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greynatomy · 7 months

Text

the one that got away

alessia russo x reader

second part to regret. had a lot of fun writing this and might do more polls if i can’t choose for myself again. also, ignore how many times rory’s age is asked. didn’t realize how many times i wrote it in.

part 1

———

“Gather ‘round girls!” Jonas’ voice brings Leah back to the present.

Everyone comes together at the middle of the gym, waiting for what Jonas is gonna say.

“Just wanna welcome everyone who was in Australia back and also our ACL squad. We’re all glad to see you all up and running.” Everyone cheers and claps. “Now, I wanna welcome our new signing, Alessia Russo.” Alessia walks towards the group awkwardly, not wanting to trip.

“Hi.” She gives a small wave.

“Don’t be shy Lessi. We’re all friendly.”

“Yeah! We don’t bite!”

Over the course of the week, Alessia gets situated with the team and the dynamics, learning how to play with her new team.

“Mrs. Russo, someone’s been calling your phone. It’s says there’s ten missed calls.”

“From who?”

“Amore Mio.”

Everyone’s attention is now on Alessia, all curios about the girl’s significant other, judging from the name that the trainer said that was shown on her phone.

“Hi, love. What happened? So, she’s fine. Yeah. Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I love you. See you later.”

She gives her phone back to one of the trainers, telling them to inform her if you were to call again.

“What was that all about?” Katie asks in her usual loud voice.

“Oh, sorry. My daughter got hurt at preschool.”

“Wait. Hold up! Daughter? You have a daughter?” She didn’t know who asked, but saw the rest of the team walking closer to her.

“Uh, yeah.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s three now.”

“And I’m guessing you didn’t carry cause you’ve not really took a break from football.”

“Nope. Won’t be carrying any babies in me. Freaks me out a bit, but my wife happily did it.”

“So you have a kid and a wife and none of us knew about it?”

“No one really knows. We wanted to keep it to ourselves. I didn’t want the public knowing and plastering their face in the media yet, and we like our little bubble.”

“Not even Tooney knew?”

“Oh, Tooney knew. She had to give the best friend talk and all that. Wanted to know her opinion before anything turned serious and now we’re four years strong, three of them married.”

“So, when do you think we’ll meet ‘em?”

———

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“Not really, but have to be. I’ll be seeing a lot of her more since you’ve transferred.”

“It’s been five years too, she’d probably moved on, yeah?”

“Don’t know Lessi. I hope so. Now let’s get little princess dressed.”

“I’ve already dressed her, babe. Just waiting on you.”

You looked at her skeptically.

“You? Dressed Rory?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alessia asked, offense written on her face.

“Nothing bad, Less. Just, you turn her into a mini me every time.”

“And she loves it every time. I love when the two of you match. My favorite girls.

“And when this baby pops out of me, no doubt he’ll be a mini you.”

“I won’t be outnumbered this time.”

———

“Sorry, I’m late. Kid ran away while I tried getting her in the car.” Alessia explained, walking to where everyone was gathered in the backyard.

“You’re fine. Now, who is this little one?”

“Wanna say your name bubs?”

“I Rory. I dis many.” She says holding up three fingers.

“Woah. That’s a lot of fingers.” Your daughter giggles.

“Did that wife of yours come?”

“Yeah, she probably went to the—”

“—Sorry. I had to go to the washroom. It’s nice to meet you all. Name’s—”

“—Y/n.” Leah finishes, shocked, voice shaking.

“…Hi, Leah.”

“You two know each other.” Katie asks, intrigued how the skipper knew you.

“Uh, yeah. We used to be close friends.”

“No. She was my wife.” You could’ve heard a pin drop from how silent everyone was.

“Okay. Woah. There is a lot to unpack here.”

“And they can do it privately.” Alessia intervened.

“You know about our history.” Leah turns to Alessia, hurt all over her face. She was close to the girl, being on the national team together and the whole time she was in a relationship with her ex-wife.

“Of course I do. She’s my wife.”

The dinner was pretty awkward for a bit after the interaction. Rory have been playing with some of the other girls, you staying by your wife’s side getting to know her teammates.

Eventually, Leah got the courage to go up to you.

“Hey, uh, do you think we could talk?”

You look up at her, seeing the nervous look on her face.

“Sure. Honey, help me up.” Alessia grabs ahold of your hand and the other on your arm to stabilize you. “Let’s go inside.”

You go to little sitting area in the corner of the living room, away from everyone, but not out of sight. There was a couple seconds of silence, very awkward silence.

“Are you just not gonna say anything?”

Leah apologizes. “Uh, how’ve you been?”

“Doing pretty good.”

Another awkward silence.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really know what to say. I’ve had five years to practice what I was gonna say to you if I ever would run into you, but it just slipped my mind. But I guess I wanted to apologize and say that I took you for granted. I don’t deserve your forgiveness at all for being distant, lying to you about where I’ve been doing or going… for, uh, cheating on you. I’ve hated myself the second it happened.”

“Why’d you do it?”

“What?”

“Why’d you do it? Was it something I did that made you go to another that you should’ve gone to me for or—”

“—No! God, no! You did nothing wrong, it was all on me. I don’t really have an explanation as shitty as it sounds.”

“It’s been five years and I do forgive you. I think I forgave you the moment I met my wife. I needed to close the door on our relationship to be able to truly love her how she should be loved, so I forgive you. Doesn’t mean that I’ll ever forget. But you are forgiven.”

“Thank you.”

Before anyone can say anything else, your daughter runs to you, climbing into your lap.

“Hi, Mommy.”

“Hi, baby. You having fun?”

“Yeah! Stephy and Kya (Kyra) pway with me.”

“That’s so sweet of them.”

Leah watches your interaction with your daughter, a sad smile on her face.

“How old is she?”

“Hey, Rory. This is Mama’s teammate Leah. Can you tell her how old you are?”

“I free!” She holds up three fingers towards Leah.

“Woah! You’re so big! And you have a little sibling on the way. Can I ask how far along you are?” The question directed towards you.

“I’m five months along. It’s a boy.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you! Well, it’s been great catching up with you Leah. I’m glad you’re doing well.”

Leah watches you walk away, your daughter on your hip, towards your wife who was chatting up with a few teammates. She watches Alessia grab Aurora from you, giving you a smile and a kiss, seeing the love you two have.

Maybe in another life, one she hadn’t screwed up on , that could’ve been you and her, but she was just glad that you have someone who lived you the way you deserve to be loved.

Now, that she got everything out of her chest, she would be able to move on, but you’ll always be the one that got away.

#woso x reader #greynatomy #woso #woso imagines #woso imagine #alessia russo x reader #alessia russo #leah williamson #leah williamson x reader

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evilwickedme · 2 months

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Your elementary posts are inspiring me to rewatch elementary! Which is good bc i love elementary and bad bc i have so much programming homework to be doing.

Anyway, so on the topic of sherlock holmes:

Which screen (movie and tv) adaptation of sherlock holmes have you seen, and which ones do you think are best (true to original holmes) and best (most personally enjoyable to you)?

(I love your meta on fandom stuff in general - no pressure to answer tho! I just feel like you’d give an interesting reply on this)

Elementary is so good, I'm glad I inspired you to rewatch (but also, good luck with your homework lmao)

Now, to answer your question

It's worth noting that I... Did not read the original stories. Or well, I tried, but I didn't vibe with them originally (I tried to read them in high school after receiving a complete copy for my birthday from my sister), didn't get around to giving them a second chance, and eventually just exchanged my copy for some of my friend's books. So I can't really speak to how accurate any of these are to the originals, but I'll guess anyway lmao

So! Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes I've seen, in no particular order

Sherlock (BBC, 2010-2017) - first two seasons and an episode and a half of season 3

My experience of Sherlock BBC was heavily colored by superwholock and the reichenbach pause, which were the reason I watched the show in the first place, as I had not heard of the show previously. 2012-2013 Tumblr was truly another time. I believe around the same time I also binge watched the first two seasons of Game of Thrones, and I had very similar experiences with both of them: investment because they were pop culture phenomenon, and uncritical and quick consumption that left no room for my own feelings to develop. And in both cases when the third season premiered I discovered, much to my surprise, that I didn't actually like the show. I in fact had extremely pointed criticisms of the show, didn't enjoy the characters, and found the viewing experience to be tedious hard work. So... I do not like Sherlock (BBC), and never really did, although I continued to participate in superwholock as a fandom until its decline. The release of Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why (dir. Hbomberguy, 2017) was an incredibly satisfactory experience, as it experienced my criticisms extremely well, and put to words my feelings that I hadn't even managed to turn into criticisms, plus pointing out flaws I hadn't even noticed. SiGaHW is one of my favorite films, a twice-yearly watch. Highly recommended. That said, Sherlock itself sucks and is both a bad show and has uncompelling "mysteries". Bad as an adaptation of the original stories and bad as in just bad. Bad.

Elementary (CBS, 2012-2019) - all seven seasons

I enjoy Elementary a great deal. I think it's sort of a model modern procedural, with the cases of the week nearly always being compelling to watch and the emphasis on the developing character dynamics being one of my favorite aspects. There are seasons I enjoy more or less but that's nearly always because of the ongoing subplots (Morland and Moriarty were significantly more compelling than Shinwell, for example) than the actual cases of the week, which again, are pretty much always extremely solid. I've rewatched this show several times, and I think it's extremely enjoyable. It's not perfect, but it gets points for, for example, having Mrs. Hudson be a trans woman all the way back in the early 2010s, and having an autistic woman as a love interest who felt like a genuine well rounded woman. It's also occasionally a little critical of the police in a way that stands out for a crime procedural, which is cool, but only a little. All in all, I like the show a lot, although it's not my favorite on this list. That said, the crime procedural is pretty much the most natural way to adapt the spirit of the original Holmes stories into modern day media, and it uses pretty much every notable character from the stories eventually including some of the mysteries (I really like the hounds storyline adaptation in particular!), so I think this wins best adaptation.

Sherlock Holmes (dir. Guy Ritchie, 2009) - just the first one

I'll be real with you I don't remember anything about this movie except that I watched it and had a fine time.

House (Fox, 2004-2012) - all eight seasons

Y'all know I'm currently in House brainrot, so obviously this ends up on the list. Excellent television, especially for people like me who live for a good procedural and were looking for something that wasn't a cop show. House is Holmes, Wilson is Watson, and the occasional Sherlock Holmes canon reference shows up, such as the guy who shot House being named Moriarty in the credits, or Wilson bullshitting the second gen ducklings about a woman named Irene Adler who was The Woman for House. It's a very good show - although not currently my favorite on the list - and any mystery of the week format is going to be at least a little inspired by the o.g., but it doesn't win over Elementary, which has actual murder and crime mysteries.

The Irregulars (Netflix, 2021) - like two episodes

Based on the concept of Sherlock's canon irregulars but it's a fantasy show! I heard great things but did not end up clicking with it. Obviously by virtue of it being a supernatural show it's not very based on the original, but at least there's mysteries that must be solved?

Sanctuary (Syfy, 2008-2011)

This show is the kind of thing I'd watch when it was on, back in the days where I would watch my parents' satellite television instead of downloading whole seasons of shows on my laptop (as I didn't have a laptop yet lmao). I remember it having dense plots, and vaguely remembered that one of the characters was Sherlock Holmes, and I googled it - it's actually Watson. But hey, that counts, so I included it. I remember enjoying the show but I could not tell you if it was actually good because my taste in 2010 was a bit of a mixed bag on account of me being 12. Anyway I would say it's probably a terrible adaptation and they most likely didn't even try considering the kind of show it was, and I wouldn't call it my favorite.

Psych (USA, 2006-2014; movies 2017, 2020, 2021) - eight seasons, 3 movies

Finally we reach my favorite of these shows. Is it the best one? Idk that's probably a competition between Elementary and House, really, because Psych gets quite silly in the later seasons. But I really do love this show and these characters so much. Like House, it is only a little inspired, but even more loosely so, with really only the idea of a guy who's really smart and eccentric and his best friend who seems normal but really is a bit of a freak (in Gus' case, actually way weirder than Shawn) sticking around. Shawn has eidetic memory and is wicked smart, and actually makes for some really good ADHD rep in my opinion. The comedy usually lands and the romance plot is one of my favorite slow burns and the serial killer episodes are high quality as shit and I love that there's a pineapple hidden in every single episode and I just. I love this show I love it so much

Anyway these are all the adaptations I've seen that I could think of. It's possible I missed something but only the kind of thing that doesn't say Holmes on it; I haven't seen Enola Homes, for example.

Thank you so much for asking I really appreciated this thought exercise of trying to remember every single bullshit TV show I've ever seen because, um, I've seen a lot of TV if I'm going to be honest.

Sorry for taking two weeks this was surprisingly hard and I have. A job

#sherlock holmes #elementary #house #house md #sherlock #sherlock bbc #the irregulars #sanctuary #psych #gail speaks #ask #hoarder-of-tea

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diedraechin · 2 years

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What's something about It’s Not What You Think that you'd like to share please! Thanks!

Another WIP title. It started when fandom went haywire for all the Viktor is royalty fics. Except I didn't want to do that, so I made it that Yuuri has been chosen as the Emperor's successor, but it hasn't been announced yet. There is family dramaz. Yuuri has a snarky bodyguard. I'd file it as a romance dramedy.

It's probably also the only ABO fic I ever tried writing. But I wanted some complicated reasoning for the family dramaz and Yuuri's selection and other planned complications and fandom was obsessed with ABO and I thought I'd try something completely out of the box with it and make it less about all the things that ABO fic is usually focused on. So it's very much a "Viktor and Yuuri are still skaters but there's this weird hidden royalty plot in the background, but there are also dynamics, but they so don't matter until they do so I'm not even going to tell you who is what.

