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tosikoarts · 4 years

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SFW Alphabet | Tsurumi Tokushirou

Wow, this one seems to be the apogee of my writing. You can check tosikowrites tag for more. Warning: there’s a lot under the cut.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Finally, a man who knows what he is doing. Tsurumi is a sly devil but he also got a taste of love, and those two points combined made him a danger to anyone he puts an eye on. The entire 7th division holds their breath watching how skillfully First Lieutenant pulls the unsuspecting victim into his snares.

Understandably, his main weapon would be the art of word. Tsurumi knows how to keep dialogue entertaining; moreover, he is well versed in complimenting his favorite person. He murmurs sweet nothings into their ear in public and in private, under the sergeant's condemning gaze and right under the nose of the jealous Second Lieutenant. Tsurumi does it wisely though, avoiding Usami’s uncontrollable obsession.

Gallantry is his middle name. As soon as they appear on the horizon with a bag or a stack of heavy books, Tsurumi miraculously finds himself next to them taking all of their stuff in his hands. Always accompanies them on the way home, from time to time pleases them with a small bouquet of lavender, moves the chair away from the table so that they sit down. At the same time, his gestures and moves, all looks natural like Tsurumi has been born with it.

Oh, also, he likes to spoil his loved one, pamper them without any limits. If they want to take a picture together, he will hire a western artist to paint a portrait of them. If they want a bar of chocolate, he will order to find the best dessert chef in Hokkaido. This is not his constant behavior, but Tsurumi quite often goes over the board with his affection.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Let’s be honest, to be best friends with Tsurumi you have to be at least no stupider than him and, better, even a little bit smarter. Otherwise, he will treat the person like another pawn in the game. Mind is a measure of strength, and those who are weaker than him do not deserve more than condescending attitude.

His best friend has to be patient and steadfast as a tin soldier: the hole in the head and lack of a brain piece deprived the First Lieutenant of poise so he is prone to outbursts of unwarranted violence. He may jokingly threaten to bite off their nose. Likewise, he may introduce them to the general madness of his division in the face of Usami or Nikaidou. They just have to deal with the crazy without going bonkers themself.

In addition, they have to have a wide range of interests or be willing to learn new things. Tsurumi is the one to offer to go to horse race, win (or lose) some money, and, without delay, go to the nearest theater. His broad knowledge in various areas makes it possible to boast in every possible way on every possible topic and he expects his best friend to keep the conversation going. Of course, his favorite topic is war and weapons so they must be familiar with it.

The advantages of friendship with this remarkable individual are: respect in all circles he is in; initiation into his plans or most of them; life will seem a lot easier than before since obstacles become suspiciously fewer…

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He has a weird desire for them to look into his face while cuddling. To be mentioned, Tsurumi takes off his enamel head plate in private and it works like a magic: his expression transforms into one of person who has been gone for too long, who was yet to see the horrors of Russo-Japanese war. So, Tsurumi likes to keep them on his lap, hands placed on their thighs or waist, and talk, talk, talk. For some reason avoids spooning: if they try to spoon him, he will slip away from their hands, turn around, and plant a gentle kiss on their forehead.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

It’s complicated. Considering his past with Fina, the whole idea of settling down evokes the unconscious resistance in Tsurumi. Grand plans for hidden gold are the one thing that interests him at the moment, or this is what he convinced himself in. Even in the case of having the most suitable partner, Tsurumi will choose treasure hunt over binding relationship. Same goes for children. His henchmen are his kids, his hellhounds, his creations that he nurtured with distorted version of love and adoration. It is unlikely that he has even a little healthy parental affection left. Great at making desserts, mediocre at cooking overall, doesn’t care about cleaning and leaves it to the partner.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Break-up can go different ways.

In the best case scenario, Tsurumi acts like a gentleman until the very end. On the designated day, he invites a partner to a quiet place and makes sure nobody disturbs their conversation. Even if it happens in the barracks, all soldiers are strictly ordered to stay away from the First Lieutenant's office. There are two cups of a soothing herbal tea on his table as well as dessert associated with them. In calm steady voice Tsurumi explains why they have to break up and how it would be inevitable in the future if they choose to stay together for little longer. In the end of his speech, they feel almost like they initiated this break-up and Tsurumi just conducted their thoughts like his own. It is harmless and easy break-up with no hard feelings after all.

Other options aren’t that innocuous. He can easily make up a kidnapping scheme to remove them from the sight. It may or may not be violent, may or may not leave them traumatized. In the worst case, Tsurumi with heavy heart will give the order to eliminate them and hide all signs of their existence. It is a pity that one cannot erase the marks left on him and his life.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, formalizing a relationship is far from the first thing on the Tsurumi’s To-Do list. His partner can try to hint at marriage but he will either completely ignore it or adroitly dissuade them from such stupid undertaking. In a relationship, he remains faithful despite the absence of some fictitiously important pieces of signed paper.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Well, even if he is gentle in any variation, this gentleness carries a sadistic undertone. Tsurumi’s physical affection borders on pain and it is impossible to tell if his vulnerable moments are a theatrical performance or not. He can laugh endlessly, kiss their fingertips and bare knuckles, purposely tickle their neck with his long eyelashes or handlebar moustache but the very next second a predatory grin distorts his face, sending thing in darker direction. Only God knows what is going on in his head, really.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

A truly romantic hug so often shown in films and described in books: his hand rests on their waist, pulling them closer, and other hand catches theirs as if in a slow dance. Each time the distance between him and his partner becomes less and less, but what remains constant, it is a subtle smile and piercing gaze of dark eyes. When in a cheery, exclusively friendly mood, Tsurumi likes to give the partner a tight bear hug or a short greetings-like hug with resting his chin either on their shoulder or on the top of their head.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It takes years for Tsurumi to say “I love you” out loud. About 3-4 to be exact. Either because he cannot call his feelings real love, or because he does not want to let them ease off. Confession imposes the stamp of some kind of completeness on the relationship and it isn’t fun at all. In his speech, the magic three words are replaced by softer analogues like “I really like you” or “Aren’t you my sunshine” so his partner does not put much thought to why Tsurumi avoids confession. Oh, one hundred percent the day he finally chooses to confess will be an anniversary date. Expect a day dedicated solely to satisfaction of his partner’s desires.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Oh no no no, please, we don’t have that much space in the cemetery. Flirting with Tsurumi’s partner is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in cylinder – highly lethal game of chance. After spotting unlucky admirer, Tsurumi tries to identify them and dig up as much information as possible. Their fate depends on it. If it's some kind of midge, a cockroach, First Lieutenant forgets about this situation pretty fast. He doesn’t want to deal with such squalor anyway. If this is a more serious figure, Tsurumi may want to teach them a lesson how rude it is to encroach on someone else's love. Probably pulls a couple of strings to get them into some kind of trouble. Get them fired, discharged, robbed, assaulted, whatever. At the same time, he doesn’t even mention them while talking to the loved one.

Provoking Tsurumi to jealousy is just as dangerous. His actions are not as radical as in the first case but his partner will have to learn that this is not an acceptable behavior. It is hard to imagine how far he can go though, methods may vary from simple manipulation to straightforward psychological abuse. The latter is the last and the least appealing option, which Tsurumi won’t use unless he is forced to.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Sometimes you just wonder where he learned all these tricks with his tongue. Tsurumi is a playful skilled kisser with excellent flair to where and when to apply fine knowledge of French... technique. Bites are not uncommon either. He has a habit of marking his loved one so everybody around knows who they belong to, and at least one hickey has to flaunt on their neck to keep him satisfied. Tsurumi prefers to kiss his partner wherever they want to be kissed, especially if they ask nicely, and to where to be kissed… a straight line from razor-sharp cheekbones to the notch between the collarbones is a great start.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Stranger’s kids are terrified of Tsurumi. Little ones burst into tears as they notice his wide smile, and those who are a little older stare at him with confusion. Teens try to stay away from this man since he fits the stranger danger statement very well. Thus to say, Tsurumi isn’t fond of being near children and prefers to pass the buck to the subordinates. If we are talking about his own (highly hypothetical) kids that is another story: they get the best of the best, they are spoiled rotten just like his partner. Of course, as kids grow up, Tsurumi switches to the carrot and stick approach spoiling them only as a reward for good behavior. Not that bad around children, really. It's not his fault that he fits the description of Boogeyman.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

On rare days when Tsurumi decides to spend the day with a partner, he never rushes. Those mornings are complete opposite of his usual mornings: they are slow, lazy, maximally filled with intimacy. No one is in a hurry to get out from under the blanket and if his loved one tries to sneak out, Tsurumi deftly catches them by the waist and drags back. I think it is clear that he is immensely touchy in the morning hours. The rest of the time is spent in a kitchen over a cup of green tea, in lively conversation on a variety of topics. No, he is not going to leave the house until the late noon.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Get ready for experiments and new experiences. Have they ever tried horseback riding? No? Good, he will be their teacher. Calligraphy? He will help to put their hand on a brush correctly. Nyotaimori or nantaimori? He will ask either Koito or another twunk to serve as a model. Tsurumi presents every evening date as a surprise that will not leave one indifferent and still he somehow manages to not overstep the bounds of decency. When their mood doesn’t fit his own adventurous impulses, the choice falls on a more classic pastime like late night walk or dinner date but there is not much that can be said about it.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

His partner won’t hear a bit of personal information, a single bit, until Tsurumi is one hundred percent sure that they are here to stay. Until then, he will feed the partner common unremarkable phrases which cannot compromise him in any way. Even after this, a lot of uncertainties remain: Tsurumi seems to describe events only in positive or neutral light, avoiding situations that obviously carry a grim implications. For example, not a word will be said about Fina or Olga and even if partner witnesses him fiddling small bones in his fingers, Tsurumi will make some fable up. Revelations happen but it is not something they will have a chance to get used to.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Easily angered but pulls himself together in the blink of the eye. His malice usually spills out in a form of nervous thrill so it is rare to see Tsurumi screaming his lungs out or getting into a fight. In a relationship, he puts on a mask of an eternally patient partner so his loved one won’t even guess about his anger issues.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Liar is obligated to have a great memory, do you get where I’m coming from? Now only he remembers what his partner has to say but also somehow knows what they hide from him too. If the information seems to be of low priority, Tsurumi immediately forgets it. Like what is he supposed to do with the fact that theirs first dog was called Akira? Best of all he remembers theirs crucial ups and downs both to establish the emotional connection and have some control levers in the future.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Difficult question. Not any of “first experiences”, not anniversary. Probably, the first time he introduced them to the group of closer soldiers like Tsukishima and Co. For the first time Tsurumi decided to “show off” his partner in the headquarters just to establish a clear boundaries between himself and subordinates. Of course, he was well aware of the risks and consequences but chose to do it anyway. The reaction of some was quite expected: Koito's face expressed unpleasant surprise and qualm, he couldn’t switch back from Satsuma dialect and when it finally happened, there were more awkward pauses than comprehendible words; Usami screwed up his eyes as if he was evaluating a competitor simultaneously deciding on the best method to eliminate them. Nikaidou didn’t really cared. Kikuta did neither. Tsukishima’s reaction was the most adequate of all: he politely bowed, mumbled words of courtesy, and got back to his routine. However, on the way to the office he decided to warn them that lovely Tokushirou might differ from their expectations. At the end, Tsurumi was extremely pleased by the flaunting and gave them opportunity to choose how he will thank them for the shown patience.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Tell me, who in their right mind would want to provoke this man? Like, who? His very presence is enough to scare any foe away, not to mention how lethal his overprotectiveness can be. Tsurumi is great at managing resources to make sure his partner is okay: there is always an armed invisible observer in the city they are staying in, sometimes they are sent letters in which Tsurumi takes interest in how their days are going, etc. On the other hand, in moments of real danger, his subordinates are those who take care of his loved one: soldiers are obliged to protect them since Tsurumi usually holds a leading position rather than actively participates in the dirty work. Has no need to be protected, however, partner’s impulses to do it are always met with tender emotion and sincere drawling “aww”.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Tsurumi has an enviable ability of being seemingly the most caring and charming man in the world without even trying. He is natural in wooing, it feels like the whole world is on his side: if he forgets to buy a present for the anniversary (which never happens, may I assure you), a hurrying seller will be selling cute necklace at discount price. Whenever he decides to go to another city with his loved one, there will be a festival or celebration. To be fair, Tsurumi does put efforts in the relationship and keeping his partner happy. He just has it easier than most of your common men.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

His own motives and desires will always be prioritized over his partner’s. It is reality that they just have to deal with. If his partner feels confident in enough, they can try to fight Tsurumi with his own weapon - flattery, ruse, and equivalent exchange, - but success still entirely depends on his mood.

Military career implies long partings with the risk of never seeing the partner again. For the person who cannot live without their loved one’s physical presence, relationship like this will feel like living hell.

To mention something more lighthearted, Tsurumi is constantly surrounded by subordinates that have questionable… adoration towards him. It asks for deep dive in military psychology, workplace psychology, and additional peek into sexual psychopathology but you get what I mean. Usami gets off talking about how First Lieutenant will be upset with him and, probably, will punish him, okay.

Tsurumi is shady man overall, damaged both physically and emotionally, he is missing a piece of the brain and it is already a long list of reason why one should think twice before getting in with him.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Tsurumi actually cares for his looks. He takes his time to shave the moustache and goatee just the way he wants it to be, thoroughly washes the hair twice a week, keeps the head plate clean by wiping it with wet cloth and disinfecting with alcohol. The main reason of his concerns is desire to look presentable and influential, not a banal narcissism. Does the face scar bother him? When there’s nothing to occupy his mind – yes. Tsurumi understands how drastically it changed his overall look and sometimes regrets what happened but what is the point of overthinking unalterable? Right, there is none.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Break-up is a huge deal in the sense that Tsurumi's reaction could be anything. Unpredictable. Up to monstrous consequences. The safest option would be drop everything and run away since he won’t chase them to the end of the world. Yes, he would feel betrayed and fueled with anger but whatever, it is not the most important thing on the agenda. Sooner or later their paths will cross again and it will be the chance for Tsurumi to show his disinterest. You know, this “I am a bad bitch, you can’t hurt me” style. Direct confrontation leads to a passionate interrogation on why they decided to leave. Is there anything he can do to prevent them from such imprudent step? Does their relationship lack anything? This conversation quickly escalates into preparation of feelings during which Tsurumi scrutinizes all their ins and outs. If they successfully survive this psychological torture mixed with all kinds of manipulation – congrats! – they are allowed to leave. Now he has left his mark on them, on their heart and soul, so they have to carry it wherever they choose to go.

In the case of their death, Tsurumi grieves. How does a man like him grieve? Through sublimation, of course. To stop thinking about the time spent together, he pays more attention to treasure hunt. Tsukishima unobtrusively plays the role of a First Lieutenant’s personal therapist, listening to his pensive monologues, but it doesn’t make any difference. Just like his Sergeant, Tsurumi has difficulties with experiencing repeated loss, and second time feels even worse than the first one.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Remember this clear liquid oozing from under his head plate? It is actually сerebrospinal fluid that provides mechanical and immunological protection to the brain. Constant leaking of CSF leads to a condition known as orthostatic headache: this type of headache intensifies while person is standing and eases when lying down. Tsurumi has extreme headaches after his excited leaks that are usually weakened by general thrill. Once agitation excitation wears off, he becomes incredibly irritable and searches for a quiet place to lie down. The one person who knows about such side effect is Tsukishima. He has saved a dozen of lives already by preventing fellow soldiers from talking to resting First Lieutenant.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He has specific requirements for his environment and a list of traits its members have to lack.

For example, curiosity did kill the cat. People by his side should not pry into his personal business unless they want to get bitten. It is dangerous for them, for Tsurumi, and for plans he has built, so his partner has to either be incurious or keep themself in check when it comes to bunch of stuff.

Freedom-loving and willfulness are the worst enemies of manipulator, no wonder that First Lieutenant looks for someone submissive. Guess, for those achieving high ranks, powerplay is an integral part of social interaction.

Ah, but at the same time, lack of personality makes Tsurumi yawn. Such people do not provide the kind of entertainment he is looking for and it is natural for him to overlook them in the crowd.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Sleeps suspiciously well for a person who bites people’s fingers off. Brain injury left him dreamless for the rest of the life so as soon as Tsurumi’s head touches the pillow he immediately goes into a deep sleep. His sleeping schedule is nothing special too. Obeying the laws of army life, First Lieutenant wakes up early at the same time very day and goes to bed no later than 10 pm. Lies on the belly with arms straight up along the body. Without the head plate, obviously.

With the advent of a permanent partner in his life, Tsurumi’s sleep became more restless. Now he feels way too energetic, tosses and turns in bed, and cannot find a comfortable position in the bed. Since most of the time they still sleep apart (he has a reputation to maintain, blah-blah-blah), Tsurumi has to take a walk to blow off steam and get rid of swarming thoughts. Sometimes it does not help at all so he rushes to their house hoping to find peace in their arms. And so it happens. Tsukishima has almost come to terms with the frequent absence of the First Lieutenant in the mornings. However, Koito is not that happy about it and keeps bothering sergeant with questions to which he has no answer. Poor young man.

#golden kamuy #tsurumi tokushirou #golden kamuy headcanon #golden kamuy imagine #tosikoswrites

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yeonchi · 3 years

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Kisekae Insights #17: Angelina Ballerina

It’s about time I started the second run of Kisekae Insights after taking a break for the past few months. My objective is to hopefully cover Gokaiger, Decade and Soulbound this year, but there are some things that I need to cover before that because they are needed in order to understand certain aspects.

Like Fifi and Roary, Angelina Ballerina was implemented early on in my personal project and the characters continue to play big roles to this day. At the time, I was playing Warriors Orochi 2 on the PSP, which introduced me to the characters of the Samurai Warriors series. As a result, some of these guys got Japanese warrior names whereas the rest got Chinese warrior names.

In case you haven’t noticed, yes, I have (predominately) used the CGI-animated sequel, The Next Steps, in this project. Watching the sequel was how I got into this series a decade ago; while I have heard about the original 2D-animated series, it never really appealed to me, which is why I prefer this version over that. And look, I know there are people who don’t like the sequel for various reasons, but you are free to have your opinion as long as you respect the opinions of others. Don’t worry, characters from the original series have been implemented as well.

