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trashlie · 2 years

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I find it worth thinking about Kousuke & Alyssa as mirrors who negatively reinforce each other as opposed to Nol & ShinAe. While AeGi managed to develop a positive effect on each other in a few months, KouLyssa failed to do that during all those years. Why is that? Is it because they don't challenge the worst parts of themselves? Because what they currently seek isn't emotional connection but power and influence? I agree Alyssa might actually see herself in him, someone who shares the same values as her. I've wondered, did Kousuke ever use her as a way to diffuse tension between him and Nol the way he did with Shinae? Has he ever compared the two girls? Like in Ep26, he had a conversation about favors and opportunities that tied into Yui's philosophy from Ep135. While Shinae didn't want a handout for the call center job, Alyssa took the offer to become a pop idol. What does he think of their choices especially after their outcomes? Would Alyssa's success reaffirm his beliefs? This is what I mean by not challenging themselves. Will their images have to break for them to finally reflect on themselves through each other? 1/?

Honestly, I'm surprised Alyssa doesn't seem to be taking her training seriously. I assumed that as a people pleaser she'd try harder to get on everyone's good graces. Even if she is losing her passion for dancing, she still wants to rise to the top. So, it sounds like she's favoring Yui's way of thinking: making powerful connections trumps hard work. (Funnily enough, I don't think Kousuke has any powerful friends.) But this would totally foil Shinae. Perhaps we'll see more of that in terms of their career paths, work ethics, and reputations. Something to parallel the boys or Yui and Yujing. But also Meg!!! How did Meg turn out so different from her? Because unlike Alyssa and Kousuke, she prioritizes passion in her career and is willing to take accountability for her actions. And while Yui took advantage of all three of them for their lack of strong support system and desire for validation, Meg was the first one to cut Yui off and learn to value herself. We need to talk more about Meg when it comes to them. She's clearly going to play a bigger role in both their futures. Anyways, it'll be interesting to see what shifts in dynamics the time skips bring. 2/?

IT IS TIME!!!! I'm so excited to answer this Nonny and talk about all of your incredible points! I'm answering the last ask in a separate reply, because we both know this is going to get long and I don't want that information to get lost.

This response is, to no one's surprise, really long lmao so enjoy!

From the moment you started talking about Aegi vs Koulyssa as foils, I was already excited because that's exactly it, that's exactly why seeing them as mirror pairs is so important! In the same way that Alyssa and Shinae are foils, and Kousuke and Nol are, as mirrored pairs they HEAVILY foil each other. I had never even given consideration to that, the fact that where Aegi boost and improve each other, we haven't seen the same from Koulyssa. Of course, one solid argument is that Kousuke has been stand offish with Alyssa and they haven't had a lot of time interacting TO make each other better, but I don't think that shoots this down at all.

I think something we see highlighted is that Nol and Shinae are drawn to each other like magnets and Nol has to work hard to avoid/stay away from Shinae after making his decision. The fact that Nol saw sad messages from his friends, including an I really miss you :( from Shinae and just abandoned his moral code and started throwing back drink after drink shows that it's not so easy for him to do it, even if he thinks it's right. On the flip side... does Kousuke have trouble, too? Again, we know so little about them and can only speculate based on what quim has shown us. Why was Kousuke so hesitant to call Alyssa when searching for Nol? Why did he deliberate so long and hard? IS it because in the past he used to her to diffuse tension and he feels some sense of guilt?

Where Nol is very aware of how many similarities he and Shinae share, I wonder if Kousuke is aware of the same with Alyssa. It's clear to anyone (and probably especially Yui, yikes) that Alyssa has a lot more in common with Kousuke, which I think sets a really dangerous precedent, because Kousuke was easily manipulated by Yui (i mean, as her child it's hard not to be lol) and Alyssa seems to follow in that vein. I still can't tell if Alyssa knows more than we think or if she's being pulled along blindly. At any rate, we do certainly see a disconnect, where Nol and Shinae have fought to free themselves of Yui and Kousuke and Alyssa remain in her firm grasp.

Now, something someone brought up while we were talking was: as the sort of "golden children" of their respective families, the ones carrying their families' expectations and the heavy weight of that burden, both Kousuke and Alyssa have likely developed a sort of "survivor" mentality. They've seen how their sibling has been treated (and looked down on) for the ways they perform and they endeavor to be better than that, so that they never fall from grace and experience that same treatment. It's far more evident in Kousuke, because his paranoia literally revealed that lol but Alyssa very likely carries this mentality, too - she can't quit now, she has to keep going and moreso, she must reach the top or else she will be subjected to what Meg was.

In a healthy family, these siblings might have learned to be a shield for their more tormented siblings, but it's safe to say that while maybe not as terrible, the Cho family dynamic is also unhealthy like the Hirahara one and instead we saw them adapt to the role they were shoved into, for better or worse.

Something I find interesting about Kousuke and "the favor" is he later admits he would NOT have given Shinae a job, had she asked, after she learns it was Yui who did it. So why would he bring up the the favor in that matter, anyway? I'm guessing he was testing her? He was surprised that she told him she didn't want him to offer her a job, when he knows most people would be fumbling over themselves to take advantage of an opportunity. Kousuke comes from a world of asskissers and social ladder climbers. Sure HE hasn't had to forge important, powerful connections (because he already boasts power), but he's surrounded by people who do it all the time, and has been instilled with the knowledge from Yui that you should take advantage of opportunities when they're given. Doesn't he later essentially tell Shinae what Yui told him, that she should be appreciative of these offers that anyone else would be grateful for? So maybe he HAS compared them - after all, I think even Kousuke might suspect Alyssa is only dating Nol for the connections it affords her, since he even told Alyssa he thought they were over. This I actually want to know more about, because we know Kousuke has some almost outdated concepts of love - like how he thinks Nol shouldn't have any close female friends lest people think the wrong think of Alyssa and she ends up embarrassed by a two-timer lmaooooo. Does he think it reprehensible to date someone who secures them a certain lifestyle or does he think it is to be expected?

(If it turns out that Yui and Rand ARE a convenience marriage and never really were in love, how would Kousuke feel about THAT?)

So yes, I think there is some merit to Kousuke's belief that handouts aren't always bad - however, I think Ayssa not taking her job seriously would give him conflict. Kousuke is a man who believes in hard work and credits his success to that (rather than, idk, handouts lol) so what would he think if he knew Alyssa was kind of coasting along? (It also brings me back to other contemplations: does Alyssa feel trapped by Yui in a career she doesn't want and has to stay for the sake of the lifestyle, because Yui has something over her head, because it's a stepping stone?)

Will their images have to break for them to finally reflect on themselves through each other?

This is certainly my belief. Given that both of them are propelled by their images and they are both god at shoving down and repressing their feelings or channeling them elsewhere (Kousuke's guilt often comes out as anger towards the person he feels guilty over) I think that's the ONLY thing that will get them to stop and reflect on themselves. Frankly, I can't see anything else that will make them change, because the person they most value is themselves and their goals. Anything that stands in the way of their goal gets cast to the side, and that includes examining the kind of person they are and the things they've done. Both of them have things in their pasts, rooted in their personalities, that are incredibly ugly, and they know it. Facing it means facing EVERYTHING ELSE and neither are ready for that. I think there's also something to the fact that acknowledge you've been manipulated or taken advantage of comes with a lot of shame, and if they were to examine this facet of themselves, how would they deal with that?

I've been thinking for a while now that the only way we will see Kousuke really reflect on his behavior and endeavor to become a better version of himself is if he loses everything or his image is tarnished - whether it's a scandal that he can't buy his way out of or finding himself in over his head in his new position and unable to keep up the way he used to (or worse, if he performs poorly and no one gives a damn because he's coasting by on his name; that would hurt his pride a lot). And because they are mirrors, the same goes for Alyssa. Until they are exposed and left vulnerable, they won't face the truth, because they are protected. Once they lose their image, their protection is gone.

