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abigail-nicole · 1 year

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tgcf liveread, part 4

archiving my live-reading of Heaven Official's Blessing, the best danmei and one of the most enjoyable novels I ever read, officially translated and available legally now from Seven Seas publishing, featuring Fearless Zen Himbo Xie Lian and Sexy Angry Calamity Everyone Is Afraid Of Hua Cheng. this finishes out book 1 and starts book 2

originally live-tweeted on 3/29/2020

Is actually adorable that the heavenly officials are like “we respect that you’re friends with hua cheng”

baby Xie Lian loves swings.....adorable....

Sad? Try jumping into the first well you see

Oh no going to see his parents graves!?????? I’m dying a little

QI RONG YOU DISRESPECT MOM XIE????????? HES GONNA KILL YOU

Oh my god THIS is where we end book one ??????? NIGHTMARE

Thank god I’m not actually waiting for a chapter & can jump into book two immediately!

BOOK TWO :

IS THIS GONNA BE ANOTHER MDZS LEVEL FLASHBACK MY TINY HEART DOESN’T WANT THAT

Xie Lian, With some Dramatic Timing,

I often read books really fast bc dramatic tension makes me nervous & i need to know what’s going to happen. Because getting too invested in a thing with a sad ending kills me!! So a spoiler that a story has a sweet happy ending INCREASES MY ENJOYMENT OF A BOOK

Young Qi Rong more annoying than green ghost qi rong

any time someone has one eye covered in gonna jump in screaming WE KNOW WHO HAS ONLY ONE EYE

WAIT AFTER THIS WHOLE SCENE THERES JUST THAT ONE PARAGRAPH i mean i know well get more later but ummmmmnmm FEELINGS MUCH

Xie Lian, stand up comedian

I read this passage to my spouse who was shocked & said “I THOUGHT THIS WAS A ROMANCE NOVEL” and then I said “OH SO ROMANCE NOVELS CAN’T HAVE BIG THOUGHTS ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD?”

and continued “JUST BECAUSE MOST NOVELS THAT ENGAGE WITH PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS HAVE HETEROSEXUAL ROMANCE DOESNT MEAN THAT CANT HAPPEN WITH HOMOSEXUAL ROMANCE TOO”

I’m sorry I said Xie Lian was a himbo

just kidding the inability to see outside of moral imperatives is the mark of a himbo. also I love & appreciate himbos

These flashbacks are really illustrating Xie Lian’s character growth over 800 years. That’s some Good Writing

A ONE EYED CHILD WHO KEPT A SHRINE TO XIE LIAN???? YOU SAY????

My tiny heart clenches up

Xie Lian to Hua Cheng: yeah when I was young & stupid I once told someone to keep living for me hahahaha isnt that dumb

Hua Cheng: (four side eye emojis)

Watching Xie Lian lose control and realize how powerless he is ..... that’s rough, buddy

When i call heroes “dumb babies” and say there are only Villains and Dumb Babies..... this is exactly what i mean

The Hero is The Fool pass it on

I hate reading scenes where things systematically go to shit in every single way ........ reading with one eye closed, turning pages hurriedly, like waiting for the monster to pop out in a scary movie....

READING WITH ONE EYE CLOSED AHHHHHH TOO MUCH TRAGEDY. Closing doors to refugees struggling who need help & punishing them for seeking aid? TOO MUCH LIKE REAL LIFE

This is Too Real For 2020

Dumb Baby

Growing up is rough

Book 2; in conclusion,

WHITE CLOTHED CALAMITY APPEARS

yes the refugee killing was too real for 2020 & then a plague appeared

their first fight together omg and he’s like...... you should get a scimitar.....a cute one.....

ghklcdukbj ffl lolololol i was NOT expecting this land of the tender scene

NOW THERE’S A PANDEMIC IN THE NOVEL???? THIS IS TOO REAL

THANK GOD IM DONE WITH BOOK TWO

I’m so excited to be done with book two i’m gonna make myself some nice tea. Then read some Older Wiser Less Upset Xie Lian. As a treat

I’ve never been so happy to have Qi Rong back

Ling Wen deserves BETTER

ID PRAY TO YOU

I would PAY MONEY to watch “The Red Demon Burnt The Temples of Thirty-Three Gods And Not Even The Heavens Could Do Shit”

“Wait this wasn’t as gay as this in real life.......well.....okay maybe it actually was”

THREE THOUSAND!!!!! I JUST SCREAMED TO MY EMPTY LIVING ROOM

but oh honey you know that’s going to make your boyfriend uncomfortable i know you wanna piss off all the heavenly officials but

Pei Ming is like I DON’T NEED A PLAY TO TELL ME WHEN FLIRTING IS HAPPENING I CAN SPOT FLIRTING BETTER THAN ANYONE

He just wants to be debt free and has a side gig: Xie Lian is the God of Millennials

Grudge Fetus and Xie Lian's Cross Dressing (second for this novel) Exorcism continued in next part!

#tgcf #tgcf liveread

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nilolol30 · 9 months

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New lmk oc! Min!

I really went all out for her bc I love her★

• Name: Min

• Age: 31

• Gender/pronouns: Female she/her

• Goal: Continuing her work.

• Relationships: She rarely keeps in contact with her family focusing on her job her relationship with the Mayor is mostly professional while at times seem friendlier while she doesn’t care for the lady bone demon not sharing the same loyalty to her as the Mayor does but she does admit a clean new world is a little ideal.

• Role: Assists the Mayor with his role as Mayor while doing some of his dirty work he doesn’t want to do or deems not important enough while assuring he stays the Mayor.

• Job: The Mayors “assistant”

• Past work: Mortician.

• Personality: She’s usually serious and chooses the most logical choices no matter if the outcome hurts others but that doesn’t mean she lacks empathy she does her best to keep those she loves out of harms way even if it ruins her relationship with them.

• Home life: Whenever she’s home she is quick to do her usual tasks keeping the house clean before she falls into the couch and falls asleep before she gets up and gets ready to work again…unless she is requested to deal with lose ends the Mayor doesn’t want to deal with.

• Work life: Mostly keeps up her professional attitude focusing on her work seemingly neutral while at times annoyed at the Mayor due to him being obvious on not being human.

• Origin story: Before she worked with the Mayor she worked as a Mortician one night she was working overtime and forgot to lock up properly which allowed a murderer to break in and burn a body which caused her to be fired and undergo investigation from the police.

She was getting desperate to find work and seeing her desperation and a usefulness the Mayor offered a hand giving her a job by his side.

• How she sees herself: She mostly thinks of herself and ordinary while at times leaning towards thinking she’s a horrible person.

• Character Inspiration: Mordecai (Lackadaisy) Pearl (Steven universe) Sakura Nanamine (Tbhk)

•Fighting style/J: G U N.

• Fun fact: She’s short sighted.

Quotes/lines:

“Sir human heads don’t turn that way”

“I apologize but this is a necessary sacrifice”

“Mayor I believe you are getting the job assistant and maid mixed up”

“I’m aware that I work for what you call a ‘villain’ but as long as I have a role I will continue to play it”

“Wonderful I just got this suit cleaned and…now I have to clean it again…”

“Please I’m no gun hire or mercenary just a simple assistant”

“Mayor you are aware you do have to actually read those correct?”

“You do not pay me nearly enough to deal with…that”

“As much of a idea of a ‘new clean world’ sounds wonderful that outcome will never be possible”

“Mayor stop smiling like that it only makes you more suspicious…”

Pictures: all from picrew not mine

Voice claim: Blue diamond (Steven universe)

I'm actually proud of this one!~♥

(I might change her name I'm not sure we will see)

#lmk oc #lmk #monkie kid #lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid oc

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nexyra · 3 years

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Okay so This is just a way to let out some frustration so I can put it out there and stop mulling on it bc I'm bad at this sort of stuff - Feel free to ignore it

I'm putting this under Read More; if your fav past-time is to call anyone who likes Ironwood's character or was disappointed by his V8 turn to villainy a stupid bootlicker who "should have seen the signs he was always a tyrant !!" please don't interact with this post. You're ultimately free to think what you want but honestly I see enough of that in the main tag when left alone, I don't need it on my blog it doesn't make me feel good.

Anyone else... well you can read if you're interested but you don't have to either. Feel free to respectfully disagree though, I'm not that bullheaded that I can't partake in a friendly argument =) I'll just be listing some things about Ironwood's reading by the FNDM who get old or draining as someone who doesn't like the V8-characterization they went with

Can people please stop just... copy/pasting real world issues on a world/characters that have nothing to do with them or a completely different context ?

Like,, I genuinely try to educate myself on real-world issues. I know I'm rather privileged so I try to listen and hear out people who speak out about the issues they live through day by day. I know why the "ACAB" moniker exists. I understand the problem that lies within the american police system (and likely other countries as well). I see why the army, on our blue planet, is criticized & its many failings. Etc, the list can go on...

But I'm sorry to say, Remnant isn't OUR Earth. Their Army's primary job is to fight actual evil soulless monsters, not people. The Ace Opps or Huntsmen are not an organization directly inherited from slave-hunting groups. James Ironwood isn't the US army general bombing Middle East. Clover Ebi isn't the racist cop you want in prison. So WHY are they treated as such by so many people ? Stories are not a 1-1 where you can take everything you know and just apply it to a completely different world.

Has Atlas been presented as a country that suffers from racism & classism ? Certainly. Has it be shown this way ? That's already more debatable since the only racist arguments we got were in Mantle (which is the city we're supposed to be rooting for so that's a weird choice but eh it's whatever). Are the characters, as persons, shown to evoke these issues in a way that deserve our scorn ? Not really.

Is Ironwood depicted as particularly racist for example ? I wouldn't say so seeing as one (or more considering Tortuga) of his Ace-Opps are Faunus & it seems perfectly accepted; and he hates Jacques Schnee's guts. So why does he get to shoulder all of our real-world issues as if he was responsible for them, in a context where (pre V8) his army had most likely never killed anything else than Grimm and was shown to elicit very positive reactions from most of the population (V3) ? (In direct contrast to the polarization that the US army might evoke for example.)

You can totally hate Ironwood because of the feelings he evoke, the trope he stems from or the parallels to be made. That doesn't mean however, that he IS truly guilty of every one of OUR world issues (pre-V8)

Just because classism is prevalent in Atlas society does not make Ironwood the figurehead & leader of this issue.

Is classism an issue in Atlas ? Yes. That's been made clear because of Mantle's state as well as Jacques Schnee entire existence & even Cinder's backstory. Does that mean every single one of Ironwood's decisions reeks of classism ? NO

Trust me, as someone who found Ironwood's V8 characterization not... well-executed & too much; there's nothing more annoying than being assaulted by posts about his fall going "it was so obvious !! look at -" only for them to then list reasons in a really biased way or even headcannons based on (again) irl problems. An exemple...

Reasons his turn was good that I see thrown around : "Ironwood left Mantle behind because he only wanted to save the rich. He's a selfish coward & an asshole !"

What we were actually given : "Ironwood suffers from PTSD, and faced with Salem's imminent arrival, he tried to save what he was CERTAIN to be able to protect aka the flying city and all the people on it including Mantle evacuees. There is absolutely no text backing the idea that he wanted to leave with Atlas because it's rich. We could even suppose that he would have left with the 'poor' Mantle if it was the flying city and rich people were hanging safely on the ground. There is indeed an issue with Atlas & Mantle disparity, but Ironwood isn't directly responsible for it."

Does that make his decision to leave Mantle behind a morally right one ? That's of course NOT what I'm saying. The situation is still very ambiguous. But the classism theme has NO place here.

"Ironwood leads Atlas & Mantle. As such, he inherently holds responsability for the issues plaguing it." THIS is an acceptable reading according to me. I would probably argue that even if Ironwood's the only Atlas leader we're shown; he actually only oversees the military & academy (where we haven't ever seen classism issues), so putting Atlas' classism issues on him still doesn't sound fair to me. However the idea & argument is sound.

Acknowledging only how his actions look/the tyrannical surface reading and not the reasonnable justifications or glimpses we were given (pre-V7) of Ironwood being more than his trope

I'll probably stop after this one, but the last thing that is both tiring & annoying after too much of it; is seeing people boil down all of Ironwood's character to the most basic summary, inherently written to paint him in a bad line. And then saying that everything led up to his downfall by using these watered-down versions of the show's events to justify it. Or worse (imo), saying that people who are not satisfied with his V8 characterization that THEY don't understand how good a character he is and don't really appreciate him.... All the while only ever highlighting his characters flaws. Please stop this.

"Ironwood brought an army to the peace Olympics why are you surprised he turned out this way ?" ==> Ironwood brought an army to a country where the civilians visibly have no issue with said-army, to protect a peaceful event that he KNOWS to be targeted by foes. It's definitely overzealous & his conviction that threats should be dealt with by blunt force IS one of his flaws; but pretending that he did it for fun or because he's a tyran is just as misplaced.

"Ironwood said he'd shoot Qrow if he were one of his men why are you surprised he shot Oscar ?" ==> Do I really need to flip through every joke in this show and consider it as absolute truth & proof that the character would enact these words if given the occasion; even when we're shown with certainty that they actually don't mean it ? (IW hugging Qrow to welcome him, refusing to attack Qrow when he's certain Qrow IS attacking him...)

"Ironwood has his military all over Mantle, there's a curfew, all of this is tyrannical why are you surprised he's also down for genocide" ==> Damn, it sure is criminal to have Mantle defended from the litteral monsters roaming inside & out, and to make sure with a curfew that the people are not at risk during the night. I wonder if any recent events could make us reconsider our stance on how evil a enforced curfew is. Mhmmm maybe a pandemic ? Nah I must be imagining things. For real though, at what point did Tyrian's framing/lies (IW has his soldiers all over Mantle because of politics/he's a tyran who refuses opposition) became the truth of the situation for the FDNM too ? Again Mantle's situations SUCK, and that's a problem in itself. Making up problematic reasoning for the situation is dishonest though.

To end this, I'll just make clear. I do not condone any of Ironwood's actions post-V7. I don't think he had to be the big hero of the Atlas arc. Nor that he was without faults. I merely think that he'd have been a better antagonist than villain. And that it'd have been nice to keep the ambiguity/morally greyness that surrounds him; the knowledge that he's TRYING hard to do what's best for everyone; that he has good intentions. That he cares about individuals too to a lesser degree, and that he had people who cared about him as a person.

For short... Ironwood as an antagonist with understandable issues, flaws & failures; making questionable choices but with good intentions ? Hell yeah. Ironwood as a villain, more irredeemable than Hazel, willing to kill people for NO reason or even wipe out a city ? I'm not convinced.

#rwby #rwde #rwby thoughts #rant #fndm discourse #james ironwood #pro ironwood #canoncrit ironwood

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nmikaelsonimagines · 4 years

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Choices: A Klaus Mikaelson Imagine

Request from Anon: could you write a fic set during season 3 where the reader is friends with the group (maybe she’s a Fell or something?) and is human and is weirdly drawn to Klaus but gets upset when he starts flirting with Caroline and she’s all like “of course he wants her. Why would he want me? I’m just a stupid, pathetic, weak human.” and she ends up confiding in Rebekah and Elijah (bc she’s good friends with them as none of the Originals tried to hurt or kill her) then either Klaus overhears or one of them tells him and Klaus confesses to her that it was all just a game to see how much he could annoy the group but in reality he likes the reader. Of course the group aren’t happy at all and makes her choose and she turns up at the Mansion with her stuff. You can decide how you want to end it :)

Request from Anon: How about a fic set during 3x14 of TVD where the reader is part of the group but tries to stay out of a lot of the drama and she finds Klaus attractive. She is invited to the ball and goes even though she feels kind of stupid and not beautiful and sees Klaus and Caroline and realised that she will never be wanted or given a 2nd glance so leaves early. Elijah sees and goes to her house to see if she’s okay and she tells him everything. He then tells Klaus who confess his feelings for her?

Combined these two so I hope that’s okay! Hope this is okay for you lovelies, and enjoy x

You weren’t supposed to be the protagonist in the story, always considering yourself to be more of a side character. The side characters didn’t fall for the villains, that was the job of the protagonist; she was the one who would make him realise that he wasn’t a bad person, would allow him to open up before she finally realised she was in love with him.

That wasn’t supposed to be you, but yet, here you were, feeling your heart break as the bad guy flirted with your friend, complimenting her on how she looked in the dress that he had bought her.

You weren’t supposed to be jealous, you weren’t supposed to be hurting, but when Klaus looked at Caroline like she was his entire world, you couldn’t help it.

No-one knew how you felt about the hybrid, and you were planning to keep it that way. Your friends already didn’t approve of the relationship you had established with Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson, the more sophisticated of the two having become someone you could confide in, sharing your love of culture, of literature, of music, both of you trying to stay out of any drama that broke out between your friends and his family.

When the fights had cleared, you often both found yourselves exasperated, laughing about how your plans to stay out of it all hadn’t exactly worked.

