is my post and I can do whatever I want. More importantly, this video is so fucking funny to me, it feels like it would be a crime not to put it in this list.

Solid 5 out of 5 for entertainment. Pat Gill, alone in his apartment, drinking six cans of what I think is beer silently while the intro music plays. That scene in itself should win an Oscar. Sadly, a solid 0 for Education, because I learn nothing in this video except for the fact that Pat Gill is the type of person to put out a coaster and then just completely not use it. I quantify things as educational if I can maybe answer a trivia question with them, and unfortunately, this fact does not pass that test. In terms of Exaltation, seeing Pat Gill lie down on the floor next to his cat made me get out of bed to do the same with my dog, and with myself thusly out of my bed cocoon of sadness, I was able to actually complete tasks on the day I watched this video. Perfect 5.

BONUS: Pat is +1 hot in this because there’s something very beautiful about him being a little bit miserable. However, I do miss his beard when I watch this video. It is one of my favorite things about him, and it is not present here.

3. Pat and Simone Play Human: Fall Flat

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Entertainment: 5 Education: 1 Exaltation: 5 Hotness: 0 Total Score: 11

I very much enjoy Polygon’s gameplay streams. I often play them in the background while I’m doing other stuff like doodling or origami, but this stream is special. It is special because of the moment at 24:00 when Pat Gill, in game, swings a stereo into a glass window, shattering it, while saying, “Actually, y’know what? Let’s talk about trauma.” and then proceeds to tell a horrible and embarrassing story from his childhood where he had to do a rap about Ancient Egypt.

5 points for Entertainment. This is partly because of Pat’s tragic childhood story about the Egypt Rap (and, segue just to point out 33:22 the incredible moment where you can hear Pat’s feral panic when Simone finds the lyrics to the Egypt Rap) but also because Pat and Simone just talking to each other is so deeply entertaining to me in a very comfy way. I’m starved for human interaction, in this quarantime, okay. Let me enjoy listening to other people have conversations while playing video games. Education scores a 1 because, again, nothing in this video will let me answer a trivia question, however it does get 1 point and not a 0 because the Egypt Rap’s lyrics are in the comments and I did end up learning stuff about Ancient Egypt that I didn’t know. A perfect 5 for Exaltation because this video showed me that talking about trauma can actually be cathartic, given that you’re trashing a video game living room at the same time, and I think that message of not bottling up your experiences really helped me, in these trying times.

BONUS: Pat Gill is not visible for the entirety of this episode, so he scores the standard 0. I’m sure he was hot. We just couldn’t see him.

2. Why Bloodborne and Muppets are the same thing

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Entertainment: 4 Education: 4 Exaltation: 3 Hotness: +2 Total Score: 12

Ah yes, one of Pat’s “x is y because of z” videos. He’s made a number of these and they’re all very good but this one is my favorite among them and earns a spot on this list because 1) I think puppets are cool and 2) I fucking love monsters.

This video scores a 4 on Entertainment, just shy of perfect, because as funny as it is, it also gives me the vibe like I am being lectured by a professor who’s just a little bit off the shits. And we all know that lectures are supposed to be taken seriously. Which brings us to Education, which also scores a 4. I learned a lot in this video! Watching Pat Gill explain to me that children’s puppets and these horrifying viddy game monsters use the same character principles in different ways is not only very educational but is also explained in a streamline and easy to understand manner that I WISH some of the shitty professors at my old university could emulate. As for Exaltation, while this video did give me enough energy to have a meal, I did eventually end up back in bed for the night at 8pm crying myself to sleep, thinking “I’m like the slime scholar. Used to be a scholar. Now they’re slime.”

BONUS: Pat Gill is +2 hot here. He’s rockin that basic ass monochromatic aesthetic and I love his look dearly.

1. Preparing for Big Boy Season in Red Dead Redemption 2

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Entertainment: 5 Education: 3 Exaltation: 5 Hotness: +3 Total Score: 16

Here we are. My favorite non video series Pat Gill video. The video where Pat Gill tries to make Red Dead Redemption 2 protagonist, Arthur Morgan, large.

Perfect fucking 5 for Entertainment, which I’m sure many may find odd. Afterall, this video is told in a serious investigative tone reminiscent of Vox’s videos on current issues. But that’s the glory of it. The complete and utter ‘playing it straight and serious’ for a ridiculous issue in a video game. It is high tier comedy in a subtle, understated way that sings to my comedy loving heart in a melody so lovely, so wonderful, that it urged me to give this video 5 points for Entertainment. It scores 3 on Education, because I have never played Red Dead Redemption 2, nor will I ever, but now I know things about it. The information was also relayed to me in a very interesting style, via something like a crime procedural, and thus it was engaging for me to absorb all this new knowledge. Exaltation scores a perfect 5 because of this video’s beautiful end about existential smallness. No joke, but hearing Pat Gill say “Our bigness isn’t measured in pounds, but in the impact we have on the people with whom we shared the world.” deadass made me want to talk to my friends again after conversationally isolating myself for 3 days. Preparing for Big Boy Season has a special place in my heart. And there it will stay.

BONUS: Pat Gill is not visible for most of the video but he does appear for like 15 seconds in the middle of it, and guess what. He’s hot. +3 hotness. Good beardage, good hair, all in all, good Pat Gill.

So there you have it. My five favorite Pat Gill videos. If you read this whole thing, holy shit. You’re welcome, I guess.

#this is what im using my degree in creative writing for i guess #polygon #pat gill #pat gill thirst jail #patrick gill #nobody asked but

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blacklinguist · 4 years

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I love being an English major. I just hate 98% of other English majors because their opinions are wrong. I know people say you can't have opinions that are wrong, but that's wrong too. I keep taking the diversity classes like Afrofuturism, Asian American Lit, and a class about a very specific subsection of spanish people and I was one of, at the luckiest, 13 people. At the unluckiest, 5. And these were like 30-50 people class sizes. Being an English major has made me increasingly violent (1/?)

As the years pass. Which is really funny because I'm a pacifist and I don't believe in violence. But some white kid will open their mouth and say some fuckshit in the middle of class and I'm like "ok, I know murder is wrong, but could I argue this in court as self defense of my mental health, and a justice for the people because this man will no longer be able to speak his wrong opinions." We had to talk about racism and every kid of color was like "yeah, we been knew" and the white kids (2/?)

Were like shook and shit. And I was just completely appalled at the lack of social awareness. My friend and I are black and we're sitting in the back and riffing off of each other about various horrible experiences we've had with racism. And this white girl in front of us goes 'I'm so sorry' and we were polite cause you can't be the angry black women in public but afterwards we were howling. Like how are you gonna apologize for shit that happened years ago and still keeps happening, yet (3/?)

You do nothing to enact social change? That class was what made me go "omigod I hate white people in a serious manner." Our teacher was a latino gay man and we were reading books centered around immigrant narratives and violence and class discussions had me going "I would now like to proceed to shatter my eardrums so that I do not have to witness it." It really was an experience. I learned a lot about other people, and a lot about myself and my low bullshit tolerance. (4/4) sorry for the rant

this is a very real set of experiences here, anon!

truly, whichever field you find yourself in, there will always be (white) folk who are willfully (and HARMFULLY) ignorant of the current social dynamics they fit into. this also goes for a lot of nonblack people too.

it gets so old to see the shocked expressions and hear the hurried and empty apologies. knowing that every january they’ll all post the same two quotes from mlk on their ig and talk about ‘being better’, but when they come back from summer break, it’s all “omg i’m darker than YOU now!” the suspicion you feel when someone ‘champions’ black people in nearly every breath, and only wants to study black folk and what we do. when you realize they’re stealing the light from black folk already in those fields and feel the need to control the narrative.

the role of the black scholar is dual (as dubois discusses with the idea of double consciousness, i’m sure you know!).

the black scholar is burdened with lifting up their own community (whatever this means), but also operating under the intense microscope of Others. caught between going at this alone (learning + sharing knowledge), or having to reach out to those who would relish the opportunity to study a real live black person / cultural phenomenon / piece of literature ...

that barrier does not go away in many cases. your tolerance SHOULD be low for that kind of foolishness.

but also surround yourself with those who WILL listen to you, rather than running their own mouths. those who WILL extend grace, and those who have excesses of patience and desire to change. you’re definitely facing a lot of the worst parts of what you do now, as you sit around with other (severe) non-professionals who are encountering your LIFE experiences for the first time. but there are those who DO recognize these wrongs, and who are playing an active role in rectifying them, I promise!!

#trespassers w #anon #thank you for sharing w me ... i understand your frustration completely #honestly it doesn't ever go away #so let that frustration drive you #i sound like that mike yagoobian fool but #anger is when your tolerance is pushed past its limit #and you are MOVED to change the situations you see unfold #and i know you WILL !#your anger is a good sign that you're in the right place

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miss-tc-nova · 4 years

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Guide - Eraqus & Brain

Yes, I am currently subscribed to the “Brain is Eraqus’s grandpa theory.” When that bit came up, I knew I had to write this. AND, it was originally going to be a lot darker, but I spruced it up a bit and like this version better.

~~~~~

“The darkness will not win!” Wooden weapons clash.

The boy with slate colored hair hits back. “Hiya!”

While the defender stumbles back, he recovers quickly. He prepares to rejoin the fight but movement in the window catches his eye. There’s someone in his house—someone he recognizes.

An enormous gasp leaves his mouth, startling his opponent. His weapon falls into the grass as the boy races for the backdoor. Little feet patter across the floor, rushing for the visitor.

“Grandpa!”

Granite eyes light up. “There’s my little sunshine!” Reaching down, he scoops up the giggling child who immediately reaches for that worn hat. “What have you been up to today?” he asks, straightening the headwear on the little boy’s head.

“Me and my friends were playing Keyblade War but I saw you in the window!” he happily states, pointing out the open backdoor.

“Friends, huh?”

“Yeah! And—”

“Eraqus!” A tiny, little blonde pokes her head inside.

“Come back! We need you to make the teams even!” A white-haired boy runs in, skidding to a halt when he sees the stranger.

Another girl, this one with silver hair and golden eyes, jumps in. “Are you comin’ or not?!”

The enemy from earlier spots Eraqus in his grandfather’s arms and gapes. “M-M-Master Brain!”

A third boy tilts his head of red hair, not very impressed at all. “Hermod, are you sure? He doesn’t look like a master to me.”

Grandpa simply chuckles but Eraqus is not having his friend’s disrespect. “Yes he does, Bragi! This is my grandpa!”

“Just because he’s your grandpa doesn’t mean he’s Master Brain,” Bragi huffs, still eyeing the man suspiciously.

“You pea-brain,” the silver-haired girl snaps. “Teacher told us Eraqus is the grandson of Master Brain. So if that’s Eraqus’s grandpa, then that’s Master Brain.”

His amber eyes widen. “Oh…”

Hermod pushes a sheepish Bragi closer. “Say you’re sorry,” he whispers not so subtly.

Now before a legendary master, the kid doesn’t seem so confident. “S-Sorry, sir.”

Grandpa laughs, letting his grandson slip to the floor. “Don’t worry about it, kid; I’m not working right now. I just came to visit Eraqus, but I guess he’s already got visitors today.”

If Eraqus had to pick his favorite person in the whole world, it would be his grandfather. He loves his mother and father but not the same way he loves this man. “But you can stay, right?” he begs, tugging on the jacket. “I want you to meet my friends!”

“You do, huh?”

Frantic nodding messes the wavy hair. He’d do anything to spend time with Grandpa and will take every chance given to show him off—not because he’s Master Brain, but because Grandpa is the best.

“Alright. Do you want to introduce me then?” Grandpa says with a smile.

His excitement is so great, his words run together in his already small mouth. “This is Bragi and Hermod and Urd and Baldr and Vor and they’re all in my class!”

Children wave or comment at the mention of their names and then it’s Grandpa’s turn. “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Brain. So you all want to be keyblade warriors, huh?”

Baldr is the first to voice their dreams. “Yeah!”

“We’re gonna be the best!” Urd agrees.

“Oh ho? Even better than me?”

Immediately, the little girl’s confidence falters into fear. “N-No sir! Never better than you!”

A grunt escapes the man as he sits himself on the floor among the kids. “Now that’s not the right answer.” She appears even more distraught. “You should always aspire to be better than the generations that came before. If each and every one of you becomes better warriors than I ever was, then I know the future will be in good hands. So go ahead, be the best, and don’t stop until you are.”

Urd’s frown turns into a beaming smile and the others start to catch her elation too.

“Hey, do you have any cool stories about the Keyblade War?” Bragi asks, having recovered from his blunder as if it never happened.

“Mmm, no, but I do have a great story about this giant Heartless that tried to destroy my favorite bakery.”

Eraqus exclaims, “The one you beat while eating a tart?!”

“Yes, that one.”

“That one’s my favorite!” The kid excitedly sits down, staring up at his grandfather, one hundred percent ready to listen to another telling of his favorite story. Eraqus is an excitable, impatient child but when it comes to his grandfather, he would happily listen to the same story over and over again. Not only is Grandpa his biggest hero, but the relationship he has with his grandfather is the relationship he wishes he shared with his parents.

The gaggle of children plop on the ground while Grandpa tells his silly tale of fending off a ferocious monster. Before long, the storyteller’s got every one of the rambunctious toddlers hanging on his every word, sparing time to answer excellent questions the curious come up with. Their little expressive faces show every bit of awe and delight as they listen, all the while Eraqus radiates pride.

“Wait, how did you pay for the tarts if Master Lauriam took your wallet?” Urd asks, ever the perceptive one.

Hesitation. “Uh…Well…”

Vor gasps, “Master Brain! Did you steal them?!”

“No! Nooooo!” Grandpa replies hastily. A warning finger points at them. “Stealing is bad and you should not steal from other people.”

Eraqus tilts his head. “But didn’t you steal Master Ephemer’s coffee?”

“No! I did not steal the coffee and when the fight was over, I made Lauriam pay for the tarts since he took my wallet!”

“Did he steal it?” Baldr asks.

The master seems to contemplate this new question. “…Yes. And stealing is bad.”

His grandson decides it’s time for a different topic. “Will you tell us the story about you and Master Skuld and the giant trickster?”

“You mean the Trickmaster.”

“Yeah!”

A hand raises. “What’s a Trickmaster?” questions Hermod.

“Well it’s this really tall—”

“Kids.” The interruption comes from the hall where Eraqus’s mother and two more women stand. “Vor, Baldr, your moms are here to pick you up.”

“Aww!” the pair complain.

Baldr protests, “But Master Brain was about to tell us about the Trickmaster!”

“Yeah!” agrees Vor.

“All you munchkins better listen to your mothers,” Grandpa warns them. “They’re doing their best to make sure you grow big and strong.”

“Yes Master Brain,” they all drone, each of them having been taught to respect their elders. The unfortunate two scurry off to their mothers who say something before they come running back.

“Thank you for talking to us.” Vor gives him a bow.

Baldr follows her example. “Thank you, Master Brain.”

“No problem.”

As fantastic fables entertain those remaining, the toddlers are taken away, one by one, by parents until it’s just grandfather and grandson.

“You got some exciting friends, kid,” Grandpa says, watching Eraqus return from bidding Urd goodbye.

“Yeah. They’re all really cool and they don’t treat me funny.”

Grandpa nods, pushing himself off the floor. Eraqus can see something thrilling in those eyes. “That’s good. Now, you’ve got three seconds to run before I TICKLE YOU!”

The boy takes off yelling with the man close behind. Shouting, a foreign phenomenon to the home, fills the silence while the pair rushes around in their game. Their antics lead them to Eraqus’s room where there’s running, roughhousing, mock sword fighting, and more fun than the kid has had since Grandpa’s last visit. This is his best friend who knows all his secrets because Eraqus isn’t afraid to tell him everything; even when he knows he’s done something wrong, he knows that Grandpa may scold him but will still be there to help him learn from his mistake. This is what every kid needs and this is the relationship he gets jealous of when he sees his friends with their parents: one full of respect, freedom, and love.

“Dad.” Grandpa freezes, child above his head, looking to the doorway where his daughter looks on. “Don’t you have a meeting with the council?”

Arms lower to drop the boy onto his bed. “Oh, right. Man, I forgot about that.”

“I noticed,” she replies bluntly. “And Eraqus needs to work on his studies before he goes to bed.”

Said child groans, tugging at Grandpa’s jacket, “Aww, do you have to go?”

The woman opens her mouth to retort, but the man waves her off and she leaves them be. “Sorry kiddo. People are counting on me to make choices to take care of them. Plus, you heard your mom, you got studies to do.” Era gives a little pout and the man ruffles his grandson’s black hair. “Look, the next time I come visit, if your mom tells me you’ve been good, I’ll take you to see the citadel.”

Oh he’s been dying to see that. “Where the keyblade warriors train?!”

Grandpa grins. “That’s the one. But like I said, you gotta behave and do your studies like your mom asks.” A hand extends to the boy. “Deal?”

The kid puts on a show of considering the offer but slaps his little hand into his elder’s. “Deal!”

The stolen hat is taken, plopped back onto the owner’s head while they shake hands. “Alrighty then.” A warm, loving expression softens Brain’s smile. “You’re gonna be a great warrior someday, kid, better than me.”

“You think so?”

“‘Course I do. Always remember, may your heart be your guiding key.”

