#his character development just showed how all he needed was to be met with encouragement and understanding for him to finally feel free to

[yaraneechan]

Lemme talk about Serizawa and Reigen's slow burn relationship actually, because there's something cool about how they met each other at the right time when it comes to their character arcs and the way they grew as characters fit together (1.8k words)

So from the very beginning, we see Reigen's main character flaws in telling Mob to come to work on short notice, ignoring Mob asking him to stop.

And when Mob tells him that he's worried he's wasting his youth, Reigen encourages him to stick with going home club, says Mob doesn't need to have a life outside of work cause just learning how to use his powers from Reigen is enough. Because If Mob has no other commitments, then he has more time for his job at spirits and such. for Reigen, it's half about the money half about Reigen wanting company

he's not intentionally malicious, but he's isolating Mob and is in the way of his growth.

Mob doesn't go by his advice and joins a club anyway.

other times Reigen does have a positive influence on Mob's growth when gives good advice otherwise and takes responsibility. (See after lol cult arc, after teru fight, end of 7th div arc)

In urban legends arc, spirits and such starts getting more work because they got more famous. Reigen ends up getting Mob to stay overtime till it's night and didn't even have time to get him soba. the arc ends with him realizing he fucked up. Mob is growing up and is trying to understand himself, and he's losing his sense of self in how he feels distant from both spirits and humans, they time they spend hanging out is much more important than jobs, then they do go get soba.

then Mogami arc happens: 1) Mob experiences being all alone and says he will appreciate the people in his life more. 2) back in lol cult he refused to acknowledge humans can be bad and that it wasn't Tsubomi who was mean but it must've been an evil spirit. in Mogami arc he accepted that Minori was really bad but people can change.

So in separation arc, 1) when Mob again tells Reigen not to call him on short notice (again) cause he was hanging out with friends, Reigen felt threatened. he's losing his monopoly on Mob. He tells him that they must be using him (he's projecting) and that he should should cut contact with them for it (this comes back to bite him)

2) Mob recognizes Reigen has said something bad and needs to change. the theme of recognizing someone can say something terrible and can still change carries over from lol cult arc to Mogami arc to separation arc and he stops coming to spirits and such.

at the press conference, Reigen realizes he was holding Mob back from his growth/ experiencing the world, and realizes that he should acknowledge that Mob has grown instead of being in his way.

Afterwards, Reigen did change and have a character development. he even lies about having free time so he can help out Mob practicing for the marathon (an anime added detail shows his calendar mostly booked)

now lets talk about Serizawa

Serizawa works for Touichirou, and while Touichirou is helping him with using his powers and gives motivating advice that helps him be more confident, he's still isolating him, preventing him from experiencing the outside world so he can stay reliant on him. The umbrella both helps him go outside but is also an extension of his room. He just wants Serizawa's loyalty and he wants to use him as spare battery. He tells him he needs to not hold back on using powers and that he can be stronger by being arrogant and self centered like him (this will come back to bite him)

when Serizawa protects Reigen, he has grown within Touichirou's advice and ideals, so Serizawa tries to tell Touichirou that he's grown and gotten more couragous thanks to Touichirou's support, that he did it in good faith and that they all are on the same side. but Touichirou didn't actually care about Serizawa, and because Serizawa gaining courage/ Serizawa growing means Touichirou can't unconditionally use him anymore, Touichirou considered Serizawa's action a betrayal.

at the end of wd arc, Touichirou had realized he was in the wrong. and to cleanly break off their relationship, he tells Serizawa that he only saw him as a tool, so he shouldn't feel indebted to him for anything.

Touichirou's last advice for him, an advice he intentionally didn't give him when he was using him, is to not to let others take advantage of him.

So after wd arc, Serizawa starts working for Reigen at spirits and such, now the manga goes right ahead to Serizawa's first job at the office, Reigen calls out Serizawa for not telling him there's a curse and Serizawa is still confused what he's supposed to be doing and the dynamic and etiquette at the office. But the anime has the ova events happen before this

In the onsen ova, Serizawa has done his research on how to be a good employee and even has notes in his sleeve. one of the things he learnt from it is that he's just supposed to follow boss's orders (which honestly I'd say he should've already figured out why not to do that, but the ova is more or less filler (aka has character development constraints). but anyway this caused the miscommunication between him and Reigen about the whole spirit trapped him in a never ending train thing. Reigen explains that he appreciates and even needs for Serizawa to have his own thoughts and to voice them.

this genuine and equal relationship-literally same eye level- contrasts with Touichirou and Serizawa's relationship and is similar to Reigen and Mob's relationship.

later, Mob has to fill out a future prospects form. at first Reigen tells him not to worry as he can just keep working at spirits and such.

Reigen had grown because of his separation arc experience. when Serizawa and Mob talk about their worries about their future, Reigen assures Mob that he doesn't have to keep working for him. And Serizawa was there for this conversation.

soon after, Serizawa tells Reigen he will start taking night classes so that he doesn't have to rely on Reigen all the time. He has the courage to do so after dealing with the client who worried he wasted his life and after seeing Reigen support Mob's choice even if he leaves spirits and such.

he is also taking Touichirou's advice, because if he has different things going for him it would be harder for him to get taken advantage of. he's not putting all his eggs in one basket, if he's going to keep working for spirits and such, it'll be because he wants to and not because he's trapped there as he has no qualifications for anywhere else.

and Reigen isn't offended or threatened by this. he recognizes that Serizawa is improving himself, is supportive, and adjusts the work schedule even though its inconvenient. he doesn't brush him off or tells him that he already has a job, the same way he used to brush off Mob thinking about joining a club or wanting to hang out with friends.

When Serizawa and mob talk about their lives....Reigen feels lonely, but he's not going to lean into old habits to pressure or guilt them into spending more time at spirits and such just because he's lonely. but instead, he uses an I statement, acknowledging that he feels bored instead of telling them to spend more time in the office, dissmissing their lives and trying to keep them from growing so that they stay close to him. My guy went to therapy!

he does regret it immediately because Mob tells him he's getting popular and Reigen is like "okay that's cool thanks for telling me you can leave now no I'm not jealous or anything" but baby steps lol

broccoli arc happens, and we Reigen relapses, in the anime, it happens with similar framing as separation arc.

and like Reigen putting Mob down is separation arc saying he's just being taken advantage of and doesn't have friends, here Reigen is putting Mob down by pointing out that psycho helmet is doing something Mob can't do, leading people- a jab at him thinking he's getting popular.

Reigen tells Mob he's not going with him to the divine tree, expecting Mob won't go where he doesn't, assuming that he can hold Mob back.

Because broccoli arc is about how someone can get carried away and about empty relationship through brainwashing/idolization/worship and inability to be honest with someone and call them out on them getting carried away.

on that note there's Reigen wanted to be special but getting carried away in isolating mob and not accepting that Mob has his own life, Touichirou saw himself as main character and put down Serizawa (shoutout to Dimple calling Serizawa's dependency on Touichirou brainwashing), and finally Dimple controlling everyone to believe in him as a god.

though the theme applies to all of them the story focuses on Dimple and Mob in this arc and how you can't have a genuine relationship with the idolization power dynamic and that's lonely.

Mob can and had already called Reigen out back in separation arc. Serizawa was less direct about it but he stood up to Touichirou too when he had protected Reigen.

It's interesting how we don't see Serizawa in broccoli arc....

after that in alien arc, Reigen asks Serizawa to go out together for drinks. Serizawa refuses saying he has plans with friends.

I know this scene is famous as a serirei rejection BUT It's important that Serizawa can say no without worrying about Reigen's reaction. the point is that Reigen doesn't brush off Serizawa's choice to go out with friends. because that was a character flaw of his that was called out when he had brushed off Mob's friends in separation arc. It's a test and Reigen passed.

luckily for Reigen he does end up not spending new years alone cause Mob and his friends needed a ride, funny how that worked out.

in confession arc, after gave advice and Serizawa gave love advice to Mob (noting that Serizawa told him than his feelings are true if they'rethe same no matter what anyone tells him, and Reigen's advice is to be honest to her), Reigen asks Serizawa about relationships and Serizawa says he'd never been interested in anyone. Reigen tells Serizawa that he hopes to be a partner in a relationship where one doesn't distort the other.

IT'S ABOUT THEM. this whole time they've been subtly establishing their boundaries and figuring out how not to fall into their past mistakes and they can be partners in a healthy relationship where they don't distort each other.

Finally here's a translation note about Serizawa saying he drifted towards this job in the REIGEN manga

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #reigen arataka #serizawa katsuya #serirei #mp100 meta #mp100 analysis #mine #kageyama shigeo #suzuki touichirou #reached image limit

[penguin--rat]

my favourite game, mountains are for losers

this is a celeste x pafl au! :) im going to explain each character here

sanya replaces madeline. she wants to climb the mountain to prove.. something to sergei. maybe that she can do things on her own, maybe that she doesn't need him, maybe that she's cool and awesome and maybe that she's enough on her own. yea, she's a bit scared (though she'd never admit that to him), but she can't let that stop her. not when she's already ran away from home all the way here. like madeline, sanya can dash (unless i figure out a different ability to give her, though i propably won't). the mountain gave her this ability (i'll expand on this more later).

badya replaces badeline. she's much more aggressive than badeline, shouting at sanya the moment they first meet ('what do you think youre doing?! youll die out here!'). she shows worry for sanya. resembles sergei a bit, though unlike him, doesn't think twice about stopping sanya from climbing the mountain with her own two hands. unlike badeline, she doesn't want to climb the mountain not because sanya isn't a mountain climber, there's no use, but rather because of the danger it poses. what if she falls and breaks something?she could literally die out here, it'd be better if she just returned to the safety of their home.

yura replaces theo. theyre both self concious about what people think of them, and they're both friends with the protag - though yura and sanya havent met before the main events of this au, though. instead of having an instapix account, yura is liveblogging his ascension of the mountain to The Gang. he doesn't know why he wants to climb the mountain, really. it's a similar reason to theo though. he was just lost in life and wanted to have control over something, anything.

katya replaces mr oshiro. like him, she is a ghost that haunts the celeste hotel, but unlike him, she was just a guest at her time of death. how she died, you ask? well, to that i ask, why are are you asking so many questions? teehee, i jest... i think, maybe an avalanche happened and many of the guests staying at the hotel died. katya wasn't the only one to turn into a ghost. she is, however, the only one that hasn't moved on and still lingers. she doesn't want the hotel to feel lonely. and, she likes talking to the travellers:) no, she doesn't like being alone all the time... but helping out the ocassional mountain climber every five years is worth it. yea. don't worry, that's it, there's nothing more to it. nothing suspicious about this. katya isn't that developed yet in this au, so some of this info might change.

temnova replaces granny. she studies the traits of the mountain, intrigued by its whole deal. she's lived on this mountain for... well, maybe too long. dmitry a dog replaces the bird. 'how does it get around as easy as the bird? it doesnt have wings! itd have a much harder time following sanya around the mountain' i hear you, and to that i say, didnt i tell you to stop asking so many questions...

the zone merges with the mountain. sorta. gives sanya her dash, as a Bonus and Encouragement. gives temnova. uh . um . you know what don't worry about it

please feel free to ask me any questions about this au:3!! my askbox is open 👍

#parties are for losers #pafl #fanart #pafl au #celeste #celeste game #mountains are for losers au

[kyberblade]

Back To You (Din x Reader) - Part 15

A/N: It’s finally here! This was so much fun to write, and I’m gonna miss Ahsoka after this part. These two idiots are just so smitten for one another, everyone can see it, and for the love of everything, they need to just…. AHHHHHHH!!!! Moving on. There is more show dialogue in this one. Also, once again, there is some lore in this that @writerlyhabits​ wrote in a fantastic short, and I loved it so much, I asked if I could use it.

(This takes place right where the other one left off and goes to the end of episode 2x5/13, The Jedi.)

I do not own Star Wars or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, Grogu being the cutest thing you ever did see, and Din is once again a warning in and of himself in this one. Typical show violence. Swearing. Space swearing. The reader being a badass. Mando’a.

Word count: 11,084

As always, thanks to @grippingbeskar​ for encouraging me, looking over this for me, and being the one to introduce me to Din fanfiction in the first place, getting me hooked. You are fantastic and I always love our chats.

Thank you to @what-the-heckin-heck for coming up with the brilliant idea that morphed into Peli’s shop scene, @fordo-kixed-rex for your endless hours helping me over goodness knows how long since I started this, and @dontletyourchildrenwatchthis, @lloweryourstandardss, and @kurlyfrasier for reading this over for me and letting me know I’m not crazy. And @deceiver-of-gods​ for helping with the Mando’a.

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Xxx

Walking up the ramp of the Crest, you let the bundle of armor fall to the floor with a thud once you reached the top. 

“Ugh!” You huffed. “I am so glad I don’t have to lug that around every day.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Din protested softly as he tucked the kid into his hammock bunk.

“Yeah, well, you’re used to it,” you grumbled, hands on your hips as you looked around for anything you might need in a few hours when you met back up with Ahsoka near the village. “You all but grew up with that armor, you developed the muscles. You don’t see me asking you to do stuff with your mind, do I?” You lowered your voice to mock his playfully as you quoted his most recent assessment of the Force. 

He only grunted.

“No. Exactly.” You had begun gesturing with your hands as you strode over toward your satchel where it sat on a crate. “So leave me and my puny non-Mandalorian muscles out of this, thank you very much.”

The bunk door slid closed with a hiss before you heard Din’s heavy sigh as he turned to face you. “Mesh’la….”

“No, no. It’s fine, Din. We all have our strengths. Yours are being physically strong, brave, and smart…. While mine are,” you looked up to face him with a sarcastic grin, “a laser sword, moving things with my mind, oh! And I’m great at exploding things.”

He sighed again, walking over to you and gripping your upper arm firmly. “Hey.” He tilted his visor to the side when you finally looked up at him, eyebrows raised expectantly. “You’re also amazingly sarcastic, don’t forget that.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I know you are being sarcastic….” You smiled. “But I’ll take it.”

Din just shook his head at you with a soft snort of laughter, turning toward the weapons cabinet to choose a few options for later. 

With a wave of your hand over the panel, the bunk door hissed open, revealing the sleeping child to you. With a quick trace of your finger along the length of one of his ears, you quickly closed the space back up after whispering, “Sleep well, ad’ika.” (“Little one.”)

“Do you need me to carry your saber again?” Din’s voice was muffled as his top half was buried in the weapons locker rifling through various contents.

“Nah. I’m not gonna bother concealing myself again this time.” He looked at you over his shoulder, pausing his search for a moment. “I’ll wear a cape, but that’s it. It’ll keep it concealed enough, I’m not worried about it.”

