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chirpsythismorning · 1 year

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Rick Conroy's Recent Rentals:

Romancing the Stone (1/2/3)

As a refresher, this is a shot from 4x02: Vecna's Curse. Robin, Max, Dustin and Steve are using the Family Video's database to look through the most recent rentals of all the Ricks in town as hints for which one Reefer Rick is, so that they can find his address to track down Eddie.

Unfortunately for them, the selection here for this specific Rick didn't give off 'reefer' vibes and so they moved onto the next one. Luckily for us, the Duffers are nerds and this could be important.

While there are several Rick's they skim through, this one in particular had me intrigued. And so I will be analyzing these films, as well as whether or not they could have been inspiration for s4 or whether they may even be predicting events still yet to happen in s5.

3. Romancing the Stone (1984)

The plot of Romancing the Stone revolves around an American Romance/Adventure novelist, Joan Wilder, who has to travel to Colombia to save her sister. While there, she gets stranded in the jungle, though 'luckily' she runs into an American exotic bird smuggler, Jack T. Colton, who has a lot of experience in said jungle and whose basically her only hope in finding and saving her sister.

What makes this movie probably the most interesting out of the three, is that it's directed by Rob Zemeckis. If you don't know, Zemeckis also directed Back to the Future (1985).

In fact, if you look close, you'll see an interesting parallel that makes my explanation for this analysis a whole lot easier to transition into.

Basically, Zemeckis revealed later in life that the success from his film Romancing the Stone was what allowed him to make Back to the Future in the first place.

And so this just makes this iconic Marty McFly outfit kind of hilarious when you realize it's actually paying homage to another character.

Which means that this....

Could also mean this...

Not only do the costumes check out in terms of us being able to potentially associate Will with this character Jack, but the actual context of the story also makes it hard not to.

Jack is framed as someone who has way more knowledge and experience within this jungle in comparison to the protagonist, Joan, whose only ever explored adventures in her writing, not in reality.

Remind you of anyone?

Basically, I think that the reference to this film could be hinting at Mike and Will in the upside down together.

We know there have been a lot of hints leading up to that potentially in s5, though right now we don't know what it will for sure look like (whose going first? Mike or Will?), it's very likely to happen in some shape or form.

I do think that this film could act as a simple reference just like Sixteen Candles, with the meaning linked to ST being easy to spot and point out, Ie. Jack/Joan represent Will/Mike.

The main thing in this film that I think is an undeniable parallel, is this mention of a treasure map that Joan is planning to use as ransom to get back her sister. This map is labeled in big block letters with 'El Corazon' AKA the heart.

I obviously don't think we're going to be dealing with any lost treasure in ST like we see in this film, just like I don't think all the Lord of the Rings homage means we're going to see Will destroy a ring.

We're talking about both basic and complex parallels here, happening with hundreds of films/series at once, at different levels, and how the Duffers manage to make all of that fit organically to create a unique story on its own.

We all know how the heart plays a big role in s4 and what is likely to follow in s5 (the painting!!!). I do think this homage could be quite simple, but it could also be deeper because, again I am not satisfied with simple, as some of you probably know by now.

I also want to try to come to a close with this little 3 part series, which is easy to do because in regards to Will's character, it does feel like a sort of arc that could definitely play out going into the final season:

Sixteen Candles --> birthdagate

Teen Wolf --> memorygate/twelvegate

Romancing the Stone --> apocalypse-byler

My working theory rn is that Will is going to be in danger right at the start of s5, which we already saw foreshadowed at the very end of s4. There is this unspoken understanding that Will's connection to Vecna could mean bad things to come for Will, maybe even that destroying Vecna once in for all could also affect (kill) Will.

It's likely there is going to be discussion about the option of using Will's connection to find Vecna, and everyone sort of predictably being against it, bc of that unspoken understanding this could end very badly for him. But it's also possible that Will would be willing to do what he has to, even if it means putting himself in danger, especially if it means saving everyone. And simultaneously it would make sense for him to leave out all the details about his connection to Vecna as it starts to get worse, all while conflict between him and El and Mike is coming to a head, where Vecna is showing him things that are bringing him to a really low point, ie. everyone forgot your birthday, your friends/family don't love you, yada yada.

Then I think something is going to happen that is going to cause Will to be separated from everyone again... However, I don't think this going to last for more than one-two episodes. And it's likely we would see what he's up to in that time. This would make it parallel to s1 to an extent, but not to the extreme that we never see Will during that time or that he's separated for the course of the entire season. Just enough that it feels like deja vu basically.

And yes I do think it's possible Will has time powers. Though I don't want to make any crazy claims... I'm going to.

Basically, I think that Vecna would greatly benefit from making Will feel like it was better that he was never found in the first place (I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods). And so what he's doing by bringing Will to this low point of hopelessness, is whats going to lead Will to essentially reverse him being found after going missing... That could benefit Vecna greatly presumably. Could it possibly even have the capacity to act as a reset for him of sorts? Maybe. And also, couldn't Vecna play this up to Will as him being able to save everyone and let them be happy, without him, bc he's at a point where he's made himself believe that he deserves it (FUCKING CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT)

And so time passes (A TIME JUMP). Maybe it takes us to the 5 year anniversary since Will's disappearance (1+ years of our Will stuck in the upside down)... But something isn't right, something is missing. Something's wrong. And I think that we would see the characters figuring it out fairly quickly after the time jump is presented to us (anniversary affect). I think Mike in particular could figure it out first even (along with Joyce and Jonathan, hence the s5 foreshadowing intended with this promo), making him a quick target of Vecna, also contributing to him joining Will in the upside down fairly early on, post time-jump (also post Mike's boyliker realization, but Will won't know that...).

This is just a theory! But it does have a lot of interesting things surrounding it that make it at least plausible to me.

First of all, it reminds me so much of s2 and the whole Zombie boy arc with Will. He was in the upside down for a week and got dubbed that nickname. And yet now it makes me wonder if that could have been hinting at something more prominent still to come related to Will and his arc (we know he has this tendency to predict things with his art...).

This also ties into the whole controversy surrounding Will using a gun in s5. There's been this talk forever, how it doesn't make sense for Will to ever use a gun bc that's not like his character at all, as he's been shown to be quite scared and so it doesn't make sense for him to suddenly be comfortable with using a gun in a high stress situation.

However, what makes this sort of ironic to me is the literal narrative principle, Chekgov's gun, which states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. Alternatively-explained, suppose a writer features a gun in a story; if the writer features it, there must be a reason for it, such as it being fired sometime later in the plot.

Remind you of anyone?

This means that starting the story from the very beginning with Will knowing how to use a gun and trying to protect himself with it, but failing to do so, followed by four seasons of him being scared frozen in situations of confrontation... Means that the gun is bound to go off!

Will using a gun in s5 in this scenario would also be supported by Will going through quite a transformation after being in upside down circumstances for 1+ years...

Quite frankly, I don't think it make sense for Will to be this character that is known for freezing and being powerless the entire series, all the way up until the very end. It makes a lot more sense that this final time around, after seeing that for 4 straight seasons, we are going to see a big change in him, which tends to happen to people that go through traumatic experiences and yet still manage to adapt and survive.

Will after 1+ years in the upside down probably knows how to shoot a gun and probably is more sure of himself and less skitish than s1-4 Will.

Also, this provides a lot of character development that Noah gets to have the affordance of exploring as an actor. Like, let's give Noah some wiggle room here to show off what he's capable of for Will's character, which is so much! We know Noah jokes about wanting Will to suffer immensely because it's fun for him to play and act out, but more than anything it's also challenging in a good way. And this would really test the limits of Noah's abilities, which is why I do think it would be a wise choice narratively to make his characters evolution well rounded for the overall story.

Will going from what we expect him to always be like, to being something thats much the same in the important ways (he's still Will obviously), while also being different (see what i did there) as a result of him facing all of his fears in order to survive.

And it also makes the official battle in the end, of him finally facing Vecna off, alongside El and the party, that much more satisfying and believable as an outcome. Because by that point he will be ready, just like they'll all be ready after having finally come together despite everything.

This theory also reminds me a lot of Verse 3 in Time After Time, which is the only verse left out of the scene in 2x09 at the snowball....

There has been speculation these lyrics could be foreshadowing what's to come, and so it is interesing to think about this, with all these other theories related to Will's upcoming arc:

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It's giving Sixteen Candles meets Teen Wolf meets Romancing the Stone (also Mike running out of time crumbs! go off I guess!!)

Also, I just like to think that this reference specifically to Romancing the Stone confirms not only apocalypse-byler, AND Will Byers with a gun but also ponytail-Mike in s5???..

Oh and maybe even the highly anticipated Murray & byler confrontation, bc why not...

AGAIN this is just a theory. Don't come at me! Make your own crack theories it's fun and we can all go crazy together!

Honestly I hope I'm wrong bc I would love to be surprised (I can't wait to be surprised regardless).

And yet that wont stop me from trying to figure it out with what they're willing to give us in the mean time!

Until next time (ST5 inspo board, here we come)!

#stranger things #st5 predictions #stranger things theory #stranger thigns meta #byler #will byers #romancing the stone #st movie inspo #st5 inspo board #this is such a chaotic post #but i made it out alive #also parallels to romancing the stone i would like to see in s5:#will saving mike with his gun skills in the upside down shortly after mike arrives #will talking about how lenora was nice compared to hawkins and how if they make it out of this alive will wants to go away for college #and mike just like wait... all by yourself? what about us?#also this really does support the prospects of byler being murray'd #murray's house has always been framed as this like safe house with all the perfect capabilities to survive the apocalypse...#and for what?#to not take advantage of that?#I definitely think it could play a role in s5 somehow... not sure when or how but i sense the inevitable

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chronicler-of-narrative · 18 days

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*Insert obvious flashing spoiler warning for Edgerunners*

Ok, its only been like less than a month since i finished Edgrunners and I have not had the chance to play the game and only know things about it from a couple youtube videos and cultural osmosis so...Im gonna tell you my theory (thats definitely not just my hidden copium) and *how* David survived the ending of Edgerunners and why I think the story of the anime isn't done.

Disclaimer: this was written late at night and while tired. So take my assessment with a grain of salt and be sure to correct me in the notes

Ill start off by mentioning a pattern ive noticed that may be completely wrong but may also be invaluable to understanding the storytelling of Edgerunners and probably Cyberpunk as a whole: Death as an ending.

Now, that is a very obvious storytelling trope. Character finished their arc? Kill them, and all that. But imo death in Cyberpunk IS the end of a characters arc. David's mom dies moments after completely explaining her hopes for David? End of her arc because it serves to set a baseline, a goal David had pushed onto him that then serves as a payoff later on the series. Same applies to the gang, and while my memories of the middle few episodes are admittedly fuzzy, it is my belief that they all died in some way befitting their character: For example Rebecca and Pillar, characters who are very obviously crazy and to some exend hedonistic, don't die in some glamorous way, but rather are both killed by one, violent and most importantly empty action. A complete rejection of their flair, an anticlimactic end. The point im trying to make here is that death, in Cyberpunk, is played off as a subversion of ones goals but simultaneously as a fulfilment of their arc/purpose.

Now David's death seemingly fills that niche, right? In one way or another, he fulfilled the expectations set on him by everyone around him and himself. He saved Lucy, made it to the top of Arasaka Tower, right? And yet, curiously, to borrow a detail spotted by a probably fairly well known theory video on the idea that David did survive, but we never get to see David die. We see him being aimed at by Smasher in a moment reminscent of the first shot with the washing machine, and then we get a bloody transition. We dont see his corpse. Now, even if i personally do subscribe to this theory, i wanna mention the parallel that caught my eye during the scene: Why exactly is it, and frankly why do we even start, with the washing machine? I feel like the answer is fairly simple, actually: It shows us how David is bent to wills of the corporations. From being denied his clean uniform by the washing machine to getting stared down by Arasaka's most prized asset, he starts and ends in submission to the corporate rule of Night City. Now, if I may stretch this out even further, what if in a way, his death represents the washing cycle of his uniform?

Now, this sounds batshit insane, and it probably is, but hear me out. What if the reason its a washing machine is because it shows the beginning of David's cycle of being 'cleaned' into a corpo, the one that ends up interrupted by the lack of funds. And what if, despite how he apparently dies, that shot might be representing his cycle being...complete?

So, to kinda cut down on all of this yapping, let me make my main thesis clear: the protagonist of Cyberpunk Edgerunners did die, but it was not David Martinez that died, but rather, *David*.

What I mean by this is what if his death was real...But metaphorical? What if he didn't die physically, but the part of him that opposed Arasaka, the punk that didn't fit into the academy, died?

