#but we shall see if episode six changes my mind
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"2012 Mikey is Abused" and other constant complaints that, quite frankly, don't make sense
Since one Reddit user (who shall remain anonymous) inadvertently made me type out an essay I intended to write and post in a more coherent manner at a later date, I will be using their comment and my response.
Anyways, the comment itself starts off fairly normal and agreeable:
But then I see the next three points and my sleep-deprived mind just goes off the rails, so let's start with the second point:
Let me preface this by saying I absolutely do not condone the writing here because everyone under the sun will agree that we could've easily had the "Karai is our sister!?" plot twist without Leo and Karai briefly developing feelings for each other.
The problem is that this brief development of feelings is wildly blown out of proportion by the fandom, so much so that it makes it seem as though Leo and Karai actually had anything legitimate going on between them.
The "incest-eqsue garbage" between Leo and Karai is almost nonexistent outside of the writing room. They openly crush on each other for a whopping six episodes by way of verbally teasing each other and being at odds before Karai tells Leo that she's the Shredder's daughter. That's it. He is not pursuing her after that (hardly ever did, not even to the extent that Donnie pursues April) and Karai isn't remotely fond of him anymore after he broke their deal. Then, after we find out alongside Splinter that she's actually his daughter, he tells Leo towards the end of Follow the Leader. We don't get a reaction, actually nothing on Leo's side since the Foot Clan is mostly absent with April being the main point of conflict, even in Target: April O'Neil because April's forgiveness of the turtles is the main focus.
Leo eventually attempts to tell Karai the truth in Wormquake! and The Manhattan Project and she obviously doesn't believe the poor guy, she just wants to kill the turtles and Splinter at this point. Leo doesn't tell her because "he still likes her", but because, in his own words, it would change everything. She deserves to know the truth and Splinter shouldn't have his own daughter cursing him at every waking moment. When she tricks the gang into bringing her to the lair under the guise of her finally accepting the truth, Leo is ecstatic and his first thought is for her and Splinter to make amends. He's upset that Raph still can't fully trust her in the end when she fought alongside them (who can blame Raph though, he's cradling an unconscious brother after a plan gone awry), and that's the end of that.
They dedicate two episodes to the guys attempting to rescue her because Leo has enough brain cells to worry about what the Shredder could be doing with her, and Raph makes a jab at Leo on one instance when they find her (there is absolutely no romantic undertone, Raph just picks at his old crush on her and their tendency to tease each other at the worst times). Then, when she wants to get back at the Shredder for ripping her away from a life she never knew was her's, Leo attempts to aid her because he knows it isn't wise to face someone like that alone, especially with his henchmen there.
There's one last self-aware jab at their past feelings in S5, of which Karai awkwardly remembers and forgoes mentioning, and that's the last you see or hear of that.
As much as I dislike it, I'd take this narrative over the Donnie-April-Casey hurricane any day.
It seems that 2012 Mikey's mere existence is a sore spot for fans because Jesus Christ this gets brought up way too much.
Mikey is not written as a complete idiot, he's written as someone who doesn't see a reason to take everything so seriously, has odd habits, and doesn't always think things through, yet is shown to be highly capable and intelligent when the situation calls for it. Yes the writers left much to be desired at times, but to say they wrote him to be a "complete idiot" and left it at that is just offensive. I'll ignore all the miraculous things Mikey can do with Kraang stuff and Dimension X and focus on what other things he's shown to be capable of.
Mikey was a temporary learning model for Donnie in how to fight without thinking, or in better terms, how to fight instinctually without becoming bogged down by your own mind. Splinter's lesson is shown in a comedic manner, but that's ultimately what helped Donnie defeat Falco.
Another interesting thing is his ability to keep his composure when no one else around him can do so. I mentioned this briefly in another post, but it really stands out to me how he put Leo at the top of his priority list in Invasion Part 2. He's as worried for Splinter as Raph and Donnie are, but they have with them a crippled and unconcious Leo who needs medical attention asap, compared to martial arts master Splinter who's older and wiser than the three of them combined at times. Even when they eventually find Splinter and lose him, he keeps the gang in line by reminding them, as well as himself, that Splinter can take care of himself.
Along with that is when Splinter was kidnapped in The Manhattan Project. Mikey was quick to intervene when Raph was angry with Leo for allowing Tiger Claw to coax him into calling Splinter, and he reminded the two of the problem at hand: they have Splinter, let's go find him and take him back. There are so many other moments when he becomes the levelheaded one in response to the chaos or disorder surrounding him.
Mikey is a highly skilled fighter, he's emotionally intelligent, he remembers the weirdest things that eventually aid the team, he's street smart, he's a fast learner (ex: Bradford's secret kata, as well as the temporary use of the plasma katana in Target: April O'Neil), he's great at distracting enemies without needing to become bait, he gets insecure about things, he has photographic memory, he's the most outgoing of his brothers and therefore ends up with the most friends, he's quick to adapt to a situation and think of a plan, he can throw together seemingly random ingredients to create exactly what Donnie would struggle to create, he knew exactly what to do to find Casey after his run-in with Tiger Claw, the list goes on.
Heck, just to add to this, Mikey is the one who saves the day in three separate stories in S5. 1) His temporary electric powers save the world from Dregg and the Newtralizer, 2) he convinced Frankenstein's monster to join their side, retrieved the scepter from Savanti and Dracula (he accidentally broke the scepter while he was at it, but that helped) and cured Raph and Donnie of their vampirism, and 3) he was the one who repaired Kavaxas' seal and made him reopen the portal to the Netherworld so the dead could return.
The brothers don't always take him as seriously as they should or listen to him, and that's understandable at times, but when they do, they're reminded of the fact that Mikey, in his own way, is intelligent.
If I had a dime for every comment I've seen about this, I'd be rich enough to buy the TMNT series from Viacom and right every wrong they made with the 2012 series.
These abuse allegations are as bad as people putting Markiplier in the same tweet as problematic Youtubers and saying something wild like, "these content creators should've been cancelled a long time ago." I feel like people who say the brothers abuse Mikey are either an only child or genuinely have a warped sense for what actually counts as abuse, and I'm not even trying to be mean, those are just my thoughts. I shouldn't even have to comment on this, but the fact that people are still seriously believing that to this day is shocking.
Would you also like to say that Raph was abused in Turtle Temper when Splinter had the boys ceaselessly taunt him in that little exercise? Or that the boys abused Raph everytime they downplayed his anger? Or that Raph abused Donnie by threatening to hit him if he didn't find Snakeweed's hideout? Or that Leo abused Donnie everytime he stressed him out by rushing him for answers? Or that Donnie abused Mikey because Mikey flinched 2cm to the right when Donnie raised his hand to playfully knock at his noggin? Or that Leo was abused by the team because they took forever to view him as their leader? Or that Splinter abused the boys because he was "too rough" on them during training?? Or that April abused Donnie because she "constantly led him on"? Or that Xever and Bradford abused Baxter???
I'm losing my mind over here
Mikey is never physically or emotionally abused by his brothers, the show speaks for itself. But if you somehow aren't listening, go look up a textbook example of abuse, or better yet, look at Karai.
Abuse is the Shredder locking Karai in a dungeon when she tries to escape to her real family and going so far to become a peak manipulator by saying Karai was hurting him by making him lock her away. Worse than that, he starts brainwashing her with mind controlling worms so she has no choice but to obey him. Even before then, he's lowkey uncaring of her wellbeing: he treats her like any other soldier of his and doesn't listen to her when she tries to tell him something. He doesn't address her concerns about the Foot bots nearly finishing her off, instead telling her, "disobedience comes with a stiff penalty, especially for my daughter," when she objects to him telling her not to take action against the turtles while he's gone.
He only ever pays her any attention or gives her praise when it benefits him and his vendetta against Splinter.
Splinter and the turtles are the farthest thing from the image of a family filled with abusers. Raph openly apologizes to Mikey when Splinter tells him to stop picking at him in Shellacne, Raph comforts Donnie when the brainiac is somber after forcing Timothy into the equivalent of a cold sleep, Raph apologizes when his anger gets the better of him and he hits Leo harder than intended, Donnie apologizes when he realizes he shouldn't insult Raph when the guy is visibly upset, Leo regrets doubting Donnie about Metalhead, etc., etc.
Even beyond apologies, Raph is the quickest to entertain Mikey and vice versa during a mundane moment, Donnie never kicks Mikey out of the lab, Leo plays around with Mikey when the situation doesn't call for him to be their fearless leader, and Splinter is quick to advise Mikey during Karai's Vendetta and Shellacne. There are even times when the guys just go along with Mikey's antics because there's no harm in doing so, and often times Mikey needs a moment to be silly.
If you think play fighting, teasing, or getting a little physical with a sibling is the equivalent of abuse, particularly in the context of TMNT of all things, you need to do some re-evaluation.
#analysis#tmnt#teenage mutant ninja turtles#tmnt 2012#tmnt 2k12#tmnt michelangelo#tmnt leonardo#tmnt donatello#tmnt raphael#tmnt splinter#tmnt karai#2012 mikey#2012 leo#2012 donnie#2012 raph#2012 splinter#2012 karai#tmnt mikey#tmnt leo#tmnt donnie#tmnt raph#hamato yoshi
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Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 49
Full five hour episode? Whoooo ... that's not, like, foreboding or anything ...
Is Sam ragging on Tiltok now? Hmmm ... SOACE THUMBS!!! XD Ad genres? Oh ... Australian Batman ... oof ... Ray Ray? Okay ... that was ... BAD ...
Marisha: "Aw shit, YouTube, FUCK!!! We're gonna get demonetized!"
Yay Micaaaaaah! Love a good shout-out, especially for such an awesome lady! :3
Okay ... so what's that weird shit in the sky? Are we in trouble ALREADY?!!
The edge? The edge of what? Oh ... SAM!!! COME ON!!! EXANDRIA IS NOT FLAT!!!
Right, so is this like some kind of tropical Northern Lights kind of thing?
Matt: "Make an Arcana Check." Laura: "Oh yeah, I got really good Arcana." (Rolls) "3." XD
Spark up? Laura: "Yeah! Explode the ship!"
Wait ... did Ashton just open up a tiny Black Hole over his own head?
So what DOES Apogee mean? Laura: "We're so smart. We're all just so smart."
Laudna: "It's like a big fatty Solstice."
Oh yes, allies ... good point. Who's left?
Laudna still has Justi's big bag of drugs. Hmmm ... whoa, Ira? Really? You're sure about that?
Laudna and Fearne blanking on Percy and Vex's full names and titles are so funny to me ... XD
DORIAN!!! YES!!! GET DORIAN!!!
FCG just really wants to Mad Max this shit, doesn't he? It's kind of adorable.
The Nobodys. Hmmm ...
Sam: "Keep in mind, Matt has to change voices for each Sending." Matt: "Oh, I'm prepared."
Fearne: "You're gonna die anyway, so wouldn't you prefer dying doing the right thing?"
Chetney: "I think we should be making a list, and, y'know, checking it twice ..." Ashton: "Yeah, that was NOT OKAY."
FCG offers himself up as a suicide bomber. "MAYBE there's some way we could sort of ... reconstruct me? After the fact?" Yeah NO.
Can they get in contact with Imogen's mum? Is that a play?
Imogen tries to SENSE if there's anything out there right now ... it's a BUZZ? Static and white noise? Intriguing ...
Okay, contact Ira first then ... ho boy ...
Marisha and her REAMS of notes ... if ANYBODY can remember what Ira's all about it's HER.
Laudna (about Imogen's message to Ira): "That was so hot." XD
Okay. Sounds like Ira's not just on board but actually RARING TO GO ... okay ...
SIX DAYS?!!! OOF ...
Chetney's stank ... hmmmm ...
Inviting Ira on board the Silver Sun ... all righty then ...
Matt: "I can make a meteor storm any time, Liam. Mysterious cataracts suddenly coming on ..." Yeah, still no patience for the Flat Earth jokes ...
Capture a monster baby? Really?
Laudna: "Imogen, you're basically suggesting we fly in a baby and use I like an Etch-A-Sketch?"
Arcane cores as makeshift bombs? Hmmm ...
Chetney: "I think I might have an idea that doesn't involve anybody ... exploding." Marisha collapses into giggles.
Travis switches back to Chetney voice: "Every once in a while I just get my youth back."
FCG's really cryptic request for a bomb to Joe is PERFECT. XD Oh yeah! That's perfect, send the Calloways to pick the bomb up.
FEARNE tries to sense if they're being followed ... while Marisha just inexplicably has an inadvertent outburst! XD
Can Milo get the Nobodys together? We shall see ... depends if they can make it to Bassuras in 6 days. And Milo just thinks FCG is clowning.
Okay, this plan is devolving into chaos ... and Ashley's mad jumbled notes are a hilarity all their own. XD
Contacting Ebenold Kai ... Imogen checks in yo see zbout the Shadowfell job and tells him about Ryn being petrified ...
Oh shit ... they're STUCK IN RYN'S FIRE PLANE HIDEOUT NOW?!!! FUCK!!! We never even THOUGHT about that ...
Chetney suggests just CRASHING THE SKYSHIP INTO THE KEY ... oh boy ... like that flaming zeppelin bit at the end of Atlantis: the Lost Empire? REALLY?!!!
Oh wow ... they're putting actual serious THOUGHT into this plan ... ye gods ...
"Ryn and Imogen" becoming some kind of fast high pitched tongue twister ... XD
But yeah, that's right, they SERIOUSLY need to get Ryn out of there ...
CAN Imogen's mother be TRUSTED right now? Is she an actual ALLY? This really needs to be addressed ...
They're trying to work out who to message for the final slot ... and Matt asks them to roll a D20 for their first day if travel! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Travis saves the day ...
Orym messages Dorian ... "Opal's getting a little dark." WHAT?!!!
Matt: "There are NOT enough chairs at this table, Ashley!" Are you SURE about that Matthew? REALLY sure? Hmmm?
Imogen decides to try contacting her mother while she's dreaming, hoping maybe it'll work better. Hmmmm ...
FCG wants to bring Fearne and Orym along "because they haven't been yet". Oh, so that's like an actual QUALIFICATION right now, Sam?
Orym (to Imogen): "Hey, if I had a daughter like you some day, I'd be real proud." Awwwwww ...
AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! IT'S ALL RED AGAIN!!! THIS LIGHTING'S ALWAYS SO SCARY!!!
Whoa! There she is! It worked!
Wait ... so ... what ... is she actually ON BOARD with this potential nightmare? SERIOUSLY?!!! What the fuck?
Holy fuck ... is she trying to brainwash her own daughter right now?
No, no ... no, Imogen PLEASE don't start thinking about going down THAT path right now. That is NOT the way!
"All the burdens being pulled away ..." Hmmm ...
Imogen: "That thing up there's just a God Eater, it just wants to EAT. That's all." Yeah ...
FCG starts to worry about the coin flipping as they start questioning if their god is actually on the level ...
As usual Ashton and Orym are the two making the most sense right now.
Oh ... so the colours in the sky are PULSES along the lay lines leading to the Solstice? Wow ... that is SO AWESOME ...
Laudna gets sozzled with Ashton. :3 "Who are you, Ashton?" "I am ... a blank slate." "I was aline in the woids for 30 years. I made a dead rat my best friend so I wouldn't go fucking mad." Wow ... this conversation is getting unusually intense ... Laudna's right, our boy needs to lighten up ...
Oof ... Ashton backstory is HARROWING ... Taliesin really does love playing poor broken boys, doesn't he? To be honest I wouldn't really have it any other way ...
Oh gods ... "Sam's gas cam" ... sweet fuck ...
Ashton: "I need to stop FCG from ..." Laudna: "Exploding themselves?" Ashton: "Not just themselves, exploding EVERYBODY."
Fearne and Orym discussing what if Imogen goes to the Dark Side ... ouch ... Fearne: "We just gotta watch our girl." Yeah ... what IS "the Thing"? Orym: "The good news is that Imogen's only 5% of our problems right now." Yeesh ...
Bedtime then ... Matt: "And that's where we're gonna take our break!"
I'm sorry, Sam's ringtone still makes me pee myself laughing every time I hear it ... XD
Matt: "And welcome back." No chaos this time ... what happened, guys?
According to FCG, the coin flips didn't work because he was asking about the Changebringer herself. "Gods are mysterious!" Yes Letters. OF COURSE that's it ...
"Was she? Was she? She was." Um ... yes?
FCG sends to Pike ... here we go ... "Robo-buddy?" XD Yeah ... Matt: "You get the sense she's ... PROCESSING ..."
Chetney wants Laudna to Spiderclimb under the ship to paint the keel WHITE ... interesting ... then Matt asks how much paint they actually HAVE. Ah ... yeah ... not that much, actually ... nuts ...
Imogen Sends to Hexum ... "Drop my name on Yunis." Um ... okay?
Bomb. Arcane bomb. "Barcane?"
Chetney: "Everybody's got stacks! I've just got MORE! Don't be jelly!" Laudna: "He's overcompensating."
Ashton tries to wTch Xandis so he can learn how to drive the ship. Matt: "Roll perception." Taliesin: "Oh lord." Instead Xandis just decides to teach them how to pilot since it is technically THEIR ship ...
Imogen messages Morri ... oof ... so she's HURT after that fight? Okay ... so maybe, maybe not. Hmmm ... but she MIGHT be able to help cure Run after ...
FCG messages Dancer, just tells her to get somewhere safe on the Solstice. Awwww ...
Now he reaches out to D, even though they wouldn't technically know WHO this actually is ... Worth it to fjnd out more about himself and if there are more like him ... whoa, he gets AN ANSWER BSCK ... and THERE ARE more like hom out there? REALLY?!!! Awesome ...
Travis: "is your meat tongue rigid?" Sam: "It's engorged." Oh boy .. cue Matt's exasperation and additional smutty humour. Liam: "Hi 20 year-old Ronin!" XD
Oh shit ... a crap roll for the new day! And now there's A FUCKING DUST STORM HEADING RIGHT FOR THEM!!! HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!!!
Xzndis tries to fight the wind to keep from losing folk and one of the masts starts to go! SHIT!!! Ashton saves the day by just ANCHORING the masts with hid Genasi rockiness, while Laudna tries to repair it ... and then it's GONE!!! Nuts!
2 hours later and the storm is gone ... but they've lost a day! Shit!
Ashton is WAY too contrite in his sobriety ... and Laudna sees RIGHT THROUGH HIM. She calls him a softy. :3
Wow, the night sky is now GORGEOUS. Really.
Yes, still need to contact the Calloways.
Orym messages Dorian again. Things are TENSE back there ... oof ... the Opal sitch is just getting WORSE ...
The Calloways are getting ready. At least THAT'S working out all right ...
Oh thank the gods ... much better roll this time ...
Aha! Bassuras! Imogen: "Were we chased out of town last time?" NOW you ask?
Whoa ... and now they're being SHOT AT!!! Run to the Calloway Hideaway, then ...
No, the Hideaway's still there!
Xandis drops them off close by and flies off so they don't give it away. Okay, here we go ...
Yay! Hello again Birdie! Hi there Ollie!
And Hondir! I missed him! :3
Oooh ... weird ass blue arcane core bomb ...
AAAAAAND here comes the Nightmare King again ... eep!
I have missed Matt's extra weird creepy Ira faces ... that twisted grin goes a long way ...
Ira: "I want to destroy what they've built. I want to show them that I'm the superior designer." Ho boy ...
Imogen tells him they destroyed the Feywild key. Oh, this is interesting ...
Ah yes. Ashton's lens smashiness comes back to haunt us. Travis (incredulously amused): "Motherfucker."
FCG gets a long distance look at the site ...
Ah, so they're NOT Aeormatons. THAT'S interesting ...
