#dont think too hard about the implications of this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

beelzeballing · 5 months

Text

actually i dont think ive posted my thoughts on ofmd s2 overall here yet have i?

ok here goes: i think it had incredibly high highs, and at some parts i genuinely enjoyed it more than i did the first season, episode 6 being peak imo. however, it had equally abysmal lows with some glaring writing-, tone- and pacing issues that all came to a head in the finale.

i once read someone say that, if you ever feel like a finale ruined the whole story, maybe you should take another look at the story. there were most likely cracks and problems all along, and the finale did nothing besides dashing the hope that these would perhaps be addressed later. very rarely do genuinely well written stories go completely off the rails in the finale and ruin the whole thing.

i think this is applicable here in some ways, SPECIFICALLY in regards to edward. good god edward was a MESS this season, and it's so sad because i loved the starting point! the kraken era was absolutely terrifying and iconic as FUCK but... they shouldn't have leaned so hard into the drama and trauma of it all. don't get me wrong, i loved that it did. it's one of my favorite parts of the season and i'm so glad we got it. but if they wanted this arc to work with the overarching plot as they wrote it, they would've had to lighten up the tone here CONSIDERABLY. had they played the kraken era for comedy then sure! edward's bad youtuber apology would've been funny. his fast redemption would've been less jarring. the lack of consequences less disturbing. but as it stands in the show, this arc is too dark to function with the later episodes.

i feel like they wanted to have their cake and eat it too here. they wanted the gritty drama of ed coming off the hinges entirely but also didn't want to deal with the aftermath of such a heavy arc in their silly pirate romcom. be that due to time constraints and budget cuts or because they were simply unwilling to, doesn't really matter in the end. the result is the same either way: a very tonally messy season with some accidentally troubling implications regarding abuse.

and mentioning troubling implications regarding abuse; izzy. my poor, poor izzy... his arc was absolutely glorious. i liked izzy the second he showed up in s1 and i was absolutely EATING this season up in that regard. and i think in this case, they genuinely did fuck it all up in the finale with that one stupid choice:

choosing to kill izzy was the DUMBEST thing they couldve done here.

ive talked about this over and over and over again. ive reblogged so many meta posts. and still i am left absolutely flabbergasted by how stupid of a decision this was. the fridging, playing at the fallen woman trope, killing the beating heart of the season and the character who delivers what is essentially a thesis statement, killing off the character whose arc is about coming to terms with his disability, having him die in edward's arms, comforting him and apologizing after an entire season of finding community and love outside of edward, the absolutely godawful pacing of it all, the extremely easy and obvious solution of just having IZZY become the new captain of the revenge to mirror s1 and hammer home how much he has developed since then in one go... i could go on. and i have. it was a stupid writing decision, completely fucked the tone and pacing of the finale and took away attention and time from things that really would've deserved a better wrap up (lucius and black pete deserved better)

now. the whole prince ricky & zheng plot line... yeah that shit sucked ass, sorry. they bit off more than they could chew here. i honestly think those are the arc words of this season:

✨️ bit off more than they could chew ✨️

right off the bat: i think he was good as a concept. bringing in a foil for stede who just doesn't Get It as stede does could've made for very good comedy and drama (and to be fair there is some of that). but that shit got away from them extremely quickly. nothing about how he's implemented past his first episode works, and i think this is very specifically because he's mostly played as the comic relief in his debut episode. making this completely bumbling fool, who gets his nose hacked off on his first job, the main villain of your entire season is... definitely a choice. idk. he didn't work for me at all.

ok wow mentioning shit getting away from the writers. this definitely got away from me. this was supposed to be a short lil post. well. i guess tl;dr i loved this season but jesus christ there was a lot wrong with it. if you want to hear more thoughts. ask box is open. be my guest. i have more to say so even if you dont ask i might add more to this at some point but im tired and have work tmrw.

#i was going to do shit today and now look at me.#0:18 at night #laying in bed #writing this shit #i havent even eaten.#christtttt #moogsin'#ofmd #izzy hands #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd critical #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #the izcourse #im not tagging any of the other characters cuz i shittalk all of them 😭#listen i love edward hes my babygirl but this season did him DIRTY.

202 notes · View notes

the-s1lly-corner · 2 months

Text

Platonic Father figure!Lucifer x Reader

I usually dont take requests from DMS but I make exceptions for my friends :3! I hope you like this you know who you are !!!

It's a little sad, actually.. he kind of tries to make up where he feels he failed for Charlie

I dont want this to turn into a whole angst thing, but I truly do believe lucifer wished he was in Charlie's life more growing up instead of staying out of her way

And he shows that guilt through how he treats you

He ups the enthusiasm to 10 for every little interaction, so much so that it feels.. fake

Theres definitely some strain here and there due to you believing he doesnt actually want you around

Hes crushed when he finds out you feel that way

It does make him try to be more honest with you

Hes still flawed, sometimes not picking up on when you're upset until you lash out or blow up

But hes so apologetic when he notices

He makes your favorite meals on nights you're feeling down

A decent cook actually

Makes you handmade gifts, hes more than capable of manifesting nearly anything he wants into existence but theres something more.. in making something handmade

Usually it has something to do with a duck, though..

Or apples

One of those parents who has a quirky running theme in their home but its apples and ducks

His advice is more so based on experience than anything, and he tends to bounce between being emotional and logical

If you're still growing up hes going to try his best; I personally hc that Angels dont really have childhoods, they just pop into existence.. and he was only there so often for charlie growing up.. it's a little hard to tell how present he was based on what we have within the show so far

Hes made you a music box with a swan in it, it projects golden light onto the ceiling.. not too different than what he showed young baby charlie in the flashback

Oh speaking of Charlie again, hes going to be a little nervous introducing you.. I mean think about the implications; hes trying so hard with you because you haven't drifted away yet but him and charlie are still mending their relationship

Yeouch

But for the sake of fluff, charlie loves you and takes you in as her little sibling

I mean she likely would, eventually, but it would definitely make her feel things at first

#hazbin hotel x you #hazbin x reader #hazbin imagine #hazbin hotel imagine #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin lucifer x reader #lucifer morningstar x reader #lucifer x reader