You were sure Elijah had his suspicions about your feelings for his brother, clever enough to recognise a knowing look. He’d spoken to you tonight, and you were sure he had seen how your eyes had drifted to his brother, hoping he would notice you in a dress that when you’d put it on, you’d never felt more beautiful in.

You didn’t feel beautiful anymore.

You felt stupid. Pathetic. So boringly human.

Why would someone like Klaus Mikaelson ever fall in love with someone like you? Not when he had Caroline Forbes in his sight, her hair framing her face, every feature perfectly placed, immortality suiting her well. You didn’t resent Caroline for that; she was your friend, and a bloody good one at that, but for the first time in your life, you found yourself wishing she didn’t exist.

In order to quell more destructive thoughts, you turned, moving your eyes away from Klaus, trying desperately to avoid any more pain. No, it was time to go now. It wasn’t like anyone was going to miss you. You cornered a waiter and politely asked him to tell Elijah Mikaelson that you had gone home and you would see him tomorrow, before walking out of the Mikaelson mansion and going home.

Within a few hours, you were out of your dress, hanging it up on the door and sighing at the thought of never wearing it again; how many balls would you be invited to in your lifetime? You were in your pyjamas now, bed socks on, ready to settle down and watch trashy TV. You almost screamed when you opened your bedroom door to find Elijah sitting on your bed. He was staring at the television, which now broadcast some sitcom whose name you had forgotten.

“Really, Y/N. I expected better of you.”

“Why are you here, Elijah?”

“I came to see if you were okay,” he stood, turning off the television, “You left early. Why?”

“Wasn’t feeling well.”

“What was it? Headache? Nausea? Jealousy?”

Normally you would have snapped back with a witty comment, told Elijah that you didn’t know what he was talking about. But you were tired and you were hurting and you were self-loathing, and before you knew it you were crying and telling Elijah that you were head over heels in love with his younger brother who would never love you back because you were just a stupid human who clearly wasn’t that beautiful even when you were putting the effort in.

You didn’t remember Elijah putting you to bed, wrapping a blanket around you as you slept. You didn’t remember his promise to fix everything, before leaving to go and give his brother a good talking to.

The next day, you heard a knock at the door, expecting it to be your friends. They were on their way, Elena having woken you up with a phone call, explaining how they needed to tell you what they had discovered at the Mikaelson ball last night. You resisted telling her you really didn’t care, muttering okay down the line before hanging up.

So much for a lie in.

But when you opened the door, you were surprised to see Klaus Mikaelson standing there. He looked nervous, and it took you a while to register that he was really there.

“Can I come in?”

“Um, yeah, sure.”

He walked into the house, and you watched as he sat down. He rubbed his hands up and down his jeans, nerves suggesting that he had something to say. You decided not to push it, too tired for any Klaus Mikaelson drama, although secretly, it was a life you were hoping for.

“You left early last night.”

You couldn’t help the remark that slipped off your tongue.

“You noticed then.”

“I noticed a lot. You looked nice by the way.”

Time to cut the crap.

“Why are you here, Klaus?”

He looked up at you, and you resisted the urge to lose yourself in those blue eyes. For what you imagined was the first time since you had known him, Klaus Mikaelson looked sincere.

“Elijah told me.”

“Elijah told you what?”

“How you feel. About me.”

Oh.

“Oh.”

“That’s why I’m here. To tell you that you’re not stupid. If anyone’s been stupid, it’s me. All the flirting with Caroline, I didn’t mean any of it. It was all just part of some game to annoy your friends, and to- to make you jealous.”

Your heart was beating rapidly.

“What are you saying, Klaus?”

He stood up, taking your hands in his.

“What I’m saying, Y/N Y/L/N, is that I’m in love with you too.”

Your heart stopped beating.

You didn’t know who kissed who, whose idea it was to move back over to sofa, lips never leaving each other’s, didn’t care about any of it. All you knew was that Klaus was in love with you, that you were in love with him, and that you were no longer the side character that you thought you were supposed to be.

There was a spell cast on both of you in that moment, an unbreakable bond that you never wanted to break.

It was a shame your friends showed up just when things were moving along nicely.

Perhaps needless to say, it didn’t go down particularly well when your friends walked in on you and Klaus Mikaelson kissing. There was a lot of shouting, from both parties, noise that came to a head when you were asked a question that should have been difficult, but instead was so easy to answer.

“Well, make your choice. Us or him?”

The friends who didn’t really feel like friends or the man who had just told you he loved you, with a family who had time for you?

The next day you showed up at the Mikaelson mansion with your belongings, Klaus placing a kiss on your cheek when you’d moved in. He smiled at you, promising to give you the world. Always and forever. Out of all the choices you’d made in your life, this would turn out to be the best one.

It was the beginning of a new journey, of a better life.

Masterlist

#TVD #tvd imagine #tvd imagines #the vampire diaries #the originals #the originals imagines #the originals imagine #to #klaus mikaelson imagine #klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson imagines #klaus mikaelson x reader #niklaus mikaelson #niklaus mikaelson imagines #niklaus mikaelson imagine #niklaus mikaelson x reader #Joseph Morgan

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iamanartichoke · 3 years

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In which I react to the trailer, bit by bit, because why not?

This post is long and image-heavy; sorry, dashboard.

So first of all, the line that keeps running through my head is a line from a fic AU - Have Tesseract, Will Travel by WinterDusk - wherein Alternate Timeline Loki catches up with Post-Endgame Thor. It’s a glorious series and everyone should go read it right now.

“The Tesseract skids to a stop at Loki’s feet. Loki, not being entirely stupid, picks it up.”

It’s such a good line that it should be, like, a narrative voiceover or something. But anyway.

I have to say, I love seeing Loki’s “old” armour again, as opposed to what he was wearing in Ragnarok/IW (and what he died in, sorry, what?). His hair is definitely doing something inconsistent, but I’m not terribly bothered by it. (I’m glad his hair looks natural and a bit chaotic, as opposed to the stiff, awkward wigs.) And he’s landed in a desert - so, where has he ended up? On Earth? On another planet? Another galaxy? I guess we’ll find out.

“You’re taking me somewhere to kill me.”

I think it’s interesting that Loki assumes that they’re going to try to kill him. He doesn’t look afraid, he doesn’t look surprised, just resigned: You’re going to kill me. I think it makes sense that this would be his reaction, in that he can’t fucking catch a break and he knows it. I’m interested to see how they managed to overpower him enough to get that collar around his neck, which I’m assuming is something that suppresses his magic. A fight scene?

Another note: the scar on his forehead has already healed up; depending on how quickly he heals, this could be a few days or a few weeks after the opening shot. Either he wasn’t captured right away, or he’s been sitting in a cell for awhile before they deign to bring him elsewhere.

Also, I didn’t recognize Owen Wilson right away. He looks like a kinda weird combination of Howard Stark and General Ross, lmao.

Idk about the “you love to talk” line bc Loki doesn’t really like to talk - but, it’s also fair to say that the assumption could be made if one was basing his understanding of Loki on what we saw in Avengers (similar to how Tony says Loki’s a “full-tilt diva,” it doesn’t make it true, just makes it someone else’s perception).

I really like Loki’s “wtf” expression when he looks at Owen Wilson, though.

Friendly reminder that Loki is the protagonist in his series, which means he’s probably going to going up against whatever big bad this is. Which means we get to see him in the context of being the one the audience is rooting for, instead of the villain.

I think Loki looks the most beautiful here. Look at that face, that tiny little smirk, that luscious hair. Aw yisss. More of this Loki please (for aesthetic purposes).

I like his expression here; reminds me a bit of when he’s brought in front of Odin in TDW, but a bit more uncertain - as if he’s thinking, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m not going to let you know that I’m concerned. If that makes sense.

I also dig the music.

I wonder if they’re showing Loki possible futures (considering he’s now created a new timeline) or if it’s strictly Loki-Prime’s life, and if it’s the latter, I am super curious to see how he reacts to the loss of Asgard and the subsequent run-in with Thanos. I hope he does not get shown his death because, butter-knife-stupidity aside, it was so brutal that showing it to him would just be cruel, I would think.

This shot is interesting to me bc it’s from Loki’s POV - it’s what Loki sees when he realizes he’s surrounded. So where are these images coming from, anyway? Maybe the collar isn’t a magic thing, maybe it gives them the ability to see inside of Loki’s mind - or, to at least pull images from it. Idk. I like how Loki is still not showing much emotion, though; he’s just sitting there, arms folded, like okay, sure.

Until here. What does Loki see that makes him close his eyes and turn away? He looks annoyed, he looks exhausted, he looks fed up. My first thought was that he was turning away at the shot of the Avengers - the reminder that he lost, or that he failed. Maybe Owen Wilson was saying something taunting about it. But really, it could be anything. It’s a really interesting moment, though, because it’s a genuine reaction from Loki and I’m hoping that it implies he feels some kind of way about New York and perhaps will talk about it - like that he lost on purpose, or he’ll mention Thanos, or something. Again, Loki being the protagonist means that there’s a ton of potential for really getting Loki’s side of things, and if they’re going through his memories, then we might get to see Loki talk about those memories.

This looks like Loki’s gone from being the TVA’s prisoner to working for them, which is interesting, but not entirely unexpected, if we’re to assume that the TVA’s interests lie in defeating the hooded big bad from before and they need Loki to do it. I’m also curious if they never intended to capture him long-term at all but, in fact, sought him out because of his magic/skills/etc in order to help them. That would also make sense - that it’s more of a recruiting thing than a punishment thing - considering that Loki isn’t even the one who fucked up the timeline to begin with and that the Avengers are the ones responsible for that.

We love a flippy-knife Loki, don’t we?

Post-apocalyptic future? Potential of what could have happened if Loki (and, by extension, Thanos) had won? Or an alternate timeline altogether? I have no idea. Loki looks so smol though, all alone in the ruins.

I really hope this is a wig and Loki didn’t cut his hair, bc this just looks like Tom with short black hair, lmao. Like the Night Manager with a Loki smirk. It’s not bad, I just don’t care for it. I wonder how Asgard will react when Loki shows up looking like that.

Action shots! Loki doing stuff! Fighting! Random twirly girl! I’m here for all of the action sequences and I’m not sorry.

Imagine being that girl. Hoo.

Everyone was talking about Sam jumping out of the plane without a parachute and haha, another one like Steve, but just look at Loki’s bad ass soaring through the clouds. Also, I am a loser, but the one inconsistency in the “Loki is DB Cooper” theory - for me - is that I thought it was night time and raining when DB jumped. But, that’s just me.

Also, has Loki always pronounced Heimdall like that? HeimDAAALL, like with a hard A? Or is that also just me?

And there’s the Bifrost, pulling short-haired DB Cooper Loki to Asgard.

(That little window for the Falcon trailer came up and I couldn’t minimize it, sorry.)

I have no idea what is going on here, but I have to say, that gravelly come on! What did you expect? is all kinds of pleasing to me. I have always loved Tom’s deep Loki voice. I am assuming this is something from the comics or that it’s an alternate reality Loki or something like that, but again, context matters and this was really the only part of the trailer that (the first time) made me go, uh can we not? Who knows.

And there we are. My honest opinion is that, while some of it seems questionable, it overall seems kind of promising to me? I think that if you read between the lines, so to speak, and pick up on all of Loki’s little tells and micro-expressions, what we’ll probably end up seeing is a combination of Thor 1/TDW Loki with a side of Avengers and some Ragnarok-flavored sprinkles. I also think that the trailer has probably sliced up and served the juiciest bits to appeal not just to Loki’s core fanbase but to the Ragnarok fans and to the casual MCU fans who may want to tune in for fun.

Again, we’re getting approximately two full-length movies worth of a story in which Loki is the protagonist. And I’ll just say it: my initial overall reaction was that I liked it. I’m apprehensive, but I’m hopeful. Look at it this way: nothing in this series will be worse than what we already had to endure in Infinity War.

So, yeah. We’ll see what happens, but I think it’ll be okay and, even if it’s not? Well, on the bright side, there’s more footage and content to inspire brilliant fanworks (fics, music vids, art, etc), which is just the new life that needs to be breathed into the Loki fandom right now. In my opinion.

#plus can i just say #i am SO GLAD #there was no kiss in the trailer #if there was romance in the story - or if romance was a big part of the story - i'm sure they'd have played that up #by showing loki kissing someone in the trailer #the lack of it leaves me hopeful that a love interest #is not a priority #loki on the small screen #is my new tv show tag #i am creative #loki series positivity #loki pokey artichokey #long post #image heavy post #sorry

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salt-hag · 3 years

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I finished watching are you human too and now I have watched 3 robot centric kdramas. Here are my rankings, because I like to have fun. I’m making this list with Olympic medal rankings bc I have the Olympics on in the background while I write this and there’s three items to be ranked:

**spoilers for absolute boyfriend, are you human too, and I am not a robot**

Bronze medal (just for participating)

Absolute boyfriend

This show is an absolute DISASTER. But if you want robot-human switcharoo hijinks, a female lead who is prejudiced against the cutest robot in the world and then falls in love with him I guess, an evil cartoonish heiress as the villain, and EVIL ROBOTS who sometimes fight the CUTE GOOD robot, well. Look no further.

I hate to admit that I watched the entirety of this kdrama because it introduced me to yeo jin goo. He’s a great actor and I was smitten by his portrayal of a cute robot. He also played twin/double characters in the crowned clown. He’s also in hotel del luna. Only watch absolute boyfriend if you absolutely need to watch a drama you haven’t seen with yeo jin goo in it and have watched his other, better dramas. Anyone who doesn’t fit that bill, spare yourselves the headache.

Pros of the show aside from yeo jin goo being cute: the genius scientist who is like a brother to the robot is kind of a fun character? He’s ok, I liked him alright. I liked that the female lead was a makeup artist and thought the acting/movie set setting was fun as a backdrop to a robot story. But…. Idk if they really did anything interesting with that?

Cons of the show: I didn’t like the female lead. She’s going through a bad breakup with the most ANNOYING second lead, that’s her main backstory. She is mean to the robot for NO REASON but then caves and is like “ok you’re adorable and I can’t resist how you were made to be super appealing to humans” because oh yeah, forgot to mention, the robot is meant to be a dating/companion robot. Yikes, yuck. The robot is never sexually harassed, though, this drama is not that kind of vibe. We’re supposed to believe the robot breaks his programming and falls in love with her for real. That’s actually a plus, in my opinion. The robot kind of breaks down because he can’t handle human emotion when he develops feelings despite being an AI. That was a great dramatic flare/detail, because the consequences of far-fetched fantastical/sci-fi stuff happening is interesting. The robot falling in love DOES break rules, both of what is actually… realistic and our own expectations. Him physically breaking down is a great manifestation of breaking reality. Otherwise, though, I couldn’t get past how much I thought the female lead was like a piece of soggy toast. Cool, the robot is in love, but with her?

And then, the second male lead is supposed to be a viable romantic option. As I watched this and followed (lurked) some general fan opinion about this show, apparently people supported him? How, honestly? He broke up with the female lead in the most stupid, “you could’ve just communicated” case of noble idiocy. He doesn’t have much of a personality other than breaking the female lead’s heart and then turning around with “oops just kidding I love you don’t replace me with a robot.” And then the ending is very obscure. We have no idea if she even ends up with the robot after going through many convoluted shenanigans I did not mention at all. Was this a robot romance? Did the robot have a purpose? He didn’t get a meaningful ending, happy or not, and neither did anyone else. No one grew. No one had any insights about humanity or non-human personhood. Ugh. Still liked yeo jin goo in this and thought this drama was fun, overall. It’s just… so stupid.

Silver medal

Are you human, too?

Reasons: the main actor is Fantastic at playing a Beautiful Soft Robot and the obnoxious human he was modeled on at the same time. The robot-human identity confusion and switcharoo are *chef’s kiss*. But if you’re looking for something that questions what makes us human and if a robot can be like a human or become human… this drama is not it, it’s very silly and ends up going nowhere thematically.

Many of the human characters have appealing concepts but don’t really land. Genius Scientist Mom to the robot and her human son she based the robot on is really pivotal to the story in the beginning but then loses her edge. She just becomes sad and motivation to her 2 sons rather than a fully formed character.

The female lead is a bodyguard ex-boxer but we never see her fight or do anything super useful other than emotionally support the robot. She needs protecting all the time… which is annoying, because being tough is supposed to be her thing. Why make it her thing if we never see her fight or be tough in a meaningful way in the plot? Mystic Pop Up Bar had a female romantic interest who was a bodyguard. She was suitably tough while also being a much more authentic, interesting character. Also, I was always kind of… meh about Are you human, too?’s female lead, even beyond the “does this girl actually having martial arts training?” She never really developed or learned to care beyond her own desires in a way that was interesting. She just switched from wanting money to wanting to help the robot. I’m all for selfish scumbag ladies ok but nothing was ever DONE with that meaningfully. She was a protag and we just had to accept her as someone to root for I guess.