“Are you sure?” He stood up straight, turning to face you. “I don’t doubt you, but if anyone recognizes you, it’s going to complicate things.”

“When are they not complicated?” You sighed, pulling the satchel over your shoulder, shifting through its contents as you continued. “If anyone had my puck, they’d already be making moves, wouldn’t you think?” You lifted your gaze up to hold his.

“If they were smart,” Din agreed. “But not many of them are.”

Chuckling softly, you continued to pull items out of the bag, setting them to the side. “Well, if they aren’t, we’ve got that going for us, as well.” Pulling one of Din’s blasters out of the bag, ignoring his double take between the weapon and his locker behind him before his head tilted at you, you went on, gesturing with it in your hand. “I’m glad you’re keeping an eye out, really Din, I am. I…. I honestly keep trying to forget about that stupid bounty.”

He closed the few feet between you, gently taking the blaster from your hand before returning it to the cabinet.

“But I’ve lived my whole life in fear - especially growing up - because of what I am, what I can do. You…. You’re the first person outside my family I told about it.” He looked over his shoulder again, tilting his visor at you. “And after these last few months with you and the kid, strengthening my abilities and using them for something actually worthwhile, something that is altering the course of the kid’s life, of my life, I….” You brought your eyes up from where they had been studying the floor to hold his gaze. “I don’t want to hide anymore.”

Din closed the distance between you again, making you lean your head back to keep looking at him in the T of his visor. “That’s something I can understand more than you think.”

Darting your eyes back and forth where you thought his to be, you felt a small smile climb your face. How in the stars you had ended up friends with a soul so like your own was a mystery to you. For so long you’d felt alone, drifting through life from moment to moment, pouring drink after drink for person after person, then he walked in, and everything changed.

He caught your eye, not just because of his shiny armor, though you’ll admit that played a part, but because of the way he carried himself. Sitting alone in the back of the bar, watching, waiting, as the world moved all around him. Not lonely, not searching for another to share in the day with, but searching for something all the same.

And he found whatever that was in you.

He walked up to intervene between you and the Twi’lek, and your souls both said this one. I like this one.

Once he’d scared the lowlife off, you had worried he would disappear as quietly as he’d come, like a shadow slipping into the night, lost to the dingy streets of that lower level hell. But something made him linger, just long enough for you to say something stupid, something that made him laugh, and you’d never liked a sound more. He stood there just long enough for you to listen to the small voice at the back of your mind trying to whisper to his; stay.

Those next moments melted into hours, into days, into years. Though he would leave in between, he was never far from your mind, making you smile with just a thought his direction. 

Your apartment started to look like a museum, artifacts of a well traveled life spread on every surface, yet you’d never left the planet. Things that made him think of you decorated your life, filling in the dull, lifeless spots you’d come to accept as part of the furniture. Parts of your life you’d accepted as a boring blank wall now dripped with art and tapestries, flashes of color filling in the void. 

You’d smile whenever you walked through your door, greeted by trinkets left by someone who cared. He was everywhere you looked, never out of sight, and absolutely not out of mind. You’d wonder where he was now. Was he okay? Did he need help? Surely not, he was good at what he did, but there was that time he came in with a slight limp…. He’d brushed you off, mesh’la, I’m fine, but with one look he sighed and accepted the ice you were trying to rest on his knee wrapped in a small towel.

And this will make you better.

He’d snorted at your response, adjusting in his seat slightly as you brought a small stool around for him to prop up his leg.

A thousand and one memories are rushing through your mind as you study every line of his helmet.

“What are you thinking about?” Din asked softly, his hand coming up to cradle your cheek.

“You know me. A little bit of everything,” you hummed quietly, smiling as you leaned into his touch, your eyes fluttering closed for a moment before they returned to his visor. “But mostly you.” He let out a soft huff, gently shaking his head before you brought your hand up to his cheek in a mirror of his own. “It always comes back to you.”

Xxx

A few hours later, as it was getting dark, you met Ahsoka on the edge of the forest, just out of view of the city walls.

The plan was simple. She would go in, claiming that Din had failed in his attempt on her, at which point they would probably open fire and pursue her. Once you heard blaster fire start up, Din would fly both of you into the town square by the prisoners, where you would set them free before splitting up.

At a quick glance, the pale purple of your saber looked close enough to her white, so the goal was to be a decoy through the city streets, drawing focus away from her and distracting them to give her an opening to strike. Not that she needed it, but it would make things go faster.

Din would hold the gate to the Magistrate’s inner area, keeping it clear of guards and pedestrians.

“Here, take this,” he spoke in a low voice, removing his pauldron with the mudhorn on it. “Use it as proof.”

Unclipping your knife from your belt, you handed it to her. “This, too. It was on my belt earlier and has the signet. Everyone knows about Mandalorian clans. They won’t think twice.”

You could feel Din’s eyes on you, his armor clinking slightly as he turned his visor down your way.

“That knife has saved our skin multiple times, are you sure?”

“So you admit it’s a decent weapon?” You smirked up at him.

He grunted. “No. Just…. Don’t disarm yourself before a fight.”

Your smile faded to something softer. “I’ll pick it up on our way in.”

Ahsoka looked between the two of you with an amused grin. “If that’s all settled, let’s begin.”

Xxx

You and Din watched from the tree line as Ahsoka ran through the shadows, drawing the attention of the guards on the wall. She ran straight for them as they began ringing an alarm, slipping through the low rolling fog along the city walls then scaling them as if it was nothing, before igniting one of her sabers. The commotion that followed made you start to smile. 

“You’re enjoying this,” Din said in low amusement behind you, his modulator buzzing right in your ear. 

The faint screams of the guards as they fell under her saber, the soft buzz of the blade whooshing through the air…. Ahsoka turned to the last guard standing, and they cowered away from her, turning to run after a few backwards steps.

“I am. Seeing someone wielding their ability so effortlessly….  It gives me hope.” You turned your head just slightly to catch a glimpse of him before turning back to the city in chaos. “Someday I’ll be able to do that, too.”

“Cause havoc?” He chuckled.

“No. Well, yes. Not just that.” You smiled. “Be in control. No voices, no bad feelings, no shaking crates or….” You darted your eyes over to him quickly before looking back forward. “Or pushing people I care about away. Literally.” Your eyes fell to the ground as you tightened your arms over your chest, rocking on your feet as you continued quietly. “I’m sorry about that. Again.”

“It’s already forgotten,” he said in a low voice, stepping closer to you, his chest pressing along your back. Slowly his right arm came around your waist, holding you tightly to him. “You ready?”

“What do you mean, there’s no-” The city lit up as the sound of heavy fire erupted. “Blaster fire….” You finished quietly.

He chuckled softly, his arm cinching tighter. “Hold on.” Once you were in the air he yelled to be heard over the wind. “Don’t forget your knife.”

“I knew it. You love that thing,” you teased.

“Don’t start,” Din groaned, hitting the accelerator to cover the last little bit before crossing the city wall.

Din flew the two of you low over the city streets, dodging blaster fire as it criss crossed the lanes, moaning softly as bolts pinged off his armor now and again.

You caught a glimmer in the middle of the street up ahead, blaster bolts catching the signet on your knife and Din’s pauldron in little bursts. Narrowing your eyes, you honed your focus, feeling time slow down around you, the world streaking by in long blurs of movement. As Din flew over them you reached out and effortlessly pulled them the few feet to you, the handle of the knife landing firmly in your palm while his armor hit the other.

Time sped back up as you turned in Din’s grip, attaching the beskar back at his shoulder, knife still in your hand.

“You’re getting that awfully close to my face, mesh’la,” Din grumbled, glancing at the knife blade inches from his helmet.

You scoffed, finishing with the armor before tapping the blade to his beskar. “And you are one hundred percent safe.”

“Doesn’t feel like it.”

Letting out a huff, you smirked as he turned a sharp corner, coming up in front of the gates leading to the Magistrate’s inner area. 

Guards stood with rifles drawn, aimed at the prisoners.

“Get ready for a bumpy landing,” Din mumbled.

“Isn’t it always?”

Din pinched your hip once in retribution before he dropped you the few feet down to land on the edge of the area as he kept moving through the air, planting both feet on the chest of one of the guards. 

Touching down on the ground, taking a quick few steps forward from the momentum, you hurriedly looked around at the prisoners, making a move to let the nearest one down. You immediately drew your blaster and shot one of the remaining guards without a second glance as Din shot the one he knocked over.

Hurried footsteps shuffled in behind both of you, and he rounded with his blaster drawn, but you were quick to intervene. Dashing over to lightly rest your hand on his chest, drawing his attention over to you. “It’s just him.” You glanced over your shoulder to offer a small smile to the old man from earlier in the alley as he held his hands up in surrender, letting out a heavy breath of relief as he returned the grin. 

Din nodded at the man, who returned the gesture still wearing a small smile, before you all went about letting the prisoners down.

“Thank you,” the man mumbled at your back.

“You're welcome.” You unfastened the restraints around the feet of the nearest captive. “He wouldn’t have shot you, though. He’s on top of it all. It was just an…. Instinct, I guess.”

He chuckled softly as he helped the man down. “Well, keep trusting your instincts. They’re on to something, I think.” 

Letting out a soft huff with a gentle shake of your head, you turned to face Din as he let a prisoner down across the way. “Mando.” Once the woman was firmly on the ground, his hand going to the middle of her back to help stabilize her as she wobbled slightly, he turned his visor toward you. “I need to go.” You gestured over your shoulder with a jerk of your head.

Helping the woman lean against the pole she had been up on, holding her hand as she lowered herself slowly to sit on the ground, he quickly made his way over to you once she was stable. “Are you sure?”

“You ask this every time, when are you going to tru-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” he growled. “You know I trust you.” He shifted his weight before continuing in a quieter voice. “I’m just asking if you have everything…. Your blaster, your saber….”

“Go on….” A smirk was climbing up your face. 

“Don’t make me say it.”

“Oh, I am absolutely going to make you say it.” 

He grunted before taking a deep breath. “Your knife.” He grumbled it so fast and low it was almost unintelligible. 

“Nice try.” He grunted again, making you shake your head as you pulled your cloak back to show him your belt. “Yes. Got everything I need right here.”

“Jedi,” the woman he’d helped whispered, drawing both of your gazes her way, finding her staring at your belt with wide eyes full of hope. 

Looking down you realized she had seen your saber.

Before you could say anything to dissuade them, all of the prisoners began murmuring quiet words about the Jedi, how they were saved, thank the stars, thank the Force, we’re safe, and finally. The words swam around you in a quiet din, painting a soft picture of hope in the otherwise dismal city, lights behind their eyes igniting for the first time in you didn’t know how long.

Looking around, you couldn’t find it in you to tell them no, but you didn’t want to prove them wrong. 

Din’s hand on your arm pulled your attention back to his visor as it peered down at you, tilting to the right just slightly. “They know what they see. They see you.” He gave your arm a gentle squeeze. “Ne shab’rud’jetiise,” he said quietly, making you smile. “Slanar.” He gestured behind you with a jut of his chin, giving your arm one more firm squeeze before letting go. (“Don’t fuck with Jedi.”) (“Go.”)

“Ib’tuur jatne tuur ash’ad kyr’amur,” you said with a grin as you stepped away from him, walking backwards. (“Today is a good day for someone else to die.”)

“Jate,” he called, also walking backwards, before turning to walk towards the older man who had helped, holding one hand up in a wave. “K’oyacyi!” (“Good.”) (“Stay alive!”) 

“I will if you will.” When you heard Din’s snort of laughter you turned to continue on to the next part of the plan. Darting down an alley, you reached out, trying to sense where Ahsoka was. Making a few quick turns in the darkness, you pulled up abruptly as you came around a corner to see a slew of guards trying to tiptoe through the streets.

Pressing your back against the structure behind you, you tried to even your breathing. Somewhere in the night, several buildings over, you heard more guards screaming, and the whirring of lightsabers. Peeking around the corner, you saw the group of guards standing frozen in fear, faces turned toward the sound. 

Smirking, you lifted one finger at your side, and with a flick sent some debris on the side of the street skittering, drawing their attention away from where Ahsoka was. As they investigated, you flicked your finger again, sending a push to one of the guard’s shoulders, making him stumble back a few steps.

“Don’t touch me,” he hissed to the one next to him.

“I didn’t,” the other responded, agitated.

“What do you mean you didn’t? What else could it have been?”

They were getting in each other’s faces now, so you gave them a little nudge, sending them colliding into one another, their heads smacking the other unceremoniously. As they collected themselves, cradling their helmets where they had hit, moaning, they swore all manner of curses and colorful language at one another, getting to their feet and drawing in the few other members of their troop to try and break up the squabble.

“It’s her,” one of them hissed to the two, making them stop short. “She’s getting in your heads. Stop-”

“No, he pushed me.”

“I didn’t-”

“Your friend is right.” You slowly stepped away from the wall, coming where they could see you, saber tightly gripped in your hand at your side. They raised their weapons at you, scrambling to get into some sort of formation. “Well, partly. It wasn’t her. It was me.” 

Silence curled around you like your cape as it slowly billowed in the breeze.

“It wasn’t you. You’re no Jedi. You can’t-” 

With a flick of your wrist, the soldier went flying backwards, thumping against a wall and sliding down with a moan.

“You caught me. I’m no Jedi,” you held your hands up by your head in surrender, smirking when you saw them become uneasy at the sight of the saber in your hand. They didn’t even notice the soldier you’d sent against the wall suddenly being jerked into an adjacent alley by an unseen force, and they seemingly missed the sound of a saber igniting briefly before the muffled sounds of struggling stopped. “But I’m me. And I can still do this.”

Turning your upheld hand just slightly, all of their weapons clicked as you disengaged them wordlessly. They all held their weapons up to inspect them before trading worried glances. One of them went flying up before slamming back down into the ground, moaning.

“That was me,” Ahsoka said, stepping out of the shadows behind them.

In just a beat of silence, you exchanged a glance with her, reaching out to help distract and divide them with more forceful nudges and pushes as she took them down easily with her sabers. Once they were all still on the ground, she closed the distance between you, disengaging her blades.

“There’s more across town. It’ll be faster to go over the roofs.”

Clipping your saber to your belt, you couldn’t help the small smile starting up your face. “I think I know just how to get up there.”

Taking a deep breath in, you closed your eyes and felt the ground fall away as you leapt backwards onto the roof of the building you had been leaning against. Stumbling a bit once you opened your eyes, you looked around with a grin. “That will never not be amazing.”

