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fruitless-nonsense · 3 years

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Hello again! A bit of a delay I know, had some personal life stuff, but I’m back babey!

Firstly, I want to say Happy Pride Month! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 I myself have only recently come out, but to all my peeps in the lgbtq+ community I wish you a month of celebration.

For the topic, I chose one that has been circling in my brain since some asks last week gave me a revelation: I will be discussing kolvina, and more specifically the direction the writers chose for a one Davina Claire.

This ship has always been an anomaly to me, like when it was happening on my screen I was in denial that it was happening at all, and the perceptions on this site have only fueled that feeling. I’ve been watching these communities for a few years now, and the general consensus is people both love and hate this ship, and both sides seem to be equal in numbers. So what is my opinion on kolvina? Well after much deliberation I have decided that.... I don’t like it, and here’s why!

First thing’s first, I want to say I understand this ship better than any other ship in both shows, honestly if the characters acted differently it would’ve been a lot better. The dynamic is there (and I know how important that is to people), not just a trope, but between both characters it works! Let me explain, starting with Kol. Season two goes into depth on his insecurities with his family and how lonely it made him feel over the years. I mean, the show always potrayed the big three: Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah with the strongest bonds and while Finn chooses to exclude himself (for valid reasons tbh) Kol even in the vampire diaries wanted to be a part of that. The problem is (for some reason that is never explained) his siblings don’t care about him. The easiest example is how they reacted to his death, Rebekah was upset for a minute and Elijah didn’t even seem affected at all, the closest I can say is Klaus was angered and didn’t forget for a while, but as soon as the originals started nothing. Then we have his second death where Klaus takes the only opportunity to bring him back off the table and the only one who seeks to try is Rebekah, meanwhile Elijah is nowhere to be found in this department. This finally brings us to Davina. As much of an issue as this is (and we’ll talk about it later), Davina seems to be the first person to ever put Kol first. When he dies a second time, Davina’s number one priority is his resurrection and goes to incredible lengths to do so. I know people say it’s unrealistic for Kol to take interest in a mortal, but it makes sense to me, she’s a witch. From what we learn, Kol has a soft spot for witches cause he yearns for the power that was taken from him by his mother, which doesn’t even go into Davina herself being a rebel like him who paved her own way. Onto Davina’s feelings towards him, Kol’s the only person in her life that is there unconditionally. I know Marcel loves her, but his loyalty to his family clearly comes into conflict with his loyalty to his other family, including her. Klaus either ruins her life or demands things from her. Cami was there for her, but they scrapped that relationship after season one. When Kol is by her side, it’s not cause he needs things from her, nor is he there as some kind of protection. In season two, Davina had a plan and Kol’s response was “okay, I can assist you with that.” Side note, I really liked their friendship in season two before they of course made it something more. Regardless of the past, all of this material would’ve made for a pretty great relationship, but it fell flat, why did that happen?

I have two reasons for why I could never get on board with them. The first is the most obvious: it’s the age difference for me. I know we had Damon and Elena and Klaus and Caroline, but for kolvina the vibe was weirder. Perhaps because Davina acts more childish than them in season one, or because our image of her was young and sweet. It might also have to do with Kol referring to being Kaleb as the body of a teenager making him seem way older than he probably is. I know by season three Davina is 18, but that feeling never goes away for me. This was my hesitance in season two, but as a friendship those two were pretty fun together (might be an unpopular opinion). The problems start in season three.

The second reason is something that the community has kind of dipped into, but not enough. I don’t know if I’m not looking hard enough, but every complaint for kolvina in season three talk only about how insufferable Kol was, which yeah definitely, but honeys he’s only half the problem. Not even halfway through season two Davina stopped being a character. Remember her in season one? A bright spitfire who wasn’t afraid to speak up at the injustice of the Mikaelson’s even if it put her at risk? The girl who showed up Klaus on multiple occasions? Who stood for Josh, Marcel, Cami, and anyone else being pushed around by Klaus? The girl who was powerful, yet kind? A powerhouse set up on a warpath against the Mikaelson’s for season two? I remember her! She was one of my favorite characters because of how badass she was while still keeping her agency. I don’t blame you if you forgot she’s never talked about, and that’s because of what follows. Season two starts off well, with Davina standing her ground against the wolves and keeping Mikael under control showed she wasn’t completely in over her head. Her plan is to find a way to de-sire Klaus’ sireline so she doesn’t kill Marcel and Josh which shows she’s smart and thinking ahead. Then she meets Kaleb, and it goes downhill from there. I get that Davina is supposed to be a naive teenage girl, but that doesn’t excuse after she finds out Kaleb is really Kol. After her Mikael plan fell through her backup plan is to just sit around until Kol shows her the room and tells her about the dagger. With what she’s trying to accomplish it’s a smart plan, but that doesn’t mean her sudden trust in Kol is any less stupid. Her first thought when he’s gone with the stake is to assume he took it and left, so if she thought he was capable of that, why did she drop her guard in the first place? Gets me frustrated. When Kol dies Davina also completes the dagger and for the rest of the season does nothing with it, she does nothing period but whine about Kol with everyone she interacts with which is annoying considering how much she was a part of in season one. That was bad, but the worst is yet to come. Season three gives her a storyline as a ruler of the witches before immediately ending it, and when you look at what they threw away it’s even worse. So Davina gets Hayley to kill one of her detesters and it ends in a bloodbath and the son vows justice for his mom (which is completely valid), and Marcel hints at her turning into Klaus. This is promising, in this scenario Davina is Klaus holding power over the powerless, and Van Nguyen is Davina taking a stand. Very interesting, until she gets shunned in the seventh episode. What was the point? The next time we see her she is distraught at her current predicament, but not because she’s cut off from her people and her ancestors because now she doesn’t have the power to bring Kol back (of course it’s for no other reason). I just don’t understand why Davina was relegated to a side character in the later seasons after all she did in season one. They couldn’t have cut anything else from 3a (Tristan and Aurora perhaps, they were so boring)? Finally, we have her characterization after she resurrected Kol, nothing. She does nothing but wait in the wings for Kol to finish helping his family, a family she hated and had every right to. She either does nothing, or is only around to help with Kol’s sudden curse, and yet Kol is supposed to be worse. I know, I know, the big bad Kol Mikaelson became a lost puppy chasing after Davina, but so was she. They were just as bad as each other, two puppies chasing the tail of the other. Then she died, to push forward the plot around her. If you think that’s treating her like a plot device, let’s fast forward to season four. Davina Claire, harvest girl, rebellious teen, former queen regent of New Orlean witches, is a piece of leverage to control Kol. I’m done. There’s not much to say about season five, she only shows up to spout information and that’s about it.

It’s a sad end that Davina doesn’t even get an epilogue in the finale (I mean I have many problems with the finale regardless but I digress). Our only conclusion is that she lives happily ever after with her immortal boyfriend. Oh yeah! They never explain that caveat. She’s a mortal witch who will eventually die of old age, and he’s an original. I’m either supposed to assume Davina becomes a vampire (which would be the most out of character thing for her to do considering she hates vampires and loves her magic), which would mean women making personal sacrifices while the man doesn’t have to give up a thing (such a wonderful lesson we keep telling young women), or Kol became mortal by maybe also taking the cure with Rebekah (which makes a bit more sense since we know Kol misses doing magic). The point is, we don’t know, cause they don’t explain anything.

Look Davina wasn’t the perfect character, but she deserved so much better than what she became, and the worst part is this is barely talked about. Like I said, when people hate on kolvina, they approach it from “they ruined Kol!” And not really mentioning Davina. You’ll notice I mention Kol’s characterization, but I’m not going in depth. That’s cause you can easily find a more articulated response on how they did Kol dirty without having to look too hard, but Davina? She needs all the shoutouts she can get. Cami is overhated, and Davina is ignored. That’s two female regulars in the cast being treated terribly by the community and I will not stand for it! I wanna see Davina Claire deserves better cause she did.

To wrap up a very long post, we need to talk about Davina more, when I said season three was better than tvd I wasn’t referring to 3a, justice for the women of the originals, happy pride month, I’ll try to post more frequently.

#davina claire #anti kolvina #kol mikaelson #the originals #season 3a is wasted opportunity period #Davina Claire deserves better #she really does #women of the originals #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #finn mikaelson #the mikaelsons #marcel gerard #wasted female friendships

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pink-peony-princess · 4 years

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I'm your brother it's what I do!

"Willow, dinner!" Mum called up the stairs. I sighed slowly sitting up on my bed, trying to ignore the dull ache coming from my side and left wrist.

This was the part of the day that I was dreading the most- having to face my brother Shawn. I knew he'd freak out.

The bullying had been going on for months now, and I had been beaten up a few times, but nothing too serious, until today. I'd told Mum and she'd spoken to the school, but they were more concerned with protecting their reputation than their students, and while that made my parents furious they didn't exactly have the funds to just switch schools.

"How was your day?" I asked my brother as I sat down at the table across from him. This was a rare luxury, getting to see him for dinner at home. Shawn was a doctor at a 24hour clinic 30 minutes from here, having gone through an advanced med program in junior and senior year and then onto residency. Now he was moved out into his own place. He loved his place and his work more than anything and he could probably write a book with the stuff he saw on a daily basis. But I missed him, more than anything. We were 5 years apart, but we'd always been close and even now at 17, I relied heavily on him for support- he was my person the only one in the world that I felt like truly understood me.

"It was good. Had a kid with a bead up his nose," he shrugged, before shovelling food into his mouth clearly unfazed.

The rest of dinner was quiet, Mum and Dad discussing their plans for the weekend, Shawn continuing to shovel food down- he was always hungry, and me, pushing my own food around my plate, trying to ignore the throbbing pain of my side that was only getting worse.

"Are you okay Willow?" my mum asked, eyeing me carefully when she realised I still hadn't really taken a bite 20 minutes later.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired, I brushed her off, going she'd believe me. "Will you excuse me, I just need to go to the bathroom."

She nodded and I got up making my way to the bathroom. I pulled my shirt up and inspected my aching side. It was black in some places now, worse than this afternoon.

"What is that?" I jumped at the sound of Shawn's voice behind me, I dropped my shirt, spinning around to face him.

"Shawn what are you doing in here?" I spun, tugging my shirt down, panicked.

"I was coming to wash my hands," he answered. "Now stop obfuscating." He stepped forward, his hand coming to pull my shirt up again.

"I fell," I answered, hoping he would buy it, but knowing he wouldn't.

"You and i both know that's bullshit," he scoffed, his harsh tone taking me by surprise.

"You know what Shawn just leave me I can deal with it in my own!" I spat, "It's not like you can change it anyway." I turned away from the mirror, trying to hide my face.

"Wills, what happened?" he asked again, his tone, softer this time, as he reached to bring me into a soft hug.

"Girls at school," I chocked, trying to hold back tears. "It hurts so bad Shawnie," I whispered, the tears escaping.

"Oh princess," he sighed, pulling me into his side again.

"Owwww."

"Sorry hon, let me see," he spoke. As much as I didn't want to I knew I didn't have a choice.

"Holy shit," he let out a low whistle. "When did this happen?" he asked, taking in the swollen, red and bruised skin over my rib cage.

"Lunch," I sniffled.

"I'm taking you into the clinic." he turned from the room, pulling his phone out and dialling a number in a rush.

"Shawn," I whined.

"No Willow, this bruising is bad, and I can hear that you're breathing is laboured, it hurts to breathe doesn't it."

I whimpered, giving the answer away.

"F*ck!" he cursed out, rubbing his face.

"Please don't be mad," I cried.

"On no baby, I'm not mad at you, I promise," he soothed, guiding me from the room quickly, but carefully. "Mum did you know about this?" he asked, pulling my shirt up again to show my mum.

Her face dropped.

"Again Willow?" My shoulders shook as I cried only making the pain worse.

"I'm taking her to the clinic. She needs x-rays and pain relief, she could have punched a lung." It was clear from his tone that he was telling her out of courtesy, not out of nessesity.

"Mum?" I begged, pleading with her to step in, she knew how I hated going to the doctor's. Ironic considering my own brother was one.

"Go with your brother, baby, let him take care of you."

Half an hour and one silent car ride later we were pulling into Shawn's work.

"Easy Princess," he spoke, helping me out of the car, as I struggled to the ground.

"Are you mad?" I asked, not daring to look at him as we made our way slowly inside.

"Yes," he sighed, "But not at you," he squeezed my hand, leading me through the double doors.

"Dr. Mendes,". It still felt weird to hear people refer to my brother as that.

"I need a room now," he spoke urgently. "This is my sister." he added for emphasis.

"Oh my," the receptionist spoke rushing around the counter.

"Room three is free, " she told Shawn, he wasted no time hurrying me down the hallway.

"Hop up on the bed for me Willow?" he asked, as he went to wash his hands and pull on a pair of gloves.

"I'm scared Shawn," I mumbled as he came to stand in from of me.

"There's no need to be," he smiled reassuringly. "I'll tell you everything I'm doing, how about that."

I nodded greatful.

"I'm going to pull up your shirt and have a feel of your ribs okay, can you lie down for me?" he spoke, keeping his word.

"Does this hurt?" he asked, poking around. It was okay, until he hit a section in the middle of the bruise, a sharp ache, eminating from that spot immediately.

"Sorry, Willow, I'm sorry," he apologized as I instinctively recoiled from his touch, tears starting to form.

"S'okay," I mumbled, trying to relax again.

"So I'd like to get an x-ray, to check for breaks," he explained, helping me to sit up again. "But in the meantime how about we deal with your other injuries."

"I looked at him inquisitively, I hadn't mentioned anything about other injuries.

