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#Also this isn’t a dig at the show exactly BUT a scene with the whole cast would definitely make a lot of people happy no matter your view
takeme-totheworld · 4 months
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Aziraphale and Forgiveness, Pt 1: Not Just A Word
This series is now complete! Here's where you can find the other parts.
Part 2 here. Part 3 here. Part 4 here.
There are a lot of aspects to Aziraphale’s character that, when I first watched the show, I vibed with immediately without really thinking too hard about why. He just made deep emotional sense to me as a character. It wasn’t until I waded into the fandom that I realized how much metaphorical ink was being spilled over the question “Why does Aziraphale do the things he does?”
I would always think, “Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?” but then find that I didn’t really have the words to explain why I thought it was obvious. It was just this ongoing feeling of “Well sure, that’s exactly the kind of thing I did/would have done as a born-and-raised evangelical teenager.” But then I would try to articulate the actual reasons younger-me would have had for doing the thing (and by extension, what I assumed Aziraphale’s reasons were) and immediately fumble because I hadn’t thought it through that far.
One of these elements of his character is his whole deal about forgiveness. Why is he always telling Crowley he forgives him or wishing for God to forgive him? Why is forgiveness one of his favorite things? Why is this such a prominent theme with his character?
(Me: Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? Everyone else: What do you mean? Me: …uhhh well I definitely mean something, but yes, good question!)
So here’s my attempt at actually using my words to explain why I find this aspect of his character extremely relatable and realistic from an ex-religious-fundie perspective. And it's going to be in multiple parts because I have way too much to say.
The main point I want to make in this first part is that Aziraphale, like Crowley, has a ton of emotional baggage around the subject of forgiveness.
I see a lot of people ask things like "Why isn't Aziraphale more sensitive to the fact that forgiveness is an emotional hot button for Crowley, who fell?" And that's a fair question! But it's very clear to me whenever I watch the show that forgiveness is also an emotional hot button for Aziraphale, or else he wouldn't keep bringing it up. As with many of the things both characters have issues around, though, with Aziraphale it's less straightforward and less on the surface because of the amount of denial and rationalization his character runs on.
I think it's important to start here, because I firmly believe that when he expresses forgiveness:
He's not saying it glibly or meaninglessly.
He's not saying it because he's an angel and it's part of the brand/that's what angels are "supposed" to say.
He's not saying it because he's feeling smug and self-satisfied*.
He's not saying it because he's trying to put himself above the person he's forgiving.
He's saying it because forgiveness means something important to him, something very emotionally loaded and complicated.
*For the record, Aziraphale is 100% a smug, self-satisfied, holier-than-thou bastard sometimes. Exhibit A:
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Seriously. Look at how pleased with himself he is while he gives Crowley that little speech about evil containing the seeds of its own destruction. This is Aziraphale being a smug bastard. (I say that with affection. It's one of my favorite Aziraphale moments. But he's totally talking shit here.)
But compare that to these:
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Look at his face. He is not feeling pleased with himself (or anything) in these moments. I'm too low-tech to mess with video clips but it's the same with his tone of voice, which ranges from somber to devastated depending on the specific scene. Aziraphale brings up forgiveness when he's experiencing significant emotional distress.
This is already super long so I'm going to end this part here and start digging into what I think his specific damage is about forgiveness in the next post. But I wanted to start here because I've seen the take "Aziraphale is being a superior holier-than-thou prick when he forgives Crowley" several times.
(ETA: I’ve also seen the more positive take, “Aziraphale is just saying I love you the way an angel would,” and I also disagree with this because I don’t think it’s anywhere near that simple. But I digress.)
On the “superior holier-than-thou prick” interpretation: (1) Michael Sheen's acting choices in these scenes don't bear that out at all, and (2) as someone who was raised in a very toxic religious community from which I inherited a lot of Extremely Complicated Feelings about forgiveness that I'm still grappling with...I immediately saw a kindred spirit in Aziraphale in these moments.
Is it an ill-advised thing to say to Crowley of all people, especially that last time? Obviously. But is he being purposely cutting with his words when he says it? I think not.
Stay tuned for Part 2! I plan to write the next part about divine punishment and mercy in Good Omens, how powerless all the angels and demons in this world really are, and the beliefs Aziraphale has developed (especially about forgiveness) to cope with it all.
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chirpsythismorning · 2 years
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I want to come clean and say I’m in the camp of fans who believe Mike is still oblivious to Will’s feelings...
I agreed with a lot of the skepticism initially after Vol. 2 premiered, but I also have reasoning that might give fans some insight into why it wasn’t that difficult for me to believe Mike was still clueless, even before it was officially confirmed.
For those that aren’t aware, early on in the promotion circuit for season 4, Finn himself stated repeatedly in interviews that he thinks Mike is oblivious to Will’s feelings. And since it was something he mentioned more than once, it’s likely he was advised to say this specifically, or at least given permission to.
And after Vol. 2 was released, the Duffer Brothers themselves finally came out to confirm that Mike is indeed still oblivious. 
And one specific pushback I did agree with at first, was the fact that there’s this recurring theme of Mike always being really perceptive to Will’s feelings, but Vol. 2 especially seems to have contradicted this. 
Even in Vol. 1, we get a few hints that Mike might still be perceptive to Will, ie. “-You were rolling your eyes, you were moping, barely talking! You basically sabotaged the whole day! ” 
This is such an interesting slip-up on Mike’s end, because it means that all those times we saw Will doing these exact things in that episode, from what it looked like initially, Mike wasn’t even looking at Will. But now, we know that Mike was indeed paying attention, it’s just that the show itself wasn’t willing to make us aware of this fact until Mike himself admitted it. We also know that although Mike appeared to be smiley and happy that whole day, he also just admitted here that Will being visibly unhappy sabotaged his ability to enjoy the day. Which means Mike wasn’t really feeling smiley and happy deep down, but he was acting as if he was.
Basically, we’re not getting the whole picture, because the show isn’t willing to give us Mike’s full perspective.
Also, the time that Will catches Mike looking at him in the junkyard is just one of the many moments which the audience can chop up to Will being the one who is looking and staring longingly at Mike, because we've got a lot of moments like that this season. But I would argue this is another slip-up on Mike’s end, which fits into this concept of what the earlier slip-up reveals. Which is this idea that Mike might also be looking at Will when Will isn't looking. And the way Mike reacts here, does arguably give this impression that he’s been caught, which is why he haphazardly rushes back to digging like nothing happened. 
And I think getting these little hints gave Bylers hope that Mike is still paying attention to Will, which in turn made the scene of them in the van feel out of place almost? Like if Mike is still so perceptive, even with them being so distant, then why the hell didn’t he notice Will crying beside him??
But what we’re conveniently forgetting is a concept Vol. 1 introduced to us, and it’s something we already saw hints of during the events of season 3, which is that Mike has this tendency to worry too much about El, only to lose Will in the process.
And in season 4, we are quite literally witnessing one of El’s most worrisome experiences to date. Not only that, but her and Mike just had a big fight and Mike still feels indebted to her and responsible for her, at this time when she presumably needs him the most. And so he is yet again, too worried about El and is in turn of course losing Will in the process.
But I also think the explanation for why this scene might have went down exactly the way it did, is actually quite simple.
Which is that, I don’t think they expected Noah to pop off like that...
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the intention was for it to be this very emotional scene, but I highly doubt the emotion Noah ended up pulling off in that specific take, was something they expected to be so overwhelming. And so once they got that take and eventually looked at it among the others, I can’t imagine them considering any other option besides this one for the final-cut, even if it meant not choosing a take where Finn came off slightly more believably oblivious.
Another thing fans are aren’t considering, is the fact that Will crying in front of Mike isn’t exactly a rare occurrence. Will cries pretty often in front of Mike, whether he’s happy or sad, and Mike never seems to mind. I can think of at least 2 other occasions this season alone where Will has had visible tears in his eyes in front of Mike and each time Mike didn't really pry or push Will into telling him the exact reason for why he was crying. 
So, although it’s possible Mike saw Will teary eyed or heard a sniffle or something of that nature in a split moment, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily out of character for him to not question the specifics for why Will is crying, as this is normal Will behavior. Will cries and Mike sits there beside him and that’s always been enough, at least it used to be.
Now, when it comes to the van scene, try to think about all their other scenes in Vol. 1 and how we interpreted them, and then try to apply that same logic here.
When they reunited for the first time at the airport, Mike couldn’t hug Will, even though Will was excited and moving in to hug him. This means that something internally was going on with Mike that, in his mind, had more to do with himself and his own feelings, and not any presumed feelings Will could have for him .
Then (In the Closet) at Rink-O-Mania, Mike says “We’re friends. We’re friends!” And it was surprisingly easy for a lot of Bylers to read between the lines here.
Which is that Mike is practically jumping to defend himself, even though Will wasn’t even implying anything, he was just asking Mike honestly why they’d stopped doing best friend things together.
The problem is, Mike doesn’t read doing those things with Will as best friend things, at least not anymore. 
We saw him have no problem hugging any of the other party-members, only Will exclusively was an issue for him. Which proves that he believes doing these friend-like things with Will specifically to be inappropriate in some cases, things he shouldn’t be doing with Will, but his girlfriend. This is why BECAUSE SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND, WILL and WE’RE FRIENDS X2, feels like a call out to himself!
So how does this all effect the way I interpreted the van scene?
Well, this scene starts with Will joking about them playing D&D and Nintendo for the rest of their lives.
And Mike seems... somber about this. 
I’m not sure how the rest of Bylers interpret Mike’s reaction here, but if this post hasn’t made it clear already, it is now canon confirmed that Mike is oblivious to Will’s feelings, which means Mike’s reaction here cannot have anything to do with any assumptions he may have about Will’s potential feelings for him!!
That’s why I would interpret this scene as Mike himself mourning the fact that him and Will are not an option. He genuinely believes it’s not possible for him to live out this reality with Will, a reality he put in our heads back in s3 by the way. So he’s mourning this loss of what could have been, but never will be.
Without many of us realizing it, we’ve seen this repeated scenario all season. Where Mike is having these doubts about him and El, trying to find any and all reasons for them to not be together, and he’s voicing these doubts directly to Will for some clarity.
And instead of Will agreeing with him, Will pushes Mike even closer to El each time, and he does it in ways where his words somehow also relate exactly to not only how he himself is feeling, but how Mike is feeling as well, without either of them even realizing what’s happening. 
When Will says, “What if they don’t like the truth,” Will is talking about himself and his own feelings for Mike, which he assumes are unrequited, and so it’s a truth he believes Mike will not like. 
Mike hears this and he is thinking about how telling El that he doesn’t love her in the way she wants him to, is a truth she won’t like.
And especially in this moment in the van, when Will makes this comment, we see it trigger Mike into going into yet another spiel about how him and El are anything but fate. 
And AGAIN, instead of agreeing or trying to find at least some semblance of truth to what Mike could be saying here, Will tries instead to find a way to give Mike hope for him and El. And he uses his painting to do it. 
I think Mike initially did in fact assume that this painting was for a girl Will liked, just as El had mentioned in her letter, which would explain Mike’s awkward mention of it at the airport.
But now, maybe it’s not so hard for Mike to believe that El was lying about this too, even if for a surprise, considering the events of this season and the last, which is that Mike and El do sort of have a track record for lying to each other.
Whereas Will, never lies to Mike. So in Mike’s eyes, if this is what Will is saying happened, then it’s what happened. Period.
That’s also why it’s so unbelievably hard for Will to lie to Mike in the first place here. He literally has to look away as he says this, because he can’t face Mike, knowing he is going to believe everything he says.
This is Will's first lie and his first I love you to Mike.
I believe a big part of Mike is also distracted by relief in this moment, because he has been scared of losing Will, who he is now finding out is technically still gifting him artwork, albeit not directly from him, technically from El, but still!
I just want to drive home this reminder, yet again, that it's now confirmed Mike has no idea Will has feelings for him, which means the only thing that could possibly explain all of this behavior, is that Mike secretly has feelings for Will himself and is under the assumption that those feelings are unrequited. 
This fits into the true explanation for why Mike can’t tell El he loves her in the first place, because he relates a lot to these extreme emotions she seems to have for him, but he just doesn’t have those feelings for her, he has them for Will. 
And for a long time, Mike felt it would be wrong to her and himself to take this step if he didn’t mean it in the way she did.
This is why he grew so distant from Will and it’s why he’s kind of always had to pick between the two of them, ever since they’ve both been in his life simultaneously.
Mike's gotten used to associating his relationship with El getting more serious, to losing Will. And that has not changed.
And when it comes to Will’s speech, Mike is yet AGAIN, as he has been all season, getting something out of it separate from what Will intends, with both Mike and Will assuming they are on their own in having these unrequited feelings.
This behavior has been such a common trend for Mike this season, and so I don’t see why fans aren’t more in tune with his response being like this. Where he goes from emotional and captivated with Will’s words, and right back to grappling with the fact that he has to accept that it’s El who loves him this way, not Will, and that he just needs to get over it and move on.
El is a literal superhero. If Mike can't love her that way, then what the hell is wrong with him? He's having a hard time accepting why he can't love her, but...
Just like Will, Mike is also using El in place of Will to make himself understand this situation better. 
What Will Says:  You’re scared of losing her?
What Mike Hears: You’re scared of losing me?
Then Will goes into his monologue, perfectly describing how Mike has been feeling and acting towards Will, because if anyone has been mean to anyone this season, IT WAS MIKE TO WILL!! 
And although Mike is interpreting Will's words in this way that highlights his own feelings for Will, more-so than El's, and his expressions throughout do give this impression, that doesn’t necessarily mean Mike thinks Will and him are on the same page. 
Again, Mike assumes his feelings are unrequited, so he’s mostly distracted by hiding his own feelings, while having to confront the reality of his situation. He must accept the fact that Will is just trying to help him realize that it's El who feels all these things for him.
Mike needed Will’s explicit support and approval and constant praise, up until the very last second, in order to tell El he loved her. None of this was for Will’s sake, but for his own.
BECAUSE MIKE WAS PIGGYBACKING OFF OF HIS FEELINGS FOR WILL IN ORDER TO SAVE EL!