I actually hadn't considered too much how Alyssa appearing to half-ass her career foils Shinae, because I usually focus on the other ways they foil each other, but yeah, that's a really good point! It also lends more to Alyssa saying she really admires Yui - does she mean it or not? This will get REALLY long if I get to deep into this, so maybe I need to revisit ep 59 sometime because in retrospect, the way Alyssa says Yui is such a charitable woman that she wants to be like with her eyes closed makes me second-guess a LOT of things.

Are Alyssa's eyes closed because she knows nothing Yui does is for charity, and that she covets aspects of Yui she knows aren't good? Is she uncomfortable, because seeing Shinae has just been up and given a job like that rings too true to her own case and she's seeing how it looks to others? Is she obscuring a discomfort at knowing Shinae, who knows about Alyssa's past, is so close to a family important to her? Is it that deep down she thinks there's no respect in this easy path? And if THAT'S the case why DOESN'T she work harder, try harder?

And I guess that does give us an interesting potential mirroring of Alyssa and Kousuke - if Alyssa is taking hand outs even if they make her feel uncomfortable and Kousuke tries to reassure himself that he got himself where he did via hard work, then we get a really interesting view of them as people trying to mollify themselves over things that make them uneasy. But hey, maybe they are content to roll with it, because some people are just more fortunate than others and who are they to deny themselves their opportunities?

Regardless, Shinae and Nol definitely still foil them. Nol isn't even getting a special position or role at the family company, but his worth ethic and people skills are absolutely benefitting him more than his name. Shinae has a job handed to her that she wants to leave, but she's still working hard and doing her best to actually earn and deserve that role.

As for Meg, I get the sense that she wasn't actually focusing on her education/career pre-Kim formal, and I think this was heavily part of Yui's manipulation. Yui prbably made Meg feel like she stands a chance (after all, she always pretends she can set them up and make him behave) and Meg probably got distracted, trying to get Kousuke's attention? It was only after she really saw how Kousuke sees her, and how chasing him down played a role in what happened to Shinae (because Kousuke refused to listen to or believe her so he wasn't able to intervene sooner) and I think THAT made her snap out of it and go wtf is wrong with you Meg you are better than this you are MORE than this. (And you know what, maybe there was a bitter little thought deeper down, too, that you aren't Ayssa you aren't going to get a hand out and have your life just work out for you and then realized SHE has to ACTIVELY work on her life.)

I think she was really tightly woven into Yui's manipulation schemes until, like Shinae, she found herself feeling humiliated. I wonder, too, if she's starting to pick up on what kind of woman Yui is - when she told Yui she thought it was time she starts to value herself more, that felt like a very subtle "please stop playing these games with me" undertone. Yui goes on to basically tell her here i can tell you exactly what to do to make things better with Kousuke and Meg tells her she's not in the mood for it - because she knows Yui has been playing with her this whole time and never really cared about her feelings? Because she realizes Yui has been treating her like a little toy for her amusement? I think that's really in line with Kousuke and Alyssa needing their image to be destroyed in order to really start to look at themselves. Meg was a hot mess lmao but I think finding herself humiliated over how she behaved at the formal was enough to make her go wow this is not who you are Meg, get back on track, and be able to step back from Yui.

(Notably, I think Kousuke and Alyssa have gotten "more out of Yui" if that makes sense? Alyssa is in active kpop group that debuted, she seems to have a lot of fans. Why would she start to step back from that? What was Meg getting? A lot of mixed signals and humiliation? Who's going to keep up with that?)

I do agree Meg will only continue to become more important, especially as she's aligning with Yujing (opposite Yui) and she's departing from Alyssa in terms of goals and values. I'm not saying she and Alyssa are forming a rift, but they are being set up opposite each other, possibly to further highlight their individual choices and what roles they take on in this "game". Unlike Alyssa, Meg is starting to realize that everything Yui does is for her own benefit and amusement and that she doesn't care who gets hurt and I think she's finding she doesn't want to be a part of that.

I think another interesting relationship I haven't given a lot of thought to yet is Shinae and Meg, as Alyssa's sister. As Meg becomes more integral and possibly involved in Nol's side of these games, does that mean we see more of Meg and Shinae? Wouldn't it be interesting to see Shinae and Meg as allies before we ever see Alyssa and Shinae reconcile?

Aaahhhhh I loved this ask and I don't know if this is a good answer because I feel like I wound up all over the place so definitely follow up more if you want to! I'm really, really glad you brought up the mirror pairs as foils because that's really important!!!! To how they develop! And if Alyssa and Kousuke as a mirrored pair will ever develop a relationship (not speaking romantically) due to their shared values and alliances. At that point will they start giving each other a better view of themselves or continue as they are?

#I Love Yoo #Alyssa Cho #Kousuke Hiarahara #Shinae Yoo #Nol #Yeonggi #Nolan Oliver T. Lochlainn #Yui Hirahara #Meg Cho #ILY Brainrot #I LOOOOOOOVE THE FOILS AND MIRRORS it remains my favorite element lmao i'm so glad you are interested in these things too!#i think there's a lot to learn about the characters via what is illuminated by their foils and what their mirror counterparts reflect #i'm also curious to see if Kousuke and Alyssa will continue as mirrors or not #I think we'll start seeing that soon in the story #GOD i cannot wait for the timeskip PLEASE PLEASE i want to see where everyone is then!!!!!!! and what choices they've been making #if we will see Shinae and Nol as a team again ;A;#if we will see Kousuke and Alyssa become more of a team #if we will see them looking deep into themselves by the timeskip or not lmao #every character's relationship to each other is so fascinating and i had the organization i would make the wildest chart ever LMAO

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a-wayne-at-heart-too · 4 years

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Ask: The 27th of April, the Last (and Long) Part

Bonus Ask:

[Stately Wayne Manor]

Jason: *helping Alfred clear out the dinner table* You think we should’ve asked Harley to stay for dinner?

Alfred: If you wished to see Master Bruce’s hair turn to grey as you ate dessert, I don’t see why not.

Jason: *burps loudly and fans his breath away* Whoops. Sorry, Alf. Just my way of complimenting your cooking.

Alfred: *carrying the dishes to the kitchen* Then perhaps you should come here more often, Master Jason.

Jason: *following Alfred* I'd rather not cause any trouble.

Alfred: *stops in his tracks and turns to face Jason with a stern expression* And you don't think it troubles me that you feel unwelcome here?

Jason: *takes the dishes from Alfred’s hands, sets them on the kitchen island, and pulls him in for a hug* Alf, hey... I didn’t mean it like that. I know you guys care about me, it’s just...

Alfred: *sobbing into Jason's shirt* We've already lost you once... Once is enough, Jason...

Jason: *tightens the hug and gently plants a kiss on top of Alfred’s head* I know, I know... I'm back, Alf. I'm back.

>>> *** <<<

Dick and Barbara: *sitting on the carpeted floor in the study, enjoying the heat from the fireplace in front of them, going through a stack of photo albums*

Dick: *smiling fondly* Wow, these are old-old.... I should probably scan them before they crumble to pieces.

Dick: *stops at a page and points at a picture of Bruce and Jason on a boat, smiling, and holding up a tuna* Check this out, Babs... Aw, I love this one. I had a few days off from work, decided to spend it here. Somehow Jason convinced Bruce to take break from himself and go fishing.

Dick: *talking animatedly* So, there we are on Bruce’s huge fishing boat, the Bat-2-Sea -- And Jason’s starting to get seasick because he’s been hanging out by the edge, waiting for a bite for hours -- The persistence on that kid! -- And he finally gets one! A big one, Babs -- *spreads his arms* -- and it was pulling down hard like you wouldn’t believe, but Jason just wouldn’t let go! -- So Bruce drops the glass of wine he’s holding and runs to grab him --

Barbara: What were you doing?

Dick: Who do you think took the picture? As I was saying -- Bruce, he -- he -- *starts to laugh so hard that he tears up* trips over Jason’s line somehow and falls into the ocean! *slapping-the-floor laughing* The World’s Greatest Detective, in his Batwaders, drenched like a wet bird... *sighs happily* You should’ve seen his face!

