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abbyromanoff · 10 months

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i have an idea/request!

could be series worthy, who knows

but basically, if you’ve watched purple hearts on netflix, i’m kind of thinking about type of storyline where g!p nat is (kind of) in luke’s position and y/n in cassie’s position (both of the character’s backstory can be changed) but yk, i was just thinking about military!natty and how hot she would look wearing a military uniform 😋

HEART TO HEART

PAIRINGS: Natasha Romanoff x reader

WORD COUNT: 2168

WARNINGS: angst, small smut near the end, fluff, Nat is in the military, mentions of death, arranged marriage, money problems, miscommunications, think that’s all!

NO ONE IS PERMITTED TO STEAL, COPY, OR REBLOG MY WORK AS THEIR OWN!!

“Look, I don’t understand why you care so much, we both knew this day would come and besides, this was supposed to be an arranged marriage, we aren’t meant to actually fall in love.” Nat argued, turning to look at your saddened state with guilt hidden in her features. The two of you had only known each other for a few months after you had gotten married. Neither of you had wanted to, but your parents made sure that you both knew it was needed.

She was going into the military, a dream of hers since she was a little girl watching action movies with her dad. She had been struggling with finances for years, and so was her family. And in hopes of caring for both herself and her loved ones, she needed the benefits of joining the army, but that was only achievable with marriage.

You had come from a well-financed family, but that didn’t mean they were willing to hand you money whenever you asked. While trying to reach your goal of becoming a singer and songwriter, it had cost you loads of checks with no return. You were barely making it by every week with your part-time job and needed money quickly. Your parents offered a suggestion, and at first, you thought it may be a good idea, that was until now.

It would be a platonic marriage and once it was no longer needed, you’d depart with a divorce signing, a possibility of remaining friends or forgetting each other’s existence. But it didn’t go as planned, you felt wrong for trying to go on dates or sleep with others, and you’d dream of your wife on the regular. It wasn’t hard to fall for her, she was a respectful woman with dreams of meeting another similar to her and becoming a family man. Not to mention her beauty was beyond imaginable, you were star-struck the moment you laid eyes on her.

“You think I don’t know that, Nat? Do you think I wanted this? To fall in love with you when I’m not supposed to even sleep in the same bed as you?” While the suit she wore made her look even more attractive, it only pained you to know she’d be wearing that as she left to risk her life for the ones who didn’t even know of her name.

“I can’t help how I feel, Natasha. I know this is your dream and I love that for you, I do. But, I- I just don’t want to lose you, I don’t think I could handle it.” She sighed and averted her eyes to the wooden floor, quiet sniffles being heard from your end. You suddenly felt arms being wrapped around your body in an attempt at a hug and you graciously accepted it, knowing whose warmth it was.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” She whispered into your shoulder as her hat poked your head. Truth be told, you weren’t the only one feeling this way. She had tried hiding it in hopes you wouldn’t pick up on it, and you didn’t, you were too busy worrying about your own feelings that you hadn’t even considered hers.

She was hoping that this marriage wouldn’t have to end or else she’d have to learn to live without you again. She hadn’t feared the thought of death before you came into her life, now she feared losing you more than anything.

“I’m sorry-”

“No, no, don’t apologize, Y/N. I understand, okay? I’m not mad at you, I could never be.” She interrupted, mumbling her sweet words into your neck. She was able to catch a small whiff of your perfume, and she could suddenly remember the time you begged her to take you to the store and help you pick out a new fragrance. After nearly an hour of searching, she chose this one, and you had worn it every day since.

“I don’t think I’d be able to handle hearing that you…that you died without getting to tell you how I truly feel.” She nodded, letting you continue on. Her heart felt like it was ripping when you stuttered over your words, your weakness on display. You were never one to show it, but you couldn’t stop the shake in your voice or the tears on your cheeks.

“I know, baby, I know.” The name brought a small crack of a smile to your lips, but it soon faded when you were brought back to the remembrance of where you were. She was set to leave in less than an hour, and you didn’t know if this would be your last hour with her.

“I- I need to go, I’m going to be late if I don’t leave.” You quickly rushed to tighten your hands around her when feeling hers start to loosen.

“No, no, no, please. Please don’t leave me here, Natty.” She wanted more than nothing to listen to you and stay, but her hopes and dreams were coming into play and so were the lives of many, she couldn’t ruin this opportunity.

“I have to, Y/N, I don’t have a choice.” You understood, you did, but your heart and mind were at a battle. Your mind was telling you to force her to stay, live your life happily and tell her how you feel, but your heart was telling you to let her go, that you were being selfish trying to ruin her dreams when she only supported yours. You always told her to follow her heart, and you knew you had to take your own advice.

“I know, I know you don’t. God, I- I’m sorry, I just- I don’t think I can see my life without you now. All I see when I look into the future is you, and I don’t want to lose you, I can’t. I really can’t, Nat.” She wanted to tell you everything, that she felt the same, but there was no time. If she didn’t leave she’d risk everything, she’d risk her job that she went through so much mental and physical pain to have.

“I love you, lyubov moya. (my love)” That was the last time you heard her voice in what felt like years. You weren’t able to handle the pain of living in the house that carried so many memories in it, so you made the tough decision to move out. The house was still in her name, and you continued to pay for as many bills as it required, even while still struggling to pay for your own.

It took eight months and twenty-six days before Nat was able to return, she counted each day. You were on her mind the entire time. When she had gotten badly hurt on a mission, the unbearable pain causing her to wish for death, she thought of you. She thought of everything you had together, how she wouldn’t be able to confess if she didn’t make it.

At the same time, she worried you moved on, found someone new and started a life with them that she would only be able to dream of having. Would you be able to move on this quickly? She knew that if you truly did love her as much as you said, you wouldn’t be able to, and she didn’t want you to. But another part of her wished you would, she wanted you to find peace and happiness, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to give you that.

Every day that she could, she’d write you letters. She wasn’t able to call or text you as she was told, so she’d pick up a pen and write paragraphs on end about how much she missed you. She could only hope you read or even received them.

She came home today, and hearing the complete silence in her home brought tears of anguish. All she wanted was to be greeted by you, but she was guessing you had left her, maybe even for good. There was a pile of sealed letters on the doorstep and she realized they were the ones she sent without knowing of your new address. She felt ashamed, embarrassed to have sent all of those with the thought that you’d read them and realize she still thought of you every damn day. But you didn’t know, you were left clueless to her love. She needed to change that.

You heard a knock on your apartment door as you finished brushing your teeth and were about to grab a glass of water. You furrowed your brows in confusion before slowly walking to the door, you never had guests, especially at this hour. You looked through the peephole and stepped back at what you saw, or who you saw.

Nat heard a rushing of locks unlocking and smiled to herself, you knew she was home. You opened the door and hurriedly let your arms wrap around her in a hug, finally feeling her warm embrace after so long. The emptiness in your heart was slowly being filled the longer you held onto her.

“Hello, detka. (baby)” Her eyelids squeezed shut as her arms held the same tightness around your body as yours did to her, she was too afraid to let you go.

“When did you get home?” She finally leaned back, resting her forehead against yours gently as her hand moved to cup your cheek.