"Come on Willow, I'm a doctor, this isn't my first rodeo, besides, your hoodie sleeve fell down at dinner and a caught a glimpse of what looked like gravel rash. Plus, I highly doubt that if they hurt you enough to potentially crack your ribs, that that would be the only injury you'd sustain." he looked at me knowingly, waiting for me to response.

He had me pinned, I knew it and he knew it.

I sighed giving in and pushing back my left hoodie sleeve exposing the nasty gavel rash that stung when the air hit it.

"This has to be some of the worst I've seen," he admitted, turning my arm carefully to inspect it.

"You're not making me feel any better," I grumbled trying to pull my arm away, but he continued to inspect it, not releasing it.

"Willow, this still has pieces of dirt and gravel in it," he spoke shaking his head. He let me go finally heading over to one of the many cupboards the room had and pulling out several things including a kidney dish, a syringe, two small bottles of what looked like iodised water and antiseptic and some bandages.

"I'm going to have to get the gravel out and flush it, it'll get infected otherwise," he explained, bringing all the stuff over to sit it on the bed next to me.

"Will it hurt?" I asked worried as he sat down on a rolling stool on front of me and positioned my arm where he needed it.

"It might sting a bit," he allowed, "but if I don't do this you WILL end up with an inflection and trust me that will hurt more."

I bit my lip nervously. "Okay," I agreed finally, but my voice wavered giving me away.

"You don't have to be brave Willow," he murmured looking up at me from where he was working to pull the tiny bits of gravel from my arm, me hissing and jumping occasionally. "It's okay to cry." I knew he wasn't just talking about my fear, But everything that had happened to land me here.

"Would you like me to get Cami to come in and hold your hand?" he asked referring to his nurses assistant that I'd gotten to know really well over the last two years.

"Please," I sobbed finally cracking.

"Stay here," he told me, handing me a tissue and patting me on my good arm before leaving the room pulling the door to.

Moments later the door opened again and Shawn was back, Cami in tow.

"Oh Willow, honey," she rushed over to me, giving me a very gentle hug.

She sat with me as Shawn finished pulling bits out and irrigated the wound before wrapping it and pacing an ice-pack on it to help with the pain.

We only had to wait another 10 minutes before x-ray was free, a process that didn't take long.

"You're not going back to that school," he grumbled, returning to the room a short while later and sticking the films on the light board. "See here," he pointed to a barely visible line on two of my ribs. They're cracks. Those girls literally broke your ribs. So I don't care what mum says you're coming to stay with me and you'll finish up school at the local college. It's only a 5 minute walk from my place."

Once he'd finished everything he needed to do and we'd stopped by the pharmacy to get me some painkillers we got back into his jeep. I was so tired now, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep, unfortunately my ribs wouldn't let me.

"I've sent mum a text to let her now you're staying with me," Shawn murmured looking over at me as he drove.

"And my stuff?" I stiffled a yawn."

"We'll go back for it in a few days when you're more mobile. If you hit that leaver there the seat will recline so you can nap till we get home," he added as we stopped at a traffic light.

I did what he said and was instantly more comfortable.

"Thanks Shawn," I mumbled softly as I shut my eyes.

"I'm your brother, it's what I do," he smiled, holding his hand out for me to take. "I love you Willow."

"Love you too," I slurred already halfway to dreamland.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes imagines #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes blurb #doctor!shawn #mendes triplets #werewolf!shawn

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mysterylover123 · 5 years

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Todoroki’s Relationships Analysis Part 6: Chapter 98-166 (License, Internship & Retake arcs)

mysterylover123

Even though he stired, Shoto still participates in the dorm contest. He’s grown a little more sociable.

His classmates are mostly shocked by his rearranged room and can’t seem to comprehend his decorating tastes.

Shoto is not particularly invested in the contest, though, as shown by his quickly wanting to go to sleep.

He does seem to be contrite for causing trouble for the class - remember, Shoto was the one of the team who knew what he was doing was selfish, essentially.

Todoroki ends up failing the PLE arc, and he immediately shows what his failings still are: despite having worked together successfully with his classmates in the past, and despite Midoriya reasonably explaining why they need to stick together, he still immediately blows them all off to try and do it all on his own.

He does pass the first round this way, but it’s still an impulse of his that he has yet to curb.

When Todoroki notices Inasa’s bad attitude towards him, he assumes he must have done something (and he did, but nothing he should really blame himself for). Shoto is simultaneously the kindest, most self-abasing kid around, and yet also arrogant in that he feels he is the one who controls and causes everything.

Not that I’m really critiquing him much, here. Inasa’s the one who held the grudge. But this is about analyzing Shoto’s dynamics, not talking about how great he truly is.

We see how Shoto deals with conflict in this arc. We’re used to seeing him calmly blow off Bakugou’s temper tantrums, but Inasa’s comments seem to hit him more personally, of course, because he compared him to his dad.

An angry and petty Shoto accuses the other person of hassling him on purpose and becomes fixated on his anger and rage rather than anything else.

Pre-UA Shoto is almost Bakugou-esuqe. Angry, sullen, withdrawn, and telling other people to shut up, go away, that they’re not worth his time.

A sweet moment in the midst of the angry chaos is Shoto acknowledge that Midoriya is always there, perhaps “for me” or just perhaps what was said. That Deku is always around, like Shoto pointed out in the previous arc. Always meddling.

Always watching him to see if he’s ok.

Yaoyorozu joins in as well here.

And Deku and Iida come to congratulate him when he learns he can retake the test. He looks to them and tells them he’ll catch up soon. Interestingly, Shoto is not the only rival of Midoriya’s who Deku surpasses in this arc by winning the provisional Licesne, but his reaction is obviously a little more...subdued.

He makes some amends with Inasa, as well.

And finally, to Bakugou. We don’t get much of Shoto’s thoughts about DVK2, since nobody but the 3 were privy to it. (BTW flipping through it again, even in passing, made me feel things.) What we do get, interestingly enough, is some concern for Bakugou missing their classes, not for Midoriya’s punishment, despite him arguably being closer to Izuku. It’s Kacchan who Shoto shows concern for here. (was someone looking forward to those private lessons, Shoto?)

He’s apologetic for failing, and adopts a somewhat “noninvolvement” policy towards the work studies, since he can’t participate.

Though he says “our” rights, he’s probably referring to Bakugou’s alone, after DVK2. Hence why Bakugou immediately snaps at him.

Again, a criticism from Todoroki provokes the anger from Bakugou. Shoto, for his part, is as usual pretty indifferent to Bakugou’s anger and just kinda takes it in stride, while worrying about him as much as ever. Shoto, indeed, allowed to properly look after his friends, is very much a Mom Friend type, worrying about them and nagging them to do better.

This scene in 137 with Izuku is a great example of that (and one of the finest TDDK moments, in my opinion). Shoto starts by inquiring into Izuku’s wellbeing, noticing he isn’t eating.

He’s been paying attention to Deku’s behavior and emotions, even when Deku wasn’t aware of it.

When Deku tries to say that “heroes don’t cry”, Shoto gives him this wonderful piece of supportive advice. This is so interesting, because as we know, crying is such an essential feature of Deku’s character. Here, he’s try to subscribe to the ‘tough guy’ ‘real men don’t cry’ mentality, but Shoto, one of the strongest and coolest kids in Class A, doesn’t subscribe to that. After all, Shoto’s own dad is just the type of person to give that unhealthy “don’t show feelings” mentality an endorsement. Therefore, it makes sense that Shoto would believe it’s important to express your feelings, even if he’s usually a bit stoic himself.

This, plus giving Deku some comfort food, is such a sweet moment of supportive understanding from Shoto. He lets Deku be himself.

He also stays up late the night before the PLE retake courses to make sure Deku is doing ok, and apologizes for having to leave early to go to bed.

With Bakugou, Shoto remains as impenetrable as ever. A question that comes up is, since Bakugou is constantly telling Shoto to “walk behind him”, why does Shoto never listen to him? It’s probably because they’re both so assertive. Shoto doesn’t take orders from him, and he doesn’t take orders from Shoto.

He gives Bakugou a subtly impressed look when he takes on a Cheerleader role to the team, though.

Just like Izuku, the other person privy to the backstory with Endeavor, Bakugou watches Shoto to see how he’s doing.

In interacting with the kids, Shoto is stilted, awkward, and a king of exposition.

Once again, Shoto critiques Bakugou, who explodes angrily at him, though he still provides an explanation.

Oof. This interaction. Once again, Shoto corrects Kacchan, though this is a more emotional, nuanced correction than simple nagging to do things better.

Kacchan is proposing that they use a show of forced to teach the kids a lesson. Shoto tells him that there are better ways.

What this says about Bakugou’s upbringing is a subject for a Bakugou meta and this is a Shoto meta. However, it’s worth noting that both of the two most socially inept, cold and ‘lacking heart’ members of Class A come from households with parents who we know have physically struck them, insulted them and tried to control their lives. Whether you consider Mitsuki abusive or not (she’s certainly not as bad as Endeavor, obviously), Katsuki and Shoto’s similarly dominant, forceful, independent personalities may come from their similar upbringings. However, that difference - Endeavor’s cruelty and Shoto’s acknowledgement of it - does change how they approach this. Shoto remains stoic and avoids anger when he can, because he associates losing his temper with Endeavor. Bakugou doesn’t see anything wrong with it, because he sees his mom as loving and doing the right thing, so why would doing it her way be wrong?

Of course, Shoto instantly screws up, and now it’s Kacchan’s turn to critique him.

When Camie creates an illusion of Shoto, the Viz translation has Bakugou say something like “Suits you well, Dreamy boy!” Either way, Shoto’s reaction here is to question if it really is hilarious, because hell, if it can make Bakugou laugh, there must be something he’s missing. (I don’t think we’ve ever seen Shoto laugh, come to think of it).

But we do get to see him smile. In the flashback showing how the Team came up with their plan, Shoto and the others, at Katsuki’s suggestion, figure out how to truly reach the kids. We once again see surprisingly good teamwork between Bakugou and Todoroki, along with Inasa and Camie here, despite their antagonism.

Endeav tries to be a dad for a few minutes and Shoto pretty quickly blows him off, though he seems a little touched by the attempt. Bakugou once again watches him, like Izuku did before, to see how he’s doing.

This section of the story is mostly about Todoroki’s relationships with Inasa and his dad, which I haven’t touched on as much. But it also develops his relationships with Deku and Katsuki quite a bit, moving them closer together. He shows an awareness of Izuku’s role in his life as a friend who’s always there for him and reciprocates by taking care of Izuku. He spends a lot of time with Bakugou in remedial classes, and develops the ability to work with him, accept his noisy outbursts, and worry about his wellbeing. This section, despite having a few scenes of Momo watching him as well, doesn’t really develop his feelings for her at all, so I’ve left them out of the tags. Between the Wonder Duo, we see how Shoto can be a great Mom Friend to both of them, and how he’s coming to a pretty amicable accord with each.

#todobaku #tododeku #shoto todoroki #todoroki shoto #provisional license exam #internship arc #retake arc

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faketextsfromlastmight · 5 years

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Best of tags #4

A compilation of my favorite reactions to this blog.

@kumaoftheforest on Mirio inheriting One for All : (Link)

I honestly feel like Mirio’s clothes would get blown off every time he’d us OFA

Best Jeanist could take him on as a sidekick: he repairs clothes, Mirio destroys them. Don’t forget to recycle, kids!

@utsushimi-camie on All for One being an illegal experiment on a live subject: (Link)

#this hilarious to me because i joke about quirk ethics laws all the time

Oh god, I would pay good money to watch a courtroom drama set in a super-powered universe. Can you imagine how busy the jurists must be in a society where people have different abilities yet supposedly are equal in the eyes of the law? They would have to write new rules whenever a new quirk manifested. Complete juridistical nightmare. I think Pixar’s “The Incredibles” kind of touched on that with citizens suing superheroes for destroying buildings while battling supervillains, but it’s framed as them being whiny. It’s a cop-out, in my opinion. The concept of superheroics is deeply problematic from a political and legal point of view, not to mention the issue of secret identities.

Granted, Horikoshi does seem to imply that the laws of BNHA’s universe are indeed complicated. There’s a lot of red tape in place to prevent people from using their quirks in key situations. Shinsou was not able to integrate the hero course because his quirk doesn’t work on robots, but one has to wonder if the entrance exam wasn’t planned to exclude people with mind-control quirks on design. It’s tough determining in which situations people ought to get robbed of their free will, so my guess is that U.A. High saved itself the headache and made sure people like Shinsou failed the exam. Shady.

It’s also apparent in the Stain arc when the police conveniently decides to cover up the way Todoroki, Iida and Midoriya illegally used their quirks. It’s completely absurd that these young people would be punished for arresting a serial killer, so law enforcement agrees to look the other way. But that implies they also do that in certain circumstances for some of their men, which has unfortunate implications. Do the policemen in BNHA’s universe routinely use their quirks even though they’re not allowed to? Urgh.

There are a LOT of things wrong with the superheroic system as it stands today. Gran Torino even admits that he got his hero license so he could use his quirk more freely and that he doesn’t do actual hero work. Apparently no one is supervizing him. The more you look at it, the more you realize that people like Endeavor and (early-series) Bakugou are not exceptions. They’re the extreme examples of the worst behaviors the system encourages.

@meowmeowmin on Todoroki trying to bond with a fly: (Link)

Flies only live for 24 hours

Don’t tell him that! Do you want the entire area to get frozen?

@bandanagiggle on Kaminari buying a vuvuzela: (Link)

Ms Joke sold it to him

The fiend! Worse part is, she told him to serenade Jirou with it.

@iputthepaininpainting on a Todoroki/Bakugou household wife swap: (Link)

Actually I can see this being very good. Bakugo's dad has a nice cup of tea w/ Todoroki's mom so they can talk about how much they love their sons while Mitsuki puts the fear of god in Endeavor!! Good stuff!!!

