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tfp-is-my-lifeblood-lol · 9 months

Note

As a crossover made-up scenario request: TFP x TFRB?

Arce finds out that Bee has been scaping at night out the base to an island that even Jack didn't know existed. Optimus tells her that is a ¨secret mission¨ but Arcee feels that something is wrong. So one night, with Jack at her side they follow Bumblebee finding out about Griffin Rock.

Maybe this can have some gay moments with Bee and Blades, Heatwave questioning Arcee about Cybertron, and Jack being a big brother to Cody?

please?

Ooo this is fun! I've always loved the idea of the Rescue Bots being revealed to the whole team. Especially since only Bumblebee and Optimus seem to know about them (and possibly Ratchet, since he's got a few lines implying he knows. I headcanon that he does :b)

I don't really write romance (I'm kinda aroace-ish, so I don't really understand how to write romantic stuff) so the Blades and Bee part might be kinda boring and brief. I apologize in advance for that. Also, I wish I could add more Rescue Bots humans, but it was getting too long. But yeah! Enjoy!

Arcee and Jack sneaking to Griffin Rock

-Arcee would be up late at night, since she forgot to finish her latest mission log (Arcee had been fighting Airachnid, so she was more focused on her rage than anything else).

-She'd start writing using one of the base's computers...but suddenly, she hears the groundbridge open. She sees Bumblebee leave, but he doesn't notice her. Every night after that, she secretly watches him sneak off

-One day, she asks Optimus: "So, where does Bee go to, every night? Does he think I don't see him sneaking through the groundbridge?"

-Optimus explains: "Bumblebee attends to secret missions on a remote island...it is a mission that does not concern the Decepticons, and thus, is not our main objective."

-Arcee turns to Jack: "Did you know about this?"

-"No clue," Jack answers. "Maybe Raf knows?"

-She turns to Raf, who seems vaguely upset. "Bee...never told me." Says Raf.

-So Arcee's like: "Hmm..." She finds it suspicious that even RAF wouldn't know.

-Later, Jack tells Arcee: "You know...we COULD discretely follow Bee through the groudbridge, Miko-style. See where it takes us."

-"Jack," she says. "We're crossing a groundbridge to who-knows-where. It could be dangerous."

"What if there's scraplets?" Jack teases. "I'd hate for you to be face-to-face with scraplets without a non-metal human companion."

-Arcee smiles, finally caving. She lets him come along. "Fine...But! Don't tell Optimus."

-Jack: "My lips are sealed."

-Meeting the Rescue Bots is an experience and a half. Arcee is FURIOUS at first: "You're telling me Optimus has been hiding a secret team of Autobots this ENTIRE time, and never bothered to mention it to us? I thought we were 'outnumbered!"

-But once she gets to know them, she realizes...maybe they're not QUITE ready to fight Decepticons, yet. Secretly, she thinks they're kind of softies. Except for Heatwave, that is.

-Boulder paints a portrait of Arcee to honor her visit. She takes it home with her, and is very grateful.

-She tells Heatwave the story of when Jack travelled to Vector Sigma, and when Megatron rose the dead on Cybertron.

-Heatwave is like: "So...there aren't any zombie Cybertronians coming here, right?"

-Arcee replies: "...Not unless Megatron decides to get his ugly servos on more dark energon."

-"DARK ENERGON?" Blades whimpers. "Isn't that...like...the scary Unicron blood that turns everything into a monster?" He shutters. "It's like one of those Earth horror movies, but in REAL LIFE!"

-He pauses noticing that Bumblebee's watching him. If he were human, he'd probably be blushing. "Uh...I mean...BUT I'm NOT scared..." There's an awkward silence. "...Well, I'm scared to a normal degree."

-Bee lunges at Blades to tease him, letting out a buzz that probably translates to "BOO!"

-"AHHHH!" Blades screams, and Bumblebee laughs.

-Jack finds himself to be very protective of Cody. "Whoa- Are-are you sure the Rescue Bots would be ok with you climbing up there?" He questions, as Cody tries to climb Frankie's robot T-rex, "Trex."

-"Sure!" Says Cody. "Trex was built to be ridden. He can also serve coffee, and dance!"

-"Of course," Jack replies sarcastically. The technology on Griffin rock is so strange.

Conversations That Would Happen

The Suit Life of Jack and Cody (I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist making that joke LOOOOL😭)

Cody: "So, what's it like working with Optimus?"

Jack: "I-incredible, really. To be honest, sometimes...I don't really think I'm worthy."

Cody: "Well, I think you're worthy, Jack. Fighting a spider-bot, restoring the Vector...Sigma...thingy... that's NOBLE! I wanna be like you, someday!"

Heatwave and Arcee

Heatwave: "Where'd Chase go?"

Arcee: "Not sure. I was just telling him the story of how we snagged the Energon Harvester from the history museum. Chase took off driving before I could even get to the good part."

Chase, rocking back and forth in the closet: "So many violations of the law. SO MANY VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW."

Heatwave: "Congratulations, Arcee. You broke Chase."

Bumblebee and Arcee on the way back to base, through the groundbridge:

Arcee smiles and elbows Bee.

Arcee: "Blades likes you, too, you know."

If Bumblebee was a human, he'd definitely be blushing.

#tfp headcanons #rescue bots headcanons #tfp arcee #tfp jack #rescue bots cody #rescue bots blades #tfp bumblebee #rescue bots chase #rescue bots heatwave #rescue bots boulder

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yaksha-lover · 2 years

Note

Hello hello!

Hi again from me!

Since my last ask, I've... well safe to say, am very in love with it that I've read it more than I could remember and in the midst of my nth time reading it... I once again came up with an idea. Not much of an idea when it just a request of a 2nd part of it but yeah...

If you don't mind me requesting this (you could juat ignore this if you don't feel like doin it tho)

So, since Mal and the tweels are planning to rescue our kidnaped Mc. I have an idea where they found where the kidnaper was and when they arrived there MC... was... well, not safe. Since in my opinion kidnapping can induce a heavy mental stress and kidnapers... well, they can be very violent. So I would like to see how the vampires react and comfort MC who just hugged them in the midst of them beating up the kidnaper and begged them to just go home while trembling violently and unable to stand from all the mental and physical stress they had in this incident.

And how the 3 would react after the incident itself XD

Just tell me if I'm asking too much cuz I'll try and hold back next time I want to send you a request

Hello! Sorry this took some time for me to get to. Hope you like it!

Part 1

You get Kidnapped Pt. 2 - Malleus, Jade & Floyd

cw: kidnapping, implied violence

Malleus:

Malleus, who is normally very mellow, would absolutely lose himself to anger if he saw you hurt in any way. Even if you just seemed shaken up, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from getting rid of the threat to your life.

When you cling to him, begging for him to stop, Malleus becomes terrified for a whole other reason.

If you became scared of him, he doesn’t know what he’d do. He’s used to being intimidating to others, and being isolated because of it, but you’ve never feared him.

Lilia came with Malleus to rescue you, and he’s the one who will stay behind and deal with the kidnappers so Malleus can take you away from this stressful situation.

As soon as he made sure you were out of danger, he holds you so, so tight. If you looked at him with any fear, it would break his heart. He reassures you that he would never hurt you, never.

He’d offer anything he can think of that would make you feel better. Warm bath? Food? To be held? He’s getting it for you.

It would definitely hurt him if you asked for distance, but he would also understand and stay away for the time being.

He would still check on you silently and from a distance, or get someone else (Lilia or Silver) to go see you in his place. Malleus would be quite paranoid after what happened to you.

Overall, I think Malleus would keep himself small and controlled around you, especially directly after it’s happened.

You would need to reassure him that you’re okay, that you still want to see him, that you’re not afraid. With your words in mind, he’d mostly return to his normal behaviour around you, albeit much more protective.

It might frustrate you, but he won’t let you go outside without him or Lilia anymore. Even the other residents, he doesn’t trust them to be strong enough to protect you from all the terrible things Malleus knows is out there.

Jade & Floyd:

The twins, Floyd especially, aren’t used to having others object to their ways too strongly. Mostly they know the tweels will simply ignore them.

Jade has stood back, allowing Floyd to get out his more violent impulses first, but he freezes when he feels something grip tightly around his waist. He relaxes when he realizes it’s just you, but he becomes increasingly concerned at your behaviour.

You’re shaking and crying, even while he’s got you in his arms. Surely you know you’re safe now?

Still holding on to Jade, you cry out for Floyd to stop, pleading with him for all of you to leave.

Floyd hesitates for a moment, looking over at you from his place. The sight of his bloodied hands make you recoil further into Jade’s chest, hiding your eyes.

For the first time, you hear Floyd call out to you by your actual name. Although he’s caught up in the moment, as soon as Jade tells him to back off he will.

The tweels are able to work together seamlessly. Normally Floyd is reluctant to listen to anyone, even his brother, but this time he’ll do as he says.

If you’re too shaken to walk, Jade will pick you up bridal style and carry you to safety while Floyd deals with the remaining threats before quickly following after you and his brother.

The two of them will respect your wishes for once. If you want to be left alone they will do so, but if you want them there neither will leave your side.

Even if you wish to be alone, they stay near you from a distance, always there to step in if you need help or comfort. Inevitably Floyd will get bored and wander off, but only because he knows Jade is there to watch over you.

If you want them to stay with you, you’ll find that they will be uncharacteristically gentle with you.

They’ll insist you stay in their room, at least for that night. They’ll push their beds together, and you’ll be able to have one of them to protect you on both sides.

They will try to distract you from the previous events, watching a movie with you on the tv in their room.

Floyd will still tease you, but in a way you think is oddly sweet. He even settles down contently at a point, once he’s got an arm around your back.

Jade occupies your other side, holding your hand comfortingly.

Throughout the movie, you notice that the two of them will keep stealing glances at you. Just like Malleus, you’ll need to reassure them that you aren’t going to fall apart.

Regardless, your kidnapping has changed the nature of your relationship with the tweels.

Floyd’s change will be more obvious, with him being more physically affectionate with you, pulling you into his side whenever he sees you. His teasing continues, but he is gentle about it, focusing less on making you uncomfortable and more on getting a blush from you.

Jade is more subtle, but he will be much more observant of you, noticing your smallest changes in moods. His offers to listen to your woes become much more genuine than before, and they will now be accompanied by an offer of a night of comfort together with him and Floyd.

#twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #malleus draconia x reader #jade leech x reader #floyd leech x reader #twst floyd x reader #twst jade x reader #malleus draconia #jade leech #floyd leech #twst malleus #twst jade #twst floyd #twisted wonderland vampire au #twst vampire au #twst #twisted wonderland

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blackstarchanx3new · 9 months

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FSR Rambles magic 8 ball-

Here we go again, I feel the chemicals kicking in-

Ah, we've arrived at a scene I literally wanted since I read the manga so I might have some stuff to say. X'D Shadow introducing Vio to Vaati. Like I stated on the posts of these updates, it's heavily implied (And even outright stated in the German translation, thx AK for that info ^w^) Vio met with Vaati directly.

Also his "I can't believe I didn't notice..." line when fake Zelda turns out to be Vaati ALSO leads me to think he knew what Vaati looked like/has met him before....?

In English it's vague as hell but the Viz Translation has a few genuine flubs imo compared to what I've seen of other translations. (The German one seems super accurate from what I've heard? but that makes sense because it was directly translated from Japanese to German apparently. English gives off "interpretation not 1 to 1" vibes.)

Suffice to say: I've REALLY wanted to know how their interactions went down. X'D

Shadow feels he has some leverage with Vaati since TECHICALLY him and Vaati are equals? Even though Vaati bosses him around oof.

Because Creatures of darkness can sense fear, despite Vio putting on a blank face Shadow knows Vio's nervous and kinda tries to subdue it. (He cares aww)

He's really excited to get this out of the way so they can officially work together.