Sam: "As I was looking, I was describing what I saw to the group in Mercer-ian detail ... but more eloquently than you did."
Ira: "You tell your friend, right?" Ashton: "I'm more comfortable with 'colleague' at this point."
Fearne tells Ira her Nana says hi ... oh boy ... Imogen (sarcastic): "Ah, young love. Nothing like it."
Stuff to do. Time to SPLIT THE PARTY!!! Even though you know you should NEVER do that ...
Wow ... Laudna is like TOTALLY flirting with Ira right now do she can butter him up. XD I love it.
Ira doesn't know what Predathos is? Ashley makes an insight check, rolls STUPID high ... WHISPERS!!! YAY!!!
YAY! I love the crawlers ... :3 And so does Ashton.
Group deception check ... with advantage ... hmmm ...
Yunis' shop ... oh, I love a good old fashioned D&D in-game shopping trip. And Ashton drops Hexum's name ... oh, that's interesting. Instant change! Fascinating!
Nice! Proper contraband stuff now! Cool ...
Healing Potions, always handy!
Yunis: "These are interesting. They're not cheap, but they're interesting." Ooh! Enchanted healing jewellery! Always fun!
Whoa ... that Circlet is some badass shit!
Belt of Momentum ... oh, now THAT is fucking SWEET!!!
Holy shit this is some EXPENSIVE GEAR!!! Whoa ... Chetney's throwing in? It really IS the end of the world! And then STILL don't have enough? Oof ...
Haggling! Laura Bailey your Vex is showing! :3
Yesssssssss! It worked ... Nice! And now they're broke! XD
Yeah, they do stand out a bit ... so, back to the Hideaway.
Hondir asks after the rest of the Verity ... yeah, I think it's safe to say they're definitely SCATTERED right now. It's a bit of a mess ...
Going against Vasselheim without proof is all very he-said-she-said, really ...
Painting the ship with the signs of the Cerberus Assembly ... smart! And they're off again!
Xandis is suitably TERRIFIED of Ira. Yeah ... "creepy tall man" (snort!) ... yup ... and he just hands the Nightmare King off on Khalil.
Oh gods ... that Bloody Apron again ... Chetney likes that WAY too much ...
Yes, give the amulet to Laudna. She gets fucked up WAY too often ... meanwhile Chetney throws the Butcher's Bib at Imogen and she get SPLATTERED ... yeah, no, give it to Fearne, she's PERFECT for that thing.
Orym messages Dorian again, tells them to just HIDE ... "It's a little hairy on this end too." Oof!
Another day ... Liam rolls BALLS!!! GAH!!!
Whoa ... freakish arcane storm? That's REALLY BAD!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!
Oh gods, so this is gonna be like a total magical pot luck? Oh fuck ...
FCG gives Xandis some SERIOUS Guidance. Nice! Oh ... and now he's a total arcane lightning rod? SHIT!!! Now everybody's getting FRIED!!! Oof!
TWO failures? NOOOOOOO!!!
Chetney werewolfs his way up the sails to keep an eye out for breakage ... eek!
Orym turns Seedling into a makeshift lightning rod to try and protect the ship ... it doesn't quite work all that well ... ouch! FUCK!!! THE BOW OF THE SHIP JUST BLEW THE FUCK UP!!! And now they're DOWN ... great ...
No. The crawler WOULD NOT fit on the ship. Except that Sam just ROLLED IT into working after all ... fucking hell ...
They LOSE ANOTHER DAY getting the ship back up in the sky again! Bloody hell!
Imogen: "You'd think the damn gods would be more interested in helping out right now!"
FOUR DAYS LEFT!!!
Taliesin rolls a NAT FUCKING 1!!! OH MY GODS!!!
ANOTHER dust storm! Just a regular one this time but STILL!!! Oh wait, there's something IN THE FUCKING STORM!!! Wait ... IS THAT A FUCKING PHOENIX?!!!
Jesus Laura! What is WITH all these ABYSMAL rolls?
Imogen attempts to Command the Bird ... oh NICE!!! Thank fuck for that!
Whoo ... they BOUNCED!!!
Sinkholes? Hmmm ... oh, a ravine! Head for that!
Yeah, they're about to get ROASTED!!! Imogen tries to get it with a Lightning Bolt ... WHOO!!! 29 points of lightning damage! Oof! Doesn't do that much, mind ...
HOLY SHIT ... Fearne tries to Polymorph the Phoenix into a goldfish ... and now it's just GONE in the wind! Holy fuck that was AWESOME!!!
Thank you Travis, FINALLY a decent roll for the day ... smooth sailing again ...
There is a VIBRATING SEED in Orym's pack ... what the fuck?
Now they're trying to find a way to PLANT IT without any soil. Hmmmm ... FCG has Graveyard Dirt! Oh boy ...
A Message Bloom? That is so cool!
IT'S KEYLETH!!! AWESOME!!!
Vureeo ... a sect of Ashari betrayers? WHAT?!!!
Imogen messages Keyleth so she knows where to meet them ... Marisha sneezes LOUDLY right when she starts and Laura just cracks up. XD
Imogen: "We've got powerful friends." Orym: "Yeah. Be nice to meet up with them." Yes. It really will. :3
Nightfall ... okay ...
TWO ... DAYS ... TO GO ...
Marisha rolls GOOOOOOD!!! Phew ...
This shit is making the weather CRAZY!!! Thank fuck that was a good roll ...
Oooh ... Imogen and Orym heart-to-heart ... whooo ... I can't with this heavy shit ...
Imogen: "You telling the truth there?" Orym: "I always tell the truth, Imogen." :(
Laudna and Imogen cuteness to finish the evening out, then? Yes please ... or even just some serious soul searching? So long as they're there for each other I'm all for it.
Yeah, I can totally picture these two adorable lesbians raising horses in the country together ... :3 That's a lovely happy ending that would be so nice ...
Laudna: "We transcend words, our relationship." Oh my heart! Imogen: "You're my tether, Laudna."
"The better halves make a better whole" ... oh gods, yes ... that's these two in a nutshell! I love it!
And a very drunk Ashton has a massive argument with nobody ... yup ... while Chetney falls asleep with thd Bib ... Fearne plays her dulcimer ... nd FCG makes profiteroles. "Critical profiteroles."
An unusually chill end to the episode, this one ... intriguing. Is it the calm before the storm, perhaps?
#critical role#crit role campaign 3#campaign 3 spoilers#campaign 3 episode 49#matt mercer#marisha ray#laudna#travis willingham#chetney pock o'pea#laura bailey#imogen temult#liam o'brien#orym of the air ashari#ashley johnson#fearne calloway#taliesin jaffe#ashton greymoore#sam riegel#fresh cut grass
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Building the Ace!Mikaela Universe pt 1
(Picture made with DollDivine)
This ramble is brought to you by Caffeine, Rebecca On A Transformers Kick, Rebecca’s Constant Pokémon Kick, A Fanfic Idea Of A Fanfic Idea I Had Five-Ish Years Ago, and Transformers’ Lack Of Continuity Even Within Continuity Families.
Let’s start with the fanfic idea of a fanfic idea, shall we?
So, about five-ish or so years ago, I had an idea for a Transformers (Bay movie continuity) x Pokémon crossover that I originally titled The Legend of Samuel Prime series. It was going to be a multi-fic rewrite of the entire universe (which at the time was around when The Last Knight came out, but I hadn’t yet seen that or Age of Extinction, so it would only have covered up to Dark of the Moon). It was going to be epic and include Sam being an awesome trainer, an OC ace trainer mentor, and one fic was going to be a time-travel fix-it that would be technically AU to the rest of the series because it would have pretty much erased those actions from that timeline. It was one of the first fics I started writing on Scrivener.
Then Scrivener crashed and I lost the project.
It was demoralizing. Apparently I had accidentally turned off backups for that file, so when the main file got corrupted, I didn’t have a backup to start from. It was one of two times I had lost about 20k-ish words of notes and actual fic. Though I really do wish to remake that file and start again, I haven’t quite gotten my mind into the required state for it, for a couple reasons: first, in order to recover from that loss, I moved onto a different crossover project (The Samaya Court) and second, because I decided to give Boku no Hero Academia a shot during the summer of 2020 and became hyper-focused on that instead. I’ve only just recently started looking into Transformers fics again.
About six months ago, I started idly thinking about another Transformers x Pokémon fic, but I wasn’t (and still am not) ready yet to get back to TLSP. I wanted to write something both interesting and unique. I decided to focus on a character that seemed (at the time) to either get side-lined or just outright hated, and one that I personally didn’t like to see assassinated in Revenge of the Fallen: Mikaela Banes.
(And yes, her character was assassinated, but that’s a post for another time. Long story short, she was reduced to “jealous girlfriend” status and then just disappeared in the next movie without any explanation, and I don’t like that.)
Mikaela actually had the potential to be an amazing character. I’ve found a lot more fics about her, and a lot of them feature her working with the Autobots, or at least apprenticed to Ratchet for medic training. But I wanted a fic that was all about her, not just seeing her in the background or as Sam’s girlfriend. Why did she need Sam at all? She’s a lot more interesting than he is, at least to me.
(No, I don’t hate or dislike Sam. Normally I’m more attached to the male characters, but he was just…too relatable, I guess? So incredibly painfully awkward. My favorite characters tend to have a few more differences from myself.)
My first concept of this idea was Mikaela as the main character of the movies. No big changes, just no Sam—she felt bad for him and bought Archibald Witwicky’s glasses to support Sam’s car fund. This cut Sam out entirely as Bumblebee switched to her guardian and she became involved with the Autobots.
(Note that I might still write this version at some point.)
But that wasn’t unique enough for me. I like heavy AUs. I like seeing canon changed, and the resulting fallout. So I asked myself what the biggest change could possibly be, and the answer was obvious:
Mikaela could be a Decepticon.
But why? The Decepticons want to kill humanity, don’t they? Actually, why do they want that? With these questions in mind, I jumped into my favorite part of the plotting process: Research bingeing.
At this time, I’d also been rewatching a few episodes of the Unicron Trilogy and found Transformers: Prime. I knew their plots didn’t have anything to do with each other or the movies, but I had thought the background and history of the universe would be consistent. So I jumped into the Transformers Wiki, and immediately found out how wrong I was.
Apparently Transformers is far more expansive than I first thought, because there are no less than eight continuity “families,” some of which have dozens of continuities within them (Looking at you, Generation 1). And every continuity family has its own backstory to the war, its own history of events. Some of them echo each other, but most of them are pretty drastically different.
At first I started with the movie continuity’s background, but it wasn’t exactly appealing to me—Megatron was a power-grabbing dick brainwashed into becoming even more power-hungry and ruthless. Yawn.
Then I poked around some more, read through the major continuity families, and found Aligned.
I want to keep this under 1k words, so I’ll pause here and pick up next week!
Next time:
When the writers are scared to make a villain too sympathetic, it shows.
Blending the Aligned and Movie continuities.
How and why Mikaela became a Decepticon.
#fanfiction#meta post#writing rambles#Tuesday Fanfic Ramble#Transformers Movie Continuity#transformers movie#Transformers Aligned Continuity#transformers aligned#pokemon#mikaela banes#plotting#decepticons#Ace!Mikaela AU
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Howdy friend! Your Santa again
I’m glad to hear you enjoy Hakuba! He’s been one of my favorites for awhile, so I hope you can’t fault me for shoving him into an arguably very small role in your gift(s). I’m still working on logistics, but I’m sure you know how the brain rot works.
And yeah, Hakuba really has gotten the short end of the stick it seems. Especially when he has such an interesting dynamic (with characters like Kaito and Heiji) that I feel it goes wasted. He truly brings out the worst in everyone and I think that’s beautiful.
As for Kaito heist’s, I have to agree with you on the Miraculous Air Walk!! I’m still having my own watch through, and I’m only halfway through the series, so I’ve yet to see every KID heist, but Air Walk is HHHHHHHHH! Everything is so fun about it, from the Kaito and Conan interactions to the part with Kaito nearly blowing up. It’s probably the first heist that I actually felt excited for and wanted to know how it ended.
Other than that, I dunno, does the one from Movie 8 count? Surely it shouldn’t, I don’t think he really stole much, let alone put on a show for anyone outside of Conan, but that entire first half of the film was the best thing I had ever seen. The jabs at Conan by disguising as Shinichi? Literally doing everything to get Conan’s attention? The tension on the roof? Truly, I’d say it’s a crime that in all the gif sets I’ve seen for “Magician of the Silver Sky,” not one of them includes the one second of Conan licking his lips while staring KID down. Like, what was that???? Why does no one talk about that?!????
Heck, even the ending was just so fun to watch. “We might die. Give me the six-year-old to help pilot the out of control plane.” Stupid idiot children, I love them all.
So yeah, those are my current favorites so far! If I had to guess, I would say I will enjoy the Teleportation Magic heist more, but I’m not sure! I’m basing that guess solely on the gif sets I’ve seen.
A shame to hear that the episodes don’t hold up as they do in later broadcasts, but at the least we can still have crumbs. Unlike Hakuba, who is starving in the corner.
Take care, my friend!
–DCMKSS
Hello!
I shall never complain about bonus Hakuba. :)
Hakuba IS a character who brings out the worst in others, isn't he? (Sorry Hakuba) ^_^;. Always makes me enjoy future fic to see how that dynamic has (or hasn't) changed as they all grow up. I agree with you so much about his relationship with Hattori too. I actually find Hattori and Hakuba a fascinating pair, because they have so few interactions in canon, and yet fandom is like 'yep, I ship it'. Which, honestly, fair. It would be nice to see them get to face off more often in canon. I love seeing people throw the two of them at each other to see what happens.
It also makes me thoroughly enjoy movie 10 where Kaito's tricking them all, and yet Hakuba and Hattori still have the same combative chaos energy as ever. Kaito certainly knows how to sell a part!
I think Movie 8 totally counts! Conan and KID's very literal face-off in that one is such a fantastic opening (and you're absolutely right - that tongue action should be getting a lot more attention! Conan, stop being so thirsty when you look six). I also like how that movie gives us a nice mix of KID and KID-in disguise. Of course KID can convince a plane full of moderately sensible adults to let him have a child as his co-pilot. Him making the police chase him to make the landing strip is one of my favourite 'oh, you clever bastard' moments. Ah, this is making me want to go back and rewatch all the KID movies again (think my job will mind? orz).
Ooh, the Teleportation Heist is another of my absolute favourites. It has a lot of the same energy as the Midair Walk, and I love the solution to how Kaito's pulling off the trick. It also makes my little shipper heart happy in a number of different ways. I hope you enjoy it when you get there! And I also hope that you enjoy the more recent heists more than I have been - KID content is better than no KID content, I guess? Gosho could definitely deliver more on the Hakuba content, though.
Later days!
clef :)
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my favorite episode is episode 4: the tomb. I adore the Steven-isms & the ending. Idk there’s just something about it
#moon knight#ramblings#steven grant#but we shall see if episode six changes my mind#weekly wait for Wednesday :(
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Doppel Spotlight: Giovanna
Surprise~!
I know, I know, about time, right? The hypothetical Soul Gem has broken, and the Doppel Spotlights are back from the dead! Er…temporarily, anyway. I can’t say for certain how many more of these I’m up to doing just yet. It’s a bit too early for me to make any big estimates or guarantees. But! This Doppel analysis has sat here unfinished for quite some time now! And you all have shown such lovely support that I couldn’t help but be excited looking at all this old material again. So as a gift to you all, let’s finally analyze the Doppel of our main protagonist, Iroha Tamaki!
This analysis will contain spoilers for all of Magia Record’s first arc! This does include anime-specific content, as I will be discussing certain scenes from Episodes 5 and 7! You have been warned!
Let’s dive in, shall we?
GIOVANNA
Doppel of Silence
Feature: Cuckoo
“The master of this emotion is aware of how pitiful her Doppel is and refuses to look at it. This Doppel wordlessly wraps around and strangles anything it doesn't want to hear as it continues its search for something to fill the hole in its heart. While it should be calling for someone, it is cowardly and afraid of acknowledging the reality it has concealed, and so it remains, silently covering its ears.”
It's been a while, so how about we start things off with a little refresher?
Both Giovanna and Campanella’s names are direct references to Night on the Galactic Railroad, a Japanese novel written by Kenji Miyazawa. In the story, a shy boy named Giovanni travels on a star-bound train with his close friend, Campanella. To keep things brief, I’ll leave most of the general plot details out. However, if you’d like a lengthier summary, I suggest reading the summary I provided in the previous Doppel Spotlight, which is linked here.
I should also mention I actually located an English-translated copy of Night on the Galactic Railroad! As a result, I can quote the story directly, although I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the translations or my own interpretations. Please keep that in mind as you read!
The opening scene of the novel establishes early on that Giovanni is a reserved, self-conscious boy. In class, he is certain he knows the answer to the teacher’s question. However, when called on, he doubts himself and stays silent, bringing upon the jeers of his classmates. Campanella, who also raised his hand for the question, willingly chooses not to answer, despite also knowing, in order to show some sympathy for the flustered Giovanni.
This opening scene is likely what is referenced in Giovanna’s nature as the Doppel of silence. Giovanni stays silent out of self-doubt, and as a result believes himself to be pathetic. Iroha also silences herself in her own way, being very passive, self-conscious, and reserved at the beginning of her story. And, true to that comparison, her Doppel’s reflections of insecurity make her feel pitiful, to the point where she refuses to look at it.
Giovanni’s character can also be representative of Iroha’s inner loneliness. With his mother sickly and his father out of the house, Giovanni is too occupied with taking jobs and caring for his family to have time to talk. More often, he is bullied by his peers. The only exception is with Campanella, who doesn’t bully him, and even sympathizes with him. As Giovanni and Campanella travel on the Galactic Railroad, Giovanni’s loneliness is at its clearest. Campanella begins talking to Kaoru, another passenger on the train, and Giovanni becomes morose with jealousy. See this quote here:
“Is there really nobody who will stick with me to the edges of the universe and beyond? Campanella just sits there jabbering away with that little girl, and it hurts me more than anybody knows.”
Iroha is also incredibly lonely, deep down. She lives on her own, with parents away on business trips. The anime implies she doesn’t have a lot of friends either, with her classmates talking behind her back instead. Worst of all, her sister, who she values more than anyone else, is completely absent, Iroha being the only one that remembers that she exists. Such relationships sound awfully lonely, don’t they? It’s only through her bond with Yachiyo and the rest of Mikazuki Villa that Iroha grows into her own, letting her optimism, warmth, and confidence shine through.
Giovanna’s connections to Giovanni tie her quite close to Campanella, Yachiyo’s Doppel. And, well, Yachiyo is certainly not the kind and sympathetic Campanella at first meet. Her first encounter with Iroha is cold, brutally honest, and fully intent on keeping Iroha out at any cost. We learn later on that this attitude is a wall Yachiyo puts up to protect people – that she believes the people that get close to her die, and that she still struggles with the guilt of her past. Yet, it is Iroha who shows sympathy to Yachiyo, breaking down that wall between them. For example, let’s take a look at Chapter Six. After a trip to the Memory Museum Uwasa, Yachiyo has been reminded of the death in her life and is reflexively closing herself off again to keep Iroha safe. Iroha once shriveled up in response to Yachiyo’s intimidating rejection, but now, as her friend, she isn’t having it. She says this:
“You saying there’s nothing you can do to help Tsuruno and the others… It makes me feel sad…Lonely…We fought together all this time…But more than that, I’m angry. I’m angry with you, Yachiyo...”
“I’m your friend, Yachiyo. And as your friend, I’m going to take out that Uwasa, all on my own! I’m going to be the one to protect you. I’ll smash this made-up idea you have of me sacrificing myself for you!”