Setting the record straight (voice actors)

I’m putting this list before the break because this is really important. Here are the characters’ voice actors for the UK and US versions of The Next Steps:

Angelina Mouseling: Charlotte Spencer (UK/US)

Alice Nimbletoes: Rachael Louise Miller (UK)/Naomi McDonald (US)

Marco Quesillo: Louis Williams (UK)/Jules de Jongh (US)

Gracie: Charlie Cameron (UK)/Jo Wyatt (US)

Viki/Vici: Emily Dormer (UK)/Jules de Jongh (US)

AJ/AZ: Lizzie Waterworth (UK)/Larissa Murray (US)

Ms Mimi: Larissa Murray (US)

Maurice Mouseling: Simon Mattacks (UK/US)

Matilda Mouseling: Emma Tate (UK/US)

Polly Mouseling: Leah Zabari (UK/US)

Mrs Thimble: Beverly Klein (UK/US)

Alright, time to rant about the English dubs of this series. See, because the characters of this series are not credited under their voice actors, it can be hard to exactly determine who voiced who (a pain I know all too well in regards to Sea Princesses). On top of that, because there are different English voices for the US and the UK (because they don’t want American kids to end up speaking with British accents or vice versa), it can be easy to miss things or mess them up. Some US voice actors are based in the UK, which can throw things off as well.

Just as there are UK-produced children’s shows that get redubbed for the US, there are US-produced children’s shows that get redubbed for the UK (particularly on Nick Jr). In Australia, we tend to get the “original” version of the dub depending on where the show (or its source materials) originated – if it originally came from the UK, then we get the UK dub, but if it originally came from the US, we get the US dub. In the case of Angelina Ballerina, we get the UK dub and as such, I implemented the series with the assumption that the characters would speak as they did in the UK dub. As such, Marco and Gracie don’t speak in Hispanic or French accents.

Due to my initial ignorance and lack of information, I ended up crediting the characters’ US voice actors for Marco, Gracie and Ms Mimi instead of their UK voice actors. Even worse, I thought Naomi Wilkinson voiced Angelina until a friend of mine tweeted her years ago and confirmed that she didn’t voice Angelina. Also, the really funny thing is that there are people who unironically believed that Hilary Duff and Justin Bieber voiced Viki and AZ in the series. If only we all knew this one simple rule: If an actor isn’t credited in the series/episode, then they didn’t have a role in the series/episode. I did manage to work out the UK voice actors for the other characters, but why Alice’s voice actor was different in both versions despite her voice sounding similar I’ll never understand.

For some reason, I have been unable to find out who Ms Mimi’s UK voice actor is because nobody in the credits has owned up to voicing her. However, if I really had to guess, I would say that Emma Tate voiced her because even though the Scottish accent threw me off, she sounds a bit like Matilda (Angelina’s mum). As for Marco and Gracie’s UK voice actors, Louis Williams and Charlie Cameron, trying to find resumes or records of their past work has been impossible so I wasn’t able to find any proof, but I eventually did. Louis William’s LinkedIn profile mentions that he voiced Marco (he’s an English teacher in Japan now, shock of all shocks) and while Charlie Cameron doesn’t have a site or official profile of her own (why), I managed to link her roles for Dark Souls and Poppy Cat on IMDb to BTVA.

In the Moushouden Series, I ended up “recasting” Marco and Ms Mimi while keeping Gracie’s voice actor the same. Marco and Ms Mimi played major roles in my stories and I needed credits for them. “Getting” Louis Williams to “reprise” his role would have been impossible because he’s not an actor anymore, though it wouldn’t have been a big problem if I had found out earlier that he voiced Marco. Likewise, if I had managed to guess Ms Mimi’s UK voice actor earlier, then maybe I wouldn’t have needed to keep scratching my head all these years.

What’s in a name?

There has been quite a bit of speculation regarding the characters’ middle and last names, and I say “speculation” because there don’t seem to be any official sources that confirm it or the only official sources available can’t be accessed from the Wayback Archive because Adobe Flash is dead. Though the names were on the Wikipedia page at some stage, the only place where they exist now is on a poorly-maintained wiki of the series on Fandom. It is possible that Angelina and Alice’s middle and last names can be backed up because they were in the original series, but even then, I’m unable to do that due to lack of information (seriously, even the official website redirects to Mattel’s website, the absolute sellouts). So please take these names with a grain of salt:

Angelina Jeanette Mouseling

Alice Bridgette Nimbletoes

Marco Fernando Quesillo

Grace Madeleine “Gracie” le Chateau

Viktoria Andrea “Viki” Whiskerson

Adrian Zander James “A.Z.” Smithers (even though an official PDF from PBS WNET13 states that A.Z. stands for “Adam Zachariah”)

Mimi Jane Squigglytail

Maurice Rupert Mouseling

Matilda Felicity Mouseling

Polly Anne Mouseling

Harriet Cecily Thimble

Other stuff before I begin

In late 2015, there was talk of Angelina Ballerina getting relaunched in 2017 by Mattel and 9 Story Media Group. By 2017, however, nothing really came of it, or at least nothing significant that we could see. 9 Story currently have the distribution rights to both the 2D and CGI series, clips and episodes have been uploaded on the official Angelina Ballerina YouTube channel (a mix of UK and US versions, with Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish dubs on other channels) and the original books created by Katharine Holabird have been republished in the past two years.

Not seeing anything in 2017 has allowed Angelina Ballerina’s involvement in my personal project to flourish, but only time will tell whether anything else will come of this so-called relaunch. This series would probably have gone down the path of Fabio Yabu and Sea Princesses if it wasn’t so well-known all around the world.

The 9 Story pages show that there are some specials for the series. While the 2D series does have three specials, I could only find two movies in the CGI series that are fully original stories and not just episode compilations, namely The Shining Star Trophy and Dreams Do Come True. They don’t seem to be available on YouTube and the only online versions I could find use the US voices, meaning that a UK dub of these movies is unknown.

If you follow Gail Chord Schuler/Gabrielle Chana/The Church of Gail online, you might know that there is a Satanic Jesuit villain named Angelina Ballerina, depicted as a woman modelling a ballerina costume with wings. Rest assured that she is NOT the Angelina we all know and love, as Gail confirms in the comments of one of her videos (though there is a chance that trolls could have fed her that information).

All About Angelina

As I stated in #12, Maurice and the Takeda Army of Mouseland were in conflict with the Salacians before the Dimensional Merge. Because the time in their world, AB-561, was running faster compared to other worlds, they ended up on our Earth in 2009. In both timelines, Angelina and her family and friends became Hiroki and Parker’s comrades. In the first timeline, Angelina had an adventure with the Third Doctor. The second timeline is where things get detailed.

Before the Archangel Tunnel System was activated, there was no other way to get to Chipping Cheddar from Hong Kong, so when the Takeda Army were brought to this world, they had to do what they could to survive. Eventually, they ended up being controlled by another local army and used as their mascots. When Parker went to them to seek an alliance, he discovered this and helped the Takeda Army escape, which led them to pledge their allegiance to Parker.

Over the next two years, Parker and Hiroki became great friends with the Takeda Army’s officers. In 2010, Ms Mimi became disillusioned with Parker when she realised that he only seemed to care about fighting and enjoying himself on the battlefield. When the JIMPS were formed, Ms Mimi began to side with them as she saw Minnie and the others as the better strategists, but she had a newfound respect for Parker when he made peace with Minnie following their battle against each other.

When Squid Girl turns Minnie against Parker, however, Ms Mimi sides with the former again and a split occurs within the Takeda. Ms Mimi became one of the Sanada Army’s commanders while Gracie, AJ and Viki surrendered to the Sanada. Angelina was the first officer Parker found after being separated from Hiroki. Her family was being guarded by Alice and Marco before Parker arrives with reinforcements from the Date Army.

Months after Parker’s death and resurrection, the Sanada Army finally fell. Ms Mimi and the Takeda defectors rejoin their former comrades; Ms Mimi finally admits that she was a fool who never really understood Parker because she believed in loyalty and discipline.

With Parker’s army disbanded and the Flowertots returning home, the Takeda became the only close friends Hiroki had left. They supported him in his fight against Girl Power and the Teiro Army, so much so that they were willing to accept him in their ranks if he decided to leave his secondary school army. Ultimately, Hiroki declined their offer and became a ronin.

The Next Step

The Takeda Army eventually managed to resettle in Mouseland which was transported to Shizuoka Prefecture between the Archangel Tunnels to the Shikoku region and Cardiff. The Takeda Army had no significant relevance in 2013, but Angelina and her family attended Hiroki and Akari’s wedding, which was held in Chipping Cheddar (Kikugawa).

In 2014, the Takeda Army rose back to significance again as a result of events in real life (see #16). Following the Battle of Mikatagahara and Akari’s betrayal of Hiroki, Angelina joined the Doctor (again) as his companion. Later that year, Maurice would attempt another expedition to Kyōto when Girl Power forces stationed around Nagashino Castle in Nagoya would block his army’s path. When the Doctor arrives with Hiroki and Angelina, Hiroki gathers up some reinforcements before the Takeda Army splits up into three groups; one group defending the main camp, one group laying siege to the castle and one group attacking Girl Power forces stationed in nearby Shitaragahara. Despite the Takeda suffering severe casualties at the hands of the superior Girl Power army, Hiroki charges into Nagashino Castle alone and fights the enemy commanders before leaving his drones to crash into the castle keep.

Soon after, Angelina would participate in prototype testing for the Superhero Project, becoming the Pink Samurai Ranger alongside the Doctor and his other companions as they fought Girl Power in a parallel world. Following that adventure, Angelina would be summoned back by her father upon hearing word that Girl Power were preparing for an all-out siege on Yokohama. The Takeda Army allied with their old enemies, the Salacian (Uesugi) Army as they fought at Sekigahara and Ōsaka Castle. After the world was destroyed and restored, the Takeda were one of the armies that helped UNIT defend Yokohama from Girl Power.

Though Angelina stopped being the Doctor’s companion after 2014, she would regain that role again in 2017 when she and Alice officially joined the Superhero Project. Angelina and Marco make a cameo appearance in the Series 10 premiere as a couple and that’s the only time their relationship is brought up (I think that ship was hinted at in the series but not explicitly shown).

Having been selected, Angelina and Alice joined the Gokaigers as GokaiPink and GokaiGreen respectively. Their fighting styles were adapted to fit with their characters and the original Gokaiger footage; on top of predominately wielding guns, GokaiPink incorporates ballet into her fighting while GokaiGreen clumsily incorporates gymnastics which she makes up for with stealth and trickery.

As for the rest of the mouselings, they were hired by BOARD to become Kamen Riders as follows:

Kamen Rider Blade – Marco

Kamen Rider Garren – AJ

Kamen Rider Leangle – Viki

Kamen Rider Glaive – Ms Mimi

Kamen Rider Larc – Gracie

Kamen Rider Lance – Polly

Although not as significant compared to Fifi and Roary, the mouselings do play a significant role in the project. As with many obscure series I’ve encountered, finding accurate information is a daunting task. Though I have managed to find information that I haven’t been able to find in the past, there are times where I am still unable to do so, which results in me having to speculate missing information (usually by observation) that may or may not be correct. This is not so much a problem in Angelina Ballerina compared to Sea Princesses, but regardless, it’s better to have every piece of information confirmed than have even one piece of speculated information.

#kisekae insights #angelina ballerina

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brooklynislandgirl · 3 years

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3. Would you ever fuck someone in exchange for something? Money, business deal, gifts, etc? What’s your price? {Swamp Sharklette}

A Little Light/A Little Dark || Accepting

Immediate knee-jerk reaction is to say no. To be so indignant that there would come the resounding sting of flesh striking flesh at the velocity of a gunshot. Or at the very least and less harmful a drink thrown in a face before she rises like a Tsunami wave and marches out with her dignity intact. Several factors though go a long way from stopping that.

First is that this is not a public venue. It's the formal dining room of their home, where in Beth and Anakin are putting together survival packages for the up-coming hurricane season. Most of the items were gathered donations from the kinds of friends that have no idea what they're actually giving to; people up north that Beth has been immensely popular with even if she never really fit in amongst them. Supplemented by church organisations, local folk, and literally anywhere else that Beth could find help. Even if some of those were at best questionable, and at worst? Evil. Well, from a human stand-point. She was very careful not to take anything from Pentex, or its millions of subsidiaries. She wouldn't accept help, not even in the form of money, from places like O'Tooley's, or Pangloss Cosmetics, or Shenzhen Tianming, no matter what kind of electronics and NOAA weather radios they offered. Whenever he asks about those, she only shakes her head and tells him 'mebbe laddah'. But that later never comes. As if she through ignorance she can keep him safe, though for how long is the question that she likewise puts off. Spread out on every available surface at things like flashlights with extra batteries, whistles to signal for help, personal hygiene items, can openers, nonperishable, water tight food stuffs {canned goods that didn't require heating, and MREs}, potable water, baby formula and diapers, and even books and games for children. All being meticulously sorted into storage containers and backpacks.

The work is surprisingly sweltering and even the central air is having a hard time moving the oppressive wet-blanket heat. No matter how high up and in a bun she pins her hair, no matter how thin the bandeau and sarong she's wearing are, no matter how comfortable the board shorts and no shirt Anakin is wearing, it feels like a shallow layer of sweat covers...everything.

It's that fact that puts a sour look on her face as she reaches up to mop her brow with the inside of one arm and leaves the question lingering between them.

The second reason is... It's rare that his use of that one particular word offends her, she's heard it more times than she can count with a rather shocking frequency growing up and again from her brothers. And there's certain ways that Anakin uses it in certain context that gets under her skin in the worst ways, turning everything in its wake to lava. He uses it to great effect sometimes and it almost has become a playful game between them. But he's not talking about love making, not now, at least. He uses the vulgarity to imply the exact opposite of that. Carnality without emotion; a disconnect from the heart, the soul, the brain that leaves the body an empty shell of a vessel to be filled...or to fill someone else...with the same abject nothingness. She knows the implication hurts him as much as it would her because they are very much alike in regards to physical forms expressing love. And lastly, because while he doesn't often talk about it and she can't bear to really ask because she knows even the slightest facial expression will burrow its way into her and she will rage like one of her changing cousins until nothing is left when he answers truthfully, as he always does. She knows he has been abused. She knows he's been mistreated. She knows that he has, at least before moving into the house, and maybe after...it's not her place to pry... participated in some kind of sex-work. The only difference she treats him with than she would the sex workers back in New York? It's plain to anyone with the ability to see, who possesses a single ounce of empathy, that Beth loves him. And that love is without condition or reservation.

She stretches. Pushes away from the table and pads barefoot toward the kitchen, circumnavigating the fortress they've built up around them with a preternatural grace. A flutter of fingers in the air is all the invitation she offers for him to follow her.

The door of the fridge groans in protest of being opened, sighing before letting a floor of cold air waft over her and for a moment she closes her eyes and takes pleasure at the rush of chill. All too soon though she reaches in and pulls out an icy pitcher of cold water that immediately clouds over from condensation so it looks like a foggy morning with slices of lemon floating near the top, slivers of sunlight. She's half tempted to hold it to her chest until it becomes as tepid as possible. Let Anakin fend for himself with the other pitcher in there, the ubiquitous Sweet Tea that she made by directions left by the housekeeper. Unfortunately, it could pull double-duty as hummingbird nectar.

She sets it down on the counter. Retrieves two glasses and fills one up. The other is left beside the lemon water with the idea that he should hydrate since she isn't getting him into the pool without extreme measures, and she doesn't feel like forcing him to do anything. She lifts the glass to her lips and indelicately gulps down half of the contents before she presses the wet, cold glass to her brow. Her eyes shut the too bright world away. They cut off the pallor of Anakin's slight chest, the way the sheen catches the light in splashes of dampness. Not unlike the occasional bead of sweat that runs like an errant fingertip down her spine. And she's stalled as long as she can in answering him. She doesn't like to keep him waiting, a long enough pause can come across in the worst ways; at best it implies that he is undeserving of an answer, which isn't true in the least, and at worst, whatever she might say would come across as the softest kind of lie, the sin of selective omission.

"Growin' up...I t'ink I was near enough fifteen or sixteen... before I really had any curiosity about sex, an' you know dat already, so not shockin' dere. Dat curiosity nevah bloomed beyond a lil self-exploration before it was disregard as...mos'ly unimportant t' me. Of course, nevah gonna lie an' say dere was no ah..." She searches for the right word, the right explanation and comes up with exactly none.

"Experimentation wi' a receptive partner, but even dat result same-same f' me as on my own. I t'ink it no was a matter of attraction, oddah person was one of da few times I did feel da kine. Uhm...desirous...for lack of mo' beddah word. Now, ovah da years I been on da fringes of various covens wi' da Verbena. Small an' big an' in between...an' as ya know... Beltane one of our most sacred rites. An' I keep meanin' t' take ya proper, an' introduce ya...but..." But? ...But there's a part of her that is neither properly territorial or jealous but that IS adamant about taking Anakin before a gathering of priestesses and druids, of bards and fairly mediocre witches. The Verbena are a myriad of theologies and philosophies banded together to uphold their paradigm. They hold the Seat of Life on the Council of Nine, and have since the Council was formed, before the betrayal of the first Cabal. They are her friends, her peers, her sisters and brothers in a hanai sort of way. But she doesn't want to share him, not yet. Maybe once she's taught him a little more, maybe once she's sure he can survive the pit of flesh, politics, and chaos that mage gatherings can be.

"Not jus' yet. You might catch chill." She half laughs at her own little joke but it dies out almost before it ever stood a chance of surviving.

"I was offer da chance t' play da Maiden aspect of da Goddess in da Great Rite, an' still get aks ow and again. An' it nevah appeal to me even wine-soaked an' head stuffed wi' sacred incense. I nevah go out into da fields or under da trees eiddah, for more intimate an' less ritual...couplin'. I know fertility rites are important but not enough. Even if we could bring back magick like it was durin' da Mythic age....I still no would." While it might not mean anything to anyone else, Beth's belief in being a guardian of the mythic threads, a branch of the World Tree, she cannot imagine giving a part of herself for it.

"Money? I got dat...an' of alla da kine dat make me real angry? Is when women are led t' believe da only way dey got of improvin' deir situation is by allowin' someone f' slide between deir leg, an' I hate t' put it so cruelly. If a woman wanna do dat of her own accord...dat's one kine, but to be seen as only chattel, as only an object...an' not really jus' women, but anyone, regardless of how dey identify. "Business is usually about avarice...about acquirin' money, or power, or any number of stuff...an' it's all same-same. A gi nevah come wi' a price. Anyone who tell ya oddahwise...lyin' to ya. I give da kine to ya because I know ya need. I know ya nevah aks f' it. I know it makes us bot' choke happy. I would nevah aks ya for any kine in return, nevah expect it...not'ing li'dat. It's not my way. It's not livin' pono, an' I nevah would corrupt eiddah one in dat way." She pauses, finishes the glass, then starts pouring herself another. "F'I were force t' choose a price? I would only give myself for one kine, an' as stupid an' cheesy it might sound? It would be for love. An' love nevah ask f' any kine but to be and to grow. No maddah who or what is bein' loved."