But I bet if you know my pairing preferences, you can guess!

And because I really find this part amusing, I'll give you a snippet too:

“Do you think he realises that his dog almost started an international incident?” Minako leaned closer to Yuuri who was just kneeling next to the family dining table where Viktor had laid down to apparently take a nap. Yuuri had enough going on that he didn’t want any of this going on in the main dining room of the onsen.

Yuuri groaned, but halfway through it turned into a panicked laugh. “Minako, don’t, please, don’t.”

“But he’s here for you, Yuuri! All the forums and social media and blogging sites have said so! Are you going to tell him what he’s walking into?”

Yuuri shook his head. “I can’t. Abe already called this in. If he wants to coach me, that’s fine, they’ll accept it. But he can’t know. No one can know until it’s announced. They’re looking into him now, full background check, without his knowledge. I hate this.”

Minako nodded. “I know. But for a last season--”

Viktor yawned and sat up. “I’m hungry.”

“I’ll go and have your mother bring him some katsudon. None for you, Yuuri.”

“Yes, sensei.”

Viktor looked at him curiously. “You aren’t going to join me?”

“It’s rich in calories, and I gain weight easily.” Yuuri wiggled uncomfortably under the harsh gaze of the older skater who was looking him up and down.

“True, I can’t train you until you’re back to your competition weight. It would be bad for your joints.” Viktor frowned, but it didn’t last long until his face blossomed into a happy smile as he took his first bite of Yuuri’s mother’s katsudon. “Vkusno! This must be what the gods eat!”

From her spot in the doorway Mari started laughing and had to excuse herself because she couldn’t stop.

After all, Yuuri was going to be emperor one day, and traditionally the emperor was believed to be descended from the Sun Goddess. So yes, katsudon was what the gods ate.

“It’s my favorite food,” is what he actually said.

From the hallway there was another burst of laughter. Yuuri ignored it.

Viktor just smiled, confused.

#yuri on ice #yuri on ice fanfiction #yuuri katsuki #viktor nikiforov #hidden royalty fic #genre: dramedy #wip game

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likes-words-and-shrimp · 1 year

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Any Tales of - game for the fandom ask :D

going with Symphonia! My first and fave Tales game <3

the first character i ever fell in love with:

It's hard to narrow it down but I did really love Lloyd when I first played! I love my dumb protagonists but he's also just such a good character with really good growth. I think after is Dirk because DWARF DAD and I always wanted to have more with him. We need more dwarves in media!

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not:

I guess the best answer here is Zelos lol. I think I used to like him plenty and found him funny but, well, a lot of that has tempered down over the years or maybe I just got very tired of seeing him as a focus in fandom and am bored of it. I played the remaster to remember his good points as a character and I came out of my replay loving Regal more oops.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not:

Hm, nothing here really applies. When I first played I actually didn't have many ships at all, even Lloyd and Colette wasn't a full on ship for me! (But I did like them interacting a lot haha). All other ships I eventually liked I still like now.

my ultimate favorite character™:

It has to be said: it's Colette! I do switch back and forth with loving both her and Lloyd together as my pair of faves! But I think Colette ultimately wins out, especially as I've grown older. Much of her story and her struggles just hits for me in ways no other character's background really does in Symphonia. Also religious conflict/guilt of a character is also delicious to me when done well.

prettiest character:

Ohh there's a lot! So it's hard for me to pick. Ofc I think Colette is pretty but so is Lloyd, he's my pretty boy. :D But! I think after watching the OVA, I remember Regal looking so pretty in a way that his in-game model could never do. Regal it is. Also we love a beefy man who cooks, it ups that prettiness.

my most hated character:

Hmm, probably one of the Grand Cardinals, so maybe I'll go with Kvar! HE AWFUL. But fun to write though when I did that one time haha.

my OTP:

*falls on floor* if my blog title isn't obvious, colloyd is my ultimate of ships, the best of my otps. Lloyd and Colette together is food for my soul. I love every aspect of them and they have completely devoured me that I didn't even realize how much I was already shipping them until years later. I emphatically believe Symphonia is their story and about their relationship. The way they understand each other better than anyone, the way they're silly with each other, the way they just love each other?? They do love each other, that's canon. Platonic or romantic (but it's romantic in my eyes) and I am so invested in their dynamic and want to explore every possibility with them. I have apparently written half a million words about them help me.

my NOTP:

:) Sorry but I legit dislike Lloyd with the z-man lmao. I used to be indifferent (I just found it so boring) but now I'm honestly very uncomfortable with it (fandom hasn't helped). Oh well!

favorite episode scene:

I'm going with scene here and it's a tie between the coffee scene and the reveal of Colette's crystallization. Of course both have to do with Colette and how things keep being awful for her :') But I love the coffee scene for Lloyd and how he reaches to hold her, and also how Lloyd assures Colette is not disgusting at all when she has a breakdown of her reveal. Him walking to her to be NEAR HER even as she tries to hide away her sickness gets to me.

Another favorite is the ending: We got big trees, we got beautiful music, we got COLLOYD WINGS. This lives in my heart.

saddest death:

The closest is Corrine! I think what makes it sad more though is Sheena's reaction to it. Also just such a good performance of the voice actress too.

favorite season plot/arc:

Going with plots and arcs in the game, but I think from discovering Colette losing her humanity and seeing this play out throughout the Sylvarant arc of the game is so good and it does make you genuinely wonder what will happen. And when we get to the Tower of Salvation and fight Remiel and KRATOS. I was stoked playing through that when I was younger.

least favorite season plot/arc:

Hm, probably when we're doing the Tethe'alla temples and such. Pacing gets a little off and also with more characters we start to lose the focus on other people. I think it picks back up once the group focuses on curing Colette's sickness.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate:

Lol hate is a strong word, I'm more just fatigued of him but heyyy it's Zelos! I am just uninterested. Also Kratos to a lesser extent, but oddly my opinion of him has actually raised a bit more over the years. So he's like, middle. gj, kratos.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave:

Maybe Mithos? I like Mithos. This boy can fit so much messed up trauma and manipulation. Combined with the uncomfortable idolization of his sister to the point he no longer sees her as an actual person (if he ever did?). And the fact he can genuinely be creepy?? Still my fave Tales villain.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave:

Colette. ;_; She deserves so much more. Also, Dirk is a close second, he deserves more attention! The dad that stayed!

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship:

So fun fact, I started shipping Lloyd/Mithos a bit purely because of some jp fanartists, and now I'm very intrigued. (I own two doujins of them now haha). I think there can be so much fun interactions between them, and none of it would be good for Lloyd. But it's fun. One day I will write something with them and no one will have a good time.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship:

I think this would be Kratos/Anna for me, and I've written several fics of them too. I get the appeal in a way, but ultimately Anna is a character with... no established character lol. Even Kratos barely ever talks about her as what she was like as an actual person? I know plenty of people love this ship and I've seen interesting things done with it, but my investment isn't much for them. I honestly mostly like this ship for the baby Lloyd fluff you'll get from it lol.

#meme #thanks for the ask!#i was so close to doing a colloyd manifesto but i must control myself...

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not-close-to-straight · 1 year

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I am breaking my social media break (I have no self discipline) but I needed to tell you that I loved the new chapter of Risk.

I really was all 'you go, Billy, you tell him what's what' but then my heart sank when I realized what it meant for him when he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

And then Steve getting there and being all bad arse and in control! I really loved that and I know he would have kicked Neil's arse had he still been there, Omega or not.

And I know you said Susan is not to blame but I do hate her a teeny, tiny bit because it can't be that she didn't know right? She knew something right? And she just let it happen.... Then again, she probably also is trapped in that situation and I guess it's really hard to stand up to someone in that situation, someone that could seriously hurt you or kill you.

El calling Billy Baby Bear is the sweetest thing and will always be my favourite thing in their relationship. I'm glad she'll be there when he wakes up because I don't think he'll be happy.

Joyce is so cool, good thing she was there to help (though sticking a needle in him goes a bit far). I'm glad Billy is safe now with Hopper and El and Max is safe and they are all safe for now.

IT WAS A GREAT CHAPTER AND I ADORE YOU!

SO that moment where Billy sort of breaks and yells at Neil. Something that alot of people don't want to talk about when it comes to talking about ab*se and ab*sers is how standing up for yourself might actually get you unalived. Lots of people are so quick to "she should have just left" "he's bigger, why did he take that" "why didn't they just leave, they were old enough to be independent" but no one wants to think about what happens if the person tries... and then fails. Standing up for themselves could be the last thing they ever do. Talking back could mean weeks out of school. Standing their ground could mean broken bones.

And that's-- I mean NO I didn't set out to write Risk as any sort of exploration of the horrifying power dynamics within an ab*sive household, but like, I can't write about Billy and NOT address it.

So this whole scene and then in some respects, the way Steve talks about/to Susan about it-- of course we want to stand and cheer when Billy spits blood at Neil's feet and stands up to him. But the reality of the consequence of being brave is terrifying. That whole part was so so difficult to write.

On to better things-- listen. Billy and El are so good together. They have a couple moments together in the upcoming "Comfort" chapter and it's literally amazing.

Joyce is one of my top 3 favorite characters in Stranger Things. Not only does Winona play her to PERFECTION but she is just beautifully, chaotically willing to do whatever it takes to keep her family safe and I love that for her. And its a big contrast to how the other canon moms are, especially in this verse. Joyce is present and involved and actively advocating for her kids and any kids she happens to claim as hers. Vs. Mrs Harrington who we never seen in canon and in Risk is just awful. Susan who is too much a victim to be anything other than passive. Mrs. Wheeler who is... well. You know. I just love her bullying Hopper around and being so so gentle with Steve but also that level of No Nonsense that keeps the world turning. Love her to pieces.

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ghcstvalleychief · 2 years

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“They love relationships that don't bother to develop the romantic aspect just as long as there's a no holds barred sex scene then who cares about the rest?”

THIS! I recently got a cis female friend into KP and when we were discussing it, everything came back to the sex and how “hot” it was. I at first didn’t think too much on it because, yeah, some of the love scenes were pretty hot and that’s just a fact. That’s fine. As we kept talking, one thing I noticed was that she was a big fan of a certain ship -you know- and I was confused by that initially because I’m sorry to say it but, I don’t get the draw. There was no chemistry, no real buildup that made sense to them having an actual relationship, and I didn’t feel anything during their specific (and uncomfortable) love scene. Every time I tried to get her perspective on why she loved them so much it was just comments about how hot and kinky their nc scene was. That was it. I genuinely thought she’d have a lot more to say about it but I was just further confused because… that scene wasn’t even kinky but to each their own I guess.

We then discussed Ep 7 and why it’s my favorite. Before I could explain why, she brought up the bathroom mirror love scene and thought that was my reason. I told her I loved that scene because so much passed between Kinn and Porsche and I love that you could see how well the actors translated that love, intimacy, and connection on screen. How it was the start to a more honest and solid relationship because they bared themselves to each other. I explained to her that I specifically loved the way porsche was observing Kinn and I especially loved the way Kinn broke down at the end and they just held each other through the emotions. I thought it was beautiful but, my reasons for loving the episode had a little to do with that specific part. My fav scene was actually KP on the balcony at the minor family home. She didn’t seem interested in discussing that aspect and in a way it was like she disregarded alllll of the character development and relationship development because it held no interest for her. After that I stopped wanting to talk about it and she got kind of annoyed with me. That’s when I told her to just watch porn at that point because that’s all she was after.

She then said something like “you think they’re hot too so I don’t know why you’re being so condescending” and I again explained that yes, the actors are attractive and the scenes are sexy but my love for the show and the ship had so much more to do with everything and not JUST the sex. I mean, she’ll lose her shit over the the romance in a Jane Austin book/movie but any BL or LGBT piece of media, she acts like that doesn’t exist within it. That’s the moment I knew I didn’t want to be friends with her anymore because that mindset is so disgusting, and it also showed me that she wouldn’t ever respect my own personal relationships if I was in one with a partner of a certain gender.

Don’t get me wrong about all of this, I’m aegosexual so I’m down with sex scenes but those scenes, especially in this show, add so much to the dynamic of the relationship and I actually think it’s really sad that these actors put so much into their characters and people who fetishize just really… disregard, downplay and honestly l intentionally ignore all of it for three minutes of “hot guys” simulating sex. I find it extremely weird. Anyway sorry for the long rant but that sentence popped out at me and I was like OMG I just experienced this one on one with someone!

And this is why I said there needs to be a happy balance and a happy medium. Cishet people already think the way we live, love, and fuck is centered around sex and just sex. Cishet people don't see the humanity in people who are in the LGBT+ community, even if they're not consciously aware of it. We live in a society that already demonizes us, so it's not enough for cishet people to believe we're human beings with the same hopes, dreams, and desires they have. They have to actively unlearn and unpack the homophobia that's embedded in the very fabric of our society. That's not the job of the media we consume, but it is important that people realize that just because they're not actively lobbing slurs at other people that they're not bigoted. You have to actively unlearn those beliefs that you've been conditioned and socialized to internalize.

This is why some people would believe and claim that a ship that had no true relationship/romantic development and a shoddily directed (and acted) BDSM-esque scene "stole the show." They believe that because they care about the sexual aspect of it. Anyone who says that can't tell you how this ship "stole" the show without mentioning that one extremely weak, "kinky", BDSM sex scene. That was a scene made palatable for people who aren't truly into BDSM and cishet people. But it's funny that's the only thing they can use to justify this statement. They can't tell you anything else other than that, and that's why I say there needs to be more. Just more of everything. We don't have enough representation for mlm/wlw ships to be centered around sex and just sex. We don't have enough representation in the media for that to be a thing that we can get away with. Again, I don't see the issue with these characters having sex. Get as downright freaky and nasty as you want! But I do have an issue when the narrative reinforces homophobic ideals that are harbored by an already homophobic audience. The BL fandom is homophobic and misogynistic and these shows continue to reinforce both belief systems in many different ways.

