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nebulouscoffee · 11 months

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bashir garak or ezri

Oooh great picks! I shall answer for all three😊

Julian

one aspect about them i love

That whole backstory with Kukalaka is SO endearing honestly; it really just gets to the heart of who he is, even by itself- but when paired with the whole 'Jules' reveal, it takes on a whole new poignancy

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I've seen Julian described as naive a lot, usually because he "assumes the best of people"- and I'm not saying that isn't a valid read, but it just feels very incomplete to me! Yes he's childish sometimes, but he's not a baby lol- he's just strongly, strongly driven by the belief that people can always become better. We see him get VERY angry and snarky and (fearlessly) combative with people he believes are in the wrong; people who don't show any flexibility in their perspectives. But the moment a person shows any sort of inclination towards growth or evolution? He puts everything aside and believes in them. To me, this is not naivety- this is courage; even if (especially if!) he may get it wrong sometimes. DS9 (like the real world) is full of people who'll insist that wrongdoers will never change and only deserve to be punished for their mistakes- and imo, Julian makes a fascinating, refreshing, and essential foil to this. (On a more specific note- he does NOT hang out with Garak because he doesn't fully understand the atrocities Garak committed!! Not beyond 'The Wire', anyway. He literally heard (and at the time, fully believed) multiple stories involving Garak being 1. a Gul during the Occupation, 2. a mass murderer (with victims both Cardassian and Bajoran), and 3. an interrogator of literal children. If not the exact details, he certainly knows the magnitude of Garak's crimes- he just chooses to go to great lengths to save his life anyway. This says something way more interesting about him, I think- about his inclination to believe in anyone he thinks would grow better if given the chance, and his willingness to be the one giving them that chance. Which, incidentally, is also why I struggle to see him cutting off his parents, though I do understand why people find value in reading & writing stories like that)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

He is a polyglot, but this is one skill he very much keeps to himself. The reasons why are complicated, and linked with how his ideas of home and family and lineage and history and Earth and connection and talking and talkative-ness and "skill" are all somewhat tainted by the discovery of what his parents did to him

one character i love seeing them interact with

SO many options, but let's talk about Jadzia- I love how they moved past the initial awkwardness of Julian's crush on her into this deep, supportive, fun (!!!) and extremely loving bond. There's a lot they have in common (Extreme Imposter Syndrome Buddies :D) which means they always know when the other needs a good pep talk, and it's adorable. I love how they have no boundaries sometimes (Jadzia buying him porn will always be funny), I love that they're in cahoots, I love that they make each other laugh- they care about each other so much!! I honestly think it was one of the best-written friendship arcs between a male and female character on Trek, which is why I'm always so *sighs deeply* about Julian's feelings for Jadzia being dredged up again in- ///cuts myself off because you've heard this rant before from everyone and their moogie haven't you///

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Fascinating conversations Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys could've had (my beloved): long-term health issues in Bajoran mining victims & Resistance fighters; nature vs nurture and their "dangerous" Augment/Mirror selves; Sisko as Commanding Officer vs Sisko as Emissary; nerding out over Bajoran music; why must Jadzia Dax be so beautiful; complicated connections with cultural roots; Kirayoshi & postnatal care; the concept of "forgiveness"; revisiting that "frontier medicine" scene to highlight how much they've both changed; Kira offering a kinder approach to "Jules Bashir died in that hospital" through the concept of a pagh

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

He never, ever let the whole Jem'Hadar thing go. In fact, he actually set up this secret rehabilitation centre in Goran'Agar's name after the war, which now provides intensive care for all the Jem'Hadar and Vorta left behind in the AQ. He told me himself :)

Garak

one aspect about them i love

It's been years since my first watch, but I'll never forget how excited I got every single time I saw "Special Guest Star Andrew Robinson" in the credits lol. You just know you're in for a great one; he's such a fantastic and scene-stealing character!

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I just feel like, for a character whose most famous line is "They're all true, [especially the lies]", there is WAYYY too much discourse about him that approaches him from extremes? And it always misses the point imo. Garak was a spy, assassin, interrogator and torturer for the Cardassian government, who participated in (or at the very least, aided) a colonial and genocidal occupation, and expresses supremacist, xenophobic and fascist beliefs for the majority of the series. Erasing any of this is would be erasing not just who he was, but who he is. But the lack of imagination re how to move forward with him if we are engaging with such themes is equally, if not more, frustrating to me. Sure, a lot of the cutesy art and fanfics can have him behaving overly sincere and out of character- but the counter response is always "how dare you woobify this racist war criminal he's violent and dangerous and bigoted and therefore he would NOT do or say or feel any of that!!!", and- okay, so is the idea of him designing and sewing dresses out of character, then...? Is the image of him debating books over lunch with a bib tucked in too woobified? Is the notion of him trying to set up a fellow (Bajoran!!) business owner on a date too fanfic-ey? Because guess what- that's literally how he behaves on the show! Garak is a self-aware self-woobifier, that's literally the whole point, he's "just a plain simple tailor" wink, wink- and without at least some element of that comical mundanity, that sort of absurdist domesticity, the character just isn't recognisable imo. Garak is the con artist who fell for his own con; he's spent so long playing various roles that he now over-performs everything and has no idea where the performance ends and the genuine begins, literally what makes his character work is that you're looking at this war criminal just doing benign stuff like sampling drinks or watching a tennis match or gifting his friend chocolates and wondering just WHAT is going on inside his head- and, "he did horrible things and therefore must be incapable of any form of sincerity or affection or regret and the perception of any of those things is woobification" is such a reductive (and boring!) approach to him imo. I don't mean any of this as apologia; there are many, many ways in which a person can be bigoted and cruel, and Garak is those things- I just feel like people often misrepresent the manner in which he is those things (usually by making him unfunny and weirdly macho, which I just cannot understand at all😂)

TL;DR- Garak the poor sad misunderstood baby who never enjoyed any of the bad things he did and only thinks about Julian Bashir 24/7 is out of character, sure- but Garak the violent emotionless villain who treats all Bajorans abusively 24/7 and will never ever grow or change is... just as divorced from canon imo (imo!! Emphasis on "o"!!)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Garak himself doesn't always fully remember the details of his past; he has this very Cardassian ability to specifically delete anything he wants to from his memory, and he's better at it than most (though, still not always successful). Only thing Garak regularly tops is the List Of People Garak Lies To basically

one character i love seeing them interact with

Well, apart from the obvious- I think every scene between him and Odo in IC/TDIC is incredibly immersive and top tier! The actors are SO good together, and the only reason Odo isn't in the next category is I actually think it's perfectly in character for both of them to just never bring up the whole torture thing ever again

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

KIRAAAAA but tbh, I'm more interested in their post-canon dynamic than anything, so instead I'll go with Sisko! Every time these two are on screen together, amazing. The effortless back and forth. The intellectual battling. The subtly flirty line deliveries(!!!) The palpable shifts in the power dynamic. The oddly respectful snarking. Again, the way these two actors are SO GOOD

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

Some may claim that Garak hates the more outlandish civilian outfits that Jake and Julian wear. I say he made them

Ezri

one aspect about them i love

The sheer impact of actually getting to spend a whole season with the next Dax (after years of only hearing about Curzon) just cannot be overstated imo. Like, we the audience got to experience firsthand what it was like for Benjamin to first see Jadzia walk out of that shuttle; for Jadzia to wake up one day and find herself the newest link in a long-revered chain- we actually saw the new host struggling to adjust, reconciling all those lifetimes of memories all over again, rekindling and redefining Dax's old relationships (the relationship with the audience very much included!)- and then on top of that, the new host wasn't even trained to take on the symbiont?? What an incredible character premise! I was obsessed from the moment she said "Hello Benjamin it's me Dax"

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

Ezri is Jadzia's successor; not Jadzia's replacement. She cannot replace Jadzia- that's literally the entire point of her arc, that she should stop trying! She's a fascinating character in her own right, and also extremely interesting to think about and discuss independent of whom she will end up/should've ended up with

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Ezri Tigan was not "anxious" in a rambly nervous way like Ezri Dax, but more hyper-competent and "I'm always unhappy because everything I do HAS to be perfect so I'm never satisfied and I hate myself" (which was definitely how she was trained to think by her mother). For this reason, joining with Dax actually ends up being good for her in the long run! Nothing drives an oppressive voice out of your head quite like suddenly having eight other voices in there lol

one character i love seeing them interact with

I know some people don't like her and Worf mistakenly thinking they're in love and hooking up and then realising they work better as friends, but I actually think it's very understandable for both of them, and the friendship they form afterwards is so wholesome. That scene where he asks for her advice and she just calls out corruption in the Klingon empire is one of my favourite Ezri scenes ever :D

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

It is my firm belief that Sisko and Ezri's S7 arcs should have revolved around each other. Ben's journey at this point is so tied up in his ever-growing disconnect from linear time and corporeality, and imo nothing grounds this better than his three-lifetime bond with Dax! He should have talked about the Prophets and Benny Russell and the whole concept of destiny with his favourite old worm. It also would've been revelatory for Ezri, who herself is trying to adjust to the non-linearity (300 years of memories she can't easily get in order) and non-corporeality (whose body IS this anyway???) of being Dax

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

I know we all have our theories as to why and how and when exactly she and Julian break up, and while I do enjoy the drama sometimes, I still fundamentally feel like it would be short and amicable and they'd remain close friends for life. Or maybe I'm just a big sap hehe

#ask game #cw torture mention #thank you so much for this opportunity to ramble! :)#just wanna clarify- I wasn't saying g@rak's former career & (lack of) morals CAN'T be a point of contention between him and bash1r #I just don't think jul1an would hold his /past/ deeds over him #but if he speaks in *defense* of those past deeds? that could definitely raise some issues (esp if they're together in this scenario)#also there's plenty of messed up things g@rak does in the show's PRESENT to choose from! torturing 0do/trying to murder the founders/or #even that one bajoran conference- jul1an would find these actions indefensible imo (and I have read some good fics exploring this)#ITPM is... interesting because I actually don't think late s6 bash!r would condemn him for it very much #I mean even s!sko seemed more pissed about the fact that he'd been tricked into murdering the guy than the fact that the guy was murdered #(and his anger quickly dissipated once he realised he hadn't been AS tricked as he was telling himself he was)#bottom line is g@rak as War Criminal & Cardassian Oppressor IS interesting to explore! I just don't think it would (or should) negate #the possibility of growth or change (which he does undergo on the show) and definitely not a relationship with jul1an #who in canon doesn't really seem to consider g@rak's past (or even present) a deal breaker #(not attacking anyone PLEASE don't start Discourse about this thank you!!!)

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deadrayg2mf · 1 year

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A Soul to Heal (Duskwalker Brides #2) by Opal Reyne

Now I know I already raved over the first book, which means it’s only appropriate for me to do so for the second book as well. I will say, did this live up to the first book? Not for me. While I found myself enjoying it, I struggled more with the heroine, Delora, in this story. It’s not that I necessarily hated her, I just found my lack of empathy getting in the way of me wanting to feel for her... and sometimes she said or did things that rubbed me the wrong way... It’s fine, she’s the right heroine for this story! Literally, the story would not have gone as it did if it wasn’t for how she is!... I just am glad I can leave her to a book...

Oh! But the love I have for our monster! Our unnamed Duskwalker from the first book! He is a sweet angel, he is trying his absolute best, and he is so goddamn stupid. On a real note, though, this fictional monster recognized mental illness and did his damn best to help with it more than some people I know would have. Considering it’s his first experience living with a human and he still lacks so much humanity, I am willing to heavily forgive his blunders and fumbles.

Delora, she is a feisty one... She fell from the heavens, depression and all, and broke every bone in that Duskwalkers body... She also brought him immeasurable joy and love, taught him when he needed help, and gave what she could when it felt like everything was trying to hold her back. I think my biggest beef with her was her lack of willingness to understand or learn when certain big plot points came up. It gets resolved and she learns from her mistakes which is a saving grace for her character.

Putting aside my own personal opinion on the heroine, the book is another slow burn winding its own path and differentiating itself in many vast ways over the course of its 557 pages from the first installation. It’s another killer read by Opal Reyne that has its own quirks and delightful bedroom scenes for readers to fall in love with. 8/10.

Would I read again? Probably

Would I recommend? Definitely

#book review #good read #monster fucker #monster lover #monster fudger #opal reyne #duskwalker brides #duskwalker #8/10

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yhwhrulz · 1 month

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Today's Daily Encounter Monday, March 18, 2024

Christians: "The Most…" – Part 1

In thinking about a Christian's conduct and the testimony we give others through this, there are many areas where the Christian should excel. Over the next few days, we will talk about just four of these areas.

First, the Christian should be the most generous. In speaking with a local small business owner, he was sharing how many times the people he hears most complaints from regarding product pricing are Christians. This is not the case with all Christians he serves, but with many of them. He was sharing how this has created a negative perception of Christians amongst his non-Christian employees. Many times, things may not be in our budget now, but the way we react will speak volumes as to our character, which should imitate the character of Christ.

I have also seen homeless folks mistreated or criticized by Christians in our local community. I understand that we are not to do for people what they can do for themselves, however, there are times when people are truly in need. If God has given us the means to help, let us be willing to do so. We should seek to be in tune with God's leading every day. If He puts someone in our path to help, let us put judgement aside and answer the call.

The Bible has numerous verses when it comes to generosity, one of which is: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."1 When we give generously, with a joyful heart, God sees that and will bless you because of it. The Bible also says, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work… You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."2

Generosity does not only refer to monetary donations, but can also refer to things such as time, friendship, or sharing a meal with someone in need. It means giving joyfully of whatever we have for the benefit of another. May we daily seek to attract others to Christ through our generosity.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for being the perfect example of what it means to be generous. You gave your beloved Son, Jesus, so that I can have the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. You did not focus on how undeserving I was, but rather on who I could be through your Son. I ask that you give me a joyful attitude of giving and give me the willingness to be generous in whatever way I can. May others come to know you through this. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name, amen.1. Luke 6:38 (NIV). 2. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8, 11 (NIV).