Speaking of being expected to root or not root for characters without much in the story to give us that, the human the robot is based on basically has the worst life ever? And he could’ve been complex and morally gray and developed to be a better person because of the robot but … no he’s just a cartoon villain. The contrast between him and the robot is one-dimensional. Look at how great this robot is! Look at how scummy this human guy he’s based on is! Despite the fact that this bad boy *slaps human nam shin* can fit so much trauma in it. Cmon, if I was kidnapped by my evil rich grandpa at the tender age of 5-8 (I couldn’t tell the kid’s age), couldn’t run away because otherwise my grandpa would kill my mom, and then found out later my grandpa and his right hand man killed my father who I thought had committed suicide? And to top it all off, my genius mother I’m estranged from created a robot clone of me that’s been walking around living my life while I was in a coma? I would also be a little feral!! And that could be interesting!! It wasn’t, though. The secretary was also a great character, but he was treated like a bit side character. Also, I shipped the secretary and the human nam shin, but that’s neither here nor there. But yes I did watch all of this for seo kang joon. 10/10 soft robot

Gold medal

I am not a robot

Reasons: I watched this several years ago but I still remember it being a GOOD drama. The cute robot isn’t abused or sexually harassed (I got worried at times because I was newer to kdramas and didn’t know what to expect. Also the robot is female presenting, which raised my hackles.) The cute robot is nice and helps people learn to be better people, from what I remember.

It is also a rom com type of situation, but more emotional stuff and development happens here, which puts it above the other two kdrama robot centric romances I’ve watched. The romance happens between two humans, one of which the robot is modeled after. The romance feels deserved and I was invested in the main couple. There’s tons of mistaken identity and robot-person switcharoos, which are the kind of hijinks I watch a robot drama for. I think I liked the male lead, but I from what I remember, this drama falls into the “rich male lead has rich male lead trauma because it’s hard being rich and his family is the worst. Let’s unpack that as our main emotional arc for the show” thing so many kdramas I’ve seen suffer from. Not saying I hate it! I wish Are you human, too? had actually gone in this direction more. Again, I have fond memories of this show, just saying the trope is strongly present.

I also remember the female lead being really spunky and fun to watch. I don’t remember if she has character development, but I think she was a nice person to start with and ended as a nice person, which makes her more appealing than the other robot-centric kdrama female leads. I now see this actress play side characters in other dramas and every time I say “look, it’s cute robot gal!!” (to myself, because I watch kdramas alone and no one else I know cares lol.)

Overall, this drama is the best robot centric drama I’ve seen because it actually served a decent plot and romance from beginning to end. It doesn’t fall into the same trap the other dramas did: trying to make a robot-human romance work (which is a super funky idea) without really addressing the weird technology to person consciousness GAP that is just so questionable. So questionable. All of these dramas are silly, but I am not a robot’s silliness didn’t contradict itself or undermine itself in the same way as the others. Also, the drama shares a title with a Marina song, so you know that’s a marker of quality.

Up next on the watch list:

My holo love

#i am not a robot #are you human too #absolute boyfriend #kdrama

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skampi835 · 3 years

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Happy Birthday to me

To explain things fast, I don’t like my birthday at all. Getting a year older, just looking at the things I’ve achieved the past year (nothing at all!) makes me frequently doupting myself and how my life went - and how the hell it will go on?! No clue...

I wrote this little story to cheer myself up a little. Hope you enjoy and please don’t stone me bc of my poor english. It’s not fitting to write big stories.

Today is a special day. Every year on the same day, I’d tell myself the same thing, couraging myself to look forward instead of dwelling in the dark cloud of my thoughts, that I’m not enough. Every year on the same day, I’m ending disappointed.

Even if my current circumstances are very... unusual this year of the date. I blinked the sleep away and streched myself, bevore I finally left the bed. Stepping by the window I suspiciously scanned the sky, wich hung full of clouds. Perfect weather, huh? I wished I could see the sun, to rise my spirits.

Sighing I went from the window to get dressed and my hair done, before I entered the hallway. “- that wasn’t the problem, though. I told Sebastian I can manage this just right on my own.” A voice I wasn’t prepared of, echoed to me and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Whait... Napoleon... is awake?!

Douptfully I checked my watch, but it says 8am. And Napoleon was awake... Whaaaaaaaaat?!

“Sorry to disappoint you, Napoleon, but you didn’t.”, Isaacs voice pulled me back from my shock of reality. “I had to do it for you, and you owe me, big time.” - “Stop frowning at me, Isaac. I apologized, didn’t I?”

“Every bloody time, Napoleon! You have to do something about that bloody surprise kissing habit!” Isaac moaned exaggerated and Napoleon laughed softly in return, which made Isaac reply “For gods sake, I mean it!”

A puzzled look on my face I hadn’t moved at all, while their footseps fadet in the hallways. ... Whaaaaaaaaaat? I don’t get it.

Unsure what to do with myself, just standing in the hallways, gawping to the wall and thinking to hard, I stolled to the kitchen, seeking for Sebastian. But instead of passing the door, when I reached it, I bumped right into it. “Ouch! Hey, why is the door locked?!”

“Oi, hondjie.” I didn’t had to guess, who’s calling me that, as I looked the steps up. “Were you just hit the door?”

“Ahahaha, what? No way, Theo, don’t be ridiculous!” I lied with an beaming smile of mortification. Why is it, Theo appears allways in situations of my distress? With an snotty smile Theo looked down at me. “The kitchen is closed up.”

“I got that myself, you know.” I muttered and went the steps up to him. “No need to bark, hondjie.” Theo smirked and nodded nonchalantly in the way of the entrance halls. “The gang is up to something for you. Better not let them wait.”

I raised an eyebrow and watched him blankly. “For me? Up to what?”

“No idea.” Theo shrugged and turned away from me, continuing his way through the hallways. “And I’m not interesested either. I’ve matters to do in the city. So I’m off.”

“Hey, wait, Theo!” I grabbed his arm and he stopped in his track. “What?”, he bugged turning his curelian gaze to me. “I hate surprises. Specificly today. You really don’t know, what they’re doing?”, I asked sceptically, meeting his annoyed gaze. But Theo, just being a big jerk, exasperadet answered: “Nope, not an inch. So let go.”

I bit my tounge and slowly let go of his arm, but then surprisingly Theo took my hand. “Don’t think too hard, okay? Just meet up with them and get it over with.” His harsh words followed by a soft afterthough: “Vincent’s with them, so it can’t be too much of a bother.” Softly he squeezed my hand with a soft smile, then he let off. “Sorry I have no time, today. Have a nice day.”

A bit confused I nodded. “Allright, thanks Theo. Have a nice day, as well.”

“I will.” Theos snotty attitude returned, as he waved with a hand over his shoulder. After a few secounds he has left me in my thoughts, that went even more confusing by the secound. What the hell? Why were you so sweet today, Theo?! You’re supposed to be the devil here!

Okay I was grateful, Theo wasn’t the ass he used to be, but really? Wracked my brain, big time.

Still puzzling about it I took the steps down into the entrance hall to get to the dining room. I caught sight of Mozart and Jean, carrying a big chest. Okay, frankly speak, Jean was carrying it, while Mozart muttered something to him. “Good morning, guys!”, I greeted them, with a wave. Both rooted instandly, looking my way, as I passed the last steps. “What are you up to?” I asked cunningly. For shure, it was for me, even if I hadn’t the slightest idea, what they do or why.

“Something.”, Mozart abruptly said, while Jean looked uncomfortable from me, to Mozart. “... Yes.” Wow, I knew Jean wasn’t a big talker, but really? Both of them?! “I see.”, I inspected, gazing wary from the both of them, to the chest. “Isn’t it heavy? Should I help you?”, I offered.

“No!”, Mozart and Jean rapidly said. “Huh...” I crossed my arms before my chest. “You know, you guys act odd, don’t you?” I pouted slightly, looking into Jeans face. I knew, I won’t get anything from Mozart, he was too good at hiding his true intentions, so I tried with Jean. “I know it’s pretty obvious, you’re planning something for me.”

“What are you implying?”, Mozart peevishly snorted and grabbed my hand. “I was looking all morning for you. I need your assistance. Come.” As he turned, pulling me with him, he shot an intense glare to Jean over his shoulder. “Do as we discussed, Jean.”

“... Understood.”, the soldier nodded almost relieved, while I had trouble following Mozart as he shoved me again back up the stairs. “What, wait! Ah stop!” Despite my poorly resistance, Mozart kept dragging me with him. “Okay, I’m following! Stop pushing so hard!”

Back in the hallways, Mozart opened the door to his music room and closed the door behind me. My gaze slowly went to him. Not amused at all. “Soo~... what now?”

Mozart looked displeased with the desicion he made himself, just for a short time. Like he was saying ‘I wasn’t thinking that throug.’, then he went to the bench of his piano. “I need your opinion.” He pushed one key, slowly inclining his head to me. “Take a seat over there and just listen.”

“Oh ähm... okay?” I guess? Since when does Mozart ask for my opinien with his music? Holy shit, whats up with him? But his violet gaze didn’t let room for denial and I dropped myself in the comfy armchair in the music room. “I’m all ears.”

A soft smile on his lips he nodded. “I can see that.” - Oh Mozart, stop beeing a brat just for once! I put my chin in my hand, as the music started stoftly. His fingers danced across the keys, shaping a soothing music. I closed my eyes, concentrading to the nice tunes Mozart created, that filled the room. The joyful melodie he played, made me feel light and a welcoming warmth touched my heart.

I love listening to Mozarts play, but usually I had to sneak into the garden under his windows or stealthed befor his music room to get a listen to it. Just once he had invited me freely, listening to his music. I felt comfortably at ease, while the art he created unfolds.

Just after a while - I totally lost track of time - something felt odd and I opened my eyes again, staring at Mozart. The melodie repeated... the third time now. Hesitandly I continued to listen, while Mozarts fingers danced across the keys, like nothing. After a fifth rerun, I couldn’t hold myself. “Mozart?” I asked.

“Hush, I’m not finished yet.” His soft voice matched the calm notes he’d play and I hold my breath. I waited, as he continued the cheerful melodie. He chanced it a bit now. “Okay, what’s going on?” I asked and straighted my back in the armchair and frowned at him. The last note of the piano silenced calmly and Mozart met my gaze. “What do you mean?”, he asked suspiciously.

Oh, now we play the asking game? I narrowed my eyes slightly. “I appreciate the time you invited me, listening to your music Mozart, I really do. Besides you’re keeping the same melodie over and over with some chances in the pace and notes, it’s not usually what you do.”

“You’re implying what?” He asked, with a sly smile. “Oh come on, Mozart. I’m not stupid. You’re certainly distracting me of something.” Twining his slender fingers into each other, he turned on the bench towards me. “Assuming you’re right, what do you think I am distracting you off?” He questioned with a cunning smile. Like wow, I wasn’t aware Mozart could even look like that!

But I simply mirrored his smile, inclining my head slightly. “Theo told me you and the others are planning something because of me. And all I’m questioning is, what it is.”

A sour look appeared on Mozarts face. “He couldn’t hold his tounge.”, he muttered to himself. “Mozart please, just tell me, what it is?” I pleaded with him.

“You’ll be surprised, because it’s as simple as that. A surprise.” Mozart elegantly adjusted his chin above his twined hands. “That’s not helping.” I sullently said, as Mozart replied: “It wasn’t supposed to help you at all.”

Oh he had way too much fun with that! “Fine.” I said and stood up of the armchair. “Where are you going?”, he asked.

“Finding out, what you villainous people are hiding.”, I hissed in Mozarts direction. Disappointed Mozart shook his head. “Just give them some more time. Besides, I’m awaiting your opinion.” I raised an eyebrow. Mozart inclined his head as some time passed. “Of the melodie?”, he helped my mind and served it with a little insult. “And you said you’re not silly.”

“Oh, you were serious?” I asked dryly. Mozart nodded, certainly amused of our little banter. “Why should’t I be? I never make poorly excuses, when it comes to my music.” I hold my breath for a secound there. I couldn’t be upset, because he was right in some way. To Mozart his music was everything and he wouldn’t dare toying it for just some excuse. “Well you were playing it often enough.” I sighed and reached him on the bench. “May I?”, I asked.

Surprised Mozarts eyebrow moved up, but he nodded, as I took a seat next to him. “I’m a bit rusty with the piano.” Warning him before I do something seemed suitable, since it was his piano. “The soft opening sounded like a new morning. Something like...” I played some tunes, missed an key and it sounded awful. “Sorry.”, I hustled and played again. Right this time. Hah, my ear for music wasn’t rusty at all! “I won’t dare to be audacious, but if you’d chance some notes, like this...” I played the tune I had in mind. It sounded a bit different now, just slightly darker. “It sounds a bit darker. Like you’re awaiting something bad the morning will bring, or whatever’s coming next. Uhm... do you understand?”

Mozart studied my face, after gazing to my fingers. When he was surprised I could play piano, or I could recall his notes, he was good at concealing it. Same goes with the absolute antipathy of my douptfully play. I mean, here I was, merely an amateur compared to the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! God, compared to him, I had no talent at all... “Why is it supposed to bring the fear, of what’s coming next?”

“Hum...” I thought about it. “Maybe it’s just my mood today, or the question, what said surprise will bring.” I underlined with a sharp look towards Mozart. “But isn’t it more pleasable, when something you’re awaitening to be scary turns out to be full of joy? At last it puts you to ease. I think that’s my interpretion of your composition.” I glanced to Mozart, feeling his thoughtful violet gaze on me. Shily I smiled. “Sorry, my mood isn’t the best today. I wish I would be of better help.”

“It’s not that.” Mozart said and positioned his fingers above the piano keys. He played the opening again, now filled with some deep notes, which made it feel more displeasent. He stopped above the keys, the last tune fading, then Mozart repeated it, adding a small peace, adjusting the pace to find the brick towards the main part, wich now sounded even more pretty. “Does this seem more suitable?”, he asked.

I snickered silently. “Oh, I thought you’re supposed to be the componist here.” I felt so strangely calm right now. I wasn’t expecting this to happen at all, but it feels very nice. A simple smile spreaded across my face and I nodded. “If you want to please me then, yes, I think it sounds wonderful.”

Mozart tensed on the bench slightly. “... Good.” He cleared his throat and guided his fingers again over the piano, gently pressing the keys, to repeat the main part of the play. Joyful and gleaming the notes filled the room again. Mozarts face straight with a faint pink blush on his cheeks.

A knock on the door, let our heads turn around and the door opened. “Hey, we’re ready. Are you coming?” Napoleon opened the door to the music room. Arthur besides him smiled slyly. “It’s not fair to keep her all to yourself, Wolfie!”

“I’m not.” Mozart snarled at Arthur. “I was buying you time.”

“Whatever.” Arthur waved aside. “I’ll make my move on her somehow today as well. Now let’s go, lovlebirds. The folks are waiting in the garden.”

“Ridiculus...” Mozart mutterted upset, which made me smile cheerful. I formed a silent “Thank you”, towards him, hoping to cheer him up a bit. With new courage I stood up from the bench. “Okay, whatever you’re planning, I’m prepared.” Exiting the music room I followed Napoleon and Artur through the hallways. Mozart being a step behind me.

“What’s this?” Arthur asked, a sly smile on his face and falled back to my step. “What’s what?”, I asked puzzled. Arthur beamed, simply placing a hand on my shoulder. “I just saw the most beautyful smile on a pretty girl.” Fast he inclined towards me, placing a kiss on my temple.

“Arthur!” Playfully I shoved him away. “Stop that! You’re embaressing me.”

“Aww how cold! Being rejected by my one and only love here!” Arthur said tragically, while Mozart gave him a good push forward. “Move! Else I give you some love in your heels.”, Mozart coldly snarled.

“Don’t be like that, Wolfie. You had plently of time with her alone. Why, I have to share her all the time with everyone here.”

“She could probably relinquish being shared with you.” Napoleon added, gazing over his shoulders with a mocking smile on his face.

“Not you, too, Leon!”

I snickered. “Stop it, all of you. That’s not an competition of who get’s the bigger bite of me.” (lol that’s totally the main plot of the game, Darling...😂 ok, back to serious.)

“Oh so you’re into biting?” Arthur wryly said, placing an arm around my shoulder again.

“That’s totally not, what I meant, Arthur!”

Somehow we arrived in the garden, though it took a huge effort for Napoleon and me, to bring Arthur unharmed, because Mozart made his threat true and kicked Arthur in the heels quite frequently. The clouds hung thick above us in the sky. It made me feel uncomfortable, but the sight of what the guys had done to the pavilion amazed me for secounds.

Laterns framed the outlines of the way to it. A simpler ceiling widenered the range. Decorated with little laterns and origami cranes the table was filled with dishes and a cake, burning candles on it.

Sebastian paused in pouring wine, as Arthur announced “We’ve arrived!”

“I guess all this effort was worth the face you’re making now, hondjie.” Theo grinned.

Vinced beamed at me. “He’s right. You look absolutely adorable right now.”

“Great to know, we could make a good surprise for you.” Isaac smiled syly but full of glee.

“My, my. She looked so astonished. I hope it’s a good sighn.” Dazai smiled calmly.

Leonardo puffed at his cigarillo. “Of course it is. Rest assured, she likes it, right, cara mia?”

