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#and there being a third option/outcome in this freaks him out!!!
fumifooms · 18 days
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Canines
The hand that feeds
Mickbell Tomas & Kuro Dungeon Meshi
^ 1: Ink-the-artist, I will remove my teeth / 2: Margaret Atwood / 3: C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy / 4: Mitski, I’m your man / 5: Ojibwa, I love you like a rotten dog / 6: KotOR II / 7: Stardrop, Everything that’s ever been mine is covered in teeth marks / 8: Sodikken, People Eater / 9: Mitski, I’m your man / 10: maxime., The life and death of a dog / 11: Mitski, I bet on losing dogs / 12: maxime., The life and death of a dog / 13: hun, I did not bite with Malice / 14: C. Michael Davis, Don't Pet the Dragon / 15: Mitski, I’m your man
v 1: Early versions of the myth as in aeschylus orestes / 2: Ink-the-artist, I will not remove my teeth
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#Yeahh i’m workng on a mickbell & kabru party analysis oops#I’d bleed for anything if it held me the right way. Even teeth#dungeon meshi#delicious in dungeon#Mickbell tomas#kuro#mickuro#mickrin#It’s on topic in my heart#The red means I love you…#The duality between the care & devotion and the hurt & isolation is really what gets to me#Traumabonded kittens highkey#Tw#cw#cw abuse#tw abuse#Web weaving#web weave#webweaving#I hit 30 pics :( would have added more if i could#Idk even anymore… Pls tell me you see the vision#Mick obvi loves Kuro a lot but this was meant to focus on the unhealthy side if that wasn’t obvious. Abuse tactic of isolation etc etc#People always leave. doesn’t matter how or why but his parents his sister everyone he’s never enough to stay#and that’s why he thinks he has to trick Kuro into thinking Mickbell’s the whole world or he’ll discover that there’s more out there.#Stuff that’s worth leaving him for. He has to make the world scary and unknown and not pay him and not let him have connections#That’s why he doesn’t want people to have a choice!! Either Mickbell doesn’t care about you or he’ll make sure you can never be without him#and there being a third option/outcome in this freaks him out!!!#Some of these should be called ‘No Title’ instead but I have bad academic crediting etiquette this looks cooler sorry#He’s scared of course he bites. There’s only throwing bones when feeding a stray. So bare your teeth and chew me up
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booksandchainmail · 1 year
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Pale Arc 5
Current Carmine Beast theories:
I think Miss and Toadswallow and John are clear
They needed a driver, which means Matthew or Charles or a secret third option
Edith continues to be suspicious
Guilherme is getting less suspicious I think? Might just be because I liked him this arc. Alpeana is less suspicious more similar reasons (I like her)
Maricica is suspicious because of course she is
Wondering, if it is Edith and/or Matthew, if they're trying to use this to deal with the Doom?
Misc thoughts:
Clem is up there with Nicolette and Zed as "interlude characters I want to stick around as allies"
This arc really nailed the horror. I had very little to say about Verona's confrontation with the ghost or Avery's with the pig guy because they freaked me out enough
In general, Kennet descending into chaos was horrific, and really showed how important the work that everyone normally puts in is. It was being amplified by the earring and blood, but I wonder if the perimeter going down would always be worse than normal because Kennet has been protected for a while, and there's room for new monsters
Loved all the Fae stuff. Guilherme talking with both Daniel and Clem was great.
Really glad that Verona finally talked about her Other plans, especially with Lucy. I think that was about the best outcome possible? A renewed commitment to finding some way to make Verona's life better, and only to go Other as a last resort
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klondork · 2 years
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My thoughts on the meaning behind NOPE
Spoilers obviously.
I feel the movie is not just about spectacle. The movie opens up with a horrifying scene that you can't look away from. The scene ends when the monkey finally witnesses the viewer. Instilling a sense of dread and a bit of  panic not knowing what would happen next in that moment. It also simulates powerlessness in a way. Unable to predict if the creature would attack it's new target or leave them be. Putting you in the seat of Jupe in which later in the movie it's revealed that he was the one watching from that angle. 
 People point to this event in Jupes' life as a source of his arrogance but I don't think that's true. He doesn't seem to walk away from the situation feeling he controlled Gordy. Rather that he survived because of sympathy, understanding and companionship. He doesn't try to control Jean Jacket. He's subservient to it. The event transformed his ideology into believing such a creature could be reasoned with. OJ was the opposite. Working with animals he learns that the wild has its own rules. It's own irritations. Realizing the creature didn't consume him while he was knocked out (And it CLEARLY knew he was there) he remembered the event that caused his horse to freak out and assumed not looking into the eyes of Jean Jacket as a sign of respect would spare him. 
 Both Jupe and OJ end up falling to their ideologies though. Trying to exploit what they think to get what they want out of the creature.  But on the topic of spectacle, observing something awful or horrifying, and deciding to sit idly and watch or turn away from it, there is a third option. Action. Taking the reigns for yourself and doing something about the spectacle. Especially since this seems to be a critique about giving into the spectacle. Just like someone stepped in to kill Gordy, Emerald had to step up and destroy Jean Jacket. As there's no guarantees that watching and waiting or turning away will promise a positive outcome but through action, through a combination of facing the problem while not being consumed by the spectacle always guarantees the problem would be solved one way or another.
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takaraphoenix · 3 years
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Another thing about the comics is that... I have never felt this poly-baited before in my life.
Many love triangles give off big “this would be better poly” vibes to me and I end up shipping them as an OT3 instead. But very rarely do they feel like the writers themselves are two seconds from coming to that same conclusion; most feel more unintentional in the vibes they give off.
But the BtVS comics very much felt as though they were deliberately setting Angel/Spike/Buffy up to become canon. And I’m saying that as someone who doesn’t ship that. I only ship one of these three angles, so I can’t even say that this is personal shipper bias making me see things.
First, we have season 8 making Buffy and Angel actual soulmates. Which feels like the kind o thing that, I don’t know, should have a real pay-off.
Then, we have Buffy and Spike being the central romantic relationship of the comic run, being canon for two whole seasons, with Spike being her primary love interest in the comic continuity and the comics really fleshing out their romantic relationship.
And then there is the third angle. The Angel and Spike angle.
For one, the comics actually did just randomly confirm that Angel/Spike had a thing at one point in the past. Completely unprompted. There was no need to put that in there, but it sure would have worked as a good foundation for yes, they do have a sexual history with each other too. There was something once; under the right circumstances and maybe with the right ignition (-> their shared love for Buffy), who’s to say there couldn’t be something again?
And, outside of the Spuffy moments, one of my favorite moments was when Angel was losing himself and Spike was the only one to ground him. Spike. Of all people. Him, getting Angel back by calling him Liam, by going back into Angel’s past and using Angel’s abusive father to redirect Angel’s anger. That was... such an incredibly vulnerable moment for Angel and it also gave insight into just how well Spike knows him. And I do think that, throughout the comics, their relationship grew a lot and they became much more grown-up and less dick-measuring-contest brats around each other.
Seeing Spike, Angel and Buffy fight side by side and rely on each other so incredibly fluently was actually fascinating.
Another huge aspect was how... Buffy... kept fantasizing about them. For one, when we see her go into her dreamscape with Ethan and she sees herself in the nurse outfit with Spike on her one side and Angel at her other side.
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(It feels wrong to say that and not provide a visual.)
But there was also a whole tiny mini comic that was just Buffy dreaming about Angel and Spike making out with each other. Which goes beyond the her wanting them both for herself, but also her subconsciousness thinking about them together.
And lastly, and the biggest reason why it felt not just poly-baity but like they genuinely wanted to go there: Harmony.
Harmony Kendall, who continued to be the biggest Angel/Buffy/Spike shipper in universe. She brought up polyamory by name repeatedly. At one point, she got the freaking book that could alter reality into her hands and aside from many selfish wishes, she literally wanted to give Buffy the “ultimate” happy ending in having Angel/Buffy/Spike be a happily married triad.
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One time’s a joke. But if you continuously keep bringing up “hey actually polyamory is a thing” then it starts to sound less like a joke and more like foreshadowing. Because her bringing it up started to feel more and more like the way Willow and Dawn and Dowling kept bringing up Spuffy around either Spike or Buffy during s9 and early s10; just before Spuffy actually became canon.
Love triangles always present two possible ship outcomes and the oh-so dramatic either/or question. But those are not actually the only options.
The comics went with the third option of just... not... making anything endgame at all, which might just be the most frustrating approach to this. But they really had the opportunity and, quite frankly, the set-up to go poly.
(I’m not saying Angel and Spike would have just... immediately fallen in love or anything. But if nothing else, their shared love for Buffy would have made them willing to give it a try.)
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vanilla-vivillon · 3 years
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Part two of Zoyalai kid as promised
Here’s part one- https://dablackdahlia.tumblr.com/post/650586205772201984/the-black-dahlia
Massive row spoilers
Prince Mycanae Juris Nazyalensky( My Kuh Nay Uh) was turning one years old
It was suprising how quickly he grew up
To Nikolai at least
For Zoya, who adored her son couldn’t wait for him to get older
For one thing while the baby didn’t cry to much at night (whitch was a blessing from the saints)
He couldn’t be Grisha tested
Most ravkans were tested around the age of seven though it varies
Myca was far to young
It was decided when he turned four he would be tested
And so the country was forced to wait four long years
Three more years to go Zoya thought to herself
Myca was an easy baby
That was what his doctors said
He barely if ever cried in the night and was sociable enough
Unlike Genya and David’s son Forrest Kostyk who from all of Zoyas interactions and everything Genya and David mentioned he was a nightmare
Constantly screaming
Hates to eat everything
And now that His teeth were a big enough size he started biting
She had gotten lucky
But Nikolai and her started talking about having more kids
And Zoya found she wanted more aswell
Nikolais pitch however would be far to amusing for her to not listen to
“Come on Zoya only children are the freaks in the playground!” Nikolai said gesturing incredulously
They just gotten Myca put to bed and were having much needed glasses of wine
He needed his rest for his birthday tomorrow
Even though they could’ve had many nannies take care of him that night, neither of them wanted that
Nikolai grew up like that and he wasn’t as close to his mother because of it.
Not to mention the old king was scarce most of his early upbringing
Zoya didn’t want that for Myca either
Of course with all of there duties they had to get some help but they always, always, made sure they put him to bed in the room across from there’s
“Nikolai I’m an only child” zoya retorted
“Touché, but what if something were to happen that Myca couldn’t become king? We would need another option!” Nikolai threw back
Nikolai having another realization
“Plus, it would’ve really helped me growing up to have a good sibling”
This was something Zoya thought about aswell
As a girl she wished for a baby sister
And so did her mother
Sabina had four miscarriages
The last one was the worst
She was safely in the third trimester when it happened
Sabina was distraught for weeks
And when she finally came to, she was different
Harder
Sadder
Meaner
And a couple years later marching Zoya down an aisle
“You know I’m already convinced Nikolai right?” Zoya laughed tired of this charade
Before Myca was born Zoya thought she’d have one
One child
One heir
But she had changed her mind and wanted more
Nikolai showed her a dazzling smile “perfect” he said with a kiss
Zoyas second pregnancy was different
Her morning sickness wasn’t as bad as her first
But a new thing has arrived
cravings
She was consuming unhealthy amounts of Ravkan chocolates
But nonetheless the baby’s due date was July eighth
The date came and passed
But it was nothing to be worried about
There was a lot of moments where they were like “this Is it, the babies coming” then nope
Zoya was 43 weeks pregnant
The baby would be post term
Nikolai would say this is a sign that this child was going to Be late for everything
A difference when Myca was born on the exact due date
But in the middle of the night July twenty second Zoya went into Labor
There second child was Prince Nazariy (Nah-Zuh-ree) Dominik Nazyalensky
He had Brown skin almost darker then Zoya’s and black hair
But it was his eyes that captivated people
He had sectoral heterochromia
His Blue eyes like his Mothers had parts of brown (example below)
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They decided on his middle name after Nikolais friend Dominick after some rigorous debate
Zoya wanted to continue with Saint middle names
Nikolai argued Juris was a personal friend
In the end with Nikolais charisma he won
His name Nazariy was actually found in a simple baby book
While Mycanae was in old ravkan and they liked the nickname Myca
They were much more lax with there second son
They eventually decided to have four kids but wanted to wait until Myca would get tested before having there next two children
Time skip three years because your girl can’t detail everything
Myca was four years old and today was the day
He was dressed in his best clothes
What would happen is he would go up in front of the entirety of the Ravkan nobility and other ambassadors and such and would get tested
Zoyas power still couldn’t sense anything in him or Nazariy, but a couple months prior Forrest Kostyk was revealed to be an Alkemi
It seemed that when the grisha first used there ability it activates something and typically Zoya could sense it
Because now Zoya could see Forrest as an Alkemi easily
So while she couldn’t sense anything in her sons that didn’t mean there was nothing there
Zoya and Nikolai had finally gotten most of the details finished and it was them, Nazariy and Myca, and the triumvirate working out some details in the meeting room
Well, Nazariy was pretending he was a squaller by blowing on some paper
And Myca was clearly trying to convince him that wasn’t how it worked
It seemed Myca hadn’t quite grasped his two year old little brother couldn’t care less about what he thought
A fact that would never change over the years
“I don’t understand why we don’t just test him right here right now?” Adrik insisted for the ninth time “less risk”
“And then what if he turns out to be Grisha but presented before the nobility nothing happens? The grisha test only works when they just start out” Tamar responded
“It could still work in front of the nobility” Adrik insisted
“And if all else fails we can just tell him to summon a gust” Tolya added
Tolya was fiercely protective of the boys
It probably started when a couple months ago Myca showed a vague interest in his favorite Poet and the friendship bloomed
“Tolya most summoners can’t summon until days of practice” Leoni interjected “Plus, we’ve made plans on all outcomes and it’s to late to change them now, look on the bright si-”
“Nazariy spit that out!” Zoya interupted
Apparently the little hellhound put one of David’s nails in his mouth
Nazariy, learning his mother wasn’t to be trifled with quickly on, spit it out
Back to the conversation they started on a topic healthy debated
“There’s no way the kid is Grisha!” Adrik started on
“But Adrik he hasn’t gotten sick. And Grisha dont get sick to!” Leoni countered
This back and forth started since Zoya announced her pregnancy
It was a headache really
But when she turned towards the three boys who had come to mean the world to her it was all worth it
Nikolai was with the boys and was apparently taking on Nazariy’s side claiming him blowing on the paper was just as credible as Mommy’s lightning
Myca fought back and claimed any otkaxatsya could do that
It was something happening more often
Myca makes an offhand statement and Nikolai fighting the other side
It was adorable really how Mycas eyes would light up and debate with his father
Plus it would make him think more critically and would make a good king out of him
Not to mention how it really helped Nikolai and him bond
Nikolai and him had some trouble sometimes
Myca doesn’t usually respond to jokes
It seemed after his silly and rambunctious troublemaker of a brother was born he decided he would have to be serious enough for the both of them
Or at least as serious as a four year old could be
But rigourous debate on whether or not green looked good on Nazariy was something they both seemed to enjoy
And as much as Zoya wished she could watch forever it was time
Time to see if her baby boy had certain talents
Myca was scared
He was behind the door waiting to be presented before his mother, father, brother, who would all be seated on the thrones, and of course the rest of the nobility
‘People like you Myca!’ Nikolai would insist ‘there’s nothing to worry about no matter what happens!’