Today's Encounter was written by: Crystal B.

NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.

Daily Encounter is published at no charge by ACTS International, a non-profit organization, and made possible through the donations of interested friends. Donations can be sent at: http://www.actscom.com

ACTS International P.O. Box 73545 San Clemente, California 92673-0119 U.S.A.

Phone: 949-940-9050 http://www.actsweb.org

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heapster-45 · 1 year

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Find the Word

Thanks for the tag @bumblerhizal-art. These excerpts are from my fanfiction “We Must be Killers”.

SPACE (From We Must Be Killers, Harry Potter)

Pleasant received another of Draco’s letters in the morning mail. She noticed it was slightly thicker than usual. He must have a lot to say this week.

The school day went by as normal, with Umbridge’s shrill announcements blasting through the castle at every passing period. She, Fred, and George had already attempted silencing charms on one of the speakers earlier that week, with no luck and earning themselves a detention. Before dinner, Pleasant found spare time to read the letter in the comfort of her dormitory.

Sitting at her small desk, she cast aside a clutter of items to make space before she unfolded its contents. Inside was a charred piece of parchment, along with Draco’s standard letter.

“Revelio!” she cast, and words appeared on the page.

“🜚,

Hope you have been well. My role in the inquisition is going smoothly. I’ve earned my title of being the most loyal to the cause and am now considered a de facto captain of the squad. The toad is beginning to trust me enough to delegate more meaningful tasks to me. I will update you if anything else progresses.

In other news, Bishop and I have been going over the copies of Granger’s Muggle Studies notes occasionally. It’s been good for us to gather an understanding of Muggle history. And it’s interesting to see Hermione’s notes correcting errors in the field’s understanding. And the tone of voice she uses when note taking is much less annoying than in person.”

WANT (From “WMBK” Harry Potter)

“What are you afraid of, Pleasant?”

Pleasant found herself looking at her own feet as she spoke; not out of shame, but out of fear to see Gaynore’s response. “I think it means committing to something I’m unsure of. Taking a risk I’m not prepared for. Gaynore, you’ve done things that disgust me, done things to me that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life…” Pleasant finally looked into Gaynore’s eyes and saw guilt.

“But I want to be able to forgive you, because you deserve a chance to change.”

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Gaynore, what you’re asking of me, it means putting my faith and my trust in your honesty and your willingness to face accountability for your transgressions, no matter the reason for committing them. I have to believe you want this even more than I do. The risk I’m taking is believing you won’t go back on your word. That you won’t hurt me again.”

PASS (“WMBK” Harry Potter)

“When you finish your homework you can read or play outside for a bit, but I don’t want you skulking away to your room.”

“Are you gonna watch the telly?”

“Yeah….” Warren replied as he deliberated in his head. “You can watch with me when you’ve finished your assignments.”

Pleasant had never watched a television show before living with the Grangers. It was an exciting way to pass the time, and it filled her head with mindless cartoons depicting nonsensical problems and bright colors. She doubted that Mr. Granger would play cartoons when she joined him on the couch, but she would be entertained with whatever he put on. The sounds and pictures quelled her swimming thoughts.

DREAM (“WMBK” Harry Potter)

He’d developed a habit of wishing good dreams for her since discovering exactly what she’d been dealing with on a near nightly basis.

Now all alone, Pleasant was unsure what to do with herself, not quite tired, but not wanting to talk to anyone or participate in anything. She ached for the days when Fred and George would rope her into some scheme and get her in trouble, at least then she had something to do, even if detention wasn’t exactly something to look forward to.

Now she felt aimless. School didn’t matter, despite how much Hermione urged her to continue the effort. The only thing on her mind at most times was trying to stop the inevitable – Voldemort returning to full power and taking over the Wizarding World. She was at a loss on how to stop it. Dumbledore had refused yet again to let her in on his plans, and Snape was no help either.

Maybe McGonagall would have some idea on what to do. But she’ll probably tell me not to worry myself with it.

#@bumblerhizal-art #writing #wmbk #hp #we must be killers

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bakugoukatsuki-rising · 3 years

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Saudade

Saudade is a Portuguese term that’s definition is essentially the intense longing or melancholy for something or someone important from the past. It carries with it the knowledge that the person or thing may never be had again.

This is what I’m using to represent the Volume 29 Cover of My Hero Academia, and Bakugou’s feelings toward Deku.

This cover...is everything.

It says so much, with so little to go on. There is the posture, the eyes, the specific way his hand is extended. All Bakugo has wanted, for probably such a long time now, was to have Deku back in his life. To throw away the pride and misunderstanding that kept his former childhood best friend at arms length.

This sentiment is reflected even more heavily in the rough drafts Horikoshi provided us for Volume 29.

There is no undoing the past, though. Despite how much Bakugo wants it, despite how much he wishes he could change that day he neglected to take Deku’s hand, he can’t. Time only moves forward, and so we’re left with Saudade.

A longing for the past, for a time, a place, a person, that Bakugo can’t have anymore, and that’s Deku.

But just because the past can’t be had again, doesn’t mean there isn’t a future.

The Endeavor Agency arc, when we’re shown a small glimpse of Bakugo’s feelings, of how he sees Deku, and how he was beginning to wish for their friendship to return. The hints are subtle, but I think they’re definitely there and they’re important to pay attention to, especially this.

Bakugo’s face.

He was watching this interaction closely and he’s pouting.

I’ve seen people interpret this scene differently, and that’s perfectly fine, but I see this as him acknowledging the fact that he wanted to be referred to as Deku’s friend, too. He wants that back, and this arc was a huge turning point for his acknowledgement of those feelings. He told Endeavor he wanted to watch him to see what he was missing, and I think these moments really put into perspective what it was.

Being able to better understand himself and where he stands with the people close to him, to set aside his pride and strength to get a good look at what really matters. That’s, what I believe, he was able to pull from watching Endeavor up close. Witnessing his concern for his son and his willingness to forget being forgiven so his children can have a happy life, I like to think Bakugo was putting everything he saw from the Todoroki’s in terms of him and Deku.

This is a huge one.

“You don’t have to forgive me. I’m not looking for forgiveness. Just atonement.”

If we fast forward to 284, this scene begins to make a lot of sense for Bakugo, and how he saw himself in this and decided to take from Endeavor. Atonement. Just like this, it’s fair to say that Bakugo isn’t looking for any kind of forgiveness from Deku, and I also think he’s smart enough to know Deku probably never even held it against him in the first place.

But that isn’t what’s important. That isn’t what he wants. He wants to make up for it, for how he treated Deku and pushed him away, when he should have been taking his hand and keeping him close.

For Endeavor, his atonement comes in the form of separating himself from the people he hurt. For Bakugo, it’s the opposite. He’s putting himself back in Deku’s life. He’s no longer keeping him at arms length, he’s no longer misunderstanding and letting his pride get the better of him. He’s humbling himself and doing what he can to pave a way for a future where he can be by Deku’s side.

They can’t have the past back. There is never any going back to who and how they were as children, but he can work to gain and maintain a future where he’s righted the wrongs of who he was in the past, and mend the broken relationship between him and Deku.

Though, I want to point out that the relationship between them was only ever broken on his end. Bakugo was the only one to see their friendship as damaged, and it was because of what he did, and how he treated Deku.

Circling back to Saudade, I firmly believe this term completely encompasses Bakugo’s feelings for Deku and their history together. It’s reflected beautifully with the Volume 29 cover because the Bakugo we see is the current one, and the person who he’s reaching out to is little Deku.

He longs to go back and take that outstretched hand, but it’s a time that he can’t return to. It’s also followed by the feeling that, even with his atonement and change, he might not get that chance again. It feels much more like this considering the current climate of the manga and Deku being gone.

Was this an opportunity lost? Is this a longing that will forever be trapped in the past, or will Bakugo find a way to shape a future where he’s by Deku’s side?

Horikoshi gave us an absolutely beautiful dynamic with these two, especially Bakugo’s feelings and him coming to terms with his past self and behavior that severed a very important relationship in his life.

#bnha #mha #bkdk #bakudeku #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #bakguou katsuki #decchan #deku #dynamight #bnha meta #bnha analysis #kacchan #katsudeku

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chaos-of-the-abyss · 3 years

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Anon: I loved your Celebrian headcanons, do you have any on Manwe?

Ohhhhh anon, you’re asking if I have headcanons on my favorite bird boy? Do I ever. Get ready for this, because I’m about to give you way more than you probably asked for. Also please forgive how rambly and unorganized the headcanons are - I simply do not have the space of mind to be neat when I’m gushing about Manwë.

(I’ve already done some previous headcanons on him xD You can find them here and here, even though this was a while ago and I don’t necessarily still agree with some of these anymore. What’s unchanging, though, is my eternal love for Manwë Súlimo.

The post got ahead of me and it’s quite long, so I’ll put most of the headcanons under a cut.

Split off of the same thought of Eru, Manwë and Melkor were “born” at the exact same time. Because of this, there is no “younger” and “older” between them - they’re simply siblings.

I also consider them two halves of one whole, given that they’re literally products of the same thought broken in two.

He and Melkor are chronologically the oldest beings, aside from Eru; they were the Ainur first created by Him. Nevertheless, they aren’t much older than a lot of the other Aratar, like Varda, Ulmo, Námo, Niënna, and Yavanna, and it’s definitely nothing so considerable that it would matter in the slightest to cosmic angelic beings like the Ainur

His closest friends among the Ainur are Varda and Ulmo, but he’s close with all the Valar, and at least on familiar terms with all the Maiar that serve the Valar in Arda

In addition, all of the Valar are part of the #manwëdefensesquad. I don’t make the rules. There are times when they don’t agree with their king, there are times when talk to him and voice their disapproval, but when it comes to action, they will always support him.

Varda and Manwë met in the Timeless Halls, sometime after their creation. (I’d pin it around a few centuries, but again, what the heck is time to the Ainur?) She was singing while she experimented with the light and the making of the stars; Manwë raised his voice, tentatively singing with her. They became fast friends. He was charmed by her quick wit, her willingness to share, and her open-mindedness and creativity.

He and Varda have made all kinds of odd structures together, combining their authority (Manwë over the air, wind, and skies, Varda over light). One time they produced a miniature tornado with stars swirling inside of it.

They got married before the creation of Arda, but after Aulë and Yavanna did

He also met Ulmo in the Timeless Halls; they both found each other’s elements intensely fascinating. Manwë was intrigued by this water, and Ulmo became curious about this air and wind. They came up with clouds together, combining Manwë’s power over air and Ulmo’s power over liquid, to form vapor.

When Arda was extremely, extremely young, long before the Eldar awoke in Cuiviénen, the two of them were testing out their respective elements in the new planet and got a little carried away. Winds picked up, the sky darkened and flashed with thunder and lightning. The ocean rose, waves crashing and roiling, and the first sea storm happened as a result of their combined powers. After that, Manwë and Ulmo both decided they should probably be a bit more cautious if they didn’t want to render the place uninhabitable.

At one time, there was no one Manwë was closer to than Melkor. Even though they were diametrically opposed in personality, they both had the same passion for Creation, the same love for their Father, and the same fascination with just the idea of creating in general.

Even now, with Melkor in the Void, a sensation of emptiness tickles at Manwë from time to time. It’s vacant and it’s bleak, like a phantom pain along the borders of his being, as if he’s missing something. This is his connection with his brother, severed now that they’ve gone down different paths and can no longer see eye to eye again

The break in their bond has left holes in both of their spirits. I mean this quite literally - because they were split off from the same thought, neither of them are complete without each other. Manwë is content now, because he (unlike Melkor, I might add, who can never be happy without him) is capable of finding meaningful and fulfilling relationships outside of his brother, but he will never be truly whole again. There’s always that sensation of something that was once there being gone.

Canon says that Manwë has little understanding of evil, and I tend to agree. He doesn’t comprehend selfishness, the desire for domination, or the idea of wanting to hoard all the power, beauty, and joy to oneself. Where’s the good, the value, in that? But I do think that he knows intimately how Melkor’s mind works. It’s not the same as knowing how evil itself works - it’s just that he’s too well-versed in the way his brother in particular ticks.

Despite this, he, along with most of the Valar, still gave Melkor the benefit of the doubt during his false repentance. He remembered the ages when Melkor was not so self-centered and not so concerned with only his own power and glory, when he would talk about Creation and about life with shining eyes, and how he envisioned a breathtakingly beautiful world full of vigor and possibility and opportunity. That was once who Melkor was, and he sincerely believed his brother could be that again. And besides, he wanted to let others try again - not only because this is his brother whom, despite everything, he loves deeply, but also because he doesn’t want to be the kind of person who won’t give second chances.

He was... disappointed, saddened, shocked, and discouraged, when it turned out that he was wrong. And, ultimately, he realized what betrayal felt like.

Manwë is a natural charmer. I mean, he is magnetic. But it’s not because he flaunts his power and wisdom and has the “holier than thou” attitude that intimidates others - even though he’s just as capable of it as his brother, who utilizes that particular method to attract followers. Manwë’s charisma comes from the fact that he’s just so down-to-earth, unpretentious, friendly, and warm, that you can’t help being drawn to him.

People are, like, in love with him and he’s thinking, “This is not what I meant to happen...”

He loves meeting people, talking to them, and getting to know them. Part of the reason so many people are loyal to him is because he’s a genuinely good boss. Treats everyone politely and considerately, gets to know everyone who works for him, makes all of them feel valued as individuals, lets them know how much he appreciates their hard work.

As far as demeanor goes, he’s unassuming, modest, open, and relatively casual with everyone (unless there’s a reason not to be). Has been called “charming” more than once. He tends to be playful too, especially with the people he’s close with.

An introvert. At the end of the day, he needs time to himself to unwind.

