#I honestly cannot imagine he is very interested in having a relationship with his father/uncles after this

[imakemywings]

I do love Celebrimbor takes where post-death/rebirth he actually has very little to say to his family until they show some signs of remorse or personal growth from the atrocities they committed in Middle-earth.

#let him be angry!! #he left for a reason!! #and I don't think he wants comfort from a guy (MAEDHROS) who slaughtered an entire culture and killed and kidnapped children #if he's going to anyone for comfort it's cousins and other extended family #he left Curufin and Celegorm before the Second Kinslaying was even on the horizon because he couldn't defend them anymore #I cannot IMAGINE the horror of learning from a distance of the things they did after that #I honestly cannot imagine he is very interested in having a relationship with his father/uncles after this #at least not without some SERIOUS repenting on their parts #rambling #celebrimbor

[nadiawritessomething]

omg so glad your inbox is open!!! i wanna know what you think Miles G’s sense of humor is like, because 1610 Miles has a pretty sarcastic one. Do you think G would make more jokes as a way of coping and keeping people around him just a tiny bit happier compared to the rest of his world? Or do you think he would make less jokes entirely? I personally think he makes less jokes in general, but if he’s with his mom, he’ll make a normal amount of them because he wants to see her genuinely smile ^_^

*looks through her infinite Miles G headcanons list*

This is quite an interesting question, because in fact, everywhere I like to look for the middle ground and the most likely option of all.

It is not difficult to say that until a certain moment in life, the humor of 1610 and 42 was basically identical. Neither Jefferson nor Rio are "stoned" when it comes to humor, so he wouldn't have any initial predispositions to a bad sense of humor. I can even say that if we take 1610 (and I always take him into account, because without it the analysis will be incomplete), that he has more humor from his father - similar slightly silly jokes and gags (they even became the authors of the same meme with that stairs). Rio, judging by her dialogue at the party, has a less...refined sense of humor, and I think that's also because she just grew up in a different culture, so jokes she used to might be unusual for New Yorkers, but I'm digging a little to far at that point.

Still, back to Miles G, I think their 1610 senses of humor would be similar BUT not the same, although they would be able to make each other laugh a lot more than other people (If Miles G would let himself to openly laugh near someone new of course) And the reason for that, again, is the family and other surroundings. It's not a stretch to say that there's a good chance he picked up some humor in Rio — especially when he's speaking Spanish, because the dialogue with 1610 shows that she likes to use Spanish when it comes to joking. As a bilingual, I can say that many jokes from one language are impossible to translate into another due to the peculiarities of the puns themselves (I can imagine how Aaron suffered because of this at first lol. Like he can't understand what this kid is saying and why is he so hard trying to keep this straight face)

Regarding Aaron and his influence on Miles' humor: I think his and Jeff's relationship with humor is quite different. Of course, there are similarities, because they grew up together, but Aaron looks way more...relaxed. While most of Jeff's funny moments are either his failed attempts to make amends, or phrases that should sound serious but don't. In general, one feels that he works as a policeman and tends to act serious when it comes to serious topics (wich was once he usually discussed in a movie).

At the same time, Aaron feels more in his element. He can calmly walk up to his nephew and start telling him some weird techniques or replying to messages with a bunch of emojis. I think he's the type of person whose jokes are really good, but not many people understand them; honestly, I don't even know if he was serious about that shoulder touch stuff.

Most likely, Miles also did not immediately understand some of his phrases, but over time of working together, he just got used to it, and became one of the few people who really appreciates his uncle's fun. Of course, they have to be more serious than 1610 in that scene, but I don't believe Aaron wouldn't throw in a joke at least once in a while (to which he would initially get a puzzled 'um?'). I'm not sure that he would have adopted some of those jokes, but in part - in part, this uncle's influence cannot but be felt.

And now for the weirder detail that I haven't seen anyone bring up yet - Earth 42's humor as a thing. Because it seems to me that Miles G understands sarcasm or dark humor - but not that he likes to use it very much. Because you have to understand something like this if you are part of Earth 42. Let me explain.

Six, as a group of people, are absolute idiots in themselves, and therefore, to problems or complaints in their direction, they most likely... simply did not respond with anything worthwhile. Respond with sarcasm like "if you don't have water, go bathe in our green river" (© the Lizard) might be quite of an option. One of the posters in the background of Earth 42 sometimes says "Don't do this" copying the slogan of the Nike company, so I think there are a lot of such billboards out there. Imagine if there were some sarcastic, ironic "Life is beautiful if you don't look at it" or "Just give it up dude" posters all over town. Because the Six benefit from keeping their slaves residents at bay, and this kind of passive-aggressive humor is part of that.

So yeah, Miles can't help but understand it when it's part of his environment and part of the job. But did he choose to use it often? Do not think. His life is already terrible enough, and knowing how he want to help and the way he honestly holds on to what is dear to him - I don't think he would have made the situation worse. (Especially considering that his mother would not like it, and yes, this is an important criterion). Sometimes he knows a sarcastic answer to some phrase - but he uses them only rarely and expediently. Usually when he feels hurt or uncomfortable.

I want to finish with how it was actually in the Vagabonds with humor. I think he's less funny than spiderman - he needs to be more quiet and focused or he might break a dozen bones (or fail a mission). It's not that he doesn't have jokes in his head - sometimes they do, but the work itself makes him very clearly analyze the moments when these jokes will be safe to tell.

He thinks that in a dialogue with thieves, he will rather start saying something like "Hurry up, I have to defrost the chicken before my parents comes home." with the most serious face ever. Like, really, he has things to do.

And well that's all for today cause I have to sleep. Thanks for your questions! Also I rly like your page and hcs they're all so TRUE/pos srs..

#character analysis #across the spiderverse #atsv #miles morales #miles 42 #prowler miles #miles g morales #earth 42 miles #spiderverse #aaron davis #jefferson morales #inbox #THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTIONS #I may not be fast but I'll answer another ones as soon as I can 🤲💓

[edoro]

I feel like a potentially interesting aspect of the Luz and Belos dynamic is Luz's apparent lack of a father figure. The only hint we've ever gotten of Luz's dad is that super brief shot of the family photo in Yesterday's Lie. It seems like he's either separated from Camila or just straight-up dead.

I imagine Belos would be DELIGHTED if he's trying to pull his bullshit on Luz and in the process figures out that her father is either absent from her life (great news for him) or deceased, and that grief is something that Luz is still learning to live with, being so young (even better).

Also it reminds me of before we had the Wittebane plotline/Belos face reveal and people were theorizing that Belos could be Luz's dad.

the "Belos could be Luz's dad" theory is very funny to me. can't believe Emperor Belos is an absentee father. a deadbeat. what do you think the snails-to-USD conversion rate is? this man is the evil emperor of a whole magical civilization, he better be paying his child support. and like what are the logistics here? obviously he doesn't get visitation because he's trapped in a nightmare demon realm being a colonizer and a tyrant, but how did he even get to the human realm to impregnate Camila in the first place? did these theories predate the end of s1 where we found out Belos has been in power for 50 years and is therefore probably somewhat elderly, or did everyone just collectively decide that Camila must like herself a silver fox? (i cannot blame her.)

like honestly there's no way but it would be so funny if it were true that i really want it to be. in my heart it is. if the grimwalker clone theory is true then that would mean Luz and Hunter are simultaneously cousins and uncle-and-niece. it's a gift that truly just keeps on giving.

anyway though, onto the actual substance of your message: absolutely yes that would be an amazing opportunity for Belos. i am sure he would sniff it out right away and just feel such nasty glee as he got to work.

i am super curious about Luz's relationship with her father and what's up with him. it's interesting that we really haven't heard anything yet at all - it makes me wonder if he left or died when Luz was just very young, so it's not something that she thinks/talks about a whole lot anymore, or alternately if it happened more recently and she's kind of repressing it? i could see either one being the case.

either way, i definitely think Belos could have a field day with that. he's so good at putting himself across in that warm, paternal way, and he's gotten much better at projecting the warmth and hiding the coldness underneath it in the years since he was known as Philip. and we saw Luz fall for it without any particular attempts on his part, either - she's just such a friendly person, and she also imo pretty clearly does crave attention and respect and validation from adults. i think Luz is a kid who's used to being 'too much' in various ways and who just really wants to be supported and seen, to feel understood and like she's contributing something.

so even if she doesn't necessarily have your classic 'daddy issues', he could easily offer himself as a sort of warmly supportive paternal figure to fill that role in her life, to guide and support her, and he would be so much more structured and rational in his methods and feedback than the Owl Lady, wouldn't he? it would be good for her! he could truly make her something great, if she allowed him to guide and shape that potential... and so on and so forth. fucking creep.

#keep him away from Luz at ALL costs #(or don't i mean i have a whole fic in mind about what happens if you don't) #(sorry Luz) #emperor belos #luz noceda #the owl house #asks #meta

[firelordzukohere]

Interior Décor

Hello!

When I made this 4 chapters, I initially thought: “Oh 4 weeks? That’s a long time!”

Why didn’t anyone tell me it wasn’t that long!?! I feel like I just started this and I’m already sad it’s over! Please let me know if you want an epilogue or even some cute little one shots. I already have one in my head but I want to know if anyone would even be interested in it. Please let me know!

Finally,

Thank you everyone who read, re-blogged, liked, commented, or messaged me about this story. I haven’t posted a Zuko fanfiction since I was probably 15 years old and the support I received then wasn’t half as much as I have now. You guys are amazing and wonderful and every single notification I got made me smile brightly. I’d seriously get people asking me why I’m smiling at my phone so much. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for everything, from my whole heart. Thank you so much. 

Please enjoy the last chapter of Interior Décor! I truly, truly hope you like it!

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Zuko X Fem!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Slight Aangst(heh), and some implications

Word Count: 5k

Summary: Iroh felt it was time for the Palace to reflect the time of Peace and Love that Zuko promised five years earlier at his coronation. He takes it upon himself to hire an interior decorator to help his nephew out and work together. What he didn’t expect was for Zuko to possibly find his own peace and love in the process.

Chapter 3: Jacquard >> Chapter 4: Trompe l’oeil >> Epilogue

The next morning, (Y/N) woke up to a chasm in her chest the size of the Earth Kingdom. It was as if several Earthbenders decided to practice their bending inside of her and leave a massive chunk missing from within. She already yearned to see Zuko again.

Burying her face further into her pillow she moaned. Why did they have to get along so well? Why couldn't she have just worked with Iroh the whole time instead of the Fire Lord? Didn't he have people who were supposed to handle the menial stuff like her, instead of himself? She never considered the fact that all the advisors that would come up to him throughout the couple of weeks wouldn't really stay around much. They always seemed busy doing other things, leaving the Fire Lord to his own devices. Leaving him to spend his days with her, laughing, talking, comfortable silences, and dancing.

She remembered how it felt being led around the floor by him. The moment was so intimate, so right, and she wanted to dance with him all over again. It was like a cloud carried her around, a warm, attractive cloud.

Another groan escaped her lips before she pulled herself out of bed to go and make some tea. Her aunt was already outside meditating for the morning, so she had to be silent as she set the pot on its stand and bent some fire to warm it up.

The silence was disturbed when there were three knocks on their front door. Her aunt looked over at her, brows furrowed in confusion at who could be here this early in the morning.

(Y/N) walked toward the door and slid it open to reveal a courier holding a large package wrapped in intricate silk.

"(Y/N)?" He asked, and she nodded in confirmation. The man shoved the package into her hand before rushing back to his ostrich horse and riding away. She stared at him dumbfounded for a moment and then balanced the package in one hand, shutting the door with the other.

"Ooh! A gift! From the Fire Lord?" Her aunt gushed walking up behind her to examine the beautiful box. (Y/N)'s face burned before she moved to the counter to unwrap the present. She wasn't sure if she hoped it was from him or not. If it was, that meant her aunt could possibly spread more rumors about her having an affair with the Fire Lord, but if it wasn't she was sure there would be a twinge of sadness that this random encounter wasn't from him.

As she removed the silk, opened the box and lifted what was inside, she gasped. It was a beautiful dress, very obviously Fire Nation red, but golden lace lined the halter neckline, and the bodice was covered in red roses with green leafs. The skirt was massive as she continued to pull it from the box. Once the item was fully out she couldn't help but admire the beauty.

However, she was slightly annoyed. This must have cost him at least a hundred gold pieces. She knew she had told him that her wardrobe did not consist of a dress that would be acceptable for the celebration, but that didn't mean he had to go out and buy her a new one!

"Oooh look! There's sleeves!" Her aunt said next to her pulling out sleeves that were the same gold to match the neckline. "And a note!" She handed (Y/N) the note and looked at her intensely to see who it was from.

(Y/N),

You said you didn't have a gown and that's the reason you wouldn't come tonight. I had my tailors work over time to make you this because I cannot imagine spending this evening celebrating you, without you there. I will not make a big fuss about you, so you can slip in silently and leave whenever you feel, but please come, at least to see how amazed everyone is going to be at the site of your hard work. Please come, for me.

I truly hope to see you tonight.

Zuko

P.S. I know you're probably worried about my tailors, they were not overworked and have been overly compensated for their duties.  

(Y/N)'s face was as red as the gown as her aunt ripped the note from her hands to read it. With a gasp she looked up at her niece and grinned furiously.

"Exactly how close did you get with the Fire Lord during this time? You implied he was in meetings most of your work days." Her tone pointed and (Y/N) frowned. "Dear, this note isn't just a client 'Thank you' this appears to be a subtle declaration."

Grunting angrily, (Y/N) shoved the dress back into the box and snatched the note and the sleeves from her aunt, forcing them inside as well.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not going tonight anyway. It's highly unprofessional of me to go to this party especially in a dress the Fire Lord had specifically made for me," she grumbled. "I'll just return the garment tomorrow and explain to him how offensive it is for him to expect to buy my attendance to the celebration." Her voice a low hiss as she pushed passed her aunt and into her bedroom, sliding the door shut angrily.

Sitting on the bed, she stared down at the box in her hands. She wasn't exactly angry at Zuko's gift, but she was angry that now she was put in this position. If she went, her aunt would spread all over town that she and the Fire Lord had more than a professional relationship and if she didn't she would waste the tailors' hard work and possibly hurt Zuko.

Who cares what anyone else thinks?

His words rang in her mind as she stared at the golden lace. She honestly only cared what he thought and the fact that he wanted her to go tonight really resonated through her.

Please come, for me.

With a sigh, she placed the box down beside her and dropped her face into the palms of her hands. The internal battle she was dealing with was ripping her apart.

It was easier said than done to ignore what people thought and said about her. If she went tonight, the entire nation's eyes could possibly be watching, scrutinizing her and the Fire Lord.

What was she supposed to do?

Zuko's voice filled her mind once again, "We're supposed to do whatever makes us happy." Why was he always right? He was obviously learning from the notoriously wise Iroh and now passing that wisdom to her.

There was a knock on her door causing her to lift her face from her hands.

"Come in," she mumbled and watched as the door slid to the side and revealed her aunt holding a cup of the tea she had forgotten was brewing.

Sitting down beside her niece, her aunt handed her the cup and then sighed, the deep sound filling the tension stagnant room. While (Y/N) always had a great relationship with her aunt, a strain had formed when her aunt had spread the rumor about her and her first client. She wasn't sure if her aunt ever realized that their bond had weakened slightly, but she tried her best to act as if nothing was wrong.

"I know you know this," her aunt started, "but sometimes I struggle with keeping to myself. I've been alone for a long time. Your uncle died young, your mother and father shut me out after, insisting that I needed to find a new husband or I'd bring shame to the family, and my parents were never really around after your mother and I were married off. Any chance I can, to form a friendship, I take, even if it means hurting the people I love dearly in the process." The older woman frowned as she pat (Y/N)'s knee gently, "I've hurt you with my gossip, and I realize that. I was so excited for your new business and when I thought your first client could also potentially be someone to share your life with, I was happy for you..." trailing off, she couldn't help but sigh again, "but I didn't expect people to take what I had said and turn it into something to harm you. I didn't understand why these women began saying you were a homewrecker when it was common knowledge his wife had already left him. Instead of shutting those rumors down though, I made them worse, and in all honesty, it didn't stop me from creating new ones either."

(Y/N) felt the tears sting the corner of her eyes, begging to be freed from her, to relieve and soothe the pain she was enduring at the memories. They wanted to wash away the sadness. She loved her aunt, but the woman definitely caused a lot of hurt in her life. Even now, as she really did find herself fond of the Fire Lord, she couldn't help but hold back due to the idea that her aunt could spread rumors that would hurt her again. Instead of allowing her pain to show, she gulped down the tea, hoping that it would ease up some of the tension in her body. Once she finished she rested the cup on the bed and stared at her hands, waiting for her aunt to finish whatever she wanted to say.

"I hurt you when I accused you of having anything but a professional relationship with the Fire Lord. I know you're a strong woman who has had to battle many hardships in her life, especially when it comes to love and happiness, and I know I didn't make any of that easier on you even though I was supposed to. For that, I am genuinely sorry." Turning to the box next to her, she lifted the note out and handed it to (Y/N), "I think you should go." The woman whispered and (Y/N)'s head shot up to stare at her aunt. "He clearly cares for you, it's written in this note without even saying it outright. You've been even happier than normal these last couple of weeks whenever you wake up to go see him and when you come home after spending the day with him. I haven't seen that look since you first started your business and you shined at the opportunity to do something you loved. (Y/N) don't let this opportunity of love slip away, even if there is a risk of what people might say. Let them talk about you. As long as you're happy and you've got what you want, let them boil in their own gossip and rumors."

The sob escaped, and (Y/N) shoved her face into her aunt's neck, wrapping her arms around the older woman. Letting her niece cry it out, (Y/N)'s aunt rubbed her back reassuringly and held her tight.

"Thank you," (Y/N) whispered causing her aunt to smile and caress her hair as she pulled back.

"I love you, my dear," the woman smiled, and stood up quickly. "Now, we've got until sunset to get you dolled up and ready for this celebration. When you walk into that room, no one will be able to keep their eyes off of you, especially not that Fire Lord." Her aunt winked before pulling her up and dragging her out of the house toward the shopping district.

Just after sunset, (Y/N) was standing inside her house, dressed in her gown, with her hair curled and flowing around her face, only a small portion was pulled back into a proper bun with golden leaves pinned around it in a circle. She had gotten her makeup done, with golden and maroon hues to accent her dress, and simple gold sandals hidden underneath the dress for easy walking and dancing.

"You look like the queen of the Fire Nation," her aunt gushed as she finished tying the back of her dress. "The poor Fire Lord won't know what hit him when you arrive," she swooned as she came back around to give her niece a final once over. "The party has most likely already begun, so I suggest you get into the carriage now. It's better to arrive fashionably late where everyone will be able to get a good look at you in your grand entrance," she teased.

(Y/N) hugged her aunt and thanked her for everything. She was grateful the woman had talked her into attending the celebration and helped her prepare for it. Their embrace, though only lasting a few moments, seemed to help repair the crack that had been formed for years. When they released, (Y/N) smiled and made her way outside to the carriage they had requested for the evening. A palanquin would have been too expensive, but a carriage was nice, especially since it wasn't too breezy outside to ruin her hair.

After one final wave to her aunt, she was on her way to the Palace, both nervous and excited to see the Fire Lord again.