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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The Loud House Valentine’s Day Double Feature (Back in Black and Stage Plight) or My My My Once Bitten Twice Shy

What is up my Loudites? And while I am returning to the Loud House I do have some sad news to get out of the way first.. i’m ending regular coverage of the Loud House. I don’t like doing this.. but when I picked up the show, I didn’t really have a set schedule.. and that was a bad thing as I didn’t get nearly everything I wanted done. Now I have one and honestly it’s been great: it allows me to stay focused and if I end up not feeling what I was going to do that day, provided it’s not a comission or specfically needed that day, I can swap things around a bit easier.

The reason I bring this up is Nick’s way of scheduling means I CAN’T reasonably put the show on the schedule. They often don’t announce airdates until the wee before, which isn’t a bad thing WATCHING, and isn’t unresonable for a children’s network. But for someone who likes to have a concrete schedule at the top of the month, still flexable and able to make changes if they come up but at least some idea of what i’ll be doing and when, that’s a non-starter, as not knowing when a show’s going to be there or not really messes with things. In contrast Disney puts up their entire programming schedule for next month towards the end, so I know if a show’s coming back, and thus that it’ll probably be around for next month’s too. And if it goes away a week earlier than expected then super I have that space for other sttuff. But I just have too much other stuff, paid and on my own time, to keep friday’s open in perpetuity.

I will however still reviewing the show infrequently as I still love it, Season 5 will probably have plenty of episodes I want to talk about, already it has Leni running for mayor which sounds like one of my wonky spinoff ideas and I love it all the more for that, and ther’es tons of episodes I have and haven’t seen to dig into. So like Lori I won’t be in the house on a daily basis but i’m still going to show up a lot. I already have an April Fools special planned, as well as a retrospective ready for some time in the future. And of course if more Sam and Luna episodes show up, you know i’ll be on those as fast as humanly possible so yeah not leaving the show.. just not coveirng it because I like having some control of my schedule, it’s a thing with me.

Good then we can get to why your ACTUALLY reading this unless you’ve already scrolled past or scrolled up to this. Next Sunday is Valentine’s Day, and so to continue Valnetine’s Shenanigans on this fine blog, i’m doing some romantic style episodes of the loud hosue for you. I did intend for this to be bigger, but frankly i’ve been running behind on reviews and running out of steam lately, so I paired it down to the two I wanted to do most. So for today we’ll be covering two of the show’s couples: One they badly need to bring back and I question why they haven’t, and one that I feel has gotten a lot of flack for things that aren’t it’s fault. Both are really adorable so expect some awkward blushing, bats, blood, and other stuff rhyming with B under the cut!

Back in Black: So we begin our double feature with Lucy

Yeah I have not covered this adorable harbinger of death enough on this blog, and intended to do this one, among other lucycentric episodes back in october.. and the fact I didn’t is a good argument for why I have a schedule now ain’t it? But sometimes your plans not panning out right at the exact time you planned them works out for you. Not getting to do Plan 9 From Mission Hill during Pride Month meant I got to do it on comission later. And not getting to do this one at Halloween means it still works fine just fine for valentine’s day.

So we begin the episode with Lincoln working on his science project, with Rusty coming over to help.

Shockingly though not only is he not just taking a nap or hitting on Lincon’s sisters while Lincoln works but actually helping, he’s actually good at it. I’m as suprsied as you. Though this is early in his characterization, so he hasn’t’nt been established as horribly sucking at everything or his friends being done with his bullshit QUITE yet. Give him time. This is an interesting moment in the character’s history though, as it’s the episode that firmly establishes him as a close friend of Lincolns. While he was already turned from a member of a random violence gang to LIncoln’s buddy in the span of season 1, this episode cements him as one of his closer pals simply by him coming over and the two being fairly familiar with one another. Granted by that same token Girl Jordan should be in the group.. and I have nothing to add to that. Add Girl Jordan to the Lincrew. Just do it.

Anyways Rusty brought his brother along. And you’d expect me to be terrified as there’s now three of them. But.. nope I like Rocky. He’s a chill kid and his personality goes together well with Lucy’s as while he’s a more typical kid, he’s still very subdued in his emotions like she is. Also he mentions both parents so my divorce theory.. is honestly still valid as this was three seasons ago and I could buy their mother left during that time.

And yes Lucy’s in love.. and stalking him a bit as she follows him around the house sighing while he wonders who did that.. though it is a nice clue their compatible. When you can sense the presence of someone whose big running gag is showing up out of nowhere to scare the crap out of people that means something. And it’s either that you’d really get that person or your Wolverine. Or one of his kids. Or his clones. Or clones of his clones. What i’m saying is Rusty’s mom banged the wolverine and his family tree is really weird even by marvel standards.

But I do give her a pass as she’s not trying to be creepy or obsessive, she just doesn’t know how to talk to him as he’s your average kid and she’s a creature of the night. It’s just a kid being shy which is very refreshing both because pre-savnio being fired the show had some very messed up ideas about relationships and gender politics at times, the latter of which actually crops up here, and because having grown up with the cartoons of the 90′s and 2000′s.. I had to put up with things like this.

Full Disclosure: I DO ship sonamy.. but only after around Sonic Chronicles, where Bioware and then Sega decided to not make “Constantly harasses sonic despite him clearly not being interested and saying so vocally” and “Obessess over him to a point I worry she’s going to break his legs so he’ll never run away from her again”, as well as aging her up from 12. Still find her ungodly annoying at best and terrible at worst before that point, Sonic CD and Sonic Advance excluded. And yes I am that huge of a nerd, damn proud of it too.

What i’m getting at is that a little girl unable to talk to a guy and only being kinda creepy because that’s what she does is LEAGUES better than “IT’S NOT CREEPY WHEN A WOMAN DOES IT”. Given this episode was written by a woman that probably helped a lot if not entirely but I don’t blame her for that.. more on that later.

Point is she’s smitten but her first attempt to talk goes back as he rushes to leave after she tries talking to him.. and also appears out of nowhere to spook him. Come on man, your better than that. YOu sensed her before why not now? Up your game. But yeah Lucy’s depressed while Lincoln talks to her about it, about them leaving and once Lucy confesses she’s into rocky asks what he’s into. Lincoln.. has no idea as he’s barely been around Rocky. He’s just an average kid he dosen’t quite understand. Normal is the word he uses and Lucy ponders that. We next see the three most traditionally feminine sisters, Lori, Leni and Lola, all pissed someone stole their stuff, though Lori does suspect Lola at first because let’s face it, this fits her MO of being an entitled brat and not being above petty theft. But no the culprit is Lucy who genuinely apologizes and understands that their mad but the other girls are fine with it given the context, which Lucy explained, and are happy to make her over. This is where the problem I was hinting at comes in: ALL the girls are on board with this makeover plan. the problem is.. only the three who came in in the first place make actually sense making Lucy more tradiotnally feminine. Lori loves fashion and is a control freak who has troubles with empathy at times especially at this point in the series, Leni while not INTETIONALLY hurtful is kind of ditzy and thus can miss some cues, and Lola has a yawning starless void where her soul should be. For these three? Yeah this plot actually makes sense they wouldn’t think of Lucy’s feelings and actually help her use who she is to get rocky or tell her it doesn’t matter she’s beautiful as she is.. then presumably bring the wrath of god down on that poor child before things were cleared up. The issue is more dragging the other sisters into it. It only fits the three above to really give a shit about making Lucy more “normal” and “Girly” and “Other stereotypical bullshit”. Luna is very chill and empathetic and would be the first to say “Wait maybe making her the opposite of herself isn’t a good idea”, Luan is likewise empathetic though I could possibly see it she really doesn’t need to be in this plot, Lynn ENTIRELY doesn’t fit as she prefers sports and getting dirty and what not and is the closest to Lucy out of the sisters and thus would probably be the most defensive about her not changing and that could’ve actually been interesting, Lana would be the same minus the being closest and Lisa is coldly detached a lot of the time and wouldn’t care about any of this on a good day. It feels HORRIBLY offensive and out of character to have them all suddenly be “nah your not girly enough”. These girls don’t give a shit about whose more feminine than who and it’s really bad to pidgeonhole them as that. However.. I dont’ blame episode writer Gloria Shen entirely for this. She wrote it, she gets some of the discredit.. but she didn’t DIRECT the episode and a LOT can change from page to screen. No THAT was series creator and known sexual preadator Chris Savino. And i’m not just blaming him because he’s a creepy asshole, but because the seasons he directed, seasons 1, 2 and most of 3, had a bad habit of having episodes where all the girls acted as a group and often to weak ends, like the green house, the one where they all fought, the gender swap episode or heavy meddle.. which is a headache for another day. Point is it doesn’t surprise me he didn’t fix this or even genuinely cared to differentiate them and it’d be until next season where the show fully became an ensemble piece. SO yeah I blame him on this not for his horrible history, but simply because it sounds like his writing style and as director, and a producer on the show, he had the power and responsibility to fix things and did nothing. So if it wasn’t directly his fault in the first place , he certainly didn’t fix it, call it out in storyboarding or well anything. So yeah shared blame all around.

So after a makeover montage, Lucy is uh... well I can’t describe the abomination they’ve created.

I mean.. none of it works, and I think that’s very much the intent, dosen’t make it any less horrifying. Nothing about this is right: makeup REALLY shouldn’t go on a child in any circumstace so the blush on her cheeks is creepy and makes her look like one of those creepy porcelian dolls that i’m 100% sure either are planning to kill us all one day or were made to keep the souls of the damned trapped inside forever. The ear rings just look creepy and again are a bit much for an 8 year old, and the blonde hair just brings it all together. The pink outfit is fine.. I guess but the face is just so unsettling I can’t process the rest of her outfit and i’m not even going to try.

Point is she looks terrifying, and not in the fun way she usually does, and Rocky dosen’t know what to make of this. Oh and if your wondering why he’s here Lynn just.. took a hockey stick to Lincoln’s project to get the Spokes Boys back over here, and Lisa mocked him for pointing out the obvious holes in their plan despite being 4 and LIncoln having a girlfriend at this point. Granted his relationship with Ronnie Anne at this point is also kinda effed up, but given you all pushed him in this direction, Lisa still has no room to talk and they amicably broke up at some point once the writers decided “Let’s pretend like this never happened and they were just friends, despite her being introduced with a crush on him and us still replaying episodes with said relationship in play, instead of actually dealing with this directly”. You may be easily able to guess what hte retrospective’s about at this point. So Lori comes in for phase two .. WITH BOBBY!

Just.. I cannot tell you how much I needed my boy to calm me down after the last two scenes of horribly off character writing and ... that thing up there. He dosen’t do much this episode but every episode is better with Bobby and that’s a scientefic fact. So Lori claims they had a double date fall through which Bobby barely follows along with.. and it does kinda feel pressurey to kinda force Rocky’s hand here but her intentions ARE good, and a group date is a good way to relive presssure. It just ends up falling through becaue Lori wants her to act intentionally helpless, which makes no sense both for Lori’s personality given how driven and controlling she is and how Bobby clearly knows both things and likes the first and she worked on the second for him. So yeah the golf date falls through and Lori apologizes for being a bitch about all of this, as they all do, which again. .has me questioning WHY we needed the whole sister group instead of just Lori and co. Or even just Lori. The show REALLY needed to learn character ballance and while it is struggling on occasion, as seen with how lincolncentric this season has been so far, this episode reminds me it used to be MUCH worse.

But Lucy thanks them because their intetnions were good, i’m going to need a citation on that given it came off as them wanting her to change because they found her weird nad not because they genuinely wanted to help her, and goes off to sulk about being alone. Lincoln dosen’t know what to do till the next day where, again suprisingly, Rusty had the right idea and had them come over to his place. We also find out he’s scared of blood.. which.. I can relate to. Seriously i’ve only insulted the guy once the whole episode

But we find that out because Rocky made his own because he actually found Lucy’s really cool, what a kid. So Lincoln gets the brothers over to his house by damaging the project himself then claming they need to go back and once he sees Lucy’s around has Rocky go into the kitchen to get them some sodas which he agrees to because why not.

So in a nice little change-up on the running gag Rocky shows up startling Lucy and we get a really fucking cute scene as they hash things out. They have a normal conversation, finally getting past their shared awkwardness, in part because he admits he prefers her as herself. As it turns out Rocky wasn’t scared.. he just thought she was too cool for him and felt intimidated and like Lucy had no idea what to say. The two then blush and after my heart melts and I freeze it back into shape in a few hours, the two decide to go look at her coffin collection and the next day proudly show off their perfected fake blood.. which destroys the project one more time. WAH WAH WAH. Oh rusty... I knew I could count on you to fuck up at least once.

Back in Black Final Thoughts: First off Black in Black: Weird Name. I mean it kinda gives the game away, not that fans would thikn horrifying mistake lucy would stick but still, and dosen’t really fit. Call it “Why Do Ghoul’s Fall in Love” or something like that or something related to makeovers. Makeover Mistep. Don’t Make Me Over. Makeover Your Case... okay that last one sounds more like the Legally Blond equilvent of Cobra Kai but the point is it’s just weird. Outside of the parts I already went in detail about why their dreadful.. this ep is pretty good. That one bit isn’t enough to derail the episode, merley take it’s goodness down a notch, and Lucy is genuinely fun to watch and her heartbreak is hard to watch, and Rocky was an engaging new character with lots of potetial. A large part of why I did this episode. is to ask WHY he hasn’t come back. Rusty’s now a major character, to the point he’s co-headlining an episode next week with Zach... why Zach’s getting an episode, a SECOND one at that I have no earthly idea but the point is the show’s getitng comfortable enought heir giving lincoln’s friends starring episodes without him too, as Liam got one , if alongside Lynn the power couple of 2021 I tells ya. My point is, besides when is Stella getting an episode dammit, that Rocky really should make a come back as he both provides another character for Rusty and the rest of the lincrew to bounce off of, and he and Lucy had genuine chemstiry and now she has her OWN cast there’s an easy story there about her friends reaction to her dating a non goth. There’s a lot of story potetial with this precious boy bring him back. But overall Pretty in Black is a decent episode, worth checking out if you haven’t seen it and rewatching even if you have.

Stage Plight: So we open with Luann, whose one of my personal faviorites along with Leni, Luna, and Lucy. Granted I haven’t checked out her yearly bouts of going ax crazy on her family yet, but we’ll see in april. But outside of that, which is easy enough to isee iven it’s three episodes out of 214 where she’s like this and she gets her compuance, I find her precious, awkward, and entertaining, from her habit of saying “Get it “ to her love of puns, to the fact she’s essentially a wholesome version of the batman villian the ventriloquist..

Yeah in case you forgot about this gag, she often talks through her dummy Mr. Coconuts.. who functions as her sounding board and helps her figure things out, talks like he’s from the 40′s or 50′s, and in general is a delight. He also once or twice, including this episode acts of his own free will so I don’t know if this is a Child’s Play situation and a dying comedian put his body in her dummy and she’s just rolling with it, if she somehow put a piece of her soul in a dummy or what the hell’s going on here. Compared to the series recently what with it’s mayoral campagins, children murdering guys, and actualy factual spies, this is mildly sane. MIldly. This may also be a serious and untreated case of Disociative Identnity Disorder, but given it’s not framed that way, and Coconuts just seems to be Luann’s way of talking with herself, for now she has’nt gone full vintriloquist. Thoguh givne her april fools day behavior and her profession as a comedian, she probably WILL become the new joker at a some point.

So the two are talking about Luann’s crush on Benny. Benny was introduced back in L is for Love and is one of the only three love interests there to actually return, and along with Sam the only onen to get multiple episodes about their relationship with their respective loud and a full personality. He was also MASSIVELY hated. For those who joined the fandom more recently, Luann was massively shipped with Maggie, an emo girl who showed up in Luann’s second spotlight episode and one where she didn’t torment her entire family, one I still need to see but have read about. It was pretty cute and nothing was wrong with that or the opposites attract dynamic. But said fans got REALLY and understandibly upset about his introduction and were presumibly none too happy he got to return and got his roll expanded. And I.. genuinely like the kid. I have nothing against Maggie and in fact poly ship her with both Luann and Benny, as both seem like they’d be open to that and her dour demanor creates a nice contrast between the chipper luann and the somewhat chipper but also chill benny in the middle. I just feel he’s a very likeable character, sweet and awkward and very much on Luann’s wavelength. Like Sam he’s SIMILAR to his love intrest, having Luann’s love of puns, mime and the theater, but is also not quite as giggly about it and as I said has a bit more of a chill to him, in contrast to how sam is slightly more energetic to Luna’s near constant calm off stage.

I also like him because he’s voiced by Sean Giabrone, an up and coming voice actor who I first met watching the Goldbergs as Adam. His other biggest role so far has been playing Jeff on Clarence, though he’s currently picked up another lead voice roll as Yumulack on Solar Opposites, easily one of the best parts of that show, and has done othe rminor and recurring work, but I feel he’s got the potetial to have a long and fruitful career in voice acting if he wants it. I mean he’s far from the first former ABC star or former Ron Stoppable to make a long and successful voice career of himself. Be the next will fredle man you can do it.

But yeah I like him and think their cute together and feel demonizing a ship for one that had a low chance of happening isn’t fair, especially when you know, we’re in a fandom where incest runs rampant and is STILL a recurring problem to this day. Pick your fucking battles for god’s sake. As I mentioned you can put maggie in with this relationship or Still ship luaggie regardless.

So back in the episode Luann and Coconuts notice Benny signing up for the school play and decide to join him.

Yeah i’ve noticed that a LOT of school set plots are about one of the mains joining a play to either be near or play romantic lead with their crush, or romantic hyjinks happening anyway. Seriously i’ts a lot. I DID think most of them were around romeo and juliet, and Proud Family, Pepper Anne, and Ned’s Declassified all are probably why, it’s actually way more diverse and i’m happy to give credit to shows and movies for that: Jimmy Neutron used Macbeth (IN SPACEEEEEE), American Dragon Jake Long used Antony and Cleopatra, as did the comic strip Foxtrot (That one I remembered), Daria used the canterbury tales, Arrested Development used Much Ado about Nothing, and one of my faviorite instances is the film Get Over it. It’s a cheesy as hell early 2000′s high school pg-13 comedy, that I loved as a teen and nos nostalgicaly love but am aware it has issues and some stitled acting as an adult where our hero joins the high school play in order to win his ex girlfriend back from the douchebag she’s seeing now and ends up falling for his best friend’s kid sister instead. They do a mid summer’ night’s dream, which is not only awesome SOMEONE thought to use that one , as the film has given me a special affection for the play.. but it’s a cheesy musical version written by the gloriously over acted director of the play played by martin short.

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My faviorite part of it is the boy band style number about Hermia. Yes really. And I didn’t even get into the fact Siquo is one of the main character’s best friends, Kristin Dunst had to reshoot a scene while making the first rami spider-man , our heroes weird parents who are sex therapists and have no real filter AND offer Coolio a threesome on their advice show, and yes the actual coolio and yes that was an actual person that existed, or best of all the douchey rival who stole our heroes girlfriend, whose not only a former boy band member whose band peformed the song love scud, but also threatens our hero with nunchucks at one point.