“Just a few hours ago, you were the first person I wanted to see.” You smiled before your eyes drifted to notice the cardboard box sitting on the ground next to her. She looked in that direction and chuckled to herself before explaining.

“I wrote to you every day that I could. I didn’t know you moved so I sent them to the house, I thought I’d bring them in case you, I don’t know, wanted to look at them or something.” She hesitantly spoke, fear of rejection scorching through her. She didn’t know why she was so afraid, it was you, after all, and she didn’t fear anything when she was with you.

“Oh, Nat, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry.” She shushed you and moved her other hand to your face, cupping both of your cheeks and having you look at her.

“Shh, don’t apologize, I’m not upset with you. If anything, I’m more upset with myself.”

“You did nothing wrong, nothing at all.” She looked down suddenly, shuffling her feet nervously.

“I’m sorry for leaving that day. I wanted to stay, I wanted to tell you everything, and I wish I did. That’s why I wrote all these letters in hope that you’d realize I feel the same. I love you, Y/N. I love you more than anything in this world, and I think I always have.” She was swapping her gaze between your eyes and lips, and you knew that if you didn’t make the move, she never would. So, you leaned in closer, letting your mouth press into hers as you sank into the feeling of her plump lips. You were standing on your tiptoes to reach her height, and you reached up to pull her hat off of her head, letting your fingers run through her hair as you pulled her further into you. Her body pressed against yours as she grinned into the kiss, her tongue poking your lips and exploring your mouth when you granted her access. She was desperate to feel you in any way that you’d let her, and you were on the exact same page.

“I love you so much, Y/N, and every day I regret not telling you that sooner. So, if you’ll let me, I want to make it up to you.” She mumbled when you pulled back to catch your breath. You panted, your chest rising up and down as you admired her in full glory. You weren’t able to take notice of her clothing when you were too busy registering that she was actually here and it wasn't just a dream. But seeing her in the camo pants adorned by a buckled belt and a dark green shirt made you feel things you’ve never felt before she came into your life.

Her hands found their way to the back of your thighs as she lifted you into her hold, your wandering hands stopping at the biceps that flexed under her shirt. You could feel a small tint in her pants and bit your lip as you shuttered. Your hands traveled to the back of her neck as you played with the baby hairs, feeling goosebumps rise to the surface of her soft skin.

“May I?” She walked further into your cheap apartment, and you suddenly felt ashamed at the state of the place. It showed off your struggles in payment, but hidden under that, it showed the reason you were able to meet what you hoped would be the love of your life.

“You may.”

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queen-haq · 10 months

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Fic: Grudgingly Yours (Part 4)

Summary: You are a general surgeon, working in a hospital that’s slowly sucking the life out of you when one day you’re given the offer of a lifetime.

A.K.A - An arranged marriage fic :)

Pairing: Billy Russo x You

Rating: R

Masterlist (contains links to my other stories and this one)

Chapter 4

You bit down on your bottom lip, looking at the project plan for the next few weeks. Ideally you would have loved to open a hospital but that was beyond your current means. As a compromise, you made the decision to go with an urgent care clinic in your childhood neighbourhood. There was a lot of administrative red tape to get through before you could even begin working on your plans and that’s why you’d engaged two of your closest friends for help. Jacintha was a marketing executive for a healthcare company, and Ritu was a financial analyst, and they were the perfect people to guide you towards your goals. The three of you had accomplished what needed to be done today, and were taking a break now.

“Any more pizza left?” Ritu asked.

You peeked through the boxes. “Nah, we finished it all. I can order more?”

“No, I had too much already,” Ritu said, drinking her glass of wine.

Jacintha was scrolling through her phone, her feet up on the couch. “There’s no one here that’s even remotely interesting,” she grumbled. “Everyone’s either ugly or a fuckboy.”

You laughed. While Ritu was happily married, Jacintha was single and on the lookout for fun dates. Except her friend had very high expectations and there weren’t that many men that met her standards. “Maybe you should venture outside Manhattan,” you offered.

“I’d rather shoot myself than date a guy from Jersey.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Hearing Billy’s voice, you turned around to find him standing at the entrance to the room. Dressed casually in a maroon jumper, black jeans and signature leather jacket, he appeared amused as his eyes languidly took in your friends. When you’d seen him earlier today he was heading out with another woman – so why the fuck was he back and interrupting your night?

Irritation surged through you. You’d made up an excuse about Billy being busy when Jacintha had inquired about his whereabouts, but now he was here and that meant you had to put on a show for your friends. “Thought you were gonna be gone all night, honey.”

Both Ritu and Jacintha watched him curiously, with Jacintha taking the lead in approaching him. “Glad you made it home, Billy. Didn’t think we were going to meet you today but I’m glad you’re here.” She reached out to hug him, and you noted how Billy returned the hug with enthusiasm. “I’m Jacintha, Y/N’s would-be maid of honour –“

Ritu scoffed.

“- if you hadn’t gone off and eloped with her,” Jacintha continued, sticking out her tongue at Ritu.

You rolled your eyes, watching as Ritu made her way towards Billy.

“Only way Jas would’ve been maid of honour is if I turned it down.” Ritu extended her hand out to Billy. “Hi, I’m Ritu. And we need the complete story behind this whirlwind romance. Y/N’s being way too tight-lipped about the details.”

His response was a gorgeous smile. “I don’t know what lies she told you, but eloping was her idea not mine.”

What the fuck? Spotting the wicked glint in his eyes, you knew he’d thrown you under the bus on purpose. Asshole!

“Come on, Billy. Don’t lie to my friends,” you teased, sauntering over to where he stood. “They’re gonna think I didn’t have a wedding on purpose.”

Jas frowned. “Did you elope just to get out of picking a maid of honour?”

You put on a fake smile. “Look what you did, sweetheart.”

His voice was nauseatingly sweet. “Just being honest, love.”

“So tell us about yourself, Billy,” Ritu prodded.

“Like you guys didn’t google me?” Billy fired back.

Jaz confronted him with a raised eyebrow. “We did. What we found wasn’t great. Definitely not the kind of guy who deserves Y/N.”

“Okay. That’s enough.” You walked over to Billy and grabbed his hand. “Can we talk alone?”

Dark eyes bore into your soul. “If you insist.”

You dragged him away, leaving your perplexed friends watching after you.

Once inside the spare office room, you closed the door behind. “Why are you here?”

Billy cocked his eyebrow, smirking as he strut toward the couch. Sitting down, he regarded you with amusement. “Last time I checked this is my place.”

“Wrong. It’s your grandfather’s and he gifted it to both of us. So you can shove that bullshit.” You glared at him with hostility. “We had a deal. You stay out of my way when I have people over.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

Exasperated, you crossed your arms. “Do I harass your dates when you bring them home?”

“My dates don’t take over the entire place.”

“Upstairs is your area, downstairs is mine. That was your rule!”

“That Jacintha’s cute.”

Irritation surged through you at the abrupt change in topic. “Don’t hit on my friends.”

He cocked his eyebrow. “Figures you’re the jealous type.”

“I’m not jealous, you moron. I just don’t want you creeping on them.”