Barbara: *turns the page* Oh, I can see it now. Still stone-faced, but wet.

Barbara: *stops at a page and giggles* Aw... Will you look at that?

Dick: *looks at the photo Babs is pointing at and chuckles softly* That’s adorable.

Barbara: Those scaly leotards fit him better than they ever did you, Boy Wonder.

Dick: *smirks* Whatever. But I have to admit, he did look great. He looked really... happy. I wish... I wish I saw more of him in action, you know? *voice breaking* I could’ve maybe trained him the way I did Tim and Damian --

Barbara: *rubs his back comfortingly* Dick...

Jason: *walks into the study* Dickie, I took some of your --

Dick: *clears his throat and wipes his eyes haphazardly* Hey, Little Wing!

Jason: Wait, are those our old family photos?

Barbara: *pats the empty spot beside her* C'mere.

Jason: *sits down and rubs his hands together* Where’s the one where Bruce goes kersplat in the ocean?

Jason: *flips through the pages and grimaces at his photos as Robin* You're not gonna use these to blackmail me, are you?

>>> *** <<<

Duke: *watches as his RPG character explodes for the fifth time in a row and shakes his head* You beat me again! You're so good at this game, man.

Jason: *snorts and puts his controller down* Dude, you weren't even trying. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were letting me win.

Duke: What? Naaaah... That's... Come on, why would I do that?

Jason: *gets up and shrugs, grinning knowingly* I dunno... 'Cause you like seeing me alive?

Duke: Yeah. It’s pretty awesome, actually.

Jason: *offers to bump fists* I gotta pack up. Good game, though. See you around, bro.

Duke: *exploding-fist-bumps with Jason* You too, bro.

Jason: *pats Ace the Bathound’s head as he exits the game room*

>>> *** <<<

Steph: *examining Jason’s face* You look really pale.

Cass: *pointing at various spots on his face* And you have a lot of... scars.

Jason: *sitting on a stool in front of Cass’s vanity dresser, staring at himself in the mirror and absentmindedly running a finger over the shirt-covered scar on his chest* Yeah? That bad, huh?

Steph: *grins* Nothing a little makeup can’t fix.

Jason: *rubbing his chin* You think so? I mean, I just came here to borrow a few weapons from Cass, but if you think I need a makeover...

Steph and Cass: *look at each other and squeal in delight*

>>> *** <<<

Tim: And this *holding up a minuscule gadget between his fingers for Jason to see* generates a force field over your entire body. The more the impact, the greater the energy generated. Schway, huh?

Jason: *nodding his head appreciatively as he takes the gadget and sticks it on the lapel of his leather jacket* Schway.

Tim: *proudly shows Jason a Bat-shaped breastplate * Now, this -- You're gonna love this -- It can turn you invisible to the naked eye for roughly 34.5 seconds, giving you time to do all kinds of offensive or defensive stuff. They won’t know what hit them, Jay. You’re basically gonna be invincible and Joker... Joker, he’s... he’s not... not gonna... *drops the breastplate unceremoniously*

Jason: *places a hand on Tim’s shoulder* Thank you, Timbo. Really. But I'll be fine out there. You don't have to worry about me.

Tim: Yeah? Can you promise me that? Because I don’t think I can live through another one of Bruce's meltdowns.

Jason: *chuckles softly* Aren't they the best?

>>> *** <<<

Jason: *staring at an empty grave layered with concrete in the backyard*

Jason: *rolls his eyes* I know you're there.

Bruce: *comes out of the shadows and stands next to Jason*

Jason: Why'd you keep it?

Bruce: Because I'm a sentimental old fool.

Jason: This is just... creepy. Even for you.

Bruce and Jason: *stare at the empty grave in silence*

Jason: I've forgiven you.

Bruce: *glances at Jason, who could’ve sworn his adoptive father’s eyes were bloodshot*

Jason: You know that, don’t you? I mean, I know we’re always going to disagree about Jok-- about him, and a few other things, but... You’ll always be family, Bruce. My family.

Bruce: *looks at Jason, smiling wearily*

Jason: *grinning back at Bruce*

Bruce: *puts an arm around Jason’s shoulder* Thank you... Son.

Jason: *pulls Bruce in for a tight hug*

Bruce and Jason: ...

Jason: Hey, remember that time you went kersplat in the ocean?

>>> *** <<<

Damian: *knocks softly on Jason's bedroom door* Todd.

Jason: *stuffing a duffel bag with clothes, homemade snacks, and weapons* Hey, kid, come in. I’m just getting my stuff ready --

Damian: These came from Mother. *drops a pile of books on Jason’s old desk*

Jason: *picking one after the other up excitedly* Tolstoy, Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Shakespeare, Marx... No way...

Damian: They’ve been with me for a while. But since you rarely come over, they’ve been collecting dust and taking up valuable space in my room. -Tt-

Jason: *wiping the dust off with his shirt and hugging each one* She kept them... These were my friends back when I was in the League...

Damian: I didn’t realize we had more in common than just being my Father’s sons.

Jason: Wow. I have no idea how I’m supposed to bring all of these home. I mean, I got here on roller blades, for Bat’s sake --

Damian: *thrusts a piece of paper into Jason’s chest* This is for you.

Jason: *gingerly uncrumples it, revealing a painting of him and Damian*

Jason: *reading the writing in calligraphy underneath* “The Second Chance Robins”... *looks at Damian, feeling the tears well up in his eyes* You made this?

Damian: *looking down at his feet* When it’s my day... M-my d-day... Will you come over, too?

Jason: *gets down on bended knee to be at eye level with his little brother* Hey, buddy, look at me. Damian, look at me. Of course. Listen, we’ll do whatever you want. We’ll, um... We’ll take bad guys down together! Pull pranks on Tim! You name it, I got you.

Damian: Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Todd.

Jason: I promise that I’ll do my best, okay?

Damian: You could stay the night, you know. You’re home anyway.

Jason: *ruffles Damian’s hair and grins* I'd like that. As long as you hang out here with me. And I promise I won't tell anybody because it'll ruin our reputation.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

If truth be told, @wingedskyes , Jason makes himself available on his Death Day. Because even if neither he nor his family and friends mention it, he knows that they need him just as much as he needs them.

Thank you for this Ask. It was both fun and just a tad bit heartbreaking to write.

And thank you, @warrior-of-the-blue-moon , for the nice addition.

See: Part 1, Part 2

#Ask #Bruce Wayne #Richard Grayson #Jason Todd #Timothy Drake #Damian Wayne #Barbara Gordon #Stephanie Brown #Cassandra Cain #Duke Thomas #Alfred Pennyworth #Talia al Ghul #Ace the Bathound

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the-13th-battalion · 3 years

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HI HELLO WELCOME BACK!!!! This fic was originally going to be something entirely different like a different prompt and everything but INSTEAD I went with @febuwhump alternate prompt 6 "don't try to pin this on me" and this happened! I actually kinda love this one even though it's not my best writing. I hope you enjoy!!

Blame

"Anakin, wait-"

"No, I'm done talking to you!"

"Listen to me, please!"

Anakin snorted. He swept open the door to his quarters. He marched across the threshold and, with a wave of his hand, he tried to shut it in Obi-Wan's face. Obi-Wan caught it and held it until he too had entered the room.

"I have been listening to you," Anakin retorted, "I'm done listening. I'm done talking. Leave me alone!"

Obi-Wan stopped just inside the door. Confusion laced his words. "We've hardly spoken at all today."

Anakin crossed his arms. He kept his back turned to him. "I've heard enough from you anyway."

"What was there to listen to?"

Anakin whirled around. "I heard you, just now! You told Mace Windu this is all my fault!"

A wounded look passed over Obi-Wan's face. "That is not what I said."

"You might as well have."

"Mace asked me to explain how the mission went wrong, and when exactly it did. I told him my cover was blown when I, idiotically, impulsively, entered Governor Roshti's cell."

Anakin looked away. He hunched his shoulders slightly. He almost told Obi-Wan not to speak so condescendingly about himself.