Ahsoka laughed softly as she walked to the edge of the roof, peering down into the street below. “To make it across the gaps, you have to do the same thing, focus, but keep your eyes open.” She turned to look at you. “You have to keep your guard up. Yes, this is a relatively easy fight, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get caught off guard.”

You nodded, taking a few steps back to get a running start to follow after her as she leapt across the space. Watching the ground fall away beneath you again, your robe rippling in the wind as the other rooftop grew closer by the second, you decided to keep your eyes open every time from now on. Landing on the tiles, you took an extra few steps from the momentum before you came to a stop next to Ahsoka who looked at you expectantly, eyebrows raised.

“How was that?”

You grinned. “Wizard.”

Her face melted into a matching grin before the two of you took off in a sprint, dashing across the rooftops like they were stepping stones. She’d drop down every now and again, taking out a straggling guard here and there. You rolled your eyes at how dramatic she was being, sneaking up behind them and igniting her sabers just inches away before striking. It still made you smile, though.

Holding up her hand to stop you on a rooftop near the edge of the city, she looked down into the lane below. Looking at you, she pointed to the opposite end, speaking into your mind to not alert the troops down below. “Go to that end. After I run across this opening, you run across that one. Rattle a few things to get them turned around. Run fast. With speed and our capes for cover, they won’t be able to tell the difference between us. When they are looking your way, I’ll take care of them.”

Nodding, you silently made your way to the edge and dropped down out of sight of the soldiers. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you thought about telling Din how good you were getting at being stealthy.

Something rattled in the alley behind you, making you jump. Hand going over your heart as you glared at the rattling lid of a trash container, you narrowed your eyes. “Ahsoka,” you bit out, feeling something like amusement floating your way through the Force.

Once all the guards were looking your way, Ahsoka sped across the opening, making them spin on their heels, rifles raised. You dashed across your opening, pulling their attention back, and out of nowhere a creature screeched and skittered away down the alley the opposite direction. As they stared after the creature, Ahsoka snuck up behind them, smirking as she held up her sabers in front of her, making them look like one magnificent blade she was pulling apart by sheer will. 

After it was done, and it was just the two of you left in the alley, you slowly walked up to her as she clipped them back to her belt. “Am I ever going to get to ignite my saber today?”

“Any day that you don’t have to is a day well spent.”

“True. But you’ve barely seen my saber. It’s magnificent.”

“Are you sure that kyber has been quiet since you picked it up? Because it sounds awfully loud right now.” She smirked at you.

You scoffed teasingly. “This coming from the woman who has waved her’s around with as much flourish and flash as the top levels on Coruscant.”

The smile still on her face, she leapt onto the roof to head to the next area. “The next ones, you can show them your blade. See what happens. You’ve made me curious, now I need to see it, too.”

Landing next to her before following across the rooftops, you sighed playfully. “That's all I ask.”

After about three roofs, she signaled you to stop, holding a finger to her lips in a cue for silence. Looking down you saw the head of the guard who had let you into the city, and the two assassin droids. Ahsoka motioned you to a roof adjacent from where she stood, and you leapt soundlessly. “I’ll get their attention. You draw the droids away if you can. Use your saber like we talked about, the droids won’t know the difference.”

She ignited her sabers and was quickly under fire from the head of the guard. She leapt down into the alley, cutting his rifle in two and blocking fire from the droids. Running up a wall, she leapt and cut one of the droids in half before jumping up on the roof again, instantly disappearing into the shadows.

“Get up there!” The man ordered the droid, who promptly pulled itself up onto the roof.

Igniting your saber from the roof across the way, you began to run like you had been, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, sending bolts back towards the droid as it turned to follow you, thinking you were her.

“Wait a minute,” the man said softly, looking between where you were and Ahsoka had disappeared. “Leave her!” He ordered the droid harshly. “It’s a decoy. Follow me.”

The droid obediently began hopping back across the rooftops, following after Ahsoka as the man disappeared into the shadows.

“Kriff,” you muttered, disengaging your saber, keeping it in your hand as you followed at a safe distance.

You were quickly back in the center of town, the man and droid nowhere to be found.

Din was ushering the last of the prisoners into a nearby house. “Get inside,” he said softly.

Movement out of the corner of your eye caught your attention, and you turned to find a lone guard sneaking closer, rifle raised as he closed in on the Mandalorian.

“Hey! You!” Yelling to get his attention, you sprung into action as soon as the guard turned to look up at you.

Leaping off the roof, you wrapped your legs around the shoulders of the soldier, pinning his arms down as you brought him to the ground. He tried to squirm out of your grip, but you were quick to get to your knees, grabbing his shoulders to pull him up before slamming him back down as hard as you could, knocking him unconscious.

Looking up toward Din as you caught your breath, he stood exactly where he had been. His hand on his blaster but otherwise relaxed, looking at you as his head tilted slowly to the right.

Shrugging, you got to your feet, brushing your hands off before turning to the guard and dragging him off to the side by his shoulders. Once you were back in front of Din, you let out a heavy breath. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

His head tilted the other way. “How would you know, mesh’la?”

“I have had to learn how to read you for years, Din. I speak fluent helmet.”

Din scoffed.

“I do! That’s how I knew our friend back there,” you pointed to the soldier still unconscious in a side alley, “had bad intentions for you.”

“Really?” His voice was dripping with amusement, his visor straightened out to look down at you fully.

“Mmm-hmm.” You raised your eyebrows. “I don’t need to see a face to know these things. Comes with the Tin Can territory.”

Before Din could respond, movement behind you drew his attention away, and he looked over your shoulder, making you turn and look, too, finding the head of the guard standing in the middle of the street. Din slowly stepped in front of you, standing between you and the man.

He glanced down at the saber still in your hand, eyes flying up to meet yours before they went over your shoulder, and you found yourself turning yet again to look, finding Ahsoka standing on the edge of the wall dividing the Magistrate’s area from the rest of the city. The wind whipped her cloak around her viciously as she held the man’s gaze before she turned and dropped down on the other side of the wall.

Looking back to the man, a rifle held ready in his arms, you noticed Din had quietly drawn his blaster. Clipping the saber back to your belt and crossing your arms over your chest, your gaze bounced between the two of them in the loaded silence until finally the man spoke.

“So, you threw in with the Jedi.”

Din glanced over his shoulder at you, his head tilting just slightly in amusement before he turned back to the man. “Looks that way.” You couldn’t help but snort softly in laughter. “Two of them, in fact.” The man scoffed. “Come to think of it, three. My son was gonna be one a few decades ago….”

“Decades?”

“Yeah. He’s older than me.” He began motioning with his hands in reference. “He’s about this big, huge ears, green…. Doesn’t like you at all.” Din’s blaster rattled with his movements, still gripped firmly in his hand. “I keep him around for a lot more than luck.”

“That…. Thing?!”

“His son,” you corrected the man in a bored tone, shifting your weight to one leg.

“Our son,” Din amended firmly.

You stared at the back of his helmet, fighting the urge to smile.

The man scoffed. “Oh. So you did more than just throw in with them.”

“Hey. Buddy,” you started, lowering your arms to rest at your sides easily. “He’s got the upper hand here. I wouldn’t press his buttons if I were you.”

“You’d know a thing or two about that, wouldn’t you?” He practically sneered.

You nodded. “I would. But I don’t have to actually press anything.” When the man narrowed his eyebrows in question and Din groaned knowingly, holstering his blaster with a shake of his head, you lifted one hand, letting your fingers tickle the air teasingly. “I just have to….” With a flick of your wrist, a piece of fruit from the nearby vendor’s table flew through the air, smacking into the back of the man’s head.

He lifted a hand to cradle the impact, turning and looking, only to do a double take when the table was empty of anyone to blame. When he turned back to face you, his eyes went wide, finding several pieces of the fruit floating in front of him where you had floated them over his head out of his line of sight. He looked at you briefly, eyes going wider still as you smirked before flicking your wrist again, his eyes turning back to the projectiles as you sent the fruit forward to pummel him in rapid succession.

“Do you think he gets it?” You asked, looking at Din.

“No, I don’t think he does,” he mused, his voice tight with held back laughter. 

“He does, he does! I mean I do, I do! Stop!”

On the other side of the wall you heard the sound of Ahosoka’s sabers powering up, quickly followed by the sounds of kyber striking beskar. The spear. A buzz hummed through the air as the two met and held, resisting the other firmly. Then silence. Quickly, a pattern formed with their grunts and the clashing of weapons echoed faintly off of the walls of the inner area.

The man held his ground across from both of you, eyeing you more skeptically now after the fruit. “You seem familiar.”

Smirking, you signed to him in Tusken. “Do I?”

He let out an aggravated huff, rolling his eyes. “Of course.” Turning his attention back to Din, he changed the subject. “Who do you think’s gonna win?”

Din held his ground, not moving an inch as his arms hung easily at his sides, his weight on one leg like this was a casual conversation. As subtly as you could, you angled yourself more towards him, moving in closer just a bit.

“Could be your side….” The man continued, beginning to move forward slowly. “Could be my side.” The fight continued in the background.

Din inclined his head ever so slightly as the man got closer.

“I got no quarrel with you, Mandalorian.” He finally looked your way again, something like annoyance in his expression. “Or with your…. Friend.”

“That’s far enough,” Din said calmly, one hand coming up to gesture the man to stop, his other moving to hover over his blaster, teasing the air as it itched to grab the weapon.

You heard the fight surge briefly, the sound of one saber disengaging before a faint plop of water. It took all you had not to jump over the wall and try to help, but you knew Ahsoka knew what she was doing. You’d probably just get in the way. You were needed here.

“You and I, we’re a lot alike.”

You narrowed your eyes at the man. “You are nothing like him.”

He ignored you. “Willing to lay our lives down for the right cause.” He eyed Din’s hand as it flexed over his blaster, his gloves creaking with the movement. “Which this is not.”

The sound of beskar thudding to the ground and all sounds of fighting coming to a stop filled the area.

“Sounds like you win,” the man admitted, going to lower his rifle to the ground. He watched Din closely, too closely. As soon as Din moved his hand further away from his blaster, the man released his rifle and pulled a blaster out of the back of his belt.

Without thinking, you drew your own blaster and shot, an explosion of sparks coming off his armor at the impact. The man flew back several feet, landing on the street, motionless. 

“I had it!”

You turned at Din’s exasperated voice to find him with his blaster also drawn, smoke curling from the end.

“Well, now we’ll never know,” you mused, smiling slightly as you holstered your weapon.

Din spun his blaster quickly around his finger in a flourish before slipping it back in his belt without a glance.

“Show off,” you mumbled, turning to find the old man who helped earlier opening the door you’d seen Din ushering everyone into earlier.

He gave both of you a nod with a small smile, which you returned. His eyes suddenly went wide as he looked over your shoulder. “Behind you!” Why was everything behind you today?

Without a thought, both you and Din drew your blasters, turned, and fired up at the roof, dropping the last assassin droid in a sparking, smoking pile of scrap.

“I had it!” You grumbled to Din, trying to do what he did earlier by spinning the blaster but it didn’t work, so you just shoved it into your belt.

“If I agree with you, will you never try to do that again?” He pointed to your blaster with his own before showing off once again, finally holstering it at his side.

“What do you think?” You hissed at him, rolling your eyes.

“I think it was painful to watch,” he mumbled, looking around to make sure the area was clear. 

You huffed at the slight, turning away just a bit in annoyance, seeing the man lying in the street, and getting an idea. Smirking, you walked over to him. “Fine.” Stooping down, you picked up his rifle. “But if that’s the case, I’m just gonna need a bigger weapon. More function, less painful for you to watch.”

Din groaned. “Not this again. It’s like your knife all over again. Put it back.”

“Hey, you admitted that knife has come in handy.”

“Not in so many words.”

Slinging the rifle over your back by the strap, you smirked at him. “I’m keeping it.”

Before Din could rebut, the people began to file out of the house, their eyes all wide on you. “Jedi,” they all whispered.

Soon you were surrounded by people, all of them looking at you with grateful eyes. Their hands reached out tentatively at first to grip your own, then gradually became more and more confident as they offered reassuring squeezes to your arms, hands, shoulders - anywhere they could touch. 

One older woman you recognized as the fruit vendor, cradled your face between her hands. Her face held a slight tremble as a tight smile formed on her lips, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion.

You wanted to explain. Tell them it was Ahsoka. It was Din. You weren’t a Jedi.

But as her eyes crinkled in joy, her brow unfurrowed in relief, you just smiled, nodded once, and swallowed your tears before saying, “You're welcome,” as strongly as you could. 

Looking over the mass of people surrounding you, you saw Din looking on from the sidelines, his head tilted fondly. “I told you,” he signed. “They see you.”

You are yourself, and that is all you could ever hope to be. 

Ahsoka’s words ring in your head, making you smile.

Looking up and to the left, you saw Ahsoka with the Magistrate in her grasp as she exited the middle area. Ahsoka smiled at you mischievously as her voice floated into your head. “I see my words didn’t go to waste, little one.”

You’re not sure how, but you know your voice floats back into her mind, her smile widening as it does.

That’s all I need to be.

Xxx

You leaned against the inside of the city gate, ankles crossed leisurely, arms comfortably across your chest as you watched the people celebrate their newfound freedom. The air was clearer, the skies bluer, like nature itself was taking a long needed breath. Looking down at the satchel on your hip filled with fruit from the vendor, you smiled. She had insisted you take it, stuffing more into the bag until it was overflowing. She wouldn’t accept any payment, so you made sure to slip some to the man who had helped you, telling him to get it to her somehow.

You smirked at Din as he walked past you with Ahsoka. This was the same spot he’d grabbed you by the back of the neck when you were in the armor. “I’m having some deja vu…. But a much less violent version.”

He scoffed. “Violent. I pulled you off the wall.”

“Compared to my relaxing before you did, it was violent.”

You followed them out of the gate, your heart full as you watched the celebration over your shoulder where the older man who had helped you was being anointed their new leader. He looked up and met your eyes, smiling kindly. You smiled back, tilting your head forward in a small bow of respect before lifting it again to find him waving you off bashfully.

“I believe this was your payment,” Ahsoka said, holding the beskar spear out for Din, smiling that mischievous grin she’d had since you’d taken the city.

“No,” Din said after a minute, and you turned your full attention back to the two of them, looking up at his visor with knit brows. “I can’t accept.”

Ahsoka shifted the spear to the other hand, tapping it on the ground in the process, making it ring out softly.

“I didn’t finish the job.”

Understanding crossed her face and she gave a gentle shake of her head. “No. But this belongs with a Mandalorian.”

Hesitantly, Din reached out and lightly gripped the spear, taking it from her, looking it up and down.