~~~~~

Warm sunlight beats down on the bright world. Despite its dreary nature, the cemetery, too, is actually quite bright. The youth in white strides along the stone pathway, flowers in hand.

Months ago, he stood in this very vicinity, in the deafening rain, trapped in a bubble of mourning. He cried and screamed and even blew up at the parents he’d never before disrespected. They didn’t understand; they still don’t but the whole thing has managed to blow over. Friends, acquaintances, and even his Master came with condolences, receiving a meager ‘thank you’ in return. Nothing made him feel better and he just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that such a powerful, legendary master—that his grandfather—was dead.

And then he found the words carved into the headstone: “May your heart be your guiding key.”

Even now, those words echo in Grandpa’s voice—the mantra he told the boy at least every time they parted ways. Those were his last words to Eraqus.

Grandpa was the only person who seemed to understand and acknowledge his struggles. The pressure of nobility and responsibility often pressed down on Eraqus but somehow, his grandfather always gave him the support and courage he needed to endure those things. In the face of all his anxieties, it was always his grandfather reaching back to lead him through. Brain was everything Eraqus needed in his life. Even now, in death, he’s still managed to leave his grandson with the strength he needs to move forward.

It’s because of these words that Eraqus became something his parents aren’t exactly proud of. He began shirking his studies and speaking his mind no matter the company—really the only thing that keeps them off his back is the fact that he’s still a pretty damn good student. Just because he’s happy doesn’t mean he can let his grandpa’s faith go to waste; he’s supposed to become a great warrior after all. But, following his grandfather’s words, Eraqus started becoming the person he wanted to be instead of the person he was expected to be.

The boy sits down, resting the bouquet before the stone. From his pocket, he also presents a talisman—the mark of keyblade wielders, even those in training—which he finally earned today.

“There’s so many things I want to tell you.” He expected the tears, but even so, he smiles. “But before I get to all that, I have to say thank you.” The sleeve of his haori drags across his face. “Thanks for guiding me, Grandpa.”

#eraqus #brain #kh brain #kh eraqus #grandpa brain

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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revchainsaw · 3 years

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Buffy: the Vampire Slayer (1997)

Season 1

Hello and Welcome back my creepy congregation! We will be taking todays service from the Big Screen into your living room for our first Personal Devotional. That's Right! We're reviewing full seasons of television series now and what better way to bring the spirit of the genre film to the idiots lantern that with the 90s Television sensation and all around love letter to the horror genre, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The Message

Regardless of how one may feel about Mr. Whedon we can't deny how much we love Buffy Summers and the Kids who live and die in Sunnydale! Season one of Buffy was a spin off/reboot of the earlier film and an attempt by Whedon to course correct the franchise by breathing a little charm and attention into the subject matter.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1) focuses on Buffy Summers, a not so typical California high school student who, due to the events of the movie, has been relocated to Sunnydale High. Buffy is not just a cute, athletic, teenage girl looking to enjoy the prime of her life, though she is those things, she is also the Slayer, an anointed warrior who has been reincarnated throughout the generations to protect our vulnerable weak human world from the forces of evil; particularly Vampires. Buffy is a sort of supernatural Captain America, that is a peak human being, but instead of Nazi Science she was born with her powers.

Joining Buffy are; High School outcasts Willow and Xander (a nerd and a nice guy respectively), The ridiculously sexy librarian Rupert Giles (her mentor, guardian, high school librarian, and all around precious papa bear), Jenny Calendar (a technopagan computer teacher armed with all the mystery an ignorant 90s boomer could attribute to the internet), Angel (Spoiler: He's a Vampire, but he's a good guy. A hunky, broody, good guy vampire love interest), and her loving but entirely oblivious mother. The Scoobies as they have come to be called aid Buffy in her quest to protect Sunnydale from Dark Forces.

And Speaking of those Dark Forces, they are primarily vampires, led by the Master; an ancient vampire who resembles to some degree Nosferatu and a Bat, a look that Guillermo Del Toro would later perfect in his own series the Strain. The Master seeks to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would open the Hellmouth (a portal to hell, exactly what it sounds like) and free him in order that he and his kind should conquer the world.

The first season is fairly short consisting of the following adventures.

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth - Buffy moves to Sunnydale seeking to leave her Vampire ways behind, but the vampires just won't let her catch a break.

2. The Harvest - Vampire Shenanigans continues. Buffy learns of the Master.

3. Witch - A fellow Cheerleader is possessed by her witchy mom.

4. Teachers Pet - Buffy vs Giant Mantis

5. Never Kill a Boy on the First Date - Buffy vs the Anointed One (Not Really)

6. The Pack - Buffy vs Hyena Possessed High School Bullies

7. Angel - Buffy vs Angel but actually Darla

8. I, Robot ... you, Jane - Buffy vs Internet Demon

9. The Puppet Show - Buffy and Sid the Dummy vs Organ Harvesting Demon

10. Nightmares - Buffy has bad dreams

11. Out of Mind, Out of Sight - Buffy vs Invisible Nerd

12. Prophecy Girl - Buffy vs The Master (also Buffy Dies)

Overall the short season, while not allowing for too much world building, kept the show to a format that allowed very little filler. So although we mostly only get vampires as villains, we don't have enough time to really be bored of it. Some of the shows dynamics and cultural concerns definitely date the series but overall Season 1 of Buffy is definitely not a difficult watch, and can be enjoyed over and over again.

Let's get to the Benediction:

Best Character: Slay Girl, Slay!

As far as season one goes the titular Buffy Summers is the best character. Sarah Michelle Gellar is absolutely charismatic in the lead role and though at times she may seem selfish or reckless it makes perfect sense for the character. The character is allowed to be weak, to be selfish, and to be unlikeable. She avoids the foibles of a Luke Skywalker or a Harry Potter. She joins the ranks of primary protagonists who are not constantly outshined by their supporting cast. I believe when Buffy is sad, I believe when she throws a punch, I believe she struggles with her destiny. The only thing I don't believe is how ditsy she let's on.

Best Actor: Head's Up!

Anthony Stewart Head. Head as Giles is just fantastic. His balance of frustration with Buffy and genuinely parental concern is heartwarming and absolutely makes Giles one of the warmest father figures in television history.

Best Episode: A 'Master'ful Finale

It all builds up to Prophecy Girl and for good reason. Television shows often have mini-finale's at the end of their first seasons because the teams behind the series are not sure they will have a chance to tell more of their story. For that reason you can see just the first season of most television series and feel like you've heard the whole deal. I wish this habit was kept up in other seasons as we wouldn't still be wondering what the hell happened to Joel at the end of the Santa Clarita Diet. Buffy is no exception to this phenomenon and therefor attempted to tie up much of it's narrative in Prophecy Girl. While that often means big bads will be dispatched, I think it's a small price to pay for not winding up in a cliff hanger. Buffy and Giles just shine in this episode, Angel is given a more heroic role, Willow finally values herself as she should and Xander stops being a fucking horrible human being for once. This episode really satisfies in all areas.

Best Villain: Sweet, Sweetheart Killer

It's such a shame that Darla was killed so early on in the franchise. She is such a great presence on the screen that she overshadows all the villains that play alongside her, even the Master. I would have loved to have seen an alternate season where she offs the old coot and assumes the role of big bad much like Spike does in Season 2. Lucky for everyone that Darla is featured throughout the show in flashbacks and I hear she is even resurrected in Angel. Also, for Scott Pilgrim fans I feel like she and Envy Adams are very much sympatico. Maybe if they reboot Buffy all my dreams will come true.

I'd also like to take this time to recommend the song Angels and Darlas by Say Hi! It's pretty good.

Best Monster Design: Internet Troll!

While I can't speak for where the money in Season 1 of Buffy went, I can say that at least some decent cash was spent on both the forms of Moloch the Corruptor from the Episode "I, Robot ... You, Jane". Moloch was pretty wicked looking as a machine toward the end of the episode, he looked like a Mortal Kombat villain, but it's the green scales and ram horns the actor is sporting at the beginning of the episode that really catches the eye. In fact, I'm feeling compelled to hunt down any Moloch the Corruptor merch that may be out there on the internet. It's certainly no mystery why the demon's face is featured prominently in the theme song. It just looks great! Good job to the make up department there.

Most WTF moment: "Pack"s a Punch on Principle

While not the greatest episode in season one "the Pack" is certainly worth the watch if for no other reason than the horror is kicked up when a group of high school students under the influence of a malevolent Hyena God, decide that the School Mascot is not enough to satisfy their bloodlust turn on the principal, and yes, THEY EAT HIM. I remember being completely caught of guard the first time I saw that scene, and it kickstarted the running gag of Sunnydale high principles meeting their demise in horrific ways.

Worst Character: No More Mr. Nice Guy

When I was in college I often felt bad for Xander. The funny guy who just had no luck with women. He was sarcastic but had a big heart, and used a horny gimmick to mask his loneliness, or so I thought. But now I am older, I am wiser, I have known the touch of another human being and I have to say that Xander Harris is a really scummy fellow. I don't remember thinking so poorly and I wonder if the character develops a more nuanced view of women as the show goes on. As it stands there's barely a point in the series that Xander does not view the female cast as objects for him to enjoy or be embittered towards for one reason or another. It's not charming, it's foul. Xander Harris of season one is absolutely a terrorist attack waiting to happen, if Buffy had happened today it would be much more concerning to see someone so embittered, horny, and entitled to womens time and energy as Xander Harris. Dude is one step away from pulling an Elliot Rogers. Calm down buddy and maybe actually listen to a woman and you may find you aren't as much of a 'nice guy' as you think.

Worst Episode(s): If you're not first ...

It's a toss up on this one. Season One of Buffy is actually so short and concise that the 'Monster of the Week' episodes will have to be up for grabs as the worst episode by default, but even they are pretty watchable and don't warrant the vitriol a "worst" dub usually entails. I'd say there is not a worst episode of season one, just some episodes that aren't as good as the rest. In that vain, take your pick from "Witch", "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", or "The Puppet Show". However, I'd be doing a disservice to those episodes not to mention that each one of them takes what could just be a basic Buffy Vs (insert Villain), and does something unique and interesting with the idea. The villain of "Witch" actually turns out to be a has been cheerleader actually possessing the body of her innocent daughter to relive her glory years, The Invisible Girl is actually the victim of social cruelty, her peers disinterest in her manifesting in her condition becoming quite literal and she is picked up by the military in the end, then the Puppet show, well, it's just about the stupidest most absurd thing that could possibly happen and it's completely unafraid of that fact.

Summary:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 1) is not the most groundbreaking TV, but it is absolutely evident why the show was such a phenomenon. Season 1 is particularly rewatchable. It does not demand too much investment or attention, but it will get it from you, especially on a first viewing. It's not afraid to take itself absolutely seriously or to plant it's tongue firmly in it's cheeks. It is to a degree a product of it's time, but in many other aspects feels timeless.

Overall Grade: B

#Buffy #Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Vampire #Horror #Television #Series #TV #television series #Grade B #B #90s #1990s #1997 #wilde 1997 #buffy btvs #Moloch #Demon #Monster of the Week #Season 1 #(B)

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percywinchester27 · 4 years

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About a boy- Epilogue

Word count: 2.3K

Warning: Feels, mentions of physical abuse and child-trafficking. Did I mention feels?

Characters: Dean and Sam, Bobby, Jody, Cas, Gabriel, Benny and others.

Summary: Dean Winchester has a secret. A secret that could really land him in trouble. He never expected to connect with anyone when he walked into the ‘Blue Stone Orphanage for Boys,’ but even then, the walls he has put up are slowly coming down. Now, a series of strange events are threatening to expose him. When everything starts falling apart around him, will he still be able to save the one person that matters the most?

A/N: This is it, guys! The end of the journey. Looking back, it feels pretty sweet to me. Thank you to everyone who read, liked and commented on the story. You guys kept me going! <3

My immense gratitude to @thing-you-do-with-that-thing and @deanssweetheart23 for beta reading this story <3 You both are absolute gems and I love you!

About a boy masterlist

One year later

11th September 1995

“You idjits!” Bobby yelled. “You two had one job!”

Dean came running around the corner hoping that his face wasn’t too red, or hair too messy. The one time he got lucky with Jessie Rosenberg, Bobby had to yell for him.

“What now?” He asked, crossly.

“Look at the fascia,” Bobby pointed. “I asked you to fix that thing two weeks ago. Does it look fixed to you?”

“Sam had exams! He barely pulled his head out of the books!”

“And you could have fixed it by yourself.”

Dean looked at the front yard. The tables and pretty lights hanging over the trees transformed it into something completely else. There were frilly table cloths and blooming, pale roses. Even the cars had disappeared. There were so many people milling around in pretty dresses and buttoned up suits. Looking at that no one would be able to tell most of them were cops. And none of those cops were inspecting the case of disrepaired fascia boards.

“C’mon, Bobby,” Dean said. “It’s your wedding. Shouldn’t you be dancing with your wife instead of yelling at unsuspecting boys? You don’t even care about awnings and fascia!”

Bobby wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He was actually looking a bit funny without the usual baseball cap and the jacket. Though Dean couldn’t say the formal suit look didn’t suit him. He was just not used to seeing it.

Bobby sat down on the porch steps. “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. I’m just nervous.”

Dean sat down besides him. “Why’re you nervous? I mean you’ve known Jody forever.”

Bobby made a disgruntled noise. “It’s not that. Everything is moving so fast. You’ll be seventeen in a few months and then Sam will grow up, too. I’ve just gotten so used to you boys being around. Who knows what’s next. College? You both will move on.”

“Oh, come on!” Dean groaned. “Don’t go all sappy on me now. Not you, too!”

“Who else?” Bobby raised his eyebrow.

“Sam,” Dean sighed. “He’s having one of those days again.”

‘One of those days’ was the term Dean and Bobby used to describe Sam’s mood when he felt overwhelmed. During the first week, after Sam had moved in with them, little things startled him. Like how there were no restrictions about bedtime, or how he could choose what food he wanted, and when he wanted to eat. On the first Sunday, Jody surprised them all with movie tickets; Sam was quiet the whole way because he had never been to movies before. The next day they went out to eat. That was a rare phenomenon anyway, but Jody wanted to get to know Sam. Even there he hadn’t talked, barely eaten anything.

That night Dean had found him sitting on the roof.

“You know that Bobby would butcher you if he found you freezing your ass out in the cold, right?” Dean asked, easing himself down on the tiled roof.

“I’m being a shithead, aren’t I?” Sam said, hiding his face in his arms where they were resting over his knees. “Jody was being so nice, and I just… I screwed up everything.”

“You didn’t screw up shit,” Dean said firmly. “Jody is a lot tougher than you think. You didn’t hurt her feelings. Hell, you should have seen when she was getting to know me…. That was what being a shithead is like.”

“What did you do?”

“The usual. Threw bitchy tantrums, punctured her car and all that.”

“No you didn’t!”

The incredulous look on Sam’s face was hilarious. It was still taking some getting used to; thinking of him as Sam and not Will.

Dean put his hands out, gesturing a ‘yours truly.’ “Yeah, it was a total dick move. It didn’t phase her in the slightest.”

“Mhmm…”

“Don’t worry about it so much, Sam,” Dean said. “We know this is hard for you.”

Sam leaned back against the tiles, staring into the night sky. “You can actually see the stars from down here.,” he said wonderingly. “See that? That’s the first star of the constellation Orion.”

“I suck at stars,” Dean said, leaning back next to his brother. “You’ll have to tell me.”

They lay like that for a long time, Sam talking avidly about all the constellations he knew of, and Dean pretending that he did not.

Bobby gazed ahead into the yard, where Jody was laughing with Sam. He was dressed just like Dean in a matching tux; for the two groomsmen. Bobby’s eyes softened. “That kid really is something. Anyone would have lost their goddamned gourd after going through all that,” Bobby said.

