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#like i know the basis of a good romance or whatever is/can be friendship but come on the two tags are separated for a reason plz

versegm · 8 months

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What the fuck is up with Mashmorgan

Someone on neocities asked me to explain the appeal of Mashmorgan in a single concise post. Well I did it lads you've got your single post. It's also 1500 words long but that's not my problem. A lot of it is stuff I've already said in scattered posts/fics, so if you follow me this will not be any news for you, but if you ever need to redirect someone to an explanation of this ship you can direct them to this post. Also fair warning this will be incomprehensible without knowledge of lb6. This is by design.

Anyways. Enjoy.

The most basic shit about Mashmorgan is: Mash and Morgan spent a long time together. So long that Mash starts considering herself a part of the Fairy Calendar over the Queen's calendar (see: Totrot having to remind her "you're not the only one who remained, you're the one who is going home! You were never meant to be here in the first place.") Furthermore, Mash and Tonelico didn't just hang out. They were good fucking friends! Tonelico trusted Mash enough to tell her that Tonelico is, in fact, a ball of rage and ressentment wrapped in a savior skin (which is a big deal considering Tonelico lies to Fucking Everyone about her true feelings on things.) It's important to note that the ONLY time Morgan ever smiles during the entire lostbelt is with Mash ("Sure! We did our best, didn't we?" while sending Mash home.)

Speaking of, the fact that Tonelico sent Mash back in the present at all is very telling of Tonelico's feelings for Mash. The excuse she gives Totrot is "well I wanna recruit Mash later," but that's very obviously bull; Tonelico's last conversation with Mash makes it very clear that Tonelico expects them to be enemies later on. Besides, how can you recruit someone you know for a fact you won't remember? Morgan has zero reasons to send Mash back to her own time. She knows she's shooting herself in the foot by doing that. She KNOWS that Mash will turn out to be an enemy. But she's sending Mash back anyways. Because it's the right thing to do? Because it wouldn't be fair otherwise, and Morgan values fairness above all? Because Tonelico failed to save Uther, but she could still help one friend on this bitch of an earth? You tell me.

Now that's our basis to read Mash and Tonelico as exes, or people who pined for one another, or just very close besties, whatever you want. Which means we've now a wonderfully tragic romance (or friendship if that's your thing, but I feel like romance makes it tasties) of two people who do love each other but cannot stand by the same side because of widely differing ideals. Adding to that the dramatic irony of Mash and Morgan never knowing each other at the same time- Tonelico knows who Mash is, Mash doesn't know who Tonelico is. Mash knows who Morgan is, Morgan doesn't know who Mash is.

Mash still holds Tonelico's memory close to her heart- Tonelico (the summonable one) has a line mentioning that though she has no idea who Mash is, Mash keeps looking at her with sadness. Furthermore, while Morgan changed a lot from her Tonelico days, Mash still knows the woman pretty well- when asked if she's willing to fight, she responds "well yeah I know the gal she won't give up without a fight."

Obviously, Morgan doesn't remember Mash. But she still holds the knight in high regards; in the Fairy Cup event, she mentions that "oh lol you guys had Mash with you no wonder you guys turned out fine." Additionally, when you barge in her throne room early lb6.2 to ask her about Mash, Morgan does not remember that name, but she does react to the description of Fairy Knight Galahad. She doesn't remember Mash, but even without her memories something still echoes in her about it.

So that's all our canon basis to go wild. What are the roads we can explore with this ship then?

For Tonelico/Mash, there is obviously a "doomed romance" angle. Whether they're lovers who can't go anywhere, or people pining unwilling to start something at all, the fact is: this romance is doomed, and they both know it. They're from different worlds and times. Mash going home implies Tonelico's failure. This love cannot change anything, but it mattered that it was here.

For Mash/Morgan in lb6, there's the "lovers to enemies" angle. As I said before, they're clearly both still fond of each other on some level. But that's not enough. They both stand on either side of that war, because they each want to protect different things. The agony! The pain! Delicious. Of course, the most tragic part of this is that Mash didn't even get to kill Morgan herself. All of this, and they never got the catharsis of battle at the end. (I should add that I'm a firm believer of the inherent eroticism of homicide.)

Less obvious, but an aspect of their dynamic that I find really interesting is that... Mash is someone who is constantly asked by various nonhuman people for understanding. Goetia, the Lion King, Beryl, all asked Mash to understand their pov and goals. Because Mash, as a homunculus, fundamentally stands at the edge between human and nonhuman. She's legitimately these people's best shot at being understood. But through this pattern, Morgan is noticeably the one person who never asks for understanding. She explains herself, but that's it. What she does ask of Mash, however, is to find a good reason to fight Morgan. Cuz Tonelico just endured 3000 years of the most senseless and brutal violence- she’s just fresh out witnessing her attempt to save Britain being destroyed on a whim. The only thing Tonelico asks is for their fight to actually have meaning for once. Don’t face me just because I’m mildly inconvenient to you. Face me because you are striving for your own star. That, I will respect, and should you succeed in defeating me- I will be fine with that. (Also because Morgan long gave up on being understood, so she's not even trying with Mash, which is why I think it fucks that despite Morgan being a fucking brick wall, Mash still manages to know this girl better than most.)

Post-lb6, on Mash's side, this ship is a case of "this girl I used to love changed a fuckton, but also She's Still Here." On Morgan's side it's "I do not know who you are, but my body does remember you and it's fucking weird." And both these things are haunted by the ghost of "Oh christ we fucking killed each other. We can never go back to who we used to be. How do we build a new relationship after All This Shit? What if she forgives me? What if she doesn't?"

Additionally. Morgan is someone who fundamentally believes herself to be evil. That's why she's always like "ohh I'm a wretched witch I do this because I'm selfish teehee." It's a Sakura behavior, she's rationalizing the bad shit happening to her as "well I was evil anyways so I deserve it." Veering into headcanon territory now, but I think Morgan would see Mash as her total opposite, someone who embodies the good in this world- she's fucking fairy knight Galahad, the purest of the round table. So it's also cool to explore Morgan thinking she's unlovable struggling to understand why Mash would be interested in her. Possibly worried about corrupting Mash too, historically things have never turned out well for people close to Morgan.

Ok this is all my thoughts that have actual canon ground. Now back to making shit up. I think Mash should get to be fucking deranged about Morgan. Mash has lost MANY people since the beginning of the story, but that trauma is shared with Guda. Morgan's however is her trauma and hers alone she ain't got no one to relate. I think it would be a great way to showcase her character development, from someone who struggled to understand Mozart's "yeah humans suck but that's why I love them!" to someone who can be incredibly Not Fucking Normal in her grief. AND that means you get neat Beryl parallels as well. Mash sees her own behavior as something reminiscent of Beryl's, and feeling SO bad about it, but what is she supposed to do? She's lost so much so fucking much can't she just have something to hold onto for once? Something more tangible than a memory? Anyways I think Mash should get to mishandle Morgan's corpse SO fucking bad.

Anyways. Say whatever about lb6, but Morgan did successfully save one thing in Fairy Britain. She did successfully save Fairy Knight Galahad.

#mahsmorgan

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thelostgirl21 · 10 months

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Gotta love when people tell me sapioromantism/sapiosexuality isn't real...

While at the same time acknowledging that demiromantism/demisexuality exists.

So... You're telling me it's okay to be exclusively able to romantically fall in love with/be sexually turned on by an emotional bond you share with someone.

But you can't frakking be exclusively able to romantically fall in love with/be sexually turned on by an intellectual one?!?!?!

I mean I'm a frakking demisexual (not sapiosexual), and you've got zero problem convincing me sapiosexuality is real!

I feel a sexual rush SPECIFICALLY over the way I am emotionally relating with another person (regardless of the type of emotional relation), for frak's sake!

Imagining how it must feel to want to fuck someone over the way our brains work/connect together is super easy, barely an inconvenience! How is that not real?!?!?!

For the romantic aspect, all I've got to do is replace "wanting to fuck someone" by "having a crush on them", and voilà! Sapioromantism!

And yeah, I know that it's often phrased as "being attracted to highly intelligent people", but that's like saying that demi is "being attracted to highly loving people".

Guys, the way we perceive intelligence and emotions is a very intimate phenomenon. And I personally find friendships as sexually attractive as romances.

I've never been more likely to want to fuck a person I've got romantic feelings for, than I've been likely to want to fuck someone I've got platonic or alterous feelings for.

But I need to emotionally connect.

And there are many different types of intelligence a human being can express that makes them romantically or sexually attractive.

Emotional intelligence, spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, logical intelligence...

It's much harder to quantify intelligence than it is to qualify it, and sapiosexuals do have intelligence preferences.

On the TV show "The Witcher", sapioromantic Jaskier appears to have a romantic preference for (or be strongly romantically attracted to, at least) emotional intelligence and insightfulness, if you're wondering how sapioromantic attraction might look like.

I'm actually exclusively sexually attracted to people that gives off what I call a "geeky vibe". You know, that look like they tend to get really passionate about a specific subject/discipline they deeply enjoy (videogames, movies, series, science, music theory, rocks... Whatever it is!) and "geek out" about it on a regular basis.

My partner is insanely into electric cars technology, and each time he starts talking about it, the research that's being done on recycling batteries, etc., he goes from a usually introverted personality to really animated, passionate, and expressive one; his eyes get that light and happiness to them, his skin gets slightly flushed, there's a unique musicality to the verbal flow of his words, etc.

He's also a D&D player, and that's insanely hot to me (although I've never personally played D&D)!

Seriously, do yourself a favor, and watch a bunch of people play D&D together. If they're really into their characters, their quests, and have a good DM, it's pure geek porn!

Those are huge turn ons! You want to have sex tonight? Get your geek on, babe! That's what I'm talking about!

I don't care whatever gender you have, as long as you're a geek!

That's what I'm sexually into. Geeks. Not men, women, or people outside the binary. Geeks.

Actually, if "geekiness" is considered as a form of intelligence, perhaps I could be considered somewhere on the whole sapiosexual spectrum (I just can't say specifically what type of intellect geeks display that triggers the attraction), too!

Because developing an emotional bond with a non-geek fails to trigger any sense of sexual attraction.

I need to find you aesthetically attractive (let's face it, demi-pansexuals can be as "shallow", when it comes to being attracted to someone's looks as people from any other sexual orientations. There's just a secondary delay for us to get there), feel those "geeky vibes" emanating from you, and be emotionally bonded to you based on high levels of trust (specifically), in order to find you sexually attractive.

Those are the mains patterns I've noticed are a constant for me.

So yeah... Sapioromantism and sapiosexuality not being real? Get out!

#Sapioromantic #Sapiosexual #Aromantic #Asexual #Demiromantic #Demisexual #Greyromantic #Greysexual #Sapioromantism #Sapiosexuality #Aromantism #Asexuality #Demiromantism #Demisexuality #Greyromantism #Greysexuality #My posts #My thoughts #Personal

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our-aplatonic-experience · 4 months

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I am questioning if I'm on the apple spectrum. I got interested in it, because I realized I don't exactly understand what platonic love is.

I have friends and family. But whenever I say "I love you" to them... it's not exactly honest. When I was a kid, I would say I loved my mom not because I felt it, but because I believed "Well, you're supposed to love your parents. Rude if you say you don't". She is not abusive... we've had our little bumps in the relationship, and I think she's become a very accepting and nice person now, but I still do not feel that love.

Perhaps I understand platonic attraction. If I define it correctly. I think some people are cool and I would like to communicate with them, perhaps on a more regular basis. I've felt I need to find friends, to make connections. I've wanted more friends.

But there have been moments when I think I don't care enough. I don't miss a lot of people I know. Sometimes I don't respond to messages soon enough and end up accidentally ghosting people. Sometimes these relationships feel more like a chore.

I wonder if there's a difference between enjoying communication and enjoyig a friendship. Do I like it because I'm not aplatonic? Or do I like it because I get attention? Humans are social creatures after all. I feel like I don't care about the other person enough sometimes.

I wonder if there's a difference of wanting to be closer to someone because they're cool and awesome and platonic attraction.

Whenever I get closer to someone, a little worm of a thought squiggles into my head. I think I develop crushes really easily. Just spend time with me, treat me well and I'm already imagining a scenario of us being together. It's not serious, just a passing image, but I wonder if it has to do with this whole platonic attraction thing. Or maybe I'm just lonely and want a relationship, as I've been telling myself for years.

I know that platonic relationships tend to be underappreciated in media, that friendship being "lesser" than romantic/sexual relationships is not really true... except I myself do feel it that way. I understand where this comes from, but my enjoyment of sex and romance is definitely greater than friendship. I wonder if that's just like that for most people and I'm not special here.

Whatever connection I have to family and friends... it is not as strong as how I can imagine a romantical relationship to be. I can feel all self sacrificial for a SO, but doing stuff for friends and family often feels like an obligation because of the tie between us.

I feel good spending time with them... but it doesn't feel strong enough to call it love.

that does sound quite like how it is to be aplatonic actually

I’ll leave it up to you to figure it out ofc but it does sound like my experience quite a bit

#aplatonic #aspec #apples

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voidfragments · 7 months

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y'know idk if this is actually the case but i feel like there's this perception in rpc that people who are really eager to ship don't take their writing seriously, don't care about writing anything else, just see their partners as ship fodder, etc and i really wish that wasn't the case bc like. yeah! i really want to ship! i'm arospec but also a hopeless romantic, this is the only way i can get the romance i crave in a way i'm comfortable with lmao, plus idk i just think it's fun and often a good way to explore characters. plus some of my muses are just!! really shippable!! look at ritsuka she's so cute and kissable and yet she is not being kissed. a crime. but i really enjoy writing other stuff too! i love writing drama and angst and silly goofs and friendships and families (found or otherwise) and antagonism. i don't do action scenes or horror often but when i do i have a blast with them. i just love writing in general! and i guess part of why i'm often hesitant to bring up shipping is because of this perception, because i don't want people to see me as someone who's just here to write 45690578 threads of my muse making out with everyone or whatever.

there's another layer to this too with pre-established ships where they're seen as ~shallow~ like bro if we already want to ship then i (generally) see no point in dragging it out just for the sake of it. ofc it's kind of case-by-case but like? idk man. it's definitely not shallow or lazy if the basis of a relationship was already there to begin with, at least (which is why i limit pre-established ships to muses who already know each other well in canon).

tl;dr eagerness to ship doesn't mean only caring about shipping but i'm worried that showing interest in shipping makes me look like that

#ooc

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pale-silver-comb · 4 years

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So I know absolutely nothing about Leverage except what I've been seeing you post lately and I have to admit you're making it look tempting to watch! Can I ask what are some of your favorite things about the show/reasons you would suggest people watch it? And is there really a poly relationship that is canon?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I am going to do my best not to just “asdfghkjl” at you and answer coherently.

In a nutshell, Leverage is about 5 people. 4 are criminals (Parker, Hardison, Eliot and Sophie) with different and unique skill-sets and 1 is an ex-insurance investigator (Nate) who, at one point or another in his career, has tracked down (or at least attempted to) the other 4. The whole show is essentially: man reluctantly reforms 4 criminals to use their criminal powers for good and 4 criminals move into man’s life and stubbornly refuse to leave because, goddammit, now they have morals.

I’ve got a lot of favourite things about the show but the main ones are as follows:

1. Found family. And I’m not talking about loners who come together to fight crime and happen to co-exist to the point where they realise they happen to have found themselves a family. I mean, Nate and Sophie are the Drunk Uncle and Wine Aunt who somehow become Mom and Dad to 3 beautiful criminal children. Mom and Dad love their criminal babies and the kids love them (as well as each other, but we’ll come to that in a moment). You get amazing family moments such as: Mom and Dad packing the kids lunch before sending them out to kick corporate greed’s ass; Mom and Dad giving the kids ridiculously expensive and personal Christmas presents causing their most Grumpy Kid to go very very quiet and soft as he runs off to gleefully play with his new murder toy; the kids interrupting Mom and Dad’s big Movie Style Kiss to ask if they can please keep their new underground layer and huffing and puffing when Dad tells them no.

2. Found family: the OT3 edition. To answer your question, the OT3 is indeed canon, confirmed by the creator. Now, usually, “confirmed by the creator” infuriates me because most of the time it’s a way for a creator to be seen as “progressive” without doing anything to actually be progressive. That isn’t the case here. The OT3 are built up carefully and while it is obvious the creators didn’t originally intend for all 3 of them to become a relationship in the romantic sense, by mid-season 5 we are given a very clear picture of where Parker, Hardison and Eliot are heading in their relationship. There aren’t any kisses at the end to signal this but there are solid marriage vows in not only one but two episodes. (And by marriage vows I mean literal equivalents of marriage vows: “for better or worse” and “’til death do us part”. I’m not even exaggerating). The OT3 also doesn’t need explicit romantic narratives to convey how much they love each other. Their love is laced through the whole show, from the way they teach each other things to the way they respond to each other and work as a unit. The way they fiercely protect and admire each other. Like someone once said, if you need characters to kiss or say I love you to let the audience know they love each other, you are writing them wrong.

Aside from that, each of the parings in the OT3 are just. Gah. They are so well done, with friendship being the solid basis for them all. The creators never expect the audience to assume anything about them or fill in the gaps. They give us their relationships on screen and reference many things off-screen to show us how these relationships continue to build in between episodes.

Hardison and Parker are a canon couple and date in the show: it’s approached slowly and they are so goddamned sweet. They are basically every fluffy slow-burn trope with a healthy dash of mutual pining in the mix. They are basically that quote “love is patient, love is kind”. (I would like to add their romance never becomes the focus of the show or overrides the importance of any other relationship they have with the other characters, especially Eliot.)

Hardison and Eliot are the Old Married Couple and from day one are already bickering and looking at each other/making comments that are found in every UST fic ever (not to mention Hardison has a very good knack for making Eliot grin like a little kid, when usually he’s basically an Angry Little Chef Man). They argue, they play, and love each other plain as day.

Parker and Eliot are more subtle but every bit as wonderful. They have an unspoken connection and understand each other on a level no-one else can. Parker and Eliot are not good with giving themselves over to affection for different reasons (and Hardison plays a central role in helping them realise it’s okay to want it and have it- that boy has endless patience) but there is something so beautiful in the way the two of them come together on their own and develop their own special bond that works for them. Parker and Eliot are that trope where the characters don’t need to speak to understand each other perfectly. They just do. Their love language is a lot of the time non-verbal but speaks volumes. (Parker also likes to annoy the hell out of Eliot and Eliot....just.....lets...her. Because he’s soft. The softest, grumpiest boy.)

I could go into so much depth for each pairing and their dynamics as a 3 but that's for another post.

3. Subverting stereotypes. There is the occasional hiccup in the show regarding stereotypes but ultimately, Leverage gets an A+ when it comes to writing characters and making them 3 dimensional people who are not defined by certain characteristics or events. Nate could so easily fall into the White Man Pain trope where he uses the trauma of losing his kid as a reason as to why he is entitled to act like a dick. Nate is a dick but he doesn’t use his pain to excuse it and I appreciate that. Hardison is a black man who is soft and nurturing. Easily the most empathetic and patient of the group. He’s nerdy, an actual genius, and has the biggest heart of all the characters. Nate is maybe the glue but Hardison is definitely the heart. Media’s usual aggressive, amongst other, racist stereotypes can fuck right off. Parker is canonically autistic (I am sure this was confirmed by one of the creators) and she is not defined by it. It’s not written as some kind of singular personality trait. It’s part of what makes up Parker but it’s only one facet of who she is and not once is her actions, thoughts or feelings treated like a joke. Sometimes people don’t understand why she does and says the things she does but it’s met with patience and fondness over the course of the show. Equally, it’s not met with over-caution. Parker is just Parker. No-one tries to change her. The other nice thing is Hardison, who always makes sure Parker knows she’s amazing because of who she is and not in spite of it. Finally, Sophie is in her 40s. She’s not treated like she’s past her prime. Ever. She’s sexy, smart and never is she pitted against or compared to Parker (who is younger) for anything. Sophie is amazing and there’s never even a conversation of “I may be older but I am still *insert adjective typically associated with younger women here*”. Sophie is possibly the first female character I’ve ever seen who isn’t just unapologetic about her age but has never had to apologise for her age. It’s a non-issue and that’s that. The women on the show are written so well, right down to secondary characters and it’s beyond refreshing.

4.) It’s just fun. The show has a “monster of the week” type format. Except instead of a ghoul or a ghost, the monster is some corrupt wealthy and powerful individual or organisation. The show draws on real-life individuals to do this and therefore closely parallels real-life people and events. It addresses important political, economical, social and environmental issues while at the same time remaining fun and light-hearted. The characters constantly get the chance to play dress up and by GOD do they have fun with it. You get to watch Eliot beat up bad guys in the most delightful of ways, usually after a witty non-sequitur and with a weapon you’d never think could be a weapon. The dialogue and back and forth between the characters is everything. And finally - my favourite thing- the team can never resist striking a dramatic pose after they’ve taken down the bad guy, making sure the bad guy sees them. I mean, they COULD just walk away, satisfied they’ve taken the person down, but nope. They gotta be dramatic bitches 24/7 and pose like they are models for every single month of this year’s Criminal Calendar.

5.) Competence Porn. So. Much. Competence Porn.

Honestly, I could list a thousand reasons for why Leverage is amazing but to list them would to be spoiling so many amazing moments you’d get to discover for the first time on your own if you do choose to watch it. It’s the kind of show you can watch with an eagle-eye and sink your teeth into. But it’s also the kind of show if, you would prefer, put on in the background for something entertaining while you do something else. Each episode is about the job at hand but it’s made up of so many moments between the characters that show how much the creators and writers care about them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do whatever it is you do when something Soft and Wonderful happens that makes your heart melt. I am so beyond grateful for Leverage. It’s everything I always wanted in a show. Nearly every show I’ve watched in the past 10 years has disappointed me in some way, usually either because the writers run out of steam or characters who I love are treated poorly or given some kind of unnecessary “shock value” arc. Leverage doesn’t do that. Leverage is what it says on the bottle. Fandom isn’t something I joined because I needed canon fix-its. Fandom only enhances and celebrates an already excellent canon.

#leverage #leverage ot3 #parker #alec hardison #eliot spencer #sophie devereaux #nate ford #talk leverage to me

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nat-20s · 3 years

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Part 5 of Wonderful! Au. *boyband voice* banter’s back alright!

Also on AO3

~*~

Jon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to our regular format. If my husband being horribly soppy-

Martin:-hey!-

Jon: -turned you off the how, this should be a refreshing return to formula, though I can’t guarantee there won’t be further horrible soppiness-

Martin, performatively under his breath: -most people thought it was charming-

Jon: -as that tends to happen when one is recording with the love of their life. If last week’s episode is the only one that you like, too bad, I’m back in full form, and should be at least through the rest of the season.

Martin: This show doesn’t have seasons? Due to the whole lack of a narrative thing?

Jon: I was referring to spring.

Martin: Oh, right.