“Tell me something. That whole scene during dinner, standing up for me, bitching out the old man, that was all an act, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

He leaned forward. The smile from before was now replaced with a somber look, his dark steely gaze holding you hostage. “You planned it, didn’t you? Plotted with him so you’d look good to me?”

“What makes you think I care enough to do that?” You held his stare, challenging him back. “Whatever issues you have with your family, it’s none of my business. I only stood up for you because I fucking hate bullies. I already told you that. But if you don’t believe me, I don’t give a shit.”

His eyes remained on you, unwavering and hostile, staring at you intently. “Let me see your phone.”

You scowled. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I want to prove something to myself.”

“How’s my phone gonna help with that?”

“Let me worry about it.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

He smiled. “Show me your phone and I’ll keep my distance from your friends. That work for you?”

“Fine.” Taking out your cell from your back pocket, you approached him. You unlocked the screen and handed it to him. “Here. Have your fill.”

You regarded him cautiously while he scrolled through to look for any incriminating conversations between you and Alistair. There would be none, just a whole bunch of missed calls from the old man since the night of the dinner party. And a vague text message where he threatened you.

“You’ve been ignoring his calls. Alistair won’t like that.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“He’s dangerous when he’s crossed. And you pissed him off by standing up for me.”

“I can take care of myself,” you huffed, grabbing your phone back from him.

“You have to be so flippant about everything?” Billy asked.

The fake concern in his tone was infuriating, like he actually cared about you when it was the farthest thing from the truth. “Don’t pretend like you give a shit about me.”

He cocked his eyebrow. “Is that what you think? At least with you I know what I have to deal with. If he takes you down, I have to worry about what he has planned next. That’s the only reason I’m warning you.”

“Whatever.” You slipped your phone back into your pocket. “Now, please get the fuck out.”

“Who’s Calvin?”

You froze. Of course the fucker noticed all the text messages from him. “None of your business.”

A cold smile curved Billy’s lips. “Boyfriend? He seems to be, texts you a lot.”

“You jealous?”

“Keep dreaming, sweetheart.” He leaned forward and picked up a random magazine that was on the coffee table. His voice was casual, deliberately calm when he spoke next. “Just curious about how your boyfriend feels you marrying me for money. Calvin okay with the golddigger lifestyle?”

“He lets me make my own decisions.”

Billy’s voice reeked of sarcasm. “Sounds like a real man.”

“He is.”

Billy scoffed.

“Why are we even talking about this? I don’t butt into your business, do I?”

“Oh, you didn’t tell Gwen we were married?”

You rolled your eyes, remembering the blonde from a few weeks ago. “That was once. You’ve had other women here since then and I haven’t bothered them.”

His intense, lingering stare remained affixed on you, making you feel unexpectedly self-conscious. You were in jeans, an oversized t-shirt, and wearing no make-up. It was supposed to be a casual night in and you’d dressed accordingly, but you weren’t prepared for Billy to give you the kind of look that speared right through to your soul. His stillness made you nervous, making you feel like he was plotting your death or something. You preferred it when he espoused hateful rhetoric instead. “Anything else?” you prodded. “Or can I go back to my friends?”

“Do whatever you want.”

Despite the insolence in his words, his voice was a husky, throaty drawl, smooth like whiskey, like he was trying to seduce.

Or maybe you were just being an idiot.

Without saying anything else, you turned around and walked out.

***

Upon returning to your friends, they surrounded you immediately.

“What’s going on?” Jas asked.

“Nothing,” you replied, trying to maintain your calm exposure.

“You’re lying to us,” Ritu piped up.

You started stacking the empty pizza boxes. “What do you mean?”

“That’s not how newlyweds act!” Jas accused.

“Why? Just because I’m not all over him in front of you guys? That doesn’t prove anything!”

“None of this makes sense. You elope with a guy none of us even knew you were dating, supposedly because the two of you are so madly in love, but that’s not what we saw just now. You guys looked like you hate each other!”

You ran your fingers through your hair. Shit.

“Tell us what’s going on. Are you in trouble?” Ritu asked.

“Whatever it is, just tell us. We’ll help you.”

Guilt surged through you as you stared back at your best friends. They were genuinely concerned and worried about something happening to you, and there you were lying to them. You sighed, taking a seat.

Then you started telling the truth.

***

A week later you walked into the penthouse suite, your feet aching in the stilettos you were wearing. Jas and you had gone out to dinner so she could give you notes on the prenup. Even though you’d reassured her multiple times that your lawyer had vetted it thoroughly and negotiated the best terms for you, she wasn’t convinced and insisted one of her contacts, a prominent divorce attorney, review the details. The lawyer did have some feedback but ultimately agreed it was a good deal. Finally Jas was convinced you hadn’t lost your mind with this deal, and the two of you went clubbing after. You were used to staying up all night from working at the hospital, but the whole heels thing was new to you.

Sighing, you undid the straps and threw the shoes aside, groaning with relief when your feet hit the ground. As you started walking back to your room, you cut through the living room only to find Billy sound asleep. You stopped for a second, simply watching him. Not sure why he was even downstairs, but there he was on the couch, in a black razor tank and jeans, sleeping on his side. There were a couple of empty beer bottles on the coffee table. He was facing you, hair ruffled, eyes closed, one arm tucked under his head and the other splayed on his side. Watching him as he laid there, you had to admit he really was a beautiful man – as long as he kept his mouth shut. You usually liked them stocky and broad-shouldered, gym guys who you knew could lift you without much trouble, but Billy was lean and toned. Not that he wasn’t muscular, he definitely was, but you doubted he could pick you up. Or that he’d want to. You saw the women he slept with, you were definitely not his type. And you had no interest in being one of them.

You sauntered past him and headed for your room.

An hour later you were freshly showered and dressed in a silk robe, eating Greek yogurt in the kitchen to satisfy your late-night hunger cravings when you heard a crash coming from the living room. Worried, you quickly marched towards the noise. Upon entering the room, you found broken glass shards from the beer bottles atop the coffee table and Billy on his knees, one hand gripping the edge of the table while the other was clutching his chest.

His skin was flushed, slick with sweat, eyes stricken with panic. He looked like he couldn’t breathe, as if he was dying.

Immediately you switched to doctor mode. Rushing, you sat down next to him. “Are you hurt? Bleeding? What’s going on? Talk to me,” you ordered, keeping your voice normal and calm so as not to agitate him further. With an expert touch you examined his hands to make sure he didn’t cut himself - he didn’t - and swiped the beads of moisture from his forehead.

His breathing was ragged, he didn’t speak, a wild expression on his face matching the far away look in his eyes, like he was somewhere else at the moment.

You started rubbing his back, hoping the physical contact would tether him to reality. “Billy, you’re fine. You’re okay.” Repeating yourself over and over again, you soothed him, stroking his back, caressing the hair on the nape of his neck, your other hand covering his chest where his heart resided.

It took a while for his heart to return to normal speed. The entire time he was locked in your embrace, pressing into you, squeezing you tightly like his life depended on it.

After a short while, Billy finally spoke. “It’s hot. I’m hot.”

Voice husky, body warm to the touch, you realized he needed some air. “Do you want some water?” You attempted to move away but he grabbed your hand that was on his chest and held it in place.