But honestly, I think the most obvious proof of all for why Mike is still clearly oblivious to Will feelings, is that Mike has had no reaction whatsoever to this revelation if that’s the case.
No sympathy or acknowledgement or anything that could resemble how he should react to his best friend technically coming out as gay to him, even going as far as to admit he loves him... 
I don’t care how bad his internalized homophobia is, if Mike Wheeler has feelings for Will Byers, which he thinks are unreciprocated, only to find out that they aren’t, he’s going to lose his shit.
He’s going to quite literally revert to a version of himself he has repressed for a long time, a version that loves Will wholeheartedly.
AKA the true Michael Wheeler we all seem to be missing lately.
I do think that in season 5, when Mike inevitably finds out the truth (most likely from El), and becomes aware of Will’s feelings, all those things that were slip-ups or hidden in the subtext up until this point, wont be so hidden anymore. 
All we can hope for now, is that when Will inevitably finds out Mike returns his feelings, that it's not too late...
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owmylasagna-blog · 3 months
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Headcanon: I guess post-BPS, Eddy would be really depressed and in a indetity crisis for at very least two weeks (it's too much of a drastic change to him), Edd would do his best to be a sensitive, empathetic friend and help him out while struggling with his own flaws and his bitchy side (I figure they would stop bickering SO THAT MUCH after BPS, at least for a while). tbh I guess Ed would be too happy making friends with the kids or rebulting a sibling relationship with Sarah to notice for some while (He always had been somewhat oblivious to the others' problems, and I figure him being the most popular, beloved, accepted one post-BPS).
What do you think?
Oh yes let’s talk about it! I could see quite a lot of what you’ve mentioned happening for sure. I’m just gonna go into more detail because I can’t help myself and you asked so…
BPS obviously is meant to be THE groundbreaking moment for Eddy’s character. So let’s get into it.
Eddy is a survivor of abuse. And a fighter. He’s got a little of that Childhood Trauma™️ and it does in fact “build [his] character”. See what I did there? Anyway, the point is that just because Eddy has this major turning point, his trauma isn’t going anywhere overnight.
Rachel Connor, one of the writers of the movie who worked specifically on the scenes with Bro, wrote a post where she described Eddy as the Great Pretender which… BIG OOF! As the show progresses Eddy loses sight of who he is more and more as he digs himself deeper into the Bro hole: emulating him more, wanting to impress him more, lying about him more (or perpetuating lies. Who knows!). The whole Great Pretender act isn’t exactly fulfilling. It’s putting more stress on his actual friendships with his pals. His depression in the 5th season (@book-o-scams has written about this) feels like a result of all this.
So when Eddy’s scam goes so horribly wrong that he and his friends are run out of PC, he almost loses Edd’s friendship, only to get publicly abused by his big bro, Eddy is faced with the reality of the person he could become. And that’s when he knows it has to end. This epiphany should be liberating for him in some ways but also sets off a whole self discovery journey. Of course he’d feel a little lost at the start, trying out lots of different versions of himself, before ultimately embracing his multifaceted self into adulthood. Aren’t we all a little lost in our teen years?
After all he’s been through with his brother, the guy has major trust issues. It's clear that Eddy is anxious to belong and be popular, but attempting to fleece the other kids for quarters at every turn isn’t exactly the best way of making friends (except that it’s a bonding activity with the other Eds). And that feels intentional whether he’s conscious of it or not, that what he’s really after is status instead of acceptance. Because if he doesn’t get too close with others he can’t get hurt. Trust issues are really hard to shake. That’s always going to impact his relationships and specifically his interactions with the other kids immediately following the events of BPS. It’s going to take him years to work through that. And I think he will, with time, get better at trusting and getting close to others.
My interpretation is that Eddy would be pretty bummed and depressed for a while despite all the new acceptance from his other peers, just because he’s having to analyze his own behavior more, question his relationship with his bro, with his family at large, with his best friends, with everyone else around him. I often add a layer of him struggling with the realization he might be gay during the year or two following the events of BPS, and that's not the easiest pill for him to swallow either. I think he’d still put up walls to protect himself and try to find ways to be liked and accepted, to be entertaining or prove himself. I don’t see him immediately being as outgoing with the other cul-se-sac kids as he is within the Eds, but I think at his core he is actually a cool and interesting guy and that comes through. On the flip side, I think he’d mostly work on being more honest and vulnerable with Edd and Ed in the months and years following which just strengthens their bonds more and together they learn to be better people to each other! Woohoo!
We’re moving on: Edd. BPS is a trial of his friendship with Eddy and they came out the other side much more sympathetic to one another. The tension that grows between them during the series run is as much a result of Eddy’s desperation as it is a result of Edd’s anxiety getting way worse. So yes, where I do see Edd helping Eddy through some of his depression following BPS, I also see Eddy helping ground Edd with some of his own issues that are percolating to the surface more. Just two little emo outcasts being there for eachother. Couldn’t be a recipe for a little gay awakening. No chance. (I’m being sarcastic, y’all. You know my schtick). I still think they’d bicker, though. Like a lot. It’s just core to their personalities. Fights just wouldn’t come to blows in the same way. It’s a lot harder to stay mad when you can see the clearly labeled buttons you’re pushing, you know?
Outside of his relationship to Eddy, Edd also seems to be shifting away from being blindly obedient towards authority like in the series. Nothing like seeing a man-child beat on an actual child to really wreck your world view. Up until that point, Edd is a textbook rule follower. I think there is an interesting perspective shift, seeing the world as Eddy has, that will shake his idealism and optimism ever so slightly. Thus starting a tiny little rebellious streak. Again, can’t reiterate enough that turning 13 is such a bitch. The mental toil.
Ed. Oh, Ed. Ed kinda has his whole thing figured out already. I sometimes describe Ed’s heroic act in BPS as him getting his brain back a bit after the school season episodes. I think the kid just dissociates especially hard when he is at school which makes him seem extra random in these episodes. We all gotta cope somehow. Anyway, I do also weirdly think Ed would get on with the other cul-de-sac kids pretty well on his own: he already has decent rapport with the likes of Jonny and Rolf so it would be interesting to see these relationships explored more. In the show he already seems the floater type. Maybe Ed becomes Jonny’s only friend when he becomes the new “outcast” of the cul-de-sac.
I think his consistency is really going to help Edd and Eddy through whatever ups and downs they go through. He’s the type to lighten the mood or give a sympathetic ear or listen to a rant without judgment. He has and always will accept them just as they are, and himself just as he is, and that does wonders for the group’s morale. Also, with Eddy dialing back on the Bro act I can see Ed also being kinder (he’s often feeding off the bad examples) and really embracing the surrogate big brother role for Eddy. I’d love for that relationship to be strengthened more too, and Ed to come to his defense and protection more readily in the way he does with Sarah. At first it would probably annoy Eddy to no end but he’d reluctantly get over it because deep down it feels good to be cared for. Soft like mashed potatoes indeed.
More than Ed rebuilding the relationship with Sarah is Sarah sticking up for her brother to her parents. I think she’d definitely come around to recognizing she’s abused her privileges as the favorite child and also grateful that her brother didn’t turn out That Bad considering. While she’s mending things with Ed I think she’d still take out her younger sibling rage on Eddy (I like to think she sees him as a bonus brother she never asked for). I don’t think they necessarily hate each other or anything, they just have that energy of two scrappy alley cats who have to hiss and swat before parting ways.
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blues-valentine · 10 months
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pws/rinis are still going w the “pw and rini would’ve been endgame if it wasn’t for olivia” claiming “justice for ej” and just being bitter individuals is hilarious. they had a year to cope.
I think it’s a choice to still engage in a media you don’t like and being bitter about it and continue clinging to a statement that is untrue.
A thing I’ve learn from years of watching TV shows is that paying attention to the storytelling is essential and what has been true to HSMTMTS is that most of the times what you see it’s not exactly what the show is telling you. They're actually great with subtext. I've said this before, the typical audience for HSMTMTS severely lacks media literacy because they've missed the most obvious signs in storytelling 101 that I feel like an unbiased person would pick up on.
PWs/Rinis are only watching the show at face value because if they dig deeper they would be forced to admit the narrative build around Ricky and Gina has been stronger than any ship in that show. The effort and attention to detail build into their story line and dialogue is very telling. Rina gets the most foreshadowing and parallels out of every couple since Season 1. So, some be purposely misreading the signs and would hold onto any idea to make it true.
A creator of a show does not film a whole confession scene, in this case between Ricky and Gina (at the same time he filmed the Ricky and Nini confession) for a couple they are not planning. Everything in TV cost time and money. A creator doesn’t give a ship a whole secret plot that only them know to create suspense for a mid-season finale reveal if they aren’t planning on moving forward with them. After that flashback on 206 was revelead. It was a wrap. Truly, people that interpreted that as closure don't know how to read subtext at all.
The IRL drama + the hit hadn’t blow up yet when they wrote Season 2 and when they were filming the first episodes of the season. 201 already foreshadows how Ricky and Nini were not going to work out. I had said this several times. It was there on neon signs. Ricky and Nini were not build to be the "happily ever after" couple. There’s an actual interview from the creator saying he wants to portray realistic breakups in teen media.
Nini and Ricky were going to break up and end exactly how it ended at the end of Season 2, had Olivia stayed or not. PW was build to fail since day 1. There were multiple neon signs on 2B that literally tells you this. 209 is full of them. Gina used EJ to move on and because he was the easier route. He was the safest seat on the plane (literally). Gina hadn't moved on from Ricky. The fact that Ricky and Nini broke up on 208 and later Gina and EJ became basically the romantic plot on 209 is storytelling 101. I could tell you how this choice in narrative always ends up in teen dramas. Ricky and Gina were always the couple being kept apart for narrative and therefore the endgame.
Also, creators having to cut screen time of a ship or dynamic in order to build another one is never a good sign. They knew PW would not be believable if they keep Ricky and Gina interacting and Season 3 proves this.
And even if Ricky and Nini + EJ and Gina were the planned endgames when the show was originally created. Things change. HSMTMTS is not the first show that changes ships during filming the moment unexpected actors show superior chemistry and it won’t be the last. Dawson’s Creek says hello. It’s been told before Gina was going to be a plot device for Rini until her chemistry with Josh on 105 was too good to waste and so there were changes. PWs and Rinis conventionally forget this statement was made. Sofia Wylie was rooting for Rina since Season 1 and she has always delivered on that.
PWs (mostly ex Rinis) continue being bitter Rini isn’t endgame and use Olivia as their consolation narrative. The other side of PWs have EJ as their favorite character and have proved they don't care about Gina on her own. Rinis supported PW because as long as PW was a thing, in their minds Rini was still a possibility.
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cloudninetonine · 1 year
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The Hero of Eve was a scholar. While the whole group bore a higher education (they were Kings, of course, they would), the man prided himself on being one of the most knowledgeable- while the others grew a fondness for the study of the blade or the politics of the people, you had found out Eve had spent his many decades with his nose in a book, learning one new thing after the other just because he could.
He reminded you of Klaus Baudelaire, with a twitch of the fingers and a narrow of the eyes he knew exactly what to do, you wandered, similar to the movie if in his mind the spines of the books popped into his head, the titles flashing and suddenly he was an encyclopedia- filled to the brim with knowledge and waiting to spill pages upon pages of facts right into your eager brain.
“Not those.” Looking upon the assortment of berries dotted about the very pretty shrubbery, you caught the eyes of Eve standing over you, his wicker basket resting against his hip almost filled to the brim compared to your own basket, near empty save for the odd blueberry or raspberry that you had managed to find. “They’re poisonous, and the worse kind.”
“But…Pastuzo is eating them?”
Glancing at the bear, you both watched the great beast carefully nibble away at a branch that he had ripped off, the bush being the one currently sitting in front of your crouched self. The furry beast had decided to stick with you lot after the incident with Nature, the instance hanging over his head as very useful blackmail that had gotten you the best part of his meals which he would usually save for himself, his eyes like a sad puppy’s as you happily munched away with a malicious grin that almost had him crying.
You digress, your new companion refused to part after the scene almost a week ago, following you around the dense forest of Hyrule and leaving many wary. Not a pet in any way, more a friend, allowing you to pet his ears and cuddle into his fluff during colder nights- you had called him Pastuzo because Paddington didn’t quite suit him.
“Your…friend,” The man had started, turning back to you. “Has a stomach of iron, he also isn’t affected by the key ingredients like we are.”
A pout crawled onto your face and you sighed, lending your hands to the bear to sniff the berries then hover them gently from your palms, ridding his saliva on your already dirty leggings.
You felt useless, even worse than you had before back with the Chain. Sure, you were adjusting to a new way of living with the Ganons but that didn’t mean you couldn’t help out as much as you could- you’d jumped on the opportunity to forage, memories of doing such with Hyrule and Wild hurting your heart before you pushed it down for the sake of your new chore, grabbing the basket Tide had handed you gently then venturing off with the Scholar to gather what you needed.
Now here you were, with nothing to show for it but a bunch of random fruit.
Eve sighed, crouching down to your heart (even then still towering over you) and digging into one of his pouches to pull out the smallest of books, handing it over to you while you studied it curiously.
“What’s this?”
It bore no name, nor designs, just a simple leather-bound book with a clasp that you gently pulled away.
“A journal of my findings.” You carefully skipped through the pages, eyes running through the walls of texts with accompanied neat sketches- bugs, animals, flora and fauna- anything he had seen was jotted down on the handmade paper. “You may use it, it will tell you which is dangerous and which is not-”
The man grunted when you hugged him, tightly with a grateful squeeze as you sung his praises and your thanks before scrolling through the book once again. You ran off with your basket to continue your foraging, book ready at the ready while you studied the plants and the smallest of smiles bloomed on Eve’s face.
You both returned with baskets full.