117 notes · View notes

alollinglaughingcat · 7 months

Text

it is SO crazy to me to see people shipping Simon and Betty SO HARD and as though they're relationship is flawless and perfect and they were ~tragically~ separated by the curse of the crown

as someone who has only watch Fionna and Cake and then watched the episodes from Adventure Time relating to Simon only, it really seems like their relationship is set up to be flawed and sexist for its time

like. in FaC S1 Ep8 Jerry, there's literally a scene where Fionna is like "and then you went with her on the train???" and Simon goes "Yeah-huh, wha, no? Why would I-" before being cut off, and it is so perfectly set to mirror earlier when Fionna gushes about how romantic it was that Betty just "dropped everything" to go with Simon on his expedition. the implication that Betty would drop everything for a guy she just met but Simon wouldn't for her is so clear.

and in Adventure Time, there's an episode where Betty "changes the past" (not really though) so that she never had the opportunity to go meet Simon, where she instead prioritizes herself over him.

time and time again Betty's actions prove that she is so immediately obsessed with having Simon's approval and attention and that she would do anything for him despite them just having met. she literally sacrifices herself for him just to be un-cursed again.

and Simon barely does anything in return for her. and I'm not Simon-bashing here---Simon is my favorite fuckin' character and he's so sad and soppy and pathetic that I love him. and obviously he keeps trying to bring Betty back through dangerous rituals, but at the same time, he can't even focus properly on those to correctly bring her back, instead bringing Fionna and Cake into his world. i dont doubt that he loves her a lot and i think NOW he's grown as a person and could better reciprocate her very "give everything you have" kind of love but PAST him kind of... seems like a dick. not because he's bad/awkward at feelings, but because he never "gives up" anything for Betty like she gives up her entire life for him

it's so... very clearly sexist, where a woman must give everything to a man, but he doesn't have to give up anything for her or do anything to earn that kind of devotion. and I really really think FaC is going to bring it up too, and mention that their relationship wasn't as beautiful and perfect and equal as Simon thinks it was

and i am so fucking here for it and i feel like im going so incredibly crazy because WHY HASNT ANYONE MENTIONED HOW IMBALANCED THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS?!

#i get that its prob nostalga and im not saying they arent cute together #but please please someone talk about their flaws and not just 'oh Betty's so crazy silly shed sacrifice herself for Simon!'#or 'oh no Simon dont undo all of Betty's hard work shes gonna be sooo angy!'#like not to mention Betty is like YOUNG 20'S??? when she hops into the future to save a THOUSAND YEAR OLD 30-40's Simon???#i hope they dont get back together i hope they move on in some way i hope that betty gets a second chance #the adventure time #fiona and cake #simon petrikov #betty grof #petrigrof #golbetty #ice king #random #fionna and cake

152 notes · View notes

spiderlandry · 10 months

Text

Yes, Chef — ethan landry

Description: The most loving thing one could do is cook for someone else. Ethan finds out it’s your love language.

Pairing: Ethan Landry x GN!Reader

Warnings: implication that reader is shorter than ethan, no ghostface, amber was reader’s ex but it’s only a small mention, lmk if there’s any warnings i should add !! there may be some errors since i only edited this once

Word Count: 3k

Author’s note: i wrote with a poc reader in mind, and much of reader’s experience with cooking is based off my own

Chad is starting to get worried. Exams are in a month, and even though everyone he knows is working hard to prepare, it’s like Ethan is studying as if exams are next week. Chad thinks he can even hear his roommate talking in his sleep sometimes.

He wakes up to Ethan being up at the crack of dawn, a large cup of coffee in hand and deeper bags under his eyes than yesterday.

So, yeah, it’s concerning.

He already tried to coax him into taking more care of himself, but Ethan waves it off. He’s tried other things: getting Sam to scold him, try to get him to go out and party so he’ll get tired, having Quinn threaten him.

If nothing happens, he may resort to putting sleeping pills in Ethan’s coffee.

However, there is one more thing.

You.

Ever since Ethan was introduced to the rest of his friends which included you, he’d been paying more attention to his appearance and how he’s perceived. At first Chad thought he might’ve had a crush on Tara, but Ethan slipped up one time when he not very casually asked if you were going to a group hangout, a few weeks ago.

Chad can use that knowledge to his advantage, he realizes.

Knowing you since freshman year of high-school, you’re a naturally caring person, though can be quiet or a little closed off especially since the Woodsboro murders in which you discovered that your ex-girlfriend was one of the killers.

Your gentle nature, along with his crush, can surely save Ethan from burning himself out so much that he’ll show up to finals only a skeleton, right? Hopefully.

Chad prays he’s right as he sends you a text, Friday evening.

Chad

Hey, can I ask a favor

depends

Might be a little weird but u know how ethan has been studying rly hard?

yeah u said u were worried. is he ok?

Yeah he’s fine mostly. Im just worried so Im asking if you can

Ask him to hang out or something

? why

not that i would mind but why

Youre the one he would say yes to I already tried other stuff to get him to relax but man looks like hes about to pass out

Idk I have a feeling its more than about school but its not my place and I think he would open up to u

You know he has a crush on u right

i dont believe u but ill do it

Bro dont even act like u dont like him too

shut up

You roll your eyes at your phone, already coming up with a plan for a way to get Ethan to chill out. That’s when you think of it.

Ethan allows himself to sleep in during the weekends. But when he wakes up at 11 AM to a text from you that was sent at six, he immediately regrets it.

He opens his phone to read it.

hey i have this new recipe i wanna try but i need a second opinion

wanna come over after work? i get off at 5

He rubs his eyes, making sure he’s reading it right. You? Inviting him? To come over to your place alone?

He’s not proud of the way he gapes at the message for a long moment before he can answer, responding with a ‘sure!’ despite the word not conveying his excitement mixed with the worry at the pit of his stomach. Why are you inviting him alone? He can’t let himself think that it’s anything other than friendliness, right? But you only invited him, so it must mean something.

He rushes to his closet to pick out his outfit, already forgetting about the unfinished page of notes on his desk.

Ethan has known you for a good few months, since the beginning of the school year. But at this point, he’s memorized your smile and your voice, becoming less subtle as time goes on. He pays attention to every single thing you’ve said about yourself, including but not limited to how you almost went to culinary school. He remembers how you once baked a cake for Tara’s birthday, not only the batter from scratch but also the buttercream frosting. He smiles at the memory of you showing the group how to make pasta one night.