“No. Just need to take this off.” In one quick gesture he pulled off his tank and threw it aside. You tried not to stare at the wounds on his chest, burn marks and lashings, like he’d been tortured. They were fully healed, a few years old from what you could tell, but the scars remained, forever haunting him. Your heart ached, realizing he must have gone through sheer hell to survive that.

Your fingers caressed his chest. “You should get some sleep.”

Billy finally met your gaze. The emotion in his eyes made your stomach clench with anxiety. There was no anger, no contempt, just raw, stark need for something you didn’t understand. His dark eyes were crystal clear, no cloudiness in them, like he was seeing you for the first time.

And then suddenly he stood and lifted you up, carrying you over to the couch behind you both. He sat back on the cushion, you straddling him, one arm encircling your waist while the other hand fisted the back of your hair.

Eyes locked on one another, breaths trembling, you swallowed audibly as you waited for him to say something, do anything. But he didn’t move, didn’t speak, only watching you.

Minutes passed, every second feeling like an eternity.

Your heart was pounding in your chest, so loud you worried he could hear it. Could he? Could he see how he was affecting you? That your nipples were hard and your pussy wet from grinding down on his jeans? That his heated skin pulsed through you like a vibrator and you felt every brush, every stroke, every touch of his fingers strumming you like a guitar?

You didn’t know why you did it, why your fingers curved around his throat, why the other played with his earlobe. You were teasing him, taunting him, daring him to make a move. To take you.

Electric jolts ran through your body when he unexpectedly moved in closer, the top of his head brushing against your mouth, his lips blowing soft air on your neck as he inhaled you in. “You smell so good.”

Wetness pooled between your legs, your body taut with tension. Your arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, holding on tight. Did he know what he was doing to you? Was it a ploy? How could he sound so desperate and vulnerable and still be playing you?

You didn’t understand, because you couldn’t think. How were you supposed when his erection was nudging your thighs? There was no fucking escape from him, he’d ingrained himself in you completely. Wrapped around every inch of you, next to you, under you, all-consuming solid presence of his body overwhelming all of your senses.

“Will you stay with me?” he whispered, soft, gentle, making your heart pulse the way your body did. “Help me sleep?”

There was nothing else you could say. “Yes.”

You couldn’t turn him down, not the part that was trained to heal patients, nor the woman in you that was utterly exposed to someone who was begging for help.

And so when Billy cradled you in his arms and maneuvered you both to lay down on the couch, his hand squeezing yours as he pressed a warm kiss on your temple, you simply closed your eyes and let the warmth sweep over you.

A/N - Um, thoughts?

#billy russo x reader #billy russo x you #billy russo #ben barnes #the punisher #grudgingly yours

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mdhwrites · 3 months

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Can you explain to me how the Titan enforces Christian Fundamentalism?

The Titan makes the only crime Belos committed be that he was a false prophet. Luz is beyond reproach though because she is a true prophet and a true believer. She is then sent to murder a men, blessed with holy power and strength in her convictions, by that God... And we are supposed to cheer.

This isn't even much of an exaggeration or dramatization. The Titan's answer to Luz's fears about justifying horrible acts in the name of protecting others is essentially this. That Belos' true crime wasn't in wanting to kill, oppress or lie. It's that he did it for selfish, self aggrandizing reasons. That if he'd simply been honest and earnest, he might feel a little bad for a mistake or two here or there, like the Titan is about the Collector, but he would have been entirely justified in his genocide. Just like they are beyond approach for wanting this man dead.

As the show says "He wants to be a hero and have the power," but then Luz comes in, trying to have a badass one liner for her return and even says "Darn it, I still can't think of what to say" which isn't even a reference to an earlier part of the show (I don't think at least). It implies Luz waited to come back when it would be the most dramatic and when she was most ready to look the part of the hero. She even references Azura, the FICTIONAL HERO, in her last speech and goes back to the catchphrase she wanted for a hero just nuking a bitch. She TOOOOTALLY doesn't care about being a hero though and because of that, she's all good to be doing all of this. That's what the Titan claimed at least.

Worse yet is that we only really have the Titan's word for glory and power being all Belos cared about. The fucker spent CENTURIES on the Isles. He deformed his body and probably doesn't believe he'll go to Heaven anymore with how much magic he had to internalize in order to pursue the goal of genocide. Even when alone, with no one to prove anything to, he still talks about saving souls and just needing to survive to do this. He's okay with dying afterwards because he DOESN'T care about the glory. Literally the only time he seems to give a shit about other people's approval and the status this might get him is the Witch Hunter General lines and you know what, I don't think it's entirely unfair for him to hope to get some recognition out of four hundred years of work, even if that work was pure evil. You could maybe say Philip's journal shows a hero complex but A: that still doesn't make his belief in protecting others a lie, just means that he has an ego about it, and B: is from hundreds of years ago and he literally abandoned the journal eventually. Abandoned his own heroic tale. By the finale... His intentions are pure. At bare minimum, that's how they are framed by the show itself with his desperation to do this, even at the cost of ending himself. So why does he deserve to die by the show's logic?

Well... He doesn't. He doesn't even deserve to be stopped because his faith is earnest. Except... It's not the right faith, is it? Belos doesn't believe in magic. Doesn't believe in the Titan. He is a blasphemer and false prophet. But now Luz has actually spoken with the Titan, been friends with his son and spread her ideals across the Isles, ideals which are strictly not the Isle's ways but that do theoretically make the basis of the Titan claiming she's a good witch (which is also referencing Azura potentially). The literal first person we meet on the Isles doesn't give a shit about things like lying, cheating, etc. and the early episodes give the impression that no one here does. That Belos doesn't force conformity on that matter even, making it so that these baseline morals that Luz disagrees with are earnest and honest. And yet, none of them are allowed to stay that way. They all enter her fold and listen to explicitly her morality. A morality that happens to line up with Christian morals and that the Titan seems to approve of.

And again, that's not interpretation. The finale actually straight up confirms this isn't the Isle's morality and REVELS in that fact. Belos begs for his life, saying they are not murderers, scoundrels and killers. That their culture demands better of them because they're human. Luz doesn't disagree... But she also doesn't do the act herself (unless you want to say she brought on the rain, but then you have her boiling a man to death which is just HORRIFYING.) Then, in a moment we're supposed to cheer for, Luz's closest connections with the Isles, and Raine tacked on, show up, proudly say they're not better than murderers, and stomp the fucker out. Not a quick mercy killing like a blast of magic or a magic scream might have done. Not the eviscerating explosion Luz had to do as a part of stopping him. No, instead, they brutally stomp out a defenseless, dying man before Raine literally says, "That was satisfying."

Our. Heroes.