He’s not closed off, per se, but he isn’t the type of person to actively start talking about his problems or insecurities. Someone he’s close to and trusts will have to notice he seems to have something on his mind and bring it up, to get him to mention what’s bothering him.

During the darkening and after the Flight of the Noldor, relations between the remaining elves and the Ainur were strained. Manwë was distressed by the dissatisfaction of the Eldar and worked tirelessly to mend the subsequent rift. Negotiations, explanations, visits, apologies, reassurances - you name it, Manwë put his heart into it if it meant reconnecting with the elves.

A much better singer than his brother, and among the most gifted Ainur in terms of song (although a few, like Ulmo and Melian, equal or surpass him). Once, Melkor loved and truly admired the beauty of the music that Manwë could create with his voice alone. Now, he deeply envies it and is extremely bitter, seeing it as another way that their Father “favors” his brother over him. This resentment only grew worse as Melkor gradually lost his ability to produce anything beautiful at all, including music. My headcanon is that Melkor was once a decent singer among the Ainur, but as he grew more corrupt and evil, that ability went away until he could no longer sing at all. But, as much as Melkor refuses to admit it to himself, he also desperately longs to hear Manwë’s songs again.

Very patient, very compassionate, very understanding... but Melkor can get under his skin like no other. Who, by the way, will attest that Manwë can whip up with some sick burns when he wants to. Manwë has facepalmed exactly three times in his existence, and all three times were because of his brother.

The standard physical form that Manwë uses has long silver-white hair, copper skin, luminous, pale blue eyes, and full lips. It’s tall, on the slimmer side, and due to how pretty the face is, very androgynous-looking. However, he has a tendency to fool around, meaning that other bodies he’s taken include but are not limited to: a female version of his standard appearance, various other “human” shapes, male or female, a cat with wings and the feet of a bird, and an owl with the wings of a fly.

Varda’s personal favorite incident was when he adopted the form of a petite young woman with black hair, purple eyes, and purple, black, and blue butterfly wings scaled to the size of the body. When interacting with the Eruhíni, though, Manwë, along with most of the Ainur, sticks with the standard appearance to avoid confusing them.

Speaking of changing appearances, in the beginning, he, like the rest of the Ainur, had little concept of a “humanoid” form being “normal”. This resulted in him becoming all kinds of eldritch abominations, again including but not limited to a mass of eyes surrounded by several sets of wings, a nebulous, writhing pinprick of clouds and light, and even a being that resembled a humanoid but with a single eye in the middle of the forehead from which two wing-like appendages, covered with more eyes, sprouted. What can I say, he was always creative.

He still takes wacky forms from time to time for the fun of it, often when joking around with the other Ainur, but nowadays he tones it down for the sake of the Eruhíni’s sanity.

Interacts regularly with elves of Valinor. It’s a common sight for him to be spotted mingling within the Eldar populations of Valmar, or Alqualondë, or Tirion. Gets invited in for tea quite often. Children love him. He has had dinner arrangements with several families before.

The elves send him gifts, usually in the form of clothing since he likes trying on all kinds of different styles. Manwë doesn’t care to appear kingly or sophisticated, so he has no problem going out dressed plainly, or even ridiculously. That weird experimental garment that didn’t turn out quite the way the designer wanted? He’ll take it, and wear it gladly!

He also doesn’t care to be treated with particular veneration by the Eruhíni or by the other Ainur. He’s much happier being on close enough terms with someone for them to address him like, “Hey Manwë, my man, what’s up?” rather than “All hail the Lord of the Winds, the Breath of Arda, blah blah blah”.

BFFs with Ingwë, often either visits him or invites him to Taniquetil. This means that Ingwë’s entire family regular interacts with and is very familiar with Manwë. (Varda's with him most of the time - everyone loves her, too. It’s a wholesome family friendship.)

One time, Ingwë’s kids witnessed another elf being extremely formal and stiff with Manwë (the classic, “O Manwë, Viceregent of Eru, Elder King of Arda, etc., etc.”) and had whiplash, because that’s like... Uncle Manwë! He was telling us bad jokes at the dinner table last night!

Also has a fairly confidential relationship with Finarfin. They both understand the pain of dealing with troublesome impetuous brothers, after all.

He used to be close with Finwë and Olwë, too, but their relationship became somewhat strained following the matter with the Flight of the Noldor and how the Teleri were caught up in it via the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. They’re still on good terms, but it’s no longer as carefree as it once was.

Was also once close with Fëanor, having known him since he was a child due to his friendship with Finwë. That sapphire scepter that was said to have been made for him by the Noldor? Yeah, that was Fëanor’s handiwork. It wasn’t until after Melkor’s release that Fëanor and Manwë’s relationship began to sour.

A natural with kids. He can get any child to cheer up, whether they’re crying, pouting, or throwing a tantrum. Knows just what to say and what to do and when to do it, but also draws a firm line between being kind and spoiling them.

I know Tolkien discarded this idea, but I love love love the thought of Eönwë and Ilmarë being his and Varda’s children. They didn’t have them in the sense that we’d think of having kids - as in physical sex and labor - but they did put their powers into “conceptualizing” them, so to speak. Eru would still be their “creator”, since (for the most part) only He can create conscious, sentient beings, but Manwë and Varda had enough influence over their creation to be called Eönwë’s and Ilmarë’s parents.

Speaking of sex, again I’m contradicting Tolkien’s canon, but in my mind the Ainur can and do have sex. Some might choose not to, but it’s fully possible. (I mean... Melian and Thingol had Lúthien, so clearly the idea of physical relations is not lost on the Ainur.) Manwë doesn’t have a high sex drive, but if he loves someone, he also loves being intimate with them.

Sexuality is a complicated matter to talk about for the Ainur, and I articulated by thoughts on it here, but to summarize how I see it is that they’re all bisexual. They don’t care; they don’t even need gendered physical bodies to begin with. Therefore, whoever strikes their fancy is is whoever they’ll be happy to get it on with. It’s the same with Manwë.

The Lost Tales and the Silmarillion have conflicting versions of the Valar’s Siege of Utumno. In my book it’s a combination; after aggressive, devastating battles that changed the face of the continent, the Valar decided to take a more roundabout approach. Manwë comes up with the plan - they’ll pretend to have realized that they’re unable to break the might of Utumno, and are ready to acknowledge Melkor’s victory. Some of the Valar aren’t sure about this, but they follow their king’s lead.

Now, Manwë knows that Melkor isn’t stupid, but he also knows his brother’s prideful mind the best. (He might not understand it, and he definitely doesn’t agree with it, but he knows it.) So he deliberately phrases the message in a way that he knows will best stroke Melkor’s ego and satisfy his craving for acknowledgement. He also makes sure to tell his messenger to let Melkor’s herald know that Manwë specifically said these words.

As per Manwë’s plan, Melkor calls the Valar into Utumno to pay homage before him. They arrive, and to let Melkor’s guard down even further, Manwë kneels in front of him.

It’s a moment of surprisingly complicated emotions from both brothers. Melkor, about to thoroughly revel in his perceived victory, was shocked into silence - he actually was not expecting this. For a moment, it dawned on him that maybe, he and his brother’s bond, which was once stronger than anything else, didn’t have to be severed forever. He still saw it from a self-centered angle of having Manwë serve him, but nevertheless the possibility that he could reconnect with his brother, have Manwë at his side again, something he thought he had resigned himself to as being impossible, filled him with emotion.

For Manwë... similar thoughts about their once unshakeable relationship, but unlike his brother, he knows the whole thing is just a ruse. Still, he couldn’t help imagining what it would be like if he really gave. It was never a serious consideration, but the thought of what they had once been like, and the emphasis on the realization that they never could be that carefree and open with each other again, saddened him.

Manwë cherishes Creation dearly, loves it, fiercely and with every fiber of his being. Because of this, the utter destruction that he and the other Ainur wrought on Arda during the War of the Powers haunts him deeply, and he’s become wary of unleashing any might that is even similar to it onto Middle Earth. That, combined with his impression that the Noldor who left wanted nothing more to do with the Ainur, and his caution of interfering too heavily with the Eruhíni in Middle Earth lest the Valar start acting like Melkor, kept him from action until Eärendil and Elwing pleaded for help on behalf of the Children. Seeing all the suffering the Eruhíni went through, he sometimes regrets it, wondering if he had been more calculated about his moves, he could have prevented such heavy losses.

Nevertheless, he is firmly against meddling too much with the events of Middle Earth, especially because he understands that it’s difficult for the semi-prescient Ainur to see things on the same scale as the Children. He believes that there is always a possibility that they would get too heavily involved and end up unintentionally dominating the Eruhíni and the paths that they take, which is something he won’t allow. He was, however, very receptive to the idea of the Istari, and is also grateful for Ulmo’s occasional assistance and advice for the Children. Furthermore, he won’t hesitate to send the Eagles if anyone communicates the message to him.

There was one single time Manwë ever contemplated rebellion against Eru. It was during the Downfall of Númenor, when Eru made His intention known to wipe the island off the face of Arda known. Manwë pleaded with Him, argued with him, to reconsider, to find some way to punish only Sauron and Ar-Pharazôn, without the need to drown thousands, millions, of innocent people. Eru simply told him, unmovable, that Númenor had to fall, that there was to be no mercy, and Manwë genuinely wondered what would happen if he refused to comply. If he told his Father, “This is wrong. I won’t accept this.”

But in the end, he realized that he was thinking the way his brother had, in the beginning. That it was unfair, that it was wrong, that only Eru have the Flame Imperishable and that no one else was able to create, in Melkor’s mind, true life. That’s the way Melkor thought, before it quickly became corrupted into, “It’s not fair that I don’t have the power to create true life.” And Manwë refuses to think like Melkor does, refuses to even let himself start down that path. He saw how it destroyed and twisted his brother into a menacing echo of who Melkor once was. And so he watches, still and silent, as Númenor is wiped out.

Manwë is loving. Very loving. He doesn’t hate anyone, doesn’t hold personal grudges, and he would like nothing more than for everyone to get along and be happy. He truly would love to forgive Melkor and everyone who sided with him, take them back and make amends. However, he knows that that’s impossible - that no matter how dearly he wishes to fix everything, if the other side (aka Melkor) isn’t willing, it’s just not going to happen. Sometimes he has moments of insecurity, when he wonders if it was due to his own shortcomings, his own failure to understand the Theme, that things won’t patch up. Objectively he knows - and the other Valar reassure him of this too - that he couldn’t possibly have prevented everything, and that Melkor and his followers made their own choices. But at times, it still stings him, thoughts of if only I did better or if only I was better.

As kind as he is, he is not a doormat - there are some things he will never tolerate. The destruction and pain Melkor caused the Eruhíni and brought upon Creation is something he will never approve of, will never condone, and you can bet he’ll use every ounce of his power to bring his brother to heel if it means putting a stop to that.

Also, you can hurl barbs at him all you want and he won’t begrudge you, but do not insult his friends. He won’t smite you outright for it, but he’ll never forget it and certainly will never like you.

There are times when you’re reminded that this is Melkor’s brother, that they came from the same thought of Eru, and that if Manwë was ever to allow himself to go down the same path of craving domination, he would be just as terrifying. Because on some days, he doesn’t feel like forgiving, doesn’t feel like Melkor deserves amends. He’s furious at his brother, furious at the things he’s done and the things he’s willing to do, and his eyes will glow so blindingly bright that it can be dangerous for any of the Eruhíni to look at him in that moment.

Sometimes during the First Age, when Manwë hears about his brother’s latest misdeed, all the wickedness and enslavement he’s attempted to bring into Arda, he doesn’t bother hiding his displeasure, his disapproval. Storm clouds roll in, the skies open up, rain starts to pour, lightning illuminates the entirety of the sky, and thunder crashes deafeningly - so loud that Melkor, even in the depths of Angband, can hear it clear as day. And he knows this is Manwë saying, “I know what you’ve done. You can’t hide it from me, brother.”

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rohanrider3 · 4 years

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Brace Yourselves, I have THOUGHTS on this guy

Okay so I just watched Wizards (Tales of Arcadia) and I, along with many other folks, adore one (1) wizard in particular--Hisirdoux Casperan, better known as Douxie. I’m sure you’ve seen the art, the posts, and, well, the internet lately.

BUT HERE’S THE THING. One of the (many) reasons I love this guy. He’s not what one typically gets in a main character, AND he’s very different than other protagonists we’ve met in Arcadia.

TLDR: Protective, kind-as-summer, ultimate “good older brother vibes” wizard who simultaneously 1) doesn’t think much of himself, 2) tries his hardest, and 3) is actually SUPER FREAKING POWERFUL is unique and I love him for all those reasons and more!! (Details (and spoilers) below the cut)

1: He’s young, yes, but he’s extremely experienced. He looks 19, but is 919. As the first episode shows, he’s been doing his best to live a good life and master magic for NINE CENTURIES. All the while looking like a kid! Douxie lived through the fall of Camelot, has seen technology blossom and evolve, AND has seen countless people come and go, all the while completely on his own except for Archie.

2: He’s extremely humble. He’s apparently been working odd jobs FOR ALMOST A MILENNIUM--so he can work from the shadows to protect people from terrors they don’t even know about--and works hard AT ALL OF IT. Menial jobs AND demon-fighting. First episode, he clearly WANTS to use magic to clean up the cafe (and as a former customer service worker I would have sold my wisdom teeth for magic, LET ALONE magic clean-up help!) but he refrains from doing so, because he really took Merlin’s advice to heart.