I figure he technically doesn't NEED Vaati's permission but is still getting it anyway: Because he doesn't wanna upset daddy lmfao.

Also the lines about Vaati being "Lazy" and using people: It comes up later

Vaati's entrance here was so fun to think of. Bro was napping or smth lmfao. Loved the idea of his weight being so huge it shoves giant gusts of wind as he rises.

The other 3 in FS seem surprised, I think it's supposed to be Green who shouts "SO THAT'S VAATI!?" during the fight. Already mentioned Vio's "I can't believe I didn't notice" rather than HORROR at the Eldridge monster they're about to take on??? X'D

Figured he got the terror out of the way when he MET Vaati. Because Vio is ya know, not experienced fighting DEMONS and virtually ALONE right now he is obviously shitting bricks at the sight of this huge floating eyeball demon lmao.

He also holds Shadow's hand cause it's cute and Shadow Link is the only person who could MAYBE protect him against Vaati.

I can't with eye contact so maybe I'm just a wuss but Vaati's design is so unnerving to me. X'D Also again: If you know my previous fandom work you know I love creepy/scary scenes. You'll notice I virtually always avoid making characters look AT YOU because I literally hate that so much in manga.

Especially in romance scenes I cannot stand eye contact, don't look at me look at your lover lmfao. So if a character in my comics is looking AT the audience: It's because it's meant to be uncomfortable.

Vio tries to dampen his own fears and Shadow not so casually tries to keep things smooth between them and Vaati. Talking about how great this is.

Vaati can see right through that shit though.

Vio tries to pass off his fear as just being nervous to meet someone so amazing lmfao. Stroke that ego Vio, Vaati's a sucker for that kind of thing.

Vaati wants a moment alone with the hero. X'D Shadow again is very adamant on Vio being on their side because he really thinks they are.

He in THEORY has just as much of a say as Vaati and has MORE of a say considering Vio's fate is up to him because Gannon put him in charge of that.

Which is hysterical considering he's like 14 to 15 here at minimum considering Link's old enough to drink in FSR and Link deals with the curse for 7 years tho their ages are really whatever in the flashbacks. Like the idea of Vaati and a 14 year old having the same amount of say on their evil plans is so damn funny to me lmao. Gannon thinks Vaati is as competent and useful as a literal child and that's HILARIOUS.

Vio is quick to realize Shadow's wording here and that SOMEONE is a bigger player. He assumes Gannon because that's the only name he has to go off of.

Something I noticed in the manga: Despite being Shadow's partner Shadow doesn't EXPLAIN a LOT to Vio. Vio has to ask him things lmao. I genuinely wonder if it's a trust issue thing or if it's a "he didn't ask so I didn't tell" thing. I had to be smart about this scene because Vio and Shadow don't bring up Gannon until like...WAY LATER in the timeline of them hanging out. I really try to take into consideration the timeline of the actual manga while writing in-between scenes. I'd love to do an entire rewrite of FS but I do not have the time or patience for that. X'D

Honestly the most annoying thing about writing in between scenes is just how WEIRD it is from like: a regular ass person perspective.

Like it's not natural to be like "Yeah lol Gannon, I'll wait to bring that up like a week after it was first relevant"

This is done a LOT in media. Lmao literally just experianced a scene like that in JJK volume 0. It's like for the audiences sake, always awkward and ALWAYS done for exposition, and it's ALWAYS weird from like: an actual person conversation side of things? Idk if I'm articulating this well lmao.

So Shadow was told to leave the room because Vio brings up Gannon to gain Vaati's trust and I needed a reason for Shadow and Vio not to bring up Gannon here because they do later in the manga.

But I thought it'd be clever if Vio brought up Ganon because: He's already gambling might as well use the fact he THINKS the bigger player is Ganon to his advantage.

Anyways: Shadow's still a bro and gives Vio some advice on dealing with Vaati.

The panel of Vaati's eyeball/body taking up the entire background behind Vio while he steels his mind miiiiiight have a very special place in my heart. UwU It's just so ominous.

I wanted to get across just how much of a threat Vaati is. Mans is TERRIFYING. He's also HUGE.

Vio's rightfully terrified of this thing. I really wanted to show the struggle Vio went through with this plan because it was A HUGE RISK. I feel kinda snuffed we didn't get to see Vio's struggles with this plan in the manga save a few panels of him looking guilty.

We were robbed by page restraints and I'll never forgive whoever only gave Akira 2 volumes for FSA for that, they did SO GOOD for what they had to work with though so don't think I'm dunking on them for this.

I also get the liberty of giving thought bubbles. Smth I noticed is the severe LACK of thought bubbles in FSA?

Also 1 on 1 convos but that's a whole other thing. Again, time and page restraints would be my assumed reason. Pacing in FSA was rushed so I can't really say "For pacing reasons" imo.

So we get to see inside Vio's head as he goes through this, he uses Shadow's assumptions about him here: "Admitting" he always had second thoughts and admired the darkness.

Vaati is obviously skeptical of this nonsense considering who Vio is.

Vio really hams it up.

Bringing up Gannon which surprises Vaati considering NONE of the heroes should even know about Gannon. He is purely there to distract them while Gannon gains power after all lmao.

The fact one of them KNOWS is not only surprising but kinda scary!

Vio continues to show his "faithfulness" by bowing and declaring his loyalty.

His words hit different for somebody who's been through the same shit as Vio's describing, as Vaati's eyes widen and his wings droop as Vio continues to describe how he would have been despised. If you don't know: Minish Cap manga explains Vaati worshipped the darkness and was a bit of an outcast.

Vio's mind is on one person only at this moment: Princess Zelda! :D

Vio cares about Zelda deeply as we'll continue to see through FSR.

I don't like to see it as romantic (Just because I think Vio is gay but that's a whole other thing), but he is DRAWN to her and wants to protect her no matter what, because well a LOT of reasons.

1. He's apart of Link. And this version of Link and Zelda are childhood friends and deeply care about each other. So just on a personal level he wants her to be alright

2. He's apart of the chosen hero destined forced to save hyryle.

3. I kind of like to think Zelda Gannon and Link have the Triforce in FSR at least, and it's drawn to itself. Side note: Would love for the Triforce to appear on Link/the four's hands at some point. Because I love that design motif on Links.

The moment of truth...Did his plan work? Everything is FUCKED if it didn't...

Vaati just silently stares at him as Vio dares to raise his head to meet Vaati's eye.

But Vio can't even tell if Vaati's looking at him in this moment with that thousand yard stare.

Rightfully: Vio is still shitting bricks.

Lol so that blurred word bubble is Vio stating "Lord Vaati?" but Vaati can't hear him lmao.

He's too busy wrapped up in remembering the time he grave robbed-

Jokes aside: You might have noticed smth a tad ODD about being able to see what Vaati was thinking in this moment. But this point is SO FAR from being relevant I'll just leave you to think about it.

If ya noticed it: You noticed. I'll bring it up when it's actually relevant. Which is a LONG time away.

Anyways also if you don't know: Master Elzo gives Link the hat Vaati used to be magical boy at the end of Minish Cap's manga. So Vaati's just stealing it back lmfao.

He is still a demon with magic regardless of the hat, the hat is just a symbol of his bad boy-ness.

Also the idea he "returned" to Minish Cap Link after the dude died was an idea I just could not leg go of.

I maybe have an idea for Minish Cap Link in FSR but I dunno if I'll end up going with it or WHERE. Stuff has changed in the script before so who knows.

Stealing some of Zelda's light force forever fucked Vaati's mind and body up.

You can kinda assume what went down but the general idea is Master Elzo is fucking dead and Vaati's on a downward spiral. Link is dead because the door between the Picori and the Hylians only opens every 100 years. Also the "Using people" line: Vaati often doesn't use his own striength but uses others to achieve his goals. Ya know like a coward. X'D

Nobody ever fully trusted or accepted Vaati after what he did in the events of the Minish Cap manga. Sooooo.

Bro turns back to the dark side.

That's the only thing I could think of after seeing he was "Good" at the end of Minish cap manga I was like "????????" after reading FSA first. X'D

Like did he just wake up one day and decide to be evil again lmfao.

The Zelda manga's reference themselves so I'm under the impression they're all SOMEWHAT connected. SO like- WHAT'S VAATI'S DEAL???

Presumably after this he went on to do the events in the story told at the start of the FS Manga: where he fights the first incarnation of the four hero.

Which holy shit I'd also like to dive into buuuuut mmghhh- It's wild to me OUR Link from FS manga is the SECOND bitch to do this. Like MMHH So interesting to me...

Insanity aside this is my explanation for "Good" Vaati. He just reverted. Like a lot of people would under that scenario.

Lol looking at the same face he did years ago. That must be weird.

Vaati kinda felt a kin-ship with the purple hero cause...YOU KNOW. EVERYTHING I STATED BEFORE THIS. XD

He's a Link-

He's caught off guard by all this so is just kinda like "Oh...Yeah sure you're a part of the team yeah... Yeah...Whatever" Vio broke Vaati by appealing to his trauma lmao.

Shadow spying on if Vio's okay is very funny to me. Dude's worried about his new friend.

Shadow nervously walking up to Vaati after being caught spying is very funny to me. Bro was just keeping an eye on his new Boyfriend. UwU

Vaati asks for Vio's unput well: Because he was on the Four Hero team at one point lol. If he IS evil getting his opinion is a good route to take.

Which he doesn't fully believe considering he's still sus of Vio but doesn't feel like arguing with Shadow, who is the equivalent to his boss's entitled bratty kid.

Vio of course gets leverage to go to Death Mountain, because he's holding onto the idea he MIGHT be able to regroup.

Vaati's still distracted as fuck from the state of his expression. X'D Like he's kinda just, repeating himself/out of it.

Shadow's just like "Yeah yeah shut up we're great yeah yeah It's fine it's fine"

Shadow takes a moment to just walk ever so casually away from Vaati getting enough distance before showing how happy/excited he is.

I just like drawing Shadow trying to touch Vio in some way he's so starved for attention and positive interaction. Not having a bad word to breathe about Vio before the betrayal was always funny to me from the manga. He just admires this boy so much.

Like, I like showing off that "He's not really EVIL" side of Shadow link half the fandom seems to DESPISE.

Cry harder we sympathize with Shadow Link in this house. UwU

Vio's cracking under the welcoming nature a little by making a jokes, and even thinks "Man I used to be scared of this dude"

Shadow is just a little guy in love and I like that about him moving on-

Vio laughs at his dumb joke and Shadow's like "Finally you're not a tense weirdo" X'D

Vio's coping hard lmao.

He's still just a kid during these events so it's HARD to deal with what's going on. I wanted to write him getting his cracking through because how normal he acts in the events of the manga leads me to think he steeled himself overtime.

Laughing his ass off before going into a state of pure raw emotion of "Holy shit I could have just died" comes off as jarring and unnerving.

Shadow can tell SOMETHING's wrong but guesses the cause wrong.

Shadow assumes Vio's having a difficulty with the heat.

This goes off of TOTK/BOTW logic where sapphires ward off heat because I think that's awesome.

If I were rewrighting FSA I'd have him give Vio a different outfit or smth like that.

I DO love the sapphire specifically though because um: Anyone remember what the Zora Sapphire was in OOT?

Lmao an engagement ring- X'DDDD

From that one frame of Blue yanking out his hammer from his hat we know they store shit in there. Freakin' Link From the LOZ cartoon has a magic bag that shrinks his shit and I find that hysterical. I like to think Link's hat works similarly.

Vio's blushing and not unsubtle heart skipping is so funny to me.

If the fact Vio kissed Shadow first didn't already get ya:

Vio's in love with Shadow Link too lmao.