“Where is your little friend?” Ahsoka’s voice had softened, her features more serious for the first time in a while.

Your stomach sank. You’d forgotten why you were here for a while, expecting to jump on the ship after this and go back to life as normal. But…. That wasn’t going to happen. There would be one less member on the Crest. Little Grogu had to go and get training, it was what was best for him. That didn’t make it any easier.

Din looked into the distance toward the Crest, his voice strong, but you knew him well enough, he was hurting, too. “Back at the ship. Wait here, I’ll go get him.” 

As Din started toward the ship, Ahsoka’s eyes followed him before landing on you. Something passed between you, you didn’t know quite what, but inside you knew it was right. The unease of Grogu leaving abated slightly, but the sadness still ran deep in your veins.

Following after Din, you hurried to catch up with him, resting a hand on his shoulder when you were close enough. “I know,” you offered softly. “I feel it, too.”

“It’s what’s right,” he said lowly, his voice breaking. “It’s what’s best for him.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier,” you voiced your earlier thoughts.

“Would anything?”

“I don’t think so,” you said after a moment, your hand sliding down to grip his elbow, one of the few unarmored spots on him. “This is what you set out to do, Din. You’ve found the Jedi, you’ve returned him to his kind. It’s where he’ll be safest, you know that.”

“I want him safe. I do. But I also want him happy, and when he was floating that rock, he seemed anything but happy.” He looked down at you as you both paused at the bottom of the ramp of the Crest. “Is that selfish?”

You offered him a gentle smile, rubbing your hand back and forth where it still rested on his arm. “To want joy for a being you care about? No. No I don’t think that is.”

He looked at the ground, his voice going quieter still. “But what if I want to be a part of that joy?”

Studying his visor for a long moment, you finally looked at his chest as you spoke. “I think…. I think you will always be a part of his joy. Whether you're with him, or not.” Looking back up into his visor, you swallowed before continuing. “You saved his life, Din. Multiple times. And you’re saving it again by letting him go with the Jedi. He needs this. It’s just another step on his journey. But you…. You’re the reason he has a journey to go on. And he knows that.”

“He’s just a kid, how would he-”

“When we sit and meditate, when I’m trying to calm him in hyperspace so he doesn’t bounce off the walls? We…. talk. Kind of like he and Ahsoka did, I guess. I couldn’t read his thoughts like she could, but I got…. Images. Feelings.”

He shifted his weight, tilting his head as he looked down at you.

You smiled as you recalled some of the conversations with the kid. “Remember when I told you you were the world to him?” Din straightened a bit before nodding quickly. “I wasn’t far off. When we talk I try and get his attention by sending him images of things he knows, foods, frogs, his ball, and he sends back his, er…. I guess you could say feelings is the best word for it.” He nodded for you to go on.

“When I send him a mental image of food, it’s joy. Frogs, elation,” you chuckled. “His ball, love.” You paused, looking back up at him. “You? With you, he sends me an overwhelming feeling of everything.” Din didn’t move. “Safety, joy, annoyance, protectiveness, fiercely protective in fact, elation, and overwhelming love.”

“Annoyance?”

You huffed. “After all of that, you focus on that?” Your hands went to your hips. “Yes. You’re proving his point right now,” you grumbled, going to make your way up the ramp.

He reached out, lightly grabbing your arm to stop you. “I’m sorry. I…. I don’t do this…. well.”

“Don’t do what?”

“This.” He gestured between the two of you then up onto the ship toward Grogu. “Us.” He sighed. “Family.”

You smiled, stepping back down, closer to him, resting your hand on his chest plate. “You’re doing just fine.” Your smile faltered. “Now come on. We have something we need to do.” Reaching down, you grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze as you started up the ramp. “And I’ll be right here the whole time.”

Din took off his jet pack once he was inside the ship, setting it off to the side as you waved your hand over the panel to open the door to the little cot area. With slow but purposeful steps, he walked up and put his hand on the small hammock as Grogu still slept heavily, wiped out from all the work with Ahsoka. “Wake up, buddy.”

Taking one step away to give them some space, you put your right arm across your chest, your left hand resting on Din’s back softly before bracing on your chin to help keep your lip from trembling.

“It’s time to say goodbye.”

Grogu blinked his eyes open blearily for just a moment, letting out a soft coo before he fell back asleep.

Din pulled him gently from the hammock, sitting on the edge of the cot as he cradled Grogu in front of him, just staring down at his little ward as he slept.

You sat on a nearby crate, giving them the space they needed, but staying nearby for support. You loved Grogu, and you’d get to say goodbye, but their relationship was something special. They deserved their time alone.

Din said your name a while later, motioning you over with a jerk of his head when you looked up. 

Rising slowly, you made your way soundlessly over, finding Grogu’s eyes open and watching sagely.

Reaching out and tracing the line of his ear with your finger, pinching the end lightly when you got there, you brought your finger to his small clawed hand, smiling and letting out a breath when he grasped it tightly. “I would run for my life a thousand times over if it meant I got to know you again.”

Xxx

A while later, Din took the time to adjust the kid’s robes as Grogu babbled happily, sitting atop a large crate near the ramp of the Crest.

His large eyes looked up at you as he squealed once, making grabby hands for another mouthful from the ration pack you were feeding him. Laughing softly, you reached in, grabbing a portion. “This is it, adika.” You handed it to him and he immediately began munching happily. “That’s the last piece.” (“Little one.”)

He looked up at you with wide, sad eyes, slowing his eating just slightly, making you laugh again.

“I’m not saying that, the packet is!” Turning it upside down to show it was empty, Grogu glared at it with vehemence, making Din chuckle.

He picked him up, starting down the ramp as you followed, both of you stopping at the sound of Ahsoka’s voice.

“You’re like a father to him.” She looked to you. “You’re a family.”

Din continued down the ramp again after a moment.

“I cannot train him.”

Din slowed, finally stopping at the bottom of the ramp. “You made me a promise, and I held up my end.” He’d finally come to some sort of terms about the whole thing, and now he was being made to march in the opposite direction. He may wear beskar, but he wasn’t made of it. You weren’t sure how much more he could take before he’d start to take damage.

Ahsoka sighed before closing the distance between her and the Mandalorian, the child cooing at her happily. She reached out and he grabbed her finger. “There is one possibility. Go to the planet Tython. There you will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force.” She looked at you. “Place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain.”

Din’s voice was slightly relieved, but tired, and you couldn’t blame him. “Then what?”

She looked at the child. “Then Grogu may choose his path.” His ears perked up at this. He let go of her finger, looking up at her expectantly. “If he reaches out through the Force, there’s a chance a Jedi may sense his presence and come searching for him.” Her expression fell, and her arms came to cross over her chest. “Then again, there aren’t many Jedi left.”

Grogu’s ears fell, and he babbled softly.

“Thank you.” You did a double take at Din’s thanks, eyebrow raising skeptically.

“May the Force be with you.”

Din nodded once, before turning to head back up the ramp.

“May the Force be with you.” You offered in return, lingering near the bottom of the ramp, arms crossed over your chest. 

She smiled at you, glancing behind you as Grogu cooed happily, making her smile grow for a moment before she bowed her head to him in farewell. Then she met your eyes again. “So, little one, what will you do?”

“What do you mean?” Your arms fell to your sides to rest easily.

She smiled mischievously, like always. “You know.”

Looking over your shoulder as the ship started up, you turned back to her. “I will do what I need to.” She nodded, accepting your answer. “Thank you,” You said after a moment. “For everything. I finally feel a shred of control, and a hell of a lot more hope.”

“Hold on to that. Let it carry you when things get dark. There is always a light to go towards, even if that light is in fact, yourself. Follow your instincts, and you will not often find yourself lost.”

“You speak in riddles,” you moaned, massaging your temples and scrunching your eyes shut tight.

She laughed softly. “I learned from the best.”

“I’m beginning to see that,” you mused with a grin, letting your hands fall back to your sides. 

She gestured you up the ramp, a fond expression on her face as you turned and made your way into the ship. Just as the ramp began to close, you heard her voice in your head, turning to find her winking at you just before she was out of sight.

“May the Force be with you.”

Xxx

“Where are we headed?” You asked, slipping into the copilot seat as the Crest pulled away from the surface of Corvus.

“I was thinking back to Tatooine for a quick pit stop. Stock back up on some rations, top off a few leaks in the Crest before we make the trek all the way to Tython.” He pushed a few buttons as the ship broke through the atmosphere, the dark sky fading into the brilliant void of space in front of you.

“Okay, sounds good,” you nodded, fastening your seatbelt right before he pushed a lever forward and the vibrant streaks of hyperspace surrounded the viewport. “Remind me to….”

When you didn’t continue, Din hit the autopilot button and turned in his chair to see what was going on, the question dying on his tongue when he found you staring with narrowed brows at several pieces of floating fruit coming up through the hatch from the level below.

“I think the gremlin named Grogu is hungry,” you grumbled, though your voice was heavily amused, one eyebrow raising skeptically as you turned to look at Din.

Sure enough, when he looked at the kid, Grogu was reaching out for the nearest fruit as it floated straight into his hands. “Patu!” He cried happily before biting into it ravenously, the remaining floating pieces all dropping to the floor with a thud.

With a heavy sigh you shook your head, a bemused smile tugging up your cheeks as you looked back at Din, his head leaning back against his chair with a gentle thump.

Xxx

Din hammered on the hull of the Crest. “When we got to Corvus, we found the Jedi. She told us the kid's name is Grogu,” he said the name affectionately, pausing his thudding against the durasteel to stare at the hull absently as he continued. “Then she tried to say my wife needed her help too, not just the kid, but-”

Peli fumbled at his words, her tool clanging against the outside of the ship as she attempted to catch it before she dropped her large wrench directly on top of his helmet where he stood below her fixing the Crest.

Din’s hand rose to rub the spot as he twisted his gaze up toward her. “Ow! What was that for?!”

Peli blinked her wide eyes owlishly. “I’m…. I’m sorry. Did…. Did you just….” Her eyelids fluttered as she searched for the right words, her hand resting on her hip as it jutted out to the side. “Did you just call her….” She leaned forward on the scaffolding, bracing on her forearms as she leaned closer to Din. “Your wife?!”

Din took a deep breath in but was stopped when R5 bleeped into the hangar, leading you across the space with animated sounds as you just grinned at it, the little BD droid hopping around your feet excitedly, chirping as it went. Looking up in amusement, you cocked your head to the side as you peered up at your Mandalorian. “What about a wife?” You turned to Peli. “I’m still learning Binary, but I’m pretty sure R5 said ‘wife’.”

Reaching out and lightly kicking the droid with the tip of his boot, Din muttered, “Tattletale.”

It blew a raspberry at him. BD continued to chirp happily as it looked between all three of you.

Peli protested when he nudged the droid, making a face at him before turning to look at you yet again. “Mando said his ‘wife’!” She pointed at him exaggeratedly. Looking back at him with narrowed eyes, her voice lowered. “Explain!”

“You’re worse than the droid,” Din muttered, shaking his head as he peered up at her. Lowering his gaze back down to yours, and finding your brows raised expectantly, he froze. “Uh….” There was a moment of silence before he swerved the conversation into a new line altogether. “I want to train with the spear a bit. Get your saber out.”

Your eyebrows went from raised curiosity to narrowed confusion. “My saber? Din, is that a good idea?”

“I’m in full beskar, and the spear is beskar. If I can fight off a dual blade wielding Jedi like Ahsoka, I can handle you.” His voice turned smug near the end, his weight shifting to one side as his hand rested on his belt.

“Yeah, okay. But I was helping you with her. In this scenario, I’m against you.”

“If you’re scared, mesh’la, just say so.”

Peli’s head had been snapping back and forth between you during the exchange, but she let out a low whistle as she looked forward at Din’s taunt, her droids all bleeping and booping commentary. 

Oh, that was low. He knew how to press all your buttons.

“I’m not scared, just…. Concerned. This hangar is like a giant echo chamber. Is it the best idea to have the sound of a saber meeting beskar over and over?”

Din chuckled. “Oh, you think you’re going to land that many hits, do you?” You narrowed your eyes at him. “The droids working on the ship will cover the sound, we’ll be fine.”

“I just need to say,” Peli interjected loudly, still up on the platform, hand held up with one finger extended as if scolding the both of you, “that if you so much as touch my droids with your nonsense,” her eyes narrowed to vicious slits, “you will pay. And I’m not talkin’ credits.”

Both of you stayed silent, looked up at your friend and nodded in understanding.

She grinned broadly, clapping her hands together once and rubbing them together in anticipation. “Then let’s get this show on the road!”

“Some ground rules,” you began, unclipping your saber from your belt before removing the belt altogether as Din tilted his head slightly at you. “No other weapons. No vambraces except to use to block. Hand to hand is okay, but that’s it. Deal?”

“Just the saber and the spear, got it.” He nodded, following your lead and removing his belt, too. When he picked up the spear, he spun it with a flourish, making you roll your eyes. “Ready?”

Igniting your blade, you lowered into a fighting stance and smirked. “Ready.” 

Shooting a glance to Peli, you nodded once before turning your eyes back to Din, watching his every move as she signaled her droids to begin some louder repairs. As soon as the excessive banging and whirring began, both you and Din moved toward one another with intent.

Sparks flew as purple kyber met raw beskar, the prolonged contact singing as you both tried to get the upper hand. 

You pulled back, circling him.

“Does the Force count as another weapon?”

He scoffed. “Don’t start.”

“What? It’s technically my hand.”

“What do you think?” He never let his back be to you, following you in your circle as he stood in place.

“I think you just don’t like the possibility of this.” With a small swipe of your hand, he was flat on his back, and you launched his way, but when you got there, he was gone. 

Blinking a few times, disoriented, you looked around, suddenly lurching forward when a boot on your lower back pushed your forward. Stumbling, you barely avoided face planting in the sand. Rounding on him, you let out an annoyed huff.

“Oh, that’s gotta hurt,” Peli sucked in a breath through her teeth, wincing. 

He chuckled. “If you’re going to play dirty, you shouldn’t be afraid of a little sand.”

You groaned, walking back over to him, saber humming at your side. “You have the worst jokes.”

“He really does,” Peli agreed, watching with an arm braced on the railing of the platform, her head resting on her fist. Her droids all chirped a reply.

It continued like this for hours, the dual suns of Tatooine rising and falling in the sky as you clashed and collided, the hum of kyber and beskar meeting a constant low drone in the hangar, the surge of sparks illuminating the growing shadows.

He got the upper hand, like he always seemed to do, and you ended up flat on your back after he used his spear to knock your feet out from under you, sand sticking to the line of sweat down your spine.

