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misqnon · 2 months

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nhello monti! it is March Again :v i feel like it's super obvious who i am so thank u for humoring me and using the name i gave u LOL.

my bad, ive never really celebrated april fools so i forgot it.. was... that day. im also glad u checked ur inbox. also theres no pressure to reply in a certain time frame!! i see ur posts that u have seen my asks and thats enough to put me at ease. so . take ur time!

fellow zoro fan!!!! i have a hard time choosing a favorite straw hat tbh.. they r all so special to me. i do probably like brook and franky just slightly more though. old men my beloved (tbh franky isnt that old but hes old compared to the younger members so). wano is the arc of buff men!! as a man liker... it pleases me.

the edit u sent Is So Good. thank u for sharing. i keep seeing sanji tiktoks and wanting to send them to u but i dont wanna spam ur inbox </3 my messages r already So Long..

ive listened to a bit of the dub (through clips) and tbh i do like it!! i like brook's voice acting a lot (hes who ive heard the most of. also he nails the laugh, which is very important to me) but luffys voice is so jarring to me i just cannot.. get past it. i think im just too used to the sub luffy after . a decade . of hearing him sound like that. plus i usually have to use subtitles anyways cuz i have an audio processing disorder so. sub is just what i default to. but yeah definitely valid to watch dub instead!! they do a great job from what ive seen :)

i have seen a bit of extra content involving the live action cast and tbh usopps actor.. is my favorite. he nails usopp. hes real life usopp. and i love usopp a lot so,,. tbh i might just pirate it (ahaha.... pirate.... pirate.... pirate the pirate show .......) because i really want to watch it!!

YEAH u have plenty of time!! plus i imagine there will be a part of the story where they go back and visit places they said they would return to (like u mentioned laboon). so 2 more islands plus however long it takes to revisit everything! no need to stress

stay strong 🫡 egghead will be so much better going in blind!

catholic guilt about liking sanji is ... i get it. thats funny /lh. i also feel intense guilt for the weirdest and simplest of things LMAO. im glad i didnt make u feel bad about it!!

YEAHH FELLOW DOFFY LOVER!! ive seen a few videos by melonteee and theyre super good. i would watch more but.. ironically (considering i got 800 episodes through one piece..) i cant watch a lot of longform content because i space out so bad. it takes a lot of effort for me to give my full attention and it gets pretty exhausting so i dont do it often. ur art of him is lovely!!! tongue piercings..... 😳.

i got to like .. stardust crusaders. in jjba. and i imagine i just havent seen enough of dio to feel attached to him like i do doffy, but i have seen a few people say they feel the same!!! ive kinda been wanting to go back to it but i just hate old man joseph joestar with such a passion.... i get too angry when hes on screen LOL. its way worse than how i feel abt sanji bc i dont simmer with intense RAGE every time sanji's on screen and i have a lot more positive feelings towards him. that was a bit of a tangent, whoops.

thabk u for validating my sanji hatred. actually i have come to enjoy a lot of sanji content recently though, and i dont think i hate him as much?? as i did?? i will credit this to u. idk if me just talking about it with another human being helped or if its because i see how much u love him but. i think this is good for me!! less rage .. is always good for me. watch me go back to hating him with a passion again now that ive said im fond of him. because im That Inconsistent 😭😭 (i hope this doesnt happen)

it was only super recently where i realized its not inherently a bad thing to like problematic media. to be fair tho there are definitely a lot more problematic fans when u enjoy problematic media, and i see it with one piece a lot. there is a WEIRD amount of transphobes in this community and i cant help but feel like part of that is because of oda's writing spreading some common transphobic ideas. i think hes redeemed himself a lot with the most recent trans characters, and i adore them, but the damage.. is done. but yeah im sure another big part of why theres so much negativity is just because one piece is insanely popular. the bigger the fandom, the bigger the shitty part of it is.

THEY *HAVE* EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE REAL PEOPLE.. UR SO RIGHT. i love that u can see their morals so clearly in like. every action . or inaction. they take. ughh. people talk about luffy falling asleep during people's backstory and say hes rude for it. and its like!! thats a core part of his character!!! he doesn't care about what happened in the past!! he just cares about how you are NOW. tbh though i WOULD be offended if he fell asleep while i was traumadumping LOL. like as a character decision its genius, but as a person .. i am too sensitive for that. BUT IT SHOWS HIS CHARACTER SO WELL!!

IM SO GLAD U NOTICED AUJFH. that moment is so special. u ARE my favorite sanji lover!! my favorite character?? honestly its law... hes so stupid (/pos)... but like.. its hidden behind a very serious mask. i just love people who are extremely silly. and someone who hides their silliness with all their might (and fails) makes them more silly. some of my favorite law moments are in wano and i Really .. ugh. i wish i could tell u but i refuse to spoil even the most minor of things!! so i will wait till u get there. also his backstory just Kills me. it . it hurts. i love tragic characters. looks at choso from jjk. i have a type .

law may be my ultra favorite but i have .. at least 30 different Favorites. including the straw hats. and tbh everyones at about the same level.. in terms of how much i love them. i think its safe to say i adore one piece characters. its because everyone is silly!!! i can list all the ones im aware of (since there r so many op characters.. i have. a list . but i keep adding to it.) if ur curious LOL. if not, no worries :)

YEAHHH ZOROOO MY LOVE!! thank u for The Food. yum. his one eye is very pretty in ur style 🥺. i havent tried to draw him yet tbh but i understand the struggle!! i tried drawing choso a while ago and his hair is so insanely painful.. art is hard.

hello march!!

is. is it super obvious

i have a guess but i wasn’t feeling super confident about it or anything JSAHBZJVHFD

More below ↓

i actually had like no idea until i received a reply earlier and now im wondering if ur possibly a recent mutual of mine 🔍🧐 maybe starting…with @ a….but i will not make u answer if u dont wanna HAHAHA

i will humor u as long as u want 👍

good to know there’s no pressure!! as soon as i get a message i like to reply as soon as i can but thats bc i get excited lmao. however this does make me feel more at peace

YEAA FELLOW ZORO FAN!! originally my favs were just the top 3 of 1. sanji 2. robin and 3. franky but as we got past water 7 and franky didnt get much more development spotlight he fell a bit just bc i dont get to see him doing much :( still love him though. bc of Shipping Reasons (embarrassing) Zoro got on my radar more and i started to appreciate him as a character more and more. plus he’s just. really badass im ngl. and in addition to that he is. so fucking stupid and uncool and goofy at the same time and that just makes him more likable. so now i just have a quartet of favs cause zoro wormed his way in there somewhere and i hold him dear to my heart. (plus im so bad with directions it is QUITE LITERALLY almost as bad as zoro and so i. genuinely relate to him on that LMAO) but i agree !! i LOVE ALL THE STRAWHATS VERY MUCH. I CANT EVEN CHOOSE A LEAST FAVORITE BC I LOVE ALL OF THEM A LOT. also god yes we fucking love an old guy in this household. and i LOOOVE FUURANKIIIII my silly king!! franky is fairly young but early on in the story when its just a bunch of teenagers and 20 somethings and then 34 year old franky is there its. kinda funny and i love that for him. also speaking of old men i called dofuwani old man yaoi once and someone called me out saying 41 and 46 was not old enough 😔 /ashamed. sorry yall lemme pull out some slash of rayleigh and crocus real quick-

aside from the strawhats my other favs are doffy, crocodile, corazon…god there’s so many characters now that i think about it lmao. secondarily i also like bartolomeo, kizaru, kid, bon clay…i have huge crush on katakuri even tho i havent met him yet…im sure there will be more as i continue and meet more

omg im so flattered u consider sending me sanji tiktoks sjnkjcnd!??! someday. someday u have to do this for me. i will send u more funny edits and op posts

BROOK’S DUB VOICE IS GOD TEIR. ARE U TALKING ABOUT/ HAVE YOU SEEN THIS VIDEO. IAN SINCLAIR IS AMAZING LAMNDKJFN

i got used to luffys dub voice bc i watched it first but ive always been meh/neutral dislike towards it and once i heard mayumi tanaka in sub i was like damn. its the only voice i dont like but hes the Main Character. his sub voice also makes me like luffy more as a character mvkjdnvf dub just makes him sound more like a selfish weird boy instead of a silly selfish little guy. you feel me (and no i feel u even with dub i have captions on bc. yeah </3)

taz inaki and jacob are a trio of mischievousness and silliness that i adore. emily is also fun and goofy but on a more ~ refined ~ scale. and mackenyu is so professional to them all in comparison but it makes it hilarious tbh. i follow all of the main 5 on instagram and love seeing them post about it. the recent april fools video starring jacob (usopp) was. hilarious. like what is

(and yes…pirate it….do it….yohohoho or whatever nami would be proud)

i am so ready for wano and egghead i will stay strong for u march 🫡 must avoid spoilers…and still take my time to enjoy the story..

i understand not being able to do longform content lmao. i did watch their 3 hr stream comp of one piece odyssey but like…i had it on in the bg while doing other things. im glad uve seen their stuff tho!! its one of my fav one piece content channels. im glad u liked my doffy 🥹i embellished a Little bit but his piercings are actually from this colorspread !!

i was insane and in highschool when i was into jjba. a lot of it was also during the summers and i had a lot of free time so i. read all the way up through part 7 after watching parts 1-3 (or 4? cant remember). im not as into it anymore but jojos (and araki) still hold a place in my heart <3 HATING OLD MAN JOSEPH IS SO FUNNY KDSNFVK NO OFFENSE JUST LIKE. YEAH. U SHOULD HATE HIM. THATS A VALID RESPONSE AND HE DESERVES IT. KICK HIS CHEATING OLD ASS. i loved younger joseph and like a lot of ppl him cheating on suzie q pissed me da fuck off. but in pt 4 he’s frail and old and they make u feel bad but still. i KNow What You Did. appreciative u hate someone more than sanji tho like hell yea my boy aint at the bottom LMAO. its cool others have noticed the similarities between dio and doffy too! i always wonder if long running mangaka take insp from each other sometimes

omg…im converting u…my influence as the fav sanji lover /j. but that makes me happy!! hell yea we’re changing outlooks over here. i validate ur sanji hatred but i also wont be mad if u like him a little teehee. his fanon is. a lot better than his canon tho so. that helps. we are fixing him. taking him away from oda and dressing him up like a doll . and if u go back to hating him thats ok too at least he isnt old man joseph

i only interact w one piece here on tumblr or in the 2 op discord servers i happen to be in. with it being so mainstream (and i have. never been in a mainstream popular fandom like this before) i know theres a ton of gross dudebros who like it so i try to avoid that. sucks to hear there’s a bunch of transphobia but im not surprised :/ i still do see yamato discourse and its like got damn how much convincing do u need yall. but no i agree it probably is the audience oda cultivated + his earlier portrayals…though i do really like that he. tried again and did better. though even with yamato i sometimes feel like he puts him in situations that go against canon (like why did he draw yamato as a geisha and include him in the womens day colorspread…oda why) but alas. give and take

YES THERE;S SO MANY CHARACTERS WHO HAVE INSTANCES LIKIE THAT!! SO MANY MORALS AND CONVICTIONS THEY STICK TO AND SO MANY STRONG CHARACTER TRAITS. thats why i find so many op characters easy to write, bc they’re outlined so heavily in the show in what their archetypes and ideals and behaviors are…it kinda bothers me that luffy falls asleep during moments like that too bc it would make ME upset but like. YEA THATS IN CHARACTER FOR HIM DFKNFV

AH A LAW LOVER!! he’s very popular !?!? i know he comes in again in wano but during punk hazard and dressrosa i was like is this enough screentime for how popular he is omg. i guess he’s just pathetic and sad and grungy punk emo boy . tbh if i didnt already have so many favs who fill that spot i would probably have him as a fav as well. but i do REALLY LIKE law. his backstory with cora….fucks me UP!! and he’s been through a lot and come out stronger. plus his juxtaposition and interactions with luffy and the strawhats is so fucking funny kcncd. the op server im in has PLENTY of law lovers so i see him often. i think i stole this from a tumblr post recently but i saw this and saved it to my phone bc i loved it so much

i relate to him here. he is so me. this was me dyking it up at university fr

ik this is from one piece party but i think it shows his secret silly here. he got it from cora i think how could he not. but he hides it under that I Am A Serious And Scary Doctor . like sure trafalgar

YES send me the full list!! in return i will list more favs as well. mayhaps a tierlist of some kind. we will see

glad u liked the zoros :^) idk anything about jjk but i will look up this choso man one moment. [...] okay i actually really like his design (and hair) but that looks like hell to draw i wish u the best </3 i have a degree in art and ummm its still really hard sorry to tell u it does not get better </3 [JOKING THATS A JOKE A JOKE CJNCD]

here’s a question to leave u off with: what do you think each of the strawhats eye colors is? since most of them are just drawn with black dots. and IF DIFFERENT what are your headcanons/what do you Wish they were 👁️ eagerly awaiting ur response bc i have Opinions on this

talk to u next time!

#march anon #asks #replies #microphone effect #💃

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tobotgaming · 7 months

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season 3 episode 3

Kory please shut the fuck up

Dilluk should just cut like cheat days cardio weights get your money up not your funny up type grindset

“This place is way nicer than my workshop” limo this is a small garage with no tools and no storage

Angela is holding back tears ive never seen such a pained expression in an animated show

“Officer oh I highly doubt that this will help 😃” sounding ass

Can we have one season without straight up terrorism

The W transformation jingle will be stuck in my head until the day I die

Alright who was the mf that made this truck drift this is impressive

How is C’s bumper still on there it should be gone reduced to scrap bolts and broken dreams

Alright the math isn’t mathing

If you drive up stairs and reach the top i dont think you’ll be launched into the air earth patch this glitch plz

Um akshully acnee and tom both used slug bots so I call bull shit on that boorung motor theory

Plus limo would never

Man..

Just noticed that Z’s new key hole has 2 Z’s as the “wings”

Nifty design choice I actually like that

IS DILLUK RUNNING IN A FULL SUIT NO WONDER HE DOESN’T WANT TO WORK OUT HE HAS NO CLOSET

JESUS DUDE 5 BUCKS AT A RANDOM ASS SHOPPING MALL

Pfft

IS FRANKLIN DOXXING SOMEONE

Dude they blue balled me so fucking hard like 73 edging streak type vibe I WANTED TO SEE ZERO

7/10 Z is my habibi now 💗

#review #tobot

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samuel-de-champagne-problems · 3 years

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“i thought i lost you” kisses please!!! (if it’s not too late <3)

these are so much fun! i'll reblog again tomorrow if anyone else wants to send one in :)

word count: 990

pairing: spencer reid x wife reader (she/her)

cw: reader is pregnant, the cult episode

You watch in fear, like your life is flashing before you eyes in a fiery violent ending, as the church goes up in flames with Spencer trapped inside. You don’t remember screaming, but you feel JJ’s hands on your shoulder, keeping you from running into the building to save Spencer yourself. You must be screaming and crying from the look on JJ’s face. It’s the kind of look that wounded animals get, a look of pity, of helplessness.

“Y/N,” JJ says firmly, holding your shoulders steady as victims come running out from the explosion and reporters start flooding the crime scene, “I need to go help, you need to go to Hotch, go to Hotch,” JJ tells her. And you know exactly what that means: the widows have to stick together, because who else knows the pain of having your future ripped away in a gunshot, in a fiery explosion.

“Okay,” you say numbly, watching the wounded run past you. For the first time in your life you recognize the pain in their eyes, the feeling of despair that they carry on their shoulders, the way that hope is drained from their souls because nothing really matters anymore.

You don’t go find Hotch. He’s got more important things to do than to help you grieve. Resting on the ground, you hold your head in your hands counting. It's a game that you and Spencer play. You’ll never get to 300 before the other one shows up. You suppose that being married and working together makes the odds in your favor, but that game was just a game, until it’s not.

One, two, three.

Your hands move from your head to your belly, where your baby rests, waiting until it’s time to meet their parents. You’ve never seen Spencer so happy. He’s the kind of man that was just born to be a dad. You’ve seen him with children on cases; he’s sweet, attentive, and kind. It's a shame he’ll never get to meet his baby.

“Hey there, little one,” you say, your voice wavering, “It’s your Momma, I know you usually hear Daddy’s voice too, but it’s just me, it’s just me,” you say, trying to not cry.

Children are reunited with their parents, adults with their loved ones. They have a whole lifetime’s worth of trauma to shift through, but it doesn’t matter when they hang off the arms of the person they love. All you can do is talk to your stomach and think of what could have been.

Seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-eight

“Your Daddy’s coming,” you tell your baby, softly rubbing your belly over your dress shirt, “He’s so smart and he’s gonna love reading to you. He doesn’t even need a book to read to you. He’s too good for his own good,”

JJ and Hotch round up victims, sending them to trauma tents with doctors and medics waiting with IVs and bandages. You wonder if you should go help, but you’re paralyzed to this ground.

One twenty-three, one twenty-four, one twenty-five

“He’s such a good man, baby,” you say, “I hope you’re like him, I hope you have his smile and his eyes. His hair and his kindness,” you’re crying and there’s no return, “and I just know he’d loved you more than anything,”

One fifty-five, one fifty-six, one fifty seven

“But it’s just gonna be me, baby,” you say, taking a chance to wipe your eyes, “It’s gonna be okay. I’ll remember him for you. I’ll love him enough for the both of us,”

The girl, the one that called CPS, is ushered into the campsite with her mother at her heels. She looks lost and confused, but shocked. Her mother soothes her pain with a soft hand and kind eyes. It’s the selfless kind of love that Y/N wishes she got to witness Spencer feel. It would have been beautiful to watch him grow as a dad, to love someone so much his heart felt like it was going to burst.

One ninety-seven, one ninety-eight, one ninety-nine-

“Y/N!” he screams, through a cough filled with smoke, “Y/N,” Spencer calls, his wild eyes trying to find you amidst the chaos of the crowd, “I’m coming, I’m okay,”

He finally sees you and you take off, running at full speed into his arms. You collapse onto the ground, a pile of tears and sighs of relief. Spencer’s hands paw at your shirt, looking for something to grip, something to keep him from drifting away from you. You hug him so tightly you don’t think he can breathe. His face searches yours, like he’s reminding himself of the person he fell in love with. He looks like he can fall in love all over again.

The chaos is nothing but background noise when Spencer kisses you. It’s all teeth and you couldn't have had a better kiss. He smells like smoke and his lips are raw, like he’s been beaten. But his skin is warm and he’s breathing into your neck. He’s alive and his mouth is on yours. He can’t get enough; his hands cup your cheek to hold you steady as his kisses grow more and more sloppy. Spencer kisses your eyes, your cheeks, your nose, your neck, your jaw.

“You’re alive,” you cry out, your voice raw and achy, “you’re alive,”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Spencer says, pressing kisses to your belly, “I’m not leaving my family anytime soon,”

#spencer reid #spencer reid blurbs

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infinitelytheheartexpands · 3 years

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My Personal Opinions on Some French Grand Opéras

Here we go. I’ll be focusing solely on pieces in what’s widely considered the “Golden Age” of grand opéra (from 1828 to about 1870).

1828, Auber: La muette de Portici: never seen or heard so I cannot comment, but I do think it slaps that it helped start both the Belgian Revolution and the genre of grand opéra.

1829, Rossini: Guillaume Tell: I love this one. it’s one of the few grand opéras that has a happy ending and it’s fully deserved. it’s long but it all has a point-- the first act introduces us to the community spirit that drives the rest of the action; even though it’s called Guillaume Tell, it’s not just about Guillaume Tell. it’s about a whole movement coming together, with all these vividly-drawn people of different social statuses, ages, heritages, and livelihoods coming together to do good in the world in the face of oppression. also it’s Rossini so it bops start to finish. the finale is one of opera’s best. I could not have higher praise and admiration for this piece.