No offense to your former friend, but that's what I mean when I bring up fetishization. I won't proclaim to know her sexual orientation, but that's what I mean. The only thing she brought up was their sex scene. What about the rest of it? What about their actual relationship? Granted, there wasn't any real relationship development so I can't completely blame her for her perspective. Even though there was another alternative to that ship that actually had both, she still couldn't be bothered. However, you're right, anon. If that's the only thing that comes to your mind and nothing else, then you may as well watch porn. It's the same thing. You don't have to worry about getting emotionally invested in a complex plot that you're not interested in anyway. Just watch porn. It gets you to the finish line much quicker!

#anonymous #answered asks #and people truly believe that there aren't fans here who aren't fetishizing all of this #there are more than you think #but hey; this is just my opinion #I just have a very kneejerk reaction to certain things when it comes to fandoms

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sketching-shark · 3 years

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LMK fandom: Oh, what do we do about this guy who has nothing but hurt Xiaotian, tried to replace Sun Wukong and his crew, hurt Tripitaka and ordered servants to cannibalize a monkey? Oh I know! We’ll turn him into our little meow meow~ he’s so innocent and Sun Wukong is obviously the villain!

What doesn’t help is this idea is perpetuated by multiple fan fic writers and artists for some reason. Especially some aus they make that turn SWK into a bastard for the sake of the story rather than considering cultural context and thinking they should be respectful.

And almost everyone lets them get away with it just because the art or fanfic is good and they get so popular that no one can point what is actually wrong without feeling like they’re going to get attacked.

I'm starting to feel like my blog is the one anons go to specifically to vent their frustrations about the Six Eared Macaque in his lego monkey show form & the associated fandom lmao. But I guess this makes sense, as I’ve had fun quasi-dragging him before & will in fact use this anon submission as an opportunity to have my own, to put it academically, bitch fest about not just this fandom's favorite protagonist-traumatizing meow meow, but about the way villains are often treated in not just fanon, but increasingly in canon works as well. But same policy as with the last anon; I'll post my opinions below the cut, and as fandoms love to say, don’t like don't read if you don't want to see me dunking on the six eared simian & common fandom tendencies towards villains.

Oh man I would say where would you even begin with this but anon you’ve pretty much started yourself with my main gripe with a lot of ways that the Six-Eared Macaque is portrayed in fandom; there seems to be this unspoken agreement that his acts of violence towards Sun Wukong, Qi Xioatian, and Qi Xioatian’s loved ones are either to be framed as somewhat or totally justified, to be immediately forgiven/excused, or to simply & completely be ignored. Like friends maybe this is just me not seeing the proper posts but while the fandom is inundated with art and fanfics of Macaque as a generally decent individual & a true member of team good guy, I have yet to see one person address the fact that this monkey literally kidnapped & mind-controlled Xiaotian’s best friend and father figures & forced them to brutalize Xiaotian while ol’ Six Ear looked on and laughed (X_X). Like this kind of fandom villain treatment is definitely not something that’s solely at work for Monkie Kid, but it is kind of nutty how fandoms will swing between yelling that people should be allowed to like villains without even mild critique, and then will just flat-out not address the villainous behavior, and will even bend over backwards to frame even characters who committed genocide as just poor innocent widdle victims who need a hug. At its worst, I’ve even seen tons of people in a fandom get really angry at other people who don’t like a villain, and will even start accusing those people of hating real-life mentally disabled or abused individuals all because they don’t like the fandom’s favorite literal war criminal. The Monkie Kid fandom is FAR more chill & better than a lot of other fandoms I’ve come across in that regard, but that is an exceedingly low bar, & the tendency to woobify certain kinds of villains-- as with Macaque and the extreme emphasis on his bad boy/sad boy thing--is very much at work.

I’ve also talked before about a kind of monoculturalization of certain character interpretations and story beats in fandoms, and one of the more popular ones that seems to be applied to Macaque a lot is the “hero actually bad, villain actually good” cliche, as observable from the general fandom assumption that Mr. Six-Ears he wasn’t even slightly lying or remembering things through a rose-tinted or skewed lens when he gave his version of his and Sun Wukong’s past. Like at this point it seems the possibility that people WILL NOT even consider is that Sun Wukong never did & still doesn't care that much about the Six Eared Macaque (in JTTW they weren’t sworn brothers & in Monkie Kid the only thing the monkey king really said to Macaque before attacking him was a pretty contemptuous "Aren't you ever going to get sick of living under my shadow?," & responds to his "beloved friend" getting blown up with "You did good, bud" to Qi Xiaotian, who did the exploding), or that their original fight may in fact have mostly been instigated by Macaque. After all, to repeat what this anon summarized & what I've said before about their original JTTW context (& in an example of the things that do feel like it's often lost in translation) is that the Six Ear Macaque was a villain not just because he beat up the Tang Monk, but because he wanted to take over Sun Wukong's entire life and identity so he could have all that glory, prestige, and power for himself. To quote the macaque himself from the Anthony C. Yu translation, "I struck the T'ang monk and I took the luggage...precisely because I want to go to the West all by myself to ask Buddha for the scriptures. When I deliver them to the Land of the East, it will be my success and no one else's. Those people of the South Jambudvipa Continent will honor me then as their patriarch and my fame will last for all posterity." And in order to do this, the Six Eared Macaque had apparently made Sun Wukong's "little ones," his monkey family, his captives through either trickery or force, and gotten a number of them to take on the appearance of Tang Sanzang and the other pilgrims. It's also made clear that in very direct contrast to Sun Wukong, he doesn't care about these monkeys beyond how they might serve him. In fact, after Sha Wujing kills the monkey posing as him the Six Eared Macaque not only all but immediately replaces him with another, but also "told his little ones to have the dead monkey skinned. Then his meat was taken to be fried and served as food along with coconut and grape wines." So this monkey is not only willing to risk the lives of a lot of other monkeys for his own personal benefit, but is also a literal cannibal. And yes yes, I know a lot of people have argued that Monkie Kid shouldn't be considered a direct sequel to JTTW & that's fair enough (for example, Sun Wukong probably shouldn't be smashing anyone into a meat patty in a children's cartoon lol). And of course, it needs to be noted that there are a buttload of really out there & really cursed pieces of media based on JTTW & that were created in China. Yet the above description is the oft-ignored in the west original facet of the Six Eared Macaque's character. And it is this selfishness, entitlement, and treatment of other individuals as tools for his own self-serving ends that is, from where I’m standing, still very much present in Monkie Kid. Like besides repeatedly going out of his way to physically and psychologically traumatize Xioatian, with the last episode Macaque seemed to be going right back to his manipulative ways. I’ve seen people frame their last conversation as Macaque softening to Xioatian a little bit, but personally that read a lot more like that common tactic among abusers where even after they’ve hurt you they’ll dangle something you want or need over your head (in Macaque’s case, the promise of desperately needed training and information about a serious looming threat), with the implication that you’ll only get it if you do what they want you to, such as, in this case, Xioatian going back to Macaque as his student even after having been so terribly hurt by this monkey, which would give Macaque power over Xiaotian and probably Sun Wukong as a result. And it is this violence and manipulation that it seems the fandom at large has tacitly decided shouldn’t even be addressed, instead leaning more towards a (and this is an exaggeration) “Six-Eared Macaque my poor meow meow Sun Wukong has always been bad & has always been wrong about literally everything” reading.

And while it is the case that I am not Chinese and feel that as such it would be best left to someone who actually comes from that background to provide more context into how common interpretations of the Six Eared Macaque from China may clash really badly with the stuff the western fandom creates, it also must be noted that, as much as we all want to have fun in fandom & in spite of all the out-there versions of JTTW from China, we westerners should recognize that there is a very long and very ugly history of western countries stripping other cultures’ important religious and literary works for parts & mashing them into their own thing while implying or even insisting that what they present provides a true understanding of the original piece. And while I trust most individuals in regards to Monkie Kid are able to step back and think “this is a lego cartoon and not a set guide for how I should understand JTTW” (especially given the insistence that JTTW and Monkie Kid should be considered there own separate works) there does nevertheless seem to be something of a tendency to take the conclusions people come to, for example, about Sun Wukong’s characteristic in his lego form & then assume that’s just reflective to Sun Wukong as a totality. I imagine a good portion of this is due to people not reading JTTW & especially to not having easy access to solid information or answers about JTTW’s many different facets (like geez awhile ago I was trying to get a clear answer on what is considered the most accurate translation of the names of Sun Wukong’s six sworn brothers & got like 5 different responses lmao), but that tendency to take a western fandom interpretation & run with it instead of doing any background research or questioning said interpretation is still very much at play. As such, & as made prominent in the way people have been interpreting the dynamic between Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque in the lego monkey show, tbh it does seem kind of shitty for western creators & audience to sometimes go really out of their way to ignore all of this original cultural & narrative context for the sake of Angst (TM) in Macaque's favor, demonizing Sun Wukong, and shipping the monkey king with his evil twin (X_X).

And speaking of which, even beyond the potential inherent creepiness & revulsion that can be inspired by this specific ship given common interpretations of the og classic's original meaning (again, it's my understanding, given both summaries of translated Chinese academic texts I've been kindly provided with, my own reading of the Anthony C. Yu translation of JTTW, & vents from a number of Chinese people I've seen on this site, that the Six-Eared Macaque is commonly interpreted in China as having originated from Sun Wukong himself as a living embodiment of his worst traits, hence why only Buddha can tell the difference between them & why the monkey king is much more slow to violence after he kills the macaque), I'd argue that in the face of all the uwu poor widdle meow meow portrayals lego show Macaque is, especially if you include JTTW's events, still in the role of “Sun Wukong but worse” as he is very much a violent & selfish creep. Like he was basically running around in JTTW wearing a Sun Wukong fursuit, but there he had the sole reason of wanting to replace Sun Wukong wholesale so he could have all the good things in the monkey king's life without actually having to work as hard for them. But if you combine that with Macaque now claiming that he used to be best friend with Sun Wukong in his pre-journey days (something that's made funny from a JTTW context given that that status actually belongs to the Demon Bull King lol), his original violence has now blown into this centuries long and really unhealthy obsession with the monkey king. Like he's apparently gone from wanting to literally be Sun Wukong to being so obsessed with getting revenge on Sun Wukong that he's got basically nothing else going on in his life. Like he's only appeared in two episodes but...does he have any friends? Any family? A career or even a hobby that DOESN'T center the monkey king? Anything at all outside of his "get revenge on and/or kill Sun Wukong/use his successor as my personal punching bag” thing? Like dude! That is extremely creepy and extremely bad for everyone all around! As I’ve said before, this seeming refusal to see beyond the past or to do something that doesn’t involve Sun Wukong in some capacity is a trait that makes Macaque an interesting and somewhat tragic villain--he even seems to be working as Sun Wukong’s reflection in a mirror darkly, with lego show Sun Wukong pretty clearly not being able to heal from his own past which is hinted to be defined by one loss after another, and with Monkie Kid even kind of having these two characters somewhat follow their JTTW characterizations in that in the latter half of the journey Sun Wukong often gets sad & starts crying in the face of what seems insurmountable odds (& Monkie Kid Sun Wukong does seem to be hiding some serious depression behind a cheerful facade), whereas the Six-Eared Macaque retains a worse version of Sun Wukong’s pre-journey characteristic of getting pissed and lashing out if things don’t go his way--but it’s also what would make any current friendship or romantic relationship between these monkeys horrific. Although to be fair even the fandom seems to recognize this in an unconscious way, in that a lot of the art & fanfic seems to swing erratically between them kissing & screaming at each other in yet another example of bog-standard fandom adulation of romanticized toxic relationships lol.

At the end of the day, of course, this is nothing new. You'll find versions of this dynamic across a ton of fandoms and now even canonical work. And as such, I can only look at this kind of popularized relationship dynamic with a kind of resigned weariness whenever it pops up, & my frustrated question with the popularity of this kind of pairing is the exact same one that I have for a multitude of blatantly toxic villain/hero ships, given common fandom discourse & the tendency to either ignore or justify the villain's actions & demonize the hero: if you're THAT convinced that everything is the hero's fault, if you believe THAT much that the hero is the one in the wrong for the villain's pain and their subsequent actions, then why are you so set on them not only becoming a romantic pair, but framing this get-together as a good thing? Like I know we contain multitudes but that's waaay too many contradictions for me to wrap my head around. And it definitely doesn’t help that one branch of underlying reasoning behind this kind of pairing seems to be the ever-present “you break it, you fix it” mentality, where the assumption is that if you’re in a failing, abusive, and/or generally toxic relationship (platonically or romantically), if you put in enough time and effort & attempts to compromise, you’ll be able to restore/have the relationship you dreamed of, even with someone who hurt you really badly. And this assumption isn’t limited to fandom: I’d even argue that it’s everywhere in the culture, hence why a lot of people feel like they “failed” if they have to get a divorce or make the choice to leave an unhealthy friendship. Personally, I feel like people could really benefit from more stories about how it is not only the case that the people you hurt don’t owe you their forgiveness & you can still become a better and happier person without the one you hurt in your life, & that while it can be really hard it can also be a good thing to leave a relationship, even if it’s one that once meant a lot to you.

But in all honestly, from my own perspective this kind of pairing is starting to read far less like enemies to lovers and far more like a horrible fantasy where you can pull whatever shit you want, even on the people you "love," & never be held accountable for your terrible behavior or even have to consider that maybe you were in the wrong. It's another facet that makes me larf every time I see people insist that fandom is an inherently "transformative" or "progressive" form of storytelling like friends you are literally just taking status quo toxic monogamy & rebranding it as somehow beneficial & romantic (X_X).