“Leonardo, what have we discussed at smoking?”, le Comte scoldet quietly, and Leonardo sighed, puffing the smoke in le Comtes direction. “Yes, yes. I’m putting it out.” Le Comte smiled calmly. “Wonderful.”

“We surprised her, that’s for sure.” Napoleon stood next to Sebastian. “We made a huge deal of all the preperations.”

Sebastian nodded straight. “And the kitchen doesn’t look like a complete hazard. I’m reliefed it worked out.”

“Since you’re ages away from your home, we decidet to do everything, so you won’t be too sad, missing out your family.” Le Comte said, an pleasent smile on his lips. He raised his glas of wine towards me.

I was dumbfounded, unable to respond, staring at all the residents, from one to another, and the huge cake in the middle. “Happy Birthday!” All of them said, followed by Dazais cheerfull “Banzai!”

“We were not supposed to do this sort of thing!”, Isaac grumbled. Dazai snitched an apple from the dephts of his kimono and presented it to him. “Sorry, here, cheer up.” - “Bugger off!”

Ah I just love my little family of bantering, vampiric residents. A truly cheerful laughter escaped me. It warmed my heart, even if they drive me crazy from time to time. “Thank you guys! Truly I’m so happy right now.”

“Glad you are.” Mozart said with a soft smile, while he unpacked the violin of it’s case. His smile widened, assessing the violin bow to the strings. “I hope you can enjoy your birthday.” He started playing the violin, while Arthurs fingers playfully touched my shoulder - again!

Jean swatted his hands away. “Ow, Jeanie!”

Completely ignoring Arthur, Jean offered a hand towards me. “Mademoiselle, I may escord you to your seat?” Snickering I took one of Jeans gloved hands and took seat. He seathed next to me and I giggled silently like he’s acting like bodyguard, ejecting Arthur every time!

The cake was delicious! An radiant dream of strawberries, mascarpone and whipped cream. Short after a while, it started raining, but I didn’t care, too much. I enjoyed the time spending with the guys. They cared so much for me, so I wouldn’t feel lonely on my birthday.

Jean covered his cloak around my shoulders, after the rain poured mercilessly from heaven, bringing a chill. I thanked him and he nodded silently, shifting his gaze towards Mozart, still playing the violin with happy music. The little laterns made the rainy day shimmer in light. The caring they’d given me on this day made me feel warm. The dark thoughts of the morning disappeared compleatly. And I apreciated their effort in comforting me, on this one day of the year.

#ikevamp #ikemen series #ikemen vampire #fanfiktion #ikevamp fanfic #ikemen vampire fanfiction #ikevamp fanfiction #ikevamp fic #fanfiction

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flying-elliska · 3 years

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Shadow and Bone Season 1 Review

Ok so I got distracted by a need to watch all of Ben Barnes' filmography (lmao) but here is my review : It was really fun to watch and it was clearly made with love which is already the main thing with YA fantasy, which is often turned into a soulless moneygrab when put on screen. The actors were GREAT. I did think that the Crows suffered from being mashed up with the Shadow and Bone story, but they were still a highlight. I also think it was a bit rushed, esp. when it came to Alina's training. The costumes were beautiful, I want a kefta now. Plus the crossover fanfic interactions btw the SaB characters and the Crows were just pure joy. Also Milo, obviously <3 I'm in hyperfixation mode so here, have an essay :

The "Shadow and Bone" Characters :

- Jessie Mei Li !!!!!! She really made me like Alina so much more than in the books, she absolutely is the 'human embodiment of literal sunshine' and she was a joy to watch. Her character's arc is cliché but her acting is so expressive and endearing, I really felt for her all the way through. (maybe I'm biased bc Jessie talking about her ADHD and seeing her thrive at the same time is like!!! i love them they deserve all the best.) I like that they made Alina more proactive - even though she does make some stupid decisions... but I just don't understand people who put that down as bad writing, like ??? have you ever met a real person who only makes wise, good decisions ?? a character like that would either be at the end of their story or just in the background because that makes them static. The things with the maps in the beginning does a good job of illustrating how she is just this one girl making rash, erratic decisions out of fear and loyalty and doesn't have a sense of the bigger picture, caught in the tide of bigger events. It works for her character. When it comes to the choice of making her half-Shu, I do think it really makes sense re: her character feeling like an outsider but I do understand the criticisms that the microaggressions felt too relentless and one-note. I am really looking forward to them introducing Tamar and Tolya and hopefully connecting to them over her heritage in a more positive way.

- Mal in the books was one of the most annoying YA characters I've ever come across, so I really liked that they made him much more of a loyal, devoted friend. I found his relationship with Alina cute, it really gives us the sense that these are two orphans who found a home in each other, childhood best friends (and potential sweethearts) separated by war, two army grunts and ordinary people caught up in the wheels of power and war that usually crushes people like them, it's a great way to introduce the dynamics of their world and it's a trope that always makes me emo. It felt a bit too one note to me, though, and too heavily on the nose, like Mal's only personality was his attachment to Alina (and his resentment towards the Grisha) and too much of her emotional arc also relied on him. Them hitting us over the head with the meadow scenes felt like pure telling instead of showing and it ended up being super repetitive and kind of annoying. I am willing to like this pairing, but I wanted more scenes of them just having conversations about things and really understanding why they like each other beyond the whole childhood friends bond that we're asked to accept exists at the beginning. So I hope there's more depth there in next seasons.

- Ben Barnes!!!! Just jksdfhgkdjghdf. I'm not a big villain stan usually and I hated the Darkling in the books but DAMN his performance is just amazing. They managed to make him more sympathetic and human while at the same time making clear the stuff he does is deeply horrible. There's the Magneto-aspect of 'well clearly his methods are fucked up but he's addressing a terrible injustice nobody is doing anything about' that makes it very tempting to root for him ; and again, well, like, Ben Barnes is so hot and charismatic it feels uncomfortable (which I guess is part of the point lol). His loss of humanity is, up to a point, understandable, brought about by despair, loneliness, grief and a sense of powerlessness - living so long he starts to see other people as disposable, losing so many people he stops caring, seeing over and over how hate never seems to stop, etc. It's a logical explanation for going insane.

But the hunger for power is also very much present as a motivation and this ambiguity is there constantly. Does he maybe come to genuinely care for Alina or is it totally bullshit ? I think he does, he's just so fucked up that it comes out as possessiveness and a need to control her. He wants Alina to be his equal but he's incapable of treating her that way. It's tragic, in a sense, but the show doesn't excuse his actions either. Like his monstrosity is a product of this world full of injustice, yes, and that warrants some compassion, monsters are always a symptom of their environment in some ways and dehumanizing them completely is an excuse ; but at the same time, he sabotaged his own cause anyway the moment he started to treat other people like things, as he does with Alina, because that just perpetuates the cycle of violence and hate. At some point he started feeling like he was the only solution and he was owed power for his sacrifices, and he's using his cause as an excuse. When Alina came to him, there was a possibility for redemption, taking down the Fold, and it's a test because there is finally someone on his level of power. But instead of seeking to remedy the power imbalance between them, he made it worse, by lying to her, manipulating her, etc, and the antler collar is the ultimate sign of this.

I love those scenes towards the end (the antler-based body horror has big Hannibal vibes, so messed up). I like Alina telling him they could have had this, that she had compassion for him and his cause, that they could have worked together, and he's the one responsible for screwing it up and this time his claim that he's the misunderstood victim ("Make me your villain") appears delusional and self-serving instead of somewhat justified. The almost-lovers to enemies vibes, the sense of lost potential, and the angst of the whole 'oh you could finally have been loved by people, too bad you fucked it up !', very juicy. There is this fundamental idea that power/respect/love is not something you are owed no matter how good your intentions are or because you're strong or you have suffered or you're willing to commit horrible drastic actions, you have to keep proving you deserve it, and trying to claim power without responsibility of care turns you into a monster. The thing with the stag was an excellent metaphor of the fact that there's things you can't take, they have to be given to you, and the wonderful power there is in understanding that is what allows Alina to harness the stag amplifier's power. This is really when she escapes his grim utilitarian outlook and a different way forward and owns her own power fully on her own terms.

Anyway I hope Alina gets to beat the shit out of him at some point that would be very sexy but I'm also looking forward to see how their arcs parallel and diverge from each other as Alina starts to grapple more with the implications of her power and the harsh dilemmas of war and her own dark side. I want to see him become scared of her, and I feel it will be more visible than in the books where he just has this cold aggressive facade all the time. This one feels a lot more openly emotional which is just a lot more interesting.

- As for the other characters ; Zoya mostly made me sad. The actress has the perfect vibes but I'm not sure I love their take on her character so far, it does make sense in terms of the later books - that she has internalized prejudice regarding her mixed-race heritage, that she is jealous of Alina because of how hard she's fought to get where she is and Alina kind of takes it away from her, etc. But I would have liked to see a bit more of her being badass and sharp-tongued in a clever (even if mean) way instead of spending most of her time being rejected by men and being racist towards Alina. I did like the ending though, of her actually seeing the monstrosity of the Darkling in action and the mention of her aunt. And her brief bonding with Inej was great, just because it was badass but also maybe because it could be a part of Zoya learning to accept her Suli heritage in turn, maybe not right away but in time, when thinking of that part of herself, she won't only think of her parents' ruined marriage and all the pain it caused, but also of that badass and brave acrobat girl who went toe to toe with these really scary monsters without even having any powers and !!!!!

- Also Leigh's cameo was so cute and as an aspiring writer this is just such wish fulfillment

- I honestly think that having the Crows there actually made the S&B story better ? Not only in terms of the much needed levity breaks but also in terms of themes. For instance, Matthias and Nina's story gave us a really raw and visceral view of how the Grisha are hunted. And Inej's relationship to Alina really gave us a sense of what Alina actually means to people who believe in the Saints in a way that doesn't feel just like 'ugh those superstitious people' because we know that Inej's faith is part of what makes her who she is and a person with morals, and something that saw her through the worst moments of her life. It feels so special that she got to meet Alina and given a sign that maybe the world is not completely shitty. And Alina's kindness towards Inej really gives you a sense that she might be, or become worthy of that belief in time, or at least that she wants to, that she's figuring out her power to really touch people's lives might be a good thing, and that she's starting to accept this responsibility more fully. And her arming Inej is a nice parallel to that. I'm very emotional about this scene, because one of the first things we see of young Alina is her taking out a knife to defend Mal from the bullies, because she's protective and brave, but she's also aware the world is a shitty place, and so her giving that knife to Inej is a sort of spiritual transmission and recognition of sorts, that she trusts Inej with that fighting power, that she'll use this knife to defend herself and her loved ones and not abuse it. It's so interesting. And a counter point to the Darkling's fucked up relationship to power that Alina might at some point get afraid she'll replicate. That you could see Alina trying to gather followers and using people's admiration for her like he did but instead she sets them free and empowers them. It's great. And I feel that when Inej takes to the seas, she'll think about Alina. (I do hope somebody tells her Alina's not dead at some point though god). Girls giving each other knives is my spirituality, honestly.

- And I also noticed an interesting parallel between Kaz and the Darkling in terms of being two emo dudes who like to wear black, are prone to violence and have a thing for two very powerful women they think are special and want to have at their side, but of course, they go about it in very different ways. The Darkling comes at it from a place of power while Kaz comes from a place of utter powerlessness, first of all, and he understands why it's important to set Inej free. Him spending the entire season trying to earn enough money to pay off Inej's indenture is the opposite to the Darkling putting that collar on Alina and while I do have issues with how the show portrays him, I do love that. Love is about setting the person you love free !!!! And that confrontation scene was so powerful, when Kaz tells the Darkling Alina was tired of being a captive ! Drag him !

- As for Genya, I liked the actress and her chemistry with Alina, but I'm not sure they did a great job of making her arc very clear, for instance what it means for her to get that red kefta, her relationship with the other Grisha, etc. Her and David are already very cute though. Also very much looking forward to see where that goes.

So yeah I think they did a great job with this bit actually, I enjoyed a lot more than I think I would and even though it is a very tropey story, there's plenty of depth there too.

The Crows :

- I'm a bit more nitpicky about this because I care about these characters so much. I think overall the problem is that the SaB story in the books happens on this massive scale with enormous stakes, and that next to that the Crows' issues feel less important ; it's like their impact is distorted by the gravity of the much larger story. Like for instance, Kaz in the books is very much at the center of everything, this larger than life trickster figure who knows and controls almost everything by sheer cleverness, and he has this sense of allure and mystique that can't happen here, and so his aura just shrinks. On top of that they're not on their home turf. Being introduced to these characters before they've reached their full levels of badass is weird - there is a reason why prequels generally happen after the main stuff, because they count on the love you have for these characters at their full potential to make you interested in their story when they were less badass and interesting. So I had several moments where I was like 'oh this feels wrong'. Tbh the idea that they would even volunteer to kidnap Alina in the first place, what with Inej's backstory, feels kind of wrong, esp since they had no idea of what would happen to her if they succeeded.

- But I still enjoyed a lot of it though, especially the fact that they were this force of chaos in the midst of this bigger narrative that's a lot more self-serious. The bits with the train, or the circus acts were very clever. A lot of the best moments in the show happen when they come to disturb the other plot in unexpected ways. I'm still dead over the whole 'Alina jumps into their carriage' scene, that was fucking gold. The team up at the end !!!! Alina and Kaz making a deal ! Inej stabbing the Darkling !!!! Them stealing the Darkling's carriage !!! They don't give a shit that the story is supposed to be super dramatic it's great.

- Jesper is the one character they completely nailed from start to finish and he's probably my favorite part of the whole show. He's very funny without being reduced to the role of comic relief ; he's just so! damn! cool!!!!!!! I honestly feel this is a thing they actually did even better than in the books, or at least Six of Crows where I felt Jasper kind of disappeared behind Kaz and they insist a lot on his flaws and issues. So before we dig more into those problems I love that they gave him time to be this ultra badass who saves the day several times ; while at the same time, hinting at further developments like his powers or his gambling issues. Kit Young is just perfect, confident without being arrogant, a bit cold when it comes to crime while at the same time being so obviously caring with Inej - I loved their friendship, that was so sweet. My main criticism is that they should have made it clearer he was bi because there are already people calling him gay and that's very annoying. I know some people had a problem with his hookup and like...I can see it's a bit of a cliché...the charming badass bisexual adventurer....it's a trope I kind of love though lmao and the scene itself felt kind of cute and fun. He's not the only person who is shown to have an active sexuality and he's also not the only queer person around and we know he's going to have a more substantial romantic arc later so eh. On a larger note I loved the little casual hints of completely normalized queerness - Nadia thirsting over Zoya, Fedyor and Ivan, Poppy, etc. Having grown up with fantasy where queerness was either completely erased or very tormented and problematic, this was refreshing as hell.

- Inej and Kaz...my faves... They have a kind of relationship which feels so rare and unique in terms of what exists on TV and while I don't feel they entirely replicated it, the core is still there - the mutual respect and building of trust, the longing, the repression, the trauma, etc. One thing I really like is their arc around faith - in the books, Kaz is dismissive of Inej's faith in ways that often feel really shitty and I like that he learns to be more respectful of it. It's very much linked to hope/survival ; Inej keeps this token from her parents and she hopes to find them again ; Kaz tells her it's no use and she'll survive better if she gives up. He believes Alina is a fake, while Inej wants to believe that myths can come true and there is hope for good things in the world. Kaz comes to accept that Alina is the real deal and, out of respect for Inej's faith, to stop pursuing her. I loved the bit about Inej struggling to kill as well - it's the dilemma of what her survival and that of the people she really cares about are worth in such a shitty world - her compassion is a good part of her but so is her survival instinct, and that's the part Kaz represents - that even after she's been through hell, broken in unfathomable ways, even if she gave up all hope and faith in the world, even she becomes dangerous and ruthless to survive, she will still deserve dignity, and to be treated better. And meanwhile she is willing to break her principles, which she holds so dearly, to save him, when he's never had anyone who cared for him like that - enough to keep him alive. That bit in the church !!!!! God !!!!!! Bye !!!!!!! And then him basically calling her his own version of a Saint, that he doesn't believe in miracles but he does believe in her !!! It's very emblematic of their whole arc ; he empowers her to survive in a ruthless world and loves her at her most dangerous ; but he loves her laugh too, he finds her a ship and her parents, he honors her capacity for love and hope even when he can't share it. And she sees that he's capable of doing better, that he's worth caring for. This whole thing kills me honestly and I can't wait to see where they take this next. I'm not mad they're a bit more soft and obvious than in the books, Kaz would just have come across as an an asshole otherwise.

- That said, there are bits of how they introduced their backstories I don't like. I get that making it so Inej was still tied to the Menagerie gave them a very powerful reason to want to kidnap Alina beyond greed so that they wouldn't look like very shitty people. But in the books Inej is terrified by the idea of simply seeing Heleen or the Menagerie and the way they have her interact with her feels weirdly casual and dismissive of her trauma. Also, in the books, the fact that Kaz had to convince Per Haskell to buy Inej's contract through a lot of effort, that he wasn't the one holding that above her head either, made the power dynamics more palatable. I especially disliked the scene where Kaz says he won't free other girls because just Inej is special, it makes him look like he has the power but he's just too much of a callous asshole to do it, and that he just freed Inej because he liked her which is absolutely not what their relationship is about at the start, it's a lot more about seeing Inej's dangerous side behind a facade of powerlessness and relating to her, in a sense, and this scene made it all feel cheap.