Myca thought he was trying to alleviate the pressure but it wasn’t working
Suddenly his que to come In was called and he walked in
Head held high and posture immaculate he waltzed through the door
The person who was testing him was the Baron of Banewood
An old man who hated nonsense, children, and Prince Nazariy since he was both of those things
He came forward and after some very boring speeches that Myca couldn’t bring himself to listen to until the Baron told him to stick out his hand
Myca complied and the baron produced a very big pin
Guess everyone wanted to be really sure he was Grisha or not
His eyes wandered to his family
Theyre faces looked calculatingly impassive
He knew it was a front
They needed to seem stable for the people
Nazariy who was standing next to the throne was having difficulties standing still
Myca felt bad for him
Half of being royalty is sitting still looking pretty
He trained his eyes back on his parents and saw his father give him a small wink
I got this, I’m prepared for the result, I can do this
As the pin was stabbed into his skin Myca felt it
That calling
That thing begging to come out whenever he saw his Mother doing something grand
Or when he really wanted his brother to leave him alone
And Myca let it overcome him
When he opened his eyes he could see the Baron knocked over and a small breeze
A firm hand clamped his shoulder
“Congratulations Mycanae” Tolya started dragging him away from the scene where the nobility were discussing the scene “Your a Squaller”
Hey so part two of the Zoyalai kid as promised. This was originally gonna be longer but then It became a 230 word monster and i cut it down and will save the rest for part three
35 likes and I’ll make part three
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harveyscape · 3 years
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IM BORED. my top three farscape eps from each season::::::: looking at these i think season two has the best EPISODE concepts (it was hard choosing faves from that season bc i love so many) but season 4 is my favorite for just,,,,,,, the hecking Yearning + domestication in each episode but i dont particularly favor the episodes themselves 
Season 1:
through the looking glass - i always saw this ep as being the first completely filler ep that really felt like farscape with the crew all working together and having a VERY CUTE little laugh about it at the end. i love the vagueness of it, it’s not annoying or cliche??? and i’m particularly fond of the yellow moya scenes like rygel’s like “shall i disrobe so it will be memorable” is one of my fave lines from him.
a human reaction - mY TRASH. MYYYY TRASH. just one of those farscape eps that are so Abstract in concept, they are just Default Faves for me like Always haha. so many good little j/a crumbs, the kiss in this ep is one of my BIG FAVES, i love everything about that scene and the ones leading up to it. LOVE THE RAIN SCENE. it’s probably the very first time john is like ‘maybe Earth bad’ and,,, ‘maybe space girl Good’ and i love that thruline of the show. this ep stands soooooo far apart from the majority of season 1 for me.
nerve: the hidden memory - “THE RADIANT AERYN SUN.” stark isn’t unbearable in his debut episodes woah! i like him as a sad boy who isnt a plot device! love gilina, love her death (rip), love seeing how far john and aeryn have come since they’d last seen her, love aeryn and crais’s interaction in this episode like YES GIRL SLAY, love whenever aeryn has to juggle with feeling WEAK and having to put her big girl pants on to save her himbo, love any interaction between d’argo and aeryn LOVE THAT.
Season 2:
crackers don't matter - the DIALOGUE in this episode is Insane and i LOVE IT i think there are so many line deliveries in this ep that are so memorable and Iconic they all just live in my mind rent FREE. i wish the commentary for this episode wasn’t about the more practical aspects of it because UUUHUUH i genuinely would love to just Absorb the mindset behind it. GOD TIER FILLER. 
out of their minds - i am such a whore for body swap tropes it’s humiliating. another ep with a lot of iconic line deliveries! i love cb playing as john! love that for her! bb as rygel too is amazing i love all their stupid accent switching SO MUCH. love the skeksis love that they joke about them looking like skeksis because it’s jim henson and they can DO THAT. 
won't get fooled again - any time i think about this ep im like man how Opened Third Eye was it to have john just immediately be like “haha ok this is fake lmao” like it’s so SUBVERSIVE in what it does pretty much right off the bat in introducing the moya crew as “normal” humans. eps like these are just ALWAYS my faves in tv series because of how crazy they can get and this one does and i love it so much for that.
Season 3: 
scratch n' sniff - any time i get the moya crew on a pleasure planet or at a rave im like HELLO. :) I LOVE RAXIL she’s such a funky little freak. describing this ep is so weird its like Oh Yeah The Boob Juice Sucking One. JUST JOHN AND D’ARGO BEING BACHELORS, WHAT BLISS. i wish i got more john + d’argo shenanigans in this show ‘cause they are like such a fave together dynamically mwah mwah mwah. <3 
into the lion's den: wolf in sheep's clothing - its a little crazy how much i Hate the first half of this two-parter which is super PANDERY AND BAD and then the last half is like so Insane and such a good close for the season. EVERYONE’S SO MISERABLE. the scorp shots with the imploding ship and the water UGHGUGHUGH <33333 love aeryn in this love her trying to save the Peacekeepers, love JOHN, love the little scientist nerd who works under Scorp i forget his name WHOOPS he has a nice design. THE CRAIS + TALYN DEATH IS SO GOOD;;;; LOVE THAT FOR THEM;;;;; <3333
 dog with two bones - i think the fact that literally no other tv show has pulled THIS MESS off really speaks to the uniqueness of farscape and its ABILITY TO TELL ROMANCE??? theres so much in this that is just like WOWOWOWOW THIS EP IS SO GOOD. the part where they kill the rogue leviathan and rygel is celebrating on the comms and it transitions to aeryn Going Insane in her prowler over everything that’s happening. FIRE. the dog with two bones analogy UGHGUGHGUGH <333333 I LOVE THE AERYN > EARTH THRULINE WITH JOHN SO MUCH ITS JUST AT ITS PEAK HERE WHICH MAKES IT GREAT BY DEFAULT. the coin scene is SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD THE ENDING SCENE OF THIS EPISODE IS SOOOO GOOOOOD.
Season 4: 
john quixote - MY FAVE EP OF THE SERIES LOL. love the COSTUMING love the POP CULTURE REFERENCES love that its SEASON 4 love that we GET A ZHAAN CRAIS JOOL AND STARK CAMEO. another conceptually abstract episode so of course i love it lol. love the scene in the end with john and zhaan where he’s kinda a sad boy!!!!! actually funny story about this ep the first time i watched this i was in elementary school still, i grew up on this show this is my Nostalgia Baby series, and did not know what the word “porn” was so like for a very concerning amount of time i always assumed “porn” was an Alien Word and not a real word. BECAUSE LIKE, in context you see chiana holding up a Gooey Boy and going “and this? porn!” and that was all i had to go by the end.
crichton kicks - I LOOOOVE SAD JOHN. I LOVE HIM. I love the character beats we get out of a john that CHOSE THE GIRL over his home and instead of GETTING HER he is punished for it, losing his chance at BOTH OUTCOMES like mentioned in “dog with two bones” despite him having chosen One of the options and not both. love the introduction to 1812 whenever john gets a named thing i am like Yes. :~) my boy, my little man. he’s a little crazy and a little sad.
terra firma - the YEARNING in this ep man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this ep waters my CROPS one of my Biggest Fave scenes is when Aeryn and Jack are in her prowler talking about john and he’s like Do You Wish You Were Human and she doesnt answer and im like LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more of that John Not Vibing With Earth Anymore trope which I LOVE. literally all fics surrounding this episode i will SNORT LIKE CRACK. 
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bestworstcase · 4 years
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What are your opinions on the whole Rapunzel-Varian drama in S1 post Queen For A Day, especially with the whole "Rapunzel should've checked on Varian after the snowstorm" or whose fault it was for their conflict?
tbh… if i had to pick one single representative example of the tts fandom’s general inability to handle nuance in fictional conflict, it’d be the QFAD discourse™
because! while this isn’t to rag on anyone, if you pick a random person with an opinion on this question, chances are they will fall into one of two camps. either: 1) corona’s treatment of varian was horrifically unjust and everyone involved except him is a terrible person, or 2) rapunzel did what she had to do and varian’s anger is irrational, unfounded, and fundamentally unfair.
people in camp #1 tend to believe that rapunzel was simply being selfish and acting like a sulky child when she failed to check up on varian after the storm. people in camp #2 tend to point out that rapunzel was traumatized by the events of QFAD too, and believe that this justifies her failure to check up on varian.
but the thing is imo the conflict in QFAD + the rest of s1 is just as complex and messy as the argument cassandra and rapunzel have in RATGT, in that there is no One True Right Answer and no person who is one hundred percent “at fault.” the question of blame is… honestly sort of beside the point if you ask me. to break this down:
#1: rapunzel is a sheltered teenager with minimal social skills dealing with a national emergency halfway through her first unsupervised couple days on the job.
the girl has had like eight months tops of training for the monumental task of ruling a country. she grew up in a situation where the only choice available to her was how she would wile away her free time inside her tower; gothel exerted total control over every other facet of her life. and while she has a little more wiggle room now that she’s out of the tower, she is still basically living her life with all the big, consequential choices made for her.
QFAD was intended to be her first taste of true authority, while still being ultimately inconsequential. if all had gone according to plan, corona would have ticked along more or less on autopilot—just as frederic left it—while rapunzel got in a little practice making judgment calls about minor, unimportant things, like mediating small interpersonal disputes between her subjects.
nobody expected, and rapunzel was absolutely not prepared for, a legitimate national crisis to explode in her face out of nowhere. this was supposed to be pedaling by herself for the first time with training wheels and what she got instead is careening down the freeway on a motorbike at 95mph with zero warning. it is a miracle that she held things together as well as she did.
#2: varian is a child with an emotionally distant, unsupportive father who sets him up for failure.
he’s smart but he’s also fourteen. he has little if any formal training in alchemy, he’s figuring stuff out by trial and error, and he has zero adult supervision. his efforts have caused significant levels of destruction twice in only a few months—the exploding boilers in WTH, and his invention going haywire (with a little help from st. croix) in GE—and it’s implied that this is a fairly regular occurrence with him.
and yet quirin does nothing. he shouts at varian, shuts him down, and at several points orders him point blank to stop messing with alchemy… but he makes no effort to connect with his son or understand where he’s coming from; he doesn’t try to impose reasonable restrictions (like “don’t mess with volatile chemicals unless i’m there to help”) that would allow varian to pursue his passion while minimizing the danger; and he doesn’t create an environment where varian feels able to turn to his father for help. and then with the black rocks, he lets varian come along to see the king, but refuses to explain why he “lied” (/spoke in code) to the king, destroying any credibility he had in varian’s eyes and making varian panicky and desperate because it seemed like no one else cared.
so the end result is that varian feels like he has no choice but to sneak around behind quirin’s back. he can’t rely on his dad for help if anything goes wrong, but the situation is so dire that doing nothing also isn’t an option. he tries his best to be careful (before quirin barges in on him, varian is attempting to put just one drop of the amber serum on the rock) but even if quirin hadn’t startled him, a terrible accident was bound to happen sooner or later, and the responsibility for that lays just as much if not more on quirin’s shoulders—the adult in this situation—as on varian’s. the kid is FOURTEEN.
(i think a neat argument could be made for varian as a deconstruction of the teen/YA fantasy trope of the hyper-competent teenager with absentee parents whose absence allows the teen to get on with the important work of the high-stakes fantasy plot; but that’s a whole different post)
#3: rapunzel did the right thing, but lost control over the situation due to lack of experience.
it would have been wrong to abandon everybody in corona to run off into the blizzard with varian, and frankly it wouldn’t have helped quirin anyway. he was already encased in amber by the time varian got back to old corona, and rapunzel couldn’t have done anything in the moment had she been with varian then. the only benefit to her presence would have been to comfort varian—which is not a small thing, obviously, but it’s not in any way a reasonable exchange for the hundreds or thousands of lives that would have been lost if she left corona completely without a leader in the middle of a crisis. so broadly speaking, staying in corona was the right call.
however.
rapunzel was not in control during that scene in the palace. varian bursts in, panicking, explains his situation and begs for her help—and rapunzel just says, basically, “i can’t help you, there’s an emergency.” then nigel comes in and reinforces that, which makes varian freak out; he grabs rapunzel and shakes her, nigel signals for the guards in response, and varian gets dragged out of the palace while rapunzel pleads with the guards not to hurt him.
(sidebar: the hate nigel gets for describing varian as “attacking” rapunzel is unfounded. varian grabs her and shakes her roughly back and forth and that is, in fact, assault. nigel is not wrong to describe it as such.)
anyway, notice two the things that DON’T happen here:
1) rapunzel doesn’t offer up any alternative solutions. a more experienced or better prepared leader could have responded to varian’s plea with a plan of action, like: i need to stay in corona to oversee the evacuation, so we can’t leave right this minute, but cassandra will take you to ask xavier for advice right now and the minute it’s safe to leave we’ll go together to help your father. or whatever—the point is to engage proactively with varian’s problem, make him feel heard, and give him something productive to do so he isn’t just sitting around fretting in the palace or struggling back home by himself in the middle of a blizzard.
2) raps doesn’t challenge nigel’s decision when he summons the guards to throw varian out of the palace, which is something she absolutely could have done. she could have said no, i can’t go to old corona right this minute to help him, but we are not throwing him out into the storm again, he stays here with me. this is, again, a sign of her inexperience; she’s not used to being an authority, she’s never been in a situation like this before, and she’s under a ton of pressure—so when an older adult whom she sees as an authority (he’s her father’s advisor!) makes a judgment call, it probably doesn’t even occur to her that she can challenge it.
this is why i say that rapunzel lost control over the situation—because even though she made the Right Decision, she got a kind of awful outcome, ie varian being tossed out into the blizzard to struggle home by himself to deal with his problem without any support, and rapunzel inadvertently breaking her promise from earlier.
#4: rapunzel doesn’t immediately go to check on varian after the storm because she’s traumatized, busy, and trusts her father.
painter’s block is all about how the trauma rapunzel feels as a direct result of her decisions during the storm destroys her ability to choose anything. she feels so debilitated by the fear that she will make the wrong choice—because she worries that she chose wrong when she allowed varian to be sent away—that she can’t do anything at all, let alone find the emotional strength to go to old corona and confront her mistakes. and while she tries to process and move past this trauma, mrs sugarby exploits it in an attempt to force her to free zhan tiri.
the next episode, not in the mood, involves rapunzel being put under enormous pressure to entertain an irascible ally of corona’s while he and her father negotiate a trade deal with the threat of a war breaking out if they fail. NITM is a silly episode, but it has the highest non-magical stakes of any episode in the entire series. this isn’t an event rapunzel could have reasonably skipped out on for the sake of one person, no matter how much she cares. she’s slammed. she’s still being forced to prioritize just like she was in QFAD.
and in the third episode after QFAD, rapunzel is tormented by nightmares about varian and what happened to his father, so she presses frederic for information about the rocks and varian’s safety. and frederic assures her that everything is fine. he lies to her face about the rocks having been removed, and rapunzel has no reason to doubt him, so she relaxes… until varian contacts her directly, and she immediately jumps to help him.
#5: at the same time, varian has been forced into hiding because frederic is attempting to cover up the rock problem.
what happens to varian after QFAD is plainly unfair and unjust. his father is trapped in amber, the rocks have completely destroyed old corona, most of the villagers have presumably moved to the new land frederic set aside for them, and frederic’s secret police are crawling all over the village trying to suppress information about the rocks (and fred’s role in creating them). the blame for this lies squarely at frederic’s feet, and varian is right to be angry.
i believe that varian interprets rapunzel’s absence as a sign that she’s complicit in what frederic is doing, making his anger at her justified as well. he doesn’t have access to the information we do about why rapunzel doesn’t seek varian out immediately—he doesn’t see how distraught and shattered she is after the storm, or the high-stakes political nonsense she has to deal with, and he certainly doesn’t see her trying to pursue the matter of the rocks and varian’s safety with her father and being flatly lied to to convince her to stay put in corona. all he knows is that rapunzel kicked him out and now she’s ignoring him and her father’s agents keep chasing him away from his home, and he draws the conclusion that makes the most sense to him, ie rapunzel must be okay with all of this because otherwise she would be here.
and once he has that idea in his head, the fact that rapunzel immediately jumps to help him when he contacts her isn’t enough to dislodge it. he’s a scared, lonely fourteen year old boy looking at this situation through a purely interpersonal lens while rapunzel is an overwhelmed eighteen year old doing the best she can while juggling about a million things at once and putting varian low on her priority list because she’s been told by a trusted source that varian is fine.
they both make mistakes, they’re both missing important contextual information, and neither of them handles this situation in the best possible way. but neither of them is “at fault” in the sense of being purely in the wrong, and—imo—frederic and quirin hold the lion’s share of the blame here, because they had all the information, and they refused and refused and refused to deal with the black rock problem until it overwhelmed them both. varian and rapunzel are both just kids scrambling to deal with something that should not be their problem to solve, and both of them fuck up! (and even then—the best fred and quirin could’ve done was just be honest and upfront about what the problem was. neither of them had the means to fix anything, and neither of them was responsible for the very unfortunate timing of the blizzard. so it’s not as clear cut as everything bad in s1 happens because fred and quirin stuck their heads in the sand. a lot of it honestly was just sheer bad luck.)
a n y w a y, i think by s3 and after a lot of introspection, varian has figured a lot of this out, and that’s why he’s so quick to let go of his lingering grudge against rapunzel. he’s realized that at the end of the day, rapunzel was just as unprepared and lost in that situation as he was, that she’s not responsible for (and wasn’t complicit in) her father’s decisions, etc, etc.
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purpleyellow · 4 years
Text
Bon Voyage season 3
BTS 8th member
Sunny’s masterlist
“Sunny during Bon Voyage 3″ Thank you for the anon who requested this!!
a/n: I’ll also be writting for Season four so please look foward to that. Your opinion is very important for me, send feedback and requests anytime 💜 Also, don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open
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“I hate the way we pick rooms” Sunny mumbled laying her head on the table while waiting for her turn.
“We tried doing it differently but it didn’t work” Jin laughed at her exasperation and the producer told them Hobi was done calling out RM to do the same.
They had arrived at Malta some hours ago and after walking around trying to find the hotel the girl was more than ready to take a nap, though she doubted she would be able to actually rest.
“I’m picking the second room” Jungkook repeated for the third time and Sunny made a mental note to not go there. They already shared a room in the dorms, she needed a change of company, although the best outcome would be not having any.
“RM is done” The producer called out and Jimin walked inside. 