His eyes darted around, wondering if he'd be able to catch a look at a familiar face with beautiful (Y/E/C) eyes and long (Y/H/C) hair. While he knew that she didn't have to come, he had hoped he had possibly convinced her to with his gift and his note. Though he wanted to spew out in the letter that he didn't want another day to go by without seeing her face, he had to instead be smart about it, in case she didn't return the feelings that swelled within him.

Smiles and hopeful eyes surrounded him as he made his way through the brand new ballroom, filled with diplomats and various other important people that didn't really feel very important to him. Several women had already come up telling him he owed them a dance or two, to which he merely smiled and noncommittally nodded. There was only one person he wanted to dance with tonight and if she wasn't going to be there, he wouldn't step a foot onto that floor without her.

"Ah! Fire Lord Zuko!" A Fire Sage stepped into his path with a bow. "I've been meaning to introduce you to my daughter, Tora," the man gestured to the young woman beside him dressed in a long golden dress with her hair pulled into a tall ponytail. "She's been talking nonstop about this party and the ability to finally dance within the Fire Nation Palace." The Sage chuckled and shoved his daughter toward Zuko.

"It's an honor to meet you Tora," Zuko said, bowing with respect, watching as she flushed but not returning the motion. She giggled and rested her hand on his bicep, squeezing slightly.

"It's my honor, Fire Lord, my father has spoken nothing but good words about you since getting the opportunity to work with you after you took over from your father, shame he didn't turn out to be the man everyone thought he would be." Zuko tensed slightly. No, he turned out to be everything everyone wanted him to be, because the Fire Nation blindly followed his father due to the previous ideals his grandfather and great grandfather had set in their time.

"Yes," Zuko said, already losing interest in the conversation at her words, "it's quite a shame…" he mumbled, looking around to see if anyone could spare him. That's when he spotted a familiar face. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on the food for this evening," he rushed away, pulling his arm from her grasp in the process.

Striding up to his hero, Zuko pat his uncle on the back with a grateful smile. Iroh turned to look at him, his face full of roast duck that was being served on a stick.

"Nephew!" Iroh mumbled with his mouth packed, "this party is wonderful! The ballroom is beautiful." Zuko nodded his head, looking around at the glow of the lights from the chandeliers and the ornate imagery of dragons and fire painted into the ceiling. "Speaking of beauty, where is the wonderful creature behind this room? I assumed she'd be here to celebrate with you." The older man said with a wink. Zuko's face flushed for a moment before he took a piece of duck off of Iroh's skewer and shoved it into his own mouth, taking a second to come up with a proper reply to his uncle's very loaded question.

"I've invited her, but she implied that she didn't really like the idea of celebrating herself, she felt it unprofessional," his voice thick with sadness as he thought about her not wanting to be around him. Iroh patted his nephew's face and smiled.

"Don't count your losses yet," he said reassuringly, "she could still come." Zuko nodded his head, hopeful but still disappointed.

He wasn't sure how it happened so quickly. It felt like he went from loathing the idea of someone spending several weeks in his house, going over everything wrong with it, to counting the time until he'd be able to see her again after she had just left for the day. Their bond formed so quickly it didn't seem to be something solid for him to consider, but no matter how hard he tried to banish it from his mind, she just walked right back into his head, perfection and all, telling him that it wasn't that easy to get rid of her. He loved how strong she was but also that she cared so much about him and even his uncle in the small time they knew each other. She was fiery and passionate about her job and he wondered if that would translate the same into a relationship as well… a relationship with a certain head of the Fire Nation.

However, he was worried that he'd never be able to see her again. What if she didn't come tonight? He'd be stuck wondering what would have happened if she had. Would he admit to her his feelings? Would she have returned them? Would they have danced together? Kissed?

Zuko let out a deep sigh and removed himself from his head, turning his attention back on his uncle who seemed to be examining the table of food for something else to enjoy. Shaking his head with an amused grin, Zuko grabbed a slice of ash banana bread and popped it into his mouth, enjoying the warm, sweet taste.

"Sir," his advisor Shuro appeared next to him, "the council would like for you to have a quick word with them in the chambers, it appears there are some rumors of an attack on the Earth Kingdom by Fire Nation rebels," he whispered. Zuko groaned and nodded his head, gesturing for his advisor to lead the way, also grabbing Iroh by the arm and pulling him along.

He wanted this to be a no work event, where he could enjoy himself, his people could enjoy themselves and maybe, just maybe, he could spend the evening with someone he cared about.

As (Y/N) entered the ballroom, she couldn't help but notice several eyes land on her. Scrutinizing  faces from several women and lots of whispering began as she strode into the room, looking around for the Fire Lord himself. She knew she could spot him in a crowd of thousands, so when she didn't see him, she had to assume he wasn't there. Frowning, she made her way quickly to the food table to find something to distract her from the ache in her chest at the fact that he was most likely busy with someone else, whether that be a possible courtship or someone from the council. She picked up a single tea sandwich and nibbled on it, looking around the grand room at all the people. Some were dancing, which made her smile, others were swaying while they talked, a few were laughing and drinking heavily. It was a wonderful atmosphere filled with merriment and joy, something the Fire Nation had been without for the last one hundred years, of their own accord, of course.

Women were dressed in beautiful gowns some Fire Nation colored, others from various Nations like the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, some even differing from the cultures and made up of glorious silks that were every color imaginable. She was definitely grateful for Zuko providing her with the dress, because anything she had remotely close to acceptable would have paled dramatically in comparison.

Munching on her sandwich, she watched as a man strode toward her with a smooth smile on his face. Her heart dropped knowing that this wasn't going to be good, he looked ready to hunt and she didn't feel like being the prey today.

"What's a beautiful woman like you doing over here by yourself?" He asked, flipping his head to the side and flashing a toothy smile at her. Internally groaning, she returned a curve of her lips that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm waiting for someone," she said politely.

"Obviously he's a fool for leaving you alone," the man sidled up to her, reaching behind her to grab a fig and attempting to seductively eat it while staring her in the eye. She let out an unamused giggle, it sounded more like a sigh than a laugh, and shook her head.

"He's just a busy man," she amended, but it didn't help. After finishing his fig, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.

"Let's dance while you wait for him, though I'm not classically trained, I can hold my own," his grip on her fingers was tense but she managed to rip herself from his grasp and frown.

"I'll pass thank you," she replied harshly. Before he could say another word, she stormed away, attempting to look for any relief in sight. That's when she saw an escape and ducked for it, hoping no one noticed as she slipped down the stairs and out into the beautiful garden. The turtle ducks quacked happily in the glow of the moonlight that now lit up the whole garden.

She let out a breath she had apparently been holding in since her departure from the creepy man, and leaned against the large tree in relief. Tonight was not exactly going how she planned. While it may have been her imagination, she wanted to walk into the room, have everyone stop to look at her in awe, and then watch as the Fire Lord shoved his way through the crowed to pull her toward him in front of everyone and kiss her deeply.

Instead she had been scoffed at, hidden in a corner hoping that maybe she could find some peace in food, only to be rudely manhandled by some obviously drunken man who didn't understand she wasn't interested in him. She felt like a fool for thinking that tonight would be magical, like those tales her mother used to read to her when she was young.

Zuko was too busy for her, she should have expected that. He was the Fire Lord for crying out loud, why did she think he would drop everything for her? Maybe it was because he had during the redecoration… or maybe it's because she hoped that his feelings for her were somehow as strong as hers for him.

Again, she was just a fool though, thinking that the Lord of the Fire Nation would actually see anything in her other than a decorator. That's what she had wanted wasn't it? A professional relationship that didn't come with the backlash of rumors and heartache? Why did she feel so empty though at that thought? Why is it, instead of picturing Zuko as her client, she only saw him as her friend, and even potentially more? Why did she even come here tonight?

Zuko was finally free from his meeting, grateful they had found a solution for the possible Earth Kingdom attack. Now he was able to enjoy the night and freely walk around and mingle.

With his gaze once again darting around the room in hopes of seeing her, he realized he was disappointed that she seemed nowhere to be found. At the sight of the Fire Lord back within the party, several women rushed forward, begging him for their dance now. Zuko cringed outwardly and held up his hands assuring the women that he wasn't really the dancing type. He insisted that he needed a bit of air and politely circled around them to escape their yearning eyes.

The Fire Lord made his way to the garden, silently going down the steps, hoping no one had spotted him in his departure. He froze though, when his eyes landed on a familiar figure crouched down next to the pond, petting the turtle ducks with her finger.

"You came…" he breathed out relieved as he walked toward her. Her head turned to look at him and her face lit up. Standing tall, she watched as he strode up next to her, his face bright with a smile. "You…" he paused as his gaze finally examined her. "You look… good," he said awkwardly and then slammed his palm to his face, causing her to giggle.

"Thank you, it's a Fire Nation original," she teased, attempting to let him know she wasn't offended by his lack of words. "You look really nice too, but of course you always do in Fire Nation colors." His face burned at her compliment. Turning toward the party that still went on in the ballroom she smiled, "you sure know how to throw a party, Fire Lord Zuko, everyone really seems to be enjoying themselves."

"Are you?" He asked, curious as she was out here by herself. She looked back to him and nodded her head with the corner of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Yes, I just can't seem to keep myself away from this garden and these little darlings," the woman said, gesturing to the turtle ducks. "Have you gotten some time to relax and have a little fun?"

"Not really, but that's okay, I have a new bedroom I can use to unwind and relax in at night," he winked, finally gaining a bit of confidence to flirt with her. Another laugh escaped her and Zuko's heart swelled at the sound. "(Y/N), I'm really glad you came tonight. All day I dreaded the idea of having this party and not enjoying it with you." At his words, she blushed. "I also don't enjoy the fact that I won't be seeing you everyday anymore and I want to find a way to remedy that." Letting out a harsh laugh, (Y/N) shook her head.

"Trust me Fire Lord Zuko, you won't even remember me after a couple of weeks." Her insecurities rearing their evil head, attempting to shut down the fluttering in her chest.

"No, I'll remember you," he said, stepping toward her. Her eyes met his and he could see the fear within them. "I'd rather not risk that though and just see you as often as I can." His voice was low and husky.

"What would you have me do? Decorate something else? We did most of the Palace, everything I didn't touch was already perfectly fine."

"The Palace is perfect now, thanks to you, but I was thinking you might want to come and see me, not my Ballroom or my Throne room," he teased with a smirk, resting his hand on her cheek. "Maybe we could have lunches and dinners together, or take a trip somewhere, I'd like you to meet my friends and get to know them because I think they'd love you," he paused and took a deep breath, "like I'm beginning to." She sucked in a breath at his declaration. "I'd like the opportunity to spend every spare minute I have with you and laugh with you. I love your laugh so much (Y/N) it makes my entire day. I play it through my head all throughout my meetings, trying to remind myself of it until the next time I get to hear it," obviously a giggle escaped her lips at the sentiment causing a goofy smile to appear on the Fire Lord's face.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" She asked, sounding fearful, "I know we talked about it but what will people say when they see us together?" Shaking her head nervously she wasn't sure what to do, everything he said sounded wonderful but she didn't want him to make a mistake.

"I know what I want, I want what makes me happy, and that's you. Do I make you happy?" He asked, his voice determined.

"Yes more than anything." Her words left her lips in a whisper, "I couldn't believe I was falling in love with the Fire Lord until I woke up this morning and felt like someone had taken my heart out and left a hole in it, at the thought we wouldn't be together again."

Zuko grinned before moving his hand to take hers, and resting his other one on her waist. She smiled back at him, aware of what he was trying to do before placing her hand on his shoulder and allowing him to sway her around the grass. Their eyes never left each other's as they danced to the softened music behind them in the ballroom.

"I swore to myself that if I didn't get to dance with you tonight, I wasn't going to dance with anyone else," he replied with a chuckle, rubbing her back with his thumb as he guided her. "You're the only one I want to dance with… other than Aang, but that's a dragon thing," he joked and she laughed again.

He couldn't stop himself, at the sound of her laugh, he dipped his head forward and captured her lips with his, relieved when she reciprocated the action with fervor.

Their swaying stopped but their mouths didn't part as Zuko moved his hands to fully encase her hips and hers slid up to his neck where she pulled him closer, as if it were possible.

When they both separated for air, Zuko let out a smile, before pecking her on the lips once more with affection.

Standing on the platform with a bright grin on his face, Iroh watched as his nephew and (Y/N) returned to their dancing stance and swayed in contentment once more. He was grateful Zuko was finally able to enjoy himself and was happy that it was with someone as wonderful as she was. Behind him, Shuro popped up asking Iroh if he had seen the Fire Lord anywhere, Iroh shook his head and led the man away, ensuring that his nephew got some peace and love.

Master List

Tag List: @royahllty​ @mangoberry43​ @mrskeishasdead​ @taeeemin​ @blushbadger​ @shortmexicangirl​ @fire-lady-livi​ @jujugentle

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #atla fanfic #atla fanfiction #zuko x reader #zuko x fem!reader #Fire Lord Zuko #zuko fanfic #zuko #zuko x y/n #x y/n #zuko x you #x reader #firelordzukohere #interiordecor #atla x reader

[allmights-right-boob]

Not fic: Cursed Twilight addition

So I’m about to have my BNHA rights revoked but I just finished Midnight Sun (at the time when I started writing this) and started thinking about the characters and that Rosalie and Bakugo are weirdly similar so now here I am outlining a Twilight Au that no one asked for (except me but I’m garbage) that I will never write because I can’t focus long enough to write an actual story (fun fact this outline is taking months to complete). To be honest though this is more of a background on all the characters as opposed to an outline of the Twilight story (oops) which may or may not come later. Author’s notes are in parenthesis if you haven’t figured that out.

Basically I’m replacing Twilight characters with BNHA characters, not everyone will have the same back story, it’ll be blended(future me: um so that was a lie). Everyone’s quirks are still mostly the same but as their vampire gift with some variation to fit the word. It still takes place in the Pacific north-west because I’m not super sure if there’s a place as cloudy as there in Japan besides the mountains like Mt.Fuji (but that’s more misty I think) but there’s too many people around places like that I feel. But then again I’m not actually writing this whole fic so you’re welcome to imagine them still in Japan. If I did write this as a fic I would actually do proper research to decide where to put them but meh, this is a not-fic. As it is I’m calling the town it would take place in Forks/Crossroads cause that would be a cool alternative name. The backgrounds take place all over the word but I never actually say where. My bad.

Also if you do read this I love you very much and I am so sorry, this is ramble-y and has way too many run-on sentences and is written as if I were speaking to you as opposed to an actual written story. It’s also taken so long to complete things I wasn’t sure about in the beginning become solidified later but it’s also written out of order so probably reads really bad. Again my apologies.

So the characters are as follows:

The Olympic Coven/Cullens - The Might Coven/Aizawa-Yagis

Carlisle Cullen- Toshinori Yagi

So obviously I made Toshi Carlisle because suave blond everyone loves is both of their MO. Toshi is probably around 500 years old and like Carlisle was turned while hunting vampires. I still want him to have two forms but I’m not entirely sure how to do that within the confines of the Twilight universe. Maybe he was injured in a battle where he literally lost parts of himself and can’t fully heal so he’s become weak but still can’t die? He’s a doctor but might be semi-retired because of his injury, the cover story is an undisclosed chronic illness. He’s also a part time stay at home dad. He definitely used his vampirism to help and protect humans in the past.

Probably had a coven when he was younger with Nana and Torino but Nana was killed and Torino sent Toshi away for his own safety. He may or may not have started out as vegetarian, I can see Nana as veg or only eats bad people, Torino is an eats bad guys type but will eat anyone when pressed. Toshi either started out as a vegetarian before meeting Nana or if she found him immediately and took him in he would go animal based pretty quickly, She always respected his lifestyle. Grand Torino respects it to an extent but now that Toshi is hurt wants him to drink from humans because he thinks it’ll help Toshinori heal or at least be better for his body. He was in his 40s when turned.

Esme Cullen- Shouta Aizawa

It should surprise literally no one that I’m making this Erasermight because I am soft for my boys and anything is an excuse to ship them. Shouta is honestly the person who has taken the longest to work out along with Shinsou. Like so, so, long. These two are also related, they’re cousins or uncle/nephew or something. They’re also the most different from their counterparts, probably because it’s taken so long for me to work their stories out I’ve just completely changed them from original Twilight.

So the time period is really vague with him, it’s either the late 1800s or WWI. Hitoshi was an orphan around the age of 12 and Shouta his guardian is 30-31. Either way there was a war (and I looked at the wars in the second half of the 1800s, it’s just so many wars. What is wrong with this world?) and it could have easily been the civil war (and if so they were Unionist, obviously.) But wherever he and Hitoshi lived there was a war happening and he was probably not in the army at the time, just protecting his home and neighbors. At the same time Toshinori and Izuku were in the area trying to help civilians because wars suck and they’re basically un-killable so they can help and with the chaos of everything if someone started to suspect something of them they could fake their deaths and leave. And they probably did. But while traveling through they stop in a town/village and meet Shouta and Hitoshi.

Shouta is his gruff no nonsense self and Hitoshi is a little in awe of Yagi because this is still pre-injury so he’s this huge imposing man who’s gentle and knowledgeable about medicine. Eventually even Shouta comes around to liking Yagi, who has the nickname All Might because of his strength, even though he thinks his over the top enthusiasm in front of others is exhausting. In private Toshi ends up letting his guard and persona down with Aizawa because he realizes he doesn’t have to keep it up, he doesn’t need to make Aizawa like and trust him the way he does with the others, it’s just natural the way they click. Toshi probably fell in love first, vampires fall in love fast and long and all encompassing in a way that if they were human would be rather unhealthy (and probably is anyway because this is fiction but I don’t really care because this is fiction and I relate to unhealthy love way too much). Shouta was more reserved because he is a cautious man by nature and probably loves in a similar but more healthy way to vampires, long and devoted, but he must be careful to whom he gives his heart. I still don’t think he meant to fall for Toshinori, loving a man in the time that they lived was dangerous and inadvisable if one could avoid it. But Toshinori Yagi is the kind of man one cannot help but loving.

They didn’t tell each other how they felt though. A few months after Izuku and Toshinori’s arrival there was an attack on the town, Hitoshi they found safe but Toshinori caught wind of Shouta’s scent and followed, finding him mortally wounded. Desperate to keep him Toshi turned him and split off from Izuku and Hitoshi while Shouta adjusted to vampire life. They quickly became lovers, though Shouta had a brief stint as a human blood drinker as revenge for the destruction of his village. But it started to test their relationship and in the end Toshi and his own morals were more important to him than human blood. The four of them reunite a year later and they try to keep their relationship a secret but both of the boys figure it out pretty quickly. Izuku accepts it immediately because his dad is finally with someone and is happy while it takes Hitoshi a bit of time because period typical homophobia and it’s going to take a while for Yagi to earn his trust back after turning Aizawa in front of him.

Aizawa has an erasure power same as in canon. Since he doesn’t need to blink he’s a bit op but opponents who are faster than his eyes can track and multiple opponents are his weaknesses. He’s a history teacher at Forks/Crossroads high but purposefully does not have his own kids as students. He’s a mystery to most of his colleagues who probably haven’t even figured out he’s got five kids in the school.

Rosalie Hale- Katsuki Bakugo

Bakugo has a pretty similar start to Rosalie but because what happened to her is so awful and  I have problems doing that even to fictional characters that part is different. He’s still a rich kid from the early 20th century, probably turned in the 1920s, but he and his explosive temperament pissed off the wrong people who jumped him in an alley and beat him almost to death, like actually thought he was dead so they left him there (I know this isn’t that much better than what happened to Rose but man she had a horrific end to her human life). He was around 17-18 when he was turned.