Let’s hope the children aren’t involved in this, actually. Shouto is very reserved so Mitsuki would always assume he’s sulking or hiding something. Bakugou’s constant temper tantrums would also be difficult for Rei to handle given her aversion to violence. Or maybe I’m being too harsh on Bakugou? He canonically knows she has mental problems, so I imagine he’d make an effort to be less abrasive around her.

That being said, Mitsuki may make Endeavor even worse. The last thing he needs to learn is how to replace his illegal, horrific abusive behavior with socially accepted, casual corporal punishment. Mitsuki is problematic but only insofar as the way she treats Bakugou is something society accepts. Bakugou is violent because he was raised in an environment where violence is a tolerated form of expression. The way she educates her son is terrible but it’s fair to remember that no one really taught her any better (not even her husband).

@pikazuku on Bakugou’s hug deception: (Link)

#This could go two ways#I don't know which one is the true route

When I wrote this I intended Bakugou to actually be sick. So he’s contaminating Deku on purpose and sparing Kirishima. It’s funnier that way, at least in my opinion.

@jukeydragon on Toga being the only girl in the League of Villains: (Link)

#but#uraraka#what bout magne?

I’m assuming you haven’t read the later chapters of the manga.

LIGHT SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 OF “MY HERO ACADEMIA”:

Without explaining things in too much details, the League of Villains experience some changes in staff management to the point that Magne is no longer considered part of the League. That’s why Uraraka referred to Toga as “the only girl” in this post.

@pinkcandyphoenix on Midnight curing Eraserhead’s insomnia : (Link)

#Actually a Eraser head and midnight friendship would be really cute and wholesome#Bnha#I am tempted to write about it

As a dominatrix, Midnight is tough on crime and punishes any misbehavior in the strictest way imaginable. Eraserhead would definitely respect that. She falls into the same mold as Present Mic in that she looks like a buffoon but is actually very efficient and professional.

@hotforhandman on All For One being a better father figure than Shigaraki: (Link)

#😂😂😂 I don’t think afo is a good dad but this is funny

If All For One were a good dad, he would have told Tomura Shigaraki about chapstick. Joke aside, I do think that the worst aspects of Shigaraki’s personality (namely his petulance) were actually encouraged by All For One. He needs him to remain in a child-like state because his arrested development is deeply rooted in his devotion to his “Teacher”. The risk being that if Shigaraki matures, he might develop ideas of his own.

That’s probably why All For One is secretly satisfied to be in prison right now. Now that they’re separated, Shigaraki can grow as a leader without any risk of disagreeing with his mentor. In fact, his efforts to free All For One from prison will only make him more devoted. All For One needs Shigaraki to idealize him, not to see him for the piece of garbage he really is. Throughout the series we see that he actually remains pretty distant and communicates with Shigaraki through conference calls, which might be on design. He can’t let his pupil too close to him or the illusion of “good parenting” might be broken. The distance keeps Shigaraki yearning for his approval and affection.

@zerounitrgb on my answer to @eva-white-11‘s criticism: (Link)

I am... really tired of people interpreting everything as romantic/friendship. They didn’t choose their pairings, they stayed together because who splits up during an attack, and you’re right, Toko would probably go crazy for anyone that saved him and got hurt in the process. Not to mention Shouji is training to be a hero so he... you know... did his JOB.

Yes. That’s also why I have my own difficulties with Ochako/Bakugou and Todoroki/Yaoyorozu. I recognize that both boys acknowledged the girls were very good in combat and clever, but that’s not a compliment, that’s a fact. They’re just giving credit where credit is due. Although in Bakugou’s case Horikoshi was probably making a commentary on sexism (with Bakugou treating Ochako as an opponent first and a girl second), people tend to interpret them as him teasing a possible romantic connection. And that’s what unnerves him, actually; that our culture is so sexist that a man acknowledging a woman’s competence is automatically interpreted as romantic interest, because why would a guy compliment a girl on anything if he wasn’t trying to get into her pants?

My gripes end there. I actually like both ships, I just have issues with people presenting these interactions as “canonical” proof that Horikoshi is teasing anything romantic between these people. Characters compliment each other A LOT in “My Hero Academia”, it takes more than that to establish a relationship.

#mha #my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha bakugou #bnha katsuki #bnha midoriya #bnha izuku #bnha kirishima #bnha eijirou #bnha kaminari #bnha denki #bnha tomura #bnha shigaraki #bnha todoroki #bnha shouto #best of tags

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roslinadama-sinequanon · 7 years

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Major Crimes-Sanctuary City Part 3

I’m not going to get into too much about the illness angle in this episode because I already did an in depth analysis on my different takes on what it could be, but I will of course touch on them.

I know there has been a lot of talk about the lack of any Shandy so far in these three episodes, and oh yeah, that is the truth. But it isn’t just a lack of Shandy. It’s a lack of any sort of connection at all between Sharon and Andy. And that leads me to--

What happened to Andy Flynn? I feel like they have taken Andy’s spark away. Where is the brash wise cracking guy or the one with a sweet charming smile to buck up his lady? They are giving Wes all the lines that typically would have been Andy’s and Andy just seems like he’s standing around with a serious look on his face going through the motions. What gives? Is it because they want to give the other actors more now, because Andy will be more of a focus in the wedding? I don’t know, but I’m not liking that.

I did like the pace of this episode and especially the tension between Sharon and Father Stan, though I am hoping they are able to work things out. I liked Stan. I hope I like him again.

On to the episode...

“I have to say, Sharon, this is not the way I expected to be treated.” “Obstruction of justice is an extremely serious charge.” “Attempting to break the sacred bond between a penitent and a priest is not merely sacrilegious it’s grounds for ex-communication.”

This is getting heated and as soon as it got emotional, Sharon had her first of what I’ll refer to as “episodes” with blurry vision. But it only lasted a few seconds. A check mark to all of us who knew episode 2 was just a red herring, lulling us into a false sense of comfort before we got hit in this episode--and while we have yet to get the final blow, we did get pummeled with seven “episodes” making it pretty obvious that this is not something that is going away. Anyway, back to Sharon and Stan. Tossing out the ex-communication to a woman that Stan knows as devout and faithful was a really low blow. Sharon flinched when he said that.

“Consider how ex-communicating the investigator responsible for finding the boys would sound to the media.”

Provenza doesn’t give a rat’s ass about religion and has nothing but contempt for the Catholic Church but the minute Stan suggests ex-communicating Sharon he jumps to her defense.

“Couldn’t fit all three bodies in the trunk?” “That’s morbid Sharon.”

We can see how pissed Sharon’s getting. Until this point Sharon and Father Stan had been dealing with each other respectfully, but Father Stan’s defensiveness and condescension has gotten Sharon’s hackles up and she isn’t giving an inch. And instead of her team tossing off the pithy comments she has joined in.

“Julio, oh my goodness. You have five more days of bereavement left.”

It was great to see how happy everyone was to see Julio. I especially liked the way Andy lit up. Something has felt strange this season when it comes to Andy. I feel like he is being sidelined so they can focus more on Wes. Wes is given all Andy’s great sarcastic lines and Andy just seems to be standing around not doing much of anything or just being rather bland in the interviews. Where is the old Andy spark? Having Julio back might change some of the dynamic. At times, with Wes and Cami and the FBI agents taking up a lot of time, it hasn’t felt much like Major Crimes. But now with Julio back it’s feeling a little more like home.

And of course, I can’t not comment on Sharon’s big hug. The first time she hugged Julio(when she commented on the team having no sense of occasion) he was completely shocked and stiff. This time, he was a little stiff but I think he enjoyed it and has gotten used to Sharon’s warmth and affection. Who would have ever thought this about her when we first met her on TC?

“Having Mark ask me if any more boys got kidnapped. He’s afraid to go back to St. Joseph’s.”

How cool is it that Mark goes to the same school where Sharon’s kids went. Wonder if she recommended it. And I love the idea of Sharon and Julio sitting in church together since they attend the same church. I’d like to have a scene between Sharon and Julio about what is happening with their church and the priests and the case etc. I think Sharon and Andy could also have this conversation since Andy is also a Catholic, however, I have a feeling that Julio is probably more devout in the way that Sharon is.

“Are you a spy?”

I love how blunt Julio is. And why does Cami always have the same look on her face, as if she just smelled something bad.

“Are you okay?”

This is where we get Sharon’s second episode of blurry vision and this time Andy sees it. He even puts a hand on her arm. When Sharon starts to move forward, he actually steps toward her as if he was afraid she was going to fall or something, but she’s already perfectly fine again. It seems strangely out of character for Andy not to be more worried. He would protect her privacy and not say anything out there, especially because she was able to collect herself so quickly, but I would think he would pull her aside as soon as could and question her about what’s going on.

“One of the LAPD’s main missions is to stop teenagers from dating each other.”

Great line. It’s nice to see Andy interviewing with Wes, but why is Wes getting the lines that would typically go to Andy? At the very least, Andy would have grinned at the line, but he seems very serious lately. Is it all because he’s worried about Sharon? It makes me sad, because Andy was always such a vital character; it’s as if they took his spark away.

“This story is going to make the church very angry.” “What are they going to do, UN-Christen us?” “I’m not a Catholic.” “I am.”

This is the first time that Sharon has revealed some discomfort between her job and her faith. She has been able to keep them separated and has dealt with the church as she would any other organization that she was investigating, however, I think Father Stan really got to her with the possibility of ex-communication.

“Why would he come back after getting away completely?”

I know this storyline is going to heat up, but right now, I just don’t care. We’ve pretty much been told it’s all going to be about Rusty so now I’m just sort of “meh” about it. And when it comes to serial killers, a lot of what they do is for the thrill, the game. They want to come close to getting caught, they want to taunt the police and the FBI so I don’t think it’s so strange that Stroh came back. He feeds off being one-step ahead of the cops and must have been bored in Europe.

“Father Jonas is a known mother-lover”

Again, something Andy would say. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind Wes getting a smart-ass line IF Andy still gets some. Right now it’s all Wes and zero Andy.

Interesting that they were all so convinced that Jonas was after the boys when he was really after their moms. Sharon had commented on the less than priestly hug Jonas gave one of the mom’s but no one really latched on to that.

“Who might only want out of his back child support payments.”

Here is Sharon’s third episode, rubbing her temple as if her head hurt. Was it a little Jack flashback?

“While we’re in the alibi business let’s get one more.”

Sharon episode four. She has trouble rising. Again, Andy is there and again, he has a tense face, but he does not express his concern or seem overly worried.

“In the name of the father, the son, the holy spirit, Amen.”

I love the visual of Sharon striding up the church stairs in her high heels, so determined. God, I wish I had her legs. Anyway, she had no problem climbing those stairs. Inside, she quickly blesses herself and starts off toward Father Stan, but then she stops and starts looking around the church. She focuses on the crucifix and the statue of Jesus and it’s as the wind goes completely out of her sails. She tears up and places a hand on her chest as if her heart is breaking and we move into Sharon’s episode five. She genuflects (the first time I watched the episode I thought she was collapsing.) Once down she has a little trouble rising and some blurred vision.

The confession-

I thought it was a little anticlimactic and that it was going to be a bigger deal. Really it was just a conversation that Sharon could have been having with Stan in her office.

“Andy took me back to the firing range this evening.”

I would like to have seen a little of this father/son bonding. At least it would have given us some Andy.

“I’m going to write him a letter and put it in the mail like they did in the 1980’s.”

Rusty does actually listen and absorb things that Sharon tells him. A while back when he was fighting with Gus she had suggested writing him a handwritten note has it was more personal and meaningful. Letters seem to be a “thing” on MC. Jack’s letter to Sharon when he leaves her condo, Andy’s letter to Sharon when he was going in for surgery, a letter we’ve still not gotten to hear the contents of, and the two times Rusty has written to Gus.The one common denominator...Sharon.

I’m kind of surprised that Rusty is being as angsty over Gus as he has been. When Gus left, it was Rusty who said “Good bye” in way that made it pretty clear that he knew they were over. Now he’s spying on Gus, pining over Gus, wanting to know what’s going on with Gus, passively aggressively writing him a letter to say he understands etc. Hell we’ve gotten more talk about Gusty than we have Shandy and Gus hasn’t even been in any episode.

“Mom…Mom… Have you thought about staying home tomorrow just so you can sleep in?”

Sharon’s episode six. More blurry vision. This time Sharon gave a little start before her vision blurred. These blurred episodes only last a couple seconds, but they seem to be coming on in quicker intervals.

“Oh boy” “Are you sure tomorrow wouldn’t work without you?”

Sharon episode 7. This time she seemed a little dizzy but no blurred vision.

“I’m doing something outrageous.”

I love the way she says this. She doesn’t usually do things like this so she seems almost excited.

“Oh my God, Commander.”

Everyone is stunned to see the FBI with boys and they are all outraged when the agents returned. No one more so than Sharon.

“What I’d like is for you to collect your things and go. NOW. They go now.”

Sharon is so pissed. I love the way she is waving her finger at them and the look of derision and her tone. It is so nice to see her finally cut loose and just let someone have it for once. It would have been the perfect scene if it hadn’t continued with….

“This case is our jurisdiction. Any….any…any…Oh God…Oh my.” “Sharon... Sharon... Sharon.”

So, if I knew this was a panic attack or something related to stress I’d be excited to see something like that being handled. But after watching this a second time around (and hearing about the upcoming episode where Sharon’s health has a setback,) I’m leaning more into a brain tumor type of thing (it could be a benign tumor near the optic nerve or something). She just didn’t seem to have much trouble with her breathing--she ran right up those steps at church without a cough so I’m thinking no walking pneumonia and her episodes were mostly about blurred vision, she wasn’t having trouble in a panicky way like an anxiety attack. But I am no doctor and I’m not a writer for MC so they could be twisting symptoms around. I do hope it is some type of stress/anxiety thing because working with a woman like Sharon to stop repressing her emotions could be very interesting. We’ll know pretty soon. Crossing my fingers for NO SERIOUS ILLNESS.