1831, Meyerbeer: Robert le diable: another rare case of a grand opéra with a happy ending, but it feels a bit more contrived, something I wrote about when I watched it about a year ago for the first time. it’s quite a clever ending, however, and I love that these lovely characters get a happy ending. Robert is the least interesting principal character both musically and dramatically; the musical highlights of the show are mostly Bertram and Isabelle’s big scenes. the former is also arguably grand opéra’s most exciting ballet sequence, the Act III ballet of the nuns (or as I like to call it, the Zombie Nun Ballet). it’s long but it is incredibly worth it. overall, I really do enjoy this opera although it is very much an uneven piece.

1833, Auber: Gustave III, ou le bal masqué: here’s a thing I wrote about it like 3 months ago and I stand by every word.

1835, Halévy: La juive: It’s damn near impossible to find an even remotely close to complete recording. However, what the recordings have is excellent. The score is marvelous all the way through, although for the most part I tend to prefer the ensembles to the arias (the exception, of course, being Éléazar’s 11 o’clock number). Speaking of Éléazar, he’s an extremely complicated and frankly uncomfortable character, toeing the line between being one of opera’s most complex characters, an even more complicated proto-gender-swapped-Azucena if you will, and being an unfortunate vessel of antisemitic stereotypes. This is made even more complicated because Halévy was an assimilated Jewish composer. On the whole, Rachel is the only wholly sympathetic character in the piece, although all five of the principals are lovingly scored.

1836, Meyerbeer: Les Huguenots: *holds things in because otherwise I would write an entire essay about this opera and you all know that because I have done that several times* Both a great strength and a great weakness of this piece is its sheer wide-ranging-ness, particularly in terms of mood. Unlike, say, La juive, this opera does not have one overall mood, instead steadily progressing from bright, brilliant comedy to one of the most horrifying endings in opera. Dramatically, this is great for the most part, although the sheer amount of exposition in the first two acts may take getting used to. Just as the drama gets more intense and concentrated as the opera goes on, the music gets more intense- and frankly, more often than not better- as the opera goes on. The window/misunderstood engagement business is something I still struggle to see the exact dramatic purpose of, because I think the question of religious difference would likely be enough to separate Raoul and Valentine at the beginning anyway; to me, it feels like Scribe and Deschamps were struggling to find a way to integrate Nevers into the story, as he is crucial to the opera’s lessons about love and tolerance, so they stuck in a quasi-love-triangle in order to justify his presence earlier on. (Also, for goodness sake, could you at least have given him an onstage death scene?) Anyway, in this way the story can be a bit unwieldy and uneven at first, but stay the course with this one...and even a lot of the first couple of acts are wonderful. The characters are all wonderfully written if rather episodic in many cases, but this opera is ambitious and by the end, it’ll tear your heart to shreds. It’s amazing. Uneven, yes, but amazing nonetheless, and I will defend it to the death.

1840, Donizetti: La favorite: I’m not as familiar with La favorite as with some of the others on this list (I’ve seen two different productions once each and I have a recording of it saved to my Spotify library that I listen to bits and pieces of very occasionally) but I do think it’s an excellent piece overall. LÉONOR DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER. The music is lovely all around; I know Donizetti wrote at least one other grand opéra in full and part of another, both of which I need to check out because in its own way, Donizetti’s style works wonderfully with grand opéra.

1841: Halévy, La reine de Chypre: here is a post I wrote about La reine de Chypre. basically all my thoughts remain the same except I have to add: Halévy as a whole just needs more love. there’s a few other of his operas I have waiting (a recording of Le dilettante d’Avignon that has been sitting in my Spotify for who knows how long and a film of Clari with Bartoli and Osborn I’m also sitting on) but there are so many pieces that sound fascinating but have basically ZILCH in terms of recordings.

1849, Meyerbeer: Le prophète: before I say anything else about this opera, I need to ask a burning question: WHY THE HELL IS THERE ONLY ONE GOOD VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS OPERA?!?! on the one hand, I adore the Osborn/Aldrich/Fomina production; on the other, I would also like other productions, please. anyway, I said one time in the opera Discord that while Les Huguenots will probably always be my favorite Meyerbeer opera for an array of reasons, this one is definitely Meyerbeer, Scribe, and Deschamps’ strongest work. it is both unusually dark and unusually believable for an opera of its time—and the fact that it still holds up so well is disturbing to say the least. this opera thrives on complexity in all forms and yet has probably (and paradoxically) the simplest plot to follow of the four Meyerbeer grand opéras. the score is brilliant start to finish, mixing the best of bel canto, Romanticism, and something altogether darker, stranger, and more original. definitely one of the most underrated operas ever. the aforementioned production is on YouTube with French subtitles; give it a watch here.

1855, Verdi: Les vêpres siciliennes: Vêpres is an opera I love dearly although I have yet to find a production that is completely satisfying. I think it’s because this opera is a lot deeper, a lot more complex, and a lot more troubling, frankly, than people are willing to go. also it should be performed bilingually and I am dead-set on this: the dissonance of an opera about French capture of Italian land being sung entirely in either French or Italian is always a little off at least (and also part of the reason why my brain probably adjusted to hearing this opera in either language better than, say, Don Carlos). but anyway, neither side comes off particularly well here, particularly due to the violence and sexual assault on both sides of the equation: both Montfort and Procida are heavily in the wrong, and while Verdi sympathizes with both for personal reasons (Verdian Dad in the former case, Italian Liberator in the latter), there is a lot of troubling stuff in here. nevertheless, the music bops, the story is intriguing, and I think we can all agree that Henri and Hélène both deserved better, especially considering how close they got to bliss (although I think we can also all agree that the end of Act IV twist to almost-rom-com is pretty abrupt).

1863 (full opera: 1890), Berlioz: Les Troyens: I wrote this review of Troyens after watching it in the Châtelet 2003 production in December 2019 (first time ever watching it) and I still stand by just about every word. Such a fascinating opera, great adaptation of the first few books of the Aeneid, marvelous score (of course, it’s Berlioz!)...but could there be a ballet or two fewer, Berlioz? Or at least shorten them up? And that’s coming from someone who likes ballet. But anyway, in every other respect it’s absolutely marvelous. Some people say it’s the greatest French opera ever, and while I hesitate to say that, it comes pretty damn near close.

1865, Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Vasco de Gama): Vasco da Gama/L’Africaine is even more troubling—much more troubling—of an opera than Vêpres to me and I wrote a whole thing here as to why. I still stand by most of it, although upon reflection, I feel like the ending that drove me so crazy has virtually the exact same idea behind it as the end of Troyens/Book IV of the Aeneid: empire has consequences and those consequences hurt real people, who, though different and not among those perceived as “heroic”, are worthy of being treated as human, not being collateral damage. (I’ve written at least two essays about this for different classes, both specifically in regards to the Aeneid.) It may be time to revisit this one. The score is lovely, after all, although it didn’t stand out to me as much as others by Meyerbeer.

1867, Verdi: Don Carlos: *holds myself back from writing a 10-page essay* y’all, there is a reason that when someone asks me what my favorite opera is, I always choose this one even though I’m horrible at favorites questions. it’s Verdi, grand opéra, romantic drama (SO MUCH romantic drama and SO MUCH gay), political drama, religious/social struggle, personal struggle, social commentary, spectacle, intimacy, masterful characterization all in one. what more could you want? I first saw/heard this opera in Italian long before I did in French, so my brain is more hardwired to hearing the Italian but both are good. my motto is “Italian or French, I don’t care, but Fontainebleau has to be there.” fuck the four-act version. I mean, I will watch four-act versions but five-act versions are just superior. I’d prefer uncut performances (the first part of the garden, the Lacrimosa, the extended opening and ending), but these aren’t dealbreakers for me. it’s the perfect synthesis of Verdi and grand opéra, much less unwieldy than Vêpres (as much I love that one), both musically and dramatically.

1868, Thomas: Hamlet: Part of me wishes this was more faithful to the actual source play (why??? the??? fuck??? does??? Hamlet??? live??? although there are alternate endings), but part of me also realizes that the play is already four hours long as is and singing it plus ballet would make it WAY too fucking long. This does a pretty respectable job. The music is gorgeous, by turns almost sugary-sweet and thrillingly ominous. The Murder of Gonzago scene is an absolute masterpiece. The Mad Scene is justifiably one of opera’s best (although I’m not sure it was a good idea to have that and a frequently-cut 20-minute ballet with no relation whatsoever to the main plot to make up all of Act IV). There are a lot of bops in this one. The four principals are closely followed and still very well-drawn. Both of the stagings I have seen were excellent. An underrated opera.

1869 (grand opéra version), Gounod: Faust: Another of my absolute favorite operas. Since this existed for a decade before its transformation into the grand opéra we all know and love, I won’t comment much about its actual format and adherence to grand opéra tropes aside from saying the Walpurgisnacht ballet is one of grand opéra’s best and extremely good at giving off Vibes TM. I used to hate how the character of Faust was written and thought he was incredibly boring. Not anymore (although of course, I still hate him as a person. fuck him tbh). This opera has a reputation for being saccharine and old-fashioned and I think that’s a bunch of garbage right there. It’s about the search for eternal youth and the expectations of conforming to social values and people’s struggles with themselves when a) they “fall short” and b) when the world ostracizes them for being “different” and “out of line”. I am also firmly convinced that Marguerite is the real protagonist of Faust (like how I’m convinced that Valentine is the protagonist of Les Huguenots if there even is a singular protagonist in that opera but I digress). The music slaps. People need to stop cutting whole scenes out of this. I’m still undecided on the order of the church and square scenes of Act IV. Marguerite and Siébel just need everything good in this world.

Anyway, those are my two cents! I tried to keep these pretty short, so if y’all want any follow-ups, let me know!

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merlinssaggyyfronts · 3 years

Text

BBC Merlin Rewatch:

01x01: The Dragon’s Call

—

FIRSTLY THE FUCKING DESCRIPTION LMAO “Merlin, a young country boy” COUNTRY BOY AHAHDHSNDH IF ONLY YOU KNEW!!! ITS LIKE SETTING SOMEONE UP FOR DISASTER BUT THEN AGAIN THEY WERE SO LIKE I MEAN-

aw look at merlin all happy and smily, walking into camelot like he isnt going to witness the death of his best friend/king and basically everyone he loves

LOOK AT HIM HES SO HAPPY!!! HE DOESNT KNOW YET

“like everyone, he must live and learn” yo shut ur bitchass up lizard man u literally tried to murder everyone in camelot that one time

“his name: traumatised 😍😍”

AH YES THE OPENING!!1!1!-!-! AHHH THE AMOUNT OF HAPPINESS I FEEL HEARING THE OPENING

fuck ur bitchass uther no one likes u

“i pride myself as a fair and just king” sir didnt u like basically kill ur wife... and thousands of peo- OH MY GOD MORGANA BB ILY

oh jesus okay hes dead um chile-

“when i came to this land” wait i thought he was raised kn camelot brb i forgot im an idiot wait,,, does this mean before this it was the du bois family on the throne of camelot?? also, mired in chaos? u mean like.... before ur wife died and everyone was living peacefully? ....okay

“merlin, seeing a person who's been stated had been studying magic get beheaded: [a magical being himself] ah,, welcoming.” -my gf

“since the great dragon was captured” ....so did no one think about where they put a dragon?? a captured one at that. ud think he’d be more smart but nah he just left a random ass dragon under his castle like THAT is going to end well

YUHH MARY COLLJNS HATE HIM!!! YELL BABEY YELL!!! “you took my son!” YES MURDER HIM OMG I CAN FEEL HER PAIN

“a son for a son!” omg why couldnt u have killed uther bb ur the perfect villain i love u ur literally just a loving mother i-

OOOOO GAIUS

.....why is there a bunny mask in there

why is thERE A BUNNY MASK-

why didnt merlins eyes glow when he dragged the bed to gaius to save him

also whats this slomo magic why didnt he do this after this why did season one haveso much magic and like every other season was just everyone throwing it back

like i get instinctual magic but like.... if its instinctual wouldnt it happen more especially when his powers get stronger-

gaius: what did you just do?!

also gaius, five seconds later: i know what it was!! i just wanted to know where you learned it

merlin: 😐

merlin, about his magic: i was born like this

gaius, who knows full well warlocks exist: impossible!

(are warlocks naturally born knowing how to use magic without learning? i mean if u have to learn magic like a sorcerer then whats the difference between a warlock and a sorcerer cuz wouldnt sorcerers atleast have to have some magic in them to actually cast spells? am i dumb or do i just not get it)

wait so merlin arrived in camelot on a wednesday

merlin, walking into camelot: it is wednesday my dudes

merlin: [witnesses an execution] aaaAAAAAA-

“someone that might help him find a purpose of his gifts” oh honey he’ll get something mUCH LARGER THAN THAT-

—

oH MORGANA

SHUT UR BITCHASS UTHER SHE WILL KILL YOU-

“the more brutal you are, the more enemies you’ll create” oh the waY SHE PREDICTED THEIR FUTURE OO

ah bless u lady helen/mary collins we love them spicy villains

...why do you have a dressing table in a tent

[watches mary collins murder lady helen] i never snitch on dadd- ...someone pls delete me

merlin, about his instinctual magic: i just do it!

gaius: ...lord have mercy what did i just sign myself up to

what ever happened to sir olwen did he die from accidentally overdosing

—

oHHH THERE HE IS THERE HE IS THERES MY BOY!!! MY LIL PRAT MAN!!!!

merlin looks so offended, oh god i could watch this whole scene for HOURS

oooOOOO YES MERLIN FUCK HIM UP!!! SHOW HIM WHOS BOSS

“do i know you?” “im merlin” “so i dont know you” ugh theres already sexual tension

“i would never have a friend who could be such an ass” “or i one so stupid”

also them, ten years later: “i use my magic for you arthur, only you” “just hold me” “i cant lose him! hes my friend!” “thank you..”

“tell me merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?” OOOOH THE BOYS ARE FLIRTING

NOT THE “would you like me to help you?” SIR YOU ARE FLIRTING SO INTENSELY AND DONT EVEN REALISE IT SIR DO YOU KNOW YOURE FALLING IN LOVE

im convinced atleast half the knights with arthur were like “ayo thas kinda sus bro 😳😳 ayo 😳😳”

arthur: tell me merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees? would you like me to help you?

merlin: ....i really dont know how to answer that

imagine being paid to throw fruits at colin morgan omg id be so thrilled

OOOH HERE COMES OUR QUEEN GWEN!!! MY LOVE MY EVERYTHING YES ILY

gwen: well, arthur looks like one of those, save the world kinda men... and you dont

merlin, 1500 years later, having failed his destiny: well i mean you’re not wrong

—

gaius: uther banned magic a long time ago

merlin, flabbergasted as if he wasnt raised on tales of the death of his kind every day in the kingdom right next to his: why?!?!?

gaius: the dragon is imprisoned where nobody can free him

merlin:

(that is the face of someone knowing full well hes going to free that dragon. look at him. he’s already made up his mind.)

—

[sees merlin and arthur in the marketplace] oh heres he is again heres the lil bitxh ooo theyre about to FIGHT

god hes flirting so hard without even realising it, oh my god

“i could take you apart with one blow” “i could take you apart with less” um sirs this is a mcdonalds drive thru 😃

arthur: ahah, you’re in trouble now~ 😏😏

i had to pause cuz wHAT THE HELL WHY DOES HE SOUND LIKE THAT-

—

....yall are yelling very loudly, um, arent there guards near yall? people passing by? please relax

“im just a nobody, and i always will be” OH IF ONLY YOU KNEWWW

“if i cant use magic, i might as well die” ....well, ive got a surprise for you-

“maybe theres someone with more magic than me?” like... a whole dragon? i mean if you say so 👀

merlin about why he was born like this: if you cant tell me, no one can!

a fucking dragon, basically every magical creature and the druids: WELL-

the camelot guards are so stupid how the hell is this kingdom still standing

how does kilgharrah know merlins name? in prophecy hes known as emrys (and we see basically every magical being call him emrys and not merlin,, i think). so how does he know? did he stretch his neck long enough that he could somehow hear merlin? is it cuz theyre kin? is it cuz merlin and gaius were yelling so loudly that kilgharrah could hear them all the way in his cave? ig we’ll never know 🖐

merlin: where are you?!

kilgharrah:

kilgharrah: without you, arthur will never succeed.

merlin: ....oh look, im already paranoid

the amount of sadness i feel hearing kilgharrah say “none of us can choose our destiny, merlin. and none of us can escape it” is INSANE cuz in season one you can SEE merlin trying to escape it. hes doing his damned best trying to have some control over his life. and then in later seasons you can see the light slowly drain from his eyes as he becomes just another toy for the gods to be entertained by. he realises he cant control a single thing about his life so he does the one thing he can: protect arthur. and he loses SO MUCH because of it! its not fair, he deserved so much, and when he finally got everything he could ever ask for, it was taken away from him by his own mistakes.

arthur, seeing morgana in a beautiful dress: god have mercy 😍

uther: .....um

the way they set arthur and morgana up as if they arent gonna make them siblings i- what the fawk 😄

person A, who knows arthurian lore: oh no! arthur is going to have an affair with morgan(a) and have mordred! oh no!!

person B, whos seen merlin: oh no in this show its worse

person B, knowing full well theyre siblings: much worse....

gwen: who’d wanna marry arthur? 🙄

gwen, getting crowned queen of camelot: well fuck

hhhnghnh yes queen sing them to sleep yes murder his bitchass (and fail but like its the thought that counts)

on a sidenote tho this is such a fun way to murder someone, id try this

the absolutely OFFENDED “FATHER!” and the horrified look in arthurs eyss when uther announced merlin would be his manservant is PRICELESS OMG

oh the way uther unintentionally plants the first seed of his sons love story omg 😍😍

Conclusion: this episode is a 10/10 greatest episode with so many iconic scenes omg. mary collins u will forever have my heart for unintentionally kickstarting merlin and arthurs relationship destiny. i loved the whole thing and oh GOD does it already hurt knowing full well how the show ends

#this was a RIDE #eli’s merlin rewatch #yes i have to say everything that happens in the episode pls leave me alone #01x01: the dragon’s call #merlin #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon #morgana le fay #morgana pendragon #guinevere #guinevere pendragon #gwen #gaius #kilgharrah #lady helen #mary collins #bbc merlin

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all-things-mlqc · 4 years

Note

Boys reaction to MC who never have date before meeting them. Like, the boys as MC's first love.

My first HC on here and I was memeing half the time while writing it. Included what the boys would do after hearing this news as well because why not. I’m not a Lucien fan but lord have mercy on my soul, I couldn’t help making his romantic af. He is the ideal boyfriend/date minus the l i e s that come in the MS and I hate it. All the crossed out stuff is just commentary because I couldn’t help myself. Hope you enjoy~ Thank you for your ask <3

How the MLQC boys react to being MC’s first love below the cut~

Victor:

Follows with some snarky comment after he calls her “Dummy”.

Let’s be real here, if he doesn’t call her dummy immediately, then something is wrong. Reminds me of when we streamed the first episode of MLQC and we were all yelling “CALL US BAKA” the second Victor came on screen.

While he seems cool and collected on the outside, you can hear the computer shutdown sound play on the inside.

To him, this is a shocking confession.

Victor: I’m not surprised a dummy like you hasn’t been in a serious relationship before.

Victor, internally: How has she never been in a serious relationship before??

He’s not very good at expressing himself honestly through his words but he truly admires MCs hardworking nature.

He finds that very attractive in a woman and is surprised that other men in the line of business haven’t taken their shot with her yet. it’s because they can feel your death stare on the back of their heads, kind sir

One thing he struggles with is being himself. He tries to act like everything is in his control all the time.

Because of this, upon hearing MCs confession, he invites her to a fancy dinner at his penthouse insert Victor’s Dazzling Date because THATS ALL THAT MATTERS. Jkjk haha... unless...

He wants to impress her as much as possible even though he knows deep down that she doesn’t care about what a person has and rather how they are as a person

BUT ALAS. The stress be real for her first boyfriend.

He wants her to know she made a good decision without verbally telling her out of his own bitch mouth I love you, please call me baka so he goes over the top with their first date.

Basically pulls a Mr. Krabs when taking Mrs. Puff on a date. Just add shades to Mr. Krabs to represent Victor’s “I’m calm. I’m chill. I’m all good. We vibin out here.”