[A beat passes.]

Martin, flatly: Oh. Great goof hon.

Jon, smug: Thank you.

Jon, sincere: Also, before we get properly started, I did want to actually thank everyone who sent well wishes.

M artin: Yes! We got positively inundated with lovely messages, it definitely brightened both of our days. I would even say it was wonderful.

[Jon groans.]

Jon: I am..not proud of the energy we’ve created for this episode so far, and we haven’t even hit the small wonders. Speaking of, do you have a small wonder this week?

Martin: Mine’s bad action movies.

Jon: Really? I had no idea you even liked them, let alone consider them wonderful.

Martin: Okay, so, saying I like them is a bit of a misnomer? It’s more that I like what they can do more than the movies themselves?

Jon: Elaborate?

Martin: It probably comes as a surprise to no one that I’ve tried my hand at a fair amount of mindfulness and mediation techniques. I’ve found poetry and journaling have been helpful for actually processing life events and whatnot, but when it comes to giving your brain a hard wipe and reset, nothing is half as quick and effective as a shitty shoot-em-up. Somethings about 2 hours of cartoonish, pg-13 violence held together with the absolute loosest of plots brings me to a state of mental blankness that would make a monk jealous.

Jon: How have I never witnessed you doing this? When are you sneaking off to go see Micheal Tarantino or who ever films?

M artin: That’s definitely not the right name.

Jon: Martin, dear, I don’t care. And you’re dodging the question.

Martin, fond: I’m not dodging anything. Since apparently we’re getting into it, you haven’t caught me cavorting with a movie involving more explosions than character development lately because I haven’t been. Haven’t needed it, in recent years. Turns out when you’re not crushingly lonely and working a literal nightmare of job, there’s less of a drive to try and escape your own thoughts. Shocker, I know. Still, to anyone out there that feels like their brain is on fire, go try watching a fast and furious. Any of ‘em, it doesn’t matter. Or even better, Chronicles of Riddick. I can’t remember a single goddamn detail of that movie, which makes it perfect for what I’m talking about.

Jon: I have the strong feeling that th is is a “mileage may vary” scenario.

Martin: Well, yeah, that’s this whole podcast. Plus, I imagine that movies like this would cause more stress to someone who cares about, say, world-building or rules consistency.

Jon: I wonder who you could possibly be referring to.

Martin: It’s a purely hypothetical person, love, don’t worry about it. Any small wonders?

Jon: Yes! Particularly relevant to the last week, my small wonder is stripping the sheets from your bed when it’s been too long between washes.

Martin: How very specific. M ost people would just say ‘clean sheets’.

Jon: Well, for one, I’m fairly certain that we’ve already covered clean sheets-

Martin: Shit, have we? Thank god other people keep track of this, otherwise this show would be unbearably repetitive.

Jon: Christ, yes. I typically check the website a good three times while prepping, and every about one out of those three times I find I’m trying to do an topic we did 30 episodes again. Anyway, um, it’s just nice, I think. When you’ve been too busy or sick or away for awhile, tossing the sheets in the wash makes a room instantly seem nicer. Of all the chores out there, this one, at least for me, has the highest reward to effort ratio.

Martin: Hard agree. Especially when the y have that slight funk of having been around to long, getting rid of that is such a relief. Speaking of, we need to change our sheets soon.

Jon: We can do it after the episode. Who goes first this week?

Martin: Considering last week was only me talking, I’m gonna say it’s you.

Jon: Alright, then. My first thing this week is Martin K. Blackwood.

Martin: Absolutely not!

Jon: Oh, you can do a whole episode on me, but I can’t do one little segment on my husband, whom I love very dearly?

Martin: Not while I’m sat here, no!

Jon: So you’re saying you don’t want me to tell the internet that your resolve to be kind even in the face of indescribable cruelty is one of the mot breathtaking things I’ve ever witnessed, or how I find it incredibly endearing when you get so emotional that your voice comes out as a squeak, or even that, on a more base level, you’re very physically attractive, and I could lose entire days thinking about your arms alone?

Martin, audibly blushing, voice the aforementioned squeak: Oh my god, Jon!

Jon, laughing: Then it’s probably for the best that my actual first thing is best friends.

Martin, peaking the audio levels: Oh you absolute bastard! Do you enjoy this? Do you get some sort of perverse sense of entertainment from riling me up?

Jon: Oh, don’t you start. As if you’re not as bad as I am. Maybe even worse.

Martin: That’s not…

Jon: Yes?

Martin: Okay. Maybe it’s slightly true. Really, what is romance for if not flustering your partner with compliments?

Jon, teasing: I certainly can’t think of anything.

Martin: Hush, you.

Jon: No, I don’t think I will.

Martin: Fine. I suppose you can tell our delightful audience about the power of friendship or whatever.

Jon: I would’ve assumed more enthusiasm, considering this segment is still, indirectly, about you.

Martin: In what way?

Jon: In the way that, to the shock of all, you’re my best friend.

Martin, pleased: Oh, is that what I am?

Jon, exasperated: Yes, dearest husband, I wouldn’t have married you otherwise. Though, upon reflection, I knew you were my best friend before I knew I held romantic feelings for you.

Martin: When was that?

Jon, letting out a breath that vibrates his lips: God it was...2016? I think it might’ve literally been the day after you told me about your CV.

Martin: That early? Huh. I wonder if that’s what people were picking up when they said they we were close.

Jon: What people?

Martin: I don’t know specifically, that’s just what Daisy told me.

Jon: Daisy? When the hell-?

Martin: It...was when she was interrogating me? And, because sometimes I have to be a parody of myself, pretty much my only take away from that interrogation was “people think me and Jon are close”.

Jon: Well then. It’s not like they were wrong.

Martin, smug: No, no they weren’t.

Martin, sincere: And you’re my best friend, too.

Jon: I was certainly hoping that you’re in this relationship for more than my good looks and incredible fortune, both in the monetary and luck sense.

Martin: You say that as if you aren’t good looking, which we all know is patently untrue.

Jon: You’re biased. You’d say I was good looking if I were nothing more than some primordial ooze with thoughts about its station.

Martin: I’m being completely objective. If you were primordial ooze with thoughts above its station, you’d be the cutest ooze of them all. That’s just scientific fact.

Jon: I’m starting to think we might be insufferable.

Martin: Starting to? Might be?

Jon:…

[Jon clears his throat]

Jon: What I find wonderful about the concept of best friends is, to me, they’re the closest thing real life has to soulmates. I don’t personally believe that there’s some..grand mystic force that drives people to be tied together in the manner that narrative typical soulmates are, and if there was I don’t think it would necessarily be the kind of emotional, heartfelt bond one would hope for, but I do believe that there’s individuals that get to know one another, and because of that knowledge, they chose to stick with one another. It doesn’t have to be a romantic, which is why I say best friend rather than specifically ‘spouse’, but I would argue that the basis of a strong romance like you and I have, is very much rooted in that connection. A true best friendship is an equal partnership, and there’s a sense of..matched sensibilities and understanding that can be utterly incandescent when it happens.

I also think that having one or more best friends makes living life on a day to day basis both better and just flat easier. The dark times aren’t as dark, and the bright times shine even more. I know from my own personal experience there are events that I..that I don’t know how I would’ve made it through without you. Hell, last week my..recovery period would’ve taken much longer if you hadn’t been there.

It’s an amazing thing to have someone to share things with, both triumphs and burdens. Um, also, according to Dictionary.com, the term best friends in English has been around since the 1200s. Something about that delights me, like, yes, we’ve had this casual way of referring to a Favorite Person for roughly 800 years. That makes it a hold-out from early Middle English. I dunno, it’s one of those things that make me feel overall very charmed by humanity.

Martin, audibly smiling: No, yeah, hard agree.

Jon: What’s that look for?

Martin: Nothing. Just. I love you a whole lot, you know that?

Jon, voice soft: I may have heard you say that once or twice. Per hour.

Martin: Only that often? I really need to be more diligent about that.

[There’s a bet of silence, presumably where they’re making doe eyes at each other.]

Jon: What’s your first thing?

Martin: Oh, um, right. Rats!

Jon: The expression or the animal?

Martin: Jon, have you ever once heard me say “rats” as an expression? Obviously I’m referring to the animal.

Jon: Ah. Should’ve known, considering that what, a third?, of all your segments have been on animals.

Martin: Yeah? And? You got a problem with critters? With creatures? With lil guys?

Jon, laughing: No, no, it’s very sweet. I’m just surprised you never became a vet.

Martin: Oh believe me, I wanted to. But then I learned that it was not, in fact, a job composed entirely of getting paid to play with other people’s pets.

Jon: You had that job, though, didn’t you? I thought I remembered you mentioning a month long stint at a doggie day care.

Martin, sighing dreamily: Best job I ever had. Too bad that place was shut down after it was revealed to be a money laundering front.

Jon: Good lord.

Jon: Martin did you...did you know it was a money laundering front at the time?

Martin:

Martin: Would it make you feel better if I said no?

Jon: Martin!

Martin: I figured it out like a week in, but, like, who cares? The pay was decent and the floor was super easy to clean, which is very much a plus for even a front of a doggie day care.

Jon: That’s...rather a lot. How about instead of getting into that any further, you tell me about rodents.

Martin: I would love to. But first, we have a shoutout!

Jon: Ooo, a shoutout. Does it specify who should read?

Martin: Let me check. It...does...not…..

...

Jon: Martin?

[A beat.]

Martin: Right! Sorry, um. This week’s shoutout is from Tim, to Danny. It says, “Danny! My favorite person who shares genetic material with me! I wanted to say thank you for your podcast obsession from 4 months ago, and specifically for telling me about these marrieds. They’ve gotten me through many a dull hour at the publishing house. Also, with this shoutout, I’ve officially gotten ahead on the Superior [Last Name Redacted] Brother scoreboard, so suck it. Love you lots, and looking forward to your visit next month, Tim.”

Jon: Oh.

Jon: Um. That’s very..sweet? I think? Mostly?

Martin: Yeah, I’d say so. Uh. We have to take a quick break because, uh, someone is..at our front door! Be back with you all in, from your side of things, just a moment.

#wonderful! au #jonmartin #jon sims #martin blackwood #>:3 #shoutouts are their versions of jumbotrons btw

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trutrustories · 3 years

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Okay, this will be probably long and with many errors (my english isn´t very good) But I saw several posts here on Lokius tag, talking about this ship as result of gay fetish, and about non existing chemistry and how this ship doesn´t make sense etc… And from what I understood there is tagged Lokius because of genuine interest to understand others point of view, so here is mine: I wil try to explain where my frustration comes from, and how I feel about Lokius, Sylkie, AND representation + some other things which I saw here somewhere. But first of all: I like Sylvie, I don´t hate sylkie shipers, and after so many years reading fan fictions, I don´t mind selfcest – I read weirder things. I have some issues with this ship (the mainlythe fact that it isn´t Lokius), but this is not one of them. Also, I am not about to tell anyone, they shouldn´t ship sylkie.Ship whatever. And I LOVED the show as a whole.

I just want to defend my standpoint, that Lokius does make sense, people shipping it does make sense and whether it will happen or not, (I don´t have my hopes very high, and I learned to be very skeptical in this regard ) it is more than just about crack ship, or fetish. I´m honestly blown away that people are still surprised that this ship became a thing :D First of all, let´s look at some romantic story telling and tropes: I mean the way they introduced them in the first two episodes set the tone for all series and how the heck this isn´t romantic? Somehow there are all these romantic tropes existing in a show. They´re just there. Just chilling between Loki and Mobius and large portion of audience can´t even see them. (and some of those tropes were used for Sylki as well, so you could actually see them side by side)

For example: 1) traveling to the apocalypsis 2) breaking law/rules for the other 3) literally changing for the better thanks to the other 4) arguing like old married couple 5) saying secrets, personal things to the other 6) sharing glances, touches, visibly being happy around each other - in case of Loki happier then we´ve ever seen him before 7) being completely themselfs around each other 8) One knowing everything (even the worst) about other and still accepting him completely 9) teasing, being comfortable and domestic around each other 10) one being literally enthusiastic FAN of the other 11) Mobius defending Loki whenever he has a chance 12) Freaking amnesia trope that they pulled of in the end??? (It could be different Mobius, but point is he suddenly doesn´t know him - and Loki knows more, in contrast with the beggining) 13) the jealousy in ep4 14) Misunderstanding - when Mobius thought Loki betrayed him and Loki (thanks to Ravonna) thought Mobius betrayed him... 15) witnessing death of the other and being absolutely broken afterwards 16) The goodbye hug with romantic music in the backround 17) Saving life of the one (even when it means problems for the other ) - like Mobius saved Loki´s ass at least three times when he was trying to stop others from pruning him. 18) sharing deep conversations about meanings of life, freedom and how it would be fun to make some chaos and ride that fucking jet ski!!! 19) Inspiring the other 20) looking for each other (Mobius didn´t believe for a second, that Loki would die in the Void and the way how in the last minutes of the series Loki run through all places they were together when he was looking for Mobius... and I could go on. Point is, even if they are not planning to make Lokius canon, all these things are used on a daily basis to describe romance in media and they are used here. On top of that it´s just very poetic and cute, that this drama queen and powerful god of Asgard who looked down on people would find his match in someone, who is so quiet, ordinary on the first sight, and basically is just human from 90s, who loves jet skis. Mobius can´t even fight. But is highly inteligent and he also happen to be as good manipulator, such as Loki himself. - That´s why they work together so well. Mobius sees right through him and once Loki understands that, he drops his evil persona. Almost nobody expected to ship it for real. But story itself and chemistry between them just made it probably the most exciting duo in the whole MCU. And I mean it genuinely. Third episode, even though it was beautiful and Sophie was great in it (and is literally dipped in bisexual colors), is the least favorite for a reason. And that reason being, there is no interaction between Loki and Mobius whatsoever. Lot´s of people though that series slowed down a bit. Even when in fact there was more action, then when we watched Loki and Mobius working at the TVA.

(and let´s just talk about evil!Mobius narative for a bit and how some people say he is manipulative and toxic for Loki: show itself explore heavy themes and one of them is in Loki´s line: no one bad is ever truly bad and no one good is ever truly good. And as a theme in a fictional world, it is working as it should, for the story. When Loki and Mobius meet, one of them just killed lots of innocent people and destroyed almost whole city. The other one is a part of fascist organization – and in the beginning of the series they both believe what they´re doing is right. They´re both bad, they´re both good, they´re both broken. And they are changing with the help of the other.) From all reactions I watched - and there was many of them, lots of people actually didn´t see dynamic between Loki and Sylvie as romantic in the third episode. So it´s not like Sylvie and Loki had unequivocally love story right from the start.

The only difference is that lots of people won´t see romantic tropes, when it comes to two men in a mainstream show – show that isn´t primarily about relationships and problems that queer people has to face. Because in super hero story and science fiction we have to warn audience, that they´re about to watch two man in love, right? At this point It´s just frustrating really. There were many M/M dynamics that used similar story line, as for example Lucifer, or X-files, or Bone collectors. - But unlike those M/M pairings, no one was making fun of people for shipping main characters in these shows. But when it comes to two men suddenly you´ll see from all corners of the internet: “why can´t it be just platonic?” “There is not enough platonic relationships” “why can´t two man just be friends?” (They can and they almost ALWAYS are) and “if you think there something romantic between them, you´re delusional” “fetishist“ “And for god´s sake just let them be friends, Loki needs a friend more then....” oh wait, but Sylvie is allowed to kiss him. Sylvie doesn´t have to be just friend. (And I must say, that I love Sylvie, I liked most of the interactions between her and Loki and I think she is a great character ((I hope we learn more about her in the future)) it just doesn´t work for me as well as Loki´s dynamic with Mobius. Maybe partly because of chemistry between actors, partly because combination of characters and they´re personality and also because I had two whole episodes to fall in love with the pair before Sylvie was even introduced.)

First of all: people can be friends and then evolve into lovers. Not only it is common romantic trope, but it is also the most realistic one. And those relationships are usually strongest. second: If people want to see Loki in a platonic friendship so desperately, why can´t it be a woman for a change? They were acting like chaotic siblings for most of the episode three anyway. The age gap aspect is also very funny. Owen is only about 12 years older (That is not that much. But I imagine, some people would get uncomfortable. But If it was man and woman, most of them wouldn´t even blinked. But two men, that has to be somehow automatically son and father figure dynamic) And If you want to dive into age of an actual characters, then good luck with that in a series about gods, variants and time travel. Almost nobody cares about age gap between Lucifer and detective Decker, or Bella and Edward. On top of that, it was heavily implied, that Loki slept with older, silver haired guy in Ragnarok, so it´s not like he would have problem with that.

Different standards are projected in a way how we see romantic dynamics between fictional characters depends on what we are used to, how are we perceiving world around us, what we are expecting to see and ALSO, what we would like to see, that much is true. When people are used to make no differences between heterosexual and homosexual pairing, then everything what happens to the characters is measured with the same meter. (Even though I experienced queerbaiting many times (( Once upon a time, Sherlock, Supernatural, Good Omens – the last one hopefully is not the case, but I guess we´ll see)) I also saw lots of lgbt shows like Queer as folks and Sense8.) And when we are not used to see it the same way, well… then it looks basically like that one comment under Castiel´s “I love you” scene on youtube, that said “what a beautiful friendship”.

If we forget about all that chaotic mess behind the scenes (all those articles and contrary messages) What is happening in a show between Loki and Mobius can be objectively considered romantic and what is happening between Loki and Sylvie in a series can be objectively considered platonic (until the kiss) and vice versa. And then to see comments about how absurd it is to even think they have chemistry, and about gay fetish - it´s hard to swallow. I read posts about absurdity of a ship and how there is absolutely nothing that would suggests romance. Well there is, actually. But whether creators are going to work with it or not, that´s something we can only speculate. They already made Loki officially bisexual. So why should it be so absurd to assume, that there is an actual possibility of romantic subplot between Loki and Mobius? Oh right… it´s Disney and Marvel we are talking about.

So on a subject of bisexuality: Bi people can date whoever they want. But It is a little frustrating, when there is so many heterosexual pairings in the mcu and disney but when there is a promise of lgbt character (speaking of endgame) we get one line about date from a man we´ll never see again. And when there is a promise of lgbt representation you can´t even blink during movie, or you´ll miss it (Star wars, Beauty and the beast). And then Loki said “A bit of both, I suspect the same as you”. And I won´t lie, I was happy. And I think creators made biggest step yet with this one line (which is honestly terrible, that “a bit of both” coming from Loki of all people, is the biggest step forward.) But they played it VERY safe. Obviously, both Loki, and Sylvie are bisexuals, and in three episodes, we had Loki flirting with female flight attendant, Sylvie talking about her relationship with POSTMAN and then they fall for each other. So the only thing that suggests they are really as bi as Lamentis 1 is that little sentence, that can be edited out, or easily overheard. It´s the bare minimum. And I think that frustration with how freaking slowly we´re moving into some progress is understandable. From all those great M/M dynamics I talked about, those, that could make great love story, nothing happened, because too many people “don´t mind gays but don´t need to look at them” or are scared for their children. In 2021.

It is not a fetish to wish for a gay love story in superhero movies/series. (But anyway, I don´t think there is anything bad about it. Some men like to watch lesbian porn, some woman like to read gay porn. AO3 wouldn´t be were it is today, without people reading and writing slash :D – but that has little to do with what we actually see on tv)

I´m not delusional. As much, as I love these two characters together, I know how little chance it has. I´m not delusional. I´m just in the future, old and tired, waiting hundreds of years for at least one of my OTP to finaly become a fucking canon.

#Lokius #loki series #LOKI AND MOBIUS #mobius m mobius #loki

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astradrifting · 3 years

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This is kind of inspired by this recent ask I sent to @esther-dot about Jon’s characterisation and Jonsa shippers’ apparent disregard for it, because it made me think of another part of Jon’s characterisation that is really integral to who he is. Mainly, that Jon really loves his brothers. Especially Robb. His rival and best friend and constant companion. Jon envies him, competes with him, buried a formative traumatic memory where he was deeply hurt by him... but ultimately loves him. Complex relationships with his brothers, both the Starks and his Night’s Watch brothers, are a running theme in Jon’s chapters.

Speaking of Jon’s brothers...

Aegon VI and Robb have a lot of potential parallels, actually. The “Young” moniker, red-haired counselors who are also their parents, trained to be the heir to a great kingdom from a young age, the barely younger half-brother Jon borne of their father’s dishonour of their mother… one that they might both have a good relationship with despite that?

The show tried to play with Jon ‘accepting’ his Targaryen lineage through the jonerice romance, very unconvincingly because it was simultaneously undermining it at every opportunity, in what was maybe a half-assed attempt at Pol!Jon (”They’ll all come to see you for what you are” isn’t anything but a threat in all contexts).

Jon will ultimately choose the Starks over everything else, that’s not really a question. But if Jon were to genuinely connect with another Targaryen, it’d likely be easier for him to find kinship with a half-brother than with an aunt - he has a basis for positive relationships with trueborn half-brothers, while the only aunt figure he’s ever known about is a) long dead and b) actually his mother. I think it’d both make more sense and be more compelling for GRRM to leverage Jon’s existing complex relationships with brotherhood by having him interact with and build a relationship with Aegon, than a rushed and out-of-character romance with Dany.

Jon also is already primed to believe that Aegon is the real deal, that he was saved as a baby, because he’s already done the exact same thing himself - he swapped out a baby of royal blood who was in danger for a common-born boy, and then sent him halfway across the world for safety (side note: if Septa Lemore is Ashara, and if the baby was actually Ashara’s son as theorised here by @agentrouka-blog, that would just strengthen the parallel, because it would be his body double’s mother caring for him, as Gilly has to do for Mance’s son).

They’re definitely going to come into conflict first - politically, Jon will likely be in a position of power in the North by the time they meet, maybe as the KitN through Robb’s will or regent for Rickon, and probably will fight for Northern independence, while Aegon is fighting to be king of the Seven Kingdoms, not 6. Personally, it will be hard to get past the fact that Jon is the direct result of Rhaegar dishonouring Elia, plus that the Kingsguard who should have been protecting her were all stationed in Dorne, guarding Jon’s mother (in whatever capacity). But these interactions, a conflict and eventual friendship/brotherhood between them, would all be a lot more layered than jonerice can really offer. If a relationship between Jon and Dany was truly all that GRRM has been building up to, then there would have been no need for R+L=J - it adds nothing to that storyline, it doesn’t even make it a forbidden romance, because aunt-nephew is hardly the worst incest the Targaryens have engaged in.

It’s almost inevitable that Da*nerys is going to kill Aegon VI/Young Griff in the books, likely by burning him with dragonfire, in the Second Dance of the Dragons. The weird Dragonpit meeting in the show was very contrived, but it does make sense for Dany to meet the ruler on the Iron Throne at least once in a semi-peaceful context. In the show, she used her dragons only to intimidate Cersei, but she didn’t have a personal grievance with her. Aegon is in much more danger during such a meeting. After all she will think he is a pretender, and she doesn’t much care for the rules of safe conduct, as she showed to the envoys from Yunkai.