(Side note: IMO, Merlin’s an ASS. But the advice he gives in the beginning of “Wizards”--along the lines of “Relying on magic alone isn’t enough, first you have to master how to live well and THEN you can master magic, hard work is extremely important and not to be skipped”--is good. AND DOUXIE STICKS WITH IT FOR OVER 900 YEARS. OF HIS OWN VOLITION. Merlin’s in a tomb, he hasn’t been glaring over Douxie’s shoulder all this time!) Which brings me to-

3) Douxie, although a hard worker, sincerely good guy, and all around badass wizard, doubts himself a LOT (thanks Merlin’s endless snarking and yelling.) BUT, instead of always fighting/planning to get Merlin to approve of him, Douxie instead focuses on doing the right thing. But it isn’t easy and Merlin’s dismissal of him/his ideas/Merlin’s constant disparaging put-downs hurts him. But he doesn’t let it stop him.

4) Douxie CARES. A LOT. He’s patient, kind, eager to help, works hard, and has protected humanity from horrors it didn’t even know about for CENTURIES. While he was still an apprentice, with no master, and no other magic users (that we’ve really seen) that could teach him more about his own magic or how to use it. The hedge wizards are cool, but we don’t get to see much of them and it looks like they’re more of a side society in Arcadia than something Douxie’s strictly a part of.

5) Douxie protects whoever he can whenever he can. To him, all life is precious, and he gives off major “is anyone else protecting this person or trying to make things better okay cool cool cool, I’m gonna try to do that as much as I can for as many as I can right now!” attitude. Which gives off major older sibling vibes to me.

(To emphasize, he cares about EVERYONE. He’s distraught at the thought of Arthur’s death, HE’S the one who uses his magic to remind--not enchant, REMIND--Arthur and Morgana of their old love of the forest and of Gwen (apparently the glue that held their trio together) and how, each in their own way, they miss her and still love each other. HE’S the one who’s constantly checking the time continuum, and keeps trying to tell Merlin that it doesn’t have to be Arthur vs. Morgana. But Merlin outright pushes him aside/ignores him, and events take their course. Interesting note: Right during the big fight scene in the past with Arthur vs. Morgana, just before Arthur cuts off Morgana’s hand with Excaliber and she falls to her death, you’ll notice the time continuum is blue. Which means it’s fine. The future is good. Douxie could go back to his future no problem. BUT WHEN HE SEES MORGANA’S DEAD FORM as part of the repaired timeline, HE SHOUTS AND RUNS TOWARD THEM TO TRY AND STOP IT. Morgana being DEAD didn’t mess up the timeline. Excaliber being broken did. But Douxie was still trying to save Morgana AND Arthur, and only the blast of magic from their fight knocked him back. And he still grieves her death as one of the parts of his failure, even while Merlin pushes him aside and focuses on Arthur and Excaliber in the aftermath of the battle.

6) Does anyone else think Douxie has a major guilt complex/super messed up self esteem? Because Douxie tearfully shouting “I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!” to Merlin, AS DOUXIE’S OWN LIFE IS IN DANGER AFTER HE TRIED TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS and keep the Arcane Order from destroying the world...that hit hard. His life is on the line and (most likely) his last words are a plea for forgiveness to the Master that routinely dismissed him as an incompetent idiot and was more than happy to leave teenagers (!TEENAGERS!) who’d fought and risked everything to protect the world to die horribly at the hands of his enemies. Douxie--caring, kind-hearted, I-get-my-ass-rountinely-handed-to-me-but-always-get-up-again DOUXIE was the one who ran back to get Jim and Claire. Not Merlin. Merlin was *this close* to leaving to protect Nari for the greater good, and only reconsidered because Douxie had thrown himself into the fray (and despite his best efforts got thrown hard into a rock wall by The Green Knight. And then volleyball spiked into the (equally hard rock) floor and crushed by MindControlledTrollJim.

7) Douxie DOES NOT GIVE UP. Merlin writes Jim’s injuries off as hopeless and him as a lost cause, but Douxie relentlessly tries to figure out ways to fix things. Arthur and Morgana’s relationship, Jim’s injury/worsening curse, all the scenarios where they (it looks like) have to choose between saving their friends AND the world. He doesn’t just shrug and write off losses the way Merlin does. Douxie keeps throwing himself at problems and putting himself at risk to solve them.

8) He’s honest. (Certain Lad of Fortune bowl games aside ;) ) Merlin only told Jim the problem with the wound and left it at that. Douxie makes sure that Claire knows the reality of the situation and promises he’ll find a way to fix it. He knows their situation isn’t ideal, but he refuses to just shrug and leave things as they are. He’s more than willing to throw himself wholeheartedly into finding a way to fix things and refuses to let defeat stop him. Which leads me to, finally--

9) Douxie willingly, without flinching or making a big deal about it, walks into the jaws of death for his friends and the world. For Pete’s sake, he does it with a SMILE. He KNOWS getting his friends back is a long shot. He KNOWS the Arcane Order cannot get Nari AND the Seals, or else the world is doomed--AND he could easily have chosen to go on the run, with the Seals, for the rest of his life. His friends would have died (or worse), Nari would have been trapped with the Order for the rest of time, but the world (and Douxie) would have been safe. Why? The Order doesn’t know he has the seals. Merlin said they could be FOUND if his staff was destroyed, he didn’t say they were STORED there. (And yeah, I wanted Douxie to trick the Order with fake Seals too, but after some thought I’d argue that they’re ancient and powerful enough where they probably wouldn’t have been fooled by or chased after a fake.) Also, going on the run with inanimate objects your hunters don’t know you have and having the kind of magic Douxie does--he could have had a niiiiiice life. Maybe a little mobile, but arguably MUCH easier than constantly making sure a small forest spirit doesn’t get snatched up by her angry brethren. In any case--

Douxie’s plan included--and even hinged on--his willingness to die buying his friends and Nari time to escape. He BUILT IT INTO HIS PLAN. And that bravery, courage, and matter of fact heroism--along with that defiant smirk he gives the Order when they threaten to kill him--is why I love this guy so much.

#douxie #wizards #tales of arcadia #toa spoilers #wizards spoilers #long post #but its about DOUXIE you guys #heroism #protectiveness

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mizjoely · 3 years

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Day 12: Office Holiday Party

I've gone more than a bit off piste with this ASiB redo, but it does start with an office party, so there is that...It's also a bit long so it's under the cut below. Enjoy!

Office Holiday Party

She doesn’t attend John and Sherlock’s Christmas party, even though John invites her. It’s the same night as the St. Bart’s party and she attends that one instead, a spur-of-the-moment decision that she makes after thinking about (brooding a bit) the fact that it was John that invited her, somewhat off-handedly, rather than Sherlock. While she waffled she’d bought gifts for the two of them, and one for Mrs. Hudson, Greg Lestrade, and even something for John’s new girlfriend (the ‘boring teacher with the dogs’, is how she vaguely recalls Sherlock’s description of the poor woman). She debates her decision long and hard, but in the end caution wins out over hope, and off to Barts she pops. She’ll deliver the gifts on her way home, she decides, if it isn't too late.

She wears a new dress - black, with black straps decorated in silver and a fitted skirt (she never learned the proper names of skirt shapes aside from “pencil” and “mini”). She carefully does her hair, letting it cascade down her back, and dons a silver bow in honor of the season; she drinks a bit too much rum punch and enjoys herself as much as someone who’s as socially awkward as she is can.

As she’s gathering her things preparatory to leaving - still of two minds whether she’ll go home or stop by 221B Baker Street - she hears a commotion by the doors. She looks over, surprised and a little disconcerted to see Sherlock Holmes in the company of a slightly older man she’s never seen before.

“Ah, Sherlock, good of you to join us!” Mike Stamford says, cheeks flushed with hearty good cheer - and more than a bit of that rum punch. He thrusts a plastic cup into Sherlock’s hand. “Toast the season with us, eh?”

Sherlock doesn’t take so much as a single polite sip, simply hands the cup back to Mike while his eyes scan the crowd. He stops when he finds Molly, their eyes meeting, and he beelines for her while Mike sputters a protest (and quickly downs the rejected drink) and the stranger follows in Sherlock’s wake.

She recognizes him when they get closer; she doesn’t know his name but she’s seen him around the hospital once or twice during government inspections. “Miss Hooper,” he says, his voice very much Government Official, “if you would be so kind, there’s a body we need to examine.”

She looks uncertainly at Sherlock - surely they don’t want her to perform an autopsy when she’s half in the bag! - and he offers her a curt nod. “We just need to look at it,” he says, his voice a bit rough with some unidentifiable (to her, at any rate) emotion. “To possibly identify it. Her.”

Molly stammers out her willingness to be of help and the three of them head down to the morgue. She finds the proper drawer and wheels the body out for the two men (who is the older man and how does he know Sherlock?) to examine.

The face is badly damaged, bashed in with some sort of blunt instrument so she’s not sure exactly how they’re going to be able to identify the woman - but then Sherlock whisks back the sheet and nods. “It’s her.”

He turns and leaves without another word, and Molly looks over at Mr. Government. “Who is she?” she asks. “And how did he identify her from...not her face?”

The man gives her a rather pitying smile, then leaves without answering either question.

She puts the body back and heads out, only to find Sherlock waiting for her. He smells of cigarettes but she can hardly blame him for needing some sort of crutch, not tonight. “Share a cab?” he asks, then escorts into the one that arrives at his hail, climbing in next to her.

“Are you all right?” she asks.

He shrugs. “How was the party?” he asks, obviously changing the subject.

She shrugs back at him. “It was all right, I guess. Lots of booze and people getting a bit too chummy with each other, if you know what I mean.” She laughs somewhat self-consciously. “Of course you know what I mean, what was I thinking, putting it that way.”

“What about you?”

“Pardon? What about me?” she asks, confused.

He’s looking straight ahead, not at her, and his jaw is clenched. “Did you get ‘a bit too chummy’ with anyone?” He reaches out, still without looking, and fingers the fabric of her skirt. “That’s a new dress, a bit fancy for an office party, don’t you think? And that shade of lipstick, such a bright red!” He glances critically at her bag of gifts - gifts for him and the others who’d attended the party at 221B - and adds with a sneer, “It matches the ribbon on that top gift, the one you’ve taken so much care to wrap. For your new boyfriend?”

Before Molly can do more than gape at him - her cheeks reddening in humiliation, he continues, his lip curling in a sneer, “Judging by your appearance, Miss Hooper, it’s obvious you have lurrrve on your mind.”

She wants to slap him. She wants to slap him three times, so badly that she balls her hands into fists to keep from doing so. “Are you finished?” she asks when he finally falls silent. “I know you’ve had a shock tonight, but that’s no excuse to take it out on me!” She shakes her head. “You always say such terrible things.”

They remain in cold, uncomfortable silence almost until they reach Molly’s flat. As she starts to get out of the cab he stops her with a hand on her arm. “I am sorry,” he says softly. “Forgive me.” Then he leans forward and drops a kiss on her cheek.

“Why?” she asks, ignoring the cabbie’s grumbled complaints of ‘you gettin’ out or not, miss?’ from the driver’s seat. “Sherlock, what’s going on? Who was that woman?” She draws in a deep breath and asks him the question she’d asked the other man at the hospital. “How did you recognize her from not her face?”

Sherlock responds by handing the annoyed cabbie the fare, then ushering her out of the cab and joining her on the pavement. “Let’s go inside, shall we?” he says, indicating her front door. Still a bit dazed, Molly unlocks the door and waits until they’ve shed overcoats and shoes (no wet shoes on her nice clean carpets, thank you very much!) and settled on the sofa.

“Not what I would have expected,” he says, glancing around and taking in the clean, cool colors and lines of her minimalist first floor.

“I had a decorator in,” she says with a shrug. “I need someplace calm to unwind after a hectic day’s work and...Sherlock,” she interrupts herself, daringly placing a hand on his, “please. Tell me.”

So he does; surprisingly, he tells her even more than she’d asked. Irene Adler is the woman’s name - no, The Woman, she thinks with a pang. She can hear the capitalization, the importance of this client, in the way he speaks, sees the pain he’s trying to hide in his eyes. “You look sad,” she blurts out as he finally falls silent. She ignores the silent rejoicing in her heart at his description of his and John’s first meeting with Irene and her nudity, instead giving his hand a slight squeeze of sympathy. “I’m sorry, she must have meant a great deal to you even though she was a client.”

A client and definitely an adversary of sorts; just the sort of woman to pique his interest, she thinks sadly. Not like me at all.

“Stop that,” Sherlock says sharply, and Molly looks up at him, startled. She’s even more startled to realize that their hands are still clasped; when she tries to pull away he makes an irritated sort of growling noise and holds her tighter. “You’re thinking far too loudly, Molly. There’s no need for you to be jealous. Yes, I admit, she caught my attention, she was a challenge but don’t ever feel you need to compare yourself to her.”

With a flash of insight - that she prays isn’t just her hopes, however forlorn, getting the better of her - Molly breathes out a soft “Oh” and says, “You don’t have to be jealous either, Sherlock.” She reaches with her free hand into the bag of gifts and pulls out the top one with its red bow and careful wrapping and hands it to him. “Go on, read the tag.”

Brow furrowed, he does so, remaining silent for a long pair of minutes before finally speaking. “Dearest Sherlock, love Molly,” he reads, then looks up at her. “Girlfriends aren’t my area, Molly.”

She nods. “I-I understand.” She can feel tears clogging her throat but she’s never been one to cry in front of anyone, especially not a man. Certainly not this man.

She tries to pull her hand away again, only to let out a muffled squeak as he suddenly hauls her closer, until their faces are only inches apart. “I’ll be a terrible boyfriend, Molly, but perhaps...you’d be willing to give me a chance?”

Then he kisses her, and she kisses him back, and all she can think is that if she’d just gone to his party in the first place, maybe they could have been doing this that much sooner. Or perhaps not; either way, she’ll never know, but she’s happy enough with the way things have turned out not to care.

#dis is mine #sherlolly #fandom christmas in july #mizjoely writes #mizjoely's fics

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happymeishappylife · 2 years

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The Cybermen (2nd Appearance): The Moonbase

Obviously the Cybermen were a smash hit considering they came back to the show in the same season they appeared. So as much as the Daleks wanted to rule supreme, the Cybermen are here to stay. And in this serial, while their outfits are a little goofier, the threat is very much real.