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Just see this movie.. i’ll hopefully talk about it some day.

Point is this kind of plot is stock.. but it’s the good kind you can do a lot of twists and turns with as every example mentioned, even the ones using the crush thing, had some clever twist or turn. And this one is no exception as we’ll see.

So we meet Ms. Berardo, the schools HAMMY as hell drama teacher who gives herself an entrance and is just wondrously entertaining throughout. She’s played by Grey Delise Griffin, which I could recognize immodestly and man does she bring it. Seriously bring her back. Wonderful character. So our heroine and her leading man audition and in a refreshing change of pace they do not get the lead rolls, instead a modern valley girl and a jock who writes his stuff on his arms do so instead. But since Bernado’s a bit nuts, she decides to have the Montagues and Capulets practice separately despite tha not making a ton of sense, to drive up tension and what not. I mean isolating an actor to drive up tension is a vallid technique but even having not read Romeo and Juliet since high school, over a decade ago, I can tell you they have several scenes together and this is a logistical nightmare. However our heroine finagles her way over to swapping camps so she can talk to Benny since honestly given the whole thing was a way to get to spend more time with him, she might as well quit otherwise. It also.. isn’t a bad tactic. She wants to know him before asking him out properly, which is fair and a good way to go, and they already know each other and are friendly, and it’s something she likes doing anyway as they were both involved with a play in his first appearance and her liking theater makes sense as she’s a comedian, and while she clearly prefers standup, it’s often a natural evolution to go fromt hat to acting in comedy stuff or making your own show, so it’s not a bad idea to learn that side of the buisness too.

So Luann FINALLY gets to talk to Benny.. after fast ball specialing mr coconuts in the way of someone trying to sit down

But we get a really cute moment as the two just.. talk like two dorky teenagers; They talk about the real mimes of la, which I want badly to be a show.. even if it’s just to find out what the Mime from Animaniacs is up to now. Where DID that guy go? Did the anvil finally kill him? These are the kinds of things that keep me up at night.. which is probably why I’m finishing this at 4 in the morning. But the two have genuine chemistry with Luann offering him her banana, phrasing, and making a pun he chuckles at. It’s adorable as all hell.

And Bernardo notices, and since her leads have no sparks she regretfully demotes them.. though their reaction is hilariously realistic as both are just happy to have less lines and walk off. She decides to cast Luann and Benny despite being freshman which would never happen but eh this is a unvierse with a snakebird and spies trying to destroy cherries with a death laser why I do I care two seasons later if two freshman got the leads in the play. Still I love the twist: our hero wasn’t trying to get the lead to creeiply force intamacy or anything.. the two just had natural chemistry and the director noticed that and wants to use it.

But while this should be great.. it isn’t as Luann keeps dodging actually kissing Benny when they rehearse the kiss. The reason.. is really frigging endearing. Luann simply hasn’t kissed anyone before, this will be her first.. and naturally she’s REALLY nervous about having it in front of a crowd or Benny thinking she’s a bad kisser. And I mean... while I had no personal experience at that age in kissing, most media and personal accounts detail it as awkward as fuck. But that’s the irony: she dosen’t KNOW it’s always awkward and thus is putting a ton of pressure on herself like anyone her age.

So she breaks under the pressure despite the reasurances of her Dummy/Possible Sign that she needs therapy and while she finds a way out the next Day Benny has aburbtly quit because of “chess club”.. which he’s not in. Luann finds him and talks to him about it, worried it’s her fault.. and she’s right, though Benny bowed out because she clearly wasn’t comfortable with him and didn’t want to make her kiss him when she clearly wasn’t comfortable with it. What a man what a man what a mighty good man. Luann TRIES to explain.. and then lets Mr Coconuts do it. Which usually in high school would lead to humilating rejection. instead Benny brings out his own puppet Mrs. Appleblossom.

Just those eyes.. black and souless.. like a doll’s eyes.. because htey are a doll’s eyes. So yeah Benny also has a puppet he uses to say the things he’s too nervous to say. Which is endearing even if again , KILL IT. KILL IT. I mean i’ts like tha tone guy from victorious if the puppets were actually charming and one of them looked like it was about to play hide the soul. Mrs. Appleblossom explains that Benny is also nervous and with the air cleared and the two realizing theyw ere nervous about the same thing... the inevitible happens

So that fades into the kiss happening on stage, with Luann’s family cheering her, our heroes take a fookin bow and Coconuts and Appleblossom look on.. and talk somehow...and somehow got in the seats on their own.

Stage Plight Final Thoughts: This episode.. is one of the series best, with great pacing, a low amount of repetition and a relatable conflict, while building up Luann’s love intrest to be a wonderful and engaging guy, and giving us a hell of a guest character and Mrs. Gerardo. This episod eis great, the chemistyr between Gambrone and Pucelli is fantastic. This one is just awesome and worth a look especially if the ship contrversy had hit you hard. It really is good. And there’s always room for benny. Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure.

#the loud house #lucy loud #luann loud #benny stein #lori loud #leni loud #lola loud #lincoln loud #rusty spokes #rocky spokes #valentine's day #animation #nickelodeon

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theladyofdeath · 4 years

Text

After the Fall {2}

Throne of Glass fanfiction.

Warning: mature content throughout.

Centered dominantly around Aelin + Rowan, Lysandra + Aedion. Others make appearances throughout.

Click here for the masterlist.

“You’re not scared?”

Sam laughed, bright and beautiful. “Of course, I am. I’m scared shitless. But...I don’t know. I...we created a baby, A.”

Aelin smiled, despite the gut-wrenching fear that had been tearing at her since the little blue plus sign showed up on that pregnancy test days before.

Sam picked her up and swung her around before laying her back on his bed. Once he was hovering gently over her, Aelin pressed her palm against his stubbled cheek. “You don’t think we’re too young for this?”

“Of course we are,” he replied, simply. But that was Sam. Even the biggest things seemed like the smallest. He always looked at the bright side. Always saw the light at the end of the tunnel. “But it happened. It’s happening. And whatever you decide, I respect that. But, if you want to have this baby, A, I’m going to be the best damn dad in the world. Okay? I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be here, every day, supporting you, supporting our child…”

Aelin reached herself up to kiss him. “I have no doubt that you will be an amazing dad.”

Sam was everything a woman could hope to find in the father of her children.

Although she was only eighteen - shit, she even had months left until graduation, the year had just begun - she felt a steady calmness as she stared into Sam’s deep, brown eyes. “Am I crazy for wanting to keep it?” she asked.

“If you’re crazy, then so am I,” he smiled, pressing his lips to hers.

They were young, completely naive. They had no idea what it would take to become parents.

And Aelin had no idea that she would be forced to do it all alone.

High school was over.

Over, done with.

Not that the end of high school had been all that pleasant. She was eight months pregnant at graduation and had Mara two weeks after. The summer had been pleasant enough. Aelin had always been decent at saving up, so Mara was able to have what she needed and Arobynn paid the bills.

But after he died and life became clear for the first time in a long time, Aelin decided that her savings were running low and it was time to find a job. Three months was more than enough time after giving birth. Of course, it meant she could have to find care for Mara while she was working, but she would work that out later.

“The leaves are starting to fall.”

Aelin smiled. She had always loved Autumn. When the leaves changed colors and graced the ground with their presence, Aelin loved nothing more. “It’s beautiful.”

Lysandra agreed.

It was cold enough to feel a chill but warm enough to only need a light coat. Terrasen was breathtaking in the Fall.

Mara was enjoying it, too. Her brown eyes were wide open beneath the hat that Aelin had forced her to wear. The blanket that Aedion had given her the day she was born, covered in cute pink, blue, and green cartoon wolves, was wrapped around her as she sat snugly inside of her stroller.

“Hair salon down the street is hiring a front desk girl,” Lysandra said before sipping on her coffee.

Aelin scrunched her nose. “Eh.”

“Okay,” Lysandra said. “How about janitorial work? I know it doesn’t sound like too much fun, but I know the high school is hiring. For full time, the benefits aren’t bad.”

Aelin shrugged. “I don’t know.” Her voice was clipped, frustration settling in. “I’m not qualified for anything. I have zero experience. All of these places will probably want experience. All I have to offer is a high school diploma.”

Lysandra seemed to pick up on the tension and nodded. “So, what are you thinking, then?”

“That we walk until we see a help wanted sign,” Aelin said, although not too excitedly. “And someone will give me the time of day with a job that has great pay and fantastic benefits without wanting experience.”

Lysandra had an urge to tell her that it was a shitty plan, but she held her tongue.

So they walked.

And after an hour passed, and Aelin had ignored every help wanted sign that they passed, Lysandra suggested that they stop for lunch.

Mara was in agreement.

They entered a small restaurant and bar and sat in a booth next to a window that looked onto the main strip. Aelin cradled Mara and gave her a bottle while Lysandra read to her off the menu. After agreeing to split a pizza, Aelin sighed.

“None of the places we passed that are hiring are right for me.”

“Can we really be picky?” Lysandra mumbled.

Aelin shot her a look. “I’m not being picky. I just don’t want another shitty job.”

“Shitty job?”

Both girls looked up from their subtle argument to find Dorian Havilliard giving them both a sly grin.

Aelin laughed, shaking her head. “I was wondering what happened to you.”

They had gone to high school together, had been in the same circle, but he had graduated the year before and fell out of touch after the death of his father.

“I work here,” he said, smiling, eyeing Mara as she fell asleep in her mother’s arms. “This must be your little one.”

“Mara Galathynius Cortland,” Aelin said, proudly.

Dorians smile faltered. “I heard about Sam. I saw you at the funeral, but I didn’t want to bother-“

“It’s okay,” Aelin interrupted, because she didn’t want to get into it. “Anyway, how have you been? Still with Manon?”

Dorian’s smile had returned. “Yeah. Three years.”

Aelin felt a sudden pang of jealousy, but quickly brushed it away. “That’s awesome.”

“Hello?” Lysandra sang. “I’m here too.”

Dorian chuckled. “Always a pleasure.”

Lysandra grinned. “Likewise. So, what is it you do here?”

“Oh, I serve while I go to school,” he said. “Usually on nights and weekends, but I’m filling in this afternoon.”

“Are you hiring?” Lysandra asked. “A is in desperate need of employment.”

Lysandra grunted as Aelin kicked her in the shin under the table.

“A server just quit, actually,” Dorian said. “So, yes. I can get you an application-“

“No, that’s okay-“

“She’d love one,” Lysandra smiled.

“But I’d have to be here on nights and weekends,” Aelin said. “Who would watch-“

“Me,” Lysandra said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I work weekday mornings, it’s perfect. You wouldn’t have to pay for daycare like you would if you got a day job.”

“I can’t ask that of you,” Aelin said. Meanwhile, Dorian stayed quiet and watched the two sisters go back and forth.

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.” Lysandra leaned against the table, smiling softly at Mara. “That’s my niece. And you're my sister. We’re family. There’s nothing I’d rather do.”

Aelin looked unsure, but before either of them could say anything more, Dorian left and came back, a piece of paper in hand.

“At least fill it out,” he said, gently, as he put the application in front of her.

Aelin promised to think about it, just as their pizza arrived.

. . . . .

“Havilliard, huh?” Aedion grinned. “And Blackbeak still has a hold on him.”

Lysandra rolled her eyes. “They’re good together.”

“So are we,” he shot back.

Lysandra scoffed.

Aelin was grinning, though, enjoying the usual banter between the two.

They were finishing going through all of Arobynns stuff. They had tossed the stuff that was worthless, and sold what little did have worth. The house was paid off, and left to them, so it was officially going on the market.

“I can’t wait to move out of here,” Aelin said, once the others had quieted down.

Lysandra nodded. “Same. This place just feels evil.”

Aedion said nothing, his smile gone. “You know, you two could stay with me until your apartment is ready.”

He had offered as much multiple times, but Lysandra wouldn't have it. Besides, it was a one bedroom which means the three of them would be in the living room. Aelin didn’t want to give Aedion that burden.

“They said they’d have it ready this week,” Aelin smiled. “We should be able to move in by Friday.”

Aedion nodded, although she could still sense his unease. He knew what had gone on within those walls, knew the horrors in which the girls had endured.

“You’re going to apply for that job though, right?” Aedion asked. “I can help with Mara, too, you know.”

Aelin did know. She also knew that being absent for Mara to go to work was a necessity, even though she wished it wasn’t.

“Yeah,” she sighed, at last. “I am.”

Lysandra beamed. “Good!”

Aelin shot her a look.

Aedion looked back and forth between his cousin and the love of his life. “I sense tension. Why do I sense tension?”

“Aelin thinks she’s too good for waitressing so I had to give her a wake up call,” Lysandra said.

Aelin scoffed. “Not true! I never said I was too good for waitressing.”

“Liar.”

“Am not.”

“You don’t want to wait tables,” Lysandra said, forgetting what she was doing to cross her arms.

“Does anyone want to wait tables?” Aelin said, voice raised.

“Yes!” Lysandra said. Aedion took a step back. He was in the middle of two women known to have tempers. Not a good place to be. “I’m sure some people love waitressing and are thankful for the job that they have.”

“I never said I wasn’t grateful for the chance,” Aelin snapped. “Obviously I’m thankful for any chance to support Mara.”

“Doesn’t seem that way,” Lysandra hissed.

Aelin threw down the photographs she was sorting through and stomped down the hallway, into the back bedroom where Mara was fast asleep.

Lysandra took a deep breath, rubbing her temples. “She’s being ridiculous.”

Aedion said nothing.

Apparently, that wasn’t the response she was wanting, because Lysandra spun around to face him, eyes ablaze. “What? Now you’re choosing not to kiss my ass?”

Aedion stared back. “I don’t know what your deal is, but-”

“What my deal is?” She spat, laughing humorlessly. “I have been going through my dead prick of a father’s shit all day, and you want to know what my deal is?”

Aedion, once again, said nothing.

“You were tossed around the system, Aedion, which is shit, yeah, but I was adopted and it was supposed to be a blessing but instead turned out to be my own personal hell. Now he’s dead, but it’s like he’s still here, breathing down my neck,” she said, voice having calmed. “I hated Arobynn. I hate being here. I hate looking around, going through this junk, sleeping in my bed like nothing has changed. I still expect to walk out of my room and find him passed out drunk, ass in the air, in the hallway, or the kitchen, or that damn chair.” She gestured to an old, torn up lazyboy in the corner of the den.

When she said nothing else, Aedion took a step forward, and when she didn’t move, he put his arms around her. Both of them stayed silent, but Aedion’s gentle stroking fingers along the middle of her back was comfort enough. Lysandra kept her arms crossed against her chest, but she allowed herself to lean into him.

After a moment, she cleared her throat. “I’m- I’m going to talk to A.”

Aedion nodded and took a step back.

Lysandra didn’t meet his gaze. She simply turned her back to him and padded down the hallway until she turned the corner.

Aedion watched her until she disappeared.

. . . . .

Aelin was watching Mara sleep. She would miss these days, when her baby girl was so small. The thought alone had made her feel lighter. The last three months had passed by in the blink of an eye.

This little gift was hers. She had made a tiny, perfect human.

“Hey,” Lysandra said, quietly, from the doorway.

Aelin jumped, then turned. “Hi.”

“I’m sorry.”

Aelin nodded and sat down on the edge of her mattress. Lysandra sat next to her.

“I don’t think I’m too good to be a waitress. I need a job. I realize that. I’m qualified for nothing. I wanted to go to college after high school, but I can’t do that now. You’re right, I can’t be picky. And I’d make great tips.”

Lysandra nodded. “I was too harsh though.”

Mara stirred from her spot in her crib, but didn’t wake.

She looked so much like her father.

“He was supposed to be here with me, helping me raise her,” Aelin began, voice breaking. “I’m so grateful for you, and for Aedion, but Sam was supposed to be the one to help me.”

Tears began to spill down her freckled cheeks, but Lysandra caught them and brushed them away. “I know.”

They sat there for a moment, Lysandra’s hand on Aelin’s.

“I think we should stay with Aedion,” Lysandra said, and when Aelin gave her a surprised look, she added, quickly, “Just for tonight.”

Aelin nodded, slowly, as if Lysandra had somehow lost her mind. “Okay.”

. . . . .

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lostgirlrewatch · 4 years

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1x08 - Vexed

Original Air Date: November 7, 2010

Written by: Michelle Lovretta

Directed by: John Fawcett

Okay, so. Vexed.

This is the original pilot. I don’t think they necessarily presented it as the first episode chronologically—more like, this is what you can expect from our show. Showcase picked it up and it went to series. Vexed became episode 1x08. You can find more info about it in this interview with Michelle Lovretta and Jay Firestone.

Anyway, this episode was shot earlier than the rest, and you can tell. Makeup and styling is different, and they hadn’t quite settled on the tone they eventually went with. As such, this episode is a bit grittier than normal. I find it interesting both for its different tone and for the fact that many of the decisions they made for the episode were made in the interest of selling the concept to Showcase.

This fucking article is great and is a much better review of this episode and why it’s so god damn good than my shit below. It also provides an extremely detailed look into...exactly what I just described above. All of the behind-the-scenes production stuff. Check it out.

The premise: Bo finds a lead on someone who might know about her mother--a falsely accused death row inmate named Lou Ann. Bo vows to prove her innocence in exchange for answers, but her quest leads her into contact with a vicious Dark Fae named Vex.

I do wonder if they wrote this episode without really knowing where it was going to fit into the first season, assuming they had an outline. It works as a standalone and in some ways it feels a little disjointed from what came before in episode 1x07, right from the beginning. Dyson coming right out and saying something so blunt as, “She’s never gonna love you,” feels a bit off to me. But then again, all the characters in this episode are a bit “off,” which is understandable. This episode is like…the prototype. The beta.

“No offense to my own kind, but humans are a little pedestrian now.” *awkwardly laughs* Right... “your kind”…haha you’re enslaved. Lauren are you okay.

“Once you go Fae you never go back, huh?”

“So I hear.”

Me:

Bo feels a little bit more aggressive to me in this episode, like when Siegfried mentions her mother and she wigs out. It’s her normal desperation plus a bit of added homicidal urges. She’s a slightly grittier Bo.

As we can observe from the opening sex scene between Bo and Dyson, this episode is a bit more sexually explicit than we’re used to. This, I am not super a fan of on a personal level. However, the episode is also more violent than usual and incorporates horror elements. This, I am super a fan of because that’s kind of my shit, and it’s something I wish they would have leaned a little bit more into in the rest of the series.

There is nothing I don’t love about this scene. The creepy opera music that sets the stage, the gourmet meal prep (those gourmet meals always end in murder).