#FSR Rambles #four swords returns #four swords #four swords manga #four swords adventures #four swords returns au #loz fsr au

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dutchdread · 2 months

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Rebirth update 6

Gotta preface this by saying I am really enjoying myself. But again, kinda annoyed. Why? Well I was doing the sidequests outside of Costa Del Sol and could not get everywhere or find all the quests. So I figured "I probably have to advance the main story a bit towards the second half of the area", so I did, only to be forced into a party with Aerith. Now this wasn't much of a problem but I always like getting my favorite character to the highest level of the party so I didn't want Cloud to gain too much xp without Tifa, and using synergy apparently gains you some favorability so wanted to avoid that as well. Ran past all the enemies, figured I'd do a second pass once I got the party back, but when I finally did I was locked out of the Costa Del Sol region. Didn't take too long luckily but was still annoying in the moment. The Costa Del Sol region itself is beautiful and I am, in general, loving the feeling of world exploration and adventure in this game. It really gives a sense of "what the planet gives back to us" and is very fitting for the subject matter and themes of the game. I feel like the weapons could be done more mysteriously and grander, when I first saw the weapon at Coral I was impressed, but I realized that because I had received an explanation on what they were moments prior I felt less of a sense of mystery and wonder than I otherwise might have. I feel something similar with the black robed individuals. The storybeat of implying that Cloud is a soldier with degradation is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand it makes sense to think this and is an interesting line of thought to explore, especially in how the party handles it. But it does fall afoul of the "never show the monster" concept in storytelling. Even if the "Cloud has degradation" answer isn't correct, the mere fact that we have an answer to what is wrong with Cloud makes his condition feel less scary. Not knowing what is wrong is always scarier than once it's gotten a name. Barret is absolutely amazing in every way. He was in remake, and he continues to be in Rebirth. Think he'll become one of my favorite FF characters in general. He was always a good character but man....I think he received the best adaptation. It is slightly annoying that I am needing to pass over quests until I get back to Costa Del Sol and Coral, since I am not 100% I've done everything I could, but that's not that important. Also, Yuffie being a god who creates sentient life at will is concerning, but lets just pretend that's not happening. Right now it's time for more important things, I'm off to The Golden Saucer!!!! I assume the date is still only at a later visit because my affection with Tifa isn't maxed out yet.

#FFVII Rebirth

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ice-and-starlight · 1 year

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”Because motherhood is the epitome of womanhood. How could she not?”

The irony aside, what did you expect her to do? Leave Harry by himself? Get a baby sitter? We have no idea if abortion was an option. And we also know nothing about James working and Lily not after Harry was born.

Of course they’re bad ppl. Also good ppl. Like everyone. And Harry realizes that and that’s part of him growing up. He also knows very little of them as do we.

I’m sorry but that post is really reaching. Harry is the focalisator in the series. We regard his parents through him and that’s part of the narration. He’s a kid, even in the seventh book and he idealizes his parents AND he realizes some of their flaws, especially James’ and the other Marauders. But he’s still a kid and he needs to idealize them in order to not fall apart. There’s a reason he brings them back with the stone and not Dumbledore.

Let people write their fanfics and move on with your life kfkkdkdk

I mean, I was absolutely thinking of an abortion, if it got to the point of needing one. Also just using protection (don't tell me wizards don't have magic condoms; they have charms for making magic protective bubbles around their heads, someone absolutely adapted that for putting one around their dicks), until their situation is less 'we might die at any moment'. I know it happens, I'm not saying it's unrealisic, but I do think it was careless of them to bring a baby into that situation.

And my scathing opinion on that point was less for Lily and her choices, and more for the hand behind the curtain, specifically in relation to her TERF sentiments that make such choices about a character feel significantly more sketchy.

I know we know nothing about what Lily did or didn't do for work. If that's your way of saying that James being or wanting to be an Auror is fanon, then that could've been made clearer. As I said, it's been long enough since I read the books that I'm not sure on that point. Perhaps it's more commentary on the fandom than on JKR, but it's still commentary on the ship that there is a pervaisive sense of 'we know what James was doing, professionally' that goes hand in hand with 'we don't know what Lily was doing, professionally' that does imply that Lily's professional life is less important than James's, which is a very stereotypically heteronormative perspective in our culture, and one I don't like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Any in-depth look at Lily and James is going to involve a lot of extrapolation. We, as you say, get very little information about them from the book, because Harry is the point of view character. We also never actually see them and their actions without another character's interpretation in the way. Even when Harry summons them with the stone, there's enough ambiguity about how the stone works that we can't be sure if that's actually their spirits, or if the stone uses Harry's memories/needs/feelings to create them. Even pensieve memories are, of course, someone else's memories, and therefore potentially tainted with that bias.

Yes, of course Harry idealises them. Especially because of how the Dursleys treated him, they became a symbol of a happy loving family to him. That doesn't mean he was right. He's also not the only one. Sirius, Hagrid, and Dumbledore all do it too, to name a few. Severus also idealises Lily, and does the complete opposite to James. There are rose-tinted glasses everywhere when it comes to Lily and James. It makes every single bit of information we get about them unreliable, which means, again, that nearly everything is subject to interpretation.

In my original post, I managed to outline the facts that we know about them and their relationship with one paragraph. That's not a lot of detail to build an in-depth opinion on. If I was reaching with my opinions, then I've gotta say, so is everyone else (who has an opinion on Jily, anyway).

...And, Anon, I never said anying about people not being allowed to write whatever the hell they like. In fact, I've written some things about how much I abhor censorship. If you took my answer to a question about my personal opinion on a ship as a judgement on whether you should enjoy reading or writing that ship or not, I think you need to reflect on why you feel so defensive about it. (Genuinely; I have been there, and I get it.)

Let people write their meta and move on with your life.

#anti jily #anti lily evans #anti james potter #anti censorship #anti jkr #sorry if some of that was a bit snippy #your sign off was not the most friendly way to end a comment #and also possibly poked my anti-censorship button hard

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gillianthecat · 2 years

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Love in the Air episode 3. Follow along as I watch!

~ Watching as kinky role play is making this much more enjoyable

~ Rain is such a himbo, omg

~ Ooh, fancy chalk pens. I haven't been in a classroom in so long.

~ Ah, if it's going to be split into 2 sections that long opening sequence makes sense, and why we retrurned to it at the end of ep 1. That's going to be the jumping off point for both stories and I'm guessing we'll see it again in episode 8 or whenever sky's section starts. I think I might prefer this approach? It feels like a romance novel series.

~ Who are these random guys looking into the classroom? Are we getting a Greek chorus?

~ I see your game, Payu. Very clever. Get him longing to see you.

~ Is that a hickey on Sky's neck? Are we going to get little glimpses of his story without learning anything? Though that seems too subtle for Mame. It's probably just something the makeup artists didn't cover.

~ Jesus Christ what a himbo

~ How to train your submissive in 30 days.

~ "You're starting to fall for me, aren't you." Uh, no Rain, I think it's you who are starting to fall for him...

~ I assume this guy licking the pen is the same dude from episode 1? He's still my favorite character. Why the fuck is he licking a pen? Why is the camera focusing on him so much? Is he going to turn out to be plot significant later or are we just going to get random moments from his strange life? I hope we just keep getting increasingly bizarre random moments with no explanation.

~ I don't know anything about architecture but my automatic assumption in shows like these, even without listening to what they say, is that neither do the scriptwriters and it's all nonsense.

~ Aww. He's just making himself at home in Payu's home now.

~ As with architecture, same with cars...

~ I love the garage receptionist's outfits! This dress especially.

~ I'm going to keep watching because it's entertaining and mostly becaise it's fun to watch along with the rest of BL tumblr, but I'm finding I have very little investment in Rain and Payu as characters or in their relationship.

~ Which is making it hard to keep track of the plot. Why is he in trouble at school?

~ Is there a nickname for the BL tumblr-ers? Like f1 tumblr has f1blr.

~ Aww, but poor Rain. Flashbacks from trying to turn things in late at school, yikes. That's the real trigger warning I need on this show.

~ Aww, he runs to Payu first when he's upset. Payu, your baby needs you. Run to him!

~ Aww, no games now, just support and love.

~ Rain is such a himbo. But I kinda love that they keep making him speak the subtext out loud.

~ Tigger warning on this show for anyone who has ADHD and continually misses deadlines. I'm metaphorically hiding under the covers right now.

~ I'm just going to take this opportunity to complain about the fact that "wet hair" in BLs is almost never actually wet. I realize it probably takes a lot of time to dry and restyle hair, and time=money. But it's still pretty silly, especially since drying the love interests hair is such a commonly used trope.

~ I guess that photo is implying Payu had his eye on Rain even before that flat tire? Oh, or just after that? So he must have been pretending not to remember him at that party.

~ No sexual assault in this episode. I guess we've moved on from it now that Rain is hooked?

~ I like Sky, but I'm not getting invested in him because I suspect his storyline is going to be about him overcoming trauma, and I suspect it's going to be badly handled, and that's just going to piss me off. So I've been kind of ignoring him.

#love in the air #love in the air the series #love in the air ep 3 #love in the air spoilers #kind of like liveblogging #gillianthecat reacts to bl #reaction by gillianthecat

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acacia-may · 1 year

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Hello! Can I please request a mini playlist for Langris and Vanessa’s friendship? I never considered the possibility them being friends until I read Wine Therapy (which is my favorite fic of yours by the way!), and I love the idea that they would get along well and bond over their somewhat similar childhood trauma. Thank you!! 😊

Hi Greta! Thank you so much for the ask and for your very kind words about "Wine Therapy." I'm absolutely delighted to hear that you enjoyed it so much and that it got you thinking about the possibility of a Vanessa and Langris friendship. 😊 Here are a few songs I've picked out the remind me of them and their friendship! Some of these songs are little heavier on the angst than I imagine their dynamic actually is, but the overall sentiment is similar. Also, I opened and closed this playlist with two songs that I actually listened to on repeat while writing "Wine Therapy." 😁

I felt like some of these songs were a bit more out of the box than the songs I've generally been picking for this game, so I provided a brief discussion about why I picked them. Unfortunately, as my health is poor, there won't be a lot of song discussion at the moment, but I tried my best to be thoughtful in my selections. I hope you will find some that you like! 💕

Perfect For You by Rachel Platten [A/N: This is one of the songs that inspired "Wine Therapy" and I listened to it on repeat while writing. To me it really summarizes what bonded Langris and Vanessa in the first place--this concept that they're both done "trying to be perfect" for their terrible parents]

Beautiful World by The Chevin (YouTube Link) [Vanessa encouraging Langris]

So Much Wine by Phoebe Bridgers (YouTube Link) [Recognizing each other's struggles (especially Langris worrying about Vanessa since she's usually the one who might try to hide or run away from her pain with the help of wine. Though in the context of "Wine Therapy" Langris is, arguably, kind of doing the same thing (in his defense though, he didn't intend to get drunk--he's just a light weight). It's a dark song but this line hits hard (especially in this context): "There's only so much wine that you can drink in one life, and it will never be enough to save you from the bottom of your glass"]

Feel Alive by Katie Herzig (YouTube Link) [Also Vanessa encouraging Langris]

Moonlight by Grace VanderWaal (YouTube Link) [Recognizing each other's struggles despite their attempts to hide or mask it. Langris hides under being the "perfect poster child" and Vanessa hides by "always [having] a smile." (But again this one feels a little more like Langris worrying about Vanessa to me). I especially like the line: "A doll made out of glass: all her friends think that she's great. But I can see through it all, and she's about to break"]

Superman by Rachel Platten (YouTube Link) [Vanessa about/to Langris though I suppose it could go both ways depending on the situation]

Tightrope by Nia Hendricks (YouTube Link) [Though this feels more Vanessa to me, it's really them both kind of resolving to more forward and heal from the past by supporting each other, I think--in a more platonic sense that this song seems to imply though]

You're Somebody Else by Flora Cash (YouTube Link) [This song also inspired "Wine Therapy" and really speaks to the idea of seeing past the surface to who someone really is and realizing there is much more to them than they (possibly) can't even see in themselves]

I've included a few bonus ramblings about Langris and Vanessa under the cut because I do love this friendship and got a little carried away talking about it when trying to properly reply to your ask 😅 (Warnings: mentions their childhood trauma)

Thank you for playing my Mini-Playlist Ask Game! 😊

Langris and Vanessa's friendship is definitely one of my favourite Black Clover dynamics to think about these days, but to tell you the absolute truth, it wasn't really something I had considered much before my sister and I made up this ridiculous AU about Langris deciding his true calling is to be become a traveling bard and sing sea shanties in bars [and in this AU, he kept running into Vanessa at the bars and they developed this sort of bantering brother-sister-like friendship that was just really fun]. Then when I started writing "Yellow Flowers" and exploring the similarities between Vanessa and Finral's childhood trauma for that story, I really began to realize that Vanessa and Langris have a lot of similarities in that regard as well.