As stated before the Cybermen are one of the classic villains that change overtime and its because as the budget and sign of the times, but I love that in the same season we get a change of outfits. And there is some interesting and questionable new accessories:

The balled strapped around the wires around their bodies, certainly is a look. I’m not sure what their purposes are. But the weird two finger gloves that shoot some sort of electrical current is a bit more threatening. Also, it’s the first time we see the electricity attack in action. Something I realize has been the with them for a long time though when they switch to the mini gun, I don’t know. Also, their voices were down pitched to be more mechanic and in my opinion a lot more creepier because it really carried the unemotional human feel.

Still I have to admit they look better than the humans and the Tardis team when they are hopping around the moon:

The Cybermen have arrived on the Moon in the year 2070. By this time humans have developed a lunar base where they control the weather of Earth by a device called the gravitron. It controls gravity to influence weather patterns to the point it can’t redirect tornados. An interesting solution to climate change, but I can’t say I’m a big fan. But since the all men technicians are super busy, they fail to somehow notice an invasion of the base and disruption in their store room.

I don’t know how they managed to do this since I would assume they didn’t use the door, and an alarm would go off if they broke the airlock seal. But putting that aside, the Cybermen have a plan to take over the gravitron, and it begins with poisoning the sugar. A key detail that’s discovered thanks to the still heavily British influenced love of tea on the lunar base. The sugar however releases a toxin, that sends the crew into some sort of hypnotic or mind inducing control that allowed the Cybermen to take over the humans for their own use.

Which is notable because this is the first step that we see towards the eventual upgrading of the human race. But the creepy vein side effect I’m glad we don’t really see a whole lot of in the future. But also, I’m glad that even though they begin to convert humans, they leave poor Jamie alone who is convinced that this is the mysterious ‘Pied Piper’ of Scottish legend; come to take away the dead.

Once the Cybermen are found out, thanks to our MVP of the episode, Miss Polly Wright, we see the Doctor immediately take charge and action to put a stop to them, though they are a pretty incredible threat. I think for me, the fact that even though he’s been berated and accused of mischief, the Doctor’s willingness to save the men of the moon base and the world really is amplified now that he’s regenerated. And while I’m not entirely convinced the Cybermen caused his regeneration, the Doctor might feel a little more agitated with them because he did regenerate after their encounter.

The only downside into making the Cybermen more terrifying in this serial is we do get a bit of goofiness towards the end as they are hopping around the moon and programmed a gun to aim at the moonbase. I mean one Cyberman T-poses because why?

Also, instead of pure radiation posoining like their first encounter, the Cybermen are proven to have another weakness and that’s death by an acetone mixture that evaporates the their chest controller. Again, thank you Polly for the great suggestion and while I forgive Jamie for not knowing what nail polisher remover is and what it can do, come on Ben, keep up.

All in all this is a solid return and to me a much more threatening serial that really heightens what the Cybermen can do.

#prep for the 60th #the cybermen #the moonbase

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empty-dream · 3 years

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So I read 86 LN vol 1

S1 anime covers the entire Vol 1 except for the latter's epilogue, so full anime spoiler here.

And as of this writing, I'm still on Vol 2 so the things I mention here are solely those that happen in Vol 1. Idk if a thing happens in the latter volume, gotta dodge spoiler so I don't browse about it.

There was an interview with a person inside the anime industry that basically said "The point of an anime adaptation is not to be an exact replica of the original material, but to shine as its own medium for a story." I forgot who it was and I can't find the interview anywhere for the life of me, but that statement opened my eyes. I agree with it, that's why I can appreciate the differences between LN/manga and anime, especially if they turn out good and/or interesting.

And that's exactly what happens in 86. I'll start with this: I watched the anime first, and after I read the Vol1 novel, I actually like the anime more. Because there are a lot of meaningful original scenes in it

And because the Vol1 novel turns out exactly what I fear when I first watched the anime: that I won't care much about the squadron aside from the main 5. (Look, the anime promotional materials mostly only have Lena and those 5 only. As shocked as I was in the anime, I did have an idea where the story would go from those alone). The rest are barely mentioned. Not even the girls are named in the novel, even though they do talk and Lecca is even prominent in anime.

For example, the second half of the first episode, the one that shows Spearhead squadron's daily life right before Lena contacts them, is anime original scenes. Kujo already dies the moment the novel starts focusing on the squadron. Simply put, a lot of the squadron members that aren't the main 5 or Kaie get a *lot* more focus in the anime, like Daiya, Haruto (For characters who appear on the introduction page, their novel screen time is less than I'd expect), Kujo and Lecca. While the other members often appear in the background and actually behave like equal members instead of glue-them-on figurines.

(Idk if those other members are named and/or designed in the light novel before the anime is a thing or when the anime becomes a thing.)

The anime also adds relevant information in the Raiden's talk with Lena in EP7, like Kaie receiving racial abuse from 86 (in fact in both versions, she is the first one to get highlighted about this) and Haruto also having prominent Giadian Empire blood like Anju and Shin. These weren't in the novel.

I might be just nitpicking here because I love Kaie and Haruto, but see, this scene is amazing on its own. This is where Raiden and the squad reveal the weight of their motivation all along, that they *each* have different backgrounds and different kinds of sufferings, yet they are all sentenced to die, and they all choose to fight because they know no side is saintly but some things are still worth fighting for.

The prominent characters' deaths (besides Kaie's) are often mentioned with only one or two dry lines. I expected at least Daiya's to be detailed more, but it's just that so matter-of-fact-ly. Well I came from the anime, so I guess it's normal if I expected something as heartbreaking.

I broke down HARD at the last half of EP10 and that is nowhere in the Vol 1 novel. (Having Hands Up to the Sky playing in the background is also an advantage for being an anime. Fuck that song, I now play it 24/7 in despair)

Having a lot of original anime scenes really complement the story's nature. That there are two different sides of life here, it's not just Lena's or 86's only. And those couldn't have intertwined if not for their willingness to listen and communicate.

I know I mentioned this some days ago but really, I can't get over how many of the merch are Lena (and Annette) being cute doing cute stuff while the story itself is actually depressing. Merch staffs know the market lol.

- Novel side -

That said, the novel does have an advantage that the anime/visual media doesn't: Internal explorations and explanations.

It's obvious from the get-go, but Asato confirms that the inspiration of Republic of San Magnolia and its racial discrimination and genocide is taken from Nazi Germany in WW2. The Republic who favors the white/silver haired-eyed Alba drives Colorata out of the 85 sectors, overtakes their properties, and forcibly sends the now-called-86 to either fight their war and die, or work on the wall and die.

The life inside the Republic is also elaborated on. Class always exists, even inside one race only. The center of the republic is for the elites, Lena and Annette's families included. The farther a sector is from the center, the lower the education and economy there is. Most of the military come from these areas, which explains why Lena herself is in difficult situation. Since no one in the military is either capable or willing to bring change.

It's *insane* how easily the Republic could create such vile lies, and how easily the majority of the citizens go along with it.

Gotta admit, Asato does a good job at foreshadowing the fate of the 86, the truth that we can only see after Ep7 of anime. It is mentioned that supposedly, 86 soldiers will be welcomed back once their 5-years term is up. Lena once wonders about it, but ultimately she buys it thinking that surely they must have come back to another sector. She only realizes it's utter bullshit after Annette points out how, 9 years later, they have never seen even one Colorata inside the Republic when they should have seen at least some. This also shows that Lena has never ventured to the other sectors to find out more, probably due to work or maybe she's still a sheltered noblewoman in the end.

And the mentality of the majority of Alba is shown differently. Whereas the anime uses the academy classroom to show how deeply rooted the racism against 86 is, the novel uses Lena's mother who a) more or less does the same as the classroom, and b) presses Lena to get married and preserve their pure noble bloodline. This, when the nobility doesn't actually mean anything anymore. This version shows not only Alba's racism but also Lena's strained family life.

There is a scene of an Alba high school valedictorian who, during his graduating speech, says “My friends died fighting the Legion.” I’m not sure this will make it to the anime, and it’s just a minor scene in the novel, but the weight of that scene is heavy.

The science of Para-Raid is explained, which has something to do with tapping the collective consciousness of humanity and connecting it to one another. A bit far-etched but I guess that works, science fiction and all. But I like the part where despite (or maybe because?) of connecting via hearing only, the other senses are faintly receptive as well. For example, one can sense that the other side is biting their lips in frustration, something like that. Of course, actual real life things like sensing the hidden bitterness or elation in a talking partner's words are present, this being a story where listening matters.

The novel elaborates on Raiden's stay with the Alba old woman. He calls her Old Hag, but it's clear he greatly respects her. The part where she screams and curses in the middle of the road at the Republic soldiers who take Raiden and the other children away stays in Raiden's mind forever, and so it does to me. Ngl it is quite a chilling scene.

Same with the story of the previous Laughing Fox, Theo's Alba commander. It turns out, the entirety of Theo's first squadron didn't like him at all and bet on how fast he'd tuck tail and run back to the Republic. When he faced his death the way Theo explained, he sent a message to Theo revealing he knew about it and knew his place to not ask for acknowledgment or forgiveness. This made Theo regret why he didn't try to talk more with his commander and he keeps thinking about it forever. Now it makes even more sense why Theo, blunt as he is, is willing to listen to Lena and when he snaps, he wonders if his late commander would do the same.

What actually happens in Kurena's backstory is also touched upon. While in the anime some viewers could think "Man, I get where you're coming from but chill out." The novel graphically shows her parents being toyed on by the Alba soldiers while her sister protected her, the two could only watch, and then the same sister got sent to the battlefield to die. Now at that, anyone would think "Man, no wonder she can't chill out. Not with all that trauma."

I also like the addition that Lena can sense Kurena is the one who dislikes her the most.

The novel describes greatly that it isn't just Alba and Non-Alba. Essentially speaking, Non-Alba is called Colorata, and they consist of different race groups as well. Just as Alba is associated with the color silver/white, the other race have their associated colors as well. Asato assigns races to the named members in Vol1 and what their distinguished color features are. This also explains why Anju is exiled despite looking like an Alba.

It's a question that I pondered on when I first saw Shin's armor plates, and that I pondered harder on when Chise died: What happens if there is no armor plate to carve its processor's name's on? So it turns out Shin would substitute it with anything; piece of wood or some random piece of metal. For Chise's case, Raiden, Chise's leader, suggested using the wing of Chise's in-progress airplane model. Which did my heart so bad because I'm strangely fond of Chise and finding out that in his spare time in his limited lifespan, he was working on an airplane model made me sob.

I'm not particularly into mecha, and could care less about how it moves. But Asato did a good job describing the fight between a glorified suicide car and a line of brand-new solid A-grade tanks. Special mention to I-IV because wow the concept arts for all the mechas are so cool, even though I don't really understand. (Asato even said to I-IV "Go draw a tank so horrible it's stupid for the Juggernaut" and I-IV came up with the current Juggernaut)

You know how the Republic greeting is "Glory to San Magnolia and the five-colored flag"? I won't disclose who says this in what situation, but there is someone of Colorata saying "If you hate colors so much, you should have just colored your flag white" AND OOOH THE BURN SO HOT HOT HOT

Tl;dr: Bottom line is, I personally enjoy Vol 1 because I already watched the anime and got attached to it. If I were to read the vol 1 first, most likely I wouldn't fall this hard for the series. Hell, maybe I wouldn't even pick it up in the first place because I knew it'd be depressing. But this is not to say that the LN is bad. It’s very good, it just does not really touch the lives of other soldiers whereas that’s the very thing that I love from the anime.

#86 #eighty six #random saying #not sure if i have put all my thoughts here so maybe ill edit sometime later

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starrynite7114 · 4 years

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43. “What the fuck were you thinking?” And 57. “You look so fucking hot when your mad” ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for the request lovely! <3

Currently making my way through the requests! Request are still open if you all want to make one! :)

43. “What the fuck were you thinking?” And 57. “You look so fucking hot when your mad”

Looking at your watch, you began to become worried as Angel still wasn’t home. Even though he didn’t usually come home at a decent hour, you would think that during your birthday, your old man would make it a fucking mission to get home on time. Instead, you already blew out your candle and ate the dinner you made for both of you, or at least what you could have since your appetite truly wasn’t there. You’ve been with Angel for a little over five years now, the last 3 of it you’ve been engaged.

Why haven’t you pulled the trigger?

Can’t really say.

There were many factors that played a part. One was the fact you went to medical school as soon as you and Angel became engaged. Thankfully, you were accepted to UC San Diego and wasn’t too far from Angel. With your medical school education ending this year and moving on to residency, which thankfully, was at UC San Diego once again, you were thinking that maybe before residency, you and Angel could get married. But with everything going on with the club and the cartel, most recently, Los Olvidados, then maybe another three or so years till you could get married.

Currently, you were sitting eating your ice cream cake as you watched the latest episode of Tiger King. It was your guilty pleasure, that bitch Carole Baskin. You chuckled at yourself as you shoved another spoonful of ice cream in your mouth. It was rare for Angel to miss your birthday. While you were angry at first, now you were worried. He also hasn’t been answering your phone calls, but he could be at the other side. You would call Coco, Gilly or EZ, but you knew that those four were always together.

“Stupid Angel, stupid EZ.” You murmured to yourself.

You met Angel through EZ since you two were classmates in Stanford. You and Angel didn’t immediately hit it off, but you two didn’t hate each other. He was EZ’s older brother and you knew better than to mess with your friend’s older siblings. But one thing led to another and you were now engaged to Angel. For some reason, your mother was absolutely in love with Angel and your older brother took a liking to Angel since they bonded over guns. It was a weird dynamic, but you loved it.

As the next episode of Tiger King was about to start, your door burst open with Gilly assisting Angel inside.

“What the fuck?!” You yelled out as you saw Angel’s blood soaked shirt and his face that was bruised up, with dried blood at the corner of his lips. “Are you fucking kiding me right now?”