But as to anon’s last frustration, it is hard to know what is the appropriate response with this kind of thing...like for my own part I’m keeping my frustrations to my blog & now increasingly to posts that you would have to click on the “read more” button to see what I have to say, but I totally get the hesitation to give even a mild critique to big names in a fandom. Like I've now seen it happen repeatedly where someone who has a big name in a fandom will make something that's kind of shitty for one reason or another, someone will message them with some version of "hey, that's kind of shitty, you shouldn't do that," and the typical response is either to blatantly ignore the issue completely, or more popularly to make a giant crying circus that seems deliberately geared towards stoking emotions on both sides of the, for example, fiction does/doesn't affect reality issue so that something that didn't even have to be that big a deal gets blown out of all proportion, with the big name often framing what often started out as a very mild critique into a long crying jag about how the initial response to their kind of shitty thing was so mean/cruel and they're just a poor innocent & that YOU'RE the true racist/sexist/bigot etc. if you don't agree with their opinion. It must of course be noted that there have also been numerous instances of people taking it too far the other way & sending not just big names but smaller creators literal deaths threats over stuff like innocuous ships which like holy hell bells people that’s a horrible thing to do. But for the big names at least, the end result of all this fighting is usually that once the dust has settled they have more attention/fame/money/power in the fandom than before, and with anyone who might have a problem with their stuff feeling afraid to voice their opinion lest they be swarmed by that person's fans. In that way fandom does often seem to increasingly be geared towards presenting an “official” fandom perspective about various facets of a piece of media instead of allowing for a multitude of interpretations, and with criticism, no matter its shape or form or how genuinely warranted it may be, being hounded out of existence. I feel like a lot of this could be made less bad if there wasn’t this constant assumption & even drive to think that a different interpretation of or criticism of your favorite work of fiction or your fanwork isn’t a direct claim that you are a thoroughly loathsome individual (& maybe also if people cultivated an enjoyment of learning things about important works from a culture outside their own, even if what you learn clashes with your own initial understandings), but I guess we’ll see if that ever happens.

So these are my general thinks about the Six Eared Macaque’s current fandom meow meow status & some of my bigger gripes with fandom tendencies as a whole. I stand by my idea that the most interesting & beneficial route for Macaque moving forward would be a kind of “redemption without forgiveness from the ones you hurt” arc--as I think was done pretty excellently with the character Grace in Infinity Train--and if for no other reason than gosh dern this monkey really needs to cultivate some sort of identity beyond his “Sun Wukong but worse” persona.

#lmk macaque #monkie kid macaque #6 eared macaque #monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #qi xiaotian #lmk monkey king #sun wukong #monkey king #journey to the west #jttw #fandom criticism #lmk

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familyagrestefanblog · 4 years

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Jackady: The importance of the father-son hug scene

One of my favorite Adrien-Gabriel moments to this day is still the ending scene of "Jackady" but I have seen more confusion for it than clarity in the Fandom so here is my analysis on it for why I love it so much. Because as the seasons go by this moment sustaines so much more significance that I simply HAVE to talk about it!

While it isn't the only Adrien-Gabriel scene that does it, I adore this scene because it shows perfectly that in the beginning their little, broken family could have made it out of this tragedy stronger and maybe even better but the reality that Adrien and Gabriel are also Chat Noir and Hawkmoth not only hinders those chances, it actively drives them further apart into destruction

Maybe one day I'll give all my thoughts to the entire scene and just go on a rambling post about it (because I love EVERYTHING about this scene) but for now, let's just focus on the main aspects that really sell it to me.

I give Gabriel alot of shit on my blog for obvious reasons. I refuse to generally give him the same positive and conciderate treatment as Adrien, Marinette and the other kid characters because unlike them HE is an adult, a father and the villain of the show. The adult and villain part I'm not taking too personal because those are "just" the traditional aspects of his character type. But what is incredibly unique about him is the fact that even if he is this evil villain type he still gets to be the realistic type of abusive and (truly) bad father with sympathetic moments like this:

This moment of shock and fear is not something you would normally see in a family cartoon from an evil parental figure the child longs to bond with without setting the parent up for redemption. But as we now know by s3, Gabriel is only getting increasingly worse and more abusive and Adrien is starting to let go of his father to move on without him and defying his will. It's quite clear now that their future will not be anywhere near good, "Chat Blanc" showed us what's to come.

And this is exactly why I love this scene. Because, yes, this family will go up in flames and never truly reconcile ever again (Gabriel went WAY too far for that in the way he abuses/will abuse Adrien) but the show doesn't shy away from showing us the transitional phase in between which really not alot of media dares to. Normally when they stay enemies or their situation doesn't end in an at least somewhat forgiving way this transition is simply mostly skipped to not having to let the bad parent have realistic and sympathetic moments in their downfall into madness/villainy (especially with their victim).

Miraculous does and it's beautifully tragic because you can just... SEE the situation unfold and understand where the eventual fate of the family comes from.

The pure misunderstanding between these two in this scene, the way they just talk RIGHT PAST each other because the other one can not understand the problem cuz they don't know the secret identity of the other one is... brutal!

This moment here could have worked for them. It could have been a genuine step forward in their relationship and saved their family but it got completely CRUSHED by their secret identities as Chat Noir and Hawkmoth.

Let me show you what I mean:

THIS is a moment I AM giving Gabriel genuine credit for, because you can turn it any way you want it won't change the fact that, for his situation, THIS was the right question to ask his son. But at the same time it's just such a... horrible thing to say here oh my GOD.

And that's the ugly, UGLY beauty here.

If Gabriel weren't Hawkmoth (if someone else were Hawkmoth so the situation would still have happened) he would not have reacted to the fucking ring. He would have thought nothing of it and had remained focused on Adrien, because that was his original intention (problematically executed but that's beside the point now).

After Gabriel got himself in life threatening danger because he didn't listen to Adriens concerns, he went to him to hug him as apology. THIS is Gabriels way of apologizing and trying to make up for his faults. He's obviously not good at verbalizing his feelings properly and at normal interpersonal dynamics in general. So what he does is trying to make his feelings known in a... "material/physical" way. This does not only show through Gabriel just buying the best things for Adrien without ever being there for him, it also shows in the way he physically interacts with his loved ones when he genuinely wants to show his love. Because for how seriously antisocial and unreachable as he normally is, he also gets... quite touchy.

The shoulder touch thing Adrien does as well to show his affection for someone, him hugging Adrien both times he got a wake up call and literally everything thats happening between him and Natalie at this point lol.

Him hugging Adrien here is just as much of a big deal as Adriens expressions make it seem to be

But the father-son moment couldn't last because the villain-hero alter egos interfered. Gabriel being Hawkmoth rightfully stopped the moment here, because reacting to even the slightest chance of your own child being the hero you try to destroy is undoubtedly the right way to handle this (even if the way he did it wasn’t ideal, that's not something I would expect from any character in that situation), but nevertheless it still utterly crushed the moment.

Cuz just because it is the right thing for HAWKMOTH to ask his son Adrien who he fears COULD be Chat Noir, doesn't it mean that it is anywhere close to okay for Adrien/Chat Noir to hear this very question in that moment from his father who he thinks as a normal civilian in this.

And Adriens expression once again makes this perfectly clear

(You know the offense just reached an other dimension when the kid, who is already well aware and used to their fathers emotionally painful ways, makes a face like THAT)

Cause here is the thing. We all know by now that Adrien has some serious self esteem issues and that while he tries to over play it (especially as Chat) he just doesn't hold himself in high regards or even likes himself very much. Hence why he goes all out on the acting as Chat Noir and doesn't defend himself much.

But just because he doesn't like himself that much doesn't it mean he still doesn't want that very validation and appreciation from his father. Just like all of us and everyone on earth, Adrien wants to be loved for himself, even if he doesn't/can't do it himself. Thats normal and is something that can deeply damage you when you don't get it from your own parent/s.

So tell me, do you see why Adrien was so CRUSHED when in probably the first time since his mother's disappearance Gabriel gave him the genuine and all present love he wanted for so long, just for Gabriel to cut their moment short and FOCUSE ON THE RING?

The one thing on Adrien that makes him become "someone else" so he can escape from having to be himself for a bit.

And for Adrien it now seems like that in his own fathers eyes this ONE thing Gabriel shouldn't even know could be anything special about if he weren't Hawkmoth, is the ONLY thing worth noticing about his own son so it catches his eyes.

It tells Adrien right to the face that nothing Adrien was and did to make his father happy up to this point measured up with Gabriels expectations. All of Adriens efforts, his patience and his hopes of earning his fathers love and happiness if he only does well enough, literally in vain. It wasn't enough. It's wasn't enough for Gabriel to notice in comparison to the ring apperently.

From Adriens view you can interpret it two ways:

1. Since earlier Gabriel also took a closer look at Chat Noirs ring Adrien now thinks correctly that his father is seeing his new ring as a sign that he could be Chat Noir. This would mean that in Adriens eyes Gabriel would have cut their moment, an action of validation and love Adrien has longed, worked and patiently waited for so LONG, short and basically forgot all about Adrien himself because there is a SLIGHT possibility that Adriens ring means he COULD be Chat Noir. His own father literally choosing his secret identity over his civilian one as Adrien, the son Gabriel had for 14 years, is beyond crushing. And while it seems strange for Adrien to take offense in this because, well, he IS Chat Noir so what the big deal? The big deal here is, again, that as Chat Adrien is literally trying NOT to be himself. He uses the opportunity of being an anonymous hero to escape from having to be Adrien Agreste in every way he can. Gabriel throwing aside the son who is literally standing in front of him and who did his darn best to be there for him in his own time of grieving his mother to basically only focus on Chat Noir (a person Gabriel in the end of the day shouldn't and doesn't know) possibly being his son, is such a fucked up scenario to throw onto Adriens already low self esteem what the actual fuck.

Or 2. That Adrien simply takes his father choosing to focus on his "simple" new ring out of all things as a clear "I see nothing else worth noticing in you, so to keep this conversation up I have to grasp at straws so I guess I'll be taking about your new ring".

No matter how one chooses to interpret the moment, it's equally as much of a "fuck you" either way. I know Gabriel could have said worse here, but honestly, the list isn't that long.

So when after this Adrien reacts like this:

It should really not come by any surprise. Although, no, it is kind of surprising. Surprising that Adrien didn't react alot worse than this. What Gabriel just threw at him is like the verbal equivalent of a loved one reaching out for you with a hand so they can caress your cheek but the moment you lean in they follow it up with a punch to the face.

It shows just how well Adrien has his emotions under control and is able to stay level headed under such great offense that THIS is the level of irrationality and anger he expresses after basically being out right disregarded by his own father (which should be of no surprise either, as Chat Noir Adrien has to put up with a whole lot of disrespect as well and there he for literally 95% of the time has to shrug it off as well).

But no matter how bad Gabriels line here was, it has nothing and I mean NOTHING on the awful way Gabriel then decides to react to Adriens appropriate but still very mild response.

Because THIS is the moment that sets up Gabriels betrayal and downfall as both a person and especially as a father. Up to this point Gabriel was a horrible person as well, no question. The entirety of s1 he already worked as Hawkmoth, manipulating people, putting them in great danger and planning the demise of two teenagers with sadistic glee. But still one has to acknowledge the difference in these two situations.

In one Gabriel is hiding in a secret lair, manipulating people he thinks beneath him to do the dirty work for him and fight two anonymous heros he just wants to get rid of to reach his goal. Gabriel is taking so much pleasure out of terrorizing Paris and it's people because he legitimately doesn't give a single fuck about them or holds any kind of personal connection to them either. He never goes outside and is very antisocial so these people and their city mean nothing to him because they ARE nothing to him. His (self chosen) isolation and lifestyle pretty much disconnected Gabriel from real life and a normal way of expressing and receiving human emotions. So when there are no emotional stakes for him personally, he sees no reason to not satisfy his villainous desires as Hawkmoth.

So as odd as it may seem to say, him terrorizing Paris prior to this is not the point of crossing the line for his character. For that it's simply to impersonal.

No, the point of crossing the line happens here with Adrien. With Gabriels character things will always come back to Adrien at its core. Adrien (not Emilie, Natalie or anyone else) is the person Gabriel temporarily truly gave up being Hawkmoth for and Adrien is the one person Gabriel has his most human moments with. Not even in his bonding moments with Natalie does he show the same deep and true (misguided) love and affection as he gets to with Adrien in those rare moments (its close no doubt but something about Gabenath is not as deep and true as this father-son pair and I can't imagine it ever will).

This marks the point of no return for Gabriel because it's the first time he chose to deliberately abandon Adrien in the crossfire and decides to be the villain towards him instead of staying there to talk things out with him. It's the first time Adrien truly had Hawkmoth as his father. And Hawkmoth is Chat Noirs ememy so Gabriel fell into that role without Adrien knowing why.

And there is a solid reason for that.

One of the best things of this show is that no matter how horrible things get between these two, things are always much more complicated than a simple "evil father doesn't love his good son" situation. Gabriel calls Adrien "the image of perfection" in this very episode, that's sure as hell not hate or dislike in any way. That's love, that's adoration. This man ADORES his son. And this is were the deep rooted problem lies.

Gabriel loves and adores his SON. The ideal and perfectly perfect son Adrien could become when Gabriel is done forming him into it by suffocating any "imperfections" with an iron fist. It's just that these "imperfections" are always the characteristics that make Adrien ADRIEN. Gabriel may truly love his son but I'm not even sure if Gabriel even so much as LIKES Adrien himself.