"I told him," Obi-Wan continued, "that the mission was truly compromised when I was brought to the auction and the Queen had you-"

The Force darkened another shade around him. Anakin's head snapped up. He jabbed his finger at Obi-Wan. "See! There! You're accusing me!"

"I'm not-"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" Anakin stepped forward. The edges of the metal table in the center of the room curled inward with a loud crackling and crunching. "You think that whole karking mess is my fault! That's what you told Mace and probably the whole damn Council!"

Obi-Wan shook his head. He raised his hands placatingly. "No, Anakin, I-"

The windows shuddered. The table scrunched down the middle. "Don't try to pin this on me!"

"I'm not, Anakin! I-" Obi-Wan pressed his hand against his forehead. "Stop."

"Stop what? Yelling?" Anakin laughed sardonically. "You deserve this! You were looking for a chance to accuse me!"

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "Anakin..."

Anakin scowled. His fists tightened at his sides. Despite his anger, his stomach did flips at the shadows across Obi-Wan's hollow cheeks. His robe hung at least a size too large on his bony frame. He might as well be wearing one of my robes.

"Anakin, I don't blame you. No one does but yourself."

The lightbulbs in the apartment shattered all at once. The tension fled Anakin's shoulders. What...

Obi-Wan cried out as the mirror in the refresher cracked and fell on the floor with a crash. He clutched his head with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut.

Without a second thought, Anakin ran to his side. "I'm sorry, I- are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Obi-Wan winced and touched his ear. It came away bloody. "Ah, blast."

Anakin's heart leapt to his throat. "Oh kriff, did I do that?"

"It's fine. It'll stop." Despite his reassurances, Obi-Wan swayed where he stood.

Anakin grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to the couch. "Well, you're sitting down until then!" Half of the couch was covered in broken glass. Anakin eyed it as he pressed Obi-Wan into a glass-free seat. "Don't move."

He ran to the kitchenette, grabbed a towel, and returned to Obi-Wan. He sat beside him and dabbed at the blood trickling out of his ear. Obi-Wan leaned his head back, sighed, and closed his eyes.

"Are you sure this will stop?"

"Yes. Master Vokara Che said a pressure build-up might cause it to bleed again until it's fully healed, one of many reasons I'm off duty for a while."

Anakin grimaced. So this is my fault.

Anakin continued his administrations until the bleeding stopped. He bundled the towel up in a ball. He paused and stared at it. He thought of the stack of blood soaked towels they had used to clean the wounds across Obi-Wan's back alone. He thought of the thick, dried blood coating Obi-Wan's head.

Why doesn't he blame me?

Anakin swallowed thickly. "I really made a mess, didn't I?"

"Messes are a part of life, dear one."

Obi-Wan lifted his head, opened his eyes, and met Anakin's gaze. They stared, letting a thousand unspoken words pass between them. The Force calmed to a gentle swirl, encompassing them in a circle.

"I sincerely hope you believe me," Obi-Wan muttered, searching Anakin's face.

Anakin hesitated. How can he not blame me?

Because he's your best friend, your brother. You love him, and he loves you.

Anakin smiled. "Yeah, I believe you."

Obi-Wan smiled. He leaned forward and let his forehead fall on Anakin's shoulder. Anakin wrapped his arm around Obi-Wan and pressed his cheek to the top of his head.

I believe you. I'll never doubt you again.

#tadaaaaa #febuwhump2021 #it's here!!!#this is barely proofread ha #anyway #my fic #star wars fanfiction #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #zygerria arc

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laytonsartblog · 5 years

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How To Solve Everything

Little Spaces - Ch.2

Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3

Warning: This story contains violence, gun related violence, gang related violence, starvation, hypothermia, dysfunctional family themes, dysfunctional domestic themes, poverty, and homophobia/transphobia. Read with caution and at a good time for you. Take care of yourself.

Logan has a schedule he dedicates his life to.

First, to wake up at five am.

Next, is to get in the shower without a bucket. Why without a bucket? Because he's damn rich.

Y'see, when you're one of the most successful people in the country of Loríses, running a multi-billion dollar corporation on affordable apartment living and clean energy resources and steady bank loan agreements, well... you can afford some time.

That, and clean water.

Once that's all done and good, Logan likes to relax and have a nice breakfast in his humble top-apartment as he watches the news from the table.

The time didn't really matter when he woke up or finished eating because he never booked (or more accurately put, was forced to book) a meeting or council accommodation or ribbon cutting or something before eleven am.

Breakfast was his only sanctity; he made sure to have plenty of it.

With the news and breakfast over, Logan would head out to work with his classic polo and tie with a briefcase in hand, then spend about eight hours basically running around heading between business meetings and stock readings and introductory openings and apartment gatherings and- well, you get the picture.

Without a hitch, Logan'd get home at around seven-thirty pm, have some sort of dinner out with colleagues he really didn't care for, and get home to either sleep or do his favorite kind of work; charity work.

In the charity work's case?; he wouldn't get a wink of rest.

Today, Logan woke up like he would any other day, perhaps a little later than he thought he would, but that was due to his one am adoption centre charity bidding auction last night.

When he went to check his phone for any messages from his secretary for the day, he found only two from the uptight woman:

You have the day off, Mr.Corbett.

Have a nice day.

Logan looked on in confusion.

I have the day off? Why? he texted back.

His secretary immediately responded with a simple,You haven't used your vacation days at all for the past year, Mr.Corbett. If you don't use them by the end of September, you lose them. I took liberty of letting you off for the next week.

Logan was about to fight back and tell her he's coming into work anyway, but he found she's a bit faster with her hands.

You need it, Logan.

Go visit that old lady down the street, in the bookshop. Her name is Mrs.Tamry. She's my mother's sister and owns the place. She could use some company today.

Logan groaned. He wasn't moving the stubborn woman and that meant he actually had to take care of himself. Woe is he.

Logan grumpily put the phone to his bedside table before face-planting onto his bed. He groaned some more, kicking his feet and punching his hands into the pillows. Perhaps childish, yes, but Logan was never really raised to do much else than work. He didn't know what else to do.

Logan remembered the Mrs.Tamry from his secretary's messages a few minutes after his tantrum and sighed as he flipped over on the bed, rolling out of it.

After a shower he went over to his closet and picked out something a little more casual- a flannel and finer jeans -before stuffing down some toast to head to this bookowner.

Logan would admit that the bookstore part of the old woman was interesting; he's loved being read to and reading stories ever since he could recount the ABC's. It was one of the few pastimes he could be shown doing in public: his public advisor had once told him it made him look both gentle and intelligent, and the ladies would love it. Logan had just told him that he didn't care about the ladies and continued on his way to his office.

Logan finally made his way to the shop. He rolled his eyes at the name: "Book-Ends and Seller's Beggining." It was charming, if not a little corny, and Logan wasn't sure if this was really worth his time, but then he saw the little old lady through the glass sitting by her lonesome and let out a breath of air.

Dammit. Why do I have to feel so guilty?

Logan pushed his way through the tall glass doors and looked his way around, noticing the high bookshelves and neat working stations. It seemed grandma kept up with the times as Logan noticed a small table with a few charging stations attached to it, and a couple of teens doing their homework while plugging their phones in nearby. A stack of laps for rent stood on a shelf near the station.

Logan heard the old woman laugh hoarsely behind him.

"Well, now I wasn't expecting such a dashing young man in my shop so early in the morning!" Mrs.Tamry teased, still laughing. She got up from her weaved rocking chair and instead shuffled her way over to a flustered Logan. "Got some good bone structure- although the hair could use some work. A working man, hmm?"

Logan stammered at the guiding, touching hands and expert eye. "Yes ma'am, I- I am a businessman," he squeaked out.

Logan was used to just saying nothing while out in public, or worse, hosting everything and never getting a break. Having this conversation, if not an awkward one, made him sweat bullets. It was unknown territory.

"A businessman, huh?" Mrs.Tamry sang. She looked him over a few more times, noting the sweaty palms and pale face, before hollaring over to the kids in the corner, "Does this man look familiar?"