“Y/N, we know this looks bad, but half the blood on his shirt is not even his.” Coco tried to calm you, which just earned him a glare. He held his hands up and instructed EZ to close your door.

“Hey baby,” Angel greeted before letting out a groan as Gilly sat him down on one of the dining table chairs. “Happy birthday.”

“Don’t,” you walked over to the guest room you and Angel had at your apartment, taking out the medial kit you kept in the event the club needed you or Angel was being an idiot. When you got back outside, Coco and Gilly were out in your patio smoking while EZ was helping clean Angel’s wounds. “Do I even want to know?”

EZ chuckled. “Your man has a smart mouth, got himself hit.”

“The truth EZ.”

“That is the truth, we ran into trouble across the border. Angel was a smart ass, got hit a few times and cut by a knife.” EZ was telling the truth. He was thankful that Adelita saved them cause otherwise, he wasn’t sure where Angel would be right now or himself for that matter.

You narrowed your eyes at Angel who gave you that annoying smile of his. “You still love me right?”

“That’s debatable.” You took out a suturing kit so you could suture Angel’s wound. “Take off your shirt, and don’t be smart, I’ll give you another bruise on that face of yours.”

Angel took off his shirt as you asked and you assessed the wounds, thankful that it was just superficial. A few stitches would definitely benefit it. Usually, you would have a sterile field, but since you were working with these assholes, there was no need, it wasn’t like you could get some anyway. Putting on some gloves, you instructed Angel to lay down on the bed in the guest bedroom. His blood was not getting on the new comforter you got for your room. Nope. Not today Satan.

He grimaced as he laid down, but kept mum, not wanting to upset you further. Hell, he was upset too. He missed your birthday and he had this extravagant plan to whisk you away for a few days to Lake Arrowhead. He knew you needed a break, a break from everything that was going on and truthfully, so did he.

“I love you,” Angel told you as you began to suture his wound. He flinched, hating the fact he couldn’t have some anesthesia, but he knew you would enjoy repairing his wound without it.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” You scolded him.

“I wasn’t thinking mi amor,” Angel really wasn’t. All he wanted was to get rid of that heroin that Adelita had stolen from Galindo. Now, he was paying for it and he was pissed. The last thing he wanted was to miss your birthday especially since he missed it last year. Though, you weren’t in town then and it was completely out of his hands, but this year was going to be different. He wanted to take you to Lake Arrowhead, where your family and friends were waiting, so you two could get married.

This was the one thing he wanted to do for you after everything you two have been through. He was honestly surprised you two have lasted this long, but he was thankful you didn’t give up on him. This wasn’t about his insecurities or whatnot, but he definitely didn’t think he deserved to have someone as patient as you were with him. At times, you did want to strangle him and he would have let you, but he knew you two were meant to be together. If all these illegal activities and uncertainties didn’t drive you away, you two were in it for the long run.

Not like Angel would let you go anyway.

“Of course you weren’t,” you closed up the laceration, shaking your head. “You’re such an idiot, how can you put yourself on the line like that?!”

“Baby, I had to help Adelita, the longer I had those keys, the more paranoid I became.”

“Yes, Adelita,” you rolled your eyes, placing a gauze on top of the wound on his forehead. “Should I be worried?”

“What?” Angel wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly, sitting up causing him to hiss in pain.

“About Adelita, should I be worried?”

Angel shook his head. “I don’t know, should I be worried about Dr. Youngs?”

You sighed then. You didn’t have a problem with Adelita, you thought her mission was remarkable. But at times, you couldn’t help and be jealous due to Angel’s willingness to do everything for her, even pushing you aside at times. You were human, it happens, but you knew you had nothing to be worried about. Angel has always been faithful and he wasn’t going to stray now.

“Are you serious right now?”

“Well are you fucking serious right now?”

“How can you even ask that?”

“I can say the same to you querida. You honestly think I would fuck up our relationship? I told you what it is, it’s to help the MC get away from the fucking cartel.”

��And you know he’s my attending physician, he’s a great guy, but he’s also engaged.”

“That doesn’t mean shit, I saw how he looked at you.”

“You are such a fucking prick, Angel. You can’t come in here saying stupid shit like that after you missed my fucking birthday.” You fumed as you took the tray that had all the items you used to clean Angel up. “EZ! Can you take this tray and dispose of it, please?”

EZ came, immediately taking the tray. It’s not like the other three men didn’t hear your argument, the door was wide open. And no matter how close you were to them, their loyalty would always lie with Angel. Walking out of the room, they all gave you smiles.

“Happy birthday Y/N, we’re sorry Angel is a dipshit.” Gilly gave you a hug, which you returned.

“Happy birthday, if you want we’ll take him off your hands and let you have some quiet time.” Coco offered after he gave you a hug.

You shook your head. “It’s fine, he can sleep in the guest bedroom.” Looking back at Angel who was now standing up, you narrowed your eyes as he gave you his annoying smirk.

“You look so fucking hot when your mad.” You knew he was going to say something stupid, it was always paired with that smirk.

His three brothers groaned at Angel’s comment, knowing it wasn’t going to help his situation.

“You can go fuck yourself Angel,” you flipped him off. “Do I still look hot to you?”

“Got even hotter baby,” he knew he was in deep shit, but if you were bantering with him, he must not be in too deep. He gave you a kiss, which you couldn’t really avoid since hitting him would cause him further pain.

“Happy birthday,” EZ greeted you as well, startling you since you were focused on Angel. “From me, Coco and Gilly.”

You looked at the envelope in his hand and you raised an eyebrow. Taking the envelope, you opened it and found tickets to see Bruno Mars. You squealed, wrapping your arms around EZ. Giving him a quick squeeze, you made your round towards Coco and Gilly.

Angel watched you, leaning against the wall. He smiled, happy that you enjoyed the idea he gave those fuckers. He was in the dog house right now and he knew giving you your present wouldn’t exactly relieve him of his sins.

“You guys are more than welcome to stay, but I have some errands to do tomorrow.” You turned around, Angel semi-blocking your way to your room. “Don’t even think about coming to the room tonight.”

“You look even hotter when you threaten me.”

You rolled your eyes and brushed past Angel. He watched you until the door obscured his view. Looking back at his brothers they just shook their heads.

“What? She loves me, she’ll forgive me.”

“Or she’ll slit your throat.”

You tossed and turned, annoyed that you couldn’t get comfortable. You heard them laughing outside for a few hours before it died down. The television was still on, that much you knew, so the boys most likely decided to stay. You hated that you couldn’t sleep without Angel. If you were extremely exhausted you could, but with the adrenaline you got after he came home injured, you couldn’t sleep. You knew he was okay, but hundreds of thoughts came through your head. What if he wasn’t okay? What if today was the time he wouldn’t come back. It was a vicious cycle every time Angel wasn’t around you, you worried about him constantly. One of the reasons you were thankful that you decided to become a doctor was so you could save Angel’s life just so you could kill him with your bare hands.

The door opening broke you out of your thoughts and you immediately closed your eyes. Your back was turned to the door, but you knew only one person would be coming in. The door closed once again and you stayed still, not sure if Angel decided to just peak in or if he actually came in. Your question was answered when you felt a dip on your bed.

“Baby?” He softly shook you.

You chose to ignore him, not wanting to have an argument about his stupidity.

“Come on baby, I’m sorry,” he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against him. “I know you’re awake. All the Tiger King episodes were watched, come on, talk to me.”

“You missed my birthday.”

“I know I did, and I’m sorry.” Angel placed a kiss on your neck.

You turned to face him, his arms still around you.

“I’m upset you got hurt most of all.”

“I know you are, but I’m okay, I came home to you.”

“What if you didn’t?”

Angel frowned. He cupped your face, softly rubbing your cheek with his thumb. He placed a kiss on your lips and then one on your forehead.

“If I can help it, I will always stay alive for you.”

You began to cry then and Angel panicked. “Mi dulce, why are you crying?”

“Cause you’re such an idiot and I hate you.” You closed the distance between you two, wrapping your arms around him. “I love you so much Angel, I don’t know what I would do without you. Every time you come home looking as you did today, it always scares the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry amor, I promise I wasn’t trying to upset you.” He buried his nose in your hair, holding you tight against him. “I act on impulse, it’s a habit, I’m really trying to be better.”

“Can you try harder? Our kid is going to need you.”

“Of course, anything for our kid.” He froze then, pulling away from you. “Wait, what?”

“I’m pregnant Angel, I’m 3 months along.” You happily shared with him.

“Holy shit, we’re pregnant?” He sat up, a smile spreading across his lips. “We’re having a fucking baby.” He breathed out.

You took out the present you’ve had for him. It was in your bedside drawer, in a rectangular box. You handed over to him and sure enough, it was a positive pregnancy test.

“Baby, holy fuck,” he enveloped you in his embrace, kissing the side of your head. “We’re gonna have a baby,” he felt the tears welling up as excitement coarse through his body. He always wondered how it would be to have a child with you, someone who had your smile, your eyes, your nose, just your everything. And now, he didn’t have to wonder any further. “Shit, I gotta tell the guys.”

You laughed as Angel was basically skipping out of your room to inform his brothers that you were having a baby.

Even though your birthday didn’t start out as planned, it definitely ended on a way better note.

#justahopelessssromantic #angel reyes #angelreyes #mayans mc fanfic #angel reyes fic #angel reyes fanfic #mayans mc imagine #mayans mc fic #angel reyes fanfiction #promptrequest

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alinaastarkov · 4 years

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I hate how stansas are all like "Sansa will become a genius at the game of thrones, but she'll keep her moral compass so she'll be the perfect queen". First, they should stop pushing that stupid idea that being good at the game is the same as being a good ruler, it just isn't. Second, Sansa's compassion is not nearly as significant as to say it will definitely stop her from playing dirty, she is not the mother theresa fandom thinks she is. And third...

[Cont.d] ...ALL the characters are getting darker next book, I'm an Arya fan and I'm mentalizing to face that she'll do dark stuff next book, Why tf would Sansa be above the rest? For god's sake she's gleefully following a plan for her personal benefit that relies on her own cousin dying without feeling too sad about it. Among other things. Sansa is not that special, she'll get her hands really dirty just like the rest and being naive isn't going to be an excuse.

Yeah it is kind of infuriating. Aside from the game, which I’ll get to in a minute, we are told constantly that being a leader requires a certain hardness, a willingness to do morally questionable things, that it leads to a colder or darker personality given the difficult decisions, and makes the leaders lament their lost naivety and wish they still had little responsibility.

Look at Jon:

You would weep as well if you had a son and lost him, Sam almost said. He could not blame Gilly for her grief. Instead, he blamed Jon Snow and wondered when Jon's heart had turned to stone. Once he asked Maester Aemon that very question, when Gilly was down at the canal fetching water for them. "When you raised him up to be the lord commander," the old man answered.

- Samwell III, A Feast for Crows

Jon felt as stiff as a man of sixty years. Dark dreams, he thought, and guilt. His thoughts kept returning to Arya. There is no way I can help her. I put all kin aside when I said my words. If one of my men told me his sister was in peril, I would tell him that was no concern of his. Once a man had said the words his blood was black. Black as a bastard's heart. He'd had Mikken make a sword for Arya once, a bravo's blade, made small to fit her hand. Needle. He wondered if she still had it. Stick them with the pointy end, he'd told her, but if she tried to stick the Bastard, it could mean her life.

- Jon VI, A Dance with Dragons

It’s stated, plain as day, that Jon becoming Lord Commander marked the end of his days being, for want of a better word, kind and emotional, as he started having to make tough decisions that would not please everyone and would absolutely break some, but were necessary to keep his people safe and ensure victory. In the second quote, we see this sense of duty and coldness over emotion also applies inwardly, as he curses the fact that he can’t help Arya when he desperately wants to. Choosing to help Arya is ultimately what cause his death too, and coming back from that will only make him even darker.

Let’s look at Dany too:

She dreaded what must come next, yet she knew she had put it off too long already. Yunkai and Astapor, threats of war, marriage proposals, the march west looming over all . . . I need my knights. I need their swords, and I need their counsel. Yet the thought of seeing Jorah Mormont again made her feel as if she'd swallowed a spoonful of flies; angry, agitated, sick. She could almost feel them buzzing round her belly. I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears.

- Daenerys VI, A Storm of Swords

"No . . . no." He shook his head. "I never meant . . . forgive me. You have to forgive me."

"Have to?" It was too late. He should have begun by begging forgiveness. She could not pardon him as she'd intended. She had dragged the wineseller behind her horse until there was nothing left of him. Didn't the man who brought him deserve the same? This is Jorah, my fierce bear, the right arm that never failed me. I would be dead without him, but . . . "I can't forgive you," she said. "I can't."

"You forgave the old man . . ." [...]

“Remove this liar from my sight,” she commanded. I must not weep. I must not. If I weep I will forgive him. Strong Belwas seized Ser Jorah by the arm and dragged him out. When Dany glanced back, the knight was walking as if drunk, stumbling and slow. She looked away until she heard the doors open and close. Then she sank back onto the ebony bench. He's gone, then. My father and my mother, my brothers, Ser Willem Darry, Drogo who was my sun-and-stars, his son who died inside me, and now Ser Jorah . . .

"The queen has a good heart," Daario purred through his deep purple whiskers, "but that one is more dangerous than all the Oznaks and Meros rolled up in one." His strong hands caressed the hilts of his matched blades, those wanton golden women. "You need not even say the word, my radiance. Only give the tiniest nod, and your Daario shall fetch you back his ugly head."

- Daenerys VI, A Storm of Swords

One would be dead before the sun went down. No queen has clean hands, Dany told herself. She thought of Doreah, of Quaro, of Eroeh … of a little girl she had never met, whose name had been Hazzea. Better a few should die in the pit than thousands at the gates. This is the price of peace, I pay it willingly. If I look back, I am lost.

