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twilightcitysky · 9 months

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Everything Is Meant (long S2 analysis, part 3)

Part one

Part two

There's SO MUCH excellent meta out there right now, and I'm going to try not to reinvent the wheel too much, but I want to keep going with tying the episodes/ elements up together because on first watch it wasn't entirely clear how everything fit. I also strongly recommend a rewatch, no matter what you felt about the ending... if you need to stop it 10 minutes early, do that, but you pick up so much more the second time around.

So: Maggie and Nina. I spent most of my first watch wondering why we were bothering with them, honestly. Later in the season Nina, and then Maggie and Nina, gave Crowley some insightful advice, but their actual relationship didn't progress despite all the meddling, and the amount of emotional investment BOTH Aziraphale and Crowley had in making them get together was frankly strange.

I started thinking in terms of mirror couples, since that was such a big deal in S1 and that's clearly what they were set up to be, but I made the mistake that all of us made on first watch: that Nina was Crowley and Maggie was Aziraphale. It still wasn't really coming together.

Then I put the psych hat back on and started to think about displacement. Displacement is a defense mechanism, and it consists of satisfying an impulse (usually an unconscious one) with a substitute object. At the beginning of the season, Aziraphale and Crowley aren't really in a good place, and I think on some level they know that. Aziraphale is trying to SHOW Crowley that he wants to take the next step through all the casual touches and phone calls and inviting him in, and feeling frustrated because Crowley doesn't seem to be taking the bait. (I absolutely think that Aziraphale tried to get Crowley to stay with him at the bookshop instead of living in his CAR, and Crowley said no. That's a whole other meta.) Meanwhile, Crowley, I think, is waiting for a Grand Gesture. Where did he go, as soon as Aziraphale brought up trying to get two humans to fall in love? Romantic tropes. Getting caught in the rain under an awning. A dramatic kiss that opens someone's eyes. That's the sort of thing he's always done, right? Big rescues, impassioned pleas on the street, fancy dinners, "give you a lift anywhere you want to go". He's defensive and guarded and unlikely to let someone in unless he's CERTAIN he won't be rejected, and Aziraphale's approaches are just too... quiet. No one's fault, they just don't speak the same language.

Then, they're handed the opportunity to make two humans fall in love, and they're both All In immediately. Look at Crowley's face when he summons the rainstorm. This is HUGE for him. Why? Because of displacement. Look at Aziraphale arranging the ball and being borderline deranged about it. They're both desperate to demonstrate what they think it takes for two people to move past their misunderstandings and fall in love. They can't do it for each other because the stakes are too high, and if either of them shows their cards unequivocally the vulnerability feels life-shattering. They're codependent and terrified of rejection and also, importantly, have no idea what they're doing when it comes to love. "Saw it in a film", Crowley says. Aziraphale's read about it in books. But they have zero practical experience.

Instead of learning to communicate, they try to say what they want to say through the medium of Maggie and Nina, up to and including the questionable moral decision to exert control over people's actions and thoughts during the ball. If I can just make this come out right, they both think, then things between us will be alright too. It HAS to come out right. They're attempting to gain some control over their own lives, over something that feels so overwhelming and shattering they can't look directly at it.

It doesn't come out right. Nina's relationship falls apart, but that doesn't mean she's in love with Maggie. While Crowley's stress-cleaning the bookshop to the music that played when Aziraphale got his books back in 1941 (just fuck me up David Arnold), they come in and tell him so. "I don't understand", says Crowley. Because it should have worked. Why didn't it work?

They tell him, of course. "You need to talk to each other. Say what you're really thinking." But here's the thing about communication: you have to learn it. You need to get the hang of expressing your feelings without blaming your partner, and separating intent from impact, and staying away from getting defensive and lashing out. No one has ever taught Aziraphale and Crowley how to do this. It's like Maggie and Nina put Crowley in front of a loom and asked him to recreate the Bayeux Tapestry. He doesn't have the skills; he's always going to get it wrong, even if he tries his hardest.

And he does try. But that's where Maggie and Nina the mirror couple, rather than Maggie and Nina the displacement relationship or Maggie and Nina the Greek chorus, come in. Aziraphale, as Nina, has just ended an incredibly toxic, invasive relationship with Heaven. A relationship that invaded every facet of his life, isolated him, and prevented him from being close to anyone else. "Rebound mess," Nina says. Aziraphale is a rebound mess. He's transferred the responsibility for his emotional wellness to Crowley. Crowley is the person he calls when he's in trouble, or (and this is key) when he wants to report a clever/ good thing he's done, or when he's bored. (At no point did Crowley reference Aziraphale calling him for a solicitous reason-- another problem.) Crowley is meant to take care of him. He forgets, I think, that Crowley is a person with his own wants and needs, just like Maggie and Nina are people with their own wants and needs who don't appreciate being messed with. (I think things would have been much different had Aziraphale BEEN THERE for Maggie and Nina's talk with Crowley, but he wasn't.)

And Maggie-as-Crowley? Lonely. Behind on rent, at risk of being evicted (it's important to note that Aziraphale saves Maggie from losing her record shop, as he couldn't save Crowley from losing his flat). Pining. Awkward. Revolving around Nina like a planet, to the extent that we don't get much of an impression of her otherwise. They realize, there at the end, that they both need to round themselves out before jumping into a relationship. Aziraphale and Crowley need that too. They need to take time apart and learn to be healthy on their own. Unfortunately they don't have the skills to get to that conclusion in a healthy way, so it all explodes in their faces and everything falls apart.

Aziraphale tries to teach Nina and Maggie to dance as a substitute for communication. Nina and Maggie try to teach Crowley communication as a substitute for the dance they've been doing around each other. That's the reason they're a part of the plot: they exist to demonstrate the way Aziraphale and Crowley might have succeeded in forging a better dynamic. Sadly, the boys' dance is too practiced and they got sucked right back into it.

It's okay, I think, that Nina and Maggie's storyline never really went anywhere. It wasn't supposed to. It's an allegory, not something that needs to stand alone.

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens analysis #good omens season 2 #gos2 #good omens season two #crowley #aziraphale #maggie #nina #defense mechanisms #the psychology of good omens #everything is meant #ineffable husbands

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uglyducklingofthe2000s · 4 months

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Blood & Water - Max Verstappen

I rewatched 2021 recently, and seeing Silverstone 2021 reminded me how much I hated Lewis for that kind of excessive celebration knowing that Max took such a huge hit. So...I'm writing about if he had a little sister who just so happened to be dating Max when it happened.

Summary: Y/n Hamilton is dating his rival and while that is controversial enough on it's own. Can there be forgiveness between the already strained relationship between y/n and her older brother?

Themes: Unprotected sex (more post-sex at the very beginning), maybe a little bit of posessive/dom!Max (again only at the very beginning), driver rivalry, sibling feud

Silverstone is the home race. But Lewis has a lot on the line. He's beginning to think he may not have the championship in the bag like he thought he did last year. Though 2020 was not a usual season.

Max got got P2 then gained pole from the Sprint race, so he's starting at the front.

"I thought you might want to be in the Mercedes garage for the race. Showing your support for Lewis." Max states as he places y/n's underwear back into place from where he'd pushed it aside for easy access.

"I am going to the Mercedes garage. After I clean up, since you think I can defy gravity and keep your fucking cum in me." Y/n deadpans but Max only smirks and gently slaps her thigh when she tries to move her hand down.

"Leave it.' He demands earning an eye roll before she sighs softly to herself.

"You will play nicely won't you? Don't try to kill each other." Y/n murmurs earning a smile from him.

"We haven't killed each other so far. I think we will be quite ok." Max assures her. "Go see your brother and try not to walk funny. You wouldn't want him knowing what you get up to with me."

Y/n wants to shoot back that her brother is more than aware of their relationship and what that involves since Max is not so secretive or hands off with the young woman.

"Alright, I'm going to go. I love you." Y/n nods before she smiles and moves to kiss him once more.

"I love you too. You better be rooting for me even in that garage."

Y/n sighs settling in with her dad and brother as they watch the formation lap.

"You know...Lewis thinks you don't support him anymore." Her brother states suddenly making her look at him.

"I do support him." Y/n frowns to Nicolas feeling fairly attacked by it.

"Y/n..." Anthony warns knowing that his kids will happily argue about anything. But specifically y/n and Nicholas argue about Max, meanwhile Lewis tries not to upset y/n with his disapproval of her choice in men.

"He started it, why I am being blamed?" Y/n huffs before she grumbles when her dad raises his hand apparently calling an end to the argument.

They fall silent as they care return to their grid positions and wait for the lights to go out.

Max and Lewis both fighting through the first corners of the lap but a moment that makes y/n's gut tighten and her stomach lurch. They touch and Max launches into the tyre wall.

She stands up in a moment of shock, ignoring the camera that captures her reaction. The Mercedes team seems beyond thrilled that their rival is out of the way. Anthony looks at his daughter who is grabbing her stuff.

"Where are you going?" Nicolas asks making her nearly murder him with one simply look.

"My brother just launched my boyfriend into a fucking wall. I'm going to find out if he's ok." Y/n spits, trembling in both fear and rage as he fists clench.

The safety car is deployed and eventually the red flag is out, but not before y/n has marched to the Red Bull garage. Speaking to some of the engineers before Jos catches her.

"He's ok...51G, they're going to be getting an ambulance out there."

Y/n's heart sinks in her chest but she mumbles a thanks before she moves needing to beat the ambulance to the medical centre.

She is waiting inside, leg bouncing and heart thumping as she trembles before finally after waiting what feels like a lifetime later, she sees Max walking into the medical centre.

Making sure not to get in the way but be present, she just tries to watch and listen to keep herself quiet. He's dizzy and there's a general ache through his body from the massive impact.

"We're going to get you to the hospital for a CT scan. We want to make sure that there's just nothing that we're missing." The doctor states making Max nod as he finally allows his gaze to flick to y/n who is in the corner.

Max is given a couple minutes with her and she finally lets out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding in.

"I am ok." Max states softly but she moves over standing between his legs and kissing him softly.

"I think my fucking heart stopped."

"Think mine did too." Max jokes making her look at him with an unimpressed expression. "I'll be ok."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Y/n asks softly earning a quick head shake. "You know I'm going to kill him."