To say he’s excited is an understatement.

He doesn’t even bother getting his coffee this time so his breath doesn’t smell like it.

Chad notices that Ethan’s usual cup is still in the cupboard, mentally patting himself on the back for getting the idea to reach out to you.

It’s not long until it’s almost five, and Ethan is walking the few blocks over to your apartment, enjoying the wind. He knows not to show up empty handed, so he stops at a bodega to buy your favourite chips.

You‘d gotten home a little early due to your workplace not being too busy, thankfully. You start prep, laying out the ingredients. The knock from your door reaches your ears a few minutes later, and knowing it’s Ethan you open the door.

You’re greeted with a bag of chips to your face, taking it and seeing Ethan have a slight upturn at the corner of his lips. You mirror his expression, albeit with a wider smile (you can’t help it), letting him into your apartment. He sits down at the breakfast bar facing into the kitchen, while you stand on the other side facing him.

This isn’t the first time he’s been here, but it is the first time he’s here alone. With you. He tried to get rid of the images in his head of him being over at your place every day because you want him to be there. He can’t think like that, not now when you’re beaming up at him while you showcase the ingredients on the kitchen counter, your sentences going into one ear and out the other.

“…Ethan?” Your brows are furrowed, not knowing if he’s paying attention. You quickly catch that he’s not—he has to think for a moment about what to say.

“Uhm—“ he clears his throat. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. What?” He mentally cringes at himself. He’s sure you’d think he’s not interested and oh god, what if you think he doesn’t want to be there?

You laugh lightly. “I said do you like steak? I mean, I probably should’ve asked, but—“ You’re glad he stops your ramble before it goes any further.

“I like it, don’t—don’t worry.”

“Okay, good. Because this would’ve been awkward.”

Ethan is determined not to let any weird silences happen, so he continues despite not knowing what to say. His curiosity gets the best of him. “Not that I don’t want to, but why did you invite me here? I mean…just me.”

You try to brush it off, coming up with an excuse. “I invited Tara, but she couldn’t make it.” You turn back to the ingredients to get started.

He’s glad you’re not facing him to see his shoulders practically deflate finding out that he’s not the first choice. He’s not sure why he got his hopes up so much.

Before he can say anything else, you interrupt his train of thought. “Wanna help?”

He stands up quickly, eager. “What do you need?”

Truthfully, you’d made this dish a thousand times before that you could do it in your sleep. You’re not about to try anything new when your main objective is to take Ethan’s mind off things.

“How are you with knives?” You ask, taking out a chef’s knife from the knife holder. His eyes widen, begrudgingly taking the object from your hand.

“This is gonna sound—nevermind,” He shakes his head.

“Tell me.”

“I’ve never had to…cook before.”

“Oh,” you sigh. “That’s fine. Do you not want the knife?”

“I do! I just—how do I use it?”

You smile, an image he wishes was burned into his mind. You slide the cutting board toward you, putting a handful of asparagus in the middle.

Ethan can’t help but stare at your hand at the way you delicately go through the motions of cutting, slowly to make sure he sees it. You show him how to trim the asparagus, and you give him back the knife to try.

A spark tingles throughout his hand when you put yours on it to guide him.

“Just trim all of these. Got it?”

He nods.

You prepare the steak on a separate cutting board alongside him.

“Can I ask why you’ve been studying so hard, E?”

The nickname isn’t lost on him, but he tries his best to ignore it before he accidentally cuts himself.

“Finals next month,” He says curtly.

“Is that the truth?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does to me. But I’m not trying to force you.”

He pauses. “Can we change the topic?”

You nod, “You pick. Turns out I’m terrible at conversation. Can you fill up a pot of water for the mini potatoes? And put some salt in it.”

“How long have you been cooking?” He puts the asparagus in the bowl they were previously in and doing as you say. With the way he gets the question out so fast, you’d think he’d been thinking about it.

“As a kid, I was around a lot of people who knew how to cook,” you begin while you prepare a pan on the stove, melting the butter. “I learned from them. International dishes, mainly. Lots of spices. But I moved to New York and started working in a kitchen when I was sixteen, so I learned about some European pastries and white people food.” You chuckle.

There’s something with the way you talk about food that makes his chest warm. It’s unfamiliar, but a welcome feeling nonetheless. It’s different from how you talk about other things—this one feels more intimate.

You continue. “I think you know, but I almost went to culinary school.”

He does know. He wonders why you didn’t go.

“I took cooking classes as an elective at my high-school. I was lucky they offered that. Senior year, I was a stage for some really pretentious restaurants—y’know, mainly as a server, but I got to know how the kitchen worked.”

He hasn’t even noticed that the butter is almost all melted on the pan and you’ve put some rosemary and thyme on it until you pause to turn to him.

You grab the cutting board with the steak on it, placing it next to the stove.

“They were the kinds of places that served small portions for high prices.” You stared at the stove, turning up the heat.

“Why didn’t you go to culinary school?” He timidly asks.

“The people,” You say it so quietly at first that he almost missed it. “I met people who made the kitchen pretty much unbearable. There was shouting…lots of it, actually. The crazy high standards. They didn’t shout at me, but seeing it from the sidelines was worse…somehow? I don’t know.”

He finds himself wanting to have a stern word with whoever made you feel that way about something you so clearly love.

He’s about to ask another question before you interrupt him.

You pick up the steak from the board, motioning for him to come closer. “Always lay away from you,” you say. “Otherwise you splash oil on yourself, ‘kay?”

He nods. He continues with his question. “Do you regret it?”

He doesn’t realize how heavy of a question it is until after he says it, and he’s going to retract his statement but you respond.

“No, actually, I don’t.”

There’s a sweetness in your voice that’s hard to catch, but for Ethan’s ears, it’s as if they’ve been attuned to your tone.

“If I went to culinary school, I would’ve started to hate it—“ You grab the tongs, using it to push the sides of the steak to the pan, “—That’s searing. You seal in the juices when the surface browns, see that?—“

When he nods, you proceed.

“I grew up believing that cooking was a way to care about people, you know? Like a love language. And If I made cooking my career, that’s not what it would be for me. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, yeah. It does.”

Once all the sides are seared, you grab a spoon and you slightly tilt the pan, using the utensil to coat the steak in the melted butter. “That’s basting. So it doesn’t lose moisture. Every time you flip a steak, it loses moisture, so just do it once.”