Now, at the end of the series, Adam Smasher is alive and well, and yet in 2077, we kill him. Now, I don't know the context on his dynamic with V and how narratively his death happens, but I do known hes dead. This to me, creates a vacuum. A vacuum that, a game with a clear message about the futility of trying to change the rule of the corpos, should logistically be filled right? And while yes, I am suggest David will take Adam Smashers place, I do wanna explain why it happens.

Now, one thing about David is that he's special. Its a very reccuring motif im the entire show, and one that seemingly doesnt go anywhere since he ends up getting destroyed by the even more special Smasher. But what if, hear me out, that idea of being special had a different use: What if it is used as a framing device (especially given David and Ripperdoc have a conversation ABOUT Smasher) that means to frame David as being similar to Smasher. As being his equal in specialness. What if thats the whole reason its not Max-Tak that ends up killing the cyberpsychosis afflicted David, but Smasher. A sort of "you and me are not so different" moment that supposedly shows Smasher triumphing over David. Now, it could just be that David was enough of a threat to Arasaka that called in the big guns, but then again, if he was, why would Smasher wipe the floor with him? If David was as much of a problem as he's made out to be, wouldn't he be able to hold his own against Smasher, even for a little bit? But no, Smasher demolishes him, completely and utterly. And thus I believe this was all Arasakas plan. To see how suitable of a replacement David is for Smasher. And the reason we only hear whispers of David in 2077? Because hes locked away in some Arasaka facility, being worked on to surpass Smasher and potentially even become a threat to V, considering they seemingly have no issue with killing this supposedly super strong cyborg.

So yea, Tldr: David only died metaphorically, he could potentially come back as a Smasher 2.0 in a sequel to either the game or the anime.

If i got this all completely wrong, do not hesistate to roast me in the notes. If I think of any additions the next time im online, ill make sure to add it as a reblog.

#cyberpunk edgerunners #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk: edgerunners #adam smasher #david martinez #theory #speculation

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loveless-scribes · 26 days

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✨🛒👀🥺🤩🎉🌞🎢

Oh, wow! That's a bunch! Thanks so much for sending the ask, let's dive right in! <3 ✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉 This is hard, especially right now because I'm really struggling with my writing. My ideas aren't clear and I feel like they don't line up with one another or that the tone shifts abruptly because the way I'm feeling has changed between one writing session and the next. I guess I hope that my writing makes people FEEL things. That's my main goal most of the time. And I think I'm pretty good at surprising people, too. So, to put that in compliment form I think I'm alright at conveying emotions and I have a knack for those plot twists. XD 🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc. I feel like I'm always writing about death even when I'm not planning to, it just kind of works its way back in there. Also, I guess another common theme would be the deep connections that people can form with one another, against all odds, against their better judgement, and sometimes even to their own detriment. I guess that's a hopeful theme in a way, people staying even when you're sure they'll walk away. Also, my protagonist needs to be a little messed up in the head. Anything else is hard and boring to write. I love writing crazy people and then humanizing them to the reader. 👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please! Barring AM spoilers, and the Sukuna fic I teased about on my alt, I want to write a short story about a world where voluntary self-elimination is both legal and readily accessible. The idea's been floating around in my head for a while - what that would look like, what the logistics around it would be, how friends and family would react, the inevitable desensitization towards death. I do hope to get that one down sometime soon because I'm really inspired to write it. 🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels? I think I hinted at this already, but I love it when one character is sure the other is going to leave them, but they don't. Not even necessarily in a romantic sense. It could be a friendship, or a parent-child relationship or what have you. Just that feeling of, "I've gone too far, it's over" but it's not, because that person would never leave. Staying by each other's side whether or not they understand the full context. Not even necessarily needing the context to know that they're on your side. I guess that's why it's a recurring theme in LS's relationship.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write? This used to be an easy "Levi, hands down - all day, every day." But lately, Slayte has become my favorite. Especially with her current struggles in the story, I just have a soft spot for her and the stuff she has to go through, I guess. She's also the character that most meets my "crazy protag" criteria, so there's that. 🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success? When people tell me I made them cry. It sounds mean, but there's no better feeling. That's when my inner critic has no choice but to shut up because OMG THEY SHED REAL TEARS. (I've defo cried, too, while writing AM so no worries.) 🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write? When everyone is either asleep or out of the house. Early mornings are the best, but work always gets in the way. I would be better able to answer this question if I wasn't so tired all the time. ^^

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride? I think it's the Sukuna darkfic duology on my alt @azureashes. It's just so crazy and out there. Idk if I would consider AM a "wild ride" since it definitely has its wholesome and comforting moments. I actually think hurt/comfort is a huge theme in AM. Maybe we should add it to the tags. Thanks for the ask, Anon! <3

#emoji game #loveless answers #fanfic #writing

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laf-outloud · 1 year

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What I can't understand for the life of me is why the SPN wannabes are so up Jensen's ass. I mean, how and when exactly did this start? There definitely does seem to be a division within their ranks between the two Js and I can't for the life of me understand how they think being Team Jensen will benefit them. It does seem like it's been going on for quite awhile. Is it personal, like Jensen is more fun/engaging? I can't believe for a second that Jared isn't funny and friendly and welcoming to everyone on set and off. Is it that Jensen was the leader of the two on set? I can't believe that either, Jensen has mentioned several times that when problems came up he deferred to Jared to deal with the suits because Jared seemed to have a closer relationship/more power at the network. Is it because they hung their hopes on Jensen's anticipated post-SPN star power? That hasn't really panned out, has it?

Could it have been Jensen's cachet at the network? But of the two, it's apparent that Jared was the WB/CW's baby from the beginning: he got the #1 spot on the call sheet, he was main protagonist of the series (and the last man standing), he seemed to have the ear of Mark Pedowitz, he was given holding deals at the network and ultimately his own series to control (and then a second one to boot).

So what is it about Jensen that makes the hangers-on hang on? I truly don't understand. If anything you'd think they'd want to suck up to the one that actually has a show (2 shows) with the power to craft parts/story lines and hire former friends/coworkers.

I will say that I believe that Jared has put a lot of work into both his mental and physical health over the past several years since his breakdown. I think he probably has been working on setting boundaries, saying no, and eliminating the toxicity from his life. Perhaps these wannabes are truly toxic and he knows it. So while publicly he plays along, privately (professionally) he knows better. I can only hope that he continues to move on and honor those boundaries, even with Jensen.

I just really don't understand the adoration.

You make a lot of great points, anon. To begin with, I don't think it had anything to do with liking Jensen more or thinking he had greater power. I think the how and when of it starting was when Jared had his post-season 10 breakdown and the extras were actively looking for more screen time if he wasn't going to be back. But Jared came back and dashed their hopes. I think that started a bit of resentment, and then with Jared likely being the one to push for an end to SPN solidified that resentment and for whatever reason, they just can't let it go. It's like my mom says, 'they cut off their nose to spite their face.'

Jared's had the most success post-SPN and he's had the best opportunity to cast former SPN cast members. So far though, the only people he's invited to be involved are Mark Sheppard, Richard Speight, Jr. and Jensen (though I think Jensen was more for novelty and a nod to the SPN family.) That should tell you right there what he may think about the other extras.

#ask box #anti spn extras #anti jensen #jared's post-spn success

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thefloofartist · 2 years

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Maybe there's a good rewrite out there. If there is, I haven't seen it. Because I've had to walk through a bunch of people who say they're "fixing RWBY" and then throwing out basically everything that makes RWBY RWBY.

And "fixing rwby" is the biggest example of bad fanfiction I've seen.

Canonseeker? In my Ask Me Anything? OwO

Well, what makes "RWBY" RWBY?

I couldn't answer that because over the years, I've run to the conclusion that every version of RWBY is completely different to each individual who watches it. I mean, I'll try explaining why from my viewpoint, but it's because of that, that it won't be satisfying to everyone reading this post. I hope that makes sense.

Some people believe totally different things happened in the show (preferring headcanon or making up things that didn't happen), some people just like various aspects of the show (character design, weapons, fight choreography, visual aesthetic, etc.) while other people such as myself only view the show based on what literally appears on screen and comes out the speakers (focusing on the writing and how it contradicts what's shown on screen, or what's shown on screen contradicting the writing, plot holes, retcons, etc.).

I'd like to clarify that there's nothing wrong with thinking about the show differently, and all the power to you if you imagine scenarios that don't come up in the series proper. If that makes you happy and you find enjoyment in that, that's cool. That's your RWBY and nothing I say should detract from that happiness you've found.

But I have no idea what makes "RWBY" itself RWBY. It's certainly not the setting, which isn't unique. It's not the "each character has a unique superpower gimmick" (Semblances) which isn't unique either. It's not Dust (magic rocks), Maidens (magic), Salem (immortal bad guy), Ozpin (morally gray Isekai protagonist), Teams or Grimm (monster enemies) or anything else that comes up in the story.

Nothing story-wise in RWBY is unique to RWBY. It's because of RWBY's lack of uniqueness that I have trouble thinking about what makes "RWBY" RWBY.

(Please keep in mind that lack of uniqueness isn't a bad thing, what's more important is executing these ideas in a way that IS unique and builds story and character.)

You could take away most of these aspects of the story (maidens/magic, Salem/Ozpin, relics, etc.) and I'd still be unable to tell you the answer. RWBY itself has nothing that clearly, definitively, cements itself as "RWBY", except for one weapon design. That would be Crescent Rose. It's the most unique RWBY related thing. It's the most iconic and recognizable piece of RWBY, you can spot it on T-shirts or from cosplayers carrying it from a thousand feet away. Not even Weiss, Blake, or Yang's weapons come close to the level of fame that Crescent Rose's design has.

But what would happen if that was taken away? What does this story have going on for its characters and setting that makes it definitively "RWBY"?

I have no idea.

This is why you see so many various takes and concepts on RWBY. RWBY has such a prolific fanbase in spite of the main show lacking any core ideas or concepts that clearly embody "RWBY", so that's why you see many fans that churn out content, fanfiction, fanart all with their own interpretation of RWBY. Fanmade content dominates the original series. There's so much of it that without the people who are passionate enough to create these things RWBY would not have lasted as long as it has.

What's troubling is that I've seen Canonseeker here put down other people to push his own view of RWBY by trying to purchase his way into making Taiyang a more prominent character by flooding the fanbase with porn of Taiyang. He believes Taiyang is underutilized in RWBY and needs canon confirmation that Taiyang and Summer are a couple in spite of the writers having confirmed this for years now. This is hypocritical since he's doing the same thing he's complaining about fanmade projects doing, but far, FAR worse since he's doing so with the intent of trying to throw money at RT to change Canon RWBY to suit his own beliefs.

Which is why trying to claim or insist that doing something, anything, different from the main RWBY show makes it "not RWBY" is a ridiculous claim to make. When Canonseeker claims "Rewrites are throwing out basically everything that makes RWBY RWBY", I have to ask, "Well, define what "RWBY" is then." And what is the point of a rewrite if not to come up with different ideas? Does Seeker think a rewrite is to make a word-for-word copy of a show? Why even bother putting in the work to make a copy when RWBY proper already exists? It's redundant.

I would much rather spend my time animating or drawing something else than subject myself to "Canon RWBY". Instead, I'll be continuing environment drawings for FRWBY V6 onwards, and working on an original project that has nothing to do with RWBY which I've finally started storyboards for.

TL;DR: RWBY fans each have an individually unique viewpoint of RWBY, nothing makes "RWBY" RWBY except for Crescent Rose's design, and Canonseeker doesn't understand that fanmade content is allowed to be different from canon content.

#canonseeker #answerseeker #rwde #does this count as rwde?

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scorpionyx9621 · 2 years

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Trying to work out the astrology of the bat family whilst inebriated has been a trip.

Jason being a Leo sun is probably truest to his character because if Jason is one thing it is self-centered. For good and for bad. He's shockingly theatrical and extremely temperamental. Plus if anyone in the bat family has an inflated sense of ego about his own appearances it's him. Constantly joking about his good looks (mostly for laughs whilst wearing his helmet) but this man enjoys classic literature and knowing how extraverted Jason can be, I wouldn't be surprised if he's into theater as well.

I'm also leaning heavily into the notion he has a Scorpio or Capricorn rising, particularly a Scorpio Rising, because Jason's entire character has just been a series of him overcoming personal challenges and obstacles and this man goes through HELL. He does all of this screaming and crying and beating the shit out of people on the way. Jason definitely has a water moon.

I'm swaying towards the notion of a cancer moon because for as much as he uses dry sarcasm and harassment to hide his emotions and feelings, he still has them and they guide his worldview pretty heavily. Plus while he'll never admit it in front of them except in serious moments, Jason deeply loves and cares for the Bat family. He absolutely would not still be there if he didn't.

Damian also being a Leo sun tracks very heavily. While not as theatric and grandiose as Jason in his expression, Damian sure makes up for it by suffering from a severe case of main protagonist syndrome even if he's brutally killing an opponent. He puts himself on a spot on a hill above everyone else and while he works through it (somewhat) the ego on this boy is unreal.