(Am I the only one who loves this random little detail they plopped into the background?)

Vex’s entrance—not overly dramatic, just, boop, there he is.

The tense build-up as we’re drawn to the knife, not sure where it’s gonna go—

--oh, oop, there it goes.

We know what’s going to happen now, but we build up to it, agonizingly, anyway. Surely we’re not actually going to sit here and watch as he shoves his hand into the disposal and then keep watching as he turns it on and it grinds his hand up. Oh, but we are.

Some scenes have a way of sticking with ya.

So I guess even the Lost Girl universe isn’t all camp and games. People are still people. Especially when they’re ancient as fuck and have all that time to stew in the cesspool of their fucked up emotional and psychological issues. So divorced are they from the concept of mortality, growing up and growing old, that their maturity level laps itself and becomes immaturity—they tend to to behave like children.

Not all Dark Fae are curmudgeonly, innocuous old grandpas who own restaurants or absolute Queens like the Morrigan. Some of them are like Vex. And just like, fuckin murder people—and each other. Vex’s world is different than Bo’s world. Vex lives in a world where violence is mundane. Empathy is nonexistent and pointless anyhow. Sometimes I wonder if immortal characters are drawn to violence and death because it’s as close as they can get to experiencing a sort of vicarious mortality.

I love Vex’s character throughout the series—up to a certain point—but I love him best in this, his original episode. In later episodes, Vex is portrayed as a sort of morally ambiguous anti-hero, or anti-villain, whichever you prefer. I have mixed feelings on how well the transition from villain to anti-hero is handled. The farther along you get in the series, the more he becomes reduced to a shell of his former self, purely comic relief, and just…sucks.

But in 1x08, Vex is a villain. Straight up. The things that he does are horrifying and the show does not bother trying to get you to empathize with him. And to be clear, this does not mean that he is not a multi-dimensional character, that he isn’t worthy of empathy, or that he is pure evil. What it does mean is the show does something I wish more shows would do. It creates a genuinely threatening and reprehensible villain that is both worthy of your analysis, even your stanning (I stan), and yet whose actions are still inexcusable.

In that interest, let’s talk about him. At this point, his most defining characteristic, the simplest way we can begin to understand his motives, is that he utterly lacks empathy. Vex is the kind of person who would puppeteer a woman and force her to drown her own children.

He is ordered to kill this woman’s family as punishment for betraying the Dark Fae’s rules. And in this episode, Vex is shown to be someone who rigidly follows the Dark Fae’s orders without question, and without any particular investment in them either. But he doesn’t just kill the kids—he uses his powers to force the mother to do it. To drown them. For no real reason other than his own amusement. That’s another level of sadistic. For a less intense example, in his introduction scene, he gruesomely tortures Siegfried before killing him. Just for funsies. (Well, okay, and to get information.) Vex lacks empathy, clearly, and may scan as a sociopath, but he’s not a stoic one. He gets enjoyment out of tormenting his victims.

Is this the kind of guy the writers are going to try to later convince us is a harmless comic relief mascot? Surely n—

Yes. Yes he is.

I am not at all opposed to the idea of Vex slowly becoming a morally ambiguous anti-villain, even a member of the gang. In fact, I think that premise is interesting as hell. But what I feel like happens later is that the show kind of forgets that Vex did all this horrible shit in the past. Kinda brushes it under the rug. Not only does this make it a lot harder for me to get behind him becoming one of the gang, it also does the character himself a great disservice. I’ll probably get into this more once Vex starts showing up more frequently, and why I feel the writers mishandle him.

To be clear, in spite of how sadistic he is, Vex is not a malicious person. He doesn’t have any enmity for the people he’s ordered to kill. He’s not angry, not hateful, not spiteful. He just doesn’t really care. He’s almost a kind of nihilist. None of it really matters. Somebody who thinks like that would have a fairly breezy time killing people.

Because I like when in-universe politics make things complicated, I like that the in-universe politics of the Light and Dark Fae makes things complicated. Bo wants to free Lou Ann, and she wants the Light Fae’s help, but they can’t help her because it would mean basically declaring war on the Dark Fae. MAJOR no-no. Likewise, they can’t go after Vex because all of his actions are sanctioned by the Dark Fae’s government. Bo’s unalignment gives her freedom, but it’s not without its downsides. She has no influence and no resources when things get too big for her to handle.

“Smells like fried bitch.” An icon. If I remember correctly from one of the behind-the-scenes features, they brainstormed and tested out a bunch of different one-liners to use for this moment, until Ksenia Solo ad-libbed this.

Lol. Kenzi is just so done with Bo and Dyson’s drama.

Lou Ann, the Fae woman who is on death row for killing her kids, obviously strikes a nerve with Bo.

It’s kinda weird, because when we first meet her, Bo’s main motivation is that she wants to be able to live her life without being forced to kill others and stay on the run to do so. Those problems kinda get solved in the first episode.

Since then, her motivation has been to live her life without these big mysterious Fae governments telling her what to do. In the first episode, Bo, like Lou Ann, says that she chooses humans. Bo was raised human and wants a normal human life, or as normal as she can get. At the same time, most of the other characters on the show, including her friends, spend a lot of time trying to convince her to embrace her Fae identity and a Fae lifestyle, because it’s “who she is” and she has no choice but to embrace that. “Choice” is a keyword that gets thrown around a lot in this show. But what is the show really trying to say about it? There’s some kind of nature vs. nurture conflict going on here, and I don’t feel like either Bo or the show itself has really decided on which side of the line they fall. On another note, this show has huge Fuck the System vibes. Which I appreciate. We stan an icon who chooses to reject a static, repressive, harmful system even at great personal cost.

A few episodes ago, Bo and Lauren went on a mission together and cemented their bond of trust. In this scene, Lauren breaks that trust.

She sleeps with Bo to distract her from going after Vex, under the pretense that it is simply the culmination of them both being attracted to one another. The next morning, it doesn’t take long for Bo to figure this out. She is appropriately hurt. She has feelings for Lauren, there was an intimacy there, and she trusted her in a way that she doesn’t normally trust other people, because of her past. Lauren took advantage of her feelings and used her. Whether Lauren wanted to do it or not, whether she had any way of refusing, isn’t relevant in this moment; it was cruel regardless.

But what does Lauren say?

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Oop. There it is. There’s the Lauren I remember.

She hasn’t done anything wrong, y’all. Well, I’ll be damned. Lauren never did anything wrong ever in her life. *Lauren did nothing wrong meme*

The way Lauren says this line, with so much conviction, makes me feel like she genuinely believes it. She believes that she did nothing wrong. She is legitimately deluded about what just happened.

This is only the first in what I remember to be a very long string of instances where Lauren pushes blame onto others and denies any culpability in her shitty actions. At least, in this case, Bo isn’t buying it.

Waiting for Bo in the most extra-ass, goth, flamboyant setup possible is exactly the kind of quality villainy I expect from Vex.

It’s criminal that Bo never gets to use this awesome sword.

And…I love that Vex just gets to walk out of there, laughing. Because the system. And he’s not even really evil. He’s just a sadistic asshole. With a job. It’s. *chef’s kiss*

#lost girl #bo dennis #kenzi malikov #lauren lewis #vex #doccubus #dybo #dyson #1x08

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illusioneddrawer64 · 6 years

Text

First Meeting AU

UF Chapter Three: First Meeting

PDJLF DQG PBVMHUB PHHW DJDLQ

A/N: Almost similar, but different headcannons-by using two readers' self-insert (available for anyone who wants to insert themselves to this amazing fandom; both male or female) as being Dipper and Mabel's cousins. Y/N means 'your name'. Additionally, the story is cut in conversations and statements. I do not own Gravity Falls or Steven Universe. UF belongs to MiniJen. Enjoy!

"Come on you guys!" Mabel called back to her brother, and their two cousins.

"Hurry up! I wanna meet those magical ladies that Soos was talking about!"

"H-Hold on!" Dipper exclaimed.

"I'm on my way!"

"Yeah, I am also out of breath too!" replied (male: y/n).

"Seriously? You guys are tired already?" asked Mabel teasingly.

"(Female: y/n) and I are a way ahead of you two"

"Heh-this is what happens if you two boys spend too much time with your noses in a dumb book instead of having fun like Mabel and I do!" exclaimed (female: y/n).

"We're not!" Dipper puffed.

"Exactly-this is wwaayy different from our P.E class; this hill is a lot steeper than it looks to be!" protested (male: y/n).

"Yeah, whatever you slowpokes say" Mabel deadpans with a good-natured laugh.

"I am guessing that cuz should give out her 'Mabel Approves Work-out Plan'!" (Female: y/n) cheerfully said.

"Yeah-only with ten packets of sugar each morning, it is guaranteed in pump you up with endless energy, or your money back!" added Mabel with a smile.

"You girls are spending too much time with Grunkle Stan" Dipper said as he laughed at their humor.

"Well-anyways we made it-whew! Do you think that there is a group of magical ladies up here?" (Male: y/n) questioned.

"I do sure hope so! That would be so cool! Way cooler than my boyfriend turning out to be a bunch of gnomes, at least." Mabel stated.

(Female: y/n) chuckled at the wild ride memory.

"And of-course hopefully less dangerous" Dipper puts in.

"Right on, Dip-but even if these ladies aren't real, we can try to find something else interesting up here" (Male: y/n) said.

"It only makes sense considering how this weird this town turning out to be" agreed Dipper.

"Heh-you boys are the weird ones out here, ya dorks" Mabel jokes.

"Not any weirder than you two are" Dipper retorted, gesturing Mabel's and (female: y/n)'s combined creative craft project, which (male: y/n) notes that it is very 'colorful' shish kabob.

"We all are weird!" Mabel proclaimed enthusiastically, swinging the supposed shish kabob.

"Yep, indeed we are-hold on, have you heard that?" (Male: y/n) said who suddenly brought his voice very low.

"What-you mean the wind?"

"No-wait…shhhhh. Can you hear that?"

"Maybe it's that squirrel again! I bet he wants another hug!"

"Well, not after you nearly suffocated him last time-I highly doubt that"

"It is neither that-besides the rusting is pretty loud to be the wind…"

(Male: y/n) approaches where the sound coming from. "Curious…very, very curious"

So…what? Do you think it is a scary monster or something, waiting in the woods to gobble up four random kids for dinner? Well to be honest, Dip and (male: y/n) would be dinner-I'd be desert 'cause like I said earlier I am full of ten packets of sugar per day!"

"Come on Mabel this is serious. What if there is something out there?"

"If it is-I would say: Take Me to Your Leader!" replied (female: y/n) humorlessly.

"I'm sure it is nothing, it's probably just-". Mabel was cut off by a loud shout.

"Lion Wait! Where are You going?"

Before all four can react, a giant pink blur came out of nowhere from the woods, frightening all four.

"Well, there is something-you know what I'll say: RUN!" exclaimed (male: y/n).

The supposed pink creature chased all four-until it pinned down both Dipper and (female: y/n) with both paws.

Both children grimaced at their certain situation and braced of what-yet-to-come. But only saved by last minute timely rescue.

"Lion, Stop that! What have I told you about attacking people it is rude!"

Dipper and (female: y/n) breathed out a sign of relief and both are pulled up by (male: y/n).

Mabel's eyes sparkled at the lion's pink fur.

"Hey you guys okay?"

All four kids see their new founded-friends: sitting at the front was a short stout boy with a red shirt with a star on it along with jeans, behind him was a girl who looked bit taller than the boy with framed glasses at her nose.

"Um…yeah, thanks?" Dipper said, disbelieving that a wild animal is under the young boy's care.

"You're welcome! Sorry about that though; 'Lion' can be kinda…overprotective sometimes…"

"This is your lion?" Mabel asked with an excitement. "You are so lucky! And he's so cute!"

"You do remember that how he nearly killed me and (female: y/n) just few seconds ago, right?" Dipper asked sharply.

"Aw…" Mabel gushed. "And he's soft too! Like a walking cotton candy, but with teeth!"

"I know, right? He makes a good pillow too! I'm Steven by the way. You already meet Lion, of course. And this is my friend Connie."

"Nice to meet you! Even though it was an accident."

"I'm Dipper and the girl who is losing herself inside your, uh…lion's mane is my sister, Mabel" Dipper grinned with sudden amusement. "And those are my peculiar cousins-(female: y/n) and (male: y/n)."

"Interesting-very, very interesting" (Male: y/n) states who had pulled out a pair of glasses to examine Lion.

"Likewise, it is nice to meet you too!" (Female: y/n) notes while petting Lion who gained an interest in her.

"So SOFT!" Mabel exclaims, which (male: y/n) chuckles at the amusement.

"So what you guys doing up here all by yourselves anyways?"

"Yeah, the only thing up around here is the temple, and if you wanted to go there, then there is much easier way than climbing up the hill, you know."

"Temple?" Dipper interest perked, along with (male: y/n) taking notice.

"Yeah, the temple! It's where me and the Crystal Gems live."

"The Crystal-what?" Dipper questioned, only to be interrupted by Mabel. "Too…Much…Softness…"

"Whoa! I love your sweater! It's kinda like my shirt! Well…kinda…"

"I guess it is!" Mabel agreed. "I'm glad you like it. All my sweaters are handmade by me and (female: y/n) truly!"

"You know, if you really wanted one, we can make one for you-with no extra charge!" (Female: y/n) joined in.

"Oh yeah! Maybe you two could even make matching pairs for three of us at the same time! Or me and Connie! Or all six of us!

"Oh my gosh!" Mabel squealed.

"That is a great idea!" (Female: y/n) exclaimed.

"This sounds awesome! We all can be sweater buddies!"

"Wait, wait, wait" Dipper proclaims. "A minute ago…you said something about…the Crystal Gems…who are they?"

"Oh, right! The Crystal Gems are Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and me! We use magic from our Gems to fight monsters and protect humanity and stuff."

"So… the rumors about magical guardians living up here are actually true?" Dipper asked a bit skeptically, unsure if Steven was actually being serious or not. (Male: y/n) took off his glasses and puts his hands behind his back.

"Believe it or not, they are. Steven is proof of that."

"Wow-Really?" stated (Female: y/n) who is equally amazed as Mabel.

"Aw, yeah, well…I'm only half magic. My dad's a human, but my mom was a Gem. See?"

To show the twins what he meant, Steven lifted his shirt up a bit to reveal the rose quartz gem upon his navel.

"Whoa…" both Dipper and Mabel with their astonished cousins said in equal awe upon examining the pink gem.

"Unbelievable…" Dipper muttered in amazement upon realizing that the gem was actually real and not just a decoration.

"Sparkly…" Mabel whispered with a stunned expression, her eyes reflecting the shine of Steven's gem as it glistened in the afternoon sun. "What does it do?"

"The Gems tell me that my mom used to use it to do lots of stuff. But… I'm still learning how to use it. So far I've used it to make a shield and a bubble. In fact, the bubble was how me and Connie met!"

"Uh… yeah…We got trapped in it for several hours and we nearly drowned at the bottom of the lake. Other than that, it was a pretty good day."

"No worries-every person has every good days, and even bad days" (Male: y/n) said.

"Plus, we beat a giant worm monster and saved the town!"

"Heh, yeah, this town has some weird stuff going on in it"

"Finally! Someone else notices how strange this place is!" Dipper exclaimed, excited that he was not alone in thinking that Gravity Falls was a noticeably odd little town.

"I've been saying that since we got here. We've been here less than a week and already we've faced off against a bunch of gnomes stacked together into a giant monster."

"Who knows, what other days bring ahead" (Male: y/n) gestures across the woods and the lake. "Indeed, who 'Nose'?" tapping a side of his nose humorlessly.

"I learned a valuable lesson there," Mabel said with a joking frown. "Never go out with gnomes in disguise."

"I second that notion" (Female: y/n) added.

"Oh, you guys met the gnomes? Yeah, they can get a little crazy when they don't get what they want… One time they stole my donut and I spent all day chasing them down to get it back! The weird thing was they didn't even want to eat it; they wanted to use it as a wheel for the little gnome car they were building. It was actually kinda cute, even if I never did get that donut back…*sign*…d'oh"

"So you two have only been in Gravity Falls for a few days? Did you just move here?"

"No, we're only here for the summer," Dipper clarified.

"We're staying with our Great Uncle Stan down at the Mystery Shack." Said (Male: y/n).

"Wait, Mr. Pines is your uncle? That's so cool! The Mystery Shack is one of my favorite places in Gravity Falls, along with the temple… and the lake… and the Big Donut… and Funland Arcade… and Greasy's Diner… and-"

"I think they get it, Steven," Connie interrupted with a giggle. "What a coincidence, though. We were just on our way down to the Mystery Shack before we ran into you guys."

"And we were on our way up here to check out the giant eight armed woman!" Mabel said, referring to what her and Dipper now to knew to be some sort of temple thanks to Steven.

"I have to agree, isn't that crazy? It's almost like… fate, or something!" stated (female: y/n).

"Or it was Lion just going through his rebellious stage-Aw, Lion!"

"Gross!" Steven stated. Lion had licked him in perfect, equal measure.

All six laughed together because of the funny moment. Little did they know-summer had started, and their meeting was only a beginning of their adventures.

A/N: All credits to you, MiniJen for this favorable chapter. By paying homage to Universe Falls Three Year Anniversary Extravaganza-thank you for this wonderful crossover. ;)

On the side-note: the self-insert characters of course have a place upon the Zodiac Wheel. Feel free to review to share (through tumblr or on this fanfiction story review) creative ideas and thoughts of what symbols they (you/readers as self-inserts) can represent.

#gravity falls #steven universe #universe falls #minijen #universe falls three year anniversary extravaganza #fic #self-insert

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thisselflovecamebacktome · 6 years

Text

The good, the bad and the ugly; every one of my thoughts and headcannons surrounding Rachel Amber.

I’ve wanted to do this piece detailing exactly what I think of Rachel since episode three came out but haven’t had the time to actually sit down and write it but here it is.

EDIT: This was a hell of a lot longer than I expected it to be so it’s going under a read more so it doesn’t clutter up the tag but I do encourage you all to read it.

I will start by saying even before Before The Storm I was an Amberprice shipper romantically over a Pricefield one (tbh they felt more like sisters to me). I didn’t think that they had the healthiest of relationships, but the dynamic intrigued me. However I will say that I definitely feel what happened with Max was an important factor to Amberprice happening just as Rachel was to Pricefield reuniting. To me, both relationships are extremely important and one is not better than the other, just different.

I also find it hilariously ironic that both sets of shippers pull the “Rachel/Max abandoned Chloe” argument because all three of these girls are a cautionary tale in appreciation. What I mean by that is that all three of these girls share the fact that they are too focused on one point in time to appreciate those in the other time periods of their lives.