I really feel like if Langris and Finral are two opposite ends of a types of childhood trauma spectrum then Vanessa is in the middle in a way [i.e. she was neglected and ignored like Finral, but she was also objectified by her parent (seen only for her usefulness to Her Majesty) and held to unattainable standards of perfection like Langris]. I like to think that in that way she could bond with both of them and become just as good a friend to Langris as she is to Finral someday. Given her similar life experiences to him and how naturally intuitive she is, I think it would be easier for Vanessa to kind of "read between the lines" with Langris and see that he has a lot going on under the surface that he doesn't usually let people see. And Langris, in turn, recognizes that a part of Vanessa is actually hurting (even though she generally buries that pain in favor of being cheerful and positive because she would much rather be the shoulder for others instead of the one opening up about her own struggles), because he knows firsthand how painful it is to have a parent like Her Majesty. I think my song choices hinted at this, but in my mind, their shared experiences really afford them the opportunity to be vulnerable with each other and open up about things that they otherwise probably wouldn't feel comfortable discussing with anyone else who didn't have that same kind of understanding. (I suppose it's a similar concept to a support group in that way). I also just love their banter with each other too. Vanessa can absolutely match wits with Langris and hold her own against him, and I find that kind of dynamic positively delightful (and gosh it is so, so good for him to have someone in his life who calls him out on his garbage). I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who likes the idea of them becoming friends! 😊

#langris vaude #vanessa enoteca #langris and vanessa would be great friends i'm convinced #thank you so much for the ask #this one was very self-indulgent for me 😅 i hope you like it too #Greta 💐#playlist ask game

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meidozangetsuha · 2 years

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A lot of people think that the season 2 director sabotaged or purposely sabotaged Yashahime's ending and conclusion. What are your thoughts on this? After reading some of the latest interviews it was revealed that basically the grim comet thing wasn't supposed to be about rion and that butterfly thing. The director changed it because he didn't think towa, setsuna and moroha destroying the comet would be believable and he also scrapped treeyko being apart of plot. Hot mess imo.

TALKING ABOUT YASHAHIME AGAIIIIIIIIIIIIN

so like. i think a LOT of things happened behind the scenes with yashahime. like i talked about on my rp blog a while ago andstillwishtheaskhadbeensenthereinstead, i do believe the merging of companies played a role in this. and granted- i've fallen a bit out of IY/YH (not that i dislike either, just, my fandom interests are primarily in the Fate rn)

and keep in mind i have kept up with like, no interviews since the finale, so by all means if I'm just Factually Incorrect about something correct me and i SHOULD read those interviews later. but also, it doesn't surprise me.

i remember interviews with the VAs of the trio kind of implying it seemed like there WAS supposed to be a third season but the merging of companies seemed to shelve it? and i was under this impression that what happened was that this resulted in essentially the equivalent of the entirety of the finale of a franchise that was meant to have a third season having to basically rewrite itself while it was already halfway done to try to wrap things up nicely as quickly as humanly possible. that is to say- there was no way it couldn't be shit, just a question of how like. not stinky they could make the shit.

but then we got more interviews regarding the director about season 2, like... that he was the one who personally pushed the idea Towa should stay in the Reiwa Era (and as unpopular an opinion this might be, especially among sessrin shippers, i would not have opposed that if it had been done well and built up properly), treekyo's role diminished, the idea that Riku had actually seriously been attempting to murder Towa and it wasn't some fake-out and he only didn't do it because he realized in the last moment he loved her i'm especially mad about this not just because that defies all common sense but because it means i was wrong in a twitter fight and there's nothing worse than losing a fight that means nothing on the internet etc etc... not to mention what felt like almost a regression of Sesshomaru's development?

i'm pretty out of date with interviews and shit so i have no idea what wild shit Hishida said but like, i still think there were other behind the scenes matters that complicated Yashahime near the end of it's already incredibly troubled production, but i would also not be surprised in any capacity if Hishida actually did that. he seemed to have. a really weird thought of how the show should progress

#yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #yashahime: princess half-demon #discourse cw

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ghostofadragon · 2 years

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ok this is out of the blue but this fandom is super small so theres no one to talk to about it and also I just wanna know: do you have any thoughts on the knife scene in Batman Unburied? because I've been thinking about the podcast and that scene is one of the more stand out character moments imo because on the one hand you have Babs being noticeably scared and on edge during that part implying that despite how nonchalant she seems she (reasonably) must've been on edge like this the whole time she's been around Eddie and that her whole (more or less) cool and collected demeanor is at least in part just a brave face she puts on and on the other hand you have Eddie just straight up not getting that Babs is scared of him in that moment, instead thinking that she is worried he's contaminating evidence and only realizing she's threatened by him after being told to put down the knife thrice which implies he genuinely didn't even consider hurting Babs/Babs thinking he might hurt her an option and that's just kinda interesting imo considering he's a whole professional criminal and possibly even a murderer. aaand this implied difference in how they perceive the whole teamup situation (Babs being constantly on edge while Eddie's just having a relatively normal time mystery-solving) would also fit with how he keeps talking about them as a 'we' later while Barbara keeps telling him off that 'there is no we' (which we know can't quite be true cause earlier she kept referring to them as 'we' too as Bruce points out when they find him). But anyways...what's your thoughts on this scene or their 'team' dynamic?

hmmmm that's a good one! id have to relisten to the scene to really think about it comprehensively but from what i recall i didn't really personally interpret it as eddie straight up not realizing that barbara was afraid of him/concerned what he might do/or etc (like, after the initial misunderstanding anyway) but more that he was kind of in disbelief/maybe mildly amused and maybe also somewhat hurt by it & trying to hide it but like, in an expected way? like, 'oh yeah of course shes going to be weird about it she's A Cop and Has History With Me (Technically) why would she put any regular amount of trust in me to not be a risk with a bladed weapon and i shouldnt get my hopes up for her to not think of me that way' especially since barbara has spent like the past six(?) years basing pretty much her entire opinion of edward purely on his criminal record and specifically that he stabbed her dad With a bladed weapon so like i think its fair to say it was a little bit of a trauma moment on her part lol i definitely agree with you abt barbara being kind of obviously on edge the whole time, i can't really claim to know if this is accurate to canon or not but i like to believe that part of her unease directly stems from the fact that edward makes like, a lot more sense to her than she wants to think about. like she showed up determined to hate him and he does annoy her to some degree for sure but he is making it really hard for her to not sympathize with him and she doesnt really want to consciously confront that. i'm probably biased bc i love that kind of character dynamic but i really am a sucker for characters not wanting to confront that they are starting to enjoy being around someone who doesn't align with like, their personal image of who they are Supposed to like being around. idk i actually have quite a lot of thoughts about how barbara interacts with most of the other characters we see her with vs how she interacts with edward with respects to like, how people routinely worry about or judge the way barbara tends to do things when left to her own devices vs how (as far as i recall) most or all of edward's criticism of what shes doing comes from when shes thinking too far in the box as opposed to too far out of it. idk! they are interesting to me

#i didnt relisten to the scene to type this so please excuse any inaccuracies lol its been a few days #excuse any inaccuracies in general actually i am not very.... secure? in my interpretations of characters. i have no basis to assume that i #am correct about any of this #basically what i am saying is be kind to me if i am wildly off the mark of #what you think is reasonable #but here are my thoughts at least #ask #anonymous

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ckjbun · 3 years

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What kind of ability would Higuchi have and its potential name?

Hi to whoever is reading this! This is my first self-written post so I’m still figuring out how all this works and I’m sorry, if it gets a bit chaotic. Anyways, recently, I came across a question regarding Higuchi from Bungou Stray Dogs. It was about what Higuchi’s ability would be called and what type it would be. So I won’t go into details whether she has an ability or not. I believe she has since she is named after an author (and Asagiri himself kinda confirmed it via Twitter). Thus, I just want to write my thoughts on the potential names and kind of ability.

Since abilities in the BSD world are always named after rather well-known works of the authors, I compared some of the famous works of Higuchi Ichiyo. Now mind you, I haven’t read her works myself. I mostly relied on comparing summaries and analyses of them. Since there are not a lot of summaries, I read two lesser-known stories myself. I will add the links of the summaries/analyses of the works down below. However, while comparing I found two works that would fit Higuchi. Now, first what do I mean by “fit”? Well, it might be best to start explaining what I think about the type of Higuchi’s ability.

I believe Higuchi has not an offensive type of ability. Nothing like Atsushi’s, Akutagawa’s, Kyouka’s etc. If she had, I’m sure she would have used it already, since she’s fighting a lot with her guns, why wouldn’t she use her ability as an addition, why would she hide it? There are two possibilities why we haven’t seen her ability yet. First possibility would be that her ability is not visible like Odasaku’s or Ango’s, maybe it’s even an ability that she hasn’t even discovered, just like Fukuzawa hasn’t realized he has one before the ADA. Second would be that she can use her ability only under stringent conditions. And I believe it’s the latter, hear me out.

Remember this scene from Chapter 14? Higuchi reaches out to hold Akutagawa’s hand but then pulls back because she remembered him saying that he doesn’t need her help. Now, you could argue that holding the hands of injured loved ones is a gesture of closeness, a way to show them your support, a way to tell them that you’re staying by their side. And Aku doesn’t want this support, so that’s why she retracted her hand. But something bothers me here. In this scene it looks like Aku slapped Higuchi’s hand away, doesn’t it? And then he says, he doesn’t need her help, instead of support. I know, you could say support and help are almost the same. But to me, help is something that you do more “actively”, while support can be something passive. What if Higuchi’s hand represents this “active” help? And what would actively help Akutagawa in this very moment? A healing ability for example. Coincidentally, in the panel before, Hirotsu asks Higuchi what power she posses to make them [the black lizard] obey. Is this a hint that there is a hint about Higuchi’s ability in the next panel? Maybe. But let’s look at the next panel. It’s the title page of this chapter.

As you can see, Higuchi has a bandage wrapped around her leg and they seem connected to Akutagawa. In this chapter, it is revealed that Higuchi contemplated about leaving the Port Mafia but her reason for staying is implied to be Akutagawa. This is perfectly symbolized by the bandages in this title page. The bandages coming from Akutagawa are holding her leg back, stopping her from walking away from the PM. But maybe there is a second interpretation? If you’re looking at Akutagawa’s left hand, the bandages are starting to come off. What if this means Akutagawa is healing and doesn’t need the bandages anymore? Instead it wraps around Higuchi’s leg, restricting her movement. What if Higuchi’s ability allows her to help someone else (doesn’t have to be necessarily a healing ability) but in exchange she needs to sacrifice something? Anyways, I think she has an ability which allows her to help other people in a non-combat way. With this in mind, I was looking through several works of Higuchi Ichiyo, searching for something that “fits”. Meaning that I was looking for parallels and themes in irl Higuchi’s stories that could be “converted” into an ability. Just like the coat that the protagonist of Rashomon stole in order to now die of hunger was used as Akutagawa’s ability which seems to be able to eat everything, or like the wish that one’s brother does not die in war in Thou Shalt Not Die became Yosano’s ability and serving as a basis of her background story. Anyways, I’d like to present the works that could be used for Higuchi’s ability and draw some parallels.