Panting, you disengaged your saber, letting your arms collapse and flop into the gritty earth beneath you. As he took the few steps to close the distance left between you, you smirked, staring up at him as he towered over you. “So your wife?”

Din, still panting like you, let out a heavier breath in annoyance, looking away from you and across the hangar. “Don’t.”

“No, I’m not!” You couldn’t help the grin. “Just…. What brought this on?” Your breathing finally started to calm, and you let out a much needed sigh.

It took him a moment to answer, but when he did, he finally looked back down at you. “To be honest…. A bunch of things. But more specifically when you tackled that guard from the roof on Corvus.”

“Oh really?” Your grin turned into a mischievous smirk. “That’s what does it for you?”

He groaned, holding a hand out to you. “Get back up and fight me already.”

“I will if you stay on your feet this time.” You tried to pull him off balance as you took his hand, getting to your feet, but it backfired and he pulled you off balance instead, making you stumble forward.

“Cuyi ulyc,” he teased, turning to face you as he shook his head. “Bid werdla.” (“Be careful.”) (“So stealthy.”)

“Ori’jagyc. Ori’buyce, kih’kovid.” You circled him one more time, looking for an opening. (“Bully. (Lit. “Big man.”) All helmet, no head.”)

He froze. “I’m not a bully. Atin'la gar besbe'trayc.” (“Tenacity/Toughness is your weapon (to success).”)

You groaned. “Don’t you start speaking in riddles like Ahsoka.”

As you mirrored one another once again, forming a large circle in front of the ramp of the Crest, you launched at Din just as the suns set below the lip of the hangar. Your saber met his spear, sparks shooting in all directions, sending the pit droids scattering as the two weapons sang on impact.

“Atiniir,” Din grunted out as he held his ground, trying to push you back any amount he could manage. (“Endure.”)

“Oh, because you’re always a ramikadyc, right?” (A determined, focused person.)

“I do my best,” he pushed you back on the last word, making you spin to keep from stumbling again, your back to him for only an instant, but apparently long enough for him to disappear into thin air.

Turning in circles, searching the hangar, he was nowhere to be found. “This isn’t funny!”

“It wasn’t supposed to be,” you hear right in your ear, making you whirl around with your saber, colliding with his spear once again before he swipes it with a flourish and sends your saber off to the side, the blade disengaging as it clattered to the ground.

Calling it back to you with the Force, it just has time to land in your hand and ignite before the tip of the spear is pointed at your neck, inches away, and you go a little cross eyed looking down at it as you try not to move. Hoping your labored breathing calms down enough that you don’t accidentally take too deep a one and catch the end of the blade from the motion. Your eyes lifted up to his visor.

“Gar parjir,” you whispered. (“You win.”)

“The goal isn’t to win. It’s to cuyanir.” (“Survive.”)

“Can I cuyanir without your spear at my throat, please?” You swallowed roughly, eyeing the beskar as it glinted under the work lights Peli had set up when the suns had disappeared. You disengaged the saber, holding it loosely at your side.

With a simple spin end over end he had the spear back at his side, standing proudly in his hand. 

“Ni ceta.” (“Sorry.” (Lit. “I kneel.”))

You blinked and he was down on one knee with his head bowed in either respect or shame, you couldn’t tell which. Dropping to your knees in front of him, your saber forgotten where it fell, you cradled his cheeks, lifting his head up so you could look at him straight on.

“What? No, no, no.” Glancing over to find Peli buried in some repair, you lowered your voice still, looking back at his visor. “Din, I was teasing-”

“No, mesh’la, I took it too far. I got…. Wrapped up in the moment and forgot….” He looked off to the side.

“Hey, hey….” You cooed, slowly turning his focus your way. “Come back to me.” Closing your eyes, you leaned your forehead against his, taking a deep breath before letting it out on a sigh.

“I always come back to you.”

Xxx

Later that night, you stood in Peli’s kitchen, looking for a late night snack before bed when Din came in.

“Mesh’la? What’re you doing?” His voice was low and rough, ready for sleep several hours ago but only just now making his way there.

“Scavenging,” you mumbled, looking through a small pile of miscellaneous foods in a cabinet. “But nothing looks quite right.” Closing the cabinet softly, you turned to face him, finding him leaning against the doorframe. “I think I’ll just have some water.” After you filled a small glass, you leaned against the counter facing him, smirking into your cup as you went to take a sip. “So, your wife, huh?”

Din sighed, his body deflating as he hung his head. “Don't.”

Swallowing, you lowered your glass and gave a small nod, fighting the grin trying to tug up your face. "I'd love to meet her.”

He sighed again, resting his head back against the wall with a soft thud.

Silence hung in the air before you added on a chuckle, "Is she nice?"

Din said nothing, only feeding the silence.

You had a full on grin now. "At least tell me she's pretty."

He still said nothing, but then, lowly, "Nayc. Mesh'la." (“No. Beautiful.”)

Oh, he was good. But you weren’t done teasing. “I know you are but what am I?”

Din turned and walked off after a moment, done with this whole day, waving to you as you laughed.

“Aw, Din, come back! I was only playing!” He turned a corner, out of your sight. “Good night,” you added softly, smiling down at the glass in your hand.

“Good night, mesh’la.”

Snapping your head up, you saw Din peeking his head back around the corner, dipping it once to you when your eyes met his visor, then he was gone again. “Good night, Tin Can.”

Xxx

Tags: @ren-ni, @hoodedbirdie, @rennalouise, @kurlyfrasier, @what-the-heckin-heck, @deceiverofgodss, @Littleshadow17, @nghtwngs, @yourcoolauntie, @queenmalhinewahine, @lam-ila, @jesseeka, @come-hell-or-eldren-fire, @creativeautistic, @lemonsandraspberries, @heyitsaloy, @987coley, @marvel-sw-lover, @just-shut-up-kid, @1800-get-alife, @multifandomsw, @oliviajdjarin, @eeopxlt, @tomskookie, @venusacrossthestars, @sanscas​, @veralii​, @a-rose-of-amber​, @i-own-loki​, @lil-writer-523​, @starry-supernova​, @qweenrogerina​, @darkenwolfie​, @mischiefnevermanaged94​, @tragerlover​, @pxl8ed​, @peonyophelia​, @fullmoonshadowwrites​, @Itsavicf, @professionalfangrrl​, @immortalbloodhuntress​, @scentedthingtidalwave​, @reiya-djarin​, @canvasandclay333​, @fordo-kixed-rex​, @jxvipike​, @anidiotwhoreads​, @sgt-morgan​, @krussyfed​, @lupinpetersclearwaterodairparker​, @local-mr-frog​, @itzagothamcitysiren​, @jellybeanstacey0519​, @piratequeen-impact​, @cheoriemoawa​, @crazyworldofsiani​, @luvmeijii​, @magic-without-bloop​, @warmdragonfly​, @ponyboys-sunsets​, @dilfsaremyfavourite​, @hello-th3r3​, @thereaperisabitch​, @seventhomen​, @clichedream, @momc95​, @zanzann​, @witch-of-the-teapot​, @h-owlpost​ What’s This?

#din x reader #din djarin x reader #din djarin fanfiction #star wars imagine #star wars reader insert #mando x reader #mando x you #mando x y/n #din x you #din x y/n #din djarin x you #din djarin x y/n #star wars x reader #star wars x you #star wars x y/n #din imagine #din djarin imagine #din reader insert #din djarin reader insert #mando imagine #mando reader insert #the mandalorian #star wars #din djarin #mando #grogu #grogu x reader #the mandalorian reader insert #the mandalorian imagine #the mandalorian x reader

[alpaca-clouds]

Hector and Trauma

You know what. I wanna talk about Hector from Castlevania, specifically the Netflix version of the character. (Again: I hate CoD Hector, who just replaces his dead girlfriend for her fucking clone. That's just fucking low.)

As people might've noticed... I am kinda obsessing about this man right now. And the main reason is that... I really do identify with him in a way I have not identified with a fictional character before. I read him as autistic (though I am not sure whether he was supposed to be read that way or just happens to be written in a way that every single autistic person I know reads him so...) and I very much identify with the C-PTSD that he clearly has.

We do not know much about his childhood, other than "lonely kid revives animals to have friends" and "abusive parents". We do not know how far the abuse went, so whether it was just verbal abuse (which we know about) or went into physical abuse. All we know is that at some point he could no longer take it and killed his parents by setting the house on fire and locking them inside. We don't know, how old he was after this and what exactly he did after that. Only that in his early 20s he is somewhere on Rhodes with his undead animals, has already met Dracula once and then agrees to "cull" humans and then creates night creatures for Drac.

Again, there is little information for what has happened in the time in between. But we get enough information to understand that he has been at least somewhat mistreated by other humans, making him wish for humans to be somewhat culled.

Here my interpretation of him being autistic comes in, too. Because... an autistic child with an abusive home will completely lack social skills and hence will probably meet with a lot of abuse from other people. Because he would not know how to act around them.

Something we do see: He kinda seems to understand that Dracula is doing a genocide and not just a cull. But he very willingly ignores it or keeps himself soothed by thinking that he is just misunderstanding it until Carmilla comes in.

Now, Carmilla makes it clear that Dracula lied to him. But she obviously also betrays him and then abuses him. Something that is kinda ignored: During the march to Styria he is constantly abused. He has fresh bruises, when he arrives at Styria, making it rather clear, that he got beaten up constantly during the long march there. So: Say hello to even more trauma.

Along comes Lenore, her original violence against him and then obviously her betrayel. And let me make one thing clear: What she does to him in the finale of season 3 is sexual assault. Maybe not in the legal sense, but speaking of a psychological effect, it clearly is SA.

Obviously at that point we do have season 4. Where he seems kinda... fine. Like, what we see is, that he presents as fine. He is joking with Lenore. He is making his escape plan. He appears to be okay. Which is a state that seems to continue till the end of the show. Heck, we see him smile as Lenore dies........

And that should be a hint on how not-okay he is.

Let me talk about child abuse first. See, here is the thing: Children do not only develop physically, but also psychological and neurological. In that, they need to learn certain things at certain points in time. One of the first things children are supposed to learn, is to trust and mistrust. But for that they need a stable surrounding in which they can trust that they are cared for. Which children, who get abused or neglected, usually do not have. Especially with the dialogue we have from his mother: "I knew you were wrong from the moment you came out of me." (Note: This is another reason I read him as autistic, because at times autism shows even at infant age and without the information it might lead to parents not quite bonding with the child.)

They also need to learn some basic autonomy early on and to deal with self-doubt and shame. Which again abused children, who do not get encouraged to develop autonomy in a healthy environment and often might get shamed cannot develop.

Some other things they need to learn is how to deal with guilt, how to understand consequences, how to develop an identity and also what role they have in society. All things that children, who are abused, cannot properly learn. Additionally here, because Hector clearly has not found his own place in the society he lived in.

And this is something we actually do see in the show. He is absolutely unable to understand whom to trust or to see any red flags. He also is so clearly longing to be loved and praised by someone. Which is why he falls for Dracula and Carmilla and then Lenore. Heck, good chance that his understanding with Varney went something like that.

He is obviously not aware of this, but he is very much compensating for what was not given to him.

There are several characters over the entire story, that note how he has the mind of a child. And part of that is just, that he has childhood trauma and developmental delays because of it. And this delay is used again and again against him.

Something that is very noticable in the show is, that Hector never once cries. No matter how much he is abused and betrayed, he does not cry outside of the flashbacks where he is a kid. Now, in any other show it would not be that noticable, because we rarely do not see men cry in media........ but Castlevania is different here. Castlevania has no qualms letting the men cry.

Now, IRL it is obviously that a lot of men got taught not to cry. Because our society has the entire "boys don't cry" thing going on. BUT... I kinda doubt that is what is going on here.

See, one thing that happens in some cases, when people have amassed too much trauma, is, that they loose the ability for appropriate emotional responses to things happening to them. Mostly because the brain cannot process the emotion normally any longer.

Which is also why I think he is smiling in that last scene. Because... I mean, let's face it. The Lenore death thing has to be fucking traumatizing too. But he just... doesn't quite have the ability to process it in any proper way.

Now, how much of this is intended reading?

Honestly, I do have no idea. But at some points his behavior does make a lot of sense from the CPTSD point of view - and it is even called out by other character. Which kinda makes me think that at least some of it was intended.

Either way: I am rather thinking the man has a lot of healing to do post-canon. Because he not only has to heal from the stuff that happens to him in the series, but also the entire childhood trauma, that so very clearly is not addressed.

And if he addresses that trauma, there will also be a point in which he has to face his guilt. Because that is very much another thing he has not yet done.

Anyways. I adore him. And I want him to be alright. Q-Q

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #media analysis #headcanon #castlevania hector #hector castlevania #cptsd #ptsd #child abuse #cw: child abuse #psychology #essay

[suzannahnatters]

I have finished watching MR SUNSHINE, and there was so much that I loved about this prestige kdrama. The writing of the heroine was SO good in how it discussed and defied some of the worse kdrama-heroine tropes. There was amazingly trenchant and deeply nuanced social criticism, gorgeous cinematography, lots of fascinating history, the warmest and most positive depiction of Christianity I've ever seen in a kdrama, men who drink respect women juice, the beautiful and angsty Gu Dong-Mae, FABULOUS period clothing, and rivals in love learning to put aside their differences in favour of shooting imperialists.

But the show has a major flaw - a flaw that was particularly interesting to me, because it's the precise sort of flaw that I would be most prone to. The screenwriter, who does such brilliant work in so many other ways, is clearly most fascinated by the themes and symbolism she keeps bubbling away in the story's subtext. The problem is that these themes and symbolism - which delightfully clever - are not actually supported by the storytelling, and particularly by the characterisation.

And it's a really fun, rich, resonant bit of symbolism: Ae-Sin is not just a character in the story, she's the living embodiment of Joseon Korea. She's beautiful, desirable, noble, privileged, gradually awakening to a life of hardship and struggle and resistance. Each of the three male leads in the story has a different complicated relationship with her. Eugene has run away from Korea, but returning as an adult cannot help falling in love with the land and the people in defiance of the nobility who mistreated him as a boy. Gu Dong-mae was horribly oppressed by his homeland but cannot help loving it anyway; the Korea which oppressed both men also saved their lives through small acts of kindness. And finally, Hee-Sung, Korea's richest son, is her approved betrothed, but past injustices committed by his family against the people Ae-Sin cares about stand between them. The three men fall in love, not with Ae-Sin, but with their homeland. They express their love for the woman by sacrificing themselves for the homeland; in dedicating themselves to her, they cannot help dedicating themselves to the fight for freedom.