And don't get me wrong: Belos needed to die. Thematically it's correct and narratively it's correct. The problem is how the show frames this final conflict. It literally asks if it's okay to kill him. What is a reasonable justification for murder. For even wanting another person to die. For a lot of kids, this might be the first time they hear ANY nuance on this topic. So what is the lesson imparted? Is it that sometimes force is necessary but we should only do it when we are certain that more lives will be lost otherwise and that there is no other option? That'd be a great way to show the Titan actually learned something from his mistake with the Collector. Is it that we can't show tolerance to the intolerant because they will only ever take and destroy? Refute an argument that modern racists use to allow hate speech and actions against others. Is it the simple fact that because Luz actually fears being monstrous, she won't end up the same way because that fear and hesitation will never let her commit the sort of genocide that Belos desires? Or heck, say they aren't racist without saying the word by going "We judge him for his actions and the cruelties he has committed, not by the cruelties of a people or the circumstances of their birth." All of which would be varying degrees of fine morality wise and are genuinely ways good people cope with having to commit horrific violence.

No. Instead, it's just that one did it while excusing it with lies while Luz will do it with pure faith in her heart. You... You do know that the VAST majority of Christians literally use this as a way to dismiss bad actors in the church itself? "He doesn't represent all Christians! He didn't actually hold the faith!" Do you think every brimstone and fire preacher is just a complete liar and not a SINGLE one of them genuinely believes what they preach? Because I'm sorry to break it to you but even as far back as the fucking Crusades, while sure the leaders were corrupt, secular men, most of the soldiers were genuinely god fearing people, terrified for their souls and seeking this as their only form of penance, especially as they saw it as protecting Christianity. It's one of the reasons they were able to do so much damage because the goal for the common soldier wasn't conquest or national pride. It was to murder the other culture who had taken sacred land. They believed earnestly... So were they justified in the massacres of civilians that they committed?

And this is without getting into how we have literally a Holy Trinity of the father (the Titan's corpse), the son (King, who is exceptionally self sacrificing eventually), and the holy ghost, in a very literal sense. Or how about the glyphs being called the Titan's Language and given to Luz to empower her? How invoking simply his words grants one exceptional power? The Hexside Squad in the finale use glyphs, half of them for the first time, to supplement their powers while dead exhausted and it doesn't seem to just be able to help them, it is still keeping them close to their normal power level and potentially energizing them with how not tired they appear to be while doing this. Almost like they're prayers, pulling on the power of a higher being.

But those elements don't matter. For the sake of the Titan supporting Christian Fundamentalism, all that matters is that he puts faith above what is morally correct. That you can excuse any action so long as you are genuine in the belief that you are doing it for the right reasons. Eda could be making this same argument and it would still be wrong and morally reprehensible.

It's literally "The ends justify the means," and how is that your final lesson, for your main character, in a KID'S SHOW? Let alone when that is EXACTLY the argument Belos, THE VILLAIN, has always made. Not just with wiping out witches but with petrification, lying to Lilith, manipulating Hunter, etc. etc. That it was all justified for his grand, 'good' ends.

I already stated arguments that could have been made, that wouldn't have taken much more time to do (if any), that would fix this so don't you DARE even consider bringing up the shortening with this. It is one scene that does the vast majority of this. Arguably, like five lines tops. Five lines that destroy the morality of your very show and any chance at saying Christian Fundamentalism is wrong.

All because its last message wasn't that prophets should be questioned. Only that there are prophets to listen to explicitly and that you should avoid false prophets... Somehow. Maybe just ask if they like anime I guess?

======+++++======

This was first written before I saw the finale, then I tried to make minor adjustments because of the better absorption of events but ended up rewriting the whole thing because I wanted to better focus on just the hypocrisy and god awful morals than talking about if the Titan counted as God or god.

Also, just for those curious: I was raised on Christian morals and did go to church when I was VERY young. My faith nowadays is that I consider there to be comfort in there being a higher power but that I do not care what form they take, nor do I really like organized religion as while it brings comfort and community to many, it also is all too easy to corrupt with personal greed and anger. I've been told the closest label to this is agnostic.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house #the titan toh

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ahundredtimesover · 21 days

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WOOWEEE i’m still processing the new chapter 🥹 i just wanna stress that there’s multiple realities, guys. jk wanting to respect oc by upholding her wishes to grow, but also feeling abandoned by her choices despite him baring his emotions and desire to have her close by. then you have oc feeling the burden of her family ties/debt with the jeon family and wanting to find out who she is away from her current role, but she’s emotionally attached to jk and it’s blurring with her own goals. not only that, we see jk’s codependency on oc and how that could make her feel more chained down. ultimately she’s always needed by someone, but when has she put her needs first?

as mentioned, this is all so deeply rooted. they need to spend time away from each other to grow. jk is probably going to retreat/relapse to his past behaviors or maybe he’ll also be working on himself so that he can be a better partner for oc … my guts say former because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i’m an angst enthusiast.

ALSO i see lots of ppl saying UGH JUST STAY AND DATE, and while yes … this is a fic, this is a slice of life too. yall realize it is super inappropriate to have a secret relationship with your boss? granted all of my bosses have been old balding dudes and not jk, still … it’s the principle 😭 oc and jk having this “separation” period is good (i’m sleeping on the highway) and needed for their character development. i’m sure theyre gunna meet again and the tension is gunna be so high and they will do the boom boom pow💥🤯😏 without feeling that guilt/weird power dynamic!! 🫶🏼

mimi, you’re so awesome and i love this fic so much. YOUR BRAIN IS SO BEAUTIFUL, MUAH!!!!!!! 💋 you did not disappoint with the make out scene … cuz man if they can get like that on their first kiss … WE ARE NOT READY (i am🤲🏼)!! pls take care of yourself as always and hope you have a lovely day

Hi, anon. I took a break from doing my readings bc this just... this just made me smile and it appeased me (as did a lot of other readers' asks and comments) 🥹🥹 especially considering the other asks claiming how the characters are so dumb and stupid, or that they can just date while OC's in the company or date after she resigns. I would like to copy-paste your first paragraph to everything now hahaha (bc oh god the immense joy of a writer when someone accurately says what I was trying to show is insane and that's what I'm feeling!) 😭😭

Like, you couldn't have said it any better. All those things you mentioned can co-exist, and part of the characters' respective stories is learning that those realities can indeed co-exist. Which is why they're as burdened by their choices as they are (and we'll see more of this in ch12). I'd like for you to park that second paragraph bc... I wrote this entire series with the plan for season 2 so whatever happens at the end of this season, know that more will happen and you kind of raised some points already. 👀👀

And with the boss/asst. thing - YES. The power dynamic goes beyond their roles bc their pasts are intertwined as well. Mr. Ri pointed it out to JK - did he want OC to feel indebted to him, too? There are just so many complications. It's always been about needing to feel free for OC. What that freedom means is something she has yet to explore. Even the question of happiness is something she's figuring out.

BUT THANK YOU, like, really. 🥹🥹 It's always tricky and draining to write super long stories like this bc I need to make sure that the characters and storylines are consistent, and knowing that what I intended comes across (most of the time) is truly worth all the stress of writing this one hahaha I hope you're well and I hope to hear from you and your wonderful mind again! 💕💕💕

#mimianswers #fic: iwyts #let me smooch u anon

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inconspicious-random-thoughts · 28 days

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You know what I think would be interesting about Charlie and Alastor's dynamic? It would be in how they influence each other going forward. Alastor is slowly pushing Charlie to becoming a more assertive and inspirational princess as part of his plans to "pull all of the strings" and get out of his deal. Under his tutelage, Charlie will become much more willing to use her abilities in defense of the Hotel and her loved ones, potentially developing something of a ruthless streak as the threats to the Hotel continue to pile up. I also imagine she will start using his philosophy about using smiles to project power and confidence to hide her personal pain and growing trauma (which knowing this show will no doubt be a lot) to the point of becoming self-destructive and somewhat isolated from her inner circle, potentially even Vaggie to avoid weighing them down with her burdens (which would be ironic since it would be similar to how Vaggie hid her past as an Exorcist out of guilt and fear of her girlfriends rejection). Taking a level in badass in exchange for a drawn-out mental break down.