While human he had met Dr. Yagi, who was probably treating one of his parents for a chronic ailment, along with his son Izuku and his ‘companion’ Aizawa and Aizawa’s ward Hitoshi. All of the others gave him the creeps but Izuku was a relatively normal boy, a bit younger than himself and accompanied his father when visiting the Bakugos. Their relationship is pretty much the same as canon where Izuku likes Bakugo a lot and Bakugo is nothing but awful to him. They end up with a sort of ‘I hate you but you’re my best friend’ relationship except neither actually hates the other. When Yagi finds Bakugo half dead in an alley he turns him because he was weirdly fond of the angry young man and more so because he thought that the relationship between the two boys was growing into something more, he and Izuku hadn’t talked about it, as he was waiting for his son to come to him, and he didn’t have time to ask. He realizes later that no, Katsuki and Izuku are not star crossed lovers like he and Shouta but he can’t say he regrets turning Bakugo other than Bakugo’s own hatred of being a vampire. He loves his angry son okay.

Bakugo had a life goal which was probably taking over the family business though based off canon that would be fashion and I can’t see him interested in that. Whatever it was he was pursuing it with the same single mindedness that he possesses for heroism and since he can no longer achieve his goals as a vampire he resents it along with the fact that the decision to become a vampire or die a human was taken away from him. He does have a good relationship with Toshinori and Shouta even though he still acts like a brat. His cover story is that he’s Toshinori’s cousin’s son and is an orphan who they took in. He kept his family’s name.

Like a number of vampires Bakugo has a talent or gift. His is his incredibly powerful and dangerous explosion ability. He can cause explosions from his palms. So far the League has not discovered him but everyone worries that one day they will and the Might Coven will be hunted and slaughtered for Bakugo’s power.

Emmett Cullen- Eijirou Kirishima

Sometime around the 1930s  Bakugo was hunting and found a bleeding almost dead Kirishima. It was either an animal attack like canon or an accident where he fell off a cliff (that feels like something he would do). I don’t think he decided to turn Kirishima, he just smelled blood and lost control. He’s still ashamed about how he reacted to this day as he’s typically better than that around humans. Luckily the others were hunting with him and were able to pull Bakugo off. He’s never held what Bakugo did against him and his enthusiasm and friendship actually endeared him to Katsuki despite his guilt. Eijirou was turned at 19 and has never had issues with being a vampire, it sucks that he had to leave his human family behind but he loves his vampire one just as much and he got the love of his life out of it. It took awhile but Katsuki and Eijirou eventually admit their feelings and they start dating. They’ve been married a few times now because Bakugo is extra and Eijirou loves confessing his love.

With Kirishima’s gift it doesn’t work the same as in cannon where you can tell it’s activated. In fact they still might not know Kiri has a gift or if they do it’s only a suspicion. He’s just harder than the other marble like vampires. Where the others have almost certainly had mild injuries (mostly from Bakugo’s explosions) like cracks that heal immediately, Eijirou has never been injured as a vampire. At all. He’s also immensely strong, because he was as a human, and that has been enhanced but he’s nowhere near as strong as Toshi was pre-injury. His cover story is he’s a foster kid they took in and he keeps the last name Kirishima.

Alice Cullen- Denki Kaminari

Like Alice Denki spent the end of his human life in an insane asylum (I refer to it as such because these were not hospitals and more like institutions of torture). I honestly can’t figure out if mental health care was so bad in the early/mid 20th century that a 15-16 year old boy with ADHD being sent to one is unrealistic or not. I’m pretty sure it was similar to Alice where he saw something he shouldn’t and was put in it to silence him.( I should probably figure out what that was sometime) Either way that’s where he ended up and of course he had to deal with electroshock ‘therapy’ which both severely messed with his memory and sorta brought out a natural resistance and even control over electricity, so he had to receive stronger and stronger sessions. This manifested in Denki’s electric power when he was turned into a vampire.

While hunting in the woods surrounding the institution, Hitoshi spotted Denki in the window and was instantly taken by the boy with eyes as golden as his inhuman family’s. He would make trips by the asylum just to get a glimpse and eventually took a night job there to meet him against his family’s advice. When they met Denki recognized him despite how careful, and honestly far away, Hitsohi had been and instead of being creeped out he was happy just to make a new friend. They would talk as long as they could and Hitoshi would bring Denki little bits of the outside world like flowers or decent snacks. And he would take care of Kaminari when his ‘therapies’ would leave him incapacitated and the nursing staff would neglect him.

Even after his family moved away to a location where the weather suited them better Hitoshi stayed working at the asylum not willing to leave Denki to his fate there (And to note this is around the time the others realized how serious Hitoshi’s feelings are and start planning how to help Kaminari or bring him into the family. Before this they were starting to suspect but kinda thought he was being weird about a guy he saw in a window. To be fair though he was being weird about a guy he saw in a window.) One night after an ice bath ‘treatment’ Denki developed a fever and over the course of a few days had full blown pneumonia. In his delirium he confessed his feelings to Shinsou who reciprocated and decided he would steal Denki away when he knew the trip back to his family wouldn’t kill the sick boy. Of course being a poorly run and over populated institution his condition was overlooked and ignored especially since a ‘specialist’ was coming to perform procedures on several patients, aka some guy with no degree was going to lobotomize as many people as he could fit into one day. Shinsou didn't find out until he came in that night and found out Kaminari was already in the procedure room. He flipped out and killed most of the staff there and took a severely injured Denki home to Toshinori in the hopes of saving him.

The change seemed to take longer than it had for the others but does end up working, though when he finally comes to Denki is much more quiet and subdued and remembers almost nothing about his past. All he knows is his name, Hitoshi’s name, and that he loves him. He also has weird headaches periodically for decades later and slowly becomes more like himself before the lobotomy. He never fully recovers his memories, a bit here and a piece there, all moments shared with Hitoshi. He decides he doesn’t need the rest, everything he needs is here and in his future with his family.

His cover story is typically as a foster kid so he keeps his last name Kaminari. Sometimes he decides to change things up and goes as a Yagi or even Bakugo’s brother when Katsuki is feeling generous.

Jasper Hale- Hitoshi Shinsou

Hitoshi’s early years were spent in his small town or village (I think the difference is size but I’m american and I don’t think we have villages no matter how small a place is so...) Everything was uneventful up until the war, I don’t know which war, civil war in US or WWI in Europe, but around the age of 12 his village was destroyed, his guardian was turned into a vampire and he had to go live with Izuku while Aizawa learned to manage his bloodlust. During that time he and Izuku grew really close and even now they have the most brotherly relationship out of all the siblings.

So after a year the four reunite with a vampire Shouta and an overly protective Izuku and a very weary Hitoshi. Everything goes on as it did for Toshinori and Izuku before they split but now with their two new additions. Yagi gives Hitoshi the best education he can without sending him to boarding school although they had discussed it. They were in a precarious position with a human boy knowing their vampire secret and they couldn’t run the risk of news getting back to the League, the governing body of vampires run by a mysterious head known only as All for One.

Years pass but unfortunately news of the Might Coven’s human pet gets back to the League and due to past history involving Nana and Toshi, AfO comes himself to deal with the situation and brings his two most powerful underlings, his adopted son and second in command Tomura Shigaraki and . A fight between Yagi and All for One happens and AfO rips out a piece of Toshi’s side and Toshi ends up crushing AfO’s head, killing him (maybe but probably not). Tomura, who had been fighting against Shouta and Toga who battled Izuku, realize they can’t win.

Now the vampire known as All Might is pretty popular amongst his kind but the Might Coven was at the time nowhere near strong enough or influential enough to fill the void that would be left by the dissolution of the League, which would happen if they killed all three of the vampires there. So they took a gamble and spared Shigaraki and Toga thinking their loyalty to AfO was limited, since most vampires don’t form bonds the way ‘vegetarians’ seem to, and that they would be happy with their promotion. They also agreed at Hitoshi’s insistence that he would be turned so they would no longer have a human knowing the secret about vampires. So Yagi turns Hitoshi and they let Toga and Shigaraki go and continue about their lives as much as they can with Toshinori’s injury.

Just like the rest of his family, Shinsou's quirk is the same as canon. If someone answers his question he can control their minds. It’s probably a little stronger than in canon too, at least against humans. Vampires have better resistance. His cover story is the most truthful, he’s Shouta’s orphan relative. He sometimes takes on Aizawa’s last name though in this school he decided to use his original.

Edward Cullen- Izuku Midoriya

The more I plot this out the more I’m taking Twilight, stripping it down to the bare outline, and making it into something totally different. Like the only similarities are Izuku and Shoto’s relationship follows Bella and Edwards, somewhat. Izuku is the tanned skinned, freckled, green eyed boy in a family of pale golden eyed outsiders. He seems completely human even to other vampires, til you get him in the sunlight where he literally shines.

I’m not sure when Izuku was born, maybe the 1700s, but he was still the first of the Might Coven besides Toshinori. Sometime after Nana’s death Toshi finds an ailing pregnant woman named Inko Midoriya who’s bizarre husband still hasn’t come home from his business trip to a foreign country. She’s convinced she is going to die before he returns and her pregnancy is so hard and so seemingly fast but her baby feels strong enough to survive so she begs Toshinori to please take care of her son till his father returns. Inko dies before she can give birth to her baby so Toshinori takes the baby out himself as a last ditch effort but there’s something not right, not with the baby or the amniotic sac that’s almost as hard as Toshinori himself. And when the sun shines through the window Toshinori’s arm glimmers and so does the new born baby. Dread at the thought that he’s holding an immortal child wells in him but he’s never heard of an immortal child being born and he’s especially never heard of a vampire with a heart beat. So against his better judgement he takes the child and runs, he can’t wait for Inko’s husband, and he can’t risk someone seeing the child and reporting back to the League. So he and Izuku, a name Inko had picked out before her death, stay on the run for years as the boy grew until he was at an appropriate age to be around at least vampire kind. Conveniently the half vampire boy doesn’t need blood to survive and seems to have very little if any bloodlust at all. Or so it seemed.

Now some differences I’m making will be Izuku’s aging. I know Rennesme ages fast and stops when she looks 21-25 but I’m thinking Izuku either ages very slowly or stopped when he looks closer to 15-18? Probably the first one. Also I think male half-vamps have red/gold eyes but Izuku has green because I said so.

His cover story is that he's Toshinori’s son from a previous relationship. They tried to call him a foster child in the past but they’re too close and Izuku uses Toshinori’s given name and dad interchangeably. He likes to use his mom’s last name as a way to honor her. Not every school but it is a pretty common thing for him to do and he’s using it in Forks/Crossroads this year. He doesn’t seem to have a gift but he’s a half vampire, his presence is a gift.

Humans

Bella Swan- Shoto Todoroki

Time for ‘technically main character number two but I preferred everyone else in Twilight over Edward and Bella so he and Izuku get put down lower on the list’. So Todoroki and Bella’s similarities are: new kid comes to live with other parent after the parent they lived with got married. I really don’t think there’s a lot else similar? But Bella doesn’t have that much back story to begin with.

So Shoto’s parents grew up in Forks/Crossroads but moved somewhere sunnier before he was born. He grew up in a city, maybe Phoenix (almost certainly Phoenix for the name alone). His parents had an unhappy marriage but I honestly don’t think it was full on abuse, I feel like Enji still neglected them but never physically or verbally hurt anyone. And since Shoto moves back in with Rei I don’t think she gave him his scar either, I think it was an accident where young Shoto pulled maybe a hot kettle onto himself? It probably was the catalyst for his parents divorce but ultimately that was happening either way. Both parents blamed the other for his accident but I think the courts realized it was just that, an accident, maybe some negligence (I don’t really know how custody courts work and what happens when a kid gets hurt and this isn’t a real fic so I’m not researching) but either way Enji gets Shoto (maybe all the kids but Rei gets visitation, comes down for the summer like Charlie? Kids go up there for vacation and holiday? Or split the kids 50/50? No idea this is still more backstory than Bella got) Enji is still a workaholic and Toya ends up running away/leaving probably shortly after the divorce anyway and Fuyumi and Natsuo eventually leave for college and are still closer to Rei even if they lived with their dad.

So when Enji gets remarried Shoto asks to move in with his mom since she’s all alone and Enji wouldn’t be and ‘wouldn’t it be nice to just be two newly weds with the house to themselves’. He makes a very convincing case and Enji is trying to let his youngest make his own choices so he agrees. Shoto moves north and it isn’t the worst, he likes both the heat and the cold unlike his parents, Rei hates the heat and Enji hates the cold. School is weird because people actually want to be his friend; there’s a group of stoic, pale, intimidating students he’s 90% sure are vampires; and there’s a  beautiful boy who hangs out with them who looks partially horrified and disgusted by him, or like he wants to eat him alive, literally.

Renee Dwyer- Enji Todoroki (Technically)

So I ended up making Enji considerably less awful.

After the divorce Enji figures out his sexuality and eventually starts dating a much younger model who goes by Hawks after he saves him from a burning building (Enji is a firefighter). Shoto offers to move in with Rei after Hawks and Enji get married, he has nothing against Hawks and they get along as well as can be expected but they are newly weds and Enji might be going into semi retirement to travel with Hawks for his career. And the thought of being around his dad so much, who can get a little overbearing when not working, is just not something Shoto wants to deal with. Though it is weird his dad is married to someone so much younger, Shoto knows several other people in his class in Phoenix whose dads did similar and they cheated on their wives and didn’t even have a sexuality crisis in their forties so he’s letting his dad slide on this. Shoto definitely has a better relationship with Enji in this than canon Shoto but they don’t have Enji’s shity eugenics baggage here either. Overall Enji in this is just a neglectful workaholic who’s learning to work on himself with the guidance of the love of his life and is letting Shoto make his own decisions like living with his mom and this is all growth.

Charlie Swan- Rei Todoroki (Technically)

So Rei after the divorce moves back home because she hates Phoenix and hot weather. Maybe she gets custody in the summer or has Fuyumi and Natsuo since Toya took off and they split the kids? (I still haven’t decided how the custody went with those two but they don’t live in Forks/Crossroads or Phoenix so it doesn’t matter.)

After returning home she either started working at or opened up a yarn shop, I see her enjoying needle craft and she’s definitely not a sheriff type. She’s just a quiet, keeps to herself woman with a few close friends; children mostly grown and just happy to spend more time with her youngest.

Phil Dwyer- Keigo Takami

He’s a model who gets saved by Enji when his apartment burns down. He offers to take Enji to dinner and keeps offering to reward him until at Moe’s insistence Enji agrees. They hit it off and the rest is history.

Things I would have said in the tags but there’s a limit so I put the actual important stuff there and ramblings here:

It took me three weeks to finish this (midnight sun) audiobook. I literally drive for a living and couldn’t finish it in less than the entirety of my library rental time. Jake Able deserves more money.

I have read twilight three times now and it never gets easier. Yes I do have terrible taste.

I hope someone reads this. It took like three months to finish this post. I still have so much in my head. I haven’t even started talking about the League. Please ask questions, I want to actually write this but my brain won’t let me write full fics so this is what we get.

#my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #tododeku #kiribaku #shinkami #erasermight #endhawks #midoriya izuku #todoroki shoto #bakugou katsuki #Kirishima Eijirou #bakugo katsuki #without the u #shinsou hitoshi #Kaminari Denki #yagi toshinori #aizawa shouta #I'm only tagging last name first despite the fact I wrote it last name second #todoroki enji #todoroki rei #takami keigo #tw lobotomy #tw asylum #tw violence #but not graphic #tw period typical homophobia #my post

[incorrectatotcquotes]

Hello everyone! I haven’t been very active lately, so I thought it was time to make a really long post to make up for it. And when I say long, I mean really long.

There are lots of references to A Tale of Two Cities in Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices, and I wanted to post this theory I have that some of Clare’s characters in TID might actually be supposed to mirror characters from ATOTC. I have already talked a little bit about it in a previous post, but I wanted to make a whole long theory, so here it comes. Major spoilers for both The Infernal Devices (and maybe all of Shadowhunters) and for A Tale of Two Cities ahead. And of course, I’m no expert, so there might be some factual wrongs, and these ideas are just theories. If you find any wrongs, please tell me about it :-)

Will = Sydney?

This one is almost already confirmed. It is mentioned several times in TID how similar Will Herondale is to Sydney Carton, even Will himself knows it. Will seems to be quite upset about it (understandable, if all the stories are true, it might not be very nice to read about your own decapitation), but accepts it as the truth. Will and Sydney have similar personalities, they both seem cold and selfish at first glance, but later on proves to be good people. They both save the main character from their imprisonment in the start, Will helps Tessa escape The Dark Sisters and Sydney manages to get Charles acquitted from the false accusation. Later on they both also sacrifices their lives to save said main characters, Will covers Tessa’s body to shield her from the exploding automaton in Clockwork Prince (he survives, but he is totally prepared to die) and of course Sydney took Charles’ place at the guillotine. Will and Sydney both die at the final chapter of book three (ensuring heart break for us all). As mentioned earlier, they are both quite unpleasant characters from the start, both being rude and mean to the main character, and as readers we are annoyed with them at first, but later on learn to feel sorry for them instead. In Will’s case, he acts the way he does because he believes that he has a magical curse placed on him, making everyone who loves him die, so therefore he must make everyone hate him. Will’s only friend is Jem Carstairs, who Will dares to show his real self to, and who is sick and dying. His solitude and belief that he is unlovable (plus his belief that he unintentionally killed his sister) has made Will depressed and self-loathing. Now, we recognise that, don’t we, ATOTC-fans? Sydney’s problem and the reason for his bad behaviour is his alcoholism and depression, which is not a magical curse, but it might be a metaphorical curse. He also hates himself, and believes that he cannot be loved. Then there is the unhappy love they both have. Will is in love with Tessa, and he does not know that she loves him back, mainly because she is engaged to Jem (whom she also loves, and I’m not going to explain the very complicated romance in TID, it would take too long, if you haven’t read it, I’m sorry for the confusion). Sydney is in love with Lucie, who does not love him back, because she is happily in love with Charles. Will also quotes and almost quotes Sydney at various points in TID, like “you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am into fire”, and calls ATOTC and especially Sydney ridiculous, which honestly sounds like something Sydney would agree with. But Will gets to survive and sort out his life, which Sydney never had the time to do, so I think Will might have that life that Sydeny thought he might have led if he had been a better person. There are other examples of how similar they are, but I realise that this is becoming less of a tumblr-post and more of an essay, so I’ll leave Will and Sydney at this. But my conclusion is that I think Will Herondale was indeed meant to mirror Sydney Carton.

Gideon = Charles?

