#cause he never had to grow out of that. no one challenged him/his views/etc enough to do so. until the end of yk2

[designernishiki]

it’s so weird to think that ryuji was only a major character in one canon game. like he’s such a strong character with such a strong personality it doesn’t feel like he was only prominent in one canon game at ALL. he feels almost as ever-present and beloved as someone like daigo and yet he’s basically never even mentioned after kiwami 2. that’s so crazy to me.

#am I saying bring ryuji back? yes. end of statement #same goes for mine to a slightly lesser degree. and somehow yokoyama agrees with me on both of these I think #I am biased in a way because I am one of the few who has been lucky enough to play dead souls but. yeah #those two are also just good examples of antagonists that are almost comically malicious but still somehow have depth under the surface #and redeemability. in a way. not saying mine bulldozing an orphanage is Forgivable im saying he Did start to have a change of heart at the #end of y3 so he’s Capable of change and whatnot. and ryuji’s just a bully who takes his feelings out on other people usually physically #like he’s very much a teenage bully in the body of a gigantic adult man. #cause he never had to grow out of that. no one challenged him/his views/etc enough to do so. until the end of yk2 #AND IN DEAD SOULS ITS JUST A FACT THAT HES GROWN AS A PERSON AND MATURED. #it’s somehow a DRASTIC difference in personality from him in yk2 and yet still believable because of how much in his life had to change #and because he is like. the adult version of the previous ryuji. I know ryuji was already 30 in yk2 but you get my point. he wasn’t grown up #not really. (same goes for daigo- they’re such obvious foils for one another it’s so interesting and I wish it was explored more but ANYWAY) #ryuji #yk2 #rambling

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Tommy and the role of ‘hero’

Hey, this little essay is discussing how Tommy’s character has struggled with being called a hero and hows it’s been a significant part of his character arc for Season 2 of the SMP. It’s not a title he ever gave himself yet it’s a title he’s burdened with all the same. 

Funnily enough, I don’t recall Tommy ever being called a hero before Technoblade’s damning speech on Nov 16th, where he compared Tommy to Theseus. 

Tommy you just did a coup. You just did a hostile Government takeover and then immediately instilled yourself as President. And then you gave it to your friend but that’s still a tyrant Tommy.

But the thing about this world Tommy, is that good things don’t happen to heroes. Let me tell you a story Tommy, a story of a man called Theseus. His country, well his City-State technically, was in danger and he sent himself forward into enemy lines. He slayed the Minotaur and saved his city. You know what they did to him Tommy? (”What did they do?”) They exiled him. He died in disgrace, despised by his people. That’s what happens to heroes Tommy. The Greeks knew the score. But if you want to be a hero Tommy, that’s fine. 

Do you want to be a hero, Tommy? Then die like one!

Technoblade’s speech is a frustrating one at first. It begins by essentially calling Tommy a power hungry tyrant despite that being far from the truth - Wilbur was the one who formed the Government and Tommy rejected power. He trusted it to Wilbur who then chose Tubbo. Schlatt wasn’t even killed by Tommy, he died of a heart attack after being abandoned by every one of his allies so it wasn’t even really much of a takeover at all and it wasn’t Tommy. Yet this speech was entirely directed at Tommy.

But the latter half is different, accusing Tommy instead of trying to be a hero who thinks he’s saving the world and that he’s doomed to have a bad end. It’s interesting as never has Tommy claimed to be much of a hero. Tommy’s always just fought for the things he cared about. Indeed his response to Techno’s speech suggests the same.

“I’m not the hero. No one’s the hero! We’ve got L’Manburg for each other.”

But of course, Techno’s words stick with him all the same. Particularly the bit about a tragic end as Tommy becomes very, very aware of his own mortality in the arcs that follow. To Techno, a hero seems to be a naive figure who tries to do good but is destined for failure and tragedy. 

But there’s another path Tommy fears even more. One that he’s witnessed firsthand. Becoming the villain.

Let’s be the bad guys. Tommy, why not? Our nation’s gone. our nation’s far behind us, Tommy. Let’s blow that motherf*cker to smithereens. Tommy, I say if we can’t have Manburg, no one - no one can have Manburg! ...L’Manburg.

This is a new era! We burn the place to the f*ckin ground, I want no crops to grow there ever again.  I want f*ckin mycelium and cobblestone, it all covered, Tommy. I want it all gone! 

Tommy, let’s be villains.

Wilbur was Tommy’s hero. He loved Wilbur dearly and wanted nothing more than to be a good right-hand to him and make him proud. But when they lost L’Manburg and were banished, Tommy saw Wilbur changing, saw him giving up home and deciding he’d rather destroy the thing they’d worked for and blow it all up. After Wilbur made this speech, Tommy argued, making it clear he was entirely against his plans. Even saying that it wasn’t the moral thing to do. He said not to give up hope, that everyone wasn’t against them and that Wilbur’s ideas were reckless. But he stayed with Wilbur and continued to support him, hoping that he could convince him to change his mind. Tommy failed. And Wilbur died.

So, the Tommy at the start of S2 just wants to go back to his old life, a simpler time where he doesn’t have to worry about L’Manburg anymore as it’s in safe hands and he can focus on his personal concerns once more - like his music discs. He doesn’t want to be a hero or a villain, he merely wants to be happy again in a world without Wilbur. 

But there’s someone else watching him. Dream. 

I think it’s no coincidence that Dream wanted Tommy exiled by his own people. I think he was deliberately trying to make Techno’s speech into a reality. Dream had become rather obsessed with Tommy and treated all their interactions like a fun game where he played the villain and Tommy, the hero. It’s not a narrative Tommy himself liked but all he could do was play along. 

Dream had him exiled and this seriously pushed Tommy to his limits. On the first day, Techno briefly visited and asked him why he was still trying and he answered that he always gets back up and he would keep on fighting Dream. But as his exile progressed he slowly lost his will to fight. Slowly Tommy stopped believing that his exile would ever come to an end and that people still cared. 

In exile Tommy had a lot of time for reflection. Here’s something Tommy says days into his exile when he’s begun to lose all hope and is starting to accept that maybe Dream’s his only friend. 

Everyone always tells me I was the- the hero of this server. The one that came and f*ckin fought Dream - the only one that ever spoke back to him. But maybe I was just... maybe this was just meant to be. 

Tommy’s got complicated feelings about being a hero. To him it means standing up to Dream, never giving up - that’s what he believed people expected of him. But in his exile, he began to give in to Dream. He begins to express how no one cares and that the only reason they ever pretended to care was when he had status - when he was part of L’Manburg. There’s this implication that he felt like people only cared about him when he was being the selfless hero. When he was trying to be selfish for once, causing trouble like he used to and wanting to focus on his personal disc war rather than on L’Manburg, he got exiled. (Of course, this is Tommy’s biased perspective not how others actually viewed him.)

Tommy eventually escaped his exile, finding renewed courage to fight against Dream. Except, he’s still scared and uncertain and feels confused about Dream. He feels lost and clings onto Technoblade for support. 

With Technoblade, Tommy starts to feel more like himself - but Techno also influences Tommy, turning him more against his friends. (I think Techno’s character genuinely thought they didn’t truly care about Tommy, likely not realising how much they had also been manipulated by Dream.) Technoblade gently encourages Tommy to be more violent and wants him to help blow up L’Manburg. 

This is where Tommy’s fear about becoming more like Wilbur come into play. Tommy did not want to become a bad guy - he’d had nightmares about it even. But in his time with Technoblade, after how helpless he’d been during his exile, being given some power lead Tommy to start lashing out more violently, he began to get more aggressive - alarmingly so even. Technoblade’s path was one of revenge, dealing with his own pain by causing others to suffer (for noble goals, fighting corruption etc I don’t want to get sidetracked though this is about Tommy). Technoblade’s presence was helpful to Tommy, helping him to get over much of his fear but he still lacked in agency and still felt lonely knowing he hadn’t made up with his friends.

Tommy finally came to his senses at the festival, where he realised he was fighting his best friend and putting his personal attachments - his discs - over Tubbo. And that was wrong. He realised he was becoming just the sort of person he didn’t want to be - he had been on the path to becoming like Wilbur. And he rejected that path. He wasn’t going to be a bad guy. Just because he was hurt didn’t justify hurting others. So he reconciled and once more committed to protecting L’Manburg, having put his personal desires aside. It seemed like he’d put himself into the role of selfless hero yet again.

And he failed. Again. 

Dream tells him how it was a fun game to him. And how their story was not over. Tommy though, had become extremely tired of it. He didn’t want to play Dream’s game. 

They meet up again. And again, Dream talks to Tommy like he’s important - like he’s the key to everything. He wants Tommy to play the role of hero and has been manipulating events for a long time to keep pushing him, to keep taking things from him. Being a hero, which Dream believes Tommy wants, simply means playing along with Dream’s narrative.

Tommy, you want to be a hero, right? You want to be the hero of the server. And every hero needs an origin story, right? Batman had his parents, Spiderman had uncle Ben, you have Tubbo, right? 

In the end, Tommy refuses to play Dream’s game anymore though. He called for help and got saved by everyone else. Then he killed Dream twice and had him locked away for good.

And once more, Tommy decided to do things for himself again. He decided to live peacefully, working on a project, talking to various people on the server and trying to avoid making waves and getting into any more conflict. It’s a good end.

He rejected Wilbur’s path and he defied Technoblade’s predictions and he didn’t lose his best friend to Dream. And now Tommy’s trying to avoid playing the role of hero anymore. It’s not a title he ever gave himself but one thrust upon him. Yet it’s one he’s keenly aware of. And one that, despite everything, he can fulfil.

Tommy’s arc has been in some respects about defying the expectations of others - but he also can’t help but fight for the things he loves. He realises his troubles were not that his friends didn’t care or that he had to play a role but that his life was being controlled by Dream and now he’s free of that. No longer is he so weighed down by expectations but when there is a sufficiently threatening enemy, he has not lost his determination to challenge it. 

#tommyinnit #meta #analysis #uh feel like i didn't have a great conclusion #anyway i love tommy's character #and his arc has been great this season #i especially appreciated how the exile arc really showed another side to his character #and dream's a great antagonist #driving much of this conflict #dream smp #exile arc #i didn't really talk much about love and attachments which are also impornant to understanding his character this season #and also his grief and thoughts on death #anyway this is about tommy not techno or dream or wilbur so i'm not analysing their actions except in regards to how they affected tommy #but feel free to add or correct me on anything #cheers! #the disc war

[ignisnocturnalia]

Ushdhsjdhei those Nokris hcs had me SWEATING they were so good! I’m not sure if you’re taking requests currently, but if you are, could we have some for Oryx please? At any rate, I hope you have a lovely day! 🥰

Oryx was on my personal list next, so this request lines up PERFECTLY 😏 I hope you've been having good days as well, my friend 😎

Oryx x Reader

Relationship

As the Taken King, congratulations, you are now the Taken Queen and most likely an ✨outlaw✨ to the city

Things might get a little dicey, since before you came along he viewed “loving” as killing the object of his affections repeatedly… (I have the anthologies, bro has killed his siblings like 3 times not even halfway through the book while gushing about how much he cares about them)

Takes you to the different planets he’s conquered, detailing their indiginous species before he had them annihilated whenever you ask about them (including war moons)

Tries to help you create your own throne world, and if you can’t or don’t want to, he shares his with you

Just the same as him, Hive kneel to you, and though unnecessary you receive a part of the upward stream of power acquired through their Sword Logic per Oryx’s command

Even though you might not understand the culture very well, your words will still carry hefty weight; be mindful of what you say, it could literally get a solar system erased

It’s highly unlikely, but on the rare occasion that you’d have a run in with one of his siblings he’s ready to challenge their doubts about you being his mate

Since you don’t use the power given to you and Oryx doesn’t restrict what you use it on, the fastest way for you to befriend his soldiers is by dangling favors just within reach; the Thralls act like cats to you in the absence of the King, and Wizards flock to you so you can see their accomplishments and be impressed by their work enough to give them a boost in their hierarchical climb

Oryx has, in fact, made a throne beside his for you and frequently invites you to help him study the Darkness; he thinks your cluelessness of the universe is cute, but he is determined to get you to understand what he means when he speaks of “The Final Shape”

You have your own fleet, no questions asked. If you’re going to be his Queen, he wants you to grow your influence across space so your name becomes known and feared as equally as his is

NSFW 👁👄👁

I have a supreme feeling, that as the “King of Shapes”, Oryx can totally shift between a female morph and a male morph especially since he used to be female

Pays close attention to what makes you squirm, can and will make you come through touching alone

Prefers being dominant, but will give you opportunities to feel like you’re in control

Don’t care how tall you are, size difference will exist and he digs it in the sack, bonus if he can see his outline on the skin of your stomach

His wings twitch and shudder a lot, and they’re quite sensitive to light touches, so if you can reach them  d o  i t 

He is very rough, prepare to lose your legs for ~1 week. If he’s feeling generous for whatever reason he will be a little more gentle, but it’s almost unnoticeable

Likes it when you try to scratch his chitin, and will be very vocal if you can actually cause any amount of damage

He is a big fan of overstimulation, as well as teasing, so you’re either going to be over the moon and unable to speak or begging for him to do something

A human’s flexibility has him totally enraptured, and every chance he gets he will put you into the most questionable, and sometimes uncomfortable, positions just to see the way your body will bend

You merked basically all of his children and annihilated quite a few of his high ranking soldiers; if that isn’t a testament to your strength and worthiness, what is? He thinks it’s extremely arousing, and biology be damned he will figure out a way to breed you so he can have his strongest heirs yet

Fluff

You both make certain auras with your powers, so if you’re ever at different places on his Dreadnaught you send waves of Light and Dark to each other; normal Hive are jarred by the Light you send out until they realize it’s just you and not a massive assault from Earth’s Guardians

When you two sit together, he makes a point of allowing you to rest your hand on top of his or interlock your fingers

Oryx leans over a lot whenever you want to give him a smooch, like damn,  you wanna give him back problems you tiny ass person?

While he definitely isn’t going to understand and will think it’s childish, he does let you decorate his horns occasionally (flowers, precious metals, etc)

Once you get used to it, he has you go with him to check on planets being conquered. Nothing boosts incentive better than having your King and Queen watching your progress! Even if the work is insufficient for his tastes, you can usually dampen punishments; some Hive regard it as human softness, but countless others will grovel at your feet in gratefulness later

You two spend freetime with sword dueling- if you don’t know how to properly fight, he’s more than eager to teach you

He postpones his invasions in the Sol system in regards to your feelings on the subject, but he always has an excuse ready to go; however, give him an inch and he will go a mile. If he’s under the impression that you don’t care enough or prioritize him over your race, he will push his work full force

While he prefers not to, he’ll basically never let you sleep or nap with him; he doesn’t need or want sleep in the same way that you do, so he thinks it’s a waste of time, and he only likes it because of your warmth

Should you try to dip into Hive magic, he will watch your growth with tremendous pride and help where he can, even sending in Wizards with similar talents to help cultivate your skills

Enjoys holding your shoulders and pressing your body close to his in more private moments because it makes him feel big even though you could totally cripple him in a 1v1

#relationship headcanon #destiny 2 #oryx the taken king #oryx x reader

[marshmallowdonutsprinkles]

I got this dialogue from Raihan today (it appeared as new, but I feel like I've seen this already🤔) and his mention of "proper rival" reminded me of one of Leon's opening quotes for the Galarian Star Tournament.

"See, I've spent my whole life battling with myself to become the greatest Trainer... And then I saw how <player> grew so strong by competing against my little brother, Hop... and how much it made Hop grow, too. It really proved to me how much further you can go when you're battling against a proper rival! And now that I've taken over running the League from Chairman Rose... I'm thinking I want to bring even more thrilling battles to our wonderful Galar region!"

