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#his tension gets to be more complicated without that imo
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Just pitching in since I see so much discourse about will they or won’t they that I think we kind of lost the essence of the story: I mean yes, Netflix is promoting the whole are they going to be endgame or not, tune in to find out but I think that’s just a generic marketing tactic.I’ve honestly been ignoring it.
Also, Lisa doesn’t strike me as the type of writer that would push only her own personal agenda or politics to a tv show, especially one that has critical acclaim as yr. That’s not what true storytelling is about. Please bear with me (apologies in advance for the long response !) but here’s my v long winded reasoning:
The theme has always been love v. duty & the monarchy is the enemy. Wille is on a Hero’s Journey - he is ultimately the Main Character; the Young Royal. What’s great about The Hero’s Journey is that it’s easy to follow and makes for great storytelling despite its predictability. I think some people here may have touched upon this so I am simply expanding:
As a viewer, we follow Wille and get to know him. He’s a likable character and we easily root for him and feel for him when we learn about the power dynamics in play; specifically how he feels caged as a prince. Then we enter into a Call for Adventure: him falling for Simon and the high stakes he enters when his brother passes and he is now Crown Prince.
This, then, propels the story forward, given the stakes are stacked up and it’s not looking good for Wille, especially after he/we find out August was the offender for sex tape leak.
After that, we enter into The Refuse to Call for Adventure; i.e, the hero (Wille) realizes he must face the challenge. We also step into the Meeting the Mentor, which is Boris, who helps Wille learn how to stand up and ultimately fight for himself (and Simon). While I see others thinking that W might push everyone away, including skipping his appts with Boris, I do not think that’s the case. Boris was set up to be the Mentor that W needs to realize the challenge he’s been facing and we may continue seeing him open up to Boris.
This will then allow W to “Cross the Threshold” and reinforce the central theme and conflict of the story - if W continues to stay with the monarchy and his obligations as Crown Prince, he cannot choose Simon. Love or Duty? Which will prevail?
S3 crosses that threshold and produces tests and obstacles that would make the fight for his relationship w S so much more complicated (basically everything we saw in the trailer). This stage in the Hero’s Journey is meant for the audience to doubt the Hero - Wille. It’s already a testament as we are debating if W is going to denounce his title or not just from the 2 mins of what we saw from the trailer. It’s intentional. We need to doubt in order for the central theme to drive home and also portrays the monarchy to be the overarching enemy of this story, without Lisa forfeiting her own political statement.
We enter the next stage of the Journey - which is the Cave - meaning the Hero and protagonists need to regroup and prepare for a counter attack (generally speaking) because the tension is continuing to rise and there are outside forces that wish to disturb the Journey (in this case, public opinion? paparazzi? Hillerska shutting down?).
Next, we enter the Ordeal - which makes the Hero break down bc he enters a mental barrier and is pushed to a corner. However, the Hero, typically comes out stronger after this stage in storytelling.
Ultimately, we reach the end: The Reward. The Hero makes the “attack” or choice and defeats the enemy/antagonist.
Imo, with how everything is set up, I do think it’s set up for W and S to be together in the end at least the end of the show (everything else after is obviously left for the audience member to interpret).
I have no doubt that W & S are going to come up on top and still be together in the end bc like some people mentioned - what would be the point? It was never a question whether they would end up together. The question is if Wille, our Hero in this story, would make the final choice and choose between love or duty. I think Wille would choose love. What better way of making history, especially with everything that’s been happening in real events, then choosing love? That would make for a strong ending.
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mieohmy · 2 years
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sticky situations | mark lee
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PAIRING: spiderman! mark lee x sidekick! afab reader
GENRE: superhero! au, f2ls, romance, action, SLOW BURN, angst, fluff, humor
WORD COUNT: 9.2k
NOTES: profanity, depictions of violence, bombings, weapons, blood/injuries, obliviousness, kissing, some sexual references and uh sexual tension but fr none of that
SUMMARY: you never thought you’d be partners in crime with the red and blue spandex wearing hero who is not only your friend mark, but also the guy you secretly have a crush on. 
author’s note: here it is!!! this main story takes place between 1-2 years after the prologue. i felt like the whole story was too long to combine into one + the time skip was kinda abrupt so i decided to split it in terms of plot/action :)) even tho the prologue is almost as long as the main story skndskjd. also! you don’t have to read the prologue to understand but imo it would help the story make more sense? anyways, thank you for reading
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“thanks for letting me borrow it,” you remark simply, throwing the oversized hoodie at mark’s face. 
he manages to catch it cleanly without a second thought, eyes still focused on the screen in front of him alongside chenle, who pauses at the interaction. still playing the game, he shoots you two a weird look. “so now you guys share clothes?” 
you stick your tongue out teasingly at him. “and? i would steal yours too if you let me but when have you ever offered?” chenle lets out a grunt- whether it was in response to you or because he messed up in the game, you’re not sure.
you didn’t think that finding out mark lee was spiderman two years ago would lead you to spend majority (you actually calculated and it came out to be around 67%) of your time with just him, but you weren’t complaining. nor did you think you would grow this close, especially with your... complicated feelings, but never once did you regret it. 
it meaning confronting mark and somehow becoming his trusty sidekick that tried to make sure he didn’t die (note: tried, like really fucking hard to where you think you have 10 times more wrinkles from stress). 
you move to place the bag of food on mark’s kitchen counter before looking around. “where’s everyone else?” 
“hyuck hasn’t shown up yet, and jisung went out to get drinks,” mark answered dutifully, laying back onto the couch with his hands behind his head in satisfaction as his shirt rises slightly, showing an inch or two of his bare stomach. 
as you make your way to sit next to him, you eyes fall on the slight slip of skin. without thinking much about it, you tug his shirt down like a protective mother before landing on the couch next to him with a small oof! 
again, chenle mumbles something under his breath at your action before shaking his head. if donghyuck was here, he thinks, you two would never hear the end of it. then again, when did you? 
you observe the two play for some time, listening to their frustrated cries and groans. 
eventually, jisung shows up with a heavy grocery bag, donghyuck in tow. 
“what took you guys so long?” chenle complains, throwing the game controller on the table. you help jisung with the bulging bag as hyuck takes off his shoes. “sorry, i think there was some sort of shootout a couple of blocks away. the police weren’t showing up- god i hate the nypd sometimes.” 
immediately, you freeze and jisung yelps as a couple of drinks slip from your grasp onto the floor. you don’t even spare a glance at mark, looking up donghyuck instead while swallowing. 
“and did they show up?” 
he shrugs harmlessly. “dunno. seemed like they were taking their sweet time though,” and you squeeze your eyes shut in frustration. peeking at mark, you notice the visible furrow of his eyebrows. he catches your eyes on him and initiates a silent conversation between you two. 
his eyes flash at you and you sigh in defeat. “sorry guys, but me and mark have an accident. i think i left something important for our assignment back at the labs.” 
the boys look at you with wide eyes- well, except for mark who only gives them sheepish looks. well damn, how good did he get at lying? you once thought he wasn’t a good actor but here he was proving you wrong. you couldn’t say anything anymore as you were in on it too now. 
jisung speaks up first, “is it so important that you can’t wait until tomorrow to get it?” 
you look at mark and he shakes his head firmly. “our whole experiment will get messed up. sorry y/n, it’s really my bad,” he stares at you with a (fake?) apologetic look and you have to hold back a scoff. 
“i need to get something from my room before we go,” he gives you a signal and you nod, only hoping he can find a good way to hide his entire suit in front of the others. 
turns out, he can. he was spiderman, after all. mark grabs a whole overcoat, saying some random comment about how cold it was getting outside, and you practically dash out of his apartment. “sorry guys, don’t wait on us,” you call out before shutting the door. 
you both dash down the stairs, mark obviously faster than you, and you reach the bottom huffing and puffing. he finds an obscure place under the staircase to change. you were so used to it at this point that you found no reason to look away. he had his underwear on at least, mark was way too modest to go commando. 
“wait a second,” you stare at him in desperation. “how the hell am i going to get to your room?” 
he freezes. “fuck.” this was the worst time ever to have a hangout at mark’s apartment. now you understood why he never offered his place back then. 
your entire setup was crafted in his room, so you would normally stay there until mark returned from his adventures safely. but this time it was different, you couldn’t sneak in with your friends there who literally just witnessed you walk out. 
and plus, mark’s room was locked (for obvious reasons). 
“j-just go through my window, it’s unlocked.” 
you eyes bulge. “your room window?” your neck cranes as you take a glance at the dark window, a grand total of five floors up. you can hear the desperation in his voice as you sigh. 
“im sorry y/n, i didn’t think this through.” obviously, neither did you. “but we really need to hurry, at least i do. i can work without you, you know. solo was how i worked for an entire year.” 
you shake your head firmly. “i know that you’re capable enough, but you never know what can happen. the police might not show up like the countless times in the past where they didn’t.”
he’s about to protest but you push him forward into the light. “go, and i’ll find a way. i trust you and you trust me.”
he takes a step back reluctantly and you mouth a be careful before turning to face the obstacle ahead of you. now what? 
you grunt, climbing the rickety fireplace escape, cursing silently when you almost slip. this was way too old to be on par with current safety guidelines. but adrenaline courses through your veins (probably from fear of falling to your death) and you somehow make it up to the fifth floor without much ruckus. 
as carefully and quietly as possible to avoid arousing suspicion from the boys literally feet away from you in mark’s apartment, you unlatch his bedroom window. 
you weren’t the most graceful, but you manage to sneak in with a few soft grunts. your body was not made for this. 
his room is dark, but you realize you cannot turn on the lights or else face death if the boys were to notice. letting out a long breath in relief of finally making it and not dying, you take out your phone flashlight and get set up. 
you can hear the rambunctious laughs and chatter from outside. for the first time ever, you thank them for their noise. 
in mere seconds you’re up and connected, seeing mark’s point of view and whispering a can you hear me?
it doesn’t take you long to recognize where he is, as it was just a few streets down from where you currently were. 
“yeah,” he says confidently. “so you made it alright?” you roll your eyes before muttering a, “yes. barely.” 
but he doesn’t seem to catch the last bit. 
“did you figure out the situation?” you study the surrounding area. he nods although you can’t see it. “don’t worry, i got it all figured out.” 
you sit back, occasionally clicking a few buttons and whispering to mark. a few groans of pain and 10 minutes later, the situation is cleared up- no police in sight. 
“clean,” you comment. you can hear him chuckle and you smile. “now hurry up and come back before anyone gets suspicious.”
“you too,” he reminds and this time you actually curse out loud. taking off the earpiece and peeking out the window, down the unsteady fire escape to the hard concrete ground, you rub at your temples. 
you forget who really got you into this mess- 
yourself. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
sometimes, you didn’t realize how much of your time was spent on mark. you and mark even had your own table at mick’s where late at night you would go to talk “spider strategy” as you coined it. 
you started going to feast with him occasionally, at first you used the excuse to just get to know mark better while helping others out, but soon you gave up and just wanted to spend more time with him selfishly. his aunt may that worked there greeted you comfortably, as well as the homeless people that were starting to remember your name the more and more you went. as well as the fact that they always mistook you two as a couple, no matter how many times you denied it. even miss may tried several times to get you to call her aunt as well, but you couldn’t. 
at work, it was the same. from the day you started acting as his “person behind the screen,” normally you and mark would partner up for projects. the guys gave you shit for it but you always denied anything between you and mark. mostly because you always kept that secret conversation between mark and donghyuck in your heart- a wall to shield you from any kind of pain that would come from wanting something more from mark, your friend that you had feelings for since a long time ago. 
so yes, it was fear that kept you from confessing. even if that conversation was from so long ago, you enjoyed your friendship with him now. it wasn’t like you guys were besties- that title was for donghyuck and donghyuck only, but it was special. it was different since you were the only one that knew his secret. never would you want to ruin your friendship and partnership with him, if you went for that further step. that fear made you bury your feelings deep within, for as long as you could possibly still stand. you were the same coward as you were when you first started liking him. 
but those same feelings make you realize how whipped you are for him. your coffee intake rose to at least three cups a day, to which the boys protested but man did you stay up countless days worrying for and with mark. to the point where you have to create crazy excuses to make a sprint for his place and get behind the screen or to help inconspicuously when his zipper gets stuck on his suit at work (and constantly deny the fact that you two weren’t fucking in the resources closet when you got caught.)
or the moments where mark stops by your desk to talk, sometimes not about spiderman stuff and you smile happily. everyone knows it, regardless of you trying to pretend that it’s nothing and wondering if mark was doing the same or if he was truly that oblivious. 
how when renjun from another department came to ask you for a pencil and mark suddenly appeared out of nowhere. 
you place a hand on your racing heart. “what the hell are you doing here and how the hell did you get here so fast?“ stupid question, but instead of replying as he normally does, mark narrows his eyes at renjun. 
“why are you asking y/n for a pencil?” your mouth opens to speak but you forget how good his hearing is. it really isn’t fair. perhaps you should get bit by a spider too. 
renjun eyes him suspiciously. “they were the first available person i saw?” you join in by shooting him a confused look too. what was he doing? 
it wasn’t the first time, either. strange enough, mark was always there anytime it was any boy that wasn’t chenle, hyuck, or jisung. 
and from an outsiders perspective, the same could’ve been said for you. whenever any girl asked mark for help or got too close physically, the unconscious deathly glares you gave in comparison to your normally meek and chill behavior was shocking to say the least.
either way, you were content with how life was now. through all the blood, sweat, and secret tears, you liked how it was right now. and you wouldn’t want anything to change. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
you take your claimed seat at mick’s as mark easily slides into the chair across from you. he asked and you agreed to meet up after work today, no questions asked.
the owner is used to you two, sending you free food occasionally since you’ve become regulars there. the old man, mr. lee, always looks at the two of you with a fond smile, remarking about how he used to act like that with his wife. when you questioned him about his wife, a faraway look grew in his eyes. 
“she passed away, five years ago.” your mouth opened as you started to apologize. he laughed, watching you with a twinkle in his eyes. 
“don’t worry about it. just enjoy your time with him,” he gestured to mark sitting at your table innocently waiting for you. “don’t take it for granted.” 
you blushed but didn’t say anything, just nodding and thanking him. 
today you figured mark wanted to meet up and talk about the app you were working on, one to interact with civilians that had issues and needed spiderman’s help, but it seems as that wasn’t his intention as he sips on his water while glancing up at you with doe eyes. 
you stifle a laugh at his expression, a fond look on your face. 
“aunt may wants to know how you’re doing.” 
you raise an eyebrow. “this is why we came to micks? to talk about that?” 
he gives you a playful scowl. “or maybe i just wanted to hang out with you. now answer the question.”
you clear your throat. “okay, okay. i’m good. i don’t know why you have to ask me when you already know, but-“
he shakes his head in amusement. “she likes you too much. sometimes i think even more than me.” 
you laugh, and he laughs at your laugh. “of course.” you pause to yawn and he stops laughing. 
“how much sleep are you getting?” you hate the amount of concern in his voice. 
you shrug, “i didn’t drink coffee today. after you kept lecturing me about how bad it was for me to drink so much, i started cutting down. but i suppose im still getting more sleep than you.” 
he clicks his tongue in disappointment. “because it is bad for you! and for the record, i got 5 hours of sleep yesterday.” 
you clap over-enthusiastically and he giggles. “im so proud of you mark lee,” you state half-sarcastically. you freeze when he reaches over and tussles your hair softly as if you were a dog. 
“i’m proud of you too.” 
“for what?” 
he shrugs, smiling softly. “i dunno. but i am.” your eyes crinkle as you glance at him and mark finds himself stuck on the sight. “okay, weirdo.” 
the conversation continues on like that, and you almost lose track of the time. when you see the numbers 12 on your phone, you grimace. “i need to get going. i completely forget about the time.”
he actually pouts. mark lee, spiderman, whatever, pouts like a five year old.
“what? i mean, i did too but you want to leave me that early?”
you can tell he’s joking because he’s comfortable with you, but you still sigh. 
“maybe im trying to be a decent human today and get home early to sleep.” 
“okay, we can go,” mark listens without another word, getting up to clean your table. he was always thoughtful and attentive. 
when you both finish, saying goodbye to the poor worker left at their shift, you start on your way back home. when you feel his presence behind you, you stop and turn. 
“why are you following me?”
mark’s eyes are wide as he looks at you, just like a child. “to make sure you’re safe.” 
you cross your arms, also like a child although internally you warm up at his heartfelt gesture. “i can take care of myself, you know.” he pretends to think with an unsure look and you smack him playfully. 
“alright, alright, i know you can. but i’m still walking with you. it makes me feel better knowing you’re safe. and that’s with me.” 
you grumble some incoherent response. 
when you reach your apartment, you urge mark to leave.
“you want me to go that badly?”
“yeah,” you deadpan and mark fakes a sad look. you wave him off and he winks before coolly saluting goodbye. 
once he gets out of your sight, closing the door behind you with a soft click, you exhale, tiredly placing your head on the door with a thump. 
your hand comes over your chest, placed over your pumping heart, urging it to calm down. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
mark isn’t used to villains. he’s dealt with a couple, some with you and some without you. they weren’t common and weren’t the usual trivial crimes that he was used to, the ones that occurred on the daily basis in new york. 
most of them didn’t last long, the longest was the rhino, and it was about a week or two before mark was able to get him locked up. 
he didn’t even know what constituted as a villain. he figured the ones that the media talked about for more than two days and the police couldn’t capture were villains. so when mark watches the news late at night as he usually did, keeping out for any crime he had to fight, he’s surprised to find a fresh criminal that new york city has discovered. 
it piques his interest- a hacker that went by a number, of all things. 
the number twenty four. 
some strange hacker revealing secret information about small companies, essentially trashing their reputation and putting them out of business. it hadn’t grown too serious yet, but the question remained. how did they get this information? and what were they going to do with it?
he wonders why, but the crimes committed by this strange #24 that the new reporter lists wasn’t enough to make mark have a second thought. 
yet. 
but the number keeps appearing up in the news, and you start to get increasingly worried. when you tell mark, his reaction is a little too nonchalant for you. 