Just as Giovanni interprets his journey with Campanella as a sign to stay diligent in life, Iroha’s friendship with Yachiyo allows her to steady her own resolve and fight adamantly. Their namesake connection is a sign of their bond, and their newfound devotion to fight together and protect each other.
To wrap up this Galactic Railroad talk, have you noticed that in many of the anime’s early episodes, Iroha is riding on a train? In fact, it is on a train that Iroha is whisked away to Zenobia’s Barrier in Kamihama, where she meets Yachiyo for the first time. Perhaps a stretch, but a fun little detail regardless.
Anyway, there’s far more to Giovanna than story connections! Giovanna’s silent nature reflects a lot of Iroha’s character struggles: mainly, her feelings of denial, and her inclination towards self-sacrifice.
“This Doppel wordlessly wraps around and strangles anything it doesn't want to hear as it continues its search for something to fill the hole in its heart. While it should be calling for someone, it is cowardly and afraid of acknowledging the reality it has concealed, and so it remains, silently covering its ears.”
When you think of someone “strangling anything it doesn’t want to hear”, concealing their own reality and being afraid of acknowledging it...well, that sounds a lot like someone who doesn’t want to accept the truth.
Iroha shows quite a bit of denial in her search for Ui. The odds are stacked against her for a lot of Arc 1. She finds little to no clues wherever she searches, and the Ui she encounters from the Uwasa of the Commoner’s Horse is only a fake. Iroha is certain that Touka and Nemu, Ui’s closest friends, will remember Ui. But, they do not, and only ridicule Iroha for her seemingly impossible set of memories. Throughout Chapter Ten she is belittled for sticking to her goals. She’s ensured on all fronts that Touka and Nemu aren’t believing her, and that there’s nothing she can do to change their minds. But, no matter how many times Iroha is told by the world that she’s believing in a lie, she never lets her belief go.
“I’m still going. No matter what you say. I’m bringing Ui back with me…She’s the whole reason I came back to Kamihama.”
This stubborn determination, when twisted by the corrupt perception of a Witch, is far more like paranoid desire: an aching, fearful need to find whatever is missing in her heart and get rid of whatever threatens it.
Following this, let’s talk about Giovanna’s feature: a cuckoo. Cuckoos are solitary birds, shy and secretive, and best known for their calls. Yet, Giovanna’s beak is tied up with cloth. She cannot call for anyone. Her journey to find Ui is painted as one of futility: Giovanna searches and searches for the one she’s longed for, but in the end, is too afraid to call out to her.
Here’s a fun detail, by the way:
In Episode 5, when Iroha summons her Doppel for the first time, Giovanna actually does not have bandages around her beak (which is why she’s able to let out that high-pitched shriek):
In future appearances, however, Giovanna does have the bandages around her beak.
Come to think of it, Giovanna looks rather... different in her first appearance, doesn’t she? Not only is her beak not bandaged, but her colors are a lot redder and more decayed, her cloak is worn and full of holes, and the crown around her head is gone. This may just be a stylistic choice for Iroha’s first Doppel, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s a sign for something else. Maybe that Giovanna is angry with the Commoner’s Horse Uwasa for projecting an illusion of Ui? Giovanna does fight a lot more aggressively here than in any other appearance, after all - she wraps the Uwasa up and drills into it with her beak. Meanwhile, in her second appearance, she only attacks an Uwasa with her bandages.
Giovanna’s unwillingness to call for others actually brings up an interesting facet of Iroha’s character: her sacrificial devotion. The reason that Iroha unleashes her Doppel in Episode 5 is because she neglects her own needs in favor of others. She believes that she must be strong on her own to find Ui, a thought reflected by her own Doppel’s words in Episode 7:
“Stronger…If you don’t become strong, you won’t be able to find anything! Cover your ears! Shut those eyes! Silence determines fate!”
When Iroha fails to find Ui within the Uwasa of the Commoner’s Horse, she is filled with despair. Ui was right before her eyes, proving the beliefs that even she may have begun to doubt. Yet, in that same instant she recognizes the Ui she sees is nothing but an illusion the Uwasa projected for her. So close, and yet so far. When Iroha begins to succumb to her despair, she even mentions that it might’ve been from the shock of not seeing Ui.
With all of these feelings, all of this disappointment and despair, who does Iroha use her only Grief Seed on? Yachiyo, of course. At this point in the story, Iroha wants to be friends with Yachiyo, but they are not seen as equals. She is not comfortable enough to open up to Yachiyo about her feelings, and neither is Yachiyo with her own. Yet, Iroha still sacrifices herself to keep Yachiyo from falling to despair. And by staying silent about her own woes, Iroha falls to her despair for the first time, summoning her Doppel.
Let’s keep this topic in mind and focus on something I haven’t addressed before: the Magia Archive artbook! There are some production notes in here that provide insights on the meaning and symbolism behind a Doppel. Unfortunately, I don’t know Japanese, but I did find a translation of Giovanna’s section, courtesy of @greenyvertekins. Here is a small piece from it that I would like to highlight:
“The motif is a bird flute and a saint with a rabbit-like appearance.”
The theme of a “saint” struck me as a little odd, at first. I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to get that idea from her design. But, it did lead me to a unique little find, which is probably a stretch, but maybe kind of cool anyway?
(credit to Silvermoon424 on Reddit for the scan!)
It’s a bit harder to see in the official art, but that crown circling Giovanna’s head – to me, it sort of looks like a crown of thorns. A crown of thorns is a very striking sign of self-sacrifice.
And sure, this is the stretchiest stretch that ever stretched, but those drop-like patterns on Giovanna’s body are red, and kind of look like drops of blood, right? Beads of blood that have also been associated with the crown of thorns, r-right? Right…?
Phew…I’ve been going on for a while, haven’t I? Is this…is this longer than the first one? I don’t even know anymore…Let’s silently wrap this up with one more, fun little stretch on my part.
Both cuckoos and bunnies, which are elements of Giovanna’s design, are symbolically representative of spring. Spring is cherry blossom season in Japan, and the Eternal Sakura Uwasa lives near a cherry blossom tree only said to bloom when Touka, Nemu, Ui and Iroha are united again. At the end of the event Cherry Blossom Dreams, the Eternal Sakura even remarks that “spring can finally begin” because they are all together. So, if you squint really hard, maaaaybe the springtime connections here are representative of Iroha, Touka, Nemu, and Ui’s union under the cherry blossom tree. But probably not. I’m just having some fun.
And, that’s it! That’s all I’ve got for Giovanna! Wow! That sure was something!
I hope you all enjoyed my silly little analysis! I know some of these connections are a bit loose, but I like drawing whatever parallels I can with what understanding I have, haha. It was great to write one of these again and share it with you all!
If you have any of your own thoughts, additions, or corrections, do send them along! I would love to hear other interpretations!
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What I Thought About "Yesterday's Lie" from The Owl House
Salutations, random people on the internet who absolutely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!
Here it is! The midseason finale of The Owl House Season Two! An episode featuring Luz going back to the human realm, is hyped up to heaven about how painful it'll be for the audience, and features more anxiety by how Creepy Luz is a thing. And BOOOOOOOOY howdy were fans not ready for this. I'm sure as hell not ready for when I wrote this intro at *checks time* thirty minutes before watching the official premier. Yup, the words you're reading right now are from me in the past, when everything was still pure and simple. Whereas future me is still probably destroyed by the events that transpired. Isn't that right, future me?
Future Me: Actually, it wasn’t that bad. The ending hurt, sure, but other than that, it wasn’t too painful.
Wow, that is some neat input! At least, I think it was. I wouldn't know because I literally wrote that after watching the episode. With the words you're currently reading being written at *checks time* twenty-six minutes before the premier...this whole intro is confusing, isn't it, future me?
Future Me: Sure is.
Yeah, it's definitely confusing. In any case, let's dive into this spoiler-filled review as we find out together just how painful this episode was! Take it away, future me!
Future Me: Will do! Major spoilers ahead, folks!
Now, let’s review, shall we?
WHAT I LIKED
Luz’s Room: We only see it for a short time, but everything about it just screams Luz. The pile of weird-looking stuffed animals, the witch hat in the center of the floor, and the fact that she has bunk beds, a single child's dream (Or so I've heard). It's a small thing, but I love it.
Vee: Here she is! The character previously dubbed Creepy Luz who now turns out to be yet another new addition to the ever-growing list of characters that we, as a fandom, would give our lives for. Because holy s**t was Vee the best type of expectation subversion. Showing us all the ominous ways of how she basically took Luz's place made fans assume that Vee was an evil doppelganger. Turns out, she was just a tortured soul that was desperate to live a new and better life and lucked out in finding Luz's. What Vee does is...questionable at best, but seeing what she went through with the experiments Belos pulled on her, you understand why she would do it. And I personally love it's that same background information that makes Vee resentful of Luz of all people. Luz's life is a relative dream come true, and running away from that would be insane to someone who spent most of their existence through imprisonment and experimentation. It's an intriguing point of view, even though it's admittingly flawed given how it's mostly Camila that seemingly made Luz's life bearable. But the flaws don't matter. What matters is that you can see where Vee is coming from, and to me, personally, I think she's understandable enough to make me root for her to have some kind of happy ending. Whether as Luz or as herself, I'm hopeful to see Vee get some semblance of peace.
Camila: *Round of applause* Don't mind me! Just taking the time to love how all them sons of b**hes who thought Camila was a bad mom are now heavily invalidated. 'Cause, guess what? Camila is a fantastic mother, both to her daughter and her daughter's doppelganger! Allow me to walk you through the highlights:
How Camila looks like she’s not okay with the fact that "Luz" is clearing out her weird stuff, seemingly acting too different to the Luz she knows. Added to the fact that Camila doesn't like it.
How Camila drove Luz to camp whether than letting her take the bus
The fact that Camila takes that box of junk back in, not willing to part with the tin foil sculpture Luz made.
The way she was willing to play along with the game she thought Luz was doing, supporting her daughter's creative mind that Camila admits to being glad to see.
And, best of all, the willingness Camila had to help this poor creature, despite the lies it lived.
It's that last part I really want to touch upon, though. Because an action like that shows just how much Luz's heart comes from Camila. The kindness and generosity of helping this poor creature, who she has every right to run out on, proves how Luz learned to be everything she is today through Camila's own loving heart. Vee was scared and hurt, and the second Camila saw that she was then more than willing to help because of it. It's something that Luz would do, and it proves that even though Camila didn't exactly get everything right, she's still a great mom where it counts.
“A new life”: A perfect line.
Initially, it makes audiences think that it has everything to do with replacing Luz. It's only through future context that we know it's about escaping the s**t show Vee once lived through that it's clear she's talking about starting over. It hits us with intrigue on the first viewing, only to hit harder with the feels during a second. Really well-done.
Luz in the Mirror: A well-done surprise that makes fans curious about how this even happen in the first place. Kudos to you, writers.
The New Portal: I don't mind that they found a way to build this off-screen. Showing Luz and the gang slowly building a new portal would have been a little too tedious to watch, and it's so much better to just start this episode out with it. Besides, maybe we'll get the slow and steadier version now that we've seen how quickly building one might not have been the best way to go, given how fast that thing fell apart.
Luz Between Dimensions: I have no clue what the hell that place she was in is called, but it's awesome! The overall design of the realm is the correct type of unsettling, like it's oozing with mystery, but it's somewhere that you probably don't want to be in for too long. Whoever designed it deserves all of the credit because I don't want to even think about all the hard work that went into making this look as well-made as it was.
Luz Resisting to See Amity: What? Luz and Amity are adorable, and seeing Luz's immediate thought about seeing Amity makes my shipping heart scream with glee. Don't judge me!
Hiding Luz’s Dad’s Face: Well, that was a fun story while it lasted.
So, it turns out that Luz's dad really was a part of Luz's and Camila's life at some point, but not anymore. As for why remains to be seen, as we don't really know yet if we'll see him make an appearance. I'd say that the odds are high that he will, given how much of a point this episode made about keeping his face hidden. Shows don't usually do that unless the goal is to hype up some official reveal, and I can't wait to see what comes of it.
Luz Telling Herself to Count to Five: Hey, more evidence for how I relate to Luz! I know how it feels to be all panicky about a specific situation, and I only got better when I took the time to calm down for a bit. Sometimes, I even tried the "count to x" method that Luz used...it never worked, primarily because it made me feel worse when people told me to do it, but I still tried it! Plus, there's also some narrative foreshadowing when after Luz says five, the realm shows her Vee, or Number V, which is a pretty cool detail you'll notice on a rewatch.
Luz Helping Vee: I gave Camila praise for helping Vee in the end, but that doesn't abstain Luz from her own set of recognition. The second that Luz realized that Vee wasn't really a threat and is far from evil, our favorite human does what she can to help and even makes a deal where they're both happy. Because, of course, Luz is that perfect of a protagonist who is more than willing to help others in need. And it's why we love her so.
Looking for Magic that Eda Left Behind: A pretty cool idea that gives Luz and Vee a chance to bond and giving us an insight into Eda's past antics and misadventures in the human realm. Not much I can add to it, though.
Gravesfield: It's surprisingly not as jarring as I thought it would be to spend an episode in the human realm. I thought for sure, after all that time in the Boiling Isles, there would be something off about walking around a normal environment for a change. Turns out, it's almost easy to get used to. Or, for me, it is.
But I will say that there's this neat use of colors when comparing Gravesfield with the Boiling Isles. In Gravesfield, the coloring looks dulled down and standard, which is a stark contrast to the bright vibrancy of everything we've seen in the Boiling Isles. It's a subtle way of showing how things are different, aside from the major discrepancies we could come to expect. And I think that's why I appreciate it much more.
Eda’s Called Herself Marylynn in the Human Realm: Hang on...hang on...do you mean to tell me that the crack theory about Eda being Stan's ex-wife is actually true?
...
...What even is this show?!
Vee Making Friends with Camp Members: This shows the most apparent difference between Luz and Vee. Where we see Luz is already fearing the many ways that could go wrong with interacting with teens, Vee revealed that she adapted to her situation and had a chance to make friends. The implications of this are worth discussing another time, but for now, I'll say that it's pretty intriguing that we gain this much insight into both Luz and Vee through such a small thing.
Belos Wanting to Learn How Basilisks can Drain Magic: ...Didn't Raine say that Belos was taking away magic? If so, I think we can figure out how he's doing it. The question now is: Why?
Jacob (The Curator Guy): This guy was a riot. At first, Jacob seemed like a threat with the way he trapped Vee and was apparently stocking her, but the second he goes off about his conspiracy theories, it becomes clear what type of character he is. And was it a blast seeing how much of a crackpot this man is. It wasn't cool seeing him wanting to dissect the precious angel that is Vee, but I still chuckle about things like his "Flat Eather's Certificate." So while he's not that much of a threat, he's still fun to watch.
The Owl Beast was in the Human Realm: ...How did that happen? When did it happen? And how the hell did Eda get out of a situation like that?! Who knows, but it's still a shocking piece of news to learn.
Luz Telling Camila the Truth: Hey, she faced her fear after all! Although, the results aren't as pleasant as when Amity faced her fear two weeks ago.
Camila is a Veterinarian: ...One insignificant reveal...managed to destroy so many fanfics. I mean, we probably shouldn't have just assumed Camila was a nurse...but what the f**k else were we supposed to think?! Sorry for seeing the scrubs, and the first thing that came to my mind was "nurse" and not "vet."
By the way, that had to have been intentional, right? There's no way that Dana Terrace didn't think we'd assume Camila was a nurse. She'd had to have put off a reveal like that just to trip up her fans. And if that's the case, then that is a major d**k move...but that's why I mildly respect it.
Two Human Brothers went to the Demon Realm: Turns out we don't have to be in the Boiling Isles to learn more about it. Because now we have more information about how two humans were taken to the Isles with the help of a witch, thus setting up a grander reveal if it turns out that one of the humans was Philip and the witch was Belos. Because if that's true...then there's more of a history between those two than we thought.
Jacob has a Training Wand: This helps me believe that it's highly likely for Jacob to make a return and to have a power boost for when he does. After all, focussing all that attention on the training wand is way too convenient for it not to come up again in the future. Meaning we're most likely going to get more pain from Jacob if he shows up again.
Camila Beats the Crap out of Jacob for Vee: ...Writers, don't make me choose between Camila and Eda on who's the better cartoon mom. I know Eda's technically not a mom...BUT I STILL DON'T WANT TO CHOOSE DAMNIT!
Also, the sandal...just...
Why the f**k does Camila have a sandal in her purse? I don't know. Is it still funny that she does? Most certainly.
Camila and Luz’s Talk in the Rain: Ooooooooh, I was not ready for this...
I wasn't ready for the crying.
I wasn't ready for the hurt in Camila's eyes when she found out Luz chose to stay in the Boiling Isles.
I wasn't ready for Camila asking if Luz hates being with her that much.
I wasn't ready for Luz profusely stating how it was never Camila's fault.
I was not ready for Camila to tell Luz that she'll try to do better.
And I definitely was not ready for Luz to barely have enough time to promise that she'll come back.
This episode wasn't the twenty-two minutes of nonstop angst that I thought it was going to be...but this short scene more than make up for it.
Luz Tries to Stay Strong: Yet another thing she unwittingly learned from Camila. Camila tried to keep a brave face when Vee was with her and Luz, most likely not wanting to tear either of them down in the process. Luz does the same thing here as she avoids talking about the details of what went down in her sort-of journey back home. And seeing her clearly fake smile slowly droop into an uncertain frown, it uh...it definitely tore me up inside.
WHAT I DISLIKED
I want to say it's perfect, but there's one major issue that really bogs this episode down.
Continuity Error in How Vee Replaced Luz: Having Vee take Luz's place the same day Luz appeared in the Isles is a smart idea on paper...if it wasn't for the fact that it's impossible.
Because Eda closed the portal door the second that she saw Luz, meaning that there's no way for Vee to go to the human realm. It's a major plothole that makes no sense, and it might just be the first time ever that this series wasn't so closely knit with its story. Which ends up taking a dive in quality in the process.
IN CONCLUSION
I'd say that "Yesterday's Lie" is an A-. Everything about Luz, Vee, and Camila is incredible, combined into a story that ends in tragedy and uncertainty for the future. That plothole may drag things down a bit, but everything else is handled so well that I'm not lying when I say it's easy to forgive and forget.
(And that's ten episodes in a row without a single stinker. HOW THE F**K DOES THIS SEASON KEEP WINNING?!)
#the owl house#the owl house spoilers#toh spoilers#luz noceda#camila noceda#camila is a good mom ok!#toh vee#emperor belos#what i thought about#the owl house reviews
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// loki spoilers
This is basically a huge infodump on my thoughts about the first episode, because I doubt y’all want to sift through my trauma-ridden ramblings. I’ll make another post for the rest. This is just everything not related to the IW stuff/my reaction to that. It’s general thoughts, theories, musings.
1. When Loki gets first taken into the TVA. Is that Peggy Carter in the background? Others have suggested it might be. What would that mean??? Will we see the TVA fix the mess the Russos made with Steve/Peggy (not likely) or is it just a lookalike? Who knows..
2. A skrull at the main intake desk! Idk not super relevant just interesting!
3. I’m kind of glad they changed the... uncomfortable scene... with the robot burning his clothes off. He gets more time to react to seeing the machine itself, and he seems more shocked (”Now.. H-hang on just a minute.”) than angry (”Now hang on just a minute!”) i still feel.. horrible for him, i’m glad nobody Saw him and that the machine didn’t grab the clothes off, but still. Ehhh.. uncomfortable.
He is beautiful though, don’t get me wrong - I’d just prefer a shirtless Loki scene where he wants to be shirtless? let him do what he wants with his body?? he’s probably felt so out of control of his body, from being jotun to falling through space that any invasion of privacy like that hits extra deep...