This is why the story had to have a sad ending. None of these men can espouse the whole country; they can only die for her, while Ae-Sin - Korea itself - lives on, alone and victorious, even in exile.

This symbolism is itself delightfully rich, deftly painted, and rewarding to think back upon once you see it. There's only one problem: it doesn't. make. sense.

From the very start of the show, I felt a little impatient with the writing because the relationships between the heroine and her three suitors are so poorly developed. The feelings come out of nowhere. Take Gu Dong-Mae, for instance: he last met this woman when she saved his life as children. Now, it just takes a brush of her dress across his fingers to get him pining madly for her. Hee-Sung, after avoiding her for the best part of a decade, gets one glimpse of Ae-Sin at the washing-line and just like that conceives an undying passion for her. The central relationship, between Ae-Sin and Eugene, doesn't fare much better. The problem is that the story demands each of the male leads to sacrifice himself for Ae-Sin by the end of the show, and I simply couldn't understand why they should. They all have multiple other women pining for them, and Ae-Sin doesn't give two of them the slightest encouragement to hope. I wanted them so badly to find happiness with one of the other women, and they never did.

What MR SUNSHINE needed was not primarily rich and complex symbolism - it was believable characterisation and relationship development. As it was, the lack of substance to the relationships cheapened the grand historical tragedy which was being told. When at the climactic moment the last of the three leads sacrifices himself for the heroine, it felt cheesy and unintentionally funny, rather than tragic.

I loved so much about this story, but the heart of it never clicked for me, and it's a crying shame that with all that budget and talent, it wasn't better written. And that, for me, will be the central tragedy of MR SUNSHINE.

#mr sunshine #gu dong mae #eugene choi #kim hee sung #kdrama #asian drama

[mirai-desu]

I drafted a meta rant on William two days before The News hit and I was just gonna delete this, but you know I'll just edit it. Because I do still love this character, and it's a testament to Stuart Martin (and well, Ben Edwards, I'll give him some credit where credit is due), given how Rachael New seems to view her creation now.

Because one of the greatest things about Miss Scarlet & The Duke really was how William grew and was developed a character.

As frustrating as the obstacles that RN threw in the path of Wiliza's romance were, and now what all has happened (I discussed theories here), it was so amazing to see William go from once viewing Eliza as engaging in "hobby" of hers, to then truly believing she's a very good bonafide detective.

And it's his words of encouragement that echo in Eliza's mind before we see her reopen her agency under her own name vs. her father's.

That's why I was so sure that the show was heading to have their professional and personal lives to come to a head at the same time. I'd long thought that, even before S4, that William will eventually leave Scotland Yard, and thought he was primed to do so upon his return from New York. He was struggling to get promoted, and now he was done the chaos and stress that culminated in him making a mistake that almost cost him his life.

Likewise, he saw working at Scotland Yard as a barrier between him and Eliza, and was looking for an option to get rid of that barrier. He loves her, and where we left him, he was willing to make sacrifices, and it was lining up with how unhappy he had become in his career. Ultimately as time worn on, we'd seen him grow to see Eliza more and more as an equal. Which should have played a part of where he was to go career-wise and how they should have picked things up with their relationship when he was to return. Now... well this isn't a rant about that (but this one is, ahem). But there was so much potential there.

The flashback episode not only showed us how Eliza and William met but also highlighted just how far he has come. He went from a workhouse in Glasgow, to a teen living on the streets London--begging a stall owner to let him work free for a day to prove he's a good worker, to being a Detective Inspector at Scotland Yard. But he also learned that that job was not everything to him. Eliza is. As things stand, unless we get a cameo from Stuart in the final episode (or perhaps just a letter that he's returning to London)... it seems like he ended up sacrificing his own happiness for her so that she may flourish. He'd never ask her to give up her career to be with him, so he was the one who had to go (again... there was a third option but different rant for a different time).

Outside of Eliza, we also saw William mentoring Fitzroy and taking him under his wing just as Henry had done for him. We saw him give back to the townspeople of London, him give food to a homeless man everyday as part as his routine. We saw just how much of a good, kind, man he is. Sure he was sometimes gruff, sometimes he was grumpy. Sometimes he was too protective of Eliza when he didn't need to be, but always there when she needed him. But ultimately, he was a hardworking, thoughtful, romantic at heart who tried to do the right thing.

#miss scarlet and the duke #msatd spoilers #(I still have a lot of thoughts on why this all happened but that's in my older rants and I don't want this post to be 20 feet long)

[bad268]

Hi! So for a request for ransoms characters you would write for would you write something for either Michael Gray x reader of Finn Shelby x reader where reader gets a camera and is super excited to show it to her bf. So she goes and takes a bunch of photos 1 day with him of random things (him, his friends, the car, Cyril, etc) later when she’s developing them she realises that he took some cute photos of her and him when she wasn’t looking❤️❤️

Anything for You (Michael Gray X Reader)

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Requested: Clearly (I strayed a little, but I hope you still like it <3 Also, happy new year everybody!)

Warnings: none.

Pronouns: You/Your

W.C. 1441

Summary: The reader (gn) gets a new camera for their birthday, and they receive a surprise upon developing the pictures.

As always, my requests and ships are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Google/Peaky Characters)

You were a photographer at heart, that’s what everyone told you. You had taken an interest in photography when you were really young. Your parents had an obsession with getting family pictures every year, but you hated how big and heavy the cameras were. When you turned 16, Kodak revealed a small, handheld, portable version of his original camera. You bought the cheapest one you could find, and the rest was history.

You knew this would be how you make a living for yourself; by taking pictures, and it was through this that you met your boyfriend, Michael. He had been looking to get some pictures made for his mom and came across you at a nearby market. You were already taking pictures of the landscape, so he just approached you.

“Do you do that professionally?” He asked.

Being only 17 at the time, you shook your head. “No, I’m not. Just practicing, but hopefully, one day I will be able to do it professionally,” You answered with a smile.

“Oh no worries, love,” he responded with a smile as well before holding his hand out, “My name is Michael Johnson. Who might you be?”

“Oh, I’m Y/N L/N,” You shook his hand. He pulled it up to place a kiss on your knuckles.

“If you’d be interested in practicing portraits, my mother is looking to get some family pictures done soon,” He offered, and the rest was history.

You were by his side for everything from his brother’s birthday to when his apparent ‘uncle’ showed up at the farm. You stayed by his side even when he moved to Small Heath with his birth mother, Polly, and became a member of the Peaky Blinders. While it may not have been the safest option for him, you stayed by his side through it all.

And even though he was in a dangerous gang, that did not stop you from continuing your passion, and he did not try to stop you. He actually encouraged it! He knew how hectic and demanding his family was, so anytime you could sneak away to do what you loved to do was a semblance of normality.

However, you noticed that your camera was starting to deteriorate, so you made a small comment about it to Michael. You said how the pictures were not coming out as clear as they used to, and it was just a generally old camera. Almost immediately after you mentioned it, Michael ran to the store in search of a brand new camera for your birthday. He ended up finding a prototype Kodak that looked more advanced than any other camera he had ever seen, so he was excited to see your reaction.

“Happy birthday, my love,” He greeted you with a kiss as soon as you woke up. You returned the kiss as you sat up in the bed. “How did you sleep?”

“Great, I had you next to me the whole night,” You laughed back, placing a kiss on his cheek. “But what are we doing today? Family meeting or something illegal?”

“No,” He chuckled while shaking his head. He leaned back to grab a wrapped box from under his bed. Then, he handed it over to you. “Start with this.”

“You didn’t need to get me anything, love!” You exclaimed, ripping through the packaging immediately. He laughed at your antics as he collected the wrapping. Once you registered what it was, you let out a gasp, “No way! This must’ve cost a fortune!”

“That’s for me to know, and you to never find out,” He laughed, pulling you into his arms. He place a few kisses on your temples as you buried your face in his neck, muttering ‘thank you’s. “I’d do anything for you, love. Now, come on! Let’s go take some pictures!”

You did not need to be told twice as you were out of the bed and in the restroom in a blink of an eye, and you two were on your out the door within 20 minutes. You took his hand and led him through the streets on Small Heath. Passing by the betting shop, the Garrison, and you did not stop until you reached the waterfront because that was one place you had always wanted to take pictures.

“Go,” You pointed toward the shoreline. Michael looked skeptical, but before he could complain, you continued, “You are my muse. If I want my first pictures on my new camera to be of you, who are you to stand in my way?” That was all it took for him to be convinced.

You were out there all day. You were taking as many pictures as possible before the sun went down, and once it did, you both made your way to the Garrison where you met up with his cousins and mother for drinks.

Unfortunately, the next day, you had to get back to work. The betting shop was not going to run itself, and Michael needed to get back to his Peaky Blinders business. What you did not know was that Michael was working in the betting shop that day, and he dedicated his time to taking candid photos of you throughout the day. Polly, Esme, and Lizzie caught him a few times, but he signaled them to not say anything. You would just randomly hear them laughing before suddenly stopping when you ask them what is so funny.

You tried to ask Michael about his day when you go back to his room, but he just responded with extremely vague terms. That just made you assume that it was a bad day, so you did not press him any further. Climbing into bed, you let it go.

About a week later, you remembered all of the pictures you took at the waterline, and decided you would go get the pictures developed. You went to a little shop around the corner from the Garrison to get them printed. The lady running the shop said she would expedite your prints, but it would still take a couple of days to get them all. Confused as you did not remember taking that many pictures, you still accepted before leaving.

You stopped at the Garrison where Michael, Isaiah, and Finn were laughing at one of the tables, so you decided to join them for a drink. Polly and Esme did not expect you back at the shop for another hour, so you had time to kill.

“What made you stop by here?” Michael asked, throwing his arm around your shoulder as you took a drink of his whiskey. “Hey, that’s mine! If you want one, get your own!”

“I don’t want a whole drink,” You deadpanned, “Plus, I still need to go back to the shop after this. I was getting photos developed, but the lady said she couldn’t get ‘em all done today, so I’ll have to go back in a couple of days.”

“Oh,” he laughed.

“You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” You accused.

“No, I don't think I do.”

Well, he lied. When you went back to pick up the developed photos three days later, you saw the pictures of Michael you took on your birthday as well as some candid pictures of you around the betting shop. Some were really cute and some were random but you knew immediately that Michael had taken all of them.

You were sitting on your bed, looking through the pictures, when Michael walked in. As soon as he registered what was in your hands, he started laughing as the first one he saw was you yawning. “You like those pictures, love?”

“I won't lie, some are cute,” You admitted as he sat next to you looking through all of the pictures. You ended up finding one that was stuck to the back of another one, and it was a candid of you and Michael. He was caging you in with his arms against the wall as he kissed your forehead. Immediately, you knew Polly or Esme must have taken it as it was taken from the end of the corridor. “This one, though. This one is my favorite.”

“That one is pretty cute,” He said, taking it from you, and leaning it on your vanity. “Is it safe to assume you like the camera?”

“Like it? I love it! Michael, I love you so much! Thank you for the best gift ever,” You said, setting the photos to the side as you buried yourself in his side. He returned the hug, placing multiple kisses along the crown of your head.