I’ll try to make this part shorter. So, if we assume that the theory that Will is supposed to mirror Sydney is true, is it not a little bit strange that he appears in TID and Charles does not? After all, Charles is one of the main characters, and Sydney is a side character. But maybe Charles does appear in TID, just a little more subtly. I read some theory (though I can’t remember where) that maybe Jem was supposed to be Charles, and I can see where that is coming from, Jem being a loveable gentleman and everything, but some things just don’t add up. Such as Jem being proud of his family, and his loyalty never being questioned, and not least the fact that it has been confirmed that Jem is based on the poet John Keats. But if we see it from the other end, maybe a TID-Charles will appear. Charles Darnay was born into a very rich family and after his mother’s death he was thought to not show any sympathy to the poorer people his uncle (and his father) were taking advantage of. However, as a young man he realised that the family’s actions were wrong and fled the country, deciding to become a teacher and lead a normal life from there on. He married “beneath his status” and lived very happily with his wife, even though they faced hardships, such as losing a child. Charles is later accused of being an enemy of England, and later also of France, so whatever he does it seems none of the two countries fully trust him. This sounds a lot less like Jem, and a lot more like Gideon Lightwood. Gideon was raised by his father and not his uncle, and he came back to England after living in Spain, but pretty much all of the rest fits perfectly into his story too. He is born into the rich but cruel Lightwood family, and is the first of its children to leave it, after spending time abroad and understanding that what his father is doing is wrong, He is later on mistrusted both by the residents of the Institute (because he is a Lightwood) and by the Clave (because he openly disagrees with his horrible father). Gideon’s appearance does not match Charles’, however. Charles is described to be dark haired and dark eyed, whereas Gideon is described to have sandy-blond hair and green eyes. I would not think the characters’ physical descriptions were very important, if it weren’t for the fact that Will perfectly fits the description from ATOTC. However, Gideon’s physical appearance does match that of Charles Darnay in the ATOTC TV-series from 1989.

(Sorry about the terrible quality of the image). I think Gideon Lightwood might be meant to mirror Charles Darnay. 

Sophie = Lucie?

So Sophie Collins is a loving and accepting person, who still manages to not be naive, and to be brave when she has to. This is not really evidence enough to say that she is supposed to mirror Lucie Manette, because they are common traits in characters. I really do not have a lot of evidence for this part of the theory, it is more a feeling than anything else. But if we assume that the theories about Gideon and Will are correct, there are at least a few similarities between Sophie and Lucie. Sophie is happily married to Gideon, despite all they have had to go through together, such as the loss of one of their children. Both Sophie and Lucie are described as very pretty, and they both become the comfort of the people around them. I’d also like to mention that Will does proclaim his love for Sophie (like Sydney proclaims his for Lucie), when she has knocked Jessamine unconscious with a hairbrush, although maybe Sydney put his in a nicer way than Will did. Sophie also manages to stay strong through all of her problems, something that Lucie also does. So there is not a lot of evidence, but I would still like to say that I think Sophie Lightwood is supposed to mirror Lucie Manette, perhaps the Lucie we would have seen if nobody had been there to protect her when she was still small.

Tessa = The Seamstress?

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not only going to base this part of the theory on her relationship with Will. If anything, it’s actually a pretty weak argument considering The Seamstress and Sydney only had a few hours together, while Tessa and Will were married for almost sixty years. However, I think there is some evidence that points to Tessa being quite similar to The Seamstress. I think that Tessa might mirror different characters and historical people, depending on who she is with, for example being the Fanny Brawne to Jem’s John Keats. But with the characters mirroring ATOTC characters, I think she is supposed to be The Seamstress. For this one I again have very little evidence, but bear with me. We know very little about The Seamstress, pretty much only that she is born a peasant in the French countryside but manages to make herself a seamstress in Paris, something I imagine would have taken an immense load of work and determination. She is an orphan, and the only family she has left is her cousin, whom she loves very much. She is only twenty years old when she is denounced to the revolutionaries and guillotined, although she is innocent, and we never find out who denounced her. Tessa is born a poor girl in New York, her parents died when she was very young, leaving her with an aunt and a cousin (Nate) whom she thought was her brother. When her aunt dies, Tessa moves to London where Nate is already living. She is stubborn and determined, and she loves her cousin, making her risk her life several times in the first book in the attempt of saving him. We never learn what Tessa did for a living, but I think (and this might be wrong) that she always seems to have an interest in clothes and fabrics that none of the other characters has. Again, that is only what I think, and it might very well be wrong, but it is not impossible that she might have been a seamstress before coming to London. Tessa repeatedly gets captured over the course of the story, and is deemed insignificant by some Clave members, and suspected to be working for the wrong side by other Clave members. Tessa’s cousin is the one who betrays her, and although we don’t know who betrayed The Seamstress, her cousin is the only person we know that she knows, so I would say that that cousin is a good candidate to have done it. She also describes Will (okay, so I did bring up their relationship again) as looking  angelic quite a lot, and Will calls her “Angel Tessa”, which I think might be a paralell to how The Seamstress and Sydney ask each other if the other was sent to them by God. So, there isn’t a lot of evidence, but I think Tessa might be meant to mirror The Seamstress, at least a little bit.

Sorry that this became such a long rant. Again, this is the theory of an amature, so it is far from perfect, and please tell me if you agree, disagree, or find any faults in my reasoning!

#ATOTC #a tale of two cities #TID #the infernal devices #charles dickens #dickensian #cassandra clare #the shadowhunters #classic literature #lit #literature #not an incorrect quote #fan theory

[myheartissetinmotion]

hello, internet

I’m really about to expose myself here huh

anyway, this post is the brainchild of my quarantine. Beginning somewhere around April (what even is time) and ongoing to this day, I’ve written screenplays and fics, made pinterest boards and spotify playlists, dreamed up choreography, and plotted storylines, all as a product of both escapism from this insane world and yearning to be part of my favorite tv show in any capacity.

guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, buckle your seatbelts and allow me to introduce you to “Zoey’s Extraordinary Cousin”, Victoria Evelyn Clarke.

(most of this was written before s2 premiered, and I won’t always be changing her whole story as it would be required on this post, but I’ll continue to add fics which modify stuff to fit s2 canon)

general stuff

name: Victoria Evelyn Clarke (named after a song-first-and a friend-middle)

nickname: Tori

age: 23

height: 5′9″ (plenty of opportunity for the brogrammers to joke about how short Zoey is when compared to her younger cousin)

hair: auburn, medium length, wavy

eyes: hazel, she wears glasses

family: her father is Mitch’s brother, so Maggie and Mitch are her aunt and uncle, making Zoey and David her cousins

occupation: just graduated from a BFA musical theatre program; hired to play piano in the SPRQpoint lobby, stays there for most of the time that her story is shown and eventually books a role in the LA area, which causes her departure from the show (if she’s just a recurring character)

a few of her functions as a character

disclaimer: I’m fully aware that a lot of concepts I’ve come up with for her couldn’t actually happen on the show (especially if I played her, which of course is the ultimate dream), but I just wanted to put all of my ideas into one place

because she ends up working at SPRQpoint, Victoria serves as a bridge between Zoey’s work life and family life, making the story more cohesive

due to the blood relation and her empathetic nature, she can tell when people are singing to her. Zoey tells her about the power right away, and she provides insight, taking on a similar role to Mo but with the added bonus of already knowing her family and getting to know her coworkers better. A complication in the powers is always interesting, and it opens the door for many more possibilities

she’ll bring more musical theatre songs to the table and diversify the music genres discussed on the show; it would also be really interesting to have a character that plays an instrument and see how that might factor into heartsongs

she’d strengthen the theme of music bringing empathy through storytelling; through her insight and empathetic nature, she sees qualities in some characters that Zoey and the audience haven’t seen yet

she’s been the “therapist friend” all her life, and a big part of her arc is learning how to take care of herself and realizing that her own emotions are just as valid as those of the people she helps; this gives a contrast to Zoey’s initial awkwardness when it comes to emotions and helping people, and they help each other through everything

the fact that she quickly falls for Leif sends Zoey into a bit of a tailspin; she feels that she has to tell her what else he’s sung, which results in a question about the ethics of the power and privacy. This’ll give more depth to Leif (who we’ve barely heard from emotionally since mid-ep-11; there’s a lot behind “things change, people change” that I’m curious about) along with bringing out a protective side to Zoey and deepening the Clarke family dynamic

personality and characterization tidbits

hufflepuff through and through

sees the best in people

loves music and is really knowledgeable about it (see Zoey and Mo in the relationship section down below for the impact of this) and has escaped into it her whole life; this makes her almost a foil to Zoey as they balance each other out

just as awkward as Zoey; one can absolutely tell that they’re related if only by their speech patterns and appearance

has a playlist for every imaginable human emotion

bi and hopeless romantic, but has never really felt wanted

unashamed theatre kid

quick-thinking and witty, intelligent but idealistic, and sometimes comes across as naïve

passionate about activism and working for change

feels and cares very deeply

see pinterest board and spotify playlist below in the references section for more

relationships with other characters

Zoey Clarke: her cousin. After graduation, Victoria visits her family to be there for them after the funeral, and this begins her storyline. The extended Clarke family is tight-knit, and she and Zoey have been really close friends throughout their entire lives. They can read each other well, and the established relationship is really clear in their dialogue and the way that each is one of the few people that the other feels genuinely comfortable around. Partly because Zoey never had a younger sibling, she was always very protective of her younger cousin. This comes into play in a huge way during Victoria’s storyline, beginning with her second heartsong. One of Zoey’s internal conflicts throughout this situation is the decision of how much to share with Tori of what she knows due to earlier heartsongs; she feels it would be an invasion of privacy to tell too much, but she also feels at the start that Tori is being naïve and a bit too trusting and doesn’t want her to get hurt. This struggle deals with both Zoey’s personal relationships and the ethics of the power.

Leif Donnelly: the reason for the aforementioned internal conflict. Victoria falls hard and fast for him during her first tour of the fourth floor, leading to her second heartsong. When confronted by a dumbfounded Zoey about it, she denies it as nothing more than infatuation at first sight, but this gets harder to believe as time goes on and Zoey has to watch her cousin and sworn rival genuinely becoming friends. After a few weeks, she learns and has to accept that Victoria’s feelings are genuine. Reciprocation, though, is a whole different matter; they find this out by way of another heartsong, which is also how Victoria learns of her own addition to the power. Witnessing that song pushes Zoey over the edge, and similarly to s1e5, she eventually blurts out the truth about Leif’s previous heartsongs and relationship with Joan, which leads to Victoria’s very conflicted heartsong rendition of “Toxic” (because if no one sings it to him at some point in the series, that’s a seriously missed opportunity). We see their later conversation: Victoria isn’t sure how to bring it up, but she doesn’t have to, because the events of the end of s1 obviously did take a big toll on Leif and he wants to be honest with her about it (see chapter 7 of singin’ from a streetlight). It would be interesting if she had something to do with the way he eventually found out about the power; Victoria lives very much by her moral compass, and she would feel awful about knowing things that he doesn’t know that she knows. If I had to sum up the relationship in terms of how it serves the show, Victoria sees the parts of Leif that Zoey and the audience (for most of the season) don’t, and he’s one of the first people who’s ever made her feel wanted.

Mo Montgomery: these two get along splendidly. So splendidly, in fact, that Zoey sometimes even regrets introducing them, especially when she can’t sleep due to their late-night, belt-to-the-rafters karaoke sessions that can be heard through the apartment walls. Mo finally has someone in the building (Victoria is staying with Zoey through the duration of her arc on the show) who properly appreciates music, and the three of them (plus Max and whoever else learns about the power-Simon absolutely has to in season 2, come on) become a sort of ragtag let’s-figure-out-this-crazy-power group of friends.

David Clarke: I’ve always thought that the backstory revealed in ep 5 of David being a former theatre kid was really interesting. He and Victoria have bonded over this for a long time, and she feels betrayed when he leaves it behind due to the toxic masculinity explored in ep 5. I’d love an ep called “Zoey’s Extraordinary Brother” or something that goes deeper into that; Victoria definitely has a hand in helping David embrace that part of himself, and she’s almost as close with him as she is with Zoey.

Max Richman: she’s actually known him for quite a while, having done a bit of community theatre with him before he even met Zoey (because you cannot tell me that this man, who can canonically sing and dance and genuinely enjoys it, wasn’t one of the only boys in his high school theatre program and didn’t ever play Georg Novak at some point). He seemed to have gone through some Good Old Fashioned Character Development in ep 12, what with the “focus on yourself right now” and everything, but there’s still quite a lot to unpack that was revealed between 7 and 11. Honestly, I just want to see someone Talk Some Freakin Sense Into Him, and an old friend who’s been removed from the situation but knows both him and Zoey very well is a pretty good bet.

Simon Haynes: Victoria, along with Mo, acts as Zoey’s confidant for the central love triangle. She’s a bit put off by the idea of Simon’s cheating, but sympathizes with both him and Jessica after learning the whole story; upon meeting him, she thinks he’s wonderful. (he honestly gets some of my favorite dialogue on the show...who else can pull off all of those deep conversations along with “this is a classy affair, of course there’ll be pigs in a blanket”? in this house we appreciate JCS)

Tobin Batra: the first person she meets on her first tour of SPRQpoint, much to Zoey’s dismay. As the audience learns more about him (which I’m so freakin excited for, by the way), he and Victoria share quite a bit of banter while the season goes on. Tobin also thoroughly enjoys trying to push Leif and Victoria together, and there are a lot of fun scenes in which he has a blast acting as a wingman for his oldest and newest friends.

Mitch and Maggie Clarke: they mean absolutely everything to her. Victoria’s parents are usually supportive, but they often consider her career as an entity separate from her as a person and discuss it as if the decisions are up to them; she was always able to come to her aunt and uncle when she needed to, and she’ll always be grateful to them for it. As  previously mentioned, the extended Clarkes are really close, and Victoria deeply regrets not being able to make it to Mitch’s funeral. At the start of her arc, she believes that she doesn’t have as much right to grieve and that she has to “stay strong” for her family. Over the course of her storyline, she realizes that there are people that are there for her just as much as she’s there for them. This includes Leif, Zoey, and Mo; Maggie is one of the most important of these for her. Family is at the core of this show, and at the core of Victoria’s being.

Emily Kang: first of all, I’m still hoping she gets “Everything Changes” from Waitress in season 2. Victoria admires her wit and they enjoy each other’s company; when needed, she loves babysitting her second cousin.

Abigail: give her a last name gosh darnit. I hope she comes back as an intern in season 2; she and Tori would be SUCH good friends, and it might be neat if they had a duet of sorts, so that she’d be signing with the strings carrying on her part as Tori sang.

Aiden:  okay, I knew from the beginning they’d be best friends oh my god. She’s closer in age to him than she is to Zoey; she was often babysat by her cousins when she was little, and that’s how she got to know the kid next door, the kid who air-guitared along to the radio and made plans with her to travel the world when they got older. Naturally, she had the biggest crush on him, which Zoey thought was hilarious. They still support each other’s music and keep in touch to this day.

I’m not sure what’s going to happen in season 2 with new characters, etc, and whether characters such as Joan, Autumn, Howie, Eddie, Deb, Ava, Jessica, etc are coming back. My ideas for this character and her relationships will obviously change as the show progresses (I say as if anything will happen-it’s one of the only things I have left to hope for, okay, voice in my head, shut up) and I’m looking forward to seeing how the story continues to unfold.

some potential heartsongs

“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from The Phantom of the Opera: the first that the audience sees of her. After an episode of Zoey Going Through Some Stuff, she needs to talk to her dad, and realizes once she reaches the cemetery that she’s not the only one. It’s raining, much as it was when they tried to choose his plot. It’s just the beginning of the song; on “all that you dreamed I could”, Victoria’s voice cracks-she’s crying as she’s singing-and she trails off, then the instrumental continues while they talk. I mean, we’ve already had a song from an ALW musical...IT COULD WORK.

“Absolutely Smitten” by Dodie: after her first tour of the fourth floor, to an oblivious Leif. I’ve always wondered why they haven’t used the swings in the choreography yet, so I just decided to do it because Why Not. The vibes of this song would be perfect for the vibes of SPRQpoint, and it works for the scene as well; it’s vulnerable enough to be the beginning of real feelings, but cutesy enough for her to deny it to Zoey as nothing more than infatuation. If we can put the railing on the staircase back in from the pilot, it fits pretty well as a sliding-down-the-railing song, if that makes sense.

“Human” by Christina Perri: a visit to her parents. enough said. It serves as a major release for Victoria as well as the reveal that she’s far from the put-together person that she tries to be; I also feel like this kind of song would fit well into the show, and it’s more recognizable to the mainstream than most of the other songs on this list. This is also a wake-up call to Zoey that her cousin really is hurting, and the “help” that prevents the song from haunting her comes from the fact that she’s the first person to really understand Victoria’s relationship with her parents and be there for her.

“Strawberry Blond” by Mitski: the epitome of Yearning™. A few weeks have passed since “Absolutely Smitten”, and as much as Zoey would like to stay in denial about her cousin’s feelings, the universe isn’t going to let her; “I love everybody because I love you” is pretty difficult to twist out of context. This one is short and sweet, starting at the second verse and skipping to the repeated chorus. The choreo epitomizes the paradox of combined awkwardness and grace that lies at the heart of Tori’s character. She floats and spins, propelling herself around the office as if lifted from within by the music, never taking her eyes away from Leif. This is when Zoey realizes that she actually has to deal with it, prompting the swear guitar title card; this song and the next two are all part of the same episode.

“Victoria” by Jukebox the Ghost: this song is Leif’s; she accompanies it. Zoey comes downstairs to the lobby a few hours after the workday ends and hears the piano, but there’s no one playing it. It would be really interesting to see the way that instrumentals happen in heartsongs if there are actually instruments in the room; just something fun to play with in regards to the power. (yes, I named her after this song specifically for the purpose of this song, and I’m aware that if the full song is taken into its own context it doesn’t portray a particularly healthy relationship but the piano part is cool and the song just has this electric energy okay?!?!?!) The choreography is very La-La-Land-esque; it’s sweeping and explosive as they make their way across the lobby. At the second verse, she starts actually playing the piano; this cut of the song goes to the last chorus after the second verse. This is also another example of Tori’s being able to tell when she’s being sung to (the way that she finds this out is explained in jumpstarted (see below), but that wouldn’t work in this universe, so this song is how she finds out if she were actually a character). She’s in utterly joyful disbelief, going in between trading incredulous glances with Zoey and allowing herself to fall into the choreography. This song is the turning point for Zoey when it comes to the relationship she’s witnessing; while they’re on the piano bench, Leif smiles at Victoria in a similar way to the end of episode 7, and this sends Zoey’s protective-older-cousin-mode into overdrive. Feelings are one thing, but reciprocation is quite another, and this is when Zoey realizes that she has no choice but to tell Victoria the truth.

“In Case You Don’t Live Forever” by Ben Platt: let’s say that at the beginning of this episode, there was a dream that Zoey had about an old memory with Mitch in which she watches her younger self heartsing this to him, and she’s attempted for all of that time in between to remember the melody. A few days after “Victoria” takes place, Zoey is struggling to figure out how to bring up the needed conversation, and she tries to preface it by explaining how much Victoria means to her. She doesn’t get very far in her speech before she hears the music she heard in her dream; this song is Tori revealing how much she’s always looked up to Zoey, which brings her to tears and causes her to blurt out the last line of the episode: “I need to tell you something.”

“Toxic” by Britney Spears: tbh, this song once came on the radio and I thought “...wait a minute”. It’ll also be more recognizable compared to this list of showtunes and indie pop. This song takes place on the fourth floor during the next episode; Mo has come to pick up the cousins for their weekly lunch, and he and Tori are once again trying to give Zoey a crash course on musical pop culture. Today’s lesson is pop of the early 2000s, and Tori tries to give a demonstration by singing the first verse, almost unable to due to how hard the three of them are laughing. They walk past the conference room where a meeting is taking place, Leif sitting at the head of the table, and Zoey barely notices the instrumentals that have been building in the background until Tori stops short and the all-too-familiar riff (yknow, the daaaaada dadada) comes operatically from her throat rather than the invisible synth. Mo can tell by Zoey’s expression that the demonstration, which has stopped in the real world, has turned into a heartsong. As she sings, she makes her way into and around the conference room, spinning chairs and overdramatically throwing herself against walls, as if magnetically drawn to the subject of the song but trying to pull herself away. It’ll show how conflicted she is, but it’ll also be freakin’ hilarious.