As for Charlie's influence on Alastor, Charlie's compassion is already rubbing off on him enough for the Overlord to risk his life fighting Adam and the Exorcists for them, something that he found so out of character that he had a villainous breakdown over this realization. While resistant to this growth of character at first in the name of preserving his dreaded reputation, Alastor will slowly becoming less withdrawn and more willing to engage with the crew even when doing so doesn't help his goals, even becoming less antagonistic towards Husk and Lucifer who in turn will actually enjoy his company to a degree. He will remain a ruthless bastard committed to his personal goals, and likely won't be redeeming himself anytime soon, but he'll still become a member of the family all the same. Whether this will resolve his existential crisis or drive him even more mad I can't say right now.

Good to hear from you again,

I been meaning to respond quicker but apparently I'm not allowed to sit and think for more then three minutes at a time. :( So my thoughts/ respond may seem disjointed as I was writing small bit at a time.

To be honestly, I haven't really consider Alastor influence on Charlie beside the standard of nudging her in the direction towards his own agenda. You are correct, now that it's pointed to me. He would have a great influence on her beyond the manipulation. TBH his manipulation might not as nefarious as we think (I still think it because of his contractor) but it can be just that he made to guide her to reach her full potential and power. Which would still align with his own goals with breaking his deal of his soul.

We already see Charlie being influence and episode 7 after they made their deal and Alastor told her about the power of a smile. She took that advice. When Vaggie was made aware of the deal, and Alastor suggestion of meeting his friend to gain numbers she agreed with "What was that about smiling?"

Charlie will become much more willing to use her abilities in defense of the Hotel and her loved ones, potentially developing something of a ruthless streak as the threats to the Hotel continue to pile up.

I wonder why she so hesitate to use her powers in the first place. Like, would she even need Alastor if she simply just use it to begin with? To fix her own hotel? There must be a reason for it. Its either, she cant control it as she doesnt practice it, or it effects her morals/personality, or just the general fear of innocents being caught in the crossfire. It could be all three. But her powers probably tie in more to option two as we only see her demonic powers come out when she upset/annoyed/angry.

Maybe why she so chipper is because as child she more likely threw a tantrum or possible from her teenage ansty emo phase lol...I hope because of her emo phase because emo goth Charlie is entertaining...and hurt so many people from it when her powers manifested in anger and lost control. After that, she swore to herself to always be chipper. So in a way she always used a smile as a mask. But after Alastor, she learn that she can do a lot more with a smile. If this is a backstory that happen, I can see her following Alastor guidance much more easily as she start to see that they may be similar in some ways.

Charlie will definitely become more confident with her powers in season two after the battle. We saw her stop Adam punch. We know she blames herself for everything. Sir Pentious death, Alastor being wounded when it comes to light, Dazzle death, Vaggie taking a bit of a beating from Lute to protect Charlie. She is stronger then all of them, but here they are or harmed as they attempt to protect her. She may take this as a lesson to just just suck up any reservation about using her power to prevent more of her friends from getting hurt when she could have easily stopped it before. I wouldn't say she become ruthless, or at least consciously. Alastor ruthless and wants to be. Charlie "ruthless" is she momentarily lost herself, overwhelmed by the influence of her power.

Charlie seeking Alastor mentorship over guidance from her father would be possibly Alstor has a great sense of self control and discipline then Lucifer. Lucifer would also be too gentle that it be too dismantling. Lucifer training is, swim wings, training wheels, or end up doing things for her to save her the trouble, while Alastor would be blunt and throw Charlie in headfirst to learn. You know Alastor the type that throws a kid in to learn to swim or push someone off a cliff to learn to fly. Everyone in the hotel, when giving advice or bring up issues, tip toes around charlie feelings about thing. Alastor doesn't. Alastor doesn't factor feelings into decisions. He does, calculate how people would react because of feelings, but the issues themselves he does factor them in. Which may be another reason why she would seek his advice.

I also imagine she will start using his philosophy about using smiles to project power and confidence to hide her personal pain and growing trauma (which knowing this show will no doubt be a lot) to the point of becoming self-destructive and somewhat isolated from her inner circle, potentially even Vaggie to avoid weighing them down with her burdens (which would be ironic since it would be similar to how Vaggie hid her past as an Exorcist out of guilt and fear of her girlfriends rejection).

There be definitely be something she'll hide from Vaggie, I just don't know what. Lack of ideas currently, I'll go with keeping Alastor injury a secret or he used their deal for something but has to keep quiet. Or Charlie undergoing demonic power training under Alastor guidance-which Vaggie would hate so much. Vaggie is super suspicious and frustrated by this. Vaggie feels like she failing Charlie somehow, but forcing herself to trust and give Charlie her space while trying to support her while keeping her in the dark.

I am so looking forward to whatever direction the creator will take Alastor. But I am hoping and looking forward of Alastor growing and eventually accepting the soft spot he has for the hotel and its people.

There's something I been thinking about a lot, it was the night before the battle when we witness Alastor and Niffty share a moment.

That was the real Alastor and his thoughts and feelings. His facade was dropped there. Think about it, With Rosie, we saw him relax and generally be happy. But he still had to put up a front, and a mask. He has to act like the overlord that he is. He had to be confident to ensure everything moves forwards as plan. So, as much as he less acting when he around Rosie, he still has halls and acting in some parts. But why would he need to put up a mask there with Niffty? He not going to confine to Niffty of all his plans and agenda, But he also didn't need to put up as much of an appearance in a near private, quiet moment, alone with Niffty, . What he spoke there was 100% honestly. He admitted he enjoying his time there and and like the idea of continuing it.

The other real moment he had was his break down. Grappling with the idea he nearly died. Even as mortals we know we can die any given moment, yet act invincible despite the facts. Now imagine, being immortal soul and a powerful one with near complete control....Dieing seem so improbable yet...here Alastor, freaking out that that near improbable thing nearly became true. Now on top of that, greatly injured and cane broke in two which will have consequences. All because of...he grew to care and want to protect the hotel (outside of a possible forced to by contract)

Alastor will slowly becoming less withdrawn

I think he will be more withdrawn and reclusive...at first anyways. He will want to hide his wound but also distance himself from developing more feelings for the hotel that nearly gave his life for. He be more cruel and ruthless to make up for growing soft, gain distance from the hotel as well make the radio demon feared again, especially if the video gets leaked. He going to be alone. Not willing or wanting anyone in.

The last 10minutes showed the little factions.

The vees.