Chloe is stuck in the past as shown by her mostly focusing on Max/her dad in Before The Storm and Rachel in Life Is Strange and not realising the good things she has in her present and could have in her future.

Max is too focused on the present which is implied through her relationship with Chloe in both games. Like I’m sure there’s other factors including anxiety and guilt involved, but the fact that she moved past her friendship with Chloe to the point she doesn’t even attempt to get in contact when coming back to Arcardia Bay and yet struggles to see a future without her the minute she comes back into Max’s life implies Max is definitely someone who focuses on the present with smaller regard and appreciation of both her future and past. As an added point, how Max uses her power fits very well into this. It’s not until Chloe has a go at her about William dying that Max even considers to go back that far to try and “fix” the problem. Likewise with Kate, she never goes back to stop what happened or stop the bullying or anything. Like nearly every, it’s only that one present conversation Max rewinds as much as possible.

Lastly, Rachel focuses too much on the future. This is mostly shown by the fact that she does anything she can do achieve her ideal future of leaving Arcadia Bay, something she thinks will solve all her problems. Chloe, Frank, Jefferson? Hell maybe even Nathan? When she first meets them, she sees ways out. Now I want to make it clear that this does not mean that she does not care about any of them. I 100% believe she loved Chloe and wanted that “perfect” future she thought she was going to have by leaving the Bay. We are also practically told that she cared deeply for Frank by the fact he has her bracelet which was heavily implied was given to him as a gift and sign of affection. While we are not shown it, it would not surprise me if she cared for Nathan and Jefferson too. To be honest, that’s something I didn’t pick up so well in Life Is Strange, but really did in Before The Storm. But either way, it can’t be denied that these people all had something to offer in terms of helping Rachel achieve the future she wanted. And in Jefferson’s case, it got her killed because quite frankly, he knew just how bad she wanted to get out and that he was her best chance at that point which I will talk about later. But once again, them having something Rachel felt she needed does not change that she cared for them. Likewise, I do not want to say that Chloe didn’t enjoy anyone in her present or that Max didn’t like Chloe and others in her past because that would be false. But all up with all three girls, it’s hard to deny that their focus on these time periods cost them in the long run.

Anyway, that was just some observations I’ve made on the three of them. The real reason I wanted to write this post was to focus on Rachel. During Life Is Strange, I made a post about how part of the reason I disliked Chloe was because she was exactly like me pre recovery. And to be honest, I never thought there was going to be another character I related to more in this series, even if it was the parts of me I dislike and or have killed over the years... Then Rachel Amber came along. As a whole, Rachel Amber has more in common with pre and post recovery me than most characters ever will. Her ambition, her fear and discontent of the mediocrity of everyday life, her need for love and acceptance and hell, even her ability to have people follow her and do what she wants both good and bad, a trait I’ve tried to repress in myself; all of it is what I see in myself.

Quite frankly, the major emotion out of that list that pushes Rachel is her discontent of the mediocrity of everyday life. She’s not a pessimist, not by far, but she always believes the grass is greener elsewhere and does everything in her power to get to that spot, only to realise the grass looks greener in another spot, hence the cycle continues. If I had to guess, I would say that her father caused this. Not with the way he treated her, because even if it doesn’t match well with Life Is Strange, it is clear that James adored his little girl... he may have done messed up stuff to keep her safe, but he did love her. Rose on the other hand... well it was very heavily implied in the game that he did not treat her well. I would guess that his love for her was conditional and he made that clear, even when at home. And when children see that at a young age, they often internalise it because their parents are such a big part of them. So it would not surprise me if Rachel began asking herself “If his love for her is conditional and she’s my mum, does that mean his love for me is too?”. Once again, I 100% believe James loved Rachel unconditionally even if his way of showing it was really fucked up, but the way parents treat each other impacts their kids whether they mean it to or not and his treatment of Rose impacted Rachel. And that’s where I guess she got her mindset of needing to be good at everything and wanting so desperately to escape so she didn’t have to be.

I also think that this is why she was so quick to believe James when he said Sera was her biological mother. Because it allowed her to sever that connection of how he treated Rose compared to how he treated her because they were no longer connected in her mind. And as messed up as it sounds, I think had she had the time to cool down and process it before going to track Sera down, it would have ultimately given her a bit of peace because even if it was only slightly, she would have been more confident in regards of her dad’s love for her. This goes without saying that I don’t think Sera was the piece Rachel felt she was missing. I think it was that resolution to the conflict of why James seemed to treat her well but not the woman she thought was her mum. Sera just happened to be the personification of that. It’s fucked up, but that’s just how I read it. I also want to say though, I hate how it was written that not one person said “Rose is your real mum too” or something of the sorts because damn it, that woman spent years raising Rachel which is the definition of a parent in my eyes.

Regardless of whether Sera or the resolve was the missing piece however, it wasn’t enough for Rachel. Because, and I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but, unfortunately the truth is not always a band aid that heals wounds. The damage had been done regardless or whether you told Rachel the truth or not. Hell, my guess is that she finds out regardless. And the thing is, for people like Rachel Amber, professional help isn’t always something that comes to mind or easy to access. You’d think it would be considering she’s from a wealthy family, but the truth is when you’re the girl who everything is going “right” for, few people ever want to help you without something in return or take your problems seriously, even psychologists themselves. Furthermore, she probably struggled with the fact she felt she had no reason to complain, something that could also be said for Before The Storm Nathan Prescott, and perhaps the reason they got close.

And that’s what Chloe offered Rachel. Sure, she also offered her a way out of town, but remember, Chloe doesn’t have that at the start of Before The Storm. All she had was herself, and that happened to be exactly what Rachel needed. Someone who didn’t see her as “Rachel Amber; HBIC, DA’s daughter, perfect person” but just “Rachel Amber, girl who wants to hang with me”. She offered a space where Rachel could be herself without expectation, assumptions or preconceptions of who she was. I mean Chloe romanticises it a lot just as Max and Chloe both romanticise their friendship partially due to Rachel’s popularity, but ultimately that’s how their friendship/relationship started; two people who needed somebody and were willing to give what the other person offered.

I will say that I think Rachel deliberately chose Chloe in part because she was separate from the other aspects of Rachel’s life as Chloe didn’t go to school often and only had one mutual friend (Steph) with Rachel, and it’s unclear just how close Steph and Chloe were. I also think that gave the relationship an unequal footing emotionally because even though Chloe clearly had people who cared about her (Joyce, Steph, Mikey and even arguably David), she was so caught up in the past that she didn’t realise that and Rachel would have had to see that at some point. Meanwhile, while they may not have given her the distraction she wanted, Rachel was adored by most people and could leave the relationship without question of being alone. And that imbalance backed Chloe into a corner to do what Rachel said on more than one occasion because as much as Chloe pretends otherwise, she’s terrified to be alone. Now I want to make it clear that I do not think Rachel ever INTENTIONALLY manipulated Chloe, but you can unintentionally manipulate someone and I think that happened quite a bit due to miscommunication through Rachel not realising and Chloe being too scared to bring it up. I also believe that Rachel realised just how big the support gap was later on in the relationship and that’s why when she realised she needed something Chloe couldn’t give her, she chose to cheat rather than leave Chloe because I honestly believe she still loved her, just realised things weren’t working. I am not saying that that’s the right decision at all because it’s not, but if that was the case I would understand why she did it that way.

As for why Amberprice fell apart, I think dependant on the “true” last choice in Before The Storm, it came down to 2 - 3 things. Firstly, as I said earlier. if the ending where Chloe does not tell Rachel is meant to be cannon, I believe Rachel finds out anyway and holds passive aggressive hostility towards Chloe for not being honest with her which ultimately causes arguments and distrust between them. If the ending where you tell her is meant to be cannon, I don’t think this plays a role. Secondly, I think Rachel slowly realised just how depressed Chloe was and how unadept she was to help Chloe 24/7. And because I know that someone is going to come at me saying that I’m trying to say that mentally ill people are a burden, I’m saying this now; I’m not but not everyone is in the right mind frame to help others in their issues, especially severe emotional ones, and given Rachel was barely staying afloat herself, I think it’s pretty safe to say she was not. And finally, I honestly think Chloe was the one who decided not to leave Arcadia Bay earlier. My honest to god guess would be seeing as we saw David get physical with Chloe during Life Is Strange, she honestly believed he would do the same to Joyce if she left. Now I’m not saying David would have because it can honestly be argued either way, but I think regardless, Chloe believed he would and that’s what kept her at the Bay.

Out of those, I think the last one played the biggest role. Remember when I said Rachel is too focused on the future and discontent with the present? That leads me to believe that as much as she loved Chloe, she couldn’t see a happy future with her in the Bay because the Bay was a sign of mediocrity and same old same old for Rachel. Honestly, if I had to guess Rachel’s moon sign, it’d be Capricorn just like me because the Leo/Capricorn (yes I know she was a cusp baby but I’m going with Leo for this) mix is one filled with ambition and the need to be universally recognised, neither of which was being fulfilled for Rachel in the Bay. The thing with ambition though is for it to ever be completely fulfilled, you need to make sacrifices, and often they come in the forms of loss of relationships. So when Rachel realised that Chloe was showing hesitation towards leaving the Bay at that point, she freaked, thinking Chloe may not ever leave and did what she could to find another way.

And that’s where Nathan, Frank and Jefferson comes in. My guess would be Nathan was her first pick, but she quickly learned that any power to leave lay with Sean and Nathan was not in the position to ask. At this point, while I do think she cared about him and sympathised with him not being able to get help, I think she moved on to Frank. In terms of whether she loved Frank, I think she did purely because he has her bracelet. I think at the start Nathan’s words rang true about how she was using him to get away and then drugs when she realised he wouldn’t leave in hopes that would be enough to hold her over until she could leave. And for a while, I think it and the fact she fell for Frank was. But then it reached a point where it wasn’t again. I do think at this point she reevaluated her life and expectations, broke up with Frank and tried to make it work with Chloe or even tried to make it work with Frank, but it just wasn’t enough.

The problem was, she wasn’t the only one who saw that. A certain new photography teacher who happened to be a psychopath did too, and he used it to his advantage. Quite frankly, out of all of Rachel’s relationships, Jefferson has always been the one I’ve thought she cared about the least. And that might be strange considering he’s heavily implied he was the one who “changed her life” but changing someone’s life doesn’t have to be romantic. I honestly believe that the change either was or at least started as Rachel realising Jefferson had an interest in her and finally believing she found her ticket out of Arcadia Bay. Like out of everyone in the game who liked Rachel, Jefferson had the motive and means to leave whenever he wanted and she knew that. I think she thought she was going to outplay him by sleeping with him and getting him to take her to San Francisco for that trip or even LA just for general purposes before chucking the deuces and calling Chloe to convince her to join her. The issue was Jefferson was one smarter. Regardless of if Nathan actually killed her or Jefferson did and lied about it, Rachel was a plaything for him, just like every other girl who was taken to the dark room and he would have eventually discarded her and killed her had she threaten to speak up.

And that’s the tragic thing about Rachel Amber. Because yes, she made some bad and selfish decisions, but ultimately she was a complex, hurting and yet ambitious human being who just wanted to find peace and happiness that she (wrongfully but still) felt so strongly could only be found in a future away from the Bay to the point she never fully found it with those she loved and who loved her in her present.

#life is strange #before the storm #rachel amber #amberprice #there's also some talk about Chloe and Max as individuals and loads on Rachel's relationship and why I think Amberprice fell apart

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moonlitgleek · 7 years

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@solareclairart reblogged this post and added:

I disagree strongly with a lot of this criticism. In book dorne, marriage was not a necessity. All the sand snakes are considered true daughters under dorne law. Targaryans also married multiple wives often. It was northern law that forbade unmarried women and bastard born. I think Rhaegar never abandoned Elia. I think she believed the prophecy as well. I truly believe that he married Lyanna to pacify northern lords. Elia is a daughter of the sun. Lyanna was a winter wolf. Together, they created ice and fire. I believe now it will be Targaryen, Stark, and Lannister. The gold lion standing in as sun, snow for ice, and all three with varying amounts of dragon blood. This is also true of Elia who had weaker Targaryen lineage. I think the prophecy didn’t fulfill before because there wasn’t strong enough dragon blood in Elia. If Joanna Lannister was impregnated with the mad king, all three would have a dragon father and lineage to the first men and children of the forest in the men.

Oh boy. There is a lot to unpack here. I’m gonna break it down because this is a rather stunning mix of outright incorrect information, some breathtaking stereotyping and racist misconceptions, and wrong theories. No, really, they are wrong. Tyrion is not a Targ.

Let’s take this from the top.

In book dorne, marriage was not a necessity. All the sand snakes are considered true daughters under dorne law.

What do you think Dornish law is exactly? Because literally the only difference between Dorne and the rest of Westeros is that Dorne employs absolute primogeniture (and a couple of rights like the right to keep their princely title.) That’s it. Law in Dorne is not at all different from other regions in Westeros, especially when we’re talking about matters of marriage and heirs because that stuff affects the line of succession which is crucial in a feudal society.

The context you’re looking for wrt the treatment of bastards is cultural (and social), not legal. Dorne is very different in the way they treat bastards, that’s true, but they are still not giving them the same legal rights as the trueborn. I have no idea where you got the idea that the Sand Snakes are "considered true daughters under dorne law”. Yeaaah, no. That’s patently not true. The Sand Snakes might have gotten raised akin to trueborn children, but so have Jon Snow, and no one is arguing that he was considered a true son under the law. The Sand Snakes are bastards, hence the Sand part. They are not considered trueborn. They are acknowledged as Oberyn’s daughters and treated with respect as the daughters of a prince of House Martell, and as Dorne generally does not stigmatize bastards, but they do not have the same legal rights as trueborn children: they do not bear their father’s name, they are not considered princesses of House Martell, they do not have the right to inherit, etc. There is nothing in Dornish law that says otherwise, or that gives illegitimate offspring any legal rights.

More importantly, the idea that marriage isn’t a necessity in Dorne is ludicrous. Whatever on earth gave you that impression? No, let me guess: Oberyn Martell. Fandom just loves to take the example of Oberyn and stereotype the entire Dornish culture based on him. Oberyn wasn’t married so no one had to get married in Dorne. Oberyn made a casual comment about sleeping with others while he was in a committed relationship with Ellaria so all the Dornish are accustomed to cheating on their significant others and don’t care if they have paramours on the side (not that Oberyn was cheating. Some are just fond of ignoring the fact that he repeatedly made comments about “sharing” with Ellaria. Ellaria consented. Ellaria participated. They invited people to their bed.) Gee, I wonder why people act as if Oberyn is the representative of the entire Dornish culture, even going to unprecedented measures to ignore the actual text because “well, Oberyn did X” fit their racist stereotypes better. Stop treating a person of color as the sole representative of his culture, and stop treating the only non-white culture that actually has a proper presence in the series as a monolith society.

(Grumbles at GRRM and his skewered presentation of the Dornish and heavy use of the exotic-erotic trope. You haven’t helped matters any, George. Good lord.)

But let’s talk about Dorne and about Oberyn. Dorne has a positive attitude towards sex, culturally permits having paramours and does not frown upon children born out of wedlock, but that does not mean that having paramours is the rule of the land in Dorne, or that it’s the baseline convention. It’s just allowed without derision or scorn. Dorne is a feudal principality, they adhere to the Faith of the Seven just like the majority of Westeros, they are governed by only slightly different inheritance laws, and the difference has nothing to do with the status of trueborn vs bastard children. Legitimacy is crucial to the integrity of line of succession and to the laws of inheritance, but you just randomly decided that nah, marriage is optional there? Okay, care to explain this:

Arianne Martell had grown up expecting that one day she would wed some great lord of her father's choosing. That was what princesses were for, she had been taught . . . though, admittedly, her uncle Oberyn had taken a different view of matters. "If you would wed, wed," the Red Viper had told his own daughters. "If not, take your pleasure where you find it. There's little enough of it in this world. Choose well, though. If you saddle yourself with a fool or a brute, don't look to me to rid you of him. I gave you the tools to do that for yourself."

Or how the text disproves the idea that there is absolutely no difference between the Sand Snakes and trueborn Martells, or generally between bastards and trueborn in Dorne.

The freedom that Prince Oberyn allowed his bastard daughters had never been shared by Prince Doran's lawful heir. Arianne must wed; she had accepted that. Drey had wanted her, she knew; so had his brother Deziel, the Knight of Lemonwood. Daemon Sand had gone so far as to ask for her hand. Daemon was bastard-born, however, and Prince Doran did not mean for her to wed a Dornishman.

Oberyn took a different approach with his own life and his own daughters. He made a decision concerning his life and he encouraged his daughters to do the same. He gave them the freedom to wed if they wished to but not the expectation that they would. But Oberyn was presented by the text as somewhat of a maverick, a nonconformist even within Dorne itself. He could afford to do that because he was not heir to Dorne and there was little chance that he’d ever inherit. He did not have a responsibility to provide trueborn heirs for House Nymeros Martell, and so he had significant freedom due to that fact. But heirs have a responsibility to marry and produce lawful heirs. Plus, Oberyn is one person, why is his example the one people are laser-focused on but they ignore Doran and Elia, the Unnamed Princess of Dorne and Nymeria of Ny Sar, Mariah and Maron Martell, Arianne, Quentyn and Trystane, and the countless trueborn Dornish characters we met over the course of the story? Why did all these people marry if marriage was not a necessity?

Marriage is as important in Dorne as in the other regions in Westeros with both religious and legal weight. Dorne is just another region in Westeros that is still governed by Westerosi convention, customs and religion, they just have some of their own inspired by the Rhoynish. The social treatment of bastards is infinitely better in Dorne than outside it, but their legal and political standing remains the same, the distinction between bastards and trueborn through surnames remains the same, even some restrictions remain the same. Daemon Sand can be a lover to Arianne but he can never be her husband. His social and political standing would never allow it. Likewise, I suspect the reason Oberyn did not marry Ellaria, his lover of 14 years that he evidently loved very much, was because of her bastard-birth, because even princes can only bend the rules so much.

Enough with fanon myths that bastardize the information we have about Dorne and turn it into these weird arguments that are always used to justify Rhaegar’s actions. Not that I can see how "marriage was not a necessity in Dorne” explains anything because Elia was Rhaegar’s wife and the mother of his two children, the Iron Throne was her children’s inheritance, or do the Dornish not care about inheritance as well? And if you mean to imply the old “Elia was okay with it because she is Dornish” argument, fuck that noise.

Targaryans also married multiple wives often.

Yes, that is correct, though often is not the word I’d use for two recorded polygamous marriages. Nevertheless, that means there is a precedent to a Targaryen taking multiple wives, which I think is probably what Rhaegar proposed to Lyanna to get her to go with him willingly (as much as the action can be described as willing because there are still consent issues at play here). I think that Rhaegar and Lyanna probably wed in front of a heart tree on the Isle of Faces. That, however, does not mean that the marriage is either valid or legal.