“Unusual Way” from Nine: After the aforementioned much-needed conversation in the episode which “Toxic” appears in, Leiftoria (is that an unintentionally awesome ship name or what) is official. I’m not sure how long her story on the show would last, but this song marks the end of it; she books a role at a fantastic dinner theater in the Los Angeles area. In the scene of her last heartsong, Tori, Zoey, and Leif are sitting in an airport lobby. The ticket machines are down, and dozens of impatient passengers are waiting with them, listening to the drone of announcements and tinny pop music played over the loudspeakers that slowly morph into a melancholy arpeggio. If anyone reading this hasn’t listened to this piece, I highly recommend it, by the way-it’s utterly haunting and you’re definitely gonna cry. The cut starts at the second verse and skips the solo third verse to go right into the duet. There’s nothing extravagant about it; as in the musical itself, this song is carried by the sweeping, raw emotion behind it.

references or something-what do I call this one

spotify playlist: a living document (chronologically) of potential heartsongs, songs that fit her situations, and songs that just have her Vibes.

pinterest board: an ever-growing, ever-changing representation of her character. I’ve pinned everything twice so that there can be sections without disturbing the full aesthetic; each section is named after a lyric from a musical that represents that aspect of her character.

tiktoks: there are a few I’ve made about her, some actually in one or both of the universes I’ve written about (see below) and some just for The Vibes or other potential story ideas. @can.you.hear.it.echoing

jumpstarted: the first fic for anything that I’d written in years; it started out in my mind as three scenes and came out to 29 pages. This is an au in which she works at the karaoke bar; she couldn’t actually be on the show this way, but I just think it would be neat-it would only be canon compliant through the middle of s1e11 (there are a few time shifts), so here we are. (seriously though please read this one I’m very proud of it.) This story does share aspects with what she’d actually be able to become as a character, and these are further explored in my second fic.

singin’ from a streetlight: a collection of oneshots that goes through most of the potential heartsongs listed above, from Zoey’s pov. chapter 7 is an interlude, back in Tori’s pov, because Zoey doesn’t see her and Leif’s much-needed conversation on the evening of “Toxic”.

but i’ve never been quite alright: I thought of “Human” as a potential song for her after the entirety of “singin’ from a streetlight” had been published, so this is a seperate fic to explain that scene; it fits in both of the above universes.

scaffolding and christmas lights: cheesy fluffy office party holiday fic because why not. It’s fun to consider how other glitches in the power might manifest; in this one, anyone that Zoey makes eye contact with sings their heartsong to the world. this doesn’t really go with the timeline of either universe, but it’s an interesting idea that might be worked into either

with a little motivation, i’ll go far: she experiences her first heartsong, “California” by Ricky Montgomery, at the airport as she comes into San Francisco. I just this song fits her well at the beginning of her story-this was a really fun one.

it’s the terror of knowing what this world is about: taking the little bit of David’s canon backstory and RUNNING with it. he and Tori would have bonded so much over musical theatre when they were younger, and she must have felt so betrayed when he tried to abandon that part of himself; this fic explores that

‘cause i see every part of you, and i can tell you see me too: Leif shows Tori his sketchbook and Feelings Ensue. (I want to see more of him as an artist, it’s such a fascinating aspect of his character, please Austin please)

don't look too deep: I watched mamma mia 2 and this is the result. #laurengrahamfortanya2k21

have you been too much on your own: this came out of thinking about les mis too much for the thousandth time; it’s an au of chapter 2 of “singin’ from a streetlight” just because I thought it would be kind of hilarious

suddenly we all got young: the brolympics strike again. this came out a bit angstier than expected but it was so much fun to write; I’m really loving what I get to do with her in s2

just keep losing my beat: written during the midseason hiatus; finally found a way to fit her properly into s2 canon. quite proud of this one

perfection is so quick to bore: I fell so in love with the song “I Hear a Symphony” that I had to write something around it, so here this is. it’s very projection-y and rather cheesy but I tried to capture the emotion

screenplays: there are a few that I’m working on and this post will be updated as I finish and revise them

if you’ve read this far, thank you. I just wanted to get her out in the world before season 2 started so I could be as canon compliant as possible (and it happens to be Dec 21, both my birthday and the day that Planets Are Being Cool on the solstice so it’s a great day for manifesting). I would give anything to be part of this show in literally any capacity; from the beginning I loved the concept and by now, as cheesy as it sounds, it feels as if it’s almost knit to my soul. the entire cast, crew, and creative team are such wonderful people (at least from my limited view, but they seem to be very genuine) that I’d love to work with, and this idea has been a sort of a coping mechanism through everything going on in the world and in my life. This post will probably be updated as I come up with more content and the show develops during s2 and beyond. even if nothing comes of this, I love my Tori dearly, and I hope anyone reading this enjoyed learning about her as much as I’m enjoying creating her story.

#zoey's extraordinary playlist #zoey’s extraordinary playlist #zoeys extraordinary playlist #zoeysplaylist #zoeys playlist #zep #my life #my writing #tv tag #music tag #zoey clarke #leif donnelly #mo #david clarke #max richman #simon haynes #tobin batra #mitch clarke #maggie clarke #emily kang #the phantom of the opera #dodie #christina perri #mitski #ben platt #britney spears #nine #ricky montgomery

[danganronpa-21]

No relationship is perfect, even fictional ones (no matter how much we want that to be untrue). What are the worst fights each of your couples have gotten into? For Byakuya and Aoi, what was the worst parent-child fight?

Your question pains me, but I shall answer.

ALSO, TW:  Parental Abuse Mentions in Naegiri’s and Kuzupeko’s . Please don’t subject yourself to this if you think it will trigger bad memories or harmful feelings. It is absolutely the last thing I would want for you. Stay safe, and remember to reach out if you find yourself in a position with harmful thoughts or feelings. You don’t deserve to go through anything alone, and you shouldn’t.

NAEGIRI: 

**Note: This one in particular is based a lot in headcanon. If you feel differently, that’s totally okay.

These two are a complicated situation. They are deeply in love, but one of their worst fights was actually a series of fights. They all just pertained to one big issue: their engagement to one another. 

See, Makoto asked Kyoko to marry him and she very enthusiastically said yes, but they failed to consider another party who felt that they had to be consulted on it. And that third party is Kyoko’s grandfather, Fuhito. Now, there was no way that he was letting this slide — He had kept Kyoko from having any meaningful relationships outside of her work for the most part, and he’d met Makoto. He thought that Makoto was the one putting all of these ideas in Kyoko’s head that Fuhito himself didn’t agree with. He had actually told Kyoko a few times to break it off with Makoto for the sake of her legacy and career, but she had stubbornly refused. So when Kyoko announced her intent to marry him… well, Fuhito was furious. To the point where he actually disowned Kyoko in the middle of her engagement party.

Now, considering that in my personal headcanon, Kyoko has abandonment issues (stemming from the fact that Jin, her mother, her godfather/uncle, and most likely Yui all ‘abandoned’ her in one way or another), this affected her very deeply. Since Fuhito was the one who cared for ever since she was young, and the only stable figure in her life that stayed around for awhile… She actually wanted him to take her back, but wanted to do so without giving up Makoto. As this was occurring and Kyoko was venting out her frustrations, Makoto slowly grew to realize that Fuhito was... not a good parent. She told him tales of being forced to fight for his affection, of being shamed when she failed, of being disallowed privacy and relationships, of being shown conditional love, and of being used to get back at her father. Even Fuhito’s policies on Kyoko’s emotions struck him as totally off. He grew concerned that she’d been groomed into thinking that he was the person who had cared for her before anyone else, and so she revered him.

This is what made the two of them start fighting. Kyoko was trying to get Fuhito back, and he just wasn’t budging. Meanwhile, Makoto was trying to convince her that she shouldn’t be going back to him at all. The differing opinions led to quite a spat between them, as Makoto didn’t want to force her to do anything but didn’t want her to go back to someone who was clearly bad for her. Kyoko, on the other hand, understood Makoto’s side of things but still found herself rooted in her emotions. She spent a lot of time fighting with herself, knowing that Fuhito was bad for her, but still feeling like she should go back to her relationship with him. This ended up manifesting her relationship with Makoto, and it got so bad that she actually called off their engagement once or twice as she tried to figure things out. Thankfully, they did get back together, but they remember it as a pretty harsh time in their relationship.

KUZUPEKO:

If the fight started with someone, just putting it out there: it probably started with Fuyuhiko. He’s the more confrontational of the two, more prone to stirring up trouble if he’s not careful. And he wasn’t. Their biggest argument probably started a couple months into the two of them sort of having a flirtationship. If you can recall, the two of them originally agreed to not officially start dating until Peko could get herself into a position where she wasn’t so reliant on this idea that she was Fuyuhiko’s tool and nothing else. I think her struggle to abandon this idea was why the two of them started fighting in the first place. They were probably taking a walk together, having a pleasant conversation, when Peko brings it up without thinking. At this point it’s almost like reflex to her, saying she’s happy to walk with Fuyuhiko if it’s “what her master needs from her”. This probably isn’t the first time it’s happened in their little walks, and I think that’s what sets Fuyuhiko off.

Has Peko been getting better with this kind of thing? Of course. He’s impressed with the progress she’s made so far. But so often, she still keeps regressing to treating him like her master, and it’s begun to get under his skin in ways he can’t describe. In this particular moment he feels himself losing a bit of patience with her, and without thinking about the repercussions of having done so, he snaps at her. It takes Peko entirely by surprise, and for a moment, she’s not sure how she’s going to react... but then the hurt comes bubbling up before she can stop it.

All of these words come tumbling out of her mouth before she can stop them, reminding Fuyuhiko that it was for him that she became a tool, and that it was his parents that pushed her to be that way. She asks how he can dare shout at her for not doing a good enough to job to fix the problem that his parents caused. I’ll let anyone reading this decide whether or not she starts to tear up at the mere suggestion that this is somehow her fault.

And while Fuyuhiko cannot stand to see Peko so upset, there’s a part of him that’s hurt, too. How could Peko suggest that he would ever want that for her? The hurt from her words comes flaring up before he can stop it, and he asks her whether she’s felt this way their whole lives. Peko narrowly avoids the question, and to Fuyuhiko, that’s the only answer he needs. He leaves without another word — well, almost without another word. When Peko asks where he’s going, he promptly tells her to leave him alone from there on out.

And that’s where they leave it that night. From then on, it’s a series of horrible silences between the two of them whenever they’re together. Their friends repeatedly try to repair their relationship as Peko’s search for her own identity goes on, but they are unable to get the two to reconcile for at least a week. Peko wishes to reconcile with Fuyuhiko but feels like she doesn’t know how to, so she enlists a team of friends to help her out. Her little team consists of Mahiru, Ibuki, and Sonia — the girls who are usually most gung ho about helping her out with the whole identity thing. They devise a proper way for Peko to disclose her feelings and explain herself, without hurting Fuyuhiko’s feelings further. Meanwhile, Fuyuhiko is interested in fixing things too, but... he’s a little too stuck in his own feelings to figure out how he’s going to do it.

So to help him figure things out, Hajime puts on his therapist hat and sits Fuyuhiko down to talk about his feelings. They spend hours detailing his childhood with Peko and how their relationship came to be what it is. Hajime helps him work through his side of things, and then, when he’s calm enough, they work through Peko’s side — and Fuyuhiko is reminded why she might feel the way that she does. Extra care is taken to explain to him why she might feel like that, and slowly but surely, Fuyuhiko relaxes and realizes that he made a mistake. After calming down and coming up with apologies, the two are able to talk it out and end up feeling a lot better... but it’s still the most that they’ve ever hurt each other.

SONDAM:

Honestly, I don’t think Sonia and Gundham are big fighters. Like I know every couple fights and it’s totally natural, but I don’t think that they probably fight all that much. When they do fight, though, I imagine that it gets heavy. They can both be skilled at shouting and make everything awkward for everyone else by doing that.

The subject of their biggest argument, though, would probably be the whole “can we get together” argument that’s born mostly of caution and sadness, rather than actual anger. Per someone’s writing request, I did write about this (https://danganronpa-21.tumblr.com/post/613213832365670400/if-i-may-intrude-upon-this-event-could-i-have-a), but a short explanation would be that the two of them get into an argument over whether they can actually be together. They are mutually in love with each other, but due to Gundham’s perception of his demon blood, he refuses to put Sonia in that kind of danger.

And in spite of me having written it, I imagine the argument spans beyond the written one. Sonia likely was not ready to let things end the way they did, and attempted to persist with the relationship talks. Gundham, on the other hand, was persistent in his attempt at resisting. Several times they tried to sit down and have a discussion about each other’s side of things, but it always ended up being very emotional with both of them insisting upon their respective sides. Sonia would end up teary-eyed, promising Gundham that she didn’t care about what dangers it could present, and that she wanted him to at least try to be with her. On Gundham’s side, he’s adamant that she silence her feelings for him because no matter what, he’s convinced that he will hurt her. He’s convinced a close relationship with her will only put her through intense pain. He cares too much for her to risk it.

And that’s where their friends come in. After watching them have their heartbreaking back and forth, they try to devise a plan to convince Gundham that the relationship is safe to pursue. After all, they both want to be together. It’s just that Gundham’s demon blood makes him worry that he simply can’t be with Sonia. So what do they do? Put Mikan on the case. She’s a nurse, and thus has a convincing understanding of anatomy. If they can show her how to act convincingly enough, they know they’d be able to persuade Gundham to give a relationship with Sonia a chance.

So that’s exactly what they do. Since Mikan had already done blood tests on all of them in the past to get their results (in case of a need for it) and to ensure that they were all healthy after being Remnants, all she had to do was open up Gundham’s files and try to convince him with some technical jargon. Which is what she ended up doing, claiming that she had done some advanced tests on his blood which did equate them to being half demon and half angel, but that they had come back with a muddled result -- one that indicated that Gundham might have some semblance of control over who would be able to touch him. She claimed that should he wish it, it would be possible for him to safely come in contact with Sonia and any of his other friends, so long as he trusted them enough. 

And that big fight? It was over from there. As soon as Mikan had them both convinced, that was where it ended.

YASUKANON:

I think the really big thing that Yasuhiro and Kanon ever get into a fight about is when Kanon gets pregnant with their first child, Leon. While her announcing her pregnancy and their engagement were a happy moment that coincided with all kinds of glee, actually preparing for marriage and family life is something entirely different for them. Though they do have Hiroko around to guide them and help them avoid the same mistakes she and her ex made... It’s still really, really hard for them.

I think what they get into a fight about is each other’s behaviours. While the pair love each other very much, I imagine going into marriage and motherhood, Kanon starts to get concerned with Yasuhiro’s more... childish approaches to life. She worries about whether or not they rushed into this, and whether or not they’re ready to have a child together. The more she looks at their life together, she starts to notice that maybe they’re not, and greatly questions what they are getting themselves into. Yasuhiro, on the other hand, doesn’t see any of what they currently have going as a problem. He’s under the impression that everything is in place, and that they’ve set themselves up to have a perfect life. I imagine this is probably a product of their conflicting upbringings. Kanon’s family was wealthy and her parents were able to cater to her in many different ways, so her home with Yasuhiro and her being in college at the time didn’t seem like much. Not including Hiroko’s income, they only have what Yasuhiro gets from his job at Hope’s Peak — at this point, Kanon would be doing post-Tragedy college, so most of her energy would be focused on school. The two of them really hadn’t even been together that long when Yasuhiro proposed, either, versus what Kanon knew love to be growing up. It’s a constrast to what she knows, but similar to what Yasuhiro grew up with — maybe even better! So he doesn’t see why it’s a big deal.

Unfortunately, this comes across to Kanon as “not taking their situation seriously”. And while she’s not so insecure in her relationship with Yasuhiro as to accuse him of actually not caring, she is deeply worried that he doesn’t realize the gravity of their situation. That general anxiety manifests into a sort of accusatory behaviour, which starts the fight with Yasuhiro. When she starts throwing out the idea that he doesn’t care about their situation in the way that he should, his feelings are pretty hurt. He loves Kanon, and he already loves their baby, so he doesn’t understand why she would ever think that he doesn’t care. So the two of them end up in an argument about Yasuhiro not caring and Kanon not understanding that this is just how he cares.

It eventually ends when the two decide to break off the argument and take some time alone. Hiroko ends up sitting down to talk with Kanon and explain things. Sort of telling her tales of what life was like when her son was growing up, and why he might not think their current status is such a big deal. Furthermore, she pledges her support to the couple and ensures her that she, too, wants to help take care of her grandchild.

“I’ll teach you two to be independent, but I don’t mind helping you out a little bit so you can stay on your feet while you’re learning.”

After that conversation, Kanon would eventually go apologize to Yasuhiro for the way she acted. She’d assure him that she didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, and that she was really just scared because she’d never been in this position before. Yasuhiro would accept the apology, and apologize too for making her think that he’s unreliable. They promise to be as reliable as possible to each other from there on out, and foster a good home life for their future child.

AOI AND SAKURA:

Coming up with something for Aoi and Sakura to fight about is... hard. They’re both kind and cheerful people, and they really do get along well. I think the subject of their worst argument was absolutely someone that Aoi was dating.

Now, Sakura’s not usually rude about the people Aoi dates. She just wants her mother to be happy, and as long as the person treats her well, she doesn’t mind.

However, this would be one of the situations in which Sakura finds that this person isn’t treating her mother properly. And unfortunately, it’s in a way that isn’t noticeable to Aoi. This partner is a guy I’m just going to call Kenzou, for the sake of giving a name. In Aoi’s presence, I’d think he comes across as a charming guy. He claims to think that Aoi’s a real catch, but doesn’t treat her as such. He’s such a smooth talker that a lot of the shadier stuff he does tends to go right over other people’s heads, but it never goes over Sakura’s.

Kenzou absolutely plays mind games with Aoi. Pushing her to spend less time with her friends and her daughter and more time with him, breaking up with her over little things and then rushing to get back together with her the next day, and probably even bringing other women around to make her jealous. She ends up so convinced by the good times the two of them end up having together that she doesn’t consider the bad to be that big of a deal. Thus, she ends up getting kind of defensive when Sakura suggests that Kenzou might not be the right guy.

Aoi wonders why her daughter would tell her something like this, assuming that maybe she’s just not comfortable with the idea of her mother dating someone so seriously. Rather than being upset with her initially, she sits her daughter down and has a discussion with her about Kenzou. She tries to calmly talk to her about how she feels, but Sakura only ends up more upset. She ends up insisting that her mother doesn’t get it, for she’s actually upset about the way Kenzou treats her. Sakura gives her best attempt at explaining why she thinks Kenzou is a bad fit, but Aoi ends up hurt and they argue briefly.

The only reason why it’s a brief argument is because Sakura chooses to just shut it down, resulting in a tense evening between the two of them with limited words and interactions. Before bed that night, Aoi attempts to reconcile with her daughter, but Sakura is unwilling to hear it. It’s unusual for her to be so stubborn on something, so honestly, it does make her mother worry. Aoi sleeps really poorly that night; she can’t stop thinking about what Sakura told her. Come the morning, she calls up Kenzou to meet him for coffee, and dumps him.