Dany shrugged, and said, "Dracarys."

The dragons answered. Rhaegal hissed and smoked, Viserion snapped, and Drogon spat swirling red-black flame. It touched the drape of Grazdan's tokar, and the silk caught in half a heartbeat.

[...]

"You swore I should have safe conduct!" the Yunkish envoy wailed.

"Do all the Yunkai'i whine so over a singed tokar? I shall buy you a new one... if you deliver up your slaves within three days. Elsewise, Drogon shall give you a warmer kiss." She wrinkled her nose. "You've soiled yourself. Take your gold and go, and see that the Wise Masters hear my message."

(ASOS, Dany IV)

"Ah, there is the thorn in the bower, my queen," said Hizdahr zo Loraq. "Sad to say, Yunkai has no faith in your promises. They keep plucking the same string on the harp, about some envoy that your dragons set on fire."

"Only his tokar was burned," said Dany scornfully.

(ADWD, Dany VI)

So Dany will burn the Blackfyre pretender, and everyone will be happy and cheer to see the rightful queen, the last Targaryen, Slayer of Lies, Breaker of Chains, Insert-The-Million-Other-Titles-Here. Right?

Except how would she prove that he’s an imposter? She can’t exactly roll up with an Alt Shift X video pointing out that Illyrio has said some weird things about Aegon. Is Varys going to have an attack of remorse and explain his whole plot, complete with Blackfyre family tree? Or maybe she’ll explain that she went on a vision quest in Qarth and Aegon totally matches up with the vague symbolism that a bunch of drugged up warlocks told her before she set them on fire?

I don’t think it’s going to matter if Aegon is fake or not, and we might never find out either way. The mystery of his identity isn’t his main narrative, and all of his significance to the story and to multiple other characters is removed if he’s proved to not be Aegon VI. Him being proved fake would just make this plotline a weird, unnecessary digression on Dany’s journey to being the righteous and true queen, his death just another #girlboss moment for her. That’s definitely going to be her perception of it, but once she reaches Westeros we won’t have to rely on only her POV of her actions. History is written by the winners, and no one’s going to miss that it’s a lot more convenient for Dany if the boy with a stronger claim than her turns out to have been fake all along. Arianne and the Dornish are definitely not going to take it lying down, and neither is Jon. He’s not going to fall in love with the woman who murdered his brother, especially by burning him alive. ADWD has plenty to say about how much he hates death by fire.

“Men say that freezing to death is almost peaceful. Fire, though … do you see the candle, Gilly?”

She looked at the flame. “Yes.”

“Touch it. Put your hand over the flame.”

Her big brown eyes grew bigger still. She did not move.

“Do it.” Kill the boy. “Now.”

Trembling, the girl reached out her hand, held it well above the flickering candle flame.

“Down. Let it kiss you.”

Gilly lowered her hand. An inch. Another. When the flame licked her flesh, she snatched her hand back and began to sob.

“Fire is a cruel way to die. Dalla died to give this child life, but you have nourished him, cherished him. You saved your own boy from the ice. Now save hers from the fire.”

(ADWD, Jon II)

Funnily enough, the same fire as a kiss imagery from Dany burning the envoy’s tokar appeared there too, also used as a threat.

If he is not a kinslayer, he is the next best thing. [...] What sort of man can stand by idly and watch his own brother being burned alive?

(ADWD, Jon IX)

So Aegon’s death is not going to be a triumphant victory for Dany, after which everyone proclaims her the true queen. It’s likely to just solidify opposition to her, from every corner of Westeros. If it happens during a summit or negotiation, it’d be even more of a tragic parallel to Robb and the Red Wedding; the young king murdered off of the battlefield, at an event where he was promised safe conduct. Featuring Dany in the role of Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister. Tywin’s already died a very undignified death, and Roose Bolton looks to be on his way too.

I think the tragedy of Aegon’s death would also hit harder if we see it through Jon, as a main POV, or at least the aftermath of it. Jon was integral at the Dragonpit meeting after all, and probably would be at a peace summit or negotiation between the leaders of Westeros and the invading force.

In ASOS, there’s a curious lack of Jon’s reaction to Robb’s death. We see his initial reaction to Bran and Rickon’s supposed deaths when he gets back to Castle Black, but he doesn’t even know about Robb’s death until Stannis arrives to defeat the wildlings, and we’re not shown the moment he’s told about it. He barely even thinks about it, not even a mention until he meets with Stannis on top of the Wall:

“Your brother was the rightful Lord of Winterfell. If he had stayed home and done his duty, instead of crowning himself and riding off to conquer the riverlands, he might be alive today. Be that as it may. You are not Robb, no more than I am Robert.”

The harsh words had blown away whatever sympathy Jon might have had for Stannis. “I loved my brother,” he said.

(ASOS, Jon XI)

And that’s literally all we get that is specifically about Robb’s death - the rest of Jon’s chapters, his guilt and grief is about the loss of all his siblings, and the idea of stealing Winterfell from them. It doesn’t really make sense for him to not think about it at all, considering how close they were. This reminds me of how he has a non-reaction to Sansa’s marriage to Tyrion as well, as talked about in this post by @agentrouka-blog. Part of this could be Jon’s tendency towards denial and suppression of all his feelings, but it also points to GRRM explicitly obscuring his reaction - perhaps because he’s going to explore it in the wake of another brother dying a very similar death? One that this time he’ll be there to witness?

#astra rambles #meta #speculation #half speculation half 'my wildest dreams and hopes'#anti daenerys targaryen #anti jonerys #jon snow #aegon vi targaryen #jon and aegon #anti got #because i do dunk on the show a lot in this lmao #i've spent far too long on this and had to delete five tirades against the show already

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luminescentauthor · 3 years

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random fun RatLD hcs

you came here for RatLD shitposts and that’s what you’re gonna get!

SPOILERS AND LOTS OF THEM BELOW THE CUT, IF U HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET PROCEED AT UR OWN RISK.

I refuse to post about this movie without acknowledging the cultural significance of the first SEA disney princess and I will continue to do so until people on this website start remembering that this movie is about amazing cultures and trust and overall a WHOLE lot more than just the sapphics (as great as they are.)

anyway, so, headcanon time, my dudes!

The Next Adventure

Talon is a total mess after everyone gets un-stoned. (Ok so just for posterity, my marvel fan brain just went “un-snapped” on instinct and I hate it here.) The two chiefs are fighting for control, and Noi, being a baby, is not really in a position to help (unlike Raya, Naamari, and Tong.)

As such, the crew has to go undercover in Talon to try and, you know, stop the chiefs from destroying their people with their infighting. Tong insists on coming. Naamari happened to be in Heart and gets dragged along by Sisu and Raya, complaining the whole time, but everyone knows she doesn’t mean it. Boun also shows up and exactly no one is surprised.

During this misadventure, Noi’s mother names Tong as Noi’s godfather/honorary uncle/whatever, undercover Naamari and Raya go “noooooo, we’re not the princesses of Fang and Heart, what on earth are you talking about???” on at least five separate occasions, and the crew discovers that Noi inherited her sticky fingers from her very clever mother. She’s basically a grade-A spy and thief but she’s also just like, genuinely a very nice woman.

Rayaari!

Raya and Naamari take a long time literally just figuring things out and reconstructing their friendship, because really, as much as I love sapphics, there’s also a whole lot of messy there, and because these are my headcanons, they work out their problems and have a healthy friendship for a couple years before any romance happens, because that’s how Real Life works and I don’t believe in ignoring those Pretty Important Things in fiction.

They do eventually start a relationship, but they take their time. A bit into it, Benja accidentally mentions that Raya told him she liked Naamari when they met. Naamari’s like “ha you did?” and Raya goes “BA NO.” Then Virana immediately says “oh yes, Naamari also liked her, she didn’t stop crying because she thought Raya turned to stone for like three days” and Raya goes “you did, hmm???” while Naamari turns bright red.

Before they start dating, as their feelings grow, they start calling each other “dep la” more and more and everyone is just kinda of like “oh my GOD just date already???”

Eventually Raya and Naamari get married and become the leaders of Kumandra. No I Won’t Change My Mind.

Unification of Kumandra

The unification of Kumandra felt a bit shoehorned, and I suspect the nations aren't united under one leader(s): it's more that they're now becoming close-knit again. Perhaps they have a meeting council of all their leaders that makes decisions that affect the whole land, otherwise that probably becomes a thing at some point.

When Kumandra eventually becomes totally unified, the capital of Heart (which I believe is on the island we see on the map of Kumandra) eventually becomes the capital. It still has five provinces/states, though.

Fang and Heart

Heart and Fang help each other out a lot with recovering from the “most of our people got turned into the statues” stuff. Heart has more resources, but most of its people have been stone for 6 years. So the two states/countries are both capable of different things.

Of all the kingdoms, Heart and Fang have the most to rebuild: Fang’s only standing city was destroyed in the finale of the movie, while Heart has been growing over for six years. Sure, Spine’s been stone for a while, and some of Talon’s docks and water ships and whatnot collapsed when the water vanished, but it’s still significantly easier to repair than “six years of overgrowth and rot and rust” or “literally the ground collapsed underneath us and wow um I don’t think that’s reparable.” So they really team up to fix it, and the others help them a lot.

The actual leaders stay in their capitals to lead until things have calmed down a WHOLE lot, so Raya and Naamari travel around Kumandra on their parents’ behalf a lot, and wind up going between Fang and Heart a lot to establish diplomatic relations and also to help with rebuilding.

Over this period, and while doing diplomatic meetings later on, Virana and Benja come to realize that the other person is actual quite decent. There’s some mess and distrust because of Virana’s thing with the Dragon Gem, but it eventually gets worked out. (Virana’s reaction is “yes that’s fair. In my defense, I was trying to do what I thought was right for my people, who were starving, but Yes, That’s Fair.” Benja’s reaction is “honestly if your people were starving from famine and you thought the Gem would help, that makes more sense.”) After a while, they become pretty good friends.

And suddenly Raya and Naamari regret everything. See, Naamari mentioned that both parents make terrible jokes. The girls are Suffering. Help them.

Sisu loves the bad jokes. Sisu also makes bad jokes. Raya and Naamari are silently dying.

It’s silly, but I like the idea that 3-4 years down the line, Virana and Benja consider getting married just for political reasons (alliance and all that) (they’re not actually interested in each other, it’s just practicality) and Naamari and Raya, who are not dating but are definitely in deep for each other at this point, are immediately like “NO. NO. DO NOT MAKE MY CRUSH MY STEPSISTER. DO NOT.”

Virana and Benja (mostly Benja) tease them by “considering” it for a bit longer, but they don’t, since they talked about it and both kids are uncomfortable with it. (”They like each other, don’t they?” Virana asks dryly. “Ohhh yeah,” Benja replies.)

Music? Music!

I was listening to a youtube mix this morning and “Too Far Gone” by Hidden Citizens popped up and it just reminded me of Raya’s attitude towards Kumandra at the start of the movie. Also it’s just a beautiful song.

“Knife in my Back” by Alec Benjamin is Raya @ Naamari before they figured things out, change my mind.

Other Stuff!

We can guess based off how long it took the crew to get from Tail to Fang even with side adventures (I think it was 3-4 days max, I wasn't totally paying attention) that one can navigate from one end of the river to the other within a couple days even in a boat like Boun's, and the royal families probably have even faster modes of transportation. (I.e. Naamari got from Tail to Fang in a couple days, then to Spine, then beat the crew back to Fang. On land.) Therefore, unlike I was originally thinking, it's actually totally realistic for the crew to be visiting each other once or twice a month.

It's even more realistic for Naamari to crash Raya's place on a weekly basis, since that's probably like six hours on cat at max.

I don't know what the cats are, so I will be calling them saber-cats until someone corrects me.

TUMBLR JUST MYSTERIOUSLY STOPPED ACCPTING MY "E" KY HLP I HAV TO US COPY PAST

Wait I think I fixed it. Crisis averted! Sorry about that.

Because Naamari is in Heart half the time, Virana visits quite frequently too. It’s not a long trip, anyway.

Virana is not straight (haircut) but I can’t decide if she’s a lesbian or what. She doesn’t have a spouse and never did. Only those Virana closely trusts know who Naamari’s dad is. Naamari does know and she’s met him, because Virana figured she had a right to. He and Virana never had a relationship, Virana just sort of needed an heir and a trusted personal friend offered to father the kid.

Tong’s wife is a total badass and instantly fits in with the crew. She and Noi’s mother quickly become very close friends.

Noi and Tong’s kid also immediately get along. As in, they constantly throw things at each other while giggling madly and both love the Ongis, and -- are they whispering to each other in that corner?? They might be conspiring to take over the world. Who knows.

Noi learns how to talk and becomes about 5 times more chaotic. Everyone is Regret (except Tong.)

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sirikenobi12 · 3 years

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This Capt' goes down with her Ship

I’m honestly amazed at how many messages I receive both here and on Twitter that ask me why I ship Obi-Wan with Siri Tachi over Satine Kryze. I guess I’m mostly amazed because I can’t believe people actually care enough to take the time to message me about my character preferences, that’s just really fascinating to me.

But, since I’m getting tired of writing this out in individual messages I thought perhaps a blog would be a good idea so that way I can just reference/link them to it later - it’ll be much easier. So, bear with me while I get a little self indulgent (and Satine stans please don’t come at me, I will explain below how I really have nothing against Obitine).

This is going to be really long, and I’m not expecting anyone to actually read this, but here we go!

I’ll begin by answering questions that are sitting in my inbox:

1. Who the hell is Siri Tachi?? For those who don’t know the character of Siri Tachi, she was a female Jedi who was two years younger than Obi-Wan. She was originally from the Legends young reader book series Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest (written by Jude Watson). She was in many of the same Padawan classes as Obi-Wan even though she was two years his junior because of her advanced skills. She could hold her own against him in a lightsaber duel even as they grew up. She was chosen as an apprentice to Jedi Council Member Adi Gallia at age 11 which was very impressive given how young she was and the fact that a Council Member chose her.

(I don’t know why she looks like Brittany Spears in this drawing, not my fave)

She did have a hard time fitting in with her peers when she was younger though because she was so focused on her career as a Jedi which didn’t always make her the friendliest person to be around (it was really her masking her insecurities) and it was only after she was paired on several missions with Obi-Wan that they even became friends.

She and Obi-Wan over the years grew very close and eventually discovered their feelings had crossed the line from friends to something more while on a mission when they were older Padawans (Obi was 18). They had been separated from their masters and nearly died while on that mission. So, before they “died” they each confessed their love to the other, but when it turned out they didn’t actually die they decided they’d wait and figure out what their relationship actually meant once the mission was over - putting duty above their feelings. But Qui-Gon and Yoda intervene before the two of them could have the conversation and the Masters reminded Obi-Wan of his dedication to the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan argued that he and Siri would be able to find a way to be together while still being active Jedi, that maybe they could be an exception to the rule or even change the rule entirely. Both he and Siri did end up choosing their commitment to the Jedi over their relationship in the end, because each of them realized they’d regret not being Jedi more than anything, but it did put a strain on their friendship for many years.

At 23 Siri was secretly knighted and her first solo mission was sent undercover to infiltrate and take down a huge pirate slaver operation and she spent 4 years on that mission, all on her own with limited communication with the Council.

In order to do this she had to pretend to have a falling out with her Master and “leave” the Order entirely, everyone thought she had fallen to the dark side. Obi-Wan was devastated, and he spent several months looking for her because he refused to believe she’d actually fall. It was also clear that he was heartbroken that she left, especially knowing what they had given up in order to be Jedi. Upon ending the mission she returned to the Jedi and was then often sent on other undercover missions throughout the rest of her career (including one where she and Obi-Wan had to play a royal married couple which was super cute). Her actually being a Jedi Shadow is not official and is a fanfiction creation - but, it’s one that I 100% headcanon because it just makes sense.

Siri was very different when she returned from her long undercover mission, she had lived as a pirate for 4 years and so she was not as uptight and rule bound as she had been in her youth. She began to wear tight unisuits/flight suits instead of the traditional Jedi tunics and she had grown to be a bit more irreverent - even showing up late to Jedi Council summons. Obi-Wan didn’t seem to mind the change and the two became a formidable pair as Knights and they were sent together (with their Padawans who hated one another) on several missions.

Obi-Wan and Siri were always written as being equals, never one more powerful than the other. They often shared flirtatious banter (nothing new for Obi-Wan) and they seemed very much in sync on missions that it was clear they shared some kind of bond. They never seemed to let their failed romance stand between them and their duty, and only brought it up once more as adults to admit that they still loved each other, but were content to just be friends because it would be selfish of them to turn their backs on the Jedi simply for their love. Then upon Siri’s untimely death (she of course died in his arms) she told him that she’d always be with him. And he nearly fell to the dark side due to his anger, but stopped himself from killing the man who was responsible for Siri’s death because he knew she’d not want him to fall because of her.

In canon there isn’t much about her (yet), except that Siri is said to be the girl Obi-Wan would hold hands with under the table during mid-day meals which suggests that they had a bit of a secret affair/flirtation for many years.

2. Why don’t you like Satine? This is a bit of a loaded question because even though I tend to write fics centered more on Obi-Wan and Siri’s relationship doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the character of Satine or that I don’t swoon over their relationship from time to time thanks to some very well written fics ( @mahizli I’m looking your way). I just tend to write Siri more than Satine because I can relate to Siri more as a character, but in truth I also feel Siri and Obi-Wan’s relationship is a bit more well rounded than his and Satine’s

*ducks to avoid things being thrown at her*.

Satine and Obi-Wan have a beautiful love story, don’t get me wrong. But for me personally I am a little sick of the Romeo & Juliette/star crossed lovers angle. And that’s totally what they are - She’s a Mandalorian, He’s a Jedi, it’s a forbidden love not just because of his code, but because their “families” were mortal enemies. And I guess I’m just not super inspired by it. Not to mention that they met as children (apparently only 15 years old according to canon), confessed their undying love for one another after a year of knowing one another in a life or death situation and then pined for each other for the next 20 years until they were reunited...I just have a very hard time finding this story relatable (and hate to say it, plausible). Not that they couldn’t have felt love for one another as teenagers (especially in that situation), but that they still felt that same level of love 20 years later without ever seeing one another...at least with Siri they still had to interact with one another on a regular basis so it would be harder to push those feelings aside.

The other reason I have a hard time writing Satine and Obi-Wan is because the romantic love they seem to have in TCW is written to be very one sided in my opinion. While Obi-Wan clearly cares for her, and admits to having feelings for her at one time it’s only ever Satine who actually seems to want something with him in the current sense. Which honestly makes their relationship feels a bit cringy to me, it doesn’t feel like it’s on equal footing - and makes it seem like Satine is a bit obsessive (I don’t blame her, it is Obi-Wan after all). This is a similar argument I have about Padme’s character, I feel like we’re presented with these incredibly strong women characters who for whatever reason still fall apart when it comes to love...I think it’s a reflection of men trying to write women and it ends up being a bit of a fantasy (the sexy/badass woman who secretly needs a man to save her). So, to sum up - I really do love Satine’s character outside of her relationship with Obi-Wan.

Again, this is just MY interpretation of Satine and Obi-Wan’s relationship...I get other people tend to feel very differently and that’s wonderful!!

I will say, the thing I do like about Obi-Wan and Satine’s relationship and very much appreciate is how it is an opposite parallel to Anakin and Padme’s relationship. And it shows what a Jedi should’ve done - how you can’t have both a commitment to the Jedi Order and a marriage, but you can still care deeply about another person. I do very much appreciate that aspect of their relationship and it’s very well done from that perspective.

3. So, why SiriWan after all these years? Well, I’m drawn to Obi-Wan and Siri’s relationship for several reasons, but mostly because they are written as equals/partners (as I had mentioned above), both have moments where you can see the love they hold for one another - their feelings are very much shared and not one sided, but above all it’s not the main defining factor of their relationship. They are Jedi and friends before anything else, and I love that! It may not be as flashy or maybe even as passionate as say Satine or Cody but to me it’s more full and well rounded. I can also see their relationship growing and changing over the years, they aren’t stuck in one place or in the past.

I also tend to find the Jedi culture more fascinating than the Mandalorians. I know, I know, I’m a heretic. That’s not to say, again that I don’t think Satine on her own isn’t fascinating, I just am a little tired of Mandalore’s importance in virtually every aspect of Star Wars these days and I feel like there is only so much you can do with Obi-Wan having feelings for a Mandalorian, where as him navigating a relationship with another Jedi is more interesting. The Jedi are allowed to be intimate with people, contrary to popular belief they are allowed to love, they just can’t become possessive/attached - I feel like two Jedi would have an easier time navigating that than someone who wasn’t raised with that same code. I think Siri and Obi-Wan have more opportunities to have a more realistic and adult relationship and I like writing/exploring that.

The other thing I like about Siri and Obi-Wan specifically is the fact that neither ever really considered leaving the Order for the other. They knew how important being a Jedi was to the other, and I think having a love interest that Obi-Wan didn’t consider leaving for is an important distinction.

Instead he thought they would be able to change the rules/code because he assumed it would be obvious that their love was pure and not an attachment. Now, obviously they both realized later that it was just foolish/young love talking (because I’m sure teenagers have to be extra careful of forming attachments), but what I really adore the concept that Obi-Wan “by the code” Kenobi had loved Siri so much that he’d even remotely consider the idea that he’d want the rules to change for her/them (and Siri “by the code” Tachi felt the same about him). There is something incredibly romantic about that - naïve, but romantic.

I also believe that romantic love doesn’t automatically equal “true love”. I personally feel that Obi-Wan and Siri have a love that is on such a deep level that their relationship doesn’t always have to be romantic. They simply just love one another, in whatever form that takes at any given period in time throughout their lives, sometimes it takes the form of just friends, sometimes lovers, sometimes romantic. And I wish we saw more relationships like that in various media. But I get why we don’t, they are harder to write and less overtly sexy/dramatic.

Also, when someone says the phrase:

“Forgive me if I still think I know you better than anyone.” (Siri)

And it’s followed immediately with:

“You do” (Obi-Wan)

My heart just melts, because that to me is love!!

4. So, you actually think Obi-Wan loved both Siri & Satine? Yes, I do...100%. I think they all loved other people at different points in their lives. I personally feel that most of Obi-Wan’s various ships (with exceptions of Master/Padawan ships...sorry, just not my bag) actually happened. I could see a young Obi-Wan having a fling with Quinlan Vos (I doubt they could handle more than that), I could definitely see him have an attraction/affection towards Cody (I don’t think given the power dynamic Obi-Wan would ever allow anything to actually happen between them though), I even believe he and Ventress had a rather confusing and passionate night together (maybe even more than one), I can see him easily having a relationship at one point with Taria Damsin (to which Siri would give him endless crap about because he seems to have a thing for Jedi Shadows). I’m sure he even had a relationship with Annileen on Tatooine to help find some comfort during his exile. To me all of that makes so much more sense than him (and Satine) pining away for one another for 20+ years.