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ragingstillness · 7 days
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Finally getting around to watching CM:E
Thoughts thus far:
Rossi is sad and I remain pissed that they killed Krystal for no reason
Grey!Em is still my favorite thing
Happy to hear some swearing, the original show needed more of it
Let Rossi say fuck 2k24
“Remote Garcias” “we’re not gonna learn their names” lol Luke stays savage
“Anglophile baking club” oh come on Garcia. We all saw how shockingly queer everyone at that party is. It’s a kiki, plain and simple
Weren’t Luke and Garcia going to go on a date? Oh it’s been three years
“Take your carbs and exit sir” I love Garcia so much
“Hoo-ha” lol, burn Goop to the ground
“Korean drama” it’s a BTS anti unsub
Garcia straight up flapping I love her so much
Damn the writers for this Krystal flashback
Emily is gonna eat this Deputy Director alive
Oh thank fuck at least the rest of Dave’s family is alive
The Galvez cheek kiss *eeeee*
That little head kiss, Rossi’s such a dad/grandad
Damn Sicarius how do you have the time to dig all these holes?
Hahahahahaha I picked up on Tara and Rebecca at the same time as Emily
Waha Tara being openly queer!!!
Paget is like a proud mama that someone in the BAU finally gets to be queer
Dang this cashier girl is like literally saying exactly what I do at work
“My floof” I relate to this girl so hard
“Jagoff!” “Fuckhead!” Get his ass Rossi
Damn this therapy talk is so accurate go Garcia
Garcia and Rossi’s friendship is my Roman Empire
Man I can’t believe Sicarius actually thought that he could control obsessional killers. Dude, they aren’t going to listen to you
Sicarius you anti-retail asshole. I will dream of smashing you in the head with an axe from the hardware store where I work
Emily and Dave walking together both with grey hair look so cool now
“Is everyone but me getting laid?” “I’m not” lol ngl I appreciate the increased sexual humor
That’s my girl Garcia! I hate what it’s gonna do to your mental health to be back but I’m happy to see you
Dude if you’re gonna be a criminal psychopath with these amazing computer skills, how are you not at least making money off of it? Like, there is zero reason for you to be poor. Normally I wouldn’t say that about anyone but dude, are you seriously providing these kill kits for free?
Wait a sec he actually /took/ the dog? He didn’t just kill it? Dickhead!
“This fucking guy” yeah Rossi, read my mind about most unsubs on this show
Rebecca and Tara’s height difference is kind of killing me in this elevator scene they’re so cute
Garcia are you wearing Rocky Horror earrings? Love that
Haha fine furry friends returns
Dang y’all is Rossi the only one allowed to say fuck? It makes him sound like a teenager that just learned all the swear words. Let Garcia say fuck 2k24
I can’t believe that it’s an actual plot line that COVID prevented serial killers from killing so they had to change it up and go online. I’m sure the writers thought it sounded cool but it just sounds silly. What, did Sicarius’ first kill kits also include PPE?
Also why are these guys so willing to kill themselves for Sicarius? They seem like devoted to the cause and frankly, so many of these guys are narcissists and we’ve just seen one defy Sicarius, why are they listening to him? Seriously? No matter what he has on them, why would they consider it more important to follow his orders than their compulsions?
“You two-faced little jerk” yeah I hope he heard that
Soon we’re gonna be seeing Emily’s daydreams about killing people, not just Sicarius’.
Seriously, the idea of Sicarius having money problems is so dumb to me. He’s been shown to have immense resources and technological capability as well as ample time to use them. There is no reason why he should be financially unstable. I get that stuff like private school is expensive but dude, DUDE, you’re running a network of serial killers! It’s not THAT expensive! I feel like this whole plot point is set up to humanize him to a degree and it isn’t working well.
God whatever props guy worked on these posts for the fake forum Sicarius is using had fun. There’s a user named George_Jungle_fkr whose post consists of “I have a waifu, too!!! She lives in the jungle. I fuck in the jungle. I kill in the jungle.” With a profile picture of George of the Jungle. No shit. Pause on that screen, it’s wild. User GetHungry1893 with a post about not judging people and a profile pic of a man with bloody hands sucking on a bone. User NotSoFast with a drag racing car profile pic and with a post titled “I’m getting more guns!” That then goes on to use the phrase “waifu” and *wink wink*. User Tiredoftheblood101 with a bloodspot clipart profile pic and use of the term “OP”, asking about how to kill his MOM (capitalization his). Also in the background a user named Anonymous1232 with the anonymous logo as their profile pic.
Wait Sicarius actually has a real job? He wasn’t just bullshitting about it so he could travel all over the country? What, is running this serial killer network like a side hustle for him? Wait wait wait and he’s going on business trips that the company is actually sending him on? Like he’s following their directives? And driving a company car? This is insane. If they’re gonna characterize Sicarius the way they have been, none of this makes sense. Side note: the guy playing Sicarius is actually a good actor and after some of the previous disappointments (Scratch and the Chameleon) it’s nice to see.
This DEI discussion between Sicarius’ daughter and the redneck neighbor was not something I expected to see in Criminal Minds.
“You fucking beta cuck” yeah pretty much what I’d expect from a guy like this. But also, hysterical to hear incel language being used in real life. Damn man, you just called his daughter a bitch? He’s gonna flay you alive! I wouldn’t provoke anyone like that, even without knowing they’re the head of a serial killer network. Anyone can snap you dumbass.
“Somebody should do something about that guy.” Oh of course she says this to the serial killer. Good lord. “I’m glad you’re not that somebody.” Oh honey yes he is lol. Or he’ll send someone from the network to do it.
Ha I just realized that I carried a case exactly like the kill kit cases when I worked for the Red Cross. Contained equally suspicious things (needles, gauze, etc), if you didn’t know what company I was working for lol.
“Those who bankrolled you” then why is he having money problems god this is so dumb! “I’m not putting a gun to my head” yeah I predicted this would happen.
More hysterical users on Sicarius’ platform: User NotSoFast at it again “I miss my family. Bad aim” User Ript4u, with a muscular torso pic talking about the fruitlessness of love, calling people lemmings, “simps,” “bitchboy,” “I will dominate,” and the delightful paragraph “These bitches think they’re got it all figured out. Walking on a cloud of happy thoughts and unicorn farts.”
Haha Garcia said fan fiction! We made it to the mainstream lol.
“Honey let it go” woman he called your daughter a bitch! I’d punch him for that!
Damn Tara you’re gonna get your gf fired
“Typical bureaucratic bullshit” yes YES the old man is out! Rossi ur a king
Is Sicarius really there in person! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Oh wow he is what a dumbass! And so close to the bomb zone too! Did you want to get blown up too?!
Yeah bringing in domestic terror was a mistake.
“Excellent. I never wanted it in the first place” also kind of misogynistic to turn to Rossi after Emily rejected you.
“Wank-weasel” Garcia ur my spirit animal
“You’re a hedge fund manager with a badge. You have never done anything” get his ass Emily! I guess after Barnes the BAU has completely lost their patience for bureaucratic dickheads
“I just wanted you to hold my hand” they are soft gfs and I love them
About time one of the unsubs turned on Sicarius
Screw the propaganda that you can just make dogs eat people when they’ve been totally docile and relaxed their whole lives
Hey Sicarius, you remembering how annoying it is to do your own cleanup now?
Who the fuck is this guy Elias is hallucinating?
Genuinely curious how he finds time to make these custom foam inserts for the briefcases
Ok why is it taking so long to identify the victims found from Sicarius? This is set in 2022, DNA is fast and common.
Can’t believe this Tyler guy looked into Garcia enough to send her the encrypted locations but not enough to figure out she literally worked for the FBI. His anger over her handing over the info makes zero sense.
I know a lot of ppl hate Will for getting in the way of Jemily but he’s a very good husband. Patient, intelligent, cute. I like him.
“I believe you, but will Mom?” This new sibling energy between Rossi and Emily is everything. Also that burgundy blazer set is amazing on her.
I think Tyler has a little crush on Garcia. He just wants a woman who will kick his ass.
“Because of you I feel safe in our home” so cute literally so romantic I love them when they’re sweet
Only tangentially related but I’d love to see an episode where a serial killer breaks into another serial killer’s house. Like would it go “whoops my bad” or “you asshole you jacked my plan!” or would they just kill each other
Garcia’s little rant is hilarious
“I’m not a problem. I’m a delight. I’m a little dramatic but wonderful” yes you are Garcia
I almost believe the deputy director truly didn’t want to be overseeing this case. My guess, without watching the episode, is that he wants to prove he has some field experience so Emily can’t use it against him anymore. Also he might have a small crush on her and be a little afraid of Rossi. This season is full of men who like dominant women and I support that. I don’t support any sort of relationship between this man and Emily but I support the concept
“Bullshit. She broke your heart.” Welcome to working with profilers sir.
Also finally figured out what Emily’s scathing inditement of the deputy director reminded me of: it’s Hotch’s profiling of his team to defend them against Strauss
Emily’s smile when she finally got one over the deputy director, so pretty
Garcia and her ‘puter like she literally did the cat meme
Ok the orange crocs are a sin I would throw a folder at him too
Not surprised Will doesn’t have cancer but pissed they even teased us with it.
Haha Garcia is gonna make that dude keep the cat lol
Oh hey Sicarius. Nice to see you. Gonna kill a senator now?
lol Sicarius is like yeah I’m not sticking around for this freaky Oedipal shit. You can bankroll me, but I’m not into voyeurism on this
I know we’re supposed to be worried but 1) using a streaming site undercuts the tension of thinking a character will die and 2) that was the sexiest wheels up ever
Hahaha wow they didn’t even try to give us a realistic justification for Sicarius taking off his shirt
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sugdenlovesdingle · 1 year
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Fire camp (AO3)
Carlos' nephew wants to go camping with the new crew from station 126, Carlos goes along as chaperone. - Different first meeting AU
written for @tarlosweeklyprompts prompt of the day: Camp (I'm not even going to pretend I remember what day this was originally for)
A/N: I really struggled with this one, but I hope you guys like it.
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“Fire camp? Did you put him up to this?”
“No, a firefighter came to our school and showed us all kinds of cool stuff!”
“Cool stuff? Like what?”
“Like what to do if there’s a fire in the kitchen.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“It’s not! I want to go! Please mama! All of my friends are going and tío Carlos said it’s ok!”
“Oh did he now?”
“I’m sure they’ve taken every precaution to keep the kids safe. And it says parents are welcome too.” Carlos said, trying to placate his sister. He loved her and his nephew dearly but he didn’t want to get dragged into the middle of whatever the latest drama was. 
He’d agreed to pick Samuel up from school for her but that was as far as his uncle duties went as far as he was concerned.
Camila turned her attention back to the flyer.
“Do you know any of these people from station 126?” she asked him.
“Not really. There’s a whole new crew after the old one was… lost… on a call that went south.” Carlos explained, trying to keep things vague enough so his nephew wouldn’t catch on.
“So they’re all new to Austin and I’m supposed to hand over my nine year old to them?”
“I’m almost ten!”
“Not the point, Samuel. I don’t know these people, and they don’t know us or the city. I don’t think it’s safe.”
“Cami, they’re firefighters. It’s their job to rescue people.”
“Yes, rescue, not keep safe.”
“I know they have a medical side to the station too. Paramedics.”
“Who also only show up when people are in trouble.”
“What if tío Carlos came too? He’s a policeman, they protect people. Right tío Carlos?”
Carlos resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The kid was getting way too smart for his own good.
“Yes… but I have to work. And this camp is for kids only. Ages 8-12. I’m a little older.”
“I don’t know… if it’s mental age you should fit right in.” Camila said, daring her little brother to hit back with a dig of his own.
Carlos gave her a fake smile but let the comment slide.
“But they allow moms and dads to come too. So you and your mom can go together and she can see all the cool stuff they’ll teach you.”
“Oh no, I’m not sleeping in a tent in the middle of nowhere.” Camila told them and then turned to her son. “You can go if you can get tío Carlos to come with. I’m sure they could use a policeman to help out.”
“Please tío Carlos, please, please, please.” Samuel begged.
“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” Carlos sighed. “I have to get to work now but I’ll stop by there afterwards and ask if I can help.”
“Can I come?”
“I have to work Samu. I don’t finish work until 8 tomorrow morning.”
“That’s when I have to go to school.”
“Exactly. And isn’t your dad coming to see you later? He’ll be disappointed if he came all this way for nothing.” Carlos reasoned. “I’ll text your mom as soon as I know anything. I promise.”
After saying his goodbyes to his sister and nephew, Carlos quickly headed home to change for his shift, only to realise he got the days mixed up and his schedule didn’t change to overnights until tomorrow.
He debated what to do with his free evening for a while before deciding to head to the firehouse and offer his help for the fire camp.
He’d been inside the old station 126 a few times to follow up after scenes both AFD and APD had been called to, but he’d never paid much attention to what the place looked like.
This time when he walked in, the first thing he noticed was a giant memorial for the fallen firefighters and what he could see from the rest of the firehouse, looked like something out of a magazine.
“Hello?” he called out when he didn’t see anyone. “Is anyone around?”
“Hey, can I help you?” a man of around his age jumped down from one of the trucks. Carlos had to remind himself how to breathe when he took a good look at him. He was gorgeous, with a smile that somehow lit up the room and green eyes that were sparkling.
“Uh yeah… I uh… saw the flyer about the fire camp thing you guys have coming up. I was wondering if you needed a pair of extra hands.”
“Are you a firefighter?”
“Uh no, I’m a cop. But I’m good with crowd control. I have experience with handling difficult people so 8-12 year olds… shouldn’t be that much of a challenge. Hopefully.”
The man laughed.
“Alright, wait here officer, I’ll go get the captain. He’s the one who came up with the idea to organise something for the local kids to get to know the community.” He turned around and walked out of the bay. “I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later the man returned with what Carlos assumed to be the captain in tow. He gestured at him from a distance and disappeared into the firehouse again.
“Hi. Owen Strand, captain of the 126. What can I do for you?” The captain walked up to him and shook his hand.
“I’m Carlos Reyes, I’m with the APD… I saw your flyer for the kids camp next weekend and I was wondering if you needed some extra help.”
“You’re volunteering to spend a weekend with a group of 8-12 year olds? I had to practically force most of my crew.” The captain said and Carlos shrugged.
“My nephew really wants to go and my sister won’t let him without supervision… and the real challenge will be spending the weekend with a group of firefighters. Red and blue are rivals in this city.”