That being said, I recognize the utility of the scene for the narrative - his lack of control, his literally being stripped of what he was before.
4. WHO IS THE MAN WITH THE CAT. What is his name. I love that he has a mug with his cat on it. But I want to know more. Who is he?
4.1 WHY DIDNT YOU LET LOKI PET THE CAT Please,,, I am begging you,,, let loki pet the cat and have something react kindly to him and purr all happily at his scratching behind their ears plea s e
5. The info sheet. Now this is just a little nitpicky tidbit, but in a previous promo they listed Loki’s height as 6′4 ft and weight as 525 lbs. This is taken directly from the comics if I’m not mistaken. However, in the actual show he’s listed as 6′2 (Tom’s height and Loki’s presumed height) but I don’t remember if his weight is the same. Is Loki 6′2? 6′4? please let me know i want to know how smol i am in comparison
6. His little aggressive shaking of the ticket at the guard makes me giggle each time.
7. The fact the turnstile hits so low on him reminds me,, I am short compared to him. Those things hit my stomach/waist. That one hit his legs. I am once again asking Loki to pick me up.
8. The cartoon with Miss Minutes introducing the TVA is wonderful, I love the art style especially. But it raises questions about Variants... I guess Variants can just, pop out of nowhere? Any action could be the wrong one? And then once you commit the wrong action you either get returned or pruned? Yikes??? And THIS ties into another thing later!
9. The trial scene. I have a hunch - a feeling, a suspicion. That one of three things may be true.
A. The Time-Keepers never actually existed. They’re fabricated, and now whoever runs the TVA is actually using the excuse of “The Time-Keepers decree it so!!!” to carry out whatever They think is right. The fact we haven’t seen the Time-Keepers makes me.. suspicious...
B. The Time-Keepers existed, but they have since passed on, however that may have happened. Now someone is doing the same as above, using the excuse of the Time-Keepers apparent dictations to run things.
C. The Time-Keepers do exist, and do run the timeline/TVA, but maybe they’re not infallible? Maybe the TVA info video is lying or incomplete in some way? Idk I just feel like, something about the TVA and how they run things has to be wrong. It has to? Something is off. Again, this will tie into another thought later...
I have no idea if any of these are actually true! But Loki’s questions of “Who’s in charge here? What do they do? What do you do?” punctuated by laughter leads me to believe he’s suspecting something too, or perhaps just trying to figure this mess out.
10. Seiðr/Magic. We see in this scene, Loki’s magic (”powers”) don’t work in the TVA. (and a quick side note, did he have to Flex like that? do you have to make me see Loki’s bare arms Flex like that? be still my heart. anyway please get that collar off of him and let him rest for five minutes) This makes me wonder.. Why isn’t Loki in his Jotun form? His pale skin and blue eyes are decided by magic, are they not? I suppose this is 2012, so perhaps Odin’s magic is keeping Loki looking like that. But if magic doesn’t work in the TVA, why would his spell reach so far? Clearly Loki’s magic isn’t what’s doing it. How is Loki not appearing as a Jotun? Is his Jotun form repressed - is pale skin his default now, rather than something hidden by magic? I need answers!
11. he sounds so scared about being “reset” please dont hurt him,,
12. cALLING LOKI A PUSSYCAT? (lokitty confirmed) I think Mobius was goading him (Mobius strikes me.. As extremely clever. He’s trying to push Loki’s buttons to see who he’s dealing with. At least, I hope so. Because if he really meant that “You were born to cause pain and suffering and death... All so that others can achieve the best versions of themselves.” and that line about killing Frigga??? No no no he is not guilty. He had no way of knowing what would happen. It wasn’t right to send Algrim up to Asgard (i think algrim wouldve found the way up anyway) but there was no intent to hurt Frigga. I really hope you’re trying to goad him, Mobius, because if you believe that I trust you much less. anyway i digress) but wow is he pushing Loki’s buttons a lot. I can’t... Blame him entirely, I understand he’s trying to make sure Loki’s on his side, maybe I’m just too soft for Loki idk. But some of that was very cruel to say. /:
12.1 AND ANOTHER THING ABOUT MOBIUS. That scene with the girl in the church?? Did that little girl kill the men? Is that young Sylvie? Or is she using an illusion to make herself look young and innocent? What’s going on!!!!
13. LOKI SNATCHING THE LITTLE TIME-TWISTER DEVICE AND STOWING IT IN HIS POCKET.... POCKET....... sorry sometimes i get so caught up about loki that i just say random words in between little noises and squeals,,, i am a silly thing
14. CASEY. CASEY??? That whole exchange is funny. Poor Loki, just trying to intimidate this guy so he can escape but - Casey doesn’t know what a fish is. to be fair.... thor doesn’t seem to know what a raccoon is... right?
15. That bit with the infinity stones is kind of funny until you realize
A. Natasha died for a paperweight
B. Tony died from paperweights
C. Loki was tortured for paperweights
D. Oh, and Gamora died for a paperweight too. And Vision. Need I go on?
Then it becomes less of exclusively “haha funny” and now it’s a mix of funny and pain and gosh, is that a good way to sum up being a Marvel/Loki fan sometimes...
16. Loki gazing at the timeline all “Is this the most powerful thing in the universe?” or something, i’m sorry i don’t remember exactly... made me think of a meme and i shall make it presently.
17. I love that Loki got to see examples of how his family loves him but the fact he’s all “I can’t go back.” really just breaks me. It’s like he can finally see they love him after all of this mess, and now he doesn’t have the chance. Please, please let him be happy. Give him some relief. This is the Loki that just came off finding out about being Jotun, falling from the Bifrost, encountering Thanos, attacking Earth, facing defeat, and now he’s being thrashed around in this wild place and has just found out he inadvertently caused Frigga’s death (he did not kill her: his actions, by mistake, lead to her murder, let me be very clear) AND Odin will die AND all the rest... And he wants to be with them.
18. Loki’s reaction to Thor suggesting the hug makes me soft. Please I want to hug this little mischief man so so so bad-
19. Skipping over the iw parts! That’s for another post because this one will be grossly long anyway.
20. “I don’t enjoy hurting people.” and “It's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. A desperate play for control.” was all so, so validating. I’ve been trying to argue on Loki’s behalf for almost a solid decade. Seeing the show recognize that Loki’s not all just violence and hurting for “fun”, that he’s not unhinged and bloodthirsty.. Is so nice. It’s just so, so comforting. and it gives me hope for future episodes that they won’t go the route of “oh haha loki bullied and mistreated and stabbed thor for years!!! :)” loki cries during basically every fight with Thor and you want me to believe he stabs Thor for fun? absolutely not.
21. Theory.. Just another hunch.. So we know a fugitive variant, aka Loki, is running amok. Refer back to 8 and 9.C. What if the Time-Keepers never actually fixed the timeline into a single timeline? What if there are other timelines, and these different Loki variants have hopped over to the current one? Or, maybe the Time-Keepers did fix the timeline into a single one, and these Lokis are remnants from that huge time-war at the beginning? Time runs differently in relative spaces, they may have Just Left that war from their perspective!
I say Lokis and not Loki because we’re pretty sure there’s Female/Lady Loki, Old Man/King Loki, and possibly Young/Kid Loki. That’s at least three. From the peeks of Asgard and NYC we’ve seen from the trailers, I think we’re also getting an Asgardian King!Loki and Midgardian King/Vote!Loki. (unless our dearest variant is hopping into timelines and situating into them, but I doubt Mobius would let that happen..?) That’s five.
To further support this, keep in mind, I believe recently six (i think 6 regular and 6 rare...) different funko pops were announced for the series? I’m not sure if they’re in addition to the Loki and Mobius already released. If they are, there’s enough room for each Loki and maybe a TVA agent. One of the pops is supposed to have a buddy/companion I think? Maybe they’re making the cat guy into one, or maybe there’s something else (Throg, anyone?).
22. That is totally Lady Loki/Sylvie at the end by the way. Has to be. But why does she want the reset devices? Why did she snatch that TVA Hunter? Again, WHAT’S GOING ON
ANYWAY this was a very long post if you made it this far, I commend you.
#no proofread only post#long posts about loki#loki#loki series#loki spoilers#sigyn says WORDS#SPOILER HEAVY
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(Some) Greek Gods as Historical Figures
So some days ago I secretly logged back into Mythology and Cultures amino and I stumbled across post of casting historical figures as the gods from Greek mythology. Of course, I hated it, so I made my version of this.
Note: Of course, this is going to have quite a lot of Napoleonic figures, since I am more familiar of this period, but please do reblog this post (or tag me on another post) with the hashtag “#mythical figures as historical people” and add some more of your historical figure Greek God fancasts!
Note 2: this post is for entertaining purpose, and just me introducing some guys to y’all and I am not a historian myself and hopefully you all would still like my takes😅
1. Zeus - Louis XIV of France
First and foremost, I shall introduce the king of gods featured in Greco-Roman myths. You may ask, why don’t I cast Henry VIII of England? Well, my reason is very simple: Henry is far from accurate to Zeus in actual myths.
To be honest, Zeus has a more “absolute power” energy in it, and Louis XIV totally has rocked it (like that iconic line “l’état, c’est moi (I am the state)”). Well, Henry also has that kind of energy but everyone only remembers his six wives and the uncountable number of bloodshed (not to mention Catherine of Aragon is a much better fighter than him—got this from Horrible Histories OwO)... Anyways, Louis XVI is basically a Zeus.
2. Hera - Catherine of Aragon
This brings to Catherine of Aragon herself. She’s a total Q U E E N and if you have watched “Six” the musical you already got what I mean (like, being the wife who married to Henry the longest). There’s also the early warlike aspect in Hera (featured in Homer’s works) that Catherine has it as well (at least you know that she’s getting more victories than Henry if you have watched Horrible Histories season 6, in the episode with Rowan Atkinson playing Henry VIII (which is sad because I want Ben Willbond to play him—he iconic to the HH fandom)), making her a great casting of Hera.
Hera, in my opinion, is a very strong woman who has to take Zeus’s shit and I could totally understand why she took revenge on the girls that Zeus has slept with—but anyways, hopefully you guys would like it :3
3. Aphrodite - Pauline Bonaparte
This is half-self-explanatory, really—just look at that statue she posed as Venus, the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite.
Pauline was famed for her beauty in her time, also a big chunk of scandals from her affairs (which bugs her big brother Napoleon, a lot). Nevertheless, despite her big spending habits and a great sexual appetite, she always helped Napoleon in some surprising ways (like she sold her house in Paris to the Duke of Wellington to get the funds for Napoleon).
Just like Aphrodite herself, Pauline harnessed her beauty very well. Thus, I rest my case.
4. Apollo - Joachim Murat or Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
(Warning: long content ahead)
Firstly, let me briefly introduce them because you guys might not know them much.
Joachim Murat was a marshal of France, also one of Napoleon’s brother-in-law, grand duke of Berg and Cleves from 1806 to 1808 and the King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. After the wars, he attempted to escape yet was caught and executed in 1815 in Pizzo, Italy (if you have read of Alexandre Dumas’s “Famous Crimes” you might know him—by the way no one has cut his head off and sent it to that big nose King Ferdinand).
For those who have watched “Elisabeth” or the “Sissi” movies, you might know Franz Joseph I of Austria already but you might not know much about himself besides being the husband of the (in)famous Empress Sisi (ie. Empress Elisabeth of Austria). He was the Emperor of the Austria from 1848 to his death in 1916—one of the longest reigning European monarchs in history. During his reign, the empire had been through a lot of change, most notably, the creation of Austria-Hungary. Nevertheless, he was also the Emperor who started World War I and he died of old age in the midst of the Great War.
For Apollo, I’m not casting musicians because this is quite overdone. I rather want to shed a light to the other arts that he represented in Greco-Roman mythology. This makes me want to draw a parallel to Joachim Murat as he was also a great sucker of classical literature. Plus, he also was known to be a flamboyant dresser (his nickname was “the Dandy King” by the way), also the designer of the uniforms of the Neapolitan army (with an excessive amount of amaranth, perhaps his favourite colour). Really, everyone just sees him as a great flamboyant himbo but in reality, he’s iconically badass in the battlefield as the First Horseman of Europe. Well, also he’s known for being extremely good with women even though his wife Caroline was fierce as hell. So, in my opinion, he fits the image of Apollo that we know.
However, you guys might feel surprised why I picked Franz Joseph for Apollo. Well, he really... was a rather mediocre ruler in my opinion, and perhaps our most memorable image of him was the senile emperor who signed the declaration of war to Serbia. Nevertheless, he was a well-liked man among his subjects, at least to some old citizens of Austria-Hungary telling future generations. Besides, culture flourished in Vienna under his reign—with notable figures like Sigmund Freud, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Erwin Schrödinger. Despite the series of unfortunate events which made the empire started to crumble, Austria-Hungary arguably has its cultural importance in Europe. Sounds like what Apollo would do if he’s a ruler, somehow.
Well, enough of his political achievements, let’s talk about his private life... which was probably the actual reason why I picked him.
Enter Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, also known as Sisi.
On a side note, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier of France, Prince of Neufchâtel and of Wargram, was Empress Sisi’s grand-uncle in-law via his marriage to Duchess Maria Elisabeth in Bavaria
Absolutely love Pia as Elisabeth in the musical so please don’t mind me using a gif from this :3 ((also, “Elisabeth” spoiler alert
Franz originally was to marry her sister Helene (nicknamed Néné), nevertheless, on the first meeting in Bad Ishl, he has fallen for the young Elisabeth, head over heels—making him defying his domineering mother, Archduchess Sophie, for the very first time. Elisabeth also liked him and did not expressed her refusal either, so they got married in St. Augustine’s Church in 29th April, 1854.
However, the marriage was not well. Sisi was not accustomed to the strict Austrian court especially Archduchess Sophie (also she was not really a fan of intimacy). Poor Franz was rather helpless in situations between his mother and his wife, and eventually, Sisi chose her freedom over her duty as Empress, traveling around the world. They two briefly went back together during the Austro-Hungarian compromise, yet she was constantly not there. Eventually, Sisi was assassinated by an anarchist named Luigi Lucheni during her stay in Geneva, Switzerland, and Franz was devastated over her death (“she will never know how much I love her”).
To Franz, he loved her so, but he really didn’t understand her needs. Even though he had countless mistresses and female companions in Vienna, he still missed his wife. I say, he was really unlucky when it comes to love. Like Apollo himself, he dated countless nymphs and humans, but a lot of his notable relationships did not have a good end. (Probably Cyrene was the most lucky one, yet she also has chosen to be left alone after mothering several children with Apollo.) For this, I picked Franz Joseph as Apollo.
5. Ares - Jean Lannes or Michel Ney
As usual, for those who don’t know much history, I shall briefly introduce my babeys these two great soldiers.
Jean Lannes was one of the marshals of Napoleon, known for being one of Napoleon’s closest friends and his fiery personality, and is considered one of the best marshals of the 1st French Empire. His finest moments including the Battle of Ratisbon in which he led his men to storm the well-guarded city with ladders (hence his nickname “ladder lord” in our very humble Napoleonic marshalate fandom :3). Sadly, he died of the wound he received in the battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809.
Michel Ney was also one of the marshals of Napoleon, known for his extreme valour (yep, he is known as the “Bravest of the Brave”). As you might know, he was one of the marshals who was in Waterloo, yet, his finest hour was during the retreat from Russia in the disasterous 1812. Sadly, he was arguably the most prominent victim of the White Terror under the second Bourbon restoration, executed in 1815 (**I am not accepting any kind of conspiracy theories of my babey survived and died in America😤).
Speaking of Ares, I have a lot of things to say (that’s my dad ;-; no jkjk). He is really not that bloodthirsty idiot who casually hates humans. Well, he’s more like a fiery dork and a man who was very faithful to his lovers, and fights very well (by the way also one of the best dads). So, the bois that come into my mind are automatically two of the most courageous marshals of France.
Lannes, if I have to get him a godly parent, it would definitely Ares. He resembled the god a lot (also I sometimes imagined Ares as a smol bean with dark hair), probably looks the most like Ares himself. He got that fiery temper, that faithfulness to his wife Louise, also being a very courageous fighter in the field—well he literally was like, “NO LEMME STORM DAT CITY *grabs ladder*”.
There you have it, my big bro our ladder lord Jean Lannes who can pull off a perfect Ares.
Ney is like a slightly introverted (and mature) version of an Ares person. You can guess his temper already through his famed auburn hair, and indeed despite his shy exterior his temper sometimes was a bit explosive, and a bit impatient (which was somehow one of his fatal flaws). He was a great fighter, known as a skilled swordsman in his youth. And you all know how brave he is in his famed epithet. Michel Ney is purely badass (and C U T E) you know (and he needs a lot of hugs because he has really been though a lot in the wars, and was a possible case of PTSD which was shown in his arguably suicidal behaviour during the battle of Waterloo). That’s why I casted him as the Greek god Ares OwO
//
And there you have it, my interpretations on the Greek gods via people in history. I originally would like to include more but somehow I realised that I have written too much about my picks. So, if you want to add more, reblog this post or tag me on the post you made on this topic (and please use the hashtag “mythical figures as historical people” so that I could look into your choices via the search bubble on this app🥺).
Last but not the least, I hope you all lovelies like this, also have learnt something new via my brief introductions on some historical people. Have a great day!
#greek mythology#finally some Greek mythology content#i hope you all don’t mind me overselling my bois#no shipping intended on the castings#this is from an ex-Hellenic devotee who had been in Classics class#Zeus#Hera#Aphrodite#Apollo#Ares#methods of procrastinating from university tasks and responsibilities#why am I still up in 2am I said I would get a proper sleep tonight for excessive headbanging to David Bowie for his birthday🌚#the relationship between Franz and Sisi got me sobbing all the time#Louis XIV#Catherine of Aragon#pauline bonaparte#joachim murat#franz joseph i#elisabeth of austria#elisabeth of bavaria#empress sisi#jean lannes#michel ney#mythical figures as historical people
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So this week’s episode of What if…? Has been an interesting question for me today as it has got me thinking about this. Now as an adult, I’ve learnt that I need to have a backup plan if things never go according to plan (as Plan A would’ve end up as a disaster and then I just throw my hands up in the air and give up) so I have to have a Plan B just in case.
What if the Avengers Initiative didn’t come into fruition?
So in the Alternative Universe (of Earth) Super Hero movies would be the mainstream media. As for starters 20th Century Fox gave us the X-Men Trilogy (X-Men, Days of Future Past and The Last Stand) X-Men Evolution is a fantastic animated reboot that stayed true to the comics and the iconic 90’s X-Men the animated series. Fantastic Four on the other hand… not so much (not even the reboot) so if Marvel Studios went with this route where the original Avengers died. Nick Fury would’ve made a new roster… so let’s look at the timeline shall we?
Captain America The First Avenger: (Cryogenically Frozen) 🥶
Agent Carter: I am guessing that she would be too old to be an Avenger.
(1990’s) Captain Marvel: She is alive so a strong candidate for the “Avengers Initiative” 2.0
Iron Man: So the first MCU movie and Tony is currently alive so no changes here.
Iron Man 2: Six months later (after Iron Man) Tony Stark is now dead ☠️
The Incredible Hulk: Bruce Banner is dead ☠️
Thor: Thor (or Donald Blake) is dead and Hawkeye is dead ☠️ ☠️
Avengers: Well, we are screwed because Natasha Romanov is dead ☠️ and Loki is in power of the MCU and the owner of the Tesaract
Agents of SHIELD (Season 1): Well, the only thing that comes to my mind is Loki is now in power and now we have Hydra on our plates too! So I can see a war between Loki and Hydra covering during and after Captain America Winter Soldier.