When i first saw that quote, I was confused at first. He was inspired to create the tournament because of the player's relationship with Hop, and wanted to show everyone what it's like to form good relationships with your rival instead of just stomping them into the ground for a performance. His use of "proper rival" made me wonder if he ever saw Raihan as a proper rival?

He mentions "battling [him]self to become the greatest trainer" but what does that mean about his relationship with Raihan? Whether battling himself meant breaking out his comfort zone to surpass his limits in a one-wrong-move-and-you-lose type battle, or simply reflecting from past battles from various types of opponents to form strategies for future battles, it seems that despite having a rivalry, he still felt he had to do it by himself which, actually, does sound like him. For example, he sees it as the champion's duty (both in game and during the darkest day arc in anipoke) to protect others. Whether he really wants to do that or not is another story, but at the very least, he is unfortunately used to burdening things alone.

I don't think their rivalry is one-sided, and I don't think he doesn't respect or doesn't view Raihan as a proper rival (and/or friend?) either. In anipoke, we see Leon express disatisfaction in his battle with Ash (episode 13 iirc) because Ash wasn't strong enough/didn't understand the dynamax mechanic and it wasn't a fair fight. We never see that when he's about to fight Raihan (or even when he won against him I believe) in episode 27, which shows me that Raihan is strong enough to more or less give Raihan the type of challenging but enjoyable battle he's looking for, even if Raihan loses.

Somewhat unrelated, but in the anime (opening and official art) there's a scene of them taking selfies together, and posing like they're about to release the hottest mixtape in all of Galar

In my opinion, this tells me that he not only enjoys the rivalry with Raihan, but even enjoys his company enough to take selfies and potentially hang out together. In the game, Leon talks about his respect for Raihan, too:

"Anyway, I'd say that you should go and say hello to Raihan while you're here, <player>. He's the greatest rival I've got and the final hurdle you'll have to face in the Gym Challenge. He should still be around the vault, if you hurry. It's down that way—on the way to Route 6."

"The only Gym Badge left is the one you'll get from the Dragon Gym's Leader, Raihan. Right? Raihan is the only Trainer out there I consider a real rival. He's that good, you know!...And there I go again! Sorry, but I suppose this is no time for me to be stopping for a chat."

In Pokemon Masters, during the Champion Time event, he specifically mentions that Raihan is the reason he'd gotten so strong to begin with:

(Blue says Leon must have a pretty good rival since Leon is this strong, which causes Leon to say what's in the second pic)

He considers Raihan a real rival, someone who helped him get to that point, but it took for him to see the player and Hop (other than becoming Chairman so he has the power to create tournaments) to make the Star Tournament? It seems weird to me. Unless the "proof of how much further you can go battling a proper rival" meant that "it happened to me and Raihan, and it happened to Hop and <player>. See, having a rival where you both grow from is a good thing, and I want others to see it, too!" Similar to having more than one point to prove your argument, in case someone tries to counter argument and say it was a coincidence/fluke/got lucky etc.

Maybe I'm just overthinking the words "proper rival" and I've been in the house too long, lmao

#Pokemon #gym leader raihan #champion leon #raihan #leon #this was bothering me for over an hour so i hope writing it out will let my thoughts leave me alone now

[jade-marie]

I didn't watch episode 4 but I saw gifs of Beth yelling at Jane and it got me thinking, what's your view on the Boland kids not being parented?

Lmao you love getting me in trouble🤣

Sorry. It got long but I could rant about this for weeks.

Pre canon and S1

Obviously, we don’t see anything pre canon when it comes to the Boland kids, but you can put together an idea of what their situation was like from the first few episodes. Beth was a SAHM - she made them fancy packed lunches for school, had them enrolled in extra curricular activities, dropped them off/picked them up from school, put them to bed, got them ready etc. She was the main caregiver and Dean was at work. When he came home, he got to be the fun dad.

It seems like they had a decent amount of structure, as far as schedules go, but they’ve never been given any responsibility and didn’t appear to be well disciplined. We had Kenny telling Beth she sucked at math in s1 - something I certainly wouldn’t have gotten away with. Anyway, they had a decent amount of structure and stability, they were used to things being a certain way and that was all disrupted when Dean was kicked out of the house. Then suddenly, Dean was back, but he was sharing a bedroom with Kenny. It doesn’t seem like any of this was really explained to the kids properly or that they were helped through the process, which can have some knock-on effects. 

Throughout Season 2

First episode of S2, Dean was shot. The kids were told that he was mugged and were, understandably, shaken up by the whole thing. Once again, nobody truly comforted or helped them through this process and we started to see the fallout of that. Kenny essentially developed an eating disorder and started bingeing, Jane “ran away from home”. But again, nothing is done about it. Beth says they need to be more present, no phones at dinner, they look into a child therapist, but we don’t ever hear about the kids actually getting therapy even though they desperately need it.

Throughout the season, the structure that they still had in S1 rapidly disappears. It goes from Beth being the main caregiver to her handing the reigns over to Dean in 2.05 and he doesn’t do a good job of it. The house becomes a mess, the kids run wild. This would be a perfect opportunity to start giving the older children some chores, helping to re-introduce structure, but it doesn’t happen. From the kids perspectives, they would notice their mother becoming more and more absent from their lives, missing dance recitals, coming home late, missing dinner, missing bedtime and so Dean is becoming the consistent parent (important for later).

Dean decides to weaponise the children, taking them away from Beth and going to stay with his mother for a while, before going back home. Beth and Dean tell the kids that they’re going to be getting a divorce, obviously that doesn’t happen, again creating quite an unstable environment for them. Effectively, they have a roof over their heads and they’re being fed/clothed, but nobody is actually parenting them. 

Throughout Season 3

At the beginning of S3, with the dealership gone and Beth no longer working for Rio, they have significantly less money. It’s not clear how much of a knock-on effect this had on their extra curricular activities because Jane still has her piano lessons and Kenny has hockey. Beth’s taking them to the park a lot, it’s also not clear whether this is simply because she’s stalking Rhea and Marcus or genuinely because the park is a free activity for them. Regardless, they’ve been going to the park enough that it’s no longer fun. The kids really don’t seem to have any structure anymore and, once again, it doesn’t seem like they’ve been receiving any emotional support during what would be a challenging time for any child. 

Dean has gone back to work, Beth is now also working, so Judith steps in to help take care of the kids. She takes things a little bit far, which pisses off Beth, so Judith is quickly removed from the equation. Again - instability. Then we have the fallout between Rhea and Beth, which means Jane can no longer play with her best friend Marcus for (at least from her perspective) absolutely no reason. Again – instability. Fast forward a few weeks, the entire house is emptied so the kids have to go and stay with Judith for an unspecified amount of time. Again – instability. We can play the blame game to decide who is the cause of this instability, but it’s pretty irrelevant. The fact is, the kids lives are being shaken up and nobody is helping them through it.

Beth buys new furniture, the kids come home, it all seems great, and then Dean gets arrested. So now their dad ,who has been the more consistent parent in their lives for the last year, is out of the picture. Once again, nobody is really offering them support during this time. We see Jane asking for her dad, we see the kids talking about how Dean lets them eat by the TV, because they’re missing things which have been consistent for them, and then we finally get to Janes little stand-off with Beth over the remote control.

That is quite clearly the result of her emotional needs going unmet for God knows how long, so she’s acting like a brat. Instead of taking care of and supporting her child, Beth lashes out. I find the editing choice to mute the yelling and playing music over the scene annoying, because it lightens it quite a bit. It’s pretty obvious that Beth was wildly over reacting to the situation, because she was lashing out at a child over things that had nothing to do with Jane. She was stressed about Dean, she was stressed about Fitzpatrick‘s upcoming murder and taking that out on a kid. Yeah, she felt bad and gave her a hug after, but you’ve still got 3/4 kids (is Kenny coming back??) who’ve been emotionally neglected for at least a year. 

Beth’s kids compared to Annie/Ben

We don’t really see a lot of Ben‘s relationship with Greg, it doesn’t seem like he’s a particularly bad parent in any way, Nancy is probably a bit neurotic, but nothing major. Annie, is pretty emotionally stunted and immature, she puts way too much responsibility on Ben, so it’s the complete opposite of Beth. Ben is effectively the grown-up in their relationship, he leaves reminders for his mother to make sure shit gets dealt with and any structure Ben has is structure he’s created for himself.

But at the same time, he trusts his mother and when something is bothering him he actually talks to her. We saw him come out to Annie before Greg and Nancy, he told Annie when he was being bullied. As he gets older, you can see him growing tired of parenting his mother, but I think she’s learning from her mistakes by recognising the way they’ve impacted her son.  I think it’s also important to remember that Ben has been largely unaffected by Annies criminal activities, this is predominantly because she has a shitload of baggage to deal with. 

Beth’s kids compared to Ruby and her kids

As a whole, Ruby‘s kids have been relatively unaffected by her criminal activities. It doesn’t look like they ever had a rigourous schedule of extracurricular activities, but they’ve always had a stable home life. Not financially well off, but happy. We’ve always seen them be respectful, they have boundaries with their parents, they don’t particularly misbehave etc. They just appear to be good kids with good parents. They witnessed Stan being arrested and Sara especially took that quite hard, but she was supported through it. It’s also quite clear that she’s had a good emotional support system throughout her illness and kidney transplant. When she found out that Ruby was up to something shady in S3 and their relationship became strained as a result, she spoke to her mother in a way which was disrespectful, eventually that behaviour was checked. Because Ruby and Stan parent their children.

Beth’s kids compared to Rio/Marcus

From the very first time we were introduced to Marcus, we’ve seen that he’s very polite, very well-balanced and has a good relationship with his dad. We’ve seen Rio patiently instil important lessons in his son, such as cleaning up his messes, being patient and waiting his turn - things which Beth’s kids still don’t understand.

For the most part, Marcus seems to be pretty well shielded from Rio’s criminal activities, which is why I think Marcus was so heavily affected by his dads absence in S3. But, unlike the Boland children, he was emotionally supported through the process by his mother. He went to her for comfort and he received it. When Rio isn’t around, Rhea appears to pick up the slack and ensure Marcus still has some stability.

I think they’ve deliberately contrasted Beth’s kids with the other children on the show. Her children are the only ones who seem to be truly feeling the effects of choices she’s made during the course of the series. She claims to be doing all of this for her kids, but is completely ignorant to the fact that her choices are hurting them. This isn’t me bashing her character or saying she’s a shitty mom because I don’t like her, this is just stating what’s happening on the screen and right now, whether or not it’s deliberate, she’s being a shitty parent. Dean has always been a shitty parent. So now those kids don’t have anyone😕

#tl;dr #boland kids have shitty parents and it’s showing #good girls nbc #rio good girls #beth boland #ruby hill #annie marks

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 29

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 2/?

A/N: I feel I should open up about my plans re: the Waystation chapters, just so you guys know what to expect. Originally this chapter was going to be a whole lot longer, but to make my job a little bit easier, I cut it in half. So, that's why a short chapter, but the good news is that I am already working on the next one's editing so it should be out some time next (the upcoming) week! Mostly just fluff in this and the next chapter but I am hoping to dig a bit deeper into especially Leo's background story soon enough. Don't expect any major drama yet though, we wanna see our ship happy together before that, don't we? ;)

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me, and BIG thanks to my lovely friend Cris for supporting me in many ways with this (and the upcoming) chapter!! I struggled with it quite a bit (as I had to rewrite a whole scene etc) but your ideas and cheering for me really helped!

Enjoy and don’t forget to leave a comment! :)

Words: 1,8k 

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

It was the morning after Leo and Calypso’s arrival at Waystation, the Christmas Eve, and Leo woke up feeling weirdly light. Not because he particularly loved Christmas; he and everyone in the Waystation family considered themselves atheists so they didn’t care about the religious aspects of that holiday. Besides, Leo himself had some very bad memories from his previous Christmases before his time at Waystation. But since Georgina was still young, the family wanted to keep up with the traditions that children enjoyed; lots of food (especially chocolate), decorations and of course gifts.

This year the family had decided that the gifts would be self made. Leo felt excited when he imagined how Georgina would react to the present he had made for her. It was a photo album, full of pictures of Georgina doing various activities with her family, friends and Festus. To make the album even more personal, though, Leo had decorated the cover by painting some animals Georgie loved on it and adding some stickers as well. He had also added a funny caption below each photo, explaining what was happening in them in his own style. Festus would be getting his favorite dog treats and Jo and Emmie some spicy pastries Leo had learned to bake, along with a promise to fix whatever machine happened to break next in their household. When it came to Calypso’s present, Leo would still need to fine tune a bit before the next morning, but he was hoping she would like it… He had spent a lot of time making it whenever Calypso was at the university or work.

Imagining everyone’s reactions to their gifts wasn’t the only thing that made Leo feel unusually happy that morning. After the previous evening’s dinner he had checked his email and the platform where the professors shared the grades and to his relief he had passed every exam he had participated in (excluding the earlier failure at the lab class). The calculus and physics exams had gone well, but the biology for engineers had been a bit harder for him and the mandatory English class he had passed just barely. Either way, he was finished with the semester and the test results made him feel more optimistic about the future of his studies. Even though he still had moments of strong self doubt, he tried to imagine Calypso’s face when he’d tell her that he had managed to pass the lab classes. That never ceased to make him feel better.

The additional free time also lifted Leo’s spirits. When he thought about it, he hadn’t really had all too many moments just for himself that fall, being constantly busy with either university, fixing other people’s machines, or trying to deny his growing feelings towards his flatmate. In a way the distraction had been welcome because it had given Leo less time to dwell on the things he tried very hard to not think about. But now that he had a few days to stop and do whatever he wanted, he realized he had needed it. It felt good to be somewhere where he could let his inner child out again for a moment, with the people he cared about.

Somehow, he was even feeling more hopeful about the state of Calypso and his relationship. The fact that Calypso had agreed to join him at Waystation was already a good sign, and Leo was hoping that seeing how great people everyone at Waystation was would help her gain more trust in him and the other people around her. He wasn’t lying when he said he was not afraid of her father or anything else that might bother her. He had already seen too much to be scared of something like that.

That topic however started getting too much to the thing that Leo Absolutely Did Not want to think about, so he was relieved when he heard some sounds from the hallway. It sounded like little Georgina had also woken up and was now causing chaos everywhere she went because she was so excited about all things Christmas.

“Georgie, could you be a bit quieter? It’s still way too early to be that loud. I swear, if we were at our flat, we could hear you all the way there,” Leo groaned as he peeked into the hallway to chastise his little sister. “If you don’t care about me, I bet Calypso wouldn’t appreciate it eith… Hey!”

Leo couldn’t finish his sentence because he was interrupted by a pillow in his face.

“What was that for?” Leo asked once the pillow had fallen on the floor. The little girl just laughed and picked the pillow up again.

“Brother, are you saying that you had already forgotten that pillow fight is our annual Christmas Eve tradition?”

Leo’s eyes widened when he realized that she was indeed right. He had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he had momentarily forgotten that this was what they used to do every Christmas. Instead of admitting that he had forgotten it aloud, though, he quickly bounced back, getting his own own pillow from his bed.

“Nah, I was only bluffing you!” he exclaimed before throwing the pillow at her.

“Big mistake!” Georgie yelled. “Because now I have two pillows!”

She started chasing Leo around the hallway and soon the entire floor was in chaos when Festus joined the group, also wanting to participate in ‘catch the pillow’ and ending up ripping one of them, spreading the fillings everywhere in the room. Finally, the noise woke up Calypso as well. She came out of her room and frowned at the sight.

“What in Zeus’ name is happening here?”

“Who is Zeus?” Georgina wanted to know.

“Just our annual mandatory pillow fight.” Leo ignored Georgina’s question, grinning from under the one pillow that still remained undamaged. Georgina had to let Leo free, though, because Festus looked like he wanted to show that pillow as well who the boss was.

Calypso’s frown melted into a soft smile as the information sunk in.