“Not in my house, not in my camp. We’re all family here.” Captain Strand insisted. “But we’d be happy to have you on board… Carlos was it?”
“Yes sir. Carlos Reyes.”
“Come on up to my office, Carlos, so I can write down your contact information and fill you in on the details.”
They walked further into the firehouse and up some stairs leading to some kind of common room where a group of firefighters were gathered.
“Is he a new recruit?” Someone asked as they walked past.
“Nope. Sorry Mateo, you’re still the probie.” Captain Strand replied and the group burst out laughing.
Fifteen minutes later Carlos had given Captain Strand his name and phone number and made his way out of the firehouse again.
“So, are you going camping with the crew on Saturday?” The man from before suddenly appeared next to him right before he walked out of the building.
“Uh yeah, looks like it. Will you be there too?”
“Looks like it.” He said with a smile. “Cap’s making us all go to bond with the community or something… but suddenly I don’t mind so much anymore.” He held out his hand. “I’m TK.”
“TK? Is that short for something?”
“Yes it is.”
Carlos waited for him to explain but he didn’t say anything.
“Are you going to tell me what it stands for?”
“Not right now. Not when you haven’t even told me your name.”
“Carlos. Reyes.”
“Officer Carlos Reyes. I’ll make sure to remember that. See you Saturday.”
“So you’re still not going to tell me what TK stands for?”
TK grinned.
“Nope. You’ll have to earn it. Bye officer Reyes.”
The next few days Carlos did his best to put firefighter TK out of his mind and focus on his job and just get on with his life.
Only the fact that his nephew wouldn’t stop talking about how cool the camp was going to be, and how cool the firefighters were, meant that station 126, and one member of the crew especially, was constantly on Carlos’ mind.
Even Camila had caught on and under the guise of checking out just who they would be going camping with, she’d cyber stalked the AFD and found station 126. Apparently one of the firefighters was a social media star and TK a willing participant in her videos.
“He’s cute. Just your type.” She told Carlos, when he came to pick Samuel up and the boy went to pack his stuff.
“I don’t have a type.” Carlos argued. “And even if I did, I don’t even know if he’s into guys. Or into me.”
“He’s into guys.” Camila said, tapping her phone screen.
“How do you know? Does he look gay or something?”
“No. It’s in his bio. And there are pictures of him at pride. He’s from New York. The captain is his dad. I’ll send you the link to his profile.”
“I’m going to be spending the next 24 hours with the guy, I don’t need you to stalk him for me.”
“You’re going to be spending the next 24 hours watching my kid and make sure he comes home in one piece. Don’t get distracted by pretty boys.”
Carlos rolled his eyes.
“We’re going camping just outside the city. It’s close to the ranch actually.”
“Oh so you can introduce your new boyfriend to mom and dad right away.”
“Shut up. I’ve barely said three words to the guy. And I’m supposed to watch your kid, remember? Samu are you done yet? We have to go!” He said, directing the last part at Samuel.
The last thing he needed was his parents knowing anything about his love life.
Or lack thereof.
By the time they got to the camp site, it was starting to get busy. People were setting up tents and some of the firefighters he’d seen at the station were playing games with the kids.
TK however seemed nowhere to be found.
Carlos almost immediately lost Samuel to his friends, leaving him to set up their tent alone.
He sighed but got on with the job. It’s not like he’d really expected a nine year old to be much help anyway.
Only putting up a tent on his own proved to be more of a challenge than he’d thought.
He was just about to give up and convince Samuel sleeping under the stars would be the ultimate camping experience when he heard someone walking up to him.
“You look like you could use a hand.”
“Uh yeah, that would be great thanks.” Carlos said, crawling out from under the tarp, and staring up at TK’s smiling face. “Hi…”
“Hi yourself.” TK replied, amused, before kneeling down beside Carlos. “I’m not sure how much use I’ll be though. I’m from NYC, I don’t exactly have much experience with camping or putting up tents.”
“Right. Well… I appreciate the help anyway.”
“And if we get stuck, we can always ask Judd. He put ours up in about 10 minutes flat.” TK said and noticed Carlos looking past him to try figure out who Judd was. “The big guy. Texas personified. We’re sharing a tent because he thinks he needs to keep an eye on me. For some reason he thinks I’m going to get up to no good if he doesn’t.”
“Oh. And is he right to think that?”
“Maybe.” TK said with a grin. “I have been known to give into temptation every now and then.”
Carlos smiled and together they worked to put up the tent.
TK wasn’t much help but Carlos enjoyed being close to him and getting to know him a little while they worked.
“So… what about you?” TK started after telling him a bad break up made him decide to follow his dad to Texas. “Anyone waiting for you at home? That cute kid’s mom maybe?”
“Oh she’s definitely waiting for us at home. And demanding updates on what we’re doing… but she’s also my sister. Samuel is my nephew.”
“So you’re the cool uncle taking him camping with a bunch of firefighters and paramedics?”
“I was kind of forced into it… but I’m having a good time so far.”
“Likewise.”
Together they managed to get the tent up without too much trouble and when they were done they sat down in the grass in front of it.
“I’d offer you a beer but…” Carlos opened a cooler and took out a can of coke. “This is all I’ve got.”
TK smiled and accepted the drink.
“It’s fine. I’m not much of a drinker anyway. I get into enough trouble without throwing booze in the mix.” He said, turning serious.
“Really? Should I be worried about having to arrest you?” Carlos teased, trying to lighten the mood. He didn’t know what was bothering TK but he wanted to keep him smiling.
The corners of TK’s mouth turned up a little as he fiddled with the lid of his can.
“I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour this weekend.”
“Pity.” Carlos commented and took a sip of his drink.
TK raised an eyebrow at him.
“Officer are you suggesting I shouldn’t be a law abiding citizen?”
“I’m not suggesting anything.” Carlos said innocently. “And I’m not on duty so I’m just Carlos today. Tío Carlos to him.” He nodded at a group of kids Samuel was with who were busy with some kind of dance routine with Paul and Marjan.
“Hey guys, we’re doing a dance challenge Marj found online. Come join in.” Paul called out to them while Marjan tried to get the rest of the crew and some of the parents to join in.
“I don’t know the steps.” TK replied. “Carlos and I will just go look for firewood in a minute. You guys keep doing your thing.”
“Neither do I, but it’s fun. Come on.” Paul tried again.
“I’m not really a dance challenge kind of guy.” TK told him before turning to Carlos. “I used to play guitar. I’m pretty sure my mom still has my guitar in her attic somewhere.”
“Really? My dad plays too, if I’d known I would have brought his guitar out here.”
TK shook his head.
“I haven’t played in years. I’m not sure I even remember how to.”
“I’ve been told it’s like riding a bike.”
“I haven’t done that in years either.” TK said and they both laughed.
“Guys, come on, come join us! It’s fun!” This time it was Captain Strand trying to convince them to join the group. Almost all of the kids had joined in as well as some of the parents.
“Tío Carlos, come dance with us!” Samuel yelled while apparently effortlessly keeping up with the routine.
“In a minute.” Carlos promised and watched them for a moment before turning to TK. “It’s just line dancing. It’s not that complicated. I can teach you.”
“You know line dancing?”
“I’m Texas born and raised. It’s kind of hard not to.” Carlos said with a shrug. “My aunt was really into it for a while and she and my mom got really competitive.  Me and my sisters and cousins all had to learn when we were younger. My sister even won medals. There is a bar in town that has line dancing nights. It’s fun. I still do it every now and then.”
“Really? Do you wear a cowboy hat and the boots and everything?”
“For special occasions.” Carlos winked and got up. “Do you want to come dance?”
TK hesitated for a moment but then let Carlos pull him to his feet.
“Lead the way.”
~ three years later ~
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” TK said, cheeks hurting from smiling all day.
“If I recall correctly you didn’t need much convincing.” Carlos replied with a grin.
“That’s because you played dirty.” TK grabbed the cowboy hat from Carlos’ head and put it on his own. “You look way too good in that.”
“You wanted me to wear it.”
“Well it is a special occasion isn’t it?”
Carlos smiled and tipped the hat back so he could kiss TK.
“Yes it is.”
A microphone beeped and when they looked up they saw Gabriel and Owen argue over who could use it first.
“Should we do something?” TK sighed.
“Nah. Let them. Mama will deal with them.” Carlos said, slipping his hands under TK’s suit jacket to get his attention back on him.
They were close enough to catch a few words when Andrea indeed took it upon herself to deal with the two fathers. Carlos was pretty sure he heard some Spanish curses she would have grounded him for using as a kid.
“And now, the happy couple would like to invite you all to join them on the dancefloor, and celebrate their marriage, Texas style.” Camila had taken the microphone from Gabriel and Owen. “Welcome to the family TK, you’re a true Texan now.”
TK tipped his hat at her as the music changed from their carefully selected playlist to something straight out of the jukebox at the honkytonk.
“Do you think you remember the steps this time?” Carlos asked as they got in line with all of their guests.
“I don’t know. You might have to help me.” TK replied. “I’m feeling very forgetful today.”
Carlos lovingly rolled his eyes at his new husband but stepped behind him and put his hands on his hips to guide him through the steps, just like he’d done that first day at the campsite.
Even though this time around TK definitely didn’t need any help.
He put his chin on TK’s shoulder and dropped a kiss in his neck.
“And you say I’m the one playing dirty.”
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dipstar1489 · 2 months
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Disney Hot Take and Rewrite
Encanto should have been a series, not a movie.
Do note, I do like the movie, but there are just some things that make the story feel weird to me.
Slight Encanto spoiler mentions, references to abuse, and broken family dynamics.
In the movie, we have so many characters that have little impact to the narrative and certain scenes feel out of order. For example, you could easily cut out Camilo altogether and the story wouldn’t change. Also, the order of scenes just felt off. Like, I had watched clips before the movie and I was expecting Luisa’s Under Pressure to be played around the same time as Isabella’s What Else Can I Do, and I’m not exactly a fan of how they treated Bruno since despite the whole family sang a song named after him, he translates a prophecy and stops showing up.
If I were to rewrite it as a series, the pilot would establish dynamics, and each episode would center Mirabel and one of her relatives, with the relative in question giving pieces of information about Bruno. The series should probably start on Pepa’s family for the first half and Julieta’s family for the second half, though Dolores’s episode should be one of the last, with her revealing Bruno’s location.
I DEFINITELY want Felix or Agustin to defend Mirable at some point considering they are ALSO giftless, but that point NEVER comes up. I know people love Bruno, but make him a dick to people. Like, the family sang a song dedicated to how off putting they guy is, and he ISN’T some flavor of asshole? Yeah, no. I want Bruno to come off as a jerk during his introduction to give the idea the family was right, but slowly we realize the guy does care about the family through his rebuilding of Casita and interacting with the rats, and the asshole front is either a front to avoid hurting people, or he’s just REALLY bad with human contact.
Season two would have Mirabel trying to heal family dynamics and question if Bruno was actually that bad to be kicked out, but unfortunately some of them will take years to mend, if ever. Also, we start getting information about the triplets’ childhood, each story being more fucked up than the last and revealing that Alma might not be a saint. Bruno and Dolores would be dragged into Mirabel’s plan, Dolores overhearing secrets and Bruno letting his rats dig up vital information.
The final should have the family divided, with those trying to heal on one side, and those unable to recognize the issue on the other. Then, Alma buts in to defuse the situation, when Mirabel starts to interrogate Alma on what HER gift is. Now, Alma would hide she was giftless to everyone, including her own family, and with Alma being speechless, THAT’S when the family realizes Alma has been using and criticizing their gifts, when she herself never had any, and all respect is lost.
On the last half of the final, Alma and Mirabel go to the waterside where Pedro died, and there we get to see Pedro and Alma’s relationship, how they planned their future and just characterizing Pedro and young Alma. Mirabel will feel sympathetic, but able to recognize that she can’t help Alma because she has refused to change. I’m not certain if I want Alma to be accepted by the family again or not, for I don’t want her actions to be hand waved away by trauma, but her redemption would be her accepting the trauma and stop afflicting it onto others.
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Question and answers from the Offical Q&A's in The Dragon Prince Discord Server: Series Questions
Q: "How many seasons are there going to be of the dragon prince? It is a really good story.”
AE: The Dragon Prince saga = seven seasons!
Q: “I wanted to know if this season of the dragon prince was more like ground work to set up other seasons?”
JR: Season 4 does pull forward many of the plotlines and questions from the first three seasons, but it also lays new ground that Seasons 5, 6, and 7 are being built upon. After the Battle of the Storm Spire, the world of Xadia has had some large changes! Humans and elves are having more contact with one another, in some cases even living in the same city or getting married. That doesn’t wipe out all those years of war and mistrust, so there is much to unpack for our gang, as well as Xadia at large. Book Four: Earth is about both playing out where we were headed as well as pointing the story in new directions for the future.
AE: Season 4 = Earth = “ground work” haha
Q: "Why calling the Season "Mystery of Aavaros" instead of "Where is Aavaros?" or - will we see a lot more of him in he next season? Biggest disappointment of the whole season, that the most interesting character had not even 5 minutes of screen time (and you know, the fans want him!). Especially after advertising so much with him."
SJ: “Mystery of Aaravos” isn’t the name of Season 4! Instead, it’s the name of the larger story we’ll be telling over the course of Seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7. This means two things: One, you’ll continue to see the “Mystery of Aaravos” logo and subtitle used for future seasons. And, two, you definitely haven’t seen the last of Aaravos. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to not only properly discover what exactly is so mysterious about the Midnight Star, but also enjoy a lot more screen time with your favorite Startouch elf. (With that said: Can we all just agree those five minutes were absolutely murderous? His verbal smackdown, heretofore known as the Aara-roast, was just [claudia emoji].)
Q: "Love the new season but now i can’t wait [for] it to continue. Is Season 5 in [the] works already?”
SJ: We’re so glad to hear that you enjoyed Season 4 of The Dragon Prince! (And, like you, we can’t wait to dig deeper into the “Mystery of Aaravos” and for you to see how that story unravels.) To answer your question, though: Yes! Seasons 5 is currently in development—as are Seasons 6 and 7. We’ve been working on this set of seasons for some time now, which means the gap between Season 4 and Season 5 will be much shorter than the gap between Season 3 and Season 4. In fact, we’re looking to release Season 5 later next year!