“Oh, I’m the last one” the girl stretched out and stood up, waiting for the producer to indicate the other’s turn. Placing a hand over her eyes to block the Mediterranean sun, she leaned against Jin
“Let’s go to the room on the second floor” Jin whispered to her, making sure the other boys couldn’t hear them. “you’re more put together than the others, I don’t want to stay with someone messy”
Sunny thought he did have a point, but to her, the thought of being alone was still very tempting. Before she could agree with him, the producer called him out and he walked inside leaving her alone.
After they were all done, she was urged inside and stood in the living room thinking about her options.
“Jungkook said he was going on that room, so no thank you” Sunny whispered to the camera pointing to the room. “the second floor does have more beds, so maybe it’s a safer option. Let’s just hope not many people think like that”
Walking upstairs as quietly as possible, so it wouldn’t give away where she was going, even though she was the last one, she pushed open the big doors and revealed the inside of the room. Sitting on a double bed were Jin and Jimin and standing next to them was Yoongi.
“It appears that my plan had a problem” Jin said in between laughs as the reality of four people having to share a room hit her.
“Why did I listen to you?” She groaned dropping her body on the second double bed. At least they had enough room for all of them.
Laughing at their situation, the four of them left their room to see who was paired with who and let’s just say Sunny was more than disappointed when she found out Jungkook had a room for himself.
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“So, where are we going?” Sunny asked walking along Yoongi and Jungkook, it was near sunset and the group had divided into two pairs and a trio (since Taehyung wasn’t able to arrive the same day as them).
“I saw this pub we could go to, you know, grab a couple of drinks, I’ll show you two whiskey,” Suga said not looking at her.
Looking over at Jungkook, he shrugged his shoulders to her indicating he was fine with whatever and the girl agreed as well. After spending the day sightseeing with Namjoon and J-hope, sitting down seemed to be a very good option.
Reaching the pub, Yoongi did most of the ordering, and they tried different kinds of drinks. “I was feeling like the odd one out, cause I’m here wearing white while you’re both in black but like, who only brings black clothes to a hot city?” Sunny said at some point making Suga laugh at her annoyed expression.
“Malta is pretty hot, I was sweating like a pig this afternoon ” Jungkook said leaning on the counter.
“Probably because you were walking with black sweat pants, a black shirt, and a freaking black bucket hat, just like you are right now” She deadpanned.
“Well, you’re starting to get serious about clothes, maybe you should stop with the drinks ” Yoongi said taking her cup away from her, aware that she wasn’t really drunk, but truthfully he just wanted to go home and sleep after the busy day.
Paying the tab, the three parted ways, Suga going back to the hotel while the youngers walked around the restaurant area and watched some buskers. Since they weren’t really talking and just feeling the atmosphere of the place, Sunny took a few seconds to take in the reality she was in.
Looking at the people around her, she saw many families on vacation as well as friends enjoying their time in a foreign country. Moments like this were kind of weird to her since she was, in theory, doing the same thing as them, but, in reality, even their little leisure time had to be entertaining enough so people would find comfort watching it. Deep down she truly didn’t mind it, her resting time would come at some point, but it was something fun to realize.
Turning around, she saw the producer looking at them expectantly, probably bored by the time they were silent, so Sunny turned around to chat with Jungkook. Seeing his daydreaming gaze on a little performing stand, the girl was quick to realize what he was thinking.
“Do you want me to ask them if you can sing?” Sunny asked taking him out of his trance.
“Uh, no, it’s okay” He said nodding along, and when she kept looking at him he just shrugged “I was thinking it would be a different experience to perform without people really knowing who I am”
“Let’s do it then” She waved him and started walking towards the people who were singing, but got stopped by him holding her arm and preventing her from moving.
“I don’t know about it. I had some drinks so it might not come out good, plus it’s their place, maybe they won’t feel comfortable with me taking over.”
“Kookie, it’s an open mic thing, I’m sure they’ll let you take part. Let’s just ask them and we’ll move on from there”
“They’re starting a new song, we should wait for it to finish before going over” the boy said linking arms with her and sitting on a bench.
Quickly texting the group chat, Sunny told them what was going to happen, hoping someone would come over and help her convince the boy.
“You’re our main vocalist, therefore you’re going to do great. Plus, I don’t think anyone would notice if you sang the wrong tone, well, except me of course” She said trying to boost some courage into him.
“Come with me then,” He said excitedly and Sunny widened her eyes.
“No, you’re the one who should-” The girl starter but got cut by Jin and J-Hope running towards them.
“Did he do it? When are you doing it?” The asked stopping near them.
“We’re waiting for the song to end. And Sunny is going with me” Jungkook smiled and much to Sunny dismay, the older boys loved the idea.
It took some convincing from them, and allegedly, Sunny said if she was going to do it, Jin would have to go as well, but that backfired when he said he would have to pick her clothes for the rest of the trip. So, not wanting to wear an “I love Malta” shirt for more than she needed to, Sunny agreed to go with the boy.
Their performance of “Lost Stars” was a bit messy, taking into consideration they didn’t share lines beforehand and were constantly trying to get into tune despite being slightly intoxicated. But like she had said before, it was still very beautiful, a few tourists stopped to listen to them and even clapped at the end.
“Oh, my! I can’t believe we did that” Sunny exclaimed hiding he face in her hands while Jungkook laughed and thanked the little audience.
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“Wait! I want to go to the sea with you” Sunny said from her chair and skipped through some rocks to get to J-Hope and Jimin.
Jungkook, Jin, and Namjoon were doing some fishing, and Taehyung, who had finally joined them, was by the rocks doing whatever. Yoongi, unfortunately, had some family issues and had to go back to Korea.
Jumping into the water, Sunny had a two seconds heart attack when she realized the sea was quite deep, but remembering the snorkeling lessons they had the day prior she recovered and swam to the top. 
“Oh, damn, it’s deep,” She said laughing and clinging onto Hoseok’s back, “I thought I was going to drown at some point”
“I said it was deep, but you were already in the water” He laughed while holding to an inflatable life ring and putting on some diving goggles “Are you coming, Jimin?”
“Yes, wait” He answered jumping in more delicately than the other members. 
The two boys started swimming and recording the fish underwater, while Taehyung joined Sunny with an inflatable of his own. 
“Being a mermaid would be so much fun” he said out of nowhere, making the girl laugh “I’m serious, you’d get to spend the day in the warm water with the fish”
“True, but the water during sunrise must be everything but warm. Also, how do mermaids poop?” She said making V widen his eyes in realization.
“HOW DO THEY?” He exclaimed and Sunny shrugged her shoulders.
“I guess we’ll never know.”
“Hey, we’re getting off to see if they caught anything” Jimin screamed and they both swam to where he was. 
Getting off as well, Sunny’s swimming t-shirt and leggings uncomfortably clung to her body, but due to the filming going on, she couldn’t just put a bikini on and call it a day. One of the producers, thankfully, gave her a towel and she tried to dry herself off as much as possible.
“Did you give up?” Hobi asked Jungkook, who was just sitting around the crew, and before he could agree Jin screamed from far away.
Apparently he had caught a tiny fish, but Sunny couldn’t tell because when she started walking to where he was, she stepped on a particularly sharp rock that made a cut on the heel of her foot.
“Argh” She said hissing and raising her leg to check out what had happened. One of the crew members nearby approached her and helped her sit down so they could access the cut.
“It seems pretty superficial, it’s not bleeding too much” Someone said and she saw the boys looking back to see where she was.
“What happened?” Namjoon screamed when he saw the agglomeration around the girl.
“She scraped her feet. Be careful around the rocks” The main producer screamed back and the boys ignored his warning, running back to where she was sitting.
“Is it okay?” “Does she need stitches?”
“Nah, I’m sure a bandage will do it. You just won’t be able to go in the water for today at least” Someone from the medical team spoke and the boys sighed in relief
“I saw something about seawater helping with cicatrization. Maybe this is the right time to check if it works” Sunny smiled hopefully and the nurse ignored her, shattering her dreams of going back to the sea.
Walking back to the house where they would be camping in front of, the boys divided themselves to set up the tents and go grocery shopping for what they needed. Not really interested in doing either of them, Sunny sat next to Jin and watched him trying to light up a fire.
“Are you not going to do anything?” Jimin asked approaching them and the girl lifted up her leg, showing off the pink bandage.
“I’m hurt,” She said with fake disappointment since she couldn’t even feel the cut anymore.
“Lighting up the fire doesn’t require standing” Jin fought back not looking up from the single burning charcoal.
“I think you should put more, Oppa. That’s going to last about a second” Sunny pointed out and looked for the camping instructor, who only gave her a thumbs up affirming her theory. 
Dumping half the bag of charcoal, Jin smiled happy at the increase of warmth, since the sun was setting and it was becoming quite windy. 
“All right, she dropped her cheesecake” Sunny mumbled to the rhythm of Seesaw after some seconds in silence and Jimin laughed from where he was helping Jungkook with the tent.
“That’s not how it goes Sunny”
“I know, but I saw someone online saying it sounds like that,” She told him and kept mumbling the melody of Suga’s song. 
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Sitting on the edge of the boat, Sunny watched Namjoon and Jungkook trying to balance themselves on the flyboard for the first time. “That seems hard”
“Jungkook is doing fine” Jin pointed the younger out, who was able to float a few feet over the sea before dropping back in “Staying out of the water for a long time must be hard. But they’re doing okay”
As he said that, Namjoon was able to go up a little bit more, but before he could celebrate, something happened and he fell face-first into the water.
After the first pair, Jimin and Taehyung went up, both of them getting the hang of the sport very quickly, even being able to perform little stunts while seamlessly floating.
Jin didn't have as much luck though, he failed to go up many times and constantly fell on his face and back. But Sunny thought it was admirable that he was having fun through all of it, making her appreciate his carefree personality even more.
Hoseok seemed to do fine like the others, but he was unusually stiff and didn't even try to invent new moves or ascend even more like the others did.
Finally, it was the girl's turn. Standing on the side of the boat, all six members present started cheering for her and telling her not to hurt herself (thank Jungkook for that). As the motor of the board started working, she tried to remember what the instructors had told them beforehand and keep her body as stiff as possible, managing to float enough for only her knees down to stay underwater. 
Unfortunately, that didn't work for too long, seeing as she fell backward and shallowed a lot of seawater.
"It's okay. Keep your core very tight but let your feet relax a little" the female instructor told her through the helmet she was wearing "It's best to go with the flow than to fight against it"
Nodding along, Sunny tried to wipe the salt water from her eyes and went up again, this time managing to float a few feet away from the surface. 
This time, she let the water that was coming out from the board guide the way she was moving for a few seconds before the noise of one of the boys screaming broke her out of her concentration. 
Falling into the water, Sunny tried not to stress too much, following the instructor’s voice as much as possible and successfully doing a few spins.
“I think there’s water in my ear” She said as the other instructor helped her get on the boat and someone threw a towel on her head.
“You did good. Got the hang of it much faster than me” Jin praised her while trying to dry her hair with his towel.
“Yeah, but every time I looked at the boat, all I could see was Kookie’s half pink hair” Sunny laughed slapping the older boy’s hands away from her hair “It was inevitable not to laugh and fall back into the water”
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you dye yours when we go back” Jungkook screamed from the other side of the boat.
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The Malta trip was reaching its end, and just like usual, they had a special diner at the end. Since the producers kept telling them about how the view was special and so, Sunny thought they would eat dinner somewhere high, where they could see the city from the windows, and to some extent she was right. 
Except they didn’t need any windows since they were eating in a suspended table, 40 meters over the city.
Sitting next to Jin, the girl tried her best not to look down at the city and get a sensation compared to vertigo. Rather focusing on Hoseok who was sitting straight ahead of her, and eating her food without dropping anything.
“Breath a little Sunny” Jimin laughed at her and she rolled her eyes “I didn’t know you were scared of heights”
“I’m really not. I just don’t enjoy looking down” She said and tried to get more comfortable on the chair. “It’ll pass by”
“We can start with reading the letters if you guys are done eating” The producer called out from the end of the table.
“Jungkook is still eating his dessert, let’s wait for him and we’ll be good” RM told him but the boy just shook his head.
“I’m good, let’s do it now” He nodded to emphasize he was done and swigged his chair from one side to the other, clearly comfortable with the extreme situation they were in.
The producing team passed by some computers before they started the segment and soon a video of Yoongi was playing. Truth be told, Sunny didn’t focus too much on what he was saying, instead fondly smiling at his mannerism and cute face, moments like this she understood the importance of each of them in making their team balanced.
Deciding to start with Jin, they started reading the letters they had written beforehand. Each of them was told to address the letter to themselves, individually, and activities like this particularly made the girl understand even better her members. Each of them brought their own feelings in a light way, their personalities being well portraited by their words.
When it came to Sunny’s turn, she took the folded letter from the producer on her right and unfolded slowly, trying to remember what she had written previously so she wouldn’t get caught by surprise.
“Hmmm, this is awkward,” She said making the boys laugh “HyeSun”
“Ooh she’s calling herself by her real name” J-Hope said excitedly while clapping
“HyeSun, first of all, how are you doing? I hope you’re fine and happy. Please make sure to remind yourself that leaning on the people around you is important, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help every once in a while. Also, there’s nothing wrong with not having control over things, I know you became a little better at going with the flow these past years but there’s still a long way to go. Please don’t take for granted the love you receive and remember that you should be a source of light for others. Stay strong, stay healthy, stay positive. Love, Sunny.”
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(i had to include the gif, cause i just wheezed when he did this)
END OF THE TRIP INTERVIEW
1. What did you think when you heard Malta?
“Is that in Europe? I had no idea where it was”
2. First impression of Malta.
“It’s really hot. As soon as we stepped out of the airport I felt like I was being toasted alive”
3. What’s the most memorable thing in Malta?
“The beaches were amazing, and the time we had with all eight of us was really special, as much as the trip was amazing I found myself wanting to tell something to the missing member at the time. I also really liked going to that pub with Yoongi Oppa and Kookie Oppa, we don’t really hang out together as a trio and I wish I had spent more time with him before he went back”
“Do you have something to say to Suga?”  The producer asked from behind the scenes.
“Oppa, I know you see me as a lightweight, but let’s go drinking back in Korea. Friendship is Irish Bomb”
4. You are better at being on the show
“This is the third time we’re doing BonVoyage, so I guess I got more comfortable with traveling and having new experiences. Also, this is probably the trip I spoke English the most, I guess I didn’t want for others to translate since I could do it anyways.” 
5. Busking in Malta
“I was kind of forced into it, but I guess it was nice” She laughed with the producer who was following them that night “I never thought about doing something like that, but the experience was for sure very different from performing as an Idol. That night people didn’t care about who was singing, they enjoyed my voice for what it was, without crazy costumes and dance moves. Yeah… it was nice”
6. How was traveling in a couple?
“We spend a lot of time together as a group, so having more one on one time was very interesting. I personally liked going out with Jin Oppa and just walking around meeting new people, not having a destination in mind isn’t my favorite thing to do, but I really enjoyed how we did it”
7. Members driving on their own.
“It was interesting for sure. I found myself stressing out sometimes because of how often we would miss directions and I worried we would get lost, but in the end, we managed to help each other out. Next time I’ll have someone teaching me how to drive. Imagine how cool it would be, learning how to drive in a foreign country”
8, How did you feel when having dinner in the skies?
“I never knew I was scared of heights, and I still don’t think I am. But being suspended for a very long amount of time with nothing but a loose belt was very nerve-wracking for me. We had some family bonding moments that I’ll cherish forever, but that was a once in a lifetime thing”
“Never again?”
“Never again”
“What if we set it as the next trip’s dinner?”
“Then I’ll cry until you change your minds” She giggled with the staff.
9. How was this trip to Malt?
“I managed to forget a lot of things I was stressing about before we left, it’s truly refreshing to go back to work with a clear mind and relaxed body. Also, I got the most tanned I’ve ever been, so I’ll take it as a win”
10. What does Bon Voyage mean to you?
“A way of connecting with my members and being more carefree in the way I act and think”
11. What would you do next time?
“I guess it depends on the place we go to, I’d like to go to a spa maybe. It would be kind of boring to watch unless it’s one of those places that have very different treatments then that would be fun”
12. Your message to your fans
“Hi, ARMY! I hope you got to relax from your reality while watching us being stupid. This was a very needed break for all of us and I’m really glad we got to take you guys along. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this, I wish you’re healthy and happy, let’s meet soon”
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romiithebirdie · 3 years
Text
Epilogue for the Lost - Chapter 4
Had it been fair to make such a critical assumption about Kacchan? 
Izuku chewed his food slowly, staring deeply into his rice bowl like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Several children ran past in the hallway beside the kitchen and he lowered his head all the more, praying nobody would try to speak to him.
The previous night had been... Stressful to say the least and it had taken a mental toll on him. He hoped that he wouldn't be shoved back into group therapy after this whole mess.