All MC wants from him is his honest and genuine thoughts. and a lifetime stock of pudding because good god a girl has chocolate needs

MC eventually figures out Victor’s intentions with all the gifts he rains on her because hE dOesNt nEeD tHeM he can’t give her anything more than a cup of pudding up front

MC knows this and accepts the secret gifts with a smile.

She sends a gift in return to his office the following day along with a thank you for the wonderful date.

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of Victor’s heart rate slowing to the average persons.

Kiro:

insert pikachu meme

This boy is mind blown.

“How have you never been in a relationship before??? That can’t be true!”

Kiro sees the good in everyone, so hearing that MC has never been in a relationship before him is

He gives her a bright smile and playfully hugs her from behind.

The two of them laugh together as he whispers genuinely in her ear,

“I promise to make you happy. You won’t regret it.”

He immediately drags her off to Loveland’s Amusement Park, where they spend the whole day together.

Rides, snacks, games, you name it, they did it all.

Kiro naturally spoils MC without putting much thought to it.

It’s like a reflex for him. It’s just who he is as a person. Always wants to share the happiness in the world with the people he cares about.

As for how anxious he is after hearing the news about being MC’s first love, he is screaming at a pitch only dogs can hear.

Almost 100% of the time he has a smile on his face and even convinces himself that he’s not worried about it.

But he is.

It only hits him when he thinks about another man taking MC away from him after seeing her talking with another guy.

MC will catch him without his carefree smile at times and eventually confronts him about it.

He shows her a wide smile and says there’s nothing to worry about.

L I E S. BABIE LEMME HOLD YOU I PROMISE YOU DONT NEED TO WORRY.

After a few attempts of trying to get Kiro to open up about it, he gives in and says he’s worried he’s not good enough for her HAHAHHA, GOOD ONE KIRO

MC, however, turns it around on him

MC: I’m afraid IM the one who isn’t good enough for you.

They both smile and embrace each other, knowing they’ll get through any little concerns like this.

Gavin:

He knows.

We’re talking about the boy who has been in love with MC since high school; Who has protected her behind the scenes ever since he laid eyes on her.

He would know if she had been in a previous or current relationship.

It only comes as a shock when she says she’s never been interested in anyone else romantically before. Lies. Have you seen the other suitors, MC. In a world where guys are that hot, you must’ve had at least 1 crush, c’mon sis.

Gavin respected her personal boundaries and never looked into her personal affairs so he had very little knowledge of her views on other guys.

He gets a little bit nervous, since he believes her standards must be high if she hasn’t been interested in anyone else before.

Does the full on soldier oath, bend the knee cliche which includes “I promise to always protect you” and “Nobody will ever be good enough for you”

Mc: Gavin no...

Gavin: NOBODY WILL EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU.

Spoiler alert: You are waayyyyy too good for me, Gavin.

He doesn’t have too much anxiety over the thought of being MC’s first love though since he’s very good at staying true to himself and knows MC is one to admire that about others.

Gavin is a quiet guy in general. He’s more of an observer and watches MC to take note of what she enjoys.

When he sees her eyes shine bright after seeing a delicious dessert cafe, he offers to take her. He makes sure to express how he also wants to go since he knows she won’t accept unless he is interested as well.

Boy literally has no interests the moment he’s with MC. He is essentially that vine

Doesn’t even wait until the question is over and just “Absolutely. Let’s do it”

MC: But I haven’t even said anything yet...

He isn’t much different from how he is now. Has around the same amount of anxiety just from being in MCs presence.

Boy just wants to PROTECC and is always panicking on the inside but tries to remain calm.

He is very good at calming his anxiety though since he’s had so long to understand what MC values and knows she just loves people for themselves.

That’s all he needs.

Lucien:

His eyes widen slightly at MCs confession.

It’s nothing too mind blowing for him since he knows how refined MC is and how dedicated she is to her work.

It’s still surprising to him that nobody has tried to sweep her off her feet yet.

With how kind MC is, it would be hard for her to refuse a date with a gentleman.

Lucien gently presses a kiss to MCs hand upon hearing her confession.

Lucien: I am honored to be given the opportunity TO WOO to take such a beautiful lady out on a date~ AND MORE PLEASE

Lucien is the definition of a gentleman shhhh we aren’t speaking of current chapters in the main route Lucien. Cover your eyes. Pretend you do not see.

With little to no anxiety showing on his face after the reveal that he is MCs first love, he insists on taking her out to a nice restaurant the most classy and romantic 5 star restaurant Loveland City has to offer as a way to thank her for dealing with his bs (both his bullshit and black swan hahaha I’m so funny oml) being given the opportunity to treat her as a beautiful young lady should be treated.

He’s also more on the less anxious side of being MCs first love.

Lucien is a traditional man and does stuff by the book.

Because of this, he respects and likes the idea of being MCs first love.

He doesn’t go over the top yet isn’t cliche with dates and little actions.

He knows exactly what to say and when to say it. Though he may struggle with being openly honest about his own thoughts and feelings, he tries his best to express himself for MC. a lot of the time he just assumes talking to her about his personal affairs would bring her down.

This, however, gets better overtime as they continue to date.

They spend a lovely evening at dinner together and take a midnight stroll through the city oh god city stroll PTSD

He gently wraps his jacket around her bare shoulders with a soft smile as he thanks her once again for believing in him believing he is worthy of her

Bonus:

Shaw:

Shaw, smirking: Is that so?

Oohhhhh you know what that smirk does to me. DOWN BOY D O W N.

He’s surprised but his reaction is very mutual.

His internal thoughts are more on the line of “Hmm I’m her first boyfriend, aye?” and “OYA OYA”

He very likely most definitely places his hand on the wall beside her head and leans in closely to get a reaction from her as he growls,

Shaw: So that means you really like me, yeah? I’m making this way too hot gdi. Shaw stans please enjoy your food

MC looks up to see that same playful smirk resting on his face.

highkey don’t know how to respond because Im just “ok think of 3 things she would probably say and go from there” while my brain just computer error sound

MC: and what about yourself? I’m sure there are tons of girls throwing themselves at you yet you choose me.

He pulls away and places his hands in his pockets with a chuckle.

Shaw: I’ve had my fair share before.

iVe HaD mY fAiR sHarE bEfoRe MY ASS

I’m convinced he’s had one time things with girls purely for information or he isn’t the least bit interested in relationships because he thrives on stimulation and entertainment and nOboDy iS gOoD eNouGh plus he literally asks what people do on dates when taking mc out in his first date in game SO

Either way, this is a LIE. The man can’t relationship for the life of him so he has no RIGHTS to tease her.

Just let him believe or you can try to tease him about it in hopes of getting a little pouty face out of him.

Honestly, their first date would just be the first date we got in the game and nobody can convince me otherwise.

Shaw is a wild child and doesn’t care for romantic dates. at least that’s what he wants you to think

A little insight on his character: He’s very blunt and easily pushes people away all the while keeping them close enough to gather intel. He doesn’t get emotionally attached to anyone and makes sure it’s mutual on both ends. Personal relationships only drag him down, especially in his line of work. He prioritizes other things before relationships which makes him so damn FRUSTRATING BUT I SWEAR I WILL CRACK YOU OPEN LIKE A WALNUT JUST YOU WATCH ME.

With that being said, after actually being in a relationship with MC for a while and opening up about their personal lives more, Shaw can be very romantic. He may be awkward for a bit at first since he literally doesn’t know what a date is but he gets there eventually.

He’s still full of fun but is also very gentle and makes sure MC is enjoying herself.

I got sidetracked with the actual HC on this one but Shaw stans need food I NEED FOOD

#mlqc #mr. love queen's choice #mr. love #mlqc gavin #mlqc shaw #mlqc kiro #mlqc victor #mlqc lucien #i had to limit myself because i started writing A LOT #i also had the BRILLIANT idea #*not really brilliant*#of Lucien offering to walk MC home after their date #and MC just ‘that’s ok. Youve already done so much for me tonight’#Lucien: Our apartments are right next to each other mc #MC:#*hello darkness my old friend plays in the bg*#she just wanted to be polite and the fucking LOGIC FLEW OVER HER HEAD LIKE #logic? dont know em #ms. walks in front of cars every day #i really enjoyed shaws too just because i love his bitch ass #like being able to meme 24/7 is my dream and that is legit all he’s good for #the S A S S #we love a sassy bitch #and his date we got in the game is all i need to say about their date after mcs reveal #shaw: cool so what IS a date exactly?#mc: youre kidding right?#shaw: well i mean i know it’s for couples but wtf do we do #mc: shopping/dinner/a movie #shaw: *jerry squints* thats boring as hell. lets go do some illegal shit

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thatsapphicsoprano · 3 years

Text

i just started watching your lie in april (and to all of those who might be wondering, no, i have never seen it before. disgraceful as a classical musician and anime fan, i know) heres my commentary so far!! maybe i’ll make anime commentary a regular thing. i enjoy it 😄

HEADS UP: i only just finished episode 5! i know that the ending is sad, but thats all i know in terms of spoilers! please dont spoil, thank you very much! (thats my nice way of saying “spoil me and i will throttle you”) ❤️

kaori is such a beautiful presence, shes so full of light and I love her!! ive even written down some of her quotes in my notes because she inspires me so much, as a person and as a fellow musician

I love tsubaki and wataru! best supportive jock friends! 😁

theyre all so small wow wow wow theyre 14? 14?! middle school babies i just want them to be safe and happy please —

kousei needs to go tf to therapy oh my god

like seriously

i dont know the full picture yet but what his mother did to him... that is beyond just tiger mom. it was abusive

and its terrifying because he doesnt even see it. he continues to side with his mother and grieve her no matter how much she haunts him

my dear. please seek help

anyway back to kaori!

im so enamoured by how she perceived life and music. i said this above too, but the way she views music as freedom is so inspiring to me, especially as a classical musician who (as much as i love the music) have felt the kind of pressure and hopelessness that kousei feels from being seen as a talent

i feel like i relate to him an awful lot

i would definitely like to adapt some of her views. i think it would be good for me

Also: the opening intro is awesome! its already on my anime playlist but i feel like watching the show has added to its charm :^))

i think thats all for now! im probably gonna have more to say when i continue it. i look forward to it!

#your lie in april #shigatsu wa kimi no uso #anime commentary

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calumance · 4 years

Text

LA Devotee - Part XVII

Warnings: first half in angsty, second half is fluffy

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: Emily is broken, and feels like she’s pushing Calum away. Calum is worried that Emily will never understand how real their relationship is. Meanwhile, Trevor calls up Emily for help with a surprise for Mikayla.

A/N: Thank you for being patient with me on this update, I took some much needed time off but now I am back so updates every Saturday!! 🥰🥰

Masterlist

As much as I loved Mikayla, and respected her words and advise, I did not try to call Calum. The second I got home, I filled Duke’s bowl full of food then headed for the couch. As soon as I made it to the couch, I curled up in a ball and laid there, watching mindless TV until my eyes were so tired that I had to shut them. I rolled so I was facing the back of the couch and put my hands over my face, blocking any source of light. I thought about what Mikayla said, to not over think it. Laying here like this is overthinking it, maybe I should try to call him.

I pushed myself away from the back of the couch and grabbed my phone. The picture of us on my background causing my leg to bounce in nervousness. My finger swiped across the screen to unlock it and I stared at Calum’s name. The dial tone sounded for a full minute before I was sent to his voicemail. My heart tightened and I closed my eyes after ending the call. I tossed my phone onto the coffee table and assumed the same position I had been in before. My eyes tightly shut, squeezing the tears from my eyes, my eyes stayed shut until I was lulled by the hurt into some sort of restless sleep.

My phone made a hard buzzing noise against the coffee table jolting me awake. It only vibrated once, but it was enough to cause me to scramble towards my phone, falling off the couch in the process. After I grabbed my phone, I was highly disappointed to see that it was Trevor. Wait, why the hell was Trevor texting me? “Hey, sorry for texting you out of the blue, but you’re Mikayla’s best friend so call me when you get a second.” My eyebrows stitched together, and in absolute panic, I immediately called Trevor. “Hey, Emily. Thanks for calling me so soon.”

“Is everything okay?” I blurted out, still sitting on the floor, because what was the point of standing up?

“No, yeah, everything’s awesome. I’m going to propose to Mikayla.” My heart skipped and beat and I wanted to scream in excitement. Mikayla has always expressed to me how head over heels she is for Trevor, and they’ve been together for almost four years now. “I wanted you to help me plan it. I already have a ring, I just don’t know what else to do, surely she has told you something about her perfect proposal?”

Oh, boy, has she. “She wants to be proposed to on the beach, at sunset. Venice beach, to be precise. She’s always dreamt of it being that she would be holding hands, walking along the shoreline with the guy- you- and talking about life. She told me that she would want her closest friends to be there, maybe for like a bonfire, or something. Of course, some drinks, music, you get what I’m saying.”

“Yeah, yeah. Like that night we had right after you moved here. We were at the beach and you two got all drunk on wine coolers.” He sighed, with a soft chuckle.

I chuckled back at the memory. “Yeah, like that, but about a hundred times more romantic.” My elbow rested on my knee as my fingers ran across my forehead. “When were you thinking of proposing?”

“Soon? Maybe like Sunday? Could you help me invite all of her friends? I already breached the idea to her, and she was all for it. Will you keep the proposal part of it kind of hushed though? I’d rather have only you know.” His voice became quiet, as if he was afraid of someone hearing him.

“Yeah, I’ll send out a mass invite in the morning. I’m so excited for you, Trevor.” He thanked me again and hung up. After I was sure the call had ended, I tossed my phone back onto the coffee table and laid back so I was pressed against the floor. I was happy for them, but I don’t know how I was supposed to have a happy face when the one person I want to talk to, won’t talk to me. I pushed the base of my palm into my eyes and groaned.

I reached above me for my phone and held it above my face, careful not to drop it on myself. Again, I tried to call Calum, and again the call went to voicemail. Before I started to cry again, I called Michael. One hand holding the phone to my ear, the other hand covering my eyes, in hopes that it would stop me from crying. “Emily!” Michael’s voice was cheery, and there was a few explosions behind him, like he was playing a video game.

“Hey, Michael. How are you doing?” My hand reminded over my eyes, and I swallowed down the sob in my throat.

“It’s going great! What’s going on with you?” He mumbled a few words as he continued to play whatever game he was playing.

My hand dropped from my face and my eyes narrowed at the sudden burst of light. “Not much, listen, Calum isn’t answering me, do you know if he’s okay?” Maybe he knew we were fighting, maybe he didn’t, either way, I left that part out.

Whatever Michael was into suddenly paused, the other end of the phone suddenly became really quiet. “I don’t know, actually. The only time I’ve seen today him was for our performance, after that he went straight for his hotel room and hasn’t come out since. I’m actually kind of worried about him.” I squeezed my eyes shut, and replaced my hand over my eyes. “Do you think I should knock on his door?”

“You’ve known him way longer than I have, Michael. Does he get like this a lot?” Michael hummed in response, but didn’t say much else. I sighed and licked my lips before continuing, “If you knock on his door, just don’t say anything about me calling.” Michael agreed and I hung up the phone. After a few minutes of laying on the floor, I sat up and started preparing the Facebook invite for Trevor and Mikayla’s party on Sunday.

At this point of the night, I had completely lost track of what time it was, all I knew was that it was late. Duke was curled in a ball at my feet at the other end of the couch, soft snores escaping through his nose every so often. My arms tucked into my chest, the sleeves of my sweater pulled over my hands. The episode of The Office where Jim proposes to Pam playing on the TV. Just as Jim knelt down, my phone buzzed. Without taking my eyes off the TV, I reached forward and grabbed my phone, thinking Michael had gone and talked to Calum. I sat bolt upright when I saw Calum’s name on my screen. My fingers frantically swiped to unlock my phone and read his message. “Hey, sunshine. Are you still awake?”

My eyes lifted to the TV just as Pam nodded to Jim and they embraced in a loving kiss. I looked back at my phone and typed back a simple “Yeah.” The three dots in the gray bubble showed up and I watched as they disappeared and his message showed up. “Can we talk?” My heart skipped a beat and I typed another simple “Yeah.”

Within a minute, my phone was ringing, what was surprising was that it was a Face Time call. I propped my phone up on the coffee table, tapped the answer button, then pulled my arm back into my chest. When Calum came into view, the only light that was illuminating his face was the light of the TV. He ran his hand down his face then grinned. Just as he grinned, I looked away from the phone and back at the TV. He sighed and out of the corner of my eye, I could see him reach up and turn the lamp on. “I’m sorry, Emily. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, I just wish you would realize how real this relationship is.”

As much as I wanted to fight him, he had a point. Everything that has happened to me in the past month and a half has felt like a complete and utter dream. None of it has felt real, and maybe I was acting like it wasn’t real, but how was I supposed to act when the last real relationship I had wasn’t actually real? I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands, hiding the tears that had started to fall. “I know I act tough, Calum, but my last relationship destroyed me. What I thought was real, ended up not being real, and our relationship has felt too good to be true since the second I laid my eyes on you. I’m sorry that I’m pushing you away.” Even though I covered my face, the sob that escaped my chest gave away the fact that I was crying, and I moved my hand to use my sleeve to dry under my eyes.

“Sunshine, you’re not pushing me away. No matter what happens, I will be here. I’m not going anywhere, you are worth every crazy second. Please don’t cry.” He paused for a second and then took a deep breath before continuing, “Can I tell you something?” I nodded, still covering my face with my sleeved hand. “You are the are the light of my life. I was wrong to act the way I did, I was just angry that I couldn’t be there to protect you. That’s my job as a boyfriend, and I couldn’t do that. There was not a second that went by today that I did not think about you, and I tried everything I could to fly home and see you, but there just isn’t time until my next day off in a few days. I’ve just been on edge because I miss you so fucking bad.” He gritted his teeth on the last few words and my breath hitched.

I brought my other hand to my face, “I miss you too.” The response was muffled by my hands and the tears. My chest heaved as I held in a sob, but then rolled over so my back was facing the camera.

Calum sighed, “Emily, please look at me.” I mumbled a ‘no’ into the back of the couch and Calum sighed again. “What do you want me to do, Em?”

My mind ran around in circles until I rolled over and grabbed my phone, surprising Calum. He leaned back and raised his eyebrows. “I want you to just bear with me. I want you to understand that having a perfect relationship has literally never happened to me. I am broken, and I am pretty certain that you are going to be the one to fix me, but it’s going to take time.” I used my sleeve to dry the tears off my face and I licked my lips, thinking of how I wanted to word my next thought. “I care about you very much. I want us to last for a long time, it’s just going to take a while for me to realize what a functional relationship looks like. Can you promise me that you’ll be patient with me and still continue to,” I licked my lips, “Care for me?”

Calum grinned and looked down while nodding, “Of course, Emily. I’m not going anywhere, not any time soon.” I nodded and bit my lip. My eyes met the floor, we were silent for a minute, but Calum cleared his throat and started talking about his day. Which was nice, because I missed talking to him all day. By the end of the night, we were laughing and talking as if the past twenty-four hours never happened.

On Sunday afternoon, I wore a black and white striped maxi skirt with a white tank top, a jean jacket and some sandals. As I was getting ready, I Face Timed Calum. “How do I look?” I asked as I stood in front of the floor length mirror in our shared bathroom.

He eyebrows raised, his fingers running over his lips to hide a smirk. He looked over the top of his phone, then back to the phone. “You look absolutely ravishing, honey.” I blushed and turned the camera to the front facing one as I walked around the house to grab the rest of my things before walking out the front door. “What are you guys doing tonight, again?”

I closed the door to my car and placed my phone in the holder which is suction cupped to the windshield. “I’ve told you, Trevor wanted to have a party with all of Mikayla’s closest friends, like this one time when she and I got all stupid drunk on the beach.” Calum hummed, knowing I was hiding something. “And, Trevor is proposing to Mikayla. I’m only telling you because you’re not here and blow the surprise.”

His eyes widened and spread a wide toothy smile, “Hey! That’s awesome, they’ve been together for a while, right?” He looked over his phone again and nodded in response to the person in front of him.