"I expect no less." Max chuckles then kissing her forehead before she rubs her head into his chest. "It's your home race too. You don't want to miss it and I want you to tell me what's happening."

"Ok."

After Max left, y/n wasted not time letting her anger love her marching through the Mercedes garage to the pitman. Uncaring of protocol and rules. She's about to rip her brother a new one.

"Oh here we see y/n Hamilton, for those who don't know she is currently in a longstanding relationship with Max. The two have been dating since 2019 and she looks like she's in a rage-oh-oh her brother, Nicolas Hamilton is trying to stop her." Crofty gasps commentating the whole events.

"She looks like she wants to speak to Lewis and I have a feeling she's not going to let anyone get in her way." Martin states then looking at the footage as she very aggressively pushes Nicholas away from her and gets towards their oldest brother.

"You are a fucking disgrace." Y/n spits poking Lewis in the chest. "I hope you're very fucking proud of yourself and I hope you enjoy this fucking race. A race you would've lost if you didn't pull that move."

"Y/n, it's not like I did it on purpose." Lewis states clearly taken aback by how upset his sister is but she only scoffs.

"I know you, Lewis, you used to pep talk me and tell me every dirty and underhanded move when I karted. That sort of thing isn't an accident when it comes to you." Y/n growls her body visibly shaking while Lewis frowns angered that his sister is so against him.

"Y/n, that's enough." Anthony states appearing, very much aware the siblings are being watched by nearly the whole pit lane who are in hearing distance and even some who aren't.

"I was done anyway. Enjoy the race, I hope you take the undeserved win and I hope you make it worth it." Y/n laughs coldly before brushing her dad's hand off.

"I don't know what was said, but Lewis looks very much angry and hurt. Y/n looks like she has just disowned her older brother and is now moving to Christian Horner...wow...this just shows that blood may not be thicker than water. I wish I had heard what was said, because everyone looks like they're in shock down there." Crofty comments as y/n stops to talk to Christian.

"Max wants me to watch the rest of the race and keep him updated. Can I sit in the Red Bull garage?" Y/n asks as Christian wraps an arm around her shoulders rubbing her bicep a little since she has gotten close with him by default from the fact that she is dating Max.

"You're always welcome." Christian smiles lightly since he does appreciate that y/n would turn her back on her brother because she knows it was wrong. "Go sit, make sure he knows everything that is happening."

By the time y/n gets back to the hotel where her boyfriend is already awaiting and "resting" on doctors orders.

"You did not need to go out and publicly argue with your brother during the red flag." Max smirks as she groans and climbs over to straddle him, dropping down on him to cuddle into him.

"He's an asshole. You don't know how the way I do, he does things like that on purpose and he's in full control of his side of that. He knew exactly what he was doing." Y/n grumbles shaking her head while frowning and feeling her eyes begin to tear up. "Do you realise how that could've ended for you?"

"You can't get rid of me that easily, y/n." Max smirks making her sigh softly as his hand comes up to rub under her eyes. "You will make up with him, you don't want to be upset with your brother."

"I'll think about making up with him." Y/n murmurs while Max smiles lightly, gently cupping her face. "His celebrations were ridiculous."

"From what I've been told you did tell him to enjoy the win." Max sighs then shaking his head. "I'm ok and you are too. For now we can just rest...How's your head?"

"Better than it was."

It takes 7 races before y/n even allows Lewis to speak to her. Not having uttered a word to each other for nearly 3 months, and y/n is still not all too impressed about even speaking to her brother who is insisting on talking to her.

Monza was a moment that y/n was near harassed for an opinion about the crash between her brother and boyfriend but she kept any thoughts to herself. Mainly because on that occasion she thought they were both being stubborn idiots. She was unimpressed with Max for a couple days after that too.

"Y/n, I hate this." Lewis states while she remains blank. "I'm sorry. You're right, I knew what I was doing...I shouldn't have celebrated the way that I did...I was mad and hurt that you weren't supporting me like you used to because you save that for Max now."

"I was in your garage, ready to root you on for the home race. But you-you can't play the victim when you were in the wrong. And you can't get annoyed at me for not playing into this victim narrative you want to play." Y/n scoffs, in disbelief that her brother is trying to justify anything. "You shouldn't even be apologising to me."

"I've apologised to Max and he was the one who said he wants this to be over and done with." Lewis states watching her brows furrow, his words hitting her in a way that stings and makes it feel like Lewis had his arm twisted into doing this.

"Well if it's such a burden to say sorry and want to speak to me, tell Max to fuck off with meddling next time." Y/n huffs then shaking her head. "I didn't want to talk to you but thank you for really giving me good reason to validate that."

"Y/n, please. You're my sister. I don't want us to be against each other. I really am sorry." Lewis tries since he actually misses his sister who, while strong-willed and loudly spoken when it comes to her opinion, was actually one of his biggest supporters and as sad as it is to admit, one of his best friends. "I don't want to be on bad terms because I was being a dick."

Y/n rolls her eyes but even Lewis can tell that her silence means she's slowly feeling the stubborn walls fall down.

"I don't want to either...but if Lewis...right now, Max...he's my priority. You need to understand that. Max...feels like the man I want to spend my life with and I'm pretty sure he feels the same, so don't put me in that position again. I'll choose him, especially when I know you're in the wrong."

Lewis wishes he could say he understands. But he's sacrificed everything important for his career. He chose ruthless beating Nico over trying to keep their friendship and even though Nico has tried to lay it to rest, Lewis still continues to make digs and be bitter. He chose his career over his relationship with Nicole. Now for a few months he lost his own sister, something he never imagined would ever happen.

Maybe he's slightly jealous that Max is being so successful and getting to have friends on the grid, a relationship and progress in his career with no need to give up any of it.

"I understand." Lewis nods earning a small sigh before she moves forward, not hesitating to hug her brother who holds tightly, not realising how much he had really missed y/n. "But I can't promise no battling for the rest of the season.

"It'd be a bit much for me to ask any less from either of you."

Y/n does refind her boyfriend after leaving Lewis and Max seems to be awaiting to find out if things were worked out.

"Alright, you got your way. Things are fine between Lewis and I."

"Good. Because the two of you should be on good terms. Even if you are dating me." Max smiles before kissing her softly.

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massiveharmonytiger · 2 months

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So I was rewatching Saltburn and I had an epiphany!

Farleigh is in love with Oliver.

Like, embarrassingly, stupidly, head over heels.

I mean, I knew he had a thing for Ollie, with the jealously telling Felix about him and Venetia, the Richard III would put in the work line followed by him being completely disarmed when Oliver suggests that he fucks him, and then the actual Oliver seducing him scene, but I only just realized the extent of it and how far back it goes.

First of all, Farleigh notices Oliver before Oliver sees Felix for the first time.

Yes, I got the script because I'm complete Saltburn trash at this point. So when Farleigh is introduced, the script describes him as beautiful and pansexual, walking among a group of alpha hotties. So in the film, he's with two hotties, a guy and a girl. He has his pick. There's no reason for him to point out Oliver or what he's wearing to them, unless he's trying to impress them, but why would Farleigh Start need to impress them? He's already the centre of that group. Sure the script also describes him as an imp with a cruel streak, but after rewatching I feel like that's a blatant misdirection. I mean, he got expelled for sucking off teachers. Nerdy prep is exactly his type.

He says, "Hey cool jacket," to Oliver. If you interpret that line as being delivered by the beautiful and pansexual Farleigh Start, not the impish and cruel Farleigh Start, it's pretty much a come on. I'm mixed race like Farleigh and it kind of reminds me of those back-handed compliments white people give you when they think you're hot or cute 'for a brown person.' It's kind of hilarious to see it subverted like this, but obviously Oliver is less amused. Why would he interpret it as anything other than more bullying? Which it kind of is, so fair enough. But it's the kind of bullying people do when they get a crush they don't know how to handle. A little boy pulling on a girls pigtails. And it's obviously worked for Farleigh before. Why would he need to try any harder than that?

After Farleigh's comment, Oliver sees Felix for the first time. Farleigh is also there, but Oliver's already smitten and doesn't really notice him beyond, "Oh, it's that jerk from earlier and he's next to Felix, where I should be." Then you get a few other bits that wreck me. Oliver ducking from the window when Felix looks up, Oliver trying to sit at Felix (and Farleigh)'s table at the mess hall, but being unable to, Michael causing the disruption, but it doesn't even interrupt Felix and Farleigh's conversation. (Which ties in nicely to my theory of how the original Oliver wouldn't have gotten Felix's attention even if he screamed, he had to mold himself into what Felix wanted just to get noticed, but one theory at a time).

Next up, we have the tutor session that Farleigh is late for. Before Farleigh gets there, Oliver is humiliated and belittled for completing the reading list, which dooms Farleigh even more when he shows up and the tutor starts fawning over him. Oliver doesn't know Farleigh and Felix are cousins yet. He's just the guy that was snide to Oliver when he first got there. The guy at Felix's side that Oliver keeps measuring himself against. So yeah, Oliver is pissed off before Farleigh gets there and that cute little knee touch isn't going to change anything.

Yes, Farleigh, I also count the amount of times my crush uses a word in their essay despite still being hungover from last night's party, just so that I have something to talk to him about… Oh wait, no, that's just you.

The way he looks up at Oliver with those big brown doe eyes when he says, "I counted". The way he keeps looking up to gauge his reaction to all his comments. The way he's looking at him, period.

And Oliver doesn't fall for his cuteness and charm because he's just convinced that the intent behind his words is malicious. Poor Farleigh. He must have been so confused. People usually fold but here's this guy, meeting him blow for blow. He's never had to "put in the work" like this. What the hell.

The tutor sessions with Oliver and Farleigh (where Farleigh is framed lower than Oliver) actually serve as a nice parallel to a lot of the scenes where Oliver and Felix are together (and Oliver is framed lower than Felix). We don't really see that when Farleigh and Felix are together. They're usually at a similar height in those scenes.

Then we have the scene in the bar where Felix calls Oliver over and Farleigh has that panicked, "Oh shit, my crush is here," look on his face before it settles into resignation as he realizes Oliver is, "another one of Felix's toys". Finally the mystery is solved. This is why Oliver didn't fall for his charms at the tutor sessions.

So, Oliver prefers Felix to him, huh. That's just fine. He'll deal with the rejection by giving Oliver a hard time about buying the next round. That should push him away from Felix…oh shit, it brings them closer together. And now he looks like the douchebag.