Child Protective Services and the police had arrived to escort him to a temporary Foster Home while U.A's Principal Nedzu made preparations to move Izuku into U.A High School's dormitory building until his mother recovered.
The dorms were a last resort for students who had a long way to travel or came from working class families who were struggling financially. Izuku's case didn't exactly fit the usual criteria but it was the best option and Izuku had been happy to accept the offer.
He'd already been back at his apartment and packed a few things to take with him to the dorm and he hadn't been eager to hang around the empty home. The silence gave him a feeling of great discomfort and he could barely hold back his emotions upon seeing the signs of struggle during his mother's attack.
As devastated as he was, he was so thankful that she was still here.
The television from the Home's lounge blared in the background, the fuzzy sound system broadcasting what sounded like the news.
They were talking about something that sounded important; Ketsubutsu Academy High School, he thought he'd heard being mentioned. Izuku knew that school all too well, with it being the rival school to U.A during their monthly events that included athletics competitions and literacy contests.
Ketsubutsu, like U.A, was a famous school for their top performing student records. Izuku mused that whatever the reporter was talking about probably had something to do with some kind of major event the school had recently won or something along those lines. The male reporter was blathering on, using all sorts of long words that Izuku didn't care to hear this early in the morning.
His mind was still occupied with trying to get over his late-night visit back to his apartment with the police.
Izuku had truly felt completely numb after walking around his deserted family home. It had physically hurt watching his guardians lock the doors and as they drove away, he had finally allowed himself to break down in the back of the car.
The eerie silence and the lack of the familiar warmth and welcoming air about the apartment gave off a haunting feeling.
It honestly felt to him like somebody had died there.
Thank God that hadn't happened.
Whenever he thought about wandering the apartment's seclusive structure, it gave him a sense of complete uneasiness which wasn't a nice feeling. At all.
He just wanted to go back home and see the warm, welcoming smile of his mother again.
                                                             .-.-.-.-.
 "Hey, you hear the news?"
Izuku glanced up from his phone, attention on Eijiro Kirishima, Denki Kaminari and Hanta Sero talking in the corner of 1-A's classroom.
"Yeah, man. His poor family," Sero acknowledged with a nod of his head.
Kaminari cocked a brow up, "Uh no, I didn't. What happened?"
Both Kirishima and Sero exchanged an uncomfortable glance before Kirishima opened his mouth to answer;
"Yo Shindo's body was found this morning just a few yards away from Ketsubutsu's main gate."
Izuku almost dropped his phone in surprise.
Yo Shindo was a highly intelligent student who always finished in the top three for any event he took part in. His strategic ability had always been something to truly admire. Now the three boys were saying he was dead?
Had that really happened?
The three boys were all friendly members of Izuku's class, there was no way they'd make up something so horrible.
"It's not looking good," Sero shook his head. "Can't imagine what they're going through."
"Yeah, real messed up stuff," Kirishima frowned, digging both hands in his blazer pockets. "Whoever did this was so unmanly. Shindo never hurt anybody in his life."
Which was a true statement; Shindo did have a cocky side to him and he schemed a lot during their school competitions...But it was never malicious, he just liked to have strategies to win. Nobody could fault him for that.
Odd how his mother had been attacked yesterday and now a new body had been discovered. Though they hadn't been friends, he was student from a different school that Izuku had been familiar with. Could there be a connection?
"Was anything mentioned about strange writing carved into the skin?" Izuku stood up to face them before his brain could even process what he was doing.
All three boys turned on him, all looking puzzled by the quiet boy's question. Izuku immediately felt his cheeks flare up when he realised how loud he'd been. Several other classmates glanced in his direction and he suddenly wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
"Uh, don't think so," Sero answered with a shrug, thankfully noticing Izuku's nervous disposition and choosing to ignore it with a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, same with me," Kirishima agreed before his face morphed into an expression of concern. "How have you been doing, Midoriya? We know you're going through a lot right now but we're all here for you if you ever needed to talk."
As nervous as Izuku had been with his new classmates on their first day, he was relieved that they were nothing like the students from Aldera Junior High. He was mainly ignored by everybody in Aldera, due to most of the kids being freaked out by his random outbursts in the past. Meanwhile, the U.A students were all friendly faces which felt...surreal to the green-haired teen if he had to be truly honest with himself.
Despite this, he had gotten quite close with all of the members of 1-A. However, he wasn't in the best mood to start socialising due to the evening prior.
"I-I appreciate it," Izuku gave the three boys a wobbly smile before returning back to his phone. He hoped he had sounded as grateful as he felt, the other teens seemed to understand and went back to their own conversation which was a godsend to Izuku.
Allowing himself to let out a tiny sigh in relief, he then quickly logged into his phone internet and immediately began searching for the latest news stories. With a few clicks, he found what he was searching for;
BODY FOUND OUTSIDE MUSUTAFU SCHOOL GROUNDS
There were a lot more articles listed below the top search.
HIGH SCHOOL SET TO CLOSE WHILE INVESTIGATION GOES UNDERWAY
KETSUBUTSU HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT  IDENTIFIED AS SECOND YEAR
Izuku clicked on the third article that identified the victim's name. Scrolling down, he noticed a part of the document that made him feel slightly queasy upon reading it.
The teen was pronounced dead on sight. Along with various stab wounds, a large slash-wound was found across his neck which authorities have confirmed to be the cause of this tragic outcome. Our thoughts and prayers are with this boy's family.
Izuku chewed on his bottom lip, a nagging thought in the back of the head about whether or not these two major incidents had been connected or not. It was just weird that both attacks happened around the same areas and had occurred several hours after one another.
Maybe he should stop looking into it and leave the investigation to the police. After all, he still had the undead clamouring for his attention so he had enough to deal with as it was.
Still… Izuku glanced at the news article one last time before closing it completely and placing his phone back into his bag.
Perhaps it would be best to not look further into these things.
His phone buzzed from inside the back and he let out a small sigh, deciding whether or not to check it. From the singular motion, he'd probably either received a notification from the device or a text message.
It'd make sense to leave it until after class but then again…
What if it was his mother checking in on him?
With that in mind, Izuku immediately snatched his bag from the ground and rummaged around inside the front pockets until his fingers stroked the familiar plastic phone case.
It was a text message, judging from the little blinking envelope icon. Izuku unlocked the device with an apology ready to write to explain that his teacher would be arriving shortly.
However, the message wasn't from his mother.
Frowning slightly at the UNKNOWN NUMBER across his phone screen, Izuku hovered his finger over the touchpad before quickly pressing on the Read button.
Hi Deku.
Izuku froze in his seat, his entire body going rigid.
What the hell was this?
The only person that had ever called him Deku was...
He winced at the memory, knowing that he should've probably just ignored the mystery texter but his fingers acted before his brain could catch up.
  Who is this? 
How did you get this number?
Another message immediately appeared under the first one;
 You'll see soon enough.
 Was that supposed to be some kind of threat? 
Swallowing thickly, Izuku stared at the screen completely frozen in place. What on earth did you say in response to something like that? 
Oh one more thing. You know what happened with your mother?
The teen inhaled slowly. Three dots appeared, indicating the person was typing.
Should he switch the phone off?
But then it buzzed for the final time and he bit down on his bottom lip, dreading whatever was about to be said. 
And he was right to feel anxious about it; 
  That bitch had it coming.
10 notes · View notes
dollopheadedmerlin · 4 years
Note
Are you voting this year? I'm leaning towards Jo Jorgensen because Biden is so bad. What do you think of her? I keep getting told "just vote for Biden to get trump out, I know he's bad but he not Trump" but I just can't vote for him. All my friends sound like they have Stockholm syndrome for the dems and it's freaking me out. They think I'm throwing my vote away, but idk. Biden is just as bad as trump imo
Oh goodness, I don't know why you're asking me this since I rarely talk about politics on my blog but Yes. I am voting this year. It's the first election year I have been old enough to vote in. I could understand being weirded out by people who actually LIKE Biden, but MOST people who have been pushing for Biden don't actually like him. He's not their first choice. But voting third party is essentially obsolete this year (as it has been in past years). There is no chance that a third party candidate will win in this election, so I would advise against doing so. Biden is also not "just as bad as Trump". He most certainly is less extreme and will be less dangerous in office. Will he be on our side? Will he be a good president? Probably not! But we have a choice between two evils and Biden is one we know we can probably survive. Think of it like two snake bites. You ARE going to get bitten by one of two snakes. IF you try to chose a different animal or a different snake, one of these two will bite you anyway. But if you CHOOSE from the two available options, you can opt to get bitten by a NON -venomous snake. Otherwise, you leave it up to chance and may be bitten by a venomous one. Trump is the venomous snake. He is going to hurt more and hurt longer. And he very well could kill you. Biden is the non-venomous snake. He is still going to bite you and it is still going to suck and hurt, but it is fa less likely to kill you. It's also worth saying that a person's personal moral compass has no place in this election. It sucks voting for someone like Biden, it does. But this is about strategy, not morals. It's unfortunate but we're not in a place to fight to change the system right now. Biden is awful, his VP is bad too, but Trump is in a position where he could do a lot more damage that will (already) take years to undo. Hopefully one day, voting third party won't be so obsolete, but it unfortunately does little to nothing in current times. I think if you can understand that the person you are voting for is a bad choice but that the decisions to vote for him is a good one, then you're not sacrificing your morals or beliefs. You have to play their game and it's not a fair fight. In this case, the game is rigged and you only have unfavorable options, but if you can see HOW it's rigged (third party candidates not being viable to win) then you can at least play to your advantage for a more favorable (but still unsatisfactory) outcome.
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mutantsrisingrpg · 4 years
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Congratulations ALEJANDRO! You’ve been accepted as PLANET X with a FC change to SANTIAGO CABRERA.
Alejandro, your application literally left me speechless. Seriously, I truly don’t know what to say other than this is everything I could have hoped for and more (like, a whole lot more) in an application for Andreas. There was genuinely a moment where I was bouncing between all the parts of the biography, wondering where it all connected, only to read the end and just have my jaw drop. Every sentence of this application oozed with such confident characterization of Andreas in the best way possible. I seriously can’t wait to see him destroy me and the rest of our mutants on the dash!
Welcome to Mutants Rising! Please read the checklist and submit your account within 24 hours.
Out of Character Information:
NAME/ALIAS: Alejandro
PRONOUNS: He + Him
AGE: 27.
TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY LEVEL: EST. I’ll be most often available during weekends, given the hectic nature of my profession + studies, with occasional popping up during week days.
In Character Information:
DESIRED ROLE: Andreas Guzmán, aka PLANET X.
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis man, he + him.
DETAILS & ANALYSIS:  
He wants you to see him as aimless. He wants you to see him as erratic. Uncertain as the X within an unsolvable equation. It makes it harder to see him coming that way, and it’s always far more damaging if you don’t know from which direction he will strike. A chaotic, whimsical, elusive figure in Miami’s mutant underworld, he sees the advent of the Chicago gangs as an affront but also an opportunity, an influx of new blood and interesting faces – new pieces within his chessboard, even, if he plays his odds right. If he is not seen coming.
The truth is, Guzmán’s power resides in how little it is known of him and his true intentions. Much like the planet he named himself after, Nibiru, he’s closer to a fiction than a fact, closer to mythos than reality, and he favors it this way; he has crafted a grandiose image of himself that goes beyond the confines of his birth name, beyond the confines of mortality, beyond the essence of man, because he needs to be more. Guzmán sees himself as a force of nature, as entropy, as a wildcard, an unpredictability that threatens any semblance of order or peace, and he will only reveal the reasons for his actions once the fruits of his labor have long ripened. He learned since he was very young that knowledge was a very powerful tool, and that just knowing more than everyone else wasn’t enough – he needed to control the very flow of information too.
So he is unknowable (as far as something can be unknowable) and he is unreachable (unless he deems it necessary to appear otherwise, and he often does), his mind fixated on the ever-changing, ever-morphing fabric of the world he’s living in, while he oversees the building of the next one. Building? Yes, he’s building a world after the death of this world, where he and his kind thrive as gods, and they’re given their rightful place: below him, but above all else.
BIO:
Content warnings: violence, murder.
OPTION ONE. A young man born to privilege and Texas oil royalty, with too much time in his hands and little in the way of scruples. His life already outlined well before he was born, a project molded with his father’s forethought, his mother’s aloofness, and a nonstop, near repulsive stream of cash. He was to become something great, just as those before him. He was to fit himself into the grand scheme of the Guzman family’s empire: a chief executive, a politician, a diplomat, a lobbyist, a lawyer, someone with authority and the charisma to move millions toward edge of the precipice, if so he happened to need them there. But there came one issue: much as they tried, the young man did not fit perfectly within this carefully constructed plan. While brilliant without compare, his brain was racked with maladies. He’d grown impulsive and hard throughout his upbringing, and worse still: enamored by celebrity, unwilling to listen, and prone to bursts of temper that rivalled his dad’s. It was during one of those heated arguments they liked to have that Andreas Guzman’s mutation blossomed: a passing comment and a venomous will transmuted to a tattered pulse and an itch on his father’s left arm. What is the likelihood of Edgardo Guzman spontaneously developing heart failure? Slim. He took care of himself. He was young. He had no genetic background that reasonably explained this development. And yet, it happened, a freak accident, a tragedy the likes of which you only see in movies. Edgardo died in front of Andreas, and while there was no possible way to pin the death to him, Andreas was convinced he’d played a role. He only later came to learn how.
OPTION TWO. A talent for numbers. Unbridled curiosity. And a knack for finding the most efficient solution even if it wasn’t the standard solution – those were the ingredients that made Andreas. A professor of Math 55’s course with a textbook middle class past, he came into the profession wholly on the desire to understand his gift and the world and pass his knowledge onto others. And as for the gift itself: he seldom used it, fearing its unforeseeable outcomes, anxious about its untapped potential, which was so much greater than anything he knew and so destructive because of it. Others weren’t so careful, however: when his mutant status was revealed and his exact mutation was discovered through an undisclosed examination of the university’s faculty, he was “persuaded” into accepting a job within Intelligence. Reluctantly, he gave in, hoping to be of service. You see, back then, he was innocent, an optimist with unshakeable faith, as all good mathematicians are, and it was only after years of deadening work as an Special Analyst, and years of exploitation by the emotionless, relentless hands of the State that the Andreas you know was born. This Andreas that granted the United States of America many a victory overseas simply by tipping the scales in their favor. This Andrea that fell ships, killed spies, manipulated foreign policies – all within the comfort of the little box they’d built for him. That Andreas – well, one fateful night, he ended up disappearing from the face of the Earth. Changed his name (he wasn’t born Andreas, of course he wasn’t) and bits of his face and killed his old life and resurfaced years later with fire in his eyes and one simple goal: Chaos. Turmoil. To strike fear in the hearts of those that had previously filled him with it.
OPTION THREE. A career criminal and kingpin, he was born in the slums of Venezuela to Chilean immigrants and had little choice in the matter of his fate. The streets were his teachers, the lessons hitting in a flurry between ages eight and nineteen; first lesson: lying; second lesson: theft; third lesson: robbery; fourth lesson: assault; fifth lesson: murder. He graduated with honors at the top of his class, and he had a talent for leadership that made other kids want to follow him. The boy was just lucky, almost supernaturally so, managing to survive more than one ambush and hit, making him evade prison more than once. Well before knowing about his mutation, he’d been using it, pushing its limits. It wrapped him up in myth, made his subordinates think he had some kind of pact with the devil or dabbled in witchcraft, and it was just as well because it made them develop near-blind trust in him. Over the years he upsized his operation, made it encompass whole regions of Central and South America – by this point, he sought mostly other mutants, giving them food, shelter, safety and dreams to chase after right by his side. He called this horizontal organization El Panteón (The Pantheon), and named himself its central figure. Together, they put small and medium-sized governments at their heel and switched policies in their favor – or simply murdered the dignitaries publicly if they did not cooperate. And in neither case it was enough for Guzmán. These bloody endings were still only the beginning. Eventually, at the age of thirty three, he settled in America – Miami, to be precise, with plans to expand The Pantheon to this untapped territory and bring about the next step of his plan. By the age of 39, the Pantheon had a foothold in Miami.
OPTION FOUR. The reincarnation of an elder being. Sounds crazy, but Guzmán honestly believes it to be true. The whole background of it came in the shape of dreams during his youth at an orphanage. What else could explain his predicament? What could explain the migraines? The premonitions? The ability to change what seemed unchangeable? In his teenage years he took to books of mythology, history, cosmology, mathematics, theology, conspiracy. Things none of his teachers, all nuns, would approve of if they knew. He learned about the presumed origins of mutations, about aliens, about ancient races and old forgotten gods that were very different to the God he was familiar with, that didn’t make sense to him. And he came to the conclusion that he was one of them. That mutants, as a whole, were, but they’d forgotten; their history had been taken from them. And just like that, at the age of seventeen, the malignant seed within his brain had been planted. Every action to be taken afterwards was just the means to his end as the truth’s very emissary.