#sharon raydor #shandy #andy flynn #Major Crimes #please don't let sharon have a major illness #crossing my fingers for stress #really nervous about episode 4

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sicklyscribe · 7 years

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gather up the thoughts: 4x01 review

So I figured I’d do another one of these, especially since some people (Ashley) are particularly interested (Ashley) in how I feel about it! ( @hopepeaceandblackgirlmagic)

I’m going to try to go through scene-by-scene with cons, then pros, because at the moment I feel like I have to get all the negativity out of me before I even try to see the positive.

Vincent’s speech to the alliance:

Opening lines have always been pretty killer for the premieres. Sometimes they don’t fit seamlessly into the scene or character context, but this one was broad enough and the setting was appropriate enough to match - in all ways but one.

I personally adored the relationship between Camille and Vincent in every episode where it was featured. It was one of those things that just made sense, felt so right, that these two people would become such close friends in such a short amount of time.

But Camille was in no way a sacrifice, in any sense of the word. Flashing back to Camille during the lines “We paid a high price for that peace” is incongruous and insulting. Camille’s death was not a quid pro quo, it did not achieve anything - the whole “point” was that she was chosen to die because she was special to Klaus. She was collateral. How much more clearly can the creators communicate how little they valued this arc in their story, if they don’t bother to reference it accurately? Vincent may have been thinking about how much he misses Camille for that entire speech, but Camille’s death had nothing to do with buying peace. That was Davina.

It would have been so easy to make those flashback dedications only about Davina, or to flash back to Camille during the lines detailing the Mikaelson horrors. There’s no excuse that’ll make that right.

So I have to believe that Camille was considered after the fact, and inserted thoughtlessly. Inserting Camille into the narrative whenever loosely possible is not honoring her memory, it is desperately and obviously attempting to make an apology to viewers that is much too late. If Camille’s final arc was written respectfully, if her death was truly being honored as a significant moment later on, these kinds of insertions would be totally seamless. There would be no need to construct situations to remember Camille, because they would occur naturally as the narrative progressed. The aftermath of poor decisions in a continuing narrative is that you have to build on those decisions - and therefore writing a good story becomes that much harder.

What I did enjoy about this speech is that Vincent has obviously been forging this community with nothing but the sweat of his brow. The witches are weaker, so much weaker now, but he has them beginning to work with vampires instead of against them. He’s not asking them to be friends. He’s just asking for what they all need - peace. And achieving that for five years is... well... Let’s just say I wouldn’t mind if Vincent kept being in charge of things. In fact, put him in charge of more things. Less people die that way.

Now I’m only a minute into the premiere and it’s already pretty long. OOPS.

Setup scenes (Marcel & Sofya, Hayley & Mary, Marcel & Josh & Vincent):

Gotta say, I am still unimpressed with Sofya. That’s nothing against the character, it’s because at the moment she’s being used as a plot engine. There is literally nothing else about her in the narrative. She gets information, she spouts information. Great?

I’m not really seeing the point of her, for this reason. Josh could easily be the courier of Sofya’s intel, providing some color and personality and actual relationship dynamic on screen for viewers to digest with their information-vegetables. It just comes off as so flat, at the moment. Having more screen time for a female character isn’t worth much if everything she says goes under the ‘things we need viewers to understand so we can get to the Good Parts’ column. Allusions to sex don’t count.

I’d love to be proven wrong, of course, but we knew Sofya a bit in s3 as well, and she served the same purpose then. Clock’s kinda ticking for me.

I do love how much Marcel has thought about what’s going on “behind his back” with Hayley. How much it must frustrate him to know that in order to keep Rebekah alive, he must keep Elijah alive.

As for my BABY! I love. I love. I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE how our very first shot of Hope this season, of Hope at 7 years old, is her drawing. It’s so cheesy it’s so unnecessary it’s so PERFECT all the same. Not only was Klaus’ biological father an artist, his daughter is as well. I’m not crying. Shut up. Shut.

As for Mary, sigh, I still hate her guts but i can acknowledge that she’s probably a great “grandmother” to Hope and a really good resource for Hayley. So I guess she can stay.

Now, something I thought I was going to rage over actually was resolved by a quick google search. When Marcel walks into Rousseau’s, we see him take a sad look over at the picture of Cami and Davina on the wall. In the shot, this picture looks sooooooo fake. At first glance it looked like two headshots smooshed together, and it made me want to vomit. I was outraged by the cheapness. Turns out, it’s an actual picture of Leah and Danielle together, only change being Charles is cropped from Leah’s left side. I still wish they’d chosen a different picture, but it’s not as cheap as I thought. Jumping to conclusions really does a number on my blood pressure.

I feel like Josh’s line “Everything Cami wanted” could have been delivered and framed waaaaaay better, but I feel like having it in the script wasn’t a bad idea. This line is actually referencing values that Camille held while she was alive. Also on that note, is Josh half running the bar and half... DJing at NOLA clubs??? I know the kid needs something to do and he’s kinda not that into being Marcel’s yes-man any more, but... It seems kinda silly to me. And later, when we see him ‘spinning’.... I love Josh, but that kid looks so awkward at the discs. Is all of it just because he said he liked House music in season one? C’mon...

A nice civilized conversation:

The only gripe - the only tiny gripe I have about this is that Marcel is still repeating the same exact line about ‘IT’S MY CITY NOW HAHA’. It’s a tiny gripe because yeah, Marcel still cares about it, but Klaus did officially relinquish power at the end of s2, right? Not that that means he didn’t still have a ton of power in the Quarter after that, but Marcel wasn’t really taking the city back from him last season. Like, it just seems unnecessary for the point it made. We know how Marcel feels about the symbolism of the city. It just wasn’t a big enough point to bring up again, because they are really bordering on broken-record with that line, no matter how it’s worded. It should only be brought up in specific and necessary explorations of that particular part of Marcel, and it was used to frame a much broader sense of personal superiority.

Also, confusion - where is Klaus being kept? It’s implied to be beneath the compound, but I would have thought Marcel would keep him in the Garden? Since we never knew there was a dungeon beneath the compound? Like, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was one, but it’s just strange to me. Marcel already has a place for this.

Other than that, damn. Just...

Joseph Morgan kills every single scene in this episode with his eyes alone. Mad with boredom at first, weak with hunger, unfocused and dull. But the core of all of it is shame. Sadness. The quietness of self-hatred. He’s not proud of staying alive for his family. He’s in a much older, much more familiar place in his mind in that dungeon. So he returns to the oldest, most familiar pattern.

Klaus makes a threat at the first opportunity. Trying to scare Marcel, just a bit, so that he can get that safe feeling of superiority for that small moment. I don’t think he actually wants Marcel to rot in hell - he doesn’t kill those he loves when they hurt him, he just makes them suffer. But saying he wants Marcel to rot in hell is what Klaus needs in this moment to make himself feel strong... like Mikael was strong.

“There’s two ways this can go” Marcel tells him, showing him the stick and the carrot - the Suffer Knife and the Blood Bottle - Klaus can’t help but laugh. Marcel didn’t react to Klaus’ posturing, but the fact that Marcel came down here wanting something from him is enough of a high, enough of a comfort. Marcel has the barrier holding Klaus in, Marcel has the blood and the blade, but Klaus is the one making choices, Klaus is the one that has something Marcel would come all the way down here to get.

But then Marcel does something that lets us know exactly how that shame and sadness became the ghost in Klaus’ eyes. And I’m not sure if he does this because he knows he’s given Klaus a bit of power in this moment, I’m not sure if he knows just how much this hurts Klaus, but he certainly is following a pattern he learned from Klaus - confront others with your power over them before getting what you need.

“You know, once I figured you had suffered enough, I pulled this out. And on that day, I heard a word that I had never heard you say: Mercy.”

The gleam of power in Klaus’ eyes dies in that instant. He can’t look Marcel in the eye, he can’t look at his own bound hands, he can’t think of the people he’s defending. “Why not just kill me?”

When Klaus submits to pain, he is reliving every moment his father ever punished him for. Asking for mercy is like saying he deserves to die. Because that’s what Mikael taught him. That’s how he learned words like weak and strong. For all those lonely years he has been re-affirming all of those “truths” about himself - his weakness, his worthlessness, his inferiority, patheticness. He’s been living with that, and only that, ever since Marcel took that blade out. There’s no power-play in his question to Marcel. There’s no angle. Just sorrow. Self-hate. Disgust. Klaus didn’t believe he deserved death for his crimes against his sireline, but he would welcome it after wallowing in this pain without dignity or endurance. Of course he knows he has to stay alive, but there is that almost wistful note to the question. Just that spark of longing. He’d asked for mercy. How can he ever pretend to be strong? How could he ever pretend to deserve to live?

After he asks it, though, he has to look up at Marcel. He has to look up and see with his own eyes what the answer is going to be, and if he believes it. What he gets in return is more of his own bravado thrown back at him - this speech from Marcel reminds me so much of the one Klaus gave to Mikael in 1918. “I am worthy, I am king, I am STRONG” - Marcel learned this speech, this need, from Klaus. And yet his very first sentence is “Because I’m not like you, Klaus.”

I adore it. Especially since, as I said before, Klaus doesn’t kill those he loves when they hurt him. He does exactly as Marcel is doing now. He isolates them, and makes them suffer alone. It is so perfect.

This speech has given Marcel enough momentum to get to his goal - Alastair. And this is the moment when life returns to Klaus’ eyes. His head rises, like he’s feeling lighter, less tired, less miserable. Because Marcel is not only asking something of him, he’s showing his hand. Which means he’s desperate. And he’s cornered. As soon as Klaus hears ‘Alastair Duquesne’, the wheels are spinning again in his mind. He can use this. He can use this.

He can barely contain that grin.

He’s got to work fast, if Marcel is going to buy it. So he bullshits at an exceptional speed and with commendable skill. I didn’t know if he was telling the truth, the first time I watched through. Because Klaus chooses his words so carefully when he’s like this. It’s impossible to tell if he’s lying. And he knows it, oh, he knows it.

I can’t help but think that when he ends his advice with “You’ll find him quite malleable.” he’s actually talking about Marcel. This is his game, and he’s finally getting to play it again. Marcel can tell that he’s broken Klaus, but he’s underestimated Klaus’ desperation. Even after saying ‘Mercy’, there was still that tiny bit of fire inside him waiting to be fed kindling, to blaze again. To prove superiority. To win the game.

He takes the blood as his prize, Marcel not knowing he’s rewarding his prisoner for setting him up to fail. That, alone, I think, is just as rejuvenating to Klaus as the blood itself.

“and I won’t be alone”:

and also this

Church Scene:

I really have nothing against this scene. I feel like it does so much work in so little time, and it does it while showcasing new and old characters. It flows really well. It just works.

Like I said earlier, the stuff with Josh was pretty awkward/forced to me, but here, he’s spot-on. Put Josh in more scenes with kids, please, it’s perfect. Also, Adam is acted really really well. That kid is talented. Where are all these talented kids coming from?

As a staunch supporter of villainshipping, the idea of Vincent with someone other than Eva is a little sad to me, but honestly the man deserves it. I adore the way Josh was headed to help her when the basket flipped, but Vincent zoomed in there like he had radar for the woman and you can just sort of see Josh scurry out of the shot - I wasn’t here, don’t mind me - wingmanning without uttering a single word.

I also like how Vincent is the practical, stoic leader, but he breaks the mould of the trope and again, it works. When Josh is like ‘The hot mom is into you, you should get on that’ he’s surprised for a moment, or kind of shy about it, but he doesn’t Repress(TM) like so many guys in his character type. He’s like, wait, yeah, I really should get on that. WAIT UP MA’AM I WOULD LIKE TO FLIRT.

It’s refreshing. It’s nice.

Also, I love any scene that gets into the practical mechanics of ‘Leading the Quarter/City’. It’s such a big deal in the show, but we rarely get to see what that actually looks like. For Vincent, it’s keeping his community safe by stocking them up on amenities for the weekend. Vampire Party Night is treated like a hurricane that must be rode out, and he realizes the ramifications of asking people to stay in their homes for days. He prepares for that. And he is appreciated for it.

Vampire Brunch:

They’re partying at like, noon. I love it.

Alastair is perfect. More on him and his glorious accent later.

This scene is so perfectly parallel with Klaus crashing Marcel’s party in what, episode 1? I love seeing Marcel tested in front of a crowd. It’s where he thrives. Whereas I’d say Klaus is slightly better with one-on-one manipulation, his son has got working a crowd down to an absolute science. They’re both unfairly good at both, but there are those tiiiiny advantages that play against each other so well in this show.

AUSTIN, TEXAS:

IT’S MY CITY! I love that Keelin is an Austin girl. Thank you, Carina. And yeah, I know it was you. Who else would have suggested that the new character be from Austin.

I adore Keelin. She’s everything Sofya isn’t, as a new female cast member. She has plot purpose, but she also has personality. She has fire. She already has a dynamic with Hayley from their first back-and-forth. It’s delicious. And Hayley really gets to shine in these scenes - every premiere Phoebe Tonkin blows me away even more. I’m always like ‘Wow, NOW she’s hit her stride!’ and then the next year she proves that she was only beginning to warm up. So proud and excited. I’ve done nearly a full 180 on Phoebe and Hayley since 1x01.