Captain America Winter Soldier: So, the question is… is Captain America defrosted? Bucky Barns is a thing 😅 (oh boy)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Daredevil: Yep, Netflix series
Jessica Jones
Cloak and Dagger
Agents of SHIELD (Season 2)
Avengers Age of Ultron: No Ultron, No Vision simple as.
Ant Man
Daredevil (Season 2): Nope we aren’t having the Punisher
Luke Cage
Iron Fist
The Defenders
Avengers Civil War
Black Panther
Spider-Man Homecoming
The Punisher:
Doctor Strange
Inhumans
The Runaways
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers Infinity War
Avengers Endgame
Spider-Man Far From Home
Who would’ve been on the Avengers Instead?
Surely Nick Fury would’ve made a back up plan to be honest I was thinking Loki and boy was I wrong when he took over the world. 😑 So anyway, let’s start scraping the barrel shall we? So we have the X-Men and heavens forbid the Fantastic 4 So (I would pray and hope the MCU would do them justice)
Captain “Carol Denvers” Marvel (Spoilers at the end)
Captain “Steve Rogers” America? (Spoilers) an iceberg
Scarlet Witch
Quicksilver
Pepper Potts (Rescue)
War Machine: So with Tony Stark being dead and all, James Rhodes would take on the Iron-Man mantle but as War Machine (also Stark Industries) so it would make sense that he would engineer, upgrade and modify his weaponry.
Spider-Man: so with Peter Parker being a science nerd (like Bruce Banner) we might as well need a hero with a scientist background. S.H.I.E.L.D would apprehend Spider-Man first in order to ask Peter to join the Avengers at an early age (at 16-17) it would mean Aunt May will be relocated under S.H.I.E.L.D’s protection, No more high school, No more Daily Bugle and his mantra would’ve changed from responsibility to duty. Spider-Man Noir anybody?
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So I watched LUCIDS 1-4 without any prior knowledge...
and here were my thoughts. I didn’t watch any backstory or anything so enjoy my suffering.
PART 1
“So what happens when the people inside of their dreams go to sleep?” They die
“What happens when we wake up? Do they go on living while we’re not there?” THEY DIE-
“Who are they anyway?” they’re faces that our brain catalogs and stores for later use, although it’s also arguable that every time we dream we go to an alternate reality and inhabit the body of another version of ourselves. Now, were you in a car accident and trapped underwater or-
Are they twins?
(Me tuning out to do something)
“-the squirrel in spongebob was your soulmate, making you a Sandy simp-”
Me, snapping back to the video: hold up-
[missed the part about the worksheet, realized it when i rewatched 10 mins later to make this post]
yall speakin gibberish idk what youre saying-
“I’m gonna go to bed.” bro it literally looks like morning-
“You should get some sleep you look terrible.” i get six hours of sleep a night minimum and i look worse than him shut up bro-
“jump into someone else’s dream” ah i know this con-
why they all got the same face-
haha funni meme
“--an interruptiion can create feedback and tear them apart.” Death. I long for thee.
Is that Karl Jacob’s jacket?
“a second grader” makes me think this is a different school system. [i was wrong? i think?]
“[get him to] eat your apple”
[in the dream sequence] weird dream, but ive had weirder. now, Why Pamper’s-
why does he suddenly have a knife-
“You put a filter on the Dreamscape feed?”
“Technically, you are seven years old.”
???????????
the second hand embarrassment is UGGGHHH
[reading the description] you mean like the guy who was knocked out for 2 minutes on a football field and woke to find he’d dreamt 17 years of his life? oh this shall be Fun
PART 2
[I check the description] “jasper cult” what the fu-
how many camp camp references can i make during this
Is the apple a reference to religion or does the creator just really ilke apples?
“meal.”
“meal?”
meal????
Wait why couldn’t that guy eat the apple? If he wanted it in the fruit bowl, wouldn’t there be a chance of the guy eating it anyways?? Why can’t the guy who brought the apple eat it?
well he’s Dead
[debating if I should read the backstory}
n a h h h h h -
Was he gonna feed the dead guy the apple or something? Why is he upset about the apple in this scene???
oooo the grownups are fightinnnngggg
Is he an antagonist?
HE WROTE A BOOK???
oh now i want food
ESTABLISH JUSTICE ENSURE DOMESTIC TRANQUILITYYYYYYYYYYYYY
“I watched all those aforementioned shows” what shows did i miss something what-
man why you gotta hate on her jane austen fanfic let her live bro
string theory! i can get behind that! sorta-
o no he found the memes-
BOY GOT KNOCKED OUT-
kim there’s people that are dying-
is SHE an antagonist?
quinn? calling himself jasper? u sure hes not just nonbinary? is this just a metaphor for transphobic parenting?
“He died... but somewhere, he grew up.” So is your plan to take a Quinn from a different universe and make him your own, thereby robbing another version of yourself from happiness? When does this ever go well?
Yknow most people, when they lose a kid,,,, kinda,,,,,,, dont go on a ceaseless quest to find another version of their kid that grew up without knowing that another version of his mother was invading other peoples’ dreams to find and kidnap him,,,,,,,, like aint u got a therapist-
“Once you get past the point of not knowing what’s real anymore, you realize it doesn’t matter.” Well, I Got Called Out-
PART 3
“you’re real, oliver.”
aRe yOu sUrE aBoUt tHaT-
“you’ve been infected by the anti-love parasite of Mandadon” the amatonormativity is strong
so anyways ive been infected since birth hbu-
“James Jasperson, creator of Japple” did you mean to Fancy Well-Educated Man in a Black Turtleneck? cause the only FWEMBT i allow near me is prof. hidgens
“are you winning?” says the capitalist
why did you rewind to see his face?? you have the same face????? is this just bc the creator doesnt like working with other people cause in that case same but???????
“it’s a bad idea. i’m not gonna do it.” we’ve all been there. and we’ve all done it.
looks like me trying to study. (i say, a person who has studied a total of five minutes throughout their entire life.)
your “Spartan trial” looks like a bunch of guys standing on a hill pretending to be something they’re not. Let The Man Bring His Snacks.
eat the apple.
is this your first existential crisis or something what a loser lets all point and laugh
“One of you should be spared, the other shall’nt.” did you mean shant or was that a choice-
yall gonna get called out for talking shut UP
“sorry if this is too personal, btw. are you okay?”
me, confused and half understanding what’s going on and also needing to sleep cause its almost one in the morning but wanting to finish what i can find of lucids which i only starting watching cause i saw an animatic of ranboo and dream w audio from it: i don’t know anymore
“i just want my life back... i was gonna get married-” AREN’T YOU LIKE SEVEN-
ay man if this is a sacrificial cult yall gotta get daniel-
UPDATE: I H A V E N O T F O U N D I T -
“oliver”
I F O U N D I T -
WHICH ONE IS QUINN?? WHO’S JASPER???? WHICH ONE IS BENJAMIN???? I THOUGH BENJAMIN WAS SEVEN BUT I THOUGHT HE WAS THE ONE GETTING MARRIED WHAT-
oliver. eat the apple.
“Can you still have memories even when you’re dreaming?” One time I woke up to my alarm and fell back asleep and in my dream I remembered that I had class in a few minutes and my dream self woke my real self up so fast I thought I was gonna get whiplash. Anyways, I was late to class bc of my computer but that doesn’t matter.
NOPE I FOUND IT. HERE’S THE AUDIO. THE ANIMATIC ONE. FINALLY.
im thinking car crash. but also maybe murder. but also maybe both? is it raining or was he drowning? is he in a coma? hmmmmmm?
wait olivers the one with the apple does that mean he’s the one dreaming? is the ending gonna be him and jasper (quinn? idk) fighting against ben and mrs hills about jasper eating the apple to save oliver from the dream? hmmmmmmmmmm-
waitwaitwait i thought oliver was 7 how is benjamin 7 years younger than him if they look the same age what what what explain america explain what you mean arkansaw-
are the cuts on his nose plot-relevant or
“What if you hadn’t been driving?” So I was right about the car accident but Mrs. Hills still said he was seven so did i mishear her say that BENJAMIN was seven? but even then oliver would be 14 and that would still be illegal-
“How are you feeling?”
“Like you’re a pretty bad therapist.”
mood
“--it makes it all bearable to have power over the stories we write in our heads” that’s why i write fanfiction
HE’S GOT THE NOTEBOOK HE’S GONNA WRITE SOMETHING ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US
WHAT YOU MEAN AN EXPERIMENT THAT’S HIS NAME-
[upon reading the description] so i was right.
wait was that supposed to be the twist in part 2 about the apple in his pocket is that what the existential crisis was about i thought it was because he was introduced to the multiple worlds theory-
PART 4
wait wasnt the other one january 2018 why we going back to 2017-
appol
“--the future and the past all already exist” mhm yep figured this out long ago
there was simultaneously a point in time in which i hadn’t known about this, had been looking it up, had been watching it, and had been writing an ending to this post, and had been posting it the next morning before class. that time is both now and not now. Welcome To The Multiverse Theory or whatever its called-
“--my favorite scene of the movie is waking up next to you.” Mine is eating fast food as I listen to AJJ and play Minecraft. We are not the same.
Now I’m hungry but it’s 1 in the morning and i already put my retainer in god fu-
[reading description] what do you mean previously??? she did that in the first episode????????
[still on description] WHAT DO YOU MEAN WILL QUINN BITE THE APPLE AND GO TO BENJAMINS REALITY ISNT THIS OLIVERS REALITY AND HE HAS TO GET BEN TO BITE THE APPLE WHY IS APPLE CAPITALIZED IS THIS THE DOING OF THE FWEMBT
i should have watched the backstory i should have watched the backstory i should have watched the backstory i should have wa-
[description] oh ive been spelling quinn right the whole time nice
i hope she rejects you /j
WAIT BENJAMIN WAS THE ONE GETTING MARRIED TO ISABELLE
ISNT HE IN SECOND GRADE-
HE IS SEVEN YEARS OLD HOW IS HE GETTING MARRIED ARE THERE TWO BENJAMINS THAT WE’RE FOCUSING ON-
bro get out of the road ull get hit
how do you knOW WHICH ONE IS QUINN THEY ARE THE SAME PERSON-
so
wait
hills wants ben to feed quinn the apple bc in his mind, that will give hills and quinn a happy ending and she doesnt want ben to see the apple bc thats gonna mean ben will know that his reality isnt reality at all. so then oliver has to,,,, not let anyone eat his apple? he just has to wake up?
IS HILLS THE VILLAIN AFTER ALL ORRRRR
wait but if ben sees the apple wont he realize that his reality is wrong and his reality will change, making it so that hills doesnt get her son? or is there some time-based rule that says they’re only transported to the reality that the person believes at that moment? or is this another stab at the multiverse thing where an infinite amount of hills gets their happy endings while an infinite amount of hills doesnt and etc etc?
i should have watched the ba-
oooo dramatique
they’re in a time loop?
nope thats a new powerpoint
wait so theyre,,,, no-
wait-
nvm-
IS THE BEN WE KNOW AN ADULT GETTING MARRIED TO ISABELLE OR NOT-
“they were actually pretty nice” didnt they throw someone off a cliff-
oh so it got confusing THEN??? NOT BEFORE?????
“it all seemed so real.” is that Not the point of vivid REM sleep hallucinations-
is oliver gonna show ben the apple and ruin hills’ whole operation
WHO ARE ALEX AND RYAN-
“what’s 25-8″ bro dont do this to me-
yep hes gonna show the apple
ayyy the guy who stole karl jacobs jacket it back
the second hand embarrassment is back and I Hate It
all that happens in episode ONE??? bro get some better writers that is bad pacing
“it’s the best!” wait until season eight. no show has a good season eight.
quinn knows about the apple thing w the dreams and multiverse and realities dont he
YOU KILLED HIM
NOT KARL JACOBS NOOOOO HES ALREADY DIED ONCE
oliver is v relatable
wHaT iN tArNaTiOn-
lemme hear that explanaton again-
is bill cipher gonna show up? i hope bill cipher shows up. i miss gravity falls
“ah! a tree! ah! a tree! ah a tree!” moooooooood
did hills murder quinn
is your family the jasper cult
TOXXIICCCCCC get that lady out of your life quinn that is so toxic
“ ah! a tree! ah! a tree! ah a tree! ah! a tree! ah! a tree! ah a tree!” mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT’S THE END NO WHAT WHY NO
The Adventures of Benjamin and Oliver
he is Not Good
ope-
wait so ben is equal parts an adult AND a child?? okay that clears a lot up
I MEAN HE WAS RIGHT THO BEN U CAN’T REALLY ARGUE ON THAT-
ew get off the floor
butterfly effect, multiverse theory, memory decay, and your imagination ALL exist yall gonna ignore that cause you wanna be famous?
“We already know what the future looks like!”
aRe yOu sUrE aBoUt tHaT-
to add to the list of bad things: Cats (2019)
YA BOI THINKS IT’S NOT ALREADY FIFTY YEARS TOO LATE TO START FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE FFFFF
BINGO BABYYYY
get what what
what mapped-
awwwww he thinks THEY’RE creating the multiverse
you gonna dismiss the multiverse theory bc of something you created in your current reality? loooserrrrrr
ABUSE YOUR GODLIKE POWERS
she draggin that seven year old
a lot makes sense now why didnt i do this first-
Jasper
the food shortages-
bro that calculators like 90 bucks at walmart
imagine meeting a stranger and they know Everything about your life like that’s gotta be so weird
what’s even weirder is them telling you you’re the deity of a cult that sacrifices animals
THAT FOURTH WALL BREAK WAS-
KARL JACOBS IS DEAD NOOOOOO
ooohhh there’s context for that
OOOOHHHH THERE’S CONTEXT FOR THIS TOOOO
w h a t -
w h a t -
W H A T -
Conclusion:
it’s 2 in the morning and i need sleep but hOOOOO MY GODS THAT WAS GOOD IS IT OVER OR NOT IDK ANYMORE IM TIRED THAT WAS CRAZY I HOPE QUINN AND JASPER GO ON TO BE VERY GOOD FRIENDS, AND I HOPE BENJAMIN AND OLIVER STAY VERY GOOD FRIENDS AND I HOPE HILLS FINDS A THERAPIST WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING BUT I ENJOYED IT
if i dream about apples im suing /j /lh
#lucids#nicholas podany#there's a metaphor in there somewhere#but im not gonna be the one to find it#i dont think i dreamed about apples#youre safe for now podany#for now#EDIT#I PUT 'something their not'#WRONG THERE#I HAVE NO EXCUSE#IM SORRY
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Punishment || A Hazbin Hotel Tickle Fic
Author’s Note: Part of a fic exchange I’m doing with @amazingmsme! This is my first time writing a fic for this fandom but I’m super excited. I love all of these characters and I’m eagerly anticipating the next episode. Just a quick warning, this fic contain adult content that usually isn’t present in my work. You have been warned! I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Oh, and remember...you’re never fully dressed without a smile!
Angel Dust was on a mission and he was determined to succeed. He was no stranger to flirting and seducing, not that it shocked anyone. When you worked in the adult entertainment industry such things were expected of you. Angel was exceptionally popular too, with both men and women. While he personally fancied men and only men, there were times when Valentino didn’t give him much of a choice when it came to partners. He would do whatever it took to keep his drug habit funded and his job secured. Still, Angel would have been lying if he said he hated his work. He had been with some of the top overlords in Hell, a claim not many could make. Still, there was one stallion the spider demon had been unable to ride. That stallion was Alastor, the radio demon and resident co-manager of the hotel. Well, he was determined to change that! He could have any man he wanted and that included Alastor!
He poked his head around the corner, eyes zeroing in on his target. Alastor was at the bar counter, seemingly pestering Husk. The cat demon looked like he would have rather been anywhere else, ears twitching as Alastor laughed at one of his own puns. Angel’s heart rate quickened as determination filled him; he could do this! He wasn’t really interested in Alastor as a romantic partner, just as a one-night stand. He was desperate to know what the famous overlord was like in bed. All he had to do was secure one night with him and that would be the end of it. Besides, then he could brag to his coworkers that he had seduced one of the most powerful beings in Hell. How awesome would that be? Angel took a deep breath, adjusting the outfit he had carefully spent an hour choosing before striding towards the bar. The clicking of his heels quickly drew the attention of the other two demons. Alastor’s face remained unchanged, bearing his usual forced grin, and Husk looked like he wanted to throw himself from the roof of the hotel.
“Ah, Angel Dust! Care to join us? I was just telling Husk about the newest ideas Charlie pitched for the hotel!” The deer demon greeted. “Not that I have much of a choice in the matter.” Husk grumbled, downing his third glass of whisky in under ten minutes. With luck he would pass out soon and wouldn’t have to deal with Alastor again for a few hours. Angel leaned against the counter, batting his eyelashes. He made a point to position himself so that his chest was on display, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Husk. “Don’t you ever wear any normal clothes?” The bartender groaned. “Nope! Why would I want to cover up my best assets?” Angel replied, chancing a glance at Alastor. The radio host seemed to be completely unfazed by his tight, revealing corset and mini skirt. Damn, he was good! Still, Angel wasn’t anywhere near ready to give up! Husk groaned, rubbing his head. “I’ll be back...” He grumbled, stumbling off towards the restrooms. It seemed he had over drank, as usual. This left Alastor and Angel Dust completely alone; perfect.
Angel scooted closer to Alastor; that certainly drew the other’s attention. “So, it’s just you and me now...” The spider demon purred. Alastor tilted his head slightly, grin never faltering. “What precisely are you getting at?” The radio host questioned. “Oh, I think you know exactly what I’m getting at. Let’s head up to my room, what do you say? I can show you a real good time.” Alastor chuckled, static filtering through as he took a step back. “I’m afraid I have to turn down your offer. I’m not one for carnal pursuits of the flesh. Why don’t you proposition ‘ole Husker? He would put up a little resistance at first but usually gives in rather quickly.” Angel took another scoot closer to Alastor, eyes burning with desire. “Because it’s not him I want, big boy.” He reached out to touch the other’s arm, which was promptly drawn away. “Angel, if you persist I’m afraid there’s going to be dire consequences.” Angel smirked. “Haven’t you heard? I like bein’ punished, especially by studs like you.”
Alastor’s expression changed, though it was barely noticeable. His already wide smile widened ever so slightly. There was a new gleam to his eyes, though Angel couldn’t tell what it meant yet. “Is that so?” Alastor purred, taking a step closer to the spider demon. His overall presence poured charisma and power, making Angel’s heart nearly jump out of his chest. “Well then, perhaps I shall carry out your little punishment...” Angel’s throat went dry; was it happening? Had his efforts payed off? His eyes narrowed, smirk widening. “Just be gentle with me, Al. I still gotta work tomorrow.” Angel turned, about to lead the way to his quarters when a hand grabbed his wrist. He looked down, discovering a dark tentacle wrapped around it. “Where do you think you are going?” Alastor asked, taking another step closer. Angel gulped, trying to keep up his cocky persona. “My room? Unless you wanna do this right here, where anyone can see us?” Alastor let out another low chuckle. “Let them see. I’m sure they will enjoy the show.”
That surprised Angel Dust. He had never pegged Alastor as the kinky type; the deer demon was the most mysterious and private person he knew! Still, he certainly wasn’t complaining! A few more tentacles appeared from a portal in the ground, wrapping around his arms and legs. He felt himself being hoisted up and pinned to the wall. “Woah! You do this often?” Angel asked with a nervous chuckle. “Yes, though my magic usually isn’t used for something so trivial.” Alastor scanned the trapped actor’s body, clearly contemplating something. “Now it’s my turn to ask you a question.” Angel shrugged; whatever it took to get this show on the road. “Ask away.” Alastor leaned forward, purring into his captive’s ear. “You wouldn’t happen to be ticklish, would you?” Angel froze, eyes widening. Had he heard that right? No, surely not! “C-Can you repeat that?” He stammered, earning a devilish laugh from the deer demon. “Are you ticklish? It’s a simple questions, my friend! Yes or no!” Oh, so he had heard right. Angel could feel himself blushing under his fur.