THE ANSWER. None of these options are true. All of these options are true. To what extent? That is the actual question, and the answer is that Guzman won’t tell you. He will tell you, but only the false parts. He will tell you, but only if it’s a mix of falsehood and truth. Unreliable without compare, and with an ambition sharp enough to cut through diamond, Guzman will stop at nothing to see his vision materialized. The only things you can have for certain is that he’s charming, playful, hungry, and unable to see a scenario where he does not come out on top.
EXPANDED CONNECTIONS:
RICHARD MALLORY.
When I think of Guzman and Richard, I think of the Nibiru cataclysm. If Guzman is Planet X and Richard is the Earth, it only makes sense to imagine a catastrophic collision between them sometime in the near future. To Guzman, Richard represents the status quo that he so abhors, a system that pretends to patch up a bullet hole with a Band-Aid and act as though it’s enough. Richard stands in the way of the destruction Guzman craves, and it just so happens that right now they have a similar objective, but for different reasons, so Guzman is willing to entertain a begrudging partnership.
On the character level, I see them as foils of one another. They’re both highly intelligent and even idealistic men (if you’re willing to accept that Guzman is idealistic, and not utterly nihilistic), but where Richard desires cohabitation (“peace, unity, amicability”), Guzman wants radical, violent change, and it’s simply not compatible with what Richard wants for Miami or mutantkind in general.
HANA MERCADO.
Hana is one of the mutants Guzman has kept tabs on for a little over a year now. In her, he sees ample potential. He sees power. He sees confidence. He sees someone worthy of the new world. He has employed her in the past for several of The Pantheon’s exploits, and he has been respectful of Hana’s wishes to remain an independent force. They’ve managed a friendly relationship out if it. However, with the arrival of the new gangs, Miami’s landscape is rapidly changing, and he knows it’s time for her make a choice. After all, the alternative to joining forces with him is to let the newcomers seize control of their city.
EXTRA:
ON THE TOPIC OF:
HIS NAME: Much speculation has been given to whether Andreas Guzman was born Andreas Guzman or not, and he’s not about to tell you the answer. But he, in fact, prefers if you would call him X, since that is how he’s known by much of the underworld in Florida. Friends and family and enemies call him Guzman. Nobody calls him Andreas, unless they want to displease him.
THE PANTHEON: Guzman’s organization, comprised entirely of mutants at this point in time. As it was mentioned above, unlike a pyramidal structure where Guzman reigns on top, it’s more of a flat, loose entity, closer to a cartel. He’s still in charge, but outside of his direct orders, it acts mostly independently under the direction of several sub bosses. It wields its most influence in South America and Mexico, with a centralized focus in Florida right now. Allegedly responsible for an outrageous number of assassinations, arsons, and massacres, they have been labeled as an anti-human, pro-mutant terrorist group by the FBI. It’s not widely known that Guzman is responsible for its inception and much of their work, and given his elusive nature, they don’t even know what he looks like.
HIS POWER: Guzman’s mutation is very powerful, yes, but it’s also incredibly difficult to work with and, if he’s not careful, it can be world-breaking. Years of trial and error have allowed him to hone his craft, but the carefulness still remains – it has to. It’s not just luck and likelihood, it’s also how they present themselves. Like a genie and its three wishes, he has to be precise about what he wants to occur, and plan for contingencies in case something gets out of control. On the other hand, it’s a very nifty tool for general mischief-making. He can let loose from time to time and probability meltdowns will take place: glass will shatter, tremors will shake the earth, and cars will crash. Sometimes they will happen without his input, this because the power has a direct connection with his mental status. It’s not pretty to be able to see the probabilities of everything and the millions of path you can possibly take. As such, on the worst days, he’s prone to nightmares, migraines, hallucinations, nosebleeds. He hides all this very well, but sometimes they can be debilitating. He self-medicates.
NARRATION: Guzman is an unreliable narrator. He’s plagued with delusions of grandeur, as a byproduct of his mutation, and many things he says will simply not be true. He knows how to lie. He knows what to say in order to get what he wants. But also, he genuinely believes things that have no grounding in reality. The idea, ultimately, is a gradual revelation of the aspects and bits that are true for Guzman – whenever the interaction allows it.
RIGHT NOW: The most succinct way to put what Guzman does for a living is: he’s a crime boss. He pushes drugs and weapons in and out of America. He also makes money using his mutation (he’s won the lottery a few times, won multiple sports bets, card games with six figure pots – through frontmen, naturally). He uses this money to keep tight control of Miami and fund his many projects.
MISC: sangrelobo.tumblr.com | mockup blog for the man himself.
ANYTHING ELSE: faceclaim changed to Santiago Cabrera.
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mutantdios · 4 years
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BASICS.
FULL NAME. Andreas Guzman AGE. 39 POWER. Probability Manipulation ALLIANCE. Neutral  OCCUPATION. Crime boss
BIOGRAPHY.
OPTION ONE. A young man born to privilege and Texas oil royalty, with too much time in his hands and little in the way of scruples. His life already outlined well before he was born, a project molded with his father’s forethought, his mother’s aloofness, and a nonstop, near repulsive stream of cash. He was to become something great, just as those before him. He was to fit himself into the grand scheme of the Guzman family’s empire: a chief executive, a politician, a diplomat, a lobbyist, a lawyer, someone with authority and the charisma to move millions toward edge of the precipice, if so he happened to need them there. But there came one issue: much as they tried, the young man did not fit perfectly within this carefully constructed plan. While brilliant without compare, his brain was racked with maladies. He’d grown impulsive and hard throughout his upbringing, and worse still: enamored by celebrity, unwilling to listen, and prone to bursts of temper that rivalled his dad’s. It was during one of those heated arguments they liked to have that Andreas Guzman’s mutation blossomed: a passing comment and a venomous will transmuted to a tattered pulse and an itch on his father’s left arm. What is the likelihood of Edgardo Guzman spontaneously developing heart failure? Slim. He took care of himself. He was young. He had no genetic background that reasonably explained this development. And yet, it happened, a freak accident, a tragedy the likes of which you only see in movies. Edgardo died in front of Andreas, and while there was no possible way to pin the death to him, Andreas was convinced he’d played a role. He only later came to learn how.
OPTION TWO. A talent for numbers. Unbridled curiosity. And a knack for finding the most efficient solution even if it wasn’t the standard solution – those were the ingredients that made Andreas. A professor of Math 55’s course with a textbook middle class past, he came into the profession wholly on the desire to understand his gift and the world and pass his knowledge onto others. And as for the gift itself: he seldom used it, fearing its unforeseeable outcomes, anxious about its untapped potential, which was so much greater than anything he knew and so destructive because of it. Others weren’t so careful, however: when his mutant status was revealed and his exact mutation was discovered through an undisclosed examination of the university’s faculty, he was “persuaded” into accepting a job within Intelligence. Reluctantly, he gave in, hoping to be of service. You see, back then, he was innocent, an optimist with unshakeable faith, as all good mathematicians are, and it was only after years of deadening work as an Special Analyst, and years of exploitation by the emotionless, relentless hands of the State that the Andreas you know was born. This Andreas that granted the United States of America many a victory overseas simply by tipping the scales in their favor. This Andrea that fell ships, killed spies, manipulated foreign policies – all within the comfort of the little box they’d built for him. That Andreas – well, one fateful night, he ended up disappearing from the face of the Earth. Changed his name (he wasn’t born Andreas, of course he wasn’t) and bits of his face and killed his old life and resurfaced years later with fire in his eyes and one simple goal: Chaos. Turmoil. To strike fear in the hearts of those that had previously filled him with it.
OPTION THREE. A career criminal and kingpin, he was born in the slums of Venezuela to Chilean immigrants and had little choice in the matter of his fate. The streets were his teachers, the lessons hitting in a flurry between ages eight and nineteen; first lesson: lying; second lesson: theft; third lesson: robbery; fourth lesson: assault; fifth lesson: murder. He graduated with honors at the top of his class, and he had a talent for leadership that made other kids want to follow him. The boy was just lucky, almost supernaturally so, managing to survive more than one ambush and hit, making him evade prison more than once. Well before knowing about his mutation, he’d been using it, pushing its limits. It wrapped him up in myth, made his subordinates think he had some kind of pact with the devil or dabbled in witchcraft, and it was just as well because it made them develop near-blind trust in him. Over the years he upsized his operation, made it encompass whole regions of Central and South America – by this point, he sought mostly other mutants, giving them food, shelter, safety and dreams to chase after right by his side. He called this horizontal organization El Panteón (The Pantheon), and named himself its central figure. Together, they put small and medium-sized governments at their heel and switched policies in their favor – or simply murdered the dignitaries publicly if they did not cooperate. And in neither case it was enough for Guzmán. These bloody endings were still only the beginning. Eventually, at the age of thirty three, he settled in America – Miami, to be precise, with plans to expand The Pantheon to this untapped territory and bring about the next step of his plan. By the age of 39, the Pantheon had a foothold in Miami.
OPTION FOUR. The reincarnation of an elder being. Sounds crazy, but Guzmán honestly believes it to be true. The whole background of it came in the shape of dreams during his youth at an orphanage. What else could explain his predicament? What could explain the migraines? The premonitions? The ability to change what seemed unchangeable? In his teenage years he took to books of mythology, history, cosmology, mathematics, theology, conspiracy. Things none of his teachers, all nuns, would approve of if they knew. He learned about the presumed origins of mutations, about aliens, about ancient races and old forgotten gods that were very different to the God he was familiar with, that didn’t make sense to him. And he came to the conclusion that he was one of them. That mutants, as a whole, were, but they’d forgotten; their history had been taken from them. And just like that, at the age of seventeen, the malignant seed within his brain had been planted. Every action to be taken afterwards was just the means to his end as the truth’s very emissary.
THE ANSWER. None of these options are true. All of these options are true. To what extent? That is the actual question, and the answer is that Guzman won’t tell you. He will tell you, but only the false parts. He will tell you, but only if it’s a mix of falsehood and truth. Unreliable without compare, and with an ambition sharp enough to cut through diamond, Guzman will stop at nothing to see his vision materialized. The only things you can have for certain is that he’s charming, playful, hungry, and unable to see a scenario where he does not come out on top.
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snkpolls · 5 years
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SnK S3E17 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)
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The poll closed with 362 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!
RATE THE EPISODE 354 Responses
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Similar to ranking systems seen outside of this poll this week, the episode has gotten a very high score, with no one voting for anything under a 4. WIT really outdid themselves with this one!
Chapter 82 is one of my top 5 favorite chapters of the series to date. This episode is top 5 of the series to date. Absolutely top notch.
Best episode of all media (and i'm not kidding!!!!) We don't deserve SNK/WIT
Absolutely amazing. I’m a manga reader who watched with an anime only. We normally discuss while watching, but even I who knew what would happen couldn’t make a sound. We were completely speechless. Amazing episode. Definitely top 3..maybe 2.
Best ep in the series. WIT and the cast absolutely delivered these past two eps.
It's great. Hats off for staffs who delivered this episode
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 356 Responses
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Levi taking out the Beast Titan was ranked as the most favored moment of the episode. Following closely behind was Armin’s sacrifice. The third most popular moment, aside from the votes of those who can’t just pick one scene, was Eren dealing the finishing blow to the Colossal Titan.
Let's not forget about the jawdropping Sawano music pieces, the music during the Armin burning scene made the scene so powerful i teared up, as well as Marlowe's monologue one!
I've waited almost two years to see Levi vs Zeke animated and it was so much more glorious and heart breaking in the anime. And the Armin scene had me in tears, every single time, which didn't happen when I read the manga. (Then again I didn't cry at all while reading manga).
I was extremely disappointed with the Levi vs Beast Titan fight, the music choice for that scene was so underwhelming and out of place, and the animation - while better than anything else in the episode - still manages to look extremely lazy.
Am I the only one who actually likes Zeke's monologue? Yes? Ok then.
I never cared much about Armin, he isn't even in my top 5 characters but his death made me cry and every time I see the scene I get emotional. Music was perfect and Inoue Marina did an amazing job.
WHO WAS THE EPISODE’S MVP? 356 Responses
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Armin easily takes the mantle as the Most Valuable Person this episode, with Levi following behind at 15.4% of the vote. In third, people voted Pieck as the MVP.
Armin is the mvp of this episode. No matter how much wit wants us to think it’s Levi with the end card, Armin is the mvp.
Levi was, is, and always will be glorious. That break in his voice, that rage... I'm in tears.
WHO’S SACRIFICE HAD MORE EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON YOU? 357 Responses
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Erwin and Armin had to make choices that brought them to the brink of death. 63.9% of respondents expressed they felt more emotional for Armin’s sacrifice while 36.1% hold Erwin’s closer to their heart. We thought about adding a “both” option, but some poll makers wanted to be evil and prepare you for the next episode. >:)
I HATE the question with Erwin and Armin as the only choices btw. :( Both of them sacrificed their biggest dreams to ensure victory for humanity, and choosing one over the other downplays the strength of both of them in making their choices. That's what made serum bowl so terrible imo. I love both the characters dearly, and the entire thing is a clusterfuck of a Sophie's choice type scenario (I picked not ready for the serum bowl question, if you couldn't tell).
WHICH CHARACTER HAD THE BEST “FINAL BLOW” AGAINST THE ENEMY? 358 Responses
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At 45.8%, Eren gets the most vote for “best final blow” for taking down the Colossal Titan, with Levi following closely behind at 41.6% with the Beast Titan.
Levi vs. Zeke was Imai at his finest, Marina killed it once again as Armin, Reiner vs. Levi Squad was incredibly satisfying, and Eren finally taking down Bert was breathtaking. This episode deserves all the praise it's getting.
Didn’t expect to be so conflicted over Eren taking down the Colossal - he finally got revenge but at what cost ;_;
Daaaaaaayyyyyuuuummmmm. Levi VS Zeke was just *chef kiss*.
WHICH WAS THE BETTER ONE LINER FROM MIKASA? 353 Responses
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“Annie. Fall,” still remains as the more iconic pre-mortem one-liner from Mikasa.
THOUGHTS ON WIT CHOOSING TO OMIT ANY MUSIC WHEN EREN TAKES OUT BERTOLT? 355 Responses
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Nearly 66% of respondents were happy with WIT’s decision to keep the environment quiet during the Colossal Titan’s takedown, allowing the audience to truly focus on the moment. 21.4% were happy with the choice but also would not object to there having been music. 9% feel that it would have had more impact with some music.
Not having any music was a parallel to back when Eren tried to kill Bertholdt in Trost and failed, also because Armin is badly wounded, not having any music gave respect to his "sacrifice"
I never consider the music of an episode beforehand and I was too into the moment to notice there wasn't any
I'm pretty confused abouy how they chose to do it, i guess i was expecting something more impactful, and the no-music, seen from afar thing didn't do it for me
I was too busy crying to notice there wasn’t music
Would’ve been perfect if the silence hadn’t been blocked by berts needless exposition imo
Sometimes silence is better than music.
850 YEARBOOK VOTE: WHO HAS THE BEST TEETH? 349 Responses
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It was almost a tie, but Zeke’s teeth win the yearbook vote with 30.9% of the vote. Just behind him with 30.7% of the vote is the random redshirt that got 2 seconds too much of screen time. 26.6% feel that the Attack Titan has the best teeth. Sorry, Bertolt.
The vast amount of weird looking teeth in this episode freaked me out
WHO WORE THIS LOOK BETTER? 344 Responses
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Reiner wins the most handsome look with 61.3% of the vote. But you have to admit, the resemblance is uncanny.
REINER LOOKS LIKE JAMES CHARLES IN HIS TITAN AHAHAHA
HOW WELL DID THIS EPISODE ADAPT THE CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS? 354 Responses
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The majority of manga readers feel that the source material was handled extremely well this episode, with only 0.3% of respondents feeling it could have been handled better.
Mikasa taking down Reiner was definitely more badass in the manga too. Her expression is too serene here. Hange was infinitely more BAMF-y and I am very glad for this at least.
Levi vs Zeke had an amazing animation, but i didn't like Levi's slashing flurry at the end of it. It didn't make any sense
I thought I was going to be ready for that Armin scene, but it was so much more intense than the manga. I ended up crying so much.
I wish they added more emotional Levi's faces like in the manga, but it turned out pretty ok
The adaptation was pretty badass this time around imo. My roommate lost her appetite watching Armin's sacrifice
If it weren't for the perfect plot that WIT was adapting, this episode would have been one of the worst quality wise, and I wish they would have taken more time and care to adapt one of the best moments of this series.
WAS LEVI VS. ZEKE: ROUND 1 ALL YOU HOPED FOR? 357 Responses
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71.1% of respondents were left feeling extremely pleased with WIT’s adaptation of Levi vs. Beast Titan. 21% were happy, but perhaps not totally blown out of the water like the others. A few small groups of people are either neutral, or felt underwhelmed and/or disappointed.