And this is perfectly showcased by Gabriel turning away from Adrien in this very scene here.

Because even though Gabriel literally disrespected, shut down and belittled his son for the entire episode he still came to see and hug his Adrien afterwards because he loves him. But HIS Adrien, the perfectly perfect Adrien Gabriel wants him to be, wasn't the Adrien he met up with in his sons room. Instead he got an Adrien with a ring on his hand that could be Chat Noirs, making him possibly one of the two enemies he's trying to destroy.

Adding salt to the "wound" Adrien even backtalks him in a way that undoubtedly reminded him of Chat as well since Gabriel pointed out Chats temper in this very episode.

So Gabriel was very directly confronted with the possibility that Adrien could INDEED be Chat Noir and that naturally comes with the implications that Adrien deliberately disobeyed Gabriels orders accepting that ring, sabotaging Gabriel reaching his goal and in general doing everything his father DOESN'T want him to do BY CHOICE.

And here Gabriel made the decision that marks the point of no return, setting up the devastatingly horrible way this man is treating and will treat his son in the future.

Because this is the moment Gabriel SHOULD have chosen Adrien over his mission. The sheer possibility, no scratch that, even the SLIGHTEST TRACE of a possibility of Adrien being Chat Noir should have immediately made Gabriel take action to save and protect him. Because it's not like Chat hasn't been constantly in dangerous, life threatening or even situations that ended up in DEATH. If Gabriel would truly love ADRIEN his quest would have ended right here, stopping the upcoming horror this family will face before it could have really begun (hence why this was shown to us in an episode of s1, the season where Hawkmoths identity was still unknown. If Gabriel had stopped here not even WE would have known, leaving Gabriels name untainted of Hawkmoths crimes as the Agreste family finally moves on and Hawkmoth dissappeares as suddenly as he appeared.)

because Adrien and his health and life should not be a price Gabriel is willing to risk paying for his goal.

But Gabriel didn't do that.

Because instead of Adrien Gabriel chose the potential perfectly perfect son he wants and turned his back on the one standing right in front of him. Cuz remember what Gabriels goal IS. He wants to change the past, so non of this ever happened in the first place.

Meaning Gabriel turning his back on our present Adrien doesn't mean that Gabriel outright hates Adrien now by the next second cuz he dared to disobey his orders like that. But it means that Gabriel is choosing to separate these two Adriens in his mind, making endangering, hurting and working against THIS Adrien more of a collateral damage than actually hurting his own son. THAT son, the one Gabriel convinces himself he is fighting for, is waiting for him in the past alongside Emilie.

This separation was probably always there since Gabriel started trying to change the past hence why he justifies Adriens unhappiness and the way he abandones him as necessary sacrifices.

But the real separation started HERE, this marks the first time Gabriel just left Adrien behind in a position of complete and deliberate endangerment, knowing that the possibility of Adrien being Chat is still there but choosing to say: "if he indeed is, then that's an obstacle I will have to overcome."

This separation has been developing slowly but steadily through s2 and 3 right to "Chat Blanc" which tells us the future. Me elaborating on this "separation development" though became longer than I want to put in this post, therefore I will go into more depth about it another time.

So let me continue with this:

Adrien is like... Genuinely not even angry. More deeply sad.

He was appropriately and truly hurt when Gabriel only started talking about the ring but once Gabriel turns around and walks away? He looks after his father but more in a way as if he is waiting to see if Gabriel would actually take so much offense in him backtalking him to legitimately LEAVE like this. And Gabriel does.

Adriens intentions wasnt to make his father leave, When he talked back at him it was more of a hurt call out for Gabriel to say more, SOMETHING ELSE, but not to LEAVE!

Adrien then does something very common for people in a fight who wait for the leaving person to turn around again but have to realize that they hope in vain and the other person actually is done with this moment.

His face and body relaxes, he turns completely to the door and seems to... take it in.

Especially in the way Adrien does it here its like he is processing and accepting that what he thought of his father was wrong. Adrien thought Gabriel cared enough for him that he would want to stay even if he backtalks him for example. Adrien expected a conversation here but now had to realize that his father isn't gonna put up with him at all or their differences in an upfront way if Adrien isn't "behaving right". Gabriel will just cut the moment short and deflect whatever conversation with him he doesn't like.

All in all what Adrien took away from this moment with his father is even if Gabriel may care for him (enough to come and hug him as an apology) this care and affection is tightly bound to the way Adrien himself then reacts. If he reacts in a way Gabriel doesn't like he will very quickly deem Adrien undeserving of his affection and take it (and his entire presence) away again.

The way Adrien looks then at his ring also makes me think that he definitely blames himself for how this moment ended. That he "shouldn't have overreacted" and taken such personal offense by his fathers attempt to reconnect with him even if Gabriel hit one hell of a sore point.

This is of course BS. Even if Adrien wasn't Chat Noir the way Gabriel just straight up deflected the conversation to the ring right after the hug, where one normally starts to explain oneself and truly TALK, would have been seriously hurtful even under non-miraculous circumstances.

But it shows how Adrien by instinct immediately starts to invalidate his own feelings to look for the faults in himself. A self-hurtful coping mechanism that unfortunately only gets deepened as the dynamic between these two continues on.

And lastly it also marks the first time that the ring is truly associated with something bad. Normally (especially so early in the show) the ring stands in association with Adriens freedom and spending more time with people outside, him getting to let loose a little and how he can spend time with the girl he loves. The ring began to loose these positive associations more and more from s2 onward but the first time was here.

It's the object which ruined the moment that could have ended this tragedy before it truly began in both of their eyes and in the viewers. Sure Gabriel being Hawkmoth is the true cause of it and nothing will ever change that but it's Adriens ring, not Gabriels brooch, that sets their separation further in motion. Further as Gabriel initially intended to.

It's the factor Gabriel overlooks Adrien himself for, which is truly brought home by the end scene of "Gorizilla" which serves as a mirror to this one here.

Whereas in "Jackady" Gabriel lost sight of the son right in front of him because of the ring and what its implies, in "Gorizilla" Gabriel thinks he finally received the evidence that Adrien isn't his enemy. So for the first time Gabriel completely disregards the ring, Chat Noir out of his mind, sees ADRIEN for himself and genuinely smiles at him. He can and does make a TRUE attempt at reconnecting!

Which is of course exactly what Adrien wanted for so long, what he hoped Gabriel would do if hes just patient enough with his father. He accepts Gabriels genuine attempt gladly, reassuring his father that he and his efforts are noticed, appreciated and wanted even after everything that happened so they can hopefully go on to a better future.

This is what would have saved this family back in "Jackady" if only Gabriel had chosen the right priority. But as I said before, this moment here happens in s2 after Gabriel crossed the line in Jackady, so this positiv moment can not save them anymore. Both Gabriel and Adrien are already too far in and influenced by their alter egos and the miraculous. So the brief reconnection couldn't last and everything continues to only further fall apart ever since.

And it all began with this beautiful, heartbreaking and tragic moment in "Jackady" these two will never ever be able to truly come back from again.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #Gabriel Agreste #Chat Noir #Cat Noir #Le Papillion #Jackady #Gorizilla #ml scene analysis #one of my favorite scenes #I love everything about this #ml analysis #Family Agreste tragedy #ml sugar #hawkmoth #the beginning of the end for these two

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idreamtofmanderleyagain · 4 years

Text

Five years ago, the women on this site who treated me like trash over loving Labyrinth and shipping Jareth/Sarah were almost always obliviously consuming Radfem propaganda, or were out and out Radfems/Terfs themselves.

They were the types of people who casually threw the word “pedophile” around against grown women who shipped an adult Sarah with Jareth, aka literally one of the most popular ships for women in fandom for 30 years.

Pretty much invariably, these women had serious sex-negative anxieties, which included a severe paranoia about any and all kink and fetish, and porn in general. I saw a lot of shocking, fear-mongering propaganda surrounding sexual expression. Pretty much invariably, their method of approach involved immediate personal shock-value attacks on anyone they perceived to be “bad.”

Today, you can look at the way some people react to other popular so-called “problematic” ships and recognize the same toxic, fear-mongering rhetoric coming from women who consider themselves regular, trans-inclusive feminists. Sometimes it even manifests in the words of very well-meaning people (including myself here), who feel the need to talk about specific issues that pertain to their own experiences of trauma and oppression.

The people who shit on Labyrinth often seem to not really be able to comprehend that the Goblin King, like the film itself, is canonically a representation of a teen girl’s psyche, a soup of fears and anxieties and desires and dreams. He’s not a literal human adult preying on a literal child, and to read the film that way seriously undermines the entire point of the film.

When I (and people of many fandoms) say “This is fiction, calm down,” I’m not just saying it’s not real so it cant hurt you and you can’t criticize me. I’m trying to call attention to what fiction actually is - artistic representations of feelings and experiences. The Goblin King is Sarah’s fiction. Therefore, he can be anything she or any woman who identifies with her wants him to be, including her lover when she’s grown and ready for such a thing.

I once took an alarming dive into Beetlejuice fandom to see what content was there (the cartoon was a favorite when I was little). Chillingly, what you’ll find is an extremely wounded fanbase, with a sharp divide between the older women who had long been shipping BJ/Lydia because of their love for the cartoon series (and whom were previously the vast majority of the Beetlejuice fandom), and a massive amount of young people riding the wave of the musical fad who had decided that the entire old school Beetlejuice fandom was populated by literal pedophiles.

I saw death threats. Suicide baiting. Constant, constant toxic discourse. It did not matter how the BJ/Lydia fandom dealt with any particular issues that would exist in their ship, in fact I’m certain that the people abusing them cared very little to even consider if they were trying to handle it at all. The only thing that mattered was that they were disgusting subhuman scum asking for abuse. If you have at any time reblogged recent Beetlejuice fan art or content from fans of the musical, you have more than likely been engaging positively with the content of someone participating in toxic fandom behavior.

Nobody is really sticking up for them, either, as far as I saw. It’s really hard to imagine how painful it must be to have such a large group of people explode into into your relatively private fandom space to tell you that you are evil, vile, and deserve constant abuse, and also you are no longer allowed into the fandom space to engage in it’s content. But I think there’s something very alarming indeed about this happening specifically to the BJ fandom, and I’ll explain why.

The pop-culture characterization of Beetlejuice, which is heavily influenced by the cartoon series to be clear, has always in my mind been a vaguely ageless being who matches with the psychological maturity of whatever age Lydia is supposed to be. He’s more or less like an imaginary friend, a manifestation of Lydia’s psyche. In fact, I would argue that i think most of us who grew up with the cartoon or it’s subsequent merchandizing before the musical ever existed probably internalized the idea as BJ and Lydia as this ageless, salt-and-pepper-shaker couple beloved by the goth community, similar to Gomez and Morticia. In each version of canon he may be a creepy ghost in the literal sense, but any adult who is capable of identifying literary tropes (even just subconciously) would read cartoon!BJ as an artistic representation of a socially awkward outcast girl’s inner world. Lydia’s darker dispositions and interests, which alienate her from most others, are freely accepted and embraced by her spooky magical friend. BJ/Lydia in the cartoon were depicted as best friends, but to my memory there was always an underlying sense that they had secret feelings for each other, which I identified easily even as a small child. In fact, their dynamic and behavior perfectly reflected the psychological development of the show’s target demographic. They are best friends who get into adventures and learning experiences together, who have delicate feelings for each other but lack any true adult romantic/sexual understanding to acknowledge those feelings, let alone pursue them.

Though I haven’t seen the Musical yet, I’ve read the wiki and I would argue that it embodies this exact same concept even more so for it’s own version of the characters, in that Beetlejuice specifically exists to help Lydia process her mother’s death.

This is not a complicated thing to recognize and comprehend whatsoever. In fact, it looks downright blatant. It’s also a clear indicator of what BJ/Lydia means to the women who have long loved it. It was a story about a spooky wierd girl being loved and accepted and understood for who she was, and it gave them a sense of solidarity. It makes perfect sense why those women would stick with those characters, and create a safe little space for themselves to and imagine their beloved characters growing and having adult lives and experiencing adult drama, in just the same ways that the women of the Labyrinth fandom do. That’s all these women were doing. And now, they can’t do it without facing intense verbal violence. That safe space is poisoned now.

Having grown up with the cartoon as one of my favorites and been around goth subculture stuff for decades, I was actually shocked and squicked at the original Beetlejuice film’s narrative once I actually saw it, because it was extremely divorced from what these two characters had evolved into for goth subculture and what they meant to me. It’s not telling the same story, and is in fact about the Maitland's specifically. In pretty much exactly the same way two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood can be extremely different from each other, the film is a different animal. While I imagine that the film version has been at the heart of a lot of this confused fear-mongering around all other versions of the characters, I would no more judge different adaptations of these characters any more than I would condemn a version of Little Red in which Red and the Wolf are best friends or lovers just because the very first iteration of LRRH was about protecting yourself from predators.

I would even argue that the people who have engaged in Anti-shipper behavior over BJ/Lydia are in intense denial over the fact that BJ being interested in Lydia, either as blatant predatory behavior a la the film or on a peer level as in the cartoon (and musical?) is an inextricable part of canon. Beetlejuice was always attracted to Lydia, and it was not always cute or amusing. Beetlejuice was not always a beloved buddy character, an in fact was originally written as a gross scumbag. That’s just what he was. Even people engaging with him now by writing OC girlfriends for him (as stand-ins for the salt-and-pepper-shaker space Lydia used to take up, because obviously that was part of the core fun of the characters), or just loving him as a character, are erasing parts of his character’s history in order to do so. They are actively refusing to be held responsible for being fans of new version of him despite the fact that he engaged in overt predatory behavior in the original film. In fact, I would venture to say that they are actively erasing the fact that Musical Beetliejuice tried to marry a teenager and as far as I’m aware, seemed to like the idea (because he’s probably a fucking figment of her imagination but go off I guess). The only reason they can have a version of this character who could be perceived as “buddy” material is because...the cartoon had an impact on our pop cultural perception of what the character and his dynamic with Lydia is.