- Daenerys VIII, A Dance with Dragons

Dany has not been as affected by Jon, she is still a young girl with a lot of hope and sympathy, but it’s clear throughout that she takes being queen to heart and she knows that means showing strength at times rather than tears. Much like with Gilly, Dany has to make the hard decision with Jorah, even if she wanted to pardon him. He was not contrite so she could not forgive him without seeming weak or foolish. And we see this internal struggle again with the fighting pits, a practice she abhors, but knows she must endure it for her people. Being a leader, she makes tough decisions and has to desensitise herself as much as possible, and Winds promises that she will be darker too.

Hell, we even see this happen with Robb.

Only Robb and baby Rickon were still here, and Robb was changed. He was Robb the Lord now, or trying to be. He wore a real sword and never smiled. His days were spent drilling the guard and practicing his swordplay, making the yard ring with the sound of steel as Bran watched forlornly from his window. At night he closeted himself with Maester Luwin, talking or going over account books. Sometimes he would ride out with Hallis Mollen and be gone for days at a time, visiting distant holdfasts. Whenever he was away more than a day, Rickon would cry and ask Bran if Robb was ever coming back. Even when he was home at Winterfell, Robb the Lord seemed to have more time for Hallis Mollen and Theon Greyjoy than he ever did for his brothers.

- Bran IV, A Game of Thrones

This rings extremely close to Jon not sitting and eating with his friends as he used to. So, even ignoring the game of thrones cause none of these are playing it, being a leader creates a sterner, harder person than when they weren’t leaders, and this isn’t even everyone we see this in. Same happens with Bran for a time, Tyrion, Arya, etc. so there’s no way that if Sansa ever became queen she can stay the perfect little ray of sunshine who makes no bad or questionable decisions they all think she is (not that this was ever really the case).

We are constantly told the game of thrones is a bad thing.

"Oh, but it was, my lord," Cersei insisted. "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

- Eddard XII, A Game of Thrones

"Rhaenys was a child too. Prince Rhaegar's daughter. A precious little thing, younger than your girls. She had a small black kitten she called Balerion, did you know? I always wondered what happened to him. Rhaenys liked to pretend he was the true Balerion, the Black Dread of old, but I imagine the Lannisters taught her the difference between a kitten and a dragon quick enough, the day they broke down her door." Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. "The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that's true, Lord Eddard, tell me … why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Ponder it, if you would, while you wait upon the queen. And spare a thought for this as well: The next visitor who calls on you could bring you bread and cheese and the milk of the poppy for your pain … or he could bring you Sansa's head.

- Eddard XV, A Game of Thrones

"As to that Wall," the man went on, "it's not a place that I'd be going. The Old Bear took the Watch into the haunted woods, and all that come back was his ravens, with hardly a message between them. Dark wings, dark words, me mother used to say, but when the birds fly silent, seems to me that's even darker." He poked at the fire with his stick. "It was different when there was a Stark in Winterfell. But the old wolf's dead and young one's gone south to play the game of thrones, and all that's left us is the ghosts."

"The wolves will come again," said Jojen solemnly.

- Bran II, A Storm of Swords

Marillion's face seemed to float before her, the bandage pale across his eyes. Behind him she could see Ser Dontos, the crossbow bolts still in him. "No," Sansa said. "Please."

"I am tempted to say this is no game we play, daughter, but of course it is. The game of thrones."

I never asked to play. The game was too dangerous. One slip and I am dead.

- Sansa I, A Feast for Crows

He did not like the taste of this. It smelled of deceit, of whispers and lies and plots hatched in the dark, all the things he'd hoped to leave behind with the Spider and Lord Littlefinger and their ilk. Barristan Selmy was not a bookish man, but he had often glanced through the pages of the White Book, where the deeds of his predecessors had been recorded. Some had been heroes, some weaklings, knaves, or cravens. Most were only men—quicker and stronger than most, more skilled with sword and shield, but still prey to pride, ambition, lust, love, anger, jealousy, greed for gold, hunger for power, and all the other failings that afflicted lesser mortals. The best of them overcame their flaws, did their duty, and died with their swords in their hands. The worst …

The worst were those who played the game of thrones.

- The Queensguard, A Dance with Dragons

Even Sansa herself is used to tell us this game is a bad thing, that the smallfolk suffer for it, and those who play it are destined to fall. And we are also shown that those who play are poor leaders because they allow the smallfolk to suffer as they play. The characters who do play the game - Cersei, Tywin, Tyrion (sort of), Varys, Littlefinger - are all either morally questionable or straight up villains. Why do all these people so desperately want that for their fave?

This question of Sansa’s actual compassion has often been asked and I think it’s clear that her compassion has a limit. It does not extend to people below her social class, and it gets exasperated very quickly. Look at Jeyne Poole and more importantly Sweetrobin. She wants to keep this kid away from her, so locks him out of her room even though she knows he goes to her for comfort as his mother just died and he suffers from seizures. So, no, she’s not the most compassionate anyway, and she already has begun to play dirty. If she ever becomes a leader, as illustrated above, this will only get worse.

We have all accepted that our faves are going down darker paths. Tyrion is already there, Dany is bound to and honestly we can’t blame her, and most of us are actually excited to see Jon and Arya’s darker paths. Sansa is closer to it than Arya is already, and I’m excited to see how grey she is going to become. This complexity is what makes good characters, and the expectation that Sansa, whatever scenario she’s in, will suddenly become perfectly innocent and pure when she never was before, and we can clearly see no-one is getting lighter, is completely ridiculous. The rabid stansas may never change their minds, but Winds will prove this to them at least, if we ever get it.

#asoiaf #neve has mail #shut up neve #sansa stark #winds of winter #jon snow #daenerys targaryen #arya stark #tyrion lannister #robb stark #petyr baelish

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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Jake Reviews Stuff: Star Vs: Friendenemies

Happy pride all. I’m getting ahead of this one for a number of reasons: 1) It’s pride month and this episode is one of the most shiptastic things i’ve seen with two male characters since Robochris from bravest warriors. I mean it dosen’t quite reach “Creating a skull robot of your best friend because he won’t touch you a lot to make him jealous enough to do that” levels of romantic tension but it tries.

2) My good friend @jess-the-vampire is a tomco shipper, and with things being rough for her I figure she could use this sooner rather than later. 3) Shows are actually coming back with Amphibia emerging from it’s year long odinsleep the same week Close Enough finally escapes from it’s dumpster after 10,000 years to conquer earth before it gets put back in there then escapes again and marries lord zedd.. I lost the metaphor the point is I want to keep Tom train, and other star arcs I have planned, moving at a steady clip.

So with all of that yeah, i’m ready to go. No real exposition to dump again, come on let’s go after the cut!

We open with Marco at his laptop nervous about something and Star coming into his room tangled in christmas lights... so normal day at Casa Diaz. Anyways Marco can’t help star out of her latest self made prison because he’s preording tickets to a Mackie Hand Film Festival. Mackie Hand is Marco’s faviorite martial artist and movie star, who died performing a stunt on himself.. accidentally.. did he give himself a death punch? Is this the same universe as regular show.. please say yes. Anyway as is natural for Marco in the first two seasons as god apparently hates him, the tickets sell out instantly and he dosen’t get them, banging his head against his laptop as Star TRIES to comfort him , saying he might still be able to get them. Marco also says “Good things don’t happen to me”

I mean just look at Season 3. Anyways tom comes in licking a rainbow snowcone for no explained reason other than they wanted to make it obvious this was the Tomco episode. Tom asks to hang out and after Star, understandably at this point given you know, the horrible date where he tried to murder her best friend and the gaslighting a few weeks back, tells him a million times no, Tom explains he’s not here for her.. he’s here for Marco. Marco, given tom’s threatned to kill him twice now and tried to at least once, isn’t biting. Tom naturally has tickets to the festival as a trump card, and assumes that time he kidnapped marco and played him in ping pong for his freedom counts as a friend hang out, and geuinely apologizes for his behavior promising not to get angry. Really while as you probalby know we DO get the reveal later he was partly doing this whole thing to finish his anger managment... I do get the sense this apology, and a lot of this is GENUINE. We’ll get more into the why in a bit, but he does seem to genuinely want to bury the hatchet. Marco pulls star aside and, given the last two times he saw Tom, the boy had some horrible scheme up his ripped sleeves, he understandably, and as it turns out correctly, thinks Tom is once again up to some sort of scheme, star is fully on board. I have. mixed feelings about this. On the one hand STar did forgive tom for the previous episodes mess and Ponyhead for much worse and it does set up the tiny plot curnel of corn that would grow into an entire corn field of her still having some friendly feelings toward tom. But it just feels weird, even with how cahotic star can be to have her flip flop from “Stop calling me” To “You should totlaly go on a date with the guy who harassed me and tried to kill you twice now. “. Especially since next time she has an episode with Tom, She’s fully resentful of him and a bit snarky and spends and episode, in part thanks to aformentioned magical severed ponyhead, suspicious of him playing games with her head again. We’ll get there soon obviously, i’m just saying it feels mildly off.

So Marco decides, much like bart simpson that getting where he’s going’s worth it even if he has to ride with the devil himself and reluctantly agrees. We see the inside of Tom’s carriage for the first time, and see my good personal friend dead horse again on the outside, and it’s really nice.. lit by torches because mood lighting, but similar to his room it’s plushly decorated and even has two serious speakers and according to Tom 6 flatscreens. Damn I wish I had one of those.. that and I wouldn’t have to drive since I can’t due to my anxiety. Plus who wouldn’t want a firey horse skelton sidekick? Anyways Tom offers Marco cold cereal and Marco is frank with tom, pointing out he’s suddenly being nice to Marco after never being nice to him before and understandably isn’t sure he’s even a mackie hand fan but a bit of banter and trivia shows Marco that no, Tom really seems to be telling the truth. Tom then confides in marco that he gets why Marco didn’t belivie him: Most people dont’ get past their preconcived perceptions of him. And here the series does flesh tom out a bit: Tom admits to not having many friends.. which frames the previous two episodes in a diffrent light. Sure his actions to Star are still very much not okay... but you at least see WHY he was so obessive about her: She was probably the first real friend he had that wasn’t a casual aquantince, his own family member, or a pet. Most Mewman kids his age probably weren’t too keen to hang out with what to them was a monster, rich or not, little raicst shits. And in the underworld most people probably just did whatever he asked because they were afraid of his temper or his parents fury, even if his parents are the nicest people in the underworld. So when he lost her, Tom didn’t know how to properly react and while his first attempt to win star back was genuine, it was marred by his refusal to adress his anger or control issues that likely lead to Star dumping him in the first place. While Star’s forgivness HERE is a bit werid, her willingness to give him another shot wasn’t: Tom was SEEMINGLY genuinely trying. He was in therapy, he’d been anger free for several days and most glowingly, when a stranger karate chopped his hand off in a misguided attempt to protect star.. he got upset but instnatlly went into his coping mechanisms. The problem was as I covered in that review.. Tom didn’t WANT to change. That’s the thing about changing: you need to both know there is a problem and WANT to fix it. And even then, as we’ll see sometimes i’ts hard. I know, i’ve had my own personal issues i’ve had to change up as years went on. It’s a slippery slope you have to constnatly climb up. And BMB era tom.. just didn’t WANT to change he just wanted to do what he thought star wanted that would get her to take him back, and couldn’t understnad why she wouldn’t just listen to him and obey, two things not in star’s vocabulary for anyone much less her ex.

So , much like I did, rather than blame himself for screwing things up, he just saw it as Marco being in the way and tried to fix that. And so he sunk to rock bottom.. but it didn’t fix their relationship and it took Marco having an honest conversation, as someone who was also very close to her and knew her well, to get him to see that Star wasn’t going to take him back unless she wanted it.. what he was doing was selfish and self destructive.. and Tom probably realized in that moment he had to stop. He let her go, and thus as I put al ot of emphasis on last time, made his first step to being better. And to me that’s why this makes sense as his next step: While it’s partly to fufill a checklist... you get the sense he really DOES like marco on some level. They hung out, which I do feel tom did genuinely feel was like friends hanging out instead of you know the second highest stakes game of ping pong i’ve ever seen.

The first if your curious. So while part of this is Tom just wanting to get through anger managment for likely his parent’s sake, part of it is also him genuinely wanting to be somebody’s buddy, anybody but a bumbling butler. It’s just being Tom, he dosen’t know HOW to make friends or get them to see past who he is surface wise; a spoiled angry boy and see the inside, a nice kid who just has no idea how to talk to people beyond a surface level or understand them and we’ll see that more both in this episode and as we go. Speaking of going back in the episode proper, two bros drive up and insult Tom’s carriage also wondering if he’s going to his grandpa’s funeral. Fuck you both.. both on general principal and becaause his grandpapapapapapaaaaaaaaaaaa is alive and magnificent.

Satan bless you Relicor. Anyways, Tom is naturally pissed at this and Marco challenges them to a race.. but eases tom off actually following them as, since this isn’t a fast and the furious movie, the police immidelty arest them and we get the blessed image above. Let’s see that again.

NOGODWHY

Not right but it’ll have to do I fear what may happen if I try again. ONE BALLON DICK GIRAFFE LATER, our boys are on a high, as Tom finds there are things more fun than obletarating people. #tomhaskilledmultiplepeopleandisstillthebestboy. Marco is reminded of a song from his faviorite band Love Sentence, and Tom, suprisingy given his My Chemical Romance with a splash of metal astetic, is not only a huge fan but has a giant Helga Patiaki esque shrine to them complete with a cd player with shuffle. Fancy.

We then get a wonderful, shiptastic montage of the two just hanging out, hanging out with a white tiger. Having themselves a party. And given the song itself, sung by 98 Degrees and horrible realtiy show Newleywed’s alumnus Nick Lachey, even says “we used to be enimies but now we have chemistry” yeah I think this is intentional and they are a good ship. Are they my prefered ships for the characters? No tha’ts kelly and flame princess... the last one was recent and I love a good crossover ship sue me. But I do headcanon both as still Bi and still find the ship great, it’s just not my main one.