“Your annual mandatory pillow fight? But who does all the cleaning afterwards?”

She approached Leo, taking a feather from his shoulder. Even though she barely touched him, he found himself flinching at the touch. Not because it wasn’t welcome - quite the opposite. The gentle swipe on the shoulder made him want to throw all the rules out of the window and do something he’d regret. But suddenly Leo was reminded that he was still wearing only his underwear and he was having a very difficult time trying to stay nonchalant when he replied:

“Sunshine, we won’t worry about that until the fight is over.” He wagged his finger.

“Oh, I see.” Leo swore he had never seen Calypso prettier than when a mischievous smile spread on her face. “Does that mean the loser has to clean the mess?”

“What makes you think… Hey, watch it, Georgie!” Leo yelped quickly. The girl had lowered the pillow to Festus’ face level and the dog had seen his opportunity when he had noticed that Georgina was too distracted by the conversation to be keeping the pillow out of his range. He snatched the pillow into his teeth and started running away before the others had a chance to stop him from ripping it.

“Festus, be a good boy,” Leo demanded but the dog wasn’t listening. “That’s my favorite pillow; I’d rather you tear one of your own teddy bears apart.”

Leo went to get one of Festus’ toys from the toy box and tried to trade with the dog, but still no success. Apparently the sight of Leo crouching in front of Festus holding the toy while the dog was chewing the pillow, ready to run whenever Leo got too close was too funny for Calypso who along with Georgina started laughing at him.

“Really, Sunshine? How about you come here if you have a better strategy,” he muttered, slightly embarrassed.

“Okay,” Calypso accepted the challenge. She did otherwise the same thing as Leo but used a slightly gentler approach.

“Festus, I know that pillow is nice to chew on, especially because the smell reminds you of your favorite human, but we’d be very happy if you did not spread the feathers everywhere. You like this penguin, don’t you?” She showed him a toy she had picked. “Wouldn’t you like to try this instead?”

Leo’s mouth nearly dropped when the dog gave up on his ‘toy’ without even growling at Calypso, smugly taking the plushie into his mouth instead.

“I see how it is,” he said. “Just listening to the ladies, are you? Well, can’t blame you for that, amigo. These two are the bosses here.” He petted Festus briefly before turning around, realizing too late that it was too quiet in the room.

“What in the…”

The girls had disappeared from his view, but as he started looking for them from the possible hiding places, the pillow flew in his face again.

“So funny, you guys!” he growled.

“Sorry, Leo! I just couldn’t resist!” Calypso appeared from behind the sofa, still chuckling at his expression. “Georgina made me.”

“Thinking you can win the Unbeatable Pillow Master? I don’t think so,” Leo declared and started chasing the girls. Soon the trio (and Festus) were a laughing and panting pile on the floor after an intense battle, Leo’s favorite pillow torn now, but he couldn’t have minded less. As they laid there, Calypso’s shoulder was resting against his and she was not putting any effort into moving it away.

“Still unbeatable?” She sounded pretty amused despite being out of breath.

“It was two against one!” Leo exclaimed. “Besides, you have to clean too because you’re a rookie. It’s a new rule.”

“A rule you just came up with.”

“Maybe, but you don’t wanna see what Jo and Emmie would say if they saw this mess. They may be nice people but if there’s something they hate… it’s pillow fillings all over the floor and furniture.”

“Alright… I believe you.”

Georgina took Festus outside while Leo and Calypso started cleaning the hallway, working together effortlessly as they had many times before at their flat. They kept casting shy glances at each other from time to time, and eventually Leo asked:

“Did you have fun? I mean, with the pillow fight?”

“Hated it.” Calypso stuck his tongue out at him, but then added pretty quickly: “The truth is, I don’t think I’ve done anything like this before… Not even when my sister was around. So it’s nice. Different.”

“That’s… that’s good then.” Leo nodded, then continued in more of his usual style: “Valdez & Co, always ready to give people new experiences!”

“Uhhuh, please don’t make that your new slogan,” Calypso snorted. “I did have fun, though.”

The light feeling from earlier that morning returned to Leo. “And you still have plenty of Waystation secrets to unlock so I predict it’s gonna be even more fun!”

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au

[demonytekav]

Katsuki Fucking Bakugou

Got myself thinking today. Well…every day.

FYI these are my personal thoughts - so take it or leave it I guess I’m not stating this as a fact and your do opinions matter. These are just my thoughts….

So like I’ve seen his home life be taken 2 different ways. A lot of people see the more comical aspect of his mom being aggressive and yelling at him, which to be fair YES it can be fucking hilarious. And I see that too, I find it funny he’s aggressive like her and they fight yada yada.

But I also see the other side of this. The accidentally abusive side. I say accidentally because I do not think his mom is purposely abusing him.

See I grew up in a house with a very dominant and aggressive step dad. He yelled, cussed, and was controlling as all hell over everything. He was always aggravated by me (just breathing was enough let me tell you). And his feelings ALWAYS came first. He CARED (very difficult to see unless you look for it) but has ZERO idea on how to be someone who puts others first. We were always on his timeline. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word “sorry”.

The difference here I think is that my step dad beat me down. Didn’t challenge me to do better just out right told me I was shit at whatever I was doing. Or bitched when I didn’t know how to do something. Vs Katsuki’s mom seems like the person who would say “My kid wouldn’t suck at this” and proceed to PUSH her little shit of a son in an aggressive way to do better. And she’d talk him up so much so that he’d get an ego boost about it.

I don’t even want to imagine what it might have been like had he messed up or wasn’t that good at something. I wonder if his mom would give him hell about it unintentionally. And I can almost guarantee the word “sorry” was never uttered to him by her. One thing to note too, is that Katsuki himself is unapologetic about his own behavior and that stems from his own ego/confidence as well as his environment. He grew up in a space where it was natural to yell, cuss, and be violent when getting a point across. For me it was similar but my confidence was never cultivated and instead it was crushed - so I learned to handle others in a softer way but I still come off as stiff.

It’s why I find myself half the time identifying with some things Katsuki does. I have a HORRIBLE time connecting with people and would often rather NOT deal with people especially if they are friendly and nice. Sometimes im inexcusably over confident and arrogant, and have down right asshole-ish behavior on some things. I pick on people I like (friends or romantic interests) in a way to get attention on me for even just a moment. I don’t have the intention of being mean but can come across that way. Or I tend to stay away all together. I get irritated easily over small shit and I have resting “I fucking hate you stop talking” face. Sound familiar?

Getting side tracked. I feel like Katsuki is very similar to me and yet different. I can SEE why he would have been a bully especially to Deku. I can see why he has a complex about being the best and not wanting help. It’s how he grew up, Katsuki doesn’t necessarily understand being the victim, only knows the stance of the abuser and thinks he’s “right”. Where as I have been given the unique perspective of both, I have been forced to understand my step dad as well as be the bully victim (mostly the victim).

Just like Katsuki I CANT STAND asking for help and I HATE people thinking I need it. Abuse does weird things to you and messes with your perception in these things. Help comes across as a weakness or being made fun of. Or as leverage against you. Sometimes you even feel like a burden and that shit just don’t fly.

Katsuki got arrogant as a kid being around those who weren’t as ‘brilliant’ as he was and especially having a home life like he did only fueled that. So it’s understandable that he WOULD see Deku as a cry baby or weak. His perception of strength came from his mothers unintentional abuse and over inflated ego he was given by the adults around him. It doesn’t help that he IS a natural leader. His suspicion of Deku is also pretty on point for this.

I won’t lie here. I didn’t trust ANYBODY growing up. I can imagine Katsuki being very similar, thinking people are wearing masks. Seeing Deku smiling so happily and being constantly nice and helpful would definitely confuse him. Why? Because growing up in an abusive house means at times the abuser is kind to you, sometimes for lengths of time, usually with a goal in mind, before ripping the rug out from under you and they show their true intentions. Katsuki was /is afraid of Dekus selflessness because Katsuki can’t afford to be that way. Cant afford to let his guard down and he probably was afraid of what intentions Deku had. In other words “looking down on him”.

Katsukis anger toward others is another thing I find interesting especially when as a little kid he smiled all the time and walked with his head up high. After the issue with Deku trying to help him as a kid it gave him a very specific (and incorrect) reality check. It also made him even more angry/suspicious of Deku specifically. In high school he wanted NOTHING to do with other people other than for them to worship him and his skills (in a way). He was entering a school where he would have to compete to show he was the best, it was a new experience for him as he has ALWAYS just been the best being as they grew up around all the same kids and nothing ever changed.

But people want to get close to him. It’s a distraction and waste of time, it makes me wonder if this is partly because he knows when school ends they won’t be together anymore. Maybe his separation from Deku as kids (their friendship I mean) actually impacted him in such a strong way even if he was the one to end it. It hurts to no longer have that friendship that was built- he probably saw Deku as a lifelong companion up to a point as a kid- when they discovered he didn’t have a quirk Katsuki probably had another boost to his ego about being better than Deku and at the same time knowing they were not longer on the same path. After the log incident and they were no longer friends in his mind (due to his insecurities and thinking he was being played?) it probably hurt him a lot internally but he didn’t realize it. And maybe later during high school he looked at Deku as actually betraying him, again probably thinks people are nice to get something out of it (thinks he’s being made fun of or looked down on like my point from earlier) and to learn that Deku hid his quirk only solidified that Deku might have been playing him all along (until he learns the truth), and doesn’t want to feel like that again? So he pushes people away? Regardless he is rude and mean to everyone but over time he gets closer to people.

Another thing to note, I think the more un-confident he is the more aggressive he is in regards to some things, so I feel like the way he snaps at his friends is a good tell that he’s not comfortable being close to others. Especially with how he refuses to acknowledge the word “friends”. (Small thought but is he afraid to use the word friend because of losing Deku as friend in the past and the pain/hurt that caused when he thought he was being looked down on and they went their separate ways? Like I said, he may have thought Deku would be his companion running along behind him all his life at that point and then they realized he didn’t have a quirk AND Deku tries to help him and etc that happened so is he afraid to get close to someone again - be ‘played’ - and worried he will just get hurt?????)

I get like this too. My initial response to unknown or uncomfortable situations is to be on guard and prickly. Katsuki when embarrassed would be explosive because that’s much easier to understand. When there are things I don’t understand I get mad or irritated immediately. It’s easier than crying or smiling. Don’t even fucking get me started on hugs because I love them but I HATE them because they make me too emotional and I cry and then I get pissed. Katsuki probably gets weird about physical affection because to him the only affection he’s known is the angry kind. He probably doesn’t understand fundamentally what being in a normal and close friendship is and thinks his way has been right this whole time and everyone else is wrong. Which is why he act like a rabid bear when confronted by affection to him it makes NO sense.

I saw people be ANGRY over him goading Deku in the latest chapters. Calling out his behavior as regressing back to his old ways and how it’s proof he’s not changing.

Personally, I don’t see that. Just from my own self indulgent take on Katsuki here is what I think is happening.

Katsuki is angry. He finally UNDERSTANDS everything and realizes Deku was NOT trying to hurt him and has been genuine this entire time. He understands his behavior/treatment of Deku was misguided and WRONG.

But he’s ANGRY that after everything HE isn’t being trusted (Deku has always had blind faith in him before now). HE is being looked at as weak, we know he’s not but imagine it from someone who is just out of the hospital and had just risked his life and is basically being BENCHED with Deku being in the same state he is in. He probably feels like he’s being viewed as weak. HES worried about Deku 1st and foremost because he knows it’s going to end badly, maybe with loss of life and he can’t STAND to be benched when he could be helping his friend. Yes friend.

Katsuki took it upon himself to atone for what he did and right now his charge has left him behind. His FRIEND left him behind and is doing DANGEROUS things and tying in what I mentioned above. The fact that he didn’t outright attack Deku when their eyes met says it all for me. Katsuki is FURIOUS. But he’s not the little kid who would have tried to beat Deku up because of his anger.

So, he smack talks. He goads Deku. I mean FUCK, I’d bitch out my friends too and antagonize them (it would come off as me making fun) but Katsuki KNOWS it would get to Deku. Knows it would press buttons and he does it BECAUSE he knows Deku isn’t going down without a fight. And also, HES MAD and he’s probably HURT at the least he’s offended.

He is allowed to be MAD at his friends. How many times have you sat and complained or royally bitched out a friend in your head because of something dumb as hell they did? I’ve done it so much.

Thing is, I’m not saying he is doing the RIGHT thing. No no. I’m just stating a fact as to what he is DOING. But he’s not doing what he WOULD have done in the past which would have been to immediately and literally fuck Deku up and yell at him and BRING HIM DOWN verbally and mentally for the sake of BRINGING HIM DOWN.

No he’s mouthing off to show he’s mad plain and simple. He’s wanting Dekus attention on him and Dekus acknowledgement of his mistakes/Katsukis anger.

(Side story, in freshman year of high school a friend of mine made some DUMB as fuck choices. I found out about it between classes from another person. I literally RAGED out loud in the hall way, got some interesting looks, and STOMPED MY FURIOUS ASS 3 floors down to cuss and spit at her like a demon child for it in front of everyone because of how dumb she was. I then spent the next several periods of class steaming and fuming before walking *stomping* her ass home and bitching at her the whole way. Yes we talked about it. But the point still stands that I get why Katsuki rages because I fucking do it too especially the more I care….I’m a lot older now and I don’t yell anymore nor do I let my anger control me)

Katsuki in my opinion is growing, slowly, but he’s growing. This is different than the past. In fact he came with the class as a whole. That itself says everything because he’s always about doing things on his own. It also makes sense that he isn’t dramatically different…..I think that would be almost to disingenuous to his character and wouldn’t show the growth or show he EARNED anything. It would come off as almost….fake. If he acted any differently. I think the only other way I would accept him behaving is for him to be completely SILENT until the right moment and say very specific things. But again, that might also be too far out of his current character.

Katsuki is a tough one. The only reason I feel connected to him is because I can equate my own circumstances and feelings to his due to the similarities of his upbringing. I feel like we are the same coin but each a different side.

I guess I’m saying it’s understandable why he’s such an aggressive ass and why he was a bully and is still being a mouthy shit. He didn’t grow up in a fluffy loving household. So it makes sense for him to be this harsh.

Another thing to note: 1st. He’s a fucking kid. And kids sometimes can not distinguish between right and wrong. 2nd. He IS showing maturity in his actions and growing but again, it’s slow LIKE IT SHOULD BE. He’s learning. In fact, it’ll probably take him years to learn certain things and I bet some stuff he won’t really get the hang of. I know I fucking didn’t. I still come off as an ass. And I’m emotionally constipated. I still can’t fathom certain social interactions and I can’t not be suspicious of peoples kindness. I can’t be outgoing and show affection (like seriously don’t cry near me because I don’t know what the fuck to do with you). I’ve learned how to handle people better and treat others better but unfortunately when you have lived with an abusive parent there’s no telling how exactly you will come out of it or how long it will take you to UNLEARN that garbage and input the correct things.

And it’s going to take him some years to make some corrections. I don’t think he will ever be a fluffy touchy feely guy. And I bet he will still snap and snarl at times. But I can see the way he is being written and it’s showing growth. Subtle as it is. But it’s there.

I’m just saying that if my perspective has any truth to it for this character, then cut the kid some slack. Not too much because hey he still needs to grow and we don’t want to see him regress.

Idk…what do you think? I’m always curious about others perspectives because everyone is so different yet similar. Even in writing I can easily channel Katsuki (to an point) but Izuku or some of the other more friendly characters are VERY difficult for me.

#Kavs thoughts #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugou #I could be way off #like these are just personal thoughts so be nice please

[risingsouls]

Recruited: Chapter 11

[Another chapter in the books! This one runs parallel in time to the last (which will be pretty obvious) and has a little more action! So enjoy, have fun, etc.

And don’t forget: you can find the rest of this series and soem of my other BS for this blog here!]