The three in the corner; a smaller, but colorful child, a tall but scraggly young fellow, and a boy with a star for his shirt all turned their heads.

The colorful kid snickered. "Nah, he looks too nervous to be any big shot I've heard of," they chided.

"Yeah, and what would he be doing here of all places if he was?" the scraggly lad questioned.

"Hey, knock it off!" the boy in the star shirt huffed. "The guy's probably super sweet and here to pick something up for his wife where they'll read fairytales to their kids and it'll be really damn cute!"

The colorful child started laughing hard; so hard, in fact, that they started tearing up. The scraggly kid did the same. The star boy just crossed his arms, looking to Logan with a much more innocent view.

Logan was sweating so profusely he was afraid he was going to faint. Mrs.Tamry just watched with a crooked smile at their imaginations.

"I am right, huh? You're just a nice guy!" the star boy asked, leaning in. The other two troublemakers got themselves together enough to lean in too, giggling.

"Yeah, tell us! Who are you?"

Logan couldn't stop himself before he even knew what his brain and mouth were going to say.

"I-I'm gay."

Well that was certainly new.

Logan realized what he said and covered his mouth with his hand, shock covering his entire face. Oh now you've done it, he roared at himself, you've told three kids and an old lady you're a disgusting pansy!

But the yelling and the chastising and the kicking-him-out-of-the-store never came. The other children looked to him in absolute glee, and the old woman just snickered.

"So what, dude? I'm like... mega gay too," the boy in the star shirt joked. He easily smiled at Logan.

Logan couldn't tell if he was being encouraged, or if he was doing the encouraging to the boy.

The other two children looked between eachother before looking to Logan. "We're non-binary. We use they/them pronouns. Could you please use them?"

Logan just barely managed a nod, his nerves in overdrive. He just outed himself and now these brave kids were coming out to him too? It was a hell of a thing to wrap around his brain. "O-Of course I will," he managed through chattering teeth.

Logan turned to the old woman last. He expected her to throw him out at first, but now he realized that she knew all this time. Now he looked to Mrs.Tamry in fear. The fact she could figure something like that out so quick was something Logan wasn't prepared to deal with, shock after shock being ran into him in the past ten minutes.

"Young man, you realize that this establishment has a 'We Accept You' sticker on the front, right?" she giggled, patting his shoulder despite him being a tree and her a stump.

Logan looked back to the glass and saw a mirrored version of that sticker on the door; clear as day.

Logan slumped his shoulders. "Oh."

Mrs.Tamry took his shoulders and guided Logan over to a seat, sitting in the one next to him with a sigh. "Ooh, that feels much better on my back."

Logan just stared at her, sweating and shaking and why had I not fought my secretary on letting me work-

Mrs.Tamry clasped a hand on top of his fussing one and smiled gently. The wild side of her had been turned down, and now something much more sweet laid itself out to the scatterbrained gay.

Logan felt himself calm down just a little.

"Now now, I've been told by my niece that her boss was coming in today to spend his day off. I'm to assume that's you, right?" she gently asked. The hand on Logan's softly rubbed it's thumb against Logan's knuckles.

Logan calmed down just a little more.

His tongue managed to unstick itself from the roof of his mouth enough to let out a small, "yes."

He didn't know why he was so freaked. Usually when he got this nervous he'd just bury it down like he had been for the past thirty something years but in this place, it felt like no matter how hard he tried, he was forced to feel everything he was feeling. Logan did not like it.

Mrs.Tamry sighed and used her other hand to tap a gentle rhythm in Logan's arm, giving him something to hold on to.

"Y'know, I didn't expect such a good man like you to be holding back so much fear. I could feel it as you stepped through that door," Mrs.Tamry commented, trying to make small talk.

Logan avoided her eyes. "Well, I haven't got much of a place to let it out."

Mrs.Tamry kept the rhythm on his arm while she hummed.

"Well that simply isn't good!" she preached. "Tell you what, if you're feeling so scared and trembling like you are now, you can always come to me, y'hear?"

Logan nodded a little. He could feel himself slowly relax, coming down from being so flustered and flabbergasted.

New places, new conversations- in which he made actual conversations instead of one-sided invites -new people, new ideas, new everything! It made his brain go into overdrive and his nerves alight. Usually he was able to handle it, bury it deep for later, but here? It seemed he couldn't stuff the feelings down.

Maybe it was Mrs.Tamry's wild but motherly approach, or the bookstore's inviting nature, or the teens he talked to earlier, but either way, Logan just sighed.

He was okay. He was safe. He was okay.

Mrs.Tamry pulled Logan up and rubbed his back while she headed him in the direction of the laptops.

"Why don't you do yourself a favor and find a game to play or- or a messaging site to talk to someone!" Mrs.Tamry then giggled cheekily. "It seems you don't have many friends, so now's a time to start!"

Logan took a seat next to the three teens with an awkward smile and a wave as he opened up the laptop. It was a little out of style, but it seemed fine enough as Logan booted it up.

"We never got your name, sir," the star boy asked politely while Logan logged in.

"Yeah! Like for example I'm Joan and that's Talyn, and he's Thomas, so now you know us!" the newly named Joan called out, tipping their beanie like a celebrity.

Talyn nodded along, playing with their colorful hair. "Homework is getting boring, we wanna know you!"

Logan turned to the three kids with a reserved smile as he signed up for a messenger site called GetAlong.

"My name is Logan Corbett."

Taglist

@amazable01 @vara-albion @sonicrainicorn @artist-of-the-moon @sparkedawg @unnipanda623 @kiibo57415 @anxious-sunflowe @thatonenerdphotographer @romanthestarstruckqueer @angels-and-dreams @midokiya @nedandn30 @chaosboitm @felicianoromano @supersoftsupersleep @icequeenoriginal

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanart #logan sanders #economic crisis au #economical dystopian #economic crisis #dystopia #dystopian #homophobia #tw homophobia

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saintgale · 7 years

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Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what materials did you use to make your Starscream cosplay? My friend and I want to do a transformers cosplay and it'll be my first time working on armor-like pieces.

Hi there! :D I don’t mind at all, thank you for asking and for your interest in the costume! He’s mostly made out of craft foam (sheets of various thicknesses depending on the part of the armor–also sometimes several pieces layered on top of each other for really thick parts or to help shape things), foam board (wings), canvas, and paper (that has been layered together and sealed). The colors are done with mostly spray paint, and the detailing/wear done with silver sharpie markers.

I wish you and your friend good luck with your Transformers costumes, I’ll also include here some tips for TF cosplay in general or things throughout the process that I learned that I think might be useful? They may or may not be relevant to your interests, but just in case! ♥I hope you both have fun! And if you have any questions about anything else or need clarification on something, please feel free to ask!

(Disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert on this, and this certainly isn’t an end-all-be-all guide or anything like that! These are just some things I had to think about in the making and wearing phases and thought would be worth sharing! They are in no particular order, under the cut~)

1) Plan in advance–this goes from everything big and small!

For example, if you want some particular part to move/be able to move with you as you walk around, you need to draft this from the beginning. If you want a particular part to be very solid and/or used as a place to anchor stuff or as a base, same thing. You’ll want to think about each part of your costume in the long run: for example: can I go up and down stairs, or will I need to use an escalator/elevator? Will I be able to see? Will I be able to sit down? How many pieces am I able to take on/off myself, or will I need assistance getting in and out of my costume? (Think: restroom breaks, eating food, drinking water, etc.) Something you really want to consider is how heavy the entire thing is going to be, and how you are going to transport it/how the pieces can be taken apart and put back together again. To carry mine, it took two large laundry bags for all the armor pieces, a grocery-kind of plastic bag for the shoes and mask (and the wings wouldn’t fit in anything and had to be carried on their own).