This was so awesome!! Levi was so badass and damn, rage looks good on him. Zeke clearly didn't see any of it coming!
The voice acting on Levi's part was beyond what I'd hoped for so I was emotionally into it, but the over-the-top drama of the slishy-slashy moment kind of downgraded the actual visuals for me. But you know what, overall I think it was quite good - not brilliant, but good.
It was way too flashy
Zeke's monologue didn't really feel well this time. Yet, the whole scene was pretty good.
SO COOL ALL HAIL GOD LEVI!!
Couldn't fully enjoy Levi slicing Zeke now that I know he'll have him another time and fail at killing him again (with yet unknown circumstances for Levi) :c
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WIT CENSORING THE SCENE WITH LEVI’S BLADE IN ZEKE’S MOUTH? 353 Responses
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52.1% of respondents were pretty understanding of the situation, feeling that the censorship couldn’t have been avoided. 23.2% feel that they could have at least shown a little bit of sliced flesh. 14.4% are hopeful that we’ll get a more gorey version of the scene when the bluray animation comes out. A small percentage were very displeased.
Censorship is understandable all things considered, but it managed to be effective. Sometimes, your imagination makes things worse than the reality of it, such is the case here.
HE HAS SO MUCH TEETH WHY DID THEY GIVE ZEKE SO MUCH TEETH NO HUMAN BEING HAS TEETH THAT GO THAT FAR
The guy got absolutely destroyed right before, the blade still pierced his mouth, I don't give a shit.
I actually think that too much realism would be overkill for fast paced animation. They managed to keep the scenes intense and smooth and i wasn't bothered by it at all.
I was pleasantly surprised we saw the blood from the blade thrusting in his face. I don’t require more gore than that lol
i wanted to see it SO BAD ugh :rip:
Anyone disappointed about censorship in anime in 2019 isn't really knowledgeable about the industry.
I don't care, gore is cheap, snk is better than that.
HOW DID YOU FEEL SEEING ARMIN’S SACRIFICE ANIMATED? 356 Responses
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Over half of the fandom felt more emotional about Armin’s sacrifice than they did reading the manga, a testament to how well WIT adapted the material, given we all know the ultimate outcome of Armin’s fate. 26.1% of respondents felt that the scene was equally moving in both mediums, while 12.6% felt more emotional while reading it happen in the manga.
Both were equally moving for sure but the anime version had that extra element of Body Horror™. Armin's skin literally melting off is something I will not forget for a long time.
Emotionally, this episode didn't get me as much as the manga did but that is mainly because I've got like 2+ years of rereading it and working through my emotions.
Armin was just as annoying with his ocean and he should've died here.
Showing the skin melting off was an absolutely brutal touch
After I read that scene I spent a lot of time thinking and mulling it over. After I watched that scene I had to pause because I couldn't see anything through my tears. They are just different types of impact, there's no way to compare them
Seeing his pants in pristine condition right after took me out of it, so probably manga > anime,  but both really good
I told you I wasn’t ready. I had to watch my son melt. M e l t. He is truly a hero and I’m sobbing.
THOUGHTS ON BERTOLT’S STEAM BECOMING AN INFERNO? 353 Responses
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61.8% of the fandom felt that WIT’s animation helped really put into perspective the pain that Armin was dealing with during his sacrifice. 21.% really enjoyed WIT heating up the steam attack by turning it into an inferno as a cool effect. 9.3% may have felt that it was a little too dramatic, and a small few didn’t really care either way.
The inferno made the decoy plan even better and shows how powerful bert is with his titan.
It made it even more suprising that Armin survived this
Not really consistent to 02/06 where he just emits hot steam, but whatevs.
I was willing to buy Armin miRaCulOuSlY surviving in the manga bc it was just hot steam (and a nearly 50m fall but whatever). He was literally cooked alive. He caught fire, everything was fire. He’s dead. It’ll be even worse when he’s alive and starts the serumbowl in anime form. The inferno cheapened the whole premise of that fight because there’s no way in hell that armin should’ve survived all the shit they added in the anime. Rant over.
Bert for the win
Shinganshina’s first deep fryer looked pretty cool!
DID MIKASA TAKING OUT REINER HAVE AS MUCH IMPACT AS IT DID IN THE MANGA? 353 Responses
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45.6% of voters felt even more excited about Mikasa delivering the final blow to Reiner than they did while reading the manga. 41.1% felt that the scene was adapted well, but that it could have been done better. 8.8% found the animation a bit awkward and didn’t enjoy the moment as much because of it.
Finally Mikasa played bigger role in the anime. She was a real badass.
The only knock that scene has is just... Mikasa get out of the mouth! There's an explosive in there! How did you not get hurt?!
Mikasa has come a long way from being picked up and carried away to safety. The girl who watched Shiganshina crumble because of this guy just stuck her whole-ass body in his mouth like nbd and blew his shit to pieces. Call that narrative satisfaction.
It was wonderfully animated, but when I read it in the manga I felt very sad for Reiner. In the anime, the music was very triumphant
I loved the fluid animation. It’s so fitting for the scene!
Yes. It simply made me cry another time for my poor Reiner
THOUGHTS ON WIT MOVING UP THE FLASHBACK SCENE OF EREN AND ARMIN BECOMING FRIENDS? 356 Responses
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The majority of the fandom, at 64.9%, felt that moving the childhood flashback scene added more weight to Eren finding Armin’s burned body on the roof. 21.6% aren’t too concerned about the placement and are just happy to see it at all. A small amount of people felt it was better placed in the manga.
Torn, it made the end of this episode way better but might make the start of next episode a little less impactful, we'll see.
I think their voices should have been more childlike. They sounded too mature.
Baby armin is the cutest thing ever. I' m also glad they did some justice for eremin for the first time in the anime
WHO IS CUTTING ONIONS?? WHY MUST YOU HURT ME WIT?
WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 354 Responses
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Seeing the Yeagerbros meet for the first time won out with 37.3% of the vote. Following closely behind is the moment when Levi tries to inject Erwin with the serum. 24% of the fandom are looking forward to seeing Eren and Mikasa’s defiance once Levi realizes that he can still save Erwin.
BUT REALLY, HOW EMOTIONALLY READY ARE YOU FOR THE SERUMBOWL? 354 Responses
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34.2% of the fandom feel the impending turmoil coming up as they watch a number of beloved characters either dying or fighting each other. 29.7% are ready to feel everything. 26.3% are looking forward to seeing the characters express their very base and raw emotions. A small few either don’t feel affected or are not really looking forward to the chapter being adapted at all.
One of my favorite characters is Bertholdt so I'm not prepared to see him begging and death next week…
I watch with two anime-only siblings, the serumbowl is going to divide the household into WW3
oh jesus oh fuck i'm not fuckin ready for serumbowl 2.0
I’ve cried so much the past three episodes. I can’t even imagine how bad next week will be.
Last week before Bert dies please no
At least the serum bowl will be dealt with in one episode and we won't need to deal with the endless cliffhanger which definitely did not contribute positively to that part of the arc. It's inevitable with a monthly manga, but man, those few months were rough.
My body is not ready, send help
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?
It was so good overall! The anime continues to do a really great job in bringing life to the manga, this episode especially. Not ready for the emotional rollercoaster of next ep tho asgskdk
It was fantastic. I'm so happy with this season. But how dare you guys not give us multiple choice or "all of the above" as options on some of these
So because of the manga I was reAlly beginning to dislike Floch but seeing the survivor scene really reminded me of why his character is the way it is
Zeke’s monologue was much more terrifying than in the manga, specifically when he raged at the soldiers, it was intense. It’s really got me hyped for the next chapter. “Game set” indeed. The way they are lining this up can’t be a coincidence.
i wonder what the cart titan/pieck was doing the whole time
The preview for E18 was wayy to much spoiler imo.
Armin is MVP 5eva but also RIP the anime only fans, it's been so satisfying to see their reactions all over the interwebs
NGL, they put more in the episode than I thought. Guessing that they’ll dedicate 3-4 eps on post photo exposition
This episode was the best of them all. It brought powerful emotions and made me 100% sure that Levi made the right choice with saving Armin's life. Armin is the bravest of them all and I hope he will become a hero in the final arc of the manga. However, for now I can imagine the feelings and emotions the anime-onlies have. They didn't expect Armin to sacrifice himself and die. In the other shonens main trio always survives, while here the situation is different. However, I hope they won't be disappointed after finding out that Armin is still alive. It may feel like strong plot armor for them. Anyway, I love this episode very much!
I've never been so glad to be a manga reader. Watching this episode without knowing that Armin will be okay would have fucked me up for a long time.
I do feel that Zeke's animation turned out a little too cartoonish as he was ripped from his Titan. Which is a weird critique on an anime episode I know, but. The style seems off. Sloppy somehow. Compare this animation to the beautiful chase scene with Levi in episode 2 of part 1 of this season and it feels like two completely different animes. The VA's have done an outstanding job, though.
Armin has evolved to Arman
Can we appreciate how Bertolt was rendered in this episode? His VA did a fantastic job as always and made him more sympathetic. You could sense that Bertolt was rather chill with his monologue. At several times he wasn't ready to commit but he did anyway. Emotional parting is hard for him.rman
Marlowe's scene in chapter 81 was heartbreaking and eerie enough, but this... that shit H U R T E D
My poor heart still hurts after Armin's sacrifice. Like if you cry everytime.
No question regarding Levi vs BT ost? They used such an awesome ost for Armin's sacrifice and made the scene more epic than the manga, which made me really really happy. On the other hand, in Levi vs BT, they used such an ost which didn't even match the fight's mood. Just because of the wrong choice of ost the scene had much much lesser impact.
For me, this episode was the most anticipated from the manga ever since I read it years ago, and they delivered. It's the best so far, but I hope Blu-Ray can make it better
Like a roller coaster of emotions this show was for me, Levi's fight against Zeke put the animation on a high level if I forgot the two last episodes (because it was "meh" for me but good anyways). The promise that's still remain in force, the sacrifices in vain, three epic and decisive battles that put a semicolon in the saga AND the next episode or serum bowl nightmare. Ugh, I need to take a breath because I've cried more that I expected
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 332 Responses
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Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again in a few days!
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diyunho · 5 years
Text
The Joker x Reader - “Lady Silence” Part 1
Frost’s younger sister came to live with him 6 months ago; one could say Y/N is a bit of an oddball because she doesn’t talk and she doesn’t like to be touched. The Joker allowed her to help the crew from time to time without knowing that the only reason for the woman’s presence amidst them was actually him.
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You could say you were lucky enough when your brother almost ruined everything with his carelessness; he didn’t do it on purpose, but it could have had very unpleasant consequences at that point.
You were working at one of The Joker’s warehouses when Frost noticed Richard behind you:  Y/N was busy sorting out ammunition from a shipment received the previous evening and perfectly aware of his presence, still she decided not to react.
Jonny took Richard’s gesture as insolence when in fact the guy was debating if he should tap your arm or not; after calling your name and being ignored, he was kind of out of options.
Your brother charged towards the clueless henchman and dragged him away from you, slamming his body against the nearest wall.
“Nobody makes fun of my sister, do you understand?!” the usually calm Frost lost his composure.
Richard was completely taken by surprise and immediately apologized for a mistake he didn’t have a chance to commit:
“I wasn’t making fun of Y/N, I swear!”
“Were you trying to mock her?” Jonny got in his face, panting with indignation. “She doesn’t like to be touched and all of you jerks know it!”
“I wasn’t, I really wasn’t!” Richard defended his actions because it was rare to see Frost in such a state and dangerous to mess with him once aggravated. The goon’s hands went up in surrender since he didn’t want any trouble. “I wasn’t mocking her, ok?”
The Joker saw the altercation from across the storage room and yelled:
“Frost, chill!” and Jonny muttered thru his clenched teeth, wishing for nothing more than to break Richard’s neck:
“Do you know who my sister is?!”
“I said chill!!” J repeated and your sibling didn’t have to look your way to realize you were unhappy with his comment. He wasn’t thinking straight and blurred out a sentence that wasn’t meant for anybody’s ears. At least not yet.
Thankfully, The Joker was too far to hear the dialogue and Richard too preoccupied with his own safety in order to analyze words said in anger by an outraged brother.
“Hey Silence, are you done there?” The King of Gotham shouted because help was needed outside to unload the trucks; he often liked to use the nickname since you didn’t talk.
You nodded a yes and stepped away from the finished chore, ready to take on the new task.
“What’s going on?” J growled as you passed by him, already in a very bad disposition. Three days earlier he dislocated his left shoulder and had to keep the whole arm in a sling; it was bothersome and certainly didn’t improve the mood.
You innocently blinked, pretending to be oblivious to the question.
“Move it faster!” he lost his patience with the quiet woman, opening the heavy metal door so she can get out. Straining himself with the injured arm wasn’t the best idea and the stiff muscles became even tighter. “Shit…” The Joker took a deep breath, the paralyzing ache making him see dark spots.
“Sir, are you alright?” someone close by asked.
“Boss, you OK?” another henchman inquired.
“Mind your own business!!” J barked and dragged his feet towards the office he frequently used as a bedroom too.
You discretely signaled Frost and you both followed The Clown Prince of Crime in his quarters; he was lying in bed and moaned in pain when he had to lift his head up to see who dared bothering him.
“What do you want?” he sneered at Jonny and his sister.
“Mister Joker, if you’re uncomfortable Y/N could make you feel better,” your older brother explained and The Joker sarcastically smirked:
“How? Is she a doctor?”
“No sir.”
“Good, because I don’t need a doctor! Get the hell out and let me rest! Make yourselves useful and aid with unloading the cargo!” he raised his voice and you approached the bed anyway. “Are you deaf, Silence?! Beat it!” The Joker pointed his finger towards the exit, aggravated you were still there. He was starting to sweat from the soreness and you knew that being feverish was an indication of things worsening for him in the next minutes.
Your sibling got out of the room first and you were preparing to do the same when J’s physical discomfort made him mumble:
“So what is it you can do to make me feel better, hm?”
You closed the door and signaled the left arm should be out of the sling. The Joker rolled his eyes and made an effort to indulge your instructions, then scoffed when he figured out the shirt had to go also.
“Do I have to be totally naked?”  
You nodded a no and ignored the sassiness, gesturing for the crabby employer to roll on his abdomen.
Once J did what you required, he sensed your hands gently massaging his shoulder blade. “Lemme get this straight, Silence: you don’t like to be touched; how come you’re touching me?”
No sounds came out of the woman that was patiently searching for a certain pressure point under his skin in order to alleviate the throbbing ache.
“Did I answer my own dilemma?” The Joker frowned.
He sure did: you touching him was different than him touching you.
���Stuck up like your brother!” he admonished, pissed Y/N was calm and didn’t seem to care about his bickering. Suddenly, The Joker felt such a sharp pain in his shoulder he thought you stabbed him. He wanted to move but couldn’t: he was completely numb, courtesy of Y/N manipulating the pressure point she found. Before J could complain some more, your thumb unlocked the pinched nerves and his erratic breathing intensified before gradually returning to normal.
The tense muscles finally relaxed, your fingers giving the body necessary relief. 
“Where did you learn to do that?” he groaned, actually enjoying the soft back rub.
Of course there was no acknowledgement from your part and he buried his face in the pillows, not understanding why he was so drained. You faintly pinched the skin on The Joker’s neck and his eyelids closed; by the time you got the third pressure point he was already asleep, yet you used it to make sure he will be out until morning time.
Frost was waiting for you in front of the room, impatiently biting on his lip.
“Did you see the birthmark on his hip?” your sibling whispered.
“Yes,” you confirmed in a low tone.
“Is it him?”
“It’s him,” you reassured and walked alongside Jonny.
“Are you 100% sure?”
“U-hum,” his sister underlined before taking a separate hallway that led outside to the south part of the warehouse while your brother paced in the opposite direction.
Once in the woods, you carefully listened to the noises: you knew they were there. Y/N walked into the darkness and the wind carried over hushed words:
“Mistress, do you need anything?”
One of your men emerged from the shadows and bowed, his black attire making him almost invisible in the murkiness.
“Master Shiro sends his love,” he clearly enunciated and you widely smiled because a confirmation wasn’t necessary anyway. 
“Next week… at the club,” you gave out the information and the man was quick to pull out his sword when one of The Joker’s henchmen patrolling the perimeter yelled:
“Who’s there?”
40 more swords came out of sheaths in the same time but Y/N raised her hand and they all went down obeying her command.
The woman emerged from behind the trees, revealing herself to a goon freaking out for nothing.
“Jesus Y/N, you scared the crap out of me! I thought it was a wild animal or something!”
You just passed by him and headed back inside, pleased that half a year of infiltrating The Joker’s gang and numerous years of research were lastly bearing a fruitful outcome.
************
One week later
The music at the club was deafening and Antoine Mercier was enjoying the strip show; the French smuggler had no business being there after the negotiations ended, yet The King of Gotham allowed him to stay nevertheless.  