Then there's this bit where Farleigh is looking at Oliver and Felix (mostly Oliver, the prior shot establishes which side of the room he's on, which happens to be where Farleigh's looking) and his party hat horns mirror the minotaur/how Oliver looked when he confessed his love to Felix later on. Oliver, you need to see how much Farleigh fucking loves you. Look at him, Ollie. Just look at him. (He can't, he's too busy looking at Felix)

Anything to get Oliver to notice him. Anything.

Cut to Oliver's arrival at Saltburn, where Oliver joins the rest of them in the library and Farleigh loudly cuts off Elspeth gossiping about Oliver and his parents because hearing, "We were just talking about you" would be better than hearing whatever was going to come out of Elspeth's mouth next. And I mean, he's already the asshole. This is actually so sweet.

And we all remember this scene. This clearly made his day.

But then we get the encounter with Venetia and Felix and Farleigh both being equally pissed at the breakfast table. And yeah, everything goes downhill from there. It's the reason Oliver seduces him and gets him thrown out for what's literally just another desperate attempt to drive a wedge between Oliver and Felix.

No, Oliver, he's not going to behave. God, yes. Don't stop.

Farleigh was down so bad he literally got honeytrapped and framed. Twice.

Between Felix, Oliver and Farleigh, there are really no winners. They really all got wrecked by love, huh.

#saltburn #saltburn meta #saltburn posting #quickstart #farleigh start #oliver quick #cattonquick #felix catton

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mrabubu · 6 months

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Yeah, I keep making more Rise of the TMNT art, as long as I have inspiration (and hyperfixation, apparently), there will be more. Rise is officially my comfort show, and it gives me life, happiness and all other positive emotions. Honestly, I still can't get over the movie, and especially the relationship between F! Leo and Case. I've been rewatching this first 5 min promo for... I don't know how many times, but a lot, and just these 5 minutes made me fall in love with this movie. I so wish we could get more interactions between F! Leo and Case, as for me it's always amazing to see a character from a completely differnt perspective and in a completely different role. Like, Leo went from "my brother asked me to pull out his baby tooth, I pulled the wrong one, BUT IT WAS A BIG TOOTH", to being a war veteran and an adoptive father to his dead friend's son (at least one of the crew members confirmed that Casey don't have many memories of his mother, and Leo was the one who mostly raised him, so, yeah, obvious conclusion). That's tough, and amazing, and beautifull in a way. I love to see characters growing up in this way. If/when we will get a season 3 of Rise, I hope we could get like a mini arc with stories from the future.

And I think I'm gonna draw some more stuff with these two, and I already have an idea for a little comic... And animations... BECAUSE I CAN

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arcanesea · 3 months

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143 candies

PAIRING: moon junhui x reader GENRE: established relationship, fluff WC: 501 WARNING: reader is having period cramps (no pronouns used), one curse word

"Do you still love me?" Jun asks, stopping you from your endless scrolling. You look up to him in slow motion, wondering if you did something that caused him to ask such a question. Truth is, he just doesn't know how to properly express his love to you. Saying I love you is as easy as blinking, yet he finds himself unsatisfied with his own effort.

It's not like you demand anything from him, though, but that's what sends him on a frenzy; that you never asked him of anything (except kisses when he's in the middle of finishing a game, and he always provides them for you).

"Of course, I still love you, what are you talking about Junnie?" you ask back, walking to where he was sitting. You take the empty spot next to him on the sofa, leaning closer so you can rest your head on his shoulder. In turn, he brings his arm around your waist.

"I don't know, just feeling like I can't show you enough," he said. "I guess I'm just a little bit insecure..." he hesitates a bit, before continuing, "Honestly I don't fucking know."

"Junnie, you always keep spare pads on your car, you carry my bags when we're going out, you buy a reading lamp just for me, you take care of me during my period, you bookmark stuff that you think I would like to see, you send cat pictures and memes every day--"

"That's the bare minimum," he complained.

"No, well, yes, you consider it the bare minimum because you love me, for me it's everything because I love you," you said. "I'm sorry for not appreciating them enough, but those little things... They made me fall in love with you more each day."

"Is that so?" he asks again, voice small.

"Let's not forget when you bought coffee for my whole department, or when you joined me on my overseas trip, or last week when you sent 143 packs of candies..."

"That's a bit overkill, isn't it?" Jun laughs heartily, pressing a kiss on the top of your head. That was during one of your period cycles when you felt cramps and took the day off. He was away for work so he couldn't physically be there. You had told him that you're craving for some candies and the next minute you know, there's a delivery on your door.

"I almost thought you wanted me to have diabetes or something," you smile. It's the fact that he doesn't have to do all that for you, but he chooses to that makes you feel loved. You tried to reassure him that he's done enough, time and time again because he expresses his love in a different way. In a way that amazed you, and never not. He's creative with his declaration of love and you always point it out that makes him shy.

"Thank you, baobei," he said, "I'll continue to think out of the box to make you happy."

a/n. is it time to rewatch exclusive fairytale?

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lechemoon · 1 year

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the one where spencer reid doesn't want to be just your friend

spencer reid x f reader

wc: ~1.8k

prompt: "i don't want to be your friend. i want to fall in love with you."

no warnings apply, however if i miss any please let me know :) additionally, if someone is able to identify the prompt list that the prompt is from, i would appreciate it! i can't seem to find the list </3

a/n: still on my slow rewatch, i haven't finished season 5 but i know for a fact that long-haired jesus reid is coming to an end, so this fic is for him specifically hehe

spencer shuts his mouth immediately, and regrets ever having the ability to even speak at all. the way you’re looking at him makes him want to curl up into himself.

“that was rude. all i asked was if you wanted to grab lunch.” you stuff your phone in your pocket aggressively, about facing the opposite direction from him.

“wait, wait, wait.” he grabs you by the crook of your elbow, slightly yanking to keep you from walking away from him but not so much that you tip over and lose your balance. it’s now or never, and spencer will be damned if he lets you walk away without even trying to make you understand what he’s been trying to tell you.

you groan, and he hates that he can hear the frustration and confusion emitting from you. hates it because he knows how it feels- he’s been feeling it for months. along with this gnawing feeling in his stomach and a clawing feeling in his chest and an ache in his heart (but he’ll ignore that for now- he’s got things to do and words to say).

you move your free hand to run it through the top of your head, brushing any stray hairs from your face. you let out a quick breath from your mouth, and turn your head towards spencer. you make your body so that it’s still mostly facing away from him slightly. “what? you’re gonna explain why you’re suddenly just changing it up on me? being rude to me out of nowhere? if we can’t be friends right now then i don’t think there’s a reason for us to talk outside of work-“

“i don’t-!” he clears his throat because he doesn’t mean to raise his voice in the middle of the work day. his eyes scan the room quickly, and he finds himself thankful that most of the floor has gone out for lunch. those that are here still seem to have either not heard him or are choosing to ignore his outburst. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to shout… can we- can we talk somewhere more private?”

when you don’t show any signs of saying yes, he pulls out the big guns. releasing your arm, he takes hold of your hand instead. gently, unsure. his bottom lip juts out only slightly, just enough that he knows he’s sure you’ve seen it. and he’s sure, because your eyes land on his lips for a second. “please?”

“ugh, fine.” you shake your hand from his. “there’s no one in penelope’s office,” you say as you begin to walk in the direction of your coworker's office. you don’t bother looking back at spencer until your hand finds the door handle. “why are you still sitting? come on! i don’t have all day and i have to grab a snack after this.”

grabbing his bag and getting up from his chair, spencer makes his way (clumsily) to follow you out the door. “i can explain myself,” he says to your back while you both trek your way to penelope’s office.

he practically hears your eyes roll when you respond with, “i’m sure you can.” you turn left because you accidentally lead the both of you the wrong way, so now you’re taking the scenic route.

“i think we took the-“

“i know,” you cut him off, finally reaching penelope’s door. you open it and aren’t surprised you find it unlocked. neither of you are surprised to find that all the computer screens are locked as well. she wouldn’t be penelope if she didn’t secure her babies.

“okay, we have a few minutes before penelope enters her lair.” you turn to him, hands on your hips and tapping your foot impatiently. “well?”

it’s spencer’s turn to brush his fingers through his hair. he knew what he wanted to say before this- had a whole 20 second speech prepared that ended with a small lie of him not actually being hungry. why couldn’t he think of it now?

i’m sorry. I’m not hungry right now so i didn’t want to get sandwiches with you.

i didn’t mean to tell you to leave me alone like that, or use that tone of voice. or to call you nosey.

in fact, i don’t think i ever want you to leave me alone. i’d eat a hundred sandwiches if it meant spending lunch with you.

“spencer?”

when he takes a good look at you, he forgets everything he wanted to say. “u-uhm,” he bites his lower lip. “i-i’m sorry, i usually… i usually don’t forget what i want to say.” not a lie, not a truth. he has fragments of what he wants to say dangling in his brain, but no way to string them all together.

you smack your lips and cross your arms. “reid, really? you tell me to leave you alone, then you tell me to talk privately- why are you pulling my leg?”

it hits him when he remembers you saying if we cant be friends-

“i don’t want to be your friend,” he tells you directly, looking into your eyes. it takes everything in him not to break eye contact. it gets harder to not look away when you’re staring right back at him with eyes expectant. waiting. almost impatient looking.

and they change slightly. now he sees hurt, worry, sadness. your foot stops tapping. “you… you don’t want to be… friends?” you cross your arms, and spencer knows you’re getting defensive and closed-off. you’re getting ready to leave the room.

but his hands find your upper arms and slides down them, releasing you from your knot and landing at your wrist. he turns them upward, and rubs his thumbs against them in small circles. “i-i don’t want to be just your friend,” he says again, but with more intention.

now he sees something new in you- confusion, curiosity. “just my friend?”

“not just your friend,” he repeats. “I feel like… no. i think i-i want to… to fall in love with you,” he says finally, and his face feels hot and his throat feels dry.

shit, he thinks, that’s not what i was going to say. i didn’t mean to say love! like would have sufficed just fine!

what he should have said was that he liked you more than he would any other person, that you made him feel like he was floating or that he was flying.

spencer feels his stomach drop when you don’t respond to him right away, and he lets his hands begin to fall from your wrist. “that came out wr-“

but you grab his hands into your own before physical contact can even break. “you what?”