I spent a lot of time trying to re-proportion the character to fit my body–I would highly recommend doing this before you start working on any physical pieces, just so that you can try to match things the way you want to fit yourself! Transformers in general have humanoid body shapes, but definitely not exactly human in their proportions–ex: really small heads, exaggerated limbs and features. Some things are going to require extra work to try to scale to something that is wearable; for example, I’m 5′4″ and weigh around 104 lbs, something that presented a bigger problem was the shoulders, since they had to be built up a lot on either side to be more accurate. Starscream’s also very thin and has a much longer torso, so trying to fit the chest plate and all the pieces between there and his waist into a human shape was also a challenge.

To try to re-scale things to fit my body, I just took some pictures of myself in a mirror (front-facing, profile view, from the back), and then washed out the image a lot (you can do this by just loading the pictures into Microsoft Word or a similar software and just upping the brightness a lot and playing with the contrast, or using a photo editing software like Photoshop), printing out pictures (or using a tablet to draw directly ontop of them is fine too), and then drawing over top of them with pencil. I also made color-coded reference sheets on Photoshop for all of the armor pieces (views from each angle, etc.) as a jumping-off point, to give a starting place and rough idea.

Give yourself plenty of time to do this if you can! From start to finish, Starscream took about 6 months, all the way from the drafting stages to the finished product. It not might take you as long (I’d never done something like this before and had generally no idea how to go about it), but I wouldn’t suggest leaving anything until the last moment! (This becomes particularly important if you want to have time to try things on/get a feel for your costume.)

I would definitely recommend that if you are going to make a mask/helmet, that you make it easy to take on and off by yourself. They can get hot/stuffy really quickly, and you want to be able to breathe and to be able to get a sense of your surroundings/check up on what’s around you! Just a quick flip up of the mask or taking it partially off and having a look around can help a ton with your spacial awareness, and also if you need to take a break to catch some fresh air.

And of course, be safe and take the necessary precautions when making your costume, including but not limited to: cutting away from yourself if you’re using something like a knife to slice up materials, not breathing in fumes from paint and glue, etc. (Speaking of glue, my costume has a variety of glues depending on what was being glued together and how: hot glue gun, rubber cement, wood glue, gorilla glue were all in there somewhere. The hot glue gun was the hero of the costume hands-down–it’s strong, it has good mass and hold all on it’s own, and it dries really quickly and sets in place so you can continue working, rather than having to wait long periods of time for the glue to dry.)

2) Create a mock-up if you can.

I’d suggest this just to get an idea for how many pieces you’ll have/how it’s all going to fit together. You can just cardboard boxes and cartons and things that were going to be recycled/thrown away, even like milk/juice boxes and stuff like that (if you can find cheap rolls of parchment paper or that throw-away stuff for spreading over tables, that can work too, and is especially helpful for bendy bits/pieces that have to curve–my costume ended up using this stuff in the final version too) and made a rough draft of the armor. You don’t need to do all the details at this point, it’s just to see what goes where and how it fits and if it works or not. Some pieces may take more work or trial-and-error than others (for Starscream, the shoulder pads were really hard to try to figure out how to balance with the rest of the costume).

The sky is the limit when picking your materials! Stuff like warbla was far too expensive for me, so again my costume is mostly made up of craft foam (lots of the armor) and foam board (wings), canvas, and that throw-away paper stuff. I again recommend a mock-up before hand so that you don’t end up wasting or messing up the actual materials you’re going to be working with, especially if you have the time and resources (stuff you’re going to throw away anyway is a really good bet, it helps keep the costs down and is easy to dispose of/recycle afterwards).

3) Practice your poses.

In the long-run, you aren’t going to be able to control what angles people take your picture from and that’s fine, but it’s nice to have a few poses in mind and an idea of how to position yourself initially regardless. You’ll want to know your costume, what angles look good, what angles don’t look so good, and how to really showcase the detail and different parts. Also it’ll help you get a sense of how mobile you are, how far you can raise your arms, if you can cross them, how much you can bend your knee, if you can bend over, etc.

This is not only useful for really bringing out your character in pictures, but knowing how much room you need for photos. You don’t want to accidentally bump into someone or create a safety hazard for the people around you.

I had one primary pose that I used when stopped for pictures, and several other poses I’d practiced for my character as go-tos, including if I had to change poses or if people wanted multiple poses. Holding one pose, especially for a long period of time or over and over again, is not such a good idea (especially in heavy armor, even moreso for this one because I was also in heels)–my knee actually nearly gave out on me the first day because of the weight and strain I was putting on it. Changing up poses every so often or cycling through might be a good idea to try to avoid over-stressing certain parts of your body.

I wasn’t able to practice my poses in full costume because of spacial restraints (even having the shoulders on made my maneuvering room very tight in front of the mirror), but was still able to get a good idea of how to pose. Even if you can practice with some key pieces of your costume, it can be very beneficial for photoshoots or for that extra wow factor when posing!

4) Get a feel for your costume before-hand.

I really can’t stress this enough, especially for safety reasons! These things can be big and bulky, and it’s hard to get a grasp for your surroundings, especially if you are wearing a mask or have lots of bits and pieces sticking out from your costume or blocking your periphery vision. Know where your blind spots are, know your general range of motion for your head, your arms, legs, etc., and how much room your costume takes up. (For example, I know I am not able to see that well to either side of myself because of the mask and the shoulder pads, and cannot see about ¼ to 1/3 of the area below me, including from my chest down to my feet, when my head is held straight in my Starscream costume. If I want to look down, I have to bend over and turn my head sideways–doing this requires pitching forward, so I have to recognize that the wing tips are going to move down and forward, and that the pointy bits in the back/my elbows could very well change position when I do this. One of the reasons knowing this is really important is because sometimes, little kids would want a photo with me, and oftentimes they would stand next to me in one of, or be walking through, my blind spots, and I didn’t want to accidentally bump into them. Also if I was using an escalator or going up and down stairs!)

Try not to make any sudden movements–this is for your safety, and for the safety of those around you. Motions which would generally be okay out of costume can cover a much larger space and swing bits of the costume that other people aren’t necessarily looking out for/going to consider/might be hard to see and avoid (ex: wings, claws, doors, horns, etc.).

Blunt the edges of any of these pointy things. Even then, you still might want to cover them or make sure extra precautions are in place. For example, I put rubber caps on the ends of the elbows of my costume even after they were blunted (there are long, slender, pointy bits that stick far out from Starscream’s elbows that kind of resemble pile-bunkers). You can use the rubber ends of coat hangars, putty, hot glue, etc. to make edges and points softer. You might be able to take stuff like this (ex: rubber caps) off for photoshoots but I really value safety over any kind of aesthetic appearance, so I left them on the whole time. Check behind/around you (slowly) when you stop and start walking, are asked for pictures, and before you pose. A lot of conventions have rules about props/costumes too that involve sharp edges or anything that could potentially cut/poke someone, so if you are planning on wearing your cosplays to events like this, check the rules and guidelines so you know how to incorporate that into making things like armor.

Re: you want to know how heavy it is–if at all possible you want to spend at least a consecutive hour in your costume before the convention/wearing it for a long period of time, walk around, try to do some basic tasks, etc. I did a “trial” like this for three consecutive days before Otakon itself, wearing the costume for about an hour each time, and walking around outside in the summer. Having on something heavy/restricting your movement or ability to walk, see, etc., may be fine for a little while, but you will want to know how it affects you and what it feels like for a long period of time. Other things to consider–are you going to be in stilts, heels, or any other sort of non-typical footwear? (I already have experience being in heels all day, am comfortable walking/standing in them, etc., but if there is any aspect of your costume similar to this, you are going to want to practice.) Are you wearing gloves/finger extensions? (Can you pick things up and hold them such as a convention badge, can you write with a pen or pencil, can you pull/push open or hold open doors? Remember to be aware of these extensions especially when pointing, waving, etc., you don’t want to poke someone in the face by accident!)

5) If possible, travel with a handler.