“didn’t you hear? they just took down another company. that’s the fifth one.” 
mark nods, “yeah but we all know those five were pretty corrupted. maybe they’re doing a good thing, you know? i don’t want to jump into something that might be good for new york.”
you tilt your head at his words. sometimes mark was a little too positive, a little naive to always see the good in situations. “sure those businesses were corrupt, but the way this guy is just exposing all their crimes is like a crime itself, mark. we need to watch out. if they have all this information, who knows what else they’re able to do.”
he finally looks you in the eye. “don’t worry, y/n. i promise to intervene if things get worse, but i really think we should wait and see what happens. ” 
you trust mark, you understand where he’s coming from. after all his years of experience, you don’t question him. his promise gives you some relief, but you still have a gut feeling. 
and it wasn’t a good one. 
so it turns out you were right, once again. you’re at the labs when you hear the repetitive sounds of the police and ambulance. not again. 
you take a glance around you. there are people staring outside, whispering nervously. a bombing at a nearby small company. 
and for some reason, you think you know who did it.
when mark gets the chance to escape, he makes a run for it. he’s gotten good at slipping on the suit faster, and finding a better hiding spot so no one walks in on him like you did. he leaps off the building rooftop with ease, as he’s done countless times.
he knows he’s late, but he was so distracted with work he didn’t get the chance to check the news. you weren’t even there with him because you got caught up at work, but you told him to be careful before he left. perhaps there’s something he can still do. something for those innocent lives in that company building (if it was still there). 
when he reaches the building, his heart sinks. a solid portion was scorched, burned and black. the police there yell at him to get away but he ignores them. “are there any people left in there?” mark asks.
the officer glares at him before answering. “not that we know of. no deaths, just some injured but they’re already on their way to the hospital. we’ve got this under control, spiderman. you can leave.” 
he squints. “so you’re not sure?” 
the officer is obviously annoyed, but still answers. “the damage is too big to assess right now. we’re still searching.” 
bullshit, mark knows. so instead of listening to the police, he shoots a web to swing into the damaged part of the building. make moves swiftly, swinging when he has to and running when the ground is clear enough for him to cover all possible space. 
it doesn’t seem as if there’s anyone one as he double checks the place. who could have done this? 
mark’s about to leave, sure that no one has remained, but he freezes when he catches a glimpse of a faint light at the end of one of the rooms. cautiously, he makes his way over. and it’s just as he feared, or maybe even worse. 
one of the undamaged company computer screens, shining brightly with only the large white numbers, 
#24. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
it continues like that for a week. attacks on corrupt companies and buildings. some innocent lives harmed and some not so innocent. and everytime, mark is too late. the two numbers always mocking him whenever he arrives.  
the #24 constantly shows up on the news and mark is sick of it. he doesn’t know what to do. it’s the first time there’s no physical person, no identity or anything. just some random hacker with his own tricks as they hide behind a screen. 
it’s even worse with the city in unrest. the police are obviously no help, and spiderman’s supporters are counting on him. but how can he do anything when he has nothing? 
a video is released after another week of failed attempts. a muffled, distorted voice taunting spiderman to come get him. that is, if he even could. 
you’re not much better. you try your best to get as much information to help mark, but you’re at a dead end. and the longer this goes on and the longer mark can’t do anything, you can feel the tension building from within. 
with darker eye bags each and everyday, mark becomes more quiet. you can tell his mind is constantly distracted, drifting away as he replays every failure the last few weeks. you’re trying to help him, truly. 
so what can you do when he snaps at you- telling you to stay out of it because you could be targeted next. 
“our whole building could be next, y/n. i really don’t want to see my friends get blown up.” you frown. mark is never like this.
“mark,” you call out, “this isn’t you. i understand, you really want to get this guy, but you can’t act like this.” he falters. 
“you can’t keep pushing me away,” you press, “we’re in this together- we’ve been in this together and i won’t let this dumb guy get in the way.” 
“only cause you practically forced me to let you help,” he quips quietly and you scoff. “yeah and you think it’s helpful, or else you would’ve gotten rid of me a long time ago.” 
well, he can’t fight with that.
“come on,” you take his hand in your warm ones, and he looks up at you. your forehead creases in concern at the sight of him. it’s like all the life has left him. 
“don’t worry. we’ll work together to get this guy. he won’t get octavius because we won’t let him. i know you won’t let him.” you stare into his dark orbs, hoping he sees your genuineness and assurance. your breath hitches when he suddenly hugs you. for some reason, you treasure this hug, inhaling his scent and familiarity. 
“thank you, y/n.” 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
somehow, in the dawn of the morning, you get some information.
it was a long time coming, since you started your research on this strange #24 the moment they popped up in the news. but you finally got something. 
after reviewing the footage from mark and taking all the data from the companies attacked, locations, and most importantly, the video released to mock spiderman, you get the model of the technology they use. 
and it’s not cheap or common. there’s no way they could’ve gotten to where they were with a mere dell computer. no, their device came from a specific seller with a specific location in new york. 
excited at finally finding something, you drag mark to the location where #24 bought his tech. and end up with a dead end. 
customer confidentiality. 
“-is fucking stupid,” you sigh. you apologize to mark but he shakes it off. “at least you found something. ha, it’s funny how you use your computer skills to find out about this guy when they’ve been doing the same this entire time.” 
you purse your lips. “we’re getting there, mark. i can feel it, we can get through to this fucker.” 
“yeah, but it’s not like i can get to them physically, you know? we have no clue who this guy really is since he hides behind that screen of his. in fact,” 
mark frowns before a realization hits him. he looks at you with an expression you can’t read, making you feel unsure. 
“he’s kinda like you.” 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
as much as you reassure mark, you can tell he’s still beating himself up harshly for everything. he’s on a constant rollercoaster, sometimes in good spirits and confident that he can catch the guy, and other days down and negative. 
you would’ve been the same in his position. always used to helping others, being the reliable superhero that many looked up to. and then suddenly, sometimes comes and that preconception is shattered. people are hurt, people are scared, and you think it’s all your fault. 
you’re usually the one at mark’s place, not the other way around. and you’re mostly by his side when he goes out to fight crime, at the same desk watching over him. so what do you do when mark shows up at your place, as spiderman, obviously out on his rendezvous without letting you know? 
right as you open the door and see his expression, you know it isn’t good. 
he stalks in, tense and rigid without a single word. “mark!” you watch him, surprised. “what’s going on?”
he shakes his head, breathing heavily. “i can’t get this guy. no matter what, i don’t know what to do. everything we’ve tried, he’s just going to take it all to ruin.“
you place an hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look at you. you shiver at his bloodshot eyes through the mask, utterly soulless. 
“trust me, we will. this guy can’t go on forever, you know. you can’t give up, you’re spiderman-“
“and yet im still here, struggling,” he cuts you off with ferocity that you’ve never seen. taken aback, you place two hands on his masked face. suddenly, the atmosphere feels different, a little more tension. 
“don’t you trust me?” you ask. he nods, not moving to remove your hands off his cheeks and almost leaning into your touch. 
an uncontrollable force acts over you, and you slowly peel off his mask, revealing his intense dark orbs that seem so vulnerable in front of you. you’re the only one who gets to see him like this. spiderman as a normal human being. as mark lee. you’ve always been the only one. 
slowly, he leans in and your breath hitches. you feel his warm breath hit your face, counting the seconds as you feel him get closer. contrary to your expectations, his lips don’t meet yours softly. instead, as your eyes close instinctively, his mouth eagerly meets yours. somehow, your hands find their way into his hair and his around your waist. it lasts too short- no, too long. you feel selfish, even when he was the one who initiated the kiss. 
you break it, catching your breath as mark watches you intently. it takes you a second to catch your bearings as your fingertips raise to your lips, touching the soft flesh delicately. “we-we shouldn’t have done that,” you whisper hoarsely. 
hurt flashes across his face. what? 
he gets interrupted by the sound of police sirens. you look away, ”please... go.”
you’re not sure if you’re happy or disappointed that he listens to you. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
you can’t fall asleep. the kiss from a few hours ago replays in your head constantly. what were you thinking? and more importantly, what was he thinking? 
to take your mind off him, you decide to focus on more important matters, like finding #24 and stopping them. somehow, running on two hours of sleep the day before, you’re able to hack into the shop’s buyers list. 
it takes the overheating of your computer and two cups of coffee, but you finally trace the credit card that the purchase was tracked to. from then on, it was easy to find the location and name. 
but not wanting to act too hastily, you continue your dig deeper. it’s a little too easy to find #24’s place of residence. 
your first instinct is to call mark, but obviously that plan is now to shreds. you hesitate before hitting his contact, finding your newly discovered information to be too precious to wait. 
you have another gut feeling that #24 is going to strike soon. after more than four days of radio silence from the hacker, you have a feeling they’re planning something big- and it isn’t going to be good. studying their past actions, they keep targeting bigger and bigger corporations now that traction has been gained. and you’re scared to where #24 going to choose next. 
mark’s phone is off, or he blocked you- which you kinda (read: definitely) understand after you simply told him to leave after he kissed you. 
you reflect on him from your interactions the past few days- the dullness in his eyes. even the boys commented on his attitude change, which he credited to overworking. just like you, you bitterly chuckle. 
maybe… you glance down at the address. if he was busy (or ignoring you), you could go by yourself. just check it out, harmlessly, right? 
just in case, you bring pepper spray with you. you weren’t sure what was going to be happen, so at least be somewhat safe than sorry. you’re sure you’re being an idiot right now, and you should find mark, but something tells you that you need to hurry and if that meant to go alone, you would. 
it’s a little too easy for you to bust open the apartment door of #24’s supposed place of living, or you’re getting good at the superhero stuff, which you doubt is the case. 
it’s empty, at least in terms of people. the place is dusty and dirty, not much to your surprise. you do your best not to leave any tracks behind, but as you continue through the place, the more awestruck you are. 
countless papers and research are littered all over the place, like a detective in a movie. binders and books of data and information are scattered across the place. you assume it’s all the information on those corrupt businesses that #24 gathered with their crazy genius hacking skills. 
you want to be quick, so you take a billion pictures before leaving, heart racing and hands clammy. 
when you get to the safety of your place, you finally relax and allow yourself to study the photos. the first thing was a map, countless red circles over locations caught your eye. 
as you examine it, you notice the specific locations that care circled. it’s all the places where #24 attacked. all the companies that were terrorized, destroyed without a second thought. 
you always wondered what was his motive. and as you look through the pictures you took- you realize this person has a seriously messed up conception of justice in the world. 
how does attacking innocent people and destroying years of work make up for the heinous secret crimes of those companies? 
but you frown, zooming in on the map again. you looked and there was another big circle with a date, today at 7am. you check the time, currently 4am. it was the 24th circle, you counted. 
and it was circled around the octavius building. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
you spam call mark, but he doesn’t pick up. you send voicemails in hopes that he’ll desperately pick up. as you keep looking through the photos, more and more horror fills you. all of #24’s plans, you attempt to tell him. but you don’t let him know the things beginning to formulate in your brain. 
#24’s previous and current plans all perfectly laid out. you honestly hate the fact that you were able to hack into his stuff, and how no one else has yet. 
you know everything- all the pieces fit together. his plan? bomb octavius industries, as if the giant red circle around the building wasn’t blatant enough. 
but not just that. 
feast too. #24 wants to threaten bombing the homeless shelter filled with unsuspecting people in order to make spiderman reveal his identity. quite literally killing two birds with one stone. 
and if this plan goes through, everything will come crashing down.
you looked everywhere, but you can’t find mark. the one time you need him, you fucked up and have no idea where he went. 
you give up on him. but not yourself. 
you won’t let feast and innocent people die, nor make mark choose between himself and the city, because you know what he would do, the selfless motherfucker. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
it’s strange seeing the place you’ve worked at for years empty, as you’ve never had a reason to come so early in the morning. your hands shake when you scan your keycard to enter the building. 
if everything goes according to your plan, no one will get hurt and no one will have to know anything. are you stupid for doing this alone? yes. are you stupid for wanting to be selfless when you know it’s full on selfish? yes. 
are you stupid? yes. 
and yet, you keep going on. 
you know mark would never let you go, but you’re the only one who knows is to stop this. all the knowledge you’ve gained over the years, choosing to become mark’s sidekick and help him behind the computers, you choose to believe it’s led you to this moment. 
you check the time and curse. almost 6am already, you need to hurry. all your time figuring how to work this solution out took longer than you expected. 
you don’t know how, but you make it. you press the highest floor button on the elevator and wait to get to where #24 plans to broadcast it all. all in order to see spiderman’s demise. 
and you won’t let it happen. 
if mark was here- no, you shut the thought down. no thinking about mark. just get in and out, before #24 shows up. 
you race down the hallway, knowing exactly which computer and room. easy, you’ll take down the broadcast and hack the bomb software so it malfunctions. you just have to be fast, before #24 gets here. you swiftly open the door- 
only for fear to strike through you. 
he said 7- so why is he here now-?!
the masked figure seems surprised at your presence. you stand there, unmoving as you take in the situation. 
“well, this is a surprise.”
the unfamiliar voice makes shivers go down your spine. “how did you find out my plans?”
you don’t respond, hands squeezing into fists. as #24 -you assume- gets up, you back away. but he’s faster and you cry out. 
“don’t worry,” his tone is too calm for your liking. you can feel your body shaking in his grasp, “i won’t hurt you. for now.” 
you find yourself tied up to a chair and curse the world for being so stupid. the figure tilts their head, studying you. “i’m impressed that you got this far. how exactly did you do it?”
it was easier than expected, you think but refuse to answer, to do anything. you need to make up another plan. he knows interrogating you won’t work, so he starts talking about spiderman. you tense. 
“it’s surprising how a random civilian like you got here, but spiderman himself couldn’t. why do you think that is?” 
you avoid eye contact, trying to keep your emotions in check. you know all the pain mark has been through because of this person, all the pain many people have gone through. 
“don’t tell me you were trying to stop my plans to be a hero like him. i always wondered what was so charming about spiderman,” you hate the venomous tone in his voice when he says it. “how the city people fall for an idiot like hi-“
“he’s not an idiot,” you cut him off, tone deadly. but you see the sudden change in his posture, and you know you fucked up. 
“oh, so you know him?”
“w-who doesn’t?” you shift uncomfortably, but it’s too late. he can see through it. 
you curse internally as he unsheathes a clean, sharp knife. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
mark stays up after leaving your place and dealing with the minor crime with the police that so rudely interrupted you two. he goes to his secret rooftop, some abandoned one he never told anyone about, even you. 
it’s just a place for him to be alone with his thoughts, and honestly he stopped going as much when you became his sidekick because he didn’t need a place of refuge when you were his place of refuge. 
but not today. 
he punches the poor punching bag, and it looks like it’s about to break from all of mark’s frustration and confusion. he doesn’t notice the sun rising or the 13 missed calls from his phone. he’s too lost in his thoughts to realize. 
it’s not until he hears the sound of kids clamoring on their way to school when he finally snaps out of it. he checks the time, damn. 7am was too early- he completely forgot the pain of waking up early and going to school at the crack of dawn. it fucking sucked, but he supposes it was so much better to be an innocent kid that focused dutifully on their lives instead of being a working adult that had everything and anything to worry about. especially one that was a superhero who had no time to think about himself in order to save the city. 
the exhaustion hits him as he feels the sweat slide down his face. grimacing, mark checks his phone. when he sees the missed calls from you, he almost throws his phone out and into the city. but seeing the amount of times you called, an uneasy feeling sinks into his bones. he plays your latest voicemail. the more he listens, the colder his blood runs.
but he’s too late. and by the time he gets there, the broadcast has officially started. 
but unlike your voicemails, what he sees on screen is not #24, but instead a person tied up and blindfolded in a dark space, which he supposes is at the octavius building. and the timer- for the bombs. 
but the silhouette looks a little too familiar, like-
you. it has to be you. who else knew about the plans except for the person that told mark? 
mark swears he sees red. 
he can’t think clearly, not when he has no idea how you got there without him, without letting him know anything-
fuck, mark curses. the video plays all over the city, and he knows the police are working hard but it’s not enough. 
marks throws on his suit and basically flies over to the building. he doesn’t care about being sneaky like he usually was- he simply alerts the police to evacuate feast to safety as he takes care of octavius industries. he has to when you’re there and there’s bombs involved. 
he has no idea where exactly you are, so he swings through each and every floor until he reaches the 10th. when mark scans the floor, and one of the room doors is closed, his senses tingle. 
it has to be. 
perhaps he was acting a little too hastily for his own good, busting down the door as he hears the timer echo in his head. less than 10 minutes until 7 am. he rushes in, but stops at the sight of you.
mouth gagged, you let out a tiny, helpless sound when you see spiderman, and #24 only laughs at the sight of the hero. 
“you finally joined the party.” 
mark assesses the situation. you tied up. #24 with a knife. the computer where it all stems from. 
“if you do anything,” #24 warns as he moves closer to you and you grunt, “they get it.” 
easy. mark grabs the knife with his web, slinging it out of the window with a loud crash in order to ensure that it’s effective out of reach. he can worry about the damage repairs later. 
but distracted while making sure the weapon was gone, #24 hastily grabs a monitor and slings it at mark. you let out a strangled sound and mark is ably to dodge it. so that’s how you wanna play, he huffs. 
he knows he can kick #24’s ass, but he doesn’t want to be too hasty when you’re there. damn it y/n, you should’ve stayed home. 
his eyes flick between the computer that’s still counting down and you staring bullets into #24. even mark still has the time to shiver at your deadly glare. 
but when he hears the familiar click of a gun, he freezes. #24 stands there, shaking as he holds it to your head. “if you come any closer, i’ll do it.” 
mark tries to keep cool. he holds his hands out but he’s essentially unable to move. 
you look into mark’s eyes, a little too calm for your own good. you can’t speak telepathically, but your eyes explain for you. 