Civilized Conversation, Part Two: Electric Boogaloo:

Look at Klaus, sitting on the rock that he is chained to like it’s a THRONE. His voice is no longer weak with starvation, it’s deep and merry and sarcastic and reveling and perfect. He is in total control again, and he is thriving. He is smiling openly now at his captor, knowing that he has weakened him without even having to lift a finger, at his own behest.

I’m just gonna bask in the glow of that awful smile for a bit, guys. I’ve missed Klaus’ manipulation almost as much as I’ve missed his development as a father.

“You think I don’t know?” At this Klaus is a bit intrigued - what is Marcel’s next card going to be? And it turns out it’s the only card that can wipe that smirk off of Klaus’ face.

When Klaus realizes what Marcel is saying, what Marcel knows, the smile on his face goes from being genuine to being a facade. Marcel showed his hand and was hurt for it, so now he’s gonna reveal that he’s known Klaus’ ace in the hole this entire time. It really wasn’t something Klaus or Hayley could have expected to keep secret, not with Elijah’s sireline running around, but it stings Klaus to hear it from Marcel’s lips. To have it out in the open.

But Rebekah saves him, saves all of them, with the very thing Klaus can’t stand about her - her love for people other than Klaus. The Rebel romance has been a nuisance to Klaus from the start, and the wound its left on Marcel and his sister is never left to fully heal. Now that it’s saving his life, and the lives of his siblings, Klaus has a bit of a soft spot for it. Like I’ve always said, Klaus loves to be around lovers. They’re so easily manipulated. And this time, even in the romance he didn’t want to have around him, it’s working to his advantage without a single move on his part. Good old lovers, always so soft and sentimental. So weak.

“You may have no choice but to kill poor Alastair. Aw well, heavy head, heavy crown, et cetera, et cetera...”

I LOVE THIS MAN SO MUCH Y’ALL.

HE IS SO KLAUS.

I mean, there are cool things going on here power-dynamic-wise. Klaus is light on his feet, so to speak, switching subjects and smoothly offering advice without addressing his vulnerable family or the fact that he lied to Marcel to put him in this exact situation.

He knows he can’t make Marcel believe him any more, but that’s the beautiful thing - Marcel doesn’t have a choice now. He’s got to get rid of the problem, and that will inspire more insurrection in the future - the more he protects Klaus, the more unstable his rule becomes. All because he can’t kill Klaus (and Klaus would definitely like to believe it has less to do with Rebekah and more to do with their father-son relationship, but he’ll take what he can get).

But Klaus, in dodging the subject of his linked siblings, doesn’t realize that he hurts himself as well. What Klaus wants out of this Alastair affair is for Marcel to be challenged, and eventually bested. He is banking on the new leadership being incapable of restraining him or killing him, but he doesn’t consider how easy it would be for them to get a drop of his blood.

And find Hope.

Klaus’ face falls. He realizes his mistake. I’m reminded of that beautifully ironic scene between Klaus and Davina in season two - “How does that feel, to be one of us? Someone with something to lose?”

It feels beautiful. And it’s the most horrifying thing Klaus has ever faced.

“But hey, I guess that’s my problem, right?” Marcel is the perfect amount of callous in this line. Throwing back all of Klaus’ plotting and sabotaging in his face. And it’s exactly what spurs Klaus to a sudden declaration of a plan B.

It’s a spectacular proposition, really. Klaus offers to be the bad guy, because he is the bad guy. All Marcel has to do is let him. Marcel stays on the throne, and Hope can stay hidden away. Klaus can put on a show.

And Marcel knows first-hand how well Klaus can put on a show.

“Creatures such as they respect only one language, and I speak it fluently.”

Again, Klaus is using what Mikael taught him to protect his daughter. He’s fluent in this language. He suffered in this language. And he can deal out suffering in kind. It’s incredible. It’s everything I wanted out of the scenes of Klaus in captivity.

Witch stuff:

I would have really appreciated Marcel saying please. Just fyi.

I love those two men in power together. It obviously works. Just. Love it.

NOW FOR MY FREYBABY! Or, sleeping beauty, as a certain gorgeous new werewolf would say ;) ;) ;) ;)

She is so ready, as soon as she wakes. Quick hug, then right to business. I had a conversation with Ashley earlier about how this spell works, and I can totally understand why people would be questioning how it all works. If the siblings’ sleep is linked, then waking one instantly should wake the others instantly.

The way I see it, Freya cast the spell on all of them, but not before concocting that syringe for herself. I don’t think it was just a shot of adrenaline - it was an additional spell that would not transfer down the sleep-link. That spell allowed Freya to wake instantly, and delay the chain reaction that would wake the others as a result. The reason she’s rushing is because that delay is not going to be a long one.

The reason something like this is necessary gets to the start of an unfortunate issue with this episode that is nobody’s fault - Nate and Claire couldn’t be in this episode. There wouldn’t need to be a special wake-up spell like this if they could just have all the Mikaelsons in the scene where they wake all the Mikaelsons. So it’s a bit of a work-around, yeah, but there’s a reason for it and it’s pretty well-thought-out, considering. More on this issue later.

Puttin’ on the NOLA Ritz:

In other words, “Klaus puts everyone in their place and there’s a lot of gore involved”

The look in Klaus’ eyes initially, as he’s dragged in and put before Alastair, is partially fabricated. He’s not as weak as he lets on. But in my opinion, a bit of that despair is very genuine. He’s the very image of weakness, from his perspective, and even if it’s not entirely as pathetic as he lets on, he still hates himself for the display.

“Do you suffer, Niklaus? As my wife suffered? As my CHILD suffered?”

Again, Morgan’s eyes blow me away. He is literally face to face with the man whose child died a violent, pointless death for Klaus’ gain. This is by far not the first time he’s stared down a man furious at having lost his family, his children, because of Klaus. But this is the first time Klaus looks into a father’s eyes and see’s a father’s pain as a father himself. This rage, this protective impulse, this near-mad expression of loss... Klaus felt something like this when the witches tried to kill Hope, when Esther tried to kill Hope, when Dahlia tried to take her. But he sees in Alastair a sorrow and a madness that he knows is deeper than anything he’s ever felt as a father. And he’s floored by it.

He knows he’s responsible for it. And I think he knows that if someone forced him to kill his daughter, he would burn nations to the ground, not just get his revenge from the guilty party. This is true, shocked guilt in his eyes. Klaus is intimidated by the force of his own sympathy - terrified, even. Connecting his experience as a father with the universal fatherhood experience hasn’t really been applicable to him lately, not with an example like Mikael and so little time with Ansel. But here Alastair is. And their faces are inches away from each other. And Klaus can see the horror in his crimes, he can see the agony in his collateral damage. He can glimpse the death and the rage and the sorrow as something that is real, and not just tools for manipulation.

“I want the last words you ever hear to be my solemn vow -”

Klaus’ gaze settles a bit, back to the superior glare that he knows will provoke Alastair into striking (he needs him to swing so that he can use the momentum catch him off balance) with just a bit of that guilt residing at the edges.

“I will find your daughter-”

His eyes widen. These worlds are not supposed to collide, his evils are not ever supposed to reach Hope...

And they never fucking will.

You can see it. You can see it. Klaus kills a lot of people, it’s kind of just what he does. But sometimes you can see the decision in his eyes, clear as if he’d shouted it from the rooftops. We saw it when he decided to kill Ansel, but it was softer, pained, mournful. This time it’s worlds different, and much more apparent. This entire display was always supposed to end in Alastair’s death. Klaus’ motivation in helping Marcel with the killing was always motivated by a desire to protect Hope. But a threat had not been made at that point, only inferred. When it actually happens... When Alastair has the gall to say it...

It’s like a switch is flipped in Klaus’ eyes, they narrow to a vicious, predatory gleam that honestly shakes me to my bones. As Alastair continues, “- and when I do, I will eradicate your malignant bloodline from this earth.” the look deepens. Klaus is seeing the kill. He’s relishing it. He’s craving it. It’s not a display anymore. It’s as personal as personal can be.

No one threatens the Alpha’s cub.

It goes quickly after that.

He smiles as his eyes gleam black and yellow, vampire and werewolf, speaking that language he speaks so fluently. One last look at the Scot before he bites a lethal chunk into the vampire’s neck. A few more bodies for show. One or two for Marcel to heal, to make his argument concrete.

“WELL WHO’S NEXT?”

Power. Klaus has it, they don’t. “Aw, come on. Meet. Your. Maker.”

I love this character more than air.

Marcel’s speech is fantastic, of course, he hits all the right beats and makes all the right points, but it’s so hard to focus on it after that powerhouse display by Joseph Morgan. I can’t even express how perfectly it was executed (ha, puns) and framed and filmed. The guest actor for Alastair, bless him, was such a good foil and such a good way to showcase Klaus in the first episode this season. I wish we’d seen more of him, but I’d trade a hundred of him for the sake of this scene at the drop of a hat.

THE LADIES KICK ALL KINDS OF ASS:

Freya melting a vampire brain mid-incantation was such a nice touch, even if it does kind of invalidate her ‘this ritual will take all my strength’ claim from earlier. I don’t even care. It’s such a good throwback to her intro, and she gets to show off in front of the hot Texan werewolf, so I have 0% nitpick because I am totally and blissfully biased.

I cannot express how excited I was when the promo of Hayley’s wolf form dropped. I was on the floor, yelping, for maybe fifteen minutes. Evidence from my twitter:

WOLF.

I kind of really like wolves.

I know a lot of people think that we won’t see Klaus’ wolf form, that this was just for Hayley for this episode, but I will die on this hill, and I will hear no argument. I will never let this go.

The CGI is so gorgeous. The fur looked a bit thin and clean for realism’s sake, but that is such a tiny factor considering how often wolf CGI gets basic things slightly off, like body type, tail length, fur length & volume, and facial structure. Hayley was built perfectly from that standpoint, it’s easy to see even in the shadow. (The lighting was also a factor on what made the fur so difficult to get spot-on, because it had to have some glow and translucency - it would be damn hard to even attempt that kind of effect, and they pulled it off really well with minimal reduction in realism in my opinion)

Just gorgeous. Gorgeous.

This also supports a headcanon, now turned justified-theory, that Klaus hasn’t used his full strength since breaking the Hybrid curse. Hayley chooses to transform because she is stronger in her transformed state - that’s kind of obvious given the context, it’s not just for intimidation. She needs to kill and kill quickly, not put on a show. She chooses to do this as a wolf.

So when Klaus has been tested physically since season 3 of TVD, he has never chosen to use this form. Ever. It speaks, I think, to a lingering shame learned since childhood - werewolves are the vicious monsters. The beasts. And he cannot be “strong” as a beast, not in the way his inferiority complex desperately needs. Even though he is literally at his strongest when he embraces who he really is, it is that identity itself that haunts him and reinforces the idea that he is Other in the worst of ways, he is unworthy of family and love, he is nothing but a brutal animal.

I pray that we get to see him use this form to protect Hope. He’s used Hybrid power before to overcome enemies, for sure, he knows the effect his yellow eyes has on his prey - it’s the threat of venom and death, and he loves it. But actually transforming must feel way too real, way too expressive of ‘beastliness’. I want him to be put in a situation where he isn’t strong enough unless he goes full Wolf, because Hope is in danger. I want a full fuckin’ Bigby scene, for those who have played The Wolf Among Us. I want it so bad. And I won’t listen to anyone who tells me it ain’t gonna happen. I don’t care. Doesn’t change how much I want it and no amount of logic is going to make me give up hope.

Enter Elijah Mikaelson:

I know I’ve said I don’t ship H/E, but the performance from Phoebe as the bodies hit the floor around her, as she felt a presence behind her, smelled his scent in the air - it was incredible. Like I said, she just keeps getting better and in season one all I could say I hoped for was that she could improve enough to hold her own. My standards were way too low, in retrospect. I can’t wait to see more of her.

I am obsessed with the look on Elijah’s face. Unlike the last time he did this in 2x09, this time the stoicism really works for me. (While I definitely have come to terms with and agree with a very good interpretation of the scene from Map of Moments, I can’t help but still wish we had gotten a single freaking flash of a smile) I can’t say I really know what’s going on with him yet, but it isn’t that he doesn’t love Hayley (as much of a weight of my back as that would be, I just don’t see it. Doesn’t make sense)

It’s gotta be guilt.

Elijah has never been guilty for something like this, ever, in his long life. He nearly killed them all. He took Klaus from his baby for five. years. This man puts everything on his shoulders, and he’s recently opened his eyes to repressed acts of horror he’s committed. But every single one of them pales in comparison to nearly destroying everything he’s ever wanted for his brother, and causing the deaths of all of them in one fell swoop.

Every time Elijah gets an emotional arc, it’s brushed away with the excuse of his repressive tendencies, because the story needed to focus on other things. His repression should not and never should have been used as a story crutch to leave loose ends because there wasn’t time to finish the development - repression is a challenge that has to be respected in moments of development like the ones Elijah has been through. While I doubt this time will be any different, I’m choosing to give it a chance before I say anything more.

Waking the Sleeping Giant:

This really could have been one of my top scenes for this episode. The dynamic between Vincent and Klaus is killer. Better than its ever been. I want more of it. I need more of it.

But this is another case where Camille was inserted in such a lazy way. It puts such a bad taste in my mouth.

If they wanted Vincent to remind Klaus about Camille’s hope in him, they could have set it up with an actually appropriate topic of conversation.

When someone literally chains you up and tortures you for five years in a dungeon, threatening vengeance isn’t a particularly evil thing to do, no matter how evil you actually are. Talk about the cycle of violence, yeah, started by Klaus, yeah, but Marcel is the one who is literally torturing him. No one’s innocent in this situation. And I really fucking doubt Camille would have wanted Klaus to let this go. Reconcile with Marcel? Hell yes. Try to understand Marcel’s side? Absolutely. But Klaus can’t make that happen without Marcel’s cooperation. This is not his responsibility alone to be a better person in this scenario. Would she want Klaus to threaten new violence? I mean, yeah, probably not, but again, that’s not exactly an evil impulse in Klaus. It’s a pretty standard human one. Vincent is holding Klaus to a higher standard and it’s just off. It just is. “Be grateful we gave you a chance to live in a life or death situation, then put you back in a dungeon.”