It was an understatement. Sam had become the apple of every teacher’s eye. He aced his classes effortlessly and the town people just loved him. The little, stupid ray of sunshine that he was.

“C’mon.” Bobby said, a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve got something for you kids.”

“What?” Dean asked, getting up.

“Just c’mon.”

Ten minutes later, the four of them, Him, Sam, Bobby and Jody were walking towards the very back of the house. Jody was practically bouncing on her feet which was so uncharacteristic of her.

Sam gave Dean a ‘What’s happening?’ look.

Dean shrugged. He didn’t know either.

“Hey, Bobby, quick question,” Dean said casually. “Are you two gonna bury us in a corner of the property? Cause this sure looks like it.”

“Yeah, sure, smartass,” Jody grinned at him. “I’ll make sure no one finds the bodies.”

Most of the cars had been parked out here, clearing the front yard. Only one car stood out, parked separately. She was so sleek and slender, the black metal almost purred.

“Holy shit!” Dean whistled. “What in name of…”

“It’s yours!” Bobby smiled widely. “It’s a 1967, Chevy Impala.”

“Wait!” Dean said, the realisation suddenly hitting him. “This car is from that picture. The one with mom and dad.”

“It belonged to your dad. He called her baby.”

Dean looked at Sam who had the same awed expression on his face.

“Where was it all these years?” Sam asked.

“Parked at Rufus’,” Bobby said. “Been working on it as and when the money and time came by. I wanted it done before the wedding. He drove it back today.”

Dean ran his fingers along the side of her, and the car seemed to respond to his touch… hummed under it.

Bobby held out a set of keys. “What’re you waiting for? Don’t you boys wanna take her out for a ride?”

*********************************

2nd November 1995

It was a clear day. The sky was blue like in one of those vacation postcards. The engine was purring underneath him and a Led Zeppelin song was playing inside his car. Dean rolled the windows down, the air whipped Sam’s hair all over his face. He made a protesting sound and Dean chuckled.

This was perfect.

“You sure this was a good idea? Not the trip,” Sam said quickly. “Just sneaking out like this without telling Bobby?”

Dean rolled his eyes. Sam was ever the responsible one.

“Bobby will be fine. We’re almost there; and if we stick to the plan, we should be back home for dinner, and no one will be wiser.

Sam huffed. “I miss Cas when you get like this. He was the only one who could get you to listen.”

“Don’t you want to go?”

“Course I do. You know I asked for this!” Sam muttered.

Dean missed Cas anyway. Thinking about his best friend made Dean smile. Because of what he had accomplished- helped with exposing the trafficking racket- the state had given him a medal of valour, along with Benny and Gabriel. Deny had detached himself from the proceedings, asking Jody to never mention him in the official records. He wasn’t interested in medals and accolades. He had walked away with a miracle of his own.

The mayor, wanting to bask in the borrowed glory, had funded Cas’s education in a private boarding school for his last year of high school. From there, Cas had managed a full ride into the University of Texas. Benny had opted out to get a job under some chef… who knew he had that talent? And Gabriel was in the wind. Dean didn’t worry about Gabe, though. He would eventually surface as a millionaire in some years for all Dean knew.

Thinking about them always brought up bad memories along with the nostalgia. Memories about Andy and the Stynes. It was little comfort knowing that they had been put away for life… they deserved much, much worse. Dean was hopeful that other states might press more severe charges on the Stynes.

Despite what it had looked like, it turned out that Michael had been the only one who knew. His cronies had no clue what their dear leader had been upto. Dean couldn’t care less about what happened to Gary and others as long as he never saw their faces again. Michael had been tried as a juvenile, and the DA had asked for a reduced sentence on the grounds that he was the one who had finally led them to the warehouse. He would serve 3 years in confinement. Even after all this time, Dean didn’t know what to feel about Michael. He tried not to think about it much.

Cas though, called them at least once a week. More, if he could manage. He and Sam had road tripped to the University in the fall and spent a week with him. Cas had been ecstatic. Dean wasn’t surprised to know that his friend was majoring in sociology and behavioral sciences. If anything, he was proud. Cas would be spending the winter break with them in Sioux falls. Bobby had been cranky about having to repair their guest room, but Dean secretly knew he was happy for them all.

“We’re here!” Dean said, as they crossed into the town. Sam stared out of the window, palms flat against the glass.

Dean made a few stops to ask for directions, and then they were parked along the edge of the sidewalk.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Dean asked apprehensively. Nevermind that he was feeling heavy inside, he couldn’t let his brother see that.

Sam bit his lip, then nodded resolutely. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

They stepped out of the car, and Dean wrapped his arm over his brother's shoulder. He’d gained a couple of inches during the summer, so Sam was both much shorter than him, and mad about it. ‘I’m gonna grow taller than you, one day,’ he’d say.

Dean didn’t know exactly where they were, so he and Sam walked together, searching and reading.

“Dean,” Sam said in a small voice. “They’re here.”

The headstones were laid side by side.

Mary Winchester

5th December 1954 - 2nd November 1983

Loving Mother and loving wife

And

John Winchester

22nd April 1954 - 2nd Novemeber 1983

Loving Father and loving husband

Dean tightened his grip on Sam’s shoulder.

“I think they would be proud of you,” Sam said, not taking his eyes away from the plain grey stones. They had weathered with rain and time, the writing had blackened over the years.

“Hey, you’re the smart one,” Dean said. The corner of his eyes were prickling. “If anything, they’d have been proud of you.”

Sam shook his head ever so slightly in disagreement. “You saved my life. Twice. You found me and kept our family going. You’re a freaking hero.”

Dean blinked his eyes in succession. He didn’t dispute Sam’s words. Not because he believed them, but because he didn’t trust his voice to be steady. He hadn’t even thought of getting flowers.

“You think we should say something?”

Dean shrugged, he didn't know what to say and he was bad with words.

“Okay, I’ll go first,” Sam said, then kneeled by their mom’s grave.

“Hey, mom. Hey, dad,” he said in that soft voice of his. “It’s me, Samuel William Winchester. Though Dean just calls me ‘Sammy.’ It’s annoying. He’s annoying!” Sam laughed nervously, like he was afraid of what their mom would think about him dissing his older brother like that. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you, to sit besides you… to ever have a family…. I do now, and it’s the most wonderful thing in the world. But I miss you. I’ve always missed you even when I didn’t know who you were.”

Sam cleared his throat, “I guess… I guess what I’m saying is thank you… for giving me the best big brother in the world. Dean’s awesome. I love you so much. All of you.”

He looked up then, tears swimming in his eyes and Dean placed a hand over his head.

They stayed there for a while, soaking the moment in. When it was time to go, Dean touched the cold stones, first his dad’s and then mom’s. He brought the fingers to his lips and kissed them in a discreet gesture.

They walked back to the car in silence.

When Dean started the engine, Sam gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Dean, for bringing me here.”

“Course,” he said, eyes on the road.

Sam settled back against the leather seat and hit the play on music. The song continued from where it had stopped-

….Cause I'm back on the track

And I'm beatin' the flack

Nobody's gonna get me on another rap

So look at me now

I'm just makin' my play

Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way

'Cause I'm back

Yes,…

“Let’s get back home now,” Sam said contentedly, tapping his fingers to the rhythm of the song.

Dean gave his brother a sideways glance. He had a small smile playing on his lips. In their dad’s old car, with his brother by his side, Dean was already home.

*********************************

Source for the gif used at the top

A/N 2: I cried while writing the epilogue, too! Especially the last part. When I started writing this series about a year ago, I did it as a challenge to myself... deep down knowing that this wouldn’t ever hit off on tumblr like my other series’ had. But I owed it to myself to write a story I believed in, and the love that you guys gave this series was so overwhelming. Y’all ROCK! :*

Please do tell me what you thought of the chapter?

Tagging for the last time:

@sdavid09 @deanssweetheart23 @blacktithe7 @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @cosicas-cuquis @chalicia @anathewierdo @mrswhozeewhatsis @protectteamfreewill @firefly124-writing @spnbaby-67 @hoboal87 @rizlow1 @donnaintx @starmission @gh0stgurl @tftumblin @emily-a-c11 @ericaprice2008 @jotink78 @charliebradbury1104 @ohgodwhybloggg @i-dont-get-cold @bobbie3939 @samsexualdeancurious @dancing-the-hellfire-rumba @cookiechipdough @wildfirewinchester

#dean winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #spn fanfic #weechesters #supernatural fanfiction #aab epilogue #Ana writes aab #anawrites #anawritesspn #q

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datleggy · 5 years

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a list of every anime i love/recommend, accumulated over the last 10+ years

1. NATSUME YUUJINCHOU

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

The main character is a teenage boy named Natsume, whose parents died when he was too young to remember them properly. He’s passed around random relatives homes, but because he can see yokai (spirits), he’s ostracized by classmates and his foster families (ALL HIS CHILDHOOD FLASHBACKS ARE SO FUCKING SAD) and eventually very distant relatives (an older couple who never had kids of their own and have so much goddamn love to give D:!!!) take Natsume in, and the story basically starts from there.

It’s a very heart-warming story following Natsume’s new life in this new town, accepting his ability to see yokai, forging new relationships in the form of friends and family, and even with the yokai themselves.

This is honestly probably my favorite anime/manga period, because it’s so sad but so cathartic and you watch as the main character grows and learns to trust those around him, and finally gets the unconditional love he’s always deserved, not to MENTION THE FACT THAT THEY DO A WHOLE EP WHERE NATSUME IS TURNED BACK INTO A LITTLE KID AND IT IS SOOOO GOOD OMG

Plus for those of you who enjoy whump, this show has a decent amount of it. Mainly emotional whump, but also some episodes where Natsume is injured or sick--as well as I believe one where his companion (the chubby cat on his shoulder who’s actually a pretty badass yokai) gets shot with an arrow and is down for the count.

10/10 would and have watched again.

2. KODOCHA NO OMOCHA

SUMMARY/REVIEW: The main character is a sixth grader named Sana. She’s a gifted actress on a t.v. show everyone likes and she’s silly and fun, very intuitive and surprisingly empathetic for a child.

Her main problem is in school, where Akito, who she deems the leader of her class’ wolf pack of rowdy rude boys, lets them terrorize not just the teacher, but all the girls in class, as well.

I don’t really want to give a lot away, so I’ll just state the obvious. This anime/manga is shoujo, which means that it does focus on a romantic relationship throughout the series. Mainly the one between Sana and Akito. Sana is absolutely oblivious about her own feelings, while Akito is a stubborn little shit.

I remember watching this at like, age 12 maybe? And I really enjoyed it because (although I do enjoy your typical silly doesn’t take itself too seriously slice of life shoujo) this particular anime, while super funny and light hearted at times, was also really dramatic and even kinda dark, which was surprising considering the characters ages and the general kid-friendly vibe (especially the opening for the anime).

3. DETECTIVE CONAN

SUMMARY/REVIEW: Our main character is initially Shinichi Kudo, teenage detective, who’s on a date with childhood sweetheart Ran (whose father also happens to a detective but like....not a good one lmao), when his nosy ass self decides to go and check out some shady business and gets “poisoned”.

The poison he’s given is intended to kill him, but what it actually does is turn him back into a child. And now, as Conan Edogawa, (who’s 7 but like....we just supposed to believe all these cops and detectives on the force are cool with a seven year old wee lil babe on these really gruesome ass crime scenes??? lmaoooo) we follow him on his adventures as he solves crimes and tries to solve the biggest mystery of all, his own!

I absolutely LOVE this anime/manga, even though I’ll be honest, there is SO MUCH FILLER, but I like the characters enough that I really don’t mind. The show is at least 900+ episodes in at this point, and there are a total of 26 movies so far, last time I checked.

Also, the show is a whump fangirls’ dream come true. The main character is thrown out of windows, balconies, shot at, and in one occasion actually shot, he’s had broken bones, sprains, almost been blown up or drowned/burned, been sick, and oh, his occasional transformations from child to teenager are incredibly painful.

This show is probably at fault for my love of whump, since it was one of my first animes at like, age 9. smh.

4. THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER!

REVIEW:

I’m not even going to summarize this one. The title does it for me. This is truly one of the funniest animes I’ve ever seen. Motherfuckin Satan works at a McDonalds part time and it is the BEST.

Technically I would count this show as a kind of harem, but only because there are like three main girl characters after the overlord Satan himself. I usually dislike harem type animes but the way this is done is sooooo good I couldn’t resist.

I would watch a million filler episodes of Satan trying to solve problems at his minimum wage job tbh. I love every single character, I love the plot, I love everything about this anime! In terms of comedy (with the occasional plot driven serious moments) this is IT bro.

5. BLACK BUTLER

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

The main character is Ciel Phantomhive (roughly 14 years old). His parents are killed, his house is burned to ashes, and he’s kidnapped (around age 9 or 10 I believe) and abused. During this abuse Ciel calls upon a demon to free him and help him get revenge on those who harmed the Phantomhive household, which is where Sebastian, one “hell of a good butler” comes in.

We then follow Ciel and Sebastian on their path of vengeance, and along the way we meet Ciel’s human servants, three very clumsy and seemingly bad at their given tasks characters (i love them all), and some of his extended relatives and connections.

My favorite thing about Black Butler is the art, both in the anime and manga. Everything is so detailed and pretty!

The characters are interesting, the plot is dark but they manage to make most of the series overall pretty light-hearted and funny in general. Though of course there are chapters/parts of the series that get really grim (which duh, the whole thing focuses on revenge so...)

I have to say, the arc I enjoyed the most has to be the movie, Black Butler: Book Of the Atlantic. It is beautifully drawn and sooooooo entertaining.

6. INUYASHA

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

Our main characters are Inuyasha, a half-demon, who’s been in a sort of spiritually binding coma for the last few decades, and fourteen year old Kagome, who falls into an old well in her family’s shrine and finds herself being transported into another time period.

Together, she and Inuyasha travel across the lands in the feudal era to find the scattered shards of the shikon jewel, a powerful jewel which grants anyone who possesses it ultimate power.

I was too young to stay up and watch Inuyasha on adult swim, so my mom would tape the show on a VCR for me to watch the next day after school--yes, I’m old old. lmaoooo I ADORE this show.

It’s so good! It’s got everything! A tortured lil half-demon with a sad past who’s stubborn and rude but got a good heart! A fierce and equally as stubborn main protagonist, who’s whole ass family knows exactly where she goes off to??? and are supportive af????? like???? her mama packs her and her squad of demon/exorcist/demon hunter pals bentos?!?! lmao i love it.

The characters are awesome and funny and likable as all heck, and of course they all have their sad backstory, but like, unlike some animes (lookin at YOU Naruto) they don’t go mega overboard on it, at least not without some plot behind the episode.

7. YU YU HAKUSHO

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

Before I even start in on the summary, ya’ll should watch this soley bc of the cute ass 90′s style animation alone. LOOK AT ALL THAT SHINY HAIR!

ANYWAY. Main character is teenage hooligan and overall cutie pie Yusuke! He gets struck by a car and fucking DIES in the first episode after shoving a little boy out of the way, only to end up in the spirit world where the head honcho up there (who looks like a wee baby) tells him “Oh shit, didn’t expect you to like, actually do anything self-sacrificing EVER so like, you’re not on our list of people who were supposed to die today...”

And uh, I don’t wanna give anything away, so I’m just gonna say that if you haven’t seen this anime yet, you definitely should! It’s hilarious and dramatic, the fight scenes are very well done, all the side characters, who eventually become main characters are a blessing (specifically Hiei, who’ve I’ve had a crush on since I was 12) and the ending is a satisfying one, which you can’t really say for a lot of media.

8. CHRONO CRUSADE

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

I still get weepy when I think of this anime, so all I’ll say is it’s about a badass demon slaying nurse and her demon companion and some very tragic shit.

It’s a great anime overall, especially if you like crying yourself to sleep at night :)

9. GHOST HUNT

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

The main character is high school student Mai, who is hired by Naru, the head of a Shibuya psychic research, and together, with a group of questionable exorcists/psychics, they encounter paranormal phenomenons and some outright scary shit.

I’m not really a fan of the horror genre tbh but I do like mystery, and the series deals with that quite a bit. They deal with each case for several episodes so nothing feels too rushed.

The series is really fun in a creepy, wtf is that way. I recommend the manga, only because it’s more detailed in terms of plot than the anime.

10. ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM

SUMMARY/REVIEW:

I didn’t really make this list in any particular order but if I had to say, Assassination Classroom and Natsume Yuujinchou probably tie for BEST ANIME PERIOD!

This anime is about a weird ass “alien” creature, no one knows where it came from or why tf it’s here on earth, all they know is that in one year it’s threatened to blow the world up.