Q: "Honest question, which of the writers had the obsession with fart jokes this season, and why was an entire scene dedicated to Terry’s farts intercut with the scene of Viren having a panic attack? Many viewers including myself felt those jokes were in rather poor taste, especially with previous statements of the series supposedly being more mature in terms of tone and story elements”
AE: So, first, I will offer a learning, and then an explanation. First, the learning: I think we went too far with fart jokes this season! To be clear, we have done jokes like this in the past, but Episode 402 (“Fallen Stars”) had too many too close. I think that threw a segment of our audience and made them feel the show was too young. In retrospect, I would have gotten rid of some and toned some down. But, second, an explanation: The exchanges between Claudia and Terry in front of Viren were sort of MEANT to be awkward and cringe. Claudia is trying to show off her new boyfriend, and how great their relationship is—and she's excitedly sharing lots of inside jokes with her dad because of how proud she is, also because she's just happy to have him back. Like the fact that they call their high fives a “high four-and-a-half,” and then asks: “Isn’t that hilarious?” "The petrichor exchange was supposed to be an example of Claudia oversharing, so it was supposed to be wildly inappropriate, which it was, and make Viren uncomfortable, which is did. But, explanation aside, our goal was never to make our fans uncomfortable. I think we missed the mark in this case because obviously there's been a strong reaction. So, lesson learned. We're keeping an eye on things for future seasons and will pull back anywhere we think goes too far again.
Q: "will the following seasons have a more mature tone? while s4 definitely had its dark moments the overall tone of the season didn't feel any more mature than before, and arguably quite the opposite more often than not (many moments which i personally think should've been handled more seriously ended up with jokes inbetween). i wonder if this will be the case for the remaining seasons or if there will be a "full commitment" to darker stuff at some point. like maybe by the end of the series?"
AE: We see now how, for some people, some of this season’s jokes may seem to contradict the more mature tone of the story, and we own that. But the truth is there is always going to be a balance. The show will go deeper and darker with each new season, but there will always be humor as well. Certainly, we don’t want that humor to step on or overshadow emotional moments, and we are as mindful of that as we can be (and will be even more mindful moving forward)… but sometimes Soren, being Soren, is going to say something silly during a deep moment and that’s just who he is! In addition to tackling more serious subjects, that’s also what The Dragon Prince is. And that playfulness isn’t going to change or go away, no matter how high the stakes may get.
Q: "the lack of subtitles for amaya’s sign language is intentional? i know gren does the interpretation most of the time, but there are several scenes (especially during seasons 2-3) in which amaya is alone. it’s a way to make a statement about the general public not knowing sign language?"
SJ: We wanted all of Amaya’s scenes to feel very intimate, but also authentic for the audience who may or may not know ASL, so we made an intentional choice to not subtitle her lines unless a translator (like Gren) was present.
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Text
Things you notice when you dig around on old Fanforum discussion boards on past Seasons:
- How active the cast and crew was in promoting the episodes
- How active the fandom was
- How eager everyone looked when filming the episodes
- How fun the DVD special features were.
And then you see how everything has changed since Season 10:
- Cast and crew are way less active in any kind of promotion (given the crappy writing, can’t say I blame them. I wouldn’t want to promote a crappy looking episode either.) (or maybe everyone misses Hetty that much)
- Lots of regular fans have left or are less active. (can’t say I blame them either, what’s there to really get excited about now that isn’t a written teaser?)
- Sorry to say, but I’m having a hard time believing that anyone is eager to film an episode that’ll be 1, Forgettable, 2, Crappy, 3, Cringy, 4, Any other word that I’m sure you can think of that is the definition of ‘bad’.
- Despite their best efforts, even the whole cast can’t spin how ‘great’ it’s been to film 3 really bad Seasons in a row and pretend that they’re enjoying themselves. Like, the episodes are really lousy! Even I wouldn’t be able to sell a bad Season. (Also, the ‘deleted scenes’ since Season 11 have been really awful!!) (Also, that ‘gag reel’ looked 100% staged. There’s no way one can be that comedic while filming, and yet the episodes still looked terrible.).
Too much has changed since Season 10, and not for the better. I think a lot of us, even the cast and crew can clearly see that.
This show desperately needs some kind of boost, some kind of great episode or 2 or 3 parter that energizes not just the cast, but fans in general, and for good reasons! And I know exactly what that answer can be. (😉😉) Questions are: Can it be pulled off in a satisfactory way, and will it get the kind of promotion that it or they rightfully deserve?
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sockich · 3 years
Text
This Is Not an Adam/Rahim Ship Manifesto
Mainly because I refuse to acknowledge I’m that far gone. So this is simply a list of moments between them I think were neat for one reason or another.
1. The “Adam doesn't write you poetry?” scene. The more I look at it, the more convinced I become that was a genuine question. Look at his confused little headshake at Eric’s reaction!
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He honestly doesn’t get why Eric’s laughing like that. And this is way before Rahim realizes Adam isn’t just the unremarkable boring horse who “stole” his boyfriend. I really like that he doesn’t have these rigid preconceived notions about what Adam might be capable of. (Which, to be fair to Eric, he’s known Adam much longer, and seen him at his worst for most of that time. But the fact that he can’t seem to really look past that even now, when they’re dating, and Adam is actively working on himself is just one more reason they don’t really work together).
2. The “You have confiture on your tie.” scene. Here’s the thing. I don’t actually particularly like the whole “Adam is a messy eater, ends up looking like an uncouth idiot with food all down his front” running theme this season was rocking. But I do appreciate that, unlike everyone else, Rahim actually told him he got food on himself. I don’t think he did it out of the goodness of his heart or anything, it’s clearly a dig, but I still like that he told him. Actually, it’s kind of similar to Rahim telling Adam that no, Eric and he weren’t talking about magic, they were talking about poetry. He clearly thinks Adam’s a bit of an idiot in that instance—and probably isn’t unhappy about the chance to show him he and Eric still have something Adam isn’t part of—but he still tells him what’s going on.
Considering how often Adam seems confused by things and left floundering while the people around him expect him to figure shit out on his own, I like this pattern of behaviour where, even when he’s at his most antagonistic towards Adam, and his motives aren’t exactly pure, he’s still the guy who tells Adam what’s going on. I mean, I doubt that’s what I was supposed to take from those interactions, but it’s what I got—and it works for my shipping purposes, so I’m embracing it.
3. Adam taking the blame for the poo incident when he sees Rahim is freaking out about it. And Rahim immediately owning up to it as soon as Adam takes the blame.
And related to that, while Rahim is clearly uncomfortable by the public shaming from start, it’s when Hope starts in on Adam that he jumps up and says something. And sure, it’s probably in large part due to Adam being shamed for something Rahim did, but that instinctual, angry defence, telling Hope to stop, is still nice to see. Also, I’m very into how Cal, Lily and Adam get called up, and Jackson, Ola and Rahim are the three whose reactions we cut to first.
4. The “Poetry's dumb. It’s just long words that don't make any sense.” scene. I love everything about Rahim’s “Maybe you're not listening.” response. I love that he doesn’t mock Adam for not understanding poetry, but instead reads him his own, easy to understand poem*, and tells Adam he was wrong about him.
*Sidenote, I like the way Adam tries to read Pablo Neruda because Eric likes poetry, and clearly doesn’t get it at all, and then gets read a poem he does understand by Rahim.
5. “I think I was wrong though. You're not as unremarkable as I thought.” 🥰🥰🥰
6. The moment when the lights go off on the bus and everyone’s winding down, and we see Ms Sands and Mr Hendricks being all in love, Ola and Lily, Jackson and Cal, and Aimee and Steve’s relationships all in various states of trouble, the happy resolution of Viv’s sexting issues with Eugene, and Maeve and Otis smiling about their kiss... in the middle of all that, we have Rahim looking at Adam and smiling.
7. Rahim’s wry amusement when Adam asks for his help in writing a poem for Eric, and the fact that that’s immediately followed by easy agreement. And I really like that the feedback he gives Adam is honest but not cruel or mocking, and that he gives him good advice for future attempts. Even when he touches on the subject of whether or not Adam should keep writing, it about how he shouldn’t feel the need to do it just because Rahim does, not because Rahim doesn’t think he can do it.
8. That dog person vs. cat person moment was just cute.
9. The fact that Rahim isn’t glad when Adam tells him Eric kissed someone else. But even more than that, I love the fact that, in that scene, it’s Rahim who approaches Adam and starts walking with him. And I love that Rahim asks about the dog show flyer, and that, as shown by the “That’s really stupid, man / Charming.” exchange, they’ve come to the point where they can tease each other.
9. They sit together during the “we’re selling the school” announcement assembly!
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10. Adam feels comfortable to ask Rahim to read The Poem for him, before he gives it to Eric.
11. Rahim keeping the dog show flyer on his bedside table! And he asks if Adam’s little dog won.
12. Every single thing about Rahim reading Adam’s poem.
That is the face of a dude who just got hit by an emotional two-by-four. Made even better by the fact that he then totally tries to play it cool when texting Adam about it. Not great but not bad? Dude, you literally had to lie down, that’s how shook you were by it!
13. The fact that Adam just got his heart broken by Eric, but when Rahim texts him, mainly about the poem Adam wrote for Eric, Adam is still all relaxed and smiley reading those texts.
In conclusion, I just really like them and I think they could be good together and I hope the show goes there. And even if it doesn’t, I sure hope fandom writes lots of fic.
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awake-my-oceans · 3 years
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Kaito as the detective and shin as the Kid (shrinking optional)
(Send me an AU and I’ll tell you five headcanons about it)
Robin, you‘ve talked about how the Phandom makes you write like you‘re possessed, and I‘m starting to get what you mean. Literally nothing in DCMK comes to me without it turning into A Monster. Anyways, roleswap Kaito and Shinichi!
Ok so the thing is this could actually work with canon backstories. Kaito’s whole thing is about honoring his dad and catching the guys who killed him, which translates fairly easily into detective work—particularly if he doesn’t know about the Kaitou Kid bit right away. Shinichi is……a bit harder, but he canonically rolls with the weirdest stuff. If you get the right setup, him being Kaitou KID isn’t that much of a stretch.
I know it’s headcanon time but shhhh this is an interesting premise and I have to figure out how we got here.
Ok, so Kaito doesn’t always pick up nuanced crime scene clues, but he reads people really really well. So when he accidentally runs into Jii, and the mention of his father comes up, Jii winces, pained, and Kaito goes “what do you know you absolutely know something and I won’t drop this” and doesn’t let Jii rest until Jii admits that Kuroba Toichi was murdered. Boom, off we go. Nakamori Ginzo half-raised him ever since Toichi died, so it’s a reasonable jump to go straight into detective work. Kaito can’t always read a crime scene, and frankly, the bodies are unsettling to the point of nausea, but he sure can read everyone’s reactions to the body, and, well, some people are only pretending to grieve. What does this madlad do? Does he teach himself to carefully examine all evidence for clues? Well, yes, but that comes later. Right now, he jumps straight into impersonating the deceased’s voice and mannerisms and accusing everyone and, well, people do tend to have nervous breakdowns and confessions when suddenly confronted with their victim’s ghost. Good, Kaito thinks, remembering how much he’s mourned his father. They deserve it.
Off he goes. He’ll get more and more relevant information over time, but that’s about as slow-burn as canon. Meanwhile, he’s making a name for himself as a medium for the dead.
Meanwhile Shinichi’s come across the reports of Kuroba Toichi’s death, and, well, this is definitely a cover up. A few too-close runs later, he realizes it was a cover up from inside the legal system, and that those people are still very much in power. He has a crisis for all of like two days before realizing that Sherlock Holmes took a legally “flexible” approach to confronting in-house corruption, and, well, if Sherlock Holmes can do it then he can too. Sufficient off-the-record digging, plus talking with his dad (who is also, ah, legally flexible), brings up the whole Kaitou Kid thing and look, playing Kaitou Kid was supposed to be a one-time thing to bait people out of the woodwork, but one thing led to another, and here Shinichi is, moonlighting as a dead thief.
Shinichi isn’t more than competent at magic tricks, but he has a few things in his favor here. 1) both Agasa and Jii are helping him, and their team up is a force to behold. Jii keeps the ideas practical, and Agasa makes the ideas work. 2) Shinichi’s dad absolutely knew the last Kaitou Kid inside out, and he’s giving Shinichi helpful pointers. 3) Shinichi may not be good at doing magic, but he’s absolutely incredible at reading and anticipating the police, having a flawless alibi, and leaving no evidence on-scene. Plus, he’s still working his “day job” as a detective, so he also gets stupidly easy access to department gossip, security layouts, and other classified information.
Headcanon time!
Kaito has his beginning of canon meltdown of “EXCUSE ME, this thief is claiming to be the best magician around and he’s WRONG because my DAD was the best.” This is even more vehement because his dad is a more painful topic overall, given that he was murdered. That said, he’s not going to give this thief the time of day because he’s got more important things to do, like catch the murderers. However, Shinichi-in-disguise is casing a building when someone gets murdered there, and Kaito’s like “what is up with this guy.” Shinichi does pause and lend a hand when Kaito gets stuck, because murder is murder no matter what face he’s wearing. After the case is solved, Kaito’s trying to figure out who on earth this is when he realizes it’s Kaitou Kid. But the guy did just help solve a murder. And when he snarls that his father was the better magician, Kaitou Kid just bows his head and agrees. So Kaito has no idea what to make of this dude. Meanwhile Shinichi’s inner dialogue is just “it’s Toichi’s kid, does he know—NOPE HE SURE DOESN’T, UH, WHAT DO I DO??!”
Kaitou Kid respecting Toichi and admiring Kaito’s magic is a recurring thing, much to Kaito’s bemusement. Like. He can tell that it’s genuine, not a way to throw him off guard, although it’s sure doing that, too. One time Kaitou Kid pauses a heist to help with a case, which leads to Kid almost getting caught. Kaito’s still got a lot of complicated feelings around Kid, but it’s not fair that Kid’s getting arrested just because he had the decency to help stop a murderer. So Kaito covers for Kid with a rather good magic trick that “Kid” performs. Kid escapes, but not before giving Kaito the strangest layered look Kaito’s ever seen. He doesn’t even know what was in all those layers, just that there was a lot of grief and that there were upwards of ten layers in there.