And while I leaned on a heavy water moon for Jason I'm going full-in on Damian being an earth moon. Particularly a Capricorn Moon. For as much as he loves to project his capabilities over everyone else, Damian holds himself to a VERY high standard and has the spine and ability to work hard and get what he wants. He's more than capable of putting in the work to be the very best and he'll do it out of spite, he'll do it because of the experience, he'll do it because he's bored.

Also Damian absolutely has an Aquarius Moon. This little dude is a weirdo when forced into a social situation. He's an artist, a humanitarian, he loves to draw, loves manga, loves animals, and I don't mean just dogs and cats I mean ALL animals. He's off in his own world while all the kids around him are into Tik Tok and funny dances Damian watching the animal planet whilst drawing a bird he saw on a documentary about minivets.

Tim is the one I least expected to be unpredictable mostly because I didn't understand his character all that well on first glance, and then I realized that this man is literally doing not only mental, physical, and emotional gymnastics just like Dick, but he's doing it with probably the most depressing and dry internal monologue I've seen. Tim's cancer sun doesn't really make too much sense on first glance, then you realize the amount of bottled up emotional turmoil this boy goes through it's scary. Tim also is shockingly kind and nurturing, very good with little kids and can pull a solid pep-talk out of his ass at a moments notice.

I'm giving Tim a Libra moon mostly because of Tim's internal analytical sense. He very much likes to look at all sides of every situation to see how he can get a favorable outcome. It's part of what makes him a good detective is those analytical skills. Also the Libra explains the self-depreciation.

I'm giving Tim a Sagittarius rising because that boy's constant outward state is chaos. Son of multi-millionaires who couldn't deal with life being a trophy son literally follows a pair of vigilantes and begs them to let him join their club. Tim comes across as analytical and detached but seriously this man's brain background music is elevator music and the LEEEEROOOOOYYYYYY JEEENKIINNS scream. Tim dives head first into danger a lot and he's really lucky he has the mental aptitude to get himself out of a lot of things.

Now Dick is controversial because he has 3 birthdays based on existing continuities. Pre-Crisis his sun sign in the golden/silver age was Scorpio, in the Young Justice universe he's a Sagittarius sun, but in most current timelines he's a Pisces/Aries cusp. But his actual birthdate makes him a Pisces. Honestly I see both?

When Dick was a kid and well into his teens he radiated feral goblin energy. Let's also not forget that well into his early twenties dick was still planning on killing Tony Zucco if he ever got his hands on him, plus his more than infrequent outbursts towards Bruce and the Teen Titans. He also has a tendency to reflect a lot of emotions back to whatever is thrown at him on top of a pretty dreamy and caring vibe to him. Adding in the Pisces.

I'm leaning on a Leo rising for Dick because this guy is a performer in all that he does, outwardly very sociable and even flamboyant. This man may not admit it but he likes the attention he gets, it may not be optimal in every situation but Dick canonically weaponizes his attractiveness and I've never seen a more Leo thing ever.

Dick's moon was a bit complicated but ultimately I think I'll have to go with a Scorpio moon for Dick. Dick is a shockingly emotional person, there have been numerous occasions of Dick letting his feelings get the better of him. Dick frequently hits things (walls, car radios) when he's angry and is actively violent when in that state. But he also isn't afraid to cry and let his emotions out when he's overwhelmed (and in privacy)

#jason todd #dick grayson #red hood #Nightwing #tim drake #robin dc #red robin dc #Damian Wayne #amature astrology #i did my best im really high and vibing im sorry lol

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tastelessblogginz · 10 months

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FUCK YEAH DANGAN OC TIME!!!!!

I think she’s definitely one of my oldest danganronpa ocs who I still remember, and one of the main reasons she’s stuck w me so much is because her old design looked way too much like mahirus, so today I went ahead and attempted redesigning her, and I’m really proud of the result!!

Quick warning: by pressing READ MORE you are therefore going to be exposed to the ramblings of someone who has nothing better to do with their free time rather than explain every tiny detail & reason for their design change, you have been warned.

First off, I’d like to start this off with a really shitty drawing of her old design

After quite a bit of digging, I found a few signatures from some of my friends at the time and they’re all around October of 2019, so this was drawn approximately 3-4 years ago.

Design Choices

When comparing the old vs the new design, one of the main features I wanted to change was her role in the story, as you can spot in her old design, she originally had an ahoge, meaning that I most likely wanted her to be the protagonist of the story I was planning. However, due to an idea I’ve had for her character which otherwise she wouldn’t really be able to accomplish with that role, I’ve transferred the ahoge to one of my other ocs, who may or may not make an appearance in the near future!!

Another thing which really bugged me about her old design was the hairstyle, don’t get me wrong, ponytails are cute!! But to me it just felt a bit too plain when combined with her personality, and so I wanted to change it to the bubble braids she currently has, mainly because she’s characterised to be really social & bubbly, and so I wanted to try and incorporate that into her new design.

Finally, the biggest noticeable change about her, her clothing. The main reason I so desperately wanted to change it was simply because it felt way too mahiru & even when I first designed her, the outfits felt way too similar in my mind but I tried to brush it off, well not this time!! For her new outfit, I still wanted to keep the whole school uniform vibe, but this time I wanted to take some inspiration from kogal fashion, but if anything this is just more of my love for gyaru fashion than anything 😭😭

Backstory

I’m gonna be completely honest here, her backstory actually kinda came to me whilst I was writing the design choices bit, so bare with me if it’s a bit lacklustre. Originally, Kei had applied for hopes peaks entrance exams as one of the reserve course students, however, during the entrance exams, something about Kei stood out to the staff of hopes peak academy. In all of her test scores, she had managed to score way below average in everything apart from mathematics, in which she managed to get full marks for. And to only further this achievement, Kei had actually fallen asleep part way through the maths exam, with half an hour to spare. Therefore, the talent scouts of hope’s peak academy took a keen interest in her and brought her in for further examinations, mainly to check that she hadn’t cheated on anything. This time, they gave her a university level maths paper, in which many people within the maths field struggle to get a decent pass on, and yet once again, she had managed to score full marks & with some time to spare. Once hope’s peak realised they had an ultimate in their hands, they immediately contacted Kei’s parents to tell them the good news, and with that, she had been transferred into hope’s peak’s main course.

Personality

Like I mentioned in the design bit, Kei is a very sociable teenage girl who is willing to strike up a conversation with anyone, however, a lot of the people around her may find her to be obnoxious, as she often accidentally boasts about her ultimate, finding it idiotic how some people find math’s difficult, and can go on many random tangents about her own life, often trying to relate other people’s experiences to her own, yet this is more of her way of trying to show support for someone.

Despite her overconfidence when it comes to maths problems, she struggles intensely when it comes to other subjects, often times resulting on cheating as her only option, and even then scoring terribly low. Despite her low grades in Japanese, she does actually have a keen interest in books; romance novels especially, as she loves listening to them as she works, one of her all-time favourites being ‘So lingers the ocean’

After reading that book, she has become increasingly “boy-crazy” and often times develop crushes incredibly quickly & even tends to fawn over some of her male classmates, however, she doesn’t actually get crushes on people, and she doesn’t actually understand that you can’t choose who you like, and so she will become incredibly confused when one of her friends complain about developing a crush on someone, as she doesn’t really get why they don’t just “pick someone else”

I might add some more to this later on but I’m Gonna be honest I’m really tired rn, so I’m gonna go to sleep 😭😭

#danganronpa #danganronpa fangan #danganronpa fangame #danganronpa fangan oc #danganronpa oc #fanganronpa #fanganronpa oc #Kei Ikehara #I love her so much #sorry about the rambling #oc #original character

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seazethemoment · 2 years

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MARLON’S “MAIN FLAWS”

(Whenever I make a new canon character blog here, I always like to check the pulse of the online fandom beforehand to see what opinions there are about the said character, if there even are any LOL. That little ‘screening’ helps me get a better picture of how the character might be perceived by other muses and muns, and I always have a lot of fun resisting, detailing, or doubling down on certain ‘stereotypical’ characteristics. Obscure canon muses rule for customization, as TPC and the fandom provide a loose framework for the character...and then you’re encouraged to go the OC route the rest of the way. It’s a blast, at least for me. Jupiter, Clair and Barry say hello!

So, what’s the point of this post? Well, I think it’s acceptable to say that Marlon isn’t very liked by the wider community, which is fine and fair. Good. Aside from not appearing much in the core games in general, the main critiques that I found are: (1) he’s totally oblivious during the Plasma events, and (2) he’s a pushover trainer and his Gym is not challenging at all. Again, valid stuff. Let me take this post to explain how I’m going to interpret these two “main flaws” in my portrayal, because it’s already--not in a bad way!--come up a couple times.)

Obliviousness during Plasma events

In the games (and my portrayal), Marlon ultimately does end up helping the protagonist: he lowers the Frigate bridge, remember? Yes, he was/is almost completely unaware of Plasma’s doings, which I take as a combination of his personality and Plasma operating smartly. And yes, he does say that Plasma’s not bothering him, which is...yeah, not the best wording. But for my Marlon, actions will always hold more weight than words. He doesn’t see Plasma actually doing evil things where he’s at, so it’s hard for him to really care about them, for better or worse.

Marlon also knows that only some of the Plasma members are truly evil, which is why he hesitates and asks thoughtful questions first. He has an open mind and is always ready to forgive people for the right reasons (perhaps forgiving people too quickly.) The ocean accepts all rivers, and he wholeheartedly believes that everybody has good intentions to start. I don’t recognize the take that Marlon wants to help Plasma at all. if he truly took the time to know what they were all about, he’d want to fight a bit harder. He’s not that oblivious.

But, during Plasma’s arc, he doesn’t go all out. For the most part, he’s chilling. And I want to say this: if your muse resents Marlon for his lack of action, that is fine and encouraged. He didn’t have any bad intentions, but for people in the know (aka the protags and power players on both sides), the damage has already been done. And I say let the feelings fly. Just know that Marlon truly didn’t mean any harm. He’s aligned to be overwhelmingly good. Maybe too good, too forgiving...but he’s got a big ol’ smile for everyone regardless.

(’Pushover’ stuff under the cut!)

Eighth Gym pushover

I actually sort of agree here: I always found Marlon to be an easy battle in the games, especially after battling Drayden’s dragons. In my take, however, Marlon didn’t get to choose where he was in the Gym order...he just kind of “fell in” to the eighth position after Unova needed trainers to replace vacated spots. Due to Humilau’s location, it got locked in the last slot.

It’s really refreshing for me in a way: Marlon’s not the strongest Pokemon trainer ever (definitely not Clair) and he doesn’t take his job seriously at all (which, IMO, is a major breath of fresh air.) You’ve heard of skilled eighth Gym Leaders challenging and beating their regional Elites, now get ready for a mellowed-out surfer bro who’s on the verge of losing his position because he keeps finding better things to do. Unique. Amazing.

Now, with all this being said, my Marlon is still an extremely skilled trainer. While he’s not going to really challenge the Elites (or even Drayden) until he truly starts focusing on battles, his water team was raised with an overwhelming amount of love and care. Marlon is knows everything about the ocean, and he’ll always be a friend to all aquatic Pokemon. He’s no battlefield killer, and that’s okay.

As for his Gym...I mean, I feel like trainers appreciate the mellow experience. It beats getting shot out of a cannon, right?

While his team may not be the strongest, Marlon’s Pokemon are taken care of to the max. And, just like their trainer, when they do feel the rush for battle, they truly give it their all. Every time. 😊

(Whew, this got long! It’s a stream of consciousness ramble by now, but in the end, this post isn’t meant to dispute any of Marlon’s “flaws.” I’m also not demanding that people treat him any different. Just offering my perspective and take(s) on said conceptions, and (hopefully!) providing a bit more character depth for my favorite surfer boy as a whole--because TPC sure didn’t. I’m doing it myself... 😤)

#long post #(like im a bit self conscious after reading how much i wrote here but WHY NOT)#(marlon deserves it)#(sparknotes: marlons perceived flaws are justified and i wanna give my two cents on how my portrayal...)#(...will be handling them)#(also: IT IS OK FOR YOUR MUSE TO HAVE PROBLEMS FLAWS AND SHORTCOMINGS)#(character growth is sexy!!)#(if you made it to the end...THANK YOU!!)#THE MERMAN WITH THE AWESOME TAN! (headcanon)

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fayesdiary · 2 years

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Top 5 characters from Shadows of Valentia!

Sure! Since you haven't played Echoes I'm gonna be a bit more vague than usual!

Rudolf) I don't know what's going on anymore. I hate this man. I ironically love this man. He's one of the characters I think about most. He genuinely inspired a lot of my most interesting discussions about this game. He's a shitty character, a shittier ruler and the shittiest parent. I made an April Fools where I pretended to stan him. Dunking on him brings me joy.