I know my argument here isn’t super strong, but I’m just too pissed to really get into it and make it clearer and better. I’m so done. I’m so done. Camille doesn’t deserve any of this bullshit, and she hasn’t since season three. Nothing Vincent said about her is wrong or bad, it just does. not. fit. here. And it wouldn’t have been hard to make it fit.

“You had a deal with Hayley, not me.”

ho. ly. hot. damn.

(freylin seems too close to freyinn. What’s the consensus? Keelya? Keela?

I am not prepared for how good this is gonna be. I am. already. shook.)

“Let’s go get ‘im”

Scenes like this are really frustrating for me. They work in every sense except for the fact that I feel these characters should never have been placed in a serious relationship with each other.

I’ll put it this way - every line from Hayley in this situation is perfect, every line from Elijah in this situation is perfect - I just don’t like that they’re in this situation. So, basically, this is one of the very very rare times where I think the ship has actually been written very very well with respect to the characters.

“How is my niece” and Hayley answer just warm my heart so much. The glow in Hayley’s face and voice when she describes her. The tenderness and neediness with which Elijah asks the question. “A girl after my own heart”

I melt.

And ‘let’s go get him?’

Klelijah is a potent drug, even in small condensed doses it can easily render one Amy totally speechless and send her into an alternate state of euphoria and fanaticism.

Pair that with Elijah running to Klaus’ cell in the promo for tonight’s episode... my heart can’t take it.

“All the time down here is rotting your brain.”

Seeing Klaus tugging at his chain does things to my soul. Yeah, he’s awful, he’s a villain, but he’s my villain, dammit. He had a power kick, he heard someone threaten to kill his daughter to his face, and now he’s back down here. Helpless. Alone.

When Marcel comes, probably also seeking a little superiority high, the two desperations clash inevitably. Klaus saw the power that Marcel was able to wield after his brutal display, and he’s jealous of it. He knows he’s the one who handed it to Marcel, and he can’t stand it. So he has to make it all about him - he has to tell himself and Marcel that he’s the center of Marcel’s world.

“You NEED me, Marcellus, because deep down inside, YOU ARE WEAK.”

This is Klaus using two things Mikael gave him - pain and abuse. It’s a refraction of every speech we’ve ever heard from Mikael, with a few key differences - Klaus knows what it’s like to break under the weight of these words, he knows exactly how much they hurt, and he knows how alike Marcel is to him. It has that edge of mutual need because of this shared pain. Mikael comforted himself by pushing Klaus away with his abuse, but Klaus needs to pull Marcel in for him to get what he needs out of the inflicted pain. It’s what Klaus saw in Marcel from the very first moment, the reason he took him in - he saw himself in the boy. An opportunity to feel less lonely, first in his need for family, but now in his need to feel less alone in his monstrousness.

I love the little flashes of love in their eyes as Klaus is stabbed, and as Marcel sees his body hit the floor. Another difference between this abuse and Mikael’s - these two love each other despite it all. The language of power and hate can only disguise that so much.

Ouroboros:

I honestly have no expectations when it comes to this season’s plot, since last season the plot seemed to steamroll lots of development for terrible reasons. I don’t really care if it’s good or if it’s bad, I can’t let myself care. I just can’t invest that, I have to focus on my Mikaelsons, really, unless I get a really really good reason to trust again.

When it comes to analysis, though, I can definitely do that. Just bear in mind that I don’t have much motivation to go too deep at the moment.

Exploring the ramifications of the severed link with the ancestors, and possibly the origin of ancestral magic in New Orleans, looks to be the focus of the witch/Hope plot for the first arc of season four. What’s intriguing about the Ouroboros in particular is probably unintentional - the Ouroboros is the symbol for Mikael in the season two portrait promos (let’s all take a moment to remember how good the season two promotional art was. It was a gift the likes of which I’ll never get again.)

The Ouroboros is showing up everywhere in TV dramas, not just supernatural ones. It’s kind of like a fad, if you will, of the metaphor cycle in the industry. So I kind of have the feeling they used it for Mikael, then got an idea they were really excited about this season and wanted to use it again.

I say this mostly because Mikael had nothing to do with New Orleans until his children settled there. Basically all he did was burn it down and then come back later to trash some witches.

But was always partial to his parallel to Chronos, and I know it’s mixing mythologies but the focus on NOLA’s children also has that kind of vibe to me. Nice how they’re both framed with the Ouroboros.

And especially nice how Hope is going to be central to the plot again, or even just freaking mentioned in relation to the plot at all *stares at s3 judgingly*

We’ll see how all of this develops tonight.

@klausmikelsons @drbobbimorse and I forget who else was interested in this... here y’are

#anamysis #to 4x01 #amy reviews #DISCLAIMER: THIS IS 100% UNEDITED

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niklaus-no-mans-son-blog · 7 years

Text

Stay, Little Valentine, Stay

Who: Camille && Niklaus Where: Cupid’s Nest, where all the unfortunate speed-daters have flocked When: February 14, 2017, early evening. What: Our star-crossed lovebirds can’t seem to leave, but don’t know how to ask each other to stay.

Klaus: He watched Damon move along, feeling fonder of Valentine's Day than he had...probably since it had become a commercialized holiday. Before that, he couldn't honestly recall if it had ever made it on his radar. He usually did away with all of the trappings of the Christian tradition, unless it served him well. Today, it seemed to be serving him well indeed...Or, perhaps not? Camille took the seat opposite him, and he held on to his smug countenance by sheer force of will, and centuries of affected habituation. "Camille," he said, shooting for a confident tone, but perhaps the edges were a bit softer than he had intended. "It seems the third time really is the charm."

Cami: So far so good , Cami thought as she left Stefan's table in search of her third date for the evening. Her only regret so far was in not managing to rope Uncle K into the festivities, even through a classic guilt trip sheer power of will. Neither of them entertained the possibilities of romance in their respective lives, but this event had still managed to lift her spirits to the degree she'd wished for him too. And anyway, he-

But the blonde's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she found number 82 - only to glance down at the man occupying the table.

Klaus.

- What was he doing here?!? ... Dating. People date, Cami. ... Right . -

She sucked in her breath and reached blindly for the chair, eyes running over his features before her own settled into a complacent smile. And damn it, his automatic charisma tugged that smile a little wider than she would've liked, considering the circumstances. Still, she had her words. "Betcha they don't say that one to people who've been struck by lightning..." A split-second pause. "Nice to see you, Klaus. And happy Valentine's Day."

Klaus: He hated it, the way his chest felt tighter when Cami smiled at him. So mundane. Yet he couldn't help himself but to answer it with genuine pleasure of his own. Damn her. "And yet I feel no compunctions. You should know I spent the entire last three minutes planning how best to stab my last date, so you are an incredible improvement," he quipped, not kidding in the slightest. Then again, Camille would be an improvement over anything with a heartbeat (or without, but naturally that went without saying). He hesitated, suddenly feeling the weeks between their last meeting gape between them, before starting up again. "I...apologize for not inquiring after you following the earthquake." Another somewhat awkward pause. "I had a difficult time locating my siblings and I'm afraid that took most of my attention." It seemed a paltry excuse, especially considering he was mainly referring to the sibling, in an eternal coma in a coffin, whom he had put there, and could no doubt last another day without much bother, but it was, nonetheless, true. Still, he found he wasn't satisfied with it, seeing her now, rosy-cheeked and smiling at him.

Cami: Cami shifted in her seat to get comfortable and fought a grin at his words. "Well you know what they say; the course of true love never did run smooth . Maybe that's a good sign; maybe you're due for some good karma any day now." Or any date now, She thought to herself quietly, though it didn't leave her lips. Instead, she waved away his apologies about not checking in on her after the Earthquake. "Oh, please, we're not- you don't owe me anything like that..." It came out a little tightly, as she thought of the last time they'd seen each other - and rushed to keep talking. "Are your siblings okay? Elijah?" Cami asked, pulling out the name of the one brother she'd met in person. It was true that she'd harboured no particular expectation that Klaus should think of her safety while New Orleans was in in the midst of a natural disaster; but if there was any reservation in her tone it was due to the weeks before the Earthquake and since their last meeting. He hadn't returned her calls, hadn't scheduled any therapy sessions... Fallen off her grid entirely.

That's what you get when you dance with your client to Aretha Franklin in your goddamn pajamas, another voice in her head reproached her stoically.

Klaus: We're not... Klaus' smile shuttered and like any coward, he sought refuge in the glass, brow furrowing just slightly at the implications. Of course they weren't. That was precisely why he had avoided her so avidly these past weeks. The sense memory of her falling into his arms, head thrown back in laughter sometimes caught him unawares, out of the blue, though, and he would find himself wondering if they could be. Ridiculous. Shortsighted. Selfish, even. No, they were not. "Elijah had fortunately left town on business just before the earthquake struck, and to my utter regret, Rebekah and Kol are well enough to cause me endless grief. "You did escape unharmed, though...? Your uncle was it? Your building...?" That he had actually taken care of personally. It had been the perfect opportunity to make her unfortunate landlord disappear, and the property had quite fortunately gone up for sale. Camille now had a rent-controlled apartment, information which she was unaware of, but really, it was superfluous information anyway.

Cami: "Every- everyone and everything's fine... Thank you." She replied gently, "Church has seen better days, but it's nothing a little bit of charitable campaigning can't fix. And considering that's the worst of it, I'd say we got off easy." Cami nodded before letting out a chuckle when Klaus acknowledged that Kol and Rebekah were around to cause him 'endless grief'. In the wake of such a disaster, they were - all of them - the lucky ones. But then the conversation tapered off and a few seconds' worth of semi-awkward silence elapsed between them. Cami hastened to fill it.

"So if you're afraid that I'm about to psychoanalyze you over some Bordeaux, fear not, I know how to pick my battles." Smiling, the blonde reached for one of the two empty wine glasses that sat between them before pouring some of the red for him. "Wanna play twenty questions, or do you wanna wing this?" She added, nodding towards the stack of cue-cards meant to help the conversation along between strangers, before setting the glass down in front of him.

Klaus: Klaus just looked at her for a second, wondering how they had gotten to a place where there couldn't even pass three minutes together without help. It hurt in a slow, aching sort of way that seemed to spread as if his silent heart was pumping it through his body, a little bit with every few seconds that passed. "Twenty questions. I'll start." His voice was uncharacteristically unreadable, short, but not hard. Not quite abrupt, but not forgiving either. Another beat of silence, his glass of bourbon, the single most important prop he had had today, was now discarded, forgotten but for the tap of his fingers against the rim as he considered. She looked... catching. He wouldn't use words like "beautiful" or "stunning" to describe her, though she was both. There was something more to her that defied his extensive vocabulary. Defied description at all. And he found he really didn't know what to ask her. Have you missed me? Did you enjoy our dance? Did you know I spend most nights on a rooftop four buildings down from yours making sure your sleep isn'd disturbed? Will you please New Orleans and not return? Will you remember me? "And for you...? Is third time the charm for your today?"

Cami: She was pouring some of the Bordeaux into her own glass when he alluded to her other two set-ups today. Yes The answer was instant, instinctive as she watched the last two drops of alcohol drop into her glass, creating little ripples before replacing the cork on the bottle. "I can't complain; haven't wanted to kill anybody yet... Present company included." A sly, stolen glance at him before she let her eyes fall preferentially to the cue card he was holding between two fingers. There was a tension between them; too many unspoken somethings , and she didn't want to be the first to acknowledge it - lest it give him extra motive to keep his distance when this date was over.

Why are you avoiding me? Do you think I was unprofessional? Who do you talk to? How've you been lately, really been ?...

Cami gulped down a sip of her wine before reaching for a cue-card herself. "If you were an animal in the wild, which would you choose to be?" What the hell; might as well burn through the cue cards while the clock was ticking...

Klaus: That deep pulsing ache in his chest abates as they finally make eye contact. Her words give him hope, albeit not much. Still, not wanting him dead is a head start he doesn't usually have. "High praise," he murmurs, but his lips curl around the edges of the words in faint amusement. She read off the cue card and Klaus frowned in distaste. Such an absurd question. What would this tell her about him? "In the wild, hm? How interesting they don't allow for anything domesticated," he remarked, an ironic eyebrow raising in amusement. Domestic, he was not. Another reason why it was essential he stop this madness and send her on her way, before he got her even more entangled in a world she didn't understand. But don't change a hair for me, not if you care for me...

A wolf, was the thought that entered his mind before he had even managed to get the other words out. He bit them back, unsettled by the fierceness with which they had overtaken him. The overwhelming sense of rightness. But he bit them back, because such an answer was too raw. "Fine. An undomesticated cat then. Some panther or jaguar. I like to imagine I have the same sort of laconic charm." And equally sharp teeth. He picked up a card and didn't even bother pretending to read it. "How do you feel about modeling?"

Cami: If there’s even just the hint of a smile tugging at his lips, Cami’s quick to take note of it. There’s something about that smile that makes her willing – so willing, to let bygones be bygones; to forget the missed calls, the unanswered messages, the s p a c e . Weeks from now, months perhaps, she’ll realize that that blind-eye willingness is where the problem began; and that she is as much to blame in this – whatever ‘this’ is – as he. But hindsight is 20/20 and right now, right at this very moment, all she feels is a little lighter. So when she catches his subsequent frown from her peripheral as she reads her question, Cami ignores it decidedly. “Panther, huh?... How come? And while we’re on it, are you telling me your spirit animal would be a tabby cat if the question wasn’t so specific?” She grins, setting the cue-card aside. “I’d be a bird… Not for the whole wings of freedom thing .” She adds quickly, “Because of the vantage point… They see the world from the outside, see the whole picture..” The blonde trails off, flicking through the cue-cards in search of another as Klaus asks his own question.