- Also, what was that about Inej having a brother ? Not a fan of that either. I'm afraid they're going to make her story all about finding what happened to him, and that's 1) too on the nose similar to Kaz's story and 2) it kind of cheapens her own arc, a female character realizing that what was done to her was wrong, reclaiming her own power and dignity and then making sure it doesn't happen to anybody else, harnessing her personal experience to save strangers, that's so powerful - making it about a family member at first, especially if it's about revenge, it's so much more simplistic and unoriginal and the perspective really annoys me.

- Also not a fan of Per Haskell not being there because he's a very important part of Kaz's evolution, so I hope he shows up eventually - and the way they introduced Pekka Rollins was kind of like...weird and out of place. I just found the Crows' introduction scenes stilted and not as cool as they should have been - well, Jesper and Inej were very cool, but we needed to see Kaz in action first, we needed to see why he's such a menace before we see him flounder later, and I just...I don't know exactly but it didn't work for me. Also this is a very petty thing but I wasn't crazy about the Ketterdam sets, I know this is probably a budget thing but in my head it looked like this incredible mix of Amsterdam and Venice - specific locations in the book directly remind me of parts of Amsterdam I know very well - and instead what we got felt like this very generic London-ish fantasy setting....so boring. Also a lot of scenes that felt to exposition-y. I don't mind that Kaz was a bit softer than in the books, like many people have said some things work in books and don't work on a screen, and you need to make the character's inner dynamics more explicit. But I do agree that, at the same time, he should have been more ruthless towards people outside of his group. Loved that scene where he faces the Inferni though, and how well they illustrated his disability and aversion to touch.

- I don't have that much to say about Nina and Matthias ; I'm still not super sold on the whole 'haha misogyny!' thing and I dislike that so much of Matthias' change of heart relies on the fact that he finds Nina hot. But I did think that the actors had enough chemistry to make their scenes together interesting and cute ; I loved the waffle scene. Even though it's disappointing that they didn't find an actress who was more clearly plus size for Nina, I still think Danielle does a good job bringing her bold, unapologetic energy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Crows as a whole team.

So yeah, even though the season didn't feel like a perfect, coherent whole, it was just a lot of fun and I really hope they get renewed. In particular I feel like tying the first trilogy to the Crows' story could create such interesting parallels in terms of themes, about power, the cost of survival, hope, trauma, etc etc

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #grishaverse #six of crows #leigh bardugo

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common-blackbird · 3 years

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Started!

This is my Inquisitor (so overjoyed you can be a qunari), her name is the default Herah and I decided I’m going to approach this game by staying true to a character and not looking to do everything and be on everyone’s good side u_u

I want to make a good background for her so i’m not telling anything. Yet. I’ll just say she’s a qunari mercenary and prefers using two-handed weapons.

Highlights from today:

Studying history does pay off! This was a reference to the famous book in environmental history - Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. So proud i recognised it x)

Also i don’t have a good shot of solas but he cracks me up so much.. The guy has a posture of the typical retired grandpa (the only thing missing is to have him walk with his hands on his back). And there’s a scene where the party sees the rift and there’s the inquisitor facing it, cassandra bracing herself and solas... just standing like an old man

On a side note, Cassandra is so gorgeous and good and i already love her, i just keep taking shots of her TAT

As for varric, it’s so different than from da2, this is so much more “official” and you can see he’s the same as ever, but you’re not hawke, hawke’s not here, the gang’s not here and there’s nothing casual about the whole situation T-T

And lastly, my inquisitor has a horse now, i didn’t know that was possible in the game ;__;

played some more...

Let me start with.... The advisors! (+ cassandra... or is she also an advisor too?)

What a bunch. I love Cassandra’s and Leliana’s faith having a crisis bc they believe that Inquisitor is the Herald of Andraste and the way they deal with it. It’s really interesting. Leliana is completely opposite than what she was in origins and i’m surprised it doesn’t bother me at all! I love seeing this whole darker side that was only hinted at in origins, though it’s also sad when i think how she used to be. I wonder how she’s gonna overcome her doubting of faith.

Josephine is a delight. I keep using her for almost every war table mission for now. She radiates capability. She reminds me of those bureaucrats that are super nice and helpful and chill and even if you’re doing everything wrong she’ll just smile and say “it’s ok, we can fix it” and then goes and fixes everything herself (and you feel this insane amount of gratitude you send a whole separate email to thank her for her patience and help )

As for Cullen... It’s interesting... I got impression from what i saw in the fandom that he’s supposed to have had his allegiance changed and him rejecting the templars should have been him ultimately siding with the mages (or at least being anti-templar(?)), and that turning point that could have been a great way to show his character development during the game. Which i agree, only... i did not get that impression from the game so far at all. I mean, so far everything that i can remember him saying is totally smth he’d say in da2... He didn’t leave kirkwall bc of his disappointment with the templar order, he doesn’t seem to have any issues with the templars except those who go full war mode instead of trying to balance the situation. And it’s a really chaotic situtation, i love how they did it.

This line was amazing, i wish there was a special cutscene for that.

I’m loving the way they made this huge religious organisation in crisis have a complete collapse with the death of a key figure. I love the concept of inquisition and problems that it poses. I love you can see everyone’s reasoning and doubts reflect their background, but also see why inquisition can be understood as another power-grasping organisation trying to topple the templars, the mages and the chantry. Everything is divided. We got templars leaving the chantry, seekers leaving the chantry(?), rebel mages, loyal mages, rebel mages gone rouge, templars gone rouge, and suddenly there’s another organisation forming that you can totally believe is just another powerhungry force trying to get the piece of the cake by taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the sudden lack of the religious authority. (and only we know we’re The Good Guys). I love that we have characters who need to believe in the greater plan, characters who question the greater plan, and characters who want to utilise the power of belief and characters who don’t care for divine plans. The chaos is real and it feels real. I love that the centre figure of the whole holy business is a heretic of another culture. For the chantry this is the lose-lose situation (unless the inquisitor becomes religious by the end of the game). Which is why this line works so well.

Ok, now shorter updates:

Red Jenny! I know it’s not her actual name but it is in my head. Where’s that box i delivered ages ago >_> Anyways, she makes my brain work on 150% capacity. I can understand what she means only after i go over it for 5 times.

Forgive me but oh my god, i can’t believe that i can recognise one voice actor and now i have another mental image whenever he speaks. Like, he’s really good at bringing out a new character, but when he gets more casual he sounds like kanan jarrus from star wars rebels and i’m just “what are you doing here, space dad” ;__; Hopefully it’ll get old and i’ll be enjoying more iron bull. he seems nice...

Vivienne on the other hand is like a reverse Josephine(?) She seems insanely capable but hates customer service, however somehow she likes you very much and will do everything you need for reasons you can’t fathom. Have a screenshot. So classy. I already feel humbled.

and lastly, BREAKING NEWS: aveline finally hired carver ;__;

Tbh Kirkwall is still a mystery and i have so many questions but i don’t think i’ll get any answers... If a powervacuum of the divine cause this much chaos, how’s kirkwall faring without a new viscount? Like, yeah, aveline can keep in check, but umm it’s in a very vulnerable state which makes it a good target for any invasion... didn’t sebastian promise bloodshed?

That’s all for now, bc otherwise i’ll start writing an essay on cassandra.

We befriended a bear in the hinterlands!

lets start with this cool shot

so, i have been to the mages and to the templars and... i sided with the templars.... First i was all for mages since they offered negotiations while the seeker just walked away, but then it turned out that was a trap, there’s also tevinter mages there (which is a red flag for my inquisitor) and then there’s some time magic involved (which is a big no for me), and i just walked out. Felt bad for the mages but my inquisitor comes from a culture where mages have their tongues cut so...

Also this guy deserves a medal for putting up with corrupted superiors and annoying nobles.

And i met cole ;__; Where are Rhys and Evangeline ;___;

the templar mission was ok i guess... I was surprised that red lyrium was apparently circulating around for some time, not sure if that means since meredith or even before. I love the stories of corruption tho and to imagine what it’s like to be trapped in this organisation that just keeps breaking everything it stands for

As for the important mages, i’ve Dorian twice since i bailed out on him in Redcliffe :I I love the guy, he seems arrogant yet so kind (like, no one would have carried that annoying priest and yet he did, after he ran from his own people to warn us after i ditched him in Redcliffe? man ;A;) Every time i go with “ok the inquisitor fears tevinter and distrusts this rando who just popped in” i am marinating in guilt.

and then we fight some mages and die several times but we succeed and we meet the bad guy...

Is it an unpopular opinion to say that i like him as a villain so far? i saw so many jokes on his incompetency. Idk, i like that part where he said that he reached the fade in someone’s name, it makes me think he’s not just power-hungry person(?) who’s just evil,but was originally serving someone, and he said that the gods were either gone or corrupted and he spent hundreds of years thinking what to do with whatever happened so he seems like he knows what he’s doing and maybe(!just maybe) he is trying to fix things that are wrong but we can’t see that? And of course he hates the inquisitor, he has to redo his stuff all over again, i’d hate the inquisitor too. im probably looking too much into it. My wish is that, if he’s evil, he became so gradually, but originally had good intentions? Or there’s more to things going on that we just don’t know and he does... Maybe this was his tragic attempt to fix things but he would ultimately fail and be branded as a villain etc etc. I’m getting carried away

If it turns out he’s just evil for the sake of being evil then feel free to tell me so now so i don’t embarrass myself further with plotting myself lol.

A side note, is he the Architect? Or the same? In DA2 he says he’s a tevinter magister, right? and he ceased to be a human. Also in DA2 it seemed like he was the boss, and here he said he reached in the name of someone (probably more important than him). But what is the Architect then?

And with that we reach the skyhold.

in skyhold

I didn’t know you meet hawke so soon ;__; i thought that was like, somewere more to the end of the game, since the big decision and all. But the mission is already opened and i am going to procrastinate on it until i finish every side mission :<

Also he is so sad ;__; i understand, but at the same time... all that humour now bitter sarcasm :’(

(also, very shallow remark, but i really really prefer his looks in da2 than here... it’s like they softened him. He’s more...oh god idk bearish(???) than hawkish(????) you know what i mean? the nose isn’t as sharp anymore, the beard is... what is it with the beard... anyways i get the game has its limits so it’s fine. it’s fine! fine.)

then there was the fight that i remember since twitter >:D

It’s what made me want to play dragon age and i finally reached it T-T so good! I love how you can see the both sides and everything they say is true but they’re so angry at themselves they’re taking it out on each other TAT

Cassandra later says Hawke probably wouldn’t have joined the inquisition even if she found him, and i wonder now if that’s true... At first i thought, nah, Hawke has too much of a hero complex, he would feel too responsible to just say no. Besides, he’s with the inquisition now (tho i can’t find him anywhere anymore!). But at the same time, the way da2 ends was such an iconic walking away from everything, and not taking into account the hocus-pocus rift stuff, i can imagine him refusing, especially seeing how bitter he is now. It’s also a question of how much would have cassandra told him i guess. idk, what do you think? Would he lead or nah?

another person i want to find but can’t in skyhold are the templars with ser barris. i can use them on war table missions but otherwise they’re non-existant? i forgot to talk to him back in haven but now i wonder if it was even possible and if he was even available there, since he isn’t here. I spent hours just running around skyhold looking for the guy :(

and then everything becomes unimportant bc aaaaa!! she! is the arcanist! Dagna! im so happy and proud(?) she went and reached her goals x)

anyways that’s all for now, laters

some random updates:

so i did the halamshiral and gave up to my “stick to the character” mode, and nothing went my way, but that’s life. Met morrigan! i almost forgot she appears lol. And, despite also jumping on the wagon of give-morrigan-better-clothes train, i have to admit seeing her in her old clothes was a relief after that dress at the ball. It’s not the way the dressed looked, but the way she moved in it... god im shallow

i also initially didn’t like morrigan being at orlais court of all places, but after the conversation that’s supposed to explain why she’s there i’m kinda ok with it. I mean, i still need some more info. Wouldn’t Tevinter be better? she’d practically become a magister overnight if she got this good in the game so fast. It’s also unconvincing how everyone knows everything in orlais but somehow nobody connected that the random kid that has no bakcground whatsoever with morrigan who keeps checking on him? But at skyhold she’s just “hey i have a kid, he’s no trouble, right?” but hey, it’s morrigan. She can do anything. I’ll just have another story idea in my head.

Then there was news of the new divine that could be either cassandra or leliana and i don’t honestly know whom to choose. I’d prefer leliana over cassandra simply bc cassandra is more of a military mind, while the position of the divine would be more political. But lately every mission with leliana was spy spy, kill kill... Do we really want that for a religious leader? On the other hand, it would nicely round up her story from origins to inquisition... But cassandra is more of a public figure than leliana is...

when cassandra said:

“I want to respect the tradition, but not fear change. I want to right the past wrongs, but not avenge them. And I have no idea if wanting any of them makes them right.”

great moment. She’s usually so convinced and rash, i forget she’s more doubtful and open minded than what she looks like. Everything about cassandra is different from the impression she gives ;__; I love her so so so so much. (when she says she considers the inquisitor her friend i melted, next time varric pulls up the “seeker has no friends” joke, my heart will no longer be breaking).

I did a bunch of personal missions. Some were cool, some were ????. Also there were war table missions with zevran, that was cool. Also i love the codex entries in skyhold. The archery competition with varric banned? Dancing lessons failing bc lace harding is on the move all the time? Perfect.

And i met chargers, i like them, and aaah that staff-bow from the trailer is such a cool idea ;A;

What i don’t get with bull’s chargers is - they’re a mercenary group right? But isn’t swordselling seen as the complete misunderstanding of the qun? I get only bull is qunari, but he’s the leader of them? How is that not frowned upon?

And lastly, i don’t think i’ve said this, but i love that they added codex entries in the loading screens. love it.

update

After months of procrastination, i have faced my fears and have met alistair. it was very anticlimatic beating 11 level monsters when i was level 21...

but.. ALISTAIR TAT He’s changed... but not changed... but changed! Like, his personality is the same, but he’s more serious, doesn’t run from responsibilities, isn’t as bitter as hawke (also, why do i get impression that i am supposed to get the impression that they’re friends? they’ve met like, once, and talked for less than a minute.. whatevs. let’s pretend they’ve met again when on the run), i really love the inquisition alistair ;;__;;

Also, i managed to get that awkward demon baby family reunion :D

know that morrigan says the vaguest generic thing “i told him his father was a good man” bc of various world states, but i also think she’s come a long way not to mock alistair, and then when he notices that she didn’t use the opportunity he mentions that the kid changed her and she’s like “pfft, yea right, you wish”....

... when she was the one who said that in the first place ;;__;;

Awwww :> I love that they bicker but softly. Kids have grown up :’) Anyways, when will alistair start paying alimony

The only weird one is Leliana bc when morrigan was introduced she was like “danger danger” (smth i’d sooner think alistair would do), and when alistair is (supposedly) in skyhold, Leli doesn’t even mention him, only hawke. bruh, what were they to you, you almost died together ;;__;;

oh i also slayed a dragon. I didn’t even want to fight that dragon. It was a hillarious feat of inquisitor, solas, cole and blackwall, all on level 21, having to chug all the health potions right at the beginning while fighting a dragon that was... level 13, after which i just let go of controls and suddenly everyone was hella good at fighting and slayed it (only cole needed revival several times).

And, befitting the wild-dream feel that it had, when i got back to skyhold and visited companions, suddenly i was drinking pelin with iron bull, and he’s reminiscing on that fight with the dragon and i’m like

it was awful and you weren’t even there.

i forgot to update

but last time i was playing i finished the hawke/alistair sacrifice and all the torture i went through with deciding whom to sacrifice vanished bc frankly, at one moment, i wanted to sacrifice both of them, but in the end it was much more easier to sacrifice hawke bc inquisition hawke just didn’t feel like hawke to me, while alistair improved since the origins!

and now i remembered why i didn’t update, in the same day cassandra rejected me so i was sad and didn’t continue playing since then (i think last time i played it was around easter?)

new update

BLACKWALL!! or should i say Thom Rainier? Wow, what an arc! It was also so fun bc i was all strict mode, picking the third option, telling him his life is in inquisitor’s hands and all that, but in the end i set him free. He’s so good, a true knight T-T

Also i romanced sera. we’ll see how that goes.

Also, fave point in the game so far, i wanted, for so long, to sit at that val roeayoux (can’t spell) cafe and finally did it with cole’s personal mission. THANK YOU COLE YOU TRULY CAN READ PEOPLE’S MINDS.

another interesting thing was that after specialising as a reaver, cassandra said that drinking dragon blood makes you grow scales and become mad. Iron Bull said that inquisitor smells better bc dragon blood and that qunari generally smell better than humans. So i’m guessing qunari have fractions of dragon in them? ok...

and now i started that mission with morrigan and the puzzles are killing me lol, i am this 👌 close to just go chase calpernia and give up on a well of sorrows.