1. The Thirteen’s Night

The story revolves around a poor woman, called Oseki. Thanks to her marriage to a rich man, her family was able to live a better life and her brother found a job. But on the thirteenth night of the ninth month of the lunar calendar (one of two special nights for moon viewing), Oseki visited her parents with the intention on asking her parents for approval for divorcing her husband. Before entering, she overhears her parents talking about how lucky they are that they have such good children who don’t cause trouble and that they are very thankful for this marriage. Hesitating at first, she finally goes in and admits that she wants to divorce her husband because he abuses her mentally. He insults her constantly and tells her that she's worthless, stupid, and uneducated. Her mother is outraged. But her father, even though he acknowledges her suffering, reminds her what her husband has done for this family and that she would lose her son since women couldn’t get custody of their children after a divorce at that time. Agreeing with her father, Oseki decides to go back to her husband:

“It was selfish of me to think of a divorce. You're right. If I couldn't see Tarō, there'd be no point in living. I might flee my present sorrows, but what kind of future would I have? If I could think of myself as already dead, that would solve everything… Then Tarō would have both his parents with him. It was a foolish idea I had, and I've troubled you with the whole unpleasant business. From tonight I will consider myself dead — a spirit who watches over Tarō. That way I can bear Isamu's cruelty for a hundred years to come.”

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

Just like BSD Higuchi contemplates leaving the PM, the protagonist here wants to leave her husband. The PM is like the husband. It allows her to support herself and probably her family (at least we saw that she has a sister). But there is constant abuse. Akutagawa is clearly the biggest source of abuse that we can see. But it’s not only him. In Chapter 14, Mori asks her if she is really suited for this job. Telling her indirectly that she is useless or that she is too weak for the PM. Later, you can see the Black Lizard doubting her capabilities, even threatening her. But just like Oseki she stays because of a loved one. What really concerns me is Oseki saying that she will consider herself as a dead spirit watching over Tarō. What if Higuchi, in order to use her ability, has to sacrifice part of her lifespan? Or maybe she loses a feeling? Like e.g. she loses the ability to feel happiness, making her a bit more dead inside? If you draw this parallel, you could also say that when ‘consider myself dead’ is the condition of the ability, then ‘watching over Tarō’ is a hint to Higuchi’s ability. An ability that allows her to watch over and protect her loved ones? This theme fits Higuchi perfectly, since a big topic in Higuchi’s story line is how she wants to help and protect Akutagawa. So it makes sense that her ability might be something that would help him (**intensely squinting at the recent events in the manga, especially chapter 88**). Moving on to the second possibility before the pain starts to set in.

2. Takekurabe (literally: "Comparing heights", "Child's Play" in the Robert Lyons Danly translation, "Growing Up" in the Edward Seidensticker translation)

Now this is considered as Higuchi Ichiyo’s masterpiece. So the chances are high that the ability is based on this story. The story accompanies a group of children who live next to the Yoshiwara quarter. There are two rival gangs: the main street gang (’omote-machi’), lead by Shōtarō, a cultivated young boy who is the grandson of the owner of a pawnshop, and the back street gang (’yoko-chō’), lead by Chōkichi, the impulsive firefighter’s son. (Maybe a parallel to the ADA with (cultivated) Fukuzawa and the PM with Mori who’s a doctor which belongs into the same category of occupation as firefighters?). Among the main street gang, there was Midori, popular and pretty, who lives in the brothel where her sister works. Shōtarō probably has a crush on her. But Midori probably has feelings for the other main character, Nobu, the son of a Buddhist priest. Even though he returns her feelings, he distances himself from her out of his self-consciousness. Later he joins the rival gang after repeated request by Chōkichi. Anyways, they spend their days very care-free, attending school, playing with each other after school. One day, some conflict arises between the gangs and Midori, while protecting someone else, gets slapped by Chōkichi with a sandal. He then proceeds to tell her that their gang is backed by no other than Nobu. Midori feels humiliated and stops going to school. Soon she also stops playing with the other children. After some time passed, Midori is seen with her hair all done up. She has become a distant, lady-like young woman. This probably means that she got her first period and is old enough to become a prostitute or that she just had her first client as a courtesan. Little by little, the children grow up. Nobu is sent off to be trained as a priest and Shōtarō has come to accept the responsibilities of his family’s shop.

There are several themes in this story that I’d like to point out, namely unrequited love, Midori’s transformation and underlying unchangeable fates. The first one is obviously a big theme in Higuchi’s story. Midori and Nobu are unable to express their love for each other because of their positions in life. Just like Higuchi is unable to express her feelings for Akutagawa. If you want some hope, AkuHigu shippers, maybe Aku has also feelings for Higuchi but is still very confused and self-conscious about it just like Nobu. Anyways, because of their positions in the PM, it would make everything very complicated if Higuchi confessed. Additionally, Midori feels like she was humiliated by her love when she got slapped by that sandal. I’m sure that Higuchi gets humiliated by Akutagawa a lot. The next theme is Midori’s transformation from a tomboyish to a lady-like, distant woman. We all know Higuchi looks really badass in her suits. But again, look at the title page of chapter 14. Higuchi is dressed up all prettily and lady-like in a dress, and her hair is done all up. Just like Midori after her transformation. Midori’s transformation stands for Midori accepting her occupation as a prostitute even though she doesn’t want to. In this chapter, we see that Higuchi has accepted her job in the PM, even though she doesn’t want to do this job. At the end Shōtarō sings the following:

"Growing up,

she plays among the butterflies

and flowers.

But she turns sixteen,

and all she knows

is work and sorrow."

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

I don’t know about you guys, but to me that necklace that Higuchi is wearing in that title page looks like a butterfly to me. This is really farfetched but maybe this could be a hint about when Higuchi joined the Port Mafia? However, the biggest theme in Takekurabe is the underlying unchangeable fate of the children. Shōtarō was destined to become the next owner of the pawnshop, Nabu was destined to become a Buddhist monk and Midori would become a prostitute. Maybe this gives us some insight into why Higuchi joined the PM? Maybe one of her parents was a PM member? I also like to think that since Aku is in the PM, since she wants to be with him, she can’t but stay in the PM, and this is her fate. Nevertheless, fate is a central theme in Takekurabe. This is the reason why I think, if the ability is based on this story, Higuchi’s ability would be something like changing fates. Changing fate of someone else but in return she must sacrifice something.

Okay, so this post has become quite long. But I still wanted to mention two other stories Yamizakura (Flowers at Dusk) and The Sound of the Koto where I saw a lot of parallels. I just want to briefly tell you the story of The Sound of the Koto. In this story a woman abandons her son in order to leave her husband who has a bad reputation. The husband then turns into an alcoholic and dies later at a party because of alcohol intoxication. The boy becomes hardened to the world, despises his mother for leaving them, and even contemplates suicide. The story shifts then to a woman playing the koto. I want to give you an excerpt for the end of this story:

“On this night the sound of the woman’s playing helped another to be reborn. Through fourteen springs and fourteen autumns, the boy had been buffeted by the rains. His heart had gradually toughened until it had become as hard as stone. No arrow could penetrate it. He seemed destined to follow the example of his father, to die among the fields or in the mountains, where his remains would be bleached by the elements. Some were convinced the boy’s life would end in prison chains, while his bad name spread to every roadside.

But now, at once, the tenderness buried in his heart was freed by the midnight strains of the koto. For the first time in many years, he felt tears come to his eyes. Or were they jewelled drops of dew? He would not exchange them for anything.

He, who had known neither love nor compassion, and who had no idea what the player of these refrains could even look like, felt a moment of happiness as the music drifted over the garden wall. […]

[…] How could a stormy wind blow now? The clouds in his heart had disappeared. Once more the woman began to play. The sound of the koto would be his friend for a hundred years, the seed for a hundred years of yearning. He had entered a world where a hundred different flowers wer in bloom.

– In The Shade of Spring Leaves, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

This boy somehow just reminds me so much of Akutagawa. Just like this boy, without any parents and home, wandering around in this world, Akutagawa has become hardened to the world. I’d like to think that Higuchi’s ability could free Akutagawa from his pain, just like the sound of koto does for this boy.

So, now I said everything I wanted to say, I guess. If there is really anyone reading this and reading this until here, thank you so much! I appreciate it very much that you kept reading even though my thoughts are probably quite chaotic. I’m sorry if there are any grammar mistakes or weird sentence structures or anything like this. English is not my first language. I’m very happy, if you could point out any mistakes or have any suggestion for improvement. Lastly, I just want to remind you that these are my thoughts, I love discussing so feel free to comment your thoughts but I’d like you to keep in mind that there is not necessarily a wrong or right, theories are theories, interpretations are interpretations. Everyone has another interpretation. They can only be proven wrong by Asagiri sensei himself. Until then just keep the discussions friendly and tolerant towards other people’s thoughts and opinions.

Sources:

All manga panels used in this post are from easygoingscans

Higuchi Ichiyo (樋口一葉)

Higuchi Ichiyo: "In the Shade of Spring Leaves"

In The Shade Of Spring Leaves: The Life Of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine Of Her Best Stories, translated by Robert Lyons Danly

In the Shade of Spring Leaves – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 1

“Flowers at Dusk” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 2

“Encounters on a Dark Night” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 3

“Child’s Play” and Other Notes – Ichiyō Higuchi, Part 4

HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ: BADASS WOMEN IN JAPANESE HISTORY

The Thirteenth Night (Wikipedia)

Female Subject, Interrupted in Higuchi Ichiyō's "The Thirteenth Night"

GAME OF TRADITIONS: TRADITION IN THE THIRTEENTH NIGHT AND DIARY OF A MAD MAN

HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ IN MODERN JAPANESE AND EUROPEAN DRESS: Modern Japanese versions (gendaigoyaku) of Higuchi Ichiyō’s Takekurabe and their Relationship with English, Castilian Spanish and Catalan Translations

Separate Ways Summary

Literary Analysis of “Separate Ways”

Flowers at Dusk

Nigorie (Wikipedia)

From the Margins of Meiji Society: Space and Gender in Higuchi Ichiyō's "Troubled Waters"

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ailendolin · 2 years

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Thomas Thorne

My favourite! Thank you so much! 💙

One aspect about them I love: That he’s terrible at poetry but actually has a talent for it. It’s no secret that the sunrise scene in episode 3x03 is one of my favourites and the reason I started watching Ghosts, and I love that we got to see this different side of Thomas there, a quiet and reflective one where the words don't come from his brain but from his heart.

One aspect I wish more people understood about them: I’m not sure understood is the right word because I respect different opinions but I do wish people wouldn’t be so hung up on Thomas spying on Alison in the shower. I’m not trying to defend him here (though I’d like to point out that a) he didn’t see anything and b) everyone else was there as well, meaning this was probably part of the plan and Thomas, to no one's suprise, volunteered) but it’s quite telling how this one moment keeps getting brought up while Mary and Kitty’s behaviour, for example, rarely gets criticized - even though Mary’s actually in the shower with Mike, sits next to Alison when she’s on the loo and implies she’s been spying on Mike when he was in the bathroom as well, and Kitty is in Alison’s bed three times in series 1 alone. I totally understand why people find Thomas creepy and off-putting but then you shouldn't give characters like Kitty and Mary a free pass for their creepy behaviour either.