I glanced behind me to change lanes, and then looked back at Calum. He was still holding onto his phone, but he was wiring his in ear monitors, wrapping them around the top of his ears so they were just hanging. “Yeah,” I smiled at him. “About four years now, maybe longer than that. I can’t remember exactly how long she told me they’ve been together.” My eyes flicked between my phone and the road. Calum was shoving one of his monitors into his ear, “Do you need me to let you go?”

He shook his head and frowned, “No, I still have a couple more minutes.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see him prop the phone against something and took a few steps back to take a drink from his water bottle and start doing his pre-performance routine.

Just as he was called to the stage, I pulled into the parking lot by the beach. Trevor and Mikayla were already there, laying out the beach blanket next to the firepit that had already been set up. Calum and I bid each other goodbye and I grabbed my things to head to their spot. Before stepping into the sand I took my sandals off and lifted the bottom of my skirt. As I waded my way through the sand, a breeze blew my hair back and tickled my face. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon, and all I could think about was how much better it would be if Calum were here with me. When I finally reached the blanket, Mikayla stood up and wrapped her arms around me. While her arms were around me Trevor smiled and nodded at me knowing that everything was going to be perfect.

Everyone I had invited showed up within ten minutes of me being there. Drinks were quickly passed around, and a speaker was brought out to play some music to keep everyone smiling and laughing. My heart skipped a beat when the song switched to a 5 Seconds of Summer song. As much as I loved the song, I couldn’t help but lower my eyes and wash back the rest of my drink. “Emily, do you want me to change the song? I know how much you’ve been missing him.” Mikayla asked, reaching for her phone.

“No, no, it’s a fine. I like this song, and it’s nice to hear his voice.” I smiled as Trevor handed me another drink, twisting the cap off for me. “Thank you.” I held up my drink and threw my head back taking another large gulp.

“When does he come back?” Our friend Sarah asked. She was leaning back, pressed against her boyfriend’s chest, his arms wrapped around her stomach.

“He comes home for a break in a month. I was thinking about visiting him before then, though. We’ve just been so busy at work that I haven’t really found the right time.” I shrugged and Sarah nodded. “Anyway, I’m okay, he’s okay. Let’s go back to laughing and having a good time.” Everyone nodded and someone dropped a joke, causing the mood to lighten back up.

Soon, the sun was starting to set and Trevor made eye contact with me. Mikayla was just the perfect amount of buzzed, her eyes were sparkling and I knew she was already having one of the best nights of her life. As I brought the bottle to my lips, I nodded. He nodded back at me, and whispered into Mikayla’s ear. She nodded and they both stood to walk towards the water. As they approached the sand, I stood and grabbed my phone. I followed behind them as they held hands and walked along the water line. Once Trevor stopped walking, I pulled out my phone and recorded. I got close enough that I could just barely hear them, but concentrated on videoing the moment. They held hands while Trevor spilled his heart, until he got down on one knee, pulling a small black velvet box from his pocket. Mikayla’s hands shot up and covered her mouth. I could hear her gasp and then she nodded vigorously. Trevor placed the ring on her finger then stood and hugged her, placing a long kiss to her lips.

I stopped the recording and stood in my place until Mikayla caught sight of me and started running towards me. My arms stretched out as she jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly. My arms wrapped around her tightly and we held each other just for a moment. When she pulled away she showed me her ring. It was a rose gold ring with an oval diamond and a halo of diamonds that had the clasp holding the stone at the top to make the halo look like stars. As Trevor walked past me, I fist bumped him. Finally, my best friend was engaged, and I couldn’t be more happy for her.

When I got home, I immediately fell into bed. The morning was going to come quickly, and waking up on Mondays was hard enough as it is. After finding the motivation, I pushed myself off the bed and put on a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt. As I was brushing my teeth, my phone began to ring. With my toothbrush still in my mouth, I walked back into the bedroom and grabbed my phone, answering Calum’s Face Time. He chuckled when he saw the toothbrush hanging out of my mouth. I smiled and propped my phone on the sink and held up my pointer finger. “Okay.” He said, his voice husky and low, making my bones shiver.

Quickly, I finished brushing my teeth and grabbed my phone off the sink. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to call. How was your show?” As I walked out of the bathroom, I switched the light off, walking my way towards the bed.

“It was good,” He began and I crawled under the covers and switched on the bedside lamp. “How was your night? Did Mikayla say yes?” He raised his eyebrows and smiled, remembering that I had told him Trevor was proposing.

A smile stretched across my face and I leaned my phone against the lamp on the nightstand. “Yeah, she did. I took a video do you want me to send it to you?”

He raised and arm and let it rest against his forehead. “I’d love to see it. I’ll watch it tomorrow, though. I’m exhausted.” His eyes started to shut and I couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s fine. Why don’t we both get some sleep and talk again tomorrow?” He nodded and then we bid each other a goodnight before the call ended. Before rolling over onto my side, I sent Calum the video. For the first night in a couple of days, I was able to fall asleep with a smile on my face.

************

Tag list: @notinthesameguey @thinkofmehlgh @limer-encia @another-lonely-heart @itsmytimetoodream @babyoria

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luobingmeis · 4 years

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Pls give us the AtLA rant, I have a mighty need!

askjskjsdkjdskj i copy and pasted my rant from last night bc imo the raw energy of “i am genuinely shocked and angry (in a good way)” is something i cannot recreate right now

so here is the rant i went on in my groupchat + the secret side conversation i had in DMs bc, in my 3 person gc, 2 of us are watching it for the first time and i already knew some stuff going in so i didn’t want to spoil

it’s all under the cut bc it’s long as fuck (like almost 2k words if not more)

but basically i go into my own type of avatar-state while talking abt zuko!!!!

(I HAVEN’T STARTED BOOK 3 YET, PLEASE NO SPOILERS)

groupchat:

but i just finished book 2 and it took a completely different turn from what i thought it was going to like i am actually in shock and have officially reached my point of "zuko what the actual fuck" because the choice to do good was right there after everything he and iroh went through and after all that he saw and letting aang go multiple times and he was starting to be happy in this new life and saw that he and iroh could be free and he still went back to azula for his pride and honor, turning against aang and katara after he and katara could have finally reached a moment of understanding

but like what the fuck i am more mad at s2 zuko than i was at s1 zuko bc, in season 1, the avatar and his honor was the only thing he thought about, but in s2, he met people who had their lives ruined by the fire nation!! and he worked with them!!!! iroh was showing him what it was like to live completely free, doing what he wants!!!! and he was starting to understand!!!!! but im so pissed and so fucking shocked bc, this entire fucking time, i was like "oh yeah the end of s2 is going to be when zuko joins, right? bc i mean book 3 is fire, so zuko has to teach him fire bending" but no, he willingly chose to keep pursuing the avatar after fucking everything he has seen, after knowing how people were affected by the fire nation, after everything iroh did for him

and he knows what he did!! he knows!!!!! he told azula that he betrayed iroh!!!!!!! he fucking knows

when iroh showed up to fight both him and azula, i was fucking losing it bc iroh's love has been so unconditional for zuko, he supported zuko through everything and even helped him try to capture the avatar at times, but that was the final straw

zuko willingly walked into world domination. he doesn't even fucking trust azula! he never has! but she brought up his pride and honor, and she's powerful as all hell, and he sided with her! after everything!

i really thought he was learning that his quest for the avatar was fruitless! it's not going to bring him happiness! his life in the fire nation will never return to normal

aang has saved his life so many god damn times, him and katara were reaching a point of understanding! they fucking talked about how the fire nation took both of their mothers

and i'm so floored bc this was all willing

when zuko was exiled, he had no choice! it was either find the avatar or have no home. but he was finding a home! he finally seemed so happy with iroh! it really seemed like iroh's teachings were getting through to him! that he was learning what he really wanted (freedom)! but he still went back to the fire nation except this time he chose to. he looked at the people he was starting to understand, at the man who has been a better father than ozai ever could, and willingly chose to turn away for the sake of pillaging and conquering and "honor" in a family that doesn't care about him

at first, i was like "this has to be a trick, right? he's fighting them now so that he can backstab azula later, right?"

but when katara said to him "i thought you changed!" and he said "i have" i was fucking besides myself

im so angry but im also fucking exhilirated bc this i did not expect

i would've put so much money on there being a meaningful moment of zuko stepping up alongside aang

like, i was so sure this would happen

i was convinced

but holy shit

and fucking!!! zuko knows what iroh went through at ba sing se with the loss of his son (and probably the realization that what the fire nation was doing was fucked up) and zuko still turned against iroh

after everything iroh did for him! iroh was the only person who stood by zuko's side during everything. he pleaded zuko's case over and over, he seeked out the gaang bc he needed their help and he was so sure that zuko would make the right decision!!! he saw zuko let the avatar go before, but when zuko was faced w/ azula's assistance and the avatar right there, he just went back to his old ways except worse bc this is willing

and like

am i discounting the manipulations of azula and ozai? no!!!

that definitely had a hand in it, bc azula has been dangling honor and ozai's love in front of zuko the entire time

but i really thought that the end of s2 would be when zuko sees past all of that

except he turned back to the family that doesn't even love him, betraying the only person who truly cared for him and loved him unconditionally and wanted the best for him, and now he has a direct hand in the collapse of ba sing se and world domination

like okay let it be known that this is some of the best writing ive seen and im fucking obsessed and im living for this and it's so fucking good so my anger is fueled by excitement and shock

and also i fucking love negative character development

like. i love zuko. and literally i think that's part of this too bc i was so sure that he was going to make the right decision

and instead i had to face the dawning realization that he wasn't

and now he and azula are teaming up to end the earth kingdom

like i thought i knew where this was gonna go and now i'm genuinely lost (in a good way)

and like i haven't even touched upon aang's chakra being locked bc he went back to katara

(also don't even get me started on the painful irony of iroh telling aang that sometimes it's better to choose love and friendship over power)

(like really don't get me started because i'm about to combust)

after everything iroh did for zuko!!!

after the gaang has saved his life!!!!!!!

and the best thing is, it was shocking but still not out of character

that's the beautiful thing

this was always an option for zuko

it's the point of the crossroads!!! you can go either way!!!!!!!

i just thought he was gonna go...................... the other way

and like literally the fact that he sided with azula after obviously not liking her basically his entire life (or at least his adolescence) is so fucking telling for how he made this decision bc. unless there's some behind the scenes stuff, he saw the avatar and his pride and his honor so clearly, and he saw how powerful azula was becoming, and decided that he would still take it even in the face of azula's manipulations and violence

if that makes sense

if you can't tell, i'm kinda reeling right now

like, apparently zuko wants his honor/power so badly that he'll side with azula!!!

after they spent an entire season fighting her

but also....... azula finally gave him that option of working together. before, it was always azula vs. zuko

now, though, azula was offering a world dominating olive branch

so now like im thinking....... what if that happened earlier? would zuko always have turned? or is it just because everything he ever wanted was so close to him?

and it's wonderful bc it's still so in-character. like, even siding with azula, it's not bc he suddenly cares for his sister or whatever, but it's because he chose honor/pride/the fire nation over freedom/giving up what he always wanted. i don't think he was choosing azula, he was choosing his pre-written destiny over making his own

god is any of this making sense i am literally so fucking shocked

i literally need like 3 episodes solely on iroh at this point bc you know what probably fucking sucks??? losing his first son to the war in ba sing se, and then losing his nephew (who he saw as another son) to starting war in ba sing se

like? that has to feel like a fucking slap in the face ten times over

especially bc iroh left the fire nation with zuko (and probably for zuko), most likely giving up his full title there

and like? the fighting sequences are so cool but it was so fucking heartbreaking to hear iroh tell aang "you go on ahead! i will hold off both of them!" because like. iroh can't wait any longer! he thinks (and knows) that zuko is making the wrong choice, but he can't wait any longer! he can't stand by while zuko dominates an entire city and say "oh, he's really complicated, he's going through something"! because zuko did go through it and he came out of it and he still made that choice! iroh probably feels like all his patience, all his efforts, all his teachings and love, went to fucking waste! because it didn't get him anywhere!

like, iroh probably still loves zuko but he probably feels so fucking betrayed and hurt and disappointed because, after seeing zuko let the avatar go before and seeming so happy, he probably thought that zuko was changing for the better! and now, he has to fight his niece AND his nephew! this no longer is zuko insulting some other general or his crew that iroh can fix by explaining what happened w/ ozai and how zuko is very conflicted! this is a situation that zuko willingly walked in, even after hearing and knowing all of iroh's teachings!

anyways! poetic cinema

like also pls dont think im ignoring everything else in the episode, like aang's chakra being locked was fucking wild and that entire episode was so good, with the fight sequences and everything abt azula, and toph’s metal bending, just forgive me bc im a little uhhhhh distracted by a twist that i genuinely did not expect

i feel bad for how focused i am right now on zuko but also how can i not be bc that feels so connected to literally everything else

also tho on a brighter note, true serotonin was when appa finally returned :')

it's so wonderful that appa broke out by himself. he did it all on his own! no one else was there. at all :)

(im kidding that was actually a very important moment in zuko's character)

(or at least i thought it was going to be)

(well actually it still is, but it's come to the question of "you can always say what you're going to do in a situation, but what happens when you're actually faced with it?”)

DMs:

i know that zuko gets redeemed, right? like i know, in the end, they will all team up

but the fact that it didn't happen now

holy shit

like.......... a whiiiiiiile ago on tumblr, i saw a post that was like "zuko has a great redemption but he needed to work for it bc he did awful things" and like? tbh yeah i got that s1 zuko was the antag and he did shitty things but like...................... this feels so much more poignant

like zuko literally has a direct hand now in the collapse of the earth kingdom

literally not to be dramatic but this is like. taz-reveal levels of shocked right now.

i thought i knew the zuko arc

bc i know he gets redeemed!!

so, after watching this season, i was thinking "oh okay it's gonna be this season! makes sense!"

but.... deep down

deep down..............

a part of me was kinda like "so is season 1 zuko....... it? is that the end of his antagonisms? is season 2 meant to be his redemption? i dig it, but i thought it would be more...................... dramatic"

well!

got what i wished for!

and i am in the best kinds of hell

like i almost feel bad bc so much other stuff happened in the finale (like, for example, aang's chakra being locked, which i screamed at, it was so good) but like. i genuinely did not expect this.

like. holy fuck.

like, now i really understand why people say that zuko needed to really work for his redemption bc he and azula are tag teaming the end of the earth kingdom

#answered #jordie watches atla #Anonymous

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the-busy-ghost · 4 years

Text

Alright here’s my belated Thoughts on that latest TSP episode. I should add again, I am in no way saying people shouldn’t like this show, I just need to be petty on my own blog.

- Stafford’s Performative Masculinity is a bit Much, even for a sixteenth century man

- Katherine doesn’t want Wolsey appointed chancellor because that would give him too much power and the chancellor is apparently the second most powerful man in the kingdom... so powerful in fact that I’m not even sure we’ve seen the current chancellor on screen, except in his ecclesiastical role as archbishop of Canterbury

- Ah the migrating towers of Holyrood. They weren’t there for the last two episodes and they won’t be there next scene either but they’ll be *theoretically* here all week folks.

- It is mildly hilarious that this show seems to think that every single moment in Scottish politics took place in one wee house in Somerset “Edinburgh”, and the only people who are ever involved are two dozen stereotypical Scottish noblemen, and one Englishwoman (and no clergy? Which is extremely weird given how heavily involved they were in royal administration).

- Not to mention they imply Holyrood is meant to be Edinburgh (it is now, then it was actually in the burgh of the Canongate but close enough) and yet the burgh skyline of Edinburgh is never visible in the background of these shots, just rolling fields and a nondescript hill that I assume is meant to be Arthur’s seat.

- Ok so we’re portraying Angus as the poetic soul instead of his uncle, that’s fine, that makes no sense but it’s fine.

- Who the fuck is Bishop McElroy. Setting aside the fact that McElroy was more common in Ireland than Scotland during the sixteenth century (and there were no major noble or even influential lairdly families bearing the surname), why could they not have just done a google search and found out that, oh yeah, there were Real Life Scottish Bishops in 1515, anyone of whom would have done. And I don’t know why they mucked about with the timeline but if they were going to muck around with the timeline anyway then then how about maybe even, dare I say it, Gavin Douglas, bishop-elect of Dunkeld???

- Also I didn’t quite catch the full line so I may have misheard but I think Margaret states that they got married in the kirk of South Queensferry? I mean tbh this only confirms my belief that the writers think everything happened in the vicinity of Edinburgh (and that they didn’t even bother to think to TRY and find out where the marriage might have taken place, just started tossing a few Scottish place names out there as if that would do. The Ferry’s not even that private, it was on a major pilgrimage route and an important crossing point over the Forth). It’s also a bit irritating because there’s no reason for the inaccuracies? They didn’t have to show the wedding so they didn’t have to change the location or characters for ease of filming or anything, it’s just a throwaway line, there’s no reason for them to make up a bishop and unlikely wedding location? Anyway join us next week as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn conduct their affair in the middle of London Bridge.

- Also excuse me while I make an unconvinced noise at that line about how the Douglases (i.e. all of them, not just the Red ones) have always ‘licked the balls of England’. While their notoriety for being Shady As Fuck and occasionally siding with the English was certainly well known, no sixteenth century Scotsman worth his salt would have sullied the name of the Good Sir James just to score points off the Angus branch of the family.

- (Maybe this is a bad time to point out that they’re not technically licking ‘balls’ in this instance either...)

- I take it back there was one (1) woman very briefly in that scene where Margaret and “Angus” rushed to grab the bairns. She was promptly never seen again. Confirmed Cryptid.

- Also where did all the other bairns (James IV’s ones, not Margaret’s) go. I mean they were actually there last episode I think, so it’s not like they were implying that Margaret got rid of them as soon as she could. Have they FINALLY grown up?

- How quickly do letters travel in this world? How long have they been in that cellar? Are they still there?

- Wait so now Katherine of Aragon knows his name is Archibald??? Why has everyone been calling him ‘Angus Douglas’ then, even when his dad (and presumably grandfather) was alive?

- Lol @ Henry ‘after all I’ve done for her’. Do tell, what HAVE you done for Margaret.

- Hang on so Thomas Boleyn is Earl of Wiltshire already and yet his father-in-law Thomas Howard still isn’t duke of Norfolk

- Second LOL @ an archbishop of York willfully summoning a naturalised Frenchman to Scotland without the king of England’s permission, as if Scotland lay in his gift and as if that was in any way a good idea, even for some political point-scoring

- “Margaret’s sons must take the throne”- Katherine are you aware that James V was crowned King of Scots not two weeks after Flodden, and approximately seven months before his younger brother Alexander was even born.

- Again, HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN IN THE CELLAR? Angus has grown a BEARD.

- He’s not the future king he IS the king. A tiny toddler king. You help him go potty you disrespectful shite, I don’t care if you’re having a nervous breakdown. (May I just point out again it is CRIMINAL that David Lindsay isn’t in this)

- We all pause for An Exaggerated Whispering Scene, that great period drama staple. I mean are we sure they’re gossiping about Henry and a *woman*, because the way people are talking about Wolsey at that dinner once again makes it look like he’s the real Mistress

- So wait how is this ‘letting’ Margaret go with Howard thing supposed to work. Is it like knock-knock special delivery for the duke of Norfolk, here you go please take your princess back.

- And when exactly did Angus do all this negotiating when he has supposedly been stuck in a cellar for weeks. Gavin Douglas has a lot to answer for, and not just the sheer length of the Eneados.

- ‘Bog-fuckers’ - not a bog in sight in this west country version of Scotland. Also er, just how does one fuck a bog. Asking for a friend.

- I’m just being pedantic, Howard’s foul mouth is actually the only genuine piece of comedy the writers can come up with in this tv show.

- Howard putting up a good front here but come on there’s like six of them and about two dozen Miscellaneous Scotsmen. I know that the English were very practised in quartering Scots whenever they liked but eight to one is not good odds, even for the victor of Flodden.