“i mean- i did want to be your friend, i do want to be your friend it’s just that i,” he doesn’t know where his sentence is leading but he knows that he wants you to know that wanting to be with you wasn’t his intention at first. “i think… i think you’re great. you’re smart and you’re pretty, and sometimes i notice that you match your socks to your blouse- why are you looking at me like that?”

you're biting your bottom lip to hold back your smile, but the sparkle in your eyes and the crinkle at the corners give you away. you’re happy- nervous, but happy. at least, that’s what spencer speculates when he takes a look at you.

“i feel like i should be mad at you,” you admit, letting go of his hands so that you can rub yours together. penelope’s cave is cold. “liking someone isn’t an excuse to snap at them the way you did to me earlier.”

“i know, and i’m so sorry-“

you cut him off again. “let me finish.” and his lips shut.

not knowing what to do with his now vacant hands, he stuffs them in his pockets and fingers the lint that has made its way into them.

“do you know why i ask you out for lunch all the time?” you ask him, pointing one of your index fingers to his chest.

spencer shakes his head. “because you… like the company and camaraderie?”

“i like your company,” the finger against his chest pushes in slightly, and you take a step back so you don’t have to continue to crane your neck at a weird angle to look up at him. “i like you.”

a confession, spencer thinks to himself, wasn’t on his list of things he expected to happen today. “me?” in attempts to keep a grin from forming, he purses his lips together. it doesn’t help, because now he’s grinning with his teeth in full display.

he tilts his head to the side in disbelief. “r-really?”

“yes, really!” a new third party squeals excitedly from behind.

both you and spencer bring your attention towards the door. spencer shouldn’t be surprised to find penelope in her own doorway, but he is. and so it seems are you.

penelope dances in, doing a happy little shake as she prances past the two of you to set her things and then herself down. neither of your eyes leave her as she settles herself in. spencer feels like his eyes are as wide as they can possibly be and he wonders if you’re feeling the same way, because when he looks at you he thinks that he’s sporting the same look of a deer caught in the headlights.

no one says anything. only the sound of a pastry being released from it’s parchment prison by penelope fills the room until you finally say, “how long have you been standing there?”

the tech beauty of the team rips a piece of her danish to pop it in her mouth and chews on it for a few seconds, exhaling happily when the taste finally hits her tongue. she swallows before she give you her answer. “i’ve been here since…,” she checks her naked wrist as if she were checking the time, and then looks up to smirk at spencer, “since the boy genius said he wanted to- what was it again, dr. reid?”

taken aback by being thrown into the conversation so suddenly, spencer stumbles on his words. “u-uhm, i uh, i said i-”

“ah that’s right,” penelope smiles, setting her pastry down and dusting her hands off. “you said you would like to fall in love with our dear friend here?” she points to you and winks.

if spencer’s eyes could get any wider and if his face could find a darker shade of pink he knows they would.

“so,” penelope crosses her legs and leans back in her chair. her eyes haven’t left you, and spencer is thankful that he doesn’t have to face the intensity he sees in penelope. “i see your dream’s coming true, love bug,” she says to you, and spencer sees you bite your thumbnail to try and hide your smile.

you finally look at spencer, and he feels his stomach flutter. “i really, really like you spencer,” you say to him to finish off your interrupted conversation.

“oh yeah,” penelope adds, nodding excitedly, “she really does, doctor.”

a/n: thank you for reading <3

#spencer reid #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfic #my fic #mgg #matthew gray gubler

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kolsmikaelson · 1 year

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I’m rewatching Wednesday and when Xavier said he was ‘two feet shorter and about forty pounds heavier’ kinda made me think he’d have stretch marks? And idk I’ve been thinking of tracing them and like complimenting them

kiss me, kiss me — xavier thorpe x reader

word count - 734 join taglist warnings - slightly insecure!xavier, foul language

a/n - i wasn’t completely sure what way you wanted me to go with this so i hope you enjoy <3.

Xavier was coming out of his bathroom, sweatpants low on his waist and one around his neck to dry his hair and no shirt on, when you knocked on his door. He takes a moment to rub the water out of his hair before throwing the towel in his hands onto the foot of his bed.

“Hi baby.” Xaviers face lights up when he opens his door to reveal you with snacks in one hand and an extra blanket in the other. “So I was thinking we should go either comedy or horror tonight?” you proposed while you brushed past him to set your things onto his desk.

For a moment he’d forgotten why you were there, it was Friday, your movie nights. He wasn’t completely sure when they began but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about spending time with his favorite person. Sometimes you’d switch off between your dorms, however after the events with Rowan went down movie nights took place in his room more often than not. No roommate to interrupt the peace during whatever movie you or Xavier had picked and nobody to comment on the way you supposedly looked at one another — your roommate, Yoko, loved to point it out no matter how many times you’d denied it. Though both of you had feelings for each other, there was no chance in hell you were going to risk the relationship you had.

Xavier had a crush on you from the beginning of your friendship while your’s came a couple of months later. There were little things each of you did to show your affection for the other so as to not say your feelings outright. You’d keep a hair tie on your wrist at all times for when he inevitably forgets his somewhere, while he’ll give you little drawings most days. Sometimes they’d be of you in class or something he’d seen and thought you might like. Every time it was the latter he made a mental note to make it come to life for you at some point.

“Xav? What do you think?” you speak, breaking the boy from his thoughts.

“Oh uh whatever you want. Isn’t it your turn to pick anyway?” he shrugs.

“Y’know that I like to pick something we’ll both like.”you mutter, walking closer to him. Quickly, you bring your arms around him and pull him into a hug. Both you and Xavier stand in the middle of his room for what feels like forever, enjoying the warmth of his skin radiating out into the shared space between you.

Stepping back slightly, your eyes wander across his naked torso and they stop on the marks ranging from dark to light that are lining the area above his hips. It’s not as if you hadn’t seen him shirtless before, but seeing them up close sparked something in you. Lifting a hand towards the marks you let it hover above his skin. “Can I…” Xavier is nodding before you can get another word out.

You begin to run your thumb across the markings, tracing over them, learning and memorizing the way that they feel under your skin, the supple skin bumping up against your fingers.

When you glance up at him, the worried look etched on Xaviers face isn’t hard to miss. Your heart stutters and your smile falters as you realize how he might feel in that moment.

“Hey, I’m sorry don’t worry, I think that they make you look pretty cute.” your voice is soft-spoken, trying to convey the truth to the long haired boy. Xaviers worries fade away a little bit as a smile is brought to his face, sensing the honesty in your voice. His smile grows slightly bigger when he still feels your fingers tracing over the marks.

“Thank you.” the words fall from his lips quickly. Though he was short with his response you knew that he meant it.

“Kiss me.” Both you and Xavier blurt out at the same time. His eyes widen in shock and your shoulders shake with laughter.

Xavier cups your cheek and brings his head down to yours, and presses his lips on yours for the first time. It felt as if sparks were flying around you two. When you break apart, Xavier has a goofy smile on his face that makes your heart melt.

“Come on pretty boy. It’s movie time.” you smile.

taglist (bolded means I cannot tag you) — @alexxavicry @hockeyboysarehot @bluesongbird @hopefulwitchcandy @marigoldsworth @liltimmyst @prettysummerbaby @prttydlly @fictionalho @ssprayberrythings @lastwandastan @yejis-biggest-simp

#◜ caitee’𝗌 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝗌 ✎ ˚✧ ꜝ #— 🪼 fics #anon 🪷#xavier thorpe #wednesday netflix #xavier thorpe imagine #xavier thorpe x reader #xavier thorpe fic #xavier thorpe x yn #xavier thorpe x you #xavier thorpe blurb #xavier thorpe x y/n #wednesday imagine #wednesday x reader #reader insert #reader insert fic

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misssmina · 2 months

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Characterizing Characters:

Kirishima Eijirou.

I’ll be using the source material to create a simple list of traits he has already, then based on those traits, things we can infer about him based on those behaviors.

SourceMaterial!Kirishima curses. He has a potty mouth, especially in battle.

SourceMaterial!Kirishima is a shit talker. You can hear him cracking jokes at/about other characters in the show, not maliciously of course.

SM!Kirishima was insecure as a young teen, and still struggles with negative self talk.

SM!Kirishima is very observant and emotionally intelligent.

SM!Kirishima is a big eater. Hungry boy

SM!Kirishima has a strong moral compass, it’s gotten him in trouble.

SM!Kirishima actively pushes pasts his physical limits, regardless of injury or exhaustion.

SM!Kirishima always gives people their flowers. He regularly recognizes his classmates/colleagues growth and lets them know it. He is the pep talk king.

SM!Kirishima can and WILL correct bad behavior. He regularly calls out his peers when they behave poorly.

SM!Kirishima handles criticism extremely well for a teen, takes everything he learns and applies it immediately.

SM!Kirishima is very street smart. Struggles with book smarts but is fairly studious.

SM!Kirishima has mission anxiety, probably from his first very intense missions.

Now we can make some inferences based on the information we have already.

Prohero!Kirishima has lots of scars (obviously) but based on how he uses his quirk, he’d probably have similar hand scars to Midoriya. Scars focused on his knuckles, wrists, and elbows.

Prohero!Kirishima cracks jokes at his sidekicks/mentees to keep the mood light when training.

Prohero!Kirishima is excellent with kids, probably would regularly do events for kids to teach them about heroic/chivalrous behavior.

Prohero!Kirishima eats like a dumpster. BUT macros matter more to him than calories. He will eat a carton of boiled eggs.

Prohero!Kirishima is a combat hero but made sure to learn the calming and descolation techniques that rescue hero’s use.

Prohero!Kirishima still has moments of quirk insecurity, but he talks about it openly with the public for others to relate to.

Prohero!Kirishima has pre-mission anxiety. Does better when just thrown into action.

And here are some personal head cannons I have for him. 🪨

Cracks his knuckles as a nervous tick

Will crouch to make himself shorter in a crowd so people can see over him

As a pro, he’s somehow always shocked to see fan pages and edits of himself

Hates the sound of his own voice in recordings

His memory is awful. Always remembers important dates like a day late.

Loves giving nicknames but forgets his own sometimes. (“Hey, Riot!” “*Points at himself* Me?” “???”)

Keeps telling himself he’s gonna stop swearing, keeps forgetting to stop.

