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kneelingshadowsalome · 4 months

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Okay, so in one of the comments that you replied to in your “gold rush AU! Konig”, you stated that she’s heads over heels in love with him, but apparently hasn’t shown/told him yet. And even though he believes that she doesn’t love him, he’s still so in love with her and just wants to make her happy. (That has got to pull at her heartstrings because this odd but kind man simply just loves her.)

Would you be willing to do a next part? Showing that she was just resisting what she knew along and that was that she does love and only wants him. Because although he went about marrying her immediately instead of taking the time to get to know each other and even though he’s from an European background, who is a giant with an accent and working to hit gold to support her financially, he’s still been nothing but kind, loving, and can apparently rock her world in bed! (Basically she was resisting in giving in into admitting she loves him because she had this WHOLE mindset/vision about how it was ALL gonna go down but since it didn’t go the way she thought it would, she was resisting his love for the “fairytale” version she wanted.)

Eventually she finally confesses that she does love him but had to get to that conclusion slowly on her own terms. This of course makes him so happy and he feels so blessed to gain his wife’s love; he once again promises that he will do everything in his powers to ensure she’s happy for all the rest of the days of her life. Which he does because some time later he hits it big in gold which lets him upgrade the “shack” they’re living in to convert it into an actual home for them to spend the rest of their lives together (with future children).

And he asks her of what she wants him to buy for her since he can afford to get it for her, only for her to ask for a new and bigger (so he fits comfortably) reinforced bed; because she wants him to be able to rest properly in a comfortable bed AND she doesn’t want to hear it creak as he plows her into nirvana/heaven. This of course causes him to blue screen but once he reboots his brain, he promises that he’ll get the best bed that will not only support their nightly activities but be very comfortable for both of them.

It’s only once they get the new bed and use/“break it in”/“christen” it for the first time does he finally gets her pregnant on that first night.

Oh, your writings are just so good! 😊

Oh I love the bed scenario and König wanting to spoil her and the story about how he got her pregnant for the first time (you can’t tell me these two won’t have a small flock of annoying little kids running around eventually) so much! 😭💞

And I actually wrote a little something for this because people were putting me in jail for the roaring angst of the 1st part so here’s how these silly pookies got to their happily ever after:

Our pompous little mail order bride is, in fact, so in love with König that it’s not even funny.

It's so bad that she looks out the window and sighs as she waits for him to come home... Scoots away the minute she catches him in the horizon, of course. She has better things to do than wait by the window sill like some wanton prostitute!

She whimpers like one, however, when the door slams shut and her husband comes to grope her from behind, telling her he wants to take her on the table (there’s food there and they were supposed to eat first, what a horrible man!) Not to talk of getting wet just from the sight of him looming over her, she has no objections with getting spread on the sturdy planks for taking. She should probably be thankful that the dinner table is made of solid wood and is not some delicate piece hauled here from Europe because it could never take the brute force of König’s advances...

After they're both sated and done, he dares to dip his finger in one of the cast iron pots filled to the brim with stew. Has a taste while still inside her, only chuckles to himself when she furrows her brows from how uncivilised he is. What kind of a man barges in his home like a burglar, takes his wife on the table, then tastes the hearty stew like it’s only normal for a man to be hungry after plowing his lady until they're both shaking? Even the bed is about to break at night, these pieces of furniture have done nothing wrong to this man and yet he treats them like they're nothing but disposable bits of wood.

His lack of manners never ceases to astonish her; he even tries to give her a taste of the food too, and laughs when she pushes him away and straightens her skirts, how is she supposed to walk around with his seed running down her thighs? All the pretty things he got her from town are in need of a wash already, but she still hums a soft happy tune while looking at her reflection in the mirror, donning the pretty hat he just brought her along with coffee and flour. (She thinks he can’t hear or see her being visibly happy, but König takes mental notes every time her eyes shine a little brighter from his gifts. She's not lacking anything, that's for sure, and isn’t it nice that he remembered how she looked at that silly little hat when they walked by her favorite store…? Anything his princess wants, she shall have!)

Years and years of lonely digging in this harsh land far away from home have made her husband think that no woman could ever want him unless he buys their love, and she does enjoy the pretty little frills he brings her as offerings. But what would kill her is if he knew she had actual feelings for him… This was supposed to be an arrangement, a marriage between two adults, not a romantic passionate affair! That sort of thing only happens in books, that's the first thing she learned when she came here.

He should have courted her properly first, but now it's all ruined, there's no excitement and intensity... Except that her heart is always hammering in her chest, she feels like a trapped bird flitting inside her corset. She's always flustered when he goes under her skirts, her chest is about to collapse in on itself when she sees him flash a smile her way, carry her more silk and demurely apologize that the wrappings are dirty because of his hands, kiss her neck after copulation like it's the holiest place on earth...

And God Almighty, what would this man think of her if she confessed her love to him? He would probably laugh and think she’s a harlot who’s in desperate need of his cock, that she's indecent and impure…

Luckily, the brute is so stupid that he doesn’t see the way his little princess–as he now calls her–looks up at him when he traces her bottom lip with his thumb. She’s relatively sure he doesn’t notice the tiny gasps just before she comes, the helpless, adoring stares she shoots at him right after, because that glassy, worshipping stare of his own is only born of lust, that’s for sure.

He can’t see her figure flash in the window when he’s walking towards home, she’s made sure of that…

Or has she?

The man is dumb, but he’s not a total simpleton, even if his eternal sadness is slowly turning into a teasing, an even hungrier form of love. She fears he will simply devour her one of these days if he knew how deeply in love with him she is as well...

And she fears herself even more than she fears him. Didn’t the priest warn about exactly this kind of simple-minded, wanton lust in his last sermon? She was always taught that marriage is supposed to be about companionship and genial living together, not about sweaty, toe curling, mind numbing copulation.

They’re fornicating like animals in the little shack she has grown so fond of, shy to the changes he’s talking about every day since he struck some large gold vein. He openly fantasizes about getting them a large house, a small manor, even, and she knows it’s all just for her because this man is content with very little… So little, that he accepts any small crumb of affection she gives him like it’s an entire rain of manna from heaven.

And it’s only because she’s ashamed that she can’t show her true feelings for him. The gentlemen of the city now feel like fancy peacocks compared to this burly man who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and his dick wet. Those men look delicate and boring and ridiculous next to the hairy giant who’s forearms she stares in the evenings like they’re her own personal cancan show.

It’s crazy, how she looks at him like he’s nothing but a piece of meat – are women even supposed to feel this way? She should say her prayers, because her foreign husband looks like a god while sharpening his ax by the fire, with slow, deliberate movements, the trembling hands finding a smooth, strong dance only when they’re wielding a pickaxe or a whetstone or a knife.

He catches her staring once, her frightful stare big and helpless in the flickering flames, and he gives her a sad, longing smile in return.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he gruffs softly. “Ich weiss… I know I should shave...”

Her head gives an involuntary shake, minimal and shy, because she doesn’t want him to shave. She adores that coarse stubble that leaves her skin red and irritated, she loves how he looks when he has so much going on in his life that he doesn’t have time to groom himself.

“No…?” He asks hesitantly, straightening a little on the chair that’s really only a piece of log. “You like it like this...?”

She nods. Shyly again, and just once, while her eyes drift on his lips.

It’s intimate, how the silence envelops them with both tension and grace. It’s all she can give right now, and he knows it, knows also that this whole exchange is basically a love confession. Her affection, her want, her dedication and surrender soar and swell all at once, and he can see it... All of it.

He rises, and abandons the ax, his softening stare never leaving hers. He walks to her like a gentleman, like he's Mr. Rochester himself, like she was Ms. Eyre – although she doesn’t want to be Jane Eyre and she doesn’t want him to be a dark, handsome gentleman. She wants him to be just as he is, the stranger from the North who works hard and loves even harder, who picks her up like she’s an angel and not a lady.

“Let’s get you to bed, hmm?”

His gaze is so soft, it’s starting to relax into some knowledge she has in her foolishness betrayed.

But it’s alright… Everything’s just as it should be.

She wraps her hands around his neck and whispers, “Yes,” and the smile that tugs at his lips finally melts into one of those I knew it smiles he sometimes wears when he brings her something nice from the town.

He doesn’t push her to reveal more information about how much she loves his stubble, but he does make her scream it out into the warm cottage air as he goes down between her legs. She doesn’t want to know what the local priest would say about this: a man making his mark on the insides of her thighs with that scraping beard, how he makes her core throb with his ever-hungry mouth. She doesn’t even care.

It’s a paradise and an inferno, where he’s sending her to, and who knew a brutish digger from some distant land could suddenly be so eloquent with his tongue? Who knew a man could do things like these to a woman...? Who knew married life could be like this?

“You liked that, didn’t you, princess,” he asks when he’s done with her, and holds her surprisingly gentle when she’s still shaking and squirming softly on the bed. Not God, not even the Devil, could cloud the full blown affection in her eyes. She’s in love – it’s not just lust, but love she feels for this man, and she feels like a fool for not recognizing she had gold in her hands all along.

“Yes,” she says, then smiles, then laughs, because it’s fairly obvious that she can’t speak those words even if she wanted to. He wrecked her so completely...

“I told you I’d make you happy, Sonnenschein.”

He smiles a little, looks down at her like she’s nothing but a baby who finally stopped her eternal crying.

“Oh I’m more than happy,” she says, this time tears clouding her vision, happy tears born from being free from years of imprisonment. He doesn’t strike her as the kind of man who cries, but there’s a faint glow in his eyes as well, a shimmer that both takes her in and pulls her under. This is something they don’t talk about in church... This is a thing they never write about in books.

She lays her hand on him, on the coarse cheek that is now slightly wet from a single tear.

“You’re crying,” she whispers, because her voice wouldn’t carry the weight of her words at this point.