We need to look at the historical context of Targaryen polygamy before we discuss Rhaegar’s ability to take another wife to understand the chances that the realm would accept that marriage. The first thing to note about this subject is that polygamy was unconventional even when Aegon the Conqueror did it, before he started his conquest of Westeros.

It had long been the custom amongst the dragonlords of Valyria to wed brother to sister, to keep the bloodlines pure, but Aegon took both his sisters to bride. By tradition, he was expected to wed only his older sister, Visenya; the inclusion of Rhaenys as a second wife was unusual, though not without precedent.

Both polygamy and incest are sins in the eyes of the Faith of the Seven, the majority religion in Westeros. The Faith tolerated both in the case of Aegon on account of his dragons whose prowess was just recently demonstrated in the Conquest. As GRRM says:

... the extent to which the Targaryen kings could defy convention, the Faith, and the opinions of the other lords decreased markedly after they no longer had dragons. If you have a dragon, you can have as many wives as you want, and people are less likely to object.

Aegon had converted to the Faith of the Seven and taken measures to assimilate to Westerosi culture, winning him the support of the Starry Sept. However, upon Aegon’s death, the Faith showed that they would not tolerate the same practices from his son(s).

Maegor shocked the realm in 39 AC by announcing that he had taken a second wife—Alys of House Harroway—in secret. He had wed her in a Valyrian ceremony officiated by Queen Visenya for want of a septon willing to wed them. The public outcry was such that Aenys was finally forced to exile his brother.

Maegor’s bigamous marriage to Alys Harroway was the start of the rift between the Faith and the crown, one that did not heal despite Aenys’ attempts, and was later compounded by Aenys himself marrying his two eldest to each other, ultimately leading to the Faith denouncing the Targaryens. The Faith Militant uprising during Maegor’s reign followed as his continuing polygamous marriages raised the tension and Maegor escalated the situation (because he is Maegor) by blatant tyranny and brutal burning of thousands of Warrior’s Sons and Poor Fellows.

So the history tied to Targaryen polygamy is dark and bloody. Maegor was the last recorded Targaryen polygamists, bar some rumors that Daemon Blackfyre meant to take his half-sister Daenerys as a second wife after his planned seizing of the throne from Daeron II, but the truth of the matter died with Daemon himself on the Redgrass field. While Jaehaerys I’s conciliatory efforts succeeded in defanging the Faith after the bloody conflict with Maegor, and won the Targaryens the exemption that permitted them their incestuous marriages, polygamy was never practiced again. Which means that the precedent that Rhaegar may have intended to invoke 1) happened over 200 years ago when the Targaryens had the undeniable advantage of dragons on their side, and 2) sparked a rebellion that resulted in the death of thousands, and thus got heavily entwined in the minds of the Westerosi with the tyranny of Maegor. Which utterly complicates any attempt to get a marriage to Lyanna recognized.

Now, we can argue that Rhaegar planned to convince, pressure and\or bribe the High Septon to declare a second marriage valid (though we have no evidence to suggest so, and though getting the High Septon to approve a post-fact marriage done in front of a heart tree would be extremely unlikely indeed), but in the absence of such a legalization, Rhaegar and Lyanna’s “marriage” would remain illegal and invalid in the eyes of the Faith. And no, that crap on the show where the High Septon was able to Apparate to Dorne and back before anyone noticed his absence, and where he approved something that would bring significant consequences to both himself and the realm so damn easily, is not happening. That’s preposterous.

It was northern law that forbade unmarried women and bastard born.

You seem to think that the cultural divide that separates the North and Dorne from the rest of the realm means that the North and Dorne are governed by alien laws that are completely removed from the rest of Westeros when the truth is that the differences are not that grand or that many, and most of them are cultural with no legal bearing.

Anyways.

This is not something that is unique to the North. Bastards are stigmatized everywhere in Westeros, with the exception of Dorne; they are perceived as treacherous and untrustworthy and a perpetual danger to their trueborn siblings’ inheritance, the girls are assumed to be lusty and wanton and easy. This ain’t a mark of those “Northern savages”, literally every region in Westeros, bar Dorne, thinks that way. The patriarchy, naturally, absolves the men, chalking it up to them “having needs” while literally teaching women to expect their husbands to father bastards. However, a noblewoman who loses her maidenhead before marriage or, god forbid, bears a bastard is swiftly punished, looked down upon and often has to marry so far beneath her station because the scandal of bearing a bastard tanked her hand’s worth. Delena Florent had to marry a household knight after bearing a bastard son to Robert Baratheon. Lollys Stokeworth fell pregnant after being gang-raped but in a rather remarkable pout of victim-blaming, she was derided for it, and was married off to the lowborn sellsword Bronn. Hoster Tully forcibly aborted Lysa to prevent the news about her lost maidenhead and her pregnancy from getting out. Jon Arryn’s niece, the daughter of Alys Arryn and Elys Waynwood, joined the Silent Sisters after she was seduced by a sellsword and her bastard died in infancy. None of these women are Northern.

As for bastards, the prevailing social convention for them is to be sent away, if they are even acknowledged in first place. Jon Snow and the Sand Snakes are the exception, not the rule. This is a story where Mya Stone, the king’s bastard, spends her time guiding mules in the Vale in service to House Royce of the Gates of the Moon. Her half-brother Edric Storm had a much better fate being raised as a ward of Renly in Storm’s End but that’s because his mother is a noblewoman (the aforementioned Delena Florent) and because his conception was a public affair since Robert deflowered Delena in Stannis’ marriage bed. Falia Flowers, bastard daughter of Lord Humfrey Hewett of Oakenshield, was made a servant to her half-sisters and her father’s wife. Even when the bastards are relatively treated well or belong to Great Houses, we still see the prevailing social stigma in how Sybelle Spicer, herself derided for descending from upjumped merchants as she is the granddaughter of a spice trader and an Essosi maegi, was thoroughly disgusted at the idea of marrying her son to Joy Hill, bastard daughter of Gerion Lannister. And these are all noble bastards, claimed or at least acknowledged by their noble parent.

The prejudice against bastards is institutional in Westeros, supported by holy scripture and widely spread. The nobility frowns upon bastards and regards them with suspicion, and the Faith preaches about their ill-make. Here’s what the Faith of the Seven, the majority religion in Westeros, says about bastardy and even legitimized bastards as told by the would-be King Aegon V Targaryen:

"The old High Septon told my father that king's laws are one thing, and the laws of the gods another," [Egg] said stubbornly. "Trueborn children are made in a marriage bed and blessed by the Father and the Mother, but bastards are born of lust and weakness, he said. King Aegon decreed that his bastards were not bastards, but he could not change their nature. The High Septon said all bastards are born to betrayal . . . Daemon Blackfyre, Bittersteel, even Bloodraven. Lord Rivers was more cunning than the other two, he said, but in the end he would prove himself a traitor, too. The High Septon counseled my father never to put any trust in him, nor in any other bastards, great or small."

Tell me again how it’s Northern law that bans bastards.

I think Rhaegar never abandoned Elia. I think she believed the prophecy as well.

Rhaegar left Elia in her sickbed, shortly after she nearly died birthing Aegon, to go pursue Lyanna, and that’s after publicly humiliating her and dealing a hit to her political worth in the eyes of the biggest possible gathering of lords. I don’t think he considered that Aerys could recall her and the children to King’s Landing but that’s, at best, a terrible oversight on his part since he knew fully well that his father was paranoid and fearful of what he, Rhaegar, might do. Rhaegar drew Aerys’ eyes to the Starks at Harrenhal then went and caused a political crisis by disappearing with Lyanna. It was a given that Aerys would be quick to seek an insurance against his wayward son who disappeared to who-knows-where doing who-knows-what and conveniently left his wife and children behind on Dragonstone within the Mad King’s reach, the same Mad King who already disdained Elia and her “Dornish-smelling” daughter, and regarded Dorne with suspicion for the heck of it. Perfect plan. Two thumbs up, Rhaegar.

I continue to be bewildered as to where the belief that Elia believed in the prophecy comes from. She knew of the prophecy but we have no indication that she believed it or was willing to risk her own children for it. Why on earth would she do that? What shred of evidence do we have to suggest this? I mean, if Elia really did believe the prophecy, shouldn’t Oberyn have at least heard about it? Oberyn and Elia were as close as twins and she trusted him implicitly. He was present at Harrenhal and bristled at the public insult to his sister. He was still (rightfully) bristling at Rhaegar 15 years later. But if Elia knew, wouldn’t she have tried to convince Oberyn of the validity of the prophecy, or at the very least indicated that she was alright with what Rhaegar had done? Wouldn’t she cite the prophecy to convince her brother to let it go? Wouldn’t she have tried to use her connections to find Rhaegar a more appropriate place for Lyanna than the Tower of Joy, considering this was her own kingdom he was taking Lyanna to? Wouldn’t she, at the very least, know fully well that Aegon was the Prince who was Promised and thus needn’t ask Rhaegar for a song for him?

I hate that argument, that unfounded assumption that of course Elia believed in the prophecy just because Rhaegar did. People generally do not buy into legends about a zombie apocalypse and prophetic figures and dragons returning that easily, especially since the entire Targaryen dynasty was nearly wiped out chasing that dream. No one was going to put stock in long lost lore and prophetic dreams and obscure scrolls after that, not without compelling evidence. Why would Elia be okay with being publicly humiliated and put, along with her children, on the line for a prophecy? Why would she be cool with Rhaegar carrying off a teenager to use as an incubator for a savior? Why does that argument even exists? ffs.

I truly believe that he married Lyanna to pacify northern lords.

This has got to be a joke! Please tell me this is a joke!

Dude, Rhaegar vanished with Lyanna for months. He made a mess and left the Starks to deal with the fallout, left them with no choice but to go to Aerys, then returned after Aerys killed over half a dozen nobles, including the Lord Paramount of the North and his heir, only to take up arms against Northern lords. How did you arrive at “pacify the Northern lords” from that? The guy carried off a daughter of House Stark to the other side of the continent to impregnate her. He defied convention and every chivalric rule and publicly besmirched her honor and that of House Stark by pretty much framing her as a royal mistress at Harrnehal. He created a political crisis and fled without sparing two thoughts to the consequences. He declared for his father and took up arms against the rebels knowing fully well that his father committed a crime, and being more than willing to kill the people who were injured by his and his father’s actions so he could retain his crown. What part of that even hints at an attempt for conciliation?

I believe now it will be Targaryen, Stark, and Lannister. The gold lion standing in as sun, snow for ice, and all three with varying amounts of dragon blood. This is also true of Elia who had weaker Targaryen lineage. I think the prophecy didn’t fulfill before because there wasn’t strong enough dragon blood in Elia. If Joanna Lannister was impregnated with the mad king, all three would have a dragon father and lineage to the first men and children of the forest in the men.

Tyrion is not a secret Targaryen. Tyrion is not a secret Targaryen. TYRION IS NOT A SECRET TARGARYEN. GRRM himself said that third head of the dragon needn’t have Targaryen blood. Kill that theory with wildfire and throw the ashes from the Hightower. The narrative is not going to make Tywin Lannister correct in his rejection of Tyrion as his son, neither is it validating his ableism and abuse or handing him his heart’s desire posthumously. Tywin wanted nothing more than for Tyrion to not be his blood, and the narrative isn’t giving it to him. The point of the story is that Tyrion is Tywin’s son and how he has to struggle to define who he is outside of his father’s brutal legacy, how he has to reject the Lannister ideology and legacy of blood and revenge to turn his attention to the true fight in the North. Tyrion being a Targaryen undermines his story, just as Jon being legitimate undermines his.

And enough with the stuff about Elia. She didn’t have enough Targaryen blood! She couldn’t have a third child for the prophecy! The only thing I see in these arguments is an insistence to imply that Elia was somehow lacking and that it was her that prevented the fulfillment of the prophecy. What a load of crap. You do realize that you’re buying into Cersei’s and Jon Connington’s rhetoric about Elia, correct? That you’re adopting their ableist and racist view of her and treating it as a fact, building a theory on the implication that Elia simply was not enough. Don’t be Cersei, don’t be Jon Connington. Be better.

It does not matter how “strong” Elia’s Targaryen blood was or wasn’t, the prophecy wasn’t going to come true with her children anyway..... because Rhaegar got it wrong. That’s the whole point; Rhaegar understood everything about this prophecy wrong. Aegon was not the Prince who was Promised. Rhaenys wasn’t one of the heads of the dragons. The three heads of the dragon aren’t even siblings, and not all of them are Targaryens. This has nothing with the potency of Elia’s Targaryen blood (and fyi, not even the current Targaryens have that much Valyrian blood anyway). The fact of the matter is that Aegon and Rhaenys couldn’t fulfill the prophecy no more than Rhaegar or Viserys could, simply because they weren’t the figures described in it. It had nothing to do with how much Targaryen blood they had, or how strong it was. I mean, Rhaegar and Viserys had as much Targ blood as Dany, why weren’t they two of the heads of the dragon?

Oh, and just for the record, Rhaenys and Aegon did have First Men blood, through Betha Blackwood and Dyanna Dayne , Rhaegar’s great grandmother, and great great grandmother respectively. That magical genetic makeup of Targaryen\First Men blood you’re talking about? Yup, they had it too. They also had more Targaryen blood than Jon.

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easynaturalhairstyle · 4 years

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Dealing with thick, wavy and unruly hair for men

So many of us are obsessed with the thought of a thin reetch, it is easy to forget that baldness is not a man's only concern when it comes to his barnet: thick, wavy and usually unruly hair can do all the problems , also.

And with a Don King hair day, more than just your appearance can be affected. According to a Yale University study, men who aren't happy with their hair tend to be more confident, self-critical, and less sociable than their well-deserved colleagues. Even the thought of a bad hair day has been shown to dramatically affect self-esteem.

Before you literally pull your hair out, keep in mind that there is no such thing as "normal" when it comes to things on your head – just the hair that you have been treated by accident: hair that is unique to you. And what makes it unique depends on its structure.

Evaluate your hair type

Hair varies in thickness – from 50 microns (a unit of 1 millionth of a meter) for people with fine hair to over 100 microns. The thickness also depends on the number of individual hairs on your head.

How the hair behaves depends on the shape of the individual waves. Asian hair, for example, is often round, lying flat and straight; caucasian hair is slightly oval, which tends to make it fine with varying degrees of waviness; and Afro-Caribbean hair is flat and curved, which gives it its distinctly curly look.

In addition, hair density – how many individual shafts there are on the head – is influenced by its color, with blondes being the least haired and redheads the least.

"Half of the battle learns how to work with the hair you got," said Wendy Lewis, author of Hair Affair. "You may know best how your hair behaves, but making it look healthy, shiny, and manageable can take a little knowledge."

At this (shared) end, this guide is here to help. Whether your mop is wavy, curly, frizzy, thick or just refuses to lie flat, we have a battle plan to defeat any kind of bad hair day.

Dealing with: thick hair

In the same way that it is difficult to sympathize with a billionaire who complains about the price of maintaining his yacht, it is hard to feel pity for a man who complains that his hair is too thick. But if you're that man, a thick reetch can be a constant source of annoyance.

"For thick hair, the main issue is manageability and sheer volume of hair," said Jaymarie Winkler, general manager of the new Ruffians hair salon at Liberty department store in London.

How to style thick hair

In general, slightly shorter hairstyles work best here. "Think about Caesar fringes, buzz cuts, structured plants and short choppy quiffs," says Winkler.

If the hair is particularly thick, ask your hairdresser or stylist to take some of the weight off with special thinning scissors. "This can help if your hair is very thick, but avoid it if your hair is coarse as it becomes carbonated and more complex."

It is also worthwhile for the hair to dry naturally if possible, as blow drying can increase volume and make it look even thicker. If blow drying is important, stick to a cool setting.

What products to use for thick hair

Non-volumizing mousse, on the one hand. Thick hair benefits from styling products that provide hold without adding volume or stickiness, so Winkler suggests stowing on clay or pastes.

According to Paul Morgan, a hairdresser at Jacks of London, a good moisturizing shampoo is also important, as is a decent conditioner. “They will not dry out the hair and keep it in good condition, which is important because when the hair is dry, the cuticle stays [die äußerste Schicht des Haares] open and it will appear even thicker and straw-like. ”

Conditioners also help keep thick hair manageable and result in a sleek and less voluminous look. “Moroccan oil is great for thick hair because it moisturizes and can change texture and soften hair over time,” says Morgan.

Dealing with: wavy hair

Around 40 percent of Caucasian men have slightly wavy hair, and if you're one of them, you're in good company – David Gandy, Orlando Bloom, and Roger Federer are three well-known men who know how to drive the waves.

Like curly hair, the wavy stuff can appear voluminous and tends to react to the weather – whereby the wave is more pronounced in high air humidity or with drizzle in the air. Additional waves can also sprout in places you would rather not have done and become knotted and tangled if your hair is long.

How to style wavy hair

"Instead of a bad thing, wavy hair is in many ways the holy grail of hair types," says Winkler. “Pretty much all styles work, but everything that has been pushed back really shows off that wave. If your hair is thick and wavy, your hairdresser can take out part of the mass with a razor or thinning scissors without risking frizz. ”

Particularly good cuts for guys with wavy hair are the undercut (where the sides and back hold an ultra short with the hair worn long up), the public school side part (where the fringe falls forward) or loose and bridled (think Jon Snow or Harry Styles). Remember: the longer the hair, the more pronounced the wave. So if control is your goal, keep your hair under three inches or so in length.

To tame longer wavy hair that tends to be somewhat unruly, Morgan suggests tying it loose overnight. "In the morning it will have a natural, messy, wavy look – very easy to care for and effortlessly cool."

Which products to use on wavy hair

"I recommend using sea salt or a volume spray to give some oomph before styling with a shiny pomade or styling paste," says Winkler.

You can maximize (and maintain) your waves with hair products designed to define and improve curls and waves, while reducing the crazy scientist look with an anti-frizz serum.

If you really want to wave goodbye, you can always temporarily remove them with the help of a pair of ceramic flat irons. If your cut is particularly short, choose a model with smaller plates, as they offer greater precision – that's the difference between smoldering optics and second-degree burns.

Dealing with: curly hair

"Curly hair is curly because the follicle from which it grows under the scalp is not straight," says celebrity hairdresser and trichologist Guy Parsons. Typically, curly hair is coarser in texture, and the coarser the hair, the less water it holds and therefore it is the dryer.

"It also absorbs light instead of reflecting it, so it doesn't tend to look" shiny "like straighter hair would," says Parsons. "The other downside is that it can become frizzy in wet weather, so it's important to use products that create a protective shield around it."

How to style curly hair

Many people find curly hair care overwhelming and neglect it to the point of the 1980s comedy Scouser ("It's certainly not the easiest hair type to manage," Parsons admits).