This person can not only help you in and out of costume, but will be invaluable for helping you get around! Your handler can guide you from place to place and give you a heads-up if you are about to collide with an obstacle or person! Even if you have practiced walking around in your costume and have a good sense of spacial awareness, you can’t control what other people around you are going to do. I had several cases where someone would try to short-cut behind me or dash really quickly by, probably way too close for comfort (conventions can be packed spaces!). Sometimes, I caught them out of the corner of my eye and could freeze/move out of their way, but sometimes I couldn’t see them coming at all, and my handler could tell me to move, and where to move to.

For this reason, among others, I recommend having callouts (or signals) with your handler. Things like “clear,” and “freeze” are quick and easy to say/hear, or if you need to, you can coordinate hand signals or something of the like for the both of you. (Just be careful if you have your own signals that you aren’t going to accidentally stab/run into someone).

Again, you want to be wary of your surroundings and the people around you. If you have large pieces sticking up on your back, out the side, etc, or any sharp/pointy bits, you need to be careful about where you are, and who and what is around you. Move slowly, give yourself space away from objects and people when at all possible, and if someone stops you for a photo at a convention or something, move out of the way of traffic/getting in the way of others. You may want to practice or have a brief discussion with your handler about how to approach situations like this, and how you are going to get around.

Be honest with yourself and with your handler about how you are feeling! If you need to take a break, if you need water or a few minutes to cool down, if you need to remove part of the costume, etc. Walking around when your skin isn’t able to breathe and your body is under stress is not a good idea.

6) Keep yourself hydrated, cool, and safe!

I also really want to stress this one for safety reasons. I got pretty hot in mine pretty fast, and the time frame shortens if walking around and the temperature/humidity is high. To prevent yourself from overheating, take breaks and allow your body to rest and cool down. There’s no shame in taking off a mask (especially if you have trouble breathing) or parts of the costume (even the whole thing, if you need to–I had to do this at various stages throughout the convention).

I would highly recommend bringing one of those portable battery-powered fans (with the soft, non-hazardous blades–you can get them for pretty cheap), especially if you are wearing a mask/helmet/something that’s covering your head. I’ve upgraded my mask so that there is a small cooling fan on the inside (I did not have this initially), which will help with keeping my face/head comfortable and with fogging up of the mask/stop it from getting too sweaty and gross.

A very nice individual I met at the convention suggested to me that investing in a zentai suit to wear underneath your costume rather than regular clothing (I was wearing leggings and a long-sleeve shirt) can help tremendously with the overheating problem, and that the suits help to pull the sweat off your body. I haven’t tried this myself yet but I feel it’s an important piece of advice to include!

#artstalia #dratz replies #shut up dratz #long post //#dratz cosplay

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bartsugsy · 7 years

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can i add my voice to the people wanting to know what the bartsugsy theory is... I have my own theory which involves vic volunteering to raise the baby so it'll be interesting to hear what other people are thinking

Ok. Ok. I’m gonna write this bc Lena @stolemyhheart keeps taking the piss out of me for having written more Rebecca meta since Thursday than Robron meta lmao.

It’s not so much a theory as it is an observation (gotta love the Drought). This really was all constructed entirely with @itwasjustmisplaced and so is at least 50% hers too.

(Although it does delve into theorising too bc why not, at this point)

This also ties very closely into the idea that all of the stories that started with SSW are starting to come to a close - because that’s where this started.

“This” being - for this entire robron storyline - both Robert planning to propose and Rebecca’s interference.

But beyond that, and where this theory comes into play - Adam and Victoria have been consistently involved in the story, on the fringes of the action, even in the ways that don’t make sense, whilst at the exact same time ultimately having a very similar story of their own play out.

Which, to me, is suspicious.

And it started with SSW.

A pre-warning: this is so Extra that I feel like I should be embarrassed about it but whatever, I’m gonna live up to my URL and my love of reading too deeply into things so just… humour me, I guess.

Here we go:

The Bartsugsy Theory

The general gist of the Bartsugsy Theory is that Adam and Vic have been not just involved in Robert and Aaron’s storylines, while also having their own very similar storyline running parallel and will soon be on the sideline of a storyline that directly parallels a past Vadam storyline (the Johnny/Vanessa baby daddy swap). The ultimate purpose is to say that there are too many similarities in play for this not to be purposeful on some level and as such, potentially leading somewhere in-plot.

There’s a lot of different threads to this, so let’s take it one at a time.

1. Vadam currently have a storyline that directly mirrors Robron’s storyline

Now, we know that robron often have storylines that are basically vadam storylines amped up to 12 (like the wedding and impending trial, for instance), but never have we seen them run simultaneously.

Upon examination, it’s like looking at the robron storyline through a funhouse mirror - it involves babies, break ups, drunk cheating with an ex, miscommunication from the start.

Victoria wants a baby and Adam gets slowly, sort of reluctantly on board. Adam finds out he can’t have kids and flips out. He and Vic try to work through it and really struggle with the idea. Adam and Vic sort of break up, get back together again and then break up again, and then Adam gets drunk and kisses an also drunk Vanessa, who he has cheated on Vic before with. She looks horrified and he immediately backs off and apologises. Adam literally sort of just loses the plot a bit, Vic finds out despite Adam’s efforts to keep it secret and she breaks up with him.

Aaron is in jail and Robert is finding it hard (and doesn’t realise that Aaron is finding it harder). Aaron develops a two week spice addiction, Robert is unable to see him for 24 hours and then when he finally does, sees a person who is not Aaron his husband. Robert flips out, gets drunk, tries to destroy their future home by trashing the mill and then tries to destroy their future by sleeping with Rebecca, who may or may not also be drunk we just don’t know. Rebecca gets pregnant and Robert tries to keep it quiet, and then when he eventually succeeds, tells Aaron anyway because he feels guilty, because character development (for another post this is gonna be long enough as it is) and they stay together.

There are a lot of similarities, and that has helped the robron plot move along in numerous ways.

Which brings us to:

2. Adam and Victoria have been on the fringes of this Robron plot since it started with SSW.

Because it’s not just that we have these two storylines running concurrently, which in and of itself is weird but not cause for actual suspicion, it’s that they’re also so entertwined - and only in one direction.

So, we start at the beginning. This story started with Rebecca -

(Well, no, technically it started with Andy, but we don’t have all day and he’s largely irrelevant to the story at this point - the biggest catalyst for most of the things that have happened in this storyline, outside of the proposal and wedding, is Rebecca)

Robert wanted revenge on Chrissie, so he called in secret weapon Rebecca White. A super solid Robert Sugden plan, I think we can all agree. He’s so great at plans. What a Star Planner.

Rebecca arrives at the village in her plotcopter on 11th October and her arrival starts the set up of a number of things - mainly, the fact that she and Robert used to be in a relationship and clearly still wants to be, the fact that she is easily manipulated by Robert, the Lachlan/SSW stuff and the fact that Robert is being… somewhat open with Aaron about why Rebecca is in town, but isn’t disclosing the fact that he got her there and is keeping her around by flirting heavily with her and playing with her apparently still present feelings for him.

Two days later, on the 13th, its Holly’s funeral. A few notable things happen here - Aaron and Rebecca meet for the first time and Rebecca sees Aaron and Robert together for the first time. Robert becomes markedly less kind to Rebecca where Aaron is involved.

This also happens to be the episode with the first ever Bartsugsy scene - a scene that literally sets up SSW and Robert’s plan to propose to Aaron.

Skipping ahead just a few days (although Vic is still very much involved as Robert’s one confidante as he plans to propose) - during SSW we have Vic and Adam coming to the aid of Robert and Aaron (because Vic had wanted to help Doug look for Ashley). It’s immense, it’s the most epic bartsugsy stuff in existence (not that there’s much competition smh) and it continues into the hospital scenes throughout the week and then in the Monday aftermath episode.

So… all this to say, Victoria and Adam were embroiled in Robert and Aaron’s storyline at the same time as Rebecca came along. Quite literally at the start of the storyline.

Rebecca’s function in the storyline? A catalyst for Lachlan to try to take his revenge on Robert, leading to the kidnapping plot, and tying in the continuing plot of the Sugdens vs The Whites.