“Ja…? Well... I’m happy too,” he explains, with a shortness of breath and a confusion to his voice.

He blinks the rest of it away, but the sweet moment stays, lingers on until she draws him into a kiss – another thing they never talk about in novels, a woman kissing a man – and she tastes both him and her on his lips, how well he loved her, and when he moans slightly from her reciprocating that love, she holds him closer, closer, closer… Until he shivers too.

#mail order bride #gold rush au #könig x reader #könig x you #könig fluff #falling in love

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b0xerdancer-writes · 6 months

Text

It Wasn't Supposed To Happen Like This Part 2

Eris x Rhy's Sister! Reader

Summary: Eris used to be attached at the hip to Rhysand’s younger sister. Now that he has taken over as High Lord of the Autumn Court, his father’s old high table have been pressuring him to take a wife, he comes up with the brilliant lie that hes already courting someone and has been for several years now. Eris asks Rhysand’s little sister, the best way to get away with it and make it believable, to fake court her.

Warnings: Elain and Mor slander (I love Mor but it’s a plot point for later on I promise!), cussing 18+, some nsfw lean but no sex scenes yet, alcohol.

Trope/Prompt: Fake Dating

Word Count: 7,195

Notes: Part 2 is here! get ready for drunk and baby Eris. Also, this is entirely not proofread at all.

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I was eight, on a visit to the Autumn Court with my father; what was to be discussed I had no clue, and even if I did know I was eight I wouldn’t have understood the big words they used. All I had cared about this day was getting to see my best friend named Eris, a young male who I understood was the son of the Autumn Court High Lord my father was talking with. He was younger than Rhys by many years apparently. We were only a few months apart in our birth, so our parents thought it would be good for us to hang out around each other when they had these meetings.

Last time we had been here Eris had shown me around the gardens, and told me stories about the many creatures he had seen pass through them from his bedroom window. I was excited to think about what our adventure would be today, my father had let me wear pants and a nice blouse this time instead of a dress.

“If you're going to be running around outside like your brother, the least you can do is save your mother from the heart attack of getting mud and grass stains out of your nice dresses.” My father had laughed and messed with my hair then morning he came to wake me up, clothes and boots snuggly under his arm.

He handed me the neatly folded clothing and pushed me softly towards my bathing room. I excitedly had taken the change of clothes and rushed myself together, eager to finally be able to keep up with Eris. The pants were a dark tan, almost black color, and the blouse was a pretty silver. Once I excitedly made my way back to father he had helped me into the fancy leather boots he had got me, they matched his and folded over at the knees. After he had dealt with my energy, laughing softly and playfully scolding me for not being able to sit still; he had finally corralled me to sit at my vanity table.

He had pulled my hair into two sections, one of them he made into a soft braid at the top, the other he left loose as he pulled the two sections into a ponytail. I never took these small moments for granted, I knew he never acted like this with mom or Rhys, this was a special side of him only I got to see. Once he had deemed my appearance appropriate he took my hand and led me through the house. Once we had made it to the many steps he had picked me up carrying me under my knees by his left arm, my small arms steadied myself by clinging to his shoulder and cloak. I had never really understood how his winnowing worked back then, he bent the world around us and it was an inky black that shimmered like glitter or the stars. It comforted me like how sitting on my balcony and staring at the sky of an evening did, when Rhys would be in Velaris he would occasionally come and sit with me telling me about the stars and constellations. I savored those days before the world became dark.

Once the world had folded back into place instead of the dark glittering world that was Velaris and the Night Court, I was greeted by gorgeous colors of red, orange, yellow, greens, and browns. Everytime it unfolded around us I was still mesmerized, the view was like something out of the books father would read with me.

I was drawn from my thoughts as father put me down and grasped my hand, straightening his back out and rolling his shoulders; he gave me a small smile and a nod as he guided us towards the forest house, where Eris stood with his own father. The small red headed male dressed in nice riding clothes could barely contain his energy; trying his best to contain his excitement in front of our fathers, his eyes sparkled as he watched us step through the archway that separated the gardens from the rest of the forest house property.

Once we had gotten close enough our fathers shook hands dismissing the both of us to whatever shenanigans we would be getting up too and headed inside the large extremely ornate house. Eris was quick to take my hands and lead me through the gardens, various flowers and plants whizzing by as Eris pulled me full sprint down the pathway that led to the woods on the grounds.

“Come on, come on! I have the best thing to show you! I just found it the other day and I think you’ll love it!” His sharp voice as a child was laced with excitement, breaths sharp as he ran.

“I am! I’m sure I’ll love it, I love everything you show me!” I giggled and picked up my speed to match his own pace. “Nuh Uh, I’m not telling you I want it to be a surprise!” He had flashed me a smile as we had begun weaving through trees.

After a few minutes of weaving through the trees I realized we were further in than we had ever been before. This section of the woods was thicker and I couldn’t see the house any longer. Eris didn’t seem worried and I trusted him but there was just some kind of unease that something was going to happen.

Eris slowed and giggled “Cover your eyes silly, I said I wanted it to be a surprise.” He rocked on his heels eagerly and I giggled and did what he told me.

Once I had covered my eyes Eris placed a hand on my back and guided me slowly through the woods. We walked for a few more minutes till Eris slowed me to a stop and grasped my hand firmly. His voice was soft as he spoke to me. “You can open your eyes now.”

The sight in front of me was beautiful, Eris a step in front of me looking at me waiting for my reaction; Sat in the center of a small clearing surrounded by trees with leaves so bright it looked like a fire above us was a quiet pond, the leaves of the trees reflected off the top but it was so clear you could see the bottom. Eris smiled as he watched me take in the scenery pulling me over to two logs that rested near the edge of the pond, Eris joined me as I sat down on the log the both of us losing ourselves in telling the other stories of what had happened in our lives in the few weeks we hadn’t seen the other.

After a while we had begun talking about what our parents were having us train in, he was baffled when I had told him I was not being taught how to fight. I had spent my time in the library, reading, and learning about politics. Eris stood and scoffed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot while thinking. I tilted my head at him while giggling, he looked like an adult how he stood and I could only imagine him as a high lord when he would be older in the same pose. He looked down at me with a quirked brow and looked like he was about to question my giggles when his eyes widened and he smiled brightly at me.

“I’ve got it! I’ll teach you how to wield a sword myself! Only problem is we don't have any wooden practice swords here.” He covered his mouth while thinking before he snapped his fingers. “We can just use sticks, there's bound to be some around here that would work, I mean we are out in the middle of the woods.”

I nodded eagerly in agreement and pointed to some bushes near the edge of the clearing. “I’ll check those bushes over there, thank you Eris, it means the world to me! You are gonna be the best High Lord one day I mean it!”

He smiled brightly at me “When I’m High Lord of Autumn you’ll be my High Lady!” I didn’t even have time to respond before he had run off to his own set of bushes.

I turned my back to him as I felt my face heat up, High Ladies weren’t a thing back then and just him speaking it into the world seemed blasphemous. I kneeled on the forest floor and pushed some of the bush leaves away, I scrounged around the bushes for several minutes and came up empty handed. I stood up and dusted off my knees, I froze up as I heard a stick break deeper out into the woods.

One stick broke and then another, the noises were rapidly making their way at me but I was frozen. I couldn't move, couldn't call out for Eris, couldn’t do anything. Before I knew it I heard my name be called as I was pushed behind Eris who stood between me and a startled deer that was now reared up, Eris had a hold on my left wrist as he pushed me behind him and his other held a thick medium sized stick that he had pointed towards the creature. The scene in front of me seemed like it was slowed down as Eris put himself between me and the creature trying to protect me, that was the first time I ever felt that tug. Before I could truly understand what was happening That gold thread snapped in my chest and pulled my breath from me, tears began welling in my eyes as I realized what it meant.

I knew if Eris didn’t turn around and mention the bond here and now I would have to wait for it to snap into place for him. Knew that I would have to resign myself to just informing my father and hope he would see it as a reason to finally solidify mine and Eris’s engagement. We had both known what our fathers meeting meant, why they were so happy with us becoming close friends.

I wanted to sob when he turned around to me and instead of saying anything about a bond all he had asked was if I was okay. I fought back tears but they still welled in my eyes and he pulled me close, worry laced in his eyes.

“Hey, hey, shhhhh, it's okay the deer didn’t mean to hurt you, it was just scared and not thinking straight. It's okay I’ve got you, nothing is gonna happen to you.” He pulled me into a hug and I began to sob into his shoulder as he rubbed my back softly.

We stayed there till my tears dried, all thoughts of training lost as we made our way back through the forest house. Eris had me tucked softly into his side as we walked, he motioned to a swing that hung from a tree and softly asked if I wanted to sit there for a bit. We sat on the swing Eris keeping it rocking softly, before both of our fathers pushed the door open. My father looked us over, once he had noticed the now dried tear tracks he rushed over keeling softly in front of the swing to take my face into his hands.

“What happened Starlight?” his metal rings were cold against my face.

I sniffled again as Eris moved to rub my back again softly and answered my father for me. “We were out in the woods exploring and there was a startled deer, it charged her but I put myself between them and scared the deer back the other way.”

My father looked him over before he patted him on the shoulder. “Good job my boy, you'll make a good male when you are older.”

Eris beamed at him and I saw his eyes glance over to Beron, who I noticed made a small nod of approval at him. I felt Eris relax beside me and roll his shoulders back. I sniffled and looked up at him and my father stood up to talk to Beron in a hushed voice.

“I wasn’t able to thank you properly early Eris. So, thank you for making sure I was safe.” I scooted closer to him on the swing and pulled him into a hug.

After a few moments my father and Beron had both nodded agreeing on whatever they had been talking about and shook hands. My father walked back over to collect me from the swing, when I pulled back from Eris he had picked me up the same as he had earlier.