“why are you doing this?” spiderman asks calmly, waiting. 
#24 chuckles. “so now you want my backstory, huh?“ he presses the gun closer to your head and you flinch this time. 
“well since we’ve got time,” he looks at the bright red numbers counting down to 0, “i suppose i can let you know. my father worked for one of these… wretched companies. one that didn’t care about the workers and were greedy for money. they ruined his life, my life. my family went bankrupt and my father died trying to repair it all as my mother left us. so i vowed to get revenge, and it wasn’t hard. just a couple of clicks to get in and now i have all their information. all the illegal stuff to ruin each and every one of those businesses. i would be the one to stop it all, to destroy the endless cycle of suffering and pain.” 
and then he looks mark straight in the eye, “i just didn’t expect a certain bug to get in the way.” 
right then and there, as #24 is distracted talking, you, who had been moving slightly underneath #24, give the slightest of nods to mark, who watches you with confusion. 
in that split second, you burst through the ropes that tied you back, and kick the guy in the balls. quite hard. 
while tied up for some time waiting for mark, there were a couple of options your brain sorted through. you at first wanted to use the pepper spray that you forgot about in your pocket but saw the mask #24 had on. plan failed. 
then you set to undoing the ropes that #24 had spontaneously found in the building, not knowing anyone was going to show up and try to foil his plans. the knot was extremely tight but you had time while waiting for mark, so you set to working on it inconspicuously to not alert the guy. 
all it took was distraction by mark to finally get out of it and hit #24 where it hurt the most. literally. 
as the guy crumples to the ground in pain (you’re sure of it), mark takes the opportunity to web him up against the while. double just to make sure. and with an extra punch to the face for all the past few weeks, mark couldn’t help it. 
you rush to the computer, hands shaking as you try to hack the stupid thing. mark runs to your side as he checks the timer-
 0:59. 
“come on y/n, i know you can do it.”
you shake your head, typing so fast as tears brim your eyes. it’s not the most difficult thing you’ve ever done, but it’s unfamiliar territory, #24’s own software. 
your fingers fly across the keyboard, furious typing sounds fill the building. your body is shaking, adrenaline filling you as you try countless things to get into the database. mark can do nothing except watch you work, completely foreign to the world of hacking, to what you do. 
 “i-i don’t think i can get it in time, mark. the-the building, it’s going to explode.” 
you keep pressing the enter button in desperation, but it doesn’t work. you cry out as your head whips to catch the time. 0:06.
growling in frustration, mark looks around the room. almost about to fly out to attempt to get the bombs himself, he looks at the timer that flashes with 3 seconds left, and mark instead decides otherwise.  
“brace yourself,” he shouts as you look up at him with wide eyes. he webshoots you to him, moving as far away as he can and shielding you from the impact as he squeezes his eyes shut.
you also close your eyes, trying your best to focus on the warmth of mark’s embrace around you as the timer goes out. 
contrary to your expectations, all you hear is a pop! and your eyes slowly open. getting out of mark’s embrace, you look at the sight in front of you. only the computer is blown up- a decoy. 
mark stands rigid next to you and you look at him, bewildered. “did he…”
“fake it?” mark finishes, glancing at you with a grim expression. he nods briefly. “it must’ve been a decoy, judging how we didn’t hear anything else.” 
that’s when he can hear the sounds of people oncoming, and he assumes it’s the police. 
you let out a sigh, feeling woozy from what just took place. mark immediately brings you to him, keeping you safe in his arms. and you’re constantly trembling in his arms as he continues to whisper, “you’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay now…” over and over. 
mark hugs you and you squeeze so tight as if you were never going to let go. 
eventually mark lets go to scold you. even without seeing his face fully behind the mask, you know how upset he is. 
“how could you have gone without letting me now? how could you have been so reckless? what would have happened if i didn’t make it in time?” you shrink further into yourself the more and more angry he gets. 
“i could have lost you, y/n! you mean too much to me, what would i have done if you died?” 
you avoid eye contact as you ask softly, “but how much?”
he stops. “what?”  
you finally look at mark with a strange intensity in your eyes. “so what?” you say and it catches him off guard. 
“w-what do you mean?” 
you shudder. “i have feelings for you, mark. are you that dense or just plain stupid? i don’t know how long i can go on with this- where you take and give but never tell me the truth.” 
he stares at you, dumbfounded. 
that’s when the police burst in. they interrupt the rest of your conversation,  taking you away for examining and questioning. you give him a defeated glance before turning away.  
mark can only watch you stalk off with the police and his gloved hands clench into fists. 
the rest of the commotion fades away. he’s occupied by thoughts of you, and he stares at the floor. 
“i’ve loved you since the first day we met,” he murmurs aloud to no one in particular. 
· • —– ٠ ⧗ ٠ —– • ·
one month later…
mark’s back in action, joking around with thugs before kicking their asses. he’s feeling a lot better after #24 was arrested and sent to jail, but he still feels empty. empty because after every fight, he returns home alone. and lonely. he no longer has his partner-in-crime. no more of your pleasant voice that would return his jokes as he quite literally punched a guy in the face or welcome him back after a long day of fighting crime.
it was for the better, he decided quickly on. after the latest stunt, your safety was more important than helping his superhero antics. and if that meant deciding to cut off all contact with you, so be it. (even if he was disappointed by the lack of effort you put up against it, not even a single call or motion of protest on your side..)
everyone at work notices it. the fact that you avoid him and the fact that mark is not the same bubbly guy he used to be when he was around you. the boys decide not to ask when they realize it’s a touchy subject and you gratefully hang out with them more to distract yourself with all the sudden free time you obtained, excluding mark. 
no more late night visits to mick’s, and the owner fears the worst has happened to you two when mark shows up occasionally, alone and miserable looking. even at feast (still perfectly intact and thriving), some of the guys have commented on his unnatural behavior. 
“hey, lee.” mr. stan calls out, inviting him over to his makeshift bed. mark trudges over, sitting down. he attempts to shoot him a grin, but it comes out half-heartedly. “what’s up?”
“you okay? you haven’t seemed like yourself lately. aunt may is worried, you know.”
mark looks down at his hands. “nah, it’s nothing…” mr. stan pats him on the back. 
“chin up, maybe you should talk to that girlfriend of yours. she’s too good for this world. man, last week when she came and threw a surprise party for gloria’s 70th party-“
mark’s head shoots up. “what? y/n came to feast?” mr. stan frowns. “you don’t even know? your girlfriend comes every thursday. that’s even more than you now, mark.” 
he says with a teasing lilt. his expression softens. 
“she cares so much for you, i think you should talk to her about it if it’s been bothering you that much.”
the action of his mouth automatically forming the words, she’s not my girlfriend… abruptly stops. 
mark shows up at your door that night with your favorite succulents because he remembers all the times you complained about flowers dying too soon. you open the door with messy hair and dark eye bags- your trademark- but he thinks you look so beautiful. 
your eyes widen. “mark?”
mark stands there, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. you notice what’s in his hands, and your expression hardens. “if you’re here to apologize, now’s not a good time.” you move to shut the door, but mark easily stops you.
“please let me in.” his pleading eyes make you relent, but not without a frustrated huff. he didn’t realize how much he missed seeing your place, your things, the smell of you. the existence of you. 
“what do you want?” you demand, and mark blanks. he didn’t really think this through, only knowing that he had to see you and see you now. 
“i….” he starts, biting his lip, and you raise an eyebrow. 
“i had no clue you felt that way about me,” he finally gets out. “and i assure you i wouldn’t have acted the way i did if i knew. y-you didn’t deserve that, and i’m so sorry.”
you grit your teeth. all your pent up feelings that you worked so hard to keep away escape. 
“i have liked you for two years. i’ve been by your side this whole time, and not once have i ever gotten the notion that you returned any feelings. to me, there wasn’t anything at all on your side so i kept it to myself. i was fine with that. but when you say that i mean so much to you and-” you gesture to the plant in his hands, “do things like that, it’s so, so hard to pretend there’s nothing-“ your voice breaks and you rub your temple in frustration. 
mark calls out your name.
your head starts to pound, mustering up the energy to fight with mark, freaking mark lee of all people was so much more draining than you thought. you hate the silence. you hate how this is what has become of you two.
“i- i was scared. i was scared to put you in danger and i was scared of losing you, until i almost did. but, i do know that i’ve loved you for two years. and i… i still do. ever since i took on spiderman, my whole life has changed, my whole world. maybe back then i didn’t want any more with you but that doesn’t mean my feelings have changed.” he says softly.  
your head snaps up, looking at him with raised eyebrows. “mark?”
“i love you.” that tender gaze never failed to make your heart skip. he takes a hesitant step, and then another until he’s so close you can hear and feel his breath. 
your body malfunctions- your eyes start to flutter shut as his face grows closer to yours, his familiar warmth encasing you. as your lips part and your breaths mix, you can feel the faintest graze of his nose bridge against your cheek. 
mark whispers, “look at me.”
you obey his command, slowly peeking your eyes open. you can’t seem to focus on his eyes, not even attempting to hide your gaze trailing down to his lips. you bet- no, know he’s doing the same. and when his arms encircle your waist, and your hands move with ease to wrap around his neck, it feels too good, too natural to be true.
you know can’t let this go. and mark knows for sure now, neither can he. 
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happy fourth of july to anyone who celebrates it and if not then i still hope you have a great day :) 
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imaginedreamwrite · 1 year
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PT x plus size reader opinion - all the boys could be become SO for our dear reader but in different circumstances. Here is my take:
Bucky and Curtis seems like type of men who would be interested in Reader after few interaction (not quite 'love at first sight', but 'I know you for a month and it is enough for me to know you are perfect), but they are awkward/too serious/can't talk about their emotions and Reader is confused. They both would do things for her and take care of her needs while giving no signs of 'hey, let's make out and date and maybe marry each other in few weeks' and are more like 'fuck this world, but you are cool, but fuck this world' vibe, so Reader who obviously has a crush doesn't know what to do.
Jake would probably bond with her daughter, taking a role of new uncle with Natasha and Wanda as aunts. While Reader is confident, she doesn't think Jake is interested in her (and she doesn't let herself even think about him becoming a dad to her daughter even though their relationship is so cute) - he is just lovely and dorky person who obviously is good with kids and happens to know her girlfriends. And Jake? He is dying inside because Reader is perfect, he loves her daughter and all he dreams about is them making out for the rest of their lives.
Steve quickly becomes Reader's gym buddy, but Reader is intimidated, because he looks like a Greek God. But he is true gentleman and actually quite shy. So, their romance slowly began to blossom while both of them don't acknowledge their feelings until tension is so strong that Steve fucks Reader in the gym or elsewhere - location doesn't matter, because the sex is 🔥 everywhere. (I feel like there should be an angsty part. Like Reader overheard a nasty comment made by other PT who implies that Steve has a sexual relationship with Reader 'for fun' and believed it).
Ari strikes me a owner of gym and girls make him meet with Reader because she can help him business wise. They bond over the gym (both sport and business parts) and Ari doesn't mind adding romantic part to their relationship, but Reader has complicated relationship with father of her child and her daughter is absolutely hostile towards him (she is just intimidated by the giant and obviously whole mess with her father doesn't let her open up to him). So, if he really wants to be with Reader, he has to win not only Reader's heart and trust, but her daughter's too.
First, I love how in depth this is! This is incredible and I admire you so much for it! Thank you!
Bucky and Curtis — 💯 they give me vibes of touch her and die, or she is mine/ours but she doesn’t know she’s mine/ours. Both a little cantankerous, they’re genuine with few people and reader/her daughter at at the core of their niceties
“Fuck then all, fuck everyone else.” “Except you two.”
Jake is the quickest (imo) to be all in all at once while Reader is hesitant because he’s so goofy and dorky and he makes everyone smile and why would he bother with a single mother?
Jake waves his hand in front of you with a cockeyed grin, picturing the rest of his life with you and your daughter. “You are the girls I’m looking for.”
Steve is a giant, he’s second only to Ari and he knows that Reader’s scared of him, but not truly scared more intimidated. He starts slow with her, knowing he’s got to ease her into a place of comfort. He starts with a fresh water bottle when she first gets in, and it slowly builds until the tension between them is electrifying—and then he takes her, reassuring her that everything she hears about his past, or what his intentions are with her, are lies
“Give me one more,” his lips suckle on the shell of your ear, sweat rolling down the back of your neck as his fingers fill you, his hands already drawing multiple orgasms from you without deeper penetration, “and tell me what I want to hear.”
I think with Ari he would’ve seen her around before with Nat & Wanda, maybe during some parties or events Reader is invited to, and he’s drawn to her. Without knowing much about her, he talks to Nat & Wanda who want to be matchmakers and know that Ari would be good for her. However Reader’s ex is an ass and that took a toll on her daughter and Ari needs to fix what was damaged
“Honeybee and bumblebee,” he crouched before her, gently nuzzling the stuffed bee into her arms, “you don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m not gonna hurt you, honeybee. I promise, I’m going to keep you safe from every monster whose ever frightened you.”
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brightnote · 10 months
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A Secret Invasion Math Problem (Spoilers Episode 3)
Here’s a math problem for you, if Gravik kills two women how many of them will come back? LOL did you answer 1? I think you are correct. -- at least I don’t think this is the end of Emilia in the series regardless of whether it is G’iah who comes back or the character whose identity G’iah stole!! 
What major potential reveals do we have here: Rhodey is probably being impersonated by a skrull and he’s the one who told Gravik that Nick returned to earth and was with Hill. This will replace my Talos set up Hill theory to Rhodey set up Hill theory as Rhodey also knows that separating Hill and Fury would be important and disadvantage Fury significantly. 
What supports this reveal? Fury says “no one calls him Nick” and finds Bob impersonating Talos and using his name Nick on the phone. Rhodey calls Fury Nick when he fires him. This could be a sign of a skrull or it could be Rhodey setting Fury straight with the seriousness of what happened. Hill called him Fury at the bar in this series but we know she has called him Nick many times before. Kind of a silly thing to change for her.
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We also know other people have called Fury Nick, including Tony Stark -- maybe what he means by no one calls him Nick is that anyone who does... dies? (Tony, Natasha, Maria, if skrull Rhodey is killed it’s foreshadowing and then Bob is killed by Talos) Was this just a line of Fury trying to be cool (another ‘even when i am out i am in’ line with a reference back to Captain Marvel!) maybe a total a misdirect, too or red herring! 
My guess it’s just an attempt and IMO a failing at a cool line. (he’s kind of 0/2 on this right now because “even when he’s out he’s in” despite how good that scene was wasn’t really accurate to the events that had just happened when Fury, Talos, and Hill got caught up in the trap so I wouldn’t say even when you are out you are in... because clearly CLEARLY he was not in during the bombing and this line ‘no one calls him Nick’ also not true... so maybe we are getting to the big reveal .... double Fury? I did not buy this at first but I am starting to now.  One theory out there right now is that Nick sans glasses is actually Soren and Nick with glasses is true Nick.  Except of course in the very first episode we see Nick with and without glasses around Talos and Maria so when does second Fury slip in? If that’s the case, Nick sans glasses  was the one at Maria’s funeral/body transfer and if that’s the case wooo boy, if he wasn’t really there idk. Unless there is a third Fury who went out and saved Maria and we just didn’t see that, and I am fine with that fyi. When would second Fury have tapped in? (well I guess third because of Gravik’s Fury) 
  We also see have a scene where Priscilla is on the phone asking to speak to Gravik. Some people say this was Rhodey’s voice I rewatched and can hear that it is Rhodey for sure. The tension between Rhodey and Fury is very good and would be interesting to flesh out. If Rhodey is being impersonated by a skrull this can explain how a skrull Ross infiltrated and was able to contact Hill---this still wouldn’t totally explain skrull Ross calling Hill for an extraction unless they wanted to involve Fury?  I keep going back to this initial sequence for a reason, because it matters!!  There are a lot of gaps here in how these events came to be. 
Gravik’s plan to out G’iah works and he tries to kill her but we know at least that Emilia will be back in the show. Some are saying she comes back as a super skrull because she was in the lab!  If they bring G’iah back as a super skrull i think that would be kind of dumb.  If G’iah is for real dead this binds Fury and Talos in their fight against Gravik even more ~CUTE~ that these men are being motivated by their complicity in the deaths of women in their lives that they paternal relationships with. Such a dangerous way to display these kind of relationships and pretty lazy FYI. This may also explain the Maria and G’iah encounter in the tunnel which is such an awkward unexplained scene so far. These two women intertwine allegedly on the same side (unknown to them) and then are killed (or believe they are killed) by men in their lives with paternal relationships to them. 
Fury knows his wife is a skrull. Fury is relatively happy for having watched his bff die in his arms and then being fired and is now eating eggs and tomatoes which he later calls dog food when he sees Talos in the diner. Hm.
Knowing there is no Maria in this episode it is hard to pay attention. I am holding out because IMBD credited Cobie in episodes 4 and 6 after her death in episode 1 but then it reverted back to episodes 1-6. 
Notice: We also see a green and red wine bottle on Sonya’s desk. Not dissimilar to the green and red beer bottle we saw with Maria at the bar!  This may be an indication of a ‘skrull in the room’ OR that if a character has a red and green bottle or item that they will be killed by a skrull and we have seen Sonya wear green and red before unlike Hill whose color scheme was blue and white (or very light gray and blue)  Sonya is relatively fine being bugged by Fury. She’s chill that that WWIII is about to start, and so is Talos, so let’s talk about dogs--dogs come up a lot with Talos.