When she returns home to tell Sakura what happened, Sakura is initially rather apologetic about “making her break up with her significant other”. Aoi immediately dismisses the thought, giving her daughter a big hug and thanking her for looking out for her. She then apologizes for not listening initially, promising to take her concerns about her partners seriously from there on out.

BYAKUYA AND JUNICHI:

Their biggest fight is definitely an identity fight. About who Byakuya thinks Junichi should be, versus who Junichi wants to be. The fight doesn’t end up going exceptionally far because Junichi still finds himself bound by Byakuya’s expectations, but also because he’s only nine. He’s unfortunately pushed through the expectations and demands of his father as he isn’t old enough to “know better”.

It starts with Junichi doing poorly on a task Byakuya assigned him as apart of his son’s “personal studies”. And when I say doing poorly, I mean totally screwing up. Like little Junichi just bombs it. Can anybody really blame him? He’s nine years old. He’s not prepared for this kind of thing yet. Of course, Byakuya doesn’t see it that way. He has high expectations for his only son.

This leads them to start arguing about whether or not Junichi is trying hard enough with his studies and if he’s fit to be the Togami heir since he apparently “doesn’t care about his studies”. Naturally, Junichi is angered by his father’s suggestion that he doesn’t care. After all, his whole life he’s tried to do everything he can to please his father, including throwing away or hiding certain parts of himself that he might want to embrace. He’s done all of that in favour of being the perfect heir that his father wants; only for Byakuya to suggest that he doesn’t really care and doesn’t want it that bad. The mere idea is so infuriating for Junichi that he just up and refuses to speak to Byakuya for three days. 

It’s a frustrating three days for the two of them for sure. Byakuya continues to try and lecture his son about taking his responsibility seriously, about not acting so childish, and about not respecting his elders... yet to no one’s surprise, the speeches don’t sink in. Junichi keeps right on ignoring his father for what he accused him of, and furthermore actively refusing to do any of the things his father expects of him. All expectations are thrown out the window, and god it kills Byakuya. Here he is, with his one and only shot at having an heir, and he’s beginning to realize that he’s completely ruining it -- not only just from a Conglomerate standpoint, but from a fatherly standpoint. At the rate he’s going, he’s certain that the boy is going to grow up to hate him. He knows he’s going to have to do something.

And honestly? Given that this is a reoccurring issue with the two of them, I’ll admit that I don’t think that they ever solved it entirely. But I absolutely believe Byakuya was able to stop Junichi and apologize for accusing him of not caring, and explaining that he was putting pressure on him because that’s how he was raised. Given that he had to try and beat his other siblings, Byakuya had the responsibility to try and be the best all the time. In his head, he thought that he should raise Junichi the same way, but the problem became that Junichi had no competition. Shaming him into wanting the title wasn’t going to make him want it anymore. So he insisted that they try to work together more from there on out, to fix things as best they could... It’s tough to say whether it worked, but it at least got Junichi to start talking to him again.

#danganronpa 21 #naegiri #kuzupeko #yasujima #sondam

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Not to jump in on the kink discussion, but it's interesting that Frank uses Daddy to refer to himself? And it's supposed to be the in the gross sleazeball way. But it also ties into H2 with the whole that room was Frank's hell because he took and took from others, and now he can't. Esp. since there are so many guys like Frank out there who uses Daddy kink as a power trip. Which is at odds with the Cenobite ideal that you have to both give and receive (albeit in a fucked up way)

Having first watched Hellraiser in the years after Fifty Shades became part of popular culture, Frank feels like a very contemporary villain who is an answer to characters like Christian Grey.

I don’t view Frank as a dom or part of the kink community at all - he’s quite clearly a sexual predator. And I think he takes all of those trappings you might see from a dom and warps them in a directly predatory framework. 

That said, I have always suspected that Frank’s behavior when it comes to the Cotton family is more specifically driven by a need to have what his brother has. Frank’s selfish, hedonistic lifestyle deprived him of the kind of life that Larry has. Frank wants the authority and (misogynistic in this case) ownership that the term daddy implies - but none of the nurturing, emotional connection, or responsibilities.

But there’s even more that you could discover when you dig deeper and look at all of the other male and female relationships of all dynamics function in the films:

Larry by contrast lacks all strength and authority in his role as father and head of his family’s household. This honestly has a huge impact on both Julia and Kirsty’s lives. 

Julia cannot depend on Larry as her husband. If you actually view her as submissive (which I don’t, at least not in the way I understand it), he’s the worst possible partner for her and it’s not surprising that she resents him so deeply after years of marriage. For Julia, I suspect it’s mostly the fact that he bores her sexually and has no real connection to her desires. But for an actual submissive, I would imagine he would be a greatly emotionally unfulfilling partner.

I also feel like Larry’s lack of strength became a massive stressor in Kirsty’s life. He literally asks her to do the emotional labor for him in his marriage when he can’t figure out Julia’s problem. She wakes up from a prophetic nightmare frantic to reassure herself that he’s unharmed.  When her undead uncle and literal hell demons threaten her family’s safety, she immediately takes the reigns on the situation without even questioning if Larry should be the one doing so. 

Steve and Kyle are similar to Larry in that regard, ultimately too weak to let Kirsty just fucking rest.

In many ways, I feel that what Elliot/Pinhead did for Kirsty in H2 when he sacrificed himself was a much larger, more important thing than just being this moment of heroism or nobility. It was literally the first time in any of the films any man ever took total control of a situation on Kirsty’s behalf, with only her safety and well-being in mind. This to me is a huge part of why this moment feels so emotionally intense, and why it’s so important to my interpretations of the Pinsty dynamic and how I write it in my fics. 

Like, every time I see that scene, the emotions you read on their faces are probably the most powerfully intimate feelings we ever see expressed in the entirety of the first two films. Nothing between Frank and Julia ever comes close. I’ve spoken before about how Doug Bradley conveyed so much in that one look he gives to her (the warmth, the understanding, the gratitude…) but the expression on Ashley’s face? Equally deep and complex. There’s sheer relief, catharsis, triumph, and quite possibly the most depth of emotional vulnerability we ever see her expressing. This is the one moment where after all of her terror and suffering, she is finally free.

Before he sacrificed himself, she was to the point of breaking down. Crying in Tiffany’s arms. Out of breath and fragile in her last ditch effort to defend herself with the photo of Elliot. She can’t even run that far when channard bursts into the room, she just huddles in a dark space with Tiffany, too tired to keep fighting.

Indeed, that moment may have even been the thing that gave her the strength to do all she did in the last few scenes of the film to defeat Channard and help Tiffany escape. 

#discussion of kink #pinsty

[petriichvrs]

DAY THREE   :   personal edition.

001.   𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐘   &   𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘. “i’m sorry,” he tells her, voice cracking, and he doesn’t know what he’s sorry for anymore. for the sins of his father? for ginny’s ruined childhood? for the fact that he is draco malfoy, and not someone else?

we joke around a lot about the draco + ginny dynamic, but the reason that i love the noxtms version of them so much is because... we had a thread very early on between these two characters who, by RIGHTS, should despise one another, and instead what we came away with was something very real. human, if you will. there’s so much to unpack from their past, especially given how they met, and what happened afterwards. draco’s father was the reason that ginny lost... all of her childhood innocence, really, and every year after only added another reason to dislike the malfoys. the fact that we took all of that and turned the expected on its head, but did so in a way that i still think about, today - pretty iconic behaviour, honestly, and the WHOLE reason i think so highly of them as a dynamic. 

002.    𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐌   &   𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄.  he had heard the first syllables, imagined the flash of green light, had the terrified thought that he wasn’t ready, he wasn’t ready... but this woman who he had spoken to for the first time in front of his arch had tackled his would-be murdered and saved his life.

i know that technically, the neville / merry dynamic formed by CHANCE with the benefit plot drop. i know a part of me at the time did that on purpose, because we had already established that these two people should have something, some complicated relationship born from the fact that they’re COUSINS, but merry’s father took part in the torture of neville’s parents. went to jail for it. deserved to die for it, really. i think about it a lot, though, because it’s a pretty good example of the way in which all of these families and friendship circles can entwine - things are so tight, that’s just the way it is, but from that tightness comes situations like these. times when things aren’t black and white, but shades of grey. honestly, birdie, every single dynamic that i write with you makes me so happy. i’m not going to dedicate another POINT, but i will say that if i did, i’d use pain-fear-need for nev & ginny, and i’d have to touch on kodi’s distaste for niko, and ginny winding mirabella up at the weird sisters, and you know what? kingsley + arthur, who are kind of ours, too. i could go on. i want to go on, because i want to do so much more. please and thanks.

003.    𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘   &   𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄.  if it was honesty she asked for, surely she had to know : it was honesty that drove them to their little entanglement and honesty in return that broke it off. no matter their best intentions, it seemed their collective relationship with truth was scandalous at best and damning at worst.

admittedly, i always forget that george and merry haven’t had as much on the dash as what i think they have. i think that’s the mark of a good connection. i didn’t ever imagine there being so much layers to the relationship formed between merry and the person that she had an affair with, but then... you gave me george, and he’s brilliant. they’re brilliant. there’s something so heartbreaking about the ways in which they needed one another, and the ways in which they pass by one another, only sometimes able to collide. there’s a different sort of need with each of them, and i really love that this sort of complicated relationship formed between a weasley and a lestrange : yet another pair of people who should hate one another, united by something... indescribable. daisy, george brings me such joy, all of the time. you write him incredibly, and his struggle is so real. ginny and george are so near and dear to me ( the video of george in gof clutching ginny to his side to protect her as the de’s attacked the campsite lives rent free in my head ), and i could have mentioned them, too, and gone off on them just as much. but george and merry are unique. and i love ‘em ! 

004.    𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄   &   𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐈 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐅. everyone’s favorite bug eyed bastard, apparently.

you guys. i’m kidding. i’m not, really, but, this will change subjects rapidly very quickly so just stick with me. i was going to do an actual dynamic, again, i had my little list, but... i didn’t realize until tonight how much people enjoyed reading niko, specifically the ways he interacts with people. i’m a little self conscious about him all the time. there’s things about his character that i didn’t ever write explicitly, such as... the reason for the way he is, etc- and i love him, but i worry that i don’t characterize him properly, or that people will perceive him wrongly. most of all i live in fear that his SORT of character will turn sour, eventually, and people will stop being interested in him. i think it’s a testament to everyone else that niko has become... noxtms nikolai, because i couldn’t have shown so many different parts of his character if it hadn’t been for all of you - birdie with kodi, blo with nell, of course lex with kaela and of course gia with damien, sam with viktor, nancy and selene, and... u know, even the uncle igor memes. thank you for taking him and allowing me to write him opposite of all of you, and allowing me to create dynamics that i really enjoy. they’re... very special to me, thank you.

BUT. like i said. i really... didn’t know how to narrow this down. i have been blessed by... the girl gang ( aura, mafalda, ginny ) that likes to feed a giant squid. an AMAZING luna played by mozzie, who i’m admiring so much and can’t wait to start swamping in threads. finally, the hermione that we all deserved. an ALICIA SPINNET who’s training ginny, now, who’s like a sister to her, who she loves so much. heather by atlas, a dynamic that hasn’t resurfaced, yet, but was so fun and chaotic, at one point. and then. we go deeper. i’ve got MALFAM thanks to blo and cherry, i’ve got sybill’s favorite student lavender thanks to beth, i get to write with a fantastic tonks because of gia ( who’s going to be an EQUALLY fantastic molly ), and sybill finally has her daughter, and i love her, and i’m so excited about her. there’s gin’s drinking buddy dudders and merry’s favorite bookshop owner, penny. and i’m. just. full of love tonight, you guys. i really am. thank you so much. thank you for writing with me, and forgiving me when i’m just so fuckin busy. i really do love you ALL, and if we don’t have anything yet, i cannot wait until we do. 

#nox.task #i will do a very unpersonal one also but now im in my feelings

[mobius-prime]

58. Special - Sonic and Knuckles Mecha Madness

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Mecha Madness

Writer: Michael Gallagher Pencils: Pat Spaziante Colors: Kyle Hunter

Oh boy, time to see what "Operation Last Resort" is! Turns out, it involves a portable roboticizer - the same one, in fact, that partially roboticized Bunnie all the way back in StH#3. Apparently they actually took it with them when they rescued Bunnie, and Sally's been having Rotor fix it up this whole time in case of such an emergency. It even has a built-in neuro-overrider to let the person inside keep… their… okay, hang on. I'm calling BS. You're telling me that this entire time they've had a portable roboticizer which functions normally, lets the person keep their mind, and as revealed later in the issue even comes with a reverse function that can deroboticize any 'bot that it's created? Can you say plot holes? First of all, since this is Bunnie's roboticizer, it should be the simplest matter ever to stick her in it and give her her organic body back. I guess you could fudge around and say, well, there's too many risks since her process was interrupted and whatnot, but the other problem comes with the fact that two different issues now have had this same drama about someone being roboticized and not having kept their normal mind. How different would literally the last issue have gone if Sally, in response to Sonic's request, had said "Well sure Sonic, we have a nearly-risk-free option right here in Knothole Village. With your consent we'll throw you in it and have Robotnik defeated and in prison by lunchtime"? There would be absolutely no risk of him losing his mind and becoming a slave of Robotnik's! Sure it would come with physical risks, but since when has Sonic ever balked at a risk of death or injury before?

Man, the only way we'll be able to get through this issue is if we just pretend there's no plot holes, so I'll stop my yapping and move on. Knuckles comes to, and after deliriously trying to punch several of the Freedom Fighters present Sally kicks him in the back, which makes him recognize her, because I guess she's the only one who's ever kicked him in the back like that. Healthy relationship, guys! They get a bit gaga over each other for a little while, reminiscing on their past together - apparently Sally's father used to vacation on the Floating Island when Knuckles' father was still guardian and before Robotnik's takeover. Really, this issue makes it seem like they have a residual crush on each other, with Sally in particular still being affected by it. Man, Sally, how many crushes can you have at once? I still insist she's polyamorous. Things would be so much easier for her if she could just date multiple people at once. After a bit more discussion, Sally tells him the plan, and apparently Knuckles just cannot wait to scoot his booty into the 'botmaker and get roboticized.

Everyone actually acts quite terrified by using this option, with Rotor even questioning Sally if this makes them "no better than Robotnik." While it's played for laughs with Sally's response of "Et tu, Rotor?" honestly all this makes me think is that these literal kids (none of them is over 18 at this point) are definitely traumatized by all the crap they've gone through in this war. For basically their entire lives, getting roboticized has been synonymous with psychological warfare and death, with only a handful of examples otherwise (such as Uncle Chuck and the people he rescued a few issues ago, but even then that's an incredibly recent occurrence). It's clear they're having a hard time getting over this association in their minds, apart from Sally, who's the pragmatist of the group, and Knuckles, who… well, has spent most of his time away from the war anyway, and thus doesn't have the same fear.

As all this is going on, Tails is the last to evacuate Knothole himself while Mecha Sonic lays waste to all its buildings, and as such is spotted and targeted. He tries to fly away to safety, but it's hopeless. He's still within reach of Mecha Sonic's blasters, and Mecha Sonic locks on… and…

…hesitates! Sonic, you still in there buddy? He seems to be fighting back somehow, even though Robotnik's apparently upgraded his roboticizers since Sally's old attempts to thwart them. Not a problem for Robotnik though, since he has nuclear bombs, apparently! Jeez, man, he's really serious about taking these guys out for good. After a little while, Mecha Knuckles emerges from the roboticizer, and engages Mecha Sonic in battle, conveniently right before Mecha Sonic can tell Robotnik the coordinates of Knothole. They duke it out midair for a little while, until Mecha Sonic eventually hits Mecha Knuckles hard enough to knock him back straight toward Robotropolis, on a direct course for wherever Robotnik stores his nuclear warheads. Mecha Knuckles, determined to take out Mecha Sonic no matter what, grabs him with a magnetic pull, and together, they hit the stockpile.

Oh, boy.

Everyone back home is in tears. Certainly, as confirmed by Nicole, there's no way they could have survived a nuclear blast like that, not even with upgraded robotic bodies. Sally has to take a few moments away from the group to hide her tears. It's pretty damn bleak.

So, turns out that the blast just straight up ripped a hole in the middle of Robotnik's city, vaporizing basically every building in its path and irradiating the crater. This is some serious damage. No mention of the fact that this probably just killed untold numbers of roboticized Mobians who were stuck inside that section of the city, however, because Robotnik then emerges from an underground shelter, straight into the radiation - how messed up is this guy, dude? He drinks motor oil like it's a nice glass of wine, never exercises, and already lives in a city made out of pollution, and now he can just walk right out into the site of a nuclear bomb explosion with no issue? Anyway, he then happens to find Mecha Sonic's mangled body, somehow still barely alive, though heavily malfunctioning. Oh, and Mecha Knuckles is alive, too, so Robotnik gets punched in the head.

Mecha Knuckles isn't doing so hot, but incredibly, he recounts how just before the impact Mecha Sonic switched their places so he would take most of the brunt of the blast instead. Mecha Knuckles heads back to the Freedom Fighters with Mecha Sonic in tow, to Sally's immense relief, and they get ready to deroboticize Knuckles.

Aww, poor Sonic. Literally, he thinks he doesn't deserve to be saved after what he did, despite it not even being his fault. That's some seriously heavy stuff for a fifteen year old, man. Of course, Sally isn't about to take that. Nicole is able to run some tests and confirm that somehow, back when Sonic collected his one billionth ring and went on that crazy drug trip with the Ancient Walkers, it gave him a magical protection around his "life force," which allowed him to keep some of his personality even while roboticized. I don't know how the hell all that is supposed to work, but essentially, she's certain she'll be able to use that life force protection to deroboticize him even without the help of any machinery, since all of Rotor's equipment was destroyed in the attack on Knothole.

Miraculously, it works, and after a few moments, Sonic is back to normal, although suffering from one hell of a migraine and unable to remember anything from his time as Mecha Sonic. At first everyone is quite happy to have him back, but then he sasses Knuckles right out of the roboticizer, who glides away in a huff, and from there things start to turn sour.

Yeah, you didn't think everyone forgot about his supposed disobedience of a direct order, did you? He's handcuffed and marched away in preparation for a court-martial, as he's now suspected of treason! Remember, from Sonic's point of view, this is all he remembers: got denied his proposition, walked away and passed out, woke up in very brief agony before everything going blank, and then woke up again on the floor with a migraine. He has no idea what has even happened these past two issues, and now he's suddenly being dragged away in cuffs. Can you imagine? This poor guy.

Don't Let the Island Hit You on the Way Down!

Writer: Kent Taylor Pencils: Harvey Mercadoocasio Colors: Kyle Hunter

Well, we couldn't have an epic issue like this without a couple of silly "nothing" stories following it, so time to see what the Chaotix were doing while Knuckles was away being a robot and everything. Turns out they're under attack from the "Fearsome Foursome," a random group of Mobians who are apparently just interested in kicking some ass. The Chaotix get slapped around for a little while before regrouping and fighting back.