We can have a version of the Big Bad Wolf who’s a creepy monster. We can have a version who’s sweet and lovable. We can have a version that lives in the middle. We can have a version who’s a hybrid between Red and the Wolf (a la Ruby in OUAT). All of these things can exist in the same world, and can even be loved for different reasons by the same people.

I’ve been using Beetlejuice as an example here because it’s kind of perfect for my overall point regarding the toxic ideologies in fandom right now across many different spaces, including ones for progressive and queer media, and how much so many people don’t recognize how deeply they’ve been radicalized into literalist and sex-negative radfem rhetoric, to the point where we aren’t allowed to have difficult, messy explorations of imperfect, flawed humans, and that art is never going to be 100% pure and without flaw in it’s ability to convey what it wants to convey.

This includes the rhetoric I’ve seen across the board, from She-Ra to A:TLA to Star Wars to Lovecraft Country. We don’t talk about the inherent malleable, subjective, or charmingly imperfect nature of fiction any more. Transformation and reclamation are myths in this space. Everything is in rigid categories. It is seemingly very difficult for some of these people to engage with anything that is not able to be clearly labeled as one thing or another (see the inherent transphobic and biphobic elements of the most intense rhetoric). They destroy anything they cannot filter through their ideology. When women act in a way that breaks from their narrative of womanhood (like...not having a vagina), then those women must be condemned instead of understood. Anything that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable is a mortal sin. There is an extraordinary level of both hypocrisy and repressive denial that is underlying the behavior I’m seeing now. Much like toxic Christian conservatism, these people often are discovered engaging in the same behaviors and interests that they condemn behind closed doors (or just out of sheer cognitive dissonance). As an example, one of the people who talked shit to me about Labyrinth was a huge fan of Kill La Kill, which to my knowledge was an anime about a teenage girl in like, superpowered lingere (hence why I stayed the fuck away from that shit myself). Indeed, they even allow themselves plenty of leeway for behavior far worse than they condemn others for, and create support systems for the worst of their own abusers.

Quite frankly, I’m tired. Instead of talking about theoretical problematic shit, we need to start talking about quantifiable harm. Because as far as I can tell, the most real, immediate, and quantifiable harm done because of anybody’s favorite ships or pieces of media seems to consistently be the kind that’s done to the people who experience verbal violence and abuse and manipulation and suicide baiting and death threats from the people who have a problem.

#Beetlejuice #Labyrinth #toxic fandom

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thesunshinebunny · 4 years

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Can you please do headcanons for what the twisted wonderland boys would do if their girlfriends ex showed up wanting her back?

Uh… .ALL OF THEM ???? Are you serious ?? Oh My God !!!! Ummmmmmmm, OK, I’LL DO MY BEST, but I think it’s about time I started putting character limits because this is going to be difficult.

IT WAS INSANEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE For obvious reasons I didn’t include Ortho, so I hope this is still to your liking

Riddle

He tried to make the meeting as smooth and consistent as possible.

He is the dorm leader, he has to be the example of maturity and consistency in dealing with women.

He tried for more than half an hour to dispel the insults towards him and politely asked them to get out of Hearstlabyul, but when your ex started talking about you… oh boiiii

Our Queen is pisseeeeeeeeed.

Indispensably if your ex had magic or not, it’ll be OF WITH THEIR HEAD.

Had to ask not only to Trey and Cater but also the dynamic duo to escort them out.

Treat him with little sweetness and a cup of coffee, our redhead will thank you.

"I love you, and I will always be by your side as long as you want to have me with you"

Trey

The personified knight. Outside of joking, at no point did he get upset or ask them to leave in a rude manner.

He handled the situation calmly and when your ex finished speaking, that was when his face changed radically.

Yes, the knight in shining armor was quite a facade.

He gave your ex a gloomy look and in a low tone commented that they were not welcome at Heartslabyul, much less NRC and that they had to leave if they didn’t want to end up with a broken leg.

SHOOK.

Both of you spent the night baking cakes and watching bad movies, even though what Trey really cared the most was spending the night with you, snuggled between his sheets.

"I may have reacted in a somewhat terrifying way, but believe me when I tell you that that look will never be directed at you"

Cater

Our dear orange haired man here didn't take it very well. It was one of the few moments in which his face or voice had not the hint of happiness and amusement that characterized him so much.

He may have used his unique magic to intimidate your ex… I mean, if a mildly angry Cater doesn't do any good, I guess five will work.

Indispensably whether it worked or not, you could always call in the dynamic duo to get your ex out of the way.

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t necessary the one neuron duo, with the five Caters it was more than enough.

Before they left the dorm, he took a selfie as not in a mockery mode and uploaded it to his social medias.

“Do you want to appear in the photo? So I can show the world how beautiful you are, how lucky I am to have you and how stupid your ex was to show up at school "

Ace

Another one who lost his temper, but just when the person in front of him said it was your ex.

Don't overthink it, he just made an angry face because he already knew what your ex was up to, and he didn't like it one bit.

Believe it or not, Ace didn't hold on to the punches with them. No, he simply told them that he had no intention of letting you go and immediately sent them flying with his magic.

For the last thing, he told them not to bother trying, turned around and went to where you were to give you a long, possessive kiss in front of your ex.

"I maaaay have been a bit possessive, but I don't want you to leave my side"

Deuce

He threw a cauldron at their head ... jocking ... or not?

Nah, nah, I'm kidding, but he did come close to throwing his famous cauldron at them and leaving them squashed like a figurine.

Lowkey rogue mode activated.

It may have scared you a little, but it didn't have much of an effect.

Your ex didn't leave you alone until Deuce punched him across the face, screaming for them to leave you alone.

You have to get out of the crime scene before any teacher comes.

Ashamed of himself. Maybe the way of resolution he had was not the best, but it was effective and you were grateful for that.

You gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek and told him everything was fine, that he didn't have to worry about anything; he was your knight in shining armor.

“Sorry, anger washed over me again. I couldn't bear the idea of you being taken away from me "

Leona

Man, this one acted out of pure pride. A stranger grabbing his beloved herbivore? Ohhhh noooo, honey, you messed with the wrong lion and prince.

This is one of the few times he wouldn't send Ruggie in to fix it. No. He would stand tall and beat this motherfucker ass.

You'll have to stop him before he turns your ex to sand, and I'm not kidding this time.

The very thought of someone taking his girlfriend from him drove him wild.

With your ex out of reach, and scared for life, he will demand cuddles and a nap.

He won't admit it, but Leona was afraid for a moment of losing you. You are his, and no one else's.

“I will not let anyone take you from my arms. I will protect you no matter what”

Ruggie

Used Laught with me, no discussion.

And there was no discussion with your ex. He just saw them with you, heard snippets that they wanted you back, that they wanted a second chance, blah blah blah ... and that was it, unique magic in action.

You got disoriented for a moment when you saw your ex walking strangely towards the exit, but when you heard the famous giggle of your boyfriend you knew immediately what was happening.

Let's be honest, in all it was a pretty funny image.

Ruggie stayed by your side all afternoon in the Savanaclaw lounge room playing and splashing in the water.

"I may be a possessive and territorial hyena, but this hyena is at your complete mercy"

Jack

Nothing like a good roar to scare away any predator that intends to stick its nose into other's prey.

Just kidding, Jack would never consider you prey, you are his significant other and that means he must protect you from any danger.

Wolf mode activated to the surprise of your ex.

He growled until their figure could not be seen on the horizon… lowkey cute as fuck.

Give him cuddles in this form, he would really appreciate it… he really would love your hands caressing his soft fur.

Record a video of his tail wagging, just for science.

“I figured you were uncomfortable and couldn't think of anything else to get your ex off your back. Now come with me, I want to caress you correctly"

Azul

Believe me when I tell you that the appearance of your ex not only irritated Azul, but also brought him insecurities that he thought were already buried under the ground.

The fact that a stranger appeared at the doors of the Mostro Lounge with an air of melodrama was enough for our octopus to go out to meet them directly, thinking they was just another customer ... an annoying customer, to tell the truth.

But when they started yelling for your presence, demanding that you come back to them, oh ... Yeah, this so-called customer is now banned from entering.

He let Floyd and Jade take care of them.

Like Riddle, give him love and a few sweets, he needs it. He really needs affection.

He needs to hear your voice, to remind him that you are with him now. He wants to hear you say that he is the only person in your world right now and that you would not leave him for nothing.

“I'm a silly octopus who got tangled in your arms and not the other way around. Only you give me the comfort that I've been looking for so much "

Jade

Your ex must have some balls of steel to even be close to Jade and plan to face him to have you back ... this guy has a suicidal desire.

Jade's appearance was not only scary, but his way of talking and engaging in conversation with your ex was what made them run out of the Mostro Lounge.

But you were already more than used to his characterization as an intimidating person.

Bring him a basket full of multiple mushrooms from the botanical garden, he will appreciate it.

And maybe also a glass container to create a little mini environment for those mushrooms… both of you will have a nice time together, maybe the whole night putting it together.

"You are my favorite starfish and I cannot allow any sea thorn to monopolize your beauty"

Floyd

Even having the same calm expression as Jade when he saw your ex, it didn't last long. The moment your name came out of their mouth, Floyd's face broke.

You remember in episode 3 when he asks Adeuce braincell to shut up, well… that same expression.

By this time, Floyd was no longer as calm as his brother; in fact, he went directly to squeeze them.

If you paid close attention you could hear how the ribs were cracking little by little. Good thing you were there to stop Floyd.

Your ex stalked to the exit as they was nearly squeezed alive and Floyd gave you a grin from ear to ear as if he had done nothing wrong.

"I protect what is mine, no one has the right to take my shrimpy from my side"

Kalim

At first this ray of sunshine didn't even know what was happening, he thought they were just looking for you to chat, to keep up.

But when he heard this strange person exclaim that they wanted you back… he was still just as lost, but not in an innocent way.

He went to where you were to give you a big hug in front of your ex. He may have looked cute and adorable, but unconsciously Kalim was marking his territory.

Kindly asked your ex to leave the dorm and not make any more advances, they were making you uncomfortable, and if you were uncomfortable he was uncomfortable.

He gave you butterfly kisses when the situation calmed down. Give him kisses back, he needs them.

“You love me, right? Because I love you very much, and my love cannot be compared with anything in the world, and yours cannot be bought even with all the jewels I have in the treasure chamber "

Jamil

This is simple. Jamil only asked your ex once to leave the dorm.

Not understanding reasons the first time, he simply used his unique magic causing them to go "on their own".

Problem solved. NOW, that doesn't mean Jamil was in a good mood.

Not at all. Anger can be seen rising from his ears like smoke, but his face expresses calm.

Help him in the kitchen, he may not say anything, but internally he will thank you.

Cuddling in the middle of the night, curled up in his bed? HELL YEAH.

"You are the most precious diamond I have in my life, I am not going to let you go so easily"

Vil

How dare this pathetic person to proclaim you back in front of his own nose?

Putting aside how impressed he was by such a daring act, Vil was once again furious.

Vil isn’t a person who defends his opponent in a violent way like Leona or Floyd, but he could attack the self-esteem and brain.

Even though… if the obscene words towards you kept bubbling out of their disgusting mouth, he would have to give him a poison apple.

It almost happened, thank goodness you were there to lower the fumes.

Vil was irritable all day and not even a beauty treatment could calm him… shit this was bad.

Give him a couple of hours to calm down and try talking to him during the night and if he doesn't want to, you can always do the routine for his face before going to sleep.

“I'll be honest, I liked your ex's audacity, but it didn't displease to see how mistreated they was and if I can correctly assume, the mistreatment they caused you. You are here with me and I am here with you, neither is going to be detach from the other "

Rook

When Rook saw how your ex was trying to convince you to come back… let's just say he didn't take it very well.

But his face said otherwise. He had the same grinning and somewhat creppy expression as ever, so it was difficult to determine in that tense moment whether he was really angry or not.

I think the arrow that passed between the two of you, best expressed between your two faces, made it pretty clear that Rook wasn't going to sit idly by.

A bit violent and shocking, but effective. Your ex shitted their pants and stormed out of the place, without even looking back.

Coward.

"I'm sorry for the bad moment I put you on, but nobody touches my prey"

It may be that his action was with tenderness of support, but that doesn’t remove the shock from your face.

You slept with one eye open that night.

Epel

Let's say the conversation got off to a good start, until your ex had the brilliant idea of mistaking Epel for a girl.

Oh yeah, the truck driver's voice came out to our farmer.

Be prepared to hold him and prevent him from giving your ex a tremendous punch in the face. Even in that situation your damn ex had the decency to keep asking you to go back to them.

It even occurred to them to denigrate Epel for how short and his supposedly sweet voice was... now you can let him go.

With your ex out of your sight and a reprimanding of Vil towards Epel's ugly acting, you guys spent the night in your bedroom.

Simple caresses and a few small butterfly kisses to calm the atmosphere.

“Sorry, I lost control and gave you a hard time. Don't be mad at me, I don't even want to think about the possibility of losing you "

Idia

Oh… .emmm, embarrassed baby became even more embarrassed at having to come face to face with a complete stranger.

Talking to you is one thing, but talking about yourself with your supposed ex is another thing entirely; he even finds it difficult to talk about you with his own brother, so imagine the traumatic moment Idia had to go through.

In a stuttering manner, he asked them to please get away of hs face… and from school. If the shame towards his person was not enough to get your ex out of there, no problem ...