#it's a terrible time to start a dragon age game but it's the only time #meet me at val royeaux with my pal cole fixing people's lives every sunday 5 pm

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wienerbarnes · 4 years

Text

Play Dead Until You’re Dead

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Cheek to Cheek)

Word Count: 3,149

Warnings: Lowkey angst ngl but nothing too bad

A/N: YAY im so excited for this part bc I've had this in my head for a while now and it gonna change so much for the story but I'm so excited for one shots in the future! also this is kinda not edited ill go through it again tomorrow :) enjoy!

MAIN MASTERLIST | CHEEK TO CHEEK MASTERLIST

A slow knock interrupts your plant watering and you glance at the time. Bucky said he’d be by in the afternoon, not the morning. You place your cup of water down and walk over to the door and open it cautiously before your eyes widen and a gasp escapes you as you see who awaits you on the other side.

Sam Wilson, dressed in civilian clothing, shoots you a smirk, “Why don’t we go for a drive?”

You don’t have time to answer. You don’t have time to think. Your blood is cold, your hands are cold, and your feet are cold as they slip into the sandals you keep by the door. You silently - and anxiously - step out into the hallway and shut the door behind you, never taking your eyes off of Sam.

“After you.” he gestures with a smile. You walk.

…

Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes have a lot of unspoken conversations. Although the rocky start they got off too all those years ago, they’ve grown incredibly close and trust each other like no one else.

So when Bucky calls him late at night, sounding confused, nervous, and unsure, Sam notices. Especially when Bucky then suddenly forgets why he called and what he needed to talk to him about.

Sam’s first thought was that he was drugged. Bucky was given something that clouded his mind. But when Sam saw him the next day, he seemed perfectly fine. So, he proceeded to his second thought.

Bucky was keeping a secret from him.

When Sam was passed the shield, there was one thing each of them asked of each other. Bucky asked to not be a part of the Avengers full time. Sam asked for no secrets and no lying (which he later asked the same from Sharon).

And since then, Bucky has been solely tasked with training new recruits for their seven week training which occurs twice a year, as well as to help on especially difficult cases called to them by the government. And in return, Bucky has not told a single lie to him or kept a single secret. Until now.

So Sam begins to get unimaginably curious. Bucky hasn’t picked up any new hobbies, and after a quick and encrypted check up, none of his extended family have passed away or had anything big happen to them, either. The last thing that Sam can think of to have caused such an odd change in Bucky is a girlfriend. But, if it is a girlfriend, why wouldn’t he tell Sam? Unless, it was someone he knew Sam wouldn’t like.

And that’s when he knew he had to figure out who it was.

So he waited. Until the perfect clue presented itself.

“No, I can’t tonight, man.”

“Why not? I know it’s Friday night, but, what, you got a hot date, or something?”

“Something like that - look, I just have plans I can’t cancel tonight. How about next Friday we go out?”

That was all Sam needed. The plans he couldn’t cancel. So, he waited until later that night and went over to Bucky’s apartment. He’d figure a harmless cock-blocking will teach him not to keep secrets from him anymore.

Until when he put his car into park and gathered his belongings to put them in his pockets, he noticed someone exiting the front of the apartment building; specifically a head of fiery red hair.

Imagine his surprise when he recognizes the face as you.

It doesn’t take long for Sam to figure out where you were. Everyone had already assumed you to be dead, or at least be far away from the country. But now that he knew you were still in New York, a few hours digging into your past and your file led him to a few key locations. From being so separated from society for so long, chances were that you’d find a place you were familiar with, if not the same place, the same area.

Kathleen Grover’s apartment is the first place he checks, but it’s since been turned into higher end condos, a place you probably wouldn’t be able to get away with staying at considering that you probably don’t have an ID or any money. So he checks for the absolute cheapest and low-lying apartments in the neighborhood. Which gives him two results. He just so happened to be lucky on the first one he chose to look into.

Which leads to now, the two of you riding in complete silence, on the way to the Tower, unbeknownst to you.

The only thing that’s going through your mind is Bucky. You hate the idea that he sold you out, because not only would it hurt your feelings, but it would mean those annoying voices in your head would’ve been right.

Yeah, time to put your big girl pants back on. What, you thought you’d live a normal life at some point? Buy a big house? Go out to fancy, populated restaurants? Maybe DisneyWorld? Get a grip! You were always a mistake and a failure. And you’re going right back where you belong, in that box! And Bucky will be right there in that observation room when they stick the needle in your arm and end you for good.

You swallow down the bile that comes up at the thought of going back to prison.

It was fun while it lasted. Decorating the apartment. The tattoos. The new recipes. The movie nights with Bucky. The sleepovers with Bucky. The list with Bucky. The long road trips with Bucky. The music playlists with Bucky. Bucky.

You’ll miss Bucky the most in prison. You’ll think about him everyday. You won’t be able to write him and he won’t be able to write you, not that he’d want to given the fact that he ratted you out, but there was no paper or writing utensils allowed, especially for you.

You’ll dream about his singing when he’d clean, his hugs after waking up, still warm from the sheets, and the unbelievable comfort his eyes provided.

...

“Hey, Sam, how are you?” Bucky absentmindedly answers as he finishes up watering the plants in his living room.

“Hey, man. You busy? Mind meeting me at the tower?” Bucky can hear his car in the background.

“Uh, yea, sure I can. New case?” He asks, setting down his watering kettle and walking towards his room to put on a fresh pair of socks and sneakers. If it’s a new case, there’s no point in getting all done up to listen to Sam debrief him.

“Something like that. Just get here, yea?”

That’s odd.

Normally when Sam calls Bucky about a case, he gives him at least some of the details. That was a part of their plan, their deal. Bucky only joins on missions on special occasions and with specific circumstances. So why wouldn’t Sam give the tiniest hint of what’s going on?

Unless it’s something Bucky’s involved in.

Is Zemo dead? Has he escaped? Some other big Hydra villain that’s come to light?

Bucky’s mouth goes dry like cotton at the thought of something involving you. Did someone recognize you and turn you in? Did Sam find you? No, no, he couldn’t have. The both of you had been so unbelievably careful, there was no way anyone found you.

Bucky lets out a shaky sigh before grabbing his keys and his wallet and heading out.

…

That phone call hurt. Hearing Bucky’s voice, for what will probably be the last time in a long, long time. Even if he betrayed you, even if he turned you in, even if he used you, backstabbed you, whatever. That fifteen second phone call caused an excruciating pain in your heart and it was so hard to hold back tears.

You didn’t want to cry. Captain America and Bucky Barnes had humiliated you enough for you to be crying on the way to the Avengers Tower. They don’t deserve your tears, and you don’t even deserve to be shedding them. This is exactly what you had coming to you.

Although the car ride felt like it lasted hours, the two of you arrived at the Avengers tower sooner than you would have liked.

Sam drove the car up though a back entrance, the back of the building opening up like recognizing Sam’s car. The ride in the elevator was quiet as Sam flashes a crystal-looking card and presses one of the thirty-seven buttons of the building.

He hadn’t put you in handcuffs and it seems he’s chosen a rather secretive way of transporting you here. Granted, you know you wouldn’t win a fight against Sam Wilson, even if you had Marine and HYDRA training under your belt, but, who knows what if you had a knife? Or were secretly an incredibly skilled fighter? What if your powers allowed you to, like, melt people’s brains and he had no idea? That’d probably be your best bet anyway, considering you're in custody at the Avengers Tower in sandals and no bra under your shirt.

The two of you exit out into an empty hallway, quiet, too, you notice. As the two of you approach the end of the hallway, swaying towards the door on the left wall, an interrogation room you deduct from peeking into the small window, a voice stops you.

“Hey, Sam? F.R.I.D.A.Y. told me you’d be here, what’s-”

His voice catches in his throat seeing you and Sam turn around to face him. He feels his eyes widen, his skin pale, his hands become clammy. This can’t be happening. This can not be happening. He walks closer and his steps slow as he’s standing in front of you. He’s literally speechless and as much as he wants to talk, to scream, to question what’s going on, he doesn’t.

His mouth hangs open even though no words come out, and you spit in his face before he gets the chance. He flinches and Sam pushes you into the room before you can react any further.

Bucky wipes your saliva from his cheek and he wants to cry. He wants to choke. He wants to throw a fucking tantrum in the middle of the hallway because he has absolutely no idea what’s going on. He feels a panic attack coming on and uses all of this strength to push it down as Sam exits the room. Relax. Figure out what’s going on so you can fix it; so you can get her the fuck out of here.

“You are going to tell me everything. And I mean everything. Absolutely no one knows that she’s here, or that she’s even alive. Sharon will remain unaware until you give me an explanation.” Sam tells him, his Captain voice taking over, and Bucky silently nods because he’s scared.

This is all so fucked up. And he hopes the truth he’s about to tell Sam will help you more than hurt you.

…

It’s funny how being in a familiar place affects your mind and body, regardless of how long it’s been. In the time that you’ve been in this interrogation room, your nerves have been completely on edge in a way that they haven’t been since being in prison, the voices have returned in your head, chatty as ever, and you haven’t been so angry since you killed that guard all those years ago in that first prison.

You pick and pull at your cuticles until they bleed and chew at the inside of your cheek until you taste metal.

Think they’ll let you decorate your cell this time? Or do you think they’ll just strap you straight into the medical chair and tie your arm up? No need to waste food, water, and a cot on you. Maybe they’ll bring back the electric chair or the firing squad just for this special occasion! Maybe they’ll have Bucky pull the lever-

“Shut up.” You mumble audibly, already feeling a headache coming on.

Spitting at Bucky felt good and bad at the same time. Good, because he deserves it, and more, after doing this to you; giving you the best and freest two and a half years of your life before snatching it all away from you in a second. Did he do it for fun? Did he like the game, the teasing of befriending you, taking care of you, all because he knew he’d do this and have the last laugh in the end?

It felt bad because as much as this sucks, you can’t find it in you hate Bucky. He’s become your best friend, your only friend, someone you actually trust in this new life you’ve been living. You want to forgive him, hug him, tell him it’s okay, that you’re not mad, that you could never be mad at him. Because you couldn’t. And that might actually be the worst part to all of this.

A click interrupts your thoughts and you stare at the Captain as he pulls out the seat across from you and sits down at the small table. How you wish there was a clock in here; how long had you been waiting for him here?

“What are you feelin’ right now?”

“Sorta like how your little wingman Riley felt when he fell out of the fucking sky.” You snap.

Sam doesn’t react. He remembers the way you’d act during the investigation years ago when they would question you in prison; he’d see the way you snap at them, at the guards, at the other inmates, how you’d really dig deep into people feelings and thoughts to say the worst thing to them in order to bring up bad memories. So, he was kind of already expecting that.

You’re upset, that he can tell from your attitude, your chipped and chewed fingernails, and you slouched sitting position, arms crossed across your chest as you lean against the back of the chair. He doesn’t blame you though, he’d probably be pretty upset, too.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., stop all audio and video recording from this room from today and erase it completely from every system, please.”

“Clearance level 1 or 2 necessary for that, Captain.”

“Clearance level 2; Wilson, Samuel T.”

“Thank you, Captain. All recordings have been erased and stopped.”

Huh?

“I have a proposition for you.” Sam begins. Your confusion clouds your mind and you don’t process his statement fast enough to respond before he continues.

“I will announce to the press that your body has been found along the coast of the Pacific after following a lead on your whereabouts, I will clarify that you have been found dead and that you drowned, closing the case looking for you. I will provide you with a new identity; that includes a false birth certificate, passport, and other forms of identification with a new name, new birth date, new everything.”

“Is this a fucking joke?” He ignores you.

“There will be a few rules you will have to follow in return. You will have to stay completely hidden out of the populated public for one full year after this announcement is made. You will have to change your appearance; cut your hair, dye it, whatever. You will stay here at the tower where you will be monitored.”

He pauses, like he knows this will be the part you hate most.

“And you will be required to use your abilities to help on future cases the Avengers are tasked with; the same way you did when we came to you with those two cases in the past.”

You’re silent for a moment, “And if I say no?” Your voice is small. You really don’t want to do this. You want to go back to your apartment, you want your clothes, your plants, your blankets, your mugs.

“Then you will be arrested and sent back to prison, in the same exact place on death row you were before.” Your eyes shut, the headache hitting fully.

“Why.” You demand.

“I talked to Bucky,” A roll of your eyes. “He didn’t rat you out, if that’s what you're thinking. I found you all by myself. And I made Bucky tell me absolutely everything. And from there I’m making the decision myself to offer this to you. It’s not my first time helping a globally wanted criminal. Or my second. Or my third. And it honestly probably won’t be my last at this point.”

Do you believe him? Does it even matter if he’s telling the truth or not? You clearly don’t have a choice here.

He knows this. And depending on how deep he spoke with Bucky, he knows you won’t go back to prison.

“I’ll show you to your quarters. You’ll have your own bathroom and kitchen. Tomorrow morning you will be briefed with your new identity by myself, Bucky, Agent Carter, and Director Fury. F.R.I.D.A.Y will help you with that in the morning.”

The walk was just as miserable as it was when you arrived. You wonder where Bucky is. Does he have a room here? Is he back home in his apartment? Is he coming back? Is he thinking about you? Is he mad that you spit on him?

I mean, probably a little bit. I would be at least.

You take a moment to look around your new room; your new living quarters for pretty much forever. There’s so much stuff; a large bed covered with folded blankets and soft pillows, a folded pair of clothes, a rug beneath your feet that sits under a desk and a large bookshelf, filled with books of differing genres and notebooks, the desk is bare except for a small lamp and a cup of pens and pencil. The kitchenette is to your left and seems to be pretty modern, you can’t imagine it’s missing anything you’d need. The closed door against the wall you assume is your promised bathroom, but you don’t feel like settling in.

It’s strange, living almost all your life with nothing; as a child being poor with your family, having less than that in the Marines, and having nothing in Hydra. When you had your apartment, you had nothing, you cleaned the apartment building to make money to pay your cheap rent, you’d steal your clothes, food, and decorations, everything that Bucky didn’t buy you, anyway.

And now, you’re standing in a room that has everything you’d need, no need to pay rent, supplies and resources at your request; all that’s needed in return is the use of your powers.

But you hate it. All of it.

The colors are dull. The decor is boring. There’s no light. Nothing happy. No colorful blankets, no wacky mugs, no cute earrings, no mismatched socks and labeled underwear with the days of the week. No Bucky.

No Bucky.

#Bucky barnes #Bucky Barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes.x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #Bucky Barnes series

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5millioncatipilars · 3 years

Text

Ok y’all I need

anime recommendations

(Non anime recommendations also encouraged)

Why?

I’m between hyperfixations and starting to Feel it

But I’m a picky bitch so here are my requirements

Fantasy world bc I deal with enough real life as it is. Modern day fantasy is fine too.

I need the angst. Either tragic backstory or future angst or ongoing I need it.

But not all angst of course bc it hits different when the person with all the angst is also the entire shows source of sunlight.

Preferably no annoying uwu damsel in distress with the overly high pitched voice. Strong women only bc I am a proud simp and need a woman to step on my neck, but I prefer male characters anyway.

Angst please. I have an aching void in my soul that craves to be filled with nothing but sadness and will continue to keep me up at night until I am crying over someone’s pain other than my own.

At the same time I will accept shows where nothing ever changes and everything is just fine and the mc is so op that nothing can bring harm to them or their world bc my life is currently in turmoil and I would love to see one that isn’t.

Nothing too long bc I’m not ready for that kind of commitment. Also those 12-24 episode anime are some of the best out there.

The art style has to be good bc I’m not going to stare at something for multiple hours a day that isn’t pretty.

Subbed or dubbed does not matter to me.

If the manga is better I will not be reading it bc books are expensive and I don’t like reading on my phone or computer.

Not in movie form bc I don’t have the attention span for that.

When I say angst I mean the kind of stuff you can’t find in American tv shows. Have any of y’all watched Saiyuki? I’m talking watch the fist season then go watch Gaiden kind of angst. I’m talking worse than any ghibli movie kind of angst. I’m talking needs a CW but there’s not even that much violence or blood type angst. I’m talking will make me rethink my life choices and better me as a person type of angst. I’m talking you’re surprised that mc didn’t turn into a villain type angst.

Speaking of Saiyuki, that’s a perfect example. All happy go lucky, basically the same story every episode, everyone’s having a good time, then Boom! Gaiden! Angst! Then back to our regularly scheduled program, then Boom! Reminder of angst!