One (or more) headcanon(s) I have about this character: He was not loved by his parents. I know I've talked about this before but since I’ve included this headcanon in my next fic (which I hope to start publishing this weekend) I thought I should talk about it again. It always struck me how genuinely upset Thomas sounds when talks about how his mother left him crying as a baby – only to make light of it immediately. He kind of does the same thing when he talks about his death: everything he says is true right up until the point the memory becomes too painful. Then he makes up the, quite frankly, ridiculous kiss. This leads me to believe he might have made up his mother comforting him too, and that there’s more to his line about her hanging his poetry on the wall as well. At first glance it might look like her appreciating and being proud of his work – but what if she never read any of it? What if she only hung up his poems so she could show them off to others? The Thorne's weren't poor but they apparently weren't as rich as the Highams so what if Thomas's work was simply an opportunity for his parents to elevate the family name?

One character I love seeing them interact with: Julian. I find their dynamic really interesting. They can’t seem to stand each other in the beginning of the series and yet there's the toaster scene where Julian clearly realizes Thomas is triggered by the sound but doesn’t use that to his advantage. Instead, he simply says, “Toaster,” to remind Thomas of where and when he is and doesn’t make a big deal out of it even though in any other situation he’d delight in seeing Thomas so flustered. It feels like their animosity mellows into more or less friendly banter over time, especially after the circumstances of Thomas’s death are revealed, and I’d love to see them becoming actual friends.

One character I wish they would interact with/interact with more: Is it cheating if I say Nigel since I chose Thomas when I answered this for Nigel here? Probably. So I’ll go with Fanny, Mary and Humphrey. Fanny because every now and then there’s a small moment between them that I really love (Fanny dancing with him or Thomas acknowledging that she’s changed her mind at the wedding) and I'd love to see more of that. Mary, because her scenes with Thomas have been hilarious and we all need more vegetable love metaphors in our lives. And Humphrey, because I think Thomas could use a level-headed friend like him and should learn that Humphrey’s more than just a pretty face more than just a volleyball / football.

One (or more) headcanon(s) I have that involve them and one other character: Thomas stayed with the Plague Ghosts after his death. I’ll leave it at that because it’s a huge part of the plot of my next fic (the same one I mentioned above) so if you want to find out why he would choose to stay with the Plague Ghosts of all people, keep an eye out for the first chapter.

Next up: Robin

Ask game can be found here.

#Thomas Thorne #headcanons #bbc ghosts #ask game #ask #mp bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts headcanon

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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I adore talking about this with you, it's so cool to be able to agree, everything I've read is just excusing yen lmao.

And with "geralt would rather do and say things Yen wants to avoid pissing her off" LIKE YEAHH I guess I annoyed yen with my answers and she teleported Geralt out of the tower thing, and then threatened to do it again like??? Like he pissed her off so she has fuck all care about him, was over water thank god but like girl??? omg and her refusing to tell the wticher bros what she was planning on doing to Uma, like I get that they would be hesistent but I mean it's cause it's cruel and painful and they have that trauma around that. She just expects everyone to do what she asks when she asks no questions. (Lambert's "I'm not geralt" when he and Yen are kinda arguring, bb red flags)

I just assumed she didn't believe him cause if she did whats her excuse for behaving how she is lmao??? Like you believe he has amnesia and you still blame HIM over the person who maniplated him KAY.

And goodddd that fucking scene when Triss and Yen see Ciri in Kaer Morhen is genuinely the worst, Triss and Yen see their sis/daughter (not gonna get into how weird I find it that Triss considers Ciri her sister and Geralt is Ciris father and she still wants to fuck him, uncomfy) for the first time in forever, she's alive and well and while Triss is hugging Ciri, Yen kisses Geralt and Triss throws a glare at her. I hated that scene so damn much, it's stupid and shouldn't have been there. (aso I get emotions and all but Yen kissing Geralt is so bitchy, idk even full of gratitude and emotion I wouldn't kiss the man who just dumped me lol, especially not in front of a situation like Triss)

I'm still mad about the women, I really wanted to like them fuck meeee

YOU GOT TO THE PART. Oh thank god, anon, I've wanted to talk about this since we started these conversations lol

Okay, let's set the scene, shall we? You arrive to find that, with our playthroughs anyway, your ex has barged into your home. I say "barged in" because although we (Geralt) know that Yen's help is necessary and she'll be tagging along, the other witchers living there are given no prior warning and, according to Vesemir, Yen teleported in without so much as a "Hello." She then immediately starts ordering everyone around like her servants, failing to explain the situation beyond there being a curse that they have to help with. No, this isn't negotiable. She (still being an ex) takes your old room for herself, which just happens to be the biggest in the keep, and proceeds to toss a bed out the window. It's only later that Vesemir recalls that Triss used to use it, so prior to that everyone apparently just accepted that Yen was destroying their stuff for no understandable reason. Classic Yen. You go upstairs to find her cursing a blue streak at her failed experiment and when you try to lighten the mood, she snaps at you. If you're of the opinion that Yen's every order must be obeyed, this is when you're supposed to drop the conversation entirely, because she said to. Except, funnily enough, you'd like to know why she's up here being The Worst Guest Ever and destroying your property. She tries to justify this by saying that destroying a bed is better than how she could be dealing with her anger over Triss. Be grateful and all that. Except, it's not really about Triss, is it? The line is "You shagged my friend. For upwards of a year. I don't know what your witcher's code says on the matter, but ordinary folk would consider it obscene, base, vile." The blame is not on the woman who knowingly manipulated Geralt into having sex with her while he was vulnerable, it's on Geralt himself! He is the "obscene, base, vile" person for... daring to have amnesia? And when you point that out - "Yen... told you already. I lost my memory" - she yells that she's "lost [her] patience" and teleports you into a lake! This is, apparently, how she really wants to deal with her anger. Not by destroying beds, but by attacking you for things outside of your control. And I do consider it an attack. Yen is meant to be insanely powerful, she is leveraging her magic as a weapon here, particularly when Geralt has spent the whole game commenting on how much he hates portals. Yen knows this. Not just because he says so in her presence, but because she frequently reads his mind, something else he's expressed discomfort with. She's not just demonstrating her power (controlling) and sending him away when he makes a point she doesn't want to acknowledge (immature), she chooses the one thing she knows makes Geralt uncomfortable, perhaps even scared. Then when you've swum your way back to shore and returned to, despite all this, begin her list of chores, she makes a dry comment about how next time she just might drop you high enough for the fall to be fatal. With the next time implied to be, you know, the next time you disagree with her. The next time you dare to do anything other than agree with her every belief and jump at her every command.

The fandom interpretation of all this: "Lol Geralt getting yeeted is so funny. And their banter is just 😍"

Me:

You mentioned red flags and yeah like that ENTIRE SCENE is a crimson banner for me. I mean, by all means, love the fictional ships that are super messed up (I often do), but it astounds me how many fans honestly think this is just a cute interaction with absolutely no problems attached. Nothing to question here, folks. I've mentioned before, but last I discussed this in depth the asker wanted to know if I'd been an asshole to Yen and... that's it. That's the perspective. Any disagreement with her, any pushback, anything that's not complete, blind obedience is something she will not permit AND something most fans take as a given. If you're not doing what Yen tells you to, you're automatically the asshole, and if you're the asshole, you automatically deserve any punishment she chooses to dish out.

Comic spoilers coming up if you want to skip, but this is made abundantly clear in "Curse of Crows." Yen and Geralt are at their best in the moment below, enjoying one another's company on a nice day. Yen asks if Geralt wants to swim and he says nah, he'd rather watch her. She appears to like that idea and, indeed, swims naked while Geralt admires from the shore.

Actually cute right? I really liked this moment! They're cuddled up together and exchanging smiles. It's a rare moment of peace where I can believe that they truly care for one another, outside of passionate sex and not wanting the other dead. Finally, something beyond that incredibly low bar.

...except Yen starts flirting with a young man who shows up, invites him to travel with them, all while refusing to explain why she's interested in his company. The sudden third wheel is clearly bothering Geralt, but Yen continues to ignore his questioning. The answer she finally gives later that night?

She did it purely to mess with Geralt! It's his "just desserts" for "refusing to swim with [her]." She is "not one to be refused - I thought you needed reminding" by giving him "a flick on the nose." When I say that Yen treats Geralt like a dog I mean she literally treats him like a dog. He's a servant who must jump at her every command and if he doesn't, he'll punished for disobedience. He might not even know why he's being punished for a long stretch because Yen enjoys making him think she's a normal person capable of accepting that he doesn't feel like swimming right now - insert the Kaer Morhen scene where she wants to go have sex upstairs, but Geralt wants to catch up with the brothers he hasn't seen in an age here - only to reveal that actually she's made their formerly nice outing uncomfortable because he needs to be put in his place. All of which is followed by, "So... willing to join me now?" The message is very clear! Geralt had better get his ass in that tub unless he wants to be punished some more. Whether he wants a bath right now or not is inconsequential.

This is also the run where she scares the women Geralt was with, despite them being separated right now. Why? "I could."

Claims that Geralt is allowed to return to his companions (who he actually waves away) only for him to realize she's cast a spell to burn him with the water. Yen loves pretending she's okay with things only to punish Geralt for them later - sometimes with physical punishments. And what would have happened if the women had actually joined him again? Do witchers weather hot water better than the average courtesan? Who knows, but Yen clearly doesn't care who might get hurt.

Just like her time in Skellige and at Kaer Morhen, she refuses to explain what's going on. She just expects people to obey her, so-called loved ones included. Geralt was to get her cider, and arrive before her bath went cold, not question what they're doing on this dangerous hunt. He's a servant.

And my favorite, petty moment: transforming her awful inn food into a lavish meal without offering to do the same for either Geralt or Ciri.

"But, Clyde, that's just the comics. They're not really canon." Nah, questions of canon aside, this is 100% Yen's characterization. She's prideful. Immature. Beyond controlling. And punishes anyone who dares to tell her "No." Fans are always pointing out that she's meant to be horrible, she could have been a villain in another life, like any of that explains why I'm supposed to root for this relationship or enjoy her existence outside of being a complex character. Yen is interesting, but she's interesting in a "I can't wait to see her get her own just desserts" way. Not "Wooo now I get to watch this story ignore her behavior again to push a True Love narrative."

She punished Geralt frequently during their first meeting, she punishes him whenever they get together, and, I think, she punished him during the reunion with Ciri. Given our playthroughs, do we really think that after breaking up with her and all this fury over Triss - an anger so deep she destroyed the bed and attacked Geralt - she's just overcome with such joy that she forgets they're not together anymore and forgets the anger she's been nurturing for years? Yen doesn't forget. She's staring at Ciri during that moment, right where Triss is currently running towards them, and then after a considering look at Geralt pulls him in for that kiss. That was calculated. She did that to make a claim she no longer had. To punish them both: make Triss uncomfortable by playing at the "perfect" family reunion; make Geralt uncomfortable by kissing him when she knows he doesn't feel the same way. But of course, the popular reading is that she just loves him so much she couldn't help herself. Riiight.

It's just all SO BAD. (Including, as you say, the ickiness of having Triss lusting after Geralt and referring to Ciri as "little sis.") I love a lot of the women in Witcher - Cerys is a fave, Ciri, Saskia, Philippa, Keira, etc. - but the two I'm supposedly meant to fall in love with are just the worst lol.