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Definitely a change in tone in this one and not really for the better. I love Talos and Fury together but I think they need Hill to cut up the banter or set them both straight because some of it is kinda ugh.   Talos pulls a Thor in Endgame TYPICAL men. Maria never would have let that happened and probably would never let Fury take a child hostage, and to be honest i have a hard time believing Fury would take a child hostage.  Especially because Fury has figured out that Bob is a skrull so why would taking his human son hostage matter? Is Bob’s son a skrull or is this fake Fury / Soren and Soren knows that acting as a person for a long time will invest those emotions into the skrull actor. It seems more like a skrull move than a Fury move to be honest. Overall, the stakes feel relatively low during this allegedly tense start of WWIII moment probably because it is a fake plot. We don’t even know how Fury got these plans but we are to assume it is from him listening or getting a read on Priscilla’s phone in the early scenes when he was wearing his glasses. 
AND we are 2/2 for killing the women in this show. You know they will bring Emilia back and not Maria/Cobie and I realized it the second she was shot also there was do dramatic pan out bleeding sequence. LET ME TELL YOU IT’S GONNA BE DUMB if it’s because she’s a super skrull and not because we are getting to know the person who G’iah stole the identity of. Tbh when people said they felt nothing for Maria Hill dying I was like HOW COULD YOU! THIS IS EVERYTHING 12 YEARS WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING HER SAVE AVENGERS AND I AM STILL TALKING ABOUT IT 3 WEEKS LATER.  I know G’iah or at least Emilia is coming back. I think a lot of people presume Hill is coming back because of Coulson and Fury also returning from death (Fury two times) Additionally, Sharon Carter also survived a bullet to the gut. The people around Hill always returning is probably a sign that she in fact, will not. Additionally all of the trailer in the footage or clips we have seen of Hill have been used in the first episode (except for the opening scene in the teaser trailer at the bar which is different than the scene in Episode one!) 
Part of me is like I can’t believe I was ever excited for this show. 
Theories I may have to throw out or edit: Talos set Maria up to ice Fury out. It seemed possible in the first two episodes as we still don’t know how Gravik got his details about Fury returning but of course the show is setting it up that Priscilla with Rhodey are the double spies with Gravik. Since we actually don’t know Priscilla it’s not a super interesting set up that Priscilla is the traitor. It would be much more interesting to see the tension between Fury and Talos, Fury and Rhodey, or Fury and Hill tbh.
I do like this theory that one Fury is Soren and that would explain why I am really excited about a twist that Talos and Fury have been having a secret affair for years because they definitely have something going on.
The Maria G’iah Swap theory I think is potentially out maybe it is a symbolic scene about Gravik killing G’iah.  If the G’iah body woman allegedly Abbigal Brand is true then she’s on Fury and Talos’ side this would also explain why the had to kill off Hill in episode 1 because for some reason in spy thrillers there is a rule where there can’t be two women---there can only be one?? This is still true in 2023 apparently and as the lead in TO THE MARVELS WHERE THERE ARE THREE LEADING WOMEN. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Overall this one was a 3/5 for me. A lot of people seemed to really like it but idk it did not hit for me, i’m a sore loser over Maria. I did think there were some good parts but overall I didn’t think it was cut very well and some the lines were rough. I know the WWIII plot was a fake out for Gravik to get G’iah but have you ever felt lower stakes for the start of a major international incident before? And uh shooting women must be like a Gravik kink or something, has he even shot any men? Also why do these men keep doing dumb shit to hurt the women in their lives and do them so dirty, Since it was revealed that G’iah was actually in contact with Talos, Talos calling her for the intel seems like a definite way to get her killed but as we know from Far From Home Talos is actually really kind of bad at anticipating what’s going to happen. 
Oh my only remaining theory: misdirect vs trope on the Maria fridging still leaning hard that this is a classic trope that we hate but given the marketing I will give it a 1/5 chance that marvel pulls some cool twist. The director did say Hill “played a big role” in it, but since her time in the first episode and Fury being mostly unaffected by her death (at least it seems that way and if there are two Furys this could explain the disconnect) and it coming up only two times in the second episode and no times in the third episode does this mean a big role or reveal is yet to come? There’s basically very few to none Maria theories out there on the popular breakdown videos so I guess I will just keep advancing them here. 
No special guest star billing for Cobie on this one so we know IMDB is just lying to us, and I guess that hurts more not seeing special guest star than it does seeing it. This is definitely the weakest episode so far. 
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rotworld · 1 month
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I just finished Avici and I had to come over here to express how amazing it was. I'm usually not into romance fics but Sukuna/Reader stories usually get at least a second look from me because his canon character is just very hard to write a 'normal' romance for so any story seriously tackling that is worth trying imo, and I'm so glad I did!
The characterisation of Gojo and Sukuna are wonderful, you really delved deep into the darker side of these monstrously powerful sorcerers in the frankly grim world of jujutsu. I've seen a lot of fics make these two softer (especially Gojo) so your portrayal is like a splash of cold water on a hot day lol. I don't even particularly like Gojo honestly but stories that show his darker side kind of make me see his appeal, a little.
I gotta say normally I'm ambivalent towards smut and don't actively search for it, but it's such a core part of Avici that I feel it wouldn't really work as well without it. The flashbacks and slow reveal of what exactly the reader is and the twisted bond they have with Sukuna and later Gojo really add a sense of tension and like, dread? To the whole thing, which was lovely. I also read your director's cut bc I was so enthralled, I'm blown away by how much went into it!
If you're willing to weigh in, what do you personally imagine happens to the reader during the canon timeline?
answer is long and contains jjk manga spoilers. 
aaaaaaaaaa that makes me so happy!!! i started out with very little interest in gojo but sort of wrote myself into liking him lol working on avici made me realize how easy it is to draw comparisons between him and sukuna. the things i've come to like about him are mostly things that lend themselves well to angsty scenarios, characters who are messy like that are like catnip to me. as for how things would go for the reader, it’s mostly just more misery.
by the end of the shibuya arc, the reader is in the custody of kenjaku and uraume. as a result of the failed noh exorcism, they have a strong connection to gojo so they would’ve felt it when he was sealed. it would resemble what sukuna’s dormancy feels like, and i think it would leave them with some complicated feelings. maybe that would be enough for them to leave and start wandering in search of some other way to pass the time, or maybe they’d stay there waiting. either way, uraume finds and retrieves them. this would probably involve a fight. the reader by the end of avici isn’t the docile creature uraume remembers. sukuna probably had the foresight to warn them, since this is an outcome he anticipated and even wanted, but that wouldn’t make the reader any easier to deal with. they are, by design, the kind of curse that only someone like sukuna or gojo can safely handle. maybe kenjaku can help with the apprehension lol
for the most part, i don’t think the reader would be very active. they would stick with uraume and kenjaku because they know that’s where they need to be. they would be there to spectate the culling game, they would be there when sukuna reappears in a new host, and they would be there when gojo dies. that might be the thing that finally sets them off, since they were counting on gojo to win that fight. if we’re going into fully indulgent territory lol then the reader would be involved in the final battle against sukuna, however that turns out. that’s the natural conclusion of their arc and it would be poetic for him to die at not only the hands of the thing he created, but the collective remnants of the people he used and tortured in the past. and it would be fitting for the reader to follow him, as promised, into whatever kind of oblivion comes next for curses. 
i guess that’s a little bleak lol but that’s more or less how it was always going to be. there’s no end to this for the reader, they’re stuck with him for eternity because he made them that way. but maybe there’s some closure there at least.
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bookofmirth · 1 year
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To be able to reject is to have a mystery whether or not it will work.
I don't think Sarah even thought about half of the theories that people make.
It was just to show that Feyre and Nesta chose because she could do it.
I talk about this a lot because I'm not curious after 3.5 Feysand books she will only develop this in the 5 or 6 books of Acotar.
And except that from the moment that Feyre or Nesta managed to have other loves, it already shows that nothing will be so difficult to reject and live without your partner.
We don't need to have a partnership rejection book to understand this.
(At least I don't)
But I would not reject LoAe Helion because this book would be about many more things than just rejecting the bond.
And it wouldn't be the main pilot of the book either.
I would like a tale of them without having a big villain and destroying the world.
Apart from the fact that the characters have more important conflicts than questioning whether they can reject or not.
We don't need to have a partnership rejection book to understand this.
EXACTLY. She clearly loves mates. All of her main couples are mates, all of them resisted the bond at first, all of them had other partners previously, all of them were able to reject the bond but we knew they wouldn't, we just didn't know how it would happen. But we have to have the tension of possible rejection, or what are we reading for?
I'd love to get more info into what LoA and Helion's relationship was like. I'd prefer that to literally everything related to the crossover. I wonder if the only reason we got what we got was to give Lucien a bit more backstory and show some of his issues, but I still love the idea of LoA and Helion pining for centuries and being able to be together, then being forced apart :')
Apart from the fact that the characters have more important conflicts than questioning whether they can reject or not.
And this too!!!! The characters have a lot of stuff going on that has nothing to do with future romances. They are full, complete people with complicated families, exes, dead and/or abusive fathers, powers they don't understand, unrequited love, complex friendships, internal conflicts about where they truly belong, etc. IMO, only looking at them from a shipping perspective does them a disservice. (And actually has shipping implications because all of those other issues will impact their romantic relationships.)
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pinkseas · 1 year
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naur but everytime i word vomit into ur inbox i literally cant remember 70% of it than the core details and the ones you answered the next day so it's kinna funny i wish tumblr lets me save my anon asks than eating it up cus i ain't drafting it like ANYWAY TO UR BESTIE THAT MENTIONED US >> I LOVE GOING INSANE WITH ALY PINKSEAS TOO ur friends are so real!!!!!!! youre insane are you single IS SUCH A FUNNY ASS LINE I WISH I WAS HIT BY IT AND I'D SAY YEA WHAT ABOUT IT
"twitter scares me so bad" as you should it's a shithole for genshin altogether with discourse and mischaracterization and you'd literally cannot stop seeing any of them once you get genshin in ur algorithm and yknow what i realized my only Best fandom experience came from tumblr with undertale Despite its discourses bc its got effective filters and the people are genuinely Good so now i'm thinking of yeeting outta twt and spectating my way here like last time (i am already doing it)
"if i read soulmates it has to be done Right [...] they can’t depend on one another they cant need one another they have to Want. they have to Choose" LIKE NO YEAH THIS IS SO TRUE SO REAL THIS IS WHAT BUGS ME ON SOULMATE AUS when it's almost not by choice and they have to work on accepting it like they're forced into needing it's like,.. a very complicated method here in changing their minds toward the other person Because of the cursed bestowed on them- the point of Choice is so fucking important to me especially when it comes to xiao specifically bc in my rendition of his he's unfamiliar with such things for a long time,.. and even in canon he's a lil troubled about deciding things for himself in the presence of higher beings until he's allowed to IT JUST HURTS HE LOST HIS FREE WILL AND THEN UR SOUL BOUND LIKE WHAT (AND FR specific soulmate tropes where the two ARE given the choice for it are. acceptable 2 me)
"lumine handling intensity well and being much better at identifying her emotions suits her SO well imo" yeah like yea!!EVERYTHING ABT THIS and i think it follows up all the traveler's sass in-game bc she's so fuckin hilarious for delivering lines super well despite having Less lines cus aside paimon taking over the talking she does have her moments and i lov her for it I DO WISH THEY HAVE HER TALK MORE EVEN WITH THE USUAL TEXT CHOOSING i just want her sick ass lines conversing
FKSDFHJSKDFJ ENDEARING IS SUCH A GODLIKE WORD TO ME I WILL KEEP USING IT FOR XIAO EVER its the way you can use it like. subtlely. a lil hidden a lil not Much about his cuteness without explicitly calling him cute its Big Word for the small boy!!!!
your thoughts on qpr makes me feel so much better abt thinking this way bout r/s like YEAH its all abt communication and open with boundaries and there really is something stifling about established r/s BUT IT'S COMPLETELY FINE FOR THOSE WHO PREFER THAT ANYHOW!!
AND YES SO MUCH ON LUMINE AND XIAO'S SHOW OF ATTRACTION TO EACH OTHER i wudnt even call it attraction i think anything that indicates a romantic tension between them is something i'm not gonna entertain like 'craving' or 'desire' (this word in particular is used very specific) and stuff like that, and it's a big fact that lumine's attachment feels like its the same to everyone Except aether,... even after she discovers his abyss persona she still begs for them to go back home too. it's unbeatable even to xiao, or at least, xiao has a different treatment to kindness for being so Similar to her (breaks down) "i feel like seeing each other constantly would be a detriment i think it’d make them both feel really weird." like RIGHT????? IT JUST FEELS OFF THIS WAY and it's not a good portrayal of xiao's desperation not wanting to lose someone else anymore. but even then, idt he shows that notion much or at all than his self-sacrifice tendencies, which is an entirely different topic. this thing about xiao's attachments and morals is a complicated thing to tackle altogether...;;,,
"no bc i characterize lumine as LOVING nature so bad" and u are absolute fucking RIGHT to think that, and for me she just likes exploring in general and is a bit of a reckless daredevil so long she has her glider and its the only condition. its stupid it's silly BUT IT MAKES SENSE shes just a constant headache to xiao in looking after her testing through the terrain but /pos
"i am So Grateful to you for sharing your thoughts i am so giddy over us being on such similar wavelengths" AND ME TO YOU TOO IT'S BEEN SO GOOD TO JUST SPILL EVERYTHING I HAVE IN MIND and get comfortable even on stuff im shy to reveal on unpublished asks cus ur reactions even if not agreeing there's still some reassurance anyway and i dont mind that or feel rejected at all when 98% others is what we just. have connected brains on KDJFHSDKJFH AND JEEZ I RLLY DO CAN'T HELP MYSELF WHEN THE BRAINWORMS INVADE WHEN I REPLY UR RESPONSES TOO it takes over my fingers like a parasite i gratefully let em
and ouuouh ur interpretation of the two's development starting in inazuma is so sweet and it makes sense bc of how dangerous the region is bc in my silly lil bran it made sense to have it After the chasm since it's the quests centering his arc AND I STILL CANT BELIEVE HE HAS HIS OWN ARCHON INTERLUDE,.. this made me loving all the peeps of the chasm gang too and i wish they did Something after the quest ended like UEUEUE TRAUMA SHARING SESSION FOR PPL WHO ONLY MET FOR 3 DAYS LETS GO
so like i start from sumeru bc of the points bc of this and bc i love slow development So Much im practically immune to slowburn did u know. all those fics do Not affect me even if i reach its 30th chapter of them being reluctant to opening up. ""zhongli encouraging him to take more time to himself, lumine taking him on little trips guiding him out more and more and more often" is THE CONCEPT EVER YOU HAVE ZHONGLI INVOLVED idk if you dig this but parental zhongli has me on the floor so id like to think he's another important figure in xiao's life aside lumine too he's just that warm hand on his back encouraging Out of his comfort zone and obligations and lumine's the hand that pulls him Along to see the new things of the world. like zhongli is such a dad,.... doing dad things a grandpa to liyue but i also cant help but have him having an attachment to xiao knowing they share a life even as a master-subordinate r/s (cus in my interpretation zhongli never felt that way than thinking he just wants xiao to Live, too,.. sobbing crying shitting)
"taking baby steps in leaving that part of his life, never quite letting go but letting the ties that hold him to liyue loosen, never forgetting his contract and his duty but understanding that there’s no longer an obligation to fulfill it, that he does it out of his own wish instead. i just. idk. idk !!!!!! at the core of it i think im obsessed with them learning how to live again and doing it together" i got no words. i ran out of brain fuel but my body is convulsing folding in on itself liek MY LIEGE YOU ARE!!!!! U R SO,........ LIKE OSBFGKJFGHDKJGH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA this is THE XIAOLUMI AND METHINKS,....... THE XIAO ARC IN ENTIRETY AS WELL CUS I BELIEVE IN HIS INDEPENDENCY (with a little help and support from ppl who cares bout him) i just akjdhaskejjksfhsdfkjhdsjfhkjdsbvadhvbjhkv
using a read more thingy just for the sake of anyone on mobile
NOT REMEMBERING ASKS IS SO REAL i forget what i say so often even when i Can go back and check how the fuck am i supposed to know what ive said when i Can't
MY BESTIE THAT MENTIONED US >>> SO REAL i think its been more than a few at this point actually which is very funny to me. shan if ur reading this i am holding u so close to me in my little arms. youre insane are you single is the best line ever especially when you are Dating The Person Who Says It my response every time is "no but i could be😏" i find myself far too funny its awful
we are Shaking Hands in terms of being on tumblr experiencing the undertale fandom that's so real of us undertale was the reason i got a tumblr in the first place all those years ago... you should ABSOLUTELY spectate here i literally never see anything i don't want to see i live in my perfect little echo chamber it's so <333
"even in canon he's a lil troubled about deciding things for himself in the presence of higher beings until he's allowed to" GODDD YEAH YEAH YEAH YEA H YEAH YEAHY HEA YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!! do NOT force this boy into situations he does that enough by himself thank you very much
"even after she discovers his abyss persona she still begs for them to go back home" no bc its just. On Another Level Genuinely. they've been traveling together with no one but each other with god knows how long especially depending on personal headcanons, they're used to going through entire worlds and moving on theyre used to not getting super attached !!! its a little different in teyvat i think because theyve lost most of their power and they're trapped and alone for the foreseeable future but. that still doesnt change the past and their habits yknow ?? its something i try REALLY hard not to think about actually because (with the exception of a very specific au which i am currently writing for) unless they're just. trapped on teyvat Forever i CANNOT imagine lumine staying there once she has the ability to leave and i CANNOT imagine xiao ever leaving. it makes me So Sad genuinely i simply refuse to acknowledge its existence
"xiao's attachments and morals is a complicated thing to tackle altogether" SO REAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IM SO GLAD U THINK IM RIGHT ABT THE NATURE LOVING it just feels right tbh and "shes just a constant headache to xiao in looking after her testing through the terrain but /pos" also so real <33333333 lumine and her silly little glider. god. i love them both so bad
i do like to think of the chasm as post-inazuma but thats because in my head w/ their development inazuma is like. The Next Step almost, where they're close enough in liyue but the fact that they continue to be close even once lumine has left really hits. and then they've been a bit closer and become familiar with one another in quite a few ways by the time the chasm happens and then i get super self indulgent with the chasm because i am so silly like that <3333 in terms of slowburn and the way you've described their growing closeness it does make SO much sense to swap it tbh i love the thought of the chasm being like the start of things and the way that'd bring them closer before inazuma and. mfgnmhfnmf god. GOD.