Let’s flash forward some time, to the past few months, where this storyline obviously took a turn into what it’s become now. During this time, through November and December, as things are being set up, Robert and Aaron are having difficulties with Rebecca and jealousy and Robert’s manipulations of her and Adam and Victoria decide that they want to start trying for a baby.

I’ve said this before, but I’ve been sort of looking at this current leg of the story as being pillared by two arguments - the January argument just before they were about to get married and the reveal argument, with the midway turning point being the Incident.

Here are some ways in which Adam and Vic continue to be present throughout the story:

In the january argument, Victoria is the one who interupts, who tries to talk both Aaron and Robert down and who ultimately sees Aaron beating up Kasim.

We have more bartsugsy scenes during the wedding and as Aaron goes off to prison and then, in our first instance of one of Vadam being a part of Robron’s story even when it doesn’t make sense, Adam gets roped into doing up the Mill. Adam, who is running the Scrapyard by himself (yes ok with the help of Robert, but he also has Liv and his own business and an impending breakdown to deal with) while Aaron is away, still finds time to help Ronnie refurb a whole house.

And why? What does it do, beyond put Adam in Robert’s orbit? It allows Adam and Ronnie to bond but they could have done that anyway. It makes no sense, why Adam would be given this particular role.

What it does mean is that, on the night of the incident, Adam is there to witness Robert have his meltdown and report back to Victoria, in hearing range of Rebecca (presumably as a way to make her ditch Ross as soon as she can, to go take care of him, because she’s still in love with him.)

In the second instance of Vadam being where they don’t belong, we have Victoria’s sudden friendship with Rebecca, which is only just now coming to a head, now that she knows about the baby being Robert’s. She has acted as Rebecca’s emotional mouthpiece, the one person who was championing Rebecca keeping the baby - likely coming from a place of suddenly not about to have her own. Given how supportive Chrissie has been, she could have played that role and it would have made far more sense - but instead, we have Victoira. Suddenly Rebecca’s best friend.

And agian, for what purpose? Because character-wise, it makes no sense? I think we really have yet to see how Vic might be used in this plot, but she’s very much present.

Even in the reveal ep, we get Vic and Adam helping Robert and Aaron move in, entirely seperately now that they’ve split. We have Aaron using Vic’s current situation to make an unknowing slight at Robert and make things harder for Robert. Then later we have Robert relying on both Adam and Victoria to look out for Aaron.

Vic and Adam see first hand the toll that Aaron being in prison takes on Robert, we have them playing a much more active role in keeping him calm than Chas does, for instance, or Diane (who is absent almost entirely). Since Aaron’s been out, we’ve had numerous sweet scenes of Aaron and Victoria talking - the two wronged spouses, in a way (although both contributed to the problems in their marraige as well, I’d argue)

They are everywhere, all over this story. On the flip side, Robert and Aaron have barely even dipped their toes into Vadam’s story, despite there being opportunity and reason.

Now, again, none of this is particularly unusual - Vic and Adam are typically individually Robert and Aaron’s go-to confidantes. It doesn’t tend to happen all that regularly though - and Vic and Adam are linked to the story through the Whites (or Ronnie, in Adam’s case) as much as they are Aaron and Robert.

Taking into consideration the big similarities between this story and Vic and Adam’s current story and just how closely everything is entertwined and has been since the start makes me think it was absolutely deliberate, though.

Which brings us to the final point:

3. Robert and Aaron are reliving Victoria and Adam’s past and no one has said anything

So, I’ve saidbefore that Aaron and Robert tend to live through stories that Vic and Adamhave already dealt with (and usually in ways that carry more narrativeweight).

This though? Thissort of takes the cake.

A refresher on theJohnny storyline, for those who may not remember:

Adam and Vic argue(about their engagement, I believe), they sort of break up don’t break up but vic does break off their engagement (ah fact checking), Adam bangs Vanessa,VIctoria and Adam get back together immediately afterwards and Vanessa fallspregnant. Vanessa also happened to be sleeping with Kirin at the same time andso did not know who the father of her baby was. Victoria finds out about theone night stand during hers and Adam’s housewarming party, which takes place onthe day they move in together. It seems as though it’s Adam’s and Victoriaultimately decides to support Adam in becoming a father to baby Johnny untilultimately, they discover that the baby was in fact Kirin’s all along.

This storyline?

Robert and Aaronargued, they sort of but defintiely don’t break up, Robert bangs Rebecca,Robert and Aaron make up immediately afterwards and Rebecca falls pregnant.Rebecca also happens to be sleeping with Ross at the same time but apparentlyknows exactly who the father is. Aaron finds out when Robert tells him, Roberthaving cancelled their housewarming party, on the day they move in together.Aaron is, according to spoilers, going to try and support the idea of Robertbecoming a father to this baby.

Now…. if nothingelse, even if you don’t think the level of involvement Adam and Victoriacurrently have in this storyline is unusual, or the fact that Vadam’s fertilityissues have almost provided the backdrop to it - this, it’s pretty damn clear,is intentional.

The thing that really gives this credence, for me, is the housewarmingparty. For Aaron and Robert, that plot point is entirely unnecessary. Theydecide to plan a party a few days after they come home from a 5 week trip, onthe day they’re due to move into their house, when they don’t seem to evenstart either packing their things or planning their party until the day before.The party is cancelled so that Robert can come clean – and it feels like adirect shout out to what Adam should have done and the fact that these twostorylines are incredibly similar.

Saying this, the one difference – the thing that I’ve convenientlyskipped over so far?

The Johnny story revolves around a DNA test. Adam thinks he’s Johnny’sdad because Kirin’s dad Rakesh changes the DNA test results to make it so (ashe doesn’t want his teenage son to have to take responsibility of an infant).

In this story? One of the biggest complaints is that the show made adirect and very clear point to say that Rebecca and Ross slept together on the dayseither side of the Incident

(and probably more than that? They’re two young adults with no ties, whyshouldn’t they be spending their time boning – but canon very clearly statesthey banged at least those two times)

But that Rebecca seemed to just know that the baby was Robert’s – and everysingle person has believed her so far.

But of course, you know Vic and Adam have been going through their ownfertility story – as a consequence, both of them have brought up Johnny andAdam’s feelings towards him on multiple occasions. That story relates closelyto their current story, as we now know that Adam couldn’t have fathered Johnnyat all.

Adam and Vic, who are very much engrained in Robert and Aaron’s story,one of whom are always there during the big moments.

Adam and Vic, who are now going to know about the situation.

You see, my instinct is that all that needs to happen to get Robert toask for a DNA test is for either Adam or Vic to talk about it – and why wouldn’tthey? Why wouldn’t this be their first concern??? It literally only happened tothem last year.

Victoria, who is now about to have pointed issues with Rebecca for lying.

And Adam, who we know is going to be sharing scenes with Robert andAaron going forward, who, it’s hinted, might crash at the Mill for a bit whilehe has nowhere else to go.

I’m not saying that it’s not true,that Robert isn’t the Dad. I’m just saying that it’s suspicious that this isthe one big detail from Adam’s storyline that is absent and glaringly,incredibly so. I mean, I just can’t understand why we’ve never seen any medicalprofessionals in this story, why every piece of information we know about thepregnancy is straight from Rebecca’s mouth. It doesn’t make sense and it makesit feel unreliable.

And I don’t know how they could have this storyline continue and not haveeither Victoria or Adam talk about their experiences with Johnny – where theycouldn’t trust the DNA test but ultimately it came through.

It’s suspicious to me, as many things in this storyline are.

I feel like Vadam going through a similar situation, having the abilityto very closely emphasise with Robron in a number of ways, gives me hope thatthe four of them will help fix one another, that they can play sounding boardin ways that make sense, that they can bond over the similarities of thesituations they find themselves in.

And that ultimately, Victoria and Adam can use their experiences toshape the future of this storyline. Because honestly, why else would they be socontinually involved?

#this is almost 3000 words long and i've actively restrained myself #this isn't even all of it #anyway enjoy my slow descent into literal madness #bartsugsy #emmerdale meta #ed #answering anons

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