5) Python. This man, I swear. Ever since I started working he's been the biggest mood. Why bother putting effort into something that barely matters to you for someone who only cares about how much you can make them earn, after all? He even criticized the monarchy straight to Clive's face! This man is as "lazy" as he is clever, and he's in the Deliverance just so he can support his boyfriend and see him achieve his dream of becoming a knight.

Also he supports aro rights in a series that can get very obsessed with romance, seriously this man is based

4) Sonya! This is a woman who knows she's hot shit and relishes it, she never stops being confident, has a personal beef with the main antagonist, and despite very much being a self-interested mercenary with her own agenda, it turns out said agenda is to help women who met her same fate as her sisters. It's a wonderful example of giving a character an engaging personality and just enough information to get you interested, while still keeping an air of mystery around it, which is why I'll always choose her over Deen.

3) Clive! Honestly, if Echoes wasn't a remake, I think he would have made a wonderful protagonist. I adore how the game makes painfully clear in both the main story and his DLC supports that while he does mean well and wants to improve the life of the common people, he knows next to nothing about the problems they actually face, and he's still unconciously valuing the nobles as superior to commoners and that's something he has to work on if he wants to make any meaningful change.

He's one of the best written characters of Fire Emblem, honestly.

2) Celica! I've talked so much about her, she's one of my favorite characters of the entire series, honestly, while I wish she didn't get shafted near the end of the game she's still so good!

1) Faye! I mean come on, this blog is themed after her! She's definitely not the most popular or the best written by far, but at the same time there's so much about her that I dig. I love that her obsession with Alm has both a reasonable explanation and is treated as genuinely unhealthy for once (she's the one character in the entire series that has one of her stats drop if she's supporting Alm and is next to him, specifically her Avoid), I love how despite this she's still overjoyed to see Celica, and I have a soft spot for socially awkward characters because honestly, same.

#fire emblem #fire emblem echoes #fire emblem echoes shadows of valentia #fe15 #ask replies #iturbide #my rambles #honestly i could gush about echoes characters all day

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fearlessinger · 2 years

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Hello if this is weird be free to ignore it . But what are your favourite books ? ( Aside from TOA )

Hi! It’s not weird, don’t worry, that’s a lovely question!

Not gonna lie tho, you’re putting me in a tight spot bc I’m terrible at picking favorites lol. for me it’s always “here’s my Current Obsession, and here’s everything else that left a mark on me one way or another which is basically everything I didn’t immediately forget 5 minutes after having read it.

So, to make things easier for myself I’m gonna exclude a priori anglo literature bc there’s enough talk about that on this website already. This is still in no way an easy task ahhh

Italo Calvino. Honestly a lot of the names & titles I’m gonna cite may vary depending on when I’m asked but no matter what his name will always be somewhere at the top of any personal fave list of mine. I can’t even choose ONE book to recommend, everything he wrote is fantastic and no work of his is like the other, even his essays are a joy to read. In a famous cycle of lectures he outlines what he thinks of as indispensable qualities of the kind of literature he wants to write and read: lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, multiplicity, consistency - in order of importance, and it’s the best summary of his style I can think of. It has this ethereal, almost weightless, fairy tale-esque quality, even when it tells of real history. It has depth of meanings and truths but it never gives them to you straight; rather it invites you to make your own way to them, and the journey feels somehow both deeply personal and universal at the same time. His books are ones you can and will want to devour in one sitting and then think about for months afterwards. My first encounter with Calvino was The Baron in the Trees and its spiritual successors, The Cloven Viscount and The Nonexistent Knight, but the ones I’ve reread most out of all of them are The Castle of Crossed Destinies, which is really a book about the act of storytelling, and Marcovaldo, which is a gentle, humorous, melancholy portrait of the extremely modest, simple life, aspirations and dreams of a farmer turned industrial laborer in 1950s-60s Italy.

Jules Verne. I just inhaled his books as a child and will always hold them dear in my heart. I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff in there that’s not aged well, but nonetheless this is the kind of adventure I dreamed about quite literally, these stories just opened up my imagination like WHOA. Special mention for the In Search of the Castaways - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas - The Mysterious Island unofficial trilogy, definitely my fave of the bunch, starring my proto-Blorbo Captain Nemo, a prime example of poor little meow meow ante litteram, LOVE that guy so much. And I’m gonna say something a lil heretic here but you can skip the slower sections! You can jump ahead dozens of pages if you want! You do not need to read everything to be able to enjoy these books, go straight to the good parts, skim everything else or go back to it later, put your own interest and pleasure first! (This honestly goes for all kinds of literature. Books do have a fast forward button and you should always feel free to use it)

In the same vein, Dumas (père). Just let me be the basic-est of basic bitches for a sec and rec The Three Musketeers + sequels. I know, I know there’s like 3000 adaptations of these works around we all know the story but I still think the og novels are worth a read bc they are great and just straight up FUN.

Bianca Pitzorno is a tragically underrated kids’ lit author and the main reason why she’s so underrated is bc she writes almost exclusively about GIRLS. The horror. Her books were such a huge formative influence on me, with their fully fleshed out fully flawed female protagonists, driving their own stories both for good and ill. I’m afraid there may not exist english translations of most of her work, but if you manage to get your hands on a version that you can read of L’incredibile storia di Lavinia, La bambola dell’alchimista, Polissena del Porcello, La bambina col falcone, La bambinaia francese… I promise you’ll be in for an unforgettable ride. I love especially how weird a lot of her stories get, and how unabashedly hopeful they all are - sometimes even too much, but hey, that’s what kid me needed and I doubt I was the only one.

The Divine Comedy. Listen. Listen I don't know how this rec (I know you didn't ask but this has turned into a rec list apparently whoops) is gonna work if you don't know Italian bc poetry is so hard to translate even when the translators are given enough time and money to do it properly - something that's tragically more and more rare these days - and while I'm a big proponent of the 'just fucking read the text, you can always look at the commentary later' school of thought this is a case where the text is old enough and full enough of pointed yet obscure-to-us-modern-readers references that you really are gonna miss out on a lot if you don't have a good commentary on hand. So like, I'm not gonna pretend it's no work to read the Comedy, but damn if it isn't worth it. I know on tumblr Dante is mainly known as the guy who wrote self insert rpf of the Bible and I'm not here to tell anyone to stop joking abt it bc it's damn funny but I wish more people realized, too, how immense and nobilitating of a compliment to fanfic it is, to compare it to the Commedia. How empowering the comparison should be, bc IT IS. Because the Commedia is an absolute masterpiece. Not just on the technical plane (the way it straight up SINGS when it’s read out loud) but in the way it goes right to your heart. It's a work so full of love and so unashamed of it. It is about religion, yes, specifically a very medieval kind of catholicism, but it’s also fundamentally about PEOPLE. All of them, the good, the bad, the infinite combinations in between. About how only through the work of knowing them and loving them you can hope to get to truly know and love god.

Cesare Pavese. No joke this man’s writing can and WILL give u depression. You gotta take it in small doses. There’s two works of his that I can never stop thinking about: The Moon and the Bonfires, about rural northern Italy and the partisan war and family and blood and the way roots ground you and trap you simultaneously, which I will never read again because I'm not strong enough, and Dialogues with Leucò, a collection of imagined dialogues between Greek mythological figures exploring existential themes through incredibly effective and piercing back and forths, which I’ve reread a number of times and loved more every time. It’s a very short and incredibly dense book, and one that I recommend wholeheartedly.

One hundred years of solitude. This is where I realize that there’s a bit of a common thread tying all my biggest faves together and it’s a kind of… mythological quality I guess? Tho not always strictly tied to classical mythology, obviously, of the storytelling. Not that it’s not grounded in reality, because it very much is, but that it sort of transcends it also on some level? Idk. This book made me feel small and finite in the best way, it told me of a whole world that I didn’t know about and yet that I could recognize and resonate with nonetheless in so many ways. Just a stunning, deeply compelling read all throughout.

I’ve been writing for like an hour already so I’m gonna stop here for now lol

I’ll leave you with the (not rrverse) book that’s next on my to read list bc I may as well keep plugging Italian authors, especially when they are actually writing in english: Let the mountains be my grave by Francesca Tacchi. I have high hopes for this one, the premise sounds extremely my jam

#books #recs #anon

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abookclubofonesown · 1 year

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killers of a certain age | deanna raybourn | 2022

billie, helen, mary alice, and natalie are retiring after 40 years at the Museum - a extra-governmental agency formed after WWII to go after (and kill) escaped nazis. for their retirement, they are sent on an all-expenses-paid cruise and things go sideways when they clock one of the Museum’s own targeting them. the Museum has put a kill order out on them with a bounty and now they need to figure out who is after them and why - all while dealing with menopause.

---------------------------*spoilers ahead*--------------------------------

this book was fun! i always feel like with spy/assassin books that i need to suspend my disbelief just a smidge more than to i do for other books and this one was no exception. my mind just can’t wrap itself around the resources and logistics needed to successfully pull off any of these missions. so that’s my own brain getting in the way for me, but i consciously set that part of my brain aside and really just focused on the characters for this one. the plot was fine and entertaining - it hit all the spy/international-agent-of-intrigue marks.

this book uses a device that always sticks out to me as a device and like... not a free flowing narrative. there are some flashback chapters that help flush out some of the characters, but their placement is obvious. like they get to a point where they decide to kill these three dudes who they’ve work with for the past 40 years. so there is a flashback chapter featuring this dude and giving him unique characteristics that the women will exploit in the next chapter to kill him. i don’t think this takes away from the book at all, but i was definitely reading those chapters hunting for clues as to how they’ll use that info to kill him. the author, to her credit, doesn’t really handhold you through that leap at the start of the next chapter all that often, but it’s still something that i noticed.

what were the standout points for me in this book were the characters, the focus on women, and the art historical references throughout.

CHARACTERS:

while the book is focused mainly on billie, helen, mary alice, and natalie; billie is definitely the protagonist/main character. the book’s chapters are delineated by flashbacks that are told in 3rd person and present day written in 1st person from billie’s pov. i think billie was the natural choice for the narrator since she is kinda the most neutral? the other women are really Characters ™ with nat being a locksmith horndog, helen being a women struggling with grief for her late husband, and mary alice is dealing with her marriage. you could have maybe done from mary alice’s pov, but then you would have had to make her wife and their problems a bit more center stage and i don't think billie would have popped on the page if we hadn’t been inside her mind. billie is the one who got good at her job because she enjoyed it. she didn’t have the marriage like helen or mary alice and she didn’t seem all that interested in other people the way nat was. she dedicated herself to the job and was happy with that. it did mean that she eschewed a romance early on in career with another field agent, but this man (taverner) does make an appearance and you are lead to believe that they’ll rekindle their romance. i liked this pairing because they didn’t try to change for one another. they respected what the other wanted in life and chose what was best for them. and now they are at a time in their lives where what they want is the same. it’s kind of a love-at-first-sight thing going on but i think that works for what this is and the pages you want devoted to it.

the men are suitably vile and chauvinistic without it being cartoonish - a believable dickishness. the only redeemable one is taverner. martin starts off being a meek, computer geek who the women have a soft spot for and (they think) vice versa. but he turns out to be the instigator for everything after trying to launch a coup. i feel like i’ve been seeing this trend a lot with authors setting up with these men that position themselves as meek and mild to women only for that to be a guise for their manipulation and exploitation of them later. that’s not something for which i had to suspend my disbelief.

and it’s not just old women featured here, you’ve got minka (an ukrainian under billie’s wing and a tech wiz/app developer) who’s probably early 20s and naomi (a Museum agent) who’s in her mid-30s and pregnant with baby #3. my favorite parts of this book were when all of the women were interacting together. it was fun when they were killing the men together but also when they were just sitting around and talking. i find women fascinating so that helps lol.

ART HISTORICAL FOCUS:

the Museum was founded, in part, by some of the monuments men in WWII - this was a group that was dedicated to finding and safekeeping artworks stolen by the nazis. the Museum made it one of its missions to find and repatriate artworks back to the people they were stolen from. if that family can’t be identified or no living descendants remain, then the Museum retains it.

the painting at the center of this book is The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by sofonisba anguissola. i studied anguissola in one of my classes in graduate school so i was delighted to see her name being mentioned! she’s one of the few female painters known to us from the renaissance era. she became a court painter and she is mainly known for portraits. her most famous being that of her sisters playing a game of chess. however, this painting is fictional. the author describes it so well that i want it to be real, but alas it is not. and.... not to go all art historian.... the subject matter is a little out of left field for anguissola. maybe she makes that point in the book and i can’t remember, but anguissola was more of a portrait painter of courtly lords and ladies and less of a biblical scene painter as described in the book. i’ll forgive because it’s whatever but it really just feels like who she really wanted was an artemisia gentileschi painting with a name that was more insider baseball.

tl;dr: killer old ladies from (mostly) the united states stick it to the man (a few of them, in fact)

#killers of a certain age #deanna raybourn #book review #book club #spy novel #long post #i actually made my own header image this time lol #well i edited the existing cover #i added the blood at the tip of the knife #and extended her arm

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rizubaby · 3 years

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HUNTED.

a wheel of misfortune collab fic, day 5.

pairing : aoi todo x fem!reader.

warnings : nsfw, predator!todo + prey!reader, primal kink, outdoor sex, unprotected sex, fingering, size kink, breeding, mating press, dubcon/cnc.

wc : 4.7k.

note : this was such a blast to write!! not the best in terms of plot, but whatever. definitely the longest fic I've written as of yet, so there's that. anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Have you ever seen one of those cliché horror movies, where the protagonists get themselves into the most ridiculous situations? The ones where you think to yourself “there is no way this would ever happen in real life”, or “why didn’t they just do this or that?” Yeah, from a third person perspective, it all seems really dumb or shallow. Until you experience it yourself.