It goes on for a weirdly long amount of time considering nothing even happens in this story until like, six pages in. All they do is punch each other around. Suddenly, a mysterious figure emerges onto the scene: Mammoth Mogul, a gigantic mammoth with delusions of grandeur. Apparently, he was actually born in prehistoric times, but a chance encounter with a Chaos Emerald granted him mysterious powers and immortality, and as such he declared himself ruler of Mobius while sitting on a throne wearing a loincloth that leaves almost nothing to the imagination. People eventually couldn't take his manspreading on the throne any longer and ousted him as their leader, and so he just bided his time for millennia until the modern day, where he assembled this really weird ragtag team and is now intending to take the Floating Island's Chaos Emerald for his own, since apparently there are absolutely no other Chaos Emeralds for him to choose from on the planet right now.

The Chaotix respond by punching him in the face in unison, and he immediately retreats, insisting he'll be back at a better time. He literally just jumps into a hovercar straight out of the punch and zooms away at top speed while essentially doing the stereotypical villain thing of shaking his fist and yelling "I'll be back, mark my words!" C'mon, man, you're apparently this immortal god-being from prehistoric times and four random dudes slapping you is enough to drive you back? What a wuss.

Eel of Fortune

Writer: Michael Gallagher Pencils: Dave Manak Colors: Kyle Hunter

This story pretty much only exists because Michael has overestimated how much people might care about the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters. P.B. Jellyfish encounters Octobot swimming at top speed and tries to stop and fight him, but turns out Octobot, no longer a big bad boss of the ocean, is himself running away from someone even more terrifying - Eel Capone! Yeah, this guy is basically just a big mob boss joke, even getting his own "hired mussel" (geddit? geddit?) to beat the crap out of P.B. His other friends in the F.F.F.F. find him unconscious, and Bottlenose decides to take things into his own hands by beating up Eel Capone in ninja getup, while simultaneously murdering all his lackeys! Wait, what?!

That is cold-blooded, man! No one even makes mention of the fact that Bottlenose just brutally killed like, a hundred sentient beings. They just drag Eel Capone off to "Aquatraz," and then sing a silly, pun-filled song about the battle. Guys, I can't stress this enough, but your friend is now a literal murderer. Just because he was dressed in a ninja disguise while he was doing the murdering doesn't make him any less of a killer. These weren't even roboticized mussels or anything, they were literally just some living individuals who made bad life decisions. What kind of a Freedom Fighter keeps the head honcho alive but murders all the lackeys who were just following orders? Jesus christ.

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #special - sonic and knuckles mecha madness #era 2 the freedom fight #writer: michael gallagher #writer: kent taylor #pencils: pat spaziante #pencils: harvey mercadoocasio #pencils: dave manak #colors: kyle hunter

[imakemywings]

Character asks… Idril and Maeglin? 👀

Character Ask Game

Idril

one aspect about them i love

Her practicality and intelligence! Idril is the only reason so many people from Gondolin survived Melkor's assault; without her having done such an ace job building the secret path and keeping it secret, Gondolin's populace might have been wiped out even before the Third Kinslaying.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I've seen such a variety of shitty takes about her relationship with Maeglin. Headcanons are all well and good but canonically Idril mistrusted him, but did not mistreat him, despite Maeglin's unwelcome feelings for her and I'm always 😒 when people act like she was somehow at fault for what he did.

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

Idril was an adult during the Darkening of Valinor and chose herself to come with her parents across the Helcaraxe

one character i love seeing them interact with

Turgon! I love their father/daughter relationship and I think they share a lot of common interests.

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

You've def made me more interested in what her relationship with Aredhel was like. Presumably they saw a lot of each other because they both lived in Gondolin for quite a while, but that doesn't necessarily mean she was especially close with Aredhel.

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

She actually did try to foster a positive relationship with Maeglin when he was young, but as he got older and continued to press his romantic feelings they became more estranged

Maeglin

one aspect about them i love

You're really testing me here aren't you Heather? XD I think Maeglin's fall from grace actually interesting, because as I've mentioned before, Maeglin on the surface has almost everything he could want: he's safe in Gondolin, he has his own craft/practice, he's well-respected by the Gondolindrim and held in esteem, particularly after the Nirnaeth, he has the love and respect of his uncle the king and is on the king's council as an adult...and yet it's not enough. He cannot content himself with what he has, but obsesses over what he can't have, and so what might have been a happy story--his chapter in Silm ends on a very positive note ("thus all seemed well with the fortunes of Maeglin")--it ends up souring again because of his own actions.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

He's a villain. Yes, he had a shitty childhood and that was hard. It in no way excuses his behavior as an adult. "Cool motive still murder" etc. etc. His difficult youth does not excuse his creep behavior towards Idril, his betrayal of the entire city and his cooperation with Melkor, or his effort to murder a child so he could better force Idril to marry him. He may be a villain intended to be sympathetic (Because don't we want his life to turn around when he gets to Gondolin? Aren't we rooting for him in his chapter?) but he's still a villain.

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

Maeglin is a really good liar.

one character i love seeing them interact with

Turgon honestly...they have such an interesting relationship to me and I've written about the canonical depiction of it before. It really seems to me like Turgon tries to take on a parental/mentorship role with the only child of his late beloved sister, but jury's out on whether Maeglin never trusted or appreciated Turgon in return, or if he did, but eventually chose to betray him anyway.

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

I can't really think of any? His relationships with Aredhel, Eol, Idril, and Turgon are the ones most interesting to me and he gets a lot of content with those relationships. I guess digging more into his relationship with Aredhel could be interesting, because I don't really imagine that one was totally smooth sailing either (although obviously much better than with Eol).

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

Maeglin was not especially aggrieved by Eol's death. He was sad, ofc, because that was his dad, but he was also relieved, because Eol was threat to him. The guy tried to murder him. And even before that, it doesn't seem that Eol and Maeglin had a very positive relationship. That's not to say it was all bad, but I think the better part of Maeglin's grief for Eol's death was the death of the chance for his father to ever be a decent dad.

#asks

[lee-luca]

I read your ZhuiYi fic and it makes me wonder if it’s omegaverse. Not that I mind or anything, it’s just I see this everywhere lol. It’s so cute. Also, no hate, I just don’t get why some people ship LSZ and JL. Aren’t they like cousins? LSZ is LWJ and WWX adopted son and JL is JC and WWX nephew. It’ll be very weird if WWX was JL father-in-law if he is JL uncle at the same time. By the way I’m all about ZHUIYI!!!

Regarding LSZ/JL, even though I don’t really ship them, I’m not squicky about them either. They’re just…there, I guess. A popular ship that I can’t get into for some reason. I suspect LSZ/JL are so popular because they’re the main junior characters–they have significantly more of a backstory than anybody else (we don’t even know how old LJY is orz) so it might be easier to write about them. And it wasn’t like anybody knew they were kinda-sorta cousins in the beginning since LSZ’s relationship to WWX wasn’t revealed until much later. Even then, they weren’t raised together, so I doubt they’d really think of each other as cousins, and WWX (who has always considered himself JL’s uncle and LSZ’s kind-of-parent) might be the only one who would find the situation awkward.

(Anyway, I think the ship gained ground in the English fandom because it was first popular in the Chinese fandom. While I’m not an expert on Chinese culture, from what I’ve seen on Twitter about how some straight Chinese men thought WWX and JYL would get together in CQL, it seems like adopted children aren’t really considered part of the family, which may explain why Madam Jin was so against JYL being alone with WWX at Baifeng. So if we consider all that, LSZ, who is the adopted son of an adopted son, might be a perfectly reasonable partner for JL in (ancient?) Chinese culture.)

I’m leaving the logistics of conception up to the reader to decide. How A-Yu was conceived wasn’t really important to the fic, and I didn’t want to get into all the other common sources of conflicts in omegaverse (e.g. heats, scenting, hierarchy, etc.) because at heart this fic is about emotions and I didn’t want to detract from it. If this were omegaverse…it’d be a much longer fic lol because there’d be a lot of worldbuilding to set up. If you’re interested in how the fic might change (or what questions need to be answered) if it was explicitly set in omegaverse, I’ve listed some bullet points under the cut.

1) Is everybody’s secondary gender common knowledge? Does LSZ know LJY is an omega? Does LJY himself know he’s an omega? What are LSZ and JL’s secondary genders? Do their secondary genders affect LSZ&LJY and LSZ&JL’s relationships? How does this affect LSZ/JL and LSZ/LJY’s compatibility?

- I’d probably work under the assumption that everyone knows everyone’s secondary genders unless they’re being deliberately suppressed. I don’t actually know how ABO would work in GuSu, because it feels like omegas would be educated separately from alphas the way female cultivators are separate from the male cultivators. In which case…would LJY and LSZ manage to preserve their friendship through this separation after they present (assuming LSZ is an alpha)? Their genders alone would prime everybody around them who’s seen their close friendship to assume that they’d get together once they’re of an age to actually be interested in relationships, which itself might influence LSZ to see LJY as a potential partner earlier. In which case…this fic would not exist since they’d be happily together since they were teenagers and I’m sorry JL but you don’t get the chance to kiss LSZ in this AU lol

- What would JL’s secondary gender even be?? Honestly I could see him as any of them, and it would probably barely change the plot. LSZ/JL as an A/A pairing? Good for them, showing the finger to gender norms. It’d have the same problems as a non-omegaverse M/M pairing in that males (like alphas) cannot conceive and are expected to be able to lead their sects, probably frowned upon due to the impossibility of conceiving children and also female cultivators all China over will be weeping that two eligible bachelors have taken each other off the market. LSZ/JL as an A/B pairing? Similar to A/A, honestly. A/O? If JGY was alive he’d be scheming to marry JL off to GuSu, so he could be the undisputed leader of the Jin sect, and everybody would probably have been undermining JL’s ability to be a sect leader since the day he presented, which is…well, actually I don’t really know. I have my own ideas of how this might affect their relationship, but I suspect that you can find more varied opinions by looking up LSZ/JL ABO fics.

- If LSZ is a beta…idk man I doubt it’d do much for the plot, honestly, since betas are almost like normal people and all that’s different in this universe would be LSZ having to deal with is LJY’s omega nature.

2) Is this a typical omegaverse where omegas are considered…well, mostly just breeding cows?

- God I hope not. I want LJY to be able to cultivate. If this is how omegas are viewed, then LJY would probably be an extremely frustrated ball of energy, and there’d be a lot more self-doubt in the fic, including LJY wondering if LSZ even likes omegas (if JL was an alpha or a beta in this AU).

3) Heats. How common are LJY’s heats? Does LSZ help him through them, does LJY deal with them on his own, or does he just use suppressants all those years?

- Assuming that LSZ and LJY did not get together despite being very close A/O friends, and assuming that LSZ still managed to like JL, does LSZ try to help LJY through his heats? Does LJY let him? If suppressants are available, LJY would probably just stay on them throughout the entire marriage, and if they failed he might force LSZ to take A-Yu somewhere far from their home while he deals with it himself. I doubt LSZ would try very hard to help with them, given that he’d either be (1) still hung up over JL in the first year and (2) worried that LJY wouldn’t want to be touched by him in the second and third years.

4) Scenting, marking, and bonding.

- Scenting won’t really be a huge part of the fic plot-wise, I guess, but it would add another layer of “things LJY wishes LSZ did out of love”. He’d be happy to have LSZ’s scent on him (assuming that bonded/marked/married omegas are expected to be marked to as not to attract the attention of other alphas), but he wouldn’t dare to scent LSZ back. And A-Yu would be a wonderful mix of LJY and LSZ’s scents (and A-Yu’s own scent), but it’d just make LJY think about what he’s missing out on.

- Does LSZ mark LJY when they slept together the first time? Does LJY stop him? Who knows. Honestly, it could go either way, and both ways would hurt. Option (A): no marking, no bonding, would result in a marriage that is purely contractual, the way it already is in the fic, but with LJY feeling that this marriage is nothing like what he wants in more ways than just LSZ not loving him. Where is the comfort of having a mark and knowing that your partner wants everyone to know you’re together? Where is the comfort of having a bond and knowing that your partner has willingly bound themselves to you for life? Option (B): marked and bonded. LJY would learn that being marked and bonded means absolutely nothing if LSZ’s heart is not in it. It’s just like a brand, like a mark of possession, except that the owner doesn’t even want to look at what he possesses. Marked and bonded, the feeling of being unwanted is even stronger.

- Okay, but happy ending: after they talk it out, LSZ might scent LJY and ask to be scented back right before they fall asleep, so that they’d sleep as completely mutually scented family for once. And when they exchange ribbons (on their fourth anniversary), they finally mark and bond like they mean it (or, if they’ve already been marked and bonded, they go through the motions again and LJY revels in knowing that it finally means what it wants it to mean).

As you can see…a lot of questions need to be answered, and I didn’t want to dedicate an entire chapter to setting the scene so I just…left this to the reader’s imagination haha

#Better Late Than Never #BLTN #omegaverse BLTN #Anonymous #ask #BLTN AU

[marypoppinswasmyfatherbitches]

Drax and Gamora as Mantis' bickering parents. Discuss.

A cute idea! I never thought about it that way!

It’s obvious that Drax views Mantis like a daughter (and best friend), very much comparing her to the daughter he lost because of their similar innocence, and the way he protected her during the battle on Ego. And Gamora is practically a mother figure to the entire family (without ever being a condescending, disrespectful, or inappropriate romantic partner and best friend to Peter, of course). She’s more of a general team matriarch. ^_^

So putting the two together regarding “parenting” Mantis just makes sense! Gamora and Drax are very different, and their bickering in canon and in fanfiction amuses me. While Drax always means well in wanting to protect Mantis and teach her new things, Gamora is on average more rational than Drax, and she would probably roll her eyes or want to quickly intervene if she ever thought his latest ideas were stupid or dangerous, whether it be fight and athletic training, practical jokes, overly blunt or confusing divulgence into sexual matters, or other lessons on “how the world works.” I love the character development of Mantis going from a stranger that Gamora originally didn’t trust, to a friend she greatly cares about, wanting to protect her and take under her wing, someone she empathizes with due to her former brainwashing by Ego, and now she can’t help but love Mantis’ contagious enthusiasm, her all around sweet and caring nature.

Honestly, all of the different dynamics amongst the group and individual characters are really interesting. We often easily view Gamora and Peter as parents to Groot for several reasons: because they’re a couple, they’re sorta unofficial co-leaders, they’re the only ones (besides Drax) with a history and memories of a healthy (although temporary) family life/childhood, and are often the most level-headed of the team by comparison (most of the time, but of course Peter, and even Gamora, have their moments). It’s clear from Volume 2 that Gamora’s already taken on the sweet mommy role, evidenced by her reassurance and goodbye on Berhert, and Peter’s protective “Buckle your seatbelt!” moments, combined with that beautiful and symbolic scene with the Zune at the end, prove that we’re meant to see them that way. It’s continued in Infinity War (and the credits stinger in Volume 2) for comedy, with Peter trying to be firm but patient with a bratty and back-talking adolescent Groot.

Although it should never be ignored that of course Rocket is very much a parent to Groot as well, since the original Groot from Volume 1 was his best friend, and he’s always going to be very protective of the younger little twig. He was probably his primary care-taker during the months between Volume 1 and Volume 2, before the Guardians became much closer, and the two have a special bond. (Plus…Groot’s final words to Rocket before dusting in Infinity War were “Dad.” Oh my god… D: )

James Gunn has said that Drax is like Groot’s uncle, a headcanon I willingly accept and really like, and several fanfics (the contexts and titles escape me right now, dammit), have written that Mantis, since she is similarly childlike, is more like Groot’s big sister than mother or aunt figure, and I think that’s pretty accurate and adorable too.

ANYWAY, I didn’t mean for that to get so off-the-subject and all about Groot, but it’s hard not to make him the center when talking about parenting and Team-as-Family dynamics.

Regarding Mantis, despite seeing her like a sibling to Groot, and Peter as a father figure to Groot, the consensus by the entire goddamn fandom is that Peter and Mantis have a big brother/little sister relationship, which I just love to fucking death, I eat it up, they’re cute as pie. It’s super popular in fanfiction right now (including my own works-in-progress), and it makes too much sense on every level - because of their shared history with Ego, because they’ve both spent so much time alone, they’re both adults and probably close in age, and they’re similarly childish and naive. Yet Peter is just a bit less naive and childlike, more self-aware when he’s acting silly rather than being genuinely confused about social norms, and far more experienced and well-traveled, and obviously more used to living a dangerous lifestyle and practicing fight techniques and physical self-defense. Peter is already very protective of women, and of his loved ones, and Mantis is easy to love. She acts like a kid, but she doesn’t feel like his kid, not a literal toddler-turned-teenager like Groot. Mantis is just a little more extreme, innocent, slightly younger and feminine version of Peter, with a lot in common, but also much for Peter to giggle at/want to protect. It’s impossible to view her as anything but his little sister, in both the annoying/pestering, and the protective/sweet/fluffy/loving way. On the flip side, it’s so easy to imagine Mantis viewing him as a big brother, looking up to him leading this team, and being grateful that at least one of Ego’s children survived, that she found a brother and family in that lone child she always helped Ego search for, but never knew he would mean so much to her personally.

And yes, I’ve seen some fics where Gamora and Peter argue and bicker over keeping Mantis safe and how much to trust her wandering alone, over-protective and worried versus wanting her to be free to make her own mistakes and take care of herself, almost like parents. And I won’t say those were not cute and in-character for the situation. But this idea of Drax and Gamora behaving more like her surrogate parents, and Peter and Groot more like the siblings, seems even better. A great deal of humor could come from Gamora and Drax losing their tempers going at it over the most minor decisions, Mantis uncertain which one is correct, and Peter just whispering, “They take everything so seriously. Of course you can have more cookies, a lil’ sugar won’t kill you. Gotta fight me for the bag first, though.”

I have 2 other Mantis-related text posts that I wanna make soon, one semi-serious about her role in Volume 2, and one just silly/dorky/fluffy headcanons, because I’ve been on a kick with writing and thinking about her character lately. I literally cannot stop. :P

Thanks so much for this ask, though I apologize that I got so off-topic about the family’s parental relations to Groot, and Peter and Mantis being adorable space-siblings, not 100% sticking to your idea about Drax and Gamora, but hey, I’m a rambler, y’all should know that about me by now. ;)

#Guardians of the Galaxy #Mantis #Drax #Gamora #Fanfic Prompt #Text Post #Headcanon #Message #Peter Quill #Star-Lord #Ego #Rocket #Groot #Adult Groot #Baby Groot #Teenage Groot #Volume 2 #Infinity War #Starmora #Peter Quill/Gamora #Analysis #My Analysis

[ultimate-miles]

Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2018) - Or, what happens when you give a Black character to a Black writer

Miles Morales: Spider-Man follows the exploits of a now sixteen year old Miles Morales, setting the timeline of the story far beyond his earliest exploits and his then current title, Spider-Man (2016-2017) where he is fifteen going on sixteen years old.

 The Good Stuff

Miles Morales: Spider-Man is a story focused wholly on the boy behind the mask, the titular lead, Miles Morales. The book, no more than two hundred and sixty-one pages long (unfortunately), can probably be accredited with doing something Miles’ comic book titles (Ultimate Comics, The Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Men, and Spider-Man) really couldn’t or wouldn’t bother themselves with – which is focus on Miles’ life as student at Brooklyn Visions Academy and how he interacts with the people in his Brooklyn neighborhood.

Everything important that happens to Miles happens within the confines of the Brooklyn area. Miles isn’t off globe-trotting with the Ultimates, and he certainly isn’t fighting within the central New York City area with a villain-of-the-week, and there’s not even a mention of Peter Parker – clone, resurrected, or otherwise – present in his narrative here, which makes this one of the first stories focused on Miles where Peter Parker wasn’t lording over it like an intrusive shadow.