Nabooru

Their trio of space pods burst through Noya's atmosphere and slammed into the surface, a triangle of craters left in their wake. Nabooru replaced her scouter on the side of her face, a press of the button causing the yellow characters to flash across the orange glass as it started back up. She opened up the door and floated out of her pod, touching down on the maroon dirt. A teal, creeping vegetation sprawled over it as far as the eye could see. In the distance, she noted the silhouette of a city or village  and a range of mountains beyond it.

She stretched and glanced to her side as Nappa and Raditz joined her, both working out the kinks in their own joints from the long trip. "Awfully quiet here. Where do you think that team is? Hope they didn't kick the bucket before we got here," Nappa said, popping his knuckles. "Maybe it means we'll get a good fight out of these guys if they're calling in reinforcements."

The repetitive pings of a scan sounded from Raditz's scouter. "I wouldn't get my hopes up," the other Saiyan replied, turning around to check the other direction. "I'm not getting a single reading, save for five decent ones off in that direction."

He nodded opposite the mountain range. "Make that three."

Nabooru raised an eyebrow and began her own scan, Nappa following suit with a huff. "You're fucking with us. Why the hell would we be called here if they didn't need us?"

"No, he's right. I'm only getting those three readings, too. That must be the team we're meant to rendezvous with."

Raditz flew up several meters and gazed around. "Looks like something went down over there," he called down to them. "Might have been a settlement or something. Doesn't look like there's much left now."

"Let's go check it out. Something feels off here."

Nabooru followed Raditz and Nappa to the site of what could have potentially been a compound of sorts, a decent sized village, or something else entirely. The damage sustained in the area made it difficult to tell, the edifices reduced to little more than a half foot of wall at best. Scorch marks and craters dotted the area, and they could hardly walk a few feet without finding a corpse or the remnants of one. Each had a variant of blue skin, ranging from near white hues to navy. A few wore what she guessed were plain clothes, while most sported a sort of white armor. Soldiers. Most of the bodies were heavily mutilated, physically torn or shot with concentrated ki blasts to pieces, others sporting deep gashes as if from claws. Maroon soil was stained with emerald blood. Fresh.

"I thought I recognized that power level." Nappa squatted down next to a corpse missing every limb. The lower half of its skull had been crushed as if beneath someone's foot. "Looks like Shikoo and his team's work, don't you think, Raditz?"

"Seems that way. Doesn't seem like they need our help, though. And they never have before." His frown deepened. "Maybe it's some kind of trap."

Raditz vocalized Nabooru's growing fear as each piece of evidence seemed to confirm the theory. "Who's Shikoo?" she asked, turning her attention from the massacre and back toward the direction in which their scouters pinged the readings. Two of the power levels weren't much and would hardly be a challenge for even Raditz. But the third was more powerful, and while only around Nappa's power level, her insides squirmed. Why would they be sent here if this team had everything under control? Was there some secret of this planet they weren't privy to that presented a danger they couldn't handle?

"One of Frieza's favorites, and I'm sure you can see why. What the guy lacks in power he makes up for in brutality and dirty tricks," Nappa told her, folding his arms over his chest. "Makes us Saiyans look soft. But I'm sure you've seen the guy. He's bigger than me, looks like a cross between some kind of reptile and a dog. Red fur and scales. Loud and brags constantly."

Nabooru's brow furrowed and she clicked her tongue. "Mm, yes I've seen him around the base once in a while. Never considered him important enough to learn his name, especially after he and his idiots tried to force themselves on me back when I first started on the force." The corner of her lips quirked upward in a malicious smirk. "He didn't take being turned down very well. But I took care of him and made it clear he should leave me alone."

Raditz chuckled. "Good. The blowhard deserves all the beatings that come to him. Especially for that shit. Nappa and I may have heckled you for a romp in the sack, but he's so full of himself, of course he would try to force his ugly ass on you. I hope these guys took him down a peg or two."

"Confirms the rumors anyway," huffed Nappa. "Guy's disgusting. Pretty pathetic when you gotta resort to force to get off. Guess he ain't much of a charmer, no surprise there."

She kept her surprise about their stance on rape to herself. Considering the violent nature and disregard for life, their history of taking what they wanted by force, rape didn't seem like it would be far off the table for them. Both the Saiyans with her had taken her refusals without much hassle, so she supposed it shouldn't have with at least these two. A point of respect for them, at least, considering the rampant trouble they had with men attempting such with her people back home. As a race of all females and how their style of dress revealed far more skin than Hylian garb, men had a sense of entitlement to Gerudo women, and seemed to believe that meant they were asking for it. 

"I suppose we should contact Frieza," she said at last, reaching up to her scouter and selecting the proper channel. "Let him know what we found and what we're meant to do instead."

Once the scouter connected successfully, Frieza greeted her before she could open her mouth to speak: "Ah, what good timing, Nabooru. You have landed on planet Noya and met with the other team there?"

"Yes, my lord. But we are confused. When we landed, we found the planet had already been successfully purged of its in--"

"Yes, yes, I am aware of the success in purging the planet. The instructions to rendezvous with the soldiers sent to Noya were...purposefully vague. The task for you and the Saiyans is to kill that team. Don't worry your pretty head over why, dear. It's unbecoming of a soldier. Their punishment has been a long time coming."

He broke the connection before she could confirm her understanding, but by the questioning expressions in her comrades' faces, her own revealed her opinion on the troublesome news. Surprised wasn't the right word for what she felt. Frieza was known for orders that felt out of place or cruel. Unwarranted and harsh. But piecing together their situation, Nappa's words, and the fact that they had been split from Vegeta only further impressed upon her a sinking feeling of dread. She less suspected a trap for them than viewing it all as one for Vegeta, a "favorite" of Frieza's like Shikoo. Or if it was one for them, was this a precursor to the orders Vegeta would be handed? To end his team and allies in the rebellion they plotted?

"What'd he say?" Nappa asked at last, snapping her out of a spiral of paranoia and back to the task at hand.

"He means for us to kill Shikoo and his crew."

"Really?" Raditz's brow furrowed. "What did they do?"

"He didn't say. Just that their punishment was a long time coming."

The Saiyans exchanged a look of disbelief with a hint of concern. Nabooru wondered if they considered the same possibilities as her. If they wondered if some other team or Vegeta and Frieza themselves lay in wait to off them, too. As much as she wanted to ask, she didn't know who could be listening. And they had a job to do. If anything followed this, they would have to face it once they dealt with Shikoo and his cronies. The memory of them offering to help her find her way back to the barracks and then cornering her, how they tried to touch her anywhere they could reach and tugged her hair, their taunting words from how pretty she was and how good she probably felt to insulting her lack of control of her ki yet. Maybe she didn't back then, but her strength proved enough to subdue the three of them and send them to the hospital ward. She escaped their disgusting behavior, but how many hadn't, if what Nappa said rang true?

Back then, she still tried to cling to her no killing rule for her sanity and her ignorance to the sort of backlash killing fellow soldiers would have. But now she not only had permission, she had the will to do it. If not only for her own revenge, but for the horrors they inflicted on others, too. This time, she wouldn't hold back. She didn't have to.

Three scouters beeped to signal approaching power levels, and Nabooru couldn't help but snort as the hulking beast Shikoo and his cohorts landed before them. 

"Come to see how real soldiers work, apes?" Shikoo grinned at Nappa and Raditz, showing off sharp, yellowing teeth in his elongated, canine-like muzzle. A forked tongue flicked out to taste the air. "Where's your diminutive leader, huh? Someone finally give the prince with no subjects the licking he deserves?"

His cohorts snickered and Nabooru noticed Nappa's fists and jaw tighten with the flare of his temper. "You idiots won't be laughing in a minute." The Saiyan general smirked and cracked his knuckles. "I've been waiting for a chance to stomp you."

The smaller two--an orange skinned male with a too-blonde Mohawk and a weedy, birdlike soldier with beady black eyes--shifted in obvious discomfort under Nappa's threat, but Shikoo remained unperturbed. "Please. You wouldn't dare. Not with my favor with Frieza. The alliance my people have is too precious for him to allow a couple monkeys to pick a fight with me."

Nabooru snorted, but his claims had her mind shifting back to her people. The fate of the Saiyans. "That explains a lot. But too bad for you, Frieza seems to think killing you is more important than whatever deal you and your people have with the empire."

Yellow eyes snapped to her, slit pupils dilating for a moment in recognition. His hackles rose and hair surrounding a line of spikes along his back stood on end. His aggravation melted back to sick amusement and he laughed. "Well, well. I remember you. Come crawling back for that fun I promised you after all, huh?" His attention fell back to Nappa and Raditz. "Taking orders from women now? You Saiyans really are a joke. Guess it is a step up from short, angry, and overcompensating. Easier to look at, too."

"Can we get this over with? This guy's voice is making me sick," Raditz complained. "I'll take the two wimps in the back alone if I have to."

"You're still on that?! What did I tell you?!" Shikoo snarled. "Frieza will have your heads if you try anything!"

"And what did I tell you? Frieza himself sent us here to kill you." A smirk curled Nabooru's lips and she turned her attention to Nappa and Raditz. "You mind if I take him? I'm really kicking myself for not finishing him off all those years ago."

Nappa huffed and folded his arms, making a show of his indignance. "Damn, guess I can't argue with that. Much as I wanna bury this mutt myself, I think you've got a bigger stake." He nudged Raditz. "You take the orange one and I got bird brain." Without waiting for a response, the larger of the two surged forward and slammed his leg into his opponent's side, sending him sailing with a squawk. The general laughed and swept after him. "Try and make this fun for me, birdie!"

Raditz shot a series of magenta blasts toward the other minion who, more prepared for the onslaught than his companion, dodged backward nimbly and blocked what he couldn't with raised arms. "Give him a few good ones for me, won't you Nabs?" He shot her a wry grin and pursued his opponent with ruthless abandon. 

“Stupid move on their part, leaving you alone with me,” Shikoo snarled, vicious grin back on his mug. “You don’t have the stomach to kill me. I saw it in your eyes then, and I’m sure you’ll falter again now. And that’s when I’ll finish what I started all those years ago. Maybe I’ll make your monkey friends watch.”

Nabooru rolled her eyes skyward. “Please. I feel so bad for you, I’ll give you a free first hit.” She beckoned him with her index finger. “Come on, big guy. Let’s see if you can do more than just flap your ugly mouth.”

As she hoped, Shikoo snarled at her taunt and lunged. Black claws extended outward and he swiped them toward her throat. Nabooru’s hand shot up and she grasped his wrist, her hand barely covering half of its circumference. He grunted and struggled against her strength. “So you’re a whore and a filthy liar…”

Her grip tightened, and bones crunched beneath her hand. “I’ve kind of proven the first one wrong by turning you down, haven’t I?” She caught his opposite fist. Her smirk widened when his eyes flashed in rage. “But I suppose you’re right about the liar thing.”

"I'll kill you, bitch!" he roared, tugging back in an attempt to free himself. 

She held fast, orange energy flaring up around her. After a few more tugs, she released him, forcing him to stumble backward when he lost his balance. Nabooru shot forward and buried her fist in his scaled belly. Shikoo wheezed and doubled over. Head at her level, Nabooru wheeled back and kneed him in the face with bone-crunching force, whipping his head back and sending him wheeling backward once more. Blue blood oozed from his nose and mouth.

"This has been fun." Shikoo seethed as he raised his head again and spat blood on her boots. He shook with his rage, and Nabooru only wished Nappa and Raditz had remained with his crew to witness his embarrassment. She flexed her hand, forming a cylinder of ki in her palm. She wrapped her fingers around it like a hilt and willed it outward, curving and widening it into the shape of a blade similar to those she favored back home. "But I'm tired of playing. You're not really worth breaking a sweat over."

Using his shock at the sight of her ki blade, she shot forward again. She swept the blade downward, tip aimed at the ground between his feet. She brought it back up in a swift arc, between his legs and through his skull, splitting him vertically in half. His responding punch halted mid-swing, and his body fell apart with a stomach-churning squelch and a pair of thuds as each half fell to the ground.

"Geez, Nabs. Did you have to go crotch up? You made me cringe."

Her ki blade dissipated and she rested her hands on her hips. She turned to face Nappa as Raditz rejoined them, neither appearing to have taken too much damage. Raditz looked slightly ruffled with a bloody lip, but otherwise, both defeated Shikoo's goons without issue. "Of course. A disgusting bastard like him deserves it. If I wasn't supposed to kill him, I might have stopped at around his belly button."

Raditz wiped his mouth and grumbled. "Has anyone told you you're terrifying? You've been around Vegeta too long."

"I didn't realize you two were so squeamish," Nabooru snorted. She glanced at Shikoo's split corpse, the glee from her victory short lived as she remembered his claims. How Vegeta was within the tyrant’s clutches and, if Frieza knew what they planned, could be in danger.

 "Speaking of Vegeta, what do you think Frieza has him doing?" A subtle attempt to probe their thoughts on the matter while potentially gaining some reassurance. "He's done this before right?"

“Sure. And I didn’t realize you were such a worrywart.” Nappa and Raditz exchanged knowing glances. “I thought Vegeta was just messing with us, but you two really are up to more than just training when you’re left alone with free time, huh?”

Her posture stiffened and heat rushed to her cheeks. “What is that supposed to mean?” She narrowed her eyes and marched over to them. Their grins only widened and she prodded both of them in the chest with her index fingers. “Just because the two of you can’t keep it in your battle suits doesn’t mean we’re a couple of horny teenagers who can’t handle being alone together. We actually want to get stronger unlike you slackers.”

“I have noticed he’s been in a better mood than normal once in a while,” added Raditz, ignoring her. “Sort of confirms that his smug attitude when he told us ‘maybe, maybe not’ last time we asked wasn’t just him messing with us.”

“Makes him a damn hypocrite though. He told us to quit trying. Guess he didn’t want to share.”

“We’re not sleeping together! Ever! Not even once!” Nabooru could kick that idiot for basically bragging to the other two Saiyans. She had faith neither of them would spread it around whether they believed it or not, but their insistence still pissed her off. “We train. That’s it.”

“It’s not a big deal. In fact, I approve. It’s about time the two of you got laid.” Nabooru slapped Nappa’s hand away before he could plop it on her shoulder. He winced. “Besides, it’s beneficial for us all because, like Raditz said, it puts Vegeta in a better mood for a little while. We all win.”

“Maybe he’s just in a better mood because you two aren’t bothering him as much.” She flipped around on her heel. “Can we please just get out of here? Seeing that ugly bastard again did nothing for my mood, and if you two keep this up, I’ll do the same to you as I did to him and make up the most embarrassing stories for your deaths I can think of.”

She heard the two snigger, but they joined her in flight without more of their incessant teasing. It at least distracted her from her paranoia and concern for the prince’s wellbeing outside of the usual sort of abuse or inanity he would suffer in Frieza’s company. A premature assumption, perhaps, but she decided to take at least Nappa’s lack of concern as a good sign. Or enough of one to keep her from fretting until she knew otherwise. 

#fic: recruited #tw: rape mention #tw: violence #probably not my best work here #but it was fun to write #nabs beign a bad bish is always good

[ghostiewriter]

(Spoilers for Six of Crows)

Me again, with my obsession of the crows...

Who do you think had the most tragic/ painful journey and background out of the six of them?

I honestly think it's Inej....Kaz and Matthias (the latter is often forgotten, but the poor boy lost so much) are close seconds. Because 1) she had a home and was wrenched from it. 2) Had her humanity crushed so that a disgusting woman could make money. 3) I feel like while the rest found some purpose (Kaz with revenge, Matthias with being a druskelle, etc.), she didn't. She became the wraith so she could earn her way out of the contract. And it wasn't until the incinerator climb (where she almost died!) that she finally know what she would do.

Other than this, the . amount of times she had bled for her crew gets me every time...

And now I'm crying.. great.