His only request to the government is that they let him become a teacher for Class E, the worst class of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, and he will stay put, so that they can attempt an assassination on him during this one year period.

AND LISTEN! I am a shallow hoe, so I literally never would have read this manga or watched the series had I not been roaming Barnes and Noble one day with my S.O. and picked it up to read as a JOKE!

I was hooked after the first chapter and I am soooooooo glad I picked this manga up, bc it is absolutely not the type I would normally go for, cover art wise. I finally, after many many years, learned not to judge a book by its cover bc LORD this anime is so goddamn good, you don’t understand! Like, I’ve watched it so many times and still laugh at the same parts, cry at the same parts, am proud af at the same parts! like, this anime is an instant classic and should definitely be more popular than it is.

assassination classroom and natsume yuujinchou????? MASTERPIECES!

#anime i can't imagine life without #natsume yuujinchou #assassination classroom #inuyasha #black butler #detective conan #whump #chrono crusade #ghost hunt #yu yu hakusho #the devil is a part-timer #kodocha #long post is long

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atopearth · 4 years

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Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 - The “Death” of Avalanche (Ch 12-14)

Seeing an extended version of the Avalanche members’ dying is going to be terrible. I think the fact that Wedge calls Cloud “aniki” is so cute, so it’ll be sad that this is the last time we’ll hear it. My heart kinda broke for Biggs tbh. Seeing him entrust the future to Cloud, and for him to think about the Leaf House orphanage kids even during his dying moments was saddening. I remember being so surprised at Ms Folia (the orphanage teacher + Honeybee dancer) saying that the one who taught her everything and inspired her to be who she is was Biggs. I knew he had a big heart and cared for everyone, but it was nice that they added in all these other little things about him. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle Jessie’s death tbh. It’s going to be heartbreaking!!

Aerith going to save Marlene is something I looked forward to seeing, and I think it showed really well how gentle of a heart Aerith has, and how self sacrificing she is. Especially when she encouraged Wedge to not give up and allow himself to have regrets for not doing more. I like that the Shinra soldier Wedge passionately convinced into opening the gates to leave Sector 7 for everyone to escape was the newbie soldier that was kinda in training and couldn’t be mean to anyone (when you talked to him before this). It’s understandable that he would be the one to go against orders. Nice to see Tseng! He looks pretty good. On the other hand, Rude interfering with Reno so that his gun would miss Tifa was hilarious. I love that they kept the idea that Rude likes Tifa, I guess they’ll be keeping the idea that Tseng likes Aerith too then! Elena liking Tseng is something expected though since it’s a big part of her character imo haha. Btw, I’m glad that Reno recognised how tasteless it was to have to do the pretend act that this whole destroying Sector 7 thing was done by Avalanche. Anyway, Aerith convincing Marlene to come out and leave with her was adorable~

It was hard to see Jessie go again, especially when she talked about how she kinda “deserved” it considering the amount of people she killed with her bombs, which was something that always stuck with me in the dialogue of the original. Despite Jessie’s hopes for the future and everything, she knew what what she was doing involved the deaths of a lot of people, innocent and guilty alike, she always felt terrible about it, but she wasn’t as soft as Tifa to think about giving up on it. She took those burdens with her to achieve what she needed to, so it’s heartbreaking that she had to die thinking that. It was saddening yet cute when Cloud said Jessie owed him a pizza, so she can’t die haha. It’s too bad that it’ll never happen. Sometimes I wonder if the reason they all like pizza is because of how Barret refers to the plates above them as a “pizza”, so they like to eat them up hahahaha, nah just kidding, pizza is good, everyone loves pizza.Seeing Reno and Rude tag team fight was so cool! I loved how Reno still had that skill that puts you into the triangle barrier to kinda immobilise you. Otherwise, Reno is so difficult for me to handle lolll, I suck fighting against him. And Rude hits Tifa when you control her!! Although he kinda just does a light chop to her, not sure if it’s specific to her but it was kinda cute lol because it honestly seemed like he was taking it easy against her compared to other battles when we faced him. Seriously though, I think it’s so annoying how those “ghosts” always interfere at crucial moments, it’s like, it wasn’t in the original game and it’s honestly unneeded here. The truth is that Cloud and them were unable to stop the plate from falling regardless of whether those ghosts were there or not, it’s annoying to make it seem like they could have stopped Rude if they weren’t there, when in reality, it shows (in the original) a much crueller way of looking at things when you try your best but you’re still too late. We don’t need no supernatural phenomenon to make it seem like it’s at fault and that’s why Cloud and them failed! Yes, I rolled my eyes when they appeared because at this point, I’ll admit that I’m sick of them. It’s like how they ruined Aerith and Cloud’s first meeting with them! I only wanted sweetness and curiosity towards a flower girl, not mystery with these supernatural things I don’t care about! Sigh!

Anyway, seeing Tifa and Barret broken over not being able to save their home and its people was saddening. Maybe it’s nostalgia or whatever, but I think it hit me harder in the original though. Btw, it’s kinda funny but understandable that instead of Tseng flying near the explosion to kinda show that they’ve captured Aerith etc, Tseng tells them through the screen haha. Gotta protect the Ancient! Oh, and Sephiroth honestly appears way too much, I honestly don’t remember him being so apparent, I know they’re really just the numbered black robe guys, but I feel like back then it was mostly just Cloud feeling the effects of something, but not being very clear on what it is. Now we’re just stuck with an overbearing Sephiroth zzz, yes there’s such a thing as too much Sephiroth. I guess it’s nice that it kinda explicitly tells you through them that Sephiroth thinks/believes/insists he’s got Ancients’ blood running through him, so he’s the rightful ruler of the planet though. Really though, with the plate falling, you can really understand the helplessness and fear of the people under the plates (through the NPCs talking in the background), it’s like, wow, they can actually fall and destroy everyone?! It kinda shows that regardless of how great Shinra is in giving people “better lives”, Shinra is also essentially in control of their lives. Oh yeah!! And Cait Sith!! Did not expect to see him! It felt weird without his white doll (since I used to think the white doll was him until I realised there was a cat on top lmao), but it was nice to see how *spoilers* Reeve tried to do something about Sector 7 in both forms. Seeing Cait Sith devastated at the sight was pretty saddening. But I have to admit, imagining Reeve controlling it and making it fall to the ground is funny yet interesting loll.

Omg, how old is Tseng?! Aerith is like this little kid and he’s an adult already?! I never realised there was such a big age difference.. Anyway, kid Aerith is adorable. Elmyra’s story is always saddening to hear, but I think the original showed it a bit better, mainly the train station part. I remember in the original, you could really feel the sadness of Elmyra through the contrasted happiness of the people beside her at the train station who were overjoyed at seeing the people they were waiting for come home to them. And it slowly shows how nearly everyone who was waiting there was able to reunite with their loved ones, everyone except her who waited every day there. I feel like she even asked the train station attendant if there were any more trains or people too. Her taking in Aerith healed her and herself, so honestly, I’ve always been happy that they both had each other to lean on for so many years. But yeah, otherwise, seeing Ifalna (HD) and everything was nice. It’s interesting that Aerith needs to be willing to go to them in order to help with their quest in finding the Promised Land, because how exactly do you make her willing?? Hahaha. I mean, she just did it for Marlene so she’s not exactly “willing”. It’s so weird that they didn’t bother adding the line where Barret asks Elmyra to take care of Marlene for him. It’s like, you can’t make him a “caring dad” and not even say something like that before he leaves lol! It’s important!

Okay, I’m glad Wedge is alive, but at the same time, I have mixed feelings towards it haha. It’s nice though, gives Cloud and them more hope I guess. We should all thank cats, they save lives apparently~ On the other hand, Aerith appearing in Cloud’s dream was…very interesting. Like, it was nice, but at the same time weird loll. Especially when she told him that if they seemed like they were attracted to each other romantically, it probably wasn’t real. I honestly didn’t need that, especially when I feel like the Tifa fanservice coupling is everywhere and more apparent than with Aerith imo. I felt like the romance with Tifa was more vague in the beginning for the original. Anyway, Cloud was right, Aerith can’t just one-sidedly say all that and just leave, he should have his say too, especially since these are his feelings! And tbh, although Tifa and Cloud are super comfortable with each other and rely on each other, I feel like a lot of the times, they feel like trustworthy friends more in the remake imo. I think what solidifies (for me) how much Cloud cherishes Aerith was when he said he’d take her home again (lmao) after she showed him the way to Sector 7, enough concern over her safety with Don Corneo that he would cross dress, and his reaction when Aerith shows up with the extravagant red dress. He was so stunned at how beautiful she was! To be fair though, I was pretty stunned too, until I realised I better take screenshots lmao. Overall though, Cloud is constantly saving and taking care of all the girls, it’s kinda crazy. Like, I know he may be Prince Charming but c'mon! Only Tifa gets to be cool whereas the other girls get saved wayyyy too much whether it be from random falls or whatever. I also feel like Elmyra stopping them from going to save Aerith felt more like an unnecessary plot delay to squish in the Wedge part, but oh well lol, time for Shinra building time! Can’t wait to see Red XIII!

Or not, I’m stuck doing side quests lmao. Those pull ups were more annoying than squats zzzz, but they were okay I guess. Didn’t take that long to win the pro. The most annoying thing was that letting the pull up timer go on (when I obviously failed) was faster than the stupid loading screen when I press give up lol. Mireille being the Angel of the Slums was expected I guess, although I was never curious anyway haha. Kyrie is kinda cute but annoying lol. Kinda sad that I don’t actually get to ride on a Chocobo though….like I found all those lost chocobo and yet I don’t actually get to ride them? T_T Wow, I can’t believe the behemoth horn was used for medicine!! What kind of medicine are they making??! It was a hassle to kill that guy! Lmao tonberry is as cute and deadly as it usually is! Kept stabbing me lol! I know I could have probably thrown magic at it, but I thought it was hilarious to see it stab me lmao. The Colosseum battles were pretty easy, I was kinda worried but all good! Whack-a-box was super easy for the hard mode btw! I was like ohh noo when I saw hard mode thinking it’ll take me a while like the pull ups but dang, third time was the charm! Smashed it!🥰 Hmm, pedometer materia was interesting…lol, super easy to get the 5000 steps since I had to look for those annoying chocobos, but yeah I guess it was worth it! AP Up would be useful. I’m glad the side quests didn’t take too long because I really started considering just dropping them lol.

I’m glad they delved more into Leslie’s backstory, but I guess it was expected since he was the only pretty boy out of all the lackeys lmao. I found Leslie really endearing though, mainly because of his looks and how kind he was to keep warning Cloud and Aerith that they shouldn’t go to the audition haha. It’s saddening that his fiancee was chosen by Corneo and now she has disappeared. I kinda liked how his story interlinked with Cloud and Aerith though. Tifa told Leslie that the flower pendant his fiancee gave back to him before she left meant “we’ll meet again” in flower language, and that’s the flower Aerith gave Cloud, so it’s nice to see how Cloud linked that, and sorta renewed his resolve into finding her asap. It’s nice to know that rather than focusing on finding Corneo to exact his revenge, Leslie is now instead looking for the girl. Good that he’s got his priorities straight. She’s much more important than revenge! Hope we get to see him actually find her in the later parts or something~

Overall, not much to say about these few chapters. I think the running up the stairs/pillar part to save Sector 7 + Wedge, Biggs and Jessie were pretty faithfully done, and it was done pretty nicely too. It felt just as annoying with the monsters/soldiers, whilst being just as saddening with seeing the death of the Avalanche members lol. My only gripe with it was the Whispers popping up ruining the whole mood of the event, it really made it seem like Cloud and them could have changed the outcome that ended up happening but was stopped for “reasons” beyond their control, so they shouldn’t feel too bad about it kinda thing, it just changes the whole “feel” of it. Anyway, the changes with Wedge being alive and the “dream” with Aerith are things I have mixed feelings about. Wedge being alive really, as I kinda said before with the pillar, it changes the mood and atmosphere of everything. Like, it’s not terrible, but what solidified a lot of my feelings towards Avalanche and the dropping of the plate in the original was done with the impact of the deaths of our Avalanche members because they’re the main people we’re familiar with. Anyway, gotta love how (aside from Biggs and Jessie) a lot of the people we’ve seen are alive and well, and lol even the item shop etc people have good stock! Kinda miss the days in the original or in other older JRPGs where shops would follow the story and be lacking in supplies or whatever during times of disaster etc. Anyway, that’s just me being picky as usual lol. And yes, I’m starting to see how A LOT of the scenes involve Cloud and the others saving each other, mainly Cloud saving all the girls, and it’s nice but honestly overdone considering the amount of scenes where it happens. This time around, the changes (from the original) are half half to me, not better, but not exactly terrible I guess. Anyway, now that I’m going through this and reading my thoughts again, this was probably the point when I started thinking about whether I liked the remake for what it is or was I really just banking in on the hype and nostalgia of a favourite game? Honestly, it’s mainly the latter (sadly).

#final fantasy vii remake #ffvii remake #ffvii

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the-art-of-animated-gifs · 5 years

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Interview with Wavegrower (Frédéric Vayssouze-Faure)

Wavegrower (Frédéric Vayssouze-Faure) is one of the great gif artists of what could be called the ‘Tumblr’ era of gif art from about 2011-2017. His work is ubiquitous and his influence on gif artists today is profound. He took the time to answer questions I sent him and apologized for his English (which is lucid and clear) and the lack of new work (I am deeply grateful for the beautiful work he has already given us).

Note: He includes many examples with links, Make sure to follow them!

Where are you from?

I'm from France. Were you educated in the arts?

I'm self-educated in art in general, and music theory in particular. As a former engineer I studied math in a quite high level, what brought me to be aware of the beauty of structures and correspondences : what is common between this and that, why does this sound or look better than that, what is a piece made of : layers, patterns... Where do you live now?

I live in the city of Cahors, France. What do you do for a living?

I'm a math teacher, also getting few royalties for animations I've made for a mobile app. Why did you start making gifs?

I started making gifs when discovering the existence of Tumblr and the work of David Szakaly a.k.a. dvdp in 2014. GIF appeared to be a good format to develop an audience and continue my own creative coding work in a new direction. Why do you continue to make gifs?

Actually I've just had a one year break because of a professional exam I've prepared and passed. Nevertheless I've continued to make gif from 2014 to 2018 for the reason I never felt to get out of inspiration and progress. Getting many followers and positive feedback also pushed me to carry on.

How has your approach to gif making evolved?

First I've learnt to deal with gif format specificities to get the best results in terms of file size, which is the major limitation for web displaying. I also gradually made my code evolve and grow to enrich my potentialities through the use of 3D, inheritance, recursivity, fractals, noise... It has made my pieces getting more and more deep, full, complex. This is a constant evolution you can see in the archive page of my blog. What tools do you use to create your gifs?

I use Processing to code and render png frames, then Gimp to optimize and make it a gif. How has that evolved?

Before doing gifs, I was making animations in flash/actionscript. Then I started to use Maya/MEL to deal with 3D. One day a popular gif artist called p5artand coding with Processing reblogged a gif of mine, thinking it was made that way. Many Processing coders started to follow my blog. So I tried to remake the piece with that language, in the idea of sharing the code to show gratitude. Then I realized it was very best suited for what I intended to do (basically making innumerable dots move in harmony the way I want) and started to built a growing personal tool for this, taking advantage of Object-oriented programming which allows in particular to group elements and easily apply to them the same transformations you can apply to one of them (concretely putting a loop inside a loop). Why is looping important?

Looping is just fundamental, so deeply part of our world that we don't even mention it. It is related to many other words which describe the same phenomenon : wave, pulsation, cycle, rhythm, oscillation, vibration, beating, spin, undulation, frequency... Mathematically speaking, its all about periodic functions (returning to the same value every time) and above all the sine function, smoothest cyclic motion ever, from which every other can be generated by summation with multiple frequencies (Fourier theory). Looping is everywhere in real life : breathing, heart beating, walking, swimming, love making, wing flapping, baby rocking, ripples, wind in trees, day and night, seasons, planets orbit and spin, sound at many levels (rhythm , frequencies, structures), light, ... I guess that's why contemplating or experimenting a loop make you feel something. Looping being at the heart of my code (the first Class I coded was called Oscillator) and then at the heart of my work, that explain why many people find my gifs relaxing, especially people who do stimming, like autist people, from which I've got a positive feedback.

How have you seen gifs change since you started making them?