He thinks he’s getting repetitive when he nods once more to show that he’s actually listening.

It’s not long until the steak is done, and he’s excited to get it on the plate but instead, you put it on a baking sheet and cover it in tin foil.

“You’re next.”

His head snaps up toward you, sputtering, “What?”

“Do you want to learn?”

“Yeah—“

“Then get to work.” You smirk, and he’d be lying if he said that didn’t awaken something in him. You point to the other steak in the packaging.

He tries to remember the steps you did, but you do have to remind him what to do occasionally.

You’re standing close to him, almost hovering, but he doesn’t mind one bit. In fact, he almost leans in instinctively when you bring your hand up to his face and pushes his curls out of his face.

“You’re doing good,” you whisper.

It takes everything inside him not to collapse right there. He’d give everything to feel your hand on his face again.

You’ve set two plates on the counter. The mini potatoes were boiled nicely, and you cut them swiftly in half (a feast for Ethan’s eyes). Ethan watches while you quietly as you carefully plate the food, and he can’t help but look around him. The used pan, the knives, cutting boards, you plating the food—there’s an element of domesticity.

It’s in the way you flash a smile directed at him and only him, in the comfort of your own home, after you’ve just cooked together. He imagines a future where it’s like this every night.

You open the fridge, grabbing out two sodas. As you turn around Ethan is surprisingly close to you.

Only a few inches away.

He slowly takes the cans from you, setting it on the space next to him. All as if he’s about to wake a sleeping dragon if he were to move too quickly.

“Why are you doing this?” He asks, almost in a pleading whisper. His eyes are boring into yours, and you can’t bring yourself to look away.

“I told you.” Your tone mirrors his. “Cooking is a way to take care of someone, and I care about you.”

He doesn’t know what possesses him to do the next thing.

He brings himself closer to you, not breaking the eye contact.

Suddenly, everything makes itself known. Your breathing, shallower than his, anticipating his next move. The way your clothes touch. The cold air coming from the fridge.

He brings his hand to touch your jaw, it’s a feather-like sensation as his digits make contact with your skin. “Is this okay?”

You gulp and nod, unable to find the words.

“Need to hear you say it.”

In the lowest whisper, “Yes.”

He lifts your chin, tilting his head.

It’s a tiny pause until you’re the one taking the leap, closing the small distance and slotting your lips against his.

Everything falls away, and nothing else matters. His lips are soft. You feel his large hands go to your neck and you wrap your arms around his torso, trying to get impossibly closer.

You’re the first to pull away and you grin when he chases your lips.

“Hi,” You beam. “W—what was that for?”

“You tell me,” he smiles.

You anticipate the night to end when you’re both finished the food and the drinks, and you’ve cleaned up the kitchen.

But neither of you want it to end.

You cross your arms, facing Ethan who’s reluctantly about to open the door.

“Wanna stay?”

He turns around, tilting his head like a cute puppy. “Thought you’d never ask.”

That’s how you found yourselves cuddling on the couch, a new show on your television.

“I have to tell you something,” you whisper, eyes still on the screen.

“Hm?”

“Chad told me to ask you to hang out.” You grimace. “And before you say anything, I didn’t invite you just because of him. I was worried about you too.” You look up at him, the proximity comfortable rather than awkward.

“I figured.”

“Really?”

His arm tightens around you. “When you asked me why I was studying so hard, I remembered Chad’s been trying to get me out of it. This was his last resort.”

You snort, “His last resort was putting sleeping pills in your coffee.”

“I’m…gonna have to talk to him about that.”

“Can I ask why you’re studying?”

“To distract myself.”

You almost sit up. “From what?”

“Not tonight.” He lays your head against him again, and your trust is in his hands. “Someday.”

And someday, he’ll tell the story about how the week before, he realized he loved you. It scared him so much that it kept him up for days, but the night you kissed would be the day his worries all went away.

#ethan landry x reader #ethan landry #ethan landry fluff #scream 6 x reader #scream x reader #scream #scream vi #scream 6

383 notes · View notes

awhimproned · 8 months

Text

"you don't actually want the thing you think you want", a nandermo retrospective

In this post of mine deep diving into the decision of guillermo staying human, I said I wanted to make a nandermo analysis at one point. I absolutely have no self-control so I immediately started working on it. So, welcome. This is it.

This post will attempt to analyze in depth two implications of the infamous quote from above by Yana Gorskaya:

It’s shipbaiting and we’ve got a storm coming

It’s slowburn and the importance of recognizing toxic dynamics even when enjoying the drama and the potential

The quote comes from this interview question right here:

It can be interpreted in a lot of ways and directions, the most prominent one being “and they were platonic all along. trust us you dont want them together” — it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth because I can see the showrunners dangling a carrot in front of a target audience until the finish line. Especially when one of the directors herself says and proves outright that nandor and guillermo have been framed romantically on purpose just by having the line “will they won’t they relationship” in the interview.

Keep in mind the admittance of will they won’t they directly out of Yana automatically eliminates the argument that the writers were strictly going for platonic friends. There’s no refusal. No going: yea no we dont know. They wrote nandor and guillermo to be romantic.

From there we have two routes we can take:

1) On the direction that they’re not having nandermo be a thing: This makes everything shipbaiting.

At least it’s not queerbaiting, I hear you say, both characters are queer. I’d argue shipbaiting is worse in this situation, because in this frame, it rather looks like the showrunners are using the certain attachment and sentiments of the audience to string people along:

Both of these characters are people of color, one is plus size, both of them queer. If it’s shipbaiting, this kind of alludes to discrimination, I’m afraid. It does not look good on the showrunners/producers’ part (when Taika’s name is attached, too. This man is literally in OFMD. Help)

And you don’t want to be like Jason Rothenberg; beefing with your own fandom, making writing decisons to spite them, kill a lesbian character after exploiting your sapphic audience and be infamous for the worst case of bury your gays, shipbait for seven seasons to hold the largest fandom in the audience to keep your views up, mistreat your POC cast members... etc. God, yeesh.

It’s almost incriminating in that sense, when they stopped floating around the idea of them and made it canon by dropping the “maybe he has feelings for you as well” line in season 3 and while guillermo was disguised as nandor. And have him be bitchy about gail. Everything about s3 told us that guillermo had a thing for nandor.