Falls asleep on FaceTime kind of guy. Doesn’t just have to be with his partner, has fallen asleep on FT with Denki countless times.

Smells like sandalwood and eucalyptus.

Gives guys fist bumps and girls high fives.

Makes silly faces at kids at the grocery store.

I’m currently rewatching the show so I may do another post or other characters.

#kirishima x reader #kirishima eijirou #kiribaku #mha kirishima #bnha kirishima #bnha eijiro kirishima #mha eijirou #bnha eijirou #mha headcanons #mha fanfiction #my hero headcanons #my hero academia #my hero fanfic #misssmina #characterizing characters

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flynnriderishot · 2 months

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PLEASE write a pt. 2 to the fic abt reader being a bet and finding out, while Chris acc fell for them

because of a lie pt.2 - c.s

a/n: i want to point out that any words that are italicized, at the end of the word or full word, is reader or chris’ voice breaking/cracking as they are on the verge of tears !

you laid on your bed, eyes focusing the ceiling as you ignored the constant vibrating that came from your phone.

you knew it was chris’ brothers trying to reach out to you. it couldn’t have been the man himself, you blocked him on everything after you rewatched the video at least ten more times.

yes, you were sad. you wanted to know his reasoning behind using you to get three hundred dollars that would no doubt be gone within a week. but you refused to see him, or even hear his voice after he broke your heart.

to you, it made no sense.

was he that incapable of truly liking someone that he needed money to even get through the talking stage?

did his talks about how he felt like no one aside from you understood him mean nothing?

you wanted to believe it was bullshit, but it made sense. you saw the way he couldn’t properly commit to people, he even admitted it himself.

what were the odds he actually liked you? very low apparently.

you were snapped out of your thoughts by a knock on your door.

letting out a groan, you pushed yourself up slowly.

you hoped whoever was at your door had enough patience as you were definitely taking your time to get there, though once you did, you wished you hadn’t.

you instantly tried closing the door upon seeing who was standing there.

“woah, hang on, please.”

“go away!” you demanded, tears filling your vision as you put your shoulder against the wood in hopes of pushing him out the apartment.

“baby, please—“

“don’t call me that!” despite the yelling and the urgent need to get him out of your sight, you were growing tired and knew your strength was no match with his, so you let go. “don’t you dare walk in here. i don’t even want to see you.”

he huffed, being respectful of your wishes and not walking inside, “just let me explain myself. please.”

the cracking in his voice gave away his desperation to talk to you.

but you weren’t having it.

“i was a bet.”

“yn—“

“a bet, chris. three hundred dollars to make me fall in love with you. what is there to explain?!”

he could only sigh. there truly was no arguing.

you weren’t wrong.

that’s how it started as- a bet. but chris loves you, he truly does. so seeing you break down, because of him nonetheless, crushed his heart into a million peaces.

“you know what? go ahead. go ahead and explain to me what the hell possessed you into taking on this stupid ass bet that you knew would end with me being heart broken.”

“it was an accident- it was a mistake. i wasn’t thinking, i was being stupid—“

“clearly.” you scoffed, eyeing the way his feet struggled to keep himself at a distance.

“i’m sorry.” he took a small stepped forward, “i’m so sorry. i didn’t think the video would get out—“

“what?!”

“not in that way. just- yeah, it was a bet. it started off as a bet and i’m so sorry for going along with it, but i was dumb and i wanted to look cool around my friends so i agreed to it, okay? i’m sorry.”

you were filled with tears as you listened to him speak. you didn’t want to give him the chance to possibly get back in your head after breaking your heart not even five minutes ago but you want to know why.

“i don’t regret it.”

if your face could fall any more, it’d be on the ground, “excuse me.”

“no, no! not like that. i mean- yes, i regret it but i don’t because if i hadn’t been an idiot then i wouldn’t have realized how in love with you i am.”

the silence was deafening.

so quiet that you could hear matt’s car engine running across the street.

no matter how many times you’d both showed it, chris could never find it in himself to admit that he loved you.

he practically refused to do it. not because he didn’t, but because he was scared.

and here he was, pouring his heart out onto your doorstep in hopes that you would forgive him for his careless actions.

he stepped into the small home, his soft hands reaching to grab onto your forearms,

“please. i know i don’t deserve it, but i love you. i love you so much it hurts. i will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. just give a chance. please.”

you were an idiot.

you knew you were an idiot. you were a firm believer in once a cheater, always a cheater. now, did chris cheat? no, but he didn’t make you look like an absolutely fool.

a fool that fell in love.

and as a sigh left your lips, you knew that you would end up forgiving him.

and no matter how long it took, chris would be there working his ass off to prove himself.

taglist: @hearts4chris @timmyandsturniolo @mayhem-72 @luvsturns @knowingnothingnoel @mrsmattyb @itzdarling @julliaaaaaaaaaaaaa @dracoflaco @heartsforchrisandmatt @lily-strnlo @alliehansson

tags for this fic: @st4rswrld @tubl-mc @lily-strnlo

#sturniolo triplets #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #chris sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo fluff #chris sturniolo imagine #matt sturniolo

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quixtrix · 5 months

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dolph was always meant to be doomed; something of an analysis

i'm on my third rewatch of captain laserhawk, and on this one i've been focusing more on the little details that you don't get on your first or even second time watching it. i've noticed little things, such as pey'j helping and then going on to shield a hybrid who's dressed similarly to jade in the third episode. but i've also noticed bigger things, such as alex and dolph.

keep in mind that this show is just filled to the brim with political messaging, it was purposefully designed that way. so when someone mentioned on here that alex was an accelerationist, it explained a lot. we don't know much about alex in terms of his backstory, we only know he helped dolph after dolph attempted to mug him and they ended up falling in love. it's also implied that alex and dolph have been repeatedly reported on the news as terrorists more than we've seen, with rayman referring to them as being the usual suspects when the kaiju attack happened, despite dolph literally not even being there when alex did that shit. they're known to do this shit, and we know alex is a charismatic guy. it's not too far fetched to say once or while dolph was falling in love with this gayass white saviour saint that alex talked him into this shit for alex's own purposes. because yes, he has a cause, but he's also a bit in over his head, maybe with power. he's aware of the power he has over dolph, how he actively uses the 'i love you' card multiple times when they're together and when they're not together. he just had a bit too much confidence in his hold over dolph, but to be fair, alex, you were topping some indulgent mob boss for your cause (because let's be honest of course your sources would be tight if they were being fucked for it) then continued fucking said mob boss and got caught with your dick out by your ex who you think you can get back with. alex uses people as tools, he just doesn't put his shit in the right places at the right times.

i'm getting off track, but the point i'm getting to is that alex most definitely saw dolph, a man who clearly has some jacked up eden tech smacked onto his twink ass, at his lowest, and picked him up like a shiny new toy. he was always going to use dolph. but how come dolph is so easy to use? he's starved for kindness. he's the stray dog that comes up to you at restaurants to act all nonchalant because 95% of the time he gets neglected, but the second he gets offered scraps, he shows how hungry he is. we don't know much about his childhood, and what we do know is under the lenses of literal eden propaganda. we do however know how people get like underneath the hand of eden.

everyone say thanks to rayman, who concidentally, is dolph's foil. both of them worked under eden as their lap dogs, one as a propagandist and the other as military, but dolph had gotten out of the hold the propaganda had on him while rayman's barely shaking it off. both of them are also portrayed as poor little tragic immigrants and the impoverished stand ins both in universe and story wise. they're the feel good picking yourself up american dream stories that people can feel inspired by or feel proud about the country with. dolph had a photo with a kid holding a doll of him. before he became ex military, he was definitely the guy they paraded around as a previous lost cause that eden helped. red, who's as political as his assigned colour, bitches about identity politics in that one off line for a reason. he also jus hates brown people fr he kicked me down a flight of stairs

now we can assume that dolph had picked himself up out of the propaganda machine somehow. he realised he was used and he didn't want that shit. he's attempting to get himself his own life, for fucks sake. he jus happened to get lead on by the wrong guy, which then lead him to get used by eden AGAIN. this time not only in a physical way via soldier work, but emotionally too, with sarah easily manipulating him with what? a sob story and helping him out, maybe being friendly with him along the way.

he wants a normal life. he wants a goddamn normal life. he jus continues to be selected as a tool.

you can see how fucking starved he is for kindness. you ever think about the fact that in his dream life, he sees jade and pey'j? he knew these people for less than a week, yet they get a place in his dream life. most notably, jade gets a speaking role in his dream life. the only other person who speaks, besides marcus, is alex, someone who had known him and shown kindness to him. jade has also shown kindness to dolph. she's the friendliest face there in the ghosts, being the first one to check on dolph when he wakes up, offers an explanation to him, and also makes an effort to include him in her little shenanigans with the video and all!! dolph was all emo alpha wolf and all, but despite his constant cold shoulder, she was kind!!

there was someone who was more than kind though; bullfrog. because bullfrog actively looked out for dolph, despite his constant pushback against bullfrogs advice whenever they weren't separated. and in the end, it's bullfrogs kindness and compassion that hits dolph the deepest. dolph gets out of his depressive state to go back for bullfrog. he cares about people, he goes out of his way to do shit for the people who show him the slightest bit of kindness. he backed up sarah after one good conversation with her to marcus for fucks sake. dolph is just a guy who keeps getting used though. he's so loyal to anyone who looks his way that it's a fatal flaw that ends up with his head blown up. he's a shakespearean tragedy at the moment. i hope in the potential season 2 that he gets to have more moments where he gets to be his own person. not defined by an organisation or a person or a cause, but what he chooses to define himself by. he's on his way there. he jus deserves to be allowed to live for himself. after all, he has already met his end of that story. he can make a new one.

anyways if u reached the end of this im down to discuss this :D i also did get a few points from other people on here, but let me know what u think nd all

#SORRY THIS WAS A RANT #A LOT OF YAPPING #i jus have a lot of thoughts about dolph #i adore him #he deserves so much #and i hate how he gets overlooked IN HIS OWN SHOW #dolph laserhawk #captain laserhawk #rayman #character analysis #sorry guys very passionate abt my boyfriend #alex taylor #captain laserhawk bullfrog #captain laserhawk jade #pey'j

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tsukinoakume · 6 months

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RW&RB MovieAlex vrs BookAlex: A Rant

I'm late to the party on Red, White, and Royal Blue for a dumb reason and now I'm obsessed with it. OMG I WAS SO WRONG.