I'm not a gif pioneer so gifs haven't changed so much since I started I guess. Maybe gif art got a bit out of the underground this past years through the expansion of social media featuring gif artists, review from art blogs and gif art festivals. Do you think gifs are a unique art form?

Gif can be seen as a medium encompassing many different styles and art form (generative, cinemagraph, glitch, vaporwave, surrealism, minimalism, ...), but for me it's an art form by itself regarding its own characteristics, which make it unique at several levels. First regarding the way people experience it : easy to share, fast to display, light, autolaunching, autolooping, simple as haikus but with a high attractivity in many different potential ways : mindblowing, mesmerizing, relaxing, clever, funny... The fact that it loops is also major, making gifs very pleasant to watch with a musical background, especially when tempos match, and letting the viewers take the time they want to be penetrated and aware of every details and questioning.

Technically speaking it also has constraints that every gif artist has to deal with and share with other gif artists, and which may influence the art process, in particular to be as light as possible for a fast displaying, requiring to evaluate the cost of every frame, taking into account that in gif format every pixel which stays the same from on frame to another is counted for one. An interesting challenge may be then to produce long looping gifs that remain light (like this one or that one).

Another important feature that gif artists share is the perfect loop requirement, not easy to achieve, and leading to clever tricks which make gifs seem to be longer than its real loop period (like this one). For me, unless there is a good reason, a gif that doesn't perfectly loop is not a proper one. And I'm very fond and impressed by cinemagraph artists who make perfect looping animations from movies or nature.

#gif animation #gif art #gif aesthetic #wavegrower

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cardansolo · 5 years

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My Favorite Reylo Fanfics

We all need something to hold us over until December, right? Here are all of my absolute favorite Reylo fics. They’re all amazing - well-written, mostly slow-burn (because I’m a sucker for those), and all T, M, or E rated. I’ll be updating this list as I find more that I love. Happy reading!

*Fic is incomplete.

In the Star Wars universe:

In My Blood Stream by EllieCarina (x)

Rey knows Kylo by now. And she knows Ben and almost everything in between. But when Poe Dameron kisses her, she learns something she hadn't known before. They are bound by the Force and this alone would be difficult enough - with love of all things added to the mix, the universe could as well come apart under the weight of their minds.

(Formerly “I Know,” now a multi-chapter fic.)

Landscape With a Blur of Conquerors by diasterisms (x)

"While I share your contempt for this situation in which we find ourselves, do not mistake it as apathy," he hissed through gritted teeth, dark eyes burning. "I hardly expect your disposition to sweeten, but I will be damned if I allow my future Empress to behave in a manner that reflects poorly on me and on the First Order!"

"If you allow?" She wrenched her arm out of his viselike grasp, batting his hand away for good measure. "I don't belong to you. I don't belong to anyone."

"That might have been the case back when you were a scavenger on that pitiful scrap heap of a planet, but now?" His sardonic gaze flickered over her silk robes and the jewels woven through her elaborate braids. "Now you are the Chume'da, and the Chume'da belongs to her people. Their fate is entirely in your hands. Should you cross the line, it is they who will suffer for it. Am I making myself clear?"

"I hate you," she said bitterly.

He sneered at her. "See? Already you are acclimatizing so well to married life.”

Tactical Surrender by destinies (x)

“It was foolish of you to come here,” he says. “You won’t escape this time.”

Rey looks at him, at the Stormtroopers, at the combat walkers. She gives the illusion of thinking it over, and then says, “You’re right."

She presents her wrists to him. “I surrender myself to the authority of the First Order.”

Three years after the Battle of Crait, Rey, Resistance hero and teacher to a budding new Jedi Order, once again delivers herself into the hands of the enemy. To provide cover for a maneuver that could deal a serious blow to the First Order, she must gamble with the thing she knows its Supreme Leader wants most: herself.

In The Gathering Dark by grecianviolets (x)

Post-TLJ. In the aftermath, from the chaos and the carnage, rises a new vision for the galaxy.

You’ll Be the One to Turn by postedbygaslight (x)

Several months have passed since the Battle of Crait, and Rey of Jakku and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren have continued to haunt each other, appearing at random to each other throughout their days and nights. But the connection is unstable, and longing and loneliness start to overwhelm other concerns.

Jedi Academy AU:

Like Young Gods by diasterisms (x)

“What do you think?” Luke asks his nephew. “She has potential.”

“She bit me, Master,” is Ben’s stiff response. “Any opinion I give would be biased.”

Or: Everyone is connected, even if, sometimes, it's just by the skin of our teeth. Even in the midst of darkness, still, luminous beings are we.

To Kingdom Come by diasterisms (x)

[Sequel to Like Young Gods]

"I remember everything!" he snarls, loud enough to make her flinch. "How you move— the way you breathe—" His words hitch on a strangled half-sob; he stares at her like a man caught in a waking dream as he skims the line of her jaw with his knuckles, stopping to touch the pad of his thumb to her bottom lip. "How your eyes met mine in the starlight," he continues through a broken, haunted rasp of a voice, "and I felt like the look on your face."

Or: What is alive must heal. What cannot heal must endure.

*In My Ten Years by brittlelimbs (x)

There's a piece of Jedi mythology, passed down from ancient times, that tells of a peculiarly nasty phenomenon: one singular, intact soul split in two by the Force. It's a story of a schism in the stars, a constellation cracked in half, a lifetime spent scouring the Universe in search of that elusive whole.

But the Force is cruel and kind in turns; it gave Ben only one piece of his soul, but left the other, swaddled, at his feet.

AKA [the author’s] take on the "Ben and Rey grow up together!" trope with a soulmate/soulbond twist. Pretty much pure teeth-rotting fluff, lots of Ben being a lil mother hen etc. before they grow into a romantic relationship. Luke POV.

Modern AU:

A Proposal By Any Other Name by Lucidlucy (x)

Rey and Finn have been A Thing for a long time now. Since she was eighteen, to be exact. When Finn leaves on a trip to Europe for six months for work, Rey finally chases after him to Dublin to do what he seems to be putting off: propose.

She wants a family, after all.

The universe has different ideas. Her flights are delayed, storms hit, she loses her tickets and everything seems to be going horribly. To top it off, she ends up stranded around a rather irritating man by the name of Kylo Ren. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

-----

A Leap Year AU.

Unexpected by pontmercy44 (x)

What to expect when you're expecting the child of an rich, womanizing, alcoholic, unredeemable asshole? And what to do when the unexpected, improbable, irrational happens?

Play to Win by Enterprisingly (x)

Ben Solo – aka KyloRen – is a professional gamer, playing the first-person-shooter StarKiller for the internationally ranked eSports team, The First Order. He’s made a name for himself as a ruthless competitor with a ferocious temper and top-notch skills that can’t be beat. That is, until a mystery player named ReyOfLight begins thoroughly trouncing him whenever they cross paths.

What follows is the unlikely story of a rivalry that turns into a friendship that turns into… something else entirely. All while the eSports community watches with bated breath and popcorn in hand.

Ghostwalks (Gin and Fog) by diasterisms (x)

[Actors AU]

"I don't like your manners," she sniffed.

"And I'm not crazy about yours," he retorted.

(So they were apparently Bogie and Bacall now, and maybe she could blame the alcohol in the morning, like all the good girls did.)

A Royal Mistake by reyofdarkness (mitslits) (x)

Ben Solo (aka The Playboy Prince): Prince of Alderaan and tabloid sensation, never seen with the same girl twice.

Rey: Mechanic, blissfully unaware of Ben Solo's very existence.

Until Paige recruits her for a night servicing the Met Gala, host to a diverse class of guests, including royalty. It is there that a chance encounter gets Rey caught up in a pair of pretty eyes and a charming personality that she knows she should stay far, far away from. The universe, however, seems to have other plans.

Doing the Unstuck by slipgoingunder (x)

A rom com inspired by When Harry Met Sally. (No, you do not need to have seen the movie to read this.) Modernized, gender swapped, angsty and funny.

Rey is Harry. Ben is Sally.

In 2010, Rey and Ben share a contentious car ride from Chicago to New York, during which they argue about everything. Including sex.

Four years and another chance meeting later, both their lives have taken unexpected twists. And they're still arguing about sex.

In 2018, Rey and Ben meet for a third time, each at a crossroads in their lives. They continue to argue, but in a nice way. So nice, in fact, that they become good friends. Complicated friends. Complicated friends who definitely do not want to have sex.

Olive and an Arrow by sadboykylo (x)

Rey might be in love with Ben Solo. If only he wasn't her cautious bodyguard, and she wasn't the president's daughter.

A/B/O:

Suits and Stilettos by Aimz777 (x)

Ben Solo, protégé to James Snoke at the prestigious Kenobi-Snoke-Organa law firm, is tasked with employing a male Alpha Associate from one of the Trinity law schools. Why then, he hires Rey Jensen – a female Omega from Jakku Law with a photographic memory and a stubborn streak to rival any Alpha – is anyone’s guess.

Luckily no one knows she's an Omega except him.

Unfortunately for Ben, her intoxicating scent is messing with his head and he is increasingly growing to resent the fact that he isn’t like every other person on the planet that simply can’t smell her.

–The A/B/O modern day lawyers fic kind of (but not really) based off the show Suits

Your Pretty Little Heart by Ever-so-reylo (x)

“Good. Good little Omega.” He says the words against her gland, almost sweetly, and Rey—Rey is going to die. A wonderful, delicious death. Depraved, all of this. Filthy. Beautiful.

Modern day AU in which Ben is an Alpha, Rey is an Omega, and they are way better at having sex than at communicating with each other.

#reylo #reylo fanfic #reylo fic rec #reylo fanfic rec #reylo fanfiction #reylo fic #these are all very good #they made me emotional #yes diasterisms is on here four times because her work is literally so good #mostly made for myself so i can keep track of all of the wonderful fics i read

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lizhly-writes · 5 years

Text

just your kind of dream

1/2 the first chapter of one of my main three WIPs, thousand year vow. You can see a little more information on this here.

Dessi runs her fingers over the embroidery with a frown.

The images sewn into the fabric are terribly familiar. Cypress for despair, the sword and flames for massacre, the wheel for the cycle of suffering, the border of chains for the pact unbroken.

This is the story of the Bane and the Traitor-Children. It’s the first story every child of Scrit hears, a history elaborated and enforced at least once a week at the creaking schoolhouse a stone’s throw away from her home. The teacher, grim-faced as she told them how the Bane turned the children who would become His champions, coaxed them to view Him as someone dearly beloved instead of a soulless abomination, until They willingly knelt and pledged Him Their loyalty.

“And on the summer solstice, the Bane sent the Children to the destiny He had decided for Them. On that day, He declared…?”

Dessi remembers shivering in the cold, standing with her back ramrod-straight, chin raised high, and her voice mixed with all the other children as they chorused, “The greatest invention of mankind is unquestioning faith.”

“Very good.”

“Never forget,” warned the elders. “Never forget,” snapped the teachers. “Never forget,” whispered the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and near-every face in the village.

And so the children of Scrit never do. The story is ground so deeply into their bones that even beaten, bruised, half-dead, they’d be able to tell it without even the slightest hitch in memory.

Dessi straightens and sets the finely-stitched blanket to the side. It’s beautifully done, every detail carefully rendered in vibrant colors. Here lies the problem: it shouldn’t exist. None of this should.

All around her are familiar walls, familiar pictures, her ma’s pottery neatly shelved away, a sprig of her da’s favorite flowers sitting in a bowl of water, herbs hanging from the rafters. There’s a particularly crooked bundle of boneset hanging above her, just where she left it, and none of this can possibly be real.

This is her old home. That’s unmistakable. But it went up in flames with the rest of Scrit seven years ago. She’d watched it burn down to the ground herself.

Now it’s here and whole and decidedly not covered in soot or blood. She’s dreamt of the way things used to be, but this is like a suspiciously tame fever-dream. All is silent and calm and utterly unnatural. She’d had a big family, each room warmed with the heat of each breath and the sound of gossip and chatter. The house had never gone quiet, not really. No matter how late it got, there’d always be at least one person up - her da, picking out herbs by the light of the moon, or Aedda checking the hearthfire, or Rilli fiddling with some private project. Sometimes even Dessi herself, staring at the ceiling until lulled to sleep by the whispers of her older siblings.

Now it’s so quiet that a single footstep practically echo through the air. Even her head is silent. Dessi hasn’t had that kind of peace since —

She stops, stands perfectly still.

She has had a dead god’s whispers and screams and thoughts flashing through her mind ever since she was ten years old. He’s never left her. Especially not in these dreams, the ones that show how things used to be. He’s drawn to the slow burn of anger at the injustice of life. Whenever he catches even the slightest hint of her own bitterness, he whispers about how things should be made right.

And he’s not here.

A sharp gesture, and her knives freeze into being in her hands. Lord Takastos might be as good as dead, but he is still a god. There is no natural phenomenon or mortal being that can keep him so quietly out of her mind. The only entity that can do such a thing is another god, and there is only one god she knows that would lock her head down like this.

This is not just a dream.

“Desima.”

Dessi spins violently on her heel. It’s a reflex to send her knives flying toward the intruder, and she’s got another set lined up against her fingers before she realizes exactly who she’s looking at.

She swallows dryly. “Da.”

Her aim will never be good as Willa’s, but that doesn’t stop it from being good. The proof of it is staring at her right between her father’s bright blue eyes.

The tilt of head is a little wrong, the curve of his mouth sharper than she remembers, but who exactly this is supposed to be is unmistakable. “Da,” Dessi repeats.

She can almost feel the temperature drop.

There’s a faint frown on his face. He looks vaguely disappointed, like all she’d done was brought home substandard markings in calligraphy. “Well, that’s not polite, is it?” Da says, his voice perfectly calm, as if he didn’t have a frozen knife dug deep in his brow and buried in his torso. He nonchalantly yanks the ice out of his ribs, and Dessi gets the pleasure of watching blood dribble down his side.

Not again. Not again, no never again not again not again not again -

She and her brothers and sisters had tripped over their da when they’d stumbled out of their burning house, all blistered skin and bones. He’d been face-down in the dirt, and they’d been able to see the hole that’d been torn through his back to the ground below.

Dessi clamps a hand over her mouth. There’s a soft part of her she’d long thought she’d excised whispering that she’s a traitor, a kinslayer, nothing more than shit smeared on the ground. It’s making something sour and cold well up in her stomach, claw its way up her throat. Half-melted snow mixed with tiny icicles mixed with bile, prickling and bloody and foul on her tongue.

This isn’t real. She knows that, but if it was — if it was —

Her da would’ve died again, and it would’ve been all her fault.

Da clicks his tongue. “What would your ma say, ah? I bet Lilli wouldn’t’ve been too pleased.”

No, Lilaea of Niwe wouldn’t have appreciated one of her children greeting their father with a knife to the head, and she wouldn’t have liked blood on the floorboards. Too much of a pain to scrub out, she said. Dessi remembers her ma good-naturedly scolding one of her older sisters when she came back from a hunt. Rilli hadn’t drained her quarry properly, and she’d left faint tracks when she made her way through the door. She’d needed more practice to learn not to make a mess, her ma had said.

But, see, Dessi remembers her mother screaming, gutteral with rage and pain and fear. She remembers the temperature dropping and spears of ice following her mother’s sharp, violent gestures, rushing towards her unexpected guests to make them bleed. Her ma had fought before They made her a corpse on her own clean floors. She would’ve done the same when dealing with imposters like this.

Dessi straightens her spine. “You don’t get to say her name like that,” Dessi hisses, lifting her chin high.

Lilli instead of Lilaea, a shortened form that says I care, I love, you are beloved, I am yours and you are mine. It shouldn’t be said so nice and easy like it belongs by the mouth of the thing wearing her da’s face.

“Dessi?” says her da’s voice, sounding lost and hurt. “What d’you mean?”

That’s not her da. This isn’t a dream. This is not how things are.

There is a god here that finds suffering funny.

Dessi remembers standing in the clear early morning, listening to the teacher reciting their history. “Our people cried out: why? Who? What god have we offended? What god has wrought destruction on us all?”

And He, the great and terrible divine appeared, shining before them, and He said: I have ten thousand names, and before this world ends, I will claim thousands more. But you may call me —

She balls her hands into fists, feels the thin skin of ice forming over them crack. “Lord Tessera,” she says tightly.

There is a singular, shining moment where she could be wrong. All is silent, and it’s her da standing there, his brows furrowed in confusion and blood trickling from the knife in his forehead, and this could all just be a figment of her own imagination.