"i wish they did Something after the quest ended" no bc in my little brain they get together once every month or two just to have a meal together and talk and keep up with each other they are Friends Now
"parental zhongli has me on the floor so id like to think he's another important figure in xiao's life aside lumine too he's just that warm hand on his back encouraging Out of his comfort zone and obligations and lumine's the hand that pulls him Along to see the new things of the world" this is the most perfect accurate thing i have read in my entire life for starters i LOVE parental zhongli like. idk not FULL parental not too much but def him being a more parental figure in xiao's life especially compared to other interpretations of their dynamic i just. god. it is So Important to me that zhongli cares for him and looks after him just in those little ways. the warm encouraging hand on his back vs the hand pulling him along is PERFECT thats such a fucking amazing way of putting it i love everything abotu that the image is so clear in my head
o(-(
^^^ me dead on the floor thinking about zhongli and lumine being such important figures in xiao's life... i like to think that a Lot of the characters in liyue are important to him in different, small little ways i just don't know their characters well enough to fully describe how but like. idk baizhu qiqi yanfei ganyu yknow ?? i know next to nothing about yanfei but i might have to try and write her for this honestly we'll see how it goes but i REALLY want there to be at least one character other than the few i have now who he ends up talking to even if its just smth rly simple... if nothing else the chasm crew is getting an honorable mention on god
idk i just. xiao has done so much for liyue for so long i really love to think of those very few who know him trying to do little supporting things for him, too it's so important to me
okay and now !!!
i am also gonna answer the Other Ask but without publishing it naturally it will simply live comfy cozy in my inbox <333
THAT ONE SHIP "it mischaracterizes Both characters in the pair altogether for the sake of romance" you're so real for this idk i dont MIND seeing it but it has never felt in character to me and i feel like this describes exactly why ?? idk maybe its just the xiaolumi brainworms eating away at me but like. i Get It
what you said about like. your personal hcs for him in regards to that trauma and how he processes it that is SO fucking valid, i def understand getting anxious about certain self-indulgent hcs im the same way both with the sillier ones and heavier ones but i can promise you that if nothing else i will Never judge you for even the most self indulgent ridiculous shit EVER. like the way you described it all is so valid and so easy to picture and a really good way to interpret/believe he'd deal with everything but even if you were to have the most ooc headcanon or anything ever just for fun just for the sake of it i simply would never judge having fun is the Most Important with these things im so srs
we have diff interpretations of how he'd deal with things like the yaksha's deaths and zhongli dying but i think a lot of the points we both have are still pretty similar, ESPECIALLY with him not knowing how to handle it and ESPECIALLY especially with the shock factor. the way i write him or would write his reaction to that would definitely be him just sort of Shutting Down emotionally because its too much and too overwhelming and so he kicks into like. i cant call it work mode its not really a job. but he fully focuses on fighting and finding out who couldve killed rex lapis and like. he turns his attention to things that are familiar and easier to deal with and he buries himself in them the way one would bury themselves in their work to ignore emotions yknow? and then there'd be the shock factor of "oh he Is alive" and then there's this massive pit of grief with nowhere to go because logically, reasonably, rex lapis is alive, there's nothing left to grieve. he shouldn't still be upset <- man who refuses to let himself process and feel his emotions when the emotions dont stop existing just bc he ignores them
that being said that's definitely a Pattern With Me Specifically like in the barbara fic ive been working its built off of canon but i take it SO far just bc i can :sob: and i enjoy it way too much to want to Not do that yknow? girls who struggle to process and Actually Feel their emotions writing characters strugglign to process and Actually Feel their emotions so that she can process and feel them vicariously through them <3 or something along those lines idk at this point its less that and more "wow this is really fun to write and its smth im familiar with so its easier to write as well"
my cat meowed and i stepped away for like 2 seconds to pet her and immediately lost every train of thought ive ever had in my life hopefully i wasnt gonna say anything else LMAO but no yeah self indulgent hcs and ways of interpreting characters >>>>>>>
i keep reading and rereading the way you described xiao's response to grief i am OBSESSED its so easy to imagine its so easy to see like oh my god. ohhhh my god. based as hell it suits him so well
i cannot think of anythign else to say back to the trenches i go <- finding scenes where i started in the middle or left out the endings and filling those parts in now that i dont know what else to write. its been really nice actually ive gotten a lot done just with that LMAO
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mlchaelwheeler · 2 years
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I like this season, and I like the vecna plot but the episodes are so long and there’s just a lot going on. For me it makes me realize that less is more. The first two seasons had shorter episodes and were generally simpler, but they were still able to focus on the key characters. The first three seasons only took like six months to film (not including editing ofc etc), and the first three seasons didn’t take as long to write, especially not season 1 and season 2. From the return to filming in 2020 season 4 took almost a year to film the season. Like I can understand that covid would have really impacted the filming upon the return, but I also think a hugee reason why it took so long was because it would’ve been complicated to film with the three plotlines being set in different locations, not to mention how long the episodes are. 
Tbh I’d prefer shorter episodes like in s1 and s2 that don't have too many plotlines to follow, the first two seasons felt so effortless but this season sometimes feels overly complicated. The duffers said that they structure the seasons like they’re a movie almost and I do see that with the first three seasons, but this season it almost feels like we’re watching 3 separate movies lol. Idk, I know they were only going to do one or two seasons at first and sometimes it’s kinda evident imo especially considering s1 started filming almost immediately after season 1 aired and idk it feels like the same show but it also doesn’t at time lol. I want them to go back to the basics honestly lol, and can they just have the byers in hawkins next season because i don’t really want another cali road trip plot even though it’s entertaining hahahaah. Sorryyy this is a bit of a rant lmaooo
No, I totally get your frustration! I also miss the simplicity of S1 and S2 where there was really only 1-2 main plot lines going on. With S4 however, there are 4 main plots, but I feel like only 2 of them really got well-fleshed out: Hawkins and the HNL. The Hawkins plot was my favorite this season, since everything came together really well and all the characters worked so well together. The HNL plot line was also super interesting and connected so beautifully to the Hawkins plot line when 001 was revealed to be Vecna.
The cali plot line was a missed opportunity imo, since they were given almost no scenes compared to the other 3 plots (they weren't even in 4x07!) and 2 of the characters are main characters from S1. It was really sad to see Mike and Will sidelined so bad in comparison to new characters like Jason and Eddie (i love him, but the main characters deserved a good portion of his screentime imo). The Russia plot line also kind of felt like a missed opportunity, mostly bc I feel like Hopper's plot didn't really pick up until 4x06 when he was put in the demopit. His scenes in the first 5 episodes didn't seem to have really any impact on the rest of the plot this season, so I wish they would've allocated this time to the cali crew.
Another thing I was unhappy about is that only the Hawkins and HNL plots seemed to be important to the overall story. The Russia plot has no connection to Vecna at all, and only involved the upside down when the demogorgan was introduced. Now, I know the mindflayer is somehow captured in Russia, but this will probably only play a role in 4x09, or the back half of 4x08. Similarly with the cali plot line, I feel like it started off good--establishing tension between Mike, El, and Will and allowing El to struggle without her powers--but once El was "taken," the plot was seemingly put on gold. It's like the writers forgot Mike, Will, and Jonathan used to be main characters and shoved them aside in favor of El. As someone who loved that stranger things used to be an ensemble show, I'm getting really sick of how much El has been spotlighted recently. I absolutely love her, but her storyline can be developed the same without giving her 50% of the screen time of each season.
This also kind of turned into a rant 🧍🏼‍♂️ oops
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soyala23 · 2 years
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Clint Barton’s Family
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I’m just here sharing my two cents that no one asked for. I read a post where someone wrote people are starting to like Clint having a family and that the only reason people where against it originally was because a group of fans were too vocal that their OTP wasn’t canon [that’s such an oversimplification]. Fans for years, no matter what the fandom, complain and nitpick on how Hollywood handles their favorite characters so it’s unfair to target a group of fans for doing the same. Fans have the right to their opinions/feelings and shouldn’t be attacked for it.
My initial issues with the Barton fam, outside its awkwardness and randomness, were primarily how it crippled MCU Barton’s character. The Hawkeye series keeps taking a dig, at Clint, suggesting Hawkeye has a branding issue … really? I think not.
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The truth is a lot of MCU fans never got to really know who Clint was. [Honestly, I think MCU hates Clint for some reason. Like where was Clint in CAWS when it’s about the fall of SHIELD? Whatever. MCU seems to only support heroes with flashy powers or tech imo.]
I guess ...I can get MCU’s attempt of using the family as Clint’s cornerstone, his impetus in becoming Ronin and doing whatever it took to get them back, after Thanos, but creating this family also came with consequences. Early on as soon as the family appeared, his wife wanted him to retire (as early as the 2nd Avengers movie) because they were having another child.
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This took Clint out of the Avenger picture and forced him to be the least used original Avenger member… like taking house arrest because it was too hard on his family. I wasn’t thrilled about that. Clint essentially only made a guest appearance in Civil War and was completely absent in Infinity Wars. General fans didn’t have the time to connect with Hawkeye because he wasn’t there enough. It also makes you wonder how MCU Clint previously worked as an assassin and a spy, being gone months at a time, killing people, and still making it back home to be the leave it to beaver dad, but being an Avenger is now a problem. This didn’t make sense to me but that’s what you get with a choppy storyline.
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Okay, so they gave him a family…but a 1950s family? Joss Whedon stated he wanted Clint to be different and normal [what’s normal anyways] compared to the other Avengers. So does normal equates to having a cookie-cutter family with a white picket fence living in a small town where the ever so polite kids can be raised with good morals? Are we returning to this old-fashion narrative to what an ideal family is because I can’t relate to it. [Is this why MCU made Natasha feel less than because she couldn’t have kids or like she should sacrifice herself because she had nothing to lose (i.e a traditional family)? I won’t go down this rabbit hole but that is pretty fucked up for the modern era.
Shoot me but I like my characters darker and more complicated …sorry. Clint has just as much blood on his hands as does Natasha. Clint overcame a lot from his own broken family growing up. Bottom-line, there is so much to Clint that I didn’t think he needed a family to define his character, in the first place.
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If you are going to keep going with this family narrative, it’s about time MCU added a little tension and some complexities. I love the scene with Clint and his youngest on the phone in Ep 3. I would have to be pretty heartless not to find this scene so emotional. Any decent parent will tell you that your kids matter most over any other relationship, so I get it. Now we see Clint alone without Natasha, SHIELD, and the Avengers so all he has left is his kids. Vulnerable Clint makes me sad. Here is a guy who is so used to being in control and now he is emotionally defenseless as he must figure out who he is, deal with being HOH, and rebuild his relationship with his kids. This scene did a great job portraying all these emotions with him breaking down and being forced to rely on the help from a young girl, he just met.
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On the other hand, it bothers me that the kids keep guilt tripping Clint so hard. Clint was the one who lost precious time with his kids but for them they didn’t lose a second. He literally was on house arrest with his family, for 2 years before the snap, but they act like he is a deadbeat dad who was never around (okay idk what happened those 2 years after endgame though). Clint already spent alone time when the kids for holiday activities. I was like your dad almost died bringing you guys back… when he’s trying so hard and loves you guys more than anything. Makes me annoyed at the older kids because I can understand the little one not getting it. The kids are SO lucky, and Clint is actually a pretty great dad. He sacrificed so much for you kids, c’mon.
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When it comes to Laura Barton, I’ll say this (before someone shoots me down). I respect Laura Barton’s character. She is (too) sweet but strong for she must be to essentially raise her family on her own while her husband was off being an assassin, a shield agent, and then an Avenger. Like I already said, I like characters who are more realistic and complex. It just bothers me that no matter what happens, Laura has a smile plastered on her face like everything is fine. I’m a woman and none of my girlfriends would show that much blind support and trust instead of some marital strain (that would be real and not necessarily a bad thing). Clint is not the same person he was pre-blip but Clint and Laura just picked up where they left off like nothing’s changed?
I’m not sorry to say I feel that the deep emotional bond (you can define this however you want because labels do not matter) between Clint and Natasha is a lot stronger than I feel Clint has with his wife. (Real life is complicated folks so it’s not a big deal.) I go with what feels natural to me. That’s not my fault… you can blame this on the poor character development from MCU. I need something more than just Laura’s existence to prove otherwise, but it seems now after 6 years they are changing Laura’s character (especially if she is who a lot of people think she is thus creating a new character angle). At least this makes me feel validated that the MCU also realized there were flaws they wanted to fix. I’m curious to see what they do with Laura, but no offense to Laura and even Kate (love her though) but neither can compare to Natasha. Like Clint said Natasha was the best that ever was.
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Honestly, I think MCU likes messing and teasing both fandoms to keep all parties interested. I mean why would they juxtapose these two scenes back-to-back in the Hawkeye episode of Legends, prior to the launch of the Hawkeye series. (you can check for yourself)
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Hawkeye is so good. I love how Clint is finally able to show his skills. The occasional sweetness is fine, but Jonathan Igla admitted he was inspired by Hallmark Movies (I dread those movies). I feel like even though my emotions are being tugged at endlessly, I don’t know where they are going with this. I’m hoping for a not so sweet/happy ending. I like drama. Just don’t make Clint a supporting character in his own show.
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Some people will agree with all of it, some of it, or none of it. Others won’t even care. Let’s just agree to disagree.
Thanks for letting me rant. gifs from @theavengers, @nia-s-not-so-secret-diary, @clintfbarton, @rizahawkais @agentholland @mercury-is-a-planet​ and those that are uncredited
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GIVEN | 7 Mafuyu moments that made me choke on my tea
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YO, CINNAMON ROLL MAFUYU looks innocent but I SWEAR TO GOD the things he does and says sometimes LITERALLY SENDDSSS MEEEE-
[manga spoilers ahead!]
1. Mafuyu is not so innocent x 1
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Chapter 6, BAHAHAHAHH omg Akihiko also spat out his water, he did not see that coming. It's a pretty big clue that Mafuyu isn't that well....innocent! But wow, it was also a huge clue for Akihiko that Mafuyu likes Ue! OOOHH SO THAT'S WHYYYY Akihiko took a calculated gamble to play cupid for them in Chapter 7 and 8! 🤯 But yeah Akihiko sensed that Mafuyu liked Ue but had something in his past that he couldn't get over in order to actually pursue Ue properly! That's why he had that whole chat with Mafuyu in Chapter 8.
Liking someone and deciding to actively pursue them are actually really different things.
One moment of silence for cute virgin boi Ue, to this very day, his cherry still hasn't been popped. With the current arc at an all-high-tension, his virgin farewell party might have to wait. T_T
2. Mafuyu the Self-contradictory Type Neko
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Chapter 21.5, in the comedy panels when the Given characters are looking through their metadatas about their characters. KIZU I AM SPEECHLESS HAHAHHA. Akihiko I think you really hit a sore spot there.....
Self Contradictory Type Neko? 🧐
What part of Mafuyu is "self-contradictory"? OH BOIIIIII well,
In Chapter 11.5/Ep9 on the beach at the end of the flashback, Yuki asks Mafuyu if they wanted to have sex in the bathtub,
Mafuyu goes "yeahh......no" to which
Yuki asks again, "yes or no, which one is it" and
Mafuyu ultimately answers "no."
THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING, because if you payed attention to the conversation right before, Yuki lies to Mafuyu about how much he loves the ocean. Mafuyu, sensing that Yuki is being dishonest, feels a sense of disconnection. Mafuyu, who normally follows along with Yuki, feels too disconnected to Yuki to make love that day. Hence the self-contradiction. This was, in Mafuyu's eyes, not the best date (and this flashback is actually Mafuyu's outlook on the imperfections of their relationship without the idolised POV of Hiiragi). And this date is a huge clue that dishonesty was what ultimately lead to the last fight between MafuYuki because remember, Yuki in a fit of anger said,
"Why don't you trust me?"
Which actually now with everything in context, makes Mafuyu's blow-up very valid. Mafuyu doesn't trust Yuki because of the FACADE and EMOTIONAL DISTANCE Yuki has put between them, and I bet leading up to that last fight, it has just been brewing and piling up inside of Mafuyu until he couldn't take it anymore.
But in hindsight, the memory of this beach date NOW that Yuki's gone, makes Mafuyu FEEL REALLY LONELY -> trauma and guilt.
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Mafuyu actually sets the emotional pacing in the Mafuyama relationship and his self-contradiction, manifests in the form of his attitude towards music and how close he allows himself to be towards his Ue. Sometimes, he's super keen about music and affectionate towards Ue, sometimes he's running away.
Mafuyu is placing that emotional distance between himself and Uenoyama because of trauma and guilt, making Ue feel disconnected. While in MafuYuki, it was mostly Yuki that placed the emotional distance between them, presumably because of depression, making Mafuyu feel disconnected.
Mafuyu essentially is self-contradiction on top of self-contradiction, making him
😹 one complicated self-contradictory type neko 😿
3. Mafuyu the uke who wears the pants in the Mafuyama relationship
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Chapter 15, BAHAHAHHA I love it how Ue's "Ou-sama".exe completely stops working and ✨gay panic✨ takes over with just a simple ~let's hold hands~ from Mafuyu.
Also, in the Given anime, Mafuyu instead says, "The streets are getting dark, let's hold hands", but it doesn't have the same impact IMO. I don't get why they couldn't have followed the manga. That would have been absolute gold to witness in animation because it'll be so much more showing not telling.
But as you see, Mafuyu is the uke who wears the pants in the Mafuyama relationship!