—

“Ugh, how much longer until we get there?” you grunt, following closely behind your friends as you make your way up the steep hiking trail. Who would’ve thought Nobara, Yuuji, Megumi and you would plan a last-minute camping trip like this? It’s late October, leaves gracefully falling off the trees as the temperatures decrease, the days become shorter and nights become longer. Although you’re not the biggest fan of sleeping outdoors by any means, you just couldn’t say no to your closest friends since high school.

“Hey now, don’t get so grumpy!” Yuuji exclaims as he slows down to match your pace, throwing an arm around your shoulders out of supportive companionship. “I bet we’re almost there, trust me.”

Deciding not to make another snarky comment, you huff in frustration as you look straight ahead at Nobara and Megumi, who are walking a little bit ahead of you. Everyone’s carrying their own weight, with Yuuji also carrying some extra appliances, since he’s physically the strongest. With him walking next to you with about five times the amount of luggage you’re carrying and no complaining, it irritates you even more.

Luckily for you, before you even have the time to wallow in self-pity, Nobara stops and yells, “We’re here!”

You and Yuuji walk up to them atop the hill, and you’re met with a beautiful landscape. Forest trees reaching as far as the eye can see, with highs and lows and the view of the setting sun slowly turning the bright blue sky a warm orange, like watercolors slowly blending together on a canvas.

“…Wow,” is all you manage to bring up under your breath, taking in the literal breathtaking view. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, no kiddin’,” Yuuji agrees, a bright smile apparent on his face as you turn to look at him.

“Let’s make our way down into the forest and find a spot to set up camp. It’ll be dark soon,” Megumi suggests, and you all nod in agreement before grabbing your bags and descending downhill into the dense forest.

—

As soon as you’re all making your way downhill, goosebumps start to form on your skin. There’s this sudden uneasiness that washes over you as you walk deeper into the forest, not sure of what’s causing you to feel this way. It’s been a while since you passed the last group of people on the hiking trail, and you start to doubt if it was a good idea to go camping so far away from the main trail – and so far away from other people. You speed up a bit and latch onto Yuuji’s arm, who in turn gives you a surprised, slightly confused look.

“Hey, what’s up with you all of a sudden?” he asks. Megumi looks over his shoulder to see what’s going on, shares a quick glance with Yuuji, and returns to look ahead of him. “I don’t know, I’m just… I’m suddenly a little uneasy is all.”

“What, are you scared?” Yuuji teases, nudging you with his elbow. You frown and nudge him back harder, prompting a chuckle from your pink-haired friend. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! There’s nothing to be afraid of, trust me,” he reassures you, but your grip on his arm only tightens.

After a couple more minutes of walking, Nobara spots a great place to set up your tents. There’s a beautiful little creek close by, and you’re surrounded by tall trees with long, thick branches that break up the rays of the sun and make them shine through like little spotlights on a stage. The smell of nature is all around you, and you can hear nothing but the soft rustling of leaves and the sound of your friends unpacking their bags.

“Man, this spot is perfect!” Yuuji laughs as he promptly lays down on his back on the damp grass. “Yeah, it is. Great job, Nobara,” Megumi compliments. Nobara puts her arms on her hips and flaunts a proud smirk in response. “Of course it’s great, it’s because I picked it! Now help me unpack our stuff, you lazy pricks!!”

“Hey, give me a break! I carried all of our shared luggage, I deserve a little break!” Yuuji exclaims, laid out like a starfish on the ground as he tries to act as exhausted as possible. You can’t help but giggle at their banter as Nobara scolds him to hell and back, and Megumi lets out a tired sigh. Some things never change, even after all these years.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you unpack. Let the guys have a little break,” you offer and kneel next to the big duffle bag with your tents in it. “How about you guys try to get a fire going, it’s gonna get dark very soon.” The boys nod and get up to look for firewood, while you and Nobara unpack further. By the time the sun has completely set and the moon has taken its place high up in the sky, your camp has been set up and you’re gathered around a large campfire. Four small tents in different colors make half a circle around the campfire in the middle, with fleece blankets laid out around it to sit on. Megumi’s busy cooking up dinner on the portable stove you brought along for the trip, and Yuuji’s grabbing some drinks from the cooler. Nobara and you are sitting next to each other around the campfire with a warm blanket over your shoulders as Yuuji passes you your drinks. Still, even when you’re comfortable like this, in the company of your friends, there’s this unshakable feeling looming over you. It’s as if you’re being watched, but no matter where you look, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything or anyone that has followed you.

Nobara suddenly nudges you, and you’re immediately met with her slightly concerned gaze. “Hey, [Y/N]… are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” you lie. Making your friends worry about you is the last thing you want. It’s probably nothing, you tell yourself, shaking your head and flashing a reassuring smile at your auburn-haired friend.

“Don’t lie to me,” Nobara’s voice lowers. “I can tell when something’s up. Come on, out with it.”

You sigh, defeated. “It’s just,” you start, “I have this weird feeling… Like we’ve been followed by someone, and we’re being watched. It’s probably nothing, but−“ you’re cut off by the sudden feeling of your friend’s hand placed on your shoulder. It’s reassuring, warm. “Don’t worry about it, [Y/N]. There’s no way someone could have followed us here, the last people we saw was about halfway on the trail, and that was literal hours ago.”

“Yeah,” Yuuji chimes in as he plops down next to you with a beer in hand, “We’re fine! Don’t stress your pretty little head so much, [Y/N].”

A soft smile appears on your face, and you feel reassured by your friends’ kind words. Still, you can’t help but wonder if they really don’t feel a pair of eyes following them with every move like you do. You decide to shake the feeling off once more and try to focus on the here and now, having fun with your friends around the campfire. It’s probably just because you’ve been watching so many horror documentaries lately. That stuff doesn’t happen in real life, right?

—

After having eaten dinner, you talk and laugh some more with your friends over roasted marshmallows and poorly made instant coffee, until you collectively decide to turn in for the night.

“It’s been a long day, let’s call it a night guys,” Yuuji says. “Yeah, if I don’t get some sleep soon, you guys’ll have to drag me out of my tent tomorrow morning,” you chuckle before an embarrassingly long yawn escapes you. Nobara and Megumi nod and everyone starts helping to clean stuff up. Empty soda and beer cans are thrown in a large trash bag, the cooking equipment is cleaned and put aside, and you help put out the fire. “Does everyone have their flashlight, in case we might need it?” Nobara checks. “I’ve got mine,” you say as you hold up yours, and so do Megumi and Yuuji.

“Okay, well let’s get ready to get some sleep, I’m exhausted and I need my beauty sleep,” Nobara mutters before stepping inside of her tent. “Good night everyone.”

“Good night,” you say to the rest of your friends before you get inside your own and zip down the zipper. Before you change into your pajamas, you sit in silence for a moment and think back to the weird feeling you had earlier. It seems to be gone now, yet you still wonder what it could’ve been. You listen carefully for the sounds outside, but all you hear is your friends rustling inside their own tents before the noise slowly dies down. You let out a long sigh before finally changing into your sleepwear. It really has been a long day, so it’s time to get some sleep.

—

The morning soon comes, and you’re woken up by a ray of sunlight that directly hits your tent. Still groggy from how deep you’ve slept, you put on your jogging pants, put your hair up out of your face and step outside of your tent. Everyone’s already up, and Megumi is once again busy cooking up some food, for breakfast this time. “Good morning sleepy head!” Yuuji smiles, walks up to you and gives you a friendly pat on the back. “You sure slept a lot, huh? We were debating if we should wake you ourselves or not,” he continues. “Guess my intuition was right. I told you she would wake up on her own in time, didn’t I?” Yuuji looks at Nobara, who scoffs and looks away in return. You snicker, rubbing the back of your head bashfully. “Yeah, I guess I did sleep for a long time.”

Unbeknownst to any of you though, it would be the last good night’s sleep you’d have in a while.

After having breakfast and washing up by the creek as a way of ‘showering’, you have a fun day of activities planned out. You went to explore the woods together, travelled up the river until you found a nice little spot to have lunch. The rest of the day was spent taking a detour back to your camping spot, playing board games and other silly things. And as much as you enjoyed yourself that day, that unshakable feeling of being watched returned to you the moment you went out for the day. You decided to not say anything to your friends, afraid that it would ruin the whole trip.

That night, you barely got any sleep. You tossed and turned, but couldn’t fall asleep even if your life depended on it. Your anxiousness only kept growing, and all the sounds of rustling leaves in the wind and owls hooting did nothing to ease your nerves either. Eventually though, you managed to get a tiny bit of sleep, right before morning came. The moment you stepped out of your tent to greet everyone, your friends immediately noticed the dark circles under your eyes from lack of proper sleep.

“Rough night?” Megumi asks you as you walk up to him to get some breakfast. His eyes are glued to the portable stove as he fries up some eggs, yet he knows you didn’t sleep well just by how little you’re talking. “Mhm,”you nod as you grab a cup of instant coffee, hoping that it would do something for your tired state.

The day goes by far too quick for comfort, and you dread the moment you’re alone in your tent at night, the anxiety keeping you from falling asleep.

Evening soon comes, and you’re gathered around the campfire once again to chat and play some more games. Nobara nudges you, and you snap out of your highly alerted state. “[Y/N], are you sure you’re okay?” she says quietly, so as not to alert Megumi and Yuuji. You finally give in, leaning in to talk it over with her. “S-Sorry, I just− I can’t shake this feeling that we’re− that I’m being watched and followed. As if I’m being preyed on by a wild animal,” you confess to her. “I know I sound crazy, but it's slowly driving me nuts.”

You can clearly see Nobara’s expression change, desperately searching for the right words to say. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she starts. “I− I haven’t noticed anything weird at all, though. But if it’s any comfort to you, do you want to sleep together in my tent tonight?”

You nod softly, and Nobara gently smiles back at you. During your card games, you every so often look around at the tall trees surrounding you, checking if there is anything or anyone to be spotted. Of course, you don’t notice anything, but the uncomfortable feeling still remains.

—

It’s a little over 1 am when you all decide to get some sleep. After cleaning up and putting out the fire, everyone says their goodnights and returns to their tents.

“I’ll go grab my things,” you say as Nobara zips open her tent. You’re still nervous, you can feel it in your entire body, but you try to calm yourself. It’ll all be fine, you’ll sleep in Nobara’s tent, so there’s nothing to worry about, you tell yourself as you hastily gather your things. You quickly change into your sleepwear before stepping out of your tent and hurrying to Nobara’s.

“Got everything you need?” Nobara whispers, already snugly tucked into her sleeping bag. You nod with a faint smile and get settled in next to her. Luckily the tent is just big enough to fit the two of you in it, with a tiny bit of wiggle room to spare. After making sure the tent is zipped closed and you’re both comfortable, Nobara turns off her flashlight and you wish each other goodnight. It’s almost unfair how easily – and not to mention quickly – Nobara falls asleep, in contrast to how hard you’re trying to get a few hours of sleep at best. Before long, you’re all alone again, surrounded by just the soft snoring of your friend next to you and the rustling of leaves in the wind outside your tent. You close your eyes and try to fall asleep, wishing you hadn’t forgotten your headphones to drown out the unsettling noises.

Having had about an hour of two of light slumbering, you let out a tired sigh and sit up from your sleeping bag.

You need to pee.

Shit, why now of all times? You’re scared to go alone, but you don’t want to wake up your friends either for something so simple as going to the bathroom. Thinking you have no other choice, you suck it up, carefully get up from your sleeping bag, grab your flashlight and make your way out of Nobara’s tent. It’s dark, but not as dark as you thought it would be. The moonlight is very bright, so you’re able to see pretty well. You turn on your flashlight and carefully walk down to the creek. Once you’re there, you stop in awe at how beautiful the forest looks at nighttime. The creek glistens in the moonlight, the shadows the tall trees cast on the ground look like they’re slow dancing to the sound of the water, and the distant sound of owls hooting is the cherry on top. The serene picture before you manages to calm your nerves just a bit, and you decide to search for a proper bush to do your business.