If nandor and guillermo were intended strictly as just a couple of pals, they could easily shut down the excitement and expectation for the ship, but instead they did those. It was a confirmation more than anything rather than a rebuttal.

But I guess for the shipbaiting case, the “rebuttal” was s4 when Guillermo was in his healing era, Nandor wanted a wife, and they resetted allathat in s3 to practically nothing.

As much as I’m going to use this as an opposition argument in section two, it also is a potential support for shipbaiting case, and that is the repetition of “friends” for nandor&guillermo that started becoming more of a thing in seasons 4&5. Especially s4.

It saw Guillermo outgrowing Nandor for a potential love interest when s3 had the biggest plot twist in their favor ever, it was going somewhere, and then they immediately established not only Guillermo finding a boyfriend in London, but also him having no hard feelings about Nandor wanting to find a wife when we all know how hard he’d taken Gail — and most important of it all, Nandor just wanting a Freddie of his own. It’s really weirdly romantic drama-centric with each of them getting partners & setting up for jealousy, but the writers subvert every trope, and instead do this weird shit with Nandor’s storyline where it’s purely a horror story from Marwa’s POV and he’s a horrible, selfish monster (and I was flabbergasted at the downward spiral his character took) — yet he’s incredibly “generous” to Guillermo because he chose to make his own Freddie rather than take his and let him go in the end, it’s all so very bizarre.

Which makes the shipbait even more outrageous. Because now it’s personal since it has more shipbait moments inbetween that don’t have heterosexual explanations. KEEP IN MIND THEY’RE STILL FRAMED ROMANTICALLY THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING AND THE WHOLE THING WITH DEREK IS A WHOLE CHEATING METAPHOR.

The equivalent would be that one scene in Sherlock BBC when irene goes “of course you are [in love with him]” to john and how the show keeps bringing up how other characters think they’re in a relationship and saying it. You never want to be like Sherlock, either. Ugh.

I’ve been in through enough queerbaiting&shipbaiting to know that it could definitely turn out this way, and I’m still half-expecting this to be honest. I’m also a big fan of ofmd and go, but they’re exceptions, not the norm, and as much as wwdits is a wildly revolutionarily queer show, there is enough material for it all to turn out to be nothing.

So, in conclusion: shipbaiting turns out to be worse than it is because it’s on purpose and there’s no salvaging it after the “it was friendship all along ❤️” insistence, there’s receipts and the actors are on board with it. And in a situation like things, there is only one thing to say:

At least we have fanfiction and the actors like the pairing.

2) On the direction that nandermo is a thing: “you don’t know what you’re asking for and you won’t like it if we give it to you right now” dilemma, aka “you don’t actually want the thing you think you want” —

which basically rounds up to yana meaning, if nandor and guillermo were to be a thing right now at this point in their relationship, it would be messy, abusive and toxic [and there are still other plots to explore and directions this pairing could/have to be taken before they become canon.]

“Yeah they are messy, toxic characters, we know what we’re asking for,” I hear you saying. And I say to that, no, you really don’t, and you would end up hating what they did with nandor and guillermo if they became canon before they were true equals. One example of this would be people switching on Olicity (Oliver and Felicity from Green Arrow, wildly popular crackship there was no hope and only the teasing of in the fandom before it became a real thing) after the writers rushed to make them canon and did them very wrong afterwards.

The allure of nandermo is guillermo breaking the status quo and catching nandor slipping by establishing himself as his equal, destroying the power imbalance completely, them standing as individuals with equal power if not guillermo flipping the dynamic upside down and asserting dominance over nandor this time when he was a mere familiar nandor couldn’t care less about before.

This process is still in progress as of season 5 and let me tell you this, them becoming canon during Guillermo’s familiar status would have been downright icky.

This show’s only other canon ship ladja is the most healthy, gomez and morticia-esque thing ever, they’re in love, they’re horny all the time, they are queer, they fuck other people all the time and encourage each other, they’re wildly protective of one another, the man steps up to be a single father of a child he isn’t obligated to look after and he doesnt let it derail his wife’s career or force motherhood onto her, like. Do you really expect they wouldn’t let nandermo cook enough before they are on this level of iconic and healthy before they become a thing?

Nandor wasn’t even able to admit that Guillermo was a friend to him (and to Guillermo’s face) up until season 5. In season 1 he was weirded out by even saying it, in season 4 he could only manage to say “best man” and immediately reverse when the word friend was brought up — “closest companion for 13 years” in the market fight & “i may have killed my friend” muttered to himself before guillermo comes bursting out the door, it’s like he didn’t want to admit out loud that Guillermo became very important to him in a very short amount of time. Half of the pairing consisting of a person who is unable to make it clear and known to the other how important and precious he is just doesn’t sit well in the case they are in a relationship.

And the power imbalance is still there even if you don’t see it or think it’s gone, albeit knocked almost even by “I can kill you if I want to but I don’t” assertiveness from Guillermo.

Because even in season 3 and 4 in instances Guillermo was able to best Nandor in power, he’s still inferior to and is in service of him — because he’s working for something he wants from Nandor, which Nandor of course keeps taking advantage of by treating Guillermo like a subservient familiar (although it keeps getting better as things change more and more) even if in name he’s a bodyguard.

Their relationship is that of employment in name, the nature of it is give-and-take, Guillermo says it himself in s3 Nandor is a boss more than a friend and he would still be have to be “friends” with him because he’s his boss. And let’s be honest, before Nandor really became found family to him and he himself realized that over the seasons, Nandor was a means to an end for Guillermo, he’s “Master”, not “Nandor”.

And from Nandor’s perspective, Guillermo is with him because he wants to be a vampire. Simple as that. It’s what allows Nandor to exploit Guillermo.

Imagine a premature romance happening in these circumstances, it’d be absolutely in abuse territory, you don’t make your significant other do the dirty work for you like that. It’s why boss-employee relationships are most of the times, forbidden in the workplace, because the boss holds some power over the employee and can very much have them do things that they don’t want to do.

Nandor would not be able to see Guillermo as an equal even when there are feelings involved, because I have to remind you, Nandor is a cruel bastard, and it would turn into one of those AITA posts real quick between them when Guillermo is fully in service of Nandor still.