Allowing Obi-Wan to have multiple loves in his life also helps showcase the idea of non-attachment. It’s not that Jedi promote promiscuity - though they won’t judge anyone for it (I see the Jedi very much in the mindset of: it’s your body/your choice) it’s that the idea of attachment means possessing someone, thinking you own someone and also putting that person’s value over others. The idea that Obi-Wan could find love and value in a multitude of lovers to me shows him capable of loving without attachment - He is able to let these people go when the relationship has run its course...it’s very healthy.

Not to mention that realistically people tend to have multiple relationships and loves throughout their lives. To only ever love one person is incredibly unrealistic, unhealthy and frankly screams attachment to me *cough Anakin, cough*.

In conclusion: If you’re still reading this (did you not have anything better to do with your time???) I do hope you have a bit more of an understanding why I personally like to write Obi-Wan and Siri’s relationship instead of his and Satine’s. Though if you read my fics (thank you if you do) I hope you realize that I try to not make the stories all about their relationship - yes, it pops up here and there, but I try not to make it the focal point. I believe both Obi-Wan and Siri are so much more than just a romance and that’s what I really love writing.

But I raise a glass and toast all of those who prefer to ship Obitine or CodyWan or Ventrobi (or whatever Obi-Wan and Quilan’s ship name is) - I love reading your take on those relationships and I hope you don’t mind if an old SiriWan shipper joins the fun!

Phew, rant over...man, does anyone else have to defend their OTP preferences to strangers?? It’s just so odd to me!

Thanks for reading, and if you’re a Siri, Obi-Wan or SiriWan fan drop me a line - I can seriously talk about them for hours!

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #sw meta #long rant #long post #sorry yall #my otp for life #siri tachi #obi wan kenobi #satine kryze #siriwan #obi wan x siri #why do people care who I ship?#jedi culture #jedi apprentice #jedi quest

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sepublic · 3 years

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Lumity and the Illusion Coven Leader?

So I’m really interested in Through the Looking Glass Ruins. Not only because it’s another important Gus episode (and the implications of him being at Glandus and how that can connect to the premise of Escaping Expulsion), but also…

Luz and Amity are at the library- I’m not sure WHICH library, it could be the one at Glandus, or the one in Bonesborough. But given the mention of ruins, and how the background image that reveals the synopsis shows us what appears to be the desolate ruins of an arena of sorts, surrounded by cloaked statues… It makes me wonder. Aside from the obvious possibility that these statues were real witches petrified by Belos or some other entity;

The title is interesting, because it invokes the sequel to Alice in Wonderland, itself a fantasy tale about a young girl entering a fantastical world… In other words, an Isekai, which fits Luz’s whole schtick in the Boiling Isles! Obviously I should be careful about using the reference in the title as a basis for my speculation; Sense and Insensitivity references Sense and Sensibility, but otherwise has zero correlation with the book as far as I can tell, beyond the idea of King being of higher social prestige and that sort of concept I guess?

In Through the Looking-Glass, Alice goes through a large mirror to enter a fantasy world. The imagery of mirrors intrigues me, because it directly invokes the symbol of the Illusion Coven… And we can bet that the Coven Heads will make their appearances this season, especially with how Season 3 is too short and more likely to be a final battle/climax of sorts. Not only that, but we also have the other plot of Gus, who is an illusionist… And of course, the library reminds us of Lost in Language, and the twins Emira and Edric, who are both also illusionists.

I don’t think the twins would be messing with Amity and Luz again, but then again, maybe Odalia and Alador are making them; We don’t know what will happen at the end of Escaping Expulsion, but if Amity and Luz are still hanging out, perhaps they’re feeling pressured. The concept of illusions also ties back to Luz a second time… Remember Witches before Wizards? And how a puppet demon, Adegast, used illusions to put Luz through a whole segment straight out of her favorite fantasy books, of a special chosen one travelling through a world with wacky companions?

Adegast’s plot appealed to Luz’s sense of fantasy, her desire to feel special and important, as validation/justification for being so ostracized back home. With the idea of illusions, and fantasy worlds, not to mention literary references because Luz and Amity are at a literal library, and it’s brought up the idea in some fans’ heads of like… Luz and Amity going through a fantasy segment taken straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

So, to get it all out of the way; I think the Illusion Head will play a role in this episode, debuting in Through the Looking Glass Ruins as the main antagonist. I suspect that each coven leader will get their own episode introducing and featuring them as antagonists and characters, so an episode hearkening back to Lost in Language, which had the illusionist twins… With a side-plot of Gus the Illusionist, who wants validation; Not to mention the idea of fantasy stories come to life, feeling special, and how that’s reminiscent of Adegast…

I think Through the Looking Glass Ruins could be a major episode for Luz and Amity and their characters. Perhaps as a major stepping point that helps to tie together previous events thematically, the Illusion Head might place Luz and Amity in an illusion even more grand and powerful than what Adegast could dream of; One that places the duo in a saccharine fantasy world. Luz and Amity of course have to navigate this fake world and its inane rules, while exploring their own relationship… Perhaps Gus will come into play, or his story will just be a parallel, I can’t tell. But again, it calls back to Luz and Amity having their own experiences with illusionists, so having them face off against the most powerful Illusionist of all, together, would be a nice culmination of those respective arcs!

What’s interesting is the mention of ruins, and the image we see… It reminds me of that one article description for a ‘Witch Arena’ at the titan’s knee (which foreshadowed Adventures in the Elements), but aside from general ruins, we don’t see any duels occur there, nor is there reference to that site hosting sacred rituals and events for witches. Perhaps we’ll see this actual arena here, or not… This arena could just be part of the elaborate illusion, hence why Luz and Amity encounter it in the library, or they get transported. Maybe the library is next to the ruins, if it’s the one for Glandus or one besides the Bonesborough one.

(Personally I’m hoping for more Amity and the library lore, possibly the return of that librarian who seems to be on good terms with her.)

Like Adegast, the Illusion Head could taunt Luz and Amity with visions and deception… Perhaps hearkening back to Enchanting Grom Fright, by showing illusions of Luz rejecting Amity or vice-versa. Luz and Amity of course have to see through and realize what’s real or not, as part of their character development, Luz’s especially with recognizing reality and not being deluded by fantasy. For all we know, the Illusion Head might cruelly play with their feelings, by having ‘Luz’ or ‘Amity’ confess their feelings to the other… Only to sadistically reveal it all be fake in the end.

Perhaps the ruins will be a part of this illusion world that Luz and Amity confront the Illusion Head at, by the climax of the episode! Or the ruins are/hold some entrance to this fake world… Regardless, we could see Luz and Amity dealing with their ‘fantasy’ of being friends, and possibly more, with the other… Both might want more, but be afraid that’s just fake in the end, or just hopeless romance that only happens in their little fantasy books that they love, and the Illusion Head might capitalize on these insecurities. Perhaps they’ll try to sway Luz with a perfect world, only to change plans when she’s clearly used to that; And Amity, she might need Luz’s help, as she hasn’t faced this kind of dilemma before. Mirrors are symbols of self reflection, so perhaps this will give Luz the chance to reflect on her own feelings for Amity and realize them, to look back at past interactions with Amity and realize the hidden meaning and all new context that comes with what she learns about Amity...

Maybe the Illusion Head will try to manufacture situations, trick the two girls into ruining their friendship, thinking the other doesn’t like them, acting rashly, etc. Perhaps they’ll create a fake scenario that leads one girl to act at the cost of the other, for whatever reason… Maybe Amity will be so caught up in the idea of a perfect world where everything is ideal; Where her parents love her, where her siblings respect her… And where she can confess her love to Luz, and Luz reciprocates. Luz may or may not stumble across and see, and realize, how Amity feels… And we could get some painful angst skin to Grom rejecting Amity’s invite as Luz, but dialed up with the Illusion Head’s more immersive, fake reality.

Perhaps the despair created by the Illusion Head leads to Amity turning to the side of the Emperor’s Coven, losing hope in finding a better life for herself because that’s just ‘fantasy’. Rejecting her favorite childhood stories like Otabin and The Good Witch Azura, attempting to be more ‘mature’, which could also lead to a brief discussion about how it’s okay for older people to enjoy stories for younger audiences! It could contribute to Amity’s constant feeling of shame for who she is, that feeling of inadequacy and not being enough, hiding behind a façade; Hiding the truth beneath an ‘illusion’, which of course the Illusion Head might poke fun at. Maybe offering a literal illusion to help Amity pretend and fit the image of the Emperor’s Coven?

From what we’ve seen, the Illusion Head could be a pair of twins like Emira and Edric, or like Gus, an individual operating alongside a copy. Amity might be directly reminded of the twins and her relationship with them, so this could be an opportunity to explore her relationship with the twins and their past together, perhaps showing what happened between them in the fallout between Lost in Language and Adventures in the Elements.

We could see how she feels about them and vice-versa, maybe look at their interactions throughout the past, with the Illusion Head possibly even taking their appearance and poking at Amity’s memories knowingly. Maybe they pretend to be the twins, hurting and mocking Amity, only for her to acknowledge that while they ARE flawed, they’ve also grown and the real Emira and Edric would never do this- This could help to develop the relationship with Amity and the twins, and her own potential disdain for illusions because of that association with her siblings.

Another thing to note with the Illusion Head is that amongst their two selves, one face smiles, the other is frowning; Invoking the image of the Comedy and Tragedy masks. Fitting with the idea of written stories and fantasies, perhaps the Illusion Head will operate as two halves, one light-hearted, the other morose; And both toy with the idea of Luz and Amity’s story being a tragedy, or a comedy.

The dual symbolism, two sides of the same coin concept, could come with Luz embracing Comedy, the happy ending, while Amity sides with Tragedy, the sad ending. Maybe Amity breaks free of this conception and her and Luz get their happy ending together… I can see the Illusion Head being a MAJOR theater nerd, and thus invoking the kinds of stories and tropes that the two kids are familiar with. And Amity will of course be reminded of Emira and Edric, making her more insecure and uncertain, while Luz might call upon memories of Gus to guide her. Luz and Amity are parallels and opposites, again, two sides of the same coin, and this might be paralleled with the Illusion Head being composed of two halves, with it yet to be seen if both halves are separate individuals or not; For all we know, it could be a witch and an illusion so immersed in the other that they’ve both forgotten who is the real one!

Am I saying Luz and Amity will kiss and/or realize their love for one another in this episode? I can’t say for sure… But this episode might play on the idea of their relationship and its progression regardless. It could end in Tragedy, or Comedy, what a duality- Maybe even both! We’ll just have to wait and see… I’m excited for this, for more Gus, and I wonder if he’ll show up at the end to help, or provide more insight into the idea of Illusions, which will then enrich the other plot of Luz and Amity! The audience might gain a better appreciation for the mechanics of what the Illusion Head is doing.

And of course, the illusions here could lend to a trippy nightmare sequence where the animators can REALLY flex and mess with our heads and the visuals, confusing both the in-universe characters and the real-life audience as well, as we’re uncertain of what’s real or not- Perhaps the ending of the episode could play with this question, with Luz and Amity not entirely sure if what happened was totally real or not or some elaborate dream, and the Illusion Head’s status and actions also uncertain.

So, what do you guys think? Will we get an episode dedicated to Luz and Amity’s relationship, to their pasts with fantasy, with illusions, entering an unusual world together, taunted by the Illusion Head while another major illusionist, Gus, operates elsewhere? Could the Illusion Head serve as a thematic exploration of duality, of opposites and parallels, and how Luz and Amity’s relationship with one another, their dynamic, is built on those foundations?

Will we see Emira and Edric here- Perhaps with Luz and Amity… Or even with Gus, acting as ‘cool kids’ who ARE impressed by him, unlike the students from Glandus High? I’ve always wanted Gus and Twins interaction… I think Gus is also an interesting duality, parallels and opposites, two sides of the same coin dynamic with the twins; Emira and Edric are individuals who are like one, while Gus is his own person split amongst himself and his clone! Both with a knack for showmanship, and wanting to be noticed on some level.

Maybe when all is said and done, Amity grows a greater appreciation for Gus, Emira, and Edric, getting to interact with Porter properly for once, and helping repair her relationship with the twins; Imagining their surprise at Amity suddenly hugging them, only for the twins’ playful wit to melt away into endearing appreciation… Only to finish it off with a practical joke, because they can’t be TOO sappy of course!

I’m really fascinated and I can’t wait to see what we have for store in this episode… Sounds like the first five episodes alone are ALL going to be jam-packed with very important, major events! Wasting no time I see… Alas, because Season 3 is shorter than anticipated.

#the owl house #lumity #the owl house luz #luz noceda #the owl house amity #amity blight #the owl house gus #augustus porter #the owl house edric #edric blight #the owl house emira #emira blight #speculation #theory #analysis

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veeranger · 4 years

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So you want to watch Precure!

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(Google Docs Vers & Changelog)

Maybe you follow people who like it, maybe you just love magical girls and never got into Precure, but there are over a dozen seasons and you don’t know how to jump in. Never fear, this masterpost is here to give you a rundown of Precure, and hopefully by the end you’ll have an idea of where you want to start.

What Is Precure?

Precure (short for Pretty Cure) is a Toei Animation franchise started in 2004 and has been on the air nonstop since then. It’s a magical girl franchise, y’know like sailor moon or ojamajo doremi or other such shows. The main demographic is children so you don’t have to worry about any weird “fanservice” or panty shots or anything nasty like that, it’s very G rated.

What Are The Shows About?

In a general sense, Precure is about a team of 2-6 middle school age magical girls fighting bad guys and giant monsters and saving the world on a weekly basis with pretty outfits and big flashy finishers and the power of love and friendship. Each season follows a pretty standard formula (toku fans should be pretty familiar with it for the most part), and each season is around 48-50 episodes long.

In keeping with this toku-esque formula, most seasons will feature mid season additions to the cast, in the form of new precure heroes. For the sake of not spoiling these shows, these mid season cures will not be mentioned in our plot overviews unless they appear extremely early or something like that. Just know that almost every season will feature an additional cure joining the team later in the show.

Additionally, every season has at least one movie, these days there’s usually two per season. Usually you’ll find the movies are a standalone self-contained romp, and a crossover movie with the preceding seasons, with a focus on the most recent 2-3 teams. These movies might as well exist in a continuity of their own, and have absolutely no bearing on the plot whatsoever, save for one except which I’ll mention when we get to that season.

Why Should I Watch Precure?

Because it’s good. It’s a really stellar franchise with a ton of content and genuinely engaging characters and stories. Also this isn’t your mom’s magical girl show, these girls throw punches, and kicks, and big lasers. Precure is pretty well known for being extremely hands on with its combat compared to other magical girl shows, though don’t expect the same kind of fights you’d find in kamen rider or anything. Also a main draw for a lot of people is the amount of gay subtext in, frankly, every season. While there’s only one season with an explicitly confirmed gay relationship between two cures, every season has varying levels of subtext between cures, it’s pretty cool. We won’t discuss the subtext in every season overview but trust us, it’s in there.

What Show Should I Start With?

It doesn’t actually matter which season you watch, every season is a new setting and with new characters and set in a new world (except for two sequel seasons i’ll explain later), so you’re free to watch whatever you want in any order! We’re going to spend the rest of this post talking about each season to give you, the beloved reader, a glimpse at what each season has to uniquely offer. Don’t worry, there’s no spoilers down there.

Futari Wa Precure (We Are Pretty Cure) & Futari Wa Precure Max Heart

The original precure show that aired in 2004, and even received an english dub. Misumi Nagisa is a star lacrosse player living a normal life until one day a shooting star she wishes on turns out to be a fairy that careens right into her room, or rather, smacks her right in the face. The fairy, named Mepple, explains he comes from the Garden of Light, another world that’s been taken over by the evil Dark King and his Dark Zone in order to capture the Prism Stones, a number of heart shaped crystals that, if collected, could give Dark King the power to destroy not only the Garden of Light but also the Garden of Rainbows, Earth itself. Meanwhile, Yukishiro Honoka finds a box in her grandmother’s shed containing an item just like the one that smacked Nagisa in the face, and inside is the fairy Mipple, who explains the situation to Honoka. The two fairies, seeking to be reunited, drag Nagisa and Honoka along and the four of them end up meeting up, but are attacked by an emissary of the Dark Zone. Mepple and Mipple grant the confused duo the power to transform into the warriors of legend, Precure. As Cure Black and Cure White, Nagisa and Honoka manage to fight off their attacker and protect their new fairy partners. The girls are then more or less dragged into the battle against the Dark Zone, as the only hope for both Gardens, they fulfill their duty as legendary warriors despite their hesitations and desires to go back to being normal teenagers.

Futari Wa doesn’t exactly have any major themes to speak of, it’s just your standard magical girl vs evil bad guys kind of thing, forgive it for being the first season. What it does have to offer is the relationship between Nagisa and Honoka, as well as the action in fight scenes. The girls don’t start the season as best friends, in fact they barely even know each other’s names when they’re first flung together. It takes a few episodes and a major fight between the girls for them to really start opening up to each other, but soon enough they become inseparable and support each other in everything they do. It’s clear, especially near the end, that the girls cling to each other for support and strength in the face of the increasingly overwhelming odds they face as the Dark Zone gains strength. It’s very compelling to see their relationship deepen in the early season and see how deep their bonds truly go near the end.

Futari Wa received a sequel show, Futari Wa Precure Max Heart, picking up the story where it left off in the first season’s finale. Honoka and Nagisa are still the main characters, and they’re still fighting the Dark Zone, but this time they’re joined by a mysterious girl named Hikari, who can transform into Shiny Luminous, not a precure but precure-ish. This time the girls are trying to recover the heart and soul of the Queen of the Garden of Light, before the Dark Zone can recover and destroy the queen in her weakened state. Also their precure costumes have changed slightly.

The first season (that is to say, not max heart) is currently one of the few seasons available with official english subtitles on the streaming platform Crunchyroll

Futari Wa Precure Splash Star

Hyuuga Saki (Cure Bloom), a tomboy who loves playing softball, and Mishou Mai (Cure Egret), a quiet transfer student and aspiring artist, meet each other by chance one day under the Sky Tree, where they discover two creatures from the Land of Fountains named Flappy and Choppy. The two girls transform into the legendary Precure and are tasked with restoring Princess Filia and the Seven Holy Fountains, which were sapped of their power by the evil forces of Dark Fall.

Splash Star's main theme is the appreciation of nature. The main focus is on the girls rediscovering their relationships with their town and the nature and people in it. You get to meet a whole cast of characters in their community, who have a lot of heart and charm behind their writing and the show does a good job of getting you genuinely invested in their stories.

Unfortunately the romance in Splash Star isn’t much better than Futari Wa's (sorry to any Fujimura/Kazuya fans), but the main girls themselves are so engaging that it's easy to ignore. The villains are pretty goofy, but entertaining if you can accept that the show doesn’t take itself very seriously. There are two villains in the latter half of the season that really stand out, though. Without spoiling too much, I can promise you their character arcs will tear at your heartstrings in the best way.

If you've watched Futari wa Precure, Splash Star will probably feel familiar. Although it's the first "reboot" series in the franchise with completely new characters, Toei overall played it safe and Saki and Mai in many ways still feel like "Nagisa and Honoka 2.0". Splash Star is different in enough other ways to make the show stand on its own merits, but if you watch it immediately after Futari wa you might find yourself feeling some deja vu. Personally, I think it's interesting to see what Splash Star builds on and explores when compared to Futari wa, since it has many of the same themes and character archetypes but they play out quite differently.

Yes! Precure 5 & Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!

Nozomi is a cheerful, carefree girl, but she doesn’t have a dream. One day she meets a hot guy and finds a mysterious item called the Dream Collet, capable of granting any wish once all the fairies known as Pinkies are gathered inside it, in the school library. She discovers that the hot guy is actually a tanuki from Palmier Kingdom named Coco, and that the Kingdom has been destroyed by the Nightmare. Coco’s dream is to restore his kingdom using the Dream Collet, and Nozomi decides to make it hers as well.

She’s joined by her jock friend Rin, Urara, an aspiring actress, Komachi, a writer, and the rich student council president Karen. Together they form Yes Sentai Fiveranger Yes Precure 5 and work together to prevent Nightmare from obtaining the Dream Collet before they can gather all the Pinkies. They also save Coco’s “”””””friend””””””” and fellow hot guy squirrel, Nuts, and he joins them as the second mascot/handsome love interest.

The theme of Yes is dreams and heterosexual furry romance. It pulls off the dreams part very nicely. The het furry romance is bad, mostly because Coco is Nozomi’s teacher at school and also her love interest. However, Coco and Nuts are fairly gay and if you look past the romance part they have very good dadly relationships with the rest of the team.

Yespre, like Futari Wa, received a sequel show, Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!. After the defeat of Nightmare some time ago, a new faction called Eternal rises up and starts stealing treasures from various dimensions. When Eternal targets the Rose Pact belonging to the Cure Rose Garden, the precure are called back into action to fight against Eternal, with new cure outfits, a new fairy named Syrup, and a new cure-like teammate named Milky Rose.

Fresh Precure!

Fresh is sort of the defining series for modern Precure, introducing a lot of plot and thematic elements to the franchise that would be used repeatedly later on.

A concert Momozono Love attends is attacked by a monster called a Nakewameke. When Love stands up to it, she is nearly killed, but is saved when she is chosen by a mysterious power to become Cure Peach. She is joined by Inori and Miki as Cure Pine and Cure Berry, and, together with the talking ferret from the Kingdom of Sweets, Tarte, they have to prevent Labyrinth, a grey world led by Mobius, from taking over the Parallel Worlds and transforming them into identical, machine-like dictatorships, and also figure out the secret behind the Magic Baby, Chiffon, that Tarte is entrusted with.

Fresh’s themes are happiness and nature/technology and donuts. The donuts are important. Labyrinth operates by gathering misery; the Nakewameke are created from it and their function is to create more of it and fill the Sorrow Gauge. All the girls (and the mascot) have love interests and their familial relationships are explored a lot to bring out the general stakes and emphasise what they’re fighting for.

While Fresh is very strong in characters, plot, and thematics, its lack of budget is very apparent. It looks terrible. Fortunately, it isn’t that difficult to get used to the bad animation once you get into the show, although the lack of means tends to show up at inopportune moments, like new powerups.

Heartcatch Precure!

Featuring character designs and art direction from Ojamajo Doremi’s character designer Umakoshi Yoshihiko, and written by Ojamajo Doremi and Onegai My Melody writer Yamada Takashi, Heartcatch should look and feel familiar to fans of either franchise, especially Doremi.