From somewhere he'd get a little machine that would run your ex's fucking ass outside the doors of NRC.

The machine would have a small camera embedded so you could see from its monitors how your ex ran like a baby with their butt burned thanks to Idia's invention.

He may have uploaded the file to the internet… who knows.

After this terrible and agonizing day, Idia doesn’t plan to leave his room until the end of the year.

Stay with him as long as necessary, hours, days, afternoons, nights, early mornings, whatever it is, just ... stay hugged him at all times.

“For a moment I thought you were going to leave with your ex. You know, Ortho loves you very much, and you leaving would make him very sad ... and me too"

Malleus

They have to have balls to go straight to Malleus and tell at his face that they wants you back.

10 for the audacity, -1000 for their physical health.

Malleus, like Vil, doesn’t need to destroy or attack your ex, just standing there and acting intimidating is enough.

If your ex still wants to hang around you after seeing that scene, then Malleus is going to have to put his horns on it.

Nothing like a spark of fingers to make him disappear from your side and send him flying out of school.

They are fine, at least that’s what Malleus said.

“Even being amazed at the audacity of that little creature, they should learn that the word no means no. You, little human, you are mine"

Lilia

Big bear mama Lilia took the situation with great grace. If only your ex knew that the were talking to a fairy over five hundred years old I throw a number they would freeze.

He endured the boring and monotonous talk with your ex with a sarcastic smile and when they finished speaking he wished them a good way back. He then sent them flying towards the exit of Diasomnia.

With their butt out, Lilia slammed the door in their face. You watched the scene from the top of the dorm lounge stairs.

At no time did our little fairy have a hair out of place. And with that same tranquility he disappeared from the door and magically appeared next to you with his characteristic smile and face down.

He gave you sweet kisses before he went out to babysit some freshmen who were about to set the kitchen on fire… as if Lilia hadn't done it before.

“Don't listen to them, they are part of your past. The best thing is to leave it behind, because now you have a present with me "

Silver

It happened in one of the few times when Silver was wide awake and with no intention of going to sleep in whatever corner he came across first.

Still, he literally didn't understand anything, he just wanted to spend time with you and that time was ruined.

Silver did nothing, just grabbed your hand and led you into the hall of mirrors, disappearing into Diasomnia's one.

Before going through the mirror, you turned your gaze over your shoulder, seeing how your ex was following both of you and with a handshake which happened to be raised the middle finger you disappeared into the mirror.

In the warm cold of the bedroom, you spent a long time in the arms of your loved one.

"There is no need to look into the past, I like living the present with you"

Sebek

Don't hate me for what I'm going to say… but your ex didn't even have a chance to say hello, Sebek was already on his shoulders asking them to leave if he didn't want them to face a duel.

Just kidding, not a duel… but it would give him their lesson if they didn't immediately leave the dorm.

No one without the consent of his young master Malleus could enter the residence. And speaking of Malleus… he spent about half an hour talking about his master and how he would be able to turn them to ash if they approached Diasomnia again.

And by the way to you too.

"Incredible how a person thinks they had the right to appear like this out of nowhere, how could you be with a person like that?"

Oddly enough, the day passed like nothing, even at bedtime Sebek acted as if your ex had never shown up.

But… during the early morning, a heaviness on your stomach woke you up from your dreams. Sebek was huddled behind you, his head buried in your hair, his arms across your belly.

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tuiyla · 2 years

Note

santana for the character ask game :)

Our girl!

favorite thing about them

Gosh how do I choose one haha. I think ultimately it's her heart and how she does try to be there for the people she loves even when she doesn't know how to best do that. Hers is a constant battle against fear of vulnerability but a need for connection and it's very special when she makes it work.

least favorite thing about them

This won't be a big surprise, her cruelty. I think it makes her a compelling character because she has an internal reason to it but as I keep highlighting time and time again that doesn't excuse her behaviour. And when she doubles down she can really hurt people, even or especially those close to her. I think her brand of cruelty also comes from reading people well which means she knows exactly how to hurt them. Ouch.

favorite line

I'll never, ever, ever get over "I used to count the number of times you'd smile at me and I'd die on days that you didn't", god the pining of it all. But also shoutout to her speech to Rachel in 5x18 and her character-defining quote in 6x08 about being a strong Latina woman.

brOTP

How could I possibly choose just one lol. Is this the day I'm forced to choose between Sancedes and Pezberry? Erm how about I say both of those and go with a dark horse third option and say Marley and Santana have a special place in my heart.

OTP

Brittana, until infinity

nOTP

I could get behind just about any woman x Santana ship so this one has to be absolutely any guy x Santana ship, which as I understand is something people actually ship? Wow. Among those the ultimate nOTP has to be "Sebtana', not only because they're both gay but the general vibes. A negative shoutout to Finntana as well because wow, that's a choice.

random headcanon

I'd say her being a closet nerd but isn't that just canon haha. Well it's subtle enough so it can be up for debate I guess. But in my eyes Santana is a nerd who doesn't want to admit she is one so she denies every passionate nerdy debate with Sam and dismisses it every time someone wonders exactly how come she can make so many obscure references. I'm not saying she's the type of fangirl of nerdy media we associate with tumblr for example but she will watch so many things in her free time and she will debate her favourite female characters with gatekeeping lowkey/highkey sexist nerds. Sam cheers her on.

unpopular opinion

I thought about this one for a while because I'm not an unpopular opinion kinda lad but I have three that come to mind, though how unpopular they actually are... I guess I mostly mean that these are things I've seen a lot on reddit and they annoy me because I disagree lol.

Popular fanon that she'll be a lawyer: really? Schue mentions it like once and it's in a totally misguided attempt to project a ~proper~ career onto her, which she rejects. Nah, I don't vibe with it.

On a related note, people taking everything she says at face value: I guess that's why show don't tell is dying because Santana can lie through her teeth when she puts her walls up and act the opposite, but people will still believe the shit she says instead of the shit she does. Example, Santana calling herself heartless and immune to other people's feelings. Sure, hon.

Again on a related note, I do not wish to discuss her character with people who don't believe she at least tries to be better and insist she's just a bitch, or even in the Brittana dynamic that she's the grump who only ever loved Brittany. I really dislike that popular narrative of Santana hating everyone else cause no, she canonically does not.

song i associate with them

Well Glee's a musical so I won't ever not think of Santana when any of her covers come on the radio, but especially Girl On Fire because I'll die on the hill of that being her character-defining solo. Also on the podium are Landslide and If I Die Young :(

favorite picture of them

One?! Lmao that's what I think of every question. She has so many iconic looks but I'll go with this picture because Emotional™

#thank you!#santinacedes #ask meme #santana asks #glee asks #not that i shipshame people but actually yes if you ship a lesbian with men

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sardonyxie · 3 years

Text

Hockey Pucks and Cricuts

Veterans!ModernAU - Levi Squad Edition

These are simply the result of my imagination during a zoom class (Preschool intervention if I remember correctly) and of some ideas thrown in by my best friend/roommate. Some facts were thought of from canon perspective, but most of them are just our five idiots in our everyday world. Enjoy!

Warning: Rivetra content and some swearing! If it’s not your thing and you want to hate, scroll down and move on.

English isn’t my first language. If some sentences sound weird or wrong, let me know so I can correct them!

Word count: 1 173

Miche squad is up!

Levi

(Inspired by this)

- He’s from Canada and speaks French. Nobody (except Mikasa) understands him when he’s cursing the others, but they are still scared shitless. When a stranger is being stupid, he makes sarcastic comments in their face by talking about it in French to Mikasa.

- He’s Mikasa’s cousin, but they might as well consider themselves siblings since they spend a lot of time at each other’s house. Both Kuchel and her younger brother, Mikasa’s father, moved for a better life…

- Introduced Eld to hockey and plays with him. Oruo tagged along one day and also got into it.

- Only lets Gunther sit at the front when he’s driving them all since Petra has horrible music taste, Eld can’t follow directions and Oruo bites is tongue to every bump on the road.

- I consider him as street smart. In this case, he learns languages effortlessly and quickly and knows how to get out of a situation by using that skill (and his fists). Never got below an A for those classes in highschool.

- Even if he doesn’t show it very well, he cares a lot about the others and actually offers the most thoughtful presents out of everyone in the squad. He’s a good listener.

Eld

- Is actually from Australia. He moved in the neighborhood when he was five but still has an accent when he speaks. He is Oruo’s next door neighbor and often goes to his house when he wants a tasty snack.

- Plays hockey and actually prefers winter over summer. He’s always down for hockey nights with the other four when the national league is broadcasting its yearly competition. He’s a very dedicated fan of Trost’s Titans.

- Was the type to put everything from his lunchbox in his sandwich. Apple sauce with a ham and mustard sandwich anyone? He still makes strange food mixes nowadays.

- He’s a great photographer and takes pictures for Petra’s shop. However, he can’t pose and often looks silly in pictures.

- Gunther’s best friend. They are THE unbeatable duo at guessing songs. They know pretty much everything from old music to K-pop.

- Plans every vacation trip even if they go oversea. Something always come up in the schedule, but those moments are the highlight of the trip. Petra and he create a travel book for each expedition, and they document it with pictures and anecdotes.

Petra

- She’s Carla’s first child from her previous marriage. Her dad was in the army and died on duty when she was little. Zeke is a few months older, and they didn’t like each other at first. Now she tolerates him, but they have very opposite point of views in life which sparks some quarrels during diners.

- Half-German from Carla’s side and she speaks the language too.

- Her best girl friend is Nifa.

- She’s all about stationary stuff! She has a super chic bedroom with a beautifully decorated study area. She owns a Cricut machine and makes custom stuff for her friends. She gets inspiration from the people around her and their interests to create cute collections to sell on her Etsy shop.

- Played volleyball along with Hanji, Nifa, Nanaba, and Lynne, and she still coaches her high school team. (Because she mostly has support/team kills in canon, I think she was the setter and glued the team with her sportsmanship and teamwork.)

- Levi and she were the firsts of their entire group of friends to get together. However, they kept it to each other and their immediate family. The others found out when Eren asked Levi if the Ackermans were still coming over for dinner during lunch one day (dang it Eren!).

Gunther

- Fully German, but he was born in Trost and doesn’t speak the language at all.

- The only one not really into sports, but is still active enough to keep a good shape. He was a baryton saxophone player for the jazz band. That being said, he’s still able to follow hockey nights because he plays NHL on his PlayStation and follows the news.

- Levi excluded, Gunther and Petra are the last two brain cells of the group. They almost always chose each other when they did projects or small work. Out of spite, they once decided to do a team of 4 project with Moblit and Nifa instead of Eld and Oruo and to prove they carry the squad.

- Super popular on social media for some reason?

- Dad of the group since day one. He looks scary sometimes, but he’s just a big softie.

- King of the aux cord. I would trust him with my life.

Oruo

- Scottish Oruo anyone? Somehow has a German accent and tries to pick up ladies by speaking very broken Spanish? Calls himself Mr. Worldwide (will make more sense at the end of the list).

- Is favorite cookie? Oreo. “The company should feel blessed about having a cookie with a name like mine” “Oruo they were made before your parents even thought about conceiving you”.

- Because he’s a competitive little shit, he was also part of the swimming team.

- You know when a potato chip brand does a mystery flavour? He always tries to guess it with Moblit and will spend a ton of money to get the cash prize.

> The thing is: he hates chips. “Those are an abomination why would you eat those when you have popcorn. As much as I LOVE to clean, they are messy, and the stains are hard to remove from the sofa.”

> Moblit guesses the mystery flavor right all the time, thus making him the winner of all bets and leaving Oruo a little poorer each time.

- He cares a lot about his friends, even if it doesn’t show because he insults everyone. HOWEVER! If anyone else tries to insult them, he’s going to throw fists and will make people cry with his insults.

- Tried to get into Harvard just to flex.

> Newsflash: he didn’t.

- Gelgar and he are the party masters. They know how to throw a mean fiesta, and it’s almost always a huge success.

Rivetra bits

- I feel like their relationship just… happened? They were friends one day and next thing you know they were dating.

- Double dates with Mikenana or Mobuhan.

- Mikasa loves Petra and always reminds Levi to marry her one day. On the other hand, Eren was scared of Levi at first and didn’t understand what his half-sister saw in him, but he changed his mind over time. He can’t see anyone else with his big sister now.

> On that note, Zeke can’t get over the fact that she chose to date is so called “enemy”.

- They don’t like the attention which is why they haven’t said anything for a very long time.

> However, the other three had a little idea of what was going on, but they are best friend material and kept the info to themselves.

- Winter. Wedding. Petra with a long sleeve dress and Levi being handsome as always.

___________________

Do we like it? Do we hate it? What happened to the Ackermans in Canada? The Jäger household dynamic would be nuts!

Please let me know your thoughts! Should I do more of these in this AU?

If you have any other verse idea and would like someone to write it up let me know!

#rivetra #levi x petra #og levi squad #levi ackerman #eld jinn #petra ral #gunther schultz #hockey pucks and cricuts #oruo bozad #I was bored as f #onyx writes #onyx writes snk

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rwby-sk · 3 years

Note

Ever since I heard abt French Vanilla being a fun dynamic, I would be so down to see how Neo would react to Weiss and Jaune both being able to have her open up ad be more trusting to them given she probably grew up on the streets having to survive by any means necessary.

Even Weiss managed to open up to those around her that care given she came from a Legacy Family wracked with more family drama than a season pitch of Keeping Up With The Schnees (pretty sure that was pitched by some Atlesian Big Wig Media Tycoon, but the rights weren't handed over that easily).