“Anything for you, love.”

~~~~~

© BAD268 2023. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

#michael gray x reader #michael gray imagine #michael gray x y/n #michael gray x you #peaky blinders #peaky fookin blinders #bad268 #ship268 #thing268

[icedteaandoldlace]

Lace's Official Ranking of Couples from The Flash

1: Cisco and Kamilla

Best guy in the Flashverse meets best girl in the Flashverse. Instant recipe for perfection.

When I first heard via Tumblr that Cisco had a new girlfriend in season 6, my automatic reaction was, "Oh, Christ, ANOTHER one????" because while I don't dislike his previous love interests, I had grown tired of watching him fall head over heels for people who didn't care as much about him as he did for them. And given the less than encouraging (and wildly incorrect) criticism for Kamilla in the same post that I learned of her existence in, my expectations were very low, and I tried to just enjoy single!Cisco while he lasted, dreading what I thought would be yet another uneven and unsatisfying romantic arc for him.

So when a cute bartender offered Cisco a drink to cheer him up (half a season sooner than I was expecting her), and they struck up a conversation that felt so comfortable and effortless, a little wistful part of me was like, "Man, it's too bad he can't just date her. She's sweet and relatable and they have nice chemistry. If this was how he met the girl he ended up with, that would actually be really cute." AND THEN SHE INTRODUCED HERSELF.

Admittedly, I was still a little skeptical for a while, due to the frigid reception she got from the majority (or just the loudest members) of the fandom, but the more I saw of Kamilla, the more I couldn't help liking her, and she quickly became one of my favorite characters. A photographer, an artsy girl working a customer service job that she hates, who's attracted to Cisco's personality and decidedly turned off by all the stupid personas he tries on to try to impress her; who tolerates his chatty friend crashing their date with a smile, and is certain about her answer when he asks her if she really wants to update her relationship status.

Building a relationship with each other is easy, but it still takes some work. For Kamilla, it means letting not only Cisco, but his whole found family into her life, and accepting all facets of his life and dealing with all the craziness that comes with being part of a superhero team. For Cisco, it means breaking down his protective walls and letting himself be vulnerable with Kamilla, and trusting her not to let him down. And as their relationship progresses, they both support each other's careers (and get involved in them when needed) and never want to stand in each other's way. They're both fiercely protective of one another, and they have compatible aspirations that change at the same time, allowing them to grow together instead of having to choose between each other or themselves.

They are two very different individuals, but their differences don't interfere with their relationship, because they embrace them and work with them, instead of trying to make their relationship work in spite of them. It also works because they share a lot of similarities; they're both independent and driven, and they both understand this about each other and are able to balance their time spent together and apart. They're also both caring and loyal to their friends and a good ear to vent to and shoulder to cry on, and that carries over to their relationship with each other as well.

Kamilla makes Cisco happier than anyone he's ever been with, she's able to tell him when he's being an idiot while still being on his side, she's someone he trusts with things he's not ready to tell anyone else, while also understanding that sometimes the person he needs to talk to is someone who's known him longer, and what a lot of people mistake for a lack of chemistry is in fact just a lack of reliance/focus on sexual tension.

Even though they didn't get nearly enough storylines and they're criminally underrated, they're easily the second or third most developed couple in the show, and they are absolutely the cutest.

#I tried to keep this close to the length of the others' descriptions but my feelings got carried away #The Flash #Cisco Ramon #Kamilla Hwang #Kamisco #Ranking Flash Couples

[tenpintsofsundrop]

i know that this is such a random question, but...

for the Titans show, do you think all of the cast for the show fit their characters? or do you think there could've been someone else to play their role?

(tbh I love random questions like this omg. I love any chance to discuss Titans at length)

And genuinely, I wouldn't change any of the casting.

It's actually so interesting, because Titans is the first piece of live action DC media that I have gotten really sentimentally attached to. I was always a bigger fan of DC than Marvel because I always enjoyed the Batman films, and I did watch episodes of the Justice League cartoon in passing, or I watched other random animated Batman movies or Justice League movies and really enjoyed them - and I have always enjoyed how DC has so many different styles and tones across each piece of media, rather than the homogeneous boring schlock that Marvel puts out.

Young Justice was the first piece of DC media in general that I got really, really personally attached to, because @nctzenkane is a huge DC fan (and when we first met, it was one of the first things we ever talked about that made me start falling for him) - and he really sparked my interest in certain things and caused me to convert my casual enjoyment of it to a very hardcore nerdom. And him encouragining me to watch Young Justice was definitely the first step in me becoming a full blown DC nerd.

And he also encouraged me to watch Titans - just because Ryan Potter is hot in it - and it's so funny because Jaycen is not even the biggest Titans fan, but I developed such a distinct emotional attachment to it. So in my mind, all of the actors for those characters in Titans - they just are the live action versions. Whenever I am reading fanfiction of those characters, no matter what version the writing is talking about - I always picture the Titans cast in my head.

I know there has been a lot of (idk how to phrase it) controversy? Around Curran Walters as Jason Todd because people think that he's not bulky enough to be Jason and people think he somehow should have shredded and bulked up to become Red Hood?

Honestly, I am fucking relieved that the show didn't pressure him to make major changes to his body just because in the comic books he magically went from a skinny fifteen year old kid to the hulking body of a 6.4" shredded pro wrestler (for those of you who don't know, I have described it as: The Pit makes comic Jason go from looking like Titans Jericho to looking like Titans Hank in five minutes) - like there is already so many gross unrealistic body standards when it comes to men in superhero roles. There doesn't need to be more

And in terms of emotions, and the actual acting, Curran is literally the best fit for Jason possible in my opinion. He brings so much power and depth to Jason's scenes, he makes the character eager and excitable yet worn and jaded at the same time, and he makes Jason's mental illness and struggles so layered and relatable.

One thing about Titans, is that they have some of the most phenomenal actors ever. They might not have the best special effects, or storylines/writing that makes the most sense - but the actors take the material and elevate it so fucking much.

Ryan Potter brought so much depth to Gar (which is something I could rant about for hours), Brenton balances Dick's hardened outer shell and his tender moments so fucking well, Anna makes Kory such a pensive and thoughtful character beyond being just intensely powerful and 'badass' (not to mention, casting a black woman in that role was a risk with whiny fanboys complaining about POC on screen and I am sure she puts up with way too much bullying and hate because of it), and Tegan was so young when she started as Rachel, but she brought an intensity and professionalism that carried Rachel so well (especially during the first season, where her character was the focus) that not many other young actors could have pulled off.

And that is just the core four - I could also go into how Joshua Orpin balances Conner's anger, inner turmoil, and troubled mind with his naive optimism of seeing the world for the first time so well.

And genuinely, I don't think Hawk and Dove could have been played by anyone else than who was cast.

And not only that, but from what we do see of the behind the scenes, it feels like Titans is a true passion project for all of them, and that's why they put so much care into these characters (even if the writers sometimes neglect the details). I think the actors bring so much to the show.

I think possibly my only 'what if' - would have been Tim Drake being an Asian character as originally planned?

And this is absolutely no hate to Jay Lycurgo, I think he did end up being fantastic in the role. He plays the character wonderfully, balancing Tim's bright optimism, gentle fears/insecurities and heroic confidence well.

But I think a visibly Asian character who is clearly connected to their heritage would have been really great to have on screen, and it would have only added to the amazing array of representation in the show. And as far as Asian actors go, I don't know who I would replace him with. (Especially because I think it's interesting when lesser known/up and coming actors play these roles, and all the ones I can think of are popular from other things, or too old to play this role???)

But I do think that it's really cool how he was also in The Batman, so there could be headcanons of him also being Tim Drake in that universe (which I haven't seen anyone mention?)

But overall, I wouldn't change anything fundamental about the cast of Titans. I think they are amazing and I think they did their job so well. They made the show what it truly is for me. They made it close to my heart.

#anonymous #sundrop answers #dc titans #titans #discussion

[fandomsoda]

Just discovered a massive fucking plot hole that completely ruins 0.6 and Cross’s arc as a whole.

Being: What the fuck caused Cross to suddenly not trust Nightmare in the first place?

And you can’t point to the season one credits as those don’t actually provide any dialogue or context. Cross interfered with an altercation, sure, but he didn’t even get any time to talk to Nightmare about that, consider anything, hear anything, he just did that and got dragged to the Omega Timeline.

There is absolutely no fucking reason for Cross to no longer trust Nightmare. There is no reason for him to suddenly be going “I was used for his own benefit” when Night never did anything that Cross wouldn’t have expected from him.

Nightmare explicitly said “hey but you’ve gotta help me in return” WHEN THEY MET. Cross KNOWS Nightmare is evil and bad news and he DID NOT CARE. Nightmare kept to his word the whole time and never did anything that would have caused a sway in loyalty from Cross (aside from the obvious threats). He genuinely helped him out how he said he would and encouraged him through his struggles in his own dark, twisted way.

SO WHY IN 0.6 IS NIGHTMARE SUDDENLY THE EMBODIMENT OF CROSS’S INNER DEMONS AND HURTING HIM? Don’t get me wrong, Nightmare is possessive, Nightmare is reckless, Nightmare would 100% do something stupid in the name of regaining a follower, but why is he suddenly Cross’s enemy when he NEVER WRONGED HIM!?

You can point to what he said to X!Chara, but that’s X!CHARA, not Cross. Cross probably wouldn’t know about that and besides, once again, it’s nothing that Cross hasn’t seen before from Nightmare.

But all of a sudden Cross regrets being on Night’s team, Nightmare is a big baddie, and we’re supposed to just trust Dream for no good reason??? Jakei, I love your work, Underverse is one of my favorite things ever, so it is with a fan’s concern that I say that THIS IS BAD WRITING. Underverse does way more telling and not nearly enough showing.

This disgrace of a plot hole has completely ruined Cross’s arc and Nightmare’s character as a whole, and all in the name of shoehorning in a “redemption arc” for Cross when he never needed one and pushing useless Cream propaganda(though the latter may just be my own suspicion).

As someone who cares a lot about this series and wants to see it absolutely shine, what the actual fuck?

edit: additional thoughts and other notions have been added onto or changed since this initial essay was posted, see notes for further development, discussion, and analysis.

Edit 2: y’all this is over a year old please fuck off

#underverse #rant #underverse 0.6 #man 0.6 ruined me #plot holes #media analysis #constructive rant #i hope #jakei please explain #xtaleunderverse #cross sans #nightmare sans #dream is here too I guess #literally so frustrated

[flightofaqrow]

[meta] vol 7 and star-crossed soulmates

Alright, it's time to talk about qrow and Clover. I humbly request that you set down the shipping goggles and sit with me for a bit. 🙏

I waffled on this for longer than I thought, because I was trying to keep my own pair on in the sense of trying to come up with thoughts about only these two, but I don't think we can actually talk, narratively, about their dynamic without someone else: Robyn. She's a soulmate and foil in this, too.

I. Color Theory

First point is how RWBY uses complementary eye colors to imply connections between characters, whether that's romantic, foils, or simply something of an influence on each other, or all of the above.

It's been difficult to dig up straightforward tertiary charts. We're going for the red-orange, yellow-green, blue-violet combo here, for Qrow, Clover, and Robyn, respectively.

[Interestingly enough, if we turn that into a quad, it creates a cross with complementary paired points of red/green and blue violet/yellow orange - otherwise known as Marigold. Giving us Good and Bad Fortune with Robin and Maid Marian or Briar. AND overall red/green, yellow/purple literary dynamic which is also seen heavily throughout the show. The tiniest tweak of rotation would also start leaning into a Schnee blue rather than violet... but these are different metas that I don't have fully formed yet.]

II. Symbolism

Anyway, back to the trio. A trio of soulmates in the sense that, if you want to believe in at least a portion of fate, met at the right time and right place to allow for some very important development with each other. Some lessons learned. Maybe to even turn to romance in places, were any of them so inclined.

Qrow is a big honking mesh of symbolism for: darkness, death, messenger of bad luck.

Robins are symbols of: dawn, rebirth, messenger of good luck.

Clovers are symbols of: faith, hope, love, and good luck.

Hmm. The foils look a little different in hindsight, huh? We can already see a tangible overlap of foiling and partnership, but also a disconnect. One pair of wow-that-fits, and a not-quite.

So, yes. They're soulmates. By design.

But they're star-crossed.

III. Foils

Qrow is not having gay panic upon meeting Clover. He's having a dawning realization that he is looking at a reverse-reflection of himself. Happy-go-lucky. Able to trust his surroundings. A leader with a place to be in his cohesive group. Looked up to, relied on.

All the things he always wanted, but could never be*.

And then he's pissed.

But he rolls with it. He starts to see it as an opportunity to be near someone who might have some immunity from his own semblance, just like Ironwood probably set this up to be (covering assets and liabilities, and all). But this is not the answer. It was never the answer. Qrow needs to learn not to blame his semblance or rely on external crutches to try and 'cure' it.

Clover learns nothing from this. He continues to be his usual self. That is a good person. He allows Qrow that opportunity to feel safe with him, encourages him to be better, explore this new sober-self. But Clover also looks at Qrow and sees everything he doesn't like about or wouldn't for himself. Cynical. Jaded. Separated from his companions. Moaning over his semblance. He offers his charisma and optimism in the hopes it might bleed over. That is also not the answer. Clover is trying to 'cure' Qrow.

This foil aspect which often sets up good conflict to turn into romantic or sexual tension that both characters benefit from is where the term "opposites attract" comes from, I think. But I also separate this into two different types of opposites: complementary and contradictory.

Complementary works. There is balance. There is a complementary strength in one character for a weakness in another. Extroverts and Introverts. Brawny and Brainy. Sun and Moon. Red and Green. "I don't like cooking and you don't like dishes, so you do one and I'll do the other and together we are happier and more easily whole."

There can still be conflict here. Stubborn and Patient. Hotheaded and Chill. Oblivious and Aware. But this is Robyn and Qrow. In both directions at different times, which is *chef kiss* even better. "I'm pulling my crossbow on Clover" and "Calm down, let's talk to Ironwood first" vs "I'm killing Ironwood" and "You don't really mean that."

Complementary is push/pull in a way that reinforces who the other character really is, and gives them the freedom to be that, even if the conflict is a tough love reminder sometimes.

A symbol for bad luck and a symbol for good luck which can come to an understanding over how their semblances can make it hard on other people, but don't define them as a person. Qrow accepting his role as a Harbinger of destruction when and where it's deserved, and Robyn accepting her role as a truth-bringer, light-shiner, even when it's hard, even when people don't like to hear it. In the theme of Vol 7, as Winter puts it, they can work on making these things their own.

Contradictory does not work. It can present with similar strengths and weaknesses, but there is mutual exclusivity woven in. There is intolerance. There is a needing of one person needing to change to validate the other's worldview. There is a mismatch of personal values and unwillingness to bend. Optimism and Pessimism (when one cannot accept and learn from the other to compromise). Lawful and Chaotic. Stoic and Communicative. Generative and Stagnant. "We should paint this wall Red." "I think we should paint it green." "We should go to the mountains." "I think we should go to the beach."

...

"We should try and save everybody." "We should give a few a better shot at actually being saved."

...

("If you were one of my men I would have you shot." "If I were one of your men I'd shoot myself.")

This is not (healthy) romantic tension, this is unresolvable conflict. This is Qrow vs Ironwood. This is, ultimately, Qrow and Robyn vs Clover. This is probably some other over-arching dynamics with others, too, but I'm trying to stay focused here.

*Qrow is 100% actually looked up to and relied on, he just doesn't realize it. And when Clover gives him credit, he has his second panic of oh, i guess you're right, sometimes i can reach my own goals, but no one's ever been nice enough to say so (or i wasn't ready to hear it).

IV. The Narrative

WE WANTED IT TO BE DIFFERENT. We were rooting for Qrow and Clover!!! We wanted it to be complementary so bad!!!! We wanted them to learn. That's why 7.12 hurt so very, very much.

Qrow and Robyn, death and rebirth, were side by side, right there, begging Clover to change; to come into his role of faith, hope, love, and good luck for his team, for his home, to make them his own with his own decisions.

But no, he gave all of those things, all of himself, up to Ironwood's command. And it was the final confirmation of contradictory, and we realized it was always going to be, and had been the whole way. He was always going to choose Ironwood. And it re-writes every interaction. It feels less like he was befriending Qrow, and more like he was trying to change him. It feels less like he was Qrow's partner, and more like Ironwood sent him to keep Qrow under control.