“Oh my God Mister Joker, where do you find these girls?!” Antoine got J’s attention, lustfully staring at the twins leaving the stage in a hurry. The song changed and he anticipated the next vixen gracing the runway with her presence.
The Joker was bored and quite irritated with the guest that asked the same dumb question every time he liked a stripper.
“Oohhhh!” the smuggler grinned when a girl wearing a short kimono style robe appeared on the stage, seductively walking her way up towards the two guys present in the Red Room. The Joker was texting on his phone and didn’t pay attention, too busy setting up another meeting for the next day; it could have easily made him about 2 million dollars richer.
The woman hopped off the stage and Antoine tried to pull her in his embrace but she dodged his touch.
“Come’ere sweetheart, I want a lap dance!” he reached for the cute mask covering the girl’s face; she eluded him again. “I love being teased,” he winked and scratched his crotch, ogling the mysterious creature in front of him. She bent over and the smuggler couldn’t take it anymore: he tried to get up while she pushed him back on the chair, allowing him to untie her robe. A second later she slapped his hand away and her attention switched towards the green haired man.
“Not now, sugar!” J snarled when her legs popped under his nose. The girl took something out of her pocket and he still didn’t look up from his cell. “I said…NOT.NOW!”
She held the piece of plastic in front of his eyes and he couldn’t avoid glancing at it: an FBI legitimation with Antoine’s picture, the name “Frank Johnson - Special Forces Unit” printed right under.
The Joker sucked on his teeth and placed the phone on the table near him. He yanked the ID out of the dancer’s hand, his bad shoulder acting up since he didn’t keep it in a sling anymore. The woman went back to Antoine, distracting him for a few moments.
The undercover agent had no clue about the item and was wondering about it when the girl unexpectedly straddled his lap. She started grinding against him and he lost concentration, his mouth sliding down towards her lacy bra.
“How much for a night, honey?”  Antoine groped her and immediately sensed his throat being pierced by something sharp. He struggled to throw the girl on the floor without success; the knife went out and back in his flesh again, both her hands twisting his neck to the left with such ferocity it snapped.
Everything happened so fast J barely saw the short blade she took out of her messy bun; he jumped off his seat and she got up also, the limp corpse collapsing to the ground with a muffled thud.
“What the fuck is going on?”
The woman didn’t seem startled by the loaded gun pointed at her and she slowly took off her mask.
The Joker forcefully exhaled, barely containing his surprise and managed to utter:
“What’s the meaning of this, Silence?”
The silky robe glided off your frame, exposing Y/N to a confused Clown Prince of Crime. You span on your high heels and the sight of the tattoo covering your whole back made him gasp: two dragons with intertwined tails, surrounded by cherry blossoms. The ink was a work of art and also the mark of the highest rank in the Ozunu clan: the Japanese mafia owned more than half of the major cities in the country and The Joker stayed away from them. Not because he didn’t want to do business with them but because they’ve never given him a sign they would be interested in a partnership so he gave up.
And now they were at his doorsteps.
You heard the beads moving and you knew J was gone without looking.
“Sir!” the henchmen waiting outside the Red Room gathered around their boss, thinking he has important instructions. Instead he rushed by them, fuming at the thought that the man in charge of his security took him for a full: Jonny Frost was The Joker’s target and he intended to get some answers before blowing his brains out.
Y/N stayed behind in the Red Room for a few moments and soon after another woman joined; she grabbed the robe from the floor and placed it around your shoulders. You tilted your head as a thank you and she asked:
“Mistress, are we following?”
You nodded a yes and she continued:
“Are you going to change in the van? Master Shiro is already there; we can take the shortcut.”
You agreed and couldn’t deny the feeling building up in your heart: it wasn’t anxiety or distress, more like relief after almost losing hope that you’ll ever find him again.
************
The Joker kicked the door opened, mad beyond control; he was so angry he didn’t notice it wasn’t locked.
Jonny was in the middle of the living room at his house, sipping on whiskey and waiting for his boss. Like it was hard to guess knowing the lovely temper he possessed.
“You son of a bitch!” J barged in, panting with indignation. “You Goddamn traitor!” he took the gun out from his holster and Frost replied:
“I’m not a traitor, sir.”
“You’re not?! Then how do you explain your sister has the symbol of the Ozunu clan tattooed on her back?” The Joker shrieked while your brother serenely admitted:
“She’s married to their leader sir.”
J was so furious his ears started ringing:
“Is that an insignificant detail you forgot to mention??!!” he yelled and took the safety off his pistol, done with the interrogation.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sir,” your sibling took another sip of whiskey which prompted more outrage from a very worked up Joker.
“Are you threatening me Frost?!”
“I’m not the threat sir,” the truthful response accompanied someone’s voice coming from behind The King of Gotham:
“Mister Joker, please don’t point your gun at my brother-in-law.”
J instantly noticed a lot of movement and realized he was surrounded by a lot of people dressed in black, their faces covered in the same fabric; only the eyes were visible from behind the dark veils.
The Joker lowered his arm and turned around, facing the man that stood by Y/N; maybe in his late thirties/early forties, dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono that matched yours.
“Mister Joker, we finally meet,” your husband smirked. “My name is Shiro Ozunu and I believe you’re already acquainted with my better half,” he introduced himself while emphasizing who the woman was. “I’m sorry it took us quite some time before answering your proposal; one can’t be too careful these days.”
J was debating on the whole charade, skeptical about the unexpected encounter.
“That’s why you sent your wife and her brother to spy on me?” the spiteful tone made Shiro cut it short: he had no patience for anybody else’s outbursts except his wife’s.
“Like I said, one can’t be too careful these days! I’m here now: would you like to talk or not?”
The Joker puckered his lips, sick and tired of his shitty day:
“Maybe,” he resentfully grumbled.
****************
After four months, Monday - 6pm
“This way Mister Joker,” Frost leads the way towards the main residence belonging to the Ozunu family.
Located 3 hours away from Gotham on the outskirts of New York, the gated property is huge. It actually resembles a small village: the houses are built in the Japanese style and the sculptures decorating the vast gardens remind of the Meiji Era.
The Joker is here for the first time under the pretext of a business meeting: Shiro and his wife want him close for different reasons, not that J is aware yet.
Jonny takes a right on the path leading towards the terrace, when the sound of some kind of turmoil makes your brother shrug and the familiar noise causes him to quicken the pace.
The green haired guest is silent, mostly because he’s still irritated about his trusted henchman’s stunt. He keeps up with Frost though and when the row of decorative shrubs ends, they both see something that’s worrisome to your brother and puzzling to J: you and Shiro are engaged in a sword fight, relentlessly attacking each other.
“What are they doing?” The Joker finally bothers to articulate a sentence out of pure curiosity.
“They’re having a disagreement sir,” Jonny gulps, more and more nervous. “When they fight they don’t verbally argue; they do this.”
“Are those things sharp?”
“Very,” the short clarification makes J more interested.
Such display of skills The King of Gotham has only seen in movies; you could say he’s fortunate enough to witness a very different domestic dispute - courtesy of Shiro Ozunu and his spouse.
Your blade whooshes in the stillness and before your husband can dodge, you intentionally cut a piece of his sleeve, triumphantly snickering when it lands on the grass.
“This…this is my favorite kimono!” Shiro pants, vexed you did such a thing. He prepares to charge but he gets interrupted by a distressed Frost that can’t take it anymore:
“Shiro-san! Y/N! Mister Joker is here!”
The couple gazes at the two men, trying to regain composure; after exchanging mean looks, you put the sword down first and your husband does the same.
“Apologies Mister Joker,” your husband growls, “we weren’t expecting you this early.”
“It was a smooth drive,” J lifts his nonexistent eyebrows, bummed the spectacle is over.
“Welcome,” he is greeted by the host and you acknowledge him with a faint bow before stomping in front of the small group. Your brother runs and catches up with you, closely followed by Shiro and The Joker.
“Trouble in Paradise?” J blurs out since he’s not a sensible person.
Your husband laughs at the bold question, deeming it to be amusing instead of rude:
“Not even close. We just had a small quarrel; marriage can be stressful sometimes and you have to let out steam.”
“Is it because you’re jealous I saw your wife at the club in a skimpy bra and panties?” The Joker nonchalantly mentions as a payback for the past and Shiro pretends to brush it off.
“Careful Mister Joker; at one point I might not find your remarks funny.”
“Just saying,” J grins and has to persist with his inconsiderate observations. “I’m sure you’re afraid another man might steal her from you.”
Shiro doesn’t lose his cool but lashes out in the most elegant way possible; he’s amazing like that.
“Steal her from me?! Y/N is not an object for someone to steal Mister Joker. And I really pity the man that would dare such an affront not because what I might do, but because she would take it as unforgivable insult and she’s far more despicable than I am.”
J huffs, vexed he can’t initiate trouble while Shiro purposely stirs the conversation in a different direction:
“I trust my wife more than I trust myself, Mister Joker�� and he pauses for a second. ”Did you know we grew up together?”
“Did ya’?” the visitor seems surprised.
“Yes. Her father worked for mine and they lived here. When her parents divorced, Jonny went to stay with their mother and Y/N remained here with her dad. There weren’t a lot of children for me to play with; I was the only heir to the fortune and my father kept me under strict lockdown. When we were kids, she used to come to my house or in same rare instances, I was permitted to go over to her house. As we grew up, we became pretty much inseparable. One night when we were teenagers, she didn’t make it home.”
The Joker snorts, fully aware what it means and Shiro smiles at the cherished memory.
“I’ve been in love with her since I was old enough to know what it meant. Such a shame my father didn’t understand…When he found out about us he chased her away simply because he couldn’t accept an outsider as a suitable partner for his son.”
“An outsider?” J repeats, not getting the idea.
“Y/N is not Japanese Mister Joker and my father was an old fashioned traditionalist,” your husband recalls the ordeal. “He even had an arranged marriage in mind for me. Can you imagine in this day and age to be told whom you should love?!”
The Joker lifts his shoulders up, ignorant about the subject. What would he know about love anyway? Probably nothing.
Shiro reprises his story, upset the details are making him remember the struggle:
“Y/N’s dad continued to work for my father and she was forced to move with her mother 60 miles away. It wasn’t far, yet I was under surveillance 24/7 and couldn’t escape. After a month of being apart, she showed up at the gates, begging for the security to let her in; she walked all the way here because she missed me. One of the guards went and told my father and you know what he did? He sent 6 experienced fighters to teach her a lesson which translated into beating her to death. Who would do such a thing?! Unleash a group of assassins against a defenseless 19 years old girl that just wanted to see the boy she loved…”
Your husband dwells on his thoughts and J is surprisingly immersed in the topic:
“Obviously she survived,” he gives a hint he’s waiting for Shiro to reprise the dialogue.  
“Not thanks to me,” the leader of the Ozunu clan gathers his long hair together and brings it to front on the left side of his body. The wind blows it back over his shoulder again and he sights, frustrated. “A friend of mine, and like I said I didn’t have too many due to my imposed social status, came to tell me Y/N was here and that my father ordered her demise. He knew he will get in big trouble, but he still risked his life and told me. He also helped me sneaked outside the property and I ran away with Y/N. My dad was mad beyond control and disowned me; I really didn’t give a damn since I had what I wanted,” Shiro proudly states. “The next five years weren’t easy, but Y/N’s mom took as in. My father sent messengers on a monthly basis, promising that if I abandon my stupid ambition it will all be forgiven. Since when loving someone is stupid ambition anyway?!”
The Joker doesn’t answer the rhetorical question and ascends the steps leading to the covered terrace where dinner awaits.
“When I was 26 and Y/N 25, we got married. Later that year I received the news of my parent being severely ill. I was an outcast, yet the thought of leaving everything to someone else besides his own flesh and blood made him reconsider his decision regarding the estranged son. I suppose him being a traditionalist led to something good for once… First, Y/N wasn’t part of the deal: he wanted me to divorce in exchange of the empire. But given the situation, I twisted his arm and got what I wanted: I was allowed to come home with my bride. Please take a sit Mister Joker,” Shiro encourages J since they reached their destination.
A small table is set under the canopy with several dishes, chopsticks and regular dinnerware next to the plates.
“I hope you like the food Mister Joker,” your brother makes small talk and his employer groans:
“I like Asian food or did you forget that?”
You start picking shrimp from your platter and move it over to Shiro’s since that’s his favorite. He might be on your shit list for the moment but you still love him.
The chat resumes and you quietly listen when suddenly Shiro’s chopsticks pop up in front of your mouth: an oyster for his wife, which happens to be her favorite. You accept the peace offer and chew on the morsel, still not looking his way.
The Joker keeps on eating and scans the furniture scattered around the patio, inspecting the various framed pictures.
“Is that you?” he gestures towards the image closest to him depicting two young men and a girl.
“Yes, I’m the one with the blue kimono and the girl is Y/N. The other guy is the friend I told you about earlier: an orphan my father took in and used as a currier. After he told me Y/N was here to see me, he disappeared. Over the years we tried to find him but he just vanished from the face of the earth; I’m certain my father did something to him.”
“He’s probably dead then. Why are you still searching?” J yawns, rather exhausted after the long drive.
“My wife is alive because of him and we are together because of him; I wish I could repay his loyalty,” Shiro explains. “He knew he would be severely punished but he still helped us.”
“Hm,” J puffs. “Good luck then.”
***************
The Joker is spending the night and after finishing dinner he was taken to the guest house near the main Ozunu residence.
You just took a shower and crawled in bed by your husband, debating if you should say anything.
“…Shiro… are you awake?”
He wiggles a bit and switches his position so he can face you, not having any objections when you take a strand of his long hair and twist it around your fingers.
“…I’m sorry I ruined your favorite kimono…” you apologize for what you did a few hours ago.
Shiro scoots over towards you and pulls you in his arms, pouting.
“It’s ok, I have so many…”
“But that was your absolute favorite…” the regret in your voice makes him cringe. You caress his face and whisper:
“He didn’t recognize us…”
Your husband kisses you and frowns:
“Do you think he’s faking it?”
“No, he’s not faking it. He doesn’t remember anything…” you sulk and the teary eyes disturb your spouse more than it should. What better way to improve the mood than using a silly request?
“Hey Y/N, you know what? Will take everything as it comes, but in the meantime you should seriously think about how to compensate me: either we make out and then we make love or we make out and make love in the same time.”
You burst out laughing at his antiques, having a difficult time choosing:
“Take your pick !”
While the couple is reconciling from the fight they had earlier, The Joker is getting ready to go to sleep. He drags his feet on the carpet, studying the exquisite decorative items adorning the bedroom. He stops in front of the picture placed on top of the fireplace, recognizing a duplicate copy of the image he asked Shiro about at dinner time.
J glares at the frame, still not realizing that the 20 years old young man that joined Shiro and Y/N for a group picture almost two decades ago is actually him.
Part 2: diyunho(.)tumblr(.)com/post/183207279431/the-joker-x-reader-lady-silence-part-2
Part 3: diyunho(.)tumblr(.)com/post/183762832056/the-joker-x-reader-lady-silence-part-3
Also read: MASTERLIST
diyunho.tumblr(.)com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist
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People hate on Kairi for freezing during the Terranort fight, but it’s honestly a realistic reaction to have for your first real battle.
The TV show “Scorpion” even broke down in one episode, how everyone says your fight or flight instinct kicks in when something happens, but that that isn’t necessarily true: there’s a third option, the “freeze” option, where you believe that is the best outcome to get you out of your current horrific event (and sometimes it is, like playing dead)... and they then had to work with this person who did freeze, to get them off a motorboat that was about to explode.
Really, everyone in the KH fandom is pretty unrealistic--so you’d think people would see Kairi as the breath of fresh air, for finally acting like a normal human being--but instead she’s vilified. But don’t get me wrong, I know it’s because Kairi, for whatever reason, is treated outside the norm of the rest of the group... which is the problematic part here.
But examples of people freezing in other media: Arya Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones forgetting everything she ever learned about swordplay but Jon’s “stick them with the pointy end”, when she’s faced with a stable hand trying to apprehend her.
Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments forgetting all of her training during her first real fight, except that “anything can be a weapon”.
The whole 104th Trainee Squad when faced with Titans for the first time, basically (Attack on Titan).
Said Scorpion character...
This is somewhat different, but the Halle Berry movie “The Call”. In that, this 911 dispatcher (Halle Berry’s character) is trying to save this girl from someone trying to murder her--and to stay on the line with her--but at some point their call somehow got disconnected, after the killer thought the girl had escaped him and was already leaving her house, but then Halle Berry called the girl back and the ring gave her away:( ...Yeah. This is an example of how adrenaline isn’t always a good thing, and can actually make you do the wrong thing in the heat of the moment.