However the good times can’t last as it is film time... but Tom refuses to let marco leave befor eblowing his top off... dude that’s not how you build a suppportive relationship, you know this by now. Turns out the white tiger I haven’t mentioned to now is actually Brian, vocied my boy Stephen Root who apparently just.. lives at DIsney’s animation studios now as he has a tendency to show up in every other animated disney show. You may know him from Gravity Falls as Bud Gleeful, THe Mayor from Amphibia, or , in non disney voice work, Bill Dautrive. Turns out as I haven’t even tried to hide, Tom was in the final stage of his anger managment class and to get out of it had had to spend 3 hours with the person he hated most. As I said I do think part of it was GENUINE on tom’s part, that he was trying to be what he thought friends were... it’s just he didn’t get that Marco, if grumblinignly, probably STILL would’ve agreed if he were honest. However.. it’s still a step up. While i’ts still a scheme, and his LAST on the show.. it’s more benign after the last two; Instead of being harmful his scheme this time is just “Bribe my worst enemy into hanging out with me and get out of anger managment” it’s still not quite right, but compared to the things he’s done with star, it’s an improvment and a sign he is changing despite himself. He could’ve just kidnapped marco again and forced him to spend the three hours.. granted this might’ve just been Brian saying, obviously no tha tdosen’t count, but still, instead he tried being nice and giving an apology. Even if it was for personal gain on some level, Marco’s words clearly got to him and he’s now trying genuinely unselfish tactics. It’s also notable since he spent the three hours with marco, and at least half an hour of awkarndess before it got all fun, WITHOUT getting angry or falling back on old stratgies and only beefing it at the end because, as i’ve established, he dosen’t get people. So naturally tom gets mad.. while it is a sign he’s getting better he dosen’t do his trademark horrifying demonic EXPLOSION of rage... he’s still being petulant and sore over his failure is mad at marco for pritoritzing the tickets nad destroys them. Marco naturally calls him out, angry over him manipulating him to get some badge , as he puts it, calls him a jerk and a liar, accurate and the worst part to marco? “I WAS DUMB ENOUGH TO FALL FOR IT”

Credit where it’s due while I may not LIKE adam mcarthur as a person...as a voice actor he is excellent and his delivery here is perfect as you do get the pain in Marco’s voice as he genuinely ahd grown to care for tom. Wethere it was friendship or wanting to make out... probably wanting to make out, you get the pain in his voice. Tom admits the love sentence hting wasn’t a lie.. but too little too late.. whcih is marco’s second faviorite love sentence song and leads to another moment of shippy goodness. Seriously I see why this ship exploded in popularity after this. Also I will say both Adam and Rider have damn pretty voices. So Tom does what any romantic lead faced with a third act breakup would do.. say a demonic chant and bring Mackie Hand back from the dead. This is also the first time we see just how fucking powerful tom is. Before we’ve seen him summon his carriage and immolate some stuff and easily reattach a hand.. but this is the first time that we see he’s every pit as powerful as star, who probably could raise the dead she just dosen’t want to. Granted I don’t know why this sort of undead stuff hasn’t been used on say, Moons assitnated mother, but presumibly anti-monster stigma combined with the fact that we don’t know HOW she died or how much was left, and are probably better off that way solve that. It goes a long way to explain why Tom’s family are allies instead of the conquered like most monsters: They have equal , if far diffrent and spookier, magic power and are the only kingdom with this trump card besides the butterfly kingdom.

So as we close Marco tries to use Mackie to get in, the usher dosen’t buy it and a fight insues, but Marco and Tom patch things up, Tom becoming a fan of Mackie now he’s seen what the guy can do and Marco forgiving tom since, evne if his actions were still a bit greasy, he immidetly did his best to try and fix what he broke. The two are friends again despite them both saying they hate each other... but they clearly mean it playfully. The End. Final Thoughts: After the Slog that was last episode this one is a fan faviorite for a reason... well okay 2 reasons. One...

youtube

And two.. it’s excellent. I feel bad it took me years to see this one, but it’s one of season 2′s finest. It’s funny, has great character stuff for both boys, introduces a new ship that’s fantastic and a great new dynamic between Tom and Marco that would carry for the rest of the show. It also beliviebly advances Tom’s character arc: He’s TRYING a bit but he’s still got a bit of the scheming and selfishness that defined his earlier outings, but it’s telling that after this episode, and hurting marco, he stops. This episode REALLY gets him to change that and for the better. Sadly Tom would only make one more apperance this season in Naysaya, an episode I will cover when I cover Jackie and Marco at some point, but has him show up for a cameo when it turns out the episodes antagonist, a curse that takes the form of a sentient head that spills the target’s worst secrets and insecurities when they try to ask someone they like out, is Tom’s fault from back when he was a baddie, and Tom genuinely apologizes and tells him how to vanquish it, if ribs marco a bit since he cast that curse presumibly sometime between BMB and MCC and is delighed and suprised that Marco seriously hadn’t asked anyone out in that time. But it’s a nice bit that shows their not only still friends but Tom is genuinely sorry for some of his earlier behavior. We’ll see more of that as we go and more of tom trying to be better.. he’s made up with Marco, next time we come back to tomtrospective, we’ll see how it goes with Star.

Coming up besides the obvious, as Pride Winds down I’ll have my first steven unvierse coverage, one of the first openly gay couples in western animation, and some asexula pride as we take our first look at Bojack Horseman..’s loveable rommate todd. Until we meet again, stay safe, black lives matter and later days.

#star vs the forces of evil #tomco #marco diaz #tom lucitor #tomtrospective #freindenmies #brian #star butterfly #98 degrees #newlyweeds #love sentence #mackie hand #martial arts #pride month #lbgtq+

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myladyladybug · 4 years

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When your best friend rigs the Secret Santa to hook you up

Merry Christmas @hoppershedgie ! I am your Secret Santa for @mlsecretsanta! Hope you like your Lukanette gift fic~

“Alya!” Marinette screamed, admonished. “How could you?”

“How could I set up my best friend with her crush? I know; I’m a Saint.” Alya looked up briefly from her phone and fluttered her eyelashes in innocence.

“What am I going to do with this?” Marinette continued, flailing a slip of paper she had drawn from a hat earlier that day and refused to confirm nor deny Alya’s self given title. A slip of paper was normally something Marinette would have little to no concerns about, but this particular slip of paper had a name on it, which under coincidental circumstances, she would have had no issue with, that she currently had issue with because of purposeful conditions that had caused to be in her possession. Worse yet, Luka had a similar slip of paper baring her own name. She really wished she hadn’t asked about it.

“You’ll get Luka the perfect gift,” Alya began with a flourish, “sign it, confess your feelings to him, and kiss under the mistletoe at the party tonight!”

“Or, he’ll hate my gift, realize that knowing me is a complete and total mistake, and never ever want to see me again!”

“You know that will happen.”

“It could! You don’t know that!”

“This is Luka we’re talking about, right? Nicest guy in the world? Wouldn’t hurt a fly? Totally head over heels in love with you?”

“You don’t know what either.”

“Don’t know he’s the nicest guy in the world? I think I do.”

“You don’t know that he’s in love with me!”

“Uhm, yea I do. The whole class knows it. The neighbours know it. All of Paris knows it. He’s even told you how much he likes you.”

“But that’s not the same. This is a confession we’re talking about here. This is a huge deal. I can’t mess this up.”

“Like you would have even done it in the next century if you hadn’t drawn his name.”

“If you hadn’t given me his name!” she retorted pointedly.

“Well, you might as well get planning,” Alya shrugged. “What are you going to get him?”

After a week of arduous planning and embroidering, Marinette held up her handiwork to present to Alya, Juleka, Rose, Alix, and Mylene as a final check. The girls sat in awe and approval at the sight of it.

“It’s beautiful, Marinette!” Rose bubbled, hands at her cheeks.

“He’s going to love it,” Juleka agreed.

“Now that we’ve got that all sorted,” said Alya, “what are you going to wear?” Marinette immediately stood and ran for her hangers, more than ready for this line of questioning.

It was agreed that they would unceremoniously reveal themselves to their Secret Santa recipients. Since Alya was the one to arrange the whole event, party aside, it was easily in her power to make that particular decision. This, of course, paired very well with Marinette’s intent to have a rather private discussion with her Secret Santa recipient. This all only left one problem: Marinette’s willingness and strength to approach Luka herself, without the pressure of all her peers’ expectations. Worse yet, if she didn’t approach him, he would be left as the only person at the party without a gift, and she would never forgive herself for leaving him that way. And even if she somehow managed to avoid facing him with her gift, and other things, on her own, he was sure to find her himself, having drawn her name as his giftee. It was all a mess and a small part of her (that somehow managed to take over her entire body) didn’t want to attend the party. But with a friend like Alya, how could anyone say no.

Chloe Bourgeois always held the most lavish parties. Even into their university years, she never ceased to impress, inviting anyone and everyone she knew, and even some she didn’t know. This made convincing everyone to exchange their gifts personally much easier. The dress code was nearly non-existent. People came in suits and gowns, contrasting those in khakis and crop tops. Marinette personally enjoyed her sweet, pink, semiformal dress. From across the way, Marinette spotted Luka. He was wearing a dress shirt and tie underneath his usual blue hoodie. Although it was not a style she would have put together herself, she found it ridiculously charming nonetheless. He made the effort, and something about that thought made her smile uncontrollably.

It almost melted her heart to see the smile immediately form on his face just at the sight of her. She wasn’t the only one.

“Hey Marinette,” Luka greeted when she approached his corner of the room.

“Hello,” she said, unabashed by the happiness in her tone. There was a nearly unnoticeable moment of silence, had neither of them been thinking about what to say and how to say it.

“Have you given your gift to your Secret Santa person yet?” Luka asked.

“Not yet.” Marinette shrugged.

“Neither have I. Who’d you get?” he prompted. Without another word, Marinette took the carefully wrapped present from behind her back and offered it to him. He blinked confusedly for a few moments before smiling and accepting. “Wow Marinette, you had my name? That’s amazing! I had your name!” Luka produced a small package from his pocket. Alya had mentioned that Luka had her name, but the sight of the small box still produced a gasp from her lips.

“You should open yours first,” she insisted. He tore into the wrapping of the gift and pulled the cloth from the remains.

The guitar strap was a deep blue and black, with tiny pink flowers embroidered into the swirling design. The contrast provided a cute and cool look to the overall design, but secretly, Marinette had made it with the idea of their styles combining into a single image. Not that she would ever be the one to point it out.

“So… what do you think?” she asked when he didn’t say anything. When she finally had the courage to look at his face, she noticed his eyes tracing the designs of the strap, his mouth slightly agape and his face flushed. Her brain searched for the meaning behind such a face.

“What do I think?” he repeated, like he was shocked that she could ask him a question with such an obvious answer. “It’s amazing, Marinette.”

“I’m so glad you like it. I wasn’t sure-”

“Open yours,” he interrupted. It was rare for him to ask her of much, so her curiosity spiked at the request. Tearing apart the wrapping, she was met with a plain velvet box. Inside was a small, pastel, pink, rose pendent on a silver chain.

“Luka!” Marinette gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

“You like it?”

“I love it!”

“May I?” Luka held his hand out, asking for the necklace. She nodded and turned around, pushing aside her hair so he would have access to the back of her neck. He draped the necklace around the front of her neck and secured the clasp.

“It looks even nicer on you than it did in the box. It suits you,” said Luka.

“Thank you,” she replied, blushing and staring at the floor. A smile crossed her face and she gently touched the pendent, feeling all the intricate details of the design. “Hey Luka?” Marinette started. He looked down and smiled at her.

“Yes?”

“I have something I need to tell you.” She bit her lip and shifted her gaze nervously.

“What is it?”

“I… I really like you.” The words practically flew from her mouth as she rushed to get them out lest she change her mind.

“I like you too Marinette,” Luka replied, not missing a beat. The grin on his face was unparalleled. If Marinette had the courage and forethought to look for his reaction, she might have caught it.

“No, not like that!” she rambled, looking everywhere but at him. “I mean. I do like you. As a friend; but also as more.”

“More?” he asked, amused.

“You mean so much to be Luka. And you’ve always been so kind and caring, and I can’t believe I couldn’t see it before.” Taking a deep breath, she mustered the courage to look him in the eyes before uttering the following words. “There is no one as sweet as you, or who makes me feel as comfortable and happy as you do.” She needed him to understand her seriousness and sincerity. “What I mean to say is that, I love you.” Luka pursed his lips through his smile and reached out to hold her hands, draping his gift over his shoulder.

“Marinette, thank you. That means so much to me. Thank you. I love you too.” Her head snapped up in shock at the statement.

“Really?” she asked, disbelieving. He laughed briefly.

“Of course. I haven’t been trying very hard to hide it either. Marinette, I care so much about you and I want you to be your happiest always.”

“I… I’m sorry, I had no idea,” she said. A giggle escaped her lips shortly after. “How could I have not noticed?”

“Well, it is more difficult to tell when you’re involved.”

“Everyone’s been telling me for ages that you liked me, and I just couldn’t believe it.” Luka’s hand rose to cup the side of her cheek and she rested her head into it.

“Believe it or not, it’s true,” he reassured her. “I really like you.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

“Just good?” Marinette’s brought her own hand up to her face to rest on top of his.

“That’s really good,” she grinned.

“Good. Good that you think it’s good.” The whole world seemed to blink out of existence as Luka slowly leaned forward and Marinette stood on the tips of her toes. The kiss was quick, but the fluttering in her stomach lasted the remainder of the evening, as did her smile.

#mlss #mlsecretsanta #mlss2019 #secret santa #miraculous ladybug secret santa #myladywrites #sorry i really like writing dialogue and nothing else lol #lukanette

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