4. Mafuyu is Savage AF x 1
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Also in the Chapter 21.5 character metadata panels, HOLY SHIT even though Mafuyu is kind of Akihiko's only friend at this point the story, instead of comforting him, Mafuyu's straight up being SAVAGEEEEE AFFFFF!! Remember in Chapter 21 Akihiko just got permission from Haruki to stay over where he literally had no where else to go. So yeah, Mafuyu's savage but right, Akihiko has no external support systems other than the Given band.
But it seems like when Mafuyu gets more comfortable with his friends, he naturally becomes more savage LMAO because he knows they can handle the truth.
ALSO PROBABLY BECAUSE A FEW PANELS BEFORE, AKIHIKO DID READ MAFUYU'S SEXUAL DISPOSITION CHARACTER TRAITS OUT LOUD TO THE WORLD SO MAFUYU'S STILL FREAKING SALTY FROM THAT LOLLLLL #SALTYMAFUYU
5. #Salty Mafuyu
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Chapter 22, It's so fucking funny when Uenoyama is being a bit of an "Ou-sama" during rehearsals and super strict, Mafuyu acts pretty salty and has a bit of an attitude HAHA. You sort of don't expect it from a ~softboi~ character but I HONESTLY LOVE IT. Thanks Kizu for subverting conventional BL tropes! <3
6. Mafuyu's Savage AF x 2
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Chapter 22, oh yeahhhhh, definitely when Mafuyu's comfortable with someone such as Hiiragi who he's known since childhood, Mafuyu can be really savage because he knows they can take it.
Here, Hiiragi is asking Mafuyu what's so good about Ue and Mafuyu straight up 🔥BURNNNS🔥Hiiragi!
I think the word "conspicuous" used by Mafuyu means that even though both Hiiragi and Ue are "Ore-samas" (when it comes to music at least), Ue isn't as "desperate to stand out in a crowd" as Hiiragi. Ue's more grounded in his musical critiques and choices because he just genuinely loves music while Hiiragi really wants the spotlight. And in my eyes, this definitely does hold some truth! Wow perceptive but savage Mafuyu strikes again! (Or maybe Mafuyu is just saying that Hiiragi is an eyesore LOL)
-> But ok ok ok, now after quite a few panels of Mafuyu moments, can we talk about how although Mafuyu is savage AF to his friends, look at how different Mafuyu is with Ue tho! The MOST attitude he gives Ue is ~tch~ and ~sulking~ and if he wants Ue to shush, he'll just do something ~cute and fluffy~ like ~holding hands~ or ~head rubs~ and Ue.exe just malfunctions being the gay disaster that he is. <-
BUT AS WE KEEP DISCOVERING......
7. Mafuyu is not so innocent x 2
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Chapter 22 literally the panel straight after, BAHAHAHAHAHAH Perceptive Mafuyu never fails to impress. He knows that Shizu has been enduring and holding back for some reason in which later he finds out in Chapter 33 when he goes to Shizu for music advice.
Ok pay attention to Mafuyu's fist tho, it looks like he is doing the "do your best" hand gesture. But I legit spat out my tea when I found out:
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Bruh. MAFUYU, THE LACK OF SUBTLETY I CANNO-
No wonder Hiiragi got so shaken about Shizu in Chapter 31-32.
But do you see how sexually overt Mafuyu actually is tho? He's only ~cute and fluffy~ in front of Ue FOR NOW because he's scared to get close to Ue emotionally.
Mafuyama are both actually horny teenage bois @a-voice-of-my-own and @deep-fried-brain-cells post has all the proof, but in my opinion it's Mafuyu that needs to take charge emotionally and physically. This is because it's Ue's first relationship and Ue's inherently kind so he's actually been holding space for Mafuyu as he realises that Mafuyu is the one placing the distance between them. In Chapter 23 when Mafuyu sleeps over, Ue actually monologues about this in his head. Mafuyu not making a move is why Mafuyama physical intimacy hasn't gone further than 2 kisses (3 if you count the CAC performance flashback). Both official kisses, Ue initiates so it's truly Mafuyu that sometimes shows affection and sometimes, holds back. Referring back to Point 2 "self-contradictory type neko", Mafuyu being inconsistent with his emotional disposition therefore is absolutely, godforsakenly
~IncOnSisTeNt wItH hIs seXuAL disPoSItiOn~
Ok, I have a theory
Since in the first live, Mafuyu sang his heart out and Ue made the move, Ue is going to sing/play his heart out in the new Yuki-Ueno song, and Mafuyu is going to make the move. I HAVE A FEELING MARK MY WORDS.
The moment Mafuyu and Uenoyama "debut" 😉, Mafuyu is going to finally agree for Given to debut. TRUST ME.
But all in all,
Mafuyu is definitely someone his friends can count on when they need him.
He is there to tell them what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear which makes him actually an exceptional friend.
Ok, I have another theory.
Baby Mafuyu was physically abused by his father whenever he talked is probably because his father had a very fragile ego. Mafuyu being the perceptive bean that he is, most likely dropped a few truth bombs on his dad which could have really hurt his toxic masculinity.
Booooooiiiiii is Mafuyu a fascinating character! He's quiet but not shy, when he really means to say something, he says it without a hint of hesitation. What this shows is that there's nothing wrong with being quiet! Fewer words just means your conversation input are just pure
✨quality content✨
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Masterlist of my Given Metas
If you like what you read, all I post is basically Given analysis content! Give my blog a follow to be notified of new posts! #metapotato
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kim-ruzek · 2 years
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that you aren't a fan of Upstead. Can I ask why? Do you prefer Linstead over Upstead?
You are most definitely not wrong, I am indeed not a fan of upstead! And of course you can ask why.
First of all, the linstead over upstead question is technically a little complicated but the short answer is yes, because I have actually shipped Linstead and I've never shipped upstead (except once in season five sdfgbjk). And before I get into everything, I thought I should answer this briefly first then expand later.
The short answer for why I'm not a fan of upstead boils down to they bore me, they don't inspire any of those eee ship feels in me and, for me, the writing. But that doesn't really go into depth so I will for you now;
So when I first watched, they just never captivated me. For starters, Jay is pretty low on my list of faves (I could happily watch tons of episodes without him in it) and Hailey just never interested me. I watched a little out of order because I watch for burzek, so she did interest me when I finally watched her introduction but that spark never got carried on. I just don't think they ultilised her well. And I hate Eid, and his showrunning, so unfortunately I think I was just doomed to not really gel to her since it's too late now. Like one of the main reasons I have affection for Hailey is because of Tracy-- not (just) because of her acting, but because she's adorable and so I love Hailey because the affection displaces onto her.
So not having much liking for the characters in the ship doesn't exactly bode well for liking it! But this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The next factor is I don't actually think they built it up well? Like I know it was building, you can see that, because that's narratively where it was going, and I understand that, but yeah. It just didn't envoke any of those ship feels and I would've been perfectly fine to see them never getting together/ just being strong partners. Yet again, this is another problem with Eid's showrunning, because the unit and the writing, it just didn't have the same strong effects, AND he had no idea really what he wanted out of Hailey which meant she changed every season and Jay became different and it just didn't help me connect to them or care.
And the whole upzek mess kinda soured things too. Just because that's not really like how I like relationships being built up and honestly I think they should've done a few more tropes in this building tensions stage of their relationship.
Another thing (which does also go into some feelings I have about Linstead too but in a different way) is that I hate how everything revolves around them. Character development is only really about them and even then-- they didn't actually develop!! Which just annoys and bores me and I just wanted them off my screen.
BUT regardless of this, I still had the attitude of, going into season eight, I just want them to be happy so if they get together yay. I mean I still have this attitude but before I'd say I was neutral and now I'm not a fan.
I'll admit, I did actually want to ship them. I knew I'd never write fic or be about them the same I am about my other oc ships, but I did want to ship them. And the build up already failed at that, but I wanted the relationship to draw me in. But it's safe to say it did not. In fact all my previous problems was just even more amplified. Their relationship was botched and frankly, imo, not well done. And they're so isolated from the rest of them team, didn't tell anyone (and the reasons for why wasn't ever discussed! Like Linstead, burzek and even upzek had reasons!) which just added to the disconnect... Especially when they got engaged.
Just this, in my mind, is not great story telling -- especially with how the show markets itself. In another set up, it would, but not what had been previously established. And that just creates a disconnect.
And any hope I had to ship them was taken when they got married. For the reasons I've said and more, but mainly because that was not what I wanted out of cpd's first wedding. It was lacklustre, and just continued to add to the disconnect. I don't have a problem with them getting married because I wanted burzek to be the first or whatever -- it's literally because how it happened. Family is a whole vibe of the show, and they didn't even have an a la dawsey style wedding with everyone there informally? It's just not what the first wedding should be like and that just ruined things for me. Especially because it just stank of Eid hurrying everything up before he left so he could have his ship married and honestly it's just a great example of how much Eid ruined things. And now we have sigan, it's still ruined for me, because she's already showing markings of being better, but this has happened now and no matter how good she is this mars it for me.
And finally: the fans-- or rather the stans. Stans can very rarely make me no longer ship something I originally did, but they can make me never have any chance to ship it if I didn't before. And this happened here. And so honestly it killed any chance for me to be a fan. PLUS y'know, when you see posts you've made torn apart and completely mocked for how you write it kinda stains things (especially if then things you say are taken out of context and sent to others and then you're sent their responses as, idk, a gotcha even though they didn't get the context) and just makes you never want to interact with their fans.
Now to touch onto linstead:
So I initially got interested in the show because of Erin. I'm a huge fan of Sophia Bush so seeing her in this made me go oh? I ended up watching for Burzek, but she was my intial draw in. So I was kinda predisposed to like Linstead. And honestly the first episode? Jay going to fight those guys for Her Honour,,, it got me. Not like burzek, or stellaride but those eeee ship feelings? The ones upstead doesn't give me? They appeared.
And honestly until I watched more of the later seasons, and when upstead was made canon, I genuinely thought I'd be the kind of writer who for long fix it fics would just always just have linstead in the background even if it doesn't get any focus. I have a lot of affection for Erin, and for the lingess friendship.
BUT I will say that Linstead irritates me sooooo much when I rewatch. I hate hate hate the focus, I had so much stuff about it, and I hate how Kim is treated and just. I do get infuriated and I do think if Erin stayed I would've ended up hating her/disliking her.
In December I wanted to do a whole rewatch of the show and now, the final day of march, I STILL haven't because I told myself I can't skip anything and God I just really don't want to sit through everything. I'm a burzek girl.
So technically I don't prefer one over the other. There's things I like about linstead that I don't about upstead and there's things about upstead I prefer over linstead. But I also think if old burzek coincided with upstead, I would've liked it better and same with if new burzek coincided with linstead.
If upstead was done better I'd say I probably would prefer them but they haven't been sooo. But honestly I'm a fan of *Erin* and a big part of me doesn't think Jay deserves her so that's a factor why I can't say I prefer linstead.
But I probably am more affectionate for them than most, and some of my fic ideas did actually double as a fix-it for Linstead too. They don't so much anymore (mainly because it brings a lot of hate to your door and I'm not emotionally strong enough to cope with that when it comes to my writing) but I still do think it'd be nice to write it like I originally intended. And honestly I might be I'm very much a if burzek is set in 1-4, then linstead is the side ship and if it's 5+ it's upstead because I don't ship one more than the other so I just go with canon. Like Linstead splitting up doesn't kill me, but upstead never being together doesn't kill me either.
Although I've never not cried at season four's ending/the beginning of season five.
Anyway! I've rambled enough so I'll end it here!!!
Thank you for sending me this!!! ❤️
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itsclydebitches · 2 years
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If you could choose any member of RWBYJNPR - including Pyrrha, let's assume an AU where she's alive - to replace Oscar as Oz's host, who would you choose?
Cool question! Having given it some thought, I think I'd have to go with Ren. For a bunch of different reasons that, when combined together, I think could potentially work well:
It's another guy host so we dodge the complications of slamming Ozpin into one of the girls' heads (something that, while compelling, isn't an issue I think RT should tackle)
But this time it's someone the fandom is already familiar with and, though a background character compared to Team RWBY, Ren is already well established while also being kind of a blank slate? Pre-revenge arc Ren was still pretty open-ended in terms of characterization while simultaneously having some basic traits that fans enjoyed. He seems like a good balance between someone the fandom feels like they know and someone whose personality we wouldn't mind changing a bit as a result of the merge
Immediate reason for why Team JNR is sticking around for the war/helping our primary protagonists when arguably the story should have left them behind by now
Interesting tension between Team JNR and Ozpin where they have to reconcile their teammate housing the man who (according to Jaune) is responsible for Pyrrha's death. Take the hints we got for that in the canon — anger at the fireside, accusing Oscar of being Ozpin in disguise, etc. — and expand it into an actual arc for Ren
Imo Ren is one of (if not the) most level-headed in the group. He's a good candidate for dealing with this kind of nonsense
On the flip-side though, tie that into his "My semblance is literally shutting down my emotions, so guess how well I'm handling the erosion of my identity? Not well, thanks!"
Back in Volume 4 Ren demonstrated an interest in souls, semblances, and how powerful skills reflect one's identity. Move that conversation back a bit and like Blake's book, it could serve as foreshadowing
Literal orphan whose entire family now consists of Nora and (to a lesser extent) the rest of the RWBYJNR team, so we're not left with any questions like, "Oscar just ditched his aunt and she's never mentioned again? Really?"
Also unlike Oscar who lacks long-term goals, Ren is established as wanting to be a huntsmen. Much like Pyrrha becoming a Maiden, this is (presumably) just a different way to achieve the primary end goal of helping Remnant, though the merge could be used to delve into the specifics of what Ren is looking for in his life
It's Ren who shows up on Ruby's doorstep post-Fall of Beacon, looking for Tai and Qrow so that Ozpin can get his cane and regroup. Handy that his new host knows the daughter/niece of two inner circle members! Cue Ruby eavesdropping on the conversation and deciding that she's going to get involved in whatever all this is
Perhaps an arc where Ren and Nora separate/don't officially get together because Ozpin has now made this into a trio. Personally, I like Renora as a couple and yeah, we saw in flashback that Ozpin has been in relationships before, but it's still different when it's the young adults in the flirting stage of the relationship managing their ancient headmaster as a third wheel. Nora still decides to figure out who she is without the both of them and ideally (for me anyway) Ozpin gets his own body/is released from the curse by the end of the story, giving them the freedom to come back together now that they're more mature, more experienced, and know that this is indeed what they want
Ideally Ren's Volume 8 views on them screwing up could be handled respectfully, with the added bonus of that being a very "like-minded soul" moment. Out of everyone thus far, Ren has displayed the most willingness to both accept fault ("I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child") and think about their actions on the large scale. Prior to being convinced that he was wrong, Ren is 100% the kind of guy who can step back, take stock of where his good intentions went wrong, and make changes moving forward
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phoenixyfriend · 3 years
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Time-Travel feat. Ino, Sakura, TenTen
The short of it is "Ino, in the Founders Era, sees Izuna and makes it her personal mission to Tap That."
The time-travelers are Ino, Sakura, and TenTen. Why them? I like girls being badasses, these three make a badass trio, and I don't want to deal with Caged Bird Seal politics. (Hyuuga just... complicate time-travel plots.)
Ino is the one that is clearly clan, and they make a group decision that the benefits of Yamanaka backing (and by extension Akimichi and Nara) outweigh the potential drawbacks.
It's pretty easy to convince them that they're Worth It. Ino doesn't bring anything new, really, but she's clever and knows the clan techniques and is very good at them, so the clan head (after performing a mind search to confirm the story) is like Sure, You're In.
Meanwhile, Sakura is a terrifyingly competent medic that knows hundreds, if not thousands, of medical techniques that don't even EXIST yet, and TenTen might not be a medic like the other two, or capable of explodey punches, or clan-trained, but the girl is a taijutsu powerhouse that's probably fast as hell because she was trained by GAI, and she's got at minimum a journeyman-level training in fuuinjutsu.
(Also just, don't argue with the 100% accuracy lady. Just don't. The reason she doesn't have a body-count to rival Minato's eventual count is because she doesn't want to and basically no other reason. There are some opponents that a Kunai to the Neck won't take down for whatever reason? Iron-skin, water body, super healing/shapeshifting, but for the rank and file? That's a one-hit. And she can throw hundreds of kunai at a time, so... if you take the 100% accuracy statements literally, she's a nightmare if she decides to go lethal.)
They run missions for a bit, and Ino is... usually the one sent out on field missions, because Sakura's busy teaching people how to save lives, and TenTen is currently the closest thing the Yamanaka have to a seal master--she's not a master, not on the level of an Uzumaki or even a Senju, but she's way better than most on account of village training schema and it's cheaper to give her a long-term role in the triple clan system than to hire independent contractors--but sometimes they all go out!
And... okay, I'm gonna be real here: Nobody approves of the way Ino dresses other than Ino and her girls.
Sakura extends her pants a bit. TenTen's fine. Ino refuses to stop wearing crop tops and short skirts, and none of you can stop her.
It helps that Ino's response to guys propositioning her is to tell them to back off, and then if they get handsy, she breaks their wrists. If they're ninjas getting handsy, she starts a fight, but most ninjas are smarter than that because they realize she's not just A Kunoichi, based on how she's moving, but a kunoichi with long, free-flowing hair, which is like... basically a big "I'm A-rank or better, come at me if you dare" flag. On the off chance that someone tries to fuck with Ino and they're actually out of her league in taijutsu, she has Mind Scrambling or, if absolutely necessary, an ear-piercing scream that summons a woman that can fistfight gods.
(And absolutely has.)
But anyway, The Girls go for a Girls Night Out one day. No plans to get laid, but they want to go shopping and have fruity drinks and maybe cause a little trouble.
They visit a blacksmith at one point, because weapons shops aren't quite a thing yet due to lack of centralized shinobi systems, and TenTen's talking up a storm with the smith about things like carbon infusion and alloys preferences, and Sakura's just standing off to a side reading something because most of what she wants/needs can be made by Akimichi blacksmiths, so she's not really in need of anything specialty. She wanders off after a bit, tells them all she wants to visit the apothecary to see if they have any herbs she's running low on. Ino is browsing examples of the blacksmith's more esoteric handiwork When In Walks An Uchiha.