Then his face stretches into a grin. It’s one she sees in her nightmares. Too wide to be human, jaw unhinged to accommodate too many, too sharp teeth. “Well met,” the Bane says, and the sound of it almost makes her step back. She can still hear her da’s voice, but it’s muffled and reverberating, thousands of echoes layered over each other and ringing in her head. “Greetings, Desima of Niwe.”

He shifts, ever so slightly, in her vision, into something more insubstantial, something a little less real. Is He a little more bright? Is He a little less memorable? Does His image burn and melt in her mind?

It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she’s right and by the Three, she wishes she wasn’t.

#tyv #my writing #writeblr #everything #mine #camp nanowrimo 2019

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charminglatina · 5 years

Text

Riverdale Couples & Ships as Romantic Tropes (Part I) ❤️

In this list, I’ll be listing the Riverdale ships and couples (both teen and adult) with the romantic tropes that best represent their relationship on the show. In case you’re wondering where I got the tropes from, I got them from TVTropes.org. This list of couples and their romantic tropes is not a rankings list like my previous other lists which were rankings based on percentages. Because there are so many couples, I have decided to split the lists in two parts. Have fun reading!

#25. Archundy (Archie Andrews & Geraldine Grundy; ROMANTIC TROPE: TEACHER/STUDENT ROMANCE)

Teacher/Student Romance

"I've got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I'm Hot For Teacher."—Van Halen

It is a pretty good bet that just about any show that features adults and teens interacting in an academic environment will eventually explore a romantic relationship between a teacher and a student. The basis for this type of relationship — if it's actually a romance and not just a Sextra Credit arrangement — can either be the adoration and respect toward the teacher and mentor figure or the teacher's protective and caring instincts, or both. The illicit, forbidden, and most often scandalous nature of these relationships can be mined for angst, and generally doesn't cause real life issues because the actors themselves are generally all above the age of consent thanks to Dawson Casting. But even if the student is eighteen or in college, this sort of extracurricular activity would still be a massive breach of professional ethics in most of the world and in some jurisdictions is considered illegal, regardless of age, in some circumstances (some teachers have been charged for relationships with high school students, even if the relationship didn't begin until after the student turned 18 and the teacher her/himself was only a few years older). Even if it was not illegal, the scandal that would erupt from this socially unacceptable affair would be so devastating it would basically cost a teacher or professor his or her job forever. There are usually different levels of moral endorsement of the relationship, depending on the genders of the participants. Relationships between male teachers and male students are condemned the most harshly. When a male teacher and a female student are together it results in the teacher being viewed as a pervert and sometimes the student being slut shamed. When it's the other way around, a female teacher with a male or even a female student is taken far less seriously. An even more outrageous double standard is that emphasis is often placed on how attractive said female teacher is — the more attractive said teacher, the more acceptable the relationship is. That said, the trope in fiction probably will involve a Hot Teacher, if only for fanservice purposes. An author might attempt to make this relationship less squicky by having the student fulfill the Wise Beyond Their Years trope, by keeping things to Courtly Love only, or by making both participants older — a graduate or doctoral student falling in love with their professor is less likely to cause moral outrage than a high school student doing the same thing due to both participants being adults, though the professional ethics of the situation remain pretty much the same. The relationship may be initiated by a Fille Fatale. A subtrope of Unequal Pairing. Compare Mrs. Robinson. See Likes Older Men, Likes Older Women, and Stacy's Mom for young people lusting after older people in general, Precocious Crush for a more innocent variant, Age-Gap Romance for when there's a significant age difference between them, and Mentor Ship. There's a version specific to magic users called Merlin and Nimue, which takes its cue from the Arthurian Mythos where Merlin formed such a pair with several women. Teacher/Parent Romance occurs when a teacher falls for their student's parent. This group of tropes is among The Oldest Ones in the Book. Although generally frowned upon in Real Life today, it's had varying levels of acceptance throughout history. It was most famously acceptable in Ancient Greece, where it took the form of Lover and Beloved.

#24. Jasolly (Jason Blossom & Polly Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: KISSING COUSINS)

Kissing Cousins

"If you're tired of beating around the bush, why not shake the family tree? A hot cousin might fall out."—Stephen Colbert

Romantic/sexual relationships between cousins (meaning, generally, first cousins) are a phenomenon that has been more accepted in some cultures and eras than others. A great many cultures today accept it, including a majority of the industrialized world. Marrying one's extended relatives (which is technically known as clan endogamy) seems to have been common in human evolutionary history, since hominids usually lived in small nomadic bands with few available sexual partners. At the other end of the spectrum, much of the modern U.S.A. considers cousin marriage completely taboo, so Hilarity Ensues at the very mention of it. People from backwoods areas (especially the Appalachian Mountains) are often the preferred butt of many bad jokes as well as occasional bits of Self-Deprecation for the alleged prevalence of Kissing Cousins in their culture. Despite the taboo, cousin marriages are legal in about half the states in the U.S.A., though not as much in the backwoods areas and more in the modern industrialized states, the opposite of what one might expect from hearing all those jokes. Legal or not, these marriages are still not very common due to the lingering cultural taboo. All states permit marriages between second and third cousins, but even these are looked at funny. In the UK, first cousin marriage is unusual and would be regarded as rather odd, but not with the same severity as the US. Second cousin marriages and beyond would be seen as unremarkable. Expect some strong Values Dissonance between the media from the US and other countries, and between certain modern works and works from the nineteenth century and earlier, when the taboo was sometimes non-existent or even inverted. Full scholarly debate on why some cultures would forbid cousins, or even specific types of cousins, to marry, while others ignore or even encourage it, rages on, and lies beyond the scope of this wiki. According to both Oxford's and Merriam-Webster's Dictionaries, the original definition of kissing cousins was simply a relative known well enough to be given a kiss in greeting, although this meaning has long since fallen by the wayside. Check out Incest Is Relative for more closely related tropes. NOTE: This trope is for cases of actual relationships between cousins. Cousincestuous subtext goes in Incest Subtext.

#23. Joaqevin (Joaquin DeSantos & Kevin Keller; ROMANTIC TROPE: BURY YOUR GAYS)

Bury Your Gays

"[Television] has yet to recover from the [2015/16 and 16/17] seasons, which included the deaths of an overwhelming number of lesbian and bisexual women characters. These deaths were often in service of another straight, cisgender character's plotline, and sent a toxic message to audiences. This decades-long trend — referred to in popular culture as "Bury Your Gays" — has made countless headlines in the past year, educating both viewers and creators alike on just how ubiquitous this trope has been."— Opening statement to the 2017/18 GLAAD (Where We Are on TV Report)

The Bury Your Gays trope in media, including all its variants, is a homophobic cliché. It is the presentation of deaths of LGBT characters where these characters are nominally able to be viewed as more expendable than their heteronormative counterparts. In this way, the death is treated as exceptional in its circumstances. Thus, it can be fairly said that, in aggregate, queer characters are more likely to die than straight characters. Indeed, it may be because they seem to have less purpose compared to straight characters, or that the supposed natural conclusion of their story is an early death. Also known as Dead Lesbian Syndrome, though that name has largely fallen out of use post-2015 and the media riots about overuse of the trope. And, as this public outcry restated, the problem isn't merely that gay characters are killed off: the problem is the tendency that gay characters are killed off in a story full of mostly straight characters, or when the characters are killed off because they are gay. However, sometimes gay characters die in fiction because, well, sometimes people die. There are many Anyone Can Die stories: barring explicit differences in the treatments of the gay and straight deaths in these, it's not odd that the gay characters are dying. The occasional death of one in a Cast Full of Gay is unlikely to be notable, either. Can be seen as Truth in Television in some cases, as gay and lesbian people are at a substantially higher risk for suicide and assault — see the tropes Gayngst-Induced Suicide and Homophobic Hate Crime. The fact that AIDS hit the gay male community most prominently provided potent fresh fuel for this long running trope (which, like many things about the eighties, still has an effect on more recent works). There may also be a higher prevalence of this trope in Period Fiction because of its supposed realism since historically there was lots of homophobic persecution — though undoubtedly plenty of acceptance, too. The exact opposite is found in Preserve Your Gays, often a reaction to this.

#22. Kevoose (Moose Mason & Kevin Keller; ROMANTIC TROPE: GAY GUY SEEKS POPULAR JOCK)

Gay Guy Seeks Popular Jock

LGBT media and LGBT characters featured in media have grown in prominence the past few decades. As the visibility grew, a common romance trope was employed over and over again enough that it became cliché: A gay teenager (who is the Audience Surrogate) ranging from Camp Gay to Adorkable to Shrinking Violet falls in love with/actively pursues/crushes on/is paired up with a popular, muscular and (usually) closeted jock. So many gay stories use this trope for several reasons, best written by Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club.

The Star-Crossed Lovers trope is Older Than Dirt and used for so many love stories already, so it stands that it can be used for a same-sex tale of romance and woe.

Rule of Drama: The geeky gay and jock not only come from different "classes" (so to speak) but also face different hurdles in a Coming-Out Story: The geeky gay always is less conventionally masculine, so he doesn't have much to lose by being honest and open. The jock character, by contrast is a Straight Gay, and by coming out may lose a lot more, especially dropping down the social ladder which can lead to tons of conflict and obstacles for the pair getting together.

Most of these writers are gay and this trope could be construed as a form of Wish Fulfillment: The shy, awkward boy landing a popular handsome athlete is a pretty common fantasy amongst gay men, so it stands that this convention would be pretty prominent.

While a common fantasy, this trope is also Truth in Television as this kind of pairing does indeed happen in Real Life. See also Sensitive Guy and Manly Man, Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple, and Star-Crossed Lovers. Frequently employs Gayngst and the Armored Closet Gay trope. See also Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy and All Guys Want Cheerleaders for the heterosexual versions of this trope.

#21. McKeller (Tom Keller & Sierra McCoy; ROMANTIC TROPE: MALIGNED MIXED MARRIAGE)

Maligned Mixed Marriage

"Who can feel sympathy for Desdemona? A woman who, born and educated to a splendid and lofty station in the community, betrays her race, her sex, her duty and her country, and makes a runaway match with a blackamoor."—John Quincy Adams

A common source of conflict for a set of married protagonists (or a couple of Star-Crossed Lovers) is for the couple to be of different races among very unaccepting folks. They will be pressured to break up/divorce by family and friends and community, ostracized, exiled or forced to flee, maimed, or murdered, etc. Their children will be likewise persecuted, perhaps more so than the parents, for complicating racial relations and being inherently 'untrustworthy' due to not being fully one race or the other. Even if the adults are fine, other Kids Are Cruel after all. Expect the child to eventually pop the question about whether there's something inherently and incurably wrong with them because of their genetic heritage. And of course, sometimes it's a mixed species marriage, or one between a muggle and a mage, complete with attendant prejudice. On the plus side the scifi/fantasy elements mean the kid is likely to be The Chosen One, a Half-Human Hybrid, a Dhampyr, or perhaps even a Hybrid Monster with really cool powers. That makes up for it, right? Some examples of interracial marriages that earn disapproval can be found in Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow, Black Gal on White Guy Drama, and Where Da White Women At?. For mixed species marriages, see also Vampire-Werewolf Love Triangle. In Real Life, mixed-race marriages can be everything from completely accepted to something you only do if you've got a death wish. Thankfully, in many places it's skewed towards the "completely accepted" end of the spectrum, and a great way for someone to reveal themselves as a severe jackass is to show bigotry towards mixed couples. Mixed-race marriages seem to be one of the last bastions of racism. Many opponents of interracial marriage claim to oppose all other forms of racism including genocide, different legal rights, and the physical segregation of races to prevent cultural contamination (and some claim to have friends of other races). However, they generally argue that that it's cruel to have mixed-race kids because they see race as the sole/most important element of collective identity. This makes the existence of people who blur the boundaries between races distressing for people of those races, who will see their identity as being under threat and in their illogical rage target the unfortunate mixed-race children in their midst. Of course, race is just one element of collective identity and while it can be very important to some people this is by no means a given. In general, mixed-race children tend to have about the same level of trouble that their parents have — less if they look like one race or the other instead of an obvious mixture, or live in a society that doesn't care about race. In stories that take place in communities where "race" isn't a defining factor in classifying humanity (like ''some'' of the 19th century USA, East Asia, or Russia), a "mixed marriage" could mean many other different things: mixed ethnicity ("ethnicity" here being vaguely synonymous with "nationality"), mixed religion, or mixed class. Due to Values Dissonance, many of these other "mixed" marriages tend to be Dead Horse Tropes in fiction (at least in the Anglosphere), though they do surface occasionally: consider My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which mines humor from the "scandal" of a ('white') Greek-American woman choosing a ('white') Anglo-American man as her husband... a thing no longer scandalous in the late 20th century, but most certainly was just a few decades previously. Truth in Television, of course, as there are still people who feel this way. Although anti-miscegenation attitudes are not only found in the classic cases of dominant, traditional, "purity"-seeking communities. Notably, some minorities also vocalize disdain for "disloyalty", stemming from the considerable culture-driven asymmetry in cross-race relationships — a subtle but persistent visual reminder of imposed inferiority — and frustrations in changing the narrative over discomforting perceptions of hyper-attractiveness or lack thereof. Then there are some who are simply pricks. But any of these justifications can end up invoking the trope. To be clear, this trope can cover any romantic relationship, not only matrimony. We just like alliteration here.

#20. Fredary (Fred Andrews & Mary Andrews; ROMANTIC TROPE: AMICABLE EXES)

Amicable Exes

"It's things like using force together, Shouting till you're hoarse together, Getting a divorce together, That make perfect relationships."—Company ( "The Little Things You Do Together")

So, people who break up must indefinitely hate each other, right? Wrong. Increasingly common in media are situations where a divorced couple still get along for the most part, and in many cases still care about each other even though they're no longer together. In many cases the divorce happened because of distance, circumstance or the simple fact that people change rather than infidelity, betrayal or other serious problems, and the fact that they got divorced is treated as a fact of life rather than due to a flaw in the people. Both parties also generally agree that it was for the best for both of them. It's also pretty common for couples who broke up because of Incompatible Orientation or who were each other's Last Het Romance to end up this way. If there are children from the marriage they are shared without much complaint, and the amicability of the parents can often be interpreted as being partly for their sake. As such, this tends to show up in children's cartoons, perhaps as an attempt to counter the stereotype of the children of divorced parents being largely unhappy. May involve a Visit by Divorced Dad that will usually go well, and for the most part any Divorce Assets Conflicts are avoided or settled reasonably. The increase in this trope can be attributed in the dramatic shift in divorce rates and public perception of those who have gone through with divorces in the last 50 years (i.e. between the 1950s and the start of the 21st century). While divorce used to be scandalous, it's now a fairly common occurrence, and this trope reflects the view that it's just a fact of life that doesn't have to permanently poison a relationship. Sometimes it even results in Divorce Is Temporary, though this is less common in more realistic works and those aimed at children due to being a Family-Unfriendly Aesop ("wish hard enough and your parents will get back together!"). Can apply to non divorced former couples as well, thus the name. If someone's current and former squeeze get along well with each other, it's The Missus and the Ex. Compare Working with the Ex and Sex with the Ex. No, this is not about friendly .exe files.