“I’ll see you next time Eris, I look forward to seeing what adventure you think of next time.” I waved at him and he waved back, jumping off the swing to stand next to Beron who placed a firm hand on the younger male's shoulder.

Before I knew it the world was covered in that shimmering inky darkness and then as it unfolded around us I was back home in Velaris. My father set me down gently on the moonstone floor and his voice was soft when he called out to me before I could slip up the stairs that led to my bed chambers.

“Are you okay, I mean other than the deer incident? It seems something more is bothering you.” His brows were furrowed but his eyes were soft.

I had to fight back a sob from breaking through my lips, but as my father he could already tell I was going to cry. He swept me up in his arms and sat us both on the couch, it would be just me and him in Velaris this week. Mother was at the camps with Rhys, which surprised me father would let her from his view. I had been told she was to have another baby soon and it was due within the next few months now. They must have had another argument, I reasoned, that was slowly becoming a regular thing but I never knew what it was about; all I knew was when I walked in on them arguing one time mother had glared at me and father’s eyes had softened on me.

“Starlight talk to me, what happened my love?” He ran a soothing hand on my upper back as I began to sob into his chest.

I could hardly speak over the sobs that wracked my body but father had always been patient with me. “Eris,” I hiccuped and he soothed me, telling me to take my time. “When he stood between me and the deer, that bond you've told me about in the story books.” I paused for a moment to collect myself and stop myself from sobbing uncontrollably again.

Father stilled and his voice was quiet. “He’s your mate, but I take it he didn’t feel it snap into place himself. Don’t worry Starlight he will one of these days, till then you at least have the comfort knowing you will be married to him one of these days when you are older. It will all be okay my dear.”

Father had sat with me there for hours as I sobbed, I couldn’t even quite understand why I had been crying really. I still didn’t quite understand why other than maybe I was just overwhelmed by the ache that accompanied the bond. I must have gotten lost staring at myself in the mirror because I was pulled back into the moment by a soft knock on the outside of the changing room and Eris had popped his head in.

“You Okay? Need help with your dress?” His brows are furrowed slightly, just enough though that the smallest of creases begins to form.

“Oh, Sorry, yeah I’m okay I must have gotten lost in my thoughts.” I rubbed my temples and before I could even move to zip up the back of the dress myself Eris had slipped in behind me and zipped it up himself.

Resting his chin on my shoulder he looked into my eyes through the mirror, his hands resting on my hips. “Talk to me darling, what's going on in that pretty head of yours?”

I could’ve stopped breathing right there, I could die happy even if this was the most affection I got from him. “Just distracted, thinking back on our childhood together to think of stories I can tell at gatherings so no one suspects anything.” A half truth.

He raised a brow at me with a smile on his face. “Always thinking ahead of the game, what story got you so lost in your head you couldn't hear me call out to you earlier.”

“The deer incident.” I whispered.

“Ahhh. Makes sense, what story are you thinking to accompany me saving your life when we were eight?” He moved from my shoulder, straightening behind me so he had to look down at me, and his hands found their way to my hair as he undid my current style and began winding a braid into it.

“Haven’t quite thought of that yet, just stuck out to me for some reason.” I watched as a small content smile covered his features, finishing whatever style he had weaved into my hair.

“We will think of something love,” he smiled and sighed, his hands finding their perch on the bare section of my shoulders. He laughed to himself. “Could always say it was the first time you realized you were in love with me, for saving your life.”

I turned in his arms and hugged him, laying my cheek against where his heart would have been. “As always Eris, you are brilliant. What would I do without you?”

“Be lost in your own thoughts? Getting trampled by a deer? Honestly I can continue listing off events.” He laughed and it sounded like a melody to me, I could hear where it rumbled in his chest before it had even made its way out from between those lips.

I smiled and took his hand in mine to lead him back through that curtain to further our efforts in making it seem like we had been courting for years. “My hero.” I smiled softly and rolled my eyes.

He laughed and let me lead him out into the shop again, the heels of his boots clicked against the floor and he smiled down at me. “They will bring the dress up to the house for us, I told them we had more shopping to do.”

I nodded and thanked him softly, I saw the two female fae peek out from the back room both giggling and trying to hide it behind their hands. He separated his hand from mine and moved to hold the shop door open for me. “After you, my lady.”

He giggled and I smiled, matching his energy. “Why thank you, my most handsome high lord.”

After I had passed the door threshold he was back at my side, arm slung over my shoulders. “So I’m handsome?” he leaned his weight onto me looking down at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him. “And you think I’m pretty. Point?”

He laughed and it was so infectious I was quickly joining in as we moved around between various shops on the ground floor of the palace. We had made a stop here or there, Eris had purchased an outfit for Rita’s tonight: a deep V cut black shirt with some black high waisted pants that made the shirt poof out more. He planned to just wear his current boots but had adorned the outfit with a burnt muted red suit jacket that had gold detailing. In the same store as that, we found a dress in the same red color that was just a simple backless halter that had a slit on each side. We had worn those outfits out.

We were currently in a jewelry store at Eris’s request. He had picked out an arm band for me that was gold and carved to look like leaves winding around my upper arm; It had a matching anklet that had Eris sold on it. He had actually given me puppy eyes when he spotted it. I was left alone for a few moments while I looked through the many necklaces the store had on display. Eris returned 5 minutes later with a soft smile on his face but an excited glint in his eyes that just screamed he was up to something that I wouldn’t know about till later.

I was torn between two necklaces, a golden chain that had two leaves suspending a ruby between them or a gold multi layered one with small onyx gems hanging from each layer.

Eris leaned over my shoulder to look at both of them. “Just get both but wear the onyx one to Rita’s the other one seems more intimate like I would have gifted it to you, wear it with the dress for equinox.”

He made damn good sense and I had taken both necklaces up to the counter and was ready to go with what I had in the small basket I carried but Eris stopped me with a soft hand on my waist. When I turned to look at him his face was a bright red, and his eyes couldn’t meet mine.

He had to clear his throat before he spoke. “While we are here, I like this store's designs, I mean. Fuck I butchered that.” He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head at himself, clearly disappointed in his delivery. “If we had been courting this long, I would have already given you a ring as a promise. I like this store’s designs and craftsmanship. I would like to look at what they have, see if there's anything we both kind of like?”

I had smiled and nodded, taking the step forward to pull him towards the rings, it was sweet how flustered he had gotten at the idea of ring shopping. A short older male came from the back with an odd magnifying device over his right eye and a thick beard, Eris explained what we were looking for and the gray-haired male studied us both before he pulled several out. One was a simple gold band of leaves and vines tangling within itself, Eris liked the simplicity of it he had murmured under his breath. There was a topaz one carved to look like a rose, the band mimicking the vines and thorns, Eris simply said he didn’t feel that topaz fit the design and didn’t think roses fit either of us, that I could agree with. Eris had finally settled on a moonstone blue sandstone ring, the jewel on it looked like the night sky tiny flecks inside glittering like the stars. The gem was set between two branches or vines with leaves and other tiny sandstone gems.

The man had checked us out and packaged everything safely; letting us wear the golden leaf bands, Eris had to help me with the anklet due to my pumps, and the onyx necklace. Though when he had handed Eris the ring to put on me, the older male had done it earlier to see if it needed any adjustments to which was done with magic, Eris was red in the face and flustered as he took my hand in his. The male had made a noise that sounded kinda like a laugh and urged him on, Eris had swallowed his breath as he slid the ring onto my hand. Eris was startled when the man landed a firm pat on Eris’s back and the man gave him a smile and wink as he slid back into the back.

Eris led us outside where he took a giant breath in, hands on his knees as he shook himself out. “You Okay Eris? Seems like you got really worked up in there.”

Eris looked at me and smiled. “Yeah, just fine, that was somehow way more nerve wracking than I expected it to be honestly with him there. That guy, cauldron, had one firm hand.”

I laughed as Eris rubbed the spot on his back and shot me a glare. “You just, sorry, you just seemed so nervous asking me to look at them, but were so in the zone analyzing each ring, but then got so nervous putting it on my hand.”

Eris straightened and huffed at me. “It had to make sense! It had to be a mix of both of us but since it was for you it needed more of you, but had to stay impressive enough for anyone at court that might ask to see the promise ring.”

I smiled and walked past him, leaning close to whisper a quick “Thank you handsome.” Into his ear before I started towards my brother’s townhouse. I'd drop the other bags of our stuff off there and pick them up on my way home.

Eris caught up to me with a sarcastic huff but still smiling. The sun had begun to set, everyone wouldn’t be at Rita’s till after the sun had disappeared behind the mountains and the sky was dark. I looked around trying to think of something to do till we would all meet up.

“Well, I’m officially out of ideas and we have maybe an hour till everyone will start meeting up at Rita’s.” I huffed and put my hands on my hips as I turned to look at the red headed male.

He tilted his head at me and his bangs fell in his face. “Well miss sass, how are there any good cafes on our way to Rita’s? Wouldn’t hurt to be seen in public together so rumors start to spread.” The way the setting sun leaked around him he looked like one of the gods, before the cauldron and before the mother existed. Thank the mother this male was mine to worship like one too.

“There is one I think, they serve small pastries, coffees, and teas.” I had to think about where it was in relation to Rita's. I often stopped in early mornings on my free days when I wouldn’t be doing anything but reading all day.

“Perfect! They have outside seats?” He smiled at me and mocked me by putting his own hands on his hips.

“Yes they do, thank you very much.” I laughed and stuck my tongue out at him. He reached out and grabbed it between his pointer and middle finger with a smirk.

“Then lead the way, but watch that attitude my dear could get you into real trouble one day.” He winked at me and I saw some of the females that were passing by blushing and giggling at his remark.