No romance bc I am asexual and that shit is icky

Anime I’ve watched that I liked to give you a reference

Saiyuki

Chrono Crusade

Cashern Sins

Durarara

Trigun

Legend of legendary heroes

Blue exorcist

Inuyasha

Wolf’s Rain

Dramatical Murder (don’t watch the OVAs trust me)

Castlevania

Saiki K

Anime I didn’t like

Sword art online

7 deadly sins

Bleach

One peice

Naruto

Fairy tale

FMA (past a certain point)

Soul eater (liked it then, not so much now)

Non anime previous hyperfixations include, but not limited to:

DSMP

Bucky Barnes (specifically)

Danny Phantom

Rangers apprentice

D&D

Detroit Become Human

Renaissance faire

Six of crows (the book)

The last airbender (but not legend of Kora)

Invader Zim (much angst potential there if you look)

Merlin (BBC)

Good Omens

I have drained these fandoms of all of their content and the void demands something new to feast upon.

Tldr: I need angsty shows to watch pls.

#pls help #I’m so bored #the void demands something new to feast upon #this is kinda cringe #but that’s ok bc this is tumblr dot com #long post #kinda #anime recommendation #thank you #anime boy #ignore that I’m trying to get this to the right people #show recommendations #no books please I’m dyslexic #reading takes too much effort #kinda went on a tangent there for a sec but it’s ok I got back on track

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staliasjeronica · 3 years

Text

Riverdale S5 Ep11 Thoughts *Spoilers*

thoughts under cut to keep tag from being cluttered :)

- Oh yeah I forgot that Chad was blackmailing Veronica about the dirty dealings in her company even though it’s not her at all (unless it’s just been so long and I’ve forgotten but she’s my baby and I feel like I would’ve remembered but-

- Hiram and this dumb prison is one of the worst things for this show it’s a constant plot of people escaping and it’s so annoying like sure Hiram owns it and he was in the jail but no one has, like, taken him back to jail…??? Hiram is a fucking disease smh

- “back to remote learning” why didn’t you just stay that way though… like even right now in covid schools are opening back up and kids are complaining because it’s still not safe so like… just… go back to it??? I’m so not built for this world fasdhfkahf

- Veronica and Smithers 🥺🥺💞💞

- the way Veronica hugs Archie is so cute bc she’s so tiny but like she always gives her all and Archie is just 😐 never giving anything ahjfsdfsh it’s quite sad you can tell how done KJ is with Varchie lol

- “I really hate that I’m dragging you through this.” … what about constantly pulling him into your mob boss father mess that the writers refuse to allow you to escape from?

- “until you and Chad are officially done, I think we should keep our distance.” Varchie bones!!! you just KNOW that Archie has been looking forward to this because that man is whole heartedly in love with Betty and has been since forever and that while Chad prolongs the divorce papers, Archie will not be waiting for Veronica considering he doesn’t want her. Varchie = bones we love to see it!

- now who tf would join Penelope Blossom’s ministry… no one, realistically.

- can Cheryl stop being given the craziest and usually most boring plots ever please...

- Not someone holding a gun to Tabitha literally don’t hurt Riverdale’s best girl weirdo

- these bitches really haven’t aged huh…. poor Veronica though being robbed but like they stole some watches or something and the opal like that’s all you take..?? okay-

- Fangs 💞💞💞💞💞 also rip to him having to work with his ex tho

- STOP HAVING ARCHIE GO TO HIRAM WE’RE TIRED

- You know considering the whole reason why Hiram is still here as the villain and ruining Veronica’s life/growth to keep her in his plots al because Mark is a big soap opera celeb and apparently brings in money, you’d assume they would give him GOOD shit instead of everything he’s gotten. If they hadn’t of hired Mark can you imagine how much better off the show would be if they didn’t have to keep him around bc of his status????? God why-

- Reggie’s always there for Veronica muah…. oh fuck me I guess fjasjkdf

- “I work for one Lodge and it’s not you.” lmao okay??? you acting like that’s a flex, and that you’re working for the better Lodge who literally left you to die after the Serpents thought you shot Fangs so-

- MARTY BEING WHY REGGIE IS WORKING FOR HIRAM…….. YOUR DAD IS ABUSIVE LET HIM HANDLE HIS OWN DEBT??? God both Veronica and Reggie are always fucked over when it comes to their parents huh

- don’t you just love when they make characters act ooc for a plot ahhhhhh it’s totally fun to watch and totally not frustratingly annoying

- “FOR OLD TIMES SAKE.” 💞💞💞 we love Veggie even though they made Veronica act ooc and hurt him back then and they weren’t given an actual chance.

- “don’t be such a Betty” now why is Betty so surprised she only ever had fun when she was with Archie, when she’s with Jughead all she did was do what she wanted and order him around so likeefjhakdfh

- “he shouldn’t really be my problem anymore.” BUGHEAD BONES YASSSSS

- I know it was just a sound they used but like that squish sound when Darla kicked Tom’s face… did she like smash his face in damn what is this The Walking Dead?

- see the problem with them randomly bringing characters/parents in when they need them is that they’re never around so like no one really cares… like they could have utilized the parents so much (and Skeet and Marisol never would have left) and it would have been so much better than random appearances that make them look incompetent and awful parents because they’re never there during all the other times their kids need them. but we have to see the two toxic parents that won’t go away constantly??? literally what the fuck

- Betty calling Jughead’s writing cringey wbk she’s never liked his writing she was just stroking his ego bc she was his gf and had to be supportive lmaoo

- why are these 60+ year old men beating up Jughead like for why???

- so they just forgot that Tom was checking in on the convict huh gotta love dumbing down characters for plot!

- Fangs with his switchblade muah

- jealous Tabitha muahhh over a password

- “wait THE BETTY?"

- Cheryl looks so good

- Find meaning in his death… girl didn’t you not care that your husband killed your son over the illegal maple stuff I forgot the plot but it was something illegal and dumb

- “drain the vein” …...

- Reggie helping muah

- Why is Archie acting like an ass? like sure he doesn’t know that Chad is abusive and toxic but c’mon fucker you cheated on her and never apologized and you don’t even wanna be with her in the first place so why are you acting like you’re personally hurt sit down

- God Archie really hates Veronica huh… I don’t even blame him considering the shit she’s brought him into time and time again.

- Jughead was kicked like maybe five times yet he was fine falling out of a two story window and the serpent imitation but now he needs antibiotics..? plot convenience!

- literally don’t remember anything about Doc tbh or him talking to Donna and Bret like—

- ever since Negan people are obsessed with bats with barbed wire.

- also! yes please kill Hiram <3 I know they end up saving him bc of the opal but c'mon

- they searched basically nothing for five seconds wow such great detective work you guys!

- we know you just want his manuscript Jessica

- Cheryl with her rainbow skirt how cute!

- “daddykins” girl you’re like 25

- Veronica acting like she cares about Hiram fjsadhkfhas these guys thinking that they’d kill Hiram even though they need him lol

- bad bitch Ronnie we love her even though she’s gonna have to save her father to save others and get her opal </3

- not Veronica calling Archie first and not Kevin considering Kevin’s dad is there…. this is the pandering va fan service bs we have bc it makes no sense and it’s so forced

- Fangs knowing Archie rides with tools in his truck mmhm that’s a little sus idk how but archiefangs agenda coming through!

- no one would actually believe that Jessica ashkjdfsj and they take this bait…??? you gotta be joking lmao

- Jug got to help doc this time 🥺😭

- …. tell me why when he said boyfriend I immediately thought of Reggie I hate myself for wishing fahsdjkfsafj

- okay as cheesy and corny and awful the fight scene is since they posted a clip of it, them working together is so refreshing and nice we love leader!Veronica bc she’s so good at it. but the show only cares for Betty which is funny since she’s an awful detective fbahsdjfj

- my god enough with Jason’s body!!!!!!!!! you burned his body please let him stay dead let his body rest

- okay but the back and forth from Betty and Jessica is so good like I wish we could get that kind of rivalry drama type stuff all the time. too bad they refuse to let Veronica act like a normal person and get angry at being cheated on and such :/ when will Veronica slap the fuck out of Betty

- he’s not a blameless victim but Betty take responsibility for how awful a person you are PLEASE

- THE VOICEMAILLLLLLL Jughead only speaks the truth! it’s weird that he only realized what we all knew about Betty after but whatever, finally he gets upset like damn. also jeronica crumb he’s the only one to ever include Veronica smh ALSO Cole acted the fuck outta this voice mail muah

- the way Betty just sits there uncaring… she really is a freak huh god when will someone punch her in the face and take her ego down a million notches she’s so annoying

- “that’s darkness.” …?? what?

- the way bh’s relationship parallels jughead’s with Jessica though. the unhealthy habits, the bad energy, etc. except Jessica left it and Betty didn’t and it turned Betty into whatever the fuck this is. I miss s1 Betty :/

- so when will they sue Jessica for drugging them? mmhm probably never

- poor Tabitha being the only one who cares about jughead tho

- oh no I forgot there was a random musical number…

- you’re gonna have Betty and Tabitha act like THAT and not put them together so rude

- when will Cheryl be free from her mom. is was like turned on by abuse or something sigh why do the toxic (and most boring!) parents get plots and screen time and everyone else doesn’t...

- Veronica would be able to do Moree than pepper spray but whatever only Betty is allowed be “badass"

- fangs being fangs ugh so sexy my babyyyyy

- Trevor Stines is so attractive it’s a shame they only bring him back for five seconds to traumatize Cheryl over and over again though </3

- wow varchie in a pop’s booth what season is this again??

- god it’s so upsetting how amazing varchie would have been as just friends…

- the way he smiled at Veronica was so contradicting to the blank, “please don’t” expression when she was telling him she was gonna get divorced as fast as possible. why can’t he just admit he doesn’t want to be with her!!!!!! my god they’ve put off barchie long enough just let them be together so their characters can finally act in character and stop being so awful and annoying

- “this cause” what cause you fucking weirdo

- not Hiram threatening the mayor he could literally be your downfall if we had good writers fjasdkjfasf

- jughead how would you have killed him with a small wooden basket

- I like doc so much but I know we’ll never see him again until we randomly need him seasons from noow

- Betty wasn’t hit by the drugs until after the message though… how would she not remember? it didn’t seem to be doing anything to Betty until the bunker

- hopefully since they’re friends now Tabitha can make Betty act like a decent human being <3

- the way Tabitha looked at Betty please stop doing this to me...

- maybe we can finish that dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jabitha rising bughead dying we love to see it!

wow that episode felt like it was two hours long but thankfully I finally finished it… don’t have many actual thoughts but anyways hope you enjoyed my live blog of my thoughts!

#Riverdale #Thoughts #Spoilers

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novannna · 3 years

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I Dare You

based on a pin I saw on pinterest where i use a song and write a story sing every single word. I used I Dare You by Bea Miller to write this fic.

here's the song (:

It takes place mid supernova, when Nova has Danna caught in a jar. She struggles with her guilt for trapping Danna, and questions her loyalties to the Anarchists. This was a bitch to write bc trying to fit lyrics in order is a pain, so please leave likes and reblog!

Wc: 3440

Nova rubbed her eyes, collapsing onto the bed in her and Honey’s room. She groaned, kicked off her shoes and fell backward.

She was so fucking tired of the anarchists. She knew that they had done so much for her, but they expected too much. And she was exhausted. They wanted her to keep the charade up with the Renegades.

And she hated it. She hated having to pretend to love Adrian. She hated having to spend every single second of her day with Adrian, Oscar, and Ruby, getting as close as she could when, in the end she knew she would betray them.

And that was going to make her feel miserable. Even more miserable then she already was.

A flutter of black and orange caught her eye, and Nova pulled herself up.

In her moment of self pitying, she had completely forgotten about her butterfly friend.

That was another thing weighing heavy on her consciousness.

She walked over to the vanity, and picked up the small jar.

“I can remember a time when I was so afraid,” she said to Danna, “maybe the first time I ever felt real, true fear. A man entered my apartment. He killed my mom and dad right in front of me. He killed my sister,” she said with a small sob. “I couldn’t save her. But maybe… maybe if I had tried harder I could have. That was the first time I felt fear. When I went to a place even my shadow wouldn’t follow me.”

Nova slumped down to the floor, and cradled the jar to her chest. “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this.” Nova groaned. “I’m a fucking mess. But I feel like I can talk to you. Is that weird?” She laughed, and shook her head. “I don’t even know if you can hear me.” She looked at the butterfly. It was still for the first time in days. It seemed as if it was looking straight at Nova. She groaned again. “I’m sick of being a tool. I’m sick of being just another step in my uncle’s plan. But they are my family, and I have to help. Don’t I?”

Danna barreled into the wall, then flapped her wings adamantly.

Nova breathed in deeply. “I’m so sorry Danna. I can’t imagine what it must be like in there for you. I- I would hate it. I’m sorry for being an anarchist. I know you wanted to believe in me.”

“Nova!” Honey’s shrill voice yelled. “Get your ass down here! We need you!”

Nova grimaced. “I guess I’m picking up my sword. Thanks for listening, Danna. You actually helped me a lot.” She set the jar back on the vanity, and scattered a few pins over it, making it look like nothing had been disturbed.

And she was struck by an urge to shatter the jar. Let all the pieces scatter, and let Danna free. Then Danna could go tell the Renegades.

And Nova could stop pretending.

She could go back to the person she was before. Before she met Adrian, and Oscar, and Ruby. Before she met Danna.

---

“Nova sweetie, what took so long?” Honey asked. She dipped her finger into a jar of honey, and lazily stirred it around.

Nova ignored her, and sat down around the table. “I thought we were done. What else do you need?” She was in a bad mood. A very bad mood. She couldn’t handle Honey and the others right now.

“So snappy,” Honey sniffed. “I thought you wanted to get back at the renegades for killing your family.

“I- of course I do!” Nova said, annoyed.

“Well you're certainly not acting like it. I’m beginning to think you’d rather be with that Everhart boy than us.”

Nova sighed. “Honey, I would never choose Adrian over my family. His parents basically killed them. I am one hundred percent committed.”

“Good.”

Leroy cleared his throat. “The window of time to rescue Ace is closing. We have to act soon. So, we need you to figure out whatever you possibly can about Cragmoor.”

Nova sighed. “You want me to go talk to Adrian.”

They both nodded. “Sorry Nova, I know you just got home.”

“Listen, I want to rescue Ace as much as you guys do, believe me. But give me a break. ‘Cause I… I- .” Nova took a deep breath in, and out. “I’m worth fighting for too.” Honey started, and stared at her in complete shock. “Just for… for..” nova sighed and stared them straight in the eyes. “For once in my life, give me a break. Yes, I know what the Renegades did. But don’t play innocent. I know you’ve manipulated me my entire life. And I let it happen. So just… leave me alone tonight. I have a lot to think about. We can overthrow the Renegades tomorrow, alright?”

Before Honey could respond, Nova stormed upstairs. She threw the window open, and was half-way out before a thought crossed her mind. She ducked back in and put the small jar with the golden butterfly into her pocket.

She pulled herself to the roof, and leapt off. She bounded across the rooftops, until she had reached an old office. She scaled to the roof, and pulled the jar out of her pocket.

“So they can put me in a cage,” she muttered to herself. “Lock me in a room and throw away the key. But they get mad at me when I try to stand up for myself.” She flipped onto her back, and looked at the setting sun. The sky was alight with colors.

“I know you hate me,” she said to the butterfly. “I’ve done terrible things. I hurt you. But I’m not sorry for what I did.” Nove realized she had started to cry. “I dare you to do something else if you had been in my place.”

She sniffed, and wiped her tears away. “I’ll break down the walls trying to keep me down. I’ll be a higher wrecking ball then the Renegades. I’m gonna hurt them the way they hurt me. And I won’t let them tear me down.” No. Oh, Nova would never let them win. Oh, she would never let that happen. They could lock her away at Cragmoor, and throw away the key, but Nova would never stop fighting.

“Danna, I dare you to spend a day in my shoes. Oh, someone like you? So used to freedom and choices? Oh, you wouldn’t last a day. And I won't let you tear me down. No, the Renegades will never best me.” Nova wiped her face again.

She looked at the small insect.

“At least I know the Renegades are bad. The anarchists…” Nova sighed. “They pretend they're so much better, but I know they’re just using me. They don’t actually care about me, just what I can do. I had an opinion, but I never spoke my mind, and I wouldn’t argue, even when I knew I was right. I was too fucking scared of what would happen. What Honey might do. But I’m not that girl anymore. I can stand up for myself. I can say what I want now.” The sun had now fully set, and a speckling of stars covered the sky.

Yeah, Nova had lost almost every battle against Honey and the other Anarchists. She never won an argument so she had stopped trying. But she was determined to win the war.

“I’m worth fighting for, Danna. For- for years of my life, I watched the Renegades abuse me and the Anarchists. And I know that you and Adrian, and the others want me to be good and do the right thing, but that's not gonna happen. I’m not changing who I am because it’ll get me farther in life. So if the Renegades do end up winning, you can put me in a cage, you can lock me in a room and throw away the keys.” She leapt to her feet, and strode around, her mind too crowded to enjoy the starry sky.