And remember how Nandor treated his “love” Marwa, how fast he dropped her from his life once that “phase” was over, all the things he did to her, she was his significant other — yet he never connected with her, not really, she was just an accessory to him and this was supposed to be “love”; and the other side of the coin, how he keeps self-sabotaging and ignoring his real problem by filling the void with what he thinks is the solution, getting in the way of his own happiness.

This can’t be ideal from Guillermo’s perspective when imagining a relationship with him.

And now, change Guillermo’s gender. Imagine it being a woman who’s going through this. It’s putrid toxic when you think about it like that. And to think “she” would receive Nandor’s respect and equal footing once she became a vampire same as him — uhh... No, please, thank you. It’s less fun and more this is problematic when the tables turn, isn’t it?

Not to mention how open the vampires’ relationships and sex lives are, they are not monogamous. Guillermo is a very repressed and private Catholic, he wouldn’t be able to handle Nandor and Laszlo’s trysts. He has his own journey to go through for him to be also into open relationships because Nandor sure as hell won’t turn monogamous for him, this is wwdits.

Which is why the progress of “work relationship” to “official declaration of friendship” over the course of season 4 & 5 is very important in their dynamic, because it takes things into a more attentive, caring and intimate territory in which both openly care for each other beyond being Master and Familiar. They both grew tremendously as individuals. Guillermo admits he loves Nandor the most, Nandor is finally able to say that Guillermo is his friend and openly do acts of service and somewhat redeem his selfish actions in s4 when he was lashing out making dumb decisions and actively self-sabotaging because he was given the power instead of confronting leftover problems he was repressing from s3.

This solidifies their connection, makes it something undeniable that it affects a vampire who immediately is able to move on from another’s death. You’re shown again and again how they react to death and how insignificant it is to them, yet Nandor is close to tears when he thinks Guillermo is dead, falls to his knees even, and is even more disturbed and outraged when he thinks Laszlo is violating his corpse.

For the first time you see that more than an unhealthy codependency or a symbiotic relationship between a vampire and a slayer bodyguard/familiar, Nandor is emotionally attached to Guillermo.

Like, really attached that he will actually be kind and giving and forgiving — not only did he violate a vampire society taboo to kill a fellow vampire, but also overcame the pride and humiliation because he finally realizes Guillermo is much more important to him and that he actually doesn’t want to kill him when the anger lets up enough for him to see that. (Thank you Patton Oswald for your service)

And we don’t stop there. He accepts him as an equal and invites him to live together in the house, which proves that even when he was a slayer bodyguard Nandor didn’t see him as an equal, and after Guillermo is having problems with the killing side of being a vampire, he doesn’t humiliate or shame Guillermo through this. You‘d think he and the vampires would make fun of him endlessly, but they let Nandor organize this intricate ritual so all of them together can allow Guillermo’s decision to be as authentic and without pressure and shame as possible. You’d think that ritual room was prepared by Guillermo but everything is done by Nandor, so he proves he’s not entirely unable to function as a normal being who can live by himself, he’s just dramatic and likes to be pampered.

If you thought The Roast was an incredibly generous nandermo episode for me to think we collectively hallucinated it like a Goncharov moment, this final episode is downright fanfic. Nandor has never been this nice with Guillermo, EVER.

All of this is done right after Nandor’s official admitting that Guillermo is his friend. This is a crucial step in their relationship for Nandor to consider Guillermo to be more, and Guillermo to question just what they are.

And love can only work where there’s mutual affection and respect for one another. And the writers are gradually working up to achieve that while tackling individual character arcs for nandor and guillermo to get there.

The power imbalance I’m talking about is a thing that exists beyond the powers they hold over the other’s head, it is about what they think of each other as. What Nandor is to Guillermo, and what Guillermo is to Nandor.

They could only become canon without it being toxic is when Nandor can look at Guillermo and think — “This is my friend and not my servant” and when the carrot of vampirism isn’t hanging in front of Guillermo and he’s naturally an actual part of the friend group (so that he wouldn’t be mistreated while he’s Nandor’s partner too.)

And I really don’t think nadja out of nowhere saying “my best friend” about laszlo was a coincidental writing choice.

And we’re nearly there at this point. Mister Nandor nobody can betray me and get away with it the Relentless just let Guillermo get away with it, and not only that, he fixed everything for him. Everything. He didn’t even get jealous that Guillermo had a choice in staying human when he obviously would kill to be human in season 3. He just went “I will fix”. It’s the most selfless thing he did in the entire series and he only got competent and smart when it was Guillermo in question — he wanted to fix the friendship.

And in episode 8, he told Baron Afanas — “whatever Guillermo’s flaws may be [...]”

That suggests Nandor doesn’t see any flaw in Guillermo, and is unaware if they do in fact, exist. He genuinely likes Guillermo, enough to cry and mourn when he thinks him dead, enough to snap at the Baron and defend him until the end, enough to clutch his favorite sweater like a shock blanket. It was this episode that cemented Guillermo as indisposable to Nandor, and the season finale to establish how far Nandor would go and soften himself up (change) if it was for Guillermo’s sake, he’s never been that tender and considerate, ever with Guillermo,

and you could say at that point it could be because they were “equals” as vampires but Nandor knew what he would choose — the focus on his hands when he’s personally dressing guillermo (pride and prejudice hand flex, dont @ me). "don't be nervous we've all been through it" (gentle). "nothing you cannot handle" (encouraging). Making up an intricate ritual so that he wouldn’t feel pressured or stressed or shamed. "you wanna be a human, there's no shame in that". (These vampires clown on EVERYONE) "we're gonna make it happen". "you want me to do it?". "I don't know" "I do". Keeping Guillermo's old or spare glasses in his pocket like it was something he came across while he was destroying Guillermo’s things like some lover scorned and he saved it like it was some keepsake. “I'm sorry, Guillermo. That was the only way for you to figure out what you actually wanted”. The hand on his shoulder to comfort him and the patting. “It was a horrible and hard decision. I think you made the right choice.” (Nandor himself would have killed derek in a heartbeat if it was his decision to return to being a human, but he still spared Guillermo’s feelings because he knows how hard it was for Guillermo. Since when is Nandor considerate about another person’s feelings? Guillermo is special.)