Once he had released my tongue, my face turned scarlet, he had truly caught me off guard with that move. I smoothed out my skirts and looped my arm with his. Weaving through the streets of Velaris till we came to stop at a small cafe decked in pastel blue and green colors. I pushed the door open and a small bell rang, I could hear a clatter from the back and quickly a female with hair the color of wine peaked from the back. An excited squeak left her mouth as she dusted her hands on her apron and moved to wash her hands. Her name was Panthea and she was by far my favorite baker we had in Velaris, her pastries were so well loved she had managed to purchase a storefront that was right on the Sidra.

She greeted us happily and asked what we both wanted, I told her just my same as always, a sweetened caramel concoction that was her signature and a pumpkin roll. Eris studied the pastry case for a few minutes and spotted her cinnamon knots at the bottom of the case, they had a cream cheese icing on them and Eris asked for two of them with some kind of apple tea. Panthea boxed both pastries up and handed us our cups, Eris once again held the door open for me. He sat his cup down on one of the wooden tables and pulled my chair out for me as dramatically as he possibly could while still making it a believable romantic gesture.

I snorted and rolled my eyes moving to take a seat. “My Prince Charming.” I mused at him.

He snorted himself as he pushed me in. “Anything for my princess then, I aim to please.” taking his own seat he tore a piece of his cinnamon knot off and popped it in his mouth.

We spent the hour making cheesy jokes and gossiping about whatever we could, falling back into that familiar rhythm from all those years ago. At some point Eris had gotten bored and started throwing tiny paper balls he tore from his napkin at me. One of the balls smacked straight in the center of my forehead and he began cackling hard enough he had to take a moment and rest his forehead against the table. I joined him, having to take a moment myself to grab the tiny ball and chuck it back at him. Though I had landed it in his shirt and he began howling as he shook his shirt out, the ball hitting the ground.

After we picked up our mess and threw our trash away we set off for Rita’s. I had to wipe a stray tear from laughing too hard with him as we both calmed down and spotted Lucien leaning against the outside wall of Rita’s. The younger male waved at us and we waved back once we had gotten close enough Eris looped his arm around Lucien’s shoulder and pulled him in for a hug.

Lucien had told us the others had beat us by a few minutes and were already inside, they had winnowed apparently while the three of us chose to walk. It would be a full party tonight Lucien had stated, everyone had decided to come, which meant Nesta who I loved for her sarcasm, and Elain. Great.

I hadn’t even noticed Eris had stiffened up behind me as I hugged Lucien, but Lucien must have because he grabbed Eris’s shoulder and nodded. “I’ll give you two a minute, take a breather before you come inside, tensions seem high tonight.”

Eris nodded and gave Lucien a small smile, letting out a shaky breath. This was it, the calm before the storm that was my family, I’m sure there would be venom laced in every word exchanged tonight. Thank the cauldron for alcohol, if it got too bad I would order a round of shots for the table and then pull Eris to the dance floor. Eris looked up at me with a sad smile, a smile I understood all too well. I had known this smile since his first brother was born; it was the smile that said ‘It’s time to put up our masks. No more just me and you, we have to put on a show and let me only see a facade.’

I gave Eris a small smile back and wrapped my arms around him in a reassuring hug. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. If the boys get too much we can have a code or a signal or something and I’ll step in.” He hesitated to agree which I knew meant even if he did need to signal me he wouldn’t but I played along and gave him a code word and let him know if he couldn’t get the word out to just tap me twice in quick succession.

He let out a shaky breath. “Right, mask up. Thank you darling.”

I knew how deep their words cut into him. Had been there enough times to see him breakdown over becoming like his father. Had cried to my own father when the lashings first started because Beron was hurting my mate but neither of us could do anything about how Beron saw fit to raise his heir who didn’t even know I was his mate. I had been forced by my father to bite my tongue anytime anyone talked bad about Eris in our household, to protect Eris my father told me. He entwined his fingers with mine and pulled me towards the door to Rita’s.

Inside the party was full swing, lights darkened with fancy lights coming from the live band on stage. Lively attendees filled the dancefloor, and under a faint light in a back corner semi near the bar around a large booth with additional chairs pulled up for Cassian and Azriel was the inner circle and Lucien. Everyone was engaged in conversations except for Lucien who was sipping on a glass of fire brandy from the looks of it.

It was Lucien who was the first to even notice us approach, he scooted over for both of us to fit in the booth. Eris sat next to him and I was on the outside edge of the booth, Feyre chirped a happy greeting and I nodded and smiled back at her. Azriel and Mor shot a glare at Eris, Cassian waved and took a sip of whatever dark liquor he was drinking and continued his conversation with Nesta. The latter gave me a warm smile and tipped her glass towards me in greeting, everyone but Azriel, Mor and Elain had given us some kind of small greeting.

Small talk took over the table. Lucien and Eris finding comfort in each other, I took the chance to slip from the table and grab me and Eris some drinks. I got Eris a glass of the same fire brandy his brother had been drinking, it was an export of the Autumn Court but I knew it was his favorite, and got myself a glass of a spiked Cinnamon and apple cider that was house made. I brought the two glasses back to the table but before I had even made it there I could see the discomfort that lay beneath Eris’s mask. They had waited till I left the table to begin berating him and it angered me, none of them could see me except for Lucien and Eris. Lucien shot me a warning glance, it meant they were getting real nasty with Eris. I felt my blood boiling and I tried to calm it even slightly as I stepped closer to them, the sound from the band drowning out my movements.

“What right do you even have to ask her to do that, Eris? You are no better than your father, for all we know you whisk her away to the equinox dance and she comes back to us in a worse condition than Mor was because she trusts you for whatever reason. Though I’m sure it's just a flawed judgment on her part.” Azriel growled it at the red head.

I growled under my breath as I raked my own claws across all of their shields as I sat down. I watched Mor flinch as the claws raked against hers and I glared at all of them. Rhy’s eyes found the anger in mine and I saw him recoil slightly realizing he should've stopped them from saying anything while I was gone.

“Absolutely pathetic.” I growled, passing Eris’s cup to him, not bothering to look at anyone else. “I would have thought you knew better than to behave like complete and utter pricks in my absence.”

“Its fine, they're just trying to protect you.” Eris tried to defend them but I wasn’t going to let him be berated all night.

“No. Eris, it's not fine.” I softened my voice just for him. “My brothers should know you are one of my oldest friends and I will not let them talk bad about you. I have held my tongue long enough. I will not tolerate them saying shit like this to your face at all. I was forced to tolerate it behind your back.”

Eris’s mask cracked just a hair as I could tell he wanted to cry. And Azriel went to say something else, I shot him a dark look. “You have no right to say a word Azriel, you are no better, you only think you are. That ego doesn’t look good on you. Who are you to speak when you do not even know the entire story behind what you bring up.”

Elain scoffed and I had to stop myself from ripping into her own ego as I took a large swing from my own drink. Azriel shut up though he knew I could rip him apart with pretty words as easily as Rhys could mist someone. Mor flinched and tried to defend herself.

“Save it, I don't want to hear any of your disappointing excuses for being terrible people. He has been my friend since birth and he is important to me in that regard. I know him better than I know some of you, I have let you slander him because father assured me it was the right thing to do but I am finally done. Apologize for your shitty behavior.” A murmur of apologies echoed from every member of the table and Lucien raised his brows and took a sip from his glass, Eris looked like he wanted to cry even more now.

“Additionally, did I not run half of this court during Rhys’s absence? Am I not just a few years younger than any of you born fae at this table.” A chorus of yeahs found me.

“Then I will do as I please. And if that means courting Eris, courting my best friend even if it is fake, so be it because I make my own decisions.” I growled and sat down.

Rhys smiled and nodded, though he wasn’t off the leash himself he at least approved of what I had to say on the matter. Eris took a sip of his fire brandy but his hand found my thigh under the table and he squeezed softly, a silent thank you. Eris’s hand eventually found mine and I played with his rings, if it was comfort he wanted, it was comfort he would get. I only got up from the table to refill our drinks, but when I got back each time it seemed my outburst had silenced them from saying anything to Eris. His warm smile was all that greeted me when I returned with another glass of fire brandy and apple cider in hand.

Rounds of shots and appetizers had made it through the table when Mor had finally pulled all the girls to dance. Rhys pulled Azriel outside to talk, leaving me with both red heads and an incredibly intoxicated Cassian who only managed to mumble a “I'm proud of you, I’m gonna go find Nesta, my pretty lady.”

Lucien dismissed himself to get another glass of his own fire brandy. He had just finished his first glass and was eager to talk to his brother rather than actually drink, though I couldn’t blame the kid. Now that it was just me and Eris left at the table he let his mask slip, he had made it to six glasses of brandy, drinking away the discomfort that was my brothers.

He had greeted me with a big smile when I turned to check in on him. I hadn’t even been able to get a word out before he was thanking me. “I can not begin to describe the many ways in which I am thankful for what you did for me my dear.”

Oh no, he was romantic drunk, and it would be in front of the entire inner circle. “You, my pretty lady, are absolutely, irrevocably wonderful. I am honored to have you defend me so passionately.” He grasped my hand and smiled up at me, I’m cutting him off myself this is his last glass I swear.

I shushed him and he wrapped his arms around my waist, while he was seated and I was still standing so he buried his face into my stomach and murmured continual thanks to me. Lucien appeared back at the table and he took a sip before looking over his glass at me.

“I’ll take him to the bathroom.” Lucien mumbled rubbing his temples and sat his glass down. “Come on Eris, we are going to the bathroom.”

The older sibling whined into my stomach something that sounded like a “I don't wanna leave the pretty lady”

I had to pry his hands from around my waist and tilt his head to look up at me, he gave me those pretty puppy dog eyes. “Eris honey, go with your brother to the bathroom. I’ll be right here when you get back and we can go and dance then.”

He nodded an agreement and stood to walk with Lucien. I had to stifle a laugh when he tried to whisper-yell to Lucien. “Lucien did you hear that she called me honey!”

All Luucien could answer was a small “Yes I heard Eris, what a lucky male you are brother.” and flashed me a look that screamed you owe me for this.