Basically:

Half the fandom: TEAM TRISS 🤬

The other half: TEAM YEN🤬

Me: TEAM REGIS 😭

#witcher #mymetas #long post

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goldenmaybank · 4 years

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no strings ~ scout’s writing challenge

pairing: jj maybank x reader

summary: jj and y/n have had a no strings attached agreement for years, but that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth.

warnings: swearing, cheating, implied sex, and slight fluff

word count: 2.2k

this is my entry for @ptersparkers writing challenge! hope you all enjoy :)

no strings attached. that was the agreement we made back in freshman year. it's now junior year and that agreement still stands. no feelings involved, just pure fun, but how do you not fall for his big blue eyes and bright smile. it was only meant to be for one night, but one night soon turned into two then three and now i've lost count how many nights we've spent together. almost every night for this past year he’s slept in my bed under my silk sheets with our bodies intertwined with one another. i constantly convince myself it's nothing more than having fun but every time i hear his name i get butterflies and whenever he's near me my heart starts to beat a million times faster. i try to convince myself it's not love, but after being with someone in that way for three years it's impossible for it not to turn into that. but clearly it's possible for him at least. that's why i don't say anything and continue to hide my true feelings because i know he doesn't feel the same way as me and probably never will. i stay up every night with him on my mind and thoughts of what we could be consumes my every thought.

freshman year was the hardest of them all mainly because jj had a girlfriend at the time. i know what i did was wrong but the taste of his lips and the way he touched me that first night was so captivating. i knew from that moment i would never be able to let him go. i tried not to get sucked into him and his player ways, but soon the second night happened and from then it was history. we would meet every thursday night at my place at midnight. he was never late and it made me wonder if he craved my touch as bad as i craved his. we would walk past each other in the streets like we barely knew each other when in reality he knew every curve and mark on my body.

sophomore year was easier than the last since he no longer was with his girlfriend, but also harder because that's when i started catching feelings for him. now since he was single, we could actually be seen together, but still had to be cautious since i was a kook. i never understood the rivalry between the kooks and pogues, but i knew if any of the kooks found out i was with jj all hell would break loose. me and sarah were known as the kook princesses, and since she was dating topper, everyone expected me to date a kook too. before i met jj, i went on a few dates with rafe since thats who my parents wanted me to be with, but after realizing all kook guys are self absorbed assholes, i knew i could never be with any of them. the only kook i can tolerate is sarah, and at times she can even be blinded by the things topper tells her. a couple months into freshman year, i already started to get suffocated at the kook academy and went to the beach to escape, which is where i met kie. the moment i met her we instantly clicked and she invited me to the kegger that they were having that night. thats when i met the rest of the pogues, including jj. we spent the whole night attached at the hip drinking and laughing together. soon enough the guest room at the cheateu was filled with nothing but the sound of our moans. that was the first of many nights we spent there together.

almost every single day i would meet jj by the beach to spend time with him. whether we were surfing, hanging out on the hms pogue with the others, or eating at the wreck, i just loved being around him. although we weren't together people acted like we were. kie would always say we were unofficially official. soon enough our every thursday night meet-ups became every thursday and friday meet-ups and eventually every night meet-ups. we spent every night together at my place until my parents found out and we needed a new place, so we started hanging out at the chateau.

junior year has been the best one so far. jj and i hung out more in public not caring what anyone else would think and gone on what he calls "non-dates" even though it's exactly what dates are. he's met my younger sister and she absolutely adores him, which now makes me wish we never got our families involved in this since i know he doesn't reciprocate my feelings. i've spent so much time with him that i feel almost empty not being in his arms at night. he knows everything about me and i know everything about him. we've shared all of our secrets and deepest thoughts with each other. i've seen his vulnerable side so much that it's almost impossible for me not to fall in love with him. he's opened up to me and let me in more than anyone else in his life even his best friends. every night is something new with him and i never want it to stop even though i know inevitably it will.

"you remember the second night you stayed at my place and you got scared of my dog" i said laughing as we laid next to each other on my bed talking about our favorite memories together.

"look in my defense, your dog is huge and she woke me up out of my sleep." jj said chuckling slightly.

"she was just being friendly and you wouldn't stop screaming. almost woke up my damn parents."

"don't act like you haven't almost woken up john b before with your clumsy ass. you almost knocked over his whole desk trying to get into the room."

"i'm sorry i'm not an expert at climbing through windows like you."

"well when you've had a lot of practice you know how to." he said cockily.

"oh shut up." he laughed as i tiredly punched his arm, "you know damn well i was the first window you came through." i said sassily.

"you're right. you were."

"wait really? so jj maybank has never snuck into another girl's house before? i'm surprised."

"why?" he asked as he turns his body towards me and moves me so i face him.

"i don't know i guess with your reputation i thought you would've been with a bunch of girls before me."

"you wanna know the truth? you're the first girl i've ever slept with."

"wait what?" i sat up against the headboard looking at him confusingly, "what about your ex or all those tourons you would flirt with?"

"all we would do is flirt and make out a little, but it never went any further. either i was always drunk or they were and i never wanted that to be my first time, you know? and with my ex we were only fourteen and dated for a few months. i told you before i never really felt anything for her. it was all just so i could know what it felt like to be a boyfriend.”

“but we were only fourteen, when we..”

“i know, but it was different with you. you are different.”

"so, that means you were a virgin when we first-"

"yup." he said admittedly.

"wow. well i couldn't tell." i joked.

jj looked at me and chuckled slightly, but i could tell something was off with him. his eyes didn't have the same brightness as usual.

"what's wrong?"

"what do you mean? nothings wrong."

"jj, you can't lie to me. i've known you for way too long and i know when somethings wrong, so what's up."

"i don't know. i-" he sighs deeply as he looks at up at me, "it's just- is that what you think of me? that i'm just some player who fucks any girl that throws herself at me."

"what? no. of course not. i just assumed-"

"because that's not who i ever wanted to be." he said cutting me off, "i never wanted to be like- like my dad, you know?” he says as he looks down at his hands, fiddling with them, “as much as he claims he loved her, he treated my mom like shit. he would get drunk and mess around with a bunch of women because he could never commit. i never wanted to be like that. i never wanted to make a girl feel the way my mom felt. she was so heartbroken when he would come back home smelling of perfume and lie to her face. eventually, she had enough of it and just got up and left. kinda wish she took me with her. but i told myself i would never be like that and then i realized i was. back in freshman year when i cheated on my ex-"

"with me" i looked at him sympathetically understanding why what i said bothered him so much, "look, j you're nothing like your dad. i know i've never met him but from what you told me about him you two are completely different people. you’re nothing like that cheating, abusive asshole, okay? you're such a sweet, kindhearted person who always puts others before yourself, especially when it comes to your friends. i've never seen someone care so much about others than you. you have such a pure, kind soul and nothing will ever change that. i know you cheated on her with me and it probably wasn't the right choice, but it sure as hell wasn't a mistake and i won't call it that. being with you was never a mistake for me and i hope you feel the same about it but this" i say as i motion between us, "will never be something that i regret. i know i've said this before but i believe that this was meant to be and we were meant to find each other. the circumstance might not have been the best, but i found you and that's all that matters. you're nothing like him and never will be."

we both laid in silence looking up at the ceiling while raindrops hit the window softly. i started to wonder if maybe i said something wrong or said too much. i feel so deeply for him and whenever he tries to put himself down it breaks my heart. in my eyes he's the perfect guy despite all his faults. sometimes i think one day i'll tell him how i feel and scare him off which is the last thing i want to do. i want to be able to have these moments with him for as long as i can.

"you know, i want to get married before i have kids." jj said breaking the silence.

"that's random, but alright." i said giggling.

"i was just thinking about my parents and they had me before they even thought of marriage. i think that's where they could've went wrong. maybe if they would've taken the time to actually bound their love together before having a kid, they could've lasted longer. after they had me he could never commit fully because of all the responsibility, so maybe if they already took that step to "finalize" their love he would've stayed." he said shrugging.

"well i always wanted to have kids before i get married because i want my kids to be apart of my wedding."

"i guess we could just have two weddings then."

"huh?" i said confusingly finally looking at him.

he looks back at me and sighs, "yeah, i mean since you want one before and i want one after, we can just have two. we have the real one before and then we can renew our vows and have a second wedding with our kids so they can experience it with us."

"so, we're gonna get married and have kids?" i said smirking at him.

"i-i mean i guess. obviously only if you want to." jj said blushing as he started to look anywhere but at me.

i grab his face so he's looking at me, "i would love to, jj."

we both smile at each other as he pulls me closer to him connecting our lips. when we pull apart, i cuddle up into his chest as we continue to lie in silence. i feel my heart flutter as i feel his hands rub my back soothing me. being in his arms felt like home and i only hope he feels the same. as i start to think about how it would be if we were actually dating, the same words he would always say when we started this repeat in my mind "this is only for fun. no strings attached. no feelings. just pure fun." maybe that's all this will truly ever be, just fun, and that's the thought i have before falling asleep in his arms.

when i know she's asleep, i just stay awake and admire how she looks in the moment. even sleeping she has a slight smile on her face, which makes me wonder what she's dreaming about. sometimes i wish it was me she's dreaming about even though i know it's not. "just for fun" i remind myself of the words i said but that couldn't have been more of a lie, especially now more than ever. of course what we had was fun, but it was way more than that.

"i love you" i say as i kiss her forehead and wrap my arms tighter around her soon falling asleep as well.

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aot-snk-4238 · 3 years

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SNK Meta Part 2: Ymir

In my previous post, I talked about my feelings regarding Historia's character this final arc. Now I'm going to talk about Ymir, her relationship with Historia, and my feelings about her send-off.

Was Ymir a good character?

In my eyes, yes. When she was first introduced, it was clear that she had feelings for Historia, making her one of the only canon queer characters in the series (assuming Historia reciprocated those feelings, which I'm pretty sure she did). She also appeared very snarky and cynical, but us readers came to learn later on that there was a much softer, sensitive side to her deep down that Historia would be the first to witness. These revelations, including her backstory, helped flesh out her character in a way that made her very interesting and mysterious for me. I especially loved how sharp and intuitive she was. I'm going to quote the wiki on this part, because I think it does a great job explaining her impressive observant abilities. "Ymir was extremely perceptive and could discern the nature of the people around her with alarming accuracy, such as Historia's martyrdom mentality, Reiner's split personality disorder, and Sasha Blouse's desire to look good in front of her peers by hiding her native accent and developing an extremely formal way of speaking. Due to her experiences and belief in self-pride, she tended to rudely criticize people for being untrue to themselves. Furthermore, Ymir was very reasonable, as she knew what to do during her kidnapping situation and reconsidered her options to accomplish her goals." I also enjoyed her interactions with other characters besides Historia. Take Connie, for example. When he lamented over the possibility of his mother being stuck as a mindless titan, Ymir tried to distract him, albeit not in the most appropriate way (ch. 38).

Connie complained about this behavior later on, but Historia defended her, explaining that she was only trying to stray his thoughts from that traumatic discovery. There were a few more moments between these two that were fun to see as well.

😂😂😂. Ymir's looking at him like, "You ruined it, Connie..."

I love the way she pats him on the head. Knowing how much taller Connie's gotten I don't think she'd be able to do that anymore.

This becomes one of the many times that Connie calls her "ugly" when she's in her titan form. Too bad she couldn't talk very well as a titan or else she probably would have had a smartass remark to throw back at him. It's looking back on scenes like this where I wish we could have gotten more out of these two. You can tell she cared for Connie and I know he also cared in his own way.

We only saw her together with Eren once when Reiner and Bertholdt captured them, but it was very interesting to see their perceptions of each other.

Eren found Ymir to be mysterious and wasn't sure if he could trust her, which isn't surprising considering this was the only time they ever spoke to each other. One detail that he couldn't miss, however, was Ymir's undying determination to protect Historia, a goal they would both come to share later on. Meanwhile, Ymir couldn't trust Eren because she found him to be too reckless and hot-headed.

These were my favorite qualities from Ymir, although to this day I still question the rationality of leaving Historia behind considering the situation she's currently in. Historia herself called her an idiot after reading her goodbye letter. Now that I've covered my reasons for liking Ymir as a character, let's move on to her relationship with Historia.