Charlie and co/hotel including her father

Emily/Sera/Sir Pentious (Tho I think there be tension between Sera and Emily)

Lute and Lilith

Alastor was alone. (break down) But align himself with the hotel but hes not with the hotel. Its like when a group of adventures pick up someone because they are heading in the same direction. They will provide aid to each other but their missions are different. Alastor going to provide aid to the Hotel but he going to be too seclutive to appear that he needs any himself. Nor will he show or admit it unless he absolutely force too.

The thing is, being alone will end poorly for him. Just like how the battle went. The hotel fought together and more or less, made it out. Alastor fought alone with his pride and ego and he lost. lost badly.

So Alastor will be alone until he backed into a corner and just about to lose badly once more but Charlie and co will come to his aid. Quite possibly when he thought he possible burnt that bridge from something or betrayal that happen a little earlier.

That's when he accepts them that's beyond territorial and contract obligations. They saw him at his weaken and vulnerable and not took advantage of it. Despite everything. He'll finally learn to accept them because they already proven time and time again that they accepted and care for him. His walls will slowly start chipping away. Unfortunately he still hiding things so he can't full embrace the idea...but it a start.

He still going to be the Radio demon, generally being a prick and Alastor hiding behind a mask, but we get to witness Alastor slipping it off occasionally.

What would be fun is the idea of Charlie rubbing of Alastor, is that perhaps Alastor against his instincts and to his surprise....showed compassion. It be to Vox of all people. Shocking them both. Vox ending whatever Vees had plan that surely would not bode well for the hotel because of it. That Vox and Alastor end up having a truce and possible rekindle their old friendship.

Tho, I be laughing if Alastor showed compassion for once because Charlie got in his head, only for it to backfire terribly. Then Alastor grumbling that he was a fool to show mercy.

*Alastor limping away after killing the sinner who took advantage of Alastor showing mercy for once while clutching a gaping hole in chest. "It's important to show compassion she said," Alastor scoffs before poorly imitating Charlies voice. "It doesn't hurt to show some kindness!" Alastor laughs mirthlessly and winces from the sharp pain it caused. "Well, tell that to the gaping hole in my chest!!!!"

But in the case, Charlie did need to train her demonic power, I can see how Charlie end up influencing Alastor while he trying to mentor her. Not just the growing fondness hell have for her as his protege. But they probably end up having topics of discussions that arises as she trains. Alastor obviously mocks her point of views, but her words will sink into mind unconsciously. And those words will whisper at him, showing their disapproval at what depravity he trying to act out. Frustrating him that she getting to him

HE may even not go through the acts, not wanting to disappointed Charlie if she was to find out.

Or surprisingly more, maybe after training, Charlie able to control her powers outside of anger. We only see her demonic powers when shes mad. But Alastor witness, Charlie is noticeably stronger when she fighting for something she loves and care for. Which may leave a door open to a path for Alastor to consider to follow.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel headcanon #alastor the radio demon #hazbin thoughts #hazbin theory #hazbin charlie #hazbin hotel charlie #charlie morningstar

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roxannepolice · 2 months

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This may be stretching the concept of work's intent and possibly conflating it with reader's intent, but I think if you scratch to the absolute bottom of chameleon arch in s3 the ultimate difference between the Doctor and the Master becomes being people oriented vs. goal oriented. Like, if you go beyond the question of "could the Doctor have been something of a bad person* and the Master a good person", and ask "under what circumstances would they be like this", it looks like the Doctor - or, what aside from a body (with all its mind-indepented memories) was left of them in John Smith - was. well. being oriented towards people around him. And. that's what had One go from crotchety man willing to kill over his secrets or even a freaking lighter into the Doctor that is. Meeting all those wonderful companions, starting from Ian and Barbara that would just tell him fuck off you're crossing a line and I will not have it. And no, I don't think it's a matter of "wanting to be liked", but rather seeing "oh my Omega, I actually hurt this person". And in the main story that worked out for good, and in fact I would say that when it comes to "origins of morality" and "how to live" questions, that is the more reliable way to go! But when that same mindset is surrounded by all the bigotry - as well as just living a nice life as it is provided to you! - of edwardian era, it results in... well, obviously, the way to deal with those evil guys is to FITE! and this is what all those teenage boys have been trained to do, should the need call (ah, the hanging cloud of knowledge a need will in fact call them so soon in this two-parter...)! And this... competent. but ultimately underdeveloped through no fault of her own maid needs to just have the distinction between fiction and reality explained to her, the poor thing probably thinks the invention of writing is only to be used for things that are absolutely true... Yeah, punch him.

I use the term "goal-oriented" for the Master, but I suppose I should clarify, because we all know that if it was pure goal-orientation, then there are infinitely easier ways to take over the world that *checks notes* man-eating sofas. Yes, the Master is absolutely into over-convoluted plans to the point where they become a goal in itself. But what I mean is, no, they can't just hang around seeing the universe, they need a goal to achieve, there has to be a point to all this, and survival and power are arguably the two most basic goals there can be, once you scratch happiness as a bit too indefinite. And obviously, that's the exact opposite of "how to live". In many ways its a much more animalistic and base motivation than anything a conscious mind might want. Kind of existence vs. life distinction. BUT? In those last few decades of universe's existence??? Where there is literally no other goal left than survival? Not necessarily your own survival, but rather survival as an abstract concept, survival of ANYTHING? That mindset, combined with brains, makes you the most wonderful person that could possibly be! You're there, doggedly pursuing the only goal left in the universe, putting all of the resources you have left, MAKING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY OUT OF FREAKING FOOD, and if anyone has any shot at surviving it is indeed thanks to you! There are two apparent contradiction to this (as of course there have to be in a story that's honest and not just making a point). The first is Yana keeping up the hopes of other people even while knowing it's likely false, and the second is him being willing to sacrifice himself so others will reach Utopia. But if you think about it. Both of these things are, in a way, utilitarian. Yes, hope is often framed as the ultimate irrational ideal, but once it's gone from everyone else, then... what is there to do? That's the end to the only goal left. So long as others hope you can get them out, you can go on tinkering just in bloody case. And while giving up your life for others tends to be framed as the ultimate act of good... there's a level at which Yana just freaking calucates himself as the easiest to expend. He's old and tired. The people who managed to reach the silo are either children or young and strong, there's a lot ahead of them. This is cynical and absolutely not the perspective to hold. But. at the end of the universe. This cynicism leads to sacrifice.

THAT IS NOT SAY YANA ISN'T JUST PLAIN NICE AND SHOWING MORE CONSIDERATION FOR OTHER'S FEELINGS THAN THE MASTER IN ANY FORMAT EVER DID! But I suppose when you're goal-oriented and everyone around you literally has no other goals than yours... why not just be kind** indeed?

Yes, there's a great tensimm fanfic about this:

*I admit I think one of the most interesting aspects of John Smith was precisely making him not a good person but hardly the worst man there ever was maybe it's because I've read edwardian era books that makes me think his paternalisation of Martha really wasn't the worst way for a white man to treat a poc even without outright violence. But if he was a really good person then that would just tell you making him give up his existence was bad because he's a good person whereas as it is the question is what makes the subjectively real existence of this particular not very good but not really worse than millions of people like him man that devloped subjectively very real bonds with others more expendable than any other's?