Kaito and Shinichi catch onto each other faster than in canon. This is mainly because their weak spots are more obvious to an expert—Kaito’s definitely not talking to ghosts to solve cases, thinks Shinichi the Savior of the Police Force, and Kid’s definitely got a hidden agenda that’s only almost perfectly covered up, thinks Kaito the Undisputed Expert of Poker Face. Kaito has a very rough go of things when he finds out in rapid succession that 1) Kid’s trying to hunt down murderers via a system that might actually be stranger than talking to “ghosts,” 2) Kid’s looking for who killed Kuroba Toichi specifically, and 3) Kuroba Toichi was actually the original Kid. After that, Kid being a teenage detective is just—whatever. Sure. Why not.
There’s a huge police betting pool on what will happen when Kudou “everything has a rational explanation” Shinichi, and Kuroba “I literally talk to ghosts” Kaito meet. Everyone’s sure there will be conflict—people are just trying to work out how it will go down. Turns out that they get on like a house on fire, but to everyone’s great surprise, the houses they set on fire are all criminals, and they don’t try to set each other’s houses on fire at all. Except for Megure. Megure makes bank.
Turns out that when you have two detectives and two phantom thieves on hand, things get done with furious efficiency. Kaito and Shinichi take turns being Kaitou Kid, depending on whose skill set is most useful. Kaito’s better at dodging bullets and at doing insane magic. Shinichi’s better at forcing the snipers to reveal themselves and at getting the police to notice exactly the right things about the snipers. On a detective front, half the Organization’s convinced that 1) their dead victims are actively sabotaging them and 2) if their victims don’t get them, Kudou Shinichi certainly will.
Honestly, from an outside POV, the back third of this series would just be “there are GHOSTS and we are going to DIE and also reality is bending anytime Kaitou Kid shows up—“
RIP to all the undercover agents in the Organization. They’re about to have a Ride.
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zodiakuroo · 3 years
Text
copycat
18+, eren jaeger x fem!reader
part two of pierced
inspired by the 'big stick' scene from jawbreaker (iykyk)
wc: 3.7k
contains: mild dubcon, light dom/sub, ball play, choking, dumbification, degradation, spit, creampie
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Eren can’t help but admire you from the doorway of your shared bedroom. One would think, that after 30 days of edging, you would learn not to be such a fucking tease. But here you are flitting around the kitchen in nothing but one of his t-shirts and a frilly pair of lilac panties.
‘Stop being a perv. It’s hot out.’ You don’t have to say it. The ‘you’ in his head is already chastising him for the lascivious nature of his thoughts.
The ‘you’ in his head is also already bent over the granite top counter, panties long discarded, presenting yourself to him, begging ‘Please Eren. Fuck me.’
He can’t help it. Everyday he’s found himself face to face with your cute little pussy, absolutely begging to get filled and not being able to do anything about it. It’s not his fault that when he sees you wearing next to nothing, he just wants to stick his cock in you.
Except it’s entirely his fault.
That’s why even though you can feel the weight of his stare as you move around the kitchen, you don’t even spare a glance in his direction.
If there’s one thing these last few weeks have taught you, its willpower. And thanks to your newfound self-discipline you’re able to resist the urge to pounce on him when your boyfriend pulls your back against the solid wall of his chest. “Baby.” He rasps. “I’m all healed up.”
The statement makes goosebumps appear on your skin despite the sweltering heat but other than that, you show no signs of exactly how pent up you are.
Eren made you swear not to touch yourself whining about how unfair it would be and how he would really appreciate your support in his hour of need. Yes he used those exact words. You kept your promise but not without intending to receive payback. It was only a matter of how. The idea hadn’t come to you yet.
“Really?” You don’t even bother to turn around, pushing past him. Partly as a way to tease him but also because you don’t trust yourself to be able to resist him once you get a good look at him. From his scent alone you can tell he’s fresh from a shower and that’s when he’s the most dangerous. He smells cool and fresh like his shower gel, spicy and warm like his aftershave and fruity and floral like his your shampoo. It’s hypnotic.
The trance is broken when he pulls you even closer to him, grinding his bulge into your backside.
“Stop buying that 2-in-1 shit if you’re gonna use mine all the time anyways.” You grumble.
Right.
Revenge first. Dick second. The voice in your head reminds you.
You wriggle out of his hold, remembering why you came into the kitchen in the first place. You breathe a sigh of relief as you open the freezer door, the cold air providing a brief reprieve from the near suffocating heat of your apartment. Once you’ve obtained your target; a cherry popsicle hidden behind some ice packs and frozen peas, you finally take a look at your tormentor.
“Babe c’mon.” Eren persists.
He looks good. Unfairly good considering the fact that he’s not even trying. Fresh from the shower, he has on a worn out white t-shirt, stretched around the neckline which gives you a mouthwatering look at his perfectly sculpted collarbones and no more than the top of his pecs that peak out above the seam. His grey athletic shorts hang low on his hips and outline his print a little too well so you know he’s not wearing boxers. Eren hasn’t bothered to tie up his long hair leaving the damp tendrils dangling above his shoulders with a few stray strands framing his handsome face. He’s putting up a nonchalant front but the tick in his eyebrow gives his irritated disposition away.
Surely he didn’t believe that you would let him have his way with you that easily.
Except he did. Because under most circumstances he would. But today, your own stubbornness (only marginally) drowns out your desire for your Adonis of a boyfriend so you push past him into the lounge, plopping down on the couch with a dramatic sigh.
“Later.” You bring the frozen treat to your lips. “It’s so hot.” Again, Eren tries to keep his face expressionless but you easily spot the way he clenches his jaw as his gaze fixes itself onto your mouth.
Bingo
You close your eyes, enjoying the sweet cherry taste and cool sensation that spreads throughout your body.
“On second thought,” You start, as a mischievous grin spreads across your face. “There is something else I’d rather have in my mouth.”
“Yeah?” Eren dons a matching smirk and stalks his way over to you, sitting down so that you can straddle him. “Tempting but honestly, your mouth isn’t what I had in mind.” His voice trails off, large hands moving down to cup your ass, giving the soft flesh a squeeze for good measure. But before he can take it any further you’re already manoeuvring your way between his knees.
“Oh. You don’t want me to suck your cock?” You pout, resting your head against his thigh, trying your best to sound disappointed.
Eren swallows whatever argument he was about to present when he sees your pretty eyes, shaded by fluttering lashes looking up at him with the tip of the crimson popsicle pressed against your sinful mouth. The same sinful mouth he’s been dreaming about for a month.
Fuck.
“Yeah, okay.” He grumbles while you watch him pull his already half hard cock out of his bottoms. It’s so pretty and long, perfectly thick in all the right places, decorated at the tip with a vertical running titanium barbell.
He’s got a hand around his base, waiting for you to replace the sweet treat in your mouth with his aching cock but much to his dismay your attention is drawn a little lower.
The sight of his plush balls all swollen and full of cum proves to be too much for you to resist. He shudders when your cold lips press against the taut skin. You know he’s sensitive from being so backed up. That’s why he starts panting as you leave wet kisses on his sac, leaving your saliva all over it while his shaft grows harder above you.
“Hold this for me.” You pass him your popsicle, that is slowly starting to melt which he takes in his free hand.
“Okay can you just- fuck.” One more kiss, right on the shiny metal of his newly healed piercing, shuts him up quickly.
Your own hands find their place on his thighs. You dip your head down again and take one of his balls in his mouth massaging it with your tongue.
“Christ.” He groans, slowly jerking himself off while you worship his balls.
“Oh poor baby…. so full.” You murmur letting go of the left to suck on the right one, savouring the weight of them.
“Yeah.” His voice is about a whole octave higher than usual. “Hurts.” He scrunches up his face when you let go of his ball with a pop.
“I bet.” You giggle. Eren is now at full mast, veiny shaft resting against his abdomen, dribbling precum which coats the shiny piercing that crowns his angry-red tip. His wrist flicks ever so elegantly as his hand moves languidly up and down, up and down, up and-”
“Princess.” Your boyfriend whines, yanking you out of your daze. “Enough with the teasing. You wanted to suck me off. Do it already.”
You resist the urge to roll your eyes, not losing sight of your revenge plot.
“Baby,” You pout. “I really want to but-” It’s so hard to bite back your laugh. “But I don’t remember how.”
“Wait what?” His hand stops right in his tracks, brows furrowed in confusion.
“It’s been so long. Can you show me?”
Eren’s expression goes from perplexed to vicious but you don’t budge, blinking up at him with wide innocent eyes.
“How?” He huffs impatiently. It’s funny actually, seeing him struggle to tolerate a fraction of his own bitter medicine.
Your eyes shift to the frozen treat still in his hand that’s starting to drip down his knuckles. “I’m a visual learner.”
He moves like he’s about to stand up but you won’t make it that easy for him. “Please, Rennie? Please teach me how to suck your cock?”
As much as Eren has you wrapped around his finger, he’s just as whipped for you. So when you look at him with those sparkly eyes and call him the pet name he swears he hates but brings him to his knees when you use it, you know you have him.
Hook, line and sinker.
You use your thumb and middle finger to make a circle around his base, positioning yourself eye level with his leaking slit.
His tongue peaks out cautiously, eyes trained on yours as he flicks it across the tip, testing the waters. Immediately you follow suit, tasting his precum for the first time in so long. His hips buck off the couch, chasing the gone-too-soon sensation but you dig your nails into his thigh, reminding him who’s in control right now.
You quirk your brow at him, making sure he understands what you want.
How many times have you found yourself in this exact position: sitting between your boyfriend’s thighs while he looks down at you, both of you equally as lust drunk as the other. But this time he’s the one panting and whimpering while you have your turn to torture him.
Eren doesn’t like it. Not one bit. He wants to smack that smug little grin right off your face but instead he pulls at your hair, tugging right at the roots and making you yelp in pain. Now you’re scowling. But it’s hard to look at all intimidating sitting beneath him with your head tilted at such an awkward angle. He doesn’t miss the way your thighs clench together either.
Never breaking eye contact, he uses the flat of his tongue to lick a broad stripe up the length of the popsicle. You squirm in place, remembering how it feels to have him lick across your cunt exactly like that.
Fine. He’d play along with your little game. But on his own terms.
You lean forward to copy him but the hand holding your head keeps you in place. Without looking away, Eren launches a glob of spit onto the already drippy ice-cream before licking it away. It’s that simple for him to put a crack in your domineering façade and have you whimpering right at his feet as per usual.
The corners of his lips twitch as a silent challenge to you.
Never one to back down, you use your tongue to trace the vein that runs along the underside of his cock, feeling it pulsate. As you get closer to his prince Albert, you can’t hold back from swirling the wet muscle around the cold metal.
A soft whimper escapes his lips as you pull away, keeping your mouth agape, looking up at him expectantly.
It’s silent for a moment before Eren realises what you’re wordlessly pleading for. “Fucking slut.” He mutters, almost amazed before he gathers more of his saliva to drop into your mouth with a loud khwa pto echoing throughout the quiet apartment.
You close your mouth with a satisfied smile, savouring the taste of sweet, tart cherry and a flavour that is uniquely Eren, letting it mingle with your own saliva before spitting it on to his cock. You use your tongue to spread the wetness all along the shaft, leaving it covered in slick sheen.
“So fuckin’ nasty.” He groans, moving his hand from your head to push his own hair out of his face, not wanting anything to obstruct his view of you right now.
You feel the way his thigh twitches under your palm every time you come even close to his puffy cockhead and your tongue brushes across the sensitive piercing. The idea that you have him like this, desperate and whining, after weeks of him toying with you is exhilarating to say the least.
You have to rein yourself in before you end the fun too soon.
Reluctantly, you pull away and patiently await your next command.
You know what he wants next and so does he but Eren can’t help but feel self-conscious.
Of course, he loves the way you look when you’re going down him. His gallery is filled with pictures of you with your eyes filled to the brim with tears and your lips stretched impossibly wide around his girth. When you’re not around he gets off to the videos him fucking your face, relishing in the way you gag while you try to accommodate him in your throat. He doesn’t think he could ever measure up to how sexy you look with your pupils blown, lips all swollen and your spit dripping down your chin.
But just like you, he’s never been one to back down from a challenge.
Ever so slowly, he opens his mouth and latches on to the blunt top of the popsicle. His plump lips form a perfect O-shaped pout, stained beautiful crimson from the fruit juice. Your gaze is transfixed on his face, the sharp lines and edges tinted with an uncharacteristic blush as his cheeks hollow out, to suck it in deeper.
“So pretty baby.” You breathe out.
He shudders as the cool air fans out across his wet skin.
“Yeah? ‘m pretty?” He smirks, using his free hand to drag his cock across your face, smearing his precum on your lips. “Show me how you treat pretty boys. Please?”
And how could you deny him?
Centimeter by centimeter, you pull him in. Only the first few inches, get to enjoy the warm, slippery cavern of your mouth while the rest of him has to make do with the soft skin of your hand gliding up, down and around.
“Fucking take it inside. Christ.” He groans, frustration evident as he glares down at you.
You simply shake your head a ‘no’, far too content with the taste and the weight of him in your mouth to stop suckling at his cock. If he wants more, he knows what he has to do.
The frozen treat is back between his lips and far too quickly, with not enough thought he pushes it inside as far as it can go until his gag reflex forces him to abort his mission, sputtering out red-coloured saliva.
You pull off of him as you erupt into a fit of giggles.
Eren takes advantage of the fact that you’re unguarded and in a matter of seconds he has you pinned to the floor. The poor popsicle is left in a sad, melting puddle on your couch while his long, sticky fingers circle around both of your wrists, the other hand keeping a harsh grip on your jaw.
Yeah. Not laughing now, are you?
“Was that funny to you princess?” He questions you, almost daring you to hit back.
Knowing when to quit was never one of your strong points.