Ymir and Historia

I've loved these two together since the beginning for their complex and amusing dynamic. On the surface, you had the selfish, confrontational tomboy and the girly, kind and beautiful goddess. But underneath were two young women who were dealt a dirty hand early in their life and lead empty lives as a result until they found each other. Their story arcs throughout the Clash of the Titans arc were beautiful and complimentary, and it's part of the reason why it's actually my favorite story arc in the series. Everything from Ymir seeing through Historia's charade and urging her to live her life with pride to Historia telling Ymir her real name and the two of them fighting side by side in chapter 49 was some of the most empowering moments for me and I will forever cherish those parts of the story.

Ymir's departure

And now the part I've been most excited to talk about! Ymir's glorious, memorable and emotional departure.

Her ending...was not what I expected it to be. She left Historia at the very last second and gave herself away to the enemy because she felt guilty for something that was not her fault. Now as we know, Ymir is selfless at heart and she felt indebted to Reiner and Bertholdt for inadvertently helping her return to her human form after 60 years of wandering the earth as a mindless titan. She also decided that Historia might be safe after all after learning that Eren possessed the coordinate. I understand all of that, but what I don't understand is...well...everything else.

This was Ymir's last real appearance. We see that Ymir has willingly chosen to accompany Reiner and Bertholdt back to Marley to give up her titan powers at the cost of her life. Many people weren't so sure if that was truly the last of her though, because her death was not explicitly confirmed for a long time. We spend the next 33 chapters hoping to get something more, and then this happens...

A glimmer of hope. Finally there's a real chance we'll hear from her again, and it's got a lot of people buzzing with excitement. Sure enough, we finally get to see what's in that letter a few chapters later and are given Ymir's backstory. Here's where the disappointing part comes, though. Ymir makes it clear at the beginning of her letter that she will be dead by the time Historia receives it, meaning that this is the only goodbye they're gonna get. The last time they saw each other, Ymir wasn't even in human form. Instead of a proper goodbye, all we get is a short letter. The anime even tried to fix this by giving us Ymir's backstory earlier, but by doing that, her letter was cut short by a lot. All that was really left was, "Hi babe, sorry I left you like that. Oh well, I'm about to die anyway. Sorry we couldn't get married." And then this happened:

Historia touches Ymir's letter and is suddenly bombarded with visions of Ymir's past, including her chained up and about to be eaten. That is definitely not what happened in the manga and its honestly very confusing to me. How was she able to see all of that just by touching the letter? I get that she has royal blood and was able to access memories when she touched Eren, but Eren is a human who just so happens to possess the founding titan. The letter is just a piece of paper. Also, I'm guessing the last thing Historia saw was Ymir chained up so that there will be no need to bring her up again like Reiner and Porco did in chapter 93. I don't blame the anime team for making that change because I'll be honest, when we saw that one panel of her in her death chamber it felt very out of nowhere and I had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the chapter after that. So here are my main problems with her death:

1. It was off-screen

If I recall correctly, Ymir is the only major character in the series whose death was off-screen. All we got were her final moments, and there wasn't even any dialogue. That part especially bothered me because you can see that Ymir and Porco are looking at each other and Ymir's mouth is slightly open, implying that she's speaking. But what was she saying? You seriously don't mean to tell me that they both just sat there and stared at each other the whole time. She must have had some last words, but for some reason we never got to know what they were. At one point I even thought that Historia and Porco might cross paths at some point and he would be able to give her closure that way but no. No closure, just a last minute goodbye letter and a glimpse of her final moments that I now consider completely useless and unnecessary because we never got more out of it. I mean really, we even got closure and an on-screen death for Marco for crying out loud. Why give him that kind of attention and not Ymir? Not to mention one of the more recent guidebooks. Her character has the diceased sticker and it talks about how she went back to Marley with Reiner and Bert, but that's it. Not even the guidebook makes it clear what happened next. Yeah she died, but did anything else happen before then? That's what I wish we could have gotten more details on like, I don't know....her final words???

2. It was anticlimactic

We didn't get enough focus on Ymir's point of view after leaving Paradis in order for her death to have any kind of lasting emotional impact. As I mentioned above, it just felt out of place and messy. There was nothing memorable about her death either. It was quite simple and boring.

3. It contributed to an ongoing literary issue that has anti-LGBTQ roots

Yep. I'm talking about the infamous Bury Your Gays trope. Now before I go any further, I am not accusing Isayama of being anti-LGBTQ, I'm just shedding some light on something that's been continuously repeated in countless forms of media, not just anime and manga. Truthfully, I hadn't heard about this trope before reading Attack on Titan, but when I did hear about it, it only made Ymir's death even worse for me. I'm not surprised that it exists and I realize that this is a manga where death is inevitable, but keeping both women alive in the end would have certainly been very refreshing. At this point, all I could ask for is that Ymir and Historia get to see each other one last time. Obviously since Ymir is dead it will have to be through other means and I don't care how it's done. It can be in a dream, a vision or through Paths (which I think would work best). Seriously, there's nothing I've been more curious about than how Ymir would react to Hisu's current predicament and what she would say to her. It would just be great for them to have one last conversation face to face because for me, the letter just wasn't enough. Of course I'm hoping for too much, though. We've only got 1-2% of the story remaining, leaving no room for further closure. It's disappointing and frustrating, but no story is perfect. I'm grateful for the content that we did get, but I hope one day I can find a story like this one where the queer characters get to live for once. I'm aware of other shows like Steven Universe, Adventure Time and Yuri on Ice that give them good endings, but those shows are much friendlier towards younger audiences and aren't nearly as dark and grim.

Conclusion

Ymir was a very intriguing character while we had her, but her death was unsatisfactory and only left us with more questions. I am not going to trash Isayama for it, but I will leave this critique here so I can unload all my thoughts for others to read if they wish, or possibly share their own thoughts. We are coming close to the end of the manga, so now would be a great time to reflect on what we read and enjoy what's left of it.

#snk #ymir #snk meta #snk spoilers #snk character analysis #snk manga #snk thoughts

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writingasawayofliving · 3 years

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ACCEPTANCE AND LETTING GO!

BY: ELIZON CAMANGYAN

Michelle is a sweet, lovely, and intelligent young lady with a brother named John lester . They are extremely close, and he is her savior, especially when they are children. Her brother is very protective of her and will not allow any boys to talk to her. Her parents advised us to keep an eye out for each other because they are happy together. Both of them were free of favoritism. Until this strange sensation, everything was perfect and amazing; everything was shifting, and nothing was in its proper place.

Brother, can we go home together later? Yes, youngest, I promise we'll go together. OK brother, thank you very much, and by the way, brother, , my classmates have arrived. Guys, krisan, Joanna, and Arjelyn John Lester is my older brother. As a result, we went first. Later on. Michelle is your older brother, by the way. I like him because he's cute, but he's also tall.

By the way, do you guys have a creative writing assignment? Concerning essay writing. Yes, I have already done so. But I'll take the lead because my brother and I are currently on our way home together.

Where are you, brother? It's 6 p.m., and you haven't returned. I've texted and called hundreds of times, but you haven't returned my calls or texts. Hey, you haven't picked me up yet, and by the way, my name is Alfred, and I'd like to be with you. Anyway, I appreciate it. It's night, you're certain. Now let's get started. Okay.

Thank you, Alfred, I'm sorry, youngest, but since I did it, I'm going to forget to bring you together a lot. I have to complete it. I'll be ahead of the two of you. Thank you, sir. We'll talk again tomorrow! Thank you once more.

What was the man's reason for delivering you? You might simply take a taxi. Wow, you said you'd bring me along. I waited for school for a few hours. My older brother, John Lester, did not show up. It's fortunate that Alfred joined me so that I can return home. Did you consider me? If only I had returned home. I'm sorry, I won't do it again, just don't get in Alfred's car. Sorry as well, buddy.

Brother I'll just be seeing my classmates. Okay, Michelle . Can you guys assist me? My older brother's birthday is on Saturday, and I'd like to surprise him. Hello, Michelle. Oh my gosh, Michelle, who is he? On the other side, the attractive. Since my brother forgot to pick me up, he was the one who delivered me last night. Have you eaten, Alfred? If you want to be with us? I'm finished now. And if you aren't done yet. And if you're starving. Are you starving? Let's get some food. Oh my god Michelle, your brother has arrived; why is he with you, Youngest? I warned you not to speak with him.

Let us have a discussion outside. What exactly is it that we're doing wrong, Michelle? I'll say thank him for driving me home. Alfred likes you, don't you see? What is it about that place that makes it so bad? If he enjoys my company. He is a gentleman. Okay, you manage your own affairs. You're not interested in hearing what I'm saying. Sorry!

Guys, please assist me; tomorrow is my brother's birthday. I need to catch him off guard. Come along with me to the festival mall to purchase a gift. Okay, we'll meet you at the festival mall. Guys, let's get

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started. Thank you. Let's go, I'm going to buy him a Gucci three-piece of t-shirts, Please join me in my quest. Okay, that's it. Michelle What is the age of your older brother? Tomorrow is his 22nd birthday. Oh my god He is accompanied by a lovely lady. She is attractive and tall. She is a transgender woman, not a girl . But you're implying that your brother is bisexual? I don’t know. I'm not sure why I'm feeling this way when my brother is dating someone else. Why am I so envious? This is incorrect.

Michelle, you've arrived. What have you been up to? Have you had your meal yet? Where did you come from, brother? Computer shop I'm just curious as to why. Because I saw you with your hands still held by a lady. What is the name of that girl? Is she your girlfriend at the moment? Or But it's possible that you won't take me home with you because someone else has brought you something. Brother, speak up so I can figure out what's wrong with me.

You're curious as to why this is. Michelle, I love you more than my sister, and I regard you as such. So I'm jealous every time you and Alfred are together. I just want to be with you. I really want you to be thinking all the time! I'm just interested in you. Is it possible for you to give it to me? Perhaps it isn't because I am your brother. I'm sorry, but I have the same feelings about you. I was envious when I first saw you, girl. Brother, I adore you as well.

I'm currently planning for a surprise for my brother. John Lester, have a wonderful birthday!!! You have now reached the age of 22. I wish good health and have lived a long time.

Brother how If they know dad and mom our relationship what will we do. What we children should know. Dad, Michelle and I are official couple . Don't you know what you're thinking. You're siblings. But dad we love. We love each other. Dad what is happening to you. Brother, dad can't breathe, call an ambulance. Hurry up,

Dad died of heart disease a few months ago. I told my brother that we should call it quits on our relationship. I don't want us to come to a halt. Michelle, I will always love you. When you forget me, I'm going to commit suicide. I can't bear the thought of losing you to me. Michelle, don't abandon me. There are a lot of people who don't like our friendship. We are brothers, and Dad is right. We would be dissatisfied.

Mom, I'm sorry for what my brother and I did, but I think I just need to avoid my brother for a while so he forgets about me. Michelle, I know it's difficult for you to make the decision, but have you decided to go to America to pursue your studies? I'm not upset with your relationship with your older brother, but the two of you are going to have a difficult time. So, as long as you're happy, I'll back you up.

I cried my way to church because I was in such a mess. I was at a loss for what to do. When I leave here, I hope my brother John Lester understands why I’m going. Why are you crying, Michelle? You dry your face with this handkerchief. You're aware. If you’re having trouble, they say that “the road to true happiness is one of acceptance and letting go”.

I spoke with my older brother once more to make him realize that our relationship was not working. To persuade him that our relationship is only temporary. Thank you, Michelle, for reminding me that someone loves me no matter how I feel. Thank you for being there for me at all times. I adore you, my little one. When you leave for America, I hope you are cautious. Never, ever forget. Yes, take care of Mom here, brother. I love you!

After a few years, I received no news from my older brother, and I moved to America, where I married. To tell you the truth, it was my husband who gave me the handkerchief. Yes, Alfred, I am glad I married him, and we have two sons together.

#writers #short story #self love

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