Bless dude, nah I love your asks!😂I’ll do a wee under the line thing so people who haven’t read it can avoid more spoilers though!!

It’s honestly so hard to choose because each of them have gone through their separate journeys, all traumatic in their own right and I honestly feel bad for comparing them 😅they are all shit and I wouldn’t like to have experienced any of them! I do think they all kinda represent different reactions to trauma and PTSD though, which I quite like.

Kaz obviously was not always the suave schemer we know. He was once a naive, young boy who believed what the adults told him. He would cling onto the last of his family and he trusted people that were scummy idiots in the end. I think being played by them and them being the cause of his brother’s death plays a lot into his reaction. When we first meet Kaz, he’s portrayed as this stone-cold, uncaring dude who gives zero shits about anything that doesn’t benefit him. But the more we read, we see that he’s actually gone out of his way to avoid making the same mistakes. He never trusts anyone blindly, but he does open somewhat up to the people he could consider the closest thing to his chosen family (Inej and Jesper) and it’s something we don’t really talk about tbh.

Inej, like you said, went from having everything to nothing so quickly. She had her family, she treasured what she was good at and she quite enjoyed her life and then it was all stripped away from her and she was thrown into a place where she had zero control over anything she did. She had her freedom stripped away from her, and I think that’s why being the Wraith is the perfect contrast to her trauma. As the Wraith she may be doing bad things and not being as honest or kind as she once was, but she is controlling everything. When she’s jumping between rooftops, hiding in the shadows, all of it is under her control. She names her knives, she knows how to use them and she is the one that can be seen at any point whenever she chooses to. It’s really important and don’t even get me started on how her relationship with Kaz because I have so much to say for the both of them!

Jesper represents this underlying fear in everyone’s head of “I don’t want to disappoint my parents” and it’s the motive that kinda pushes a lot of his actions. He’s been through so much and then here his father gives him a chance to be a better man, he blows it and that guilt haunts him. His addiction to gambling is more than just about winning, it’s those moments just when he knows he’s going to win and the look on people’s faces after when he’s done just what he’s been boasting all night about. There’s no disappointment in their faces when it happens and that’s the high he chases. I think his father learning the truth plays a big part in him coming to terms with what he’s been hiding from, but also his friendship/brotherhood with Kaz. Because that boy always knows what to expect, he always has a plan B, he knows everyone’s next move because he’s always three steps ahead so therefore he can’t be disappointed in Jesper and that’s literally one of the best things for him.

Nina, bless her heart, I love this girl so much and what she’s been through just HURTS my soul. From being grisha, being captured and having her whole journey with Matthias, their separation and their eventual reunion. Creating that bond again and having to explain her actions (ones she did for her own survival so you can’t really blame her). But the thing about Nina that breaks my heart is the fact she’s still so hopeful. She still talks about her home like it’s there and thriving, she’s gotta quite an optimistic view even throughout the books. It’s not only a beautiful contrast to Matthias, but it’s just such a refreshing breeze from the rest of the crows in their outlooks. But you see her sacrifice so much, taking the powder and fighting that addiction, struggling to use her powers that she once was able to use without a blink of an eye, see her lose Matthias and starting to lose that sunshine as well. It’s heartbreaking and knowing her story isn’t over completely with King Of Scars, I do hope that Nina regains some happiness in her life cause that girl fucking deserves it.

Matthias is such an underrated character and so is the shit he’s been through. Peoples’s issue with him is somewhat similar to the reaction/hate towards Chaol from the Throne of Glass series, in the sense of their reaction to the thing they’ve been grown up and trained to hate. Matthias has known nothing but his purpose of a solider. He’s trained to be such and he’s trained to have a deep-rooted, prejudice hatred towards Grisha. His relationship with Nina is obviously a big part in him overcoming that, but it’s still not perfect and we can see that plenty of times whenever any other Grisha other than Nina is brought up or she discusses her home. It’s definitely environmental but it still plays a huge part in his identity crisis as well. And just think, he trusted Nina and she “betrayed” him and he was thrown into a prison because of it with no real inclination of why she did so until a year or so later. Think about what he had to go through in that prison, we even see him fight the animal he has worshipped all his life because he had to prioritise his survival. We see the other soldiers in the Ice Court mock and tease and judge him for the man he had to become because he was fighting for his own survival. His trauma and challenges and identity crises stems from the environment he was raised in, but he does overcome it in the end and it’s a fact that people seem very eager to skim over. I think that’s why his death hit me so hard when I read it because of his last chapter when he realised he was able to go home to the wolves, but he knew a part of him still belonged to Nina. God I’m crying now!!

And Wylan, bless his heart, this boy owns my heart and I wish to protect him from everyone. Growing up in an environment where you’re constantly told you’re not good enough is shit. Finding out your father faked your mother’s death is also shit. Finding out your father is an asshole who paid to have you killed is beyond shit. And yet, there was always a part of him that wanted to make his father proud because he wanted to prove him wrong, show him that he was worth surviving. It’s honestly so sad because his father couldn’t see how intelligent he was in other subjects. His father was so one-minded and picky and once Wylan realised that, and realises he shouldn’t have to prove anything to this piece of shit, his character growth is beautiful. It really changes him, makes him much more ruthless tbh and I think that shows in Crooked Kingdom when he and Kaz are quite buddy-buddy . He’s gone from being this naive boy that no one trusted and believed could ever do any good and he’s given his life purpose. He’s come out of his shell and he’s much stronger than the person he first was when we met him and I love it honestly. He becomes so much more sure of himself when he drops that “I need to prove myself to my father” weight off his back.

ANYWAYS😂I’m sorry for that wee rant but tbh I honestly don’t know who I would say had the most tragic backstory because they are all shit and I wouldn’t want to experience any of them. In conclusion, I love all of them very much and would like to protect them from the world :)

#ask #six of crows

[resmel-writing]

Fear - Intuition

I kept going to the bathroom and every time I use it, I had to go pee again. It was thinking, “I don’t remember drinking so much water” and then.. I woke up.

That’s how my morning started. I usually wake up at around 10 or 11a.m. but this time I woke up around 7:30 to use the restroom. My sister was getting ready to leave for the gym and then my dad blows up on her about going out too much especially during this pandemic. I messaged my mom cause she heard what happened. I had a conversation with my mom regarding my dad’s behavior. I’m a member of the Church of Christ, Iglesia Ni Cristo. Lately, I haven’t been proud of it. It all starts off with how I perceive my family. We have duties we take up in church but let’s call them responsibilities to better understand. I just don’t understand how my family members have these responsibilities yet they aren’t responsible for the way they act-- negativity, doubt, judging others harshly, and living in fear. It doesn’t make sense to me. How can you attend all these activities of bible studies, officer’s meetings yet still don’t implement what’s being taught? We are taught to have faith, to have an honest and striving connection with God, to not worry about what happens tomorrow, etc. My parents have lived in fear; in survival mode. I truly understand there’s a pandemic going on which was my dad’s case but for my sister, she’s been going to the gym to build up her immune system, she eats healthy, tracks her macros, has tested negative three times. While me, stays home majority of the time, games, and yet still tests positive. Why? Simple. Immune system isn’t strong and lack of nutrients. My health hasn’t been the best and I’ve been distracted with other ventures. Anyways, there’s no point in taking up an office if my dad continues to still behave and react the way he’s been for majority of his life. I understand there’s some suppressed trauma.. generational trauma. I question everything and observe why people the way they are. Self-image, and I truly feel majority of the members (of the church) take up a responsibility for self-image rather than caring for their fellow brethren. God looks at the way you live and how you interact with your family. Not just the responsibilities you take up for the church. The focus should be on the connection with God and not the self-image. Back to the conversation with my mom and what happened earlier this morning. My dad just needs to work on his approach and the way he’s handling the trauma he dealt when he was young or the generational trauma which I’m still learning to uncover. My mom was telling me to understand and I still understood that it was fear. Ever since my siblings and I were little, my dad’s way of thinking got us to be fearful majority of our lives. Why none of us graduated yet (except my brother in the ministry) cause of the fear of failing. Now, my sister struggling through college cause of dad projecting his fear and not even paying for her tuition. He’s always projecting his fear and insecurities. As the time passes in between messaging my mom, my dad approaches mom saying “what’s the point of going to the gym or going outside?” My dad never admits for the little things that my siblings and I do when in reality, these little things add up for good. He’s concerned about our health but not realizing the way he approaches and talks down on us affects our mental health which also affects our physical health. I posted on the family group chat, “Gyms. Builds immune system. You can talk to KJ {one of the ministers) too since he goes to the gym and knows the importance of taking care of the body. Plus, my sister knows how to get tested way before I tested positive. I stayed home more than her, playing video games and still tested positive. What is it? Simple. Immune system and lack of nutrition cause I don’t get the chance to cook the food I want to eat cause my family and mom’s family from the Philippines staying over til March be cooking the same stuff. Out of all people, you (my dad) project your fear and worry. Not faith. I understand that you’re a parent and you’re getting old. But at this point, you can only advise us now. Not control us. You have to accept that. You get to choose how you react.” I’m filipino by the way, and if you have friends with parents that migrated to the US for “better” opportunity, you know this reaction of theirs is inconsiderate and in denial, “Bahala kayo.”  What that means is “up to you” but the negative connation, “do what you want.” I laughed and responded, “Next time don’t attack your daughter. Not the only way you talk to her. You think she will want her kid around you? Think about it. Your approach isn’t healthy nor in a Christian manner. Remember, I observe your mistakes. You’re lucky, we’re smart. Kids hold resentment and not able to identify the issue. But I don’t take it personally cause one, it’s how you feel about yourself. His response, “Enough!” After this response of mine, he left the group chat, “Just admit it. You can’t admit we’re in the right.” He blows up. Going around the house. Cursing in tagalog, saying “he thinks he’s smarter?!,”then get out of my house!” My mom trying to calm him down saying he’s not understanding from our point of view. I getting up from my bed to confront him by saying “You wanna talk to a minister” but instead something else came out of me and somewhere along these lines, “This isn’t about being wrong or right and the end of the day sometimes. We are addressing the fact that you don’t approach things in the healthiest way, you let your emotions put you in survival mode; then you project the bad coping mechanisms onto us just get your point across. You can still be stern and concerned without yelling at someone who is trying their best to stay healthy. If you are worried about us health-wise, keep in mind our mental health can also affect our physical. Because you weren’t able to realize this growing up, now we are confronting you and just asking you to do better. God created us and made us your children so you could learn about this confrontation since you don’t wanna confront your own behavior.” My dad was just on my mom’s chest having a hard time breathing while I said this. My friend Jaybee suggested this message for me to say as a secret weapon. Lol. Huge gratitude for Jaybee for talking this out with me since she’s a narcissistic abuse survivor. Anyways, my dad didn’t react. I just told him that we love him and despite the fact of me being 27 years old and letting me stay under his roof, I’m always thankful for it regardless of how I don’t say it often. My sister and I are always looking to better ourselves to achieve the future we want for ourselves and especially this family he provided a roof over. He calmed down and just laid on his bed to cool off. I told him to look at himself as well, if he’s concerned about his health, look at the physical effects on himself when he doesn’t have his mental health in check. Before all this went down, my mom was messaging to not argue or fight with him, but I just had the urge to get up and say something even when I should be quarantining.. It was my intuition. It felt like the right thing to do. I wasn’t given this feeling for no reason and especially I have prayed for growth which comes with challenges to test me. I can proudly say I got out of my comfort zone, said my piece and passed the test. I could fight fire with fire but it will always end in fire. I chose peace cause that’s what I’ve always wanted. It wasn’t coincidence for me waking up early at 7:32 to randomly use the restroom and hear what my dad said to my sister before she head out to the gym. All this wasn’t a coincidence. There was a purpose. God had a purpose for me and used me as a great instrument to say what I needed to say. Maybe it was the hard pill for my dad to swallow. He knows he can’t say things in front of me since I believe I’m quite observant of his actions. I believe I have the makings of a great father when the time comes. To avoid the bad my dad has done to my siblings and I but to be an example of the good. My dad is only human and I am too. My dad isn’t as self-critical as me. If he was, I have no doubt he’ll make a great father. Anyways, it just makes me wonder what got me into saying what I needed to say and having the courage to put my foot down and said what was necessary.

Intuition.

Lately, I haven’t been gaming since I’ve been quarantining, re-watching a favorite tv series which has some pretty good life lessons/tips. I’ve been rethinking the direction I’ve been on and how some actions don’t align up with my values and such. My health for one has been neglected, my creativity for my room and pc setup have been up but there’s no balance. I’ve started getting rid of old clothes that I don’t wear anymore. I haven’t bought new clothes in a long time. I have such huge hesitations when buying clothes but when it comes to tech, oof. I wanna change that. I can have both. A clean environment along with great clothing but it also starts off with a clean mind although the mind ain’t always consistent. I have to at least try and do my best. Which should be enough. If you’ve read this far, I hope the message you can take from this is to not live in fear and follow your intuition. My symptoms are going away and my 10 days of isolation are almost up which I can then get retested and hopefully come out negative again which I’m positive it’ll be ;) fingers crossed lol. Thanks again and hope you are safe and sound, whoever you are and wherever you are.

Walk by faith, not by sight.

All my love and gratitude,

//REZ

#and so it is #writing #life #meditation #777 #44 #books and libraries #peace #abundance #manifestation

[sonxflight-a2]

Would you kill me if I asked you to do all the emoji thing for hanryou lol 😝

☯ Send Me An Emoji ║ @kathexismania ☯

😤 - Something about your muse that makes mine angry

“His recklessness and obstinacy have always been the cause for my frustration, but... Nowadays, I doubt I can actually get angry at him in particular - no matter how stupidly stubborn he may occasionally act, my discontent grows out of worry and care rather than annoyance or ire itself. Even in the time of parting or disagreements, our bond doesn’t cease - if anything, the only reason I ever confront Hanzo is the desire for him to heed to my voice a bit more often. To remember that I wish him good and to know that he deserves the share of peace and love, no matter of his opposing beliefs. And this is the matter about which I will stay uncompromisingly persisting...”

😰 - Something about your muse that worries mine

“The very same matters I just mentioned, plus I can add here his morbid willingness. This whole nonsensical concept of ‘life isn’t meant for everybody’... He says it’s no one’s mindset but his own, yet knowing his past and trusting the experience of mine... I nonetheless believe it was long-ingrained within him by outer forces and most likely without his inital realization. I wouldn’t be surprised if once he believed oneself to be some kind of instrument, a tool of certain authority rather than actual human being. I am more than sure his late wife brought him a certain enlightenment about it, and I can only thank her for that... ”

🤥 - Whether my muse thinks yours is an honest person

“He is. At times, even brutally so, which I believe causes people think he’s crude and unthoughtful, while in reality it’s quite otherwise... At least, when it comes to the ones my husband is close with. Let this be something I got used to, it's not the best quality once you need to reach a certain goal with cautious mean, especially when the right person is already wary towards the men of our profession. Guess in this case professional partnership adds to the pros of shared workfield...”

😈 - If my muse has dirty thoughts about yours

“We are highly active, willingly married couple... Why won’t you try and guess?”

💩- A mean thought my muse has about your muse

“Hasashi, I love you, but damn I swear I'll kick your ass myself if you will do that again... Something like this, the train of such thoughts is usually pretty similar when it comes to me.”

👌 - Something my muse finds amazing/impressive about your muse

“The fact he embarked on the path of atonement and is determined to follow it with no askew is already more than worthy of admiration. Let his motives being somewhat selfish and price he paid terrifying, not many would be willing to go through such drastic change. For good or bad, his willpower in general never stops to amaze me. Even though we both think we met our match when it comes to each other’s volition...”