- Yeah that whole scene is not how the history worked. At All. But let’s let them ride dramatically away across a field as if it’s at all plausible. (Also why is it always fields- I know Scotland’s roads were bad in the sixteenth century, but seriously they were at least *technically* roads when you got near Edinburgh)

- And there was definitely no Isabella Hoppringle, which is again, criminal. I mean I expected it but it’s still sad. Mind you I suppose that might imply that Scottish women are real creatures and not cryptids which, as we know, is totally unrealistic.

- Even weirder though, they’re not including Margaret Douglas? Why?

- Only one man has ever been in the king’s rooms? Seriously? You expect us to believe this, not only from a historical accuracy perspective, but also from the tv show that gave us implied Wolsey/Henry?

- The Great English Midwife Shortage c.1509-1516

- Do NONE of the many many grown-up people at the English court understand the lottery of birth and that you can’t just like, assume the baby will be a boy even if you hope it will. Wishful thinking is one thing (and common) but this wholehearted belief thing is frankly unrealistic.

- It’s also unfair how they’re treating Mary as unloved by both her parents. We know Katherine loved her daughter in some way, and it’s also not really fair to say that Henry VIII was anything less than a doting father in her early years.

- And the record for fastest churching goes to Katherine again. Cracking cape though.

- Katherine all ‘he won’t visit his daughter’- you won’t even look at her either though. How is this a sympathetic depiction of Katherine again? Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely understandable if a royal mother didn’t always want to hold her daughter but really? After every other negative light they’ve shown Katherine in and called it Empowerment?

- Hey I don’t know much about English customs but seems to me that inviting the French to intervene in Scotland without consulting the king might just be a beheading offence Wolsey. AND THEN HENRY COVERS FOR HIM? THE PAGES OF ENGLISH HISTORY BOOKS ARE NOT STAINED WITH THE BLOOD OF CIVIL SERVANTS EXECUTED FOR FAR LESSER OFFENCES FOR THIS KIND OF NONSENSE TO BE ACCEPTABLE.

- Thomas Boleyn, dad of the year

- People do kiss, Margaret Pole. That was a common thing. MEN kissed each other goddamnit. Not really good enough. I mean by your logic Katherine should have broken up with Henry after her dad laid one on him in the first episode.

- How is it that Thomas More, of all people, has the Goss.

- Oh and apparently there was also a National Laundress Shortage in 1516 too.

Ok so it was about as meh as every other episode but I think this one really brought home to me how poorly thought out Margaret’s storyline was. I mean usually these period dramas have to insert Drama for no reason to keep people interested, but Margaret’s life was FULL of drama and they had so much to work with. Instead they seem to have actually stripped most of the drama out to tell an utterly incomprehensible story about a bunch of stereotypical Scotsmen, who all live in the same house in Fake Edinburgh, chasing the only woman in Scotland into the cellar, and then posting her off back to England a few weeks later.

#TSP #Margaret Tudor #rants #I know I know #I finally got the internet back #And I'm using it to have a really petty rant about a tv show I'm largely indifferent to #This is the true purpose of tumblr

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vanchlo · 4 years

Text

The Assistant / Chapter Thirty One, “Timing”

Find all chapters to this story here!

Check out the character survey from Becky’s POV I did recently! :-)

Warnings: Very brief mention of IVs (needles)

Song Inspo: My My Love by Joshua Radin (Click to listen)

Sneaky Peeeeeeeeeky!

“A spark ignites on my cheek, almost like a tickle. And when I look over, his eyes are glued to me. The tip of his calloused finger brushes a ghost of a touch under my eye. “I neva knew ya hadda scar there,” he murmurs, running the tip of his finger over the oblong light brown shape.

“I-It’s not a scar,” I say quickly, but at the same time, at a loss for words. He’s so close his breath smelling of chamomile tea passes by me within a second. And God, those pouty strawberry lips are so decadent, and tempting. “It’s a birthmark. I usually cover it up with makeup, that’s probably why you’ve never seen it.” Finished, I turn my head back to the telly, his finger dropping from the barely one inch mark.

“Wha’? Why d’ya do that? ‘s lovely.” As much as I try to drown my thoughts in the scene unraveling before my eyes, I can’t. Because his words, and the tingling under my eye consume my thoughts. The devil and angel inside my head bounce up and down in their seats.”

“No. W-what are you doing here?” I stutter, unable to control my words. Or my thoughts. Or my emotions.

At the drop of my words, Harry’s face falls. His eyebrows. The budding smile on his lips. And the brightness in his eyes. But he masks it quickly. And it escapes my mind when he crosses the distance between us. His black slacks, teal geometric-patterned button down, and curls are a blur in the seconds that follow. Suddenly, his arms are around me and pulling me into him. With sleep still clinging to my mind, and unsure of what to do, I freeze.

“Please don’t tell me you left work to drive 3 hours to come to Madley,” I confess quietly into the damp shoulder of his black peacoat. Shivering, his fingers run trails up and down my back.

“Shuddup, I ‘ave a case t’morrow nearby in Wolverhampton . . . Jus’ lemme do sumthin’ nice fer ya,” he says, his soft words drifting over the top of my head.

“I-I’m sorry. I just woke up and you caught me off guard,” I apologize meekly, feeling myself relax. My arms wind around his waist and lace themselves together over his coat.

“‘s okay,” he hums. His hands pause and I feel them brush my hair away. “I know ya hadda rough night- well couple o’ days,” Harry murmurs, his lips brushing against my hair. My lungs still and I wait, wondering if he’ll kiss my head. But it doesn’t come, and I try to will away the disappointment beginning inside of me. I’ve become so accustomed to it that it doesn’t want to leave this time. Then it’s joined by the happy disbelief appearing wet in my eyes.

“Couldn’ stop thinkin’ ‘bout ya, an’ figured I had t’ come up ‘ere t’morow mornin’ anyways. Wha’s an extra night hurt?” The first few words do it for me, and there I am spewing tears all over his shoulder. They’re not a waterfall, but the emotions growing inside of me feel that way. And they’re here, because he is.

He holds me tighter against him, and I feel his cheek rest on my head. Holding on tight to his coat, I let myself and everything I’m feeling melt against him. “You don’t know what it means to me that you’re here,” I confess in a trembling voice interrupted by sniffling.

“I think I do do, ‘coz you were there fer me tha day o’ tha funeral when I needed a friend. An’ at tha hospital. Ya showed up fer me, Becks, an’ I wanted t’ do tha same fer ya,” Harry reveals softly from above me. My lips bend into a happy smile amongst the tears that come harder at his words. “I brought dinna, ‘cuz I knew ya prolly hadn’t eaten. ‘s luck that I found ya atta vendin’ machine.”

His precious laugh greets my ears as his fingers tickle up my back. The bunches of fabric leave my hands, and I step away to search for those green eyes. After a few seconds, I find them staring down at me. They’re blurry behind the tears, but soon his smiling face sharpens.

“No mo’ tears, ‘kay? Le’s go eat some dinna an’ find sumthin’ good on tha telly,” Harry whispers, running the pad of his thumb along my cheeks. Nodding, his hand envelopes mine and we go to find a sitting area.

The halls are deserted besides a few nurses checking in on patients. Familiar medical-sounding beeps sound throughout the hallway. After guiding the way for Harry as I wipe my cheeks, we soon find our dining table. Or rather a sofa with a little table.

“I hope fish an’ chips ‘s alright,” he says, doubt filling his words.

“Of course they are. Did you get them from Maggie’s over on Fifth?”

“Yeah, I think so. Li’l shop with photos coverin’ tha walls?” he questions as he unpacks the brown paper bag.

“Yep, that’s the one. They make the best fish and chips I’ve had. And I would know, because I grew up eating these ones my entire life.”

“Well I guess ya would know then,” Harry relents, shrugging his shoulders with a toothy smile.

Whispered ‘thank yous’ float between us as we pass each other food and napkins. With two cups of water from the cooler a few steps away, we dig in.

“No kiddin’, these are good. ‘s always tha family owned shops that make tha best ones, innit?” Harry mumbles with a mouth full of food. I reply with an ‘mmmhmm’, trying not to laugh at the crumbs speckling his chin.

The crispy, buttery cod melts on my tongue. With my free hand, I grab hold of the gray remote sitting on the table beside me.

“Hey, ‘s my turn t’ pick what we watch,” Harry whines, stealing the remote from me.

“Rude!” I retort, but any words I had left to say collapse into laughter. Licking his thumb, he peeks over at me. A sly grin stuck to his lips.

Shaking my head, I look away and pick up a chip from the paper tray in my hand. When my eyes return to him, a ketchup-covered chip sits in his hand. Meanwhile, his face is screwed up in concentration at the telly. I smile, and then notice his reflection in the dark window on the other side of him. Kicking his foot with my right, he turns to the left to look at me in confusion.

“Just pick something!” I tell him, my palm turning up to help me talk. His dark curls dance atop his head as it goes from side to side.

“Oh hush, you. Cantcha letta man think?” he quips before feeding the chip past his cherry lips.

“No, not when it takes you an hour to pick what to watch,” I reply, yanking it from his hands.

“Heeeey! I was jus’ gonna pick that episode o’ Friends!”

“Wait, you like Friends?!” I nearly yell, my head snapping to look at him.

“O’course! Who doesn’t? I grew up watchin’ that show with me mum an’ sista,” he answers. With those words, my heart does a somersault in my chest. Oh my fuck, I’m falling again. “Wha’? Do ya not like it?”

“No, I-I love it. I grew up watching it, too. It’s like my comfort show - I watch it when I’m happy, sad, mad, excited- you name it,” I reply slowly, engrossed in gathering ketchup onto my chip. When I hear his murmured ‘me too’ from a mouth full of food, the devil and angel inside of me go crazy. For once, they seem to root for the same team.

“Favourite characta?” his words greet the air effortlessly. He licks the salt and grease from his thumb, and I suddenly regret looking up. The things you do to me, Styles.

“On the count of 3?” I ask, and his chestnut ringlets bounce with a nod.

“1 . . . 2 . . . 3.”

“Phoebe!” we both say in unison, sending us into fits of giggles.

“There’s nuthin’ betta than her on dat show. She’s hilarious, plays guitar, ‘s a surrogate fer her bloody brotha, an’ ‘s gorgeous,” Harry explains, and I’m following with every word. And with each one, I feel the butterflies in my tummy flutter again. For possibly the tenth time already tonight.

“All of the great jokes and catchphrases from the show are from her: Regina Phalange, Smelly Cat, Princess Consuela Banana Hammock, ‘I don’t even have a pla’, Gladys the framed doll, and that stupid taxi. She’s blunt and so funny, but she’s so sweet and would do anything for her friends,” I continue, watching him nod emphatically as he picks up another chip.

“Couldn’ ‘ave said it betta meself. Oh I love dis episode where they’re stuck at tha beach house. Poor Phoebs findin’ out tha truth ‘bout her mum dat way, tho’,” Harry comments, his mouth falling into a delighted and then sad O. My eyes follow his to the screen of the telly where our attention is held for the next twenty minutes.

My shoes only stop squeaking when I stop in front of the garbage bin. After tossing the greasy paper bag, I rub a pump of hand sanitizer into my hands. I wince at the awful sounds my shoes make as I try to walk quietly down the tiled hallway. The snoring greets my ears before I see him, but when I do, I smile. With careful steps, I pluck my backpack from the couch before leaving the room.

“He still sleepin’?” Harry asks, looking up from the Friends marathon from the telly. We scored!

“Yep,” I answer, plopping down onto the sofa beside him.

“Good,” he answers, slumping down further into the gray cushions. My backpack drops with a thud to the floor after I got what I needed. “What’re ya doin’? ‘s eleven-thirty, love. Tha’s no time t’ be doin’ homework.”

“I know, but I need to submit an assignment before I forget. It’s due at midnight,” I answer, seeing his nod out of the corner of my eye.

My laptop wakes with its usual jingle, and I watch my browser load. The audience laughter fills my ears at a humorous line from Chandler. Surprise, surprise. The maroon and navy blue colors of my uni’s website appear in front of me. Within a few moments, I’m on the web page for my course.

“Wha’s tha assignment?” Harry inquires, his eyes never leaving the telly. A laugh creases his cheeks, making me smile. But I’m not very sad I missed what’s so funny, because he makes up for it.

“Um, it’s an essay about Thomas Cromwell and his theories and stuff,” I reply, opening the page for assignments.

“Ah, I see they ‘aven’t changed coursework much from my day. Cromwell ‘s bloody obvious when ya start talkin’ ‘bout British law.”

“I know, it’s like the professor didn’t even try when drafting this assignment,” I comment with a small titter. Relief washes over me when I get a message saying my submission was successful. And something else too from being able to talk to him about law so easily. Something akin to how a hot chocolate makes you feel on a winter’s day.

I glance up and find Harry losing it with laughter. There’s a fleeting temptation to ask him to clue me in. But a laugh tingles on my lips when I find what he’s laughing at. Monica’s crying as she holds onto Chandler’s arm, an ocean scene in the background.

“Can’ believe Joey actually peed on Monica.” The words leave Harry’s mouth in between chuckles rather sloppily.

“He was just trying to help!” I comment, unable to stop laughing either.

“But it doesn’t even help! They say it makes it worse even,” he laughs, rubbing his forehead.

Shaking my head, my eyes fall to my laptop screen. After a few clicks, lines of text cloud my eyes. My eyes roll into the back of my head at their appearance. I find it nearly impossible to hold back a groan.

“What’re you gripin’ ‘bout ova here?” Harry questions with teasing in his tone.

“I have to read the entire case of Haughton v. Smith for a test, and it’s so confusing. I mean, working with you brushed me up on a lot of legal mumbo jumbo. But still, a lot of it doesn’t make sense to me,” I huff, my chin falling into the palm of my hand.

“Alright, lemme see what part yer at,” he says in a quiet voice. I try to ignore the regret budding inside of me at what I said about working at his firm. And how it makes me feel, and probably him, too. I don’t know why I ever bring it up, because sometimes it feels like when somebody else brings up the ex-boyfriend, or something. The sofa cushion dips as he closes the space between us. The angel and demon inside of me erupt into synonymous cheers when his arm goes around me.

“God, did you forget your glasses or something, Grandpa?” my question sputters from my lips in a cackle, watching him squint at the screen.

“Oh shuddup, an’ I mean it,” Harry quips, looking away for a moment. When I see the reason why, instead of a laugh consuming my thoughts, something else does. For some fucking reason, my heart warms at the sight of him unfolding a pair of mottled brown Pantos glasses. He tucks the brown case into the inside of his blazer, his peacoat on a chair. “Ya ya, laugh all ya want at me an’ me readin’ glasses.”

But when he looks down at me with them settled on his nose, I don’t laugh. “Why aren’t ya laughin’ anymo’, hmm?” he questions.

“I think they look really nice on you. They make you look handsome and sophisticated,” I tell him slowly, and it’s undeniable the pink that pinches his cheeks.

“Well ‘s ‘bout time fer dat t’ happen, only took me twenty-nine years,” he jokes, bringing a smile to my lips. My head goes from side to side as I close my eyes, my cheeks bunching from happiness painting my lips. Yeah, it’s about time for a lot of things right about now. “Alrigh’, lemme look what part yer at fer real now.”

I nod, trying to get comfortable on the sofa. Pitching my head back, I feel it bump into his arm. Nevermind my fucked neck, I return my eyes to the screen to try and forget that his arm is around me. But they immediately refuse and slowly trail to Harry, his face mere inches away from mine.

Okay, no, stop thinking about his lips and what they could do, I tell the demon inside of my head.

Becky, you could. You so know you could do it.

Shut up! He’s just helping me with my homework, that’s all this is.

Oh yeah? And when are you going to let yourself think about the real reason he’s here, huh?

I can’t do that right now.

Yes, you can! Maybe if you think about it, you’ll realize how good of an idea it would be to let yourself kiss him. I’m sure he’s thinking about it too.

Just stop!

His thumb and forefinger knead his bottom lip. It bunches together in little waves as his eyes flit across the screen. Whiskers the shade of his curls are scattered across his face. They’re dense atop his upper lip and around his chin. And God, I can’t stop thinking about them. Wanting to touch them. Feel them on my face- okay stop it, Becky.

“Well yer mostly at tha end, so wha’ doesn’t make sense t’ ya?” Harry finally says, turning his head ever so slightly to look at me.

“I know, but I feel like I don’t know what I just read. And the verdict is contradicting to me,” I answer with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Well maybe it’d make more sense t’ ya if ya weren’t lookin’ at it at almos’ midnigh’, love.”

“Yeah, well it’s kind of the only time I have lately with everything. I’m afraid to email my prof again saying I need an extension when it’s due tomorrow. I’ve needed a lot of them lately. I just wanna get it done,” I respond quietly, looking to the telly awkwardly. It’s always hard when the truth comes out, and the emotions that hang on to it.

A spark ignites on my cheek, almost like a tickle. And when I look over, his eyes are glued to me. The tip of his calloused finger brushes a ghost of a touch under my left eye. “I neva knew ya hadda scar there,” he murmurs, running the tip of his finger over the oblong light brown shape.

“Kids used to make fun of it when I was little. They’d call it a worm under my eye, because of its shape. It used to be more pronounced and bigger when I was little, but it’s still pretty noticeable,” I answer, adding in an eye roll that he laughs at.

“Aww, poor Becks. But if it counts, I don’ think it looks like a worm. ‘s cute on you,” he adds seriously, pinching my cheek. That makes me look over at him, and I already know that I’m blushing.

A small ‘thanks’ leaves my lips before my eyes dip to my laptop. Close to a minute of silence grows between us before he breaks it. “‘Kay, so Haughton vs. Smith found that ya can’t commit tha crime o’ handlin’ stolen goods, if tha goods they’re talkin’ ‘bout weren’t actually stolen. ‘s an important case t’ know, cuz it was ‘ventually ovaturned by tha Criminal Attempts Act o’ ‘81. Ya’ll neva be able t’ forget tha connection between tha two, issa given. Ya don’ need t’ worry ‘bout that law now tho’, they basically mean tha same thing.”

“Thanks for explaining it, I hope it’s enough to help me pass the test on it,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly.

“Open tha test, an’ ‘ll help ya with it.”

The second my eyes land on Joey’s body covered in sand on the telly, they whip back to Harry. “Really, you’d help me?”

“‘Course I would. Tha’s what ‘m here fer. An’ it wouldn’t hurt t’ see if I still got it.”

“You’ve been a lawyer for years, and this is pre-law, so of course you do. And not to mention, ranked as one of the best in London,” I reply smiling, clicking open a new tab. I suspect how my words will make him feel, because they fill me with the same emotions. Pride. Happiness. Astonishment. And more pride.

“Well, I do me best,” Harry titters proudly. A cocky hum leaves his lips as he brushes off his chest. A laugh sputters from my lips that I can’t contain. “Heeeey, don’ be laughin’ at me.”

“Sorry, I just can’t control myself when you start dropping dad jokes,” I respond nonchalantly, clicking on the tab labeled ‘Assessments.’

“Just pull tha bloody test up an’ le’s get it ova with,” he huffs, amusement still lacing through his words.

“Awww, is it past your bedtime already?” I pout, turning my eyes to him. His lips smush together and I hear the smallest of squeaks get past them. “You know you like my grandpa jokes, don’t lie.”

“Shuddup, li’l one, an’ open tha goddamn test already,” he huffs. If anybody else heard him, they’d think he was mad at me. But even as my eyes cast over the column of tests from this course, I know different. I can hear it in his voice - the joking, the molasses, the affectionate teasing, and the friendship.

Wow, nice choice of words there, Ms. Denial.

Shut up, devil.

“I am not little!” I retort in a high voice, making my two tabs appear as two windows on my screen. Side by side. Cheating time!

“Becks, yer like 5’5, if that.”

“No, I’m not! I’m 5’6, you liar!”

“Ya, cuz that one lousy inch really does a whole lot, doesn’t it?” Harry counters, his voice melting into a goofy one. I respond to it with a hearty laugh that is soon accompanied by his. “Yer still a li’l one t’ me, love.”

“Fine, Grandpa Harry.”