The truth was, he was extremely ticklish. He also loved it, tickling being near the top of his growing list of kinks. Just about everyone knew so he rarely had to explain himself. That, when combined with the pure novelty of Alastor being the one teasing him, flustered the spider demon to no end. “W-Well, I...” He started, a squeal cutting off his words. One of the tentacles had slipped around his waist, stroking against his belly. The corset he was wearing left just the slightest bit of tummy exposed, a choice in attire he was now regretting. He bit his lip, holding back snickers. “Yes or no...” Alastor’s tone just made his teasing ever worse! Angel took a deep breath before finally managing to stammer out an answer. “Yes! Y-You know, thihihis isn’t exactly what I had in mind...” He babbled, a giggle slipping out as a tentacle stroked across his neck. “Good! I cannot wait to explore this further!” Alastor chimed, snapping his fingers. The various tentacles set to work, stroking over his exposed neck and belly. Angel instantly burst into giggles, having no chance of holding it in.
“Ah, it seems we’re already making progress!” Alastor said gleefully, a sadistic undertone in his voice. The tentacles were gentle enough at first, stroking slowly and teasingly across Angel’s belly and neck. However, it seemed that Alastor quickly grew bored with mere giggles and elected to really make the spider demon shriek. More tentacles joined the party, squeezing Angel’s hips and knees. The actor squealed, shaking his head rapidly. “Noooohohohohohahahahaha! Dohohohohohohohon’t!” Alastor feigned ignorance. Of course he did, that bastard! “Don’t? Don’t what, my dear friend? You like this, do you not?” Angel’s eyes widened in shock. “Hohohohohow cohohohould you pohohohohohossibly know thahahahat?” He questioned through another round of laughter. “Why, you just told me!” The deer demon replied. Angel’s cheeks were on fire now. He had tricked him! That bastard had tricked him! That wasn’t fair!
“Now, would you be so kind as to tell me your worst spot?” Alastor asked. Angel shook his head stubbornly, squealing again as a particularly sensitive spot on his lower belly was targeted. “Thehehehehehehehere is nohohohohoho wahahahahahay in Hehehehehell I’m tehehehehelling yohohohohohou that!” He retorted. In all honesty, he wanted the other to find it. He was actually enjoying himself quite a bit and wanted this to go on as long as he could handle it. Alastor shrugged, humming as he leaned against the bar counter. “Suit yourself! I’ll just have to experiment with each and every spot until I find the right one.” Angel’s eyes flashed deviously. “Oooohohohohoho, kihihihihihinky!” He called out. While there was no visible change, that comment seemed to irk the deer demon as the tickles suddenly grew much more intense. The tentacles more drilled into his torso, forcing waves of laughter from poor Angel. A shriek tore from his throat when a tentacle curiously brushed under one of his arms. “Oooh, what do we have here?” Alastor purred as Angel’s struggling increased tenfold.
Angel felt into wave after wave of shrieks as tentacles began drilling into his exposed hollows. It was bad enough having a sweet spot that was so easily accessed; having six of them just made it worse! “NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! P-PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!” He cackled. “Begging? So soon? I would have thought a demon of your experience would have a higher tolerance.” Alastor’s teasing was going to kill him, Angel was sure of it. Well, if those damn tentacles didn’t do it first. There was enough of them to attack every armpit at once, something he was completely unused to. The most lers he had ever had at one time was two; only enough hands for four hollows. While that was still awful, it was nothing compared to Alastor’s attack. “STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP! MEHEHEHEHEHEHERCY!” He pleaded, feeling himself growing tired. The corset’s tightness made it hard to take deep breaths; he would definitely need a break soon.
Thankfully, Alastor decided to be merciful for once in his life. The tentacles receded back into the portal, leaving the spider demon panting on the ground. Angel curled up, wrapping his multitude of arms around his torso. Alastor approached, observing his victim’s tired state. “Well, I’d say that was sufficient enough punishment, don’t you?” Angel looked up at the deer demon, letting out a weak chuckle. “Damn, you’re merciless. We could use someone like you back at the studio. There are demons who would pay good money for a session with you.” Alastor raised his hand, fingers poised to snap again. “Okay, I’m sorry! I’ll back off with the sex stuff, okay?” Angel blurted quickly. Alastor chuckled, offering Angel a hand. Surprised, the actor accepted the gesture and was pulled to his feet. “Good to hear! Oh look, here comes Husker! Shall we have him pour us a drink?” Angel laughed, shaking his head.
That night was certainly full of surprises...
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As we can see from the above there is a wide spectrum of possible interpretations of Xiao Qi’s behaviour post-Hunt of Doom. I’ve gone through good three or four different ones myself, some of them more harsh than those sent in by my lovely Nonnies and yes, this is actually something I like to think about, sue me. And yet I stalled when faced with those particular asks; could it be that I had no answer at the ready? Actually, yes, this is exactly what I’m saying. Which is why I felt the need to re-examine some of the particularly juicy scenes related to the subject. If only to stop getting so bloody depressed about this purported change... or, alternatively, hurry up and become a veritable fountain of tears already, with all of this hemming and hawing done with once and for all.
I think we can all agree that something snapped in Xiao Qi after episode 50. Not completely, as during Hu Yao’s retelling it’s made pretty obvious there was still plenty left there to snap. And even then Xiao Qi never went full psycho, for all that he had every excuse to do so. Why, he was able to stop in his tracks and delay - or even partially abandon - his revenge when it became clear it could potentially play into the hands of some unknown, possibly hostile and probably self-serving faction. That’s more than one could reasonably expect; to be frank, when watching those last few episodes raw I got mightily confused. Because really, nobody would blame Xiao Qi for going after Zitan with actual killing intent; it may not have looked quite right even then, but it made actual sense for the character.
And oh dear, did he become ruthless! I don’t think that drama!Xiao Qi would have normally gone after witless Imperial Mooks with such utter ruthlessness when not threatened directly and certainly not because of an insult. Until he did in episode 55, that is. Without one word, like a bloody grim reaper. Not to say that he was ever loud or, gods forbid, hesitant about his killing. But neither was he this single-minded about it. There is still plenty of emotion there or rather there is plenty of emotion before - including an actual tear! - and none in the immediate aftermath of the killing.
Huh. Is it me or does this scene resemble nothing more than a burnt offering? It’s a ritual sacrifice, just look how it’s framed! Plenty of fire and smoke, sacrificial animals Mooks butchered and fired up right at the gravesite and Xiao Qi as the presiding priest entering into communion with the dead and making a solemn oath meant to ensure their peaceful rest. Well, isn’t this neat. But it’s not about the aesthetics. It’s about the way this oath is worded. Xiao Qi addresses his fallen brothers directly, which means this whole revenge business is not actually about him. It would be much, much easier if it was! The only way he enters into this equation personally at this stage is as an executioner... and as a debtor. He feels that he owes those fallen soldiers, that much is made clear. As if he wouldn’t have felt obliged to get justice for them either way! Let me tell you, they take bro code very, very seriously up there in Ningshuo.
And yet, with this oath weighing on his soul, what is Xiao Qi’s first destination? It’s not Ningshuo, where he might be able to clear up this whole supposed treason issue (and wouldn’t that be fun to see!), get resources to exact revenge or hell, even admit and undergo penance for his perceived failings, if that’s his jam. It’s not like he has any other options if he wants to get justice. Unless he’s planning to go full Dark and Toxic Avenger, which doesn’t suit him at all. And yet what is his first priority? To save his wife, of course! Which he could have done just as well with the full force of Ningshuo Army behind his back, which he could have had but for the asking. It’s not like he could have known Awu needed immediate rescuing, he’s not bloody prescient.
So, on that list of priorities Awu’s safety trumps revenge. Good to know. But it’s still before everything else, right? Yeah, no. See, there is a reason he didn’t go to Ningshuo until he had no other choice but to seek out safety for Awu and all those civilians, the Dou kids among them. It’s the same reason he doesn’t force a mutiny right at the very start and not even once he has his back pressed to the wall by a horde of wild Hulans. And why he leaves it to this men to make their own decision to follow him and even tries to talk them out of it, reminding them that officially he’s a dirty traitor and all that. So... Free choice and good reputation of living Ningshuo soldiers trump revenge, who knew. Xiao Qi, dearie, that’s not how you go on a rampage, what kind of a ruthless avenger are you? A very poor one, that’s what kind.
No, really, he’s so bad at this roaring rampage of revenge thing that I’m getting second-hand embarrassment. Because the next thing we know he’s not even framing it as revenge anymore! If you pay attention to that lovely post-coital (what, it really is!) conversation in episode 60, some things immediately jump out. Like the fact that Xiao Qi is clingy as fuck and not that eager to go anywhere outside his wife’s bed. Like the fact that he says that he needs to go as it is his duty to get to the truth. Truth! Not revenge. And it’s not like he’s framing it this way solely for Awu’s benefit as he talks to her of revenge just one episode later; truth is what is going to figure the most in his pursuit of the true culprit behind the Hunt of Doom. Truth and justice. Which is nothing like this hundredfold revenge stuff from episode 55, although revenge - normal, standard type - will still come up time to time. Could it be that this oath is Xiao Qi’s spiritus movens with truth and justice playing the role of a fig leaf preserving some resemblance of reason and legality? It’s certainly possible... if his actions supported it in any way. And they simply don’t.
Because you know what just got put onto that list of priorities above bloody revenge? Duty. Duty that all Ningshuo soldiers have towards Cheng. Zitan is sitting in his room, while his ministers run around like headless chickens. Chaos and rebellion rule supreme... so what does Xiao Qi do? He takes the scenic route to the capital, absolutely disregarding the fact that after six more months and with no advantage of surprise - hard to keep his return secret when he’s at the head of an army - the trail of this dastardly culprit could go completely cold.
So far the list of Xiao Qi priorities goes something like this:
Awu,
his living men, which includes their reputation and freedom of choice,
his duty to Cheng and its people,
truth and justice,
revenge.
Which is pretty much what it would have looked like before episode 50, minus revenge that is. Ah, no, sorry, there is a change. There is an additional bullet point, Song Huaien. Who had gone well before truth and justice before the Hunt of Doom (remember that burnt receipt?) and now slots in right behind it. Still trumps revenge though! If he didn’t, Xiao Qi would have pressed harder during their little tete-a-tete at the end of episode 60. But no, he loses control only for the barest moment and even then it takes an implied insult to the honour of his fallen brothers in general and Best Bro in particular. Or, if that is not proof enough, he would have involved Song Huaien in his later investigation, putting pressure on him if necessary. And yet that quite noticeably doesn’t happen.
Okay, I think we’re pretty clear on this priorities thing, right? To recap, Xiao Qi’s post-episode 50 list of priorities looks like this:
Awu,
his living men, which includes their reputation and freedom of choice,
his duty to Cheng and its people,
truth and justice,
Song Huaien (currently an outsider) and his freedom of choice,
revenge.
Let’s change the subject. You are right on point, my lovely Nonnie #1, Xiao Qi hasn’t exactly changed. He just became more of himself, shedding - perhaps only temporarily - some parts, while embracing others whole-heartedly. Which hasn’t exactly gone unnoticed. And surprisingly enough I’m not talking about Awu; we shall speak of her fears in a moment. I’m speaking of Tang Jing and his strange way of reassuring Xiaohe that Dawang will be fine during their meeting with Song Huaien. DAWANG will be fine, says our faithful general, keeping a close and surprisingly wary eye on the proceedings. Why, it looks like he might be implying someone else might not be fine, that somebody being Song Huaien. Tang Jing is wrong on that count, but he had definitely noticed something off about Xiao Qi. Or maybe not off, but something that has him at the ready for possible violence, which would have been absurd before Dawang’s miraculous resurrection. Methinks someone is coming over as having no more fucks to give. Well, it’s not like Ningshuo guys disapprove! Just look at their determined little faces and upright postures (!) during the kneeling debacle in episode 61.
As for Awu... Personally I don’t think it at all strange that she questions whether Xiao Qi has changed. It would be much, much stranger if she didn’t. Her doubt is only natural as it comes right after she gets proof that Su Jin’er betrayed her in a most heinous way. And it’s not the first time she was taken by surprise like this: most of her loved ones changed in most unpleasant ways and some simply revealed their true colours. Daddy Wang, Daddy Emperor, Empress Dowager, Zitan, Potato (if one believes Helan Zhen), Xie Wanru, Zilu, Mi’er, Su Jin’er, they all turned out to be something else than she originally thought them to be and even her parents’ marriage turned out to be built on blood and penance. Turnip is not on that list as he start lying to her face only after she expresses her fear to Xiao Qi, although before she does so to Auntie Xu.
But let us look at our Dark and Toxic Avenger. He rolls up to the capital with his humongous army good six months late and does he get straight to business? Yeah, no. First he allows Awu to hold a sweet reunion with her brother, which could have damaged his cause if it ever hinged on empty posturing. It doesn’t, but still, Nonnie #1, what say you to this example of husbandly strictness? That he does not engage himself is not exactly out of character either; he does engage with those of Awu relatives he likes (so her Mom basically) and holds back with those he doesn’t (like the Screechers). He’s pretty ambivalent on Turnip, I think, especially now that he serves as Zitan’s mouthpiece.
Thank you, dear Nonnie #2 for making me pay attention to those two scenes in particular. That episode 61 conversation is something quite special and very, very telling. Let’s start from the beginning. It’s not Awu who raises the subject of Xiao Qi changing; he does it himself. She just muses on the subject in general and he immediately zeroes on it, volunteering such juicy ammo as the fact that other people think he had changed. Who are those other people, I wonder? Tang Jing? Other Ningshuo officers? Who the hell could have known Xiao Qi well enough and be close enough to have no problem with voicing such an inflammatory opinion? Must have been Tang Jing. Doesn’t really matter. What matters is that Xiao Qi is surprisingly conscious of his own behaviour. But I think it’s not exactly a new thing; I think his reluctance to take Awu with him in episode 60 was at least partially motivated by his fear that she’d see him at his worst. After all he didn’t actually confirm her theory about his probable reasoning. But back to episode 61! Xiao is also surprisingly insecure about his actions. At first I thought he was concerned solely about Awu’s perception of them, but now I’m not so sure. He’s a bit too touched and too grateful for her support - to the point of overselling her contribution, unless there were some cuts there, that is - for it to be just that.
As for that playfulness, merry Nonnie #3, there it is!
And strangely enough it’s Xiao Qi who initiates it. Awu’s comment about Princess Yuzhang needing to be brave doesn’t exactly feel like teasing. More like reassurance; I am your Princess Yuzhang hear me roar and you are not alone, you have a help-meet in me. He’s the one who turns to teasing her about her great bravery and being superior to Prince Yuzhang in this aspect. In the old days she might have been the one to put herself above him as a joke; this is weirdly reminiscent of that teasing but with Xiao Qi substituting for Awu. And even so their teasing doesn’t exactly last, they’re too clingy and scared for that. Well, Awu is scared, Xiao Qi is mainly conflicted. Although a lot less than before he got that sweet, sweet validation from his wife.
About that massacre talk... I just noticed that this talk of merciless revenge doesn’t exactly come of the blue. He says it in direct response to Awu voicing her fears. She’s afraid of even greater danger awaiting them in the future... so what does an excellent husband like Xiao Qi do? Why, he reassures his scaredy-cat wife that he already died once and this time it’s the culprit behind this whole bloody mess who’s going straight to hell, never to bother them again. Whoever he might be. I think... I think it’s Xiao Qi’s way of reassuring his wife that there is no need to be scared. “Darling, no, don’t worry about me, nothing bad is going to happen. Or rather yes, many bad things are going to happen, but to the guy who put this fear into your heart, whoever he might be”. It’s... surprisingly sweet. And not a complete miss; Awu is not exactly opposed, she just doesn’t want a bloodbath. True, he doesn’t respond to that; and how could he make such a promise when he doesn’t know if a bloodbath will be required. He doesn’t respond... but he does listen very attentively. And you know what? There won’t be a bloodbath, not in the name of his revenge, even once there is opportunity and proof enough for it.
Also, in this particular conversation? It’s Xiao Qi looking Awu in the eye and actively seeking this contact. She’s the nervous one here, the one whose behaviour is more out of line with their pre-episode 50 baseline.
Episode 62, second oath over Hu Guanglie’s grave. This time there is no talk about any pain or humiliation paid back hundredfold; Hu Yao asks Xiao Qi to get to the truth and restore the good name of Ningshuo army. He’s visibly moved and does just that. Hu Yao as the only survivor among Xiao Qi’s subordinates present at the Hunt of Doom holds a very unique position; she’s the living breathing representative of her fallen brethren, a conduit of their will. Truth and good name? Done. This moment may be, in fact, the reason why Xiao Qi doesn’t cut Zitan into pieces. It would exactly be all that conductive to restoring that good name. Zitan in exile after having publicly admitted his guilt is one thing, but Zitan brutally murderized in his own throne hall could potentially become a martyr. Sure, our Master of Mope is a regicide himself, but any canny politician would disregard that in order to hoist his bloody corpse as an undeniable proof that Xiao Qi needs to die as an uncontrollable beast. Add to that half a dozen wild tales of fiery jealousy over Awu, Xiao Qi’s rampant ambition, Zitan’s tragic martyrdom in name of the truth, whatever that truth might be... and lo and behold, Ningshuo guys are back to being public enemy number one. Well, not to the common people, they’re not, but to all those aristos who already break into hives at the very thought of filthy commoners deciding the fate of the Empire? Yeah.
Soon after that second oath Xiao Qi goes after Zitan... in a suspiciously bloodless, if psychologically earth-shattering way. Still leaving him an out and appealing to his conscience in a way. Which... is the worst possible approach to take with Zitan who has no conscience. That he lays into Zitan’s ministers with unprecedented ferocity is not exactly surprising. It’s not like they didn’t deserve it; even before everything there was a visible divide and even enmity between ‘them’ and ‘us’, it’s just that nobody dared to voice it in the throne room. The only thing that changed is that ‘they’ turned out to be even more useless than usual, allowing chaos and rebellion to run rampant; Xiao Qi has every right to be pissed and it’s not like he never baited the ministers with their own uselessness before. Although now that I think about it... Those two spears to the back might have done his verbal filter in.
The only thing Xiao Qi would have never done in the good old days when Hu Guanglie was still around (in corporeal form, ghosts don’t count)? He would have never threatened an Emperor with a public uprising. With Ningshuo army, however... Well, it wasn’t outright rebellion, but... No, actually. Exploding an imperial envoy absolutely was an act of open rebellion. It’s just that Xiao Qi still cared about forms enough to bow and make sure to give His Imperial Majesty the middle finger only in limited, discreet company. And even that could be attributed to the fact that he had at least some respect for both Daddy Emperor and Potato. Not much. But enough. For Zitan he has absolutely none. Had either of the previous incumbents fucked up to this extent, it could have gone pretty much the same. There must have been lots of dead and starving women and children on the way from Ningshuo to the capital.
Episode 63, family outing. They’re both optimistic enough, exactly as befits new parents. And then Xiao Qi recalls their old dream of living in peace; he does this with certain wistfulness, but the dream itself is something that kept coming up this whole time, so it’s nothing out of ordinary. And then Awu tries to get him to take a break. She doesn’t ask him to abandon his revenge. She wants to put all the current issues off and just... go. He quite understandably dismisses this idea. It’s not that he’s dismissive towards her concerns. It’s that she doesn’t actually voice any valid concerns here! I have no idea what this is even supposed to be. It’s not a demand nor a sensible request. It’s nothing he would be inclined to take on his merits. Is it mean to be a very clumsy attempt at emotional manipulation? After if fails, it becomes rather obvious that it was a long stretch to begin with, one that she felt obliged to make anyway with little to no actual hope of succeeding. And I even get why, but...