I happily sunk down into my seat and nursed my third glass of my apple cider. After a few moments I saw Mor who wouldn’t make eye contact with me slide into the seat across from me. I wanted to groan thinking my peaceful alone time with my cider was about to get ruined.

I however, was caught off guard when she said “You know the true story about what happened?” I nodded and she took in a sharp breath.

“Then I want to apologize, all this time I thought you just hated me because I took your chance to marry him away.” Her tone was entirely defeated.

“Don’t think anything of it Mor, you had every reason to think that was my problem, It wasn’t my place to start a scene so soon. Plus Eris told me about the uh,” I motioned to her stomach and she flinched “Wasn’t my place to out you on that though you should clear it up with everyone soon. If anything at least with Cassian, he deserves to know.”

She nodded and gave me a small smile. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

I smiled back at her, our first understanding with each other in hundreds of years. “Just don’t slander him anymore and don’t let anyone else slander him either.” she just nodded and reached out her hand. I shook it, a small barely noticeable tattoo of a butterfly appeared on our inner wrists. She made a deal with me about Eris.

Next thing I knew I had the scent of firewood and cinnamon around me, Eris’s arms encircling me and his happily intoxicated voice chirped at me. “You promised me we could go dance when I got back.”

Taglist:

@stained-glass-eyes0708

@acourtofbatboydreams

@abysshaven

@wallacewillow0773638

#acotar #acotar x reader #eris vanserra x reader #a court of thorns and roses #eris acotar

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cherryblossombombs · 20 days

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I have an issue with the "the giga cover is likely fujobait" because I can't help but think:

if it was truly fujobait, why now?

Why try to get their attention if MHA is now in the 100M club? The series now so popular, hori/jump doesn't need queer shippers to increase its popularity.

Why try to get fujos and queer fans, if it's already popular in that group? Wasn't it apparently shown that MHA is more popular with women and LGBTQ+ fans?

Why try to get that audience when hori had the chance to do that back in 2016-2018 when Kr//bk was the popular gay ship? Wasn't there an interview where someone pretty much asked hori if he's for kr//bk, but instead of playing along, hori made it about bkdk (the ship that no one took seriously at the time) and said he saw the hand hold more about bkdk angst. Kr//bk was a popular ship, it had bones making official art of them. The smash parody manga had moments of it. Two heroes was their movie [I believe hori didn't really help in that movie. However, notice how in the second movie, (he was a part of that one one), focused on bkdk (again, the ship no one took seriously)]. Hori had the ability to use that ship as bait, but he seemed to be the only one out of everyone else to not go for it. Instead he kept pushing for the ship that was thought to be too toxic to even become a platonic ship.

If horikoshi did not want bkdk to seen as romantic, why isn't he stopping jump for implying it? You really can't say that he has no ability to, the guy went to bones and told them the ending. Now, notice how bones suddenly stopped making iz//ch moments and added a bkdk moment in the recap episodes (something that they would never do 2 seasons prior). The assistant (whom hori is friends with) is a loud speaker of dkbk lol. Hori follows him on twitter, there's no way that hori hasn't seen his dkbk art once. Same for katsuki's JP VA (who is also a friend of Hori).

Why try to bait the audience when the manga is ending?

Idk, maybe there's a chance he is actually queerbaiting and make iz//ch canon, but again, after everything?

After the togachako arc? He had made ochako confess her crush on midoriya, only for seconds later to not only brush it off as unimportant (unimportant in the sense of it was more of way to relate to toga and speak with her, it wasn't really used as a "canon izu//ocha" moment), she tells toga that she could have ochako's blood for the rest of her life (and we know that's toga's love language of returning/accepting her feelings) and she told toga that she had the cutest smile in the whole world. Like, didn't hori say that toga was made for ochako's character? I feel like it wouldn't make sense for hori to do all of this, then have ochako end up with midoriya, it would feel like a middle finger to toga tbh.

After chapters 285, 322, 362, 367, 403, and 404? The apology? The "you're the closest one to midoriya izuku, therefore I need to kill you in order to make him go crazy". The heart shaped black whip after seeing bakugou's dying body? The "their feelings became one" double spread? this bullet point could be spread to about 2-3 document pages, but I'm just going to summarize for this post lol. But overall, these chapters (and a few more), show me (imo) that it the "fujobait" claim isn't really strong to use against bkdk.

Again, maybe this is queerbait, because I know that there are times where other media/anime have done simliar and still had the MC in a heterosexual relationship, and leave everyone dumbfounded lol. Once again, all I say to this is "let's see what happens."

P.S. Isn't this the same author who said that he thought that naruto was going to end at 698 (the implied SNS ending) lol? Idk if it's true, that's just something I've heard.

#bkdk #dkbk #bakudeku

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atiny-for-life · 4 months

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Xikers Full Storyline Explained - TRICKY

Masterlist

TRICKY VS FACT & FICTION

If there's one thing to take away from the Animations that have been released so far, it's this: Tricky doesn't care to be a reliable narrator or to be upfront with its intentions

The most blatant example of this is the release of the Animation "When TRICKY was", which starts with Tricky opening up an old, worn-looking book that contains a story we then proceed to dive into

At first, the viewer would believe this is telling us a past adventure Tricky actually lived through but, as we progress into the video, it becomes apparent that we're being shown a video game likely created by Tricky itself

In general, it's repeatedly made clear how much Tricky loves games of any kind

In fact, the very first time we meet Tricky in "Hello, I'm TRICKY", we get to see how Tricky envisions its own role in the entire storyline: a 3D board game with itself in the center surrounded by the ten Xikers members

However, that doesn't mean that I think we should just dismiss all the information we've gotten from the animations - that'd be absurd

I rather think we simply shouldn't accept everything we're being told at face value

TRICKY'S ORIGIN

When looking at "The TRICKY's Secret", one thing might be concerning to you: the reliability of the information

It's Tricky who's showing us this story, it's directly from a storybook it's shown us before in "When Tricky was", and it's now setting the stage for us which means this is simply the version of the story Tricky wants us to know

However, in regards to that I'd argue: Tricky kinda has no reason to lie to us about this, and that is quite simply because it most likely doesn't care enough to

To explain why I think so, let's dive into the video:

Created alongside humanity, Tricky lived among humans for the longest time, but it was never one of them

Instead, it was worshippped as a sort of deity due to the powers it possesses, though it was not much liked by humans because it's always loved to play pranks and just generally fuck with humans as a form of entertainment

Due to the unpredictable nature of this "deity" and its reality altering powers, humans began to fear it, believing it to be capable of destroying the world

Naturally, this made them wonder about Tricky's character - was it good or evil? Would it WANT to destroy the world?

It's at this point in the Animation that we hear Tricky laugh to itself - the concept of humanity being afraid of it, questioning its motives is amusing to it

It's becoming very clear that Tricky simply doesn't feel empathy, it doesn't care - it just wants to feel entertained

The animated figure representing humanity is now forced to wander out onto a black-and-white checkered ground - a chessboard (once again, we're seeing Tricky's love for games reinforced)

From here, it chucks the human into the black nothingness hiding under its hood where the figure is left to spiral into a world of chaos

We dive down winding stairs, fall past dozens of Tricky's copies, and through rows of giant eyeballs (one of which may have made a return in the Rockstar MV) and then...

We get to see something that gives us a clearer idea of Tricky's character:

One black and one white clad version of Tricky touching together their hands and balanced scales

Good and evil are balanced within Tricky - it's neither one, nor the other

Its actions aren't guided by morals, it simply exists and decides on a whim what it feels like doing without thinking too hard about what the consequences are for the players involved

The only thing Tricky ever wants to beat is its own boredom - the world's a game map and humans are the players for Tricky to use as it pleases

XIKER'S ROLE IN ALL OF THIS

And this is where Xikers come in: they're the chosen players for Tricky's newest game and we already saw how this process works in Rockstar

As described in the animation: "It gave children powers beyond what they could bear and prospered in the chaos."

After being chosen, they were possessed by dokkaebis - the protagonists of the Tricky House MV - which gave them the aforementioned powers

They also ended up on Tricky's doorstep, meaning they may just be living under its roof or at least visiting it on the regular - as sinister as that may sound, they're probably just playing video games 24/7 when they're not out to mess with innocent bystanders

Right now, all Xikers members clearly enjoy their powers and use them to wreak havoc and goof around

However, this entire concept also lends itself to some darker storylines in the future so it'll be extremely interesting to see where KQ will take this

#xikers #xikers lore #Minjae #Junmin #Sumin #Jinsik #Hyunwoo #Hunter #Junghoon #Seeun #Yujun #lee yechan

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poisonousquinzel · 1 year

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Listen, I'd have less of an issue with Elseworlds concepts for Harley in live action if we'd EVER gotten an accurate showing of her origin story, the manipulation that runs throughout every second of every session they had together and the sheer and graphic brutality of the abuse she's endured at his hands, but we haven't.

And I doubt we're going to.

Regardless if you want to face it or not, the live action films reach a much larger audience than the animated shows or movies or comics. They're popular, but these live action films have a chance to bring in a Huge outside audience and that's apparent with Harley's surge in popularity after Suicide Squad.

And right now, every version of her origin that's been shown in live action is either a watered down little montage with heavy censoring that can (and Did) leave audiences with a horrifically skewed perspective on the actuality of their relationship, or is reported to be a completely changed and altered dynamic where she's not even a fucking psychiatrist at Arkham, she's a fellow patient.

Like, an important aspect of Harley's origin and the entirely of her character as a domestic abuse survivor is that it's showing that no matter who you are, no matter how much you think "I wouldn't fall for that, I'm smarter than that", or believe that you'd easily pick up the red flags, or that you're trained to see these things so it couldn't happen to you-

That's just not always true. You can still fall victim to these types of people.

Anyone can fall victim to an abusive, manipulative mastermind.