The most pivotal conflict that pushes Miles’ narrative forward in the book is his persisting (if not misplaced) guilt over the death of Aaron Davis, who killed himself in an effort to murder his own nephew. The re-visitation of Aaron’s death opens the narrative to the odd addition of a cousin, Aaron’s son, who contacts Miles from prison in the hopes of connecting with one of the few surviving members of the Davis family. Miles torments himself with the information, uncertain if the intent behind the letter is genuine or a stranger looking to talk to another stranger.

For the most part, I like how it was handled. It paints the actions of Aaron Davis in a completely different light. Maybe in a “not as bad as one thought” kind’ve way, and I’m not particularly sure how I feel about that considering it flies in the face of what the comics establish –which is an unrepentant man with no real affection for family – but it was an interesting angle to take with the Miles/Aaron dynamic nonetheless.

Reynolds’ use of language goes to a decent length to make Miles’ life feel lived in. The attention to detail to Miles’ internal observation of his life works to Reynolds strength as a poet. The author captures the mentality of a restless teenager, drowning in his own angst (often self-imposed) without falling into purple prose or wordiness. 

Brooklyn is the world that Miles lives in, so the people he talks to throughout the story deal the with circumstances of low-income areas, places people of more – I guess – “wealthy” circumstance have learned to dismiss as criminal despite the people who live there often not reflecting that.

Miles contemplates the projects where his uncle Aaron lived, the barber shop he goes to get his hair cut – where the older men recognize him as one of the more fortunate children with a chance to pull themselves out from the under violent cycle of gang and hustler life. He also contemplates the number of young and older residents who’ve been driven out of homes by the city looking to redevelop the area for white buyers. This is the kind’ve of stuff you’d read about in Milestone Comics stories for Static Shock, Icon, or Hardware.  

This is the kind’ve day-to-day life stuff that Brian Michael Bendis – as a white man – were so disconnected from, Miles as a character – in the comics – might as well have lived in New York City. I can only imagine that Jason Reynolds – as a Brooklyn native – used his own experiences, to a degree, to flesh out the story he was telling.

Another element I think Miles Morales: Spider-Man gets right is Miles and puppy love. This book is probably the only Spider-Man story featuring Miles to actually give him a crush that is neither – a creepy adult [white] woman for him to mack on (Diamondback and Gwen Stacy), a Plot Twist Nazi (Katie Bishop), or a really boring version of Mary Jane Watson (Barbra Rodriguez, who unfortunately appears in his recent series).

Alicia is a character I would’ve liked to have seen more of in the story, particularly outside of the purview of Miles’ heart-eyes. She’s nothing if not a brief exploration into the expectations that come with being born to “Old Black Money” and keeping up public appearances. 

Alicia’s want to stand against casual racism in the classroom is the kind of “young awakening” you see in teens who pull themselves out of apathy long enough to understand how the world functions around them, when they realize they can’t turn a blind eye to microaggressions any longer. 

But, her disadvantage is trying to churn up enough support from her classmates, who honestly just want to get through the day without conflict, or don’t give a shit, that she faces an uphill battle. And when her stance threatens her position in Brooklyn Visions Academy, her parents and the expectation that comes with their family’s reputation forces her to choose between her own belief system and her future.

Miles’ affection for Alicia is cute, and watching him struggle to make a connection with her amidst what he thinks his spider sense going off-kilter and dealing with a Mr. Chamberlain’s constant interference and need to diminish him among his peers, endears me to their [potential] relationship. 

Again, I really wish Alicia and Miles’ interaction, Alicia herself, had more time in the story to develop. Maybe with two hundred more pages (which could’ve knocked the page count up to 361 est.) this could’ve happened, but as it stands, what’s given isn’t bad and fairly enjoyable.

The Spider-Man content within the story is brief, and for me, that’s fine. The one thing about it that I did enjoy, when Miles donned the mask, is how Reynolds uses that persona to tackle the social structure surrounding muggings in Black communities. There’s a whole – and often misguided – unspoken rule wherein the victim cannot call out for help when being mugged. 

One loses the respect of the neighborhood (if you’re into that kind of toxic masculinity) and respect of your peers. Miles, afraid that the actions that led his father and Aaron down the path of crime and hustling is genetic, is faced with a situation where he can either ignore muggers who stole a kid’s sneakers, or use his alter ego to set things right.

He does the latter, and a lot about how Reynolds approaches the sequence reminded me a lot of how Peter David (the writer of Spider-Man 2099) handled Miguel O’Hara. Miguel isn’t what you’d call a “nice Spider-Man”. When he aims to teach you a lesson, chances are, a lot of his targets are left peeing on themselves. 

This is kind’ve the energy Miles uses when he utilizes the “strength of his street knowledge” on the muggers who attacked the kid. But, in the end, this really doesn’t change things. The cycle continues, and it kind’ve highlights the kind of futility Miles faces as a vigilante superhero.

 The Disappointing Stuff

Action sequences really aren’t Reynolds strong suit. I mean, writing action sequences are – in general – a pain in the ass, because a lot of it is a deliberation about how long a description needs to be, preventing things from becoming too wordy, and getting the point across without losing the audience’s interest. It’s difficult balance, one I don’t think even the best writers manage 100% of the time.

But, to his credit, I think his ability to use poetic language is a strong enough short hand that most of his descriptions don’t get lost in the soup. Additionally, because a lot of the Spider-Man sequences don’t occur until the very final climax of the story’s conflict, even when his weakness starts to show, the sequences don’t overstay their welcome.

I don’t think Reynolds really manages to marry the fantastic with the reality of systemic racism. There is definitely a way of creating a mythologized monster to represent the ugly realities of anti-Blackness as faced by Black youth within the general education system. Mythology is nothing if not one culture’s way of rationalizing or simplifying things encountered in their waking lives. But, I don’t think Reynolds manages to pull it off here. 

The idea that there is a supernatural “Mr. Chamberlain” for every Black male youth across the ages isn’t a bad idea. You can some really interesting things with that – like Crossroad Blues type stuff. But, here, it’s kind’ve ridiculous – or it’s presented in such a way that the suspension of disbelief strains to such a degree that I simply don’t buy the product being sold to me.

It feels like something that would’ve been a monster-of-the-week in the first season of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Angel: The Series even had an episode where a demon stoked the fires of racism against a fair-skinned Black woman, who trapped herself in a hotel room until her dying day). 

I mean, the fantastical version of Mr. Chamberlain even comes like Principal Snyder – the walking parody of the militant school authority who hates children – which is frustrating because the Mr. Chamberlain in Miles’ waking life is a proper representative of the unrepentant racist school teacher obsessed with the confederacy to a Hollywood degree.

Another sticking point: Judge still isn’t utilized in any way that makes him a character and less of a random extra that pops in and out of the narrative. I really fail to understand why writers refuses to make him and Miles friends, because at this point he needs someone else besides Ganke, the Lego obsessed non-Black character, to talk to. Honestly, the fact that Miles still lacks any Black friends his age – especially in this novel – is rather annoying.

Jefferson Davis is probably even less likeable in this story than he is in general in Miles’ comics. To be sure, he’s completely reflective of the overbearing Black father who doles out punishment with the excuse of helping his son “build character” – there are no lies detected in his characterization on that front – but his rationale is often narrow-minded and assumes bad faith on the part of his son, who is often caught in situations where he neither the aggressor or the cause of his problems. 

Like, he makes Miles clean the entire neighborhood block of trash left behind by the garbage men because he dipped out of school to play superhero. Again, I get Jefferson’s intent, but it was wildly misguided.

The situation regarding Aaron’s son, Miles’ cousin, is simply left hanging. There’s no real resolution following their official meeting in the prison, which is a shame, because it brought another kind of dynamic to the story itself. It offered a particularly ripe opportunity to use Jefferson and Aaron’s past just a little more – if only for the sake of exploring the history of the Jefferson family. 

It could’ve only  aided of Jefferson’s characterization and Aaron’s son, who needed more face-time in the story.  But, this also leads to the biggest issue with the young adult novel itself. How it ends.

The ending of Miles Morales: Spider-Man just kinda fizzles out. I don’t know whether it was due to time constrains (not really an excuse) – that Reynolds had to have the manuscript completed before a certain period of time – or Reynolds truly reached the end of his rope with the story and couldn’t think of any other way of ending things (other than how he did), but there’s no true resolution to the story.

The students, who’ve thus far shown the atypical apathy of a teenager toward one student being singled out by a racist teacher, suddenly rising up and protesting with Miles and Alicia against Mr. Chamberlain’s ritualistic dehumanization of Miles, is questionable. It’s idealistically something you want to see happen, but I feel like the story should’ve done more exploring of the students to really set this up.

 The Conclusion

Miles Morales: Spider-Man is a solid Miles Morales story. It’s the kind’ve Spider-Man story Miles Morales’ comic book series, past and present, should’ve been from the jump, and if Marvel was remotely interested, I could actually see a book series coming out of this (so long as the Black author(s) remain). The Spider-Man elements are few and far between, and perhaps that’s for the best. Anyone looking for superhero antics equivalent to what happens in a 19-to-20 page comic book, or a trade, should probably look elsewhere because that’s not the focus of the story.

The strength of the story is how Miles deals with the day-to-day issues of his life and how a Brooklyn-native author uses his familiarity with his home turf to do what Miles’ comic books honestly failed to do. Make Miles a part of the world he was supposed to be living in in-between his life as a superhero, which was the world of Brooklyn, New York.

Even with the shortcomings of the narrative, Miles Morales: Spider-Man is without a doubt the best story that has come out for Miles Morales in four years (like since issue #19 of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man).

This is the kind of storytelling, the kind of writer, which Miles Morales needs. But as long as Marvel continues to be allergic to hiring Black creatives for his comic book title – or anything for that matter – a milquetoast (and often inauthentic) Miles Morales is more or less what the consuming audience will be given.

If you’re a Miles Morales fan, I definitely recommend this book.

#jason reynolds #miles morales: spider man #miles morales #spiderman #ya novels #writer: jason reynolds #miles morales (jason reynolds) #series: miles morales: spider man (book) #ultimate miles meta #media: long posts

[sovinly]

Thoughts on Eowyn?

Oh man, so many thoughts! Thank you so much, you are EXCELLENT. Here goes!

(Tumblr ate my answer andI accidentally copied over my copy of at 50-60% of it, so I am RETYPING ALL OFTHIS)

Éowyn is one of my top favorite characters, and always hasbeen, for many reasons.

I loved that there was this… cold, fucked-up woman who wasstriving for a heroic end because it was a satisfying conclusion. Because shewanted to have worth.

Like… here, we have this woman who is stern and capable andhas lost so much, her parents and hercousin to death, her brother to banishment, her uncle to sorcery. There is theservant of a sorcerer in the king’s hall (and with the absence of her mother,her aunt, an older sister, a female cousin, herhall in part by rights) and she cannot do anything about it.

She desires Aragorn not just because he recognizes her, butbecause he offers leverage – not just to keep her from ever being so powerlessagain, but for her kingdom. Because her kingdom is besieged, falling, stillstumbling in the ruin of attacks by a powerful enemy (and with a more powerfulenemy lurking behind him, whom they have spurned), because the king is aging,the heir is dead, and her brother is banished. Because he is wise and good andknows her lands.

And he only offers her pity and understanding and it hurts, even if pity isn’t used in theway we use it now, not because it’s hurt feelings but because she wants to beequal. She wants to be cared for. She wants somany things, and because she thinks she can’t have anything, all she canwant is death.

(I’m so disappointed by the way the movies treat her,honestly. She’s stripped of so much agency and context, she becomes hollow andsuffering, and her pain, not her fierce and burning desire take up muchof the story. She’s painted as naïve and honestly pretty selfish in a lot ofplaces, and it’s so frustrating.Because, in Irish and Norse myth, and so subsequently in Rohirric culture, herheroic aspirations have context and value; her cool capability and frustrationhas a thousand echoes. And they go “Nah, mate, she’s a Sad Lady with Many TearyExpressions who Just Wants to Fight but only because she Doesn’t Understand [Love].”I feel, actually, that the fundamental letdown of the films is theirunwillingness to allow for nobility: many secondary and tertiary characters whoare there as foils are stripped of their nobility and gentleness and it’s… ugh,it’s really frustrating. They’re still fun adaptations and good cinema, but thatpart makes me so sad.)

Okay now for a cut, because this ended up being 2k of Feelings, and that’s a lot:

Anyway, Éowyn is competent and capable and wise, but she isangry and exhausted and in so much pain. By rights, why shouldn’t she have aplace on the battlefield? So she goes, and she fights, and she doesn’t die. It would have beenperfectly narratively satisfying, however tragic, if she had, but she doesn’t. Sheis proud and noble and wise, and she earns her place in the halls of herforefathers, but she lives. She livesand she resents it.

Her pain is as legitimized by the narrative as any otherhero’s. The darkness hanging over her, not just the shadow of the enemy but theshadows of isolation and helplessness and depression and PTSD, is not madelight of. She struggles to make sense of her place in the world when she feels shouldbe dead, or dying in the subsequent battles. And it’s alright that for her,healing isn’t about rest, or even kindness, or idle, quiet contemplation.

She’s allowed to be restless and frustrated and desolate. It’sallowed, that she finds herself again through connections and friendships andconversation. Through walking and experiencing and chafing still at all therestraints placed on her. Éowyn is so tired of restraints, is as stubborn and indomitableas any male hero who does his best to abandon bedrest. Her desire to help, to rideto glory and honor, is not a bad thing.The desire to be heroic and recognized is not a bad thing. (She already is: the irony is how little she sees it.)

But she realizes that it isn’t the only thing. And shedecides to heal.

I see… a lot of conversation about how Éowyn is lessened by herending, that her desire to heal and grow and not die a vainglorious death issomehow sexist. But I really don’t think it is, at all. Not just because itgave me hope: hope to see someone recover from such aching, intimate desire tobe done with the world. Hope to seeher find recognition and companionship and more than anything else understanding.

It’s because the hands of the king are the hands of ahealer, we see it over and over again, are told it is the mark of a just and true ruler, and I don’t think it’s a mistakethat we see those lines in such close proximity to Éowyn too. Narratively,Éowyn is as valued, is as upright and distant and wise as any of the maleheroes, and her declaration tells us explicitly that she reaches that same pinnacle of worthiness. It isn’t because shefought, or because she killed the Witch King, or because she was willing to diefor her king, or because she decided that she didn’t want to pursue death: it’sbecause of all those same heroic qualities and that she decides she doesn’tsimply want glory or death or to be the vanguard of the enemy’s death, shedecides that she wants to build and heal and better the world that has curtailed so much of her.

(And her appointment with Faramír to the reparation ofIthilien, and the appendices, make it further clear that this is what we’re being told.)

Let’s move, though, for a moment, into some of the stuffthat I didn’t really have the context for when I was reading these books as akid.

So, my woman Carol Clover (I love herrrrrrrr and her work onboth Icelandic sagas and film analysis is SO GOOD she is SO SMART

Which, obviously, there is some… very sexist andmisogynistic stuff underlying these traditions (Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir,who is also amazing, talks about the romance sagas and how the shield-maidensand specifically the maiden-kings are… horrifically punished for holding powerand authority, thaaaanks changing social values and continental influence, butanyway). But the thing is, these traditions of women carrying power and takingon these roles, is there, both in the influential source material and in thetexts.

Culturally, narratively, Éowyn has every right to want to goto war for her realm, especially at the start of her appearance in thenarrative. Her father is long-dead, her cousin and near-brother has been slainby their long-standing enemies, her brother is banished, and her uncle the kinghas been ensnared by sorcery (which comes with its own Irish and Nordicbaggage, honestly). And then these strangers come and restore the hall of theking and then war looms. So Éowyn goes to war, disguises herself and picks uparms, and notable, this is important, noone notices or says anything, which I have to imagine to be culturallyimportant.

So Éowyn rides to war. She fulfills every heroic narrativeand role and she is proven right. Sheis there and because she is a woman, not despite it, she slays the Witch Kingand fulfills prophecy, and she is right.Because of her kind wisdom, Merry is there to strike a devastating blow and anancient blade, and she is right. Sheis right to go, because she defendsher uncle and king from defilement and dishonor when no one else can. Heractions, her near-sacrifice, mean that Théoden is able to speak once more withMerry, with Éomer (and so to formally pass on and endorse his kingship, whichis important).

Éowyn is of the line of Eorl, satisfies in every way andmanner the narrative of the Rohirric hero, earns beyond doubt her grace andglory and renown. She closes the gaps in killing the Witch King, in defendingthe king, in bringing Merry to the battle. The narrative validates her: she isindeed a great and worthy hero, has done deeds beyond telling and compare, herpresence is right.

But her death isn’t. Her diminishment isn’t. So she lives,and struggles, and tries to figure out how to be a person who has lived pastthe end of the tale.

There’s a lot, too, in how Tolkien communicates heroism anddescribes worthiness – a lot to unpack, and I don’t really have time to do thathere. The point is… the point is that Éowyn is exceptional, but she is alsohuman. She’s allowed to be human. And that humanity, that sadness anddesperation and suicidal impulse and desire to be valued and seen and worthy, that struggle to cope and keep going,that drive to find refuge in conversation and conviction and moving and doing…it’s important. It’s so important.

Éowyn’s story has always resonated with me. Éowyn has alwaysresonated with me. I won’t go much into her relationship with Faramír, becausethis question wasn’t about him, but that resonates with me too. Here are twohurt, tired people who have been through so much, not just the poison of theenemy but the traumas of human existence. Here are two people who thinkthemselves worth very little, who have been constrained and shoved aside, buthere are their convictions. Here is their nobility and their wisdom and graceand fierceness, here is their kindness and their striving and their hope. Hereare two people, who are exceptionally good,even if they don’t know it.

It isn’t just that Éowyn is the embodiment of a mythictrope, or a twist on it. It’s not just that she’s a female characterappropriately placed in the narrative who evades so many shitty, awfulstereotypes and misunderstandings. It’s not just that she’s complex andinteresting.

It’s that she was so fucking sad and so trapped, by suicidal impulse and social constraints, andshe did the right thing, she did amazingthings anyway. It’s that I cried when I first (and subsequently) read theReturn of the King, because I didn’t think she would live. I didn’t think heremotions would be wrestled with. I didn’t think she would get to heal. “Thenthe heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it,” and I havenever recovered from that line, because that’s it. That’s it.

It’s that one of my clear sense memories is sprawling halfin the doorway of my childhood closet, the afternoon sun filtering down ontothe plain carpet, and sobbing my heart out because I had hope. There was hope, because of Éowyn, because of that chapter,and I hadn’t known that I could hopeto survive the isolation and the strictures and the loneliness and my owndistant, cold heart. Because I knew I would cling to that, in the years tocome, and I did. I still do. Éowynand her story are burned deep in my heart and my blood and it chokes me,sometimes, that hope. That healing, even when I am healing.

It’s that here was this fantasy, this epic tale, and it wasfull of hope and nobility and sadness (not just tragedy, plain human sadness),and I found myself there. It found me.

So, yeah.

I love Éowyn a lot, and I think I’m due a reread, now.

#sovin the socially awkward #LotR #eowyn #long post #answer memes #I Love Her #I don't think I adequately conveyed how very much #but the fact that I am not ducking the maintags is probably evidence enough #anywaaaaaay thank you for your patience #and thank you for such a GREAT TOPIC TO YELL ABOUT <3 #embroideredcupcake