There’s a laugh, a roll of her eyes despite her amusement. “Ready and willing. Problem isn’t how I feel, it’s finding an audience. I haven’t googled ‘Miss Delusion 2017’ so I’ve still got a shot.” The blonde shakes her head at him, takes another quick sip of her wine before clearing her throat. “What quality is most important to you in a partner?”

Klaus: "I rather like to imagine myself on the top of the food chain. Plus, they are rather majestic creatures. I should think the metaphor is obvious, Camille," he drawled, humor seeping through into his words. He couldn't very well tell her he was that the top of the food chain, all of them in fact, and the majority of the comparison was based on their respective lethality. He couldn't help but read into her own choice. "So... you prefer distance? Keeping things–" people? "–at an arm's length?" Perhaps that was why he could practically feel the tension hovering between them. He had given her the distance she desired, and now that distance was forfeit. "Easy. Willingness to model for me. I paint, Camille. I wasn't asking about the industry, it was a more personal inquiry," he said rolling his eyes, albeit fondly.

Cami: "I doubt the bottom-feeders share your respect," She teased, mouth curving into a grin upon catching his eye-roll. "Somehow, I can't picture a gazelle looking up into the jaws of Death and thinking 'wow, that's goals right there... So majestic."

Still, there's something about the way he speaks... The tone, the cadence, the way he chooses his words... She's always made for a rapt listener, but when it comes to Klaus it's effortlessly captivating. And so, the last bit of tension unwinds itself in her chest as the female leans back in her chair; content to watch him as he thought, as he spoke. "No! Not distance, I just... I just want to see it all simultaneously... Eagle-eye view. When you're on the same footing as everything else, you just see what's directly in front of you. Kinda like a horse with blinders. I wanna see the whole picture... All of it."

But Klaus leaves her second question unanswered and instead presses his own. And at that, Cami levels him with a deadpan look as if to say "really?" But when his own expression remains expectant and unchanged, her own facade begins to falter. "Seriously, Michelangelo?? Why me?" And she tries to play it off casual, but the way her eyes slide back to the glass between her fingers, the slight uptick in her heartbeat - indicate it's no such thing.

Klaus: "You'd be surprised," Klaus murmured in response, lips quirking secretively. Danger was seductive, and he had no problem making use of it. When the stakes (for him) were low, anyway. In situations like this, however, he couldn't help but make certain blonde bartenders with a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time, the gazelle in this situation. This did not leave a nice taste in his mouth. "Have you ever thought about whether or not you'd like what it was you found?" It was a serious question; one he had spent perhaps too much time thinking about, and one he was relatively sure Camille didn't take seriously enough.

Why her? It was such a ridiculous question, Klaus refused to entertain it. "That counts as two additional questions, Camille." His grin continued to grow, his pleasure at the idea growing the more he thought of it. It had burst forth without much forethought, but now that it was in his mind, it had taken root. Of course, he didn't actually need her to sit for him in order to paint her, perhaps in oil crayon, or no– pastels rather, something soft and complicated and too easily smeared by a careless heavy hand. "Wouldn't be long depending on the medium. A sketch would take maybe twenty minutes. Less even." He wanted to tell her he could make it up to her, buy her dinner, buy her a city, anything she wanted. But he wouldn't. She would not get dinner with him, and he would not ask. He knew how this story ended, and Cami deserved more.

Cami: The mischievous smile that mirrored his, dimmed a fraction when Klaus asked whether she'd ever considered the possibility of not liking what she discovered about the world through that newfound perspective. "Aaah... No. Not really, I guess. Isn't it always better to know?" She asked, her mind inevitably traveling to Sean. "Facts are facts, no matter what I think of them. Better to know than bury my head in the sand, right?" She didn't know why she sought the answer in his expression, but it only lasted so long before her own solemnity melted back into a smile.

Why Klaus would want to paint such a commonplace subject was well beyond her, and yet still, Cami couldn't deny that she felt a little flattered. And she hoped the colour rising in her cheeks could equally be attributed to the red wine, as to the request she was still turning over in her mind.

- What the heck; what was the worst that could come from it? - Unprof-essional... Another voice in her head sing-songed. - Excuse to get into his headspace. [i/] The first corrected.

Downing the last of her wine, Cami set the glass back on the table, decisively. " Fine. I make no promises, but I'll consider it... How's that?" Her eyes danced with merriment as she continued. "Only if you answer my last question though... Then maybe I'll let you draw me like one of your French girls. " She deadpanned with a grin.

Klaus: Klaus simply looked at her, incredible in her naiveté. In the world in which he lived, knowing inevitably made people dead, with very few exceptions, and even those would get there soon enough. How marvelous, how quaint, it must be for her to live in a world where knowledge actually did equal power. "Perhaps, for those who can afford it, ignorance actually can be bliss." He doubted Cami would count herself among those who could afford it, but she underestimated herself. Or perhaps overestimated herself.

He answered her grin as she laid out her terms. He couldn't resist the chance to throw her off balance once more. His mixed signals couldn't have been stronger or more contradictory. It truly was best for her if he stayed away, and he had but it seemed Cupid had other plans because he had dropped her practically in his lap (he could not deal with that particularly mental image) and he had never been a model of self-restraint in the face of temptation. "I'd like to remember your face," he said simply, knowing how much weight those words carried. One way or another, if it took a day, a year or eighty, they would leave one another behind, and a simple painting would be all he had left to remember her by.

Cami: Cami couldn't help the way her features scrunched up into a visible - if somewhat childish - grimace at his words. "God, I don't think I've ever known an expression that I hated more than that one." She would've said more, but decided at the last moment that this wasn't the time and place for such a rant. "... Just- do me a favour and don't use that one on me, okay?" Not that he would if he was ever of a mind to continue their sessions; after-all, therapy was exactly the kind of place where one generally opened up. As usual, the faintest smile on his part only incited the brightest, most unabashed grin from her. It was an instinct she couldn't quite help; the muscles around her mouth were tugged up to mirror his as though connected by a string. "Take a picture; it'll last you longer. You still haven't answered my question, by the way. Most important quality in a prospective partner?" Cami wiggled the cue-card she was still holding between two fingers. "Asking for a friend," The blonde added, mirth dancing in her eyes. "Goodness knows you'll need all the help you can get, Picasso."

Klaus: It was uncomfortable, and entirely unwanted, the inkling of guilt he felt hearing that. Don't use that one on me. He comforted himself with the knowledge that it was a luxury only the blissfully ignorant would ask for. If she knew what she was asking, she would want the freedom of a night's sweet dreams, of living her life without fearing for it every moment of every day. He was sparing her. She would thank him, if she knew. He frowned in earnest as she insisted he didn't answer her question. Were he not utterly unflappable, he might have blushed at the information he had just given away, and freely at that. Perhaps his cheeks were a bit warm. He scowled and drank his bourbon. "Picasso was rather something of a womanizer," he pointed out wryly as he considered her question, yet another question he dearly wanted to avoid. What was most important to him in a prospective partner? The idea of a partner at all seemed rather daunting... so abstract he couldn't honestly imagine it. You make me smile with my heart. Partnership... what a strange word to use to refer to romance. And yet, he could see the appeal. Trust, camaraderie, intimacy, reciprocity... "Loyalty, I suppose," he answered, making his voice deliberately bored as he lounged in his seat, swirling the damned glass of bourbon he couldn't bring himself to finish. Loyalty sounded so... distant. So cold. And yet, what else did he really want? What else was of any use to him?

Cami: "Is that where the similarities begin or where they end between Klaus and Pablo?" Cami fired back, before she could think to filter it. She blamed it on the alcohol; whereas her date had barely touched his drink, she'd leaned on it like a crutch. And if not for slowing the racing thoughts in her mind, then the glass served as something with which to occupy her hands as she listened to him.

Still, Cami wished it was a notebook in her hand instead, and that it was appropriate to scribble his answers down for safe-keeping. Would she remember them later?... Loyalty . The simplicity of his answer surprised her. And she wanted to pry, to ask him about it but was deterred by the absolute disinterest in his body-language. Afraid that she was losing him, Cami took another quick sip of her drink before tossing the cue-cards aside on the table.

"Okay, you win. And I'll bite, so- " But the sound of a buzzer cut her off mid-sentence and made her look up in surprise, before her gaze dropped back down to meet Klaus' a few seconds later. "... Saved by the bell?" Cami suggested, with a wistful smile.

Klaus: "You tell me, Camille," he fired back before reticence had the chance to stop him. Honestly, Fate was testing his patience. He hadn't must practice being good but he was trying for this ridiculous woman, trying to keep her away from his own ill-advised desires, and she kept talking to him. What was he supposed to do with that? Compel her to never open her mouth again? She was insufferably charming.

He couldn't decide if the buzzer was a curse or a godsend. It seemed the more time he spent in her company, the harder it was to remember why it was absolutely essential that he avoid her at all costs, and yet, he burned to know what she was going to say next. "Me, or you?" he quipped, quite seriously, already knowing the answer. Still, he paid no attention to the next person lining up to sit across from him as he stood. "I think I shall spare St. Valentine's victims my company for the rest of the evening." I need to leave. You need to leave. One of us should go. Let me walk you home. Dance with me, Camille.

Cami: “I wouldn’t know.” She answered just as quick, holding his gaze level. It didn’t come off as bitter as she’d felt on the onset of the conversation, but there was still enough meaning tucked away behind those words. A ‘gotcha’ of sorts.

Give me a chance to figure you out. Give me a c h a n c e .

But the therapist had a much more definitive answer when he asked whether the buzzer was saving him - or her. “You. I was just about to get the big guns out. You know; marriage and baby names.” Cami teased, although it was far from the truth. When she’d put aside those cue cards it was in order to take the plunge; address the elephant in the room - address the missed calls, the distance. But the buzzer had robbed her of her courage in one, fell swoop.

You.

“Anyway, I should- yeah, I- me too.” A quick nod, a smile as she wondered how exactly they were supposed to part. A handshake seemed stupid, and yet the repercussions of a hug seemed twice as stupid. “Besides, speaking of Casanovas…” Her gaze roamed towards one side of the room, where she’d locked eyes with Marcel not too long before the third round. A broad grin, a wink on his part. “There’s this guy . Marcel . More likely to hold a karaoke mic than a paintbrush but no less persistent.” Despite her sarcasm, Cami’s smile was fond as she watched him chatting up some blonde, whose face was obscured from her vantage point. Her eyes snapped back to meet Klaus’ unreadable grays. “I think I’ll disappoint him a little while longer. Are you heading out?”

Klaus: Her quick riposte caught him off-guard, and he found it difficult to break her gaze. When he finally did look away, it felt like an actual splintering, a cracking in his soul. I wouldn't know. And wasn't that exactly how he wanted it? Well done, mate, mission accomplished then. He snorted as she followed it up with marriage, of all things. "Marriage is a bit fast, don't you think, love? This was only our second date after all," he said, eyes locking back on hers, brow raised, anticipating the challenge. For a second, he thought she'd actually bite, and then...

"Marcel?" A hot flash of slick, oily envy washed over him, catching in a quick clench of his jaw. First his sister, then his city, and now his... stenographer? Teeth grinding, finger tapping against his leg, he thought quickly. No, this was good. He could use this. To escape from his own ridiculous sentimentality, which was already proving to be a weakness, and to get the upper hand on Marcel, from the area he'd expect it to come from the least. In a flash he had Cami whisked into the small side room where guests were invited to store their jackets for the duration of the event. "Actually, Camille, you won't disappoint Marcel Gerard any longer," he intoned, watching her eyes dilate as the compulsion wove its magic in her mind. "The next time he makes an advance, you will encourage him, and eventually accept." It was better this way, wasn't it? At least it was on his terms, now. He controlled this, he decided this. Camille couldn't walk away from him if she never had the chance. "You will report to me any information you learn from him about his rule of New Orleans, about the witch Davina, and what he has planned? You will tell no one of this, and you will not remember I asked this of you. Do you understand, Camille?"

Cami: “Hey, one date would’ve been enough to shock and scandalize most of my ancient ancestors...Yours too. Count yourself lucky.” A wink, as she got out of her seat and contemplated - for a second time - her goodbye. Handshake? Probably a stupid handshake. But he mentioned Marcel just as she went to offer him her hand. “Yeah, you know him? He’s-”

But before she could choose a fitting adjective, Klaus had grabbed her without a second’s notice and whisked her into the adjoining coatroom. “What are you-...” But then her voice trailed off as she looked up at him, the green of her irises all but disappearing as her pupils dilated. Seventeen seconds later, she nodded faintly, solemn and wide-eyed.

But in a blink, the order was forgotten, and Cami glanced around at her whereabouts before turning her gaze back onto Klaus in surprise. “Wow, sorry! I’m eager to get out, but I didn’t mean to chase your tail in here... Don’t flatter yourself.” She added, full lips twisting up into a grin although it didn’t fully reach her eyes. How quickly had she moved?? Goodness. Looking around, Cami spotted her blue coat and moved towards it. “So!... When will I be seeing you next?” She ventured, aiming for nonchalance as she dragged her coat off of its hook.