You have three options: fight it by cropping it (that's how Justin Timberlake attacks his infamous curly mop above), remove the curls with a relaxing treatment, or – and this is by far the easiest and most authentic option – you can simply make the most of what nature has given you. After all, it's not like there aren't many poster boys for curly hair: think James Franco, Adrian Grenier and Carlos Valderrama. Okay, so maybe not Valderrama, but you have the idea.

"To groom and define curly hair, ask your hairdresser for a flat, layered cut to create a full, curly finish," advises Morgan. "You don't want too much thinning or texturing to take place." A curly undercut (short on the back and on the sides, long and curly at the top) always looks good, as does a curly quiff and hair that has grown to the length of the jaws a la Aiden Turner in Poldark.

Whichever style you choose, make sure you cut or shape it when you're dry. Curly hair is more relaxed when it is wet, jump back a little when it is dry so it is cut this way, guaranteeing the style and length you want.

What products to use on curly hair

"Product selection is critical to curly hair," says Morgan, who recommends a moisturizing shampoo to prevent hair from becoming dry and frizzy, alongside a styling product like Moroccan Oil Molding Cream. "It can be applied to wet hair and, because it's incredibly moisturizing, is perfect for curly hair," he says. "It will help define the curls and give them good hold."

If you are in a knot, take the right tool too. The hair can be tangled with a brush specially designed for thick and curly hair. These have flexible teeth that gently detangle and smooth the cuticles of the hair while minimizing damage. Likewise, drying hair with a hair dryer with a diffuser will help protect the hair and define curls without making them frizzy.

"For a more relaxed, loose look, simply dry the hair with a towel and use a standard hair dryer nozzle or funnel to straighten the hair for a more relaxed curl," says Morgan. "Or if you want to get rid of them, flat irons could give you a new look for the day."

Keep in mind that using heat on curls – along with alcohol-based sprays and mousses – can make dry hair even drier. So don't forget to reverse the effects with a moisturized, non-volumizing shampoo and occasionally deep conditioner.

Dealing with: unruly hair

Like young children, hair can be obedient and well-behaved, or unruly and defiant. Since your hair is unique, it is likely that it will have its own kinks and quirks. Most of them will hug you and have learned to live, but a couple – cowlicks and double crowns – can be particularly problematic.

Crowns are (mostly clockwise) hair swirls that form at a central point on the back of the head directly from the top of your head – but some people have two of them that create a "double crown". These can be difficult for hairdressers because they have to deal with two centers of growth to style.

Cowlicks, meanwhile, are small sections of hair that go against the general direction of hair on the head to create gravity-defying tufts that hold and defy most attempts to tame them with products like waxes and pomades.

Knew how:

"If you have a distinctive double crown, you have to commit to either a long, very choppy, or short style," says Winkler. "Longer the crown will complain, make it less noticeable, and short and choppy will hide it." Everything in between and you ask for trouble, with different hair pieces noticeably growing apart.

The easiest way to deal with a stubborn cowlick is to make a short, spiky, or structured style that works with it and not against it, disguising the hyperactive hair.

What products should be used on unruly hair?

There is no magic potion that can help here. However, some styling techniques can help make things easier.

For example, blow drying can temporarily change the direction of hair growth if cowlicks are an issue, while hair growth can help longer by weighing it.

Interestingly, washing the hair is less often a good hack, since the natural oils weigh the individual strands at the root.

Dealing with thick, wavy and unruly hair for men

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qualitytacolover · 4 years

Text

Dealing with thick, wavy and unruly hair for men

New Post has been published on https://www.easypromhairstyles.com/dealing-with-thick-wavy-and-unruly-hair-for-men.html

Dealing with thick, wavy and unruly hair for men

Evaluate your hair type

In addition, hair density – how many individual shafts there are on the head – is influenced by its color, with blondes being the least haired and redheads the least.

At this (shared) end, this guide is here to help. Whether your mop is wavy, curly, frizzy, thick or just refuses to lie flat, we have a battle plan to defeat any kind of bad hair day.

Dealing with: thick hair

"For thick hair, the main issue is manageability and sheer volume of hair," said Jaymarie Winkler, general manager of the new Ruffians hair salon at Liberty department store in London.

How to style thick hair

In general, slightly shorter hairstyles work best here. "Think about Caesar fringes, buzz cuts, structured plants and short choppy quiffs," says Winkler.

It is also worthwhile for the hair to dry naturally if possible, as blow drying can increase volume and make it look even thicker. If blow drying is important, stick to a cool setting.

What products to use for thick hair

Non-volumizing mousse, on the one hand. Thick hair benefits from styling products that provide hold without adding volume or stickiness, so Winkler suggests stowing on clay or pastes.

Dealing with: wavy hair

How to style wavy hair

Which products to use on wavy hair

"I recommend using sea salt or a volume spray to give some oomph before styling with a shiny pomade or styling paste," says Winkler.

You can maximize (and maintain) your waves with hair products designed to define and improve curls and waves, while reducing the crazy scientist look with an anti-frizz serum.

Dealing with: curly hair

How to style curly hair

Many people find curly hair care overwhelming and neglect it to the point of the 1980s comedy Scouser ("It's certainly not the easiest hair type to manage," Parsons admits).

What products to use on curly hair

Dealing with: unruly hair

Knew how:

The easiest way to deal with a stubborn cowlick is to make a short, spiky, or structured style that works with it and not against it, disguising the hyperactive hair.

What products should be used on unruly hair?

There is no magic potion that can help here. However, some styling techniques can help make things easier.

For example, blow drying can temporarily change the direction of hair growth if cowlicks are an issue, while hair growth can help longer by weighing it.

Interestingly, washing the hair is less often a good hack, since the natural oils weigh the individual strands at the root.

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dfroza · 5 years

Text

turning the page...

(inside, Anew)

to come to view life through baptism eyes is the significance of what we read in Today’s chapters that are paired from the Testaments as the Letter of Colossians (chapter 3) and Isaiah (chapter 51)

for the Scriptures illuminate grace leading us to find the place of “Home” that begins in the heart where we discover our True identity in Love which is the constant atmosphere of Heaven

[He Is Your Life]

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.

Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them.

Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.

Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits.

Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.

The Letter of Colossians, Chapter 3 (The Message)

[Committed to Seeking God]

“Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living

and committed to seeking God.

Ponder the rock from which you were cut,

the quarry from which you were dug.

Yes, ponder Abraham, your father,

and Sarah, who bore you.

Think of it! One solitary man when I called him,

but once I blessed him, he multiplied.

Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion,

comfort all her mounds of ruins.

I’ll transform her dead ground into Eden,

her moonscape into the garden of God,

A place filled with exuberance and laughter,

thankful voices and melodic songs.

“Pay attention, my people.

Listen to me, nations.

Revelation flows from me.

My decisions light up the world.

My deliverance arrives on the run,

my salvation right on time.

I’ll bring justice to the peoples.

Even faraway islands will look to me

and take hope in my saving power.

Look up at the skies,

ponder the earth under your feet.

The skies will fade out like smoke,

the earth will wear out like work pants,

and the people will die off like flies.

But my salvation will last forever,

my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.

“Listen now, you who know right from wrong,

you who hold my teaching inside you:

Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked

don’t let it get you down.

Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten,

from brains that are termite-ridden,

But my setting-things-right lasts,

my salvation goes on and on and on.”

Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!

Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.

Didn’t you once make mincemeat of Rahab,

dispatch the old chaos-dragon?

And didn’t you once dry up the sea,

the powerful waters of the deep,

And then made the bottom of the ocean a road

for the redeemed to walk across?

In the same way God’s ransomed will come back,

come back to Zion cheering, shouting,

Joy eternal wreathing their heads,

exuberant ecstasies transporting them—

and not a sign of moans or groans.

[What Are You Afraid of—or Who?]

“I, I’m the One comforting you.

What are you afraid of—or who?

Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead?

Some poor wretch destined for dust?

You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you,

who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.

And here you are, quaking like an aspen

before the tantrums of a tyrant

who thinks he can kick down the world.

But what will come of the tantrums?

The victims will be released before you know it.

They’re not going to die.

They’re not even going to go hungry.

For I am God, your very own God,

who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,

named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

I teach you how to talk, word by word,

and personally watch over you,

Even while I’m unfurling the skies,

setting earth on solid foundations,

and greeting Zion: ‘Welcome, my people!’”

So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!

Up on your feet, Jerusalem!

You’ve drunk the cup God handed you,

the strong drink of his anger.

You drank it down to the last drop,

staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.

And nobody to help you home,

no one among your friends or children

to take you by the hand and put you in bed.

You’ve been hit with a double dose of trouble

—does anyone care?

Assault and battery, hunger and death

—will anyone comfort?

Your sons and daughters have passed out,

strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,

Sleeping off the strong drink of God’s anger,

the rage of your God.

Therefore listen, please,

you with your splitting headaches,

You who are nursing the hangovers

that didn’t come from drinking wine.

Your Master, your God, has something to say,

your God has taken up his people’s case:

“Look, I’ve taken back the drink that sent you reeling.

No more drinking from that jug of my anger!

I’ve passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,

‘Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!’

And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,

you were the dirt under their feet.”

The Scroll of Isaiah, Chapter 51 (The Message)

to be concluded by Today’s Psalm 43 that mirrors the alphabetic number 43 of the word “book”

[Psalm 43]

Plead for me; clear my name, O God. Prove me innocent

before immoral people;

Save me from their lies,

their unjust thoughts and deeds.

You are the True God—my shelter, my protector, the one whom I lean on.

Why have You turned away from me? Rejected me?

Why must I go around, overwrought, mourning,

suffering under the weight of my enemies?

O my God, shine Your light and truth

to help me see clearly,

To lead me to Your holy mountain,

to Your home.

Then I will go to God’s altar with nothing to hide.

I will go to God, my rapture;

I will sing praises to You and play my strings,

unloading my cares, unleashing my joys, to You, God, my God.

O my soul, why are you so overwrought?

Why are you so disturbed?

Why can’t I just hope in God? Despite all my emotions, I will hope in God again.

I will believe and praise the One

who saves me and is my life,

My Savior and my God.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 43 (The Voice)

and a poetic memory from the book of my heart that reflects upon “Home”

my reading in the Scriptures for the 12th of july, day 22 of Summer and day 193 of the year:

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lavender--girl · 7 years

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Yoonmin fic idea: (This may be long idk I’ve had the idea for a very long time)

Alright, so, it start off with a 6 (?) Year old Jimin and his mother. It’s in very old times and magic is a thing and Jimin live in a small village and his family is very poor bc his father left. His mother is telling him a story of a man who was very arrogant and stuff. The man and his friends were walking one day when they come across an old woman who claims she is a witch and will grant them a wish each if they do her a favor. The man doesn’t believe her and makes it know that he doesn’t. He mocks her and calls her crazy. She tells him to ask for something and he, thinking this is all a hoax, wished for youth and immortality. The woman said he would regret it and left. He thought it was hilarious but his friends did not think likewise. As the years passed he realized that the woman was actually a witch because while his friends grew old he stayed the same. He watched the people he loved die before his eyes while he stayed the same. He tried countless times to kill himself but it never worked. Finally he decided he needed to find the witch. He searched everywhere and though he was never able to find her he did find her little cottage. There was a letter on a dust covered table. He went to it and read that it was addressed to “the one that doubted.” He figured it was for him and after he read it he found out it was for him. The letter basically said that she was going to be burned to death bc they found out she was a witch and that she heard he was looking for her. She said the only way to break the curse was for him to find the boy of the same blood as her, fall in love, watch him die, then find him again. He didn’t understand. He never left the cottage. He had no where else to go. His hair turned white and so did his skin. He never went out and the small village that was near his cottage lived in fear of him, thinking he was a witch too. Basically, the story is to tell Jimin to never travel on the road that goes through the woods bc that’s where he lives.

Skip a few years to where Jimin is like 21. His mother tells him to take something to his grandmother who live in the village over. He decides to take the road through the woods bc it would cut his trip down by a day. So he does and he ends up seeing a shadow and then tripping and hurting his knee really bad or something like that and a person wearing a very dark purple (or whatever color you want) cloak comes out from behind the trees and goes to help him. Jimin is scared out of his mind but the person helps him. He asks if he can take him back to his cottage so he can properly wrap his knee up and Jimin is vaguely reminded of the old fable his mother would tell him before bed and the thought that this might be the man crossed his mind but he quickly dismisses it and tells himself that its just a stupid story parents tell their children to keep them away from the woods and decides to go with the man. When they get to his cottage Jimin sits down and the man takes his cloak off. Jimin sees the palest man and the whitest hair he’s ever seen. He quickly realizes that the stories were real. He panicks and the man turns around and smiles he says something along the lines of, “I never get any visitors. It’s actually kinda nice to see you. Sometimes i feel like I’m going crazy. It’s probably not healthy to live 200 years I’m solitude.” Jimin has internal conflict on whether or not he should stay or run as fast as He can. It ends with him staying out of curiosity. He stays the night and heads to his grandmothers when the morning comes. When he leaves the man, Yoongi, asks if Jimin could possibly visit again sometime and Jimin agrees that he will try to visit about once a week.

A few months later and Jimin is visiting Yoongi once a day, sometimes staying the night. They fall in love. Jimin knows it’s wrong. His village had a law against being with your own gender, a law that is punishable by death. But as he slips into their love one night he can’t seem to care because something wrong wouldn’t feel like this. It wouldn’t feel like his skin was on fire every time Yoongi touched his lips to it. It wouldn’t feel like his heart was beating too fast for him to keep up every time his and Yoongi’s skin met. The next morning he wakes up in Yoongi’s arms and looks up at the older man. He was ok with dying for this man.

One day Yoongi decides to go to the village. He needed to see Jimin but he had no way to get to him. So he grabbed his cloak and went. He found Jimin in the market place. He was holding a few of Yoongi’s favorite fruits. He smiled to himself and walked up to the boy and placed a hand in the small of his back. Jimin turned and saw Yoongi. He smiled and something happens to where Yoongi’s hood ends up calling off. People around them see the man and they automatically know who he is. There’s no one else he could be. They see his hand placed on Jimin back and the look on his eyes. They knew what was happening just by that, but they knew Jimin mother. They knew that their family had it ruff so let letting alone and went to talk to his mother.

His mother was furious. She knew he hadn’t been home many days out of the week but he always told her he was going to grandmothers or he was with his friends. When he came back home the next day she confronted him. She asked where he had been and she knew he was lying. She asked again and again until he finally told her. She forbade him from going out to the cottage again. Told him that no son of her’s was going to lie with another man especially one like him. Jimin cried and pleaded for just one more night. Just to say goodbye and then he would never see him again. She did not let him.

The next night Jimin snuck out. He had his friend, Taehyung, send word to Yoongi to meet him close to the entrance of the woods and the older man did so. Jimin ran as fast as He could to the woods but what he didn’t know was that there were a few men of the village the decided that if they saw Jimin leave his house to go to the woods they would kill him bc of the law. Jimin was so close to the woods that he could see Yoongi standing there. He saw Yoongi’s beautiful smile and stopped running. He was walking to him when Jimin felt a sharp pain in his lower back. He saw Yoongi’s smile leave and the older man started running to him. Jimin was still trying to get to him but as another arrow was shot his legs failed him. Yoongi was there just in time to catch him. Jimin raised a hand up to his face and his last words words were, “please Yoongi, don’t stay in that old cottage and lock yourself away for hundreds of years again. You have an extraordinary curse. Please. See the world I wasn’t able too. I love you Yoongi.”

He held Jimin in his arms and as the sun rose Jimin died.

He was seated just outside of the woods. Holding his dead lover in his arms. Unable to control his emotions Yoongi screamed out in agony. The pain hurt him so much he couldn’t bare it. For the first time since he had met Jimin he wished that he could just die. The villagers gathered around the two boys and watched as Yoongi prayed to whatever God there was that this was some sick twisted dream.

After what felt like an eternity to yoongi the man got up. He held Jimin in his arms and walked to the villagers. He asked, “Do you know where his mother lives?” They nodded and pointed to one of the smaller houses. He walked Jimin to the house and knocked on the door. An old middle aged woman opened the door. Upon seeing the boy in Yoongi’s arms and crumpled to the ground and Yoongi quickly later Jimin on a bed before his knees gave out too. He apologized. He told her that her son had caused him the most happiness in his life in just a little under a year. He asked her if he could please have something of Jimin’s. She nodded her head and went to Jimin. She took off a necklace the boy was wearing and have it to Yoongi. She said that it had been his father’s and he wore it everyday. He thanked her and left.

He went back to his cottage and looked at the necklace. It has a charm that looked very familiar. He was digging through a wardrobe of old things that belonged to the witch that lived here before him. He found the same charm. Suddenly it all made sense. The boy of the same blood. Fall in love. Watch him die. Find him again.

Jimin was the boy that had to break the curse.

Remembering Jimin last words, Yoongi started packing his things. He would be off the next day. He wasn’t going to stay here and disappoint Jimin. He had to see the world his lover never got to see.

Skip forward hundreds of years to modern times. Yoongi is in New York or something like that and he hasn’t given up hope. He still has dreams of his love. He never goes a day without thinking of him. Then one day, Yoongi goes to a cafe, one that one of his friends, Hoseok, recommended. He walks in and heads a small gasp come from the man at the cash register. He looks up and he’s met with the eyes of Jimin. He looks the same, well, except he now has pink hair, but besides that he looks exactly the same, maybe even more beautiful. They lock eyes and Yoongi knew that Jimin knew who he was. Yoongi makes his way up to the counter and smiles at Jimin. The younger boy asks quietly, “a-are you real? I-I’m not dreaming right? We-we’re not in a village. We are in my work right? You’re name is Yoongi and-and I’m not insane. Right?” Yoongi could see tears in the boys eyes and he just nodded his head and said, “Jimin, I’ve waited so, so long to see you again.” Jimin watched as Yoongi suddenly changed before him. The pale man regained color again and his white hair changed to black. “Wh-what just happened?” Yoongi smiled at his confusion, “You broke the curse jiminnie.” Jimin ran around the counter and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and brought him down into a beautiful kiss.

Jimin and Yoongi loved out the reast of their lives. Yoongi finally aged past 23 and was ecstatic. They were happy and everything was ok.

OH WOW. This is very very long and I apologize but I’ve literally had this idea for months and I can’t make it sound right when I try to write it as a book. I hope you like this. I almost cried while writing it but, you know, I love this. If you want to use the idea you can just please like tell me so I can read it.

#yoonmin #yoongi #jimin #park jimin #bts jimin #minimini #min yoongi #bts #bts fanfic #bts fan fiction #bangtan #yoonmin fic #yoonmin fanfiction #yoonmin fan fic idea #yoonmin fic idea #suga #sugamin #min suga

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