#19. Clinelope (Clifford Blossom & Penelope Blossom; ROMANTIC TROPE: ARRANGED MARRIAGE)

Arranged Marriage

"We who are of noble blood may not follow the wishes of our hearts."—Jane Olsen (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)

An Arranged Marriage is, quite simply, the idea that someone is going to choose your spouse for you. The way an Arranged Marriage is treated by the plot will be dependent on place and time. For most of human history, arranged marriages were the norm because "marriage" was less about the union of two souls and more about the union of two families. The rise of the "Marry for Love" ideal didn't really start in Western culture until the 16th century, and there are places on Earth where it still hasn't. Additionally, the "Marriage Before Romance" trope often went hand-in-hand with arranged marriages. While the priority is, again, the union of two families, that union is dependent on the stability and comfort of the two people getting married, so the two families would try their best to come up with a Perfectly Arranged Marriage. The couple's happiness just wasn't the main goal the way it is in Western marriages today. However, the one thing that is almost always present in an arranged marriage is tension. Most people don't really want to marry a total stranger (much less have sex with them), and if that total stranger turns out to be a complete rogue and a cad, it may be necessary for the heroes to spring into action and rescue the hapless member of their group who is being forced to walk down the aisle. (Of course, being Big Damn Heroes, they'll have to do so in the most overblown and dramatic way possible.) Sometimes, the person in the arranged marriage takes matters into their own hands and becomes a Runaway Fiancé. The "aggrieved" party may claim Breach of Promise of Marriage in response, as arranged marriages tend to be viewed as legally binding commitments by those who initiate it. Alternately, there's a Love Triangle. The character of the suitor is less likely to be important in those cases, but they generally won't look kindly on the outsider's interference. Conversely, an Arranged Marriage can be used to lock the hero and heroine together so that their disputes can not end with one of them washing their hands of the other. A common tactic is for the daughter of a wealthy but common family to be matched with the Impoverished Patrician, for his title: Nobility Marries Money. Occasionally, it's the other way around, with a titled daughter and a moneyed son. Families may even pledge infant children in marriage pacts that cannot be concluded until many years later. Both in fiction and in Real Life, royal children (sons as well as daughters) were used as pawns in the political game cementing alliances and peace treaties with their marriages. You might say it was their job to take part in such Altar Diplomacy. The Arranged Marriage is not to be confused with: a Childhood Marriage Promise (whereby a prepubescent couple voluntarily pledges their own non-legally-binding, future troth); a marriage which may arise out of convenience; or a marriage that arises from some kind of cultural mistake. For clarity's sake, the Arranged Marriage trope will deal only with more binding, traditional types of unions. See also Parental Marriage Veto, You Have Waited Long Enough, Old Man Marrying a Child, Homosocial Heterosexuality, Royal Inbreeding, and Marriage Before Romance. A Shotgun Wedding is a short-notice forced marriage. If someone agrees to an Arranged Marriage but loves someone else, Courtly Love may be involved. If the people doing the "arranging" in the marriage aren't the parents, that's a Bureaucratically Arranged Marriage. Often involves Prince Charmless and Rebellious Princess. At least recently, one of the potential spouses was as likely as not to try to defy this. When the audience really doesn't want this marriage, expect the Big Damn Heroes to show up right at the Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace line. To see the types of follies and foibles associated with modern dating services, see Dating Service Disaster. Supertrope to Perfectly Arranged Marriage. Subtrope of Marriage of Convenience. Contrast Marry for Love. Compare And Now You Must Marry Me. Compare and contrast Fourth Date Marriage, where the couple likewise barely knows each other but it was Love at First Sight.

#18. Halice (Hal Cooper & Alice Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: AWFUL WEDDED LIFE)

Awful Wedded Life

Take it from me Spaghetti Man, better dead than wed."— Richie Tozier, IT

The depiction of monogamous marriage as rather like a long, slow, exquisite torture by a sadistic god from whose malicious clutches escape is impossible. Husbands are child-like buffoons who watch too much football, leave the toilet seat up, ogle hot women, and forget anniversaries. Wives are frigid, nagging, hateful shrews with zero interest in sex. Children destroy your home and what little peace of mind you have left, while waiting their turn to perpetuate the cycle. Obnoxious In-Laws serve to add to the misery. The audience may be left wondering, "Why don't they just get a divorce, if they're so miserable?" Married... with Children was probably the first time this trope was the main focus of an American sitcom, but it's been a mainstay of British shows since The '50s. It is also a staple of Borscht Belthumour, but that may be less to do with venom than with Jews Love to Argue or Jewish Complaining. The name, for those who don't get it, is a reference to the line of the traditional wedding vows, "Lawful wedded wife". Similar to No Accounting for Taste, but you'll rarely (if ever) see the Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments occasionally found in that trope. Compare The Masochism Tango, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Like an Old Married Couple, Dead Sparks, and Married Too Young. Contrast Happily Married for the opposite and Happy Marriage Charade for when this trope pretends to be Happily Married. Unfortunately, Truth in Television for many people until quite recently, in eras with some combination of marriages being arranged for family advantage (or some other type of Marriage of Convenience) rather than created by mutual attraction, divorce being impossible or hugely disapproved of, or unintentional pregnancy leading to a choice of marriage or social ostracism.

#17. Fralice (Fred Andrews & Alice Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: AW, LOOK! THEY REALLY DO LOVE EACH OTHER)

Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other

When a couple/potential couple — who spend the entirety of the show yelling at each other, insulting one another, stabbing each other in the back, etc. — have a moment when they reveal that, deep down, they really care for one another. Awwww. Often takes place in a humorous rushing-to-your-spouse's-defense manner, where one of them angrily defends the other against the same kind of insults that they themselves like to dish out. The common line is: "Nobody insults/beats up/threatens my wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend but me!" If this relation is between friends then they are Vitriolic Best Buds. If it is between siblings, then it either combines Big Brother Bully and Big Brother Instinct or is Thicker Than Water. If the romance part comes without warning or justification, the trope may fall flat, since it comes out of nowhere when the previous context of the story makes it seem like they have nothing to love about each other. When couples don't even have these moments you get No Accounting for Taste. See also Defrosting Ice Queen, Slap-Slap-Kiss and Belligerent Sexual Tension. A couple version of a Pet the Dog moment.

#16. Halelope (Hal Cooper & Penelope Blossom; ROMANTIC TROPE: YOUR CHEATING HEART)

Your Cheating Heart

"Your cheatin' heart will make you weep, You'll cry and cry and try to sleep. But sleep won't come the whole night through, Your cheatin' heart will tell on you."—Hank Williams ( "Your Cheatin' Heart”)

Two-timing, playing away from home, having a bit on the side, going behind your partner's back, adultery, infidelity... There are a lot of names for cheating on your partner, but most of them have the same outcome: a world of hurt. Most of us recognize this type of plot: Bob is married to Alice. One day, Bob sees Carol at a club and is attracted to her. Perhaps things haven't been going so well with Alice for some time. Maybe they just had a major fight and Bob stormed off. Or maybe his marriage is perfectly healthy, and Bob has no excuse. Whatever the reason, Bob flirts with Carol, which eventually leads to a sexual or romantic relationship and the various things that entails. But here's the thing: Bob doesn't tell Alice about it. He doesn't dump her, he doesn't tell her that he thinks the marriage is on the rocks, he doesn't talk to her about Polyamory or swinging, he doesn't even ask for "more space". He continues to play the part of her husband, and expects her to continue being his wife, hoping that Alice won't notice when he starts coming in late for dinner, or ask him about the mysterious expenditures on their joint account. Sometimes, just to really play Alice for a sucker, their marriage will seemingly improve— he buys Alice gifts, pays attention to her and seems much happier, but all the while he's running off to see Carol. For extra scumbag points, he may be keeping Carol similarly in the dark about Alice. Chances are he'll eventually get caught; if he didn't, the story wouldn't have the same dramatic impact. A lot of angst and tension will ensue. Way back in the day, when marriage was considered permanent and divorce was a word whispered fearfully by gossiping old ladies, The Affair was a shocker of a storyline, and very often an automatic Moral Event Horizon for the cheating partner. However, it's worth noting that even further back in the day, the gods, goddesses and minor side characters of mythology listed "infidelity" under "Hobbies", didn't particularly care if their new "partner" was willing, and got away with it. Only their mortal lovers got the nasty side of the wronged wife's/husband's temper when the affair was discovered. Nowadays, affairs are common in any Soap Opera and turn up an awful lot in other types of story as well. We don't really expect a fictional husband and wife to stay faithful to each other for forty or so years. Supposedly, a solid marriage makes a boring story (though some would disagree). Often, a sequence of "get together → one cheats → they break up → they make up → the other one cheats", and so on) will be followed so often and so tiresomely that it becomes a Yoyo Plot Point. What defines cheating usually depends on the context of the story and the characters involved. Stories aimed at younger audiences, or with a clear emphasis on romantic, monogamous relationships, will probably count kissing and flirting as cheating. Most examples of cheating in shows aimed at adults, however, will involve sex. Occasionally, characters may clash specifically because they have different definitions of cheating: for example, the husband who protests that he was drunk and it was "just a kiss" to his furious wife, or a girlfriend who can't understand why her boyfriend doesn't like her flirting with her male friends. A few rules usually hold true in fiction: If a woman cheats, her paramour just scored a massive victory over her cuckolded husband, who is now permanently dishonored. The (male) big boss of any given workplace is likely to be two-timing his wife. The Protagonist remains sympathetic if they cheat, and becomes an innocent, wronged victim if they are the one being cheated on. Bisexuals are portrayed as incapable of faithfulness or have merely informed sexuality, and men are more prone to having affairs than women (and often portrayed as The Unfair Sex too when it comes to cheating). Unfortunately, adultery is Truth in Television, as many broken hearts and broken families will testify. It is also one of the most common reasons that people murder each other.

#15. Fladys (FP Jones & Gladys Jones; ROMANTIC TROPE: OUTLAW COUPLE)

Outlaw Couple

Two lovers who team up to commit crime, usually violent crime and especially robbery, and are usually on the run from the law. Such couples are almost always inspired by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, "Bonnie & Clyde." Which one is the brains of the outfit tends to vary from couple to couple. Sometimes one is a calm and collected criminal who charms the other into a life of crime. Other times, one is a loose cannon while the other is a cool-headed professional. Many Bonnie and Clyde stories end in tragedy, as did the original couple. This one is Truth in Television, though it should be noted that most fiction tends to romanticize the life of crime that such characters tend to lead. Compare/contrast Minion Shipping. See Unholy Matrimony for a more over-the-top, super powered version of this team-up. Expect some Back-to-Back Badasses moments, as well as a selfish suicide if one partner dies. May result in sympathetic villains or even Sympathetic Murderers, especially if their affection for each other is given the spotlight.

#14. Hiramione (Hiram Lodge & Hermione Lodge; ROMANTIC TROPE: UNHOLY MATRIMONY)

Unholy Matrimony

Poison Ivy: Once you have frozen mankind, these babies will overrun the globe, and we shall rule them, for we will be the only two people left in the world. Mr. Freeze: Adam and Evil.—Batman & Robin

You know how the story goes, right? Big Bad meets Baroness, Baroness meets Big Bad, their eyes meet, and horribly discordant music that sounds not unlike the screaming of tortured souls arise. It's black magic... a match made in hell! Lord Worldbreaker and Lady Firestorm are, individually, serious threats to the heroes, but what happens if they're suddenly working intimately together? That's when it gets really dangerous. A pair of villains capable of channeling The Power of Love is enough to give even the most hardened group of heroes a serious challenge, and worse yet, seeing the villains in love may make them doubt their own motivations. Should one of the villains fall, the other one grieving over their fallen lover is quite likely to initialize an Alas, Poor Villainscenario, and maybe even a My God, What Have I Done? Should another villain start messing with the happy couple, it's usually played as a Kick the Dog moment. ...of course, these people are villains, so you can never really be sure that one or both of them isn't just playing at being in love, in order to manipulate and use the other. If the love is genuine but unrequited, expect the one who genuinely loves to sacrifice their life to protect the other, only for the other to disdainfully ignore them as they lie dying, proclaiming that they're no longer useful. Usually, this signals a crossing of the Moral Event Horizon. If both were faking it, expect them to show their true colors at the same time. Hilarity Ensues—and it's never mentioned ever again. The most classic version of this trope occurs when two previously established antagonists suddenly take a new-found interest in each other, but it can also involve a newcomer falling for an established villain, or even a pair of villains who were, from the beginning, a "villainous couple". In the first-mentioned scenario, Enemy Mine may occur in order to match the united power of the couple — which can get particularly interesting if the "bedfellow" is another villain, who is driven by jealousy...May form a Big Bad Duumvirate. Compare Villainous Friendship, when the two are truly friends with each other, but not in a romantic way. Contrast Minion Shipping (which involves minions instead of actual villains) and Mad Love (which is one-sided). Outlaw Couple is the petty crime version of this. In the case of fiction with multiple villains where taking two out of the equation would still leave a bunch of bad guys, if it's genuine on both sides this can be used as a prelude to a Heel–Face Turn or at the very least a "Get out of Jail Free" Card. If the couple in question is heterosexual, expect the man to be the more important half of the couple, possibly making her more of a Dark Mistress. Subtrope of Even Evil Has Loved Ones. Not to be confused with Awful Wedded Life, which describes the marriage itself to be terrible, not the people involved.

#13. Formione (FP Jones & Hermione Lodge; ROMANTIC TROPE: WELL, EXCUSE ME, PRINCESS! & FOE ROMANCE SUBTEXT)

Well, Excuse Me, Princess!

"Why must everything you say to me sound like a criticism?"— Robin Hood to Marian (BBC's Robin Hood)

Snarky loser hero meets snarky haughty heroine. They either fall in love, or they snark. Usually both. This is essentially a satire of the standard Magical Girlfriend, which describes a beautiful, classy, good-mannered, loyal girl—the logical result being she should be somewhat critical of her loser boyfriend. She makes no attempt to ignore the fact that he is the Loser Protagonist, and frequently calls him on it, criticizes him, and rarely if ever fawns over him like some Fangirl. She expects better from him and pushes him to improve, while still expecting to be taken care of. However, the guy usually takes it in stride, mocks her in return, or just says the trope title. Expect a generous helping of Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments, to let the audience know why they should be supporting this couple. The idea is that the snarky loser will help the princess loosen up and be friendlier, while the princess constantly holding the loser to a higher standard will eventually make him improve himself. Often appears in Love Comedies, depending on how satirical the story is. See also Tsundere. Related to Belligerent Sexual Tension. Compare/Contrast Screw You, Elves! and Surrounded by Idiots. If it involves an actual Princess Princess, see Royal Brat. The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask can make similar demands.

Foe Romance Subtext

"Thou hast beat me out Twelve several times, and I have nightly since Dreamt of encounters 'twixt thyself and me; We have been down together in my sleep, Unbuckling helms, fisting each other's throat, And waked half dead with nothing."— Aufidius to his blood enemy, Act 4, Scene 5, Coriolanus

The implications of sexual tension between arch-enemies. Just as Ho Yay is about the situation of implying romance where even the characters' canonical sexual orientations make it implausible, this trope intentionally creates an even deeper paradox by subtextually implying love in a relationship that is, textually, the opposite of love. This trope is much more likely to come into play if one is The Rival and The Only One Allowed to Defeat You, or a Rival Turned Evil, and is especially likely if one is an Evil Former Friend. If enemies have to work together, it can give the impression that adversity makes strange bedfellows. Other times, this trope can be invoked by a villain who seems to be too eager and persistent about trying to convince or force the hero to rule the world together, and eventually appear as a one-sided Villainous Crush. Terms of Endangerment often feature, and watch out for the "Take That!" Kiss. Dark Magical Girls are often depicted as understanding their Magical Girl counterpart far more than anyone else, and after inevitable redemption at the very least become Heterosexual Life-Partners, if not more. Since most heroes and their villains tend to be the same gender, this results in most examples of Foe Yay overlapping with Ho Yay, but different gender foes qualify too. When it ultimately goes from subtext to text, and the two admit that they love each other, it is called Dating Catwoman. Contrast with Defecting for Love. For the villain who really is sexually obsessed with The Hero, see Stalker with a Crush, Mind Game Ship, In Love with Your Carnage, and Villainous Crush. See also Destructo-Nookie, when they actually do go the whole nine yards. See also Foe Yay Shipping, for the subjective audience reaction of insisting that after a certain number of such scenes, the two should become a couple (this appeal often lies in the forbidden nature of the relationship, a staple of the shipper diet). Please move non-objective examples to that page. Not to be confused with Faux Yay.

#12. Fredmione (Fred Andrews & Hermione Lodge; ROMANTIC TROPE: RICH SUITOR, POOR SUITOR)

Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor

"One of them is dark and poor One fair with lots of money I don't know which one to choose The flower or the honey"—Celtic Woman ("At the Ceili")

One of the most common complications in the classic Love Triangle scenario. Two men are vying for a women's affection. Who's the right one? It's hard to tell, but there's a good chance that one of them is considerably wealthier than the other, and he can provide security, glamour and the good life, while the other (who has a good chance of being an impoverished artist) can give none of the same. What are you gonna do? Most of the time, it's going to be "go with the poor one," and the story will carry an Aesop that true love is worth more than material wealth. This makes sense if the rich one is a total bore or outright jackass, or the woman is just not in love with him as she is with the broke one. When done poorly, the rich one often ends up as the Designated Villain. This trope overlaps considerably with Wrong Guy First and Disposable Fiancé, but keep in mind that the rich suitor is not necessarily wrong, first or particularly disposable. This trope is most often "two men and one women" because of a sense that woman needs someone to 'provide for her'. This sort of logic ties into Unable to Support a Wife and generates part of this trope's conflict. If the suitors are also a Betty and Veronica pair, the dynamic will typically be either "poor but nice suitor vs. rich but haughty suitor" or "poor but exciting suitor vs. rich but boring suitor", being obviously slanted toward the poor suitor in both cases. In fact, having the rich suitor win or even be a decent, likeable person is a rare variation of this trope.note Perhaps the trope name should have been "Poor Suitor Wins" instead? The odd exception can happen though, with the rich suitor being a nice, decent person and the poor suitor being a male Gold Digger. Compare Gold Digger, Meal Ticket, and Uptown Girl. It can involve Compete for the Maiden's Hand.