"You little fool. The Joker doesn't love anything except himself.

Wake Up, Harleen.

He had you pegged for a hired help the second you walked into Arkham."

"That's not... No... No!

He told me things, secret things he never told anyone!"

"Was it his line about the abusive father? Or the one about the runaway mom? He's gained a lot of sympathy with that one."

"Stop It! You're making me confused!"

"What was it he told that one parole officer? Oh yes, "there was only one time I ever saw dad really happy, he took me to the ice show when I was 7."

"Circus... He said it was the circus."

"He's got a million of them, Harley."

/ also I think it's important to point out based on Batman's "You and the Joker?" reaction that, despite her relationship with Joker being near the 7 year mark in this episode, he did not Know this "thing" with them was anything more than the standard henchmen/henchwoman type relationship most rogues have with their goons.

And the minute he does, he tries to get through to her. He tries to get through to Harleen. And then in the end, when he's almost got it, she's almost convinced and seeing the truth, he calls her Harley. He calls her by the name she's going by now, not the woman he believes to be trapped inside, but the one in front of him who's crying while her world is crumbling before her eyes.

It does not matter how trained you are, or how prepared you believe yourself to be, it can happen to Anyone. And it's No One's fault except the abuser for the actions the abuser takes.

But you can be the smartest person in the room and still be abused.

However, now, instead, we've got yet another film that's going to completely miss the mark and make a mockery of her journey. And instead of it being a first Live Action appearance for her and many others and whatnot like Suicide Squad was, this film is different.

This is a sequel to a film that's already got a fan base full of apologists for him. A fan base full of incels who have taken him on as their icon, as their role model, and we all fucking know it.

However they portray her character in this is going to stick with people and a lot of those folks are going to happily believe and treat this as if it's the true reality for her origin. No matter what other medias say, this is the accurate one. This is the one that's finally just allowing them to be together and not toxic. This is the one that's "not butchering his character so she can be the victim", he just gets to be his goofy little self and isn't changed so her story can exist.

And the only other live action movie that these people will or have watched that's got her character is Suicide Squad, as it's apparent so many of them clearly do not care about the 3 decades worth of evidence showing their actual relationship.

Cause facing the fact that that crusty ass disgusting man Is, and Has Been, a domestic abuser would make their constant woobification of him all the more difficult.

And why would they do that when they could just keep pretending he's not the fucking problem.

#tw abuse mention #tw clown boy #mentioned #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #dc comics #batman #bruce wayne #that scene from btas lives rent free in my head #from the voice acting to the dialogue to the little 'clev'a?!' 'brilliant' moment ❤️

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impossiblycolorfulpanda · 2 months

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Why I think neither ATLA nor LOK are true masterpieces.

First, I think ATLA was too short. It should've had 4 seasons.

Ozai was a boring and wasted villain. He should've been the one behind the Great War in any way while also still being the "final boss" archetype he was used as before. If I'm to truly believe that only the Avatar can win against Ozai and that doing so would instantly end the great war, I need to be shown, not just told.

Aang never truly mastered all the elements. This was even acknowledged in-universe. In each season, Aang spent one or two episodes gaining an element and barely practiced it. The rest of each season mostly consists of the gaang stopping whatever bad thing the FN is up to at the moment, having some expedition dump, and putting the spotlight on Zuko every now and then.

I'm even beginning to doubt that Aang truly mastered airbending and he prematurely got his tattoos as a result of this air scooter, because, as the monks tried separating Aang from Gyatso, they wanted to send Aang to other air temples to complete his training. That's odd because if Aang had mastered airbending in every way, what more could Aang learn? Why not send him to one of the water tribes as the cycle demands?

Most people agree that the lion turtle and the pointy rock showing up out of nowhere were a lazy robbery of Aang doing any real work to find an alternative and the agency of Aang making a choice and dealing with the consequences of it. He never tries to take advantage of energybending and bestow airbending to any of his new-found actolytes.

The established relationships between Aang and Katara, plus Zuko and Mai, don't really fit with the narrative, imo, they bring the four characters down, not up. There's a reason why the dynamic between Zuko and Katara is much more appealing and compelling.

I don't like how Katara was virtually erased from history by the time of LOK. There's no statue of her, no credit as a founder or republic city along with Aang and Zuko, she never shows up to her granddaughter's tattoo ceremony, or calls out Aang for being too favorable of their youngest son.

She's only called the world's greatest healer who illegalized bloodbending but she's never given a chance to show that off as she's apparently unable to undo Amon's damage, instead, it's her dead husband who saves the day.

It's even worse for Suki. No one even mentions the Kyoshi Warriors.

I think it was a waste not exploring the world and seeing how the world progressed in Korra's time.

Harmonic Convergence and the dark avatar arc didn't fully fit with the tone LOK was trying to show, so I imagine that airing in ATLA instead. I would've been ok with Korra losing her past lives if they were exchanged with Vaatu's powers/status being siphoned away and combined with Raava's after Vaatu is purified. True balance is restored but at a great price.

Aang was overly coddled by the narrative while Korra was given the exact opposite treatment and was forced to believe she deserves whatever suffering she goes through in order to be more respectful. Sound familiar?

Nobody get it twisted. I don't fully hate ATLA or LOK. There are many things in both that are very much enjoyable, especially season 3 of LOK. But they are not as perfect as Disney's hunchback of Notre Dame 1 and pre-Disney Star Wars.

#atla critical #lok critical

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24hlevi · 1 year

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i haven’t yet read the aib manga, what is chishiya like in the manga? is he different to the show

ok so here's the thing, there isn't a very big difference in how chishiya is portrayed in the show vs the manga, it's more or less just how he is written and the differences in how haro aso writes vs the writers of the show

note for manga spoilers ahead

in the show and manga chishiya could be labeled as a morally gray character which means a character whose behavior discourages readers from labeling them as purely good or purely evil. this is evident near the end of s1 when chishiya throws arisu under the bus so he can get ahold of the cards only to talk to arisu normal after like nothing happened, where some people call him a bad person for it while others say he did what he had to

the only major difference imo was the backstory change from the manga to s2. in the show chishiya is apparently an actual doctor when in the manga he is still a med student and he is constantly being told that transplants are going to "more important" people instead of regular people. while this part is relatively similar, it's the way chishiya reacts that's different. in the manga which wasn't shown in the show, chishiya had no connection with his father who was always working or not paying attention to him, and he was pressured into becoming a med student by his father's ideals, so when he is told that a man is going to die and the man gives him a note to hand to his family, chishiya tosses it in the trash. this is because he doesn't know the value of other's lives simply because he is empty inside.

chishiya isn't completely emotionless, he does have comedic moments in the manga like using a singing song voice when speaking on certain topics with a small smirk on his face. in the show i believe they just decided to write him out differently for more audience appeal in my personal opinion 🤷‍♂️. even with his interaction with kuina after the first appearance of the king of spades in s2 ep 1, in the manga kuina wants nothing to do with him after what he did which is incredibly valid because he was an asshole about it whereas in the show they pretend like nothing happened i guess.

i believe haro aso made chishiya as the one character that is deemed morally gray but can still be likable by how he acts. i don't think show chishiya is bad or worse than manga chishiya i love them both but personally i prefer how haro aso wrote chishiya rather than the show writers. even a key part in what chishiya says during the battle royale with niragi and arisu after he's been shot saving usagi, he says "it's like i existed just to show how empty a human can be" meaning he does acknowledge this, and he does try to change for the better. the show kept that line out for some reason and it irked me a little bit because it's a very big important thing for him to say this and acknowledge how he was acting and want to change when they return to the normal world.

again, i don't hate show chishiya in any way. i love murakami nijiro's performance as chishiya i think he did great! i just personally prefer how haro aso wrote him rather than the writers of the show is all!

#jay things #answered #anon ask #alice in borderland #imawa no kuni no alice

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duttonandpartner · 2 months

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So….I am in the very beginning of the 3rd season of Yellowstone (First two episodes) and there are already a few scenes which makes my head hurt for Jamie.

Starting with Scene 1

There is the scene in the very first episode where the cowboys, John, Casey and Tate are about to move to the summer camp. It’s shown as if they are literally on the brick of heading off when Jamie comes along on his horse to join them. At this point Jamie is still part of the cowboys and is living in the barn with them. Therefore, he has every right in the world to assume that he, Jamie, will join them and help out in the summer camp. That is his JOB at this point.

The overarching plot of this episode is that John Dutton is unable to be Livestock Commissioner/ Commander/ Whatever because of the events in the finale of season 2. He gets to nominate his successor for which he choses Casey first. Casey doesn’t feel like it; so he declines with a „lol, no, big pass, good luck with it I guess, I am out“ kind of vibe. Interestingly, Casey suggests Jamie instead („[…] you have a politician; and he’s living currently in the barn[…]“ is very close to what he is saying, I believe). John does not do that. He offers it to Beth instead who also declines and walks out.

This political position is clearly a key factor to Johns way of saving the ranch, Yellowstone, but John seems to be unsure of what to do or he just forgets about it. That’s until Jamie arrives.

So…Jamie, CLEARLY completely unaware of what is going on, assuming that he is still with the cowboys instead of being offered another job as LITERALLY LAST CHOICE, comes out with his horse all excited, wearing his hat and visibly smiling. THIS IS THE EXACT MOMENT when John APPARENTLY decides to tell him that he will be the new Livestock Commissioner.

John makes sure to tell Jamie that he will not stand another disappointment from him and then leaves with Jamie’s co-workers up to this point, his brother and nephew. This excluding Jamie in every way from everything which gave him self-confidence up to this point and literally leaves him behind to take his horse back in, I guess.

I mean WHAT????

The nonchalantness of it all, I think, makes me really angry. If John REALLY doesn’t trust Jamie with this position HE COULD HAVE FOUND ANOTHER WAY. He could have made Beth do it or even Monica or LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE.