“Not funny.” You say despite your giddy smile. “My pretty boy just needs more practice.” You snicker.
You’re pushing his buttons on purpose now. At best, you expect some degrading words fitting of your bratty attitude. At worst, you expect the sting of his palm to come down against the side of your face, reminding you of your place.
What you don’t expect is a wry chuckle before he says, “I forgot how bitchy you get when you don’t get stuffed full of cock enough.”
Eren frees your hands in favour of placing both of his on your knees. He spreads apart your legs as wide as they can go, dragging his coarse palms up and up to rest at the apex of your thighs. He flicks up the hem of your shirt to reveal to him the crotch of your panties that's soaked through with your arousal. He pulls them to the side to expose your cunt to him. Eren barely stops himself from tearing the flimsy fabric right off your body and only because he thinks they're pretty and wants to see you wear them again.
He can smell you. But he suppresses the desire to bury his face between your pillowy thighs for as long as you’ll let him. He knows that’s not what either of you really want.
“This needy pussy been missing me?” He coos, keeping his voice sugary sweet and dripping with condescension. He grinds his pierced tip all along your cunt, dipping under your hood to press right against your clit.
You feel it before you realise what’s happening; the burn of his fat head of his cock prodding at your tiny hole, forcing it to stretch around him.
“Jesus fuck- ‘s tight.” He grits out, managing to pop just the tip in.
Tears gather at your waterline as he impales you further and further on his cock, reintroducing your insides to him and his newest body mod. The bulb of the piercing drags deliciously over every bump and ridge that lines your walls. It just keeps going and going until it’s all too much.
Instinctively, your hand flies to Eren’s abdomen, fingers splaying across his tummy. You want to ask him to stop or wait or at the very least prep you. But you’re just so full.
He’s not even all the way in and you’re full of him everywhere. Did it feel like this before?
He doesn't give you a chance to remember.
“Move. Your fucking. Hand.” He grunts before moving it for you and sheathing his cock fully in your spasming cunt.
“Fuck Eren. ‘s big.” Your voice breaks as you utter that last word right one Eren fills you to the hilt. Your arms fly to his biceps, squeezing the muscle so tight that you’re certain it hurts him but he doesn’t complain.
No one would believe that mere minutes ago Eren was the one under your thumb. Not when he’s so quickly managed to turn you into a blubbering mess.
“Where’s that smart mouth now?” He mocks you as if he’s doing any better. In reality he’s keeping himself still, with his pressed against yours trying to regain a semblance of control, not wanting this to end so soon.
Slowly, he starts to rock his hips against you and little by little you open up around him, offering less and less resistance. Hand on the bible, he swears he can feel your gooey pussy sucking him in every time he pulls back, almost like it’s begging him to never leave again. Hand on the bible, he swears that he won’t.
“Huh?” He taunts. “Where’s the bitch who thought she could fuck with me?” He emphasises his point with one sharp snap of his hips that hits the bull’s eye.
“Eren! Right there!” You cry out as you back arches up into him but he forces you to stay down by pressing his palm firmly against your sternum.
“Right there?” He mimics your voice, with a high pitched, nasal tone. You can’t even cringe at how it sounds because the feeling of the rounded metal hitting that squishy patch deep inside you with pinpoint accuracy is too overwhelming for you to think about anything else.
“You want me to fuck you here?” His thrusts start to pick up pace. You’re finally getting used to him again and the slick juices from your pussy let’s him move as fast as he wants, as deep as he wants so you he can use his cock to abuse all of your sweet spots
You can’t exactly speak; only nod, as you dig your nails into his shoulders and back, leaving a trail of crescent shaped indents in your wake. The coil at the base of your belly twists tighter, tighter and tighter still as all your nerve endings work overtime to register the way he fills you up completely, the way the metal rubs along all the right spots and the way Eren rams into you like a man possessed.
“Pleasepleasepleaseplease.” Now you’re begging. It’s impossible to stop the fear bubbling in your chest. You’ve become well-acquainted with this feeling. Absolutely drowning in pleasure and right on the edge of an unimaginable peak before having it ripped away. It’s not unreasonable to be worried that Eren might leave you high and dry once again.
He halts his movements the moment he notices the doubt behind your eyes.
Your pleas become more and more frantic, already thinking the worst. “Don’t stop Eren! Please don’t stop.” You sob but go silent when his hand rests itself firmly around your throat.
“Told you.” He punctuates the sentence with one, deep thrust.
“Fuck. What did I say?” He growls as he falls back into the same brutal rhythm that had you teetering on the very brink of an orgasm before.
God above as your witness, you try and answer but all that comes out is a pathetic squeak of his name before he cuts you off completely by squeezing your neck tighter.
“S-said I was gonna fuck you stupid. Right?”
You nod as best you can, head spinning from the lack of air and your orgasm approaching rapidly.
“Now fuckin’ cum for me so I can keep my promise.”
The second his hand meets your clit, you’re a goner. The calloused pad of his thumb rubs the neglected nub with exactly the right pressure to push you over the edge. Every muscle clenches as that tightening coil finally snaps. The intoxicating pleasure that shoots through your body reaches your head at the same time as the pressure on your throat is released, much needed oxygen flooding your brain and prolonging the high.
You wrap your legs around his waist, keeping him deep inside you as cream around his cock. It’s pointless to hold off his release any longer and with nowhere else to go he spills his load deep in your pussy. The feeling of his hot cum seeping into your pussy has you twitching around him, trying to milk every last drop from him.
You may have blacked for a second, eyes fluttering open as Eren gently taps your cheek. His handsome face, all flushed and sweaty comes into focus. Both of you are wearing equally dopey grins as he asks you, “Did it feel as good as I said?”
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astaroth1357 · 3 years
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Demon Brothers Getting Possessive at the Club
… I can explain. Or, well, no I can't. But this exists now anyway so enjoy?
Warnings: Possessive Behavior, Yandere-ish, Violence
Intro: The MC and their favorite demon were just trying to have a fun night out at The Fall. The lights were going, the music was blaring, and the two of them were by the bar but there was a problem. Their demon noticed a sketchy creep who'd been eyeing their human all night long… and that simply won't do. So when their human left to use the bathroom…
It was time to take care of the problem.
Lucifer
Though Lucifer was usually less than into the club scene, the MC wanted a change of pace from their usual dates and he did so want to make them happy… At first, he thought he'd just be dealing with the loud noise and crowded atmosphere but then he noticed something else…
A demon had been following them through most of the night, always keeping his distance but staring at the MC far too much for his liking…
This put Lucifer in a bit of an odd position. He didn't exactly want to leave the club because the MC didn't look tired yet, but he also didn't like seeing that cretin following them around…
Yet, of course, it also rubbed his pride the wrong way to go tell him to stop directly. Lucifer would never admit to feeling bothered by some pitiful lesser demon… Never.
But by the time the MC left him to use the restroom, he was at his wit's end. He could see the man had taken a seat at the other end of the bar just to watch them and he was growing irritated… So he had to devise a new strategy.
It's unusual for demons to walk around in their true forms. It's not that it's frowned upon or anything, it's just that it's normally something reserved for big events… or for displays of dominance and control.
So when Lucifer slipped into his demon form in the middle of The Fall, it turned quite a few heads. Truthfully, there was only one head in particular that he wanted his way, and once he got it, he stared the guy down…
It was a taste of the lowlife's own medicine, but so much worse coming from him… The feel of Lucifer's bloody-onyx eyes and chillingly cold smile from across the bar could have made even the strongest men run for the hills…
Needless to say, the demon didn't last very long under the eldest brother's gaze. In fact, he wilted almost immediately before slinking away as quickly as he could… 
A guy not even able to stomach the firstborn's stare? Truly a pathetic coward if Lucifer ever saw one.
He was totally back to normal by the time the MC returned and went back to dancing with them like nothing ever happened… Though his human couldn't help but notice the crowd kept their distance from them for the rest of the night... 
Eh, Hell is just weird sometimes isn't it?
Mammon
Look, Mammon had been trying to have some fun the whole night and for the most part he'd been succeeding except for one thing…
He could sense that asshole still hadn't left them alone. He'd just hover near him and his MC like a hellhound stalking prey… It was annoying. It was creepy…
And it was reeeaaallly getting on his nerves.
When the MC left for the restroom, he was leaning back against the bar scanning the room for their abhorrent admirer while using the tint of his sunglasses to hide his eyes.
It didn't take him long to see the gross fuck sitting alone at a table. Who knew what he was planning... following them home? Taking candid shots of MC? Either way, he wanted to sock him in the jaw…
But, of course, Mammon knew he had to play it just a little smoother than that to stay in the club.
Mammon sauntered over to the man's table and invited himself to sit, kicking his feet up to look casual but knocking his boots against the surface so roughly it made the guy jump... Pathetic.
"Oi, so I've seen ya lookin at my human… Real work of art, eh?" He flashed the guy a fanged grin and watched him sweat for a second before cutting off any answer.
"-'course they are. Don't need to tell me. But I gotta say, you're really ticking me off, bud… We're just tryin to enjoy ourselves but I keep seeing your ugly mug wherever we're at."
He pulled his legs back from the table and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a deck of playing cards.
"Tell ya what, I'm feelin oddly generous so let's play a game. You and me. If ya win, I'll let ya have a night with'em…" He fought the urge to punch the guy when he saw his eyes light up, "but if I win…"
Mammon put the deck on the table then leaned in real close, "I'll flay your skin off and gild ya skeleton in the 4th circle myself… Gold skulls are selling like hotcakes right now." He put every bit of malice he could into the threat, even barring his increasingly sharpening fangs.
The guy must of had a good head on him because he paled immediately before getting up and running from the table. If there's one thing everybody knows about Mammon, it's never play cards with him if he can make even a single Grimm… Chances are, you're gonna lose.
When the MC came back, Mammon flagged them down to their new table and pulled them onto his lap for a little chat before getting more drinks. They're his human. His.
Leviathan
Of course Levi noticed this creep the second that they walked in. He's Envy. He had been hyper-vigilant of all the attention the MC had been receiving since their first step inside. But this guy was… persistent.
He'd been tailing them all night, always finding spots with good vantage points, which of course was sketch as hell but...
Honestly? Levi just didn't like him looking at them. Not at all. In fact, he'd hazard to say he truly hated this complete stranger for how much real estate his eyes were taking up of his precious MC… What gave him the right??
By the time the MC had to use the restroom, he was sitting at the bar seriously contemplating whether or not to just carry them home… He didn't like night clubs anyway, but they seemed to be having fun and they always looked so cute while dancing…
No. He couldn't just take them home. But once they left, he had a much better idea.
It was easy for Levi to slip away from the bar. The asshole was leaned back against a nearby wall and pretty much pulled his phone out the second the MC was out of sight. From there, Levi only had to do what he did best, blend into the background, until he was right next to the guy...
He didn't say anything. He didn't give him any warning or threat. No, no he was far too ticked to be that charitable…
The only indication the man got of how royally he fucked up was the searing pain of Levi's fangs digging into his shoulder, the thirdborn's gloved hand muffling his screams until the venom took hold of his prey.
The last thing that man ever saw, propped up and paralyzed against the wall, was the MC coming back to their docile otaku, who now pulled them into his arms… still shooting the occasional smirk in his victim's direction.
And the last thing he ever heard was the same word his killer whispered to him after his throat became too tight to scream… "Mine."
Satan
This always seemed to happen whenever he took the MC places… They could be walking together in the park and he'd still see lesser demon eyes following them around...
Frankly, it did piss him off to a degree. He knew they never asked to be stared at like a piece of meat, but if he'd go on a rampage every time it happened then they'd never have a quiet date again. So he learned to put up with it… to an extent.
The demon that had been following them that night was really testing his notoriously short patience...
He had tried several tactics to shake the guy as they were dancing but he'd always come right back. He even got more handsy than normal to show, "Hey, this one is mine!" but that had gotten him equally dismal results… It was bordering the line of disrespect now.
He did his best to keep up a friendly face while the MC was with him, but they must have noticed he'd gotten tense. They told him to try and relax a bit before they left for the bathroom…
Oh, he was going to relax alright.
The second they were out of sight, Satan's smile broke into a glare he leveled right at the offending scumbag's table. Of course, seeing the MC had left put the guy's attention elsewhere, but that was his funeral.
Satan knew his time was limited, so he skipped the pleasantries and marched right over to him, slamming his foot down onto the edge of the table with such force it threatened to tip it over then grabbed him by the neck.
"Back. OFF."
It really didn't take much, his reputation preceded him. He felt the guy's pulse skyrocket between his fingers before he let him go.
It was hard not to get a little satisfaction when watching the worthless creep scramble away from him like his life depended on it (as it very much did). He almost considered giving chase just to amp up the fun, but the MC returned sooner than he expected…
A pair of arms around his waist and lips against his cheek were enough to evaporate his anger right then… but it didn't settle his sudden need to mark them in the slightest.
Ultimately, the real question was whether he could wait until they got home to show the world that they were his or if they needed to find somewhere… quieter. No promises, MC.
Asmodeus 
Asmo had dealt with his fair share of admirers, the stalking kind included. Fortunately, dealing with them had always been relatively easy for him (he is a ruler of Hell after all) but one targeting his beloved human…? That was far less acceptable in his eyes.
He caught sight of the beady eyes of the creep while he was dancing with the MC. At first, he thought the guy was looking at him (who wouldn't?) but then he followed his eyeline right to his lovely human companion…
Though he couldn't exactly blame him for staring, he and MC made a fantastic looking pair, he definitely couldn't sit idly by either. People like this are usually bad news and he refused to let any harm come to his MC…!
He was as tactful as ever, though. He liked The Fall and would rather not be banned from returning… He waited patiently for the MC to go to the bathroom before making his way over to the creep, his perfect smile still sitting on his face.
"Excuse me, cutie." He waited for the stalker's eyes to leave his phone and settle on Asmo's own. "Ah, there you are! Good. I had a question for you, I think… oh no, I must have forgotten it! Silly me."
Though he could see the demon was growing annoyed, Asmo stalled for just a few moments longer… just long enough for his bewitching charm to set into his victim's mind.