The annoying sound of a laugh track pricks at my ears. Blinking hard, the room around me is blurry. But after a groggy minute of blinking, it begins to sharpen. I don’t remember the lights getting turned off, but the telly screen burns my eyes. Rubbing them, I moan from tiredness. Dropping my arm, I feel it hit something. Looking down, I’m confused. When I lift my head from whatever it was resting on, I find what I was laying on. And well, what was also laying on me. Still is. Her face scrunches adorably before relaxing, nuzzling her head against my shoulder once more.

Becks.

After combing my hair off of my forehead, the lock screen of my phone wakes me up a little more. Especially when I see that it reads 1:18 am. Fuck, I need to get to my hotel and go to bed. I have my case tomorrow. But when I hear a noise and find the culprit, all of those thoughts wash away. An incoherent sound runs off of her lips, ones that are so close to me. Fuck, again. But when my eyes scan the rest of my body, I realize that she’s all over me. Well, almost. Her right hand rests on my chest as she leans against the back of the sofa. But her pretty little head of dark hair is laying on my shoulder. My arm is around her, holding her close to me. I can feel her other arm tickling my side.

Memories float to the surface, and suddenly I’m back at the hospital in London. In December. A phone call woke me from my slumber beside her on the sofa. The both of us curled up on opposite sides. Sleep clinging to my eyes and begging to me to return to it. Her shoulders rising with every soft snore, but it was the most daintiest one I’d ever heard. It felt like my heart was being squeezed tighter with every move I made to leave her. When I draped the second blanket over her. And how much it hurt to move the hair off of her face. To press a kiss to her unknowing head. But nothing compared to the anguish I felt grow with every step I put between us.

Blinking hard, the dark room materializes around me again. Her precious snores welcome my return to the moment. A smile brings my lips upwards as I watch a crease grow between her eyebrows. She’s too goddamn adorable. And that’s why I came, isn’t it? Because no matter how hard I try, I can’t resist her. I can’t say no to Becky. When she called me crying and a mess worrying about her dad, I didn’t know what I was doing until I was putting the town of Madley into my GPS. I guess The Beatles were right with that one song, and plenty of others. She’s really got a hold on me. And before I could begin to stop myself, her skin is like velvet under my thumb. I rub the crease away with the pad of it, and suddenly my head dips. My lips barely brush her hair when she groans below me.

“Harry?” she murmurs, lifting her head from my shoulder.

“Hi, sleepyhead.”

She yawns, moving away to look around sleepily. But soon she returns back to my arms, cozying up to me once more. And I couldn’t be more thankful, or conflicted. The latter word drills into my mind as I rub a hand down her back, sleep trying to coax me back in, too.

“We fell asleep,” she mumbles, her honey voice coated in that very word. Fuck, does it make me feel things. Things that I’d much rather not.

“Yeah, ‘s one in tha mornin’.”

“Shitttt,” she sighs, sitting up fast. Her growing locks pour over her shoulders covered by a crewneck jumper. Faded pictures of balls from different sports are scattered across the heather gray fabric. Like something my dad wore when I was a tot. “You have your case tomorrow.”

“‘m fine, I already dropped me stuff off at tha hotel an’ got me key,” I tell her, missing the warmth of her against me. And I miss the fact in those words alone of what I’m missing. Her in my arms. “But ya should prolly get sum sleep, too. Seems like ya’ve been missin’ it lately.”

“I’m okay, just lots of homework,” Becky says, running her long fingers through her wavy hair.

“‘d offa me hotel room, but ‘s half an hour ‘way in Wolverhampton. An’ there’s only tha one bed,” I tell her, unsure of why. I blame it on the sleepy brain.

“Thanks, but I’m okay. I’ll just sleep on the couch in his room. It’s not too bad once you get used to it,” she assures me. Her arms crack as she stretches them toward the ceiling. I can’t help myself when the baggy jumper rides up, exposing the slightest of her milky white tummy. Fuck. But just like that, it’s gone in a flash. If only my feelings worked that way.

It’s like she has some sixth sense that I’m thinking about her, because her eyes cast over to me. It’s hard to make out their ocean blue in this dark, but I know they’re there. I can picture them if I need to, because I do it all the time - trying to make myself remember what they look like. The exact shade. The speckles of darker blue amongst the color.

“Yer welcome,” I return. The tired smile I get in return melts my insides like butter. But that’s how I feel when I’m around her, and that’s how much of a hold she’s got on me.

Shocks of electricity dance across the back of my hand. I don’t need to look down to know her hand is on top of mine. And how it’s making me go crazy. She’s only a few inches away. I could do it. Before I stop myself, I begin to lean in, and she watches me do it. But with only a few seconds left, we jump apart at the sound of a ringtone.

Embarrassment covers me like a dark cloud, among other nasty emotions. My head falls, hiding the heat rising to my cheeks. Pulling out my phone to distract myself, it doesn’t do that great of a job as I hear her talk to somebody on the phone. Dammit, I was so close. With a hand in my hair, I scroll through emails. Deleting some and saving others.

“Sorry, that was Robbie. Just checking in, since I forgot to update him, I guess,” Becky tells me, lifting my head with her voice.

My head only goes up and down, avoiding eye contact. Because I can’t muster it after what just happened, or what didn’t.

“‘s late, ya should get sum rest,” I announce, getting to my feet. Picking up my coat, I slip it on before I dare to look at her.

She smiles shyly at me, sleep hanging around her eyes. Even rubbing her nose with the sleeve of her jumper is precious. And her legs jittering in her faded blue jeans. Vans the shade of her favorite color donning her feet.

“Yeah, you too,” is all she has to say.

Suddenly, I don’t know what to do. For a mere second, I entertain the thought of trying again. But fuck it, she’s so far away right now, figuratively and literally. I can catch a hint of her scent sticking to me, and it makes me sad to realize.

“Go get sum sleep, ‘kay?” Are the only words I can think of as I walk up to her and pat her arm.

“Yeah, you too, Harry. Careful driving.”

“Thanks, Becks, I will. Sweet dreams, love,” I mutter, looking at her over my shoulder.

And I keep walking, and leave her behind. Regrets coursing through my ears, and emotions tugging at my seams. The tiredness coating my every thought and action, only make it all the worse. I’m not sure if I want to wake up more for the car drive to the hotel, because then it will all feel even more real. And discouraging.

“Harry?” stopping in my tracks, I hear her call my name. Spinning around, I feel her before I see her. Her arms surround around my waist and her head comes to lay against my chest. All within seconds. “Thank you . . . for coming.”

A pain sounds in my chest when I hear the emotion in her voice. And it takes all of me to not echo it, because I know I could. And that I would. Instead I say, “Yer welcome, Becks,” and I do at least one thing I wanted to do tonight. Dipping my head, I smooth down her hair and press my lips to her hair for more than a few seconds.

The sweet smell of orange blossom greets me, and my smile is havoced by pain. Her warm breaths tickle the skin at my neck as my hands lace together at the small of her back. Her arms squeeze me around the middle before releasing, and she lets go of me. I think about trying again, but the thought is fleeting when she begins to walk away from me.

And I let her do it. Once again.

The burbling of the running water fills my ears. Well, besides the sound of the football match. Surprise, surprise. And the next sound. His cheering. It makes me smile as I wipe my hands with a paper towel.

“What’s the score now?” I ask, walking back into the room. His eyes don’t go to me at the question, instead they remain on the screen.

“Six-two. It doesn’t look too good for ‘em,” my dad replies snarkily, a devilish glint in his eyes. But it’s there, and that’s all that matters. It’s what makes the smile stick to my face.

“Don’t let your food get cold,” I say, bending over to dig into my backpack.

“I’m done eating. You can have the rest, Ree,” he replies just as I feel the smooth handle I’m searching for.

“I’m okay, thanks. I was probably going to check out the special in the cafe.”

“Oh so only I have to eat the hospital food?” my dad whines, pouting at me when I look at him.

With a laugh, I remark, “I’m eating their food in the cafe too, you dork.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry, chemo brain,” he replies, tapping a finger against his head. A striped green hat keeping it warm. His arm returns to the white blanket pulled up to his waist. Light shines in his eyes and his arms lift into the air when they make yet another goal.

Whoops and hollers leave his chapped lips. But this morning, they’re pinker. And so is his skin. If only in the slightest, I notice them. Running the brush through my knotted hair, I yawn as I watch him. A patterned hospital gown covers his upper half, with the sleeves just coming to above the IVs in his left arm. Fluids and meds. The antibiotics. Yippee.

But the thoughts are mulled over when I look to his plate sitting on the moveable tray beside him. It was scrambled eggs, toast, applesauce, and milk this morning. And he ate nearly half of it, even if it took about half an hour. But I want to blame part of that on the football match his eyes are stuck to.

“I’m going to see if I can find your doctor. I had a question,” I tell him, dropping my hairbrush back into my backpack.

“Ree, don’t worry about it. He’ll come by later,” my dad insists, but I stand from my chair regardless of his answer.

“It’s fine. I need to stretch my legs anyways.”

He hums a reply I can’t decode, but I hear his teasing about blocking the telly when I walk by. Over my shoulder, he flashes me a small smile before returning to yelling lazily at the referees. Nurses and doctors pass me, going to and from rooms to the nearby nurse’s station. Tucking a strand of wet hair behind my ear, I search for the shock of white hair of my dad’s doctor.

But no such luck.

As I approach the nurse’s station, sounds of beeping, call lights, and murmuring voices fill the air. But another sound stands out from the rest. And I hear my name, or well my last name. It takes me a second to locate where it’s coming from, but when I do there’s a flutter in my chest. And I know I’m in trouble, or maybe that I’m just realizing it now after all of this time.

But I don’t save him right away, and instead I observe. Confusion sews his eyebrows together over those misty green eyes. One lone curl tickles his forehead, breaking free from his damp hair. His black peacoat is draped over his arm clad in a warm violet blazer. A dusty rose button down peeks out from its collar, and I smile. I don’t even know why. But as the seconds tick by watching him talk to the nurse, I think I know why.

“Looking for me, Styles?” I pipe up, stepping forward with my hands hidden away in my hoodie.

Harry’s eyes fall from the nurse and pan over to me. A lazy smile works its way onto his face quickly, only interrupted to thank the nurse.

“Mornin’, sleepyhead,” he murmurs, turning to walk towards me.

“What are you doing here? You have your case today, you said,” I respond, playing with the sleeve of my black hoodie. The cracked decal of Robbie’s old band covers the front.

“Came t’ bring ya out t’ brekky. Me case doesn’t start ‘til tha aftanoon, bug,” he responds with half of a smile, pinching my arm affectionately. And there’s that nickname, again, I think as my insides turn to mush. “Well jus’ down t’ tha cafe if tha’s alright. I saw sumthin’ ‘bout biscuits ‘n gravy, an’ sumthin’ smelled mighty delicious when I came in.”

“That sounds great,” I say, a smile inching its way up my lips. The wet ends of my hair knock against each other, and my chin. “I’ll just let my dad know,” I tell him, turning around to walk away.

But after only a few steps, a sudden thought brings me to halt. It wills my feet to turn around and look at Harry. “Would you like to meet him?” I ask tentatively in a meek voice. “He’s doing a little better this morning, but I think that’s thanks to the Arsenal match on the telly.”

With what appears to be a shaky smile, he replies, “‘d love t’. Hope ‘s not me Manchester United boys playin’ ‘gainst ‘em.”

Waving a hand towards me, he closes the distance between us. His leather boots squeak from the last bits of melting April snow. It’s only a few moments before I peek my head into his room, and low and behold, he’s still transfixed by the match.

Rapping my knuckle against the door, I get his attention before saying, “Hey, can I steal you away from your precious game for a few? There’s a friend of mine I’d like you to meet.”

“Yeah, sure,” he responds, adjusting his blankets before the telly’s volume falls. Over my shoulder, I shoot Harry an encouraging smile. He returns it, but I can see the nerves showing through.

Pushing open the door fully, I walk in and he follows from behind.

“Dad, this is Harry Styles. My uh, former boss I’ve told you about,” I fumble for words, giving a magician-like wave to him. Well, the right words. “He stopped by last night and brought me dinner. He has a case today in Wolverhampton, and we’re going to get breakfast downstairs before.”

A weary smile curls at the corners of my dad’s lips. Nodding, his dusty pink lips part, “Ah, so this is the fella you were with until all hours last night,” he jests, pulling nervous laughter into the air. “Yes, it’s about time we met. I’ve heard a lot about you, son. Thanks for everything you’ve done for Becky, and for your well wishes. It’s meant a whole damn lot to me, and I know for her too.”

Okay, dad, let’s not board the emotional bus yet. Or maybe, ever.

Happy laughs float around the room as Harry steps forward, rubbing hand sanitizer into his hands. “‘s a pleasure t’ meet ya as well, sir,” he rasps, reaching out to shake my dad’s hand firmly.

“Call me Chuck, Harry. I’m not that old yet, although sometimes it feels that way,” my dad jokes, widening the smiles on all of our faces.

“Yes, ‘course, Chuck. I’ve also heard loads ‘bout ya, all good things, so no worries. Ya’ve been in me prayers an’ thoughts ova tha last 7 months. Sure raised a great daughter, ya should know.”

A permanent smile warms my cheeks as I shyly look over to Harry. He meets my eyes and smiles back at me. Winking, he shove his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Thank you, son. That’s mighty good to hear, although I’m not too sure about that son of mine sometimes,” he laughs, soon getting a scoff from me.

“Oh I mean Robbie, too. I’ve only met tha bloke once or twice, but I was impressed. Certainly since I was surprised t’ find out Becky hadda twin,” Harry comments, his eyes burning a hole into my cheek.

“Yes, I think I’ve heard that story. Their mother and I were pretty surprised to find there was two, also,” he chuckles. “But Ree likes to do that sometimes.”

Shaking my head, I look away and to the Spring sunshine. It seeps in through the cracks in between the window shades. Their soft laughs fill my ears before Harry’s voice does again.

“Yeah she’s a spitfire, alright,” he comments, and finally I meet his smirking eyes before they return to my dad. “But ‘m glad t’ hear yer doin’ a bit betta. Hopefully they can get a good handle on dis soon, an’ you lot can go home.”

“Thank you. We hope so too,” my dad nods, running his thumb along the buttons of the tv remote. “I truly appreciate you taking the time to be here with Becky . . I know it means more than words to her.”

Looking away to the floor, his words find the chink in my armor. I feel the lump rise in my throat along with memories of last night. Luckily, the tears stay away and I get away with it.

“‘Course, ‘m glad I was able t’ come an’ be with her. Dunno if she told ya, but she was there fer me when my grandad was in tha hospital befo’ he passed. An’ well, I know how much it means t’ ‘ave sumbody there,” Harry murmurs, almost giving a reason for the tears to make an appearance. But they don’t, and I’m repeating ‘thank yous’ inside of my head.

“I’m pretty proud of my little Rebecca Ann, and it only grows more every day,” my dad comments, flitting his eyes over to me. His words make my cheeks tingle with a new blush and because I know another pair are on me, too.

“Yeah, she makes it ratha easy,” Harry agrees softly, pulling my attention to him. The gentlest smile sits atop his lips, and a sad sweetness twinkles in his eyes.

“Well, we’ll let you get back to your match. We’re going to grab breakfast before everybody else gets the same idea,” I pipe in, unsure of when and how to sever the moment. But the look in Harry’s eyes does something to me, and I don’t know what to do with it.

We exchange short goodbyes before I’m following Harry out of the room. The rising volume of the football announcers voices send us on our way.

“Rebecca Ann, huh?” Harry smiles beside me, the nurse’s station in our rearview mirrors.

“Go ahead and make jokes about it. It doesn’t even sound like my name, I don’t know. I’ve only ever went by that for forms, when I got in trouble, or like on the first day of school and graduation. And the Ann is just my middle name, I don’t have a two parter,” I explain hurriedly, surprising myself when I don’t hear one of his delightful giggles. Tearing my eyes away from the poster at the end of the hallway, I look to him. And he isn’t laughing, which confuses me.

“There’s no jokes t’ be had. I think ‘s pretty, yer name. Figured ya were a Rebecca, but wasn’t sure. Nor did I know yer middle was Ann. Tha’s my mum’s name, ‘ve always loved it,” he tells me, coming to a stop in front of the gunmetal colored doors of the lift. The sickeningly sweet look on his face sends the butterflies in my tummy to flight. Again.

“Oh thanks,” I almost blurt, pressing the button to go down. But then as we step into the welcoming lift, more come to me. “It was my grandmother’s name. It always made me feel closer to her, like I always had a piece of her with me.”

“Tha’s nice. ‘ve always liked it when parents carry on family names like dat. It makes me think ‘d like t’ do tha same with me own kids one day,” Harry continues as I watch the doors shut, cutting us off from the rest of the world. If only for a few minutes. But still.

“Me too.”

“So nobody ever calls ya Becca?” Harry inquires, catching my attention.

“Eh, not really. Maybe Skye sometimes, and my grandma Ann did, but not much anymore.”

“Hmm maybe ‘ll hafta use it then,” he quips, but then he wears a confused smile he pulled out of thin air. “Eh I dunno, actually. Ya’ll always be me Becks,” he finishes, making my heart do a dance. And fueling the angel and demon having a party inside of my head.

“Yeah, I agree. Anything else would sound weird.”

“Ya look like ‘im, ya know. Tha eyes, tha hair, and tha shape o’ yer face - bloody spitting image ya are. ‘Specially Robbie,” Harry acknowledges.

“We get that a lot, but thanks, I like to hear it. Sometimes I can’t see it, though,” I recall. “Which parent do you look like?”

“Um, dunno. I get comments ‘bout lookin’ like both o’ me parents. I guess I mostly ‘ave people say I look like me dad with sum o’ my mum’s features. Which sounds wild.”

“Yeah, I can relate with people saying I look like my dad. It’s like, oh thanks for saying I look like a boy,” I laugh. Turning to look at him on my left, a small one sputters from his smiling cherry lips.

“I know, ‘s weird.”

“I can see it, though. How people think you look like him,” I tell him. When I watch his lips settle into a silent, straight line, I feel instant regret. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“No, ‘s okay. Jus’ hard hearin’ people say ya look like sumbody ya don’ like.”

A small ‘oh’ passes over my lips before I can stop it. My eyes leave him and go to the changing red number above my head. Words bubble up inside of me, and I tell them to stop. But then I can’t.

“I think I know how you feel,” I murmur, daring to look over at him, her face flashing in my mind. His far away eyes lift from the floor and pan over to me.

I try not to lose myself in their infinity of green, but it’s worthless. And soon I am, and thoughts of last night leak from my memories.

I know it’s at the back of his mind too. That almost kiss. The one he tried to initiate, and the one I want so bad. Five months ago, I don’t know if I would’ve. But now in this moment and in this elevator, all alone with him, I couldn’t want something more.

Or somebody.

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rllysick · 4 years

Text

Rick Sanchez x Reader: Multiple Part Stories

Rick Sanchez x Reader: Multiple Parts

One

Make up Sex by NikkiDoodle: After a near death experience Rick and you decide it's high time you both get so drunk you forget the whole experience.The only problem is neither one of you can keep your hands to yourselves while drunk.

Second Time Around by NikkiDoodle: After the motel sex you see if Rick's offer was legit. Only difference is now that you're sober you're super shy and extremely innocent acting which puts Rick in a dominating position.

Science by NikkiDoodle: Beth and Jerry have been at each other's throats over Rick. Jerry doesn't want Rick around you, and Beth sees nothing wrong with it as she defends her father once again. Only she's wrong. So terribly wrong. And they both find that out the moment that garage door is opened. (smut mentioned)

Science Fair by NikkiDoodle: You need help with your collage science project. So you ask Rick for help. (2 Chapters)

Merry Christmas by NikkiDoodle: Your mother and father decide to have Christmas at your uncle Jerry's house this year. Now your parents get to meet Rick Sanchez, the man who you were caught with in the garage this summer. (5 Chapters)

You Can't Be Serious by NikkiDoodle: Jerry over heard Rick's confessions of love and looses it. Thinking that you're being played by Rick - like the rest of his family - he wants things to end.