The best choice of course, in my opinion, would be Rip, but John apparently still doesn’t considers him family; which is also just nonsense at this point.

I just don’t get that he waited until Jamie had his horse ready and settled and then told him in the most humiliating way possible in front of all these people. I simply don’t understand that. I mean John didn’t what Jamie to die so I guess he has some feelings of being a FARTHER to him but what was this then?

Jamies reason for being in the barn was for him to regain self-confidence in a field where he doesn’t experience so much stress. John just put a lot of stress on him. Again.

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 9 months

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According to a newly unveiled memo from Michigan Republicans, workers shouldn’t be guaranteed paid leave from work to care for one’s newborn or a seriously ill family member — instead, the party says it’s akin to taking “summer break.”

This week, Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the Democratically-controlled legislature to pass guaranteed paid family and medical leave for workers in the state to ensure that workers can deal with personal matters without having to worry about losing their jobs or missing a paycheck. The U.S. is the only wealthy country in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid family or sick leave to workers.

Apparently, Michigan Republicans believe that people should be forced to work or miss out on pay if they have to take care of themselves or their family. In a memo dated August 30 obtained by The Messenger, Republicans in the Michigan House called paid family leave a “ridiculous idea.”

“Lansing Democrats want to take money out of your paychecks with a new tax to pay for summer break for adults. It’s a ridiculous idea that people just can’t afford,” the memo said. The purpose of the memo is for “messaging points,” The Messenger reported, meaning that it’s circulated for politicians to use for talking points on the issue.

In a post on social media this week, Republicans also said that Whitmer’s call for paid leave to tyranny. “Aspiring tyrants never tire of grand plans of telling YOU how to live!!!” the Michigan Republican Party wrote.

Republicans were blasted for their obtuse messaging on what is a crucial labor policy for workers and families.

The memo “shows, once again, how deeply out of touch the Michigan Republican House Caucus is with Michiganders,” Lavora Barnes, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, told The Messenger. “There is no way to spin it — this is a blatant insult to everyone caring for a loved one and having to make some of the hardest decisions of one’s life.”

Barnes said the language in the memo is “offensive beyond belief.”

The messaging displays the state Republicans’ ignorance of the purpose of guaranteed paid leave. To compare paid sick or family leave to “summer break” is to suggest that workers would only use such policies for fraudulent reasons. Of course, this is untrue just taken at face value — workers get sick and need time to recover. They also have children — perhaps children due to being forced to carry pregnancies to term as a result of Republican policies— and need to take time off to parent them.

It also suggests that it is negative for workers to take time off for pleasure reasons. Indeed, one Republican told The Messenger that the family leave policy would allow people to “falsely claim leave.”

Even if Republicans’ incessant claims of widespread fraud in welfare and other programs were true — and research has consistently shown that they are not — it is natural for workers to need time away from work. Michigan Republicans may know this well; the Michigan House, like many state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, is often out of session for weeks at a time.

#us politics #news #truthout #2023 #Michigan #paid family leave #paid medical leave #paid time off #Gov. Gretchen Whitmer #The Messenger #Michigan Republican House Caucus #Lavora Barnes #Michigan Democratic Party #republicans #conservatives

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citrus-blade · 6 months

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Little Girls (From the Annie [2014] Original Movie Soundtrack) - Cameron Diaz

I found this through TikTok cause so many people use it there lol

AU:

Nightmare was probably the best known Hero in the city, working for the official Hero's headquaters. And he wasn't just the best known, but also the best in general, which meant a lot of work for him. Nightmare - or Dream as his real name was - always worked. The hero association barely gave him a break, his friends always told him they'd work him to death.

But who else was fit to fight against the Blood God, making sure him and his syndicate wouldn't destroy the city. It was on his shoulder to make sure they wouldn't get any data about The End Portal. The portal that would lead you somewhere unknown, a place that is supposed to give you great power.

No one alive ever went through and came back, but they had old books and letters, notes of people who apparently went through and talked about a dragon like beast. They told of cities unreachable and a dark and evil energy.

The heros had to make sure the villains wouldn't ever get there and steal said power. It was to protect everyone and therefore Dream was fine with working himself to death.

Until the day the syndicate had managed to get into the archievs. Not even Dream was allowed into the deeper, more secret part. So when he got there he was shocked to see what the villains had found. Blue prints of a prison to hold villains and heroes?! One known to weaken them and steal their powers and there was a cell for everyone.

There was one for Dream, the most secure one. Blood God had shown him, told him that those heroes were the real monsters who were after the dark power. He had told him to join them, to help them reach their goal. But Dream declined, he was naive enough to believe that there must be an explanation.

Blood God had stared at him in silence before they all fled with the notes. Dream didn't care. When Quackity and Sam came up to him to yell at him he had questioned them. They weren't happy about it, said Dream shouldn't worry. But he did, cause there were cells for not only him but his friends, even for the youngest who had just started training!

Apparently too many questions were ask and Sam - The Warden - started attacking him. They made explosives go off, framing Dream for letting the Syndicate in and attacking the association. Every hero got ordered to hunt him down, to get them to the prison alive.

Dream fled, he had to fight against people he had called his friends, people he had trained and people he had fought side by side. Now they were against him. Heavily injured Dream was able to escape in a storm, using the chaos.

He had knowledge of where the syndicate usually was found, rumors of where to find them when you needed them to do something for you. So Dream went there, bleeding, in pain from the wounds and the betrayal. In a back alley he fell to his knees, wondering if he had gotten wrong information.

But then a shadow fell down on him and in front of him stood the Blood God, pig skull staring down at him. In that moment Dream realized how little his life was worth, that he had given it to the hero association and now he had nothing left, he was a nobody.

With tears in his eyes he started to beg, to plead his greatest enemy to end his life. He didn't want to live in a world where the people he had fought for all his life to be the evil ones. How could he? What was left to live for?

But instead of a sword at his throat, Dream felt a big cloak wrap around him, sheltering him from the rain. In front of him knelt Blood God, his red eyes visible through the holes in the skull. He told him that instead of giving up he should use this desperation - this rage - to help the syndicate.

Dream was asked to join them, a gloved hand held out for him. With only a bit of hesitation Dream accepted, holding the hand that pulled him up back on his feet. Blood God - or Technoblade how Dream would learn in the future - helped the injured man walk.

And just like that the greatest Hero and the greatest Villain joined forces to bring down the real evil.

#citrus writes #dnb #dreamnoblade #ask #anon #writing requests #if I would keep writing this Dream would turn mad #like crazy in an evil way and would get corrupted #the ending would be that he'd gain the power from the end and go even madder but noticing it #he'd ask Techno once again to kill him but this time Techno hesitated cause they were a couple #BUT HE STILL DID IT BECAUSE DREAM BEGGED AND HE DIDN'T WANT TO DESTROY THE WORLD DREAM LOVED SO MUCH #PAIN #ANGST NO COMFORT AAAHHHH

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somuchyoudontknow · 11 months

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Hello my lovelies! I would like to offer a little logic this time, instead of intuition.

Now, we won’t name names, but we all know the blogs today going around asking for money. I want to tell you that this is a pure scam. Let us examine what we know. I might need multiple submissions for this, so I apologise now for scamming Sophia!

From day 1, these blogs have said this is PR. Proof has been submitted – from various sources and also on various blogs, so yes, we can say this is accurate.

However, a lot of claims they’ve submitted since then seem to be very far-fetched. Let’s see if we can examine a few things here.

PART 1

Claim #1: CAA is forcing him Now, we can say this is possibly true because CAA has a very long and very dirty track record. Much of their shady behaviour has been shared before by artists who have now left CAA. Google searches will show you these articles if you make an effort to look for them.

Claim #2: Chris signed an extremely dodgy contract Apparently, he signed this without a lawyer in a foreign country, and without telling anyone on his team. How did he get this contract without anyone on the team knowing? CAA is also technically on his team. Are we really going to believe that someone from CAA convinced him to sign a contract that nobody else knew about without his own representation? After 20 years in the business, what this blog is saying is that Chris is a complete idiot. Is this really true?

Do we have any proof to back this up? No, we don’t. When asked what proof they have to substantiate this, their response is that it’s just what their sources have told them via text, or just that their sources informed them. Remember this point, as it’s important.

Claim #3: The PR contract signed is a 1950s-style one For months now, they’ve been pushing the claim that these types of contracts are now illegal, and no one has done these since the 1950s. But now, the claim is that Chris has signed exactly this kind of contract – something that is illegal, and it cannot be broken because he signed it without telling anyone.