"Ah! Now I remember. Do you like dogs?" He smiled in satisfaction to see the creeper's head nod slowly. "Oh good! Because I know a very hungry dog right now… Cerberus is his name and I don't think he's had a meal today. Would you be a doll and go feed him for me? He lives in the cave behind the House of Lamentation. You can't miss him."
The demon's head nodded slowly yet again as he rose from his chair and walked out of the club quietly. Quick, painless, and with no messy cleanup!
Well… none that Cerberus wouldn't clean up for him anyway. Asmo returned to the bar with a newly giddy grin on his face... His MC wouldn't be seeing that man ever again~!
Beelzebub 
Beel is very patient. Beel is very kind. Beel is very forgiving. Beel is… really not about this right now...
Unlike his brothers, Beel's easygoing nature made him less quick to pick up on the lingering glances that the MC gets from others. Even when he does notice, he can usually let it slide if looking is all they do (he's the only one who can touch after all).
But even he couldn't miss how wolfishly that demon was staring at them… It made him uncomfortable and the guy just refused to leave them alone…
By the time the MC left Beel at the bar to use the restroom, he was on a level of irritated usually only reserved for when someone denied him food… It was like that jerk had taken a cheese grater to his patience and it was wearing thin…
As much as he knew he could deck him, he didn't want to get them kicked out… The MC was having such a good time, despite the creep's ogling, so he used a different approach…
Being so high up in Hell had its perks and one was that anywhere in town that offered food also had a secret menu… A Beelzebub Only menu (as a precaution so that he wouldn't wreck the place whenever he stopped by). Anything on his menu always had huge portions and The Fall was no exception.
The bartender didn't seem too surprised when he ordered a Drakon Leg, but he was very surprised when he asked to get the full bone too… Not with the meat on it. Just the bone.
Fun Fact: the bones of Drakons are supremely thick and strong enough to be used as clubs.
Even More Fun Fact: it takes an incredible amount of force to snap these bones…
...which Beel did without breaking a sweat… and maintaining eye contact with the creep The. Entire. Time. The sound of the bone snapping in two was almost as deafening as a gunshot and he didn't even flinch.
The demon went running out of the club with his tail between his legs and quickly got swapped out for the MC running back, worried about what made such a loud noise…
Of course, by that time Beel had the bone thrown away and was chowing down on the meat like nothing ever happened so they dropped the subject soon enough...
He may not be as open about when he claims someone as the rest of his family but that's because when push comes to shove, who in their right mind would want to challenge Beel anyway...?
Belphegor 
Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope, he's not having this. Not one bit.
Belphie lacks a lot of the good-natured patience of his twin... Chances are if there's something happening and he's not stopping it, it's just because putting up with it is the path of least resistance…
But there are always exceptions and those are usually reserved for the MC.
Strangers trying to get close or even imagining themselves being with MC really makes his blood boil… He knew them the most. He loved them the most. On just what grounds did some random moron think he could take his place?? Wishful thinking? Keep dreaming, buddy.
So, of course, he wasn't happy when he noticed some asshole staring at the MC like Beel does when he sees a havoc roast...
He kept his poker face up while he was with the MC, but he was devising a plan to take care of him the entire time… One he finally got the chance to enact once the MC went to the bathroom.
He's even better at going unnoticed than Levi, so sneaking his way over to the asshole was a piece of cake. He didn't notice until Belphie casually draped his arm around the guy's neck, hanging his clawed hand dangerously close to the scumbag's heart...
"Having a good time…?"
He could feel a shallow swallow against his arm as he began to slowly apply pressure to his trachea.
"I bet you were… and I was too until I saw you following us… Care to explain yourself?"
"I-I uh-Gah!" 
The guy's voice gets cut off by Belphie's arm getting even tighter, the sharp tips of his claws drumming directly over the man's thundering heart.
"Ugh, that's what you actually sound like? Never mind, it's not worth knowing…" His fingers stopped drumming and slowly began to dig into his skin...
"I'm only going to say this once… If I ever see you tailing my human again, you won't be needing this-" his claws drilled a little deeper into his chest, "-anymore. Am I clear?"
The demon's head nodded as much as his strangled throat would allow and Belphie finally retracted his claws, wiping the blood off on the guy's shirt before letting him go. He fell forward onto all fours before attempting to scramble away as fast as he could...
Belphie watched him go with disinterest on his face, but satisfaction in his heart. Yet another threat to his human dealt with… And they could go back to enjoying their evening together. Alone. Just where his human belonged...
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jemmo · 2 years
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so I was doing some preview and credits digging and found… things
so we can see through pran’s clothing continuity that all of this stuff happens on the same day, them being cute on the stage and their conversation across the balconies.
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and we know that pat has pran’s shirt but it always bugged me that i didn’t know what pran had of pats. bc he’s here, holding it, waving it, showing pat he has it. but what is it?? i did this whole deep dive bc i was rewatching ep 1 and in the box that pran takes the watch out of, there’s also a cassette player, so I thought it might be that, something of pat’s that pran has, especially bc he’s then listening to music. but upon closer inspection he’s using pat’s headphones, and there’s something else on the bed.
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in the credits it’s on his bed then in the preview it’s around his neck. it’s the gift pat gave to him, most likely earlier that day after they were flirting over the thai xylophone. but what is it???? i have no clue. but we see pran still wearing it in later scenes from the trailer
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and especially in that second one we can see it’s something rather big, this isn’t just a necklace or something, it’s a thing, and pran is carrying it with him always. and that makes me think it’s something that won’t rouse suspicion from others, it’s not something that anyone links to pat, but they both know it’s something pat gave to pran. i had to say this bc it’s been bugging me since I first saw these scenes what pran’s thing of pat’s is, so any ideas, pls feel free to sound off.
but another thing, this time pat’s clothing continuity links these scenes together
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see, in both, he’s wearing this sleeveless orange shirt. that not only connects these scenes, but all the scenes above bc of pran’s shirt, even tho pat has changed into a white shirt for the balcony scene. and that to me is v v interesting, that all of this is gonna happen on the same day in some kind of order (don’t know if we’ll get pat and his dad before or after the balcony scene) and it makes me wonder how exactly they’re gonna be connected. maybe it’s hinting that pats dad will find out about the play and that’s why he’ll be mad, idk. but the tl;dr is that I’m very intrigued as to how these events will play out
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scoobydoofenshmirtz · 3 years
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The Horny Cinematography of Seasons 4 and 5 of Supernatural
So I made this kinda silly post about how horny the late Kripke era of Supernatural was and it was mostly meant as a joke, but then it got me thinking. So I did a little bit of digging, went through some memorable scenes, and noticed some actual patterns in the way Dean and Castiel are shot versus other characters. Disclaimer: this is not exactly a scientific analysis. I didn’t rewatch the entire two seasons for this and there are probably shots with other characters that I missed that go against it, but this is just the general trend that I noticed. 
Click on the images for higher resolution. Analysis is under the cut.
So the general premise of this analysis is that Cas and Dean are shot noticeably close-up, typically staring intensely into each other’s eyes. I think we all know about the whole staring thing, but the actual close-ups were way more intense then I think some people might realize, especially when compared to other interactions between different characters. Cas in particular is shot very close-up frequently whether he’s talking to someone else or by himself (there are so many gorgeous close-ups of Misha in season 4), but the intense eye contact is pretty much only with Dean. 
It starts off almost immediately in 4x01 Lazarus Rising where in Dean and Castiel’s very first interaction, they stand very close and the camera focuses on their faces. First we have two close-ups, then in what is maybe my favorite shot in all of Supernatural, Castiel steps in closer to Dean and the close-ups get even tighter. He tilts his head and stares thoughtfully at Dean with those big blue eyes. Cut to Dean’s look of discomfort after being told (very accurately) “you don’t think you deserve to be saved.”
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Things amp up in literally Castiel’s second appearance in 4x02 Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester with one of the horniest Destiel scenes in the show (again this is only their second interaction!) We have Castiel unexpectedly showing up at Bobby’s house, Dean sassing him, and Castiel stepping very close to Dean and saying “You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in.” This is a very tense interaction with some beautiful low key lighting that pretty much went extinct after season 5. Notice how tight the frame is, even compared to 4x01. These are extreme close-ups where both Dean and Castiel’s chins and foreheads are cut out of the frame. 
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Castiel’s third appearance in 4x03 In the Beginning is a lot more prominent as he has many scenes throughout the episode instead of just one. I’m not gonna include pictures of all of them because there’s lot, but there are plenty of close-ups and intense gazes between the two (e.g. sitting on the bed, “Hello Dean. What were you dreaming about?” which according to Misha, Kim manners said was “too gay” but they did it like that anyway) and contains the first time they touch and the first time they are shot in more high key lighting. Go rewatch the episode if you want to see more lovely close-ups between Dean and Cas. 
Next I would like to draw your attention to episode 4x07 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester. This is Castiel’s fourth appearance and the first time we see him interact with a character who’s not Dean. This is where the differences between how they’re shot start to become apparent. First we have Sam’s first interaction with Castiel (greetings blood freak) that is shot with standard close-ups. Eventually, Dean comes in, conversation happens blah blah blah and we get to the more intense discussion about how the angels want to destroy the town. The discussion is between Dean, Cas, Sam, and Uriel, but Dean and Cas get most of the focus. The camera tells us that they are the main subjects in this scene. Dean and Cas are shot more close-up and tighter and they are standing closer and looking in each others eyes unlike Sam who is looking back and forth between them and standing a few steps back. 
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Of course this doesn’t stop in season 4. Here is a similar example from 5x02 Good God, Ya’ll! but the difference between Dean and Cas and Sam is even more obvious. This is the “I'm hunted, I rebelled, and I did it, all of it, for you,” exchange which I find interesting. Some people could say here that Cas means “you” plural as in Sam and Dean but the Camera is so focused on just Dean and Cas while Sam just sorta hangs there in the background. 
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One thing that I think is interesting is that these types of shots-extreme close-ups with two characters looking into each other’s eyes and standing no feet apart-are not necessarily exclusive to Dean and Cas, but they are usually in a different context. Pretty much all (at least that I could remember) the other examples of this type of shot are between one character and a villain. Below we have three fairly intense confrontations between characters, Sam and Uriel in 4x07 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, Dean and Alastair in 4x16 On the Head of a Pin, and Dean and Cas in 4x22 Lucifer Rising. The composition is almost exactly the same with similar lighting as well, but one of these things is not like the other. Very obviously Cas is not a villain and this scene in particular is a huge moment for his character that cements his decision to fully rebel against Heaven for Dean. 
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Also characters that tend to be that close together looking into each other’s eyes in two shots are usually villains except for Dean and Cas. Below we have a shot of Ruby and Sam very close together right before he drinks her blood and a very close-up shot of Dean and Alastair both in 4x16 On the Head of a Pin. Compare that to the two shot from 4x02 Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester above for example. There is a certain sexual nature in these two villain scenes (and a lot of villain interactions on Supernatural in general). Obviously, Sam and Ruby are literally having sex, but Alastair is also portrayed as a villain who sexually objectifies his victims (the torture scene with Ruby, calling Dean “Daddy’s little girl, etc.) but Cas is not a villain and yet the framing is very similar. 
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Now I want to compare two fight scenes, one in season 4 and one in season 5. Here we have the fight scene between Ruby and Sam in 4x09 I Know What You Did Last Summer. Ruby is of course a sexy lady who Sam sleeps with in a sexy fight scene where she “proves” that she wants to help Sam by killing the other demon instead of Sam. But of course, the fight scene in 5x18 Point of No Return is shot way more close-up and Dean and Cas are inches away from each other. While I wouldn’t described this scene as “sexy” (Cas is literally beating Dean to a pulp) it is way more charged...intimate isn’t exactly the right word but there’s a similar but more intense erotic energy than in the fight scene with Ruby. 
Unrelated side note: there is a great use of breaking the 180 degree rule in this scene that I think works way better in this instance at disorienting the viewer than the shaky cam does. 
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Next I have some random examples I noticed that show some of the different shots between characters. We have Anna in 4x10 Heaven and Hell right before she has sex with Dean. It’s fairly close-up, but still pretty loose framing compared to a lot of scenes between Dean and Cas. Anna’s entire face is still in the frame. Then we have a scene between Sam and Ruby in 4x09 I Know What You Did Last Summer that is also not as close-up as a lot of Dean and Cas scenes. On the bottom is a shot from 5x17 99 Problems which is I think the closest Sam and Cas physically get in these seasons before they ever hug. It’s more of a medium close-up than most of the scenes between Dean and Cas where they get that close. Lastly I have probably the tightest close-ups between Dean and Cas from 4x16 On the Head of a Pin. It’s similar to the shots from 4x02 but the context is pretty different with Cas trying to reassure Dean about the apocalypse. I know these don’t really have a theme but I thought they were good examples of the general pattern.
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Finally I would like to point out a scene that is sort of the opposite which is the infamous staring scene in 4x21 When the Levee Breaks that goes on for like an hour. I don’t really know what to say about this scene only that I can’t believe it’s real. They literally just stand and stare at each other.
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So what’s the point of all this? I honestly don’t really know. None of these observations are hard and fast rules and I’m sure there are times when other characters are shot like this. However, Dean and Cas seem to be the only ones consistently framed this way-tight close-ups, staring into each other’s eyes standing zero feet apart. What does it all mean? To me it shows that their bond is unique and special (profound you might say). It’s not even like they’re shot in a similar manner to love interests, it’s that their framing is unique, it stands out. Was it on purpose? Maybe. How shots end up looking is interesting because it really is the work of a lot of different people including the director, the cinematographer, the editors and more. I don’t think they were thinking “we should film Dean and Cas in this very intense way because they’re in love” or anything, but they obviously recognized there was something special between these two characters. And truly, the intentions don’t matter all that much to me. What’s there is there, and watching it the first time around I noticed how close Dean and Cas always were and watching it back post 15x18 all those shots stand out even more to me. There’s really no conclusion here, but I think it’s interesting to look a bit more closely at the cinematography in TV shows that we don’t always think of as having the highest quality production. There’s a lot of layers to be discovered outside of scripts and acting and things we tend to focus on more as viewers. 
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