After having a reoccurring dream about someone called Cure Moonlight being defeated trying to defend the “Great Heart Tree”, the shy and reserved Hanasaki Tsubomi moves in with her grandmother and ends up inheriting the will of Cure Moonlight and becomes the newest precure, Cure Blossom. Finding out her grandmother used to be the legendary Cure Flower, Tsubomi vows to protect the world as a precure and learn to change herself for the better. She’s joined by her new friend and the first person she saved as a precure, Kurumi Erika, a loud girl with a big heart who means well, but doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind. Erika becomes Cure Marine and the two become Heartcatch Precure, the newest precure in the long legacy of those who have stood up to the evil Dune, a mysterious invader who destroys planets and turns them into lifeless deserts. Heartcatch Precure fights against Dune’s minions: the mask wearing Professor Sabaku, his Desert Apostles, and the mysterious Dark Precure. Along the way they meet the former Cure Moonlight, now stripped of her power, and try to help her cope with her defeat.

Heartcatch Precure’s main theme is flowers and flower language. Everyone has a “heart flower” that the Desert Apostles take and use to create their monsters every week. As an interesting result of this, the monster of the week will be the main character in the plot of the week and often their big monster form will vent about their issues which will usually lead to a resolution when the precure return them to their regular bodies. Heartcatch also has a very nice backstory and lore to it. Unlike most iterations of precure, the Heartcatch girls are not the first precure to exist in their world, there are dozens maybe hundreds of precure that came before them, fighting against Dune and his forces for hundreds of years. It adds a lot to the narrative in small ways, especially later on in the season. Also the fight scenes are extremely excellent, especially when Moonlight is involved.

Suite Precure♪

The musical paradise of Major Land falls under siege by the forces of Minor Land, led by King Mephisto. His goal is to steal the living notes of the “Melody of Happiness” and remake them into the “Melody of Sorrow”, throwing the world into a permanent depressive state. As a last resort, Queen Aphrodite scatters the notes into the human world and tasks Hummy, the cat-like fairy, and the Fairy Tones, to find the notes before the forces of Minor Lands can capture them. In the human world, Hummy meets Hojo Hibiki and Minamino Kanade, two girls who were best friends as children, but drifted apart as teenagers because of their tendency to bicker with each other. The two find themselves thrown together again by fate and transform into Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm to protect the things they hold dear. Not long after, the two rekindle their relationship and become closer than before, despite their bickering. Soon the girls run into the mysterious Cure Muse, a girl who appears to be a precure like them, but hides her face with a mask and refuses to join in their fight, claiming to be neither friend nor enemy. Melody and Rhythm battle against Minor Land and the giant Negatones they create from the notes they gather, as well as Siren, another cat-like fairy who used to be Hummy’s best friend before turning to evil and joining Minor Land.

Suite Precure’s main theme is music, and it is a very encompassing theme. Hibiki and Kanade bond over their piano practice, the town they live in celebrates music frequently and is aesthetically music themed, and their powers take the form of musical instruments. Harmony is also a large theme for the two girls. Their precure power increases as they harmonize with each other, and the early season is very much about them learning to harmonize with each other. Suite also features several extremely well done mystery arcs, about the identity of Cure Muse, and various other things that I can’t very well talk about without risking spoiling things myself. If you manage to go into Suite not knowing anything consider yourself extremely lucky and be super sure not to get spoiled. The show staff went to great lengths to hide certain things, including leaking fake cure designs, and creating a second version of the second dance ending to further mask the identity of Cure Muse until her true reveal.

Also something to note, usually precure movies have nothing to do with the plot of the show itself and can be watched whenever but the Suite movie is best enjoyed right after the arc revealing Cure Muse’s identity is concluded, it has a nice resolution to plot elements in that arc and sets the stage for the last few arcs of the show, so be sure to watch it then.

Smile Precure!

Written by Kamen Rider Kabuto head writer Yonemura Shoji, Smile Precure is the second season to feature a 5 girl team after Yes! Precure 5 Gogo!. Running late to her first day of school, resident happy-go-lucky klutz Hoshizora Miyuki runs face first into a small creature called Candy, a fairy from a place called Märchenland. The two are attacked by an anthropomorphic wolf named Wolfrun, and Miyuki transforms into Cure Happy to fight against Wolfrun and the big clown faced monster he summons called an Akanbe. After Candy explains that the legends say there are five precure, Miyuki recruits four new friends: the hot blooded Akane (Cure Sunny), shy artist Yayoi (Cure Peace), responsible older sister Nao (Cure March), and refined student council vice-president Reika (Cure Beauty). The five of them become Smile Precure and fight against Wolfrun and his allies in the Bad End Kingdom, who attempt to revive the slumbering Pierrot by trying to put the world in a “Bad End”.

Smile Precure’s main theme is fairy tales, in a general sense. The Bad End trio are based off of the big bad wolf (Wolfrun), the oni from Momotaro (Akaoni), and the witch from Snow White (Majorina), and Miyuki herself is utterly captivated by fairy tales. The secondary theme is happiness, and the happy go lucky tone of the series often turns on its head during serious arcs to deliver extremely powerful emotional moments. Smile Precure is light on plot, and most episodes are an ultra happy experience, but the show knows how to get serious when it needs to and Smile is exceedingly competent at pulling off drama when the time comes. Smile knows how to get you invested in its characters and use that to pull on your heartstrings during the big moments. The last 10 episodes of the show are the absolute pinnacle of the show’s emotional drama, and each cure gets her own episode for closure before the finale sets in and emotionally destroys you. Also you get to play rock paper scissors with Cure Peace during her roll call so that’s always fun.

Doki Doki! Precure

Doki opens with Trump Kingdom’s destruction by the Selfishness as Cure Sword looks on, helpless. Switching to our world and brighter topics, we meet Aida Mana, Student Council President of Oogai Middle School, whose dream is to become the Prime Minister of Japan. Whenever Mana sees someone in trouble, she’ll help them out, so when a monster attacks the city, Mana does the obvious and tries to stop it. And when, chosen by the fairy Charuru (Charles? Cheryle? Cherry?) to become a Precure and defend the world, she meets Cure Sword, she has to befriend her and help her restore Trump Kingdom and find her happiness.

Mana (Cure Heart) is joined by Rikka (Cure Diamond), her studious companion and supporter, and also the immeasurably powerful and rich (in that order) Alice (Cure Rosetta). Together they have to unravel the mystery of the man who gave them their transformation items, the missing princess of Trump Kingdom, the strange, evil girl called Regina, and Ai, the chaotic neutral baby who hatches out of an egg.

Dokipre’s theme is love and selflessness. It also has Deep Lore, a lot of which is established in extra-series material. The show does try to explore concepts like past cures and manages a very nice repeating pattern effect with the plot, in terms of past and future happenings. There’s a lot of foreshadowing. Compared to most Precure seasons it’s very plot-heavy and even the filler usually ends up being plot-relevant.

Happiness Charge Precure!

The 10th anniversary of Precure! The Phantom Empire is spreading across the world, and Precure are rising up all over the globe to fight them off. In Japan there are two active cures, Cure Fortune, strong and capable, and Cure Princess, scared and unsure of herself. As Cure Princess, Shirayuki Hime, struggles desperately to do her duty as precure, Cure Fortune refuses to work with her for reasons Hime doesn’t fully understand. Realizing her only hope is to find a partner to work with, Hime bumps into Aino Megumi, a super friendly girl who has a tendency to drop everything and help others any time she sees someone in need. Megumi becomes Cure Lovely, and bolstering Hime’s confidence, the two of them become Happiness Charge Precure, tasked with protecting Japan from Queen Mirage and her Phantom Empire. The two are joined by Cure Honey, and eventually Cure Fortune, and the four of them receive support from Blue, the God of Planet Earth. As the girls continue to fight and defend Japan, they are assaulted by Phantom, the ruthless Precure Hunter who has defeated and trapped countless Precure in his Precure Graveyard, and the Oresky Trio, the Phantom Empire generals who oversee the invasion of Japan.

Happiness Charge Precure’s themes are romance and happiness. There are several arcs dedicated to the budding romances of the cures, and the backstory of the show is heavily tied to romance. Happiness might as well be Megumi’s middle name, she makes it her business to spread happiness to as many people as she can, and takes every chance she can to help others. Happiness Charge is also the first season to have form changes for the precure, each cure has a small selection of forms they can change to for different big attacks, and this concept would later be expanded and used as a core concept in Maho Girls Precure. Like Heartcatch before it, Happiness Charge exists in a world where multiple precure exist, but unlike Heartcatch all those precure exist at the same time in the present day. Other precure teams make cameos every so often and the concept creates a great world in which the whole planet is being protected by teenage girls with superpowers, creating a wonderful sense of scale that really makes the big victories of Happiness Charge Precure feel even bigger.

Go! Princess Precure

The first precure series to take place at a boarding school! Years ago, a young girl named Haruno Haruka meets a very royal looking person named Kanata who gives her a Dress-Up Key, a big key shaped like a dress. A teenager now, Haruka starts attending Noble Academy, a prestigious boarding school, all the while holding tight to her dream of becoming a true princess, in a quasi-literal sense. Not long after starting the school year, Haruka meets Pafu and Aroma, two fairies from the Hope Kingdom desperate to revive the legendary precure to fight back against Dyspear and her minions who steal dreams to create their giant Zetsuborgs. Realizing what her Dress-Up Key is meant for, Haruka uses it and the Princess Perfume to become Cure Flora. Together with student council president Kaido Minami (Cure Mermaid), and Amanogawa Kirara (Cure Twinkle) a fashion model with huge aspirations, they become the new Princess Precure, tasked with learning to become true princesses along with protecting the Dress-Up Keys from Dyspear’s forces.

Go! Princess Precure’s main themes are princesses (duh) and dreams. Dreams are a driving force behind all of the cures, and most of the plot of the week characters. Dyspear steals dreams to make monsters, and the precure fight to return those dreams. Characters follow their dreams with conviction, pride, and full commitment. This is also where the princess theme intersects, since it’s Haruka’s dream to become a true princess. One should note that princess is used sort of liberally in this series, it’s not that Haruka wants to somehow become someone of noble birth or have political power, she just wants to be strong, kind, and beautiful, the traits of a true princess in Princess Precure’s own terms. Also she wants to wear pretty dresses and such but who can blame her really.

Mahou Tsukai Precure! (Maho Girls Precure!)

Quite literally putting the magic in magical girls for the first time in the franchise, Mahou Tsukai Precure was the first season to have its cures be actual magicians. Izumi Riko lives in the magical world, a world where magic is real and she attends a magical academy to hone her craft. She leaves the magical world to travel to the “non-magic” world, to search for a legendary item called the Linkle Stone Emerald. In the non-magic world she ends up catching the attention of another girl, Asahina Mirai, who sees her using magic. After trying to show off some magic and messing it up, Riko is attacked by Batty, a servant of the dark wizard Dokurokushe, who is seeking the Linkle Stone Emerald as well. As fate would have it, both Mirai and Riko carry stones that turn out to be the Linkle Stones Diamond, and the two of them use them to become Cure Miracle and Cure Magical, the legendary Mahou Tsukai Precure. Additionally, the power of the Linkle Stones grants life to Mirai’s lifelong companion, a teddy bear named Mofurun. Having discovered the world of magic and become a precure, Mirai is invited to spend time in the magical world learning magic alongside Riko, before the two, joined by Mofurun and a baby fairy named Ha, return to the non-magical world to search for the Emerald and protect it from Dokurokushe and his minions.

Mahou Tsukai Precure’s main themes are bonds and separation. It’s strengths lie in how it shows the relationship between Mirai and Riko. The show takes its time building their relationship in the first dozen or so episodes of their adventures in the magic world, highlighting their similarities and differences as they grow closer and learn to live with each other and fight as precure together. Well before the halfway mark it’s clear how strong their bond is and how deeply they care for each other, and the lengths they would go to for one another. Mahou Tsukai is an emotional ride in so many ways, every emotional moment hits its mark and the more you get attached to the characters the more the show will hit harder and harder with its moments, both sad and happy. Even side characters get satisfying and emotional conclusions to their storylines outside of the episodes they’re introduced in, it’s all wonderfully crafted.

KiraKira☆Precure A La Mode

Another return to the five cure format, Kirapre is also the second season to feature a sixth team member after Yes! Precure 5 Gogo!, as well as the second season to feature high school age precure after Heartcatch Precure. Usami Ichika is in her second year of middle school and loves sweets, especially making sweets. One day a hungry fairy named Pekorin finds her way into Ichika’s kitchen, and after being fed teaches Ichika about Kirakiraru, an energy source that exists in all sweets, and something that can be stolen and used for evil, leaving the sweets gray and tasteless. Utilizing the power of kirakraru in the shortcake she baked for her mother, Ichika becomes Cure Whip, one of the legendary patissiers, Precure. One by one other precure appear, the smart but shy Arisugawa Himari (Cure Custard), the rock band headliner Tategami Aoi (Cure Gelato), the fickle catlike Kotozume Yukari (Cure Macaron), and the responsible and helpful Kenjou Akira (Cure Chocolat). The five of them fight against the evils of Noir and those he has influenced: Julio, the mysterious masked boy who runs “experiments'' using kirakiraru, and Bibury, a mean spirited girl who uses her talking doll to steal kirakiraru and create monsters.

Kirapre’s main motifs are sweets and animals, and it has a pretty general togetherness and happiness theme going on, the standard precure stuff, mostly viewed through the lense of sweets and sweets-making. All the precure work as patissiers for one reason or another and it’s the main way the team bonds early on. The team, as well as the people of their small town, love sweets as a part of their culture and sweets maintain an important role as the emotional tie that binds most things together in the story. Overall Kirapre is a wonderful show with a great cast on both sides of the conflict, and a lot of care has been put into the show to make sure characters have their moments to interact with each other as well as have their own stories , even on a team of six every precure gets more than enough time to shine on her own. Kirapre is at it’s best when it takes two girls and puts them together for an episode, letting each unique dynamic play out in a fun and satisfying way. Kirapre is also noteworthy for the almost inarguably canonical relationship between two of the cures. It's not exactly explicit and it does leave something to be desired, since this is a Toei children's show, but there’s not really any other way to read the evolution of their relationship or their duet song, so I’m more than satisfied calling it canon.

This season is currently one of the few seasons available with official english subtitles on the streaming platform Crunchyroll

HUGtto! Precure

Precure’s 15th anniversary! This season is in many ways a celebration of all things Precure, bringing together a lot of familiar elements from past shows into one. Hugtto! is another five cure season whose main themes are destiny and future. Nono Hana (Cure Yell) is a thirteen-year-old girl whose dream is to be a "cool and stylish woman," although she worries that others see her as childish. One day, a hamster named Harryham Harry and a magical baby named Hugtan fall out of the sky into Hana's house. They're being chased from the future by an evil organization called Criasu Corporation, who are trying to use Hugtan's power to freeze time forever. Hana makes friends with two of her classmates: the responsible class representative Yakushiji Saaya (Cure Ange) and the reclusive ex-figure skater Kagayaki Homare (Cure Etoile), and together they fight Criasu while taking care of Hugtan and figuring out the many mysteries surrounding her. Expect some light sc-fi elements and an emphasis on modern technology/social media.

Hugtto! explores its themes primarily through the lenses of childcare and the workplace, giving us a look at how each girl comes to terms with the transition from childhood to adulthood. This season does a good job of letting each member of the team shine; you spend several episodes with each girl (or duo of girls) and there's a real sense of a complete character arc for all of them. The romance aspect is, unfortunately, pretty bad: there’s a return of hetero furry romance between Harry and Homare, and Hana’s love interest exhibits some really creepy behavior towards her. There’s uncomfortable age gaps in both of these relationships too so it’s a just a bit…. Yikes. Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to ignore like past seasons, but a warning for it nonetheless.

Something that makes this season stand out is its LGBT subtext; there's a TON of it even compared to the normal amount that Precure is known for. Without giving away too much, two of the cures this season are heavily coded as lesbians (though not with each other per se), and there's a subplot concerning a side character who is pretty explicitly (well, as explicit as Toei dares to be) a gender non-conforming man/nonbinary person in love with another man, and it's all very wholesome and presented in a positive light. Again, this is Toei, so don't expect anything too radical, but I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with how Hugpre handles it.

Finally I'll just say that while Hugpre is a fantastic season on its own, I would personally recommend waiting to watch it after you've seen some other seasons (notably Futari wa). It's not required, but since Hugpre is an anniversary season, there are a few episodes (especially near the end) that will really hit different if you have an emotional connection to the franchise already. Ultimately though this is a fairly minor part of the show, so watching this season first won’t ruin it or anything like that, it’s just something to keep in mind.

Star☆Twinkle Precure

Precure… in space! Our protagonist, Hoshina Hikaru (Cure Star) loves space and cryptids, to the point of drawing her own constellations. One of her constellations is an adorable alien puffball, who warps into Hikaru’s room almost immediately after she draws it. The puffball quickly befriends Hikaru, who names her Fuwa. They are later joined by Prunce, the team dad friend/alien mascot, and Lala (Cure Milky), a humanoid alien who is an adult in her own culture. After our initial duo gets off to a bit of a rocky start, they are joined by the student council president, Kaguya Madoka (Cure Selene) and a biracial upperclassman who is considered to be the “sun” of the school, Amamiya Elena (Cure Soleil). Together, they explore the universe and befriend all sorts of aliens, while also defending them from the Notraiders, who want to rid the universe of all imagination. On top of that, the universe is dying and the cures need to find the 12 astrologically themed Star Pens to save it and the 12 Star Princesses. This series is notable for attempting to break the “monster of the week” format, instead making it a “fight of the week”.

The major themes of Star Twinkle are space, imagination, and maturity. The cures have to explore the universe to find the Star Pens, and in doing so, visit a bunch of different planets. About half the series is spent on Earth, but the world still feels developed! Honestly speaking, the theme of imagination is forgotten pretty quickly and I’d refer to it more as free will. The theme of maturity is where Star Twinkle really shines. All of the cures have had to grow up too fast in some way, and the series is partially about just allowing them to goof off. Lala is considered an adult on her planet, and this plot point is treated realistically. Well, as realistically as it can be. This is one series I’d recommend avoiding spoilers like the plague for, because part of the fun is in how the plot twists are pulled off. Also Star Twinkle is notable for featuring the first ever dark skinned precure, as Elena is half-hispanic.

Healin’ Good Precure

The currently airing Precure season, as of this writing. The Byogens seek to revive their king by inflicting viruses on Earth, the Healing Garden sends three medical interns to combat them. These interns, fairies named Rabirin, Pegitan, and Nyatoran, along with a baby fairy princess named Latte, journey to Earth to find partners to become Precure. They end up meeting Hanadera Nodoka, a kindhearted girl who was hospitalized for most of her young childhood. After Nodoka risks her life to protect Latte, Rabirin chooses her to become Cure Grace. Joined by older sister type Sawaizumi Chiyu (Cure Fontaine) and the outgoing Hiramitsu Hinata (Cure Sparkle), they form Healin’ Good Precure, and defend their friends and the Earth from the Byogen’s newest wave of attacks.

This season is currently one of the few seasons available with official english subtitles on the streaming platform Crunchyroll.

Where To Watch Precure Online

Unfortunately for us, Precure isn’t really a thing in the west. There was a dub of Futari Wa back in the early 2000’s and Smile and Doki both got “adapted” into Glitter Force over on netflix (I don’t really recommend checking those out), but really Precure just doesn’t exist over here.

However, as mentioned above, there are currently three seasons avalible for streaming on crunchyroll. The original Futari Wa Precure, Kira Kira Precure A La Mode, and the current season, Healin’ Good Precure.

Beyond these isolated examples of official releases, you can really only watch precure online on streaming sites or through torrents. You can find precure pretty much on any major anime streaming site, kissanime, gogoanime, the works. You can also try your luck torrenting the seasons, i’ve found that pretty much every season has a working torrent you can find on sites like nyaa.si or the like. For more recent seasons you should have little difficulty getting torrents, and last time i checked every season was on one of the aforementioned streaming sites. What I’m saying really is there’s no single place to find precure, but it’s not impossible to find for sure.

Thanks for reading this post, I hope you decide to check out precure and I really hope you end up loving it.Thanks to my wonderful friend @meltorights for writing the sections on Yespre, Fresh, and Dokipre, to @wonderlilane for writing the sections on Splash Star and Huggto, and @cure-cosmo for writing the segment on Starpre.

If you have questions feel free to drop me an ask I’d be happy to help. I will literally go out of my way to help you if it means getting someone new into precure so please do not hesitate by any means.

#Apple Post #precure #pretty cure #magical girl #anime #toei animation

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smoll-tangerine · 4 years

Text

however improbable

PAIRING. doyoung x oc/reader GENRES. romance, slight angst, friendship WORDS. 14.1k

SYNOPSIS. you’ve always hated going back home to paris. but for the first time, you didn’t mind it so much. especially not after you accidentally bumped into the cute guy you had met prior to your holidays, in the city you used to hate so much.

NOTE. set in the same universe as covered by your grace. a side-story to covered by your grace. contains spoilers for CbYG’s sequel (that is yet to be posted) - read at your own risk.

TAGLIST. @crescent-iak

[a/n]: this is a side-story hence why it’s shorter than my other one-shots. the “hweji” in this story is the same “y/n” as in CbyG, but i gave her a name to make life easier. enjoy the story! ♥

I sighed in exasperation as my eyes ran through the letter I have just received from my parents.

This letter was probably the sixth letter of the month, where they demanded me (they stopped asking me nicely from after the second letter) to come back home so that I could finally step into their world—whatever that was. I was studying in Marseille when I was supposed to have my so-called débutante ball. I actually and purposely chose to study in another city to avoid it.

However, by the looks of it, perhaps my parents won’t let me have my way anymore.

“A penny for your thoughts?” my friend, Annie, said as she plopped down in the seat in front of me.

“Nothing really,” I answered, vaguely, while I tucked the letter into my skirt’s pocket. “My parents just want me to go home and visit them.”

Annie did not know much about my family either. If anything, I preferred keeping it that way.

I remembered having so many problems and issues with other people only because they wanted to become my friend due to my family’s status and never really because of who I was. Call it cliché, but it was the cold, hard and sad truth about my childhood (or really, about my life in general). Not that I doubted my friend. If anything, that would be better as well. I did not want my parents to get involved in my friendships.

“Okay…” She looked at me weirdly. “Well, I guess it’s a good idea to visit them over the holidays. You always stay at the dorms whenever we have a break and summer is pretty much the exception.”

“They’re not giving many choices, actually,” I mumbled. “They demanded that I come back home or I will not be allowed to come back to school.”

“An ultimatum? Wow, your parents sure are…”

“Mean for blackmailing their daughter?”

“No, I was about to say that they acted like how parents ought to act. You’re the one who’s being a bad daughter and never wants to go home.”

“If you only you knew…”

“Knew what?”

“Nothing.” I smiled tightly. I should let my parents know that blackmailing wouldn’t get them anywhere. But a part of me did not want to risk that. They were known for keeping their word, no matter just or unjust they were being.

“Well, how about you get your pretty butt up from your bed and come to get dressed,” Annie exclaimed excitedly and pulled me up. “You’re going to a party with me.”