My darlings, if something is illegal, then no contract in the world can uphold it. This is akin to saying murder is against the law, but because it was worded a certain way in a contract someone signed, therefore it is now legal for said person to commit murder. Or it’s like saying that your employer put an illegal clause in your employment contract. But you signed it, therefore, suddenly, this clause has become legal. There is no such thing, no matter which part of the world you are from. Do you see the lack of logic? Does it make sense to you? And if it doesn't make sense to you, imagine what a credentialed, experienced lawyer will do or say if Chris or his team had been shown this contract. PART 2 NEXT. ♥️StarStruck💫

Hiiiiii 🤗💙❤ You can spam me as much as you want, anyone can lollll as long as the posts are so good as yours 🤣🤣

#chris evans pr #chris-evans #alba-baptista #♥️StarStruck💫#part 1

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hole-in-the-bottom-of-my-brain · 8 days

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Picking the number 3 for the book u hate

ok im finally home i can answer this now YAYYYY

my summer of love and misfortune by lindsay wong. oh my god. fucking dies i fucking hate this book it can go to hell for all i care.

my summer of love and misfortune is about a girl named iris wang whose summer is going to shit. her boyfriend cheats on her, she doesn't get into any colleges, she racks up $6k on her credit card, and feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere as a chinese-american. her parents decide to send her to beijing to help her connect with her chinese culture, and iris agrees, but she doesn't expect to meet Extremely rich family members who are essentially celebrities in china !!!

i was excited to read this book. the premise was interesting and i like books that have a diverse cast of characters :) but. oh my god. ohhh my god.

this book fucking SUCKED. there is not one decent character in this book. iris is the most vain, stuck-up, self-absorbed, NAIVE piece of shit you've ever met. it's insane how genuinely stupid she is sometimes - she mentions at one point that she doesn't even know how family trees work??? my god you are EIGHTEEN you should know that your cousins have the same grandparents. and she admits to having no idea how global warming works. AND she apparently doesn't know what museums are, and got confused as to why nobody was haggling for any of the relics. she never grows as a person until the last few chapters. her horrible behavior is excused at nearly every turn. her own parents call her a loser to her face which i thought was really funny. yessss you deserved that in full

she's so WHINY about going to beijing too?? like. she starts talking about how cruel her parents are and how she must be adopted, but instead of this being a one-time complaint, she starts becoming obsessed with the idea and starts looking up famous chinese celebrities that she "must actually be the daughter of" and she believes this with her entire heart. not to mention that she has... nearly nothing going for her. she's such an unlikeable character and the only thing she has going for her is how much she likes to shop. she actually compares shopping to an extreme sport as an excuse for not having any other hobbies. i think iris has something called compulsive spending, but not once is this ever brought up as a bad thing, and she never really "learns" to be better at spending.

and she has an INCREDIBLE victim complex AND superiority complex. it's insane. she moans and wails about how cruel the world has been to her while simultaneously calling herself a genius for doing basically nothing. in fact, the love interest of this book exists to basically be iris' doormat and enable her victim complex.

when iris lands in beijing, her rich family members (namely her uncle and aunt) offer to get her a tutor to teach her chinese. iris had been upset about not being able to speak chinese, but then later she acted as if she were too good for chinese lessons. she compared the sounds of chinese to an alien language. she ditched her chinese tutor (the love interest) to go shopping. do you understand how much i hate this book.

there IS a transformation here. her rich uncle wants to bulldoze over poor neighborhoods to build luxury hotels, and when iris visits said neighborhoods, she finally FINALLY gets character development. she finally starts thinking of something other than herself. but this development is so rushed and basically told to the reader rather than shown, making it feel incredibly fake.

im not even going to comment on any other side characters because they sucked. all of them. every single character in this book sucked. lindsay wong you can't write a character-driven book if all the characters suck

okay errmmm thats all i think !!! my summer of love and misfortune is genuinely the worst out of all the books i hate and i don't recommend reading it. at all. find something else to read

#hateblogging #<- my new tag for it i guess #this book just. makes me so so MAD gggrrrghghhhhh

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marinsawakening · 2 months

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I'm overall pretty meh on the Link's Awakening manga but I think it did two things really well: the boat scene, and the ending.

The boat scene happens about halfway through the second and last volume of the manga, not long after Link has found out the truth about Koholint. The manga, like most game retellings, changes the story of the game slightly so that it works better in manga format. So rather than Link going straight to another dungeon after finding out the truth, he lashes out, believing that waking the Wind Fish will doom everyone and that the people who told him to do so lied to him. He rejects his destiny (the manga goes way harder on destiny than the game, one of the things I don't particularly like about it) and resolves to let the Wind Fish sleep forever. Instead, he goes to make a raft, intent on escaping the island, and asks Marin to come with him. She agrees to do so.

Everyone gathers on the shore to say a tearful farewell to Marin, who promises she'll return someday, and she and Link set out. At first, everything seems wonderful; Marin and Link are in high spirits, watching some dolphins play, riding the waves, etc. But soon it becomes apparent that... well...

[Image: panel from the Link's Awakening manga showing Marin and Link's raft out on sea, with Koholint looming in the distance. Marin says: "We shouldn't be able to see the island anymore, but there it is..." End description.]

They cannot get away from the island. No matter how hard Link rows, Koholint never gets any further away. They cannot leave.

Eventually, Marin asks a now-exhausted Link to go back to shore. Link is devastated, but Marin remains in a seemingly high spirits. They have a talk, and Link asks Marin why she wanted to leave Koholint. Marin reveals that ever since she was little, she's had the same dream every night: she's in a town she's never seen before, surrounded by smiling faces. It's a nice dream, so she thought that by leaving, she could dream without ever having to wake up. However, she concludes that, no matter how nice a dream is, you'll have to wake up eventually.

Marin leaves after this, but Link remains. The Owl arrives, and they have a talk about destiny and the nature of Koholint. Finally, the owl says this:

[Image: page from the Link's Awakening manga. Panels show the shoreline, the sky and the Owl. The Owl says: "...Dream... The people who you see are actually just like a mirror... The various things that you see... Like this island... Thoughts take on form and begin existence." The Owl continues: "The heart that doesn't want to wake up... and the heart that does want to wake up." For the first part of that sentence, the monsters are shown; for the second part, Marin. End description.]

The Owl asks Link what he'll do. Link begins, saying that when the Wind Fish wakes, everyone and everything will be gone, but then rejects it. He stands up and states:

[Image: page from Link's Awakening. Link stands up and grasps his sword, powering it up. In the last panel, he is crying. He says: "The time that I've spent on this island, I won't forget it. In my heart it will remain for a lifetime! It may vanish everywhere else, but not for me! So... From inside the "Wind Fish"s dream and into my heart... It won't end, it will just change locations..." End description.]

Which is clear set-up for the ending.

At last, after defeating the Nightmares, the Wind Fish appears to Link, the story drawing to a close. As they move to the end, the Wind Fish states:

[Image: two panels from the LInk's Awakening manga, showing the Wind Fish doing a voice over, a panel collecting various moments from the manga. He says: "Yes. But the memories of this island will always remain in your heart. You will always remember this island. This memory will make the world of dreams real." End description.]

Which is ultimately the central thesis of the ending.

The Wind Fish invites Link to play the Song of Awakening with him, and as Link does, it pans over to Koholint and its people, leading to a two-page spread and my favourite panel of the manga:

[Image: two-page spread showing Link playing the ocarina against a bird's eye view of Koholint, with the animals, Tarin, Lady MeowMeow and Bowwow, Felicia (a manga-only fairy character) and Marin singing along. Link thinks: "Ah... Look... Everybody... Sing... Sing the Wind Fish's song... Marin..." End description.]

In which, as the final song of awakening plays and the island disappears, everyone joins in to sing along.

In my mind, both the boat scene and the final ending stand out because they show a keen understanding of Koholint and the game's themes.

The boat scene is a fascinating addition to the Link's Awakening story, in my opinion a very smart move, as it provides a very natural avenue for the manga to explore the nature of Koholint. It delves more directly into the fridge horror of Koholint's existence than most of the game does, to great effect: the initial reveal that you cannot go beyond the horizon, that it is impossible to escape the island, is done to great effect and contrasted effectively with the more light-hearted tone of only a page earlier. Link's desperation to escape anyway, contrasted with Marin's calmer acceptance of the reality of the situation, does a great job highlighting Link's state of mind during this portion of the story, and also does a great job showing he's wrong without directly stating so. Because Marin has already realized the truth Link is still unwilling to admit: that no matter how nice a dream is, you need to wake up eventually. It's sad, but she's ultimately at peace with it, in a way Link still needs to learn.

The follow-up scene at the beach with Marin and the Owl of course addresses and states this more directly, having Link realize the fundamental flaw in his thinking, and moreover stating the lynchpin of the story's ending: that Koholint will not die as long as Link remembers it. After this moment, the story states multiple times that a new Koholint is being built in Link's heart, to be completed after the dream ends. Ending the dream is integral to building it up again, in another's memory.

The ending is, in my opinion, the highlight of the manga. Link is sad, but at peace with waking up, having loved this island and treasuring this memory. Having everyone join in on the final song of awakening was an absolute stroke of genius, highlighting that the waking of the Wind Fish is not Koholint's doom, but in fact, its wish. In the end, it's not just Link and the Wind Fish waking up: it's everyone alongside them, joining in the chorus as the dream ends.

And finally, at the very end, the second-to-last page:

[Image: page from the Link's Awakening manga. Link sits on a piece of driftwood, staring at the sky, saying: "...That such a place... such a place..." He presses his hands against his heart, the edge of his face just barely visible, tears dripping down it, saying: "It... It was real...!" The then wipes his tears, picks up a different piece of driftwood to paddle with, and smiles as he looks up. End description.]

Link cries as he remembers Koholint, but ultimately, the joy of having known it, and the realization that it will always live on in his heart wins out, and he smiles as he paddles into the horizon.

As stated, I'm not this manga's biggest fan; for the most part, I think it falls into a lot of the same tropes and pitfalls of other video game adaptation manga, and in addition I don't like its heavy focus on destiny and believe Marin is a far more interesting character in the game. But it does a fantastic job with Koholint, showing a keen understanding and interesting interpretation of its nature, successfully adapting the game's themes regarding the nature of the dream and its fate into a different type of storytelling. The boat scene, which plays into Koholint's fridge horror and highlights its unearthly nature, and the ending sequence, with its triumphant tone yet unavoidable sadness, are the highlights for me.

And particular, the idea to have everyone on the island join in the final song of awakening was a stroke of genius and is going to live in my head rent free forever.

You can find a large collection of Zelda game manga on historyofhyrule.com, including both volumes of the Link's Awakening manga in both their original Japanese and translated into English; it is where I read it and where I got the panels and pages used in this post from.

#my posts #loz #link's awakening #genuinely. i'll admit to having had my hackles up initially when reading the manga #bc the strong focus on destiny combined with some smaller stuff made me really really worried about how it'd handle the game's themes #but it stuck the landing so incredibly well #genuinely the image of everyone singing along to the song of awakening lives rent free in my head and is canon now as far as i'm concerned #long post

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