Two

The Blind's Side by Jinkies_Lydia: This takes place after episode one of season two. How the reader meet and became involved with Rick Sanchez after Morty won't keep his blinds down and she keeps seeing things from her window she'd rather not see.

Tickets to Ride by Jinkies_Lydia: Takes Place after season 2 episode 2. The reader has decided to warm up to the idea of Rick's flirting. And has found the perfect opener after Rick returns with a fist full of tickets from Blips and Chitz.

I Like 'em Mean by Jinkies_Lydia: Takes place after season 2 episode 3. The Reader is worried about Rick. And learns a bit about Unity.

Real Weird by Jinkies_Lydia: Takes place after season 2 episode 4.

Should You Stay or Should You Float? Consider Headism Today! by Jinkies_Lydia: Takes place during season 2 episode 5.

Bloodhound by Jinkies_Lydia: This story is about period sex. If that is not your thing turn around now. Takes place after season 2 episode 7, “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez”. The Reader comes onto Rick at her bloodiest time of the month after a wild ride previously with Rick after killing his other clone bodies, drenched in his own blood.

Hello, Mr. Merlot by Jinkies_Lydia: There is mild sexual references in this story, but over all it’s more a reflection piece about the reader’s building relationship with Rick and his family. Takes place after season 2 episode 8.

Bullet Proof by Jinkies_Lydia: Installment for season 2 episode 9

Flat line by Jinkies_Lydia: Installment for season 2 episode 10

Three

All In by Hoodoo: Rick C-137 invites you along to his standing poker game with some of the boys--alternate versions of himself. You have no money and only a rudimentary knowledge of the game of poker, but don't worry, they'll find a way to make it work. (8 Chapters)

Double Up by Hoodoo: Miami Rick invites you to a private party at his penthouse, plus Cop Rick but minus Rick C-137. A sequel to "All In". (7 Chapters)

Slow Play by Hoodoo: Rick C-137 + Miami Rick + Cop Rick + reader = pure filth. (4 Chapters)

Four

What's A Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? by Hoodoo: Bartending gives you the opportunity to meet--and hook up with--Ricks.

Young Punk in a Fur Coat by Hoodoo: You don’t need an addiction to Kalaxian Crystals; you already have an addiction to Ricks and that’s plenty.

Council of Ricks: Riq IV by Hoodoo: Most Ricks were dickish, but this one buries the needle on that gauge. How much can you take?

What Evil Lurks in the Heart of Rick? by Hoodoo: The lovely Maidservant_Hecubus wanted to see how our intrepid bartender [you!] would handle Evil Rick. Let's find out, shall we?

Riq IV: Revisited by Hoodoo: Riq IV is walked through the Citadel wearing his leather harness and collar. You're holding the leash.

Incubi, When You Need It by Hoodoo: You've been having horrible nightmares. Good thing SEAL Team Ricks are there to help you forget.

Denied by Hoodoo: A new Rick comes into the bar. You'd love to hook up with him, but three strikes and you're out.

Saurophile by Hoodoo: A Rick you've never, ever seen before--nay, never even imagined may exist!--comes into the Bar. Of course you're intrigued, but . . . can it even be physically possible?

Shortcomings by Hoodoo: Early on in your career as a bartender at The Bar, you meet a Rick who's not quite like the others.

Riq IV: Something New by Hoodoo: Riq has another session with Bartender, who surprises him with something he didn't know he wanted...

Play That Song by Hoodoo: A new Rick with talented fingers comes into the Bar . . .

Give and Take by Hoodoo: Another night that Riq IV, Speaker for the Council of Ricks, shows up at the Bar, needing a little release. A little discipline. But he also wants to please his Mistress, and brings along a new toy...

Teetering on the Edge of a Blade by Hoodoo: Like the rest of them, the SEAL Team member with mismatched eyes occasionally visits the Bartender privately.

Triple Play by Hoodoo: Riq IV + reader + young upstart Council member Maximums Rickimus = Hardcore hijinx!

Submerged by Hoodoo: A Rick who can't make it to the Bar asks our intrepid Barkeep to visit him. She knows why he's asking, and agrees to meet him on his terms.

That Was How by Hoodoo: The Barkeep has met a lot of Ricks. How did she get to where she was? Why is she so obsessed with them? Rick c-137 holds the key.

#fanfics #masterlists

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unordinary-analysis · 4 years

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Episode 166

Honorable mentions:

I always love seeing a student with John’s old ‘loser’/helmet hair lmao it makes me happy

For the first time ever, when I say ‘Remi, pop off queen’ you know I actually mean it lol

Tldr: the high-tiers (can’t really call them “royals” anymore can we) establish themselves and prove their worths as paragons (perfect examples) of what royals should be and i applaud them for it

The amount of joker masks that the superhero posse brought in has to be representation of their power. Isen, the lowest-ranking of the superhero posse brought 1, Remi brought 3, and Blyke brought 3. You might be thinking ‘hey remi is more powerful than blyke’ but we know that he’s been working hard recently and because he only has one more mask than Remi, i think this idea is plausible. so let me believe that blyke is more powerful than remi please.

Nothing to really say about Isen except that he needs a hug

Going to ignore that remi listed cecile as someone she wanted to recruit help from because i would just get my hopes up

Only occured to me now that i could pull off a John and Rei comparison especially after reflecting over episode 150

Arlo and seraphina give off such close vibes and it’s obviously because they got close (or at least intensely familiar) when they were the king and queen and i just- i absolutely love when plots or characters go full circle and reflect (revisit?) the start of the story even though that sounds anti-development, it’s not im just bad at explanations.

WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR CECILE TO BACKSTAB JOHN not that i don’t like john because i absolutely aDORE him because of his impact on the story, but i just want to see Cecile backstab someone and john is convient

just me talking for a bit, scroll if you want to skip to the actual content i understand ;( :

Okay: so.

I’ve figured out that instead of putting little talkative comments in the honorable mentions like I’ve been doing lately, I can put them here and not feel like total trash and that I’m downgrading the post so that’s fun.

Anyway, sorry if the massive ton of parentheses(?spelling) i'm using is confusing or hard to read. I mean, I won’t fix it, but I hope it’s not too bad ya know

Again: sorry for talking like im texting someone in 2017 it’s an issue, im aware. No one ever says anything, but yeah?? Im sorry???

Im panic-writing this an hour before the new episode drops so hopefully this is up before then, there’s no real hope though it takes me 10 minutes just to transfer this from my google doc to tumblr because i have to manually re-add all of the bold and italics and bullet points. Still not removing this bit tho even if (lmao “if”) it’s late ;)

Talking too much, but whenever you see (?”spelling/grammar/word choice/etc”), that just means that I messed up in that way, but I’m too distracted to fix it. Figured i should say that eventually seeing as i literally do that every post

Next post will not be written in first person at all because i think it makes these feel way too familiar and makes new readers uncomfortable which is stupid but is how i would feel so we’re experimenting. If you’ve never read one of my posts, i just act very informal with everything i do and i just want to say, i'm not in this tightly knit niche group that reads these and that ive been friends with for years. i just. Talk like this. So don’t feel like you’re eavesdropping by reading one of these. I really hope im not an outlier in feeling this way when reading other peoples post because if nobody actually feels this way, im bout to be real embarrased oops.

Im getting the talking out of my system because no talking next post.

Yeah this post is late. But: i stopped for pizza in the middle and my webtoon isn’t loading so im like sitting around waiting for it to

Remi:

Now, in this episode particularly, it has occurred to me that I need to give Remi credit where credit is due. I made a post (AN: multiple posts but we’ll ignore that) over a year ago talking about her abilities as queen and- I did her pretty dirty. Not unfairly, but dirty. I basically dissed her a lot and said that she wasn’t a good queen in any sense. And I’ve done this multiple times (AN: ignore last AN) because I can remember at least 2 other times when I just berated Remi over and over for being shit queen.

I’m not going to disagree with myself in this post (because I didn’t lie), but I want to give her some credit because I do believe she has changed recently and it has affected how I view her as a position of royalty. And, yes, while it is unclear if she is currently technically still a royal, what with John having somehow destroyed the entire concept of Wellston having royals (?), she has been taking the actions and responsibilities that a royal would. So-

What made me want to write this out was in this episode, episode 166, I really realized/noticed her attitude and actions dealing with and revolving around this whole joker situation (currently more about the fake jokers) was?? Actually productive?? To explain: In this episode, we see Remi approaching a group of low-tiers who are worriedly talking about the joker situation and 1. Analyzes the conversation in reference to the measures she, Blyke, and Isen are taking to prevent the situation, 2. Reassures the low-tiers that qualified help (her, Blyke, and Isen [aka the superhero posse]) is doing the best they can, and 3. Asks if they have any suggestions or ideas that might help them attain their goal. Like?? Hello?? The Professionalism? And the way she didn’t let her disappointment that her previous efforts up until now affect her is a stark contrast from the Remi of the past. I’ve ripped her apart because of just how often her emotions would completely overwhelm any sense she had. So: that stood out. But, anyway, big picture again: This whole short little scene from her was so impressive?

Honestly, the fact that Remi is going through all this effort to stop the fake jokers and make sure the low-tiers are safe is very different than what we would’ve seen from her in the past. One of the common reasons that I kept saying Remi was a bad queen was because she didn’t care about her responsibilities and didn’t take her authority seriously. There are even examples of Arlo, or others, telling her this (the example that came to my mind was when Remi was warning students about EMBER and Arlo stepped in [and the reason behind the events of this example helps to support my next point] {ALSO (sorry) afternote: I was reading through everything I’ve ever said about Remi’s leadership and I used this exact example in my post “Remi” from just over a year ago}). Another reason that I was against Remi as queen, which ties nicely with the previous reason (this sounds like repetition of like two seconds ago when I said that my last reason would support this point, but it’s not because words), was that she prioritized personal missions over things her school needed her to do. I remember being very pissed around episodes 110-120 because she ignored the big conflicts happening at Wellston in order to track down this separate crime organization (EMBER) and took Blyke and Isen with her (royals)(who were both against the idea). And I know that her reason for doing this is valid and I do respect her for attempting to avenge her brother, and I would have let this slide if she gave one thought or listened to Isen and Blyke at all about Wellston. I know this still sounds bad on my part, but it was many instances stacked on top of each other of Remi being, not just unconcerned, but unknowing, about Wellston’s current state as a school. At that time, Remi was the queen, she was one of the school’s royals, whose job was to maintain order and peace within the school. I couldn’t see any instances of Remi even attempting to do that. That was in the past though, because obviously, things are different now, like I said. Currently, Remi has gone out of her way to dedicate herself to the wellbeing of Wellston, that is obvious in the way she has been talking with low-tiers and unmasking fake Jokers. I only hope that her new motivation isn’t just a phase brought upon her due to her personal relationship/conflict with Joker, with John. I want to know if John ever happens to be dethroned or Remi somehow gets her technical authority back, will she still be dedicated to the school, or is her motive purely situational? I hope not? Because we’ve seen lots of change from her recently what with learning of the low-tiers mistreatment and all, so let’s cross our fingers.

Regardless, there has been improvement in Remi. In her leadership and dedication. And that needs to be acknowledged. So I am doing it. Yeah. Here you go. Badge of honor for Remi.

Obviously, most of what I’ve said also applies to Isen and Blyke, who are honestly going above and beyond (especially Blyke), just this section is a response to my previous statements of how Remi is not a good queen, not only for Wellston, just in general. And, again, while I still agree with my evaluation of Remi as a queen in reference to her past self and past episodes, This is a new development I felt obligated to talk about. :).

Blyke’s idea (?word choice confuses me):

Wowee this is a fun one. So: Blyke broke up a fake joker fight in a hallway this episode, and i just have to acknowledge this like I did for remi: props, but anyway, I was very intrigued by the way he handled the damage control like?? He refuses for the fake joker to be unmasked (?grammar) and gives the reason, “I’m not about to show his face so that you all can just gang up on him later!” And: applause. I think that this has occurred to me before, I just never dwelled on that idea, so I was taken off guard by this from Blyke. He was able to understand this and form a plan with how to deal with it? I don’t know about you, but that screams king behavior. Anyway, what Blyke does is take the fake joker to a separate room and unmasks him privately then talks with him as a way to both protect the fake joker’s safety and discourage him from any future stunts like the one he pulled a sec ago. And?? This is so great because, guys, this is liTERALLY the concept of like anger management and behavior therapy??

I especially liked how Blyke took the time to hear the low-tier out(something that the high-tiers are really starting to do [technically because of john because john became joker and caused all of this {and since john wanted to destroy the hierarchy because high-tiers didn’t give a shit about the low-tiers in a way he’s achieved his goal, albeit unknowingly}]). And, like i literally just said, by hearing him out, he’s creating yet another bubble of safety around the low-tier because immediately after (okay maybe not immediately, blyke did scold him a bit), Blyke says that whenever the low-tier is being picked on, he can come to Blyke. And NOT ONLY does this whole thing help with the fake jokers issue, but Blyke, along with Isen and Remi, are creating trust and respect between the low-tiers and high-tiers. This is them doing the hierarchy right! They are establishing themselves as leaders and as people that can be relied upon, which is exactly who the royals are supposed to be.

Just want to say: He also talked about how the guy who got attacked should also reflect on his actions, and yes, this deserves recognition, but this has been a common theme, so I didn’t think it was worth really discussing. Blyke got bonus points for this. Extra credit if you will.

Remi’s idea:

Back to Remi, but her idea about recruiting John to help get rid of the Jokers? Excuse me? The innovation, the growth, the potential. And, I know this was shut down pretty quickly by Blyke, but I still have to talk about it??? And this section is starting off horribly because there was absolutely no transition or introduction but hello??

Anyway, obviously the fact that Remi would even suggest getting any help from John (Joker) is astonishing. 1. He literally beat up everyone present in the scene 2. Honestly from what john’s doing for all anyone knows, he likes that low-tiers are faking being joker (remi even points this out lmao) 3. Again, he beat everyone up? Not exactly looking good for any kind of compromise. And yet despite these obvious reasons, Remi still lists him as a possible ally. Why?

Because when she met up with him before he completely dethroned the Wellston hierarchy, she noticed similarities in their goals and their beliefs. She says, and quotation marks mean quote, “When I spoke with him… I really thought both of us wanted the same thing… Just that our methods of approaching the situation were different.” !!!!!!! Remi knows that they really want the same thing: a safe environment for low-tiers. That was the one thing that John kept repeating over and over when they met up and talked (episode 150) (other than the fact that royals are shit but-): he wanted to create a school environment that was safe for the low-tiers. Whether or not that’s his goal now, or if he’s acting with that goal in mind, Remi obviously remembered this the most from their conversation because it seemed so similar to the way she was thinking. And Remi thinks that it would be possible that John would prioritize this over his dedication to his own personal project of destroying the school :).

Anyway, this whole idea is scrapped by Isen and Blyke who give valid arguments as to why trying to ally with John is a really bad idea, but oh my god the way my heart stopped.

This section is basically a summary and very quick, but this scene in the comic was riveting because of this. I just don’t know what else to say.

#unordinary #webtoon #uno #official #unordinary webtoon #episode 166

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minervacasterly · 4 years

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Real Life Horror (Plantagenet edition): Popular Terror aka Mob Rule

One of my favorite episodes of The Orville had to do with the team going down on a planet that follows the rule of mob mentality. People are judged based on how many dislikes they get by their fellow comrades. If they do something that is deemed "offensive", they are forced to go on an apology tour where they have to subject themselves to public humiliation. If they fail to the people over, all hell breaks loose. This bizarre form of government is not hard to digest when we take into account it has happened before (and given how history tends to repeat itself, it can happen again). In 1381, four years after he ascended to the throne, Richard II faced the peasant's revolt. The movement, as pointed out by historians Julian Baker and Dan Jones, was initially fragmented but it quickly gained momentum. By the summer of that year, whole towns had risen up against the ruling classes, including the high clergy, after their demands were ignored. The royal family was forced to seek sanctuary, and with Richard II in the hands of his enemies, there seemed little hope for them. But then things turned around for them. After Richard II turned the tables on Wat Tyler and his associates, he publicly declared to the common folk who had joined the revolt that he'd spare them, and that if they expected a kinder king, they were dead wrong. "Vileins you are, vileins you will be." Long story short, if they thought their living conditions were bad before, they hadn't seen nothing yet. The King was the King and he was within his authority to rule the country as he pleased. And if they were born in the position they were born into, tough luck. They had no other choice in life but to endure and pray for forgiveness and move on, or carry on with their complaints which would get them nowhere. To get you an idea how bad this mob was, think back to Game of Thrones season 2, the King Landing's riot, when the commons nearly killed Cersei and raped Sansa. George R. R. Martin has gone on record, saying how much inspiration he took from European history. Given all the historical parallels we've seen with other events on the show, it is not far-fetched to say, that part of these riots were based on the peasant's revolt. People who criticize the show for being too violent have NO idea how terrible the source material is. It makes the show look tame in comparison. Just as the end of that episode of the Orville where one of the main characters is saved thanks to one of the inhabitants who helps the crew manipulates the score so he will get more likes than dislikes; Richard II and his family mildly avoided the terrible fate that befell many clerics, noblemen, and other victims of this mob by taking advantage of the leaders, namely Tyler, in their moment of perceived victory. Besides beating down Richard II's officials and tearing them limb from limb, they also proceeded to burn down jail and legal offices. They also went after everyone who was associated with these people, delighting themselves in their bloody handiwork. In historian, Dan Jones' words "piling their corpses in the streets". The following morning the rebels raced to the tower of London where they hoped to find the King and his officials . The King was not there but some of his officials were, including one of his high clerics was. He was dragged out to Tower Hill and decapitated, his head stuck on a pole for everyone to see. After the King and his ministers restored order, harsher penalties were imposed on the commons. As one of the characters of the Orville tells the inhabitant who helps them free their friend, having a say is something that should not be freely given but earned. The Plantagenets would have agreed with that ... to a certain extent. In their view, anyone worthy of being an officer, should rise by his own merits. But if that person happened to be the son of a favorite or a loyal supporter then screw it. He would be favored over the son of a nobody who had worked harder than anyone else to get to that position. Nonetheless, Richard II's actions were praised by his noble subjects at the time. When he was deposed by Henry IV, they continued to be well seen. It was not until later in his reign that his actions were condemned. Ironically, his actions would be emulated by none other than the dynasty that followed his, the Tudors. It was Elizabeth I who was quoted saying "know ye not I am Richard II?" Like Edward II and Cleopatra VII, who were two of history's greatest losers and tragic romantic figures respectively, Elizabeth I considered Richard II a sorrowful figure who had been unjustly dethroned by a jealous cousin. She often compared herself to him, and like he had done during the peasant's revolt, she took a firm stance against any of her subjects who questioned her rule. Knowing full well that you could never please the mob, she acted severely against their slightest complain. The mob could decry being treated unfairly. That was okay, but organize and form large groups to list their grievances was going too far. Damn if you do. Damn if you don't. It was impossible to please everyone. Having studied history, she had learned from the Plantagenets' example how dangerous it was to rely solely on popularity. The people respected a strong leader, someone who defied all their expectations. Given that she was condemned by both sides (Catholics and radical Protestants) on the basis of her gender, legitimacy, and faith, Bess opted to rule with an iron fist. Through the use of religious iconography and gifted playwrights, she transformed herself into a living goddess. She wasn't going to endure the public humiliations Henry II and other kings went through to be in the church's good graces. She was the church. And she sure as hell wasn't going to tolerate her clerics question her rule or turn the other way around when they were attacked by an angry mob. Whether you approve of her actions or not, time proved her to be right. The Orville and Game of Thrones end with the main characters narrowly escaping their bloody captors. But as with history, neither sees things changing any time soon. With civil war still raging on in Westeros, it won't be surprising to see another riot in King's Landing. As for The Orville, the only person wise enough to see how crazy her society is, is not going to make a difference. Her society is all too eager to bring people down and if she isn't careful, she might end up killed or given a lobotomy to appease the masses. Ultimately, mob mentality or majority rule is a terrible thing. A bad economy that leads to feelings of of disenfranchisement mixed in with charismatic leaders with big egos, leads to a reign of terror worse that puts any bloody spectacle from the Saw and other horror movies to shame.