And I just- I guess I feel called out for all this hate on Kairi here, when I know I’m a freezer. I don’t want to be, of course, and I try to fight it... But I know CPR, I work with babies, and every time I think one of them is choking I freeze for a moment. I’m ashamed to admit it! Thankfully, none of them actually have choked yet (and hopefully never will), and I’d like to believe that if it was really happening my instincts would kick in but I’m not so sure... I also bet I’d freak out and be unable to give someone their epipen. And times I’ve thought someone might be breaking into my house (though thankfully, I’ve always been wrong about this and they never have), I basically stay in my room quiet as can be--maybe with a knife, because I have one in the desk by my bed--and I never call 911 or anything. Eventually--often times a half-an-hour to an hour later, maybe--I finally work up the courage to go look, with a weapon and my phone in my hands. But the point is... I know that if it ever had been real, I probably would have been too late (to maybe save my loved ones or myself). So God forbid anyone ever actually break into my home.
The point is, stop hating on Kairi for having a perfectly reasonable reaction that any one of us could have.
Edit: Also, the reason I never do anything when I think someone’s breaking into my house is because I really know they aren’t--I’m paranoid, and I’m not someone with a lot of fears but this is a main one that I do have--but at the same time... what if one time it did happen, and I acted the same way I usually do and wasn’t prepared? (Once again, God forbid). So don’t hate on Kairi, when I’d probably do what she did there and there’s a good chance you might, too. Everyone wants to believe they’d be on the ball in an emergency--and I pray you actually would be--but it isn’t until you’re faced with one, that you realize how you react in a crisis. And especially if it’s something you’ve never done before--and if you’re in shock--you’ll surely freeze and not know what to do, at least for a minute.
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northlandian · 5 years
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Final Thoughts
So this is it. 
Endgame is 1000% complete. The premiere was last night, and in less than 48 hours, it will be released to the public. Well, at least for me, in about...
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(Yes, I have a countdown on my phone that’s been set up since last year that goes until Thursday, April 25, 2019, at 6:00pm)
I wanted to make a post about my predictions. Something I could come back to, so I could see if I was right or wrong. I remember doing that last year with some of my favourite fan artists and laughing at their prospective situations that turned out to be true.
But you see, the truth is... I have absolutely no idea what to expect. And that's not just a cheap copout of me saying "It's a Marvel movie, therefore anything can happen". We know nothing. Literally nothing. The trailers are compilations of repetitive clips revealing nothing past the first 20 minutes of a 3-hour 2-minute movie. We don't even know the films true plot.
Is there a time jump? Do they time travel? Why are they splitting up into teams, seeing how well that proved to work last time? How is Scott saved? Tony and Nebula? And what is their plan?
I don't know. I really don't. All any of us can do is take shots in the dark. RDJ said it himself that it is near impossible to predict what's going to happen.
So that got me thinking about something I've considered pretty much since the debut of the first trailer...this movie is unpredictable...but there are some assumptions we've been making that we are assuming as a fact are going to happen.
But then there are also moments that I believe deserve to happen. Story arcs that need to be completed. Endings certain characters deserve.
So, drawn-out intros aside, here are my final thoughts on this movie.
Tony
Tony is an enigma. I've made a post in the past discussing why he might actually not die based on the chess motif and the necessity to save him as the "King", despite the fact that death is what we'd all expect. I'll be honest, when the first trailer came out, I thought to myself, "Wow. They're really trying to prep us for the heartbreak by shoving this foreshadowing down our throats.” 
Obviously, this is based on the first half of the first trailer, with him adrift in space. I thought that maybe Captain Marvel would be the one to save him, or maybe Pepper in her rescue armour that was seen a couple months ago from a set photo. But how would they know where he was?
But after the second trailer debuted, I think I'm going to make the assumption that it is, in fact, Nebula, with her spare bodily robotic parts, who saves the two of them and brings them back to earth. I'm also going to assume that the scene from the trailers of Steve and the rest looking up at the night sky outside the compound (if that scene is even real) is them seeing Tony and Nebula arriving back to earth. Though I have considered the possibility of the space ship recording scene actually taking place at the end of the move...which would suck. But I'm also going to assume, based on the third trailer and clips that followed of Steve and Tony together, that they actually do reunite, in the present time.
Of course, this does not excuse him from the possibility of dying at all. And he very well could. But then, another thought crossed my mind. In Infinity War, the first time we see Tony on screen is with Pepper, discussing their wedding and possible children. See...why would they foreshadow that if they were to never make reference of it again? Sure, there's a possibility of a time jump with perhaps a wedding and maybe kid squeezed in there. After all, the whole vibe we're given from the second trailer is the question of where the world is supposed to go from the tragedy endured, and how some move on (then Steve of course says "but not us" but anyways). But that's only with the off chance that there is a time jump, and it seems kind of off in the first place. So assuming the foreshadowing wasn't for no reason, I'd like to think that there's a chance he lives long enough to retire and have a kid. 
Tony and Pepper mentioning a kid isn't the only foreshadowing given for his survival, though. There was one line from Avengers that always stuck with me, and sort of got overshadowed by Tony's narcissistic but hilarious description of himself ("Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."). It comes when Steve is criticizing Tony's character and motivation. He says:
"You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."
To which Tony immediately responds:
"I think I would just cut the wire."
Time and time again, Tony has proven Steve wrong, the first obviously being when he flew through the wormhole in the same movie. But what if this is his play in this one too? To be presented with a one-or-the-other choice for who can be saved, but manages to do both? Alternatively, this could also play out to the opposite of our favour; maybe Tony does finally just crawl over the wire for someone. For example, I've pictured a scenario where they do indeed go back in time to retrieve the stones before Thanos does. It's a plausible situation, considering we know nothing of their plan. But when it comes time to retrieve the soul stone, it's Tony who decides to make the sacrifice. Maybe he argues over it with Steve, who would want to finish what he started with Red Skull and complete the fate he was given 70 years ago, but ultimately Tony forces him to comply to what he wants, which is to finally make the ultimate sacrifice. 
(And for the record, if either of those situations plays out, I'm suing Marvel for emotional distress)
But there's one other option, and it's based on a line spoken by Tony in the trailer that really stuck out to me. It was when he was leaving his message to Pepper in the second trailer, and it's where he says:
"I know I said no more surprises, but I was really hoping to pull off one last one."
At first thought, I thought it may be like a "Surprise, honey! I'm not dead, and I've returned to earth to help defeat that giant grape!" sort of thing. And maybe it is. But I've also considered the possibility of Tony tricking someone or something. Perhaps tricking those into thinking he was dead. He did do it in Iron Man 3. But then again...who knows.
Sidenote: That's the end of my first thought and everything on Tony, and I have, like, *at least* twelve more to go. I was not expecting this to be this huge. Whoops.
Steve
It is so hard to get a read on what the hell is happening with this damn character. On one hand, Chris Evans has been talking for the longest time as if we all already know that his characters dead, with the way he speaks about his wrap-up with Marvel in general. But then there are people like the Russo's who say they have things in store that we don't know about yet. Like what?? Who do we believe? Are they just trying to cover up his obviousness? Or are we, again, making predictions that we shouldn't because this movie is actually so unpredictable??
Obviously, I don't know what's going to happen. What I will say is, I know what the fanbase expects, and that's for him to die. But again, just like in Tony's case, if that's one of the top expected outcomes, isn't it less likely going to happen?
Personally, I'm in favour of one specific theory many fans have contemplated and considered. The theory is that Steve, whether it be a result of the plot or by choice, goes back in time to the '40s, and that's where he lives out the rest of his life. He has his dance with Peggy, something foreshadowed so many times, including in the trailers, and they end up living together happily, and he endures the life he always wanted before going in the ice - that is how he phrased it at the end of Age of Ultron. So yes, he would most likely be "dead" in the present day from old age, as would Peggy (since she had already died in Civil War), but he would live out the life he always wanted.
OR - and I just thought of this now, literally as I'm writing - get this. He goes back to live in the '40s. But in present day, he's still alive, just very old. The Avengers (or whoever's left) go to see him by the end of the movie, maybe even during the after credits. And...it's Stan Lee. He is Steve Rogers. His final cameo.
(This seems highly unlikely, but the thought amused me. I also can't remember if the super soldier serum allows you to age properly in normal circumstances, but I don't wanna look it up at the risk of running into spoilers. Oh well, unresearched theory is unresearched.)
Thor
Don't get me wrong, I am still very much in the mindset of:
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But if I'm being completely honest, yes, Thor, just like every other O6, the God of Thunder known by humans for his immortality, has a chance of not making it. With talks of a Thor 4 with dir. Taika Waititi, it seems unlikely, but the chance is still there. And it did get me thinking...
Loki telling him before his death, "The sun will shine on us again"...did he mean in Valhalla? I have had the thought of Thor possibly biting it, but then a scene where we see him there, reuniting with Loki, Heimdall, Frigga...even Odin. His loved ones. The ones he thought he could not go on without, finally being together again, him being happy in the afterlife.
It's a sucky thought, but a possible one.
Loki
Soooo...here we are. I'm not going over my whole freaking theory again, but I stand by what I wrote. Including the portion with the disclaimer where I established that I could be totally wrong.
But a possibility I also totally support is one where he is brought back with time travel. Why would he have a poster if he doesn't make a reappearance? What that reappearance is, I have no idea. Maybe, just like the comics, he does purposely bring the Avengers together in New York. Or maybe it's something heartfelt at the end, where time has rolled back, and it's immediately following Ragnarok. Thor is aware of the reverse, and everything that's happened, and Loki saunters into the dressing room again and makes the comment on Thor's eyepatch, but Thor is just so happy to see him, that he just hugs him, as it was foreshadowed in Ragnarok, and all is well, and they live happily ever after in Norway on Earth ruling Asgard together...
Idk. Just a thought.
A Cinematic Parallel
So this was just something I noticed when comparing the Infinity War and Endgame trailers.
So remember in the Infinity War trailer, where we see Tony just sitting with his hands folded over and we were like "huh wonder why they're covered in dirt", and then it turned out it was cause Peter just died, and it was his dust, and we all had a good laugh/cry when looking back on it.
Well...you know that moment in the Endgame trailer when Steve is covered in what looks to be sweat and dirt and he tightens his shield around his arm or something, and looks to be in extreme anguish over...something?
Well... I think that's our one glimpse at the end, just as Tony's was in the Infinity War trailer. I think someone just died in that moment.
That's literally it for that.
Death
We don't know who's going to die. We don't. And we don't know how. But that fact that the Russo's, Paul Rudd, and Chris Evans have been openly joking about character deaths is a definite indicator that whoever and however they go is not going to be mainstream. Like, I don't think it's going to be a Loki-type death, or the Tony-almost-death, where the character is just too overpowered by Thanos, or whoever else, and they die as a result. It's going to be complex. Or a decision the character makes that is self-sacrificing. Or something similar to the Steve time travel theory. But whatever it is, it is likely incredibly hard to guess.
Time Travel
The theories of time travel that have been circulating since the debut of Ant-Man and the Wasp are still just that - theories. I'll be honest, I'm still not 100% sure how the quantum realm can possibly assist them, other than getting them stuck in a time vortex. And even still, the operators of said quantum realm machine are dusted. That's all we have to go off of; that, obvious hair and suit changes throughout the trailers and set photos, and, of course, the fact that there are limited options as to how they can actually succeed at this point.
The Suits
Honestly, I just included this section to make fun of their new suits some more. They are so freaking ugly, it's hilarious. I remember when the photos of them were first leaked, everyone laughed and said it was too ugly to be real, yet HERE WE ARE.
So you can imagine how hard I laughed when I saw the second trailer for the first time, and how conflicted I was over how cool their "walk" was, but how gross the suits were.
Some actual memes I saved before the official release of the suits:
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Bonus: Something I saved literally last November. And we're about to find out in less than two days...God, I'm not ready.
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Prospective Scenes
There were a couple of scenes other than those I've already listed that would be incredibly satisfying to see.
Firstly, Tony and Pepper's wedding.
I always pictured it as the after credits scene. A final symbol of rest, retirement, and relaxation for Tony. And everyone's there, too. The rest of the O6, but also Peter and May, Happy, Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, the Guardians, T'Challa, Shuri, and their friends, Bucky, Dr. Strange (both reluctantly), Wong (of course), and the rest of their friends and (remaining) family. Everyone's watching as the shot is on them. And standing behind them, telling Tony he may kiss the bride, is the minister - Stan Lee. His final cameo.
(Or at least the one I originally had in mind).
The perfect ending for the perfect character arc. And oh, how unlikely it is to happen.
I'm also curious to know, now that it's confirmed, how the story will reintroduce Valkyrie, who happens to be one of my favourite characters, and also who may have escaped with her (hopefully with one of my other favourite characters...).
But there is a scene which we know for a fact is going to happen, and may have gotten a glimpse of during the final trailer, with the shot of Rocket and Nebula sitting somberly and holding hands. It's Rocket finding out that the other Guardian's didn't survive. Since separating from the other Guardians in Infinity War, Rocket did not know of their outcome, and there was no one to relay the message. That...is going to be heartbreaking to watch. Especially after seeing Rocket's character development in GOTG 2.
Prospective Dialogue
Just like certain scenes, there are lines that would be amazing to hear from specific characters.
The first, and probably most popular and obvious, is, of course:
"Avengers Assemble"
If Cap doesn't finally deliver this line with so much passion in this goddamned movie...
But then there was also a line of my personal preference that I really wanted to be heard in the movie, especially if it was said by either Tony, or Steve, or both of them to Thanos. And it's...:
"Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."
Which is why I was SO HYPED BUT ANNOYED when I heard it in the trailer because so much of that content isn't going to make it into the movie.
I guess we'll see.
The Stones
So a common...what would you call it...theme, I guess? I've noticed is the correlation between the Avengers and the infinity stones. There are, of course, the six original Avengers left, and six stones. Each Avenger happens to almost perfectly fit into the representation of each stone.
Thor is the Space Stone - Probably most obvious. The Tesseract came from his family, and he has done space travel all his life.
Steve is the Time Stone - As he is "the man out of time".
Banner is the Mind Stone - A scientific genius, yet can't control his own mind.
Barton is the Reality Stone - He conceals his reality - his family - from the rest of his life and his world.
Natasha is the Power Stone - Often viewed as the weak link, even by allies (ie. Scott in Civil War), yet probably one of the strongest and most powerful team members, both physically, and mentally.
And finally - Tony is the Soul Stone - The godfather and soul of the team.
I don't know what this means for Endgame, if it means anything at all. It was just something I noticed.
Fate
There is one last theme I've come to notice throughout the original six, and it's the fact that each of them had their fate severely altered, almost unnaturally, to end up where they are in Endgame.
Tony, of course, almost died in a cave after being kidnapped by terrorists. He only built the Mark 1 suit to escape, and nearly died in the process of that. If he did not go to Afghanistan for the weapons presentation, not only would he not be Iron Man, but he would not be with Pepper, and he would still be manufacturing weapons - or worse, Obidiah would've had him killed another way.
Steve, of course, was selected to be the test subject of the super soldier serum, but that's not what altered his fate. He was destined for that for his grit and determination alone. His fate was altered when he survived something he shouldn't have - When he came out of the ice alive. None - and I mean none - of the events within the Avengers, SHIELD, or anything could have happened if he had died as he was supposed to.
With Bruce, you'd think I would refer to his gamma experiment in general, but that's not it either. That was also destined, similar to Steve's experiment. His is mentioned more briefly in Avengers, and it's the fact that he tried to kill himself. His attempt backfired, as he says he immediately transformed into the Hulk and thus, survived. But his intent was there, and if not for the quick reflexes and will to live of the Hulk (something that was NOT demonstrated in Infinity War, mind you), he would be gone.
Clint's and Natasha's basically go hand-in-hand. In Avengers, we find out that Clint was sent to kill Natasha, as she was part of the KGB. Natasha, in return, would have to try and kill Clint, not that it would have been different from any other enemy of theirs at the time. But because Clint made the call to try and reason with her and get her to turn, they both came out alive rather than the false dichotomy of a situation that would have left at least one of them dead.
And finally, there's Thor. His is a bit trickier to pinpoint because although he's been in death-defying situations, it's unclear if he's ever come close to death like a mortal would. But it's Thor who actually describes this fate that got me thinking about this theme in the first place, as he tells Rocket in Infinity War:
"You know, I'm 1500 years old. I've killed twice as many enemies as that, and every one of them would have rather killed me, but none succeeded. I'm only alive because fate wants me alive."
Fate wants him alive. And apparently it wants the other five alive as well. Otherwise, three of them would be dust, based on probability of the snap. But all six of them remain.
Again, I have no idea what this means for Endgame. I'm just pointing out what I believe to be significant.
Wow, so those are a lot more thoughts than I thought I'd have...this took about 3 hours to write, lol. So I think I'm going to leave it at that, and find out what happens on Thursday. I am in no way ready for it to all be over. And I've never been so terrified to watch a movie. And I've never had to consider that this might be the final 48 hours of a characters life.
This is going to be big. And I can't wait. But goddamn I am so scared.
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