I love the book. I love the movie. I also love the difference between them that I find myself obsessing over: the lack of June.

I love June. I'm also not mad that they removed her from the movie, because I honestly don't think they had the time to do her justice. The important thing is that when they removed her, they split her personality and scenes between Nora and Alex. And the result is fascinating.

Combining June with Alex gives us a calmer, more emotionally mature, competent version of Alex. He is definitely not the hot mess that BookAlex is. (Don't get me wrong here: BookAlex is my favorite character.) But now it's implied that MovieAlex is better at keeping his temper, handles his shit without being micromanaged, advocates for himself more, and I'm pretty sure the speech he gives is his own. Probably with help, but still. Also not having divorced parents means MovieAlex doesn't have BookAlex's abandonment issues. It's never said that his parents' relationship is perfect, but it's implied that he's had a stable family background. MovieAlex still has flaws and he's not Nora Levels of Competency, but he's definitely a lot more balanced. And this actually changes his relationship with Henry, just a little.

Namely in reference to my two favorite scenes:

1) Storming the Castle.

BookAlex is a ball of rage in this scene, and it's GLORIOUS. Yelling at the windows, aggressively dripping everywhere trying to ruin the rugs, making rude comments about Henry's ancestors. He is defiant. He yells, Henry yells back. It ends in tears, but there's a lot of anger.

MovieAlex by contrast is quieter, more hurt. He hardly yells at all. (I rewatched this scene like 20 times for Repeat to be sure.) He's determined, and he doesn't back down, but you get to see that split second of fear in his eyes that Henry is asking him to leave. There's a lot more emotion and tears in this version. It's ... sweeter isn't the right word. Bittersweet, maybe.

Downside: The lack of transition in the morning from the book. I miss Alex expecting to be dumped, and Henry realizing he doesn't want Phillip's life before deliberately making the choice to be with Alex. Also the comment on Alex's hair, which made me giggle.

2) The Museum Scene

I know a lot of people are disappointed with this scene, and I feel the need to argue about why it's brilliant the way it is.

In the book, they go to the museum because Henry has made his choice, and now he's showing one of his favorite places to Alex. He's the one who brings up the music. He chooses to fulfill his fantasy with Alex there, and he chooses to play a song that embodies the romanticism of their situation, about being in love and not being able to let anyone else know. Your Song.

In the movie, they go to the museum when Henry's still trying to decide if this is something he can have, and he's sharing a part of himself with Alex when he talks about his fantasy. Alex is the one who chooses to fufill it, so of course he chooses a different song. For him, it's a song about how easy it is to love Henry. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You.

I also love that they changed Henry giving the ring to Alex to Alex giving Henry his key in return. I love the symbolism of Alex keeping Henry's ring safe for him, of their two homes side by side. But I also love the idea of exchanging parts of themselves. I love that they have those pieces of each other when they're separated and the emails are exposed.

The book tells the story better overall because it has the time to, and the bickering and friendship between the boys is everything. The movie makes me melt over the flirting and affection between them. I can't pick one over the other because both versions of this story are wonderful.

But emotionally mature MovieAlex and how soft he is with Henry, making sure Henry's taken care of? I am WEAK for that.

#Doing this here instead of my author's notes #I have a lot of feelings about red white and royal blue okay?#movie versus book #both both is good #emotionally competent Alex FTW #red white and royal blue

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notyourmajesty · 7 months

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Head empty no thoughts save for one: Henry's self-soothing shoulder dips

So a lot of people did point out certain self-soothing gestures Henry does when he's very stressed or panic mode...or sometimes even as a bit of a habit that keeps him grounded. Like fiddling with his ring or tilting his head to a side.

On my last few rewatches I've also started to think that Henry also has a tendency to fold in on himself when he's feeling overwhelmed. I've only noticed it in two scenes so far, and I've been making a connection since.

The first time I noticed it was in the lake/almost-confession scene, where Alex speaks about a possible future unaware that the conversation is sending Henry into a panic. As soon as Alex tells him about the rope in his chest that keeps pulling him close to Henry, we see his shoulders move a little closer together, utter devastation written all over his face (I don't know whether this gif accurately shows that exact moment, but if it doesn't, here's the scene).

I feel like this is something he does as a self-soothing gesture. Something he does when he is aware he is getting into panic mode and needs to feel safe without anyone else noticing. Like he can feel the walls closing in on him, the exact thing he feared ("I can't afford for you to fall in love with me") this close to becoming a reality. His most fervent dream and his deepest nightmare all rolled in one.

So he does what he can do before Alex speaks that terrifying truth into existence. He folds in on himself, and jumps.

I noticed a similar version of this action in the scene after the V&A dance, when Henry wakes up in Alex's arms the next morning. The context and the intent here, though, is very different. Often, for me, the most striking thing was always Alex's tight grip on Henry's wrist, reflecting both his fear of abandonment and the heartbreak he experienced when Henry left. And of course, Henry's little smile when he wakes up and remembers.

But on the rewatches I noticed that familiar little shoulder-dip action again, and this time the meaning of that gesture seemed to be that he DID feel safe. That Alex's presence, and touch, makes him feel safe. That Alex's arm around him was a reassurance he didn't expect to gain, that this is a moment that is all his to savour. He finds comfort in that embrace, and if anything that little shoulder-gesture will only pull Alex's arm closer to him.

Edit: @hopelessromanticlittleshit and @tell-a-tale also pointed out a scene of Henry's during Alex's official White House statement about the leaks, when he (and Shaan on his behalf) are being silenced by the "wrinkled old white man" representing Buckingham Palace.

There is some shoulder action here too - again, in a different way and with a different context. In the other two scenes the gesture signifies either an attempt to protect himself or to an expression that he feels reassured and safe. Here his shoulders slump and his head tilts slightly- as a sign of utter defeat. Here he recognises the powerlessness of his position; he isn't even permitted a voice in a situation that has affected him. The head tilt here is a signifier of how disconnected he feels from this entire conversation.

This is a man who feels lost...and who feels he has lost a battle he's been fighting his whole life. (GOSH do I have things to say about Henry's Kensington sequences during Alex's speech!!!)

This also makes me think of the boys' relationship with touch. I've always felt like...of the two, Alex is the more obviously tactile one. It shines through every scene he has with every character. He snuggles with his mother after coming out to her. Nora and Alex sit close together in gestures of casual platonic intimacy. Even with Zahra, his "mean friend" you have that moment when a grateful Alex says "I could kiss you!" and her immediate response is "touch me and die". Even with the young women at the New Year party, he is comfortable with their touches, accepting kisses from them in the joy and exuberance of ringing in a new year.

With Henry, even at the height of his resentment, Alex touches his shoulder with his cake covered hand, bridges the gap between them during the interviews quicker, grabs his hand over a box of Cornettos. He's the one who wants to talk after Henry's kissed him and he's the one who makes the first move. Touch is important to Alex. It's how he seeks comfort, it's also how he seeks to soothe his loved ones.

Henry on the other hyperfocuses on the environment they're in, the people around them. Forever under the pressure of being gawked at, having his picture taken, his privacy never really his. The only people we see him close to are Percy and Bea - and in the one scene that Henry and Bea have together their touches on either others hands and arms are tentative, delicate. Careful.

(In a lot of ways Alex breaks through this barrier early on even as someone Henry barely talks to - the cakegate scene is FULL of little touches and pokes and jabs the two exchange, even though they're built up in the story as being antagonistic to each other at this point)

Hell, the first time Henry allows himself to be reckless and actually kiss Alex the way he has so desperately wanted to for years, he beats himself up over it, and punishes himself by avoiding any contact with Alex.

The few times Alex approaches to touch him without a second thought, Henry quickly, almost remorsefully, alerts Alex of their surroundings. But in the privacy of their rooms, he touches Alex with a certain desperation, a certain need to grab hold of the few moments that will belong only to them.

Alex is generous with his touch. Henry hoards the few moments of touch he gets like a priceless unexpected treasure that he has no hope of ever getting a second time.

I swear I intended this gd post to be about Henry's shoulder-dips only but somehow it turned into a different beast altogether 🤧

#rwrb movie #rwrb thoughts #alex claremont diaz #henry fox #henry fox mountchristen windsor #henry george edward james hanover stuart fox #taylor zakhar perez #nicholas galitzine #firstprince #these two always get me all in my feels 🤧🤧🤧#red white & royal blue #red white and royal blue #long post

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writeroutoftime · 11 months

Text

you found me

(neither gifs are my own)

pairing: mcu!peter parker x reader

summary: as the multiverse is in peril, peter promises he will find you after strange's spell is cast. but how can peter remind you of who you are and what you mean to him?

warnings: angst but then fluff!

words: 1.4k

a/n: so, I just rewatched no way home and had this idea, which was so much fun to write! also, I just couldn't help but imagine the whole "I will always find you" line from the show once upon a time. that was my middle/early high school obsession lol. anyways, enjoy and please let me know what you think!

oOoOo

The wind whipped around him, and the adrenaline pumped through his system at rapid speed. Peter knew he had only minutes, but he couldn't help but take in the sight of Ned, MJ and - most importantly - you one last time.

"Listen, you're all about to forget who I am." Peter spoke. "Strange agreed to cast this spell to end all of this."

"What? No!" Ned and MJ shouted as you simply stared at Peter with tears in your eyes.

If the entire multiverse wasn't on the line, Peter would have broken at the look you gave him. But this was for the people he loved, for you. He had to make this sacrifice to keep everyone safe.

"But you'll find us." you finally spoke up, voice shaky yet confident. "You're going to find me, and then we'll figure it out. Together."

Peter couldn't help but smile. Even with all that had happened, you still had immense faith in him. He swore to himself he would find the three of you and make it all right again.

"Yes, I'll find you." he vowed, taking you in his arms. "I got you to fall for me once, I can do it again." he chuckled, pressing his forehead against yours one last time.

You revealed in the gesture, unbothered by how selfish you were being with Peter's time. After a few moments, you pulled back and quickly worked to unclasp the necklace that sat against your neck.

Hurriedly, you passed the item into Peter's hand and shut his fingers around it. "I know you will. And then you can give me this." you told him, cupping his face and savoring one last kiss.