👍 - Something that my muse approves about your muse or thought they have done very well

“I can’t thank him enough for helping me to finally deal with the downside of my restrainment. The treatment of wounds, any wounds, can be quite hurtful and requiring of the certain anesthetic... My emotional stagnancy wasn’t exclusion. Despite me being absolutely pissed at the whole damn world the morning after our ‘cooperative therapy’, I’ve never felt so relieved in ten years as I did feel later, like it was some kind of abscess upon my very heart getting opened at last. For this and many other things that was brought by our relationship, I will always be grateful...”

😘 - How my muse shows affection to yours and if it’s different from how they show affection to everyone else

“I guess I'm way more... physical when it comes to Hanzo, in the mean I barely mind and even tend to initiate the occasional tactile contact in spite of the risk to catch a prying eye. While the most of our affections will always happen behind the close doors, at times I cannot help but yearn for something as allegedly simple as the hold of his hand. Makes me feel like some shy adolescent boy, yet all the same there’s something lovely and beauteous in the moment his palm or fingers take a returning hold of mine.”

📺 - What show my muse thinks yours will enjoy watching (together, or just in general)

“Our work schedule doesn’t allow to us pay that much attention to movie industry these days, but I don’t remember us ever watching the movies of Akira Kurosawa. Then again, it can be easily fixed during our joint days off...”

💀 - Whether my muse thinks yours is dangerous and how dangerous

“We are both dangerous, in various meaning of this word and when we need to be... Neither of us has a peaceful past nor serene field of work, so becoming a reciprocal menace in reaction to the threat can be vital for the sake of survival, either of our loved ones or our own. Men like us... They will do anything possible in order to protect the people they love. Regardless if this will require them to sacrifice their own live or take the one of their enemy...”

👑 - Whether mine thinks your muse is of high social status and/or whether they respect them in such a way

“It’s no need to mention I’ve fallen in love with my husband for who he is as a person... Honestly, I’ve never paid that much attention to the status issue. Furthermore, growing up in highly esteemed family and being surrounded by peers like mine, I know well such matter can serve as the force of deception - I cannot tell how often I had to encounter the spoiled brat who believed they allowed to do whatever they want because of their parents’ money, and how the look of their faces changed once they realized the boy who dared to resist them is no less rich. Respect is to be earned, regardless if you’re some kind of modern prince or the child of simple worker. Unfortunately, the crowd tends to believe otherwise...”

🥃 - How many shots of strong liquor my muse thinks yours can take before passing out

“I think the better question will be how many bottles... Then again, it can depend on his current condition, because it’s either just a few shots or a whole damn gallon not being enough to put him to rest.”

🎁 - What my muse will get yours for a present

“Well, it’s for him to know at his Birthday... Or any other day I will decide to make him a certain gift. After all, does the present really stays an actual present if you know what you’ll be given beforehand?”

🍿 - What my muse thinks is entertaining about yours

“We challenge each other. Motorbike race, the contest of dry humor and sassiness or... other matters of our life together, it’s nice to have a worthy opponent for a friendly brawl. Though my husband may be a sore loser at times, in my view it’s a win-win situation either way, for I enjoy the process as much as the possible victory.”

📚 - What my muse thinks your muse’s usual reading material consists of (a specific genre, smutty literature, etc.)

“Does operation reports count? It’s been a while since I saw Hanzo reading an actual book rather than work’s material, but I can't and will not make a complaint in relation to this - our job requires such a responsibility. All the same, his workaholism causes the stir my concern, no matter how hypocritical this may sound...”

🍽 - What kind of table manner my muse assumes yours to have on first meeting them

“Not the best question to ask when it comes to our couple. Recalling how tense and cranky our relations were at the very start, I doubt either of us tried to think much about each other - it was only about getting my work done as soon as possible and be over with it until the next visit. Now, I think we both were too hurting and too headstrong to see anything else aside of established images. In a way, this makes feel thankful for that hostage incident...”

🏆 - What my muse thinks of your muse regarding a specific achievement yours have

“Specific? Oh well, I believe you should name an exact one then. There’s actually a lot I can be proud of in relation to my husband and people may have a different opinion towards what to count as some sort of achievement. High career rank and well-build physical form is usually the first to be noticed...”

⚔️ - If my muse wants to have a fight with yours

“Sigh... No. Actually, I question if I ever truly wanted to fight or harm him in any way... No matter how much I treaten to kick his ass, due to his recklessness or during another of our sparring sessions. If anything, I’m still sorry for how prejustly I could treat Hanzo back in the days. Pretty sure he feels the same...”

⚰️ - What my muse will say at your muse’s funeral

“I... don’t want to think about that, all the more answer on this question. The death of beloved one is something you cannot and should not plan or even imagine - it brings no use and only gives a rise to unnecessary ache. Regardless of how morbidly curious one’s mind can be, it reality you won’t ever be ready for this kind of things. The thought itself is devastating enough...”

💎 - The most valuable object my muse can willingly give your muse

“Whatever he’d need from me... We can act grumpy about us stealing each other’s clothes, but in reality it’s really that simple.”

📣 - Something my muse will say in defense of your muse being unfairly accused

“A few would dare to make any of such accusations about my husband right in front of him, yet there were some attempts behind his back I was drastic to prevent. As a rule, people doing that lack certain intelligence along with caution and know nothing of Hanzo and what he had to come through, while I on the contrary manage to possess a sufficient data about my opponents in order for them to be quick to hold their tongues once they’re clever enough. One shall think twice before opening their mouth...”

💃🏿 - Whether my muse would want to dance with yours

“We already did, and it was quite a pleasant suprise for me to learn he’s capable of waltzing around without any actual preparation. I wouldn’t mind if he’ll express the wish to do it again once we will have a spare time or will pay a visit to Sakai’s familial residence - there’s very specific beatitude can be found in the instants you’re circling around the dance hall within the hold of your beloved.”

👗 - Whether mine thinks your muse looks good in their usual clothing/their chosen clothing style

“He does... Albeit, as long as he’s safe and sound, he looks good for my vision either way. In the eyes of beholder and all that, you know?”

🎻- If my muse thinks yours can play an instrument, or what it is

“I’m aware Hanzo doesn’t play any. Althought, as much as I don’t mind being the only musically inclined person in our pair, it would be interesting to see him learning... Knowing his tastes, a guitar would probably suit him well.”

🎲 - If mine thinks your muse’s luck is good or bad

“I don’t know... I’ve never believed much in luck anyway, however, I believe its concept is far from being so simple... Much as one’s morals, the fortune can be incredibly relative and versatile.”

💰 - If my muse will pay the ransom for your muse if they’re kidnapped

“I think Hanzo would rather want me to find the bastards who kidnapped him and bring the frigidity of justice upon their rotten heads. Not to mention, it’s unlikely someone would be foolish enough to attempt doing this to the commander of Special Team, at least not for the money...”

✉️ - Whether my muse would want to keep in contact with yours if they are apart

“We’re husbands... The answer is kind of obvious, don’t you think?”

👀 - The most interesting/memorable rumor my muse has heard about yours

“When we just started dating and yet had to reveal our relationships... Some of my former colleagues and the members of his squadron asked if we finally found a lady friends, which was especially amusing to hear when we appeared to be in the same room. Yeah, one gruff six-something-feet tall brawny girlfriend I was happy to become a spouse for, heh...”

#✧ 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖… 𝕛𝕒𝕔𝕜 ✧ ║ ic #kathexismania #answer #✧ 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕒 ✧ ║ hanzo #☯ 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 ☯ ║ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ #{{ o O F here you go }} #long post //

[thereluctantinquisitor]

Sorry @frenchy-and-the-sea​ but Tumblr keeps ruining my read more attempts if I dare to save a post as a draft or edit it... anyway here it is again but with the PROMISED CUT in the right place:

Permission to ramble about Ciphers? Why THANK you! Mostly under the cut because that’s how I [try to] roll these days.

Ciphers

So, a Cipher is basically a rare individual who is able to learn languages at a ridiculous rate, only needing to be taught words and phrases once before they are dedicated to memory. It is a hereditary skill, and there are nine Cipher families currently in operation, which is down from what used to be over twenty In some cases, the ability just disappeared suddenly. In others, the Cipher died before having children and it never manifested again. In others, it skipped too many generations and was effectively ‘lost’ because, even if it did reappear, no one was actively looking for or fostering the ability and it just sorta… flew under the radar.

Ciphers generally have a pretty straightforward life-path. They are born, their ability is discovered at a young age (typically by their Cipher parent, who will test their ability to learn language periodically). The first years of their life are largely dedicated to the explicit teaching of all the languages known by their family, which can vary based on location, exposure and issues mentioned in the previous paragraph. Then, when they are old enough, they go to work for a member of the nobility (royalty, lords and ladies, etc.) who will act as their patron until they grow old enough to tire and be replaced by the next Cipher in their line.

In the earlier days after the Divide, Ciphers played an extremely vital role in translating and deciphering texts, documents and inscriptions, determining what should be kept of the old world and what should be destroyed. They were essentially the gatekeepers of information, as they were the only ones who could actually understand what was written, and if the language was utterly unknown, they had the best chance of decoding it based on languages that share geographic and  linguistic similarities. They were also key players as the world began to establish its new order, privy to the highest meetings and negotiations, serving as trusted translators between royalty as the kingdoms began to form. They were, essentially, essential.

However, almost 600 years post-Divide, things have changed. Trade Tongue was developed in the mid-second century, which has opened communication significantly across the known world. Languages have also consolidated considerably, particularly with the expansion of the Khathi Empire, meaning there are fewer one must learn in order to serve as a functional translator. Majority of texts have been located, decoded, and sent away to the various archives to be locked in dusty rooms. Basically, Ciphers have found themselves in a world that has largely outgrown them. They are a convenience, rather than a necessity. Where they used to deal with incredible artefacts of the past, tasked with uncovering lost knowledge, they are now more likely to be found performing general bureaucratic services to ‘earn their keep’.

The tradition of patronage has continued largely due to the generational bond formed between Cipher families and their noble patrons (who often remain loyal to a single Cipher family, and visa versa). This allows current Ciphers to still live comfortably, but there is no real prestige associated with their abilities anymore. In fact, they are often actively disliked, as when their services do happen to be required, their patron sets the price (and that price is usually very high). So, many now view Ciphers as little more than lapdogs whose main function is to line their patron’s pocket. And they’re really not wrong.

Delver is the only active Cipher who lacks a patron. He basically acts as a freelancer, strutting around the kingdoms, spreading word when he is in the area. His general practice is to undercut the local cipher for work needed by the lower classes, and overcharge the nobility for his discretion (given his lack of affiliation). He is also from the only Cipher family where the ability has not skipped a generation, but that comes with its own cost that has only recently begun to manifest. There are theories that the Cipher ability skips generations as a kind of biological safety mechanism, as over time having that many languages at your fingertips can become overwhelming for any one mind. If a generation was skipped, the Cipher’s knowledge had to be consolidated and written down as best as possible, all while maintaining regular day to day work and duties. As a result, a lot tended to slip between the cracks, and often large portions of knowledge were lost in the process. While this meant that less languages were passed on when the ability reappeared, it alleviated some of the strain on the individual’s mind. There had been no real consequences for Delver’s line until his great-great grandfather, who was said to have gone mad in his seventies. Then his great grandmother, at about the same age. Then his grandfather, in his late fifties. Then his mother, in her early forties.

TBH I know it’s nothing particularly exciting on paper, but I think what excites me about the whole prospect is because I like the idea of change, and how time and development causes people and places and skills to fall in and out of favour. The joy I get out of it is writing from the perspective of someone who is trapped in a place of impotent bitterness, and how that jaded feeling changes the way he approaches the world. Delver longs for a challenge - dreams of the days when everything was mysterious and exciting, and people looked to Ciphers as links between the past and the present. Now, people just look to him for a seal and a signature, and he desperately wants to be more than that.

#reluctant replies #stonebreaker series #reluctant original series #stonebreaker #frenchy-and-the-sea #I have a soft-spot for Ciphers because they were one of the first ideas I had when forming Stonebreaker #and that feeling of possessing skills or interests in a society that no longer values them i think can be quite relatable #and fun to explore #anyway thank you for indulging me <3 #and apologies for another Lore Dump(TM)

[itstimetotheorize]

hold onto your hats!, BH6 season 2 mid season finale episodes 6-10 discussion, a round of applause for the bh6 team

before we dive into the discussion, I would first like to give the BH6 writers and animators a round of applause and a big thank you!, the story and animation for the first half of season 2 improved so much compared to the 1st season that I can only imagine what you guys have planned for the next half of season 2. If, by some miracle, you guys are reading my post please know that I and so many others appreciate your hard work in making such a fun show to watch, I hope you guys are getting the recognition you deserve for working so hard. 

Now, before we look over the big reveal of episode 10 I would first like to point out a few key details from certain episodes

first is a minor detail in episode 4 “something fishy”. Back in season 1 episode 2 Hiro grows concern for his secret identity when Karmi sees his face at a close range. Despite his worries, Hiro is safe on this matter since Karmi is more fond of his superhero alter ego and has no interest in believing that her hero is actually school Hiro. 

This same issue is seen in season 1 episode 12 when hiro investigates a warehouse about some stolen metal, unfortunately, Yama is also in the warehouse. Once he knows it Yama Hiro once again grows concern for his secret identity since he has confronted Yama numerous times in his regular life, 

thankfully, yama is not smart enough to put the two together and instead sees Hiros hero alter ego as just one of the members of big hero 6. With so much concern for his secret identity and the identities of his friends I always wondered, why dont they do something about it?. Well, as of season 2 episode 4 it appears that Hiro finally learned from his mistakes and has added a special feature to all of their helmets/ head pieces.

 In season 2 episode 4, Gogo and Fred go to Richardson mole knowing that high voltage will be coming to him to steal back their electric orb. Once they arrive Richarson is delighted to see them but still has no idea that “lizard/chameleon guy” is actually fred since his suit covers his entire body (and he still has amnesia from S1Ep17) , but when he looks over to Gogo he asks,“do I know you?”, 

gogo says no, then quickly presses a button on the side of her helmet that causes the screen of her helmet to fog up, completely hiding her face before Richardson can get a better look. 

In the next shot we can still see Gogos face but that is most likely just for the fans to see. Richardson does not bring the subject of her secret identity back up again since its clear that he can only see the foggy screen

if this was done to gogos helmet then its likely that the others have this feature as well. In season 2 episode 8 when liv amara offers her help to big hero 6 in taking down the mayoi she reaches out her hand to hiro with a smile, attempting to appeal to him a as an alley

 I have seen others posts questioning whether or not liv knows hiros real identity since they have confronted each other on numerous occasions, especially in episode 8. 

since hiro added the new feature to everyones helmets to hide their faces in public, liv most likely does not know hiros secret identity...at least not yet.

also very quickly, concerning globby, we all saw how after he ate nega globby nega globbys eye appeared on globbys back near the end of episode 5. I can already see this a mile away, negaglobby will try to take control of 9globby or use his body to regenerate its own.

next lets talk about Wasabi,  recently I have noticed an unfortunate situation happening to wasabi when it comes to transportation. Getting around town during their hero work is one of many challenges that bh6 faces, however, each team member has his or her own way of getting around fast, Fred has his super jump and can ride on Baymax when needed, 

Honey lemon can also ride on Baymax with ease and will often create a slide or bounce ballot from her chem purse to get around faster.

Hiro of course never leaves baymaxs side, so he can fly whenever

 naturally, gogo is the most skilled out of all of them since she also has her skates and new bike 

Wasabi, unfortunately, is the only one at a disadvantage. Wasabi is afraid of heights so riding baymax is usually a no for him (unless he has no choice). Yes, he has a car, however, that is a challenge of its own. In episode 6 when the team chases after a trio of suspicious cars everyone keeps up except wasabi who we first see is running and falling behind, we then see that he had no other choice but to take a taxi just to catch up to the others after the chase ended. 

in episode 10, when the team undergoes a monster chase exercise, everyone keeps up with Fred except wasabi who gets stuck in traffic and has no choice but to wait the traffic out before he can meet up with everyone to eat. 

with 15 episodes left of season 2, I really hope the bh6 team has plans to improve wasabis character so he can keep up with the others and not just be played off as a comedic gag.

setting aside these details I would also like to talk about a sudden name reveal in episode 9. After supersonic sue kidnaps baron von steamer, baron begins ranting about everyones silly dependence on electricity and how his base was the only one with power during a major black out,  near the end of his rant he shows hatred towards one particular villain called “THE DARK VOLT”, 

sue appears to have some connection to him as well as she states that it was the dark volt who created her electric elbow guards. 