—

Having successfully relieved yourself, you let out a sigh of relief and kneel down along the creek to wash your hands and face. The water is surprisingly clean, so you have nothing to complain about. Feeling so at peace beside the creek, listening to its calming sounds, your anxiety seems to wash away with the soft current of the water. It truly baffles you how something so simple as this could ease your nerves, but nonetheless, you’re glad it did. You hum a soft tune to yourself, and within minutes, you feel yourself getting drowsy. Maybe now’s a good time to return to your tent and get some sleep…

But all good things unfortunately must come to an end.

Just as you get up from beside the creek, you hear the loud rustling of leaves and branches from close behind you. Your whole body freezes like a deer in headlights, and you damn yourself for going out alone at night. With all the courage you could possibly gather, you turn your body around to look behind you. In a split second, you’re met with the face of a stranger, just inches away from you. No, not just his face. He towers over you, almost like a wild bear. Before you could manage to make a sound, any sound, his large palm covers your mouth. You’re not sure what the hell is happening, but all you’re hoping for is that this is not going to be the way you die. There are so many things you still want to do in life; get a pet, find your dream job, fall in love, grow old—

“Sssh, it’s alright beautiful.”

You whimper. Did he… what did he just say?

His voice is low and gravelly, and you’re scared, but his words are sweet, almost… comforting. You’re shocked with how tall he is, how big he is. His hand covers almost your entire face, and you’re sure he could suffocate you to death if his hand placement were just a little higher.

You look up at the man who’s holding you hostage, eyes meeting his piercing gaze. You can clearly see now that a large scar covers his left eye, yet it doesn’t look recent. He must’ve had it for a pretty long time. You’re unable to avert your eyes, his dark, intense eyes hiding a primal lust inside of them. He suddenly brings his face to your neck, and you wince. He inhales deeply, inhaling your scent like a wolf sniffing out its prey, before biting down and snapping its neck.

“Mm, now I’ve finally got you…” his deep voice rumbles, and your eyes shoot wide open. What..? What the fuck does he mean by that?

You try to wiggle out of his grip, but his hand on your mouth and the other wrapped around your waist won’t let you budge. You’re stuck in his grip, and it doesn’t seem like he’s letting go of you anytime soon. You just pray it won’t be the end of you.

“All this time, you’ve been running from me. Never an opportunity or an opening to get you, but now… You’re just serving yourself up on a silver plate.” You can feel his hot breath fanning against your skin, dangerously close to your neck. You’re terrified, absolutely terrified, but at the same time… the way he’s got an iron grip on you, not giving you a chance to escape, how he’s towering over you with his massive frame, his deep voice, his handsome face… it’s got you feeling different, something that you aren’t supposed to be feeling, especially in a situation like this.

Within a split second, his position changes, stepping behind you and grabbing your hands to keep them on your back. His large, strong hand is able to pin your wrists behind your back with ease, demonstrating just what kind of monster you’re dealing with. His other hand is still over your mouth, not allowing you to make a single sound.

You can feel his massive frame push up against you, his impressive height casting a shadow over you. He brings his face close to your neck again, this time grazing the skin with his teeth and tongue, sending goosebumps all over your body. The hand that’s covering your mouth slowly starts to travel down your neck, as if testing the waters to see if you would scream out of help. But you didn’t. Without knowing why, you just couldn’t bring yourself to yell anything. All that left your lips were barely audible whimpers, and you damned yourself for it yet again.

Travelling down further, his hand now found its way to your breasts. As soon as his fingers touch the soft flesh through the thin fabric of your pajamas, a low, almost primal grunt leaves his lips, and he instantly presses your body even closer into his. His large hand roughly squeezes your soft breasts, and soon enough you feel something thick and hard press against your ass. Your face heats up in an instant, and you realize what’s going on. When you feel his hard cock press against you even more, an involuntary moan escapes you. A grin forms on his face once he hears your pretty little moan, and before you know it, you find yourself pressed up against the nearest tree, hands still behind your back.

“So sweet ‘n innocent, all for me to use,” he mumbles, aggressively ripping your pajama top off of you. His hand squeezes the soft flesh once more and he groans, pressing his hard cock against the swell of your ass. You let out a moan as well, cheeks flushing a pretty shade of red. His other hand now let’s go of your wrists, and you place them firmly against the tree to support yourself. You turn your head slightly to glace at him, and when you do, you’re met with his rough lips pressed against yours. His tongue forces its way into your mouth, and you let him. His scent hits your nose, and you can’t help but think he smells really nice.

You’re past the point of condemning yourself for letting this happen to you. Your body feels hot, and your mind is drawing blanks. It feels like a fever dream, how surreal all of this is. This mixture of fear and increasing arousal is not something you ever expected to relish in, yet here you are.

Todo’s got you pinned down against a tree, with no ways of escape. His primal urge only grows with each passing second, manhandling you with his calloused hands like it’s what he was made to do. He was made to hunt you, and you were designed to be his prey from the start. You hear him growl from behind you, biting down at the skin around your neck and shoulders while he pulls down your pajama pants and soaking panties. Once you feel his thick fingers against your core, a breathless moan falls from your lips and a deep grunt falls from his.

“Damn, so fuckin’ wet for me already,” he growls, sticking in two of his thick fingers into your soaking pussy without hesitation. The stretch burns, yet it feels so good with how deep they fuck into you. Your head falls back and your eyes roll back into your skull, overwhelmed by the sudden feeling. “Wanna be devoured by me so fuckin’ bad, hm?” he coos, messily rubbing your clit to pull those sweet moans out of you with every thrust of his fingers.

You bite your lip to try and keep quiet, but to no avail. A sudden slap against your ass makes you jolt and you let out a loud moan, making the man who is doing all these unspeakable things to you even harder.

You feel your climax nearing with the way he’s fingering you so fucking good, and you let your head fall back against his broad chiseled chest. But just before your release, he pulls away, leaving you feeling empty and unsatisfied.

“W-wha—” is the first word (or something close to it) that leaves your mouth since this all started, looking over your shoulder at the tall figure behind you. Before anything else is said, he grabs you by your arms and forcefully pushes you down onto the ground, ass up. The sudden change in position is jarring and you can feel your head spinning, unable to process everything that’s happening in such a small period of time.

When you turn your head to the side to look at him, his massive figure looms over you and you can see him pulling down his pants, his enormous cock springing free. It’s huge, twitching and its angry red tip already leaking with precum. You gulp, intimidated by its sheer size. That’s never going to fit.

“W-wait! wait, please I—” you struggle and beg under his grip, the intense fear kicking right back in as you see him positioning himself in front of your entrance. Within the blink of an eye, he pushes into you, practically splitting you open. A loud, whimpery moan leaves your mouth and your eyes shoot open in pain, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. The tip of his cock aggressively presses against your cervix, making you feel so full of him. Fuck, he’s inside of you.

A deep grunt leaves him and without wasting time, he immediately starts to pound into you with everything he’s got. He’s needy, desperate, the primal urge of wanting to fuck you stupid surging through his entire body. One of his large hands grip your hips, the other grabbing your hand to keep you from moving too much. Thick, wet tears stream down your face as he’s fucking you, practically knocking the breath out of your lungs. He’s so big, too big. You feel his cockhead protrude your cervix with every thrust, his breath becoming irregular and raspy.

“F-Fuck, you’re so fuckin’ tight,” he groans, “I’ve waited for this for so long, waited for you to be alone so I could- fuck—”

The both of you moan and groan out in pleasure, and within seconds your climax builds up and crashes into you like a ton of bricks, making your walls flutter around his massive cock like it’s trying to milk him dry. You feel his pace slow down and become more erratic. “Holy shit, you’re so tight, squeezing me like that, fuck!” he grunts, squeezing your hips hard enough to bruise.

He stops, albeit for a second or two, to roll you over on your back and spread your legs. He hooks your legs over his broad shoulders and pushes back into you, creating a completely different sensation. It feels like he’s going even deeper like this. With your legs pressed beside your head, your eyes roll back in pleasure and your face contorts. Loud sobs fall from your lips as he thrusts into you, leaving bitemarks all over you from your neck to your breasts.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” he growls, hungrily nursing on one of your breasts and biting at the soft flesh.

“N-No! no, no, no, please—” you scream and beg, frantically gripping him and dragging your nails along his back, deep enough to draw little pin pricks of blood. “If you cum in me, I’ll—!”

And with that, you feel thick, hot ropes of his cum burst inside of you, filling you up to the brim with his potent seed. A loud, deep grunt leaves him through gritted teeth, squeezing the flesh of your legs so hard it hurts. You can feel him filling up your uterus, it’s so much, way too fucking much. Once he pulls out, his seed comes gushing out, a mixture of his cum and your slick dripping down onto the grass beneath you. You whimper and sob incoherently, eyes rolled back and face wet with tears and saliva.

Todo leans back to admire the mess he’s made out of you, lazily watching his load drip out of your demolished pussy. He grins proudly, looking over at your fucked-out face that’s wet with tears. Without the shadow his large frame cast over you, the moonlight illuminates your body. Damn, you look so beautiful like this. He’d almost feel bad, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re his little prey.

You’re practically passed out, literally fucked stupid and unresponsive. Your body twitching, broken whimpers falling from your lips. Todo leans over you and licks the hickeys on your neck, the ones he planted there. He’s claimed you, marked you as his forever.

He’ll make sure you remember that.

#—my writing.#—nsfw.#—fic.#tw ; cnc #tw ; dubcon #aoi todo x reader #todo x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk smut

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maggies-scribblings · 3 years

Text

Yarning For Her

Adrien is smitten with the girl who's always been there, in the row behind him. But when his plans to ask Marinette out unravel, a secret throws him for a loop…

Written for the Miraculous Writer's Guild April Event 2021: Followers sent five emojis as prompts to the @mlwritersguild Tumblr for the writers to pick one to write for. I chose the emojis sent by @ladycat1: ✨ 😊 👀 👩🏻 🧵

Canon compliant up to Season 4, Episode 4: M. Pigeon 72.

👩🏻

It was finally happening. The event everyone was waiting for… well, everyone except the main protagonist of said event.

Marinette could feel it, though she could hardly believe it. She noticed Adrien looking at her with more intensity, when he thought she wasn’t looking. How he had trouble finding the right words when talking to her. All the tiny gestures of attention, like offering to help with a difficult subject or a complex art project, or praising her outfit every day, even if she’d worn it several times before.

Nino could tell, too: questions about Marinette and her favourite colour, food, flower, or whatever else were whispered in his right ear all day.

Actually, the whole class noticed Adrien’s marked change in behaviour. His cheerful hellos were now stuttered in Marinette’s general direction. His head hid on his shoulders whenever Marinette sighed or yawned, as if his neck couldn’t handle her fresh breaths. Even his athletic skills were now replaced with an unexplained jerkiness. The fact that the weather was warmer and the girls’ gym suits gave way to short shorts and strappy tops might have had something to do with it.

In short, Adrien fell in love with Marinette. Hard.

👀

When it started, Adrien couldn’t exactly tell. Ever since that first day of school, Marinette had held a special space in his heart (most of which had been stolen by Ladybug the previous day). She was one of his first and dearest friends.

But now… after getting to know Marinette, her loving and kind nature, after seeing her helping others without asking for anything back, after finally noticing how pretty she was… he wasn’t so sure.

That day at the pool was definitely a turning point.

First there was that unplanned double dive. During those milliseconds when they were falling, Adrien’s thought process went something like this:

Danger!—Why is Marinette here?—Protect!—Wow, she looks so cute in that swimsuit!

As they hit the water, their arms instinctively reached out to the other as they sank, swirling back up to the surface in a soft embrace — just like that night in New York, when they had danced floating in the air, under the full moon.

And when they were leaving the pool, Adrien was so happy and surprised to see she still had the umbrella he’d given her way back then! Sweet as always, she offered to give it back to him, even though it was raining and she had to walk home.

She was standing next to him (she linked her arm in his!) when that pesky umbrella decided to close on them, and they were pulled even closer for a few seconds. Very close. He could smell the chlorine in her hair mixed with the scent of sweets that always surrounded her. He thought he felt her heart beating faster and faster. Maybe it wasn’t. His heart certainly was. He could feel her warm breath through his shirt, and it drove him a little crazy.

When they said goodbye that day, he could hardly take his eyes off her. He even bumped his head on the car door frame. Ladies and gentlemen, here’s the charming, elegant model Adrien Agreste, unable to enter a car (come to think of it, he seemed to have a bit of a problem with doors whenever Marinette was around).

✨

The few weeks that went by did nothing to sort out Adrien’s feelings about the two black-haired girls in his life. His days were mortifying, his nights restless. On one such night, Adrien tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn’t come. The full moon and bright stars shining through the window frames painted his room with grid patterns, a constant reminder of his confined life.