I let out a groan of displeasure.

School parties were what I hated the most aside from the snobby students from my department. Our business school was renowned throughout the world, and many famous heirs and heiresses to major corporations and companies attend our school for not only their debut to elite society but also to be ready to inherit their family’s legacy when the time had come.

I had to attend a symposium with my peers, and for the whole time, their family’s annual profits were the basis for their value. The richer you were, the more they would try and get closer to you. You can guess how they acted with me.

“Oh, Annie, I don’t think that is a good idea–”

“I don’t want to hear any arguments!” she shouted before throwing a dress to my face quite literally. “We’re both leaving in two days, and I want to spend my last night on campus with my awesome roommate.”

I scrunched my nose at the dress she gave me. Growing up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I had always been bestowed with gowns from famous designer houses. What Annie had thrown to me was a short mini-black dress. It almost felt like a cultural shock. I was used to long beautiful gowns that were worth probably more than my tuition, not that Annie’s dress was not pretty, but it was so absurdly short that I feel like it was going to show some parts that I did not want other people to see.

“Annie, I don’t think that this dress is appropriate for–”

“Trust me, it is,” she replied before wearing another of her short dresses. “We’re going to a frat party, not one of your snobby symposiums. No offence.”

“None taken,” I mumbled before sighing.

My friend wasn’t about to change her mind anytime soon. I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to accompany her to the frat party. And besides, she had a point. It was our last night together, and I wouldn’t see her again until the end of the holidays. The least I could do was spend more time with her.

I left everything to Annie. From my outfit to my hair and makeup, she was the one in charge, though I did warn her not to go overboard. When she finished, I was surprised by the result.

“Hey.” I nodded at myself through the mirror. “Not bad, Annie.”

“Told you so,” she replied smugly. “Now, let’s go!”

I regretted letting Annie drag me to the party as soon as I stepped inside the frat house. As much as I hated being in the same room as my stuck-up peers, I hated being in the same place as drunken college students even more. There were so many horrifying things that happened around me that I was baffled that I attended the same school as they.

Half of the time, I was busy pretending the best friend of some drunken girls who did not want to hook up with the guys who had gotten them drunk. I’ve received a few curses, but they cowered away by the death glares that I would send them. Annie was gone the second we got there, and I couldn’t find her anywhere.

After taking care of the girls and ensuring that they wouldn’t get taken advantage of, once again, I grabbed an empty cup and filled it with the soft drink they used to mix with the alcohol. I then stealthily avoided all the sweaty dancing bodies and got to the back porch where nobody seemed to be since the party was inside and not outside.

“Oh,” I exclaimed in surprise and almost dropped my drink on the person I accidentally kicked. “I am so sorry! Are you okay?”

The male groaned and got up, surprising me due to his quickness but also because he replied to my apology with a smile. “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s my fault that I decided to sleep in the middle of the stairs.” He groaned again as he cracked his back. “Ugh, that was so comfortable.”

I frowned at his statement. “Sleeping on the stairs was comfortable?”

The boy in question frowned as well, and he shook his hair away from his eyes. I almost gasped out loud at how… handsome he looked, which was surprising since his looks didn’t exactly fit with the other boys I had seen inside the frat house. If anything, he could pass off as the same guys that were in my department (I admit that some guys in my department were devilishly handsome, but I can’t say the same about their personalities).

He had fair white skin with almond eyes and angled eyebrows. He had a defined but not a sharp jaw. His features were softer rather than sharp, his aura also contributing to his overall soft flowery image of him. He almost looked like a lost bunny. Albeit, a slightly drunk, lost bunny.

“You’re not a student of our department, aren’t you?” he asked.

“And what department is that exactly?”

“Culinary arts,” he answered in a single beat.

I, on the other hand, didn’t fail to hide the surprise on my face. I didn’t even know that there was such a department. Much less that they were a cool department that threw frat parties, or at least according to Annie’s standards.

He saw the look on my face and seemed to have understood the reason behind it. “Oh, no. The culinary arts department didn’t throw this party, but we are the proud sponsors of the small delicacies that drunk people seem to be munching off, right as of this moment.”

I raised a brow over at him. “I see.”

“You don’t seem to be much convinced?” he said with an amused smile, all signs of drunkenness erased from his face, a hint of pink on his cheeks the only remaining signs of his previous intoxicated state. “I don’t know if this is going to help or not, but I am also part of the frat that is throwing this party so…”

“You didn’t have to explain yourself,” I mumbled. “I don’t care.”

I inwardly winced at how cutthroat I sounded. My parents had always told me to act more like a lady, afraid that my unfiltered mouth was going to cost them their reputation in our world. Annie was the only one who didn’t seem to mind at how serious I always sounded, or cold, in some cases. Hence, why she was able to befriend me so quickly.

However, instead of looking baffled by my attitude as I thought he would, he was laughing, which in return, I was the one who was surprised. He still had a bright smile on after he stopped laughing. “Let me guess. You got dragged here.”

I bit my bottom lip and looked down on my outfit in worry. “Does it show?”

He shook his head furiously. “Oh, baby, it’s not your outfit—you look wondrous—but, you don’t seem to be comfortable in this type of environment.”

I tried not to blush at the compliment and the pet name he had given me. “Is it that obvious?”

“Just a little,” he said with crinkled eyes.

I smiled back. He handed me a hand, and I subtly arched a brow at him. But I still took it and pulled him up. After pulling him up, the guy ended up crouching over his body in laughter which confused me even more. Did he drink that much to the point he would laugh out of nowhere?

“I was about to introduce myself and handed you my hand for you to shake,” he explained as soon as he saw my state of confusion. I let out a dry yet embarrassed laugh and quickly handed him my hand for him to shake, hoping that the awkward situation would simply go away.

I told him my name and then said. “Nice to meet you…?”

“Doyoung,” he replied as he shook my hand with a firm grip, surprising me a little. Raised in a family such as mine, I was taught everything, from the basics to the very details. I could tell from this one handshake that he had a lot of experience. In what, I wouldn’t be sure.

“So.” I coughed. “Having fun before going home?”

He shrugged. “Sort of, I guess. Enjoying whatever bits of freedom I’ve got left here before heading back to my folks.”

I nodded in understanding. Doyoung seemed to be in the same situation as I was. Going away to another school to escape our household.

“Is it that tough living with your family?”

“Suffocating,” he replied without any hesitation. “The only reason why I still even bother is my little sister. She’s still stuck up there with them, and because I have abandoned my responsibilities as the only male heir of the family, she has to put up with them.”

I found it weird that he would reveal such information to a stranger he had just met. And I could tell that he thought it was strange too, judging by the quirky smile he had on his face. Not directed at me. Done most likely unconsciously because he realized the same thing as I. Though, I didn’t want to confirm that nor did I want to know why he was able to talk to me about such things. But I guess that it would always be easier for people to talk about their issues to a stranger, rather than to someone they were acquainted with.

But I understood that feeling of suffocation and that need to escape because I was in the same situation as he was. Unlike me though, he still went back home to face his demons (or his parents, for that matter). He was already a lot more courageous than I was.

“I’m jealous,” I admitted, “that you still dare to go back there even though your parents might still have the power to control you and prevent you from leaving.”

He arched a brow, some understanding morphed into his expression. “Is that how you feel?”

I opened my mouth then closed it at my lack of an answer.

True, I didn’t want to go back home but was it due to fear that I didn’t want to go back? Or was it something else?

But before I could have said anything, sounds of cheers and broken glass echoed behind us, startling us both. Doyoung sighed and gave me a soft smile before re-entering back into the chaotic frat house.

“Have a nice holiday.”

That was the last time I had seen him before going back home.

Taking the train home was both a relaxing and nervous experience. On one hand, I was glad that my parents had bought first-class tickets, giving me a whole compartment to myself. On the other, being alone in such a large compartment unnerved me, and I was thus left alone with my thoughts which I thought was not necessarily a good combination in my current situation.

The second I arrived in Paris, I already felt different. I wasn’t a typical student studying in Marseille anymore. I was a lady-in-training back in the city of Paris. I sighed at my surroundings that were so grey and dull compared to Marseille. Paris was a city, a lively one filled with fashionable people and intellects, but it never attracted me as Marseille did.

Perhaps because my parents were here instead.

I was met with my butler and nanny at the train station. Ordinary people would have their parents welcome them back, and I had the people who raised me since birth. Then again, I wouldn’t say that I was born into an average family either. But sometimes, I did wonder what was it like to have a typical family.

I knew I couldn’t complain much because I knew I had more than enough in my life. However, money couldn’t buy you happiness. And I felt that it was true in so many ways. No matter how much money my parents would wire into my bank account, that could never replace a parent’s love.

I wouldn’t say that my parents neglected me completely. On the contrary, I felt that they were just too overbearing, sometimes, that I felt the need to escape from them. Hence, my decision to attend a school in Marseille rather than somewhere in Paris, close to my parents.

And before I even knew it, Marseille was already behind me as I was pushed back into my old life. It’s crazy how barely a few hours ago, I was living a simple student life. And here I was, back into the extravagance and the bliss of ignorance. I wouldn’t say that I hated my life; it would be hypocritical of me to say that I hated it yet spent every dollar that my parents had earned to my benefit. I just hated some people who took that for granted.

All the hatred, the backstabbing, the hypocrisy—it was too much for me to handle.

Why couldn’t people be honest?

We finally arrived at my family’s mansion. While the driver and my butler took care of my luggage, my nanny, Joohyun, accompanied to my room where I can finally rest. Unsurprisingly, my parents weren’t home to welcome me back.

“Master is at the company, as usual,” Joohyun informed me as she adjusted the bath water’s temperature and dropped a few rose petals.

“Uh-huh,” I said as I relaxed against the tub, my eyes shut as I enjoyed the hot water against my skin.

“And your mother is at her book club meeting,” she continued.

“Fascinating,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

Joohyun sighed, knowing that I hated coming home because I felt like I didn’t belong. Only because my parents never felt the need to make me feel like I belong in this world. And the second I hit adulthood—that was when they thought it was time to bring me into their world. Or at least, they’re attempting.

“Miss, I understand that you might not like what I am about to tell you but–”

“Joohyun…” I sighed tiredly. “Can this wait after I finish with my bath?” I then looked at her with a small smile. “I just want to enjoy this time alone before you announce the bad news.”

“Miss, they’re not bad news–”

“Joohyun,” I said firmly with a pleading look in my eyes. “Please.”

She bowed a little as she retreated out from my bathroom. When I was confident that I was finally alone, I submerged myself under the pink water. It was something I used to do since I was a kid to erase my surroundings. Every time I immersed myself underwater, all the noise around me cancelled out. It was a nice feeling, to have this peace to myself.

Too bad I couldn’t breathe long underwater.

“You know, Miss,” Joohyun drawled as she brushed my hair in front of my vanity. I hummed back in response. “It wouldn’t hurt much if you try and talk to your parents more. They’ve missed you terribly, you know.”

I tried not to scoff.

“Every time I receive a letter from you, they would always ask me for your updates,” she continued and paused. I looked at her through my mirror, my face as expressionless as ever, and she went back to brushing my hair. “Perhaps, it is in both yours and your parents’ interests that you… communicate more with them. Let them know what you want.”

This time, I did scoff.

“It is not a crime for a child to be selfish with their parents, Miss,” she added with a motherly smile. “I am just saying.”

I played with a strand of hair as I looked up. “Speaking from personal experience?”

Joohyun rolled her eyes playfully and patted my head. “It is dinner time, Miss. And I think your parents are already at the table waiting for you.”

“Great,” I said with a sigh. “Let’s get this over with.”

Dinner was silent, for the most part.

The only people who spoke were the chefs and the butlers and the waiters coming in and out from the kitchen, and into the dining room. Then, followed by the sounds of utensils clinking against each other as we cut our steaks and the occasional page flipping on my dad’s part with his newspapers, and my mum’s from her most recent book for her book club, I assumed.

“So, sweetheart,” my mum cheerfully said as she closed her book.

She coughed when she saw that my dad wasn’t paying attention, and when he finally put those newspapers down, she then turned to me with a huge smile. “It is so great to have you back. It was so lonely in the mansion without you. Right, honey?”

“Of course,” my dad gruffly answered, though his eyes still wandered around, trying to reach the letters from the papers. “The house is so lively now that you’re back.”

I took a sip from my glass of water, not knowing what to respond to that.

My mother, unwavering, kept her smile on and wiped her mouth before continuing, “And, since you are back for the holidays, your father and I thought it would be the perfect time for you to formally come out in our society and to finally have your débutante ball.”

I stopped chewing and swallowed my food before I replied, “I thought I was too old for that?”

She chuckled awkwardly. “Well, it is true that débutantes are usually younger, but you went to college and all, so we missed the opportunity.”

I was about to flat-out refuse when I saw Joohyun moving in the corner of my eye. I then saw her subtly shaking her head, and I sighed through my nose, hoping that it will help me stay calm. It wouldn’t do me any good to argue with my mother, especially not with my dad in the room, and in a way, wasn’t this what I wanted from the beginning? For my parents to start caring about me and to finally introduce me to their world?

“But, perhaps as you said, a débutante ball might be too late for you,” my mother slowly said as if she realized that a ball was the last thing I wanted, so she went for a compromise. “How about just a little soirée between you and some girls of the same age as you? I am certain that you will get along just fine and it is the perfect opportunity for you to make some new friends and connections that could prove to be useful when you inherit your father’s position.” She then turned to my father with another smile. “Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Whatever you say, honey,” he replied and removed the cloth from his lap before wiping his lips with it. “I will be in the study room if you need me.”

With that said, he got up from his seat and went upstairs, leaving my mother and me alone in the dining room. I also threw my cloth back onto the table, exasperated with my father’s behaviour because nothing has changed.

And this was why I hated coming back home. I just wished that we could also stop pretending as if everything was fine and that our family was a perfect one when it was far from it.

At least my mother was trying.

“I’m also done,” I softly said as I pushed myself away from the table. “May I be excused?”

“Wait!” my mother exclaimed as she stood up at the same time as I. “Won’t you stay for dessert? I made your favourite carrot cake.”

“You did?” I asked, surprise evident in my tone and gesture.

She nodded excitedly. “Well, my daughter is finally home now, isn’t she?”

I glanced over at Joohyun who smiled at me, probably proud that I was reciprocating my mother’s feelings and efforts. I then sat back down and leaned over a little towards my mother, wanting to catch up on the past few months that I’ve missed.

I knew that it must be hard for my mother to deal with both her husband and her rebellious daughter. So, I couldn’t entirely blame her for wanting to escape from the household once in a while to her book club meetings or her socialite events. I would do the same if I were always stuck with my father who seemed to only care about the company.

Granted, it was that very company that could give us the luxurious lifestyle that we had at the moment, but it didn’t mean that he could neglect his family altogether.

“So, Mum, tell me all about that book club that Joohyun told me you created!”

I told myself that this was something I was doing for my mother’s sake.

But the second I entered the posh restaurant, I knew that I was going to regret it. I wouldn’t say that I was underdressed for the occasion. On the contrary, the girls my mum had invited seem to have overdressed.

As posh as the restaurant was, I told Joohyun to specifically mention on the invites that were sent out, that the soirée was to be casual with a slight hint of extra, knowing that these girls couldn’t possibly know what ‘casual’ meant.

The hostess brought me to the VIP room that Joohyun had booked for the evening, and most of the girls invited were already there. However, the second I stepped into the room, all the chatter quieted down, and I was faced with ten judgmental faces. I gave them an awkward smile and walked towards the seat at the front of the table.

“Good evening, ladies,” I said as I sat down, and flipped through the menu. “Have you already ordered yet?”

“Actually, we’re still waiting for Hweji,” one of them said with a forced smile. “Sorry.”

I didn’t even know who was Hweji, but she must be someone important if all of these girls were waiting for her before starting anything. I couldn’t wait to see who was this mysterious girl. I wondered whether she was the same as the other ones in the room. If she was, then I could already tell that my evening was going to be hell.

The things I did for my mother.

It was around twenty minutes later that the room’s door was finally opened and revealed a young girl, probably the same age as me, or younger by one or two years. She possessed an oval face with almost delicate elfish features with big bright eyes that oddly reminded me of someone. The sides of her lips curled up at the scene in front of her, and I swore I saw a glint flashed in her eyes before they slid to the empty seat next to me. She paid no attention to the other girls and went straight for the spot on my right.

“Evening, ladies,” she said, her voice resembling awfully like wind chimes. “Sorry for the delay, but I hoped you guys have already ordered.”

“We have been waiting for you,” the girl who spoke up earlier eagerly told Hweji.

“For me?” She frowned, dissatisfaction evident in her facial features. “Whatever for? This soirée is hosted by Miss Kwon, not me. You guys should have ordered the second she got here instead of waiting for me. What kind of behaviour is that?”

I already liked her before she even introduced herself to me.

She waved over a waiter and ordered the dishes without consulting the other girls before leaning over to me with a friendly smile on her face, unlike the one she had shown to the other girls. “Do you want to order anything else?” she asked me. “Any recommendations?”

I shook my head, glad that she was making this evening easy for me. “Go ahead. It seems like you are an excellent food connoisseur.”

She chuckled. “Flattery will get you nowhere.” She then turned to the other girls present in the room. “What about you ladies? Care to add something you would like to try?”

“I forgot that my parents wanted me home early tonight,” the previous girl suddenly said and abruptly got up from her seat, the sound of chair legs scratching against the wooden floor echoed throughout the whole room.

Her sentence was then followed by multiple ‘same’ and ‘me too’s. And in the end, the only people left in the room were me and Hweji, the one gal I thought I wouldn’t be able to stand the most because from what I’d heard from the previous girls, it seemed like she was almost like a Queen Bee to them.

“Finally! I thought they were never going to leave,” Hweji grumbled next to me before handing me her hand to shake as she introduced herself to me properly, “I apologize for not being able to introduce myself earlier, but I’m Kim Hweji. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” I replied as I shook her hand and gave her my name.

“So, I finally get to meet the famous Miss Kwon,” she said with a small snort.

When she saw the dubious look on my face, she let out a small laugh and hid her mouth with her hand (I now understand why my mum wanted me to become friends with gals like her) before starting to explain, “Oh, gee, sorry. I didn’t mean any offence. It’s just that you’re pretty well-known for refusing to have a débutante ball, and I quite admire you for it.”

“For refusing to attend the ball?”

She rolled her eyes in amusement. “No, for standing up to your parents and for what you believe in,” she said and then bumped her shoulders with me. “Us rebellious gals have to stick with each other, you know?”

I almost doubled-back in surprise. Kim Hweji, a rebellious girl? From the hour I’d just met her, I would have indeed thought that she was the prim and proper lady that my parents wished I would become after this whole soirée nonsense. Never would it occur to me that Hweji was a girl who was, well, like me.

“Surprising, right?” she added with a chuckle. “I know that I don’t seem like the type but…” She paused as she contemplated something. “You got to keep up the appearances, no matter what, right?”

I wanted to ask her what kind of things she had done behind her parents’ back, but the way she suddenly turned silent was like a warning to me: not one from her, but one from myself. There were things that Hweji wasn’t ready to say yet, and I wasn’t about to go on and pry it off her. It wasn’t in my nature to do so.

As someone who shared the same family problems as her, I knew that sometimes it could be hard to talk about it with someone you barely knew. I respected her privacy, and I believed that one day, with our blossoming friendship, she would come to me with her worries. And today was just not that day.

The food arrived, and we started eating.

“So.” Hweji seemed to have perked up again as she dug into her ratatouille. “A little birdie told me that you’re currently attending college in Marseille?”

“That is correct,” I replied as I mirrored her actions. “I’m majoring in business, hoping to–”

“Take over your father’s business?” she continued my sentence with a knowing look.

“Exactly.”

“I know someone who goes there!” she told me with an exciting voice.

She was almost jumping in her seat, and her eyes shone with the same excitement. This was the most animated I’d seen her since the beginning of the evening which said a lot since it seemed like she only had two moods; either really enthusiastic or straight up apathetic to everything.

“Someone important to you?” I asked with a knowing smirk.

Perhaps a significant other? It wouldn’t be surprising in our world for someone of my age to get engaged or married. It would be strange if it didn’t happen. Maybe that was also why my parents were so eager for me to come out in society; to let all the bachelors know that their daughter was young and single and eligible to get married.

Hweji hummed. “Something like that.”

The evening went by so fast that it was already close to midnight, and Hweji and I had to part. Both of us hugged each other before she went in her car, but before her driver could have closed the door, she pushed it back and screamed out my name. I turned back to see her waving me over, and I went back to her, curious as to why she looked like she had something important to tell me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked the second I got to her carriage.

“Nothing is wrong!” she said and then bit her bottom lip as a sad expression washed over her face, but it was gone within the next few seconds. “I’m going to be having my wedding in the summer. And it would be right after your winter semester ends! I was wondering if you would like to come?”

“Oh!”

I was taken aback.

I just met this girl this evening, and she was already inviting me to her wedding. But I enjoyed Hweji’s company, and we shared many common interests. She was most likely the only girl I liked from this fake and obnoxious world, and she also defended my reputation and honour when the previous girls were trying to humiliate me.

I guess I must have been lost in thought for a while because she seemed disappointed when I haven’t answered her yet.

“I guess you can’t make it…?”

“Oh, no, sorry! It’s not that! I was just thinking about something,” I replied furiously, not wanting to cause a misunderstanding. “I would be honoured to attend your wedding, Hweji.”

Perhaps, my assumptions were correct. That the important someone who attended the same school as I, was maybe Hweji’s fiancé. I wanted to ask her for his name since it was possible for me to know him or had seen his face on campus. However, before I could have done so, Hweji was basking in some happy glow, and I didn’t want to burst her bubble.

She clapped her hands in happiness as she heard my reply. “I’ll send you an official invite once they’re done,” she continued. “Would you rather I send it over to your family mansion or your school?”

I bobbed my shoulders. “Surprise me.”

She gave me a curious look, and a glint of mischievousness flashed in her eyes, once again. “You asked for it!” she exclaimed. “I’ll see you soon. Take care!”

I smiled and waved back at the girl as the car drove away, and I thought that, perhaps, this type of life wasn’t so bad. If people were more like Hweji, then I wouldn’t mind living this way for the rest of my life. Just, minus the obnoxious girls.

“You too, Hweji.”

I was walking on Champs d’Élysées when a familiar voice called my name out. I thought I was inconspicuous with my disguise and my hat and all, to be able to escape from Joohyun and my butler, but somehow, someone was able to recognize me?

I slowly turned around, ready to run off the second I catch a glimpse of the person’s face. But rather than being faced with my family’s staff, I was met with a familiar face I thought I would never see in Paris.

“Do…young?” I tilted my head. The said man waved at me enthusiastically and walked over to me before hugging me. “Whoa, yeah, okay.” My eyes widened in surprise at the hug.

“Hey! I didn’t expect you to be here,” he said as he backed away. “Here, as in Paris. Do you live here?”