He was so very unexpectedly gentle and he’s never ever been that way and I am still in shock about his honesty and the effort he’s put into helping. This was the biggest gift he could have given Guillermo, not the vampirism, but a way out of it when he didnt want it anymore, a choice. And he wouldnt have done that if he didnt deeply care for Guillermo —

And with that, we’re almost out of the toxicity zone into a yet new dynamic with them, one that isn’t about who’s dominant and who’s submissive, but them finally being able to stand on equal ground, if Guillermo isn’t asking for vampirism from Nandor anymore and isn’t implicitly going back to being his familiar.

If they’re going towards a romantic relationship, this was an important border to cross and a topic finally handled the way it needs to be addressed. The one thing that’s causing a chain of command in their relationship is gone. And anything can happen. Anything.

I don’t believe that line about cleaning up Derek’s body was meant to imply Guillermo was back to being a familiar for Nandor and that we are back to square one. His phrasing was extremely polite — “Now if you wouldn’t mind cleaning up Derek’s corpse before sunrise that would be great”. That’s not an order. Derek is Guillermo’s mess, so he has to handle it himself, it’s like saying “I’ve done all this and I even killed him for you, and the rest is yours to deal with,” — it’s like saying “I cooked, you do the dishes”, and Nandor is giving him space to deal with his decision, hell, he didn’t even tell Guillermo to clean everything else like he normally would, now that would suggest back to the status quo.

Season 5 was fucking HUGE for nandermo and all of guillermo’s dynamics with everyone. It still feels like a fever dream to be honest. They really went and got rid of what was clogging up the progress of their relationship. They’re just. Happening naturally. It’s a slowburn if it’s meant to happen eventually and the writers are being really careful with doing things in the right way for it to not become toxic.

You just gotta have some faith in the team and wait for it.

In conclusion: Yes fucked up relationships are fun. until it’s canon and people are making discourse on the internet about how abusive it really is when it could have been handled better. The ross and rachel-ification of nandermo is the last thing we need.

There’s definitely things I’ve missed because im purely making this post on mobile and it’s not as coherent as I’d like it to be, if I have, please don’t hesitate to tell me.

#nandermo #guillermo de la cruz #nandor the relentless #wwdits meta #wwdits #what we do in the shadows #wwdits s5 #wwdits spoilers #wwdits season 5

109 notes · View notes

xbruised-peachx · 7 months

Note

I love your hcs! And I love that you write for Gromsko and Fender!! ❤️❤️❤️

I checked your blog to see if you're accepting requests but I couldn't find anything. 🤔

I wanted to ask how you think those two act around their crush before they confess to them/how they go about asking their crush out?

Please ignore this if your requests are closed 😅

(thank you!!! for a ref, my writing requests are open! pretty much only req i dont do is render request, but my writing requests are always open!)

Tags: fem!reader, not betaread, one shot, slight angst in fenders section

Gromsko w/ a crush

I've gone into this in Sowa Team but he's kinda the type to genuinely not believe you're single and just assume you're taken. I mean... come on, how could you not have a lucky someone? He admires from afar, adoring the way you talk, you walk, your smile. He notes the way you react when he talks to you though, looking away when you catch his gaze, a softly blush barely appearing on your laughing face. He never asks directly, instead hearing from others or from an implication from you that you aren't taken. He takes that and starts to flirt a bit more, starting to call you little pet names but only in Polish, assuming you wouldn't understand and if you do understand... then you'd get his hint. Kochanie, malenka (everyone is small to him), kotku, he'll even tease light-heartedly; "Whatever you say, piękna..." He'll play off your words, making you smile and laugh however he can because he just can't get enough of it. That's how he finally asked you out too, catching him looking at you while eating lunch.

"You're staring at me like you're a cartoon character," you called him out and you were right, head in his hands and slightly tilted. "Only thing missing is the hearts in your eyes."

He chuckled, shaking his head as he broke his gaze. "Yeah... I can't help it I guess." He paused, looking back at you with such soft eyes. "...I could just look at you for hours. I think seeing you smile would be my sunrise in the morning."

You laughed, your cheeks starting to blush. "Gromsko... have you thought of waking up to me?"

His smile dropped slightly, realizing he slipped up, his eyes darting as for once, his confidence fell. "Maybe..."

"Mhmm... and how long have you thought about that? Why were you thinking of that?" You teased him playfully.

He smirked, gaining a bit of self-assurance as he looked back at you. "I think you know why..."

With a sly smile, he let his hand slip over to you, letting that be his answer as he looked at you with adoration again... and you accepted.

Fender w/ a crush

With the way he is, knowing his father's fate... love terrifies him. He's tried to keep it out of his mind and for the most part it had been successful. People would catch the way he'd be struck by you, lingering looks for longer than he has for anyone else... and when called on it it struck him in a different way. He'd notice how his heart skipped a beat when he saw you smile in pure joy. You'd never catch him looking though because he'd look away just as quick, snapping himself out of it. He wanted to keep you smiling, but to him the only way to do that was to keep away from you. He lived a dangerous life... his heart ached just thinking about hurting someone by leaving them. And he could avoid that by simply never coming into your life. But he could only avoid for so long. Once you started talking to him and he got to know you more... he started falling more and more. But he remained in denial, despite how often you insisted on wanting to hang out with him, showing how much you enjoyed his company, he convinced himself you didn't like him like that. But as he got more comfortable around you he also got more comfortable sharing, eventually sharing his fear... even his fear of love and why.

"I... can understand that," you said sympathetically. "I'm sure seeing your mom all your life post... I can't even imagine but I can understand."

"...It's hard still. She always said I looked like him... the way her face dropped in fear when I told her I was joining but... I also remember her pride in telling me to protect my face..." He paused, looking away from you and to the floor, shutting his eyes as he took a deep breath. "...Even if I don't date anyone... the idea of leaving her alone is..."

He couldn't finish his words before a releasing a shuttering breath. You let him have his moment of quiet before scooting close, putting your arm around him to help ground him back to reality before dark thoughts took him. "I know you're scared but... Fender, you don't have to suffer alone with these thoughts... I'm here for you, no matter what."

He slowly looked to you, tears just barely pricking his brown eyes as he hesitantly leaned into your touch, enjoying it but still having anxiety. "...Thank you......" his voice was soft, and his smile showing his absolute gratitude. It took a while for him to gain the trust needed to let you love him... to let himself show love to another. But when he did, he couldn't be happier allowing himself to be vulnerable in a way he never has before.