End of Part I. Please check out Part II!

#varchie #jeronica #bughead #choni #falice #barchie #veggie #archosie #jarchie #beronica #cheronica #riverdale #gifs not mine

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cielrouge · 6 years

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Killing Eve Event Recap at the Split Screens Festival

I went to BBC America's Killing Eve event at the IFC Center earlier today, as part of their annual Split Screens Festival in its second year. The festival presented their annual Vanguard Award to Sandra Oh, given to an individual who's changed television. In its first year, the award previously went to David Chase, the showrunner of The Sopranos. After a screening of the first episode Nice Face, the moderator sat down with Sandra Oh for an extended conversation.

Sandra noted that episodes 1 -3 is where the show establishes its footing.

So it's not until episode 5 where you have this moment of narrative breakthrough with Eve and Villanelle.

Sandra admitted that her favorite episodes were 3, 5, and 8.

Jodie Comer didn't really get her bearings as Villanelle and her characterization until the 5th episode.

Killing Eve as a Cultural Phenomenon

Sandra admits that she doesn't read much in terms of critical reviews because it's too anxiety-inducing for her, but in terms of personal reactions, it's been marked by an obsessive quality. She noted that people have been excited about the show in a different way, like it's really 'delicious' and a 'little naughty.'

When the moderator asked if 'lighting has struck for Sandra in this particular way before,' she responded: "It's subtly different. You can't plan whether something becomes a hit or not ever. The way you fall in love once is the never the same as falling in love twice. But [the show] was lightning in a bottle after it aired."

Sandra admitted that she's learned a tremendous amount during her time as Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy, and feels wiser: while the state of television is very different from how it was just 10-15 years ago, Sandra felt that she's learned how to be an artist and not just a commodity. She feels that she knows herself well at this point, but it is part of the business where actors take a long time to figure out who they are and what works for them personally.

Sandra's Creative Process & Craft as a Television Actress

Sandra noted that she loves working in the metaphor and in terms of a lot her work, she lives in that space as a greater part of her creative process.

Within this space, using episode 5 as an example (when Villanelle takes a certain object), Sandra had to think what does this object mean to Eve, because: "when I pick this up, it has tremendous meaning to me" and once she figured this out, it "will mean something to you as the audience."

One of the things that Sandra did for Eve's character building was writing down her dreams in a dream journal-esque way. Sandra noted that she's worked with an acting teacher for a span of 13 years who's really helped changed her own creative process, but also participates in workshops with other actors as well.

Sandra noted that much of her creative process happens before actual shooting. Likewise, Sandra admits that she doesn't typically doesn't like watching post-production, since sometimes some of her favorite scenes can get cut. Therefore after she finishes shooting an episode, Sandra is okay with letting go of her work and having it out of her hands, in comparison to other actors who many want to extend a sense of control.

Sandra works very closely with the show writers and has had a lot of close conversations with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (writer & creator) when it comes to Eve's characterization.

Sandra admitted that shooting the 1st season was bananas, but this is typical for most shows, since you're still in the midst of the creation process. In comparison to film which is finite, television is an ongoing process that she finds more challenging - "it's this living, breathing thing.”

"Which also tends to be true for most television scripts, since you essentially have no idea what comes next after it, and showrunners can start writing things to the strength of the characters as they develop."

Eve Polastri's Characterization

When Sandra first got the television script, she immediately understood Phoebe Waller-Bridge's voice and off the page, Sandra could tell it was a different tone to the show. Shoe noted that there was a definite, multidimensional quality to Eve and mostly 'I felt like I got [Eve's] wit. Her specific style of it. I kind of loved her messiness."

What struck out to Sandra was this is clearly a psychological cat-and-mouse game with these two women [Eve and Villanelle] and a show that specifically examines this kind of POV was fascinating to her.

"It's not like it's just a detective and a serial killer and it could be anyone, it has to be these two women, since the show is an examination of the female psyche and archetypes."

Sandra also noted: "For Eve you have the practical, she's hunting this person [Villanelle] down, but on the unconscious level, what is she really hunting down? What is she trying to kill? What is trying to kill her?"

When talking to Phoebe early on, Sandra asked if it was preferred to portray Eve with an English accent. Phoebe replied that she didn't have to. So, Sandra noted that "even though it's a BBC America show, a very English show with this very European feel, I think they [the network] still wanted to have a grounding American element to it, to kind of bring people over to it, and that was Eve."

In the pilot episode where Eve and Villanelle first met in the bathroom, you have the "wear it down" line that Villanelle says to Eve. Sandra noted that this was specific moment in the show where "something had to be done visually that we could carry on."

Pretty much for most of this episode, you see Eve fiddling with her hair, since this is just something that women with long hair do. But Sandra actually lobbied for Eve's hair to be down in this scene, "kind of in its natural state, since it allows for its frazzled-ness that you don't have to play "- so it acted as a form of unconscious storytelling where 'things about to get wilder' and is a direct contrast when you see Villanelle with her wigs and hairpins earlier on.

Sandra also cited the use of Eve's handbag which became a part of her character, so "it's not just visually defining but becomes part of character's psyche in some way." Though, she's generally not the biggest fan of pronounced symbols and prefers more subtler use of metaphors where the audience gets to step in and put in their own projection.

The Use of Humor in Killing Eve

The moderator admitted that he was really struck by the show's use of humor: "the very first scene with Villanelle is funny, in a James Bond/Atomic Blond kind of way. And then there's Eve's introduction, which is just a laugh riot."

In terms of balancing humor with the other elements, Sandra noted that part of this was the difference in tone: where it's "not like jokes are told for humor's sake, but rather buried and so deeply grounded within the characters. When you put Carolyn and Eve together in a scene and there's running dialogue, you can get something really funny, but it's based within their characters. You never think that they're doing something funny for funny's sake. It's really the way that they speak, along with their body language."

"All the characters are funny in the way that people you know are funny. But the humor doesn't necessarily counteract with the intensity, since you're still getting character dimension."

Sandra stated that humor is "one of the most grounding human elements in how you relate to someone. How you get people to understand you. If they can recognize themselves in you, and a lot of times this is through doing something so human. It's not necessarily that it's funny on its own, but in the context of this character, it becomes familiar."

Sandra admitted that she loves doing work that has both elements of drama and comedy.

Unfortunately there wasn’t time for an audience Q&A afterwards, but getting these types of insights are always super fun in my opinion.

#killing eve #sandra oh #eve polastri #villanelle #bbc america #split screens festival #honestly i'm still just recovering from being three rows away from sandra oh hahaha #also the festival was classyyy as heck #they gave free glasses of champagne in the lobby #like dayum #celeb encounter series

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starringemiliaclarke · 5 years

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Emilia Clarke on Why Game of Thrones Is the Perfect Form of Escapism + HQ Scans

As Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke created a warrior queen for the ages. Her legend can be told on the walls of caves or on T-shirts at Comic-Con. But behind the Valkyrie wigs and very testy dragons, Clarke has an inspiring origin story of her own.

A valley sprawls before her, rich with every color of green in the kingdom, reaching out to a twinkling city, which borders the infinite sea. Her hair (tinted not with peroxide, but tiny flecks of actual gold) glows with a radiance that makes the setting sun so jealous it hides behind the surrounding mountains, and the evening sky blushes. She is Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea. Everything in sight belongs to her.

Just kidding! She is Emilia Clarke, sitting high above Beverly Hills in a glass mansion rented for a magazine cover shoot. So high up that passing aircraft rattle the bones of the house and those inside it. So high up that you can see Santa Catalina Island in the distance, peeking out from behind a curtain of fog. She laughs about something the makeup artist says, and the last of the evening light bounces off of her cheekbones and shoots into the camera lens.

We are in the sky to talk about Clarke’s reign as one of the most preeminent television actresses of our time, as Daenerys on Game of Thrones. But first, I have a few questions about her abandoned career as a jazz singer.

Clarke’s default emotion is joy — her resting heart rate seems to be just below that of someone seconds after winning a medium-expensive raffle prize — but it quickly congeals into theatrical horror when I reveal that I know that she is a casual but talented singer of jazz music.

When she was 10, Clarke was an alto in a chorus that she describes as “very churchy.” Then a substitute teacher introduced her class to jazz. “I just innately understood it,” she explains. “I was always sliding up and down the notes. Every time, the [chorus] teacher would be like, ‘Quit sliding, just sing that note and then that one and that’s it. Stop trying to fuck with it.’ Then this [jazz teacher] was like, ‘Fuck with it. That’s the point.’ ” Fast-forward a couple of decades, and Clarke was singing “The Way You Look Tonight” at the American Songbook Gala in New York, honoring Richard Plepler, erstwhile CEO of HBO. Nicole Kidman was there, too, and that is the story of Emilia Clarke, a very famous singer.

Just kidding, again! That is the story of Emilia Clarke, extremely famous actress, and it is not even the beginning. Game of Thrones, the HBO fantasy epic that has captured the global zeitgeist for most of the past decade, has entered its ultimate season. Since the show premiered in 2011, Daenerys’s searing platinum blonde has been branded into the brains of every living person with cable access, so much so that she has become as recognizable an action figure as Princess Leia. Every autumn, legions of Americans don Grecian-style dresses and carry stuffed dragons to Halloween parties in homage. Kristen Wiig even appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a full Daenerys getup. This phenomenon exists in part because it’s a relatively easy costume to assemble, but more likely because Game of Thrones is the most popular TV show in the history of TV shows.

It’s also just one of three popular entertainment franchises Clarke has participated in. Last year: Solo: A Star Wars Story, as a paramour of Han Solo. Two years before that: the fifth Terminator movie, beside Arnold. She was also Holly Golightly in a short-lived Breakfast at Tiffany’s production on Broadway. None of those projects were particularly successful — but none of that matters, to a remarkable degree, because what matters is: The people love Daenerys.

They love a character whose series arc begins with her indentured servitude as a warlord’s concubine and ends, most recently, with her fighting for sovereignty over a league of nations and for a throne made of swords. They love how fictional languages drift from her mouth like dancing smoke, and how her searing-white mane retains a fearsome curl, even in or near battle. They love the whole dragons thing.

The people would love Emilia Clarke, too, if only they knew who she was. During the first few seasons of Game of Thrones, Clarke was able to fool the general public into believing she was very regular civilian Emilia Clarke, because Daenerys was blonde, and Clarke was not. Now, she says, recognition happens more frequently. Particularly Stateside.

For reasons I cannot fathom, Americans feel more entitled to command the attention of celebrities. “People are like, ‘UH-melia CLORK!’ ” she says, in perfect American. In London, people are prone to whisper about her as she passes by. “ ‘Was that Emilia Clarke?’ ”

“I move like a shark when I’m in public,” she says. “Head down. I think I’ve got quite bad posture because of it, because I’m determined to lead a normal life. So I just move too quickly for anyone to register if it’s me or not. And I don’t walk around with six security men and big sunglasses and a bizarre coat. I really try to meld in.” It gets worse when the show is being promoted, but otherwise, she says, it’s not so bad.

“I move like a shark when I’m in public. Head down…I’m determined to lead a normal life, so I just move too quickly for anyone to register if it’s me or not.”

Her best efforts aside, anonymity may be a pipe dream. The show is as decorated as a Christmas tree in a craft store. Game of Thrones has won a Peabody and 47 Emmys, the most of any television drama in history. The show marries critical praise with popular success, then it mercilessly slaughters those who have come to celebrate this union and receives even more acclaim (“The Rains of Castamere,” season 3, episode 9). The plotlines are famously convoluted. Luckily, we have an entire web’s worth of episode explainers, encyclopedias designed specifically for the Westeros universe, and a self-explanatory Funny or Die segment called Gay of Thrones, starring Jonathan van Ness.

When Mad Men first aired, television bloggers dutifully unpacked its symbolic elements, and millennials celebrated the show’s style with Mad Men–themed parties that were really just ’60s-and-one-red-wig-themed parties. Game of Thrones is basically an economy of its own. Since the show premiered, tourism to Croatia, whose coastal port Dubrovnik stands in for the fictional city of King’s Landing, has nearly doubled. Game of Thrones–themed weddings are so popular that it is almost impossible not to attend them — in 2016, Clarke accidentally walked into one that was occurring at the same hotel where she and the cast were staying during filming. (It was not a canonical wedding, and no guests were harmed.)

Game of Thrones has also earned one of the most important pop culture accolades of the century: The attention of Beyoncé Knowles. I believe it is her favorite TV show, and this is why.

Exhibit A: Jay-Z reportedly gave her a prop dragon’s egg from the set, at great personal expense. Exhibit B: At an Oscars after-party this year, Beyoncé approached Clarke (“voluntarily,” according to the actress) to introduce herself. “I watched her face go, ‘Oh, no, I shouldn’t be talking to this crazy [woman], who is essentially crying in front of me,’ ” remembers Clarke. “I think my inner monologue was, ‘Stop fucking it up,’ and I kept fucking it up.”

“I was like, ‘I just saw you in concert.’ And she was like, ‘I know.’ ” Clarke also mentions that Beyoncé complimented her work but declines to share specifics.

Why are people (more specifically, everybody) and goddesses (more specifically, Beyoncé) all obsessed with a show about some dragons and lots of dungeons?

“The show is sensationalist in a way,” Clarke explains, in an effort to describe a TV series that features twins having sex and a child’s defenestration in the very first episode. It doesn’t matter — Clarke’s conversational style is so intimate and emphatic that basic facts feel like sworn secrets. When she smiles, she does so with every single muscle in her face. “It’s the reason why people pick up gossip magazines. They want to know what happens next…. You’ve got a society that is far removed enough from ours but also circulates around power. How that corrupts people and how we want it, and how we don’t want it.”

In other words, Game of Thrones’ value proposition is creating a rich other world for people to experience a prestige, high-production version of pure, horny, violent, unbridled drama. It is, according to Clarke, pitched perfectly: “I think it caught Western society at exactly the right moment.”

“I don’t know about you,” she says, “but when I watch something, it’s escapism. I’m feeling crappy; I’m just sad, moody, depressed, upset, angry, whatever it is. I know that distraction is what makes me get better. Distraction is what really, really helps me.” She laughs and then quickly pivots to a caveat: “I’m sure that’s not what a therapist would advise.”

It is at this point that Emilia Clarke leans in very close, her breath knocking at my sideburn, and explains to me the bombastic and devastating ending to the most important TV show of the decade.

Wow — just kidding once more. But, uh, while we’re on the topic, how is this whole thing going to end?

It was not hard to root for the Breaker of Chains, until recently. Now we’re seeing the gentle unspooling of her character, and flickers of a dangerous prophecy that she will ascend the throne only to follow in her father’s footsteps and burn it all to the ground. For a while, Daenerys seemed like the Lawful Good ruler, but we have had the great pleasure of watching how power can pervert people. (Nate Jones, at Vulture, leads a thrilling discussion of this very topic.) (Also, if Daenerys were to rule the Seven Kingdoms, only to go nuts, we might at the very least have a spinoff to look forward to.)

Clarke will never say. Throughout 10 or so years in the public eye, her interviews have been peppered with the same handful of charming personal details from her career — the service jobs she worked prior to making it, dancing the funky chicken during her Game of Thrones audition — which feels a lot like walking a vast beach and finding the same series of 10 seashells.

Then, in March, some very different treasure washed ashore when The New Yorker ran the most illuminating profile of Emilia Clarke to date. It was written by Emilia Clarke.

If I am truly being honest every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.

In it, Clarke revealed that she had suffered two near-fatal brain aneurysms during the early seasons of Game of Thrones. The first hit her mid-plank during a training session, and not long after, doctors discovered a second that required them to open her skull for a risky operation. The recovery period was, to her, more painful than the aneurysms. “If I am truly being honest,” she wrote, “every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.” She also announced her charity venture, SameYou, which seeks to provide rehabilitation for young people recovering from brain injuries.

The second time we talk, it is the day before the Game of Thrones New York premiere, and Clarke is at a morning fitting, surrounded by a coronation’s worth of gowns. It’s early, and a passing cold has fried the edges of her voice. But her words still vibrate with so much joy, it’s like she doesn’t even notice. She’s just happy to be here, wherever she is.

Source

Emilia Clarke on Why Game of Thrones Is the Perfect Form of Escapism + HQ Scans was originally published on Enchanting Emilia Clarke | Est 2012

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