Peter was the first to pull away, committing the last smile you would give him as more than a stranger to memory. This would not be the last time he held you in his arms. It couldn't be.

oOoOo

Days morphed into weeks, and weeks into months. Peter was well and truly on his own in New York like he never existed in the first place. That first week he holed up in his new apartment, mourning the loss of his life - of you.

But when the self-pity subsided, Peter marched down the busy streets and checked all your frequent spots until he finally found you one day. The sun framed your figure like a spotlight, and Peter felt as though the breath had been stolen from him. It was like falling in love all over again.

Your melodic laughter rang out of the coffee shop, face scrunched up over a joke MJ shared with you and Ned. The scene tugged at his heart, and suddenly, fear washed over Peter. He looked down to his hands and gripped your necklace even tighter.

It had been a present he gifted you on your first birthday the two of you celebrated as a couple. It was a small, dainty necklace he had laughed at when he first saw it. You had found out early on that Peter Parker was Spiderman, and so the silver spider quickly became a prized possession for you. Often times it was slipped underneath your clothing to tamp down any suspicion, but it was always on you, claiming it was a good luck charm for the both of you.

Looking down at his closed fist and back up to you, Peter was suddenly seized with fear. What if you never remembered him? Or worse, what if you remembered him and didn't want to be with him anymore?

He watched you for a few more moments and saw how carefree you looked. Could he really subject you to all the chaos and danger his life entailed all over again? He vowed he would find you and make you remember, but he had also promised himself to also protect you. Maybe this was how that happened.

Without another glance, Peter turned on his heel and dashed out the door. Clueless to the fact that you caught a fleeting glimpse of him as he ran away, curious and left with an empty feel afterwards.

Over the next three weeks, Peter continued to see you from afar at the coffee shop you frequented. Each time, he ached to be near you, but held back from approaching. He just had to know you were okay, remind himself that he was making the right choice.

What Peter hadn't taken into account was the chance that you would notice - and be interested in - him. It was during the fourth week that you finally approached Peter's table as he poured over his study materials, looking down at him rather nervously.

"Hi." you began softly. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I've seen you around here recently. You look so familiar. Have we met?"

Here it was, he thought as his heart beat rapidly. Peter's chance to explain everything and make you remember him. But as he opened his mouth, it seemed his mind had a different plan.

"N-no. I don't think so." he said. Your shoulders sagged at his words, sparking something within Peter. Even now, he never wanted to be the source of your disappointment. "But, uh, I'm Peter. Peter Parker." he introduced.

You offered a dazzling smile, sticking your hand out. "Hi, Peter, it's nice to meet you. I'm y/n." you introduced, taking the seat across from him.

oOoOo

Peter swore he fell for your twice as hard this time around. The two of you talked for hours that first day at the coffee house. Of course, he feigned innocence and pretended not to know the answers to all the questions he asked. But, regardless, it felt so wonderful to be near and to talk to you again.

It became a regular occurrence for the two of you to meet at the coffee shop, but your exchanges quickly expanded outside of the shop's walls. Each time he saw you, Peter tried to gauge if there was any spark to demonstrate you remembered him and your lives together, but each time he was disappointed. Never in you. In himself over the entire situation.

Soon enough, Peter had invited you over to his apartment when the weather derailed your plans of a stroll around the park. You happily accepted, wanting to know more about the man who had quickly become such an important part of your life. He led you into the studio apartment and left you to explore for a minute while he ran to grab a glass of water in the kitchen.

Glancing around Peter's apartment, you noticed how little decoration or personalization there was. No pictures on his dresser or posters on the walls, only a few post-it notes scattered here and there. The one thing that did catch your eye, however, was a flash of a silver necklace that laid delicately on the dresser.

Peter hardly seemed like the jewelry type and so you stepped forward to inspect it further. Slowly, you reached out your hand and threaded the cool metal chain between your fingers, the pendant hanging in the air. A small laugh left your lips as you noticed the necklace was of spider silhouette.

There was something that struck you about the necklace. It was so familiar, almost as if it were out of a dream. Somewhere deep inside, there was an urge to put on the necklace, but before you could, you heard Peter's footsteps behind you.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Peter." you apologized, quickly setting the necklace back where you found it. "I shouldn't have been snooping, I just couldn't help myself."

Peter stared at you, eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. "I-I, no, it's okay." he stuttered out, swallowing harshly. "Uh, it belongs to a real important person in my life." he added, lamely gesturing to the necklace.

"It's beautiful." you admitted, still unsure if Peter was angry or not.

To your surprise, Peter reached around you to pick the necklace back up. He glanced down at the jewelry, before holding it up and gestured to you. Without hesitation, you nodded and turned so that your back faced Peter.

He stepped up behind you and immediately you could feel his warm breath fan against your neck as your breath hitched. He lifted the necklace and let the chain and pendant fall against your skin before he clasped it shut. You reached down and held the spider pendant in your hand, gasping as another rush of recognition ran through you.

Turning around, you looked at Peter who snapped out of his trance zoned in on the necklace. His eyes met yours and there was something behind them you could almost put your finger on. Both of you took a step closer to each other and Peter reached out to gently cup your cheek.

"Just, trust me." he whispered, leaning towards you to mold his lips against yours.

Your eyes fluttered shut, instantly, and you leaned into Peter's chest and the warmth of his chapped lips. Your hands threaded in his hair at the nape of your neck, sighing into the kiss.

Slowly pulling away, your eyes remained closed for just a moment longer. Then, as if suddenly breathing in new life, you gasped loudly and opened your eyes. "Peter." you whispered, gripping tightly to his shirt. "You found me."

Peter made no attempt to stop the tears that fell down his cheeks as he held you close to him, pressing soft, quick kisses all over your face. "I will always find you."

#peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #mcu!peter x reader #spiderman x reader #spiderman imagine #marvel imagine #rita writes

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circeyoru · 2 months

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I keep seeing Sebastian’s name being mentioned in your soul owner fics. I can imagine the reader being a hard core simp for Sebastian being ushy gushy over him and Alastors about ready to track this supposed ‘Sebastian’ down for taking the reader’s attention being all broody and jealous only to find out that Sebastian isn’t real. He’ll be like “oh I knew that!” Then he murmurs “damn picture box”.

Go to MASTERLIST for the works. This ask is for {Unwanted Souls}.

I can't help myself when I saw this ask!!!!! Just has to say something!!

I can't say hardcore simp, but there was a bit of a phase in Reader/your living period where you rewatch and keep up with the news of Black Butler. You love the idea of being someone who will never betray you and be by your side no matter what. (there's a reason why you accepted Alastor with time) You had a thing for devoting characters and Sebastian just so happened to be that one.

The first time Alastor heard, he thought you actually had a demon you love named Sebastian to care for you and you let him. At the time, he doesn't know you have things like 'anime' so he definitely didn't know you were referencing that. When you compare him to Sebastian, that's what got his blood boiling. Who's this Sebastian you have in your thoughts!? He's too jealous and prideful to ask full details from you, so he got out to hunt down any and all demons named Sebastian (rip to them). You weren't aware of this happening all while talking about Sebastian.

It's when you noticed Alastor acting more and more familiar to Sebastian that you showed him your interest that is 'anime'.

"And this is Black Butler, an anime I love when I was alive. This guy is a demon and he had a contract with Ciel to have his soul when his revenge is done. And this anime character is Sebastian."

You were watching carefully at Alastor's reaction. You heard the faint record scratch meaning Alastor was shocked. By that time, you knew Alastor's yandere tendencies and his obsession with having your attention and affection on him.

"Oh. What a development!" Alastor laughed it off. "And here I thought I had competition!"

"Don't think you're better than my favourites. Nothing can replace them." Your eyes narrowed

Alastor's laugh cut off as his head snapped to you, his eyes turning black as his head twitched to the side like he was glitching and the static grew. "You have favourites?"

Your face twisted to discomfort as you walked by him, ignoring how his demonic form was showing slowly. "Yeah, and you are falling below my neutral ones more when you do that." You left him alone with his thoughts, "Keep acting like this and see how low you get."

#Circe's Nighty Writings #alastor imagine #alastor x reader #alastor x y/n #alastor x you #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor headcanons #hazbin hotel fanfiction #alastor #hazbin hotel oneshots #yandere alastor #yandere alastor x reader #yandere hazbin hotel #alastor fanfiction #hazbin hotel imagines #Unwanted Soul

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zombee · 6 months

Text

I feel like the luckiest Our Flag Means Death fan in the world after the season 2 finale. By a series of incredible circumstances - including a significant metatextual realization that came in at the 11th hour - it was close to perfect for me.

This essay has everything. Completely normal behavior over a television series. Steven Universe references. The David Jenkins School of Whatever is Best for the Bit. Humbling catharsis.

First: this piece does not exist with the central thesis of “it’s okay to not like something but that’s not the same thing as it being bad.” I feel like thousands of words have already been written on this since Thursday, so I’m going to try to not get too in depth on that.

Second, cards on the table, because it’s relevant and I don’t want to waste your time if this is going to sour your ability to hear me out: I’m an Izzy Canyon hater. For MANY reasons, but from way before the concept of the Canyon existed, (some) Izzy fans pinged me in the same way as Snape/Kylo Ren fans did, and before May 2022 was over I went from genuinely enjoying Izzy’s character and place in the narrative to hating him because his fans made it impossible for me to enjoy him anymore.

(SOME! of his fans. Please don’t keep making me say this, although I’m not going to talk about the Canyon directly anymore after this. I know there are a ton of normal Izzy Enjoyers and even Canyonites, I am literally friends with many of them, please take this all in the good faith it’s intended and if you’re not One Of The Bad Ones then you’re fine! I very carefully don’t go anti-Izzy on main, and when I stopped enjoying his character, I stopped writing him into fics. I’m not trying to be a dick, I just want to be honest. Anyway.)

The season 2 finale made me weep over Izzy Goddamn hands.

ALL season long, I was disgruntled. All season long. I really, truly, DEEPLY appreciated what they were doing with his character and arc, I thought it was wildly on brand for the themes of community/queerness in the show, I saw the vision, I liked it!!! But. I wanted a fucking apology, yall. I needed three seconds of “sorry I called you a slur, Ed :/” and that would have been enough. But I had to let it go. It was poisoning my enjoyment of the whole season, which I loved with very little exception (not none!) and I just had to let it go. I wasn’t getting an apology. That didn’t negate what they were doing with his character.