Come out and say what you mean, Awu. You can’t have you revenge for this, this and that reason, not without making things worse, just stop. She’s wishy-washy. Put off. Put off his investigation, leaving behind a potential enemy who thinks nothing of murdering people and has a hard-on for Awu? That’s not only stupid, that’s actively suicidal. Put off his all the current issues? Like keeping Cheng in one piece and not letting it slide back into civil war? Zitan isn’t magically going to get better at ruling, you know. None of the reasons for the initial chaos have been removed, well, maybe except a few rebellious heads. This plead, half-serious as it is, is insane. He’d have to be insane to agree to that. And he knows that she knows that. “Sure, honey. Once I deal with my enemies, we’ll go”. Is he humoring her? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. He takes a moment to think before answering. “We will do things your way once things are safe for us to do so“. Because you know what? Dealing with his enemies solves pretty much every other outstanding problem in one swoop. No, it really does. Including public discontent and world hunger. I’m not joking about the latter, by the way, remember that final voiceover?
I am sounding snappish, I think. It’s not that I’m judging Awu, even if it might seem so. I get where she’s coming from and I don’t dismiss her very real fears... but this is not the way to express those. She can do better. She has done better in the past. She’s traumatized as fuck, conflicted about her own role, afraid for their dream, fine. But it’s hard to blame Xiao Wi for reacting like a reasonable human being either, especially when her behaviour should be giving him pretty serious whiplash. One moment she stands with him and supports him in action, the next she offers him reassurance and voices her pretty reasonable condition... and the next she tries to half-heartedly propose something as totally bonkers as taking a break, leaving the realm in utter chaos. He’s not so stupid as not to know that something is up. So acting suspicious? It’s not actually unreasonable. And unlike most MLs would do, he doesn’t accuse her of supporting his enemies, not ever. He’s just concerned, if in a rather brusque way.
In fact, I’d say he’s surprisingly calm when Awu implies he’s raising their kid in a culture of hate in episode 64. He simply reminds the that Xiaohe has witnessed the massacre himself, so his reaction is genuine. And, as I personally think, not a half-bad way of dealing with trauma, very constructive. It’s not like the kid wants to go and shank Zitan himself; he’s talking about becoming a great general and then perhaps taking revenge. And, quite noticeably, Xiao Qi doesn’t say a word to this announcement. And yet the most he allows himself in response to Awu’s not very nice implication is a very matter-of-fact explanation with perhaps the slightest hint of defensiveness and no personal attacks. Now, this turning away from her is... concerning to say the least, so I understand your feelings on the subject, dear Nonnie #2. But.... is it all that bad? Let’s see.
He does turn away and responds only when she calls his name twice. And even then there is something nearly... insulting about his demeanour. He’s tired, that’s for sure. And perhaps dismissive. But notice that this deadpan tone lasts only as long as Awu keeps dancing around the subject, throwing up wild theories, even as they both pretty much know what the truth is. And even then he’s paying full close attention to her unusual behaviour, certainly enough to suss out something must have happened... and immediately offer his support. Which works! Or would have worked if not for bloody Auntie Xu. Or not bloody, at least not yet (please, Daddy Wang, hurry up!).
So let’s recap:
Awu implies that Xiao Qi is raising Xiao Qi in a culture of hate - to which he responds with facts and nothing but.
She uses this to gain momentum for another attempt at clumsy emotional manipulation (which she’s much better at usually) - he turns away very rudely as he finds this beneath both of their dignities and he’s not exactly wrong, is he?
She throws up a truly absurd candidature of Prime Minister Wen as the actual culprit, very blatantly playing up her wifely concern and fear - he dismisses it immediately, not even pretending he hadn’t seen through her ploy.
Then she tries to use her own brother to make him admit that there are limits to his revenge - and he gives her a warning glance.
After which he reiterates his stance and disengages. Which, fair. His previously supportive wife is playing stupid games and lying to him. He knows she’s smarter than that. If she had a theory about PM Wen or Turnip, that would be one thing. But she’s jumping. This is going somewhere. And it’s not exactly hard to guess where. Also, trying to hit the family button, even so subtly? After all they went through and after she already used it once during Screechergate, if in a much more brutal manner? And after she assured him that he was the most important person to her before they even left Ningshuo? Yeah, that’s not good.
And even then he doesn’t get offended enough for it to overcome his concern. Oh, he might have acted disinterested, but he’s been paying attention alright. And he starts the conversation again, asking her outright what is wrong. Because something obviously is. And she lies. Again. He calls her out on it very succinctly and without assigning any blame. “That’s not true”, he says and asks again what has happened. “Your heart is uneasy. Tell me. You don’t have to carry this burden alone”.
That’s more than reasonable. He gives her more that one chance of coming clean and puts her well-being above any possible offence or hurt of his own. “You don’t have to carry this burden alone”, dammit. That’s not exactly dismissive. All the same I do understand why this conversation might trip people up. It’s all about the tone. They’re not tender with each other - well, Awu tries for gentle concern, but she’s lying, even if that concern is real enough. He’s brusque enough for two. But you know what I think? I think this was the worst possible place to have this conversation. Bad, bad choice on Awu’s part. To one side they have a wall of maids including Auntie Xu the Blabber, even as the issue they’re discussing is of national importance and spies don’t sleep. To the other there are two kids. Little pitchers have big ears, you know. And besides, they’re talking about the true source of the kids’ trauma, something that Xiaohe is only starting to process. This is so awkward and so perfect at the same time! You see, there is something very telling about their voices. They’re quiet. So quiet that Auntie Xu, trying for a surreptitious whisper, speaks at pretty much the same volume.
Yeah, okay, Xiao Qi could have played it differently. They both could have. But his reactions are not really anything out of the norm, even if somewhat more human than usual. He’s so bloody tired and even their home - as you’ve pointed out so astutely, Nonnie #3 - is no sanctuary anymore.
After that they presumably go about their business and don’t really resolve anything until the evening. See, Awu really wants to say something when she sees Xiao Qi enter her rooms. An apology, perhaps? Perhaps not. He doesn’t let her either way, only offers to go with her. Okay. So they had that tense conversation and thanks to Auntie Xu the only chance of Awu coming clean went bust. He still comes to offer his support the moment he hears she’s in distress. That’s how very much he’s not holding a grudge. And he reaches for her first!
Whatever happened, it doesn’t matter more than your pain. It never will.
Ah, Mother’s Funeral 2.0 combined with Unpleasant Truth About A Wang Male 2.0, the latter offered after an even weaker token protest than last time. No change of behaviour there! And again, he lets her go and deal with her family on her own terms.
Then we get plotting scene, which was sadly hacked to pieces and we don’t even get to see Awu reveal the truth about Zitan. But from there on they act as one. No more of this emotional blackmail bullshit, no more dismissal, there’s a crisis and they’re a unit. And guess what, revenge just got shelved!
Or no, not shelved. Exchanged for truth and justice. Because even if Xiao Qi’s coup is fake as hell, he still reveals Zitan for the monster that he is. What I don’t understand is why does nobody really care about Zitan murdering Potato, but okay. Either Potato lives don’t matter or they need time to actually make a viable plan how to deal with this rotten kinder surprise. Or, and that’s probably accurate in any case, they need time to come out of shock. I feel you, guys, I would be pretty shocked too. The Yuzhang Acting Company can have this effect on unprepared viewers.
As for the Yuzhang Acting Company and Xiao Qi’s acting abilities... you pretty much know already what I think. And if you don’t, you can read about it here and here. Mark my words, Awu is the tougher cookie of the pair, while Xiao Qi is practically falling to pieces at particularly difficult moments. Then he comes back, actively seeks her support upon being confronted with the source of the greater part of his anguish (the throne, not Zitan) and they go live happily even after in Ningshuo with a whole horde of kids. The end.
Well, that exercise, as amusing as it might have been, proved only one thing. Either I’m blind or I had fallen victim to the Mandela Effect, because I swear Awu was the more clingy one of the two the last time I looked. And it is really not so. As to whether he changed... They both did? Hopefully it’s nothing that a few months of living in Ningshuo won’t cure; you will tear my headcanonny teasy-cheesy old married couple from my cold, dead hands! Even so, it’s not as drastic as all that; they are both fundamentally themselves, only stripped down to bare elements and at the same time burdened with unbearable trauma. Okay, that’s it, we’re done, bye.
Or not bye. Because what about that revenge? Well... I’m pretty sure that Hu Guanglie’s ghost will be pretty satisfied with truth, justice and a golden opportunity to torment Zitan to death in the ruins of the Imperial Mausoleum? Oh, and he also got a nation-wide mourning ceremony. Yeah, he’s happy enough.
#ask and answer#the rebel princess#sorry not sorry for grouping these asks#my heart is a fragile delicate thing#and so can take only a certain amount of angst#before it shatters into thousands of tiny pieces#this post doesn't make sense#don't say I haven't warned you#I'm a great fan of Awu and you know it#but she's in the wrong a couple times here#and I had to say it
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Wooden Overcoats: Tinker, Tailor, Undertaker
RP sentence starters from Season 3, Episode 6, “Tinker, Tailor, Undertaker” from “Wooden Overcoats”. Feel free to change pronouns, etc. to better suit your muse(s)! TW for addiction, crime.
“He knows he hasn’t been missed.”
“Sometimes fate plays funny tricks and allows one to settle old scores.”
“Nothing that morning suggested the day would hold any surprises.”
“Look, I’ve told you before: you can have your money or the body back, but you can’t have them both.”
“I’m getting sick and tired of people like you that can’t make up their minds!”
“I don’t care if your brothers are over six-foot-seven or heavyweight boxers.”
“What does she want me to do? Measure them?”
“What is she talking about?”
“That girl is getting too big for our boots.”
“I didn’t even get an invitation to the New Year’s Eve raffle.”
“Are we alone?”
“Do you have to stand that close?”
“Get in the sack.”
“There better be a good explanation.”
“Serves him right.”
“That’s when things really got interesting.”
“Was this journey really necessary?”
“All shall be revealed in time.”
“I like [name]!”
“All I want to know is what I’m doing here.”
“No, no, the damage is done.”
“A few boxes of fondant creams made her sing like a canary.”
“It sounds like you’re really going to make them sweat.”
“I’m entirely on board with this.”
“My sources tell me that he is usually kept very busy.”
“He’s never made up his mind about anything.”
“The aristocrat who steals for the thrill of it is a well-known archetype.”
“Isn’t he a suspect too?”
“Are you ready to step into the lions’ den, [Name]?”
“Trust no one.”
“He still might have done it.”
“When is a door is not a door?”
“The public will rise up and destroy us!”
“I’d say they all look pretty guilty to me.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I got caught in the moment!”
“May we see the elastic band?”
“It’s easier to bribe you in person.”
“Stop conspiring.”
“We can’t just speculate wildly.”
“Where were you at 5 PM yesterday?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth!”
“I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH!”
“Who’s on trial now?”
“This is no time to be vindictive!”
“This is a serious inquiry. You must calm down.”
“Everything hurts.”
“I hear you went to a party last night.”
“I hope his stomach doesn’t feel like mine.”
“I don’t know what she’s got to laugh about.”
“I’m in hell!”
“I’m solving a mystery with [Name].”
“I want adventures!”
“It’s time to get procedural.”
“Where were you on the night of November 5th?”
“Last night I was at home with my husband and this morning I was home with my husband.”
“I would trust [name] as far as I could throw him unless it was out of a hot air balloon.”
“I am so willing to trust this witness!”
“It can have escaped your notice that [Name 1] and [Name 2] were lovers!”
“Anything I can do to help.”
“Did she seem happy to see you?”
“I never get nice things.”
“The Cypriot High Commissioner is an old friend of mine.”
“So, you admit your guilt? A wise decision.”
“I’m happy to pay for them the same as anyone else.”
“The charade must end!”
“[Name] is an innocent man!”
“I have become addicted to sugar.”
“I need it. I crave it.”
“You’ve got to believe me!”
“She could still have taken the cash.”
“I’ve not been as helpful as you’ve expected.”
“I heard what you said.”
“But she wasn’t invited!”
“I was trying to be thorough.”
“Every one of you had an opportunity but only one of you didn’t have the opportunity to replace it.”
“I only intended to borrow it!”
“I was nowhere near my alarm clock last night.”
“At least now I know what I’m shooting for!”
“Now it all becomes clear because you’re telling us.”
“Why couldn’t you just tell us all this in the first place?”
“It’s an engagement ring… for you, [Name].”
“Will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”
“Given that it was you who brought us together in the first place, I was wondering if you might like to be my best man.”
“You should be smiling. This is a happy thing.”
“Even I know a happy thing when I see one.”
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LIGHTS, CAMERA, OFF-SCRIPT!
note: so hello!! i'm officially back at writing after a six-month long hiatus, special thanks to my friend who supported me and now i finally over came my writer's block!! also, thanks to that spongebob episode that inspired me to write this!! and also, i can't insert the keep reading button, it doesn't work )):
word count: 4.0k
synopsis: You were part of the university’s theatre club since freshman, you used to act and perform on stage until he came, you were on your mid semester during your second year in college. You suddenly turned down all the roles offered to you and chose to work as part of the scriptwriting and stage directing team. You thought no one would notice, but boy, you’re mistaken. Now that the other lead is sick, who will act in her stead? And one more thing, you don’t hate him, do you?
Ever since Beomgyu joined the theatre club, you stopped participating on acting. You always get chosen for the lead roles and you often refused, opted for supportive roles instead. There was only one time that you only agreed to do the lead role because the play was focused on mystery more than romance. The play was very successful and you are glad you didn't have to do those overly romantic and intimate scenes. But now that he's in the same club, you started to reject all the acting roles.
You were there on his audition as part of the judges and you saw his potential and talent. All your co-judges were convinced that he will be a great lead for acting. Not only he has stunning looks but he delivers the lines well and he has great facial expressions; in short he became the star of the theatre club.
Meanwhile, you shifted to be a part of the backstage. You worked in the scriptwriting and stage directing. It's not like you hated him, but you wanted to avoid being his lead. You were afraid that you might end up being paired up with him, now that you agreed to be a lead role even if it was only for one time. The president of the club told you that she wouldn't let you refuse the lead roles anymore. The theatre club became more popular because of you and the president wanted to return your help by giving the roles that will suit you perfectly- being the lead.
Let's just say that Beomgyu caught your attention since your freshman year. He wasn't very popular that time but you always noticed him. He always stood out in your eye and maybe, earned a tiny bit of crush on him. You were afraid to make mistakes while acting on rehearsals and on stage just because you were nervous having him around.
Not until this time.
You are all gathered in the backstage to prepare for the play that is set on the next few hours. The final rehearsal took place last night so that everyone wouldn't have the need to carry all the props, costumes and make-up again today. You had finished checking if there is missing on the belongings of the club that were left at the backstage last night.
Everyone is busy setting up. You were helping the props men to carry and set up the props on the stage. You returned to the backstage to see a commotion. The crews are panicking while the actors and actresses look confused.
"What is this commotion all about?" You asked in a loud voice enough for everyone to hear. Everyone turned their heads to your direction, even Beomgyu, but you were quick to avert your gaze.
"We have a problem! The lead actress caught a fever due to exhaustion and she won't be able to make it today!" The president told you with phone in her hands and visibly shaking, "What are we going to do now? Our play is within an hour and a half! We don't have enough time, we are-" You rushed to her side gave her shoulders a rub that helped tense body relax. "Jia, please calm down. We'll see what we can do." You mumbled softly while rubbing her back slowly and turned your head to the others, "And please, everyone, get back to preparing. We'll take care of this." Everyone went back to their own businesses as if nothing happened. While you and the other directors dragged the president towards the backdoor.
"We have to find a substitute to Wendy." The vice president spoke in as-a-matter-of-fact manner.
"We need someone who can act and sing," the Artistic Director calmly stated, "And someone who can memorize the lines easily." You can feel the tension between the four of you as your chest started to rise and fall. Your breathing started to get heavier each second that passes.
"What are we going to do now?"
"But what if we get someone who is already familiar with the lines, someone who actually knows the dialogues of that character..." You all looked towards the president. Your eyebrows knitted in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" You asked.
"Oh, wait! I know someone!" You looked to your side and saw the Artistic Director filled with excitement, she looked as if she just won a billion-dollar question.
"I know someone too," the president trailed her eyes on you, "Do you know someone who might be able to substitute Wendy?" You tilt your head to the side, eyebrows still knitted and confusion visible on your face.
"Uhh, I don't?" Your eyes searched for answer in their faces and they seem to have one.
"It's you." The president spoke, "You know the lines since you were in the scriptwriting team."
"But we don't have time to rehearse!" Your breath hitched as you spoke,"I can't-" Yeonjun, the vice president, interrupted your sentence, "You DON'T need to rehearse, it's you who wrote that character's lines. You should know the feelings and how to convey it properly."
"I am afraid I might make mistakes!"
"You used to act in front of the whole school, you were even the lead on the play that made our club more popular and loved. It's not like the audience would notice that, right? It will only get noticed by the audience if you let them." The Artistic Director argued, "We know you can pull that off."
The president stepped in front of you and held your hands, "Please, you are our only hope..."
You bit your lip, having no choice, "Fine. Just let me scan the script before the play starts."
"Thank you so much!" She hugged you and tears started to pool in her eyes, "I'm so glad you agreed." She wiped her tears as she spoke, "Let's get back to work, shall we?" And you all nod.
You head back to the backstage and saw the actors busy rehearsing their lines, without actions. The backstage is noisy but they all noticed that the four of you are now walking back towards the backstage.
"What happened?" One of the stage crew asked as soon as you reached the messy room.
"Well good news! We already found someone to replace our lead." The producer, also the president, happily made the announcement. "But we don't have time to do a dry run!"
"We don't have to do a dry run." Yeonjun answered.
"What?!" Everyone is shocked by the Yeonjun's words. They all look confused as their eyes darted towards the four of you and silence filled the room.
"Who is going to replace Wendy then?" Beomgyu asked quietly out of nowhere, his deep voice echoing loudly in silence and he added, "Is there someone who can memorize all the lines within an hour? And the play will run for almost three hours."
"Beomgyu is right. The play is quite long and so is the script." One of the actors supported.
"There is someone who knows the script and had it memorized." The Artistic Director answered, emphasizing on the words someone and knows, "All we need to do is to try fitting the costume."
"Who is it then?" Beomgyu asked.
"It is..." The president trailed off, and the three directors pointed at you. Beomgyu's eyes widen and everyone landed their gaze on you. Their stares instantly made you nervous and gave you goosebumps.
"May I ask why?" One of the actresses spoke.
"Well, she is the one who wrote that character's lines. She had it memorized. So we don't have to worry about that."
"But like Jay said, we don't have time to dry run."
"Of course, she knows how to convey the lines, she wrote the script; She used to be one of our actresses before, right? Of course she can act." Tension filled the air as everyone looked skeptical about having no dry run with the new lead.
"Please, trust Y/N and our decision."
"Okay, then let's start the fitting now." One of the members of the costume design team went over to you. Eventually, everyone went back to minding their own businesses.
"Please follow me." She smiled at you before picking up the costumes on the clothes rack and followed her. She ushered you the fitting room for girls and quietly closed the door behind you. She scanned you from head to toe, as if a robot memorizing your physique in an instant. "So, as I took a look on your figure, yours and Wendy's size don't seem to be that different from each other, however, you still must try fitting these clothes to see if we need adjustments."