Klaus: He could see confusion in her eyes and ran his tongue over his teeth to rid his mouth of his distaste. It was done. Still, her next words through him off, and he hesitated, mouth opening to respond but finding that he didn't actually know how to answer. He couldn't let this charade of flirtation continue on, not when it wasn't a charade, not for him. And especially not when he had just delivered her into Marcel's waiting arms. And association with him would become suspect, and the thought of seeing her with Marcel... the distaste refused to be removed this time by a simple swipe of the tongue. Knowing it would be the last time he allowed himself such a luxury, he reached out and stroked his thumb over her cheek, the tips of his fingers curling into her hair. A human wouldn't be able to feel the way her pulse beat beneath her skin, but he felt it in his bones, and committed it to memory. Then turned around and walked away, this time, not even taking the advantage of vampiric speed to create distance. No, this time, he counted every step.

#stay little valentine stay para #para #camille #vn speed dating #x: because the color of the wheat fields #i hate you and i hate me and i hate this #AND I HATE YOU TOO MARCEL THIS IS YOUR FAULT

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astridthevalkyrie · 7 years

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I Knew You Were Trouble: Chapter 9

Modern AU. Jerkcup/Nerdstrid. After getting knocked out, Astrid could only hope that she was beginning to imagine things. Because being stuck with Hiccup Haddock for a week HAS to be a delusion...right? Rated T for language and sexual references.

Chapter 8

“Astrid? Hey, Astrid. Astrid. Astrid.”

“I’m listening,” Astrid said tiredly, slinging her bag over her shoulder, “what?”

Now that Hiccup actually had her attention and they were alone, he didn’t know what to say exactly. Heather said they should hang out. But how to ask her without it being awkward?

“Um...hey?”

She glared at him, leaving the orphanage. Hiccup ran after her, feeling the pleasant cool air across his face. He started walking next to her.

“You sure you don’t need me tonight?”

Astrid snorted. “It was one night you walked me home and it was because Dagur considers you his brother. If he didn’t like you, I don’t think you could take him.”

Ouch. Her words were biting and true. But there was no need to say it like that.

“Rude,” he commented, throwing her a grin. He was used to it, after all. Responding to mean words with jokes and/or sarcasm. It usually worked, and this was another example. “So, hey, listen, I - Heather, actually, was wondering if you wanted to hang out somewhere.”

Finally, she stopped, turning to him with a quizzical expression. “Heather Oswald wants to hang out with me?”

“More like she wants everyone to hang out with everyone.” Hiccup shrugged. “You, me, your friends, my friends.”

“I’ll bring it up with the twins and Fishlegs. You’re still walking me home,” she said idly, looking a little irritated, “stop it.”

“I knew the damsel needed her - ow!” He rubbed his arm, and glared at her. “You really need to learn to take a joke.”

Her punch had hurt. It was a wonder how a basketball had knocked her out, it felt as though Astrid was made of steel. Then he remembered that he had thrown it pretty hardly, and at her head at that.

“I don’t need to learn anything, you dweeb.” That insult actually made him smile, although it was probably because she was smiling as well when she said it. They arrived at her house, and before she left Hiccup grabbed her hand.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Um…” His cheeks turned slightly red and she looked genuinely curious. “Are we going somewhere tomorrow?”

“To the park.” She tugged on his hand, but he held onto her hand firmly, though not unkindly.

Hiccup looked into her eyes. They were gazing, very intrigued, and he marvelled at the fact that even in the dark, her eyes shone bright. They were one of a kind.

“Thanks.”

Astrid looked like she was about to ask what for, so he left her hand and started walking the other direction without looking back. His face suddenly felt very hot, was that just the warmth from her hand seeping through him? Probably.

He wasn’t across the block when he heard a small bang.

Hiccup turned around again, furrowing his brows. That had been from Astrid’s house. When he walked closer again, he saw through the window what was going on.

A woman - Astrid’s mother, he assumed, from her similar hair and shoulder structure - was standing next to the wall, and Astrid was in front of her, and they were both screaming. Every time her mother said anything, she banged the wall. If Astrid started banging too, the wall would probably come down.

That was strange. Wasn’t she her parents’ little pride and joy? Hotshot Hofferson was probably anyone’s dream daughter, she was smart, studious, serious, and rather stunning too. Not a troublemaker.

Unlike him. His dad hated him. With a passion, probably. But Hiccup drank, he played pranks, he got detention. Astrid was a...well, she was everything his dad would ever want.

He sincerely hoped she wasn’t being abused. That wasn’t fun, that was horrifying. But from what it looked like, only the wall was getting hurt.

At any rate, unless there was a basketball involved, Astrid Hofferson could take care of herself.

“Son,” Stoick greeted, sitting by the kitchen table, “you’re late, no?”

“I was walking someone home,” he mumbled, not really feeling the need to talk to his dad right now. Then again, when did he ever feel a need to talk to his dad? Which teenager did? He would have guessed Astrid, but after seeing what he saw, he was no longer sure. The whole thing had left him rather dejected. It was easier to dislike her when she was perfect.

His dad looked up, a small scowl on his face. “Do tell me it wasn’t the Burglar girl.”

“No, it wasn’t Cami.” He glared lightly - Camicazi was always referred to as the Burglar girl. “It was Astrid. You know, Astrid Hofferson.”.

“The girl you knocked out? The one you’re working with?” Now Stoick looked interested. And it isn’t even about me, Hiccup thought bitterly, it’s because his screwup of a son might become friends with a goody goody.

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Good.” His dad nodded approvingly. “Very good, I did my research on her after what you did. She seems like a splendid person.”

Hiccup feigned a yawn, and then went off to bed without really responding. Of course his father would love Astrid. His father would love all kids except for his son and his friends. What if Astrid became his friend?

Hiccup tossed in his bed, thinking about the question in earnest. What would it be like to be Hotshot’s friend? What was she like with her friends? She had smiled and laughed a lot more when she was with the kids. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs all seemed pretty happy to be her friend.

His stomach clenched. Why, all of a sudden, did he want to be Astrid’s friend? Was it because he saw just a second long glimpse into her home life? Because he liked the kids? Because that was what Heather wanted?

It wasn’t as though he was starting to like Astrid.

But then, Hiccup thought as he finally dozed off, if liking her meant he got to stare at her pretty blue irises more, then maybe he would be up for it.

#httyd #modern au #hiccstrid #hiccup #astrid #stoick #valkyrie stories

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fruitless-nonsense · 3 years

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So long time no see huh?

I just wanna say that I never thought that anybody would acknowledge my input in a million years. No one in my friend group really watched either tvd or to, so this blog is the first time I’ve ever let this out, and the fact that there were people that actually liked what I said meant so much to me I can’t even describe.

Onto why I haven’t posted in a while, that’s just my slow brain. With work and family, my brain likes to fixate on something related to writing and I become obsessed for a while. What started to grind on me was the amount I was putting out versus everything else I had to do in my life, so I decided to take a little break in which time I relearned my love of drawing, but I digress.

I still wanna post on here and plan to do so (maybe some actual tvd analysis idk), but it’s not gonna be as frequently as it was last month. That being said, I still adore each and every one of y’all especially those interacting with me and would still be honored to answer any asks I get the privilege of receiving.

With that introduction out of the way, I’ve decided to talk about some characters rather than another ship (mostly because I’ve already tackled the big ones as far as to is concerned), and these characters are none other than Matt Donovan and Jackson Kenner!

Finally talking directly about the vampire diaries (yay)! Confession: I don’t like Matt. Here’s the thing, the show tries to position him as the “nice guy” of mystic falls. This worked because they place him next to the other male characters (all problematic) during season one. I mean, there’s Damon (narcissistic psychopath), Stefan (recovering addict and vampire), Tyler (abusive bully), and Jeremy (temperamental and moody addict). When we look at Matt next to these guys of course we’d be forgiven for thinking he’s a good person, but what happens when he’s placed next to humans that are considered good individuals?

First example, Caroline! Disclaimer: if you are the kind of person who thinks Caroline was a horrible character until she became a vampire and basically like to tone police her for being an alpha female with completely human flaws that made her such a relatable character (not for me specifically, but even I could notice how real she felt), you’re wrong. I’m not gonna get mad at you, I’m just asking you to take a good look at what you consider a “good female character” and ask yourself what that says about you. That being said, as much as I love Caroline’s characterization in season one, I don’t like how the writers just made her story being a victim the entire time. The most obvious case of this was with Damon, which I know might take y’all a second because Damon fans love to sweep his season one actions under the rug just like the writers. What Damon did to Caroline was disturbing and made me uncomfortable (and they say Klaus compelling Cami was the first time compulsion was broken down with how messed up it could be). The worst part is seeing other characters be aware of this and doing nothing to help her, but this isn’t about Damon. That was the first half of the season, the second half shows a potential ship of Matt and Caroline which was…yikes.

I don’t wanna assume the worst, but I do find it rather clever in a sick way how the writers placed Caroline in a physically abusive relationship with Damon only to place her into an emotionally abusive relationship, so we’re too busy comparing Matt to Damon that we miss how Matt would stand on his own (but that’s just a theory). I know this was season one, but after rewatching a fiftieth time, I can’t help but notice how much Matt belittles her (ex. calls her crazy in a diagnosis kind of way instead of joking), this doesn’t even get into the Elena situation. I do respect him flat out telling Caroline that he’s not over Elena, but there’s that and reminiscing about his relationship with her in front of Caroline and Stefan! And they show Caroline so upset by it and Matt doesn’t even care, but he can’t do anything wrong! Seriously, looking back every argument always ends with Caroline being completely in the wrong and needing to apologize while Matt doesn’t have to do anything. Matt treated her like she was second best, something we knew from the pilot was a big insecurity for her. Why is this ignored?

Second reason: he’s so controlling. Like, it’s not just the writers and the characters singing his praises, he does it to himself. He can hate vampires, but it’s the fact he goes around saying “man, it’s hard being the only nice guy in this town, I have to be the moral center while all of my friends make horrible decisions which I will repeatedly tell them because I’m so smart and know what’s best for them. Man, it’s so hard being me.” This Matt challenges Damon for most insufferable character on screen. Best example is in season three when he drugs Elena and drives her out of town because it’s what’s “best for her” (okay dude). Again, I get he hates vampires, but so does Bonnie, yet despite this she still respects her friends choices because she understands it’s their lives (also I hate that every time Bonnie does get judge mental of her friends the show treats it like she’s being unreasonable and a bad friend, but Matt’s like that the whole time and it’s waved off as “he’s just being a concerned friend”).

Lastly is something everyone already talks about, when he’s not being incredibly toxic he’s so boring. Like, I understand that’s the point in a way, he’s the human, but after seeing how well they integrated Cami into the story in the originals despite her being human that excuse lost all weight for me. He does nothing but complain! If you’re not gonna do anything interesting with him, get him off screen (the later seasons are boring enough! I mean what?)! What really concerns me about Matt as a character is if he is what the writers genuinely believed was the perfect example of a “good guy.” The worst part is it worked! Technically, Matt is the best guy in the tvd cast by default and calling him out for being a toxic human is only a recent trend. Conclusion, Matt Donovan is trash and we deserved better male characters in tvd.

Now, if you think I’m stopping there you’d be wrong. Matt really is a bad person and character, and what kills me is how the community likes to compare the tvd mains to characters in to. Ex. Hayley is Elena (kind of accurate, but at least Hayley had her own story separate from the men in her life in season one) and Bonnie is Davina (I mean, they both do get screwed over by the writers, but I’d argue Bonnie is closer to Vincent since the pain they endure throughout the seasons is much more personal and vindictive). Lastly, and most frustratingly, Cami is said to be the originals equivalent to Matt because they’re both human. At least, I think that’s the reason because I have no idea why else people would say that (is it because in their deluded minds Cami is boring despite being so much fun for reasons I’ve already explained in another post?). So you’re probably thinking who do I think resembles Matt more if anyone? Who could it be? Or maybe I already spoiled it.

So…Jackson Kenner. It’s not a perfect comparison (Jackson has an active story in the show that plays a significant part in seasons one and two). However, in terms of personality they have the most in common. If it’s not clear from what I said about Matt, I don’t like Jackson either. I find him to be an insufferable hypocrite who always talks about keeping the peace yet is quick to start beef with the vampires (who are always portrayed as being the perpetrators and werewolves the victims and showing the conflict as black and white instead of gray on both sides, but I might be the only one who has a problem with how the werewolves treat the vampires in both shows). That’s in season one! Then there’s his controlling behavior towards Hayley and trying to get her to leave the Mikaelsons just cause he can’t be big alpha male next to Klaus (disclaimer: as much as I think Hayley is wrong for trying to abandon the Mikaelsons for good, I did stand with her on getting away from and daggering Klaus for a temporary amount of time. Complex discussion for another day). Then there’s season three where he gets so angry cause Hayley chooses to help find Rebekah (y’know the woman who protected Hope for months!) that he storms off to the Bayou and ignores his wife and insists she must choose between the wolves and the Mikaelsons (keep in mind Elijah never insists she has to choose a side and always refers to both as her family). This is a grown man by the way. I mean, at least the show doesn’t make Hayley bend to his will like season two (progress I guess?). So controlling, egotistical, hypocritical, and the show treats him like he’s the messiah of men because everyone around him are the worst (except Marcel). Sounds like a Matt clone to me.

Why are these two considered the prime example of how men should be by the writers? If it isn’t clear, just because they aren’t killing people every five minutes does not make them good! That could’ve been a decent message if it was noticed by people, but instead we hear how great Matt and Jackson are when they are the most relatable (in a bad way) kind of men in the show. That’s another problem, why are all the men in this show such toxic individuals to be around. The closest exceptions are Stefan and Marcel who personality wise are good, but are killers. Matt could have been what the writers wanted, but what we got was disappointing and annoying. So the women are butchered shells and the men are toxic, so I’m not allowed to like anyone!

#anti Matt Donovan #anti Jackson Kenner #the vampire diaries #the originals #Caroline Forbes #Elena Gilbert #hayley marshall #cw has terrible rep for men

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