Yall. They withheld the apology on purpose.

THIS FUCKING SHOW!!!

Let’s go back a bit. I was at the episode 6 + 7 screening, and the breakup shook me. Probably a LOT more than if I had watched it alone in bed at 3am on my laptop - five days of no sleep after NYCC, lots of emotions, seeing it on a big screen with a hundred other intense fans, etc etc - but I did see other folks reacting in parallel ways to me when the episodes aired to the regular public, so maybe I would have felt the same way. Regardless, I was mad at Stede and to a lesser extent Ed. I NEEDED AN APOLOGY FOR THAT FISH LINE. I needed it! “Whativah” autocorrects to “WHATIVAH” in my phone. I was going through it.

(When I rewatched the episode when it aired it was not nearly as bad as I remember, lol)

So now the episode 8 screeners go out and the reviews drop and I think I catch one half-glimpse of a “What a heartbreaking ending!” kind of snippet, and some of my friends who are spoiler fiends unintentionally drop little hints about similar ideas (devastating/heartbreaking/split the fandom) type shit.

And I was a fucking WRECK! about it.

I do love this whole show with my whole chest. I do!!! But I’m not rotted because this is an excellent television show, I’m rotted because two old men kiss each other! On the MOUTH!!! in an excellent television show. You get it, right? I’ve written 700,000 words across almost 100 fics and 98% of them are dedicated to those two men falling in love in different universes.

So it just did not even occur to me the “heartbreak/devastation/fandom split” would be about anything but Gentlebeard.

Another piece of this that was fucking me up - David Jenkins and his “satisfactory” ending biz. My brain was reacting like this show was ENDING ending, even if I knew logically! that this is just season 2!!! And I wasn’t ready for that, because what if it wasn’t personally satisfying, and I’m a mess about it? Why was I so worried about not liking it? I’d liked the whole season! Even if they didn’t nail the landing I wasn’t going to stop writing fic or hanging out with my pirate community & friends.

…is what I kept trying to tell myself, but the way anxiety disorders work is funny like that lol. What if I did stop writing fic and hanging out in pirate spaces? That would hurt much more than a show I like disappointing me. And for anyone who’s having that experience with ofmd s2, I’m so very, very sorry. It sucks and that’s where my epiphany came from on Wednesday before the finale.

Because it has happened to me before.

I flit from hyperfocus to hyperfocus, as ya do when you’re spicy, but the last thing to get its hooks in me PROPERLY like pirates was Steven Universe. And I did NOT like the way the regular season ended!!! (I actually really did like most of Future; that’s not what I mean. I mean season 5). I don’t like how they handled the Diamonds, tldr; I think the scope of their villainy got too out of hand, and I was left grieving the thing that had meant enough to me I ran a fan convention for four years based around it.

Side note: imagine if I had channeled the hyperfocus of almost a million words of fanfiction into an American OFMD con instead. We could have made magic :( I did consult with Our Con Means Death though so I am at least a teeny tiny bit of that one!

I did not like the way Steven ended… but I do respect the story they were telling and think they told it well.

I’m still sad about it. Steven is still one of my most beloved, it will always be beautiful and great to me, but that experience did and does sully my memories. There is so, so, so, SO much more good than bad from being in that fandom, and I cherish it. And I hope, if you’re having this experience with OFMD right now, that you’ll find similar comfort.

But, like I said at the top, “it’s okay to not like something but that’s not the same thing as it being bad” has been belabored already by people better at writing about it than me. I just had the incredible privilege to remember my brush with lower case T trauma and having that experience in my last REALLY big deal fandom. That’s why I had been so extra anxious about being disappointed. Because it happened to me before. It helped so much to connect those two.

So the finale happens, and it’s actually about twelve hours of me going from “eh, rushed but fun, whole season was great” to “THIS MAYBE IS THE BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME, ACTUALLY!”

BECAUSE THIS SHOW MADE ME CRY OVER IZZY FUCKING HANDS!!!!

They literally told me this was the story they were telling this season. “Men can change” “The end of piracy” “Ed leaving Blackbeard behind (ish).”

As for me? I didn’t get an apology for the fish. Instead, I got “Sorry I was a dick.” “You weren’t a dick. Life’s a dick.”

Just… fuckity BAM. THREE FUCKING SENTENCES resolving that fight. Saying so much in so little.

In real life, should these two men have an actual conversation about this shit? Sure!!! But that’s not how OFMD tells its stories!

It works in symbolism. It works in vibes. It works in an hour’s worth of content into each half-hour episode, and for how much lamenting I have done about the pacing, I would prefer that 100x to having to stretch it out too much.

I have said since March 24, 2022 that OFMD wields anachronism as a weapon. First and foremost, it’s fucking funny, but in addition to that, it’s stating clearly: “This is a fantasy world. This is not real history. This show is about romance (and so much more than that), and the rest is just VIBES!!!”

Sometimes vibes can be historical accuracy. Sometimes vibes can be true emotional poignancy. Sometimes vibes can be Ed finding his sunken leathers in the sea, changing underwater somehow, and coming out of the ocean like the Birth of Fucking Venus, because water and rebirth and mermaids and shit is all very prominent this season. And ALSO, and this is very important! BECAUSE IT LOOKS FUCKING COOL!

I don’t want to do much real Izzy meta here. It’s been said by others, and better than me. But it was telegraphed and it was symbolic – he was the paragon of Traditional Piracy in season 1, for goodness’ sake, and Traditional Piracy is Toxic Masculinity, and he was a part of Blackbeard and Ed had to leave Blackbeard behind (yknow, ish), and he got this ABSOLUTLEY FUCKING LOVELY! storyline about appreciating what a (queer) community can do, and god fucking shit fucking dammit… most of all, best of all (for me), was Buttons landing on Izzy’s grave at the end. Men can change. And Izzy DID!!! He did it for Ed. For love. For community. I am puzzled by “it’s fucked up to use Izzy to further Ed’s storyline” because… this was Ed’s season, in the way that season 1 was Stede’s. And Ed cannot be removed from piracy as a whole (neither can Stede!) so to have this old, set in his ways, coded-queerphobic character blossom to the point he can give this gift to Ed and to piracy… idk man. I just find it so fucking beautiful.

It is okay not to like what they did. It’s okay!!! It’s okay, and it’s okay to mourn, and while it’s not okay to do [insert vile behavior here], it’s okay to carefully examine what you think is “bad writing” vs “what you would have preferred to happen” and give good-faith, textually-based criticism on that.

But I want to remind you over and over and over again, this show works on vibes. It tells its stories leaving many, many, many gaps. There are many things I would have liked to see, and y’know what? I would have told the Izzy story differently. I would have personally done it differently. But it’s not my show! It’s not my show, and I am humbled and delighted to remember that, and to appreciate Our Flag Means Death for what it is and not what it isn’t.

Other words have been written better than I could about the 18 months between seasons 1 and 2 and what that does to us as rabid fans with expectations of how things will go. Millions and millions and millions of words have been written about OFMD, fictional and non, and that is going to color our expectations and experience. We had built it up SO MUCH in our minds and along the way I think some of us forgot (INCLUDING ME!!!) that it is first and foremost about Vibes.

The vibes of Izzy’s death are about rebirth and forgiveness and leaving traditional piracy behind. And he got to die in Ed’s arms, knowing (HAPPILY!) that he had been wrong, and giving Ed the gift of letting him know he is loved, and being a part of something. We had a funeral but we also had a wedding. The only constant is change. Men, piracy, Blackbeard; it all changes. And Izzy found peace in that.

Before my last point, I want to @ myself on things I felt versus realizing in the end it is (I will say it until I’m blue in the face) about vibes.

· I was convinced they left Buttons’ transformation ambiguous because they wanted to leave room for it not having been real. NO!!! It is real, until they decided it isn’t. Magic in the OFMD universe? Fucking why not!!! IT’S SYMBOLIC!!! IT’S IMPORTANT TO ED’S STORYLINE AND THE CENTRAL THESES OF THE SHOW!

· I was unhappy, and still am a little, about the Polycule Situation, but now that I realize Oluwande is Zheng’s Stede… I am less so. The Zheng : Auntie :: Ed : Izzy vibes, btw? Fuckin immaculate.

· Obviously they touched on Stede/Ed’s “killing people trauma” but I’d reallyyyy like Stede to address it, and even though I think Ed’s is left on a very satisfying note, I’d like him to dip a bit more into it as well. But if they don’t, oh well! It’s not like they ignored it, they just didn’t have a Deep Dive like I Wanted Them To!

· They didn’t deal with Ed throwing Stede’s shit away. They just ignored it! Stede started to collect new trinkets, and I believe that was as much about giving the audience back the old feeling of the Revenge as it was anything important (not to say it wasn’t also important thematically!!!). Just like Ed going back to his leathers is both Extremely Important thematically and about putting Taika back in the leathers because that’s what Blackbeard should be wearing for the epic final scenes for the sake of visually keeping the show consistent. That’s Blackbeard’s uniform.

· Stede’s frilly little outfits my beloved. God I hope they give him back some of his frippery in season 3. I think they will re: cursed suit BUT his journey this season was about something else, so!

· Ed’s stupid little non-profit non-apology, oh my god. It was so funny. And there is a transition from eps 5 to 6 where Ed is back in his leathers and the crew is more comfortable around him. They didn’t have to have him do a Real Apology, it’s implied it was all settled. What was the timeline? A day? DOESN’T MATTER, BABY, VIBES!!!

· Lots more, I’m sure, but now that I’ve tried to let it all go, I’m remembering less of what I wanted and appreciating what I got!

And, last point here, I think it is also very very very important to remember that a lot of people are normal about this show. In fact, WAY more people are normal about this show than aren’t. And that is EXTREMELY! IMPORTANT!!! because otherwise it wouldn’t be profitable and we all know what would happen then. We are the core of it, to be sure. Without word of mouth that stems from our intensity, this show would not be NEARLY as successful as it is. I truly, truly believe that.

But.

Do normies need deeply emotional discussions dissecting the central relationships? No. What normies need is Ed and Stede running dramatically toward each other on the beach and kissing. And I am happy, so fucking happy, to realize that’s what I need too. I’ve got fanworks for the rest.

I love this fucking show and this fucking fandom and its fucking creators so much. Fuck.

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2

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