Adding to that, his mind was racing with memories of his (now frequent) clumsiness and embarrassment at school. He recalled the fumble of the day: going into the classroom while trying to look cool, he managed to snag his bag strap on the door handle, causing him to jerk back and hit the ground on his butt in front of the whole class.

Adrien groaned and turned again. Worst thing was, he had no idea how she felt for him. She kept sending mixed signals. Her behaviour towards him wasn’t as weird as it had been, but that didn’t mean a lot. He’d even asked her a couple of times. He remembered the time they visited the wax museum, when she said she didn’t like him like that.

“What’s the matter, kid?” Plagg yawned from his side of the pillow, annoyed by his bearer’s restlessness. “Who is it this time? Spots or bakery girl?”

Adrien didn’t bite, going back into his musings instead.

His mind turned to Ladybug… These days, Spots occupied a much smaller part of his thoughts. He still got the occasional butterflies in his stomach when he saw her, or when she praised him and his humour. She would always be his first love, and not an easy girl to forget… but she was right, of course — she was always right — as long as they had enemies, they couldn’t reveal their identities, much less deepen their relationship. Back when Bunnyx first showed up, they found out that there would be a new Hawkmoth and countless akumas in the future, and who knew when that would end?

Plagg was still grumbling about sleep and cheese. Adrien playfully flicked his kwami’s ear.

“Shut up, Plagg! I’m trying to sleep!”

“Very unsuccessfully, I might say,” Plagg flew out of his reach. “You sighed four-hundred and fifty-eight times in the last hour.”

“Come on… can’t you see I’m in turmoil here?” Adrien turned his back to the kwami. It was no use arguing with a deity, no matter how minuscule.

“Four-hundred and fifty-ni—” Plagg’s teasing was interrupted by a pillow hitting him.

😊

This wouldn’t do. Adrien couldn’t stand his own indecisiveness any more. He decided to ask Marinette out, that very day. After a reviving shower, he got dressed and looked in the mirror. The dark circles around his eyes were evident, but he hated wearing concealer to school. He might as well add a couple of details to his usual get-up: a pair of Gabriel’s new collection sunglasses and his favourite blue scarf.

He arrived at school early, and while most of the class was either chatting in the courtyard or going into the classroom, Marinette was nowhere to be seen. Adrien went into the locker room, and lurked behind the last row of lockers while students got in, got their things and left.

Finally, the hurricane that was late-for-class-Marinette thundered in, scolding herself for oversleeping as she got her books for the morning. When she closed the door, there was Adrien, leaning against the cabinets with his best Chat Noir smirk as he looked over the rim of his sunglasses and greeted her.

“Good morn—”

He didn’t have time to finish his line, as a very startled Marinette squeaked and grabbed his free arm to spin him around and pin him to the lockers with an elbow to his throat.

It took a few moments for Adrien realise exactly what had happened, before she released her hold.

“I’m sorry, I… panicked,” Marinette said, as she stepped back and continued to gesticulate wildly and mumble more awkward apologies.

Still frozen in place, Adrien managed to adjusted his crooked sunglasses.

“Marin—” he had to clear his throat. “No, I— It’s o-ow!”

Adrien tried and failed to step forward, as he heard a ripping sound — his scarf was caught in Marinette’s locker, and the momentum slammed him back into the metal doors with a loud bang.

The proverbial stars that blurred his vision cleared up to show Marinette very close to him, fumbling with the lock to release the scarf.

“Sorry, so sorry, I’m such a klutz!”

“It’s okay, no harm do—”

Adrien stopped talking when he saw that the scarf had a large rip, disappointment obvious upon his face.

“Oh no!” Marinette covered her mouth as she saw the damage. “Your scarf! I ruined it!”

At this point, Adrien would usually smile and say something like ‘it’s okay’ or ‘no worries’, but he couldn’t lie: he really loved that scarf. It was his favourite colour, warm and cosy, yet light enough to wear on a spring day, and a rare thoughtful gift from his father. He pouted a little as his fingers traced the tear.

“I can fix it!”

He lifted his eyes to Marinette as she got on her tiptoes to unwind the scarf from his neck.

“I can make it look as good as new. I know you’re worried, after all it’s your dad’s birthday gift,” she rambled as she delicately folded it, “but I have leftover yarn— I mean, I think I have the same colour, and it’s a simple pattern.”

There was something odd about the way she worded that, but Adrien dismissed it. He must have made a weird face, because now she had a concerned expression.

“I mean, if you trust me with it… I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t after I destroyed it. ”

“No—I mean, don’t be silly, it was an accident… I shouldn’t have sneaked up on you like that!” He managed a relieved little smile. “Still, my father might be upset if he saw I ripped it. Are you sure you can fix it?”

Marinette’s eyes averted his for a moment, as she returned the folded up scarf.

“I’ll do my best! I’m not a pro like your father, but I’m sure I can make it as good as new in no time at all!”

They agreed to go to Marinette’s place after school so that she could start working on it right away, then ran off to class as the second bell rang.

Not exactly the way I planned it, Adrien thought as he scrambled onto his seat, but I guess it worked!

🧵

Adrien reclined in the chaise-longue and looked around Marinette’s bedroom. It was the total opposite of his, huge and aseptic and cold. On the contrary, these walls had warm colours and pictures everywhere, and it smelled amazing, fruity shampoo mixed with glue and ink from her many design projects, mixed with sweets from the bakery, and everything about it was so welcoming and cosy and so… Marinette.

“Yes!” Her delighted voice interrupted his reveries. “I knew I still had it!”

Adrien chuckled as he saw Marinette triumphantly holding a ball of light blue yarn, then get several needles from her yarn basket and sit at her sewing station to start working. He switched seats to her desk chair and rolled close to her.

“Can I help?”

“Sure! Let me just…”

Marinette picked up a long, thin knitting needle and started to thread it on the scarf, just above the tear. She was so concentrated and her movements so careful and precise, she might as well be defusing a bomb. Adrien noticed her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth and wondered what her kisses would taste like.

“There. I have the brakes on, now let’s get going.”

Marinette found the end stitch at the corner of the scarf and cut it. Giving Adrien the end of the yarn, she continued.

“Hold this. Make a ball while I unravel it.”

“Huh? Un-what?” Much as Adrien trusted her skills, he panicked. “Won’t you make it worse?”

“No, because I’m holding the knitting with this,” she pointed at the longer needle she had threaded through the scarf.

Marinette turned her chair, so they were sitting face to face, knees almost touching, and started to quickly unravel the bottom part of the scarf, while he rolled up the thread in a ball, both enjoying the comfortable silence. He noticed a small piece of fabric falling from one of the edges and bent down to pick it up.

“What’s this?” Adrien thought out loud while examining it.

As soon as Marinette lifted her eyes from her work and saw what he was holding, her eyes went wide and her cheeks red.

“Oh, it’s nothing—” she tried unsuccessfully to snatch the fabric from his hand. “Probably just the washing inst—”

It was not an ordinary washing instructions tag. It was tiny and had been woven into the knitting, so discreetly he’d never noticed it before. He turned the fabric over to see a recognisable signature.

Marinette

“Wait— you made this?” Adrien picked up the other end of the scarf from her lap and examined like he’d never seen it before. “Wha—? How? D-did my father buy it off your website?”

So that’s why she was so confident about fixing it. He searched Marinette’s face for an explanation, but she just shook her head and kept looking down, unravelling the loops one by one.

“No— of course not— your site wasn't set up back then, we only took those photos later…”

Adrien thought back to the time Nathalie handed him the present, neatly packed in a box with a ribbon. He’d never seen that kind of care in his father’s presents, just standard gift bags with expensive pens, straight from a corporate catalogue. His train of thought was broken by a couple of tears falling on his hands.

“Marinette…” he murmured, lifting her chin to look into her misty eyes. “Did you make this for me?”

She nodded with a tiny smile. He moved his hand from her chin to cup her cheek, wiping her tears with his thumb.

“Was this supposed to be your present for me?” Another nod. “How did this mess happen then?”

“I…” Marinette had to clear her throat and finally looked at him. Something in her eyes changed from avoidance to determination. “I wanted to give it to you personally, but I couldn’t gather the nerve… then one thing led to another, and I left it in your house, and I even signed it, but…” she shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just… couldn’t. You were so happy with the present from your dad. I couldn’t ruin it for you.”

Adrien made a mental note to find out exactly what had happened, then set all his negative feelings aside. His heart was too full of love to think about anything other than the girl in front of him.

“Oh, Marinette…” he softly chided as he hugged her. How could this girl be so selfless, on top of everything else? She cared for him, really cared for him, even back then. “I wish you’d told me.”

He released the hug and pulled her closer, into his lap. Marinette set the scarf on the sewing table and put her arms around his neck. Her tears were gone and a hint of a smile played on her lips.

“That way,” Adrien caressed her nose with his, “I would have thanked you properly.”

“Oh yeah?” Marinette breathed, her lips very close to his. “You can thank me now.”

They closed the distance between them, their lips melding into a sweet kiss, then another, and then a few more. Adrien’s heart was beating so fast he could hardly bear it. Then he remembered he should probably breathe at some point.

“Wow.”

“If that’s the way you thank a person for a present, I’ll start giving them more often,” Marinette joked.

“Not anyone.” He pecked her lips. “Only you.”

They kissed again, this time more passionately. He kissed her eyes, the tip of her nose, her forehead, her neck, then back up to her lips…

The scarf was left forgotten on the sewing table. It could wait a few more hours before repairing.

Fin

Thanks to @hari-writes and @deinde-prandium for the beta read! ❤️

Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. English is not my first language and I tend to use UK English. If you catch any inconsistencies, please let me know.

My AO3. My Twitter. My Instagram.

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usergreenpixel · 3 years

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JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 7: SCARAMOUCHE (1921)

Hello, Citizens, and welcome to the seventh meeting of our lovely Convention!

I deeply appreciate your wishes for my speedy recovery and I assure you that I’m right as rain.

So, with that out of the way, let us begin.

1. Introduction

“Scaramouche” is a historical fiction novel written by Rafael Sabatini, who might be familiar to some of you via works like “Captain Blood”, which was among my favorite novel series when I was growing up as I’ve always loved (and still love) me a good swashbuckling story and I never quite grew out of these tastes in literature.

In the case of this novel, it never was a blip on my radar when I was a kid but my renewed interest in the French Revolution and my research of topics for future reviews led me to this story. Apparently there’s a sequel and I might review it in the future.

I found the ebook readily available in English on Project Gutenberg so it’s pretty much in public domain now.

I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that there’s a swashbuckling novel set in Frev - the setting is like a perfect fertile soil for external and internal conflicts, adventures and drama, so it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an adventure novel in this setting.

That being said, at first I had quite a few fears that this book would be just another propaganda piece, especially since the author was technically Anglophone.

Did my fears come true? Let’s find out.

2. The Summary

The story’s protagonist is one André-Louis Moreau - a ward and godson to a Breton nobleman and a lawyer by education who swears revenge on a Marquis who kills his friend in a duel.

To escape the gallows after landing himself in hot water for igniting the fire of revolution in Rennes and Nantes, André-Louis joins a troupe of traveling actors and performs as a character called Scaramouche, hence the title.

3. The Story

Like I said, I have a soft spot for swashbuckling novels so I actually quite enjoyed reading the book. And, on a pleasantly surprising note, the revolution is NOT demonized. If anything, the protagonist actually becomes an idealistic republican by the end, which is a really uncommon narrative choice in Frev media.

The narrative clearly portrays the nobility as too privileged and corrupt and the people are in the right - at least, this is what the protagonist understands during his arc.

There’s also not that much Thermidorian bullshit, at least no popular stereotypes, which I really appreciate.

That being said, I do have three main issues with the story.

Firstly, sometimes there’s too much filler and it feels like the narrative is barely dragging along, which got tiresome at times.

Secondly, I didn’t like the romantic subplot between André and the niece of his godfather, Aline. For context, the two were childhood playmates and grew up referring to each other as cousins, only to fall in love as adults.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find romance between family members (no matter how honorary) gross even if there are no shared genes involved. I know cousin marriages were more common in the past but personally I think the novel would’ve benefited from Aline and André only sharing a platonic bond and familial love.

(Spoiler alert!)

Thirdly, I highly doubt the “I’m your father” twist was necessary here as I usually dislike such plot points because they’re hard to do right.

Here there was no proper building up to the revelation, at least in my opinion, and the twist itself can (and most likely will) seem predictable to modern audiences.

However, it was resolved in a fairly realistic way. Marquis de la Tour and André don’t immediately reconcile just because they’re father and son but André calls off his revenge quest, grants the Marquis a safe passage out of the country and doesn’t want to see him again, which is understandable considering their prior enmity.