Clover and Qrow are not sharing secret glances with each other after Ironwood gives orders, Clover is checking to make sure Qrow's reactions suggest he's going to fall in line with them.

We wanted more of this:

But the intro handed us the real outcome on a platter:

V. Conclusion

The Fall of Atlas is a Shakespearian Tragedy, in which, by definition: a noble has a tragic flaw or commits a grave error (hamartia) which leads to their reversal of fortune.

The highlighted theme of the volume is Trust Love.

We wanted James Ironwood to change, too. He had the potential and opportunity, too. But his character was doomed by the tragic flaws of a Hero/Martyr complex (literally his theme song) and a Sunken Cost Fallacy (literally his semblance), and Salem changing her plans to send Tyrian and Watts to Atlas before Vacuo to ensure these things would get the better of him - that he would chose fear over love.

Clover is the subplot fallout of this. In which he makes the (literally) grave error of choosing loyalty over love (literally, a piece of himself).

Ergo... red/green/purple character trio star-crossed by a narrative reversal of fates, because Clover didn't learn the lesson of choosing himself and his soulmates' love.

Small wonder Qrow and Robyn then cross paths with Winter and Marrow, who have made that transformation, instead.

#robyn hill #clover ebi #qrow branwen #* legends and stories; some of them true; some made up = meta * #* loyal brave and true = a good run of bad luck *

[coffee-n-some-cream]

I think Leo’a character gets so much more interesting once he pieces together that Splinter is encouraging him to act more like him (partially to validate to his own actions and emotionally distant behavior towards everyone close to him) and realizes that he doesn’t want to do that, even if he would lose Splinter’s approval in the process. The moment he stops idolizing Splinter the way he does, he’ll notice that all his brothers have distanced themselves from Splinter (though Donnie and Mikey are more subtle about it than Raph), and the more he takes after Splinter the more they pull away from him too, and maybe then he starts to realize that Splinter’s approach to relationships with the only showing approval when someone has met his inflated expectations of them really sucks ass.

Okay look i've been thinking about this for a while because i'm writing this au and splinter is kind of a shitty dad in it and i never expected the impact on leo to be as heart rending as it is, but GOD. yes! you are so fucking right.

i'm so sorry but i wrote a whole essay under the cut.

when you're a teacher's pet and you get called one, you take it as a compliment. you know they don't mean it like that, but you like it anyway. because you like your teacher, and you're proud to be a good student, you're proud to get that validation. probably because you crave validation from an authority figure for self worth purposes.

and when it's you parent??? hoo boy.

which is why i love the Splinter Junior nickname, because it carries so much baggage. It can be an affectionate comparison of father and son, it can be resentful that he is a representative of parental authority, it can be jealous that he is so close to Splinter when the others aren't, it can be a straight up insult (because honestly what's worse than telling someone they're just like their father). and i love the idea of leo going from taking that nickname as a compliment to taking it as a slap in the face.

there was a great line in this fic (rlly good btw) where leo realizes that he had a different father than the rest of them. that he has a certain relationship with splinter that his brothers haven't been able to form and asdgkjaslkgd yes???? yes! but at the same time, splinter is his dad too. so while he gets splinter's approval, that approval comes at a cost, and the cost is bending his personality and goals and wants to suit his dad's. it's the classic 'it's your dream, dad. not my dream' scenario. and when leo realizes that he's spent his entire life tailoring his very self to gain his father's approval...

in my notes for my au, i wrote, "if Leonardo’s self-understanding is as a loyal right hand to Splinter, what happens when the ultra loyal right hand of the king turns against the king?" it's his identity. and how does turning against the king recontextualize everything he did in service to the king?

the only thing that could really pull him from splinter is his brothers. because honestly, he loves them more than he loves splinter. and i think, as sad as it sounds, he will realize that he loves his brothers more than splinter loves them. or maybe he just loves them better. more fully. and he's not willing to lose them in the way that splinter is. even more, he's not willing to hurt them the way splinter does. and of course, he needs to heal from the way splinter has hurt him. but another part of him, the part that's still so close to his dad, would want to save him, in a way. save him from the distance between him and his own children.

so yeah. i think at that point, after he's gone through that development, the most hurtful thing you could say is that he's like Splinter.

#ask coffee #tmnt #i can't even express my thoughts on this properly #this shit does something to me man #it's just so painful and so relatable #bad dad splinter #obvs this does not apply to all splinters but um #2012 splinter you are so gorgeous and your voice is so deep but you are not good at parenting sometimes lmao #i know it's mostly sacrificing the character for the plot but it's too compelling to ignore #i haven't gotten far enough into idw to comment on this but i feel like it's gonna be the same

[koala2055]

Yay opinion time:

Volume 2 kind of sucked.

Like sure, it had some great parts and I guess the plot worked, but it could have been so much better.

Eddie's death made no sense. I get that they wanted him to have a resolution of him not running for once and shit, but it didn't make sense for him to die because of it.

a) Steve survived numerous demobat wounds

b) All the bats died literally seconds later

It really didn't do much for Dustin's character growth either, tbh. Like sure it encouraged him to be responsible for the others but like really, Dustin was doing that anyway.

And Eddie had so much potential. The fandom loves him. There were so many things they could have done with his character, but no, they stuck to their formula and killed the new guy.

Which brings me to Max.

In that brief moment where I believed Max was dead, it hurt. Especially with Lucas and El there, unable to do anything about it.

It was powerful. And exactly what the group would have needed to push themselves forward.

I'm not saying I wanted Max to die. She was a brilliant character and this season she had so much development. But it would have been an amazing plot point, so much better than killing Eddie. It would show us that there are actually stakes here, that the characters aren't indefinitely shielded by plot armor.

As for the other deaths... I'll be honest I barely even realized Jason died. It was so fast and it really didn't mean anything.

Brenner's death was painted as a tragedy and I fucking hate that. I suppose I could understand his apparent change of heart with the whole Nina project, but after he trapped Eleven again- I don't understand how they were trying to paint him as a sympathetic character or whatever they were doing. That man was a monster and he deserved to die.

The cast and advertising for volume 2 promised deaths and we just... didn't get any good ones.

Which brings us to the other part of the false advertising, the queerbaiting.

There were three super strong queer ships after volume 1, and they were byler, steddie, and ronance.

Now I never put too much faith into ronance, it didn't seem like it made sense since they just introduced a love interest for Robin, so that wasn't too significant.

Steddie had a lot of support. And it definitely seemed like a possibility. But assuming their plan was to kill off Eddie anyway, I'll let it slide.

Byler.

The level of teasing and hinting at Byler from the cast was unprecedented.

And what happened?

Almost nothing.

Sure, we get more hints that Will is queer, but nothing is explicitly said.

And worst of all, they used Will's unrequited love to further mileven. That made me furious.

Complete queerbait.

I don't know why I expected better.

And many people have pointed out the problems with Mike's love monologue to El, so I'm not going to bother. It was stupid.

Mileven wasn't terrible at all, it had genuine build up and wasn't just romance for the sake of romance. But claiming that Mike fell in love with her the day they met is just- stupid. And making El need that speech to motivate her instead of just finding the strength within herself was a bit meh.

I'll probably make another post with the things that they did right, but for now I'm done ranting.

#rant #vent post #stranger things #st4 #st4 volume 2 #st4 spoilers #stranger things spoilers #eddie stranger things #max stranger things #byler #steddie #ronance

[magpies-gold]

Character Age Meme - Errick

I'm running into situations during story development where I really need to know more of my characters' life stories and what they looked like when they were younger, so it's time to continue with these. I did Henry/Heinrich a while back already. I still have Elliot and Paul to do to finish off my cast of main characters.

Errick had a wildly different upbringing from Heinrich. Where Heinrich was the equivalent of a feral stray cat, Errick is the closest thing that you get to royalty in the base. His family has always been in command, ever since the shell sealed them in, and Errick grew up privileged, happy, and loved. He didn't even have much to worry about for the first few years: his older brother, Michael, was always supposed to be the one in charge one day, not him.

When he was around age seven, Michael was killed in an accident. Errick had never been especially good at making friends, and the loss of his big brother was the loss of his best friend, as well. It left a big hole in his life that he had a hard time filling, and it also dropped the weight of future responsibility as commander of the base squarely on his shoulders. It wasn't something he ever wanted, and not something he ever rose to the challenge of.

When he was nine, there was a debacle in the base surrounding a fourteen year old problem named Henry. In the aftermath of the chaos, Henry was, rather fortuitously, stuck in a holding cell at Alpha Base HQ while Errick's father tried to figure out what to do with him. This left Errick with an opportunity: a literally captive audience. He visited Henry regularly, and before long they were friends... whether Henry wanted it or not. Errick pretty much picked him out like a pet from the humane society and all but informed him that that they were friends now; its how Errick be and how Errick do). I wouldn't say that Errick was the sole reason for Henry getting to still have a future after what had happened, but he sure influenced the decision.

Henry and Errick got each other through some rough times over the next few years. Henry had a steep adjustment period from his past life to his present one and Errick had more personal tragedy to deal with. His mom died after a few years of illness when he was twelve, leaving him with just his very busy dad as family. One more loss and he'd be the last of the Rider family left. By this point he was also starting to understand how bleak his own future really was. More than ever, it was becoming apparent that Alpha Base's continued survival was not a sure thing past the next few decades. Nothing lasts forever, and one can only keep recycling the same material for so long before it all turns to dust. Dust was exactly what was uncomfortably near on the horizon. It didn't encourage Errick much in regards to taking his looming responsibilities seriously. What fun is it to be captain of a sinking ship?

When he was 19, that came to a head with the rise of the dreamers and the rebellion. The four key players of the rebellion were close friends of Heinrich's, and their ringleader was the sister of Errick's at-the-time boyfriend. The betrayal and the threat coming from so close by shook him badly and only made him more paranoid and more afraid of what was to come.

He had at least one more long-term relationship after that - with a woman named Laura - but his twenties and his early thirties were not wonderful for his mental health. The rebels continued to be a problem that Heinrich and Commander Christoph couldn't seem to get a handle on, the base was dying, the population was on a decline, it was getting harder to keep the lights on, and when he was in his late twenties, Errick's father started showing the first signs that he was getting sick. Christoph still had a lot of years left in him, but it was the very beginning of an end. The stress took a toll on Errick's relationship with Laura, and what they had fell apart in spectacular fashion.

Errick met Paul when he was 32 and Paul was 23. At the time, Errick wasn't necessarily looking for anything that would last, but they ended up being extremely good for each other. Paul thrives off of being needed and doesn't take much personally - he's got a very stable, steady personality. Errick does well with someone trustworthy, dependable, and loyal who genuinely loves him, loose screws and all, and that's Paul to a tee.

So Errick was actually doing all right for himself, finally.

And then, at age 37, the book begins, and so do a whole new set of troubles.

#art #my art #character development #alpha base #Errick #character age meme #oc

[lord-jen-grey]

Thanks for the question @dianaforever .

The answer is Yes! It’s on the more rare side, but it does happen. Off the top of my head, I’ve had major plot shifts while writing on about 6 occasions (out of 28 Outlander works on AO3). I’ll detail them below if you’re interested.

Most of my plots are so intricate, I can’t mess with them after I started posting because it would ruin the groundwork already laid down. But sometimes it’s inevitable.

I think you’ll see a pattern that most of these changes are character driven. I have a framework of who my faves are at their essence, and if my plans don’t fit that as well as I hoped, I end up having to change the story to what Jamie & Claire (and John) demand it to be.

It’s notable for me that I have plot, relationship, and character development outlined, but I do leave myself creative flexibility with how that plays out. Dialogue is usually pretty organic and not planned ahead.

Here are some examples of major changes to stories:

Journey of a Thousand Kisses - this story was meant to be fluffy sex when I first started writing it. I didn’t want much plot! But in writing ch 1, I had to explain Jamie’s scars, and I didn’t want to just repeat canon. So I had to ask myself, “What could I do to make it different?” At the same time, I was thinking about Pixar and Fleabag’s storytelling strategies, and decided on telling a story where it seemed like one thing 90% of the story, then BAM, here is an emotional punch that was set up from the beginning. So, I went back to the drawing board and outlined the plot as it sits today (all this was before posting the first chapter).

The Silver of Moonlight - The point of this story was that Claire was meant to be a source of love, support, and encouragement so that Jamie could finally accept his feelings for John, all the while recognizing her own love for John in the process. I had planned on Jamie being a bit more reluctant and for him to struggle even more with his internalized homophobia. When it got to the intimacy, it just felt right for Jamie be more decisive about the shift and not drag out his reluctance.

Fire Closest Kept - I wrote half this story before going back and making a massive change (thank God it wasn’t posted yet). The parts from Brianna’s POV were originally Willie’s parts! But I felt like Jamie needed to earn a Willie’s trust, and keeping him in the dark about their plans was contrary to that, so I changed a big chunk of the plot to make it Brianna.

On Our Lips, Begin & Tell - This was originally meant to be enemies to lovers, but the moment these two met, that was ruined 😂. Journey babes are madly in love immediately, no matter what iteration.

Lost in the Wind - There were 2 changes here. Bennet was supposed to show up a few chapters in, but I changed it to chapter 1 more impulsively. He was just too important to the plot to not be there from the beginning. The second is that Claire was supposed to be meaner to Jamie in the initial outline, but she wouldn’t let me write her that way. She was too insightful in seeing the contradictions of his behavior.

Like Petals Falling - This story had the more changes than anything I’ve ever written!! It was initially meant to be (idk) 15 chapters of a secret admirer fic, ending with a flash forward of them getting married 😂. It quickly turned into something more. The issue with this story was that the poetry elicited so much of my personal existential philosophy on life and pulled in many of my day to day experiences, so small moments became entire chapters full of significance (like the Mother’s Day chapter was written from my own emotional challenges in that day). Then when my grandmother was ill and dying, I began reading poetry about loss and life, setting Jamie down a path of grief with Brian. The story went from 15 chapters to 30 very quickly. Then 30 went to about 75 when I decided to expand the existential themes of the story to tell a lifelong journey of love between two people and their family and the Legacy they’ll leave behind. These were a few notes I jotted down shortly after losing my Nan 💙

#anon asks

[sunlit178]

Gamora and Peter Eternal Love Gotg

I have so many thoughts about the GOTG 3 - Gamora and Peter. (Let me say Zoe and Chris did an incredible job with this love story. I can’t image anyone else playing their roles) I just wished they had MORE screen time. Many parts of Peter and Gamora’s relationship happened off screen. I was hoping for more direct answers regarding Gamora and Peter's relationship, while Zoe and Chris playing each respective role.

Here are my conclusions regarding Gamora and Peter’s relationship: Keep in mind Peter is 45 years old; Young Gamora is now at least 15 years or more younger than Peter.

I will start with my favorite moment in the movie. I felt that once Peter saw how dark the Young Gamora was, he wanted to remove that dark murderous Thanos energy more so than winning her love back. After seeing this darker side, Peter made a powerful statement to Young Gamora that was validated later in the movie. Peter told Young Gamora all the positive characteristics that the Gamora he loved had - Kindness and more importantly she wanted to help children.  HE STILL BELIEVED THOSE CHARACTERISTICS WERE IN YOUNG GAMORA. This was proven later in the movie when Young Gamora was enthusiastically helping the children escape to Knowhere.  Peter watched her help the children with joy on his face. He never gave up on who her character really was and loved her unconditionally. Young Gamora’s positive self development was initiated because of Peter’s unconditional love for her.

Gamora & Young Gamora has some level of psychic abilities with Peter. When Young Gamora looked at that picture of Peter and his family from earth, she sensed Peter needed to go back to earth to find his family.  The original Gamora showed this with encouraging Peter to go to Egos planet.

Gamora joining the Ravagers is direct connection to Peter. He was a ravager when she met and fell in love with him. She is with them for a reason.

Young Gamora will eventually come back to Peter, and they will become a couple. At the end of the movie, she hesitated walking away from Peter. That says a lot. Peter’s charm got to her.

Peter’s’ Grandfather symbolizes Peter; he will live a humble life; he will live to be an old man hopefully with Gamora by his side.

#gamora Peter Quil #Gamora #PeterGamora #gotg3 #gotg #Peter Quil #starmora