“Um, yeah, actually,” I replied, unsure of what was going on exactly. “What about you? Didn’t you say that you were going back home for the holidays?”

He nodded brightly. “Yeah, well, my family lives in Paris.”

“You sure look bright for someone who didn’t seem too eager to come home,” I commented and winced at my own words. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound that way.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m sure you didn’t. And you’re not at fault, anyway. It’s true that I wasn’t too eager to come home, but well, someone got to keep my little sister company, right?”

I nodded unsurely.

Doyoung then accompanied me for the whole day as both of us spent time together. We talked about various topics and even spontaneously decided to visit the Musée d’Orsay. I didn’t know that he was that interested in paintings and sculptures since he was studying in culinary arts. I had expected him to have more knowledge in that aspect of art, more than anything.

As a matter of fact, with every painting and sculpture we passed by, he seemed to have a little comment to make or a small story to tell me, either about the artist or the art piece itself.

“Well,” I said as we stepped into Claude Monet’s pavilion. “I didn’t expect you to know so much.” I then looked around the art pieces. “You know, about art in general.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “My family is pretty into it, and I guess I got sucked into it, whether I like it or not.” Doyoung had a tight smile on, and I knew that it wasn’t the right time for me to question him further about his interests other than French cuisine.

Following the visit, it was already pretty dark outside. We were about to part ways when all of a sudden, my stomach let out the loudest growl I have ever heard in my entire life. My cheeks suddenly reddened at the sound and I stole a peek over at Doyoung, who was almost doubling over in laughter, his eyes crinkled like a pair of crescent moons.

“I’m sorry to have kept you so late that you missed dinner,” he said, not mentioning a thing about that embarrassing growl. “Would you like to have dinner at my house?”

“Oh, I can’t possibly–”

“Don’t be silly!” Doyoung grabbed my hand and pulled me along. “It wouldn’t be gentlemanly of me to not provide dinner for the lovely lady who spent her whole day with me. Not to mention I was the one who barged into your free time.”

I trudged along behind him, not exactly knowing where he was bringing me, and yet still finding myself to trust him easily. “Well, I can’t possibly impose on your family and–”

“That is nonsense,” he said and then turned his head slightly to look at me. “You’re no bother, at all. And besides, I think my parents would be happy that I’m bringing some company.”

And that was how I ended up in Doyoung’s dining room, having dinner with Doyoung and his parents. I didn’t speak much even though I knew it was rude to do so, but I thought it would be even more offensive to interrupt their family conversation, not to mention I was already imposing on them. But in a way, it allowed me to see what kind of family Doyoung had. And of course, it led to me comparing both of our families.

Doyoung mentioned that he was supposed to inherit his parents’ legacy, which I found out that they were a family of collectors who either collected precious artworks or sold them. Not only that, they were a family of artists as well—famous ones, apparently. Hence, explaining Doyoung’s high knowledge of paintings and sculptures and such.

However, he did also mention that he left all of that behind to study to become a chef. Thus, his sister was to inherit everything. However, the said sister wasn’t present during dinner.

“I think she mentioned something about helping the curator of the Musée d’Orsay for their next exhibition?” Doyoung’s mother, Mrs. Kim, said before taking a sip of her red wine.

“We were just there earlier!” Doyoung exclaimed, happier than ever to talk about his little sister. I could tell how proud he was of the girl. I was starting to become more and more curious about the Kims’ youngest child. “We didn’t see her, though.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t,” Mr. Kim added. “The exhibition hasn’t even been revealed to the public just yet. She’s a busy girl. I doubt that you would be able to see her in the museum’s halls.”

The dinner allowed me to check out the family’s dynamics.

Mr. Kim was a man of little words, but he would ramble on and on if the conversation topic were to steer over his youngest child. I could tell that he was protective of his daughter but also proud that she was slowly growing up to become a fine woman (his words, not mine).

Though, I wondered whether the older man held a grudge over the fact that his one and only son didn’t want to inherit the family business. Seeing Mr. Kim and speaking to him for a while, I doubted that he was such man. He seemed like an earnest and honest one who would do anything to please his family.

Mrs. Kim, on the other hand, seemed like the complete opposite of Mr. Kim. Not necessarily in a bad way. The older woman just seemed… stricter. She was a lady of few words and seemed to be a harsh parent and educator on both of her children. However, from their little interactions, it was obvious that she doted a lot on him.

Though, I could tell from Doyoung’s tense body as she spoke of his sister that perhaps, something must have happened in the past for him to act in such a rigid way with his mum. But, who was I to judge when I practically did the same thing with my parents?

As for Doyoung–

Well, I couldn’t say that he was a completely different guy seeing that I didn’t even know him that well either. However, he was undoubtedly less lively than he was when it was just the two of us. It almost seemed like being with his parents forced him to become this well-mannered, posh, and sophisticated man, so unlike the drunk guy who thought that sleeping on the stairs of a fraternity house was comfortable. It almost seemed like coming back to Paris had put a lid on his overzealous personality.

“I’m sorry for dragging you to dinner,” Doyoung told me after the dinner, and we were lounging outside his room’s balcony. “But I also really appreciate it.”

I could tell that he was grateful for my presence because he didn’t know how to deal with his parents with his little sister’s absence. I was getting more and more curious about her, as Doyoung only had nothing but nice things to say about his younger sibling.

“So, what are you planning to do for the rest of your holidays?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “As I said, I only came back for my little sister to help her out with the duties that our parents have left her.” He then nudged me playfully. “Too bad we can’t spend the rest of our holidays together, that would have been nice.”

And I found myself to agree with his statement quite enthusiastically. “Yeah, too bad.”

Although I was disappointed with the fact that I couldn’t see him for the rest of our holidays, seeing that at that point, I really thought that he was someone who could definitely make them more bearable, he made me feel better by dropping me off at my house and bade me goodbye with a kiss on the lips.

Needless to say, I acted like a high school teenage girl, and Joohyun didn’t spare me with her questions.

Annie noticed that there was something different about me the second I set foot back into our dorm.

It didn’t take her long to guess that there was a guy involved. Annie was the only one, other than Joohyun, who knew that I didn’t have much experience in the romance field and she was delighted that I was finally loosening up (her words, not mine). She easily guessed that there was a guy, but she wasn’t able to guess who exactly.

“You changed right after coming back from the holidays,” she said, her head hanging upside-down from her bed as she looked at me. She then gasped dramatically. “Did your parents set you up with someone?”

“No,” I exclaimed indignantly. “Where did you get that idea? Knowing me and my personality, do you really think I would let my parents set me with a random guy like that? As if.”

She jutted out her bottom lip as she nodded in agreement. “Well, how would I know since you never tell me much about your family?”

My heart fell at her words, and I felt this tremendous guilt about it. It had never been my intention to hide my family completely from her. True, I never revealed much to her, but I didn’t like to talk about my parents either. Though, seeing how my parents behaved during the holidays, it wouldn’t hurt to let Annie in slowly. And besides, out of all the girls, I’d met—including the ones at my soirée —Annie was the only one I could trust the most.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “It’s hard to talk about my family sometimes because I used to get judged for it a lot before. But I promise I’ll do my best in answering any pertinent questions you might have,” I gave her a look, “within reason, of course.”

For the month or so, Annie kept grilling me with questions about my family (she eventually found out about my background, and she just went, “Well, that explains a lot”) and I answered them as earnestly as possible. Both of us were heading to the reception because I had received a letter from Hweji as the two of us decided to stay in contact after the soirée.

The first few letters between the two of us were just updates of each other’s lives. Hweji would send me messages complaining about her overbearing mother, but thankfully, her fiancé was there to calm her down. From what I’ve read, he seemed to be a pretty reliable guy. Whereas I would send her updates about the school, rants about a few professors and pompous students from my department, and updates about this “guy” I saw over the winter holidays yet still haven’t seen on campus. I guess this time, Hweji’s letter was going to inquire about the exact guy.

And I guessed right when I opened her letter. As I continued to walk and read the message at the same time, I accidentally bumped into someone. “Oof,” I groaned and rubbed my nose from the impact. “I’m so sorry, I–” My eyes widened in surprise. “Doyoung?”

“Well, if it isn’t Miss Kwon!” he replied delightfully.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” I said but soon frowned. Although Doyoung did seem happy to see me, there was a hollow and tired look to his eyes, which worried me a little. “Are you alright? Are the classes too much on you?”

“Oh, that’s not it,” he quickly replied and gave me an awkward smile. “There were some issues back home with my little sister, so I am currently shuffling back and forth from here and Paris to keep her company. It’s tiring me out a little, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Is everything alright, then?” I asked, genuinely concerned.

He sighed. “Her issues are a little bit… complicated,” he said with a wince. But his expression soon turned back to normal. “But she’s a big girl now, she’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure she will,” I said before exclaiming and pulled idling Annie closer to my side. “By the way, Doyoung, this is Annie, my only friend, and roommate in this whole school. Annie, this is Doyoung, a guy that I met at the party you’ve brought me.”

“So, this is the friend who brought you out of your comfort zone,” Doyoung joked with a glint in his orbs and introduced himself with a handshake. “Hello, I’m Kim Doyoung. Pleased to meet you.”

Annie shook his hand back and giggled, finally meeting the guy I’ve been secretly telling her (and Hweji) about. “The pleasure is all mine.”

“Did I interrupt you ladies?” he then asked, and Annie quickly shook her head.

“No, we’re just here to pick up our mail.”

“Well, if that is the case, you wouldn’t mind if I borrow your friend for a while, would you, Annie?”

She pushed me towards him, causing me to fall into his arms, but Doyoung caught me without any problem.

“Please, go ahead. I’ll go back to the dorm!”

She then left without another word, but not without throwing me a secret wink. I rolled my eyes and bit my bottom lip bashfully when I realized that I was still leaning against Doyoung (though, I tried not to think about how he still kept his hands around my waist).

“So,” he said as he peered down at me with a soft smile. “How do you say we get out of campus and go on a small date?”

Hanging out (or should I say, dating? I was not sure anymore. Doyoung and I never really labelled our relationship) with a culinary student had its perks.

Doyoung knew the best restaurants in the city like the back of his hand, which came in handy for whenever we wanted to have a date outside of campus. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the feelings that kept growing for this man, and the kisses he kept giving me after each of our dates didn’t help at all either.

With each day and date, I fell for Doyoung harder and harder. And I hated myself for never asking Doyoung of our relationship status, but I guess a part of me was just scared of whatever he was going to say.

I also started hating this part of me. I’d never thought that I would lose sleep over a guy. My mother would be delighted to find out that I was finally interested in the opposite sex. But I didn’t tell her anything either, scared that she would think ahead of herself, which was a little bit too common in families of the upper class.

It had been a little bit over three months since this relationship between Doyoung and me had started. Annie made it a little bit too painfully apparent that I was falling hard for him, a reminder that I did not ask for, I told her, but she kept on teasing me.

This feeling was somewhat unknown to me, and I couldn’t turn to Annie for advice—she was living life as a single woman and proud of it. Hence, I turned to my only other friend who had more experience: Hweji.

The subject of our letters was mainly about Doyoung. I never told Hweji his name because I was scared that she was going to ask about him to that particular person of hers that attended my school.

But when she informed me that she was going to visit soon, to catch up with that person, she suggested that we should meet up as well and that I introduce “my guy” to her. Although I was worried that Doyoung would feel awkward hanging out with someone he had never met before, he told me he would be happy to, which made me feel relieved.

I told Hweji that he agreed and we decided to hang out the day after she arrives. However, because I haven’t seen her in a while and I did kind of miss her and her forwardness and quirkiness, I decided to surprise her and welcome her firsthand when she was going to arrive on campus.

On the day she was supposed to come, I walked to the school’s entrance when I saw Doyoung in front of me, heading towards the gates as well. However, as I was about to call him, my voice died down.

My mouth went dry at the scene in front of me.

Doyoung was hugging a girl, and he looked so blissful and happy at that moment. He even pecked her on the cheek.

And the girl he was hugging was Hweji.

I didn’t know what to think or how to feel, and I allowed my body to be controlled by my rational side. I quickly ran back to my dorm, surprising Annie who expected me to stay out the whole day, hanging out with Hweji. I ignored her greeting and threw myself onto my bed, ignoring the worried look my roommate gave me. My heart dropped when I saw the scene, and I knew it was broken into pieces.

Annie, sensing that something was very much wrong, immediately sat on my bed and stroke my head softly. “Hey, what happened? Talk to me, honey.”

I reluctantly turned to her and bit my bottom lip, holding my tears back. I felt so stupid crying over a guy. A taken, engaged one at that. A guy who was engaged to one of my closest friends who invited me to her damn wedding.

What was I supposed to do?

Was Doyoung cheating on Hweji with me?

I felt so disgusted at the thought. I never intended to do this to Hweji, not when she had been so nice and helpful to me. She didn’t deserve this, either, but the gross green monster inside of me thought of not saying anything to her. But… she was supposed to hang out with me and Doyoung the next day.

What was going to happen to us, then?

Was I going to be labelled as a home-wrecker?

I explained the situation to Annie who listened to me without saying anything. When I was done with the story, she had a grave expression on her face, probably not knowing how to deal with the situation either.

“You should tell her,” she ended up saying after a long silence. “You treasure your friendship with her, right? Since she’s the only person you became friends with, in that crazy rich world of yours. And I can tell that it’s hard making friends in an environment like that.”

“Yeah, but Doyoung–”

“Guys like Doyoung are not one in a million,” she said, and the tone of her voice indicated that this was something that she must have experienced previously—maybe that was why Annie preferred staying single. “But friends like Hweji are. And the girl is about to marry a guy like Doyoung. Do you want her to suffer a bad marriage?”

I shook my head furiously. Hweji was a pure-hearted person. I would be able to handle a heartbreak like this one, but not her. After all, my relationship with Doyoung had never been official. But, she was engaged to him and about to live the rest of her life with him. I didn’t want her to be stuck with a lying and cheating guy like Doyoung.

There was still this annoying, nagging feeling that told me that maybe I misunderstood the situation. That a gentleman like Doyoung who treated me so well and kindly and politely over the past few months couldn’t possibly do that.

But Annie had a point.

My morality overcame my emotional side, and I decided to do whatever that was going to be best for both Hweji and I. I will tell her about Doyoung, and I will also cut all ties with him, even if it was going to pain the both of us.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I told my roommate, my resolve strengthening. “I’ll tell her first thing when we meet up.”

However, that was easier said than done.

Before meeting up with Hweji, I was supposed to meet up with Doyoung so that we could head to the meeting location together. But my feelings got the better of me, and I ended up saying some pretty hurtful stuff to Doyoung. He looked shocked and confused by my outburst (I did call him a lying, conniving, two-timing asshole, after all) and before he could have replied, I ran away from him and headed to the meeting location.

That was one thing down.

Hweji was already at the meeting location. She looked like such an angel in her pastel-coloured, floral dress, and it pained me to see her innocent and darling expression turned into something that did not belong to her face as I was going to break her the bad news. But, Hweji was someone who deserved happiness, and I wasn’t going to let Doyoung ruin that for her.

“Hey!” she exclaimed gleefully and waved her hands excitedly as she waited for me to go over. “How have you been?”

I hugged her immediately. “The same as usual,” I said, keeping my expression in check. “What about you?”

“Great! I had a nice supper yesterday. I was worried that Marseille’s cuisine wasn’t going to be as good as Paris’, but what do you know? The restaurant I went to was just scrumptious!”

I chuckled halfheartedly. “That’s great to hear.”

She looked around me with an inquisitive look. “So?” she drawled. “Where’s that handsome guy of yours you kept mentioning in your letters? Is he going to join us later?”

“Hweji, he’s not going to be joining us today.”

“Oh.” Her expression fell. “Why not? Did something happen? I was looking forward to meeting him.”

“Well.” I rubbed my arms uncomfortably, knowing where this conversation was about to head. “He ended up being a two-timing prick.”

Hweji gasped and she looked utterly disgusted with him. “No!” she exclaimed. “Oh, I am so sorry. He seemed like such a sweet guy in your letters. I honestly thought that you met the one.”

“Yeah, well, I thought so too,” I replied and motioned Hweji to take a seat on the bench. “Look, Hweji, there’s something important I must tell you.”

“I’m listening…?” she answered unsurely, probably a little worried by the tone of my voice.

“The guy that I was seeing who ended up being a cheating bastard… is your fiancé.”

There was a pregnant silence that followed my statement. Hweji remained unmoving, her expression stoic. I was worried that she was going to lash out on me for stealing her man (though that scenario only popped into my head from listening to the countless drama told by my bored mother), but she then started snorting with laughter, which I got to admit, was probably the least elegant I have ever seen her.

I thought that maybe she had gone delusional.

“Hweji...?”

But she ignored me and kept on laughing. She even slapped me a few times, and I was worried that she wanted to injure me, but her slaps didn't hurt at all. “Look, I saw you and Doyoung acting all intimate yesterday, and I thought that you should know that he had been seeing me at the same time and–”

“Oh, God, you are so hilarious!” she then said with a small sigh of satisfaction. “I haven’t laughed this hard since forever!”

I furrowed my brows. “I wasn’t joking at all–”

“So, let me get this straight,” she cut me off. “You saw me hugging a guy at the school’s gates, and this said male kissed me on the cheek and acted all intimately with me. And this guy was Doyoung, is that correct?”

“Uh, yes?”

“But did you see him do anything that a guy would do to his fiancée, like, oh I don’t know, kissing her on the lips, instead?”

“Well, no, but–”

“Miss Kwon, I believe you just accused my older brother of cheating on me.”

“Well, yeah he is cheating on– Wait, what?!” My eyes bulged out at her words. “Repeat that sentence because I don’t think I heard correctly you the first time.”

Hweji snickered at my expression and finally regained that dignified composure I’ve always admired her for before repeating her words. “I said, you just accused my older brother of cheating on me.”

“Wait, I am so confused! Didn’t you say that you know someone from the school, someone important?” I stressed the last two words.

“Wow, don’t let my brother hear you say that.” She chuckled. “But, I’d say that an older brother is considered as someone important, don’t you think? And besides, you never asked if the person attending the school was my fiancé—you just assumed.”

Okay, she got me there, but she could have mentioned that it was her older brother!

“My older brother is Kim Doyoung,” she said, and something in her eyes glinted as she looked me up-and-down. “And you must be the girl Doyoung’s going crazy over for.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Please, you think that you were the only one with ups-and-downs in the relationship department?” Hweji rolled her eyes. “My brother kept sending me letters with updates about his relationship with this amazing, down-to-earth girl he met at a party. He wouldn’t give me her name, probably wary that I might scare her off. But now, everything makes sense!”

“Oh, my fucking God.” I slapped a hand to my forehead. “I think I just made a huge mistake.”

“Let me guess, you told Doyoung that he was a two-timing asshole.”

My cheeks went aflame at her words. “S-something along those lines, yeah?”

She sighed as she shook her head. “Go and find him. He told me this morning that he was going to hang out with someone new. I didn’t know that the person would end up being me.” She then glanced at her watch. “Well, today is Sunday, and if he doesn’t have any plans, he should be in his dorm room at this time since he doesn’t like going out much and would rather just stay in and catch up on his studies. Not to mention he had to catch up on a few assignments since he took those weekends off to visit me in Paris.”

“Right, he did mention something like that to me previously,” I replied. “Is everything alright, now?”

“More or less. But I am here for a reason, right?” Hweji sent me a half-smile, but she didn't let me probe any further. “You should go find him and fix this soon. I guess it’s also my brother’s fault for being such an airhead. He probably never officially asked you to be his girlfriend, huh?”

I groaned. “Ugh, you’re right. Sorry about this, Hweji! I’ll make it up to you very soon, I promise!”

“Make it up to me by becoming Doyoung’s date to my wedding!” she replied by abruptly shoving her wedding invitation into my hands.

“Can’t promise that!” I shouted as I shoved the invitation into my back pocket, and ran towards the boys’ dorm.

I went up to the second floor and ran down the hallway that I was already so familiar with and knocked on Doyoung’s door. I heard a few footsteps before the door before I opened. I awkwardly raised a hand and waved it at Doyoung, who seemed surprised but unbothered by my presence.

“So, funny story!” I exclaimed out of nowhere with a nervous chuckle.

Doyoung raised a brow at me and crossed his arms.

I sighed and quickly said, “So, I kind of saw you acting all intimate with my friend Hweji at the school’s front gates and I thought you were two-timing with both of us. Hence, why I shouted those insults at you this morning and I am so terribly sorry for misunderstanding things and for insulting you! It was my fault for assuming things and–”

“Wait.” Doyoung raised a hand. “Hweji as in Kim Hweji? As in–”

“Your little sister?” I finished with an embarrassing chuckle. “Yeah?”

“So, you thought that I was cheating on you… with my little sister?”

I threw my hands up in defence. “I didn’t know! You never told me your little sister’s name before, and she never mentioned that the person attending the same school as me was her older brother,” I grumbled. “Look, the point is, I’m sorry that I called you those names before. And I’m also sorry for misunderstanding things and thinking that you were two-timing me with your little sister.”

Doyoung sighed but there was a soft smile on his face. “Well, I’m sorry too for not being clearer about the nature of our relationship. I never really had an official girlfriend before so I just assumed that if you went on dates and all that you were considered as an official couple.” He then cupped my cheek tenderly and rested his forehead on mine. “So, Miss Kwon, will you be my girlfriend?”

I nodded shyly before he brought his lips on mine.

Although he never asked me to be his date to Hweji’s wedding, that thought was momentarily forgotten as I basked in my happiness and the officialization of my relationship to Doyoung. But I figured that since there was still a lot of time left before Hweji’s wedding (I remember her mentioning that it was going to happen in summer), then he could have just asked me another time

But, boy was I wrong.

Hweji’s wedding was held in Versailles.

I told Hweji about my situation the first month after being official with her brother, and she reassured me that Doyoung would ask me to be his date to her wedding. But, that never happened. I didn’t even have time confronting Doyoung about it since it was the finals period and both of us were so busy studying. Not to mention he had to take some of his finals early so that he could head back to Paris and then Versailles to help Hweji out with the last-minute preparations.

So, I ended up taking the train alone from Marseille to Versailles. I knew that Doyoung and Hweji’s family was rich but I never realized to what extent until I arrived at the famous Château de Versailles, where the wedding will be held, and the guests would be staying at Le Louis Hotel.

Hweji also mentioned that they have rented out the whole estate, gardens included. I arrived a day early so that I didn’t have to rush the day of and I was immediately escorted to my room and given a room key when I showed the receptionist my invitation card.

I thought that the wedding was going to be an excellent opportunity to show Doyoung what he was missing, of course, without upstaging Hweji who should be the star of the day. On the day of the wedding, I dressed myself up in a delicate lilac dress with a messy bun and minimal makeup, paired up with subtle pearl earrings that Doyoung had given me on our 100th day of dating.