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fuzz1912 · 3 years

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This is the Way

Just prior to the release of the third movie of Disney’s Star Wars trilogy, I posted some thoughts to the effect that I no longer had the energy to write at length about what Star Wars had become under their watch, because I no longer had any love left to fuel that effort. THE MANDALORIAN has changed all that and, ever since then finale of its second season, I’ve been wanting to process and contextualise why it has been so impactful. The clearest place to start is the finale itself, and the sequence that has led adult fans across the world to revert to a child-like state of wonder and break down into tears. If you haven’t already seen THE MANDALORIAN, in particular “Chapter 16 - THE RESCUE” then please read no further - do yourself a favour and stay off the internet until you’ve caught yourself up. From here on, the spoilers will be rife.

A QUICK RECAP

The clues leading to the finale’s big reveal are staged in a masterfully accelerating fashion, leading to a crescendo of certainty that no amount of “subverted expectations” could extinguish. Imperial Moff Gideon has recaptured the Child (Grogu), and the Mandalorian (Din Djarin) has managed to locate him and threatened that he will stop at nothing to free his ward from Gideon’s clutches. We rejoin Mando and his allies (shock trooper Cara Dune, assassin Fennec Shand and her benefactor the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett, and two survivors of the Mandalorian Death Watch in heiress Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves) as they chase an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle in Fett’s ship, Slave I. After a minor altercation with Imperial officers taunting Dune over the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan, they capture the Imperial scientist Pershing who, at Moff Gideon’s direction, has been using blood samples from the Child (Grogu) in cloning experiments that quite possibly may lead to the resurrection of the Emperor years later (ugh).

With Pershing’s help and Boba Fett creating a distraction, they use the shuttle to stage a boarding of Gideon’s cruiser. Mando searches for the Child while the others quickly take the bridge. First Mando has to deactivate the ominous Dark Troopers, one of whom escapes from cold storage before Mando is able to seal the others in. As the remaining Dark Troopers persistently continue to punch the doors, gradually wearing away at them, Mando engages in mortal combat against the escaped Dark Trooper. It is relentless and seemingly indestructible, a veritable terminator that keeps pounding away at Mando despite all of his tricks. Held by the scruff of his neck, the Dark Trooper keeps punching his helmet into a wall. Mando can only use his flamethrower and wrist launcher as mere distractions to get the Dark Trooper to release him, and it is only after he notices the Dark Trooper’s blaster shots deflecting off his beskar armour that he realises that a well-placed thrust of his beskar spear into the Dark Trooper’s weak neck will take out his foe. Moments before the remaining platoon is about to escape cold storage, Mando is able to vent them all into space.

Mando proceeds to the brig where he finds Moff Gideon holding the Child at the point of the infamous Mandalorian Darksaber. Gideon demands that Mando disarm himself, and warns Mando to assume that he knows everything and is in complete control. He describes the power of the Darksaber and the fact that it gives the one who wields it a claim to the Mandalorian throne. When Din surprises him by telling him to keep it in exchange for the Child, Gideon agrees - noting that he’s already got what he wanted (namely, Grogu’s blood with its rare properties - aka Midichlorians). Gideon permits Mando to take the Child, provided he leaves the ship and they go their separate ways. But of course, it’s a ruse and the moment Mando tries to take the Child Gideon stabs him in the back and engages him with the Darksaber. Of course, it can’t cut through beskar so he is evenly matched against Mando’s beskar armour and spear. However Mando is the superior warrior and quickly disarms him, much to Gideon’s surprising glee. For when Mando takes Gideon to the bridge and offers the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, Gideon smugly tells Mando that Bo-Katan needed to win the Darksaber in combat - and that now means that she has to take it by force from Din. Bo-Katan’s indecision is interrupted by the proximity sensor, and Fennec informs the others that the Dark Troopers (with their Iron Man-like foot rockets) have reboarded the ship. They quickly march towards the bridge against a thumping dub step soundtrack, and Fennec seals the blast doors.

Trapped in an unwinnable position, the posse prepares for a Sundance-style fatal showdown. A single Dark Trooper all but overpowered Mando, so a platoon of them would vanquish even this elite squad in short order. Gideon idly taunts that no one except for himself and the Child will end up leaving the room alive.

Then the proximity sensor pings once more.

This is the moment when you expect a Deus ex Machina. When the odds are so heavily weighted against the protagonists that only a “machine of the gods” is going to be able to get them out of their impossible predicament. Season 2 laid the seeds for a couple of such options - most obviously, the New Republic has a small but insignificant presence in the Outer Rim that Mando has encountered a few times in his recent travels (almost literally the cavalry). Boba Fett may still be a part of the plan, skipping out only briefly to return with reinforcements. Despite the elimination of the coven on Navarro, perhaps another coven of the Mandalorian zealots might return to save the day as they did in Season 1.

But none of these really make proper sense. Ever since the first appearance of the Child in Season 1, and Mando’s subsequent quest to return him to his kind, all roads had to eventually lead to only one person. Not Ahsoka Tano, whose return was a welcome return to form (more on that later), but who steadfastly refused to be considered a Jedi after leaving the order and would not agree to train Grogu lest his attachment to Mando might lead him to suffer the same fate as her former Master. No - at this point in time, there exists only one true Jedi in the entire Galaxy.

Bo-Katan is the first to notice the solitary X-Wing approaching, with Cara’s subsequent quip suggesting it would make no difference at all - it might just be Captain Teva or Trapper Wolf again. But this was the first in a series of subtle but escalating hints as to how wrong she really is. If there were any doubt, the next few moments would lay them to rest. The X-Wing flies into the docking bay on the security cam - it bears indistinct but clearly older Rebellion-era markings, and does not respond to Bo-Katan’s hail. Grogu’s ears perk up - he senses the arrival. Then, abruptly, the Dark Troopers stop punching the door. In unison, they all do an about-face towards a new threat approaching. For the first time, the all-knowing smirk is wiped off Gideon’s face.

A gentle guitar arpeggio and choral ballad reminiscent of Qui-Gon and Padmé’s Funeral themes begins as we see the second clue on the security cam - a hooded figure walking down a hallway, wearing a dark cloak. It could still be anyone, but it could definitely be the one we’ve all silently hoped to see for so long. This is followed in short order by the third, almost definitive clue: the hooded figure on the security cam expertly wields a single lightsaber, cutting through Dark Troopers like butter. Bo-Katan immediately identifies the figure as a Jedi, and suddenly Moff Gideon’s face betrays fear for the first time.

Then we see the one thing we’ve waited decades for - a green lightsaber. Not a blue historical artefact wielded by plot-amour protected novice, but a brilliant green blade self-made to stand out against the deep blue desert skies of Tatooine. At last, we allow ourselves to feel hopeful once more. Only one of those Dark Troopers nearly ended Din Djarin minutes ago, but this figure deflects their blaster bolts back into them and slices through their torsos like the battledroids of old. However, unlike the flamboyant Jedi of the Old Republic, the figure’s strokes are spartan and precise. Grogu is at attention because he knows who’s coming to rescue them.

And finally, a low shot of the green blade shows the black leather glove holding onto it and all doubt is removed. It’s LUKE FUCKING SKYWALKER. Luke as the Jedi Master he (and his father) aspired be, at the height of his powers. Luke, who bested but never quite defeated Darth Vader, and through his unwavering faith enabled his father to destroy the most powerful evil in the Galaxy. No longer a naive farm boy, but a full fledged Jedi and, both by default and power, the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. And certainly not the cranky old defeated hermit passing off for Luke in certain other films, with no hope, determination, or empathy. The REAL Luke Skywalker. This is who heard Grogu’s call two episodes ago, and is the only possible person with whom Grogu could end up with.

Luke slashes through several more Dark Troopers, and force pushes a crate against another. Craning his neck to see the carnage on the security cams, Moff Gideon realises that the battle is lost and he makes his desperate last move. Clutching the hidden blaster beneath his cloak, he fires at Bo-Katan before taking a shot at the Child. Mando valiantly throws himself into the line of fire - in a way, both moments would have been more powerful if beskar wasn’t so strong as to harmlessly absorb Gideon’s shots. So too would it have been if a shot got through to Grogu, putting him in grave danger.

The figure cleans up the Dark Troopers on the lower level and takes the elevator up towards the bridge. The Dark Troopers in the exterior hallway wait silently. We’ve seen this moment before - in A NEW HOPE, before the stormtroopers cut through the port on the Tantive IV; and again, in ROGUE ONE, as the lights go out on the Profundity’s docking bay. The final light ignites and the doors open - the Dark Troopers open fire, but their shots are easily deflected by the figure who twirls and swirls more elegantly through his prey, dancing through the corridor and using his hands to bat away debris and crush the exoskeleton of the final unfortunate trooper. We haven’t seen this kind of carnage since the other Skywalker exterminated the Separatists on Mustafar in REVENGE OF THE SITH.

Mando and Grogu know that it’s time, and he demands that the blast doors be opened. Not getting any favourable response from the others, he opens the door himself. As the blast doors part, we see the figure’s shrouded green lightsaber emerge through the smoke just as his mentor’s did at the start of THE PHANTOM MENACE. The figure slowly holsters his blade on his familiar belt, and deliberately hesitates as he removed his hood. As the iconic notes of the Binary Sunset play, at last we see the face of Luke Skywalker - here to rescue us - with just a little bit more wisdom and wear than he bore at the end of RETURN OF THE JEDI. Mando asks him if he is a Jedi, and Luke responds that he is (in the unmistakably optimistic voice of a young Mark Hamill). Luke reaches out, confidently asking Grogu to join him. When Mando queries Grogu’s reluctance, Luke wisely advises him that the Child wants his permission first.

What follows is the culmination of the series, a heart wrenching scene between Din and Grogu where Din breaks the creed and shows Grogu his face - a father saying goodbye to his son with his own eyes, echoing Luke’s own farewell to Anakin. Grogu doesn’t want to let go of Din until he hears a reassuring sound - R2D2’s familiar beep-bop cadence as he leans over to examine the Child, a clear moment of recognition between the two. Whether they’ve both met at some point in the past (perhaps prior to or during Grogu’s escape from the Jedi Temple), or whether R2 is suffering some PTSD from his memories of Yoda, remains to be seen. But it’s enough to win over Grogu, who allows Luke to pick him up and take him and R2 away. The final shots of Din’s final tearful goodbye and Luke, Grogu and R2 in the departing elevator against a triumphant refrain of the Mandalorian theme are iconic Star Wars images that will be etched in our minds forever alongside the Throne Room and other final shots.

I’M LUKE SKYWALKER - I’M HERE TO RESCUE YOU

I don’t want to relitigate the issues of the Disney Trilogy at length, suffice to say that the miserable end to that sorry saga far better illustrates them than any missive penned by me could. Yes, as things stand, everything that transpires in THE MANDALORIAN could lead to same sorry end just as the supposedly-fairytale ending of RETURN OF THE JEDI did. But the mere hope that it doesn’t have to, or that it is far enough away to be ignored, is enough to allow the moment to savoured for the delight that it represents.

Because Star Wars has always been about hope, and that hope has always been best embodied by Luke Skywalker - the “Son of Suns”. Luke is our childhood hero, the Boy Scout or Superman defined by his optimism and his faith in our better angels. His journey may venture through internal conflict, impatience, confusion, and failure - but he never gives up hope, even when it seems that all is lost. He was born in a moment of despair, as his mother’s dying breaths gave life to both he and his sister, and saved his father from a tortuous death. The prequel trilogy, fundamentally about perpetual-slave Anakin Skywalker’s hope for a better life for his family, may have ended with a Galaxy entering an era of oppression, but its final shot featured baby Luke with his closest kin watching the famous binary sunset and hoping for the eventual dawn to bring them out of the darkness.

We later meet Luke again in the eponymous A NEW HOPE as a sheltered and naive young farmhand, dreaming of making a difference in the fight against the evil Empire. Under the guidance of his watchful protector, he produces a one-in-a-million shot heard around the Galaxy. He trawls the Galaxy in search of a new mentor, whose trickery and patience are a foil for his impatient desire to return to the fight. After being humbled by a superior adversary and learning the dark truth of his parentage, he soon realises that his attachment to others can be a weakness to be exploited. Nevertheless, his faith in his friends and family remains resolute - even in the face of discouragement from his masters and enemies alike, Luke manages to persuade his broken and defeated father that he is not irredeemable. Luke’s unwavering belief provides the gentle push needed for Anakin to commit his final act to destroying the evil Emperor that had enslaved him and would destroy the only thing left in the universe for him to love.

Basically, after searching for his absent father his whole life, only to discover him to be one of the most terrible people in the Galaxy and believed to be beyond redemption by his only remaining friends, Luke still perseveres against all odds in believing there’s a tiny sparkle of good left him in - and ends up convincing his father of that as well. This is the most unbelievably optimistic person, who sees the bright side of things where everyone else sees nothing, and who never, ever gives up. He is what Star Wars is fundamentally all about.

IF THERE’S A BRIGHT CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE, YOU’RE ON THE PLANET THAT IT’S FARTHEST FROM

However, the Disney Trilogy’s failure began with the first words of its opening crawl, claiming that “Luke Skywalker has vanished” - depriving us of that hope for a whole film. When he finally appears up at the intersection of the first and second movies, it turns out to have been a false hope - in a “subversion” of our expectations, the Luke we find is a shell of a person who has given up on his friends, his family, and his students. He is so devoid of hope and resigned to the ignominious fate of dying alone that he may as well be Darth Vader. After sensing the mere potential for evil in his only nephew, he doesn’t try to turn him away from it but stupidly draws his weapon on him in his sleep - and by doing so creates another version of his father. He senses a familiar darkness in the Resistance’s strange messenger, and resolves not to train her. And yet... suddenly, after a bizarre encounter with an addled apparition pretending to be Yoda, he softens and decides not to join with her in a fight to the death but instead perform some insanely draining Matrix-like distraction that ends up killing him anyway. His last ditch effort saved practically nothing, and didn’t end up mattering anyway when the nemesis he and his father sacrificed everything to destroy “somehow returned”.

Mark Hamill himself, who has lived and breathed the character for over 40 years, knew that none of this made sense coming from Luke - he would rather amusingly refer to this incarnation as “Jake” Skywalker. The people behind the Disney Trilogy have stated on record that Luke’s absence from the first film was to avoid stealing the spotlight from their new characters, and the butchering of his character in the second ostensibly appears to have paved the way for them to take over the role of the hero. It was as if, in some misguided zero-sum view of the Star Wars universe, in order for the new generation to succeed the old had to be destroyed (in more ways than just this one). And, in doing so, Disney deprived us of seeing the Luke Skywalker we all deserved.

GOOD, YOU’VE TAKEN YOUR FIRST STEPS INTO A LARGER WORLD

When Anakin Skywalker looks up at the night sky on Tatooine in THE PHANTOM MENACE, he wonders if anyone has ever visited them all - ominously suggesting that he’d be the first. There’s only so much of that story that can be told within the motion picture medium, and there have always been Star Wars stories that existed in the same universe but were not about the Galaxy-changing saga of the Skywalkers. From the Expanded Universe novels, to cartoons, games, and other non-saga films, the Star Wars Universe has weaved a rich tapestry for fans who have been invested in the diverse, fantastic, and advanced setting it provides for stories that reflect on our own human condition. Many of these stories were self contained - filling in gaps or corners of that tapestry - but just as many intersected with our beloved characters at various points of their lives, who at once both recognisable as their iconic selves but also given further colour and depth through new experiences and challenges.

Of Luke Skywalker in particular, we saw a hero struggling with his legacy and the monumental task of rebuilding the Galaxy and the Jedi Order in such as way as to not repeat the mistakes of the past. We saw Luke succeed and fail in training new Force-sensitive students into Jedi, and grow in power to become the new Grand Master of the Jedi Order. We saw him defeat stronger foes than he had before and weave his way through the intergalactic politics of the New Republic and Imperial Remnant. We saw him fall in love with Mara Jade, someone who had been tasked by the Emperor with killing him, marry her and have a son (appropriately) named Ben. We witnessed Luke live a full, difficult, but happy life with meaning and purpose - the kind of life his father always wanted but could never achieve.

With this Expanded Universe cast away by Disney, it was left to stories and shows like THE MANDALORIAN to sketch out the details of what is supposed to exists in the rest of the Star Wars Universe. Throughout its run, THE MANDALORIAN has demonstrated definitively that Disney’s approach in sidelining and belittling Luke and the story of the original and prequel trilogies in order to tell new stories in that universe was not only unnecessary, but completely wrong. By starting with a fresh style and a lone gun for hire in a new, small frontier in a corner of the universe it established a new dynamic in the transition period between the fall of the Empire and the establishment of the New Republic.

But as it continued to flesh out that small corner, we started to see bits of the familiar return from a variety of sources - some from the films such as Trandoshans, IG units, Jawas, Ugnaughts, AT-STs, Mos Eisley’s Docking Bay 94 populated with Pit Droids, Tusken Raiders; others from other media such as Cobb Vanth, Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian Death Watch, Ahsoka Tano (and soon hopefully Grand Admiral Thrawn!), and Dark Troopers from the 90s game DARK FORCES. Others still fleshed out things we’d heard about in previous stories but never seen - krayt dragons, krynkas, Quarren. And at the heart of it all - the Mandalorian creed and the mysterious and powerful Force-using species. We care about and are interested in all of these things because they are familiar elements of the Star Wars Universe, and we care about what new things Mando and the Child encounter because they are grounded in such elements to which we can already relate.

Most of the credit for this change in direction is due to the respective efforts of creator John Favreau and Executive Producer Dave Filoni. Favreau’s early contributions were largely responsible for the dramatic success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he has been involved with Star Wars for some time (voicing characters in SOLO and THE CLONE WARS). Filoni, himself the creator of THE CLONE WARS, has long effectively been George Lucas’s personally selected designated successor as the sage of all things Star Wars. Unlike JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson (relative neophytes to Lucasfilm, who seemed to be unable to move beyond their nostalgia for A NEW HOPE and desperation to spit on Lucas’s prequels), Favreau and Filoni have an understanding of the already-significant diversity of the Star Wars Universe, of its values and potential.

Favreau, Filoni and the fabulous team of writers and directors they collaborate with have treated the existing source material with respect (the same source material their boss claims not to exist), and have both intertwined and extended it in new ways that make sense and add depth to what came before. The production design has drawn on both the existing worlds of the original and prequel trilogies (and yes, even what would be yet to come in the Disney Trilogy), while referencing the original concept art of Ralph McQuarrie and Doug Chiang (the concept art based credit sequences are particularly inspired) and creating new environments, species and spacecraft that add greater diversity to those worlds. Even Ludwig Görannson’s music has hit it out of the park - not merely rehashing John William’s greatest hits (another area where the Disney Trilogy fell surprisingly short), but creating a whole new aesthetic that feels right for the style of the show, but is unmistakably Star Wars. In short, THE MANDALORIAN feels like a true addition to the Star Wars universe, which seemed impossible after the lukewarm reboot of the Disney Trilogy.

YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT ME - TELL YOUR SISTER. YOU WERE RIGHT.

So this is why, when we first see the X-Wing appear, the hooded figure walking down the hallway, and the brilliant green blade - followed by the decisive elimination of the Dark Troopers through Gideon’s ship and the corridors leading to the bridge - longtime fans across the world could no longer contain their emotions, with many breaking down into tears of jubilation and relief. After being teased with horrible “subversions of expectations” and being told that our “theories sucked”, finally we actually got what we wanted after all this time - a reason to hope again.

This is the Luke Skywalker we’ve wanted to see after 37 years - not the naive farm boy or reclusive hermit, but the mature and powerful Jedi Master - and finally seeing him at his peak validated our feelings of frustration and neglect over after the past five years of mediocrity that was Disney’s attempt at rehashing Star Wars. It confirmed to us what we always belived: that Star Wars was not, after all, a one hit wonder and that the lightning in the bottle could be recaptured - if wielded by the right custodians who continue to explore the potential of the Star Wars universe to tell great new stories.

#starwars #the mandalorian

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