But the biggest thing here about this Throuple? They all thought of themselves as being useless in some way or another and the entire series proved that was a freaking lie. Jaune thought he wasn't huntsman material, Weiss was thought of by Jacques as a disgrace to the Schnee Family, and Neo possibly thought Cinder would dispose of her after they both tried to kill Ruby for revenge against Roman's demise.

There's something about these three (half of the characters on the island, I sure hope they get to have a few conversations. If anyone has the education to know a form of sign language, it's kinda Weiss tbh. But Jaune would be willing and happy to learn)

They're my favorite characters in the show. Really they are. And I want them to be the ones to finally defeat Cinder together in the end (Ruby has better things to do, and Cinder doesn't deserve to fight another Maiden in the end)

They have been through so much since Beacon

And if Neo does tentatively ally with the group, I can see her being just like Vol.1 Weiss (The one Jaune had a crush on...) She'll be rude, closed off, and a bit self centered. She thinks these people are a means to an end but realizes friendship is a whole lot better

If anyone can crack through those barriers, is Weiss and/or Jaune

And since Vol.2 after Jaune's talk with Neptune at the dance, and Weiss never thanking Jaune for saving her life at Haven? There's a lot of potential there for a private conversation. (Though now that Jaune is drinking his respect women juice regularly and listened to Weiss asking for space / that she isn't interested in him, she kinda has to make the first move there if White Knight happens)

I never really thought of them as a poly ship before a few weeks ago. I liked each pairing separately. But there really is something there with all three, huh?

I know how much CRWBY love their team names even while separated. Looking at you RNJR. So the possibility of teams RBY and JWN, as Ruby and Jaune, splitting up to accomplish some tasks on the island makes me really happy. Maybe JWN have a sword to claim or a monster to slay? (Vorpal swords/Excalibur and a Jabberwocky/Dragon seem to be favorite guesses)

#french vanilla #rwby

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shera-dnd · 3 years

Text

Face Turn - Tag Team

It’s once again time for some more Face Turn!

I hope y’all are liking Weiss and Yang’s dynamic, because their fans sure do... a bit too much in fact

this chapter is definitely not just me roasting real people shippers lol

ANYWAY here’s the AO3 link and on with the fic

While Weiss and Yang’s relationship progressed outside the ring, so did it do inside it as well. Though they haven’t directly had any rematches yet, they have insulted and challenged each other constantly and Weiss had to admit that shit talking her friend was one of the best parts of her job.

The other great part was kicking people’s shit in and then hearing their fans boo her out of the ring.

She had made a big deal of ‘putting all of them in their place’ and she was doing her best to make good on those words. It truly seemed that only Yang would be able to beat her now and the build up for their rematch was fast approaching.

Poor Yang on the other hand just couldn’t catch a break and had to deal with so many heels coming after her while she was still ‘recovering’. One of those vultures happened to be a man by the name of Mercury Black, and Weiss was on her way to ruin his day.

So the plan here was pretty simple. Yang would be exhausted from all those fights she hadn’t fully recovered from and Mercury would take that opportunity to take her down, but before he had the chance, Weiss would interfere and beat up Yang too, disqualifying Mercury and saving Yang once more.

She was Weiss’s rival after all, she couldn’t have someone else beating her up.

She got her cue and made her way to the ring, unannounced. Casually she leaned against the structure and threw in some insults as she watched the fight unfold. It was only when he had Yang backed into a corner that she grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the turnbuckle.

The judge called it there, disqualifying Mercury for outside interference.

“I didn’t need your help!” Mercury shouted, right up to her face.

“Oh please, like I care about you,” she scoffed, “now be a nice loser and go sulk backstage.”

They sized each other up and braced to fight right then and there, but the judge interrupted them again and made Weiss leave the ring.

“Do try to make a better show of it next time,” she taunted Yang on her way out, “it wouldn’t do to have you lose to every punk with an attitude.”

Yang could only sneer through her bloodied face. Lilac eyes stared at her, promising revenge in front of the whole camera crew. She had to admit, Yang was a fantastic actor.

Her taunting grin never left her face as she walked back through the booing crowd, not offering any of the fans even a glance as she made her way backstage.

That is until she noticed the one person cheering her heart out. It was a younger person with a sign that read ‘Freezer Burn 4 Life’. Weiss had no idea what that meant, but the fan kept cheering her and pointing at the sign.

Didn’t matter, she did her job and it was time to go back to the changing room.

“Schnee,” Mercury called as soon as he saw her, “that was the biggest dick move I’ve ever seen.”

He marched up to her, studied for a second and then offered his fist.

Weiss punched it.

“Nice!” He laughed, “think we can talk Blake into scheduling a fight for us?”

She chuckled, “I’ll see what I can do.”

On her way out she stopped by Yang’s side, just to give her a slap on the first non-bruised surface she could find and say, “see you at the Fang tomorrow.”

And so they did just that, but what she didn’t expect was for them to have a visitor.

Weiss nearly jumped on her seat when she heard a noise coming from her left and turned around to glare at the person, just to recognize her favorite writer sitting down and ordering a drink.

“Right, forgot about the blindspot, sorry” Blake apologized.

She didn’t really say anything back, just shook her head and turned back to her drink. No point in bringing attention to the humiliation.

“Hey, Blakey,” Yang greeted, “is it your turn to share your tragic backstory over some drinks?”

“There’s no amount of alcohol that can get me to share that mess,” she joked, or at least they hoped she joked, “actually I was more interested to hear from you. Have you two been checking your social media lately?”

“Eh,” Yang shrugged, “not much outside of the usual promo stuff.”

“And I have better shit to do than scroll through twitter all day,” besides, it strained her eyes too fast for her to enjoy it.

“So I take it neither of you have seen the hashtag ‘Freezerburn’ before, right?” She asked, already pulling out her phone.

“I think I saw someone carrying a sign about that yesterday,” Yang commented.

“Yeah it was some random fan during your last match,” she elaborated, “they seemed really intent on making me see it.”

Blake took in a sharp breath through her teeth as she looked awkwardly between the two of them.

“I don’t know how to say this but,” Blake braced herself, before turning the phone towards them, “your fans started shipping you.”

There was a moment of silence as they tried to process what had just been said. This was made entirely more difficult by the fact that what Blake was showing them was simply surreal.

Hundreds of tweets under that stupid tag, ranging from short messages in all caps about how they were meant for each other, to long and elaborately edited videos of just about every second they’ve spent together in public.

It was bizarre.

Worse still was the knowledge that their match from the previous day had only added fuel to this fire they had no idea had been burning in the first place. It all filled Weiss with a profound discomfort that she couldn’t quite put into words.

“What the fuck?” Was her only response.

“Not this shit again,” was Yang’s.

Blake just sighed and ordered another round on her.

“What the fuck!?” She repeated, much louder this time.

“I should have seen this coming,” Blake said, “I should have taken some sort of precaution to make sure this wouldn’t happen.”

“Do they fucking know how disrespectful this shit is?” She was nearly shouting now, “Do they know how fucking creepy they look?”

“No and no,” Yang sighed, “and trust me, Blake, there’s nothing we could have done. If they get it in their heads that we're a couple then nothing in the world is gonna convince them otherwise.”

“You sound like you have way too much experience with that,” Blake said.

Yang took another long sip of her drink, before she could answer.

“It was back when I was doing Indie stuff,” she began, “it wasn’t nearly as big as this, but back then I had been in a tag team with this girl called Neo. People would hound us for info on our relationship and shout that we should kiss any time we won a match. It was really creepy, especially considering Neo was already in a relationship at the time. It was just…”

Yang shuddered.

“Okay that’s fucking it, next time I see someone with a Freezer Burn sign, I’m ripping it in half,” Weiss declared.

“Don’t actually do that,” Yang pleaded, “they’ll just take it as confirmation that we’re secretly crushing on each other or something. The more you bring attention to it the worse it gets.”

“So should we change the plot line maybe?” Blake offered, “keep the rivalry, but tone down the ‘only I get to beat you’ aspect of it?”

“I guess that could work,” Yang shrugged. With a gesture towards the three of them and the bar in general, she added, “maybe we should tone this down as well.”

“What!?”

“You know, they haven’t found this place yet, but every time we meet outside of the arena we’re risking just fueling their weird shit,” Yang explained and Weiss was having none of that.

“Fuck that!” She interjected, “I’m not sacrificing this shit over some internet weirdos. If they wanna be creepy then that’s on them, but I get to decide how I spend my free time and I’m gonna spend it with my fucking friends!”

This had been the best thing to have happened to her in well over a year and she was not letting it be hijacked by some obsessive creeps.

“D’aww, you see me as a friend?” Yang teased, and suddenly Weiss agreed that maybe they should spend less time together.

#rwby #Freezer burn #freezerburn #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #fanfic #wrestling au

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decretum565 · 3 years

Text

Dear Madoka Magica,

I didn’t really know how to write this letter, as my feelings towards you are too passionate and complex to simply describe in words. You’ve been such an influence on me in so many different regards, and I guess I’m going to attempt to explain how. I first discovered you a couple years back, when you made a top ten list that popped up in my YouTube recommendations. Naturally, it was THE scene that everyone knows was on there, and I was speechless. My reaction was akin to “D-Did she just—Her head—Did she . . .” And you get the idea. That’s where it began, but it didn’t end there.

So I looked into the show a bit more, and there was something disturbingly fascinating about it. I’ve never cared very much about spoilers, but even so I barely understood all of the plot details. Something about you was so mysterious, and I was a bit nervous to discover more. Eventually, I stopped looking for information, as my interests shifted to other things. But I never actually forgot about you.

Fast forward about two years, and I sit down and think about what anime I should watch. I wasn’t very deep into the rabbit hole at the time, and all of a sudden you crossed my mind. I tried to consider other options but you stuck out to me, Madoka Magica.

And so I watched all twelve episodes. I cried six times.

I’m absolutely serious. I adored you from start to finish. As soon as I was able to, I watched Rebellion, and thoroughly enjoyed it as well (though not as much as I do now). I was obsessed, to put it likely. A year later, I rewatched you, and had an even greater appreciation and the spark rekindled. I tracked down fan-art, fan-fiction, analysis videos and internet posts . . . I loved you.

I loved your narrative. The way that everything pieced together, how you were able to be so complex and dark and yet still so hopeful. The way some scenes were directed and written blew my mind, and every episode felt like three minutes instead of twenty-three. I loved the twists and turns you would take me through, as if I was in an actual Labyrinth. I loved your pacing and symbolism and everything in between. I loved your dialogue, with philosophical conversations that felt believable and analytical and just so incredible.

I loved your characters, so, so much. Madoka and Sayaka were two characters that have many aspects I deeply identify with, and even so I still adore them. I was reminded of younger me with Madoka, how inadequate she felt and awkward she was. Sayaka is still one of my favorite characters in media. She had so many layers to her, with her depression and rambunctiousness, optimism and nihilism, just everything about her was incredible. I loved Kyoko to the same amount as Sayaka. Her introduction scene was fantastic, and she just kept getting more and more complex as time went on, leading to one of the most heartbreaking outcomes with her and Sayaka in episode nine. She had such a personality, and her dynamics with the other characters were a lot of fun to watch. I loved Mami, and her desire for companionship, which added so much background to how she responds to others, how she trusts others until they interfere, and one small mistake can cost her dearly. I loved Homura, how she never gave up, never stopped fighting. How she wasn’t all good or all bad, just traumatized and detached to a scary degree. I loved how you thought of her as strange, scary, mysterious, and then the truth is revealed and everything you thought you knew is recontextualized. And, yes, I loved to hate Kyubey. He’s one of my favorite antagonists for a reason.

I loved the art, the animation, the design and the style. How one moment you could be in a normal anime setting, and then use horrific imagery in the Labyrinth scenes. I loved how they differed from one another, based on themes and strategy and tragedy that you can theorize about infinitely. I loved your music. Yuki Kajiura’s soundtrack gave such emotion and beauty to the series, and I can’t even list all of the tracks that I adore (Also sorry for misspelling, I tried). Serena Ira, Decretum, Conturbatio, Symposium Magarum, Absolute Configuration, Confessio, Sagitta Luminis, Innevitabilis, Puella in Somnio, Incertus, Encounter, Mada Dame Yo, Credens Justitiam, Venari Strigas, Nuquam Vincar, Surgam Identidem, Salva Terrae Magicae, Pugna Infintia, and so, so many more. And, of course, who can forget Sis Puella Magica! ClariS and Sho Watanabe, I loved Connect, Luminous, and Colorful. And Yuki Kajiura and Kalafina, I loved Magia, Mirai, Hikari Furu, Misterioso, and Kimi no Gin no Niwa. They were all so incredible and I will always love them to bits.

And, finally, I loved your ending. I loved the hope, the bittersweet nature, all of you. How you inspired me to keep going, keep fighting through my own struggles, just to make it to another day. To manage to keep moving forward, no matter the hardships that might come. It was absolutely beautiful.

To say that you have changed my life seems like an understatement. I wouldn’t have the same taste in anime without you, let alone characters and movies and novels. I wouldn’t have played Magia Record or immersed myself in the fandom before it shut down. I wouldn’t have found Yuki Kajiura, who is without a doubt my favorite musical artist and composer ever. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you.

It’s been ten wild years since you first aired, and a lot has changed. Politics, Anime, Literature, Music, just everything keeps going around and around without any end in sight. Some changes have been good, some have been bad, but you’ve survived and been remembered by quite a lot of people. Madoka Magica, you once told all of us that as long as we remember her, the one fighting for us, that we were not alone. That there was a light at the end of the tunnel. And with all of that said, I’ll end with this: Thank You, Madoka Magica. Thank you with all of my heart.

—Decretum

#madoka kaname #homura akemi #mami tomoe #sayaka miki #kyoko sakura #madoka magica #yuki kajiura #puella magi #Madoka Tenth Anniversary #magia record

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