On that note, let’s take a closer look at the characters.

4. The Characters

Right off the bat, the biggest issue the modern readers might have is that the characters are too “black and white”. In the era of “grey morality” and complex characters, these archetypes might come off as done to death and boring but, other than that, the characters were mostly easy to empathize with.

Personally, I didn’t like André himself in the beginning but he grew on me.

He starts off as a stoic almost to the point of coldness, a cynic and a borderline nihilist who believes fighting against the noble class is futile and there’s no point in trying to improve the country.

But when his idealistic best friend is killed, André vows to take the Marquis down by using the volatile revolutionary climate to his advantage. Slowly, André too becomes a revolutionary and an idealist, which is admittedly rare as usually people in stories become cynical by the end.

Seeing this character ark but played in reverse felt quite refreshing to me so even though at times André’s sarcasm and stoic attitude made him insufferable, I think he is pretty well-written and fleshed out as a protagonist.

Next is Aline, and unfortunately she is underdeveloped in the novel, more so than a female lead should be. She is ambitious, which makes her consider marrying the Marquis, prejudiced against actors due to her upbringing and in general is a typical noble ingenue.

Her and André are playfully witty at times and verbally cruel to each other at others and, unfortunately, they suffer from the “misunderstanding” trope which makes them unable to talk things out. I always find this trope annoying and, coupled with prejudice and not being fleshed out enough, it played into my apathy for Aline as a character.

Then there’s Marquis de la Tour, the typical privileged corrupt noble. He loves women, is a master of fencing and has no heart. André even calls him the embodiment of sin various times.

I know despicable people can and do exist, but here it seemed like he was made a bit too evil, to the point of being simply cartoonish and hard to perceive as a threat or, for that matter, take seriously.

At least he wasn’t threatening for me personally as a character and was more amusing than anything else.

Interestingly enough, historical figures don’t feature much in the story but we do get cameos of Marat, Danton, Robespierre and Desmoulins, as well as Mirabeau.

Mirabeau is called a hypocrite by the author but the other four, surprisingly, aren’t portrayed as evil villains. Marat is even called a philanthropist and his pamphlets inspire André! How rare is that, Citizens?!

Anyway, let’s continue.

5. The Setting

Although at times the text is overloaded with descriptions, all of them were vivid enough for me to imagine myself in the story with the characters.

Sabatini sure knows how to convey the images of villages, cities, nature, inns, etc in an exciting and engaging manner. I just wish that the descriptions were a bit shorter.

6. The Writing Style

Seeing as the novel was published in 1921 and I’m pretty good at English, I didn’t have many problems with reading but there were some outdated grammatical structures and vocabulary so be prepared.

Besides, in the version I read didn’t have translations of French and Latin phrases that occasionally pop up in the text, which was a bit annoying but not that much as I could understand the context of the phrases and therefore figure out what they mean more or less.

In general though, despite occasional overload of descriptions and the aforementioned grievances I have with the text, the writing style is engaging, very easy to understand and not too complex.

7. The Conclusion

In short, I can definitely recommend this novel to anyone who loves good swashbuckling stories and hates propaganda. Not the most original story but enjoyable and a good read regardless.

With that, I announce the end of the meeting. Stay tuned for updates and stay safe, Citizens!

Love,

- Citizen Green Pixel

#french revolution #frev #history #maximilien robespierre #jacobin fiction convention #robespierre #frev art #frev propaganda #frev literature #camille desmoulins #georges danton #scaramouche #rafael sabatini #jean paul marat

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gracestone · 2 years

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HSMTMTS Rewatch Thoughts | 1x01

I'm doing a rewatch with @scorpiospectrum at the moment, and I wanted to make a series of posts with all new observations that come up during our rewatch. It'll likely be very Portwell/core four focussed, since they're my favourite characters, but it won't just be limited to that. It really just depends on what stands out on this particular rewatch. With that introduction out of the way, let's dive into my thoughts on 1x01 "The Auditions"!

PORTWELL'S INTRODUCTION

If you pay close attention to Nini and Kourtney's scene, you'll notice that we're introduced to EJ and Gina at the same time:

If you can't spot Gina, pay attention to the people behind Kourtney when Nini hands her the phone.

The way we're introduced to both of them is actually very fitting for how they are viewed by the world around them at that point in their lives. EJ, who presents this perfect image of himself to the world, is introduced to us through Nini and Kourtney talking about him while looking at a shirtless photo of him. Instead of an introduction that focusses who EJ really is, we're introduced to him through other people's perception of him. And that perception of the perfect boyfriend/student/person is something he desperately tried to maintain, as we learn later on in the show, but it isn't true to who he really is and wants to be.

Gina, on the other hand, is physically present in this scene, but you wouldn't notice her on first watch unless you were specifically looking for her. She's like a background extra, walking by while we're being introduced to Ricky and Nini's dynamic (and their respective dynamics with Big Red and Kourtney). Which is probably how she's felt her entire life: like an extra in someone else's story. A person no one would remember if she were out of sight. She can't allow herself to get attached to people anymore because she's moved so often, so instead she tries to make her mark by being the best at everything. She's also become very observant, as we can see in this scene. Already she's taking notes in the drama between Ricky and Nini, which helps her in her scheming later on.

RINI AND THE INCITING INCIDENT

Before I go into this, let me give you a definition of the inciting incident. Skill Share defines it as:

"Inciting incidents are key plot points that interrupt (and usually upturn) the life of the protagonist. The clue is really in the word “inciting,” meaning to encourage or stir up. It’s the moment in the story where everything changes for the main character and sets them on their journey that will take place throughout the rest of the tale. From this point onward, the protagonist has a mission that takes them away from their normal life, with the inciting incident providing the catalyst for driving the action that follows."

With that in mind, let's look at the inciting incident of HSMTMTS. With the way the show combines the Rini flashback and the Rini break up, I think it's fair to say that these both serve as the inciting incident, since the flashback is what set Nini on a new path while the present day scene is what made Ricky change course. Those two scenes serve as the start of their respective character arcs (and influence everything else that happens in this show, as it leads to Ricky auditioning for HSM).

In the flashback, Nini feels safe enough with Ricky to 1) put herself out there as a songwriter and 2) to tell him how she feels about him. She's in a comfortable and safe space, one that she's known most of her life. We can call this space "the old", for simplicity's sake. And what happens? She gets burned by the old. After she shows Ricky the video and tells him she loves him, he doesn't tell her that he loves her too. Instead, he tells her "that's a really big thing to post online", which probably plays into Nini's feeling that "being heard feels off limits to her" (her grandma talks about that with her in this episode). Without meaning to, Ricky probably made one of Nini's biggest insecurities a little worse. Because it'd hit hard to hear from someone you love that you probably shouldn't write songs about how you feel and post those online. Ricky then tells her that they should take a break since she'll be at camp for a month and takes off, leaving Nini devastated.

That's the moment Nini's life changes. She leaves the old behind entirely and goes to a new place with new people. There, she meets and falls for EJ, who encourages her and praises her talent. And she gets to play the lead in the musical. Finally, she's being seen and heard, and it's all based on her own talent. Or so she thinks at the time, anyways. Nini has grown up with a grandmother who left her old life in the Philipines behind to start completely fresh in the US. And now Nini herself has been burned by the old, while the new has helped her find her become more confident and believe in herself a little more. As she tells Ricky later in the episode, she found herself. Of course we know it's not as simple as that and that Nini still has a long way to go in figuring out who she is and who she wants to be, but this does indicate that the flashback is her inciting incident.

Ricky, on the other hand, didn't really see how much the flashback moment changed his life until he saw Nini again at school. His life fully changes when she breaks up with him after telling him that she's met someone new. He's already going through a change that feels negative to him with his parents, and now there's another change that once again impacts him negatively. Only this time, it's his own relationship, and the only one who can fix it is him. This scene makes Ricky yearn for the old all the more, but it also pushes him forward into the new. Against his will, but it still leads him to audition for the musical and start exploring his own love for music. However, he's not yet ready to see how this change is a good thing. He's still to focussed on how these relationship changes have negatively impact his life. He even asks Big Red why things have to change a bit later in the episode, which is a clear sign to the audience that change is something Ricky struggles with.

So both the flashback and the present day break up scenes act as the inciting incident and set Rini, our two main characters, on a new path to self-discovery. In addition, they create the dichotemy in Ricky and Nini's relationship with change: Ricky strives to fix the old, while Nini only has eyes for the new. I really like how the show set up that conflict between them so early on in the episode and how we then dive into why they already had differing relationships with change later on in this episode (for Ricky) and in later episodes this season (for Nini).

RICKY AND HIS PARENTS' RELATIONSHIP

Another thing that I think this episode sets up really well is how Mike and Lynne's relationship issues negatively affects Ricky. And more specifically, how it impacts his relationship with Nini. When we first see the Rini flashback, it cuts off after Ricky's "oh". We're left thinking that he simply didn't say "I love you" back, and that's what caused Ricky and Nini to break up. Throughout the episode, we're told that Lynne is in Chicago because she doesn't want to be around Mike and that Ricky thinks his dad should fight harder to save their relationship. As soon as he voices that in his testimonial, he realises that he should be fighting just as hard to save his relationship with Nini. Even later in the episode, we learn that this isn't the only moment in which Ricky compares his parents' relationship with his and Nini's. Ricky's mom was already in Chicago when the flashback took place, and the tension that Ricky has felt between his parents leading up to this flashback is what causes him to shut down. Because Nini leaving for camp reminds him of his mom leaving:

They use "out of town" for both of these lines, with the first being about Nini and the second about Lynne. That similar phrasing is meant to draw our attention to this, and make us realise that Ricky is trying to prevent himself from getting hurt the same way his dad is hurting right now. But by trying to prevent a repeat of what happened between his parents, he actually causes the rift between himself and Nini. Because they're not like his parents, and their situations aren't comparable. Already, Mike/Lynne is positioned as a foil for Rini.

NINI'S ARC

The set-up for Nini's arc about self-confidence is done really nicely. I especially love how her conversation with her grandmother voices Nini's insecurities and how the next two seasons slowly work on her overcoming those insecurities:

I also like how the hand touch between Nini and her grandmother is paralleled in the 2x12 Nini and Gina scene, in which Gina gives Nini an opportunity to have her voice heard. And at this point in time, that doesn't feel off-limits to Nini anymore.

RINI PARALLELS AND CALLBACKS

Two Rini stood out to me as being relevant for later episodes. First, there's Nini calling her romance with EJ a showmance to Ricky in their first scene. That's something Ricky references in 1x10, when he tells Nini that he doesn't want them to just be a showmance. EJ and Nini didn't last, and that's not what Ricky wants to happen to him and Nini. He wants the real thing with her.

And second, there's Nini saying that this break-up is a fresh start for herself and Ricky, and that everyone's on the same page. As the next shot emphasizes, Ricky very much wasn't on the same page. But that "same page" phrasing is used again in 2x12, when Ricky and Nini are literally and metaphorically on the same page, in terms of their break-up and what they are to each other. The love is still there, but neither of them is currently trying to get back together. In fact, both are trying to move forward in their own ways.

SHORTER THOUGHTS/NOTES:

Ricky's "Today is the day we start over" has the same doomed energy as him saying "I'm never going to break up with Nini again" in 2x01 😂 But on a more serious note, it does foreshadow how he and Nini do indeed start over that day, because they're both forced out of their comfort zones and are put on a journey to finding who they are. And ultimately, that'll allow them to start over together the right way.

Principal Gutierrez announces that seniors are now allowed to wear baseball hats on Fridays. In 2x02, we see EJ wear a baseball hat in the cafeteria. Love that continuity!

Love Miss Jenn's "This show could change your lives." line! Because it's so true: doing HSM changed all of these Wildcats for the better. I also like how the reaction shot to that line is focussed on Nini, Kourtney, and Gina, starting on Nini and Kourtney sitting together and then shifting the focus to Gina. Little does Gina know just how true that will be for her.

EJ's first testimonial is all about how he spotted Nini's talent two years ago when she was playing the back end of the cow in Gypsy. Already we're seeing how EJ has an eye for talent, and how he could make a great director or producer!

Nini spending two days in her room after her breakup with Ricky is very similar to Ricky's behaviour in 2x09 post-break up.

It always throws me off that Carlos isn't wearing glasses in this ep while Seb is, and how that switches in 1x02. Seb at least mentions that he only wears glasses when he's milking the cows, but it's still an odd change. I'd love to know why this changed between episodes.

Nini's "Could you stop tempting fate?" line to EJ before their auditions reminded me a lot of how EJ became so terrified to tempt fate in S2 after everything he tried to do backfired on him. To the point that he didn't dare call his date with Gina a date.

Instead of just having Nini watch EJ from the curtains during his audition, they chose to have both Nini and Gina in that position. Already, there's a bit of focus on Portwell.

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