Near the end of the episode when steamer and sue bicker about who is boss awesomes true #1 enemy they finally ask boss awesome himself to settle the matter, but rather than admit that neither one is his true enemy he simply jokes that its “cabbage soup”, 

but boss awesome, like every superhero, must have a true #1 enemy. Batman has the Joker, Superman has lex luther etc. etc. and right now the most likely suspect for boss awesome true #1 enemy is the one they call “the dark volt” who I suspect will make an appearance later on in the series as part of another filler or possibly be directly involved with a major point of the story

and speaking of super villains, with BH6 already renewed for a third season, who will be the next big bady that the team will face off against in season 3? . In season 1 episode 18, liv was introduced but soon shrugged off as a minor character, that is until she became involved with a major plot point of the story, orso knox. 

Not only that, once we found out that her company was called sycorax (which ironically enough we later learned was the name of an evil witch in shakespears “the tempest” and was also the play that orso knox kept quoting as a way to tell others that it was liv who turned him into a monster) our suspicion of her true nature began to grow. My point being, if liv was already planned to be season 2s big bady and was only featured in minor appearances in season 1 as a way of foreshadowing her future villain role, then odds are the next big bady will soon make an appearance in the same manner in season 2. So who is it going to be? and will they be an even bigger threat than liv?

finally lets talk about the big question, what the heck is going on with liv amara?!, for 9 whole episodes we have all tried to piece together livs end game. So far, aside from knox, she has mutated Momakase, high voltage, Ned Ludd and  Mr. Sparkles. Before, I believed that liv was purposely mutating villains to later experiment on and possibly use them as minions to carry out her crimes by brainwashing them into obeying her every command. As of episode 10, I’m starting to see more hints that this might just be the case

what makes me say this? well, if you have seen the first discussion I posted on episodes 1-5 I suspected that liv added a special feature to the chips shes been implanting into villains that will not only gift them with special abilities but will also give her the power to control them. When high voltage escaped in episode 4 they didn't make a break for freedom, instead they returned to liv despite the lack of trust they had in her. But I gotta say, the real give away was Mr. Sparkles. In episode 8 we learn that Mr. Sparkles had paid liv to give him the power to control a small army of genetically enhanced fungus, the mayoi. 

Liv agrees to his terms but also bargains with him to take the blame for all the mutated villains in san fransokyo. Its obvious that sparkles agreed to this set up since he is not one to pass up being the center of attention. 

and why did liv ask Sparkles to take the blame for her mutations? because she knows that its only a matter of time before bh6 come after her. Her worries began when she finally noticed that regular people like Hiro and Karmi are now questioning her work (and again, I dont think liv knows Hiro is a member of bh6...yet). When liv created the mayoi she tells Chris that they (as well as sparkles) are their new insurance policy. 

Liv knows that if she has any hope of accomplishing her goal she must first make sure that she and sycorax are protected , and what better way to keep the public and bh6 away from her than posing as a hero and saving the city. In episode 8 when sparkles questions her appearance during his big attack we see him reading a stack of papers, its clear that the whole scene with liv appearing and saving the city was scripted,

 and just to make sure liv kept her end of the bargain, liv only created a serum that would return the mayoi back to their regular size rather than back to “normal”, and by “normal” I mean a pile of motionless fungus

. And guess what, her plan worked!, with the whole city viewing her as a hero as well as having the entire police force indebted to her for donating their new k-9 unit (S2E4) no one will be able to confront liv about being responsible for the mutations and crimes without being pinned as the bad guy themselves.

In episode 10 we see sparkles again (along with high voltage in eel form), only this time he is stealing a large sum of gold for liv, 

this sudden behavior of aiding liv after episode 8 is very unlike sparkles, sparkles does not like working, let alone sharing the spotlight with someone else. In episode 7, sparkles was working with yama, but as soon as he had the cash he needed sparkles asked yama to steal a rare (completely fake) comic book. 

This search turned out to be a double cross so sparkles could have enough time to take all the cash, turn the cops on yama and make a quick getaway. 

So then why of all things would sparkles suddenly settle for working under liv now that he got what he wanted from her?, unless, its not what he really wants to do,

  in episode 10 when the Bessie monster steals gold from a highly secured facility, its clear that its heading back to liv. 

When liv later confirms that she has acquired the gold she needed it verifies that the Bessie beast is also under her control. 

The only one thats missing now is momakase, if momakase is also under livs control then she is most likely out doing top secret jobs for liv as well, however, momakase is not like the other villains, she is highly skilled and specializes in stealthy activities, so liv would most likely not waste someone like her on grunt work. 

everything that liv has done was for one reason and that reason was soon discovered to be whatever was inside that giant pod in episode 5. 

Finally, in episode 10, we discover that the liv we have seen since season 1 and the start of season 2 was in fact NEVER the real liv amara!, the REAL liv amara was actually inside that giant pod we saw back in episode 5!!!, this fake liv amara has been secretly trying to bring back the real liv amara the entire time! 

granted, without a true reveal, we dont know yet if the fake liv is a clone or just livs twin sister. My main concern is, how did the real liv end up in a cryogenic state? and If the fake livs end game was to bring back the real liv amara, then what is the real liv amaras end game?

as for how the real liv ended up in a cryogenic state, I think I may have an idea. First, when fake liv is running thru the real livs file we see a picture of a virus on the screen,

 there are many types of viruses, however, this particular one which looks like a spider is called a “bacteriophage”, basically a bacteriophage will attach itself to a  cell and inject its own DNA into the persons cell, the virus DNA will then sneakily attach itself to the cells regular DNA so it can be duplicated thru something called “the cell cyle” which is what a cell does to make a clone of itself, only this time, since the cell is infected with a viruses DNA, it is also making a bunch of clones of the virus, once enough virus clones are made they tear the cell apart(killing it) and spread out to infect the next nearby cell to start the whole mess all over again

In season 1 episode 2 Karmi explains that the the whole purpose of studying dangerous viruses is to make them less dangerous and figure out new uses for them,

 in season 2 episode 3 Karmi explains again that the purpose of studying dangerous micro organisms  is to make them less dangerous with “modified viral vectors that reprogram DNA”, 

in season 1 episode 18 fake liv connects with karmi thru their shared interest in bio tech. And despite the amount of good that can be done in their field its not without its consequences. Just as it is possible to make a dangerous microorganism/virus less dangerous it can also be made into a more dangerous version of its old self. In episode 4 when fake liv is talking to high voltage she has a hologram of someones DNA on her table, this DNA was most likely the real liv amaras DNA.

 In episode 10 fake liv talks to Bluff Dunder (the news guy) and explains that she and her team are working on a cure for a rare disorder/disease. 

Odds are, the real liv amara really was looking to cure a rare disorder but in the process of figuring out how to make the virus that caused it less deadly and more manageable she accidentally made it more dangerous and ended up accidentally infecting herself with it, or worse, she could have already had the disease to begin with but because it is illegal to experiment on humans (seriously, in real life if you do this you go to jail!)  she willingly tested on herself out of desperation to see if she could reprogram/remove the virus within herself. Either way, things did not turn out the way real liv wanted and is instead now in a critical state after her failed attempt to cure herself. The virus could have mutated to the point where it began to spread at a faster rate, that DNA hologram back in episode 4 had 1 piece missing, 

that piece could be the portion of real livs DNA that contains the virus DNA. Fake liv must have  been desperately trying to figure out how to remove it without killing real liv and before the virus managed to finish the job. Its possible that the only reason fake liv turned to a life of crime was because she got fed up with struggling to cure real liv thru legal means, after all, fake liv did say that she would do whatever it takes to bring her back.

which brings me to the next issue, why does fake liv need gold to cure the rare disorder/disease?, well, recently I found out that scientists in real life are researching how to to use gold nano particles to detect viruses, making it easier to remove a virus from a persons body. When Chris hands fake liv a cupcake covered in gold she finally gets the break through shes been looking for as she says, “Gold!, bio compatible nanoparticles, yes!”.

 At first, back in episode 5, fake liv was probably planing on using globbys self regeneration ability to destroy as much of the viruses DNA as possible while at the same time repairing the damaged cells and DNA along the way, however, since nega globby proved to unstable she decided to scrap the idea. However, none of that matters now that fake liv has the gold she needs to finally save the real liv.

so, now that we know its only a matter of time for the real live to wake up, what will happen once the real liv amara retakes her position from fake liv ? .Will she be just as cold blooded as fake liv and continue to use mutated villains to do her dirty work while she operates from the shadows to fulfill her true end game? ( whatever it may be?!). Will real liv become horrified with what her clone (or twin) has done to bring her back, causing fake liv to go rogue and start acting out on her own crazy ideals, possibly leaving real liv to play the good twin (or clone) and instead deciding to help bh6 take fake liv down before her plans destroy all of san fransokyo?!. 

 Will the BH6 writers and animators use real liv as part of some bigger plan, resulting in a final gigantic plot twist near the end of season 2 that will completely destroy us emotionally and have us desperately waiting for answers during the season 3 hiatus???????!!!!!!!!!!!... whos to say... but hey!,  thats just a theory, a big hero 6 theory!

#bh6 #big hero 6 #big hero 6 the series #BH6 the series #bh6 season 2 #bh6 season 1 #disney #tadashi hamada #hiro hamada #gogo tomago #Honey lemon #Fred Frederickson IV #bh6 fred #bh6 wasabi #liv amara #professor grandville #baymax #bh6 theories #big hero 6 theory #bh6 theory #and now we play the waiting game #big hero 7 #bh7

[chibimyumi]

Hi Chibimyumi! Can you please give examples of Yuta's thoughts about social struggles ( mental health, gengered bias etc.) ^-^ And what do you think about FuruTod's dress?

Hello Anon ^ω^

I would gladly!

Mental Health

Furukawa does not actually talk about mental health outside his own scope at all; he keeps everything on a personal level only.

He is fairly strict to himself; Furukawa seems to value problem-tackling way more than self-therapy. I have never seen him comfort himself with mental hacks or softness; whenever there is a problem he would call everything for what it is without any sugar coating. Examples include him referring to his actions using the words ‘cowardice’, ‘weakness’, ‘arrogance’, ‘naivety’, etc. Furukawa would not linger on these derogatory terms however. He accepts these as simply descriptors rather than ultimate identifiers. Having weaknesses does not make one weak, and sugar coating problems is counterproductive to combating them, after all.

An example of this is actually as recent as today (June 19th, 2019), where on the TV programme ZIP, Furukawa openly talked about himself running away from rehearsal, using the unapologetic word 逃げ出す (nigedasu・run/bolt away).

Furukawa also grew a lot in the recent years. In the past, rather than facing his obstacles head on, he would shamelessly ask others to solve the problem for him. He learned the consequences of this passive attitude the hard way, alas, but he did learn. And he is determined to let the lesson count. Likewise, he has also learned that a challenge is just a task that he might have to work harder for to take on, rather than be upset with himself that we was not ‘born to be able to do it’. In one interview where he was asked how he felt about being promoted to ‘Ogosho’ (Prince), now being ranked the same as other legendary performers, Furukawa answered as follows:

“I don’t have talents. Unlike Inoue-senpai (Inoue Yoshio), I can’t just open my mouth and hit notes so beautiful it moves people’s hearts. I am not like Iku-senpai (Yamazaki Ikusaburo) who can just stand there and suck people into the play with sheer charisma. But I believe that my weaknesses are my biggest weapon. These weaknesses keep me motivated to work harder than anyone, and I believe that my ardent hard-work is the soul of my performance. I hope that rather than ‘one show’, my performances can be a journey of growth that I share with my audience.” (*Starts sobbing* Furukawa, you are a beacon of inspiring energy T^T)

Furukawa is not some mental-health guru who gives advice, but in my opinion, he is incredibly effective because he leads by example. By always being open and casual about addressing weaknesses and problems, he reminds his spectators that it is not shameful to talk about these, and that the shame is only as big as one makes it to be. Likewise, he reminds people that there is no such thing as one rigid standard set in stone. “Rather than setting a goal according to one’s ideals, I think it is more important to strive for flexibility in preparation for these ideals” [Link].

To me, it is especially extraordinary because he is a man, and therefore socialised to reject and spit on weakness, and be shamed for having such ““unmanly traits””.

Gendered Bias

Japan is an incredibly and infuriatingly gendered society (personal story; I myself wear incredibly girly clothes, but my “opinions” are probably not “girly” enough. Once I was just talking to someone, and they advised me to “not speak so scarily, instead I should speak cuter”, because it does not fit my femininity.)

Born and raised in the middle of nowhere in a very traditional household where his father was the absolute and only authority, Furukawa too grew up with rigid gender standards. As a result, Furukawa is not entirely without bias either of course, but he is always keeping his eyes open to check what bias there might be. He is a critical thinker, and unpacks the psyche behind a person’s behaviour to the bottom. This allows him to gain a more objective view on cause and effect in human behaviour. (The Sebastianess is real). This ‘unpacking’ is probably what helped him see through the artificialness of gendered conventions, and helps him check for bias. Perhaps it is this talent that made him so good at his job of producing amazing interpretations for his roles, perhaps it is his job which nurtured this talent. Or it’s both.

This is just me surmising, but it is likewise possible that he is so feminist because he does not feel sexual attraction for women (or anyone else); this probably helped him rationalise and shielded him from falling for the sexualisation of women which reduces them into a piece of meat to be owned.

In the after-talk show of ‘Marie Antoinette’ at the Imperial Theatre, Furukawa was asked what role other than Axel von Fersen he would have liked to play.

Furukawa: “M.A.” (the initials of the lead roles Marie Antoinette and Margrid Arnaud).

Host: “Which one?”

Furukawa: “Both. These women are amazing, but I cannot play them. This world is made by men for men like me, and yet, we all still manage to fail despite everything being customised by ourselves (laughs). What does success of a man even mean then? I admire women who have succeeded despite all the odds. If I were ever reborn as a woman, I want to play heroines like these people.”

(And the fans unanimously agreed that we don’t want him to reincarnate, we just want him to play these roles the way he is XD)

Without trying to point the finger to Japanese gendered society (too hard, with fully manicured nails and a new set or diamond rings), I am astonished by how emancipated Furukawa turned out despite his background.

Scary and Being Scared

Furukawa is hyper aware of the fearsomeness of toxic masculinity. He once admitted that he actually has trouble interacting with women, because he grows too self-conscious of being scary, and fears he might not be able to catch his own bad behaviour on time. He said that he is so tall he towers over even most men (in Japan) on top of having a villainous face. (???? Ô.ó) In addition, he said that his speaking voice is low to begin with, but when he is scared it becomes even lower, and he sometimes accidentally raises his voice. All in all, he said there is no reason for women NOT to be scared by him. So, he rather keep himself at bay.

In this post about Furukawa’s respect for women, we see how mindful he is in approaching women. Though this story is inspiring, it is possible this respect comes from a place of fear. Regardless, it is still rare to see a man so graciously acknowledging toxic masculinity AND admitting fear (fear for anything, really! And that’s why I love him).

In one of the old shows ‘Heat Up Eve’, Furukawa was talking about how hitting on girls is a very scary thing to do. He wondered how girls even deal with this. In the phoning-corner-event, Furukawa asked the calling fan how she would handle the situation, and his team-mates suggested him doing a live simulation with the fan. Furukawa agreed to put on his scary-face, and produced the following gem:

Der Tod’s Costume

I really, honestly like his standard costume a lot. In normal light I am not entirely sure, but in stage-light (as it is meant to be) it is a magnificent piece of art.