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #cod mw2 #gromsko #gromsko mw2 #gromsko x reader #ask peach #fender mw2 #fender takacs #fender x reader #mw2 x reader #call of duty x reader #cod x reader #UHHHH THIS IS LONGER THAN I THOUGHT NORMALLY I'D PUT A READ MORE SO IT DONT TAKE UP MORE SPACE #BUT IDK WHERE TO PUT IT SO IM SORRY #fender writing #grom writing

95 notes · View notes

aonungyoufuck · 1 year

Note

Can you perhaps do a dark ao’nung who is obsessive and manipulative to an innocent reader who believes everything he says.

You can come up with the rest your writing is amazing 😆

My Unhealthy Obsession

GN! Metkayina Reader X Ao'nung

Warnings: Unhealthy obsession. Manipulation tho i kinda lowkey suck at it. Perhaps implications of murder. Innocent reader + plot twist.

uwu thank you anon for enjoying my writing.

youtube

You were all each other had. Realistically you had your families. Sure that was true and more than anything you loved them to death. You liked spending time with Tsireya and Ronal.

Being with Ao'nung was a different story however. Something about his words the way he spoke the way he would touch you left more to the mind to wonder.

Since children something about the way he would speak with you it made little tingles in your stomach. And it made you crave his attention much more.

And Ao'nung knew this. He took advantage of the way you seem to believe his every word. Innocent on the mind and soul. And he was cruel. But ever much more gentle at what ever you would tell him.

Making you believe hi obvious lies. "Oh no Tsireya is out with mother she cant hang" "Tao'lu? oh no he asked you on a bet. his friends made" "Oh wouldn't you like to hang with me instead?"

And you believed every one of his words. Realistically he still had all his friends to hang with. And you were alone. But what good was it hanging out with his friends if he could have you all to himself?

"Ao'nung you really should head on With your father. What good is any training if your wasting it with me?" You spoke in alluring voice. You were always so kind to him.

"Naw i think it will be okay to spend time with you"

"by the way of your attitude im sure they wouldn't think its okay"

You sighed. Your mind again pondering to a distant past. Where you had both guys and girls alike asking you if they could stake claim. But...things had changed. People didnt like looking at you in the eye.

"Ao'nung..Do you know why. Tao'lu or Irir stopped pursuing me? Or why all my friends stopped talking with me?"

"no?" he spoke

"It seems no one speaks to me anymore and it frightens me a little. Have i done wrong? am i undesirable?"

"what nonsense dear. Clear your head of those thoughts"

You were about to speak. Tell him something else before hearing loud commotion outside. and unbeknownst to you two. Things in this dynamic were about to change drastically.

----------------------------------------------------

The arrival of the Sully's was not something Ao'nung could have foreseen. He had manage to scare anyone away from ever really speaking to you.

But you had been dragged into teaching along side him. And he couldn't threaten the sully's as he had everyone.

He did trust his sister and Rotxo. But even then he would rarely allow you three to have alone time. More so on the knowledge that Tsireya knew what he had done.

But he needed to promise you to himself.

And it was hard when Neteyam would throw you knowing looks. And you could only return it in kind. He couldn't really threaten them. But he could you.

And it wasn't long before he did. Finding you alone in your pod. Lucky for him he knew your family wouldn't be around just yet.

"I dont want you around those Sully guy's"

"it will be hard given i was told to help them too"

"I mean it Y/n"

you turned to look at him. His expression cold, dark and ever more so handsome in your eyes. "Why?"

"Especially Neteyam"

"Ao'nung. Can you at least explain why"

"I dont like the way he looks at you"

You thought. Sure he was friendly but he knew you two were strangers. Only ever talking as acquaintances.

"Like he has you. Like he wants you. To be your Mate or more it makes me sick."

"But Ao'nung what difference does that make. You haven't staked claim of me and i you"

He let out a hiss. Fangs bearing as he held your wrists together. "I haven't yet"

You let your heart sore. How long had you wanted that? was it sick? he was your only friend remaining so what other options did you have?.

"Keep away from him. You never know. He's also the outsider. His family have demon blood. What more does he need for you to understand"

you just stared at him in silence. Subconsciously you began to shake in his hold.

His eyes softened. Sighing as he gently kissed your knuckles.

"He's no good for you. Not like i can be. So please. Please promise to keep away from them"

You let out a small smile. before nodding. Letting him go.

And This promise didn't go unnoticed. You stopped showing up. You stopped interacting. You stopped ever seeing Neteyam or the rest of the siblings.

Tsireya of course had noticed it more. She had seen this happen countless of times. And for once she had enough. Had voiced her voice enough for it to fall on deaf ears.

She went to go see you. Had always found the best of times to see you and this time she had to speak to you.

"Y/n?"

You turned to look at her. Smiling bright. "oh Tsireya, A little early than before?"

"I have to speak to you"

You two sat. You handing her a bowl of fruit.

"Its about Ao'nung"

"Oh! I hope he told you the news"

"The news?"

You smiled brightly. A feeling boiling in your stomach as you spilled the news. But watched carefully as Tsireya's face dropped in horror.

"no, No Y/n That cannot happen!"

You frowned. "What? why?"

"Ao'nung. He's not right. Not right at all! He's he's pushed away every one of your friends. Suitors and any alike. I dont know what he says or what he does. But, But he threatens. He"

you only listened. perhaps that explained it.

"He's almost drowned some kids back when were were little. You dont understand. What ever it is. Who ever it is. And im frightened that your happiness is, Is for the wrong one"

You nodded. Watching her and nodded silently. " I thank you Tsireya. I really do. But i know how to handle this. Trust me with this. Please"

Tsireya could only frown. Watching as your sweet aura didn't falter. Didn't waver and all she could do is pray to Eywa. Pray that everything would work out. That nothing bad would happen.

unbeknownst to anyone but you. This was exactly what you had hoped for. You are Ao'nung's and now he is Yours.

-----------------------------

im sorry if this is bad in any way shape or form. But i really tried. I was gonna make it super dark but then thats borderline like yandere. And well. Lets save that for another day.

#avatar the way of water #aonung x reader #atwow #ao'nung x reader #ao'nung #ao’nung x reader #ao’nung x you #atwow imagines #ao'nung x y/n

210 notes · View notes