“In fact I dare you. I dare you to lock me away, because I’ll break down the walls. I will be a higher wrecking ball. And I won’t let you tear me down, no.” She breathed out heavily. “But I am sick of this guilt I have. Sick of convincing myself I’m doing what needs to be done. I’m fucking sick of having to see you every day, just to be struck by another wave of guilt at seeing you trapped because of me. I’m so sick of being confused and torn between everything.” Nova scooped the jar up, off the ground and held it to her chest.

“I want to throw away the key to my heart, make it so I can never open it. So no one can ever open it. I don’t ever want to give anyone power over me again. Look at what it’s fucking doing to me!” She sobbed, to the butterfly. “I dare you to go to the Renegades. Bring them here, let them catch me.” Nova turned to the edge and screamed, “I am done being the double agent! I am fucking done!” But no one responded. No one cared. Who would?

“I won’t let you tear me down? No what a fucking joke. Danna, you’ve already torn me apart. With guilt. With your hate. With the knowledge that when you’re human again, you'll hate me!” Nova collapsed back onto the hard roof.

“I just keep running, running, running. Trying to find my place in the world, and it always ends back at good vs. evil. Villain vs. hero. Just like you and me. Monarch vs. Nightmare,” Nova spat, still crying. “I’m still fucking trying to find who I was. Am. I don’t know. I would go the distance to find out, but it’s never far enough.”

She held the jar up to eye level, and looked at the delicate golden insect.

Nova knew exactly what she wanted, but she knew that would never happen. She knew what she wanted for once. Yes, she wanted to destroy the Renegades for what they did to her and her family. Yes, she wanted to tell the Anarchists that she was done being their tool. Yes, she wanted to save Ace from his fast approaching death. Yes, she wanted to have it all be over.

But in that moment, the one thing she wanted, wanted more than anything was to see Danna right in front of her. To stop that constant guilt from devouring her. It might mean the end of her freedom, but it was worth it. To see Danna one more time.

“But now, Danna, I'm standing straight and I think I know exactly who I am.” Nova breathed in. She smiled a little and laughed amid her tears.

“My name is Nova Jean Artino. I’m not a Renegade or an Anarchist. I’m just Nova. Yeah, I was raised as an Anarchist. Yeah, I pretended to be a Renegade. But that’s not important. Because I’m Nova, and that’s all that matters.” She carefully unscrewed the top and let the gold insect fly out.

As it disappeared, Nova whispered to herself, “I can remember a time when I was so afraid. I trapped a golden girl in a jar so she wouldn’t hurt me, and by doing that, I hurt her. So now, now I’m terrified she’ll hate me forever.”

Nova sat down on the rooftop, and waited. For what though, she wasn’t quite sure. Common sense told her to run. Run far, and hide. Danna would tell everyone, and she would spend the rest of her life behind bars.

A flicker of orange caught Nova’s eye. A swarm of brilliant monarchs were flying across the night, heading straight for Nova. She sprang to her feet as they cycloned in front of her.

They consolidated into a form still in a Renegades uniform, blonde dreadlocks wild and crazy, brushing against warm brown skin. Danna.

“Nova,” she whispered, before pitching forwards. Right into Nova’s arms.

Nova hugged her tight against her body, and inhaled the scent of flowers. She gently lowered the unconscious girl to the ground, using her leg as a pillow for Danna’s head.

Danna’s eyes flickered open. “Nova…” she croaked.

“Hey Danna,” she replied through a blur of tears. “I’m sorry…”

Danna cut her off by reaching up and cradling Nova’s head. She kissed her firmly, stopping anymore words from leaving Nova’s mouth.

“I wanted to do that from the moment I saw you,” Danna breathed.

Nova sprang to her feet, Danna right behind her.

“Danna, I’m a bad person. You should turn me in. Find a better person to be with,” Nova said softly through tears. “I’m tired of living a lie. Please… just do it already.” She screwed her eyes shut and held out her hands, expecting Danna to handcuff her, or call Adrian and the others.

Instead, warm arms enveloped her.

Nova broke down sobbing, crying into Danna’s shoulder. It wasn’t pretty or cute, it was an ugly cry. Tears and snot ran down her face.

“I’m so so sorry,” she sobbed. “I trapped you. I betrayed you. How are you not mad?”

Danna sighed, and rubbed Nova’s back soothingly. “In the beginning I was. I was so mad that you had been spying on us, using us. I was pissed that I was stuck in swarm mode. But then… I saw how you lived. The way the other anarchists used you, and the way you were manipulated. I know that the Renegades messed up your life a lot, and I understand Nova. I don’t agree with what you did, but I do understand.”

Nova sobs gradually ceased. “You should go. I don’t want to get you in trouble for helping me. Thank you for everything Danna.” She pulled herself away from the warm hug.

“Nova,” Danna said sharply. “You can put me in a cage, or lock me in a room, however much you want.” She inhaled sharply. “You can do whatever you want to try and convince me you're a bad person, but I know the truth.”

Nova turned to look at Danna’s wide brown eyes.

“You can throw away the key to your heart, but you can bet that won’t stop me.” Danna smiled at Nova. “I dare you to let me into your life. Because I'm in love with you. And if you think that we can’t be together because you think you're a villain, then I’ll break down the walls guarding you.” Danna smirked, her soft lips curving into a smile. “I’m a higher wrecking ball, and you can’t stop me. Nova Jean Artino, you are going to have to accept the fact that I love you, and I don’t want you to turn me away because you think you’re a villain. I understand if you don’t want me, but I need you to realize that I want you as who you are, villain or not.”

Nova shook her head. “But what about my uncle? I can’t just let him die, he’s done so much for me. I won’t let you tear me down, away from my goal, and my family. No, oh no. He’s all I have left. ”

“Nova, it's too late for him, but it's not too late for you. Throw away this pointless hope that he can survive this. I agree the renegades need to change, and you are key to that, not him.” Danna reached out to grab Nova’s hand, and pulled them together.

Nova pressed her forehead against Danna’s, their warm skin touching together.

“Nova, I dare you to forget everything. Forget the Anarchists and the Renegades. Forget everything, and just think about me.” Danna smiled at Nova. “Do you want me the way I want you?”

“Yes,” Nova breathed. “Oh, more than anything.”

“Then what are you waiting for? We can leave. Start a new life, just us. Forget renegades and anarchists. There would be no Nightmare and Monarch. Just Nova and Danna.”

“We can’t…”

“Why not? What’s stopping you? Is there anything for you in Gatlon?”

Nova shook her head. “But Ace…”

“He’s already dead. We can’t do anything for him. But we can do something for you. I know how huge this is- asking you to leave everything and start a new life, but I love you Nova Jean Artino, and I never want to see you caught by the Renegades, or used by the Anarchists ever again.” Danna looked straight at Nova. “Will you leave with me?”

“Okay,” Nova said, surprising herself. “Okay,” she repeated with a small laugh. “You’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

Danna’s face darkened. “Everyday when I was in the jar. When I saw the way you were treated, I knew I had to get you out of there.”

“That must have been terrible for you to be stuck in there,” Nova murmured.

“You helped me. Whenever I saw your face, or heard your voice it made me feel better because I knew nothing had happened.”

“You helped me too. I’ve never had anyone I could talk to, but for you it felt like you were listening. And understanding.” Nova shrugged.

“I was. Well not listening exactly, but I did understand. And I wanted to form so I could wrap my arms around you, and kiss you until you were better.”

“You can do that now if you want,” Nova said lightly. “I hear it’s good to practice.”

Danna raised her eyebrow. “Well, we’d better make up for years of missing out then.”

Nova’s face flushed a brilliant shade of red. “You’re not the first person I kissed,” she mumbled.

Danna laughed brightly. “Really? Who else?”

“Narcissa Cronin. The Librarian’s daughter. I don't think you've met her.”

“Interesting. But I still think you need more practice,” Danna grinned, and cupped Nova’s face in her strong hands.

Danna pulled them together, and they kissed.

It was like nothing Nova had ever experienced before. Small fireworks shot through her mind as she wrapped her legs up around Danna’s waist, and they tumbled down to the hard ground.

They didn’t care.

Danna ran her hands through Nova’s choppy hair.

“We should go,” Nova said, breathless. “If we really want to leave.”

“Yeah,” Danna said, equally out of breath. She tucked a loose piece of hair behind Nova’s ear. “We should.”

She reached up and pulled Nova back down, Nova straddling her hips and leaned down over Danna again, her hair a thick curtain.

“You’re beautiful Star,” Danna said thickly.

“You too, lepidoptera,” Nova chuckled. She leaned back up.

“Oh stop it.” Danna pretended to glare at Nova, and leaned back up.

“Never.” Nova smirked. “So you really want to leave? We can’t come back. This is a forever decision,” Nova said, her expression souring.

“Nova, I want you to be my forever,” Danna said, rubbing Nova’s hand. “I love you, and I’d give up the world for you.” She stood, and offered a hand to Nova, which Nova accepted.

“I love you too, but I don’t want you to throw your life away.”

“I’m not throwing it away if it's with you. I’m just making it better.”

Nova went up on her tiptoes, and brushed a kiss against Danna’s chin. “I want to leave Gatlon forever and never look back.”

“Me too.”

“Ready then?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Danna burst into her swarm, and followed Nova closely as she made her way down the old building.

She solidified, and together the two of them walked through the city, hand in hand.

Nova thought back to the Anarchists, the way she was just leaving them. They would not last long without her. But Leroy was smart, and they knew how to survive.

“Thinking about the others?” Danna asked. “I know I don’t like the idea of leaving our team by themselves, but I’d rather you be safe.” Danna squeezed her hand reassuringly. “They’ll be okay.”

“I hope so,” Nova responded, thinking about the Anarchists not the Renegades.

As they walked past the cathedral ruins, Nova whispered, “I won’t let you tear me down, Uncle. You did what you could to mold me to become your perfect soldier, but now I'm becoming my own person. And I say no more heroes and villains. Just me and Danna forever.” She looked back at the tall girl and smiled. “She feels better than revenge will ever feel. And I want her to be my forever.”

Together, hand in hand the couple left the city, and never returned.

tag list: @honey-harper-official @quinterickson @thepurpledragon4444 @nova-artino @lesbianariescalante @prudence-barnett @plain-jane-mclain

(this is my first tag list so please let me know if you want to be added or taken off)

#nobell #nova artino #danna bell #honey harper #leroy flinn #renegades #renegades fanfic #archenemies #supernova #my favourite gay and bi couple #otp #novanna

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its-chelisey-stuff · 4 years

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‘Love and Redemption’, eps 41-50 (at this point I just feel pain)

I wanna take a moment and address the situation properly: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK SIFENG? YOU DO THIS EVERY.SINGLE.FUCKING.TIME. You sacrifice everything for this woman everytime. You have a 99.9999999 % of disregard for your person is actually a wonder you came this far into life or maybe not if we take into account the other 9 incarnations and the one in heaven.

I can't believe the biggest reason why I love this character so freaking much is also the only reason that makes me mad at him, because it leads to his death, demise, destruction, ending, fin, whatever you want to call it, always. His only flaw is also his biggest strength depending on what day of the week or in which part of the drama he is living.

He loves Xuanji impossibly too much.

I mean... this is a drama that has deities, demons and mortals, all aware of the others' existence. I've seen dragons and weird creatures that rank from adorable to wtf scary. There are mermen who are doctors. Snakes that can turn into people and become spiritual pets!!! All of that is okay by me. I barely react to any of it. Oh, sure, you can fly on your swords? Pretty cool. By far the most fantastical thing on this drama, the one that makes me react with incredulity and wonder, is the love Sifeng feels for Xuanji.

Never ever in a million years could it be true in real life (and not only because of the fantasy elements) but that's the greatest thing about this drama. That's why I love it so much. And it makes me angry.

The whole time on ep 45 when Xuanji almost killed Sifeng by using something her senior gave her, had me screaming in desperation. Xuanji, you moron!! Thank goodness for WuZhiQi.

When the drama started, I kept looking for the big bad TM guy. As I've learned with the few costume cdramas I've seen, villains never show themselves right away. So, I wasn't expecting Dijun to be the crazy manipulating possessive obsessive bitch he turned out to be and I wasn't prepared for how much I was going to hate his character. In these last ten eps, I reached the height of my patience, my sanity limit, and I just really wanted someone to kill him everytime he opened his heavenly mouth. Damn, I wish Sifeng had really done that, instead of just being framed by the crazy bitch.

To me, Yuan Lang nor the star of Mosha are the bad guys. It's him. 100% him. I want OTP to take revenge on him because I fear he is guilty of a lot more than we know. But woud I be lucky enough to have it my way? *sighs*

Listen, I love Tengshe and apparently someone in the drama does as well I said it on my previous post but it's important to say it again because he keeps solving things and moving the plot ahead. This is the kind of character you want introduced (if you need to) later in any story. He went to heaven and snuck onto the forbidden library, snooping on top secret records and even went into Dijun's private chambers, to look for information or any clues on Xuanji and her past. And once he did it he descended to the mortal realm and helped Sifeng stop a catastrophe and even lectured the stupid mortals on their stupidity. On these eps, he was my fave character along with Sifeng.

The mortals are stupid, as I've stated. My Linglong went through a bunch of shit, so I dare not to say anything about her, but what about the rest of the mortals? The sect leaders with their hypocrisy and so called good ways, I almost spit blood from anger lol cdramas would make you say that. But seriously, why is it that no mortal dared to think rationally? Why are they so dumb? Xuanji's driving force in believing Sifeng was her love for him and how much she didn't wanted him to be bad, but she didn't really used her brain to think about the fact that the the evidence and what she knew were contradictory. Oh, Xuanji. You were never the brightest but I always thought your love for Sifeng could work as your conscience. And because of that, you deserved to suffer a bit when you found out how mistaken you were. Karma.

The only resourceful people here are the demons (good and bad). They get things done and I'm so happy that even though Sifeng had a crazy suicide plan that was making every mortal hate him, he had a support system and good friends by his side, that knew the truth and trusted him. Hell, Wu ZhiQi had just met him and he was already saving his life and trying to stop him from doing something crazy spoiler: he failed. These demons were such a heavy contrast with the humans. Is ironic, truly, that the "monster race" was being more honorable and actually using their heads unlike the "civilized" mortals. *Sighs deeply and shakes head* Tragic.

Wasn’t expecting to like Wu ZhiQi so much, so fast, but I do. And he is such a mood! Plus, anyone who likes Sifeng and tries his best to help him, is on my good list.

What a creepy nauseating move, to try to take her away on her wedding day eww disturbing as heck. I don't know what forms of therapy are like in this world, this period of time, but if killing her kidnapper/rapist/stalker is going to help my Linglong heal and put the nightmare behind her, then I cannot tell you how happy I was that it was her, the one who sent him to hell. And I got to see her fight like the badass she is. Please, please, drama. Let her be happy now. She deserves it.

Is so Sifeng of him to try and save Xuanji literally 15 minutes after she just tried to kill him. As angry as I was, I couldn’t help but swoon lol because here he is, desperate to save the woman he loves, no matter what things she’s done. He can’t just stand there and watch her die.

Sifeng fell for Xuanji on the Heavenly realm a thousand years ago! We still don't know the full story, but I was so happy to get a confirmation on it, and do correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Dijun didn't recognize Sifeng? Or maybe he pretended not to? Everybody from 1000 years ago recognizes Xuanji, but no one has done it with Sifeng. And yet, he clearly was there. That's weird, right? I mean, he took a few heavenly lashes for Xuanji. And he freaking was the one to stop her punishment AND he descended after her (more like fell, heh). Who on earth was this guy? Why did he have so much influence or power over what gets to be done about her? I'm not curious anymore. That doesn't describe what I feel. I'm craving for the answer, I need it.

Ah. These two. Maybe this isn't the one sided love I thought it was, after all. Maybe Xuanji did like him before becoming a mortal. But... There are so many things that I still don't get. I got a few answers but also way more questions.

I don't want this story to end, but Sifeng and tbh Xuanji too, have suffered too much already. I gotta say that I wasn't so happy with Xuanji, in fact I was very annoyed with her especially when she drew in a sword through Sifeng's chest wtf but I can't hate this girl and tbh my love for Sifeng is greater than my annoyance/hate towards Xuanji, which means that as long as Sifeng is happy and smiling, I don't care if it's with Xuanji and if she doesn't suffer nearly a half of as much as he does. There has been enough suffering on their tenth reincarnation alone that we don't even need to take into account the other 9 lives. They deserve ALL the happiness in the world.

Hehe but that won't come easily. I'm bracing myself because I think the very worst (and the painful answers) is in the last 9 episodes but hey, it'd be worth it, theres a happy ending. That's what keeps me going 😜

Edit: lmao I just realized that I didn’t talk about the biggest revelation of all, which is that Xuanji is not only the God of War but ALSO the Star of Mosha. How does that even work? Sifeng has tried to investigate and Tengshe as well, but there’s only so much that’s recorded on the official papers, so far they’re the only ones that know the truth and Sifeng’s best bro (who found out bc there’s only one person/reason why Sifeng would ever say he’s the Star of Mosha). Looking forward to finding out the whole story.

#love and redemption #cdrama #cheng yi #crystal yuan #yuan bingyan #chu xuanji #yu sifeng #i don't want this to end

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