TenTen has a VERY basic look, more or less civilian who got some ninja training, so Izuna doesn't pay her much attention, but blonde isn't a very common color in the Land of Fire, unless one happens to be a Yamanaka or Senju, and even among them it's not like EVERY clan member. (Or Namikaze but imo Minato's color is actually from Land of Earth immigrants and is a BLATANTLY different shade from characters like Ino and Tsunade.)
Senju is obviously, uh, bad, but the Yamanaka and Uchiha are basically neutral... mostly. There's some tension. Izuna isn't expecting to be attacked, but he's constantly darting glances out the side of his eye just in case.
Ino is... not unaware of Izuna.
She feels his eyes on her, notes the fact that he keeps making faces like he's not sure what to think, and Ino... Ino is of the opinion that this is funny.
She decides to drop something on purpose just so she can beeeeeeeeeeend over to pick it up and see what happens. Ino, again, does not dress appropriately for the decade she is in. Izuna chokes on his own spit.
Ino: I'm gonna be a bit of a ho. Yamanaka Clan: Please don't, our reputation is-- Ino: I'M GONNA BE A BIT OF A HO.
So Ino's fucking with Izuna's head by just... being Ino, really, she turns around like "OMG are you alright???" and lets him see that her eyes are lacking pupils so he doesn't keep worrying about whether she's a Senju, pats him on the back, coos over him, flatters his hair, and then insults his fashion sense.
She is of the firm belief that his expression is hilarious. Flirt Flirt Flirt "but you're wearing that? Really? Oh honey, you should know better."
(Ino pulls pickup artist shit on Izuna.)
Ino is fucking with him, and she is enjoying herself. She's a flirt, she's gorgeous, she's a bit of a ho, and Izuna is a hot, main family clan boy who keeps blushing. He's maybe two years older than her and he squeaks when she squeezes his shoulder and compliments his muscles.
And after all that, after Ino has wound him up and turned him around and gotten him confused and flustered and a little angry...
That is when they feel the ground shake and hear Madara screaming for The Pink-Haired Bitch to "come back here so I can kick your ass!"
So. Yes. Sakura has picked a fight with Madara. I don't know how or why, I just know that Sakura and Madara are fighting, Ino and Izuna are both going 'dude WHY' about their respective fighty person and fleeing the blacksmith to go stop whatever's going on before they get banned from town--because really, they can force their way in, but it's way easier to get those tasty daifuku mochi from that one shop when people WANT to serve them--and TenTen is... still chatting up the blacksmith. The girl is going to get a discount.
Sakura leads Madara on a bit of a merry chase so the fight happens a mile outside of town--Ino loves her more than ever--and there's a flare of "Sakura punches a Susanoo," and by the time Izuna and Ino get there, Sakura is yelling in Madara's face about how he's fucking up his eyes.
Madara is. Offended. Izuna is also offended. Those are clan secrets, and Sakura is just looking him in the eye without fear and I'm like. Half convinced that they want to just tear her throat out.
Except Ino is there, and Sakura called her by name, and they know that names with 'Ino' among the Yamanaka are only for clan heirs, and they can't just pick a fight with the entire clan.
They. They can't afford that right now. Tajima is ramping up the whole Thing with the Senju again and they do not have the resources to add another front.
"For fuck's sake, will you let me go alive if I fix some of the damage you've done to yourself?" "You can fix the Mangekyo?" "Uh, no, nobody can fix that hellscape of a doujutsu without some incredibly invasive surgery that I refuse to do in a non-sterile environment unless there's literally no other choice, but I can reverse some of the chakra strain on your ocular nerve if you stop trying to pick a fight because I got the last of the [some medicinal plant that only grows up in the badlands around Iwa]."
Izuna shrieks and demands if that's really what they were punching down trees for and Madara yells at him to fuck off and Ino just laughs at all of them.
Sakura is like. Two seconds away from putting Madara in a headlock and calling him a nerd. He's like a solid five years older than her and she's smarter than he is and he's a jock but she's going to dunk his head in a toilet, I swear to god.
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[Image Description: a gif from Will and Grace where a man in a dark shirt approaches a woman in a white shirt for a hug. Both characters have their arms spread wide in greeting, but the woman subverts the expected hug and pulls the man into a headlock with an angry expression.]
(Tenten is just, she's having a good time with a random blacksmith, talking shop. She just comes out to see all this crap has happened and it's like she came back with pizzas to see the apartment wrecked.)
Anyway, Sakura does some Medic Mojo on the Uchiha bros, Ino continues to flirt with Izuna until he can't tell up from down anymore, and when they're headed back to meet up with TenTen and see if there are any ruffled feathers that need smoothing, Ino declares that she's going to get that boy to propose to her.
"Don't people usually say 'I'm gonna marry that boy' or--" "Nah, I don't know him well enough to make that decision. I just want him invested in me. Whether or not I do anything with that... depends on how well he woos me."
And anyway, things spiral from there, Ino keeps hitting on Izuna whenever she gets a chance, Izuna keeps being Very Overwhelmed by this girl that shows off so much of her body and has the confidence of a god--because Ino is the epitome of confidence and always will be--while Sakura fucks off to badger the Senju into peace by making friends with Hashirama and bribing Tobirama with medical developments and flirting with Touka (except Touka's almost a decade older than her and is flattered but not interested, thank you), and TenTen is... honestly I'm not sure what TenTen is doing except that there's a very solid chance she's sneaking off to meet with Uzumaki specialists to help her build a Zetsu Trap.
Our trio of badass ladies decides that Hm, Actually, Having Bijuu Backup Would Be Nice.
Ino's the best sensor of the three, but even she's not feeling out where the nearest bijuu is, so they go for the by-that-point tried and true method of "Sakura goes and hassles Tobirama for information while TenTen and Ino play cards with Hashirama."
Tobirama does point them in the direction of the nearest bijuu--it's the Kyuubi, even!--and Sakura just... invites Hashirama along.
Hashirama: Oh! What do I have to do if I come? Sakura: Stand there and look pretty, mostly. Hashirama: Yes, I can do that. Sakura: And then interfere if we piss off the Kyuubi enough that he attacks. He probably won't, but Mokuton is useful if he does. Hashirama: Oooooh yeah, I can do that.
Tobirama is so tired but these gals are pretty determined to do the whole Peace Thing and Hashirama can mostly take care of himself, and Butsuma isn't quite dead but almost there (idk some disease or infected wound, it doesn't matter), so Hashirama isn't a Clan Head ditching his job but there's nobody around that can stop him from running off, so Tobirama's just like "Cool, don't die."
Butsuma: [dying] Sakura: [sipping a mixed drink wearing sunglasses inside] Shame.
So they go find Kurama, and try to barter with him about the whole Zetsu situation, and... ngl okay I have an entire conversation in mind about "your evil goo uncle" and "none of us know how to seal a bijuu without taking away your autonomy, but sealing is the best way to hide you from Zetsu, so do you have any ideas on a compromise" and "I can SORT of figure out how to--"
And then Kurama just. Summons a smaller fox. Which has a scroll. And pokes it towards TenTen because she's the one that's Impressed Him The Right Way over the course of the conversation.
(Mostly by being vaguely sparky about fuuinjutsu and easily distracted by the Ifs of it instead of the Whys.)
And once she's signed--which Ino and Sakura are just like 👀 about because Oh???--Kurama nods and just. Presses his snout to her hand. And without telling her what he's doing, he just enters her body and settles in as a consenting jinchuuriki situation. He can leave without killing her if he wants, but he can also just chill out. He's hidden from Zetsu, TenTen gets a boost, and nobody's in prison.
(Time to belatedly note that TenTen was earlier suggested as the best jinchuuriki option since, among other things, she had the least to lose as far as chakra control went.)
TenTen: My chakra control is pretty shitty, but I can fight hand to hand for literal hours without feeling like I've done more than a light jog, is that good?
TenTen is such a different brand of ninja from most of the heavy hitters. Because her main attack is just More Knife.
Team InoShikaCho has their whole human yoyo thing, Sakura can punch gods, Naruto and Sasuke are literally insane levels of power, Kiba turns into a giant three-headed dog and Shino can insert exploding bugs into people, Lee can kick hard enough to make a bijuu pause, Neji and Hinata are... okay I don't have much to say about the Hyuuga, but... TenTen. She's just here with some seals and whole lot of sharp and pointy things.
Founders era, you have Madara and Hashirama with their god-level techniques, Tobirama is usually sword but has a bajillion other things like his Suiton, Izuna has a Mangekyo, Mito has her chains and was the first jinchuuriki... and then, here’s TenTen, with Many Sharp.
Her special attacks are Throw, Stab, and Kick the Shit Out Of because she still trained under Maito Gai.
TenTen is the current queen of "catch these hands."
After the village is founded, she challenges one of the og founders to taijutsu only and the literal only reason she doesn't win against Hashirama is that he has a healing factor and is built like a brick house.
TenTen: Hey, Izuna, if you beat me in a taijutsu fight, Ino might be impressed. Izuna: No weapons? TenTen: No weapons, no bijuu, no Sharingan. Izuna: Cool, I can do this. [five minutes later] Izuna: [screaming]
The triple clan alliance: We will gladly join Konoha on the condition that-- Izuna, internally, chanting: That I marry Ino That I marry Ino That I marry Ino-- Madara, internally: Please don't say that Izuna marries Ino Tobirama, internally: [math meme because he can imagine like eighty conditions] Hashirama, internally: [elevator music] The triple clan alliance: That you put Haruno Sakura in charge of the hospital. Izuna: [internal screaming] Madara: [sigh of relief] Tobirama: [internal cheering] Hashirama: That sounds great! I've seen her work, she's a great choice for hospital management, do you think she'd be willing to spearhead a medical training program on the side?
Izuna just wanted the politics to be his wingman here, she's killing him.
Ino has broken this man.
(At this point she's mostly made up her mind... unfortunately, she deeply enjoys messing with him! He's too fun to tease!)
Ino: I want to marry him, yeah, but did you see his face when I teased him about visiting the Daimyou's court and looking for a rich husband to bring to Konoha? He even knows I'd never marry a civilian, and yet.
(He knows, it's just that his brain is dumb when she is involved.)
TenTen asks Hashirama if he's opposed to threesomes, mostly because Mito is amazing and TenTen's a little in love with her. Hashirama is NOT opposed to threesomes, but only with Madara, sorry.
Ino is just... the queen of self-confidence. I want to include some gifs to explain but there are just too many.
As a rule, Ino wears high collars, but... she might try to pioneer Tiddy Shirts out of spite because people keep trying to tell her to dress More Appropriately.
Ino, adjusting her wrap top to show more of the chesticles: Relax, Hashirama, I'm just taking a page out of your granddaughter's book. Hashirama: [verbal keysmash]
This one twitter post.
Sakura: You can't just use your tits to get what you want! Ino: I didn't see you complaining when I got us free dango. Ino, misunderstanding Sakura's point: Uh, yeah I can? Watch. Ino: [gets drinks for the table and a free dessert too] Ino: See? Sakura: Oh my god. TenTen, cutting a slice of cake: Yeah I think she's got us here Sakura. TenTen: I love using Ino's tits to get what I want. Sakura: No!
Sakura: Why am I the only one of us who isn't down for Ino using feminine wiles for material gain? TenTen: Does it have anything to do with your unresolved childhood crush on her? Sakura: ..... shut up.
Sakura: Was Sasuke descended straight from Izuna's line? What if you just negated his existence? Ino: I mean, his soul still exists, right? Or will exist? It's not like we could have lined the genetics up perfectly anyway, don't worry about it.
Once Ino finally lets Izuna woo her, they turn into that couple that's just constantly making out in dark corners. PDA is over 9000. Sakura throws erasers at them to make them stop. TenTen catcalls. TenTen just. Not interested in being a thot in the slightest, but delighted by Ino being a thot.
Izuna: Help I don't know how to BDSM and my hot wife is a dominatrix. Madara: Sucks to be you.
(Ino being a bit of a ho fits and feels fun because she's also just like, very convincingly an actualized character. If Ino is acting like a bit of a ho it's very definitely because she wants to and is absolutely going to make that everybody else's problem.)
Ino, at any given moment: Did you miss the part where I'm the hottest person here?
I'm honestly considering platonic-marriage TenTen/Tobirama on the basis of Seals And Sparking. There aren't enough women in the Founders Era for me to ship Sakura with one so I'm going to say she ends up living in domestic bliss with a Nara kunoichi.
Sakura: Can I just. Can I just be Gay here? Like, can I just Be Gay and get Big Gay Married and have 2 dogs and lead a prestigious medical program? Tenten and Ino: Of course you can, hon! We'll be up to our nonsense the entire time, though.
Sakura: Well... at least Shikamaru isn't here to complain about Ino being the way she is.
OH I forgot to mention TenTen wearing Externalized Small Fox Kurama around like a scarf.
Kurama: [Gets to be out of the seal and See Stuff] TenTen: [Constantly has a companion around who is never tired of hearing her Special Interest Rant about smithing techniques and what will eventually be Aerodynamics after TenTen accidentally builds a plane while tinkering]
TenTen: I wonder if I could make Temari's giant fan thing work for me without wind chakra. [two years of tinkering later] TenTen: I can't remember what I was trying to do at the start but I can definitely fly now.
(Sakura's honestly lucky that Karin isn't there.)
(And tbh Sakura's only The Sensible One until Madara pisses her off and then it's time for people to remind her that she can't just go around Punching Things.)
When Sakura is forced to be the Voice of Reason she is always frustrated. When TenTen is freed from the responsibility of being the Voice of Reason? Shenanigans. TenTen's defense is that she never got to be the crazy one in Team Gai. Like, she’s still a little nutty, but she couldn’t go all out because she was constantly overshadowed by the YOUTH and also Neji’s fate situation.
ANYWAY. TenTen and Tobirama.
TenTen: Your brain makes me horny. Tobirama: Oh, finally, someone sensible.
I remember that while I was brainstorming, I had "TenTen tells Tobirama to marry her within five minutes of meeting him because they vibed so hard on weird fuuinjutsu stuff" followed by "Izuna sputtering and saying that everyone told him that he couldn't just propose to a girl he liked, why does Tobirama get to accept a proposal from a clanless kunoichi when Izuna can't even--"
The proposal is from TenTen to Tobirama, which imo is hilarious in the context of the Warring Clans Era, and also is done on a whim and is basically just.
Tobirama: [says a clever thing about one of TenTen's theories] TenTen, grabbing his hands and looking him in the eye, her own eyes full of stars and the classic Team Gai sunset genjutsu around her: Marry me. Tobirama: ...do we have to have sex? TenTen: No. Tobirama: Do you plan on children? TenTen: Students yes, adoption maybe. Tobirama: I'm sold. Hashirama:
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[Image Description: Stephen Colbert, in a suit, dramatically crying at the camera. He has running mascara, and the caption says “I just feel like my heart is going to burst because it’s full of rainbows.” End Description.]
They're Nerd-married and it's the best.
I love the idea of Hashirama just being an Elevator Music Mind when it comes to Tobirama and TenTen. Like. An orange cat. Like, okay, yes Minato is the Hokage with the orange cat energy. And Hashirama is usually golden retriever energy.
But when it comes to Tobirama and TenTen, Hashirama is completely oblivious to their intention to do such things as Raise The Dead For Science.
They're not even raising a specific person for a specific reason, they're just vibing Super Hard and haven't slept enough and forgot this is a bad idea. Got so obsessed with "Can we" that they forgot "should we."
(And I feel like Kurama just encourages them like a chaos entity.)
Tobirama: It was a theoretical exercise. Hashirama, gesturing at the zombie army trying to eat its way out of a Mokuton Cage: !!!! Tobirama: We realized it didn't need to stay theoretical. TenTen: In our defense, we were left unsupervised. Tobirama: It's true, we were.
Sakura: TenTen! I expected better of you! TenTen, with sincere confusion: Why? Sakura: ... TenTen:  Like you knew my team, and my sensei, and also I agreed to help you go back in time and alter the past.
Overall.......
Ino: [here to fluster her pretty boy husband] TenTen: [got platonic married to a necromancer who shares some special interests and hyperfocuses with her] Sakura: [just wants 2.5 kids and a steady paycheck as she runs a world-changing medical program]
Anyway
Back to TenTen being Wild.
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[Image Description: TenTen in her Shippudent outfit, which is calf-length red pants and a white qipao top with red trim, turning on the spot while flourishing a pair of scrolls that expel weaponry on her command. End description.]
I like to imagine TenTen has an abundance of common sense, but she just never, ever applies it to herself. She can only common sense when other people present her with their problems. TenTen: What if I combined Ribbon dances with the noble art of YEET, then made it into a fighting style?
"I've got 99 problems and all of them can be solved with sharp and pointy objects."
[This section of the brainstorming is removed on account of being deeply inappropriate for a post that should max out at rated M. Just know that Ino and Izuna are freaks, and TenTen and Tobirama are enablers.]
BACK TO TENTEN BEING ABSURD
Tobirama: Ugh, I can't match Hashirama's energy levels for another entire day. TenTen, a member of Team Gai: I can do it. Tobirama: Hashirama is literally inhumanly happy and-- TenTen: No, no, I got this.
(You have no idea how much practice she has at this Tobirama, no idea.)
Tobirama: I am currently the fastest man alive. TenTen: Only because you cheat with Hiraishin. I could totally beat you in a five-hundred lap race around Konoha. Hashirama: ...five hundred? Tobirama: Wait, what. TenTen, already stretching: Yeah, let's do this! It's been a while since I had a solid challenge, you know? Hashirama: ???? Tobirama, is she serious? Tobirama: She runs two hundred laps around the village every morning, so... probably. Hashirama, wheezing: That's a lot. TenTen: That's a warmup.