It is rather patriotic since TOHO already declared a “New Era of the Japanese ‘Elisabeth’ with their new Ogosho“, but I really like the details on his lapel that may have been based on a Sodenashi Haori.

His other costume for ‘The Last Dance’ is something I have not really made my mind up about, though I am happy to see him with a cape again. This vaguely Victorian-Napoleonic era uniform also has some Japanese factors in it, but I am not sure I like the breaks of the knots that don’t reach its buttons...

Though, I really like how his hair is tied back into a pony tail with a ribbon. Der Tod’s original visual design had shorter hair, but they aborted that idea. This pony-tail look with long bangs makes it look like the huge banners are not false advertisement XD.

Regardless, I am happy they finally made Furukawa his own costumes and dropped the previous costume that was Shirota Yuu’s (whose built is MUCH larger). It looked like YunTod was wearing his father’s clothes...

Inoue-senpai (left) also expressed how he was a bit jealous of Furukawa’s costumes, and joked:

“Furu-kun’s clothes are so elegant and refreshing, I think it reflects what kind of Der Tod he plays. Here I am carrying a dead fish tail; what does that say about me? (laughs)” [Source]

#Furukawa Yuta #Yun #YunTod #FuruTod #Mental Health #EVERYONE has weaknesses okay #Having them does not automatically make you weak #It's about how you deal with them #Fear #Anxiety #Gendered bias #Der Tod #Elisabeth #Das Musical #TOHO #Imperial Theatre #I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

[legion1993]

thunder like a gun shot

title:  Thunder like a gun shot

kink square filled: lingerie

fluff square filled: free space (thunderstorm)

prompt: Chrysalism-the amnotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words were unintelligable but whose crackling release a built up tension you understand perfectly.

A/n: hope this fits with everything if it doesnt just let me know and ill make the changes if necessary. but if it is close please also let me know. it was hard to come up with something when i was struggling with a really bad case of writers block. i kinda just did word vomit in here. please give me feedback. if possible. thanks.

ship: Dean x reader

rating: 14+

tags: firearms, lingerie, sexy clothing, thunderstorm, cuddling in the hallway, reader wearing barely nothing.

summery (if applicable): its a surprise….

word count (if applicable):

created for @spnkinkbingo and for @thing-you-do-with-that-thing for her Spn beautiful words challenge (ps. i hope this works...) & @spnfluffbingo

spn kink bingo masterlist    spn fluff bingo masterlist

staying at bobby’s while Bobby, Dean and Sam were out hunting. thats fine bobby said you could organize and put away the books and things. 

while doing so it was very warm inside. rumsfeld had always stayed near by, for he could tell you missed Dean. Dean and you had been together for several years. this was how you spent time when you thought it best you stayed back. 

after all spending every day hunting was not without perks, for instance getting to chop heads, shoot things, etc. but sometimes you wanted to let Dean have fun with the guys. 

amidst putting away the books and boxes you found one of the cursed boxes was open. you picked it up and placed it on the desk. immediately you dialed bobby.

Bobby: “Y/N..”

Y/N: “bobby did you or the guys go into a cursed box?”

Bobby yells at the boys who swear up and down that neither of them did. so he comes back to you.

Bobby: “none of us did, why do ya ask kiddo?”

Y/N: “cause there was one open unsealed on the ground.”

Bobby: “whats the box number?”

Y/N: “5386.”

you could hear bobby on the other end yell Son of a Bitch...

Bobby: “Y/N kiddo listen to me, a while back John and i had trapped something real bad in that very box, it is a demon, but this one is powerful, like it comes with its own meatsuit. you need to get it down long enough for you to exorcise it back into the pit or use that cursed box.”

Y/N: “can it be harmed by bullets?”

Bobby: “it can but you would have to unload half a clip into it in order for it to stay down for a longer period of time than that of 1 minute."

there was nothing you hadnt considered. but the thought of hunting in lingerie had you hot and bothered.

you pulled out your hand gun and cocked it but not before checking to make sure you had a full cartridge of bullets.

Y/N: “don’t you guys worry ill take care of whatever the hell this is.”

you hung up the call and threw on your overlay grabbing your gun and flashlight you started searching the house. slowly around every corner you went. but outside you heard a noise, one which brought out your most painful memories.

 you knew you only had a short amount of time before you had a melt down. 

elsewhere, Dean, Bobby and sam were just arriving back at the motel after completing the hunt. that of course is when Dean noticed it, the dark clouds, the looming sounds of thunder. 

Dean: “shit guys we gotta head back towards Y/N she will have a breakdown if im not there during the storm.”

Sam: “goo on ahead Dean, ill ride with bobby and catch up as soon as we can.”

Bobby: “go be with your girl.”

Dean stayed in the impala while Sam went in the motel room to grab Dean’s bag bringing it out to his brother he smiled backing up as Dean reversed and sped off down the road.

meanwhile you were not aware that you were the one being stalked not you stalking the demon. it was a few moments before you heard a hiss coming from right behind you, it made you stop, you cocked your gun & dropped your flashlight. but just as the first loud house shaking thunder clap sounded you shot off 2 rounds into his arms. 

that was what set him off on the war path, you ducked out of the way you had run away from him but trying to go up the stairs you felt estranged. almost like something else was also in the house. 

however it was your wit and courage that made you stop in your slow ascend of the staircase, you stuck your gun thru the railing and shot off 2 more rounds into its spine. 

it was then that bright bright headlights shone through the not covered windows. it was the impala, you knew those headlights anywhere but if there was ever a moment whre you were not sure of yourself and your hunting abilities it was right then. 

you could then hear the door jiggling but that soon all just faded noise as you honed into your senses. they were all in overload, your hearing could only pick up the sound of what you thought to be the ever growing thunder claps that were sounding from outside.

but instead you were firing off every single bullet in both clips you had on you. that demon was down. thats when you got into a real rage, it was something that you never thought you would ever feel again.

this is something you had only experienced once before, your parents had been murdered right in front of your eyes it was a thunderstorm but you happened to be in the room at the time. 

it hadnt been long before Sam and Dean had busted through your door but by that point they witnessed you killing the demon with your mind. it was not 3 minutes after that you knelt on the floor and had this blank expression on your face. 

thats how your journey with the winchesters had started. but tonight was the second time you were experiencing something like this. Dean came into the view, you were now kneeling on the ground, in only your sexy lingerie with a blank expression on your face & your silence turning into soft sobs. 

thunder kept roaring but the demon wasnt gone yet. your eyes went white again the cursed box was near the demon as your voice spoke the incantation to lock that asshole demon back up.

Y/N: “i invoke the cursed box, this demon shall ever more be inside. ne’er to escape nor see the light of day. christo, jesu, domni dieos audinos.”

with that your eyes went back to normal, the demon was locked back up. Dean now felt it safe to approach you. it was gonna be a rough next few hours. Dean pulling you into his grasp now held you close. 

Dean: “shh its alright... shh...”

your sobs now turning into full blown streaming tears, the thunder kept cracking and all you could do was cry. 

Dean didnt bother to move you from the hallway, instead he got comfy on the floor. in the middle of the hallway laying you on his chest, covering your shivering form in his embrace cause to be honest wearing that lingerie he wanted to do more than keep you warm and safe.

Dean kissed your hair and smiled.

Dean: “you look beautiful babe, relax im here.”

 you guys stayed like that for quite a while till you felt strong enough to move. 

~for as it turned out everytime you shot that gun at that demon, you did it to the thunder claps. after all thunderstorms have a really weird effect on people.~

#spnkinkbingo #spn beautiful words challenge #spnfluffbingo #thunderstorm #lingerie #supernatural #dean x reader

[ahopefuldoubt]

Aaron and Rameses Parallels in The Prince of Egypt

based on a few points from this list (jul.-aug. 2016).  written between dec. 2016 and jan. 2017.  originally posted in 2017 [x].

An interesting parallel between Aaron and Rameses seems to occur about midway into the movie, doing so off-screen:

While Moses is in Midian, both take up more prominent roles in their respective communities.  Rameses becomes Pharaoh of Egypt, and Aaron assumes the position of doubtful spokesman for the Hebrew people*.  Because the throne room scene with Moses and Rameses is followed by the mud pit scene with Aaron and Moses, these changes get revealed in succession, creating a nice opportunity to explore the characters themselves as well as their dynamic.

There’s some dramatic irony where Rameses is concerned.  Those who are familiar with the story know that he is the pharaoh whom Moses must contest.  However, for the characters, the situation is ambiguous, and their reunion is therefore able to cover a lot of emotional ground.  Moses comes back to Egypt to discover that his brother has taken their father’s seat, and suddenly his mission from God takes on a much heavier dimension — “Pharaoh will not listen,” but perhaps Moses hopes that the brother he’s always loved and respected will.  And Rameses is none the wiser, secure in his authority and bemused by Moses’ humble appearance.  Their amicable acknowledgement of the past and present quickly turns into a tense hint at the future.

On the other hand, Aaron is a surprise to Moses and the audience.  Not only does his assertiveness in the mud pit scene seem sudden, but the overall changes from the source material are also unexpected.  And here is a reverse parallel of sorts: In reviews, the movie’s alternate take on Rameses and Moses’ personal relationship is often considered a unique addition, whereas the differences made to Aaron’s character are thought of as a curious reduction.  Aaron is an important Jewish figure whose admired qualities include his positive relationship with his younger brother (a notable contrast from all the fraternal strife in the Book of Genesis), so in that regard I understand people’s disappointment.  But his shift from being fearfully vigilant, to calling for justice, to taking the first steps into the Red Sea is compelling, and in my opinion it humanizes him in a meaningful way (just as the other characters have been humanized for this film).  It also means that, like Rameses, he must navigate his past, present, and future relationship with Moses — though it’s one that has a rather different history and track.

The directors cite practical reasons for changing Aaron’s part, as it allows Moses to maintain agency (e.g., Moses performs all of miracles and plagues instead of delegating the first few to Aaron, as happens in the Book of Exodus) and puts a better focus on his conflict with Rameses.  Personally, I think that the Rameses-to-Pharaoh, Aaron-to-spokesman transition also gives them this more immediate sense of opposition, or greater approximation (and makes me feel all the more deeply about certain lines of dialogue**).  Maybe, in some odd way, it’s a small nod to the story in the Book of Exodus.

Representing Aaron as someone who frets and questions things brings me to the next parallel, which is that now both brothers are skeptics of God and of Moses.  In The Prince of Egypt, Moses must convince them both (to very different ends, of course).  There are moments in the reunion scenes where their responses to Moses sound alike in topic and tone:

Rameses

I do not know this God.  Neither will I let your people go.

Aaron

God?  When did God start caring about any of us?

Here they sound angry and faithless, but it’s another similarity that separates them, I feel, since their doubt in and experiences with God differ quite a bit.

In reaction to the conditions of slavery, the persistent threat to their lives, Aaron has turned to wondering, bitterly and from a place of anguish/fear, if God has abandoned them.  Moses’ return means many things to Aaron, and the unintended outcome of Moses’ confrontation with Rameses probably seems like further proof that God does not care.  Rameses, on the other hand, has no experience with the God of the Hebrew people.  To admit inexperience with something isn’t necessarily bad; however, he speaks about God and those who practice the faith as the Other.  Moses’ return means many things to Rameses, too, and Rameses perceives God — and even/eventually Moses — as a challenge to his sovereignty.

Beyond the parallels discussed in this post are others that visually and auditorially connect Aaron and Rameses.  Serious and cautious***, Moses’ brothers tend to carry many troubles and hold on to negative events from the past.  It’s possible to treat Rameses as a prisoner of tradition, or a victim of his family and God’s wrath.  It’s possible to criticize Aaron for his fears and lack of faith in God.  But neither is fully or fairly illustrative of who they are as characters.  (For me, that interpretation of Rameses absolves him of too much responsibility.  And that reading of Aaron causes too much oversight of his courage and compassion.)  Indeed, it’s important also to recognize the choices they make in the film and the paths they walk.  I think that there, too, lies a vast difference between them.

* From here: It’s worth noting that Aaron’s role throughout the film is representing his people’s doubts and concerns.  But I also think it’s something that develops as he grows/ages…

** I’m referring to the line, “Pharaoh still has the power over our lives.”  Also, as I note here [link to be added], there’s really no film-canon evidence that Rameses even knows of Aaron’s or Miriam’s existence.  This is interesting to me because it deviates from the Book of Exodus, in which Aaron deals with Pharaoh directly.  But, it’s also interesting because of course viewers know how all the characters in the film version are related, and I feel that fans like to project some kind of “rivalry” onto the brothers, usually boiling down to which one is the “real” brother.  The line of dialogue above helps underline the grossly uneven power dynamic between Rameses (Pharaoh/Egypt) and Aaron (the Hebrew people).... and this dynamic is one of the many reasons why any “rivalry” over “real brother” status will never sit right with me — especially if it's one that disparages Aaron (to be frank).

*** “Cautious” describes Rameses as a teenager.  He loses his uncertainty and self-doubt when he becomes an adult — though he’s still afraid of being “the weak link.”  Aaron remains cautious into adulthood, and the source of his uncertainty is markedly different.  Not to keep belaboring a point, but Rameses does not want to lose power (at the same time, he doesn’t believe that his power can be threatened); Aaron is afraid of losing his life (losing Miriam, losing everything).  [2019 edit] I might also need to rewrite this sentence with a word other than “serious” because I don’t think it’s quite the right word.  But I know there must have been a reason why I used it.

i’ll probably be adding a few notes to this space, so… stay tuned.  [eta] here are some:

This is a multi-pronged subject, and rather than address the adoption aspects, I decided to concentrate more on the themes, character motivations, dialogue, etc. of/in the movie itself.  I tried to think about the implications of the changes that were made to the original story; I’m sure a lot of it is conjecture on my part (but reasonable conjecture?).  While writing I also discovered even more depth to the story and characters… which I worry I didn’t include enough of in this post…

I don’t know if I’m going to do another one of these, though I’d like to… and back in August [2016] I did start to write an analysis of a parallel from the first half of the movie, which would examine more directly Aaron’s and Rameses’ relationships with Moses (as well *clears throat loudly* as Aaron’s with Miriam).  And of course the adoption stuff is always on my mind.  It’s natural to want to show and seek out similarities and differences between the biological and adoptive families in The Prince of Egypt, especially since the characters and their relationships are so rich.  At times, the movie draws conscious comparisons: for example, having baby Moses grasp Yocheved’s finger, and later, Tuya’s.  I probably tend to view things through a more critical, and personal, lens, but I’ve also given much thought to these parallels.  And as usual, there’s just a lot I’d like to write about the siblings…

Last edited: 2/23/17; 1/8/19, some clarifications

[2019 2020 notes and thoughts] Where to begin?  I thought I’d have the time to edit this, but I didn’t, so I’ll write more notes later:

Added, in italics: Aaron is an important Jewish figure whose admired qualities include his positive relationship with his younger brother (a notable contrast from all the fraternal strife in the Book of Genesis).

It’s a bit hard to come back to this after another year has passed, mostly because I don’t remember what I was going to write.  I think I had changed this sentence to reflect some of what I learned between 2017, which is when I wrote this analysis originally, and 2019.  I wanted to make a more specific statement about Aaron being a Jewish figure and ancestor, as well as pull in some Torah interpretation and midrash (for example, that Aaron embraces Moses right away, when he could or might have been more steely towards him; and that the two have a very different partnership and relationship than do Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rachel ( (“sororal” is a word I didn’t know), etc.).

#the prince of egypt #aaron #rameses #my stuff #my writing #parallels #ah the mud pit scene #i've realized and learned so many things since writing this