"Oh, alright."
You finished fitting all the clothes and exited the room. Yena dragged you to the make up table and asked you to sit down, "Since we don't need to make adjustments, I will apply make up on you now. The costumes fit you perfectly so we don't need to worry about that." You nod and she started doing your make up. She applied the cosmetics carefully on your face. She took pauses between and squinted her eyes, checking if she put too much. Soon, she started doing your hair too. After a while, "You're all set now! Let's get you changed into your costume."
On the other side, Beomgyu can't help but to feel nervous and excited at the same time. Finally, his dream is slowly becoming true. He wanted to be your lead actor that is why he auditioned for the theatre club. Every time he watched the theatre club's plays every year, he can't help but to notice how stunning your performance were, even if they were supporting roles only. Until one time, when you played the lead role, he watched you in complete awe. You definitely stood out during the play; you were so beautiful, mystifying and alluring. You played the character very well, as if you were born to be on the stage. He was very jealous of the male lead, wishing it was him instead. That made him determined to join the club.
This experience for him is very nerve-wracking, not only because the play is different from the usual but also because his long-time crush, since freshman year is finally his lead. He can feel the blood rushing to his cheek due to excitement. He borrowed a mirror to one of the crews and checked his face. They didn't apply too much make up on him since his face is naturally glowing, and from the mirror, he can see that his face is flushed and his ears are as red as cherries.
"Beomgyu, are you okay? You seem bothered..." Soobin, one of the supporting characters, and the one who used to be your male lead, asked him.
"I'm fine, it's just that I'm so nervous..." Beomgyu spoke quietly, afraid that someone might hear him. He looked around to see if anyone is paying attention to them. But Beomgyu looking at your direction for several seconds longer didn't go unnoticed by Soobin.
"Ah, I see. I know you can pull it off, especially that Y/N is your lead." Soobin teased, he enjoyed how the younger reacted. He smiled as he saw how Beomgyu's eyes widen. "So that's why."
"Please don't tell anyone-" "that you're nervous because of Y/N?" "Yeah- no! That I'm nervous, you know, I'm not usually like this, the play is just so different from the previous ones. And this is just my second time being the lead, I am used to being the supportive role." Beomgyu started rambling which made Soobin laugh. "Why are you laughing?!"
"You look so funny. I promise, I won't tell anyone..." Soobin raised his right hand beside him and looked like he is taking an oath while Beomgyu relaxed a bit, "that you like Y/N." Soobin trailed off before laughing and Beomgyu threw him a dirty look, "I didn't say anything, how can you jump into conclusions like that?" Soobin just shrugged and patted the younger's shoulder before walking away towards the producer. A heavy sigh escaped Beomgyu's lips as he took another glance at your direction. You looked so gorgeous even with your hair just halfway done. He looked down and shook his head. There's no way he wouldn't get nervous.
"Thirty minutes left!" The producer announced startling everyone with her loud voice. Thirty minutes seem to pass quickly and soon the play started.
The show is now nearing its end and your last scene is next. You are on the backstage walking in circles until you are stopped by Yeonjun. "Why are you so nervous?" You turned to look at him in the eye, "It's been a while since I last performed on stage. I'm nervous that I might make a mistake at the end."
Yeonjun took your hand and rubbed circles on the back of your palm. "Come on, I know you can do it."
You smiled at him, "And oh, Y/N, are you ready for the kissing scene?" "Yes, of course- what? Kissing scene!?" To say that you became more nervous is an understatement, your hands are literally shaking against Yeonjun's and your face is all red. "Yeonjun, I don't know how to kiss!" "What?!"
"What is the problem here? Why are you two shouting?" The president stepped closer to the both of you. "We are NOT shouting; we are simply shocked." Yeonjun rolled his eyes.
"Y/N doesn't know how to kiss!" Jia laughed, "and what is the problem with that? Beomgyu can lead!"
"No! Beomgyu and Wendy did not rehearse the kissing scene because they were too nervous during rehearsal. Plus, I think they don't look good together so it's fine that they did not do it." Jia elbowed Yeonjun's side, "What are you talking about? I didn't ask for your opinion on Wendy and Beomgyu!"
"Sweet cupcakes, what do I do now? It's the next scene!" You are shaking, you do not want to mess up, especially at the end of the play, and also not with a scene with Beomgyu.
"Y/N, please standby. You'll be on stage in five." The crew behind the curtain reminded you.
"Y/N, I have an idea." Yeonjun blurted out, a grin creeping up on his face. "What now?"
"Practice it with me!" Yeonjun winked at you shamelessly, raising his brows to tease you more. "What the hell?" Jia exclaimed, "that's disgusting, Yeonjun. Go kiss Soobin instead!" You sighed, not knowing what to do.
"Y/N! It's your turn now." You nervously looked at Yeonjun and Jia and wore your mask before heading to the stage.
"We wish you luck Y/N..."
"Mademoiselle, you came." Beomgyu, who is sitting on the bench on a garden, looked at your direction. He stood up and took slow but big strides towards you. He offered his hand to you and you gladly took it.
"If it wasn't for the prince." You smiled at him, "So what is it that you want to tell me privately, my Prince?"
"I have something for you, Mademoiselle." He put his hand inside his pocket and pulled out a ring, "This is for you, Milady... If you'll let me?" You nod and he raised you hand, putting the ring on it. The ring perfectly fits your finger. He knelt to the ground and kissed the back of your hand. You stared at each other's eyes, full of emotions that you weren't able to tell to each other. He stood up and took his mask off; you can't help but to stare at how gorgeous he looks after he removed the mask that hid his beautiful features. Beomgyu leaned closer to your ear, "Now, Mademoiselle, will you please close your eyes?"
You closed your eyes and felt his hand remove the mask that covers your face. This isn't part of the script! You thought to yourself. The only thing you can hear is your heart beating loudly inside your chest. You became more nervous each second that passes and you felt his breath fanning near your lips. You feel his hand snake around your waist, pulling you closer and a pair of soft lips touched yours. Your eyes shot open as a reflex and you saw Beomgyu with his eyes closed. You were quick to act and closed you eyes, bringing your right hand on his chest and your left on his nape. This is not part of the script either. You felt his lips moving and you tried your best to reciprocate the kiss. Never did once it crossed your mind that your first kiss will be like this.
You pulled away just as your eyes fluttered open and stared at Beomgyu's pretty eyes. You were blushing furiously, you can feel it, and everyone can see it- so does Beomgyu. You can see that his ears are red and his cheeks are tinted with pink. You both smiled to each other and you thought to yourself, is this still part of the script?
Beomgyu is having the time of his life. Sure, he is nervous but as soon as he saw you walking back to the stage, he immediately gained confidence. He knows he will not embarrass himself in front of you. He feels like his heart is going to jump out of his chest, he is too happy. Not only he get to be your male lead, but he also get to hold your hand, dance with you and even kiss you.
All of a sudden, a sweet orchestral music started playing quietly, as if it were from a ballroom hall near the setting. Beomgyu knelt to the ground looking like a real prince, offering his hand to you, "My lady, may I have this dance?"
"Of course, my Prince." You took his hand and he stood up, pulling you closer towards his body. He wrapped his arm around your waist and his other hand holding yours. You put your free hand on his shoulder and you started dancing. Fortunately, you were thought waltz as part of joining the club. It is necessary for the actors to know the basics of singing and dancing, especially ballroom.
Beomgyu and you danced, oblivious of the audience, as if you were the only ones in the auditorium. You danced and twirled around the stage forgetting that you were still onstage, you looked at each other with adoration and love; which are the two things you can't say to each other. Everyone went off-script as they realized that you are lost in each other's eyes and there is no way the play is going to finish by itself. The president started to narrate and the technical team lowered the volume of the music. You heard Jia's voice and you realized that you and Beomgyu were dancing for too long. You are both quick to pick up what is happening and continued to dance for a little while before stopping on the middle of the stage, still holding each other, exactly just as Jia finished narrating.
Beomgyu smiled at you, his eyes twinkling with happiness, "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
You are baffled, to say at least. You are literally grinning from ear to ear. "I can die happy."
You heard the audience cheer and applaud. The lights on the stage turned off and everyone gathered for the curtain call.
After the play, you and Beomgyu couldn't even look at each other and kept distance. You can't believe that you just confessed on stage, and everyone in the club knows that it is not part of the script. They cooed as soon as you entered backstage. They all gave you knowing looks; you were annoyed and embarrassed at the same time, especially Yeonjun, he kept on teasing you. The officers asked for a group photo with the different teams, the actors and the last few photos including all the members of the theatre club. The professors entered the backstage to congratulate everyone for the successful play.
The play is far the most successful one and for the theatre club's record, you beat the most successful play, which was the first ever play that you participated as the lead role. It started trending on the university's page within minutes just after the performance.
"Hey Y/N, don't think I am just teasing you because of the play and how you went off-script. Did you know that because of you two, we all went off-script too! Also, don't think that I didn't know your crush on Beomgyu. You literally avoided him everytime, I just don't know why everyone doesn't notice it. Since Beomgyu joined the club, you started working backstage which is very sudden." Yeonjun flashed you a smirk. You heave a heavy sigh, defeated, "Yeah, you're right. I like Beomgyu that's why." You admitted, there's no way Yeonjun would let you live either.
"Yes! I knew it!" Yeonjun laughed loudly attracting everyone's attention. You smacked his arm lightly, telling him to stop.
From the other side of the room, Beomgyu has been staring at you two, he is annoyed at himself, for not being able to bring himself to talk to you. You looked at his direction causing you both to blush and quickly averted your gaze at the same time. Yeonjun noticed it and smiled to himself.
"Y/N and Beomgyu sitting on the tree-" Yeonjun started to sing in a childlike voice which annoyed you and made you blush even more. You covered his mouth with your hand and apologized, "Ah, please forgive this annoying old man. Please don't pay attention to him, he doesn't know what he's saying."
You gave the guy beside you a glare. "By the way, we have an after-party tonight at 10! See you everyone!" Everyone cheered on Jia's announcement. She shoot a wink at your direction and you are thankful for Jia's save. You all continued packing up and returned the things to the theatre club room.
The after party is held on Jia's house, just like the usual. Jia's house is big enough to handle a big club like yours. Everyone is having a blast while you, still cannot get over on what you did at the end of the play, is sitting alone at the kitchen eating your pizza. You sighed and shook your head recalling your confession. You were so absorbed in yourself that you didn't notice the footsteps coming from the living room.
"Y/N?" A gentle voice came from behind you. You looked to see who it was and immediately regret your decision. "Oh, Beomgyu. Hi." You started fidgeting and you became uneasy, there is no way you can look at his face after what happened. "I wanted to talk to you..." His voice is shaky and almost inaudible, you can feel that he is nervous. "About what?" You finally locked your eyes with him. "About the thing I said earlier."
Beomgyu is nervous, his hand is shaking and he tries to hide it from you. Silence fall upon as he mustered up all the courage and spoke confidently, "I mean it and I like you."
"Oh, uhm, I was actually- I like you too." You mumbled quietly but enough for him to hear. After hearing those, his confidence became overflowing and he feels proud of himself, taking steps to close the distance between the two of you, "I figured out you do too, based on your response at the end of the play."
"Well, uhm, I-" You stuttered and couldn't bring yourself to create a sentence, Beomgyu thought you looked cute in a flustered state. "I'm sorry, it's just I didn't know how I'm going to face you after the kiss..." You spoke, words getting softer and softer each time. "Oh, was it your first time?" Beomgyu had a smug look on his face as he put emphasis on ‘first time’, "Uhm, yeah..."
"Don't worry, it's mine too." He grinned at you, he looked so adorable and handsome especially up close.
"I have one more thing to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Will you be my star?"
#txt#txt imagines#kpop imagines#kpop scenarios#txt scenarios#tomorrow by together#choi beomgyu#beomgyu#beomgyu imagines#beomgyu scenarios#txt beomgyu imagine#txt beomgyu scenario#soobin#yeonjun#taehyun#huening kai#txt moodboard
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A lot of people on the GoT tag like “I expected too much” and “knew there’d be some bullshit ending” but I want to stop that. Because NO. No. You did NOT expect too much. You expected a well-written season that accurately portrayed the characters and show. Like you’ve been getting for years. Like they promised.
This show has been epic. EPIC. Nearly every fan will tell you, at least up through season six, that this is the best show ever made. And they were right. Because this shit WAS good. We had incredible character arcs, complex plot to go with them, and absolutely beautiful endings. Everything has always come together. It’s always seemed somewhat fitting, or at least made sense looking back. It’s always been one of those things where you scream when it happens, but then later you’re like yeah, it sucked, but looking back I get how we got here. (When Jon was stabbed by the Night’s Watch. When Joffrey was poisoned by Olenna. When Tyrion killed his dad, then Shae. Hell, the Red Wedding, even. When Jon turns out to be a Targaryen)
And that was good writing. Like, real, quality writing. Characters may have been doing dumb shit, but it made sense for those characters.
This season?
Everything went south. I don’t know exactly what happened, to be honest. Maybe it’s because they’re not following the books. Maybe it’s because they’re trying to cram two books worth of plot in one season.
Either way, it’s garbage.
Let’s go through the characters they’ve done wrong, shall we?
Tyrion. Tyrion is the clever one. He’s always a step or two ahead, can always see what’s going on. And this season and the last he’s been... what? Not doing that. Like, really not doing that. His whole thing is that he can’t fight, but he can think. That’s what he has going for him. And in just this episode, he’s not seen Sansa’s reveal of the secret for what it so obviously is, told Varys (literally everyone saw that one coming), and freed Jaime to help their sister (who is evil, whom Tyrion hates) escape. That’s just this episode. What happened?
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention how literally no one in Winterfell was like, “hey, maybe we shouldn’t put all the people who can’t fight where the dead people are. Because, you know, the dead people can come back to life, and we all know that, but we’re ignoring it.” You’re telling me Sansa and Tyrion BOTH overlooked that shit? When every idiot on Twitter was talking about it the MINUTE it was mentioned in Ep 2? Nah.
Jon. To be fair, Jon’s been pretty in character for what we know about him. He found a queen, he’s loyal to her because he’s loyal and that’s his thing. But how about when Sansa is like “yo, shouldn’t we let our guys rest, since they just fought like a billion dead guys?” and jon’s like, nah, whatever Dany said? I’m calling bullshit. Also this last episode I feel like he kind of does nothing. Which isn’t Jon’s style. He’s a do-er, always has been. And he’s a leader. Yes, he respects Dany and even cares for her, but I find it hard to believe he’s really going to just... step back. and ignore everything she’s doing. and not offer an opinion, like, ever. That’s not his style, it’s never been his style. Ever since he arrived on the Wall, the one thing we know about Jon Snow is that he can’t keep his mouth shut if he thinks something is wrong. And we’re just going to... ignore that?
Jaime. I kind of don’t want to do him, because my boy got done so clearly wrong and everyone is doing him. But whatever, I’ll state the obvious. We had about 3 seasons of pure character development for him, where Jaime was learning that he still had honor, PROVING he still had honor. By himself. No Cersei, just Jaime out there in the world not being an asshole. Because he is honorable. Remember King’s Landing, when he earned ‘Kingslayer?’ Remember when he promised Catelyn he’d protect her girls, and he really did do everything, including betraying Cersei, to keep that promise? Remember when he lost his hand to stop Brienne from being raped? Remember when he leaves Cersei to join the army in the North because he doesn’t want millions to die? So excuse me if it makes no logical sense for the man to decide ‘fuck it, honor what honor imma go fuck my sister again.’ Because he’s changed. They made a point to show us the lengths to which he’s changed. And then the ending he’s given is basically ‘I only care about you, Cersei, I don’t care about the thousands dying in king’s landing.’ That’s disrespect, yo. DISRESPECT.
Dany. Again, this one’s obvious. And honestly, from what I’ve seen, pretty much everyone can agree that this shit was dumb. Yeah, there were hints that she could someday go crazy. Yeah, she said some stuff seasons ago about burning cities. You know what else she did, though? She saw slavery. She saw how it hurt the individual person, the people, and she wanted it gone. So she ended it, because it was wrong. She spent whole seasons trying not to be her father, to be just. At literally the first sign that her dragons were hurting innocents (burned that one kid) she locked them all up. Because she couldn’t stand to see innocent people hurt. She sees the wrong in her father’s actions, because she knows that he wanted to kill normal, everyday, innocent people. He wanted to burn them all, but all of them dying wasn’t justice, and that’s always been what she’s wanted: justice. Even the Tarlys got a choice: bend the knee or die. In her mind, it was justice. She let them choose, even after they initially fought against her. But then, this season, she flips all that? Goes back on the claim of not wanting to be “queen of the ashes”? Burns the entire city to the ground, including her own troops? No.
I know that she’s sad because Jorah is dead, because Missandei is dead, because it looks like her advisors have betrayed her, like Jon doesn’t want to be with her. So she’s upset because she’s alone. And that makes sense. You can get a little depressed over it. But she wins. She gets there. She has King’s Landing in the palm of her hand, and instead of going in and taking the Iron Throne like a boss, she completely disrespects the memory of all those who have died for her and burns everything and everyone. Missandei said “dracarys” as her final word, which has been the justification for this decision. But for Dany to take her words to mean “burn the city and every kid in here to the ground” is just as absurd as assuming Missandei would ever want that. Dany knew this girl. She’s had her with her for years at this point. That’s not what she would’ve wanted. It all goes back to justice. That’s what Missandei wanted. That’s what Dany has always wanted. And burning King’s Landing wasn’t it. Continuity is nonexistent for Daenerys here. It’s just gone.
And I’ll say, again, what everyone has been saying: if this had been set up better, I wouldn’t be mad. I think Dany as a mad queen, set up properly in the narrative, would’ve been fine. I’ve always liked Dany, but I’m not saying any of this because she’s my favorite. She’s not. But I can still see that the way that this was done, in the span of three episodes, didn’t work. There isn’t enough evidence to support this yet. If there had been actions, real actions, even just through the last season that could hint at this, fine. I would’ve accepted it. It’s kind of a cool way for this to go, honestly, if done correctly. But it wasn’t, and that’s what my problem with it is. She was set up as a character with a code of values, a strong belief in justice for wrongdoers and relief for innocents, and has consistently shown through her actions that she follows that code. You can’t completely change a character arc in a span of three episodes based on her actions of justice against those who have clearly wronged her, at least in her mind. That’s not how you write characters.
Where the actual hell is the decent writing? Because the only cool things this season have been from previous seasons. Like Jon is Aegon Targaryen. That shit was WILD. I loved it. I loved how it’d been set up, everything. But like... that’s it.That’s the only cool thing set up this season. Everything else is this surface level bullshit. It feels like a soap opera. Where is the scheming? Where is the intricate plot weaving that’s been a part of this show since day one? That’s the reason we’re here. That. Not because we like it when characters die, because we want flashy battles and dragon scenes. Those are nice, but not why this show blew up like it did. This show is so impressive because it’s smart. Not because it’s big or gruesome or shocking. Because it’s smart. I feel like that was obvious to everyone. You should’ve known that. You had eight seasons to set up this incredible ending. You knew it was coming.
Instead, you ignored the previous seasons. The plots, the characters. All the potential there. You had years to plan. You saw the theories, the ideas everywhere. And because you were so intent on being impressive, on surprising everybody and doing something no one expected, you fucked up. Instead of focusing on delivering quality, you focused on shock value. “No one ever thought of this,” You said proudly. No one thought of this because no one thought you would be this fucking stupid.
So.. yeah. fuck d&d. :)
#game of thrones#got#got spoilers#game of thrones spoilers#jonerys#jaime#cersei lannister#jaime x cersei#jaime lannister#tyrion#dany#daenerys targaryen#jon snow
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