Someone, probably Madara: Okay but that's cheating because you have inhuman stamina from the fox! Kurama, chilling on a tree stump napping: No the fuck she does not. Hashirama: What do you mean she doesn't? Kurama: I don't just leave the faucet running 24/7 Senju, besides, she doesn't need my help to be a ridiculous persistence hunting nightmare monster in this regard. TenTen: Awww, Kurama, you flatterer.
TenTen: I was running 150 laps of the village every morning by the time I was fourteen. Hashirama: Why? TenTen: My teacher was fun.
At least one shitty joke from a stranger about stamina In Bed and TenTen and Tobirama just stare at the person.
Maito Dai would be... maybe a little older than the Sannin, younger than Hiruzen. Solid age for TenTen to take as a student, probably. Very feels-worthy, with the whole Passing the Torch thing that that whole family had going on, and that Gai passed it to his students since he didn't have children of his own, the idea of TenTen taking that shot to make sure she's still part of that... family, for lack of a better term? Even in this strange new world they're making by altering history like that.
And that’s about it.
As per usual, most of this was brainstormed with @firebirdeternal​.
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emlos · 3 years
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ok now that i slept it off here is my top x things about kingdom (SPOILERS):
1. somehow, the time travel made sense? like i cant explain it but i like how they framed the past as being able to change without a focus on the angsty "but the future versions of us are gonna disappear" part, which was cool!
2. starscream. just, oh my god starscreaaam. at first hes a nuisance again (feat. blackarachnia, feat dinobot) THEN he gets a reality check from dinobot THEN he gets the dreamwave sunstorm effect THEN he gets to fuckin not die (i was SO anxious he was gonna get killed in yet another continuity) AND backtalk megan THEN he just kinda hangs out with the autobots
3. no really i genuinely liked which direction they took starscream
4. call me a fake bw fan but beast wars megatron was funny. they did something different w him and i can respect that
4.5. like when we meet the maximals, they are rude and unfriendly and generally aggressive and in comparison the predacons are just like "aw hell yeah, we want to work with THE megatron!" which i find sweet
5. elita one being dead. yeah yeah I know but i respect that they didn't pull a deus ex machina that time and just let her be revived by the allspark or some nonsense like that. the same goes for skywarp, jetfire and magnus
6. can we go back to starscream for a second. he was such a WHINY ENTITLED bitch during the forst 70% of the show, i LOVED it! he and blackarachnia really played off of each other well
7. blackarachnia...... oh boyyy. First off, lesbian spider rights, second off, im surprised how well they pulled it off (it was just a cheek kiss, but sjsjkaka ill take what i can get, thats more romance than 99% of the other transformers get in wfc) like she comments that arcee is cute, which, yeahnoh shes creepy spider and condescending cause haha pink but NO other bot/con/whatever does that. thats lesbianism! her comments on airrazor and something i find personally cool is that while the camera does focus on her body (spidertits :/) she isn't depicted as a seductress? more like a classic tarantulas style manipulator? and of course the will-airazor-catch-the-evil-predacon-she-just-worked-with tension moment and the kiss! her expression! made me squeal outloud in class
7.5 gay word vomit aside, i saw criticisms that az was "cheating" on tigertron which uh, we don't have any conformation that those two are together? sure tt was firm on wanting to rescue her, but so was chetor and prime. plus the hug? not to be nitpicky but if the showrunners wanted to make it explicitly romantic they coudve, it looked more like a comrade-i-missed-you-so-much-hug to me imo
8. dinobot!!!!! dinobots character arc!!!! i watched the first season of the bw cartoon and im up to date w the new comics, so im glad they made him legitly side with blackarachnia and starscream (for a while) but for a greater cause! his death was pretty unexpected to me, but dramatic and moving as to not be too far fetched! and i liked "no team, but good" dinobot, because it added realism in the end i think
8.2 like yeah ik robots transforming into cars isnt a very realistic premise to begin with, but barring a few things that rubbed me the wrong way, I found the motivations and the causality of events and decisions and such to be pretty consistent! or at least more so than in the other two chapters
8.8 all in all, it was mostly a marketing tool to kinda revive the older series and cartoon toylines, with modern designs and to sell toys - still i think that they managed their huge af casts well enough, had space for a fairly complicated plot and some character development, and idk if its the Stockholm syndrome but the megan lips (and the designs/models/just the artstyle) are growing on me.
8.9 just remembered, galvatron looks like a toy texture wise, and thats SO satisfying jdjsjs 🅱️urple man
9. the voices.. while they still sound painfully samey, i think the variety of voice actors was more than previously. or the voice director finally allowed for something more than "slow, deep and gruff"
9.1 why does megatron grunt so much? the netflix subtitles literally label more than half of the non talking noises coming from him as grunts, megatron primal much? djsjskks its funney
10. i remember being distracted during the ark assault scene, so when teletraan transformed it didn't really click. i went from "huh is this unicron" to "oh fuck oh shit they REALLY put him in the cartoon??!?" so quickly sjsjsks still it reminded me of omega supreme from animated, and it wasnt a deus ex machina cause it was foreshadowed earlier so i liked it :3
10. annnd the wars over! they took the cyberverse approch of "we share a planet.... for now..." buuut its on the list cause combined with the teased fourth-quel/possible continuation it allows for yet another post war story! (galvatron and nemesis got vored.... for now....)
tldr: starscream lives, blackarachnia gay, reasonably well executed, with possible continuation, and best out of the wfc trilogy
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Alex who in ateez could be the next Hokage and why
The question I've been waiting for.
Before we determine who in ATEEZ COULD be the next Hokage, we need to assess WHAT a Hokage is, what kind of traits they must possess, and what they have done for the village in the past.
What is a Hokage?
The simplest definition of a Hokage would be "the strongest shinobi in the Land of Fire".
However, it is much more complicated than that. A Hokage must possess the following traits:
Undying loyalty to the village and its people (The Will of Fire)
Passion to drive the village to be its best
The ability to carry positive diplomatic relations
The ability to lead an entire village toward a common positive goal
The desire to protect the village/The Land of Fire at all costs
It is clear that many Hokage have not possessed every single trait listed here, but I will be selecting candidates who would make THE BEST Hokage for the village. This means that drama and villains are bad, bc this is not for an entertaining show, but for the best interest of The Leaf. Taking into account the amount of time spent as a Hokage, I think an ideal Hokage would not have family or children so that they can dedicate the needed amount of attention to the village without hurting anyone.
wE DO NOT WANT a repeat of the following Hokages:
Tobirama Senju, 2nd Hokage: Bred fear and hatred among the Senju and Uchiha, pitting them against each other and eventually confining the Uchiha to a certain part of the village, essentially segregating and isolating them from the rest of society (which eventually led to The Uchiha Massacre)
Hiruzen Sarutobi, 3rd Hokage: He was a very kind, strong, and loyal leader, but he was too soft, and his weakness led to one of the most dangerous shinobi, Orochimaru, honing his skills to become a creepy ass snake daddy hybrid human thing whose forbidden jutsu would cause copious amounts of trouble for The Leaf & Co. for years and years to come
The other Hokages did dumb shit too but not on such a large scale, Hashirama Senju (the 1st Hokage) imo did not CAUSE tensions between the Uchiha and the Senju, rather that was brought on by years and years of war that started before he and Madara Uchiha were born, and Madara is the one who stirred shit up ultimately and then Tobirama put the nail in the coffin.
Minato Namikaze, the 4th Hokage, was a great Hokage, but who in their right mind would seal the spirit of a fox demon in their infant child's body? *tHaT's WhAt ThE sHoW iS AbOuT* FUCK YOU NARUTO WAS A CHILD AND HAVING KURAMA INSIDE HIM WAS SO DIFFICULT FOR HIM, HE STRUGGLED AND SUFFERED MORE THAN ANY CHILD SHOULD HAVE TO THERE'S NO JUSTIFICATION FOR IT.
Naruto Uzumaki, the 7th Hokage, completely ignored the needs of his family because of his job, seemingly forgetting the absence of parents in his own life and how it f*cked him up. This is not directly affecting the village negatively, but. It's f*cked up dude.
Weeding Out The Weak
The members of ATEEZ who I think just flat-out would not be able to handle the sheer responsibility of being Hokage are
Yeosang, a Gemini: Just look at him in any social situation. Yeah imagine that but his company is x1000. He doesn't have the charisma or people skills to be a Hokage.
Wooyoung, a Sagittarius: Look at this dude, he doesn't even want to be responsible for his next lay, what in God's name makes you think he would be capable of, or especially have the desire to lead a village of ninja supposed to protect an entire nation?
Hongjoong, a Scorpio; Seonghwa, an Aries: There is a reason Hongjoong and Seonghwa go so well together and are the "mom and dad" of the group. That is this: Hongjoong struggles with expressing his feelings and is much better just being a disciplinary figure who can get angry and scold effectively as well as give tough-love motivational speeches. Seonghwa is more adept with his emotions, able to comfort and inspire people through nurturing, and also is capable of being firm. They would be great as co-Hokages, but unfortunately, that's not a thing. Seonghwa is, in my opinion, too emotional and free-spirited for such a job, while Hongjoong is too short-tempered and impulsive. I will say, however, that Hongjoong and Seonghwa would be my candidates for the next Shadow Hokage (Title currently held by Sasuke Uchiha).
San, a Cancer: I love San, and I think he is very open, accepting, loving, kind, and loyal. However, he is not level-headed nor does he possess the kind of maturity or leadership skills a Hokage needs. He is still very much on an emotional and spiritual journey to find himself and his happiness (aren't we all, but his is a bit more tumultuous and self-deprecating) and that is not something I think is appropriate for being the Hokage. San would make a great Ninja Academy teacher, like Iruka.
Who are the Candidates for Hokage?
This leaves us with Yunho, Mingi, and Jongho.
Yunho, an Aries and an ENFJ: Coming from a rich yet supportive and loving family, Yunho learned what it means to be both a leader as well as a caring and kind person from his parents. Yunho's family dynamic was clearly very good, as he only has positive things to say about his childhood, and has outstanding self-control. This is contrasted by his anger issues, intensity, and darkness that he keeps very controlled and does not let it out for the public to see. Yunho, in my eyes, is the only true Leader among these three candidates, but because of his internal struggles, the responsibility of Hokage might be too much, and he could crack under the pressure. Being a very competitive person, this would in turn damage his pride and ego, and only Papa Smurf knows what he would do then. There is also a possibility that Yunho would take the stress of being Hokage in a stride, letting his passion and competitive nature drive him to be a true force to be reckoned with.
Mingi, a Leo and an ENTP: There are still many people who are fooled by Mingi's self-proclaimed "dumb" persona. This persona is easy for him to put on because, as a Leo, he is a natural performer. However, Mingi has stated multiple times that he doesn't like this persona and has asked the staff to stop requesting he do that. It was only a matter of time, because ENTP's are actually the most calculating, sharp, and at times cold, extroverts in the MBTI. Mingi could be an outgoing Shikamaru with people skills, and that would make an outstanding Hokage. The downsides to this are that Mingi can get a little too logical at times, disregarding the feelings of others for the sake of what is "correct" or "logical". He could become the sort of leader that goes ahead with difficult decisions that could negatively impact a portion of the village as long as the greater good is kept intact (could potentially give way to a situation like The Uchiha Massacre, which Danzo thought would protect The Leaf's government and spare them a Coup d'etat). Alternatively, Mingi could also become one of the sharpest Hokages, making battle strategy and diplomatic relations the best they've ever been.
Jongho, a Libra and an ESFJ: Libras are truly people people, and so are ESFJs. They enjoy being attentive and taking care of others, being involved in their communities, and harmonious connections with others. By this definition, Jongho would truly be a "by the people, for the people" Hokage. He is the most mature member of ATEEZ with an extremely level head and temperament. Jongho is the type of Hokage to sit back and see what happens before taking action. This can be either very good or very bad depending on the situation. Jongho may become too chill, and unintentionally put the village, the Land of Fire, or himself at risk. While he is no weakling, Jongho would struggle to make difficult decisions, especially those that would result in loss of life, even if they were the best decision for the village. However, he is also incredibly good at keeping a straight face, and Jongho could turn out to be the kind of Hokage who is able to set personal feelings aside and call upon them when needed. If this is the case, Jongho could be a steady, strong-minded, powerful, loyal, and compassionate Hokage; loved and trusted equally by the people and other Kage's.
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Three men stand before me, but I only have one portrait in my hand.
Who will be The Next Hokage?
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starry-sky-stuff · 3 years
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Since I kept seeing all this stuff about the Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas and how those books defined the genre, I decided to give them a read. Now that I've read all four I'm going to rank them:
1) It Happened One Autumn (Book 2) - Lord Westcliffe is the classic stuffy, overly proper British aristocrat and Lillian Bowman is an American heiress who gives absolutely no shit for proper decorum. Naturally, the two start off on the wrong foot. They were both introduced in the first book (Westcliffe is best friends with Simon Hunt), and I was immediately behind their relationship. I love when couples start off with an antagonistic relationship. The reason that this book is at the top is how much I enjoyed the relationship. I found their chemistry and attraction believable, and more importantly they promoted positive character growth in each other. Westcliffe was more affected by Lillian than vice versa, but male leads often tend to have more character growth in historical romance novels thought it's always instigated by the female lead. By the end, I really bought into their relationship and could genuinely believe they're in love and would be happily married (it sounds like a low bar but unfortunately romance novels rarely make me believe that). Westcliffe's also my favourite male lead in the series. He may not be the most charismatic, that would be Sebastian, but he's just a genuinely good, upstanding guy. He's also very emotionally reserved, but totally overcome by his attraction to and love for Lillian, which I love. Lillian's also so much fun, very brash and no-nonsense but not without her own flaws. The relationship between them is very much one of equals and its clear that they respect each other but also aren't afraid to call the other on their bullshit.
2) Devil in Winter (Book 3) - Sebastian St Vincent was the villain of Book 2. And not a minor villain either, he literally kidnapped Lillian, who was also his best friend's fiancee, because he needed to marry an heiress to save himself from financial ruin. Evie needs to escape her abusive family, who are trying to force her into a marriage, and so she proposes a marriage of convenience to Sebastian. I went into to this novel thinking I would despise him because he did an objectively awful thing (and to give the author credit she doesn't deny that it was awful and Lillian does not forgive him for it). I also didn't expect to enjoy Evie as much as I did, she was a bit bland in the previous two books, overshadowed by the stronger personalities. But both of their characters really shone through. Evie had such positive character growth, learning to stand her ground and growing in confidence. Sebastian is the classic charming rake, an archetype which is a personal favourite of mine and I can definitely see how much he influenced the male leads that followed. Evie and Sebastian had great chemistry and wonderful banter, which is a must for me. Sebastian being madly in love with Evie but totally in denial about it was hilarious. Boy literally took a bullet for her and even as he's bleeding out he still claims it doesn't mean anything. The 3 month celibacy promise Evie extracts from him, however, is an under-utilised plot, imo, considering Evie throws it out the window in less than a month. But, I suppose he did get shot for her and he is fully dedicated to proving he's capable of being faithful to her.
3) Secrets of a Summer Night (Book 1) - Annabelle is very beautiful but has no dowry and her gentry family is on the verge of financial ruin. Simon Hunt is a self-made man, the son of a butcher who's risen to become incredibly wealthy. Basically, Simon's wanted Annabelle for years but she has no interest in him at first, especially after he makes it clear he wants her as his mistress, although she can't deny that she finds him super hot. Obviously, he changes his mind and after they get caught in a compromising position they marry. Annabelle's probably the weakest of the female leads for me. She does have an arc of addressing her prejudices. She starts off determined to marry a titled man and she later realises that she only really wanted that life because it was what she'd been told to want. The arc was good, I just think it could've been executed a bit better. Simon was very charming and I loved his dry humour. Also emotionally constipated and very overcome by the extent of his love for his wife. All of these books have a bit of an anti-aristocratic bent to them, but this one's perhaps the most obvious and I do enjoy that class commentary. Simon is barely tolerated by the aristocracy, and a far few of the aristocratic men reject Annabelle as a bride but are chomping at the bits to take advantage of her family's financial circumstances to make her their mistress.
4) Scandal in Spring (Book 4) - Daisy Bowman, Lillian's younger sister, has been unable to find a titled husband so her father demands she marry his protege, Matthew Swift who, it turns out, has been in love with her for years. Least problematic but also the most boring. The chemistry between the leads was lacking and I couldn't figure out a reason why they worked. I was not at all convinced that they were in love by the end. The pacing was also off. The complication came really late and was resolved very easily, and that really undercut any tension. I was expecting Daisy to be at least annoyed that Matthew proposed without confessing his secret, but she literally had no problem with it. Matthew is the blandest of the male leads, and there isn't any real reason for why Daisy starts off hating him, unlike with Westcliffe and Lillian who we saw have genuine antagonistic interactions. Also, I can't figure out why Matthew was so in love with Daisy when she barely interacted with him and actively avoided him. I just can't buy into love like that when it's partly based on a fantasy version of a person.
All of these books were quite enjoyable, although perhaps a bit dated considering they were written in the mid 2000s. The writing was really good and Kleypas created very distinctive heroes and heroines with largely distinctive plots (she does reuse the couple encountering a life-threatening situation that one saves the other from). The friendship between the four heroines was strong, well-executed, and incorporated very well into the series. I can definitely see how this series was a seminal series for the romance genre, considering how many series centred on a group of female friends followed.
I also really liked how Kleypas veered on the showing side instead of the telling side when it came to the characters emotional states, particularly regarding their past traumas. Often, romance novels feel the need to lay out the characters trauma and pinpoint its affect on their actions, such that I feel like I'm reading a psychological profile written by their therapist. Kleypas trusts her audience to make the connection. For example, Westcliffe had emotionally abusive parents who punished him for showing emotions, and he's emotionally reserved and struggles to express his emotions and just deal with them in general. The connection is never explicitly made between the two but it's obvious that his actions are affected by his past trauma.
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