I was coming back from outside where I had brunch at a nearby café when I saw a man lingering around the gates to the palace. He was also wearing a suit, though a slightly crumpled one, which led me to assume that he must be a guest to the wedding as well.

My overly-friendly nature (I guess having dating an overly-friendly boyfriend does change you in some ways) prompted me to interact with him, “Hey, sir, is everything alright?”

The said male turned around and surprised me with his good looks. He had a tall frame and broad shoulders. He gave me a dimpled smile and his eyes crinkled at my question. He then shook his head as he answered, “Well, I’m actually the bride’s acquaintance, but I’ve never received a wedding invitation. I thought I would be able to see it from the entrance, but I guess that would be impossible, huh?”

I hummed. He didn’t seem too shabby-looking and he did say that he knew Hweji. Perhaps he knew Doyoung as well. This man was the perfect candidate for me to use to make my boyfriend jealous. I didn’t feel bad about using him though since I had something that he wanted.

A wedding invitation.

“What’s your name?” I asked him, and he raised a suspicious eyebrow at me. “What? I need your name, so I can give it to the security guards at the front, so that you,” I pulled out the ivory envelope with a teasing smile and shook the piece of paper at him, “can be my date to the wedding. So, what do you say Mr...?”

“Jaehyun,” he automatically replied. “Jung Jaehyun.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jaehyun,” I said before giving him my name. I then motioned him to walk beside me as we pass through the gates. “Let’s get this show started, yeah?”

He nodded, and although he looked relaxed, I could see that his whole body was stiff. I didn’t question his weird behaviour and I brushed it off as nerves. After all, he did say that he was Hweji’s acquaintance. Maybe he was just nervous because he hadn’t seen her in a while.

Regardless, we quickly moved to the inside of the palace and went to our respective seats on Hweji’s side of the altar in the wedding hall.

Though, as the ceremony started, I was surprised to see Doyoung next to whom I assumed to be Hweji’s groom. Surprised that he was the groom’s best man and he did not even think about telling me this.

Doyoung’s eyes landed on me and he smiled softly. But the second his focus switched on to the male sitting next to me, his expression completely changed. It became hard, stiff and… angry.

He didn’t look jealous. Rather, he looked vivid, which worried me. But before I could have read more into his expression, Doyoung already turned his attention back to the groom.

The music started playing—Rêverie by Debussy—which made everyone in the hall stand up. The flower girl and ring bearer came trotting along the red carpet, and the groom smiled at the two and thanked the ring bearer for the ring, before switching his attention back to Hweji, who must be coming out soon.

And I knew from the groom’s expression that Hweji finally came out.

I turned around and my mouth opened in awe at my friend’s simple beauty and elegance. Her hair was done in an up-do with a few strands left out, accentuating her facial features that were highlighted with soft pink makeup. Hweji was naturally glowing that she probably didn’t even need makeup. Her wedding dress was one that brought out her elegance; the dress was covered with lace and 3D white roses with a train that seemed to have been made with pure silk.

And when she arrived in front of her groom, I just knew that was the kind of love I wanted. I unconsciously peered over at Doyoung who was as focused as ever on his little sister, but his expression still looked restrained.

I leaned over to Jaehyun and whispered, “Isn’t Hweji so pretty?”

He didn’t answer as he also looked like he was in awe. At first, I thought that it was natural that everyone was captured by Hweji’s beauty. I mean, who wasn’t? But when I started seeing traces of tears in the corner of his eyes, I thought that something didn’t add up. Jaehyun’s hands were clenched tight on the fabric of his crumpled suit.

“The most enchanting,” he replied softly.

I didn’t know how but my hand naturally covered his, hoping that it would bring him some sort of comfort.

Hweji’s and Taeyong’s (the groom’s name was finally revealed) vows were so beautiful that it made me slightly tear up. And after exchanging their rings and “I do’s”, they finally kissed and the ceremony came to an end as the newlyweds walked back to the exit and accepted their congratulations.

“Congratulations!” I exclaimed when Hweji finally reached my row.

Hweji smiled back ecstatically but her whole body froze when she saw who was standing next to me. A look of recognition flashed in her eyes but it quickly disappeared as she softly said to me, “Thank you so much…”

I didn’t think much of it, though, I did think that it was weird. Jaehyun mentioned that he was an acquaintance of hers, but Hweji didn't look like she was glad that he attended her wedding. But before I could have asked him anything about it, it was time to follow the newlyweds to where the reception will be held.

Hweji left early to change into a new dress and I was left alone with Jaehyun whose eyes were searching around the room frantically.

“Hweji just left,” Doyoung said as he appeared out of thin air, “if that’s who you were looking for.”

“Doyoung…” Jaehyun stuttered out. “I–”

“I think you lost the privilege to call me by my first name,” Doyoung spat out and sighed through his nose. “What the hell are you doing here, Jaehyun?”

I had a feeling that perhaps Doyoung and Jaehyun could know each other, but I wasn’t aware that there was going to be such animosity between the two. From the way Doyoung spoke, I had a feeling that Hweji was involved in this too.

“Doyoung, he’s my date, can you not be rude?” I cut in.

Rage flashed through his eyes. It was the only time I’ve ever seen that look in his eyes. Doyoung had always been someone calm, rational, gentle even. I had never seen him lose his cool, ever. Rarely in private, and never in public. It honestly scared me a little to see him this way; it was a side of his that I had never encountered before.

“This is none of your business,” Doyoung muttered to me through gritted teeth, his eyes still scarily focused on Jaehyun who seemed to be shrinking away with every passing second. “Please, stay out of it.”

I was taken aback, but before I could have said anything else, someone else interrupted the conversation.

“Doyoung, that’s enough.”

All three of us instantly turned around to see Hweji in her second dress, her groom, Taeyong, by her side. She took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip. Hweji looked like she was on the verge of crying, both refrained herself from making a scene at her own wedding.

“Jaehyun, can I speak to you privately?” she asked before sending a glare over at Doyoung. “Stay out of this. I’m big enough to handle this on my own.”

With that said, she left the hall with Jaehyun following her close behind.

Jaehyun told me that they knew each other, but from the way that they were behaving, they didn’t look like mere acquaintances.

I heard Doyoung sigh through his nose. I stole a peek over and saw him rub his temples tiredly. Taeyong smiled at him and patted him on the back as he told him to cheer up.

“You’re just going to let them be?” Doyoung asked Taeyong.

The latter shrugged. “I trust Hweji. And besides, both of them need that closure.”

“You’re that confident that she’s not going to run off again?” he asked, which caused me to raise my brows.

Hweji running away, again?

“W-what do you mean?” I interjected and gasped when I realized that I barged into a private conversation.

Doyoung furrowed his brows and fiercely glared at me. “Why did you have to bring him? Did you want to ruin my little sister’s wedding? Do you want to ruin her happiness, is that it?”

“I–”

“Doyoung, calm down,” Taeyong then told him with a hand on his shoulder. “You’re overexerting yourself even more, now.”

Doyoung shook his head furiously. “You don’t understand, Taeyong. It’s because of him that I had to run back and forth from Marseille and Paris while you were planning the wedding with Hweji. I told him to stay away and he promised that he wouldn’t pull any stunts anymore. If it weren’t for him, the wedding could have happened earlier.”

Hweji’s spouse smiled bitterly at him. “Don’t talk that way.” He then turned to me. “Miss Kwon, is it?” I nodded. “Thank you so much for attending the wedding. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you from Hweji.”

“O-oh, yes…” I was taken aback and bowed my head in thanks. “Hweji mentioned great things about you too.”

Taeyong didn’t reply but had a knowing smile on his face that I couldn’t seem to decipher. I wasn’t sure whether he thought I was feeding him a lie or not. It was true that Hweji did talk to me about Taeyong. But she was also a very private person.

“I’m going to go and greet the other guests,” Taeyong then announced and gave us a small nod. “Please do enjoy the rest of the evening.”

We both bid the groom goodbye. I then turned around to Doyoung, wanting to talk to him about this situation and clear misunderstandings up. I only wanted to make him jealous. “I-I didn’t know that Jaehyun and Hweji knew each other like that…”

Doyoung exhaled a sharp breath. “Hweji and Jaehyun… they didn’t exactly have an easy relationship, but both of them were willing to do everything for each other. Until Taeyong came into the picture and Jaehyun thought that his relationship with Hweji wasn’t worth it anymore.” He then scoffed bitterly. “Hweji was devasted and Taeyong was the one who helped her pick up the broken pieces. But that bastard Jaehyun just had to come back and ruin things.”

He then frowned and looked at me suspiciously. “How do you know him, anyway?”

My mouth opened to reply but I wasn’t sure what to tell him. I felt like I was being interrogated for a crime that I did not commit.

“Why did you have to bring him to the wedding?” he asked and then had that look in his eyes. As if he was telling me that everything was my fault.

Was it?

“Do–”

“I’m tired,” he abruptly said. “I’m heading back to my room.”

He left without another word. My voice got stuck in my throat, preventing me from calling after him. A part of me probably did not want to, not when he looked at me with such accusatory eyes. I couldn’t bear to see that look anymore.

I bit my lips as I felt my eyes water. I took repetitive deep breaths as I told myself that I couldn’t cry right here and now.

People were starting to whisper around me. My boyfriend blamed me for making his sister sad on her wedding day. The groom probably blamed me too but was too polite to say anything. And Hweji, my good friend, probably thought that I was the one to blame for ruining her wedding by bringing an unwanted ex-boyfriend.

An unwanted guy who was probably more than just an ex-boyfriend.

I felt alone more than ever.

I wanted to go back to Marseille.

“Hey, what’s with that face!”

I raised my head, searching for the source of the voice. “Ah, Hweji…” I then immediately bowed down to her. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know–”

“Hey, hey!” She then forced me to stand back straight and looked at me worriedly. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Jaehyun… I shouldn’t have brought him here…”

Hweji smiled sadly at me. “What did my dumb older brother tell you? That Jaehyun dumped me? And he was afraid that I still had lingering feelings for Jaehyun? That I was going to elope with him just because he made an appearance at my wedding?” She scoffed and blew some air into her hair. “He should have more confidence in me.”

“Do you?” I then asked. “Still have feelings for Jaehyun, I mean?”

“Jaehyun, he…”

Hweji then looked like she was lost in her thoughts, a wistful smile appeared on her lips. She looked like she was reliving some nice memories at that moment.

“He was perfect in every way possible. I honestly thought that he was made for me. I was ready to abandon my family and run away with him. Somewhere far away. But, it just wasn’t meant to be. Part of me perhaps will always have some sort of feelings for him. Is it love? Is it regret? Is it reminiscence? I haven’t a clue. But what I do know,” she then looked at Taeyong’s direction, “is that I don’t regret my decision of marrying Taeyong. Every day that I spend with him is a day filled with joy and love.”

She then turned back to me with a happier, glowing smile and scrunched her nose cutely. “Taeyong is honestly too good for me. And I can’t possibly do that to him.”

Hweji didn’t answer my question properly. But I guess that was her answer. “I’m glad,” I replied. “But Doyoung–”

Hweji rolled her eyes. “Doyoung is too nosy for his own good and a jerk for saying those things to you.” She then hugged me tightly. “Don’t listen to what he said, okay? You didn’t ruin my wedding at all. In fact, I want to thank you.”

I thought I heard wrong. “Thank me?”

She nodded. “Yes, thank you for bringing Jaehyun to my wedding. I didn’t have the courage to send him an invitation, but you did that for me. I wanted to have a talk with him and you gave me that opportunity. I’m grateful. So, thank you.”

I rubbed my arm awkwardly. “That’s nothing you should thank me for, really…”

“And I apologize on my brother’s behalf,” she added with a serious expression. “Doyoung’s usually a gentleman so I don’t know what got to him, really. Come with me, I’ll bring you to his room and you guys can talk.”

I shook my head furiously at her suggestion. “No!” Hweji looked surprised by my outburst so I quickly explained myself. “It’s your wedding, Hweji. You should spend more time with your husband instead. Really. I’ll talk to him, later.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded confidently. “Positive.”

She seemed uncertain but because she was a good friend, she didn’t pry. Instead, she linked her arms with me and dragged me towards where her husband was. “Okay, now come on! I know you met Taeyong but I want to properly introduce you to him and get rid of any misunderstandings from earlier.”

And I spent the rest of the evening, hoping that Doyoung would reappear.

But he didn’t.

So, I went back to Marseille with things hanging in the air.

Untouched.

Unfixed.

I went back to Marseille to pack my stuff.

I asked the school for more time before moving out from the dorms as I had Hweji’s wedding to attend. Annie, thankfully, still had her finals so she stayed back at the dorms for a little while longer. The second she saw how distraught I was when I came back from the wedding, she didn’t ask anything, but instead offered me a cup of tea and a lending ear.

For the past week, I was afraid of going out of our room, in fear of running into Doyoung. We left things up in the air, unable to bring them back down. I was a coward—I didn’t want Doyoung to break up with me.

Annie told me that I should be the one breaking up with Doyoung with the way he treated me at the wedding, but it wasn’t his fault. Doyoung just cared a lot for his little sister and he took things a bit too far. And because it was probably our first big fight, we didn’t know how to deal with the situation.

Was it because I trusted Doyoung too much to be the rational one?

Was it because I thought of our relationship as perfect?

Please, no relationship was perfect.

“Hey,” Annie said as she knocked on my room’s door and then showed me the letter in her hand. “This came for you.”

Fifteen minutes later, I was in the school’s gardens walking towards the meeting spot Doyoung told me where he was going to be.

Waiting for me.

“Hey…” I mumbled as I approached him. “How–”

“I’m sorry.”

I raised my head to meet his earnest eyes. He took a step towards me and held one of my hands tightly.

“I am so sorry for treating you that way at Hweji’s wedding,” he said. “I should have been rational. I knew that it wasn’t your fault. I want you to know that nothing was your fault. If anything, it was mine. It’s just that the second I saw–”

I didn’t let him finish. I grabbed his collar and pulled him against me as I kissed him on the lips. Doyoung seemed to be startled by the kiss, but his body soon relaxed when he realized that I forgave him already. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. I sighed against him as his body warmth enveloped me.

I smiled against his lips as I realized this was what I wanted.

“What?” he asked as we pulled away, and leaned his forehead against mine as he looked at me lovingly.

I shrugged and pecked his lips again.

“It was you from the moment we met.”

THE END.

#neowritingsnet #doyoung #doyoung fanfic #doyoung x reader #doyoung romance #doyoung angst #doyoung fluff #doyoung scenarios #kim doyoung #kim doyoung scenarios #doyoung oneshot #nct #nct 127 #w: however improbable

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fairknights · 4 years

Note

Can you do how yugioh characters act around their crush?

I’m assuming you mean the original Yu-G-Oh? I’ll do the OG characters in this ask but I’d be happy to do GX or 5D’s in the future :)

Yu-Gi-Oh:

Crush headcanons:

Yugi Moto:

Yeah, so we kind of already know how Yugi would act around his crush, what with his little crush on Téa. I think that his crush on her was a bit of puppy love, though. Like an ‘oh a girl is talking to me on a regular basis’ teenage boy kind of crush. We know he blushes and stutters around her, typical for his shy personality at the start of the series.

He gets more comfortable around people as the series goes on, and definitely gains more confidence. I do think some of his shyness would come back if he were to get a crush on someone, though.

He’s not sure how to approach his crush at first, especially if he’s totally charmed by them. Will lose his train of thought around them and forget how to speak around them haha.

Kind of beats himself up a bit for not being able to relax around them. Really wants to get to know them, so he often hangs around them. He wants to impress them though, so if they’re into gaming then he’ll kind of try to show off a bit around them, just a bit. He has... varying levels of success with that.

Yami Yugi:

Alright so Yami needs advice. He goes to Yugi of course, asking about the person he’s got a crush on. He’s not used to these kinds of feelings, and at first he’s not even certain it IS a crush. Yugi teases him about it, much to Yami’s embarrassment.

Alright, so he’s got a crush. Nothing he can do about it. He probably doesn’t plan to confess any time soon honestly. He won’t pursue romance really, he’d just kind of play it cool around his crush.

Sometimes he’d probably get a bit awkward around them, like how do you not get a bit flustered sometimes? It’s to be expected. Then he gets annoyed about it because he didn’t want to show it. He makes this annoyed blushing face that borders on a pout. Pretty adorable.

Yugi tells him to confess, but he’d stew on his feelings for a LONG time before he even thinks about it. He doesn’t want to put any pressure on his crush, and unless he was somehow able to stay in Domino City for good, I’m not sure he’d ever confess.

Joey Wheeler:

He cannot interact with his crush without doing or saying something extremely embarrassing. Ever. He just blunders in, some vague idea of impressing them, and ends up making it awkward.

You wanna see him win this duel? He can’t take his eyes of his crush though, trying to see if he’s impressing them. The poor guy probably ends up losing the duel and ends up looking like a kicked puppy.

He wants to just play it cool, but let’s be real, he’s far from cool. Sorry Joey, you’re just trying too hard. Once he gets to know his crush a bit better, I think he’d calm down enough to approach them more as friends.

I think he’d step up and awkwardly confess to his s/o after a relatively short pining phase. He just wants to get it out of the way. If they’re interested then awesome, but if they’re not, he can move on with his life and stop making a fool of himself ^^;

Téa Gardner:

She’s a bit awkward, but a bit flirty. When she knows what she wants, she doesn’t bother hiding it. If her crush doesn’t know she has a crush on them, they’d have to be pretty damn oblivious.

She always invites them to things, wanting to spend time with them and integrate them into her friendship group. She loves her friends, and she wants her crush to love them too.

Honestly I don’t think it would take long for Téa to invite them on a date. She’s not too shy, but she’d definitely be a bit flustered as she asked them out.

Always makes time for her crush if they need a shoulder to lean on or someone to talk to (actually that applies to all her friends honestly). She’s super supportive of whatever her crush wants to do in life, and will encourage them enthusiastically. She’s got her own dreams to pursue, and she’d be happy to see her crush pursuing theirs.

Seto Kaiba:

Kaiba? Have a crush? Please, you must be joking. Seto Kaiba does not get crushes. Not ever. Not even a little bit. That person that makes him feel some kind of way is certainly not a crush. Yeah, so denial. That’s the first reaction.

He denies it for a long time, too. He’ll accidentally get flustered around his crush, blush, get angry, say something mean and then leave. Then rinse and repeat the next time he sees his crush. His crush honestly probably thinks he hates them.

Will low-key try to impress them if they’re ever watching him duel. Shows off a bit and smirks if they seem impressed. Will also show off his inventions and gadgets, with the pretense that he’s showing them to a lot of people, but he really just wants his crush to see them.

Accidentally compliments them sometimes, or tells them that they’re “not like the other riff-raff” or something like that. Then gets flustered as he realised what he said. Probably comes across as a tad arrogant, but for once he’s not trying to seem like he’s better than everyone else. He really just doesn’t know how to approach his crush... I mean.... totally-not-a-crush.

#yugioh #yugioh duel monsters #yugi moto #yugi moto x reader #yami yugi #yami yugi x reader #joey wheeler #joey wheeler x reader #Jounouchi Katsuya #jounouchi katsuya x reader #tea gardner #tea gardner x reader #seto kaiba #seto kaiba x reader #crush #crush headcanons

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critical-thinking-is-mandatory · 3 years

Note

Is there any way someone could rewrite Miraculous Ladybug? The show is very disturbing and predatory to be a kid's show

Sorry for taking so long anon, I had to have bit of a big think about this but I think (and this is only my opinion) but most of the issues stem from the Adrien family business and the A/M dynamic in and out of the suit so hopefully this answers some of your questions anon! :)

I think that as is, miraculous couldn’t be redeemed. To make it an actual, likable and less-predatory show it’d need a whole rebuild, like literally from the ground up, but it’s definitely doable.

So, lets start with the most obvious problem hm? Adrien and the Agreste Family Circus.

Number 1 thing: billionaires are bad and gross, there’s no need for them. Personally I’d make Gabriel a skeevy lawyer who’s like, hired in defense of cops and Mayor Bourgeoise (thus still giving the opportunity for Adrien and Chloe to be ‘bffs’. So Gabriel’s not rich, but he’s still got plenty of spare cash to say, go on a trip to Nepal and steal some magical jewelry for nefarious purposes.

Also we can replace the sad dead/comatose wife plot with a divorce because that’s infinitely funnier and can also kinda be used to change Adrien’s situation too. So we’ve got Emelie and Gabriel divorced (Emelie’s also something like an ARA housewife or smth idk instead of an actress - she’s also from a middleclass family so like her family is looking after her and Adrien or whatever i don’t really care) because Gabriel’s started acting Super Weird after his ‘business trip’ to Nepal.

Anyway, Adrien and Emelie moved across Paris so Adrien’s now going to a different school aka Francois DuPont but he spends the weekends with Gabriel (who’s acting really weird). Adrien’s role as deuteragonist is upgraded from “i’m sad all the time and everyone thinks i’m really really really really really good looking” to trying to cope with his parents’ divorce, coming to terms with his new role as a superhero, and investigating his dad’s increasingly eccentric and secretive behaviour. (we can also add in a bit about the different parental abuse he’s been suffering from both parents if we want to appeal to older teens too.)

With that sorted, we can get into Adrien’s predatory and entitled behaviour next. Him not being a rich model is going to leave him as a more normal kinda person, he’s not gonna have an overblown ego from having people mobbing him all the time (also no bodyguard lol). I’d start out with Adrien being a bit like he is in canon, bit of a self-centered prick really, and then have an Origins type scenario where instead of falling “in love” because Adrien’s meek but also really manipulative, Marinette would not take an ounce of his shite <3.

They can start out as kinda enemies via misunderstanding, but occasionally get glimpses of the other that they really do admire. Like Marinette’s creativity and quick mind, and Adrien can have some kind of admirable trait idk.

Which brings me to the next point: Ladybug and Chat Noir.

MAKE. THEM. FRIENDS. friendship should be the basis of their relationship. i want those two to have a boundless friendship that people would be happy to see become a romantic relationship. because of this, Marinette/Ladybug seeing Adrien/Chat Noir as like a kind of bro best friend or almost brother while Adrien slowly develops a crush on M/L would be peak dynamic.

Now that we’re talking romance, once M’s gotten through to A as civilians they could become friends and M slowly develops a crush on A. So we still get the lovesquare but it’s built off of friendship first and foremost. The changing dynamics would be a pretty easy way to build some character development and would show us that Adrien isn’t perfect and Marinette is right quite a lot (as opposed to canon).

So to sum up: most of the show’s predatory business comes from Adrien and his family’s wealth, no billionaires, show us Adrien recovering from a severe case of Major Asshole, Marinette gets to yell at awful people sometimes and FRIENDSHIP. I know this doesn’t even begin to cover the issues in the show but these are the main ones I think.

#ml #ml salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt #marinette deserves better #this is just the tip of the iceberg but still #long post #asks #anonymous #yeah yeah i know i said i was done but it's a good question!#caps lock #marinette #let marinette be righteously angry 2021

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