** Gosh my mixed feeling for Twelve, like I love him, he's up there with 2,3,4 and 10 as character-defining for me, but why just why have him always turn out to be ultimately right about his absolute morals, he's kind of the antithesis to time lord victorious, so long as you do the kind thing then there's always an unforeseen ex machina to prove you right, you'll never fuck up REAL bad, a real dilemma is not between making the choice that's subjectively or objectively good, it's between two objectively bad choices once again Simm!Master fell where he stood no less than Twelve.

#doctor who #meta #doctor who meta #dw meta #the doctor #the master #tenth doctor #john smith #jacobi!master #professor yana #doctor who human nature/family of blood #doctor who utopia #philosophy in doctor who

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renegadesfic · 5 months

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i said this on my main blog but i have Opinions on sonetto's character growth already thru just the first 4 chapters so here are some of my thoughts.

first of all, despite everything we learn about her and vertin's history in chapter 3, sonetto treats her at the start of canon not even as an equal but as someone to be revered. this makes sense because vertin is the timekeeper, which is a highly respected position, but i think it goes beyond that. it seems like sonetto has barely interacted with vertin since what happened at the end of the flashbacks in chapter 3 - she acts like she barely knows her. to me that makes it feel like she hasn't been closely interacting with her in a while, probably since she became the timekeeper, which means that there's a chance this is one of their first times working together. at this point sonetto is still very focused on the official tasks at hand, trying to deal with the whole regulus thing, focusing on Doing Her Job. this is pre-her being appointed as vertin's assistant so it makes sense that they're working in conjunction with each other instead of sonetto helping her in such a close way.

however. in later chapter 1 and chapter 2, where we really start to see the proper story pick up, sonetto is becoming increasingly connected to the outside world. she befriends sotheby, the first person she's really connected with outside the foundation. the foundation has been her whole life for as long as she can remember, but now she's meeting Real People and making Real Friends. this, naturally, is a Big Deal - this is what starts to turn the gears in her brain that we see finish turning in ch3/ch4, where she goes to bat for vertin directly, going as far as to raise her voice on vertin's behalf. at this point in the story she's finally seeing what vertin wants Everyone to see - that there is so much more to life than serving the foundation.

and then!! sonetto, always following rules, always obeying instructions, is put in a position where the timekeeper Isn't There. she's gone, she's with the manus, and sonetto has to step up as the interim leader of the mission, since she is now the timekeeper's assistant. and she DOES!!! supported by her New Friends!!!! i personally think it would've been extremely difficult for her to make these decisions if she hadn't already been separated from vertin and met sotheby in the forest. already, her personal growth is being spurred on by being outside the foundation in a much freer context.

so not only does sonetto step up, but she makes several crucial decisions, including saving marian. this is a thing i think some people would brush off as just a "protect the peace of mankind" thing but it's more than that to me. right now sonetto is desperately trying to fix the Timekeeper Being Gone situation and she explicitly chooses to find marian, who she knew was being kept somewhere due to the traces of potion, even though there are objectively Bigger Problems. imo this isn't just her following the mantra the foundation promotes, it is also showing that she has already started to Really care about people outside of the main mission and goal at hand. she doesn't need to do that, she could just help the timekeeper get out, but she feels an obligation to not just the foundation's stated ideal of helping the people but to her own developing moral compass, her desire to protect people vertin considers important. that is crucial because we establish very early that vertin considers Everyone important, hence the photo wall and all the memorial stuff she shows regulus. so sonetto saves marian, jeopardizes her own safety, to follow her idea of what the foundation's motto should mean, instead of acting as if the mission is the only thing that matters. she's developing her own view of what protecting the peace means.

and then the end of chapter 2. sotheby, sonetto's first real friend outside the foundation walls, loses her caretaker, the person who was tasked with her safety. she is so far in over her head and instead of sticking with vertin, keeping her head down until the storm is done, and holding herself in place, she goes to comfort her. not for the first time, she leaves vertin's side - in this case the seat next to her at the table - and goes to the other side of the table to sit with sotheby and comfort her. this is representative of more than just her desire to comfort her friends - her leaving vertin's side at the table is a metaphor for her slowly peeling herself away from the rigid conformity the foundation has forced on everyone in it, choosing to stand on her own with the friends she has made in the Real World.

and then, of course, sonetto goes back to the foundation, realizes people are fucking with vertin, and gets Mad. sonetto is notable for being extremely passive unless she's protecting the timekeeper, but this goes well beyond that. in this case she is not standing up for vertin against critters or the manus - she's standing up for her against the people she's listened to without exception for her entire life so far. and she's doing it for vertin, because vertin is not just her boss, she's her Friend, and sonetto Takes Care Of Her Friends. so for probably one of the first times in her entire life sonetto raises her voice at someone in charge of her. she shows resistance against the people who she thinks are hurting vertin, and who she thinks are hurting the rest of the friends she's made.

at the very end of chapter 4, sonetto seems like she wants to say something about everything that's happened, but chooses not to. i have a feeling that she's not making that choice because she doesn't value her contribution. i think she's making that choice because whatever she was going to say was something she thought constantine wouldn't like. and she's starting to understand the concept of going behind someone's back to do things that are really important.

#can you tell i really like the italians in this game #reverse 1999 #sonetto reverse 1999 #reverse 1999 sonetto #reverse: 1999 #im obsessed with this bitchs character arc #also keep in mind i am writing these from the perspective of someone who cannot Play the actual game #ive watched through all the story stuff on youtube #so if there are any voice lines that change anything ive said ignore me 😭😭

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moonbreeze19 · 21 days

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we were too close to the stars i never knew somebody like you, somebody falling just as hard - reflections

alarin tumblr debut?? for tsme week?? i think so i think yes! u can consider this a late day 6 post or day 7 i suppose, whatever u prefer!

(in summary: my oc, rin, and alain, have lived in my head rent free for 3 years now. they mean the world to me. i love them. to me, they are THE it couple <3)

details/about them below the break

rin yukino is a hyper competitive trainer with a (shiny) mega gardevoir, goal focused and independent to the point of flaw. born and raised in kalos, but with family from sinnoh, she had spent much of her childhood fitting into her parent's mold for a perfect daughter. she was a straight-a student, principal violinist, preparing to attend a top university - at 18, she realized that wasn't who she wanted to be anymore. she became a pokemon trainer instead.

(somewhat unimportantly, her usual trainer design consists of teal highlights in her hair, orange earrings shaped like the heart that goes through a mega gardevoir's chest, and a lot of black and gray. she matches diva, her gardevoir, like alain matches his charizard. they're both extra like that.)

she meets alain viard when they're both 22, shortly after the events of TSME act 4. she's on the gym challenge, and he's... alain. they battle, and he wins. twice in a row. then they go from rivals to rivals with benefits, then maybe even friends if they weren't both so emotionally reclusive i mean haha what-

alarin, aka rin "i'm stronger on my own" yukino and alain "i only destroy those around me" viard

even if he's won both times, alain can't help but be attracted one of the few people who can keep up with him, who cares about winning nearly as much as he does, who treats pokemon battling like it's all she has. he knows the feeling. he thinks she might understand him.

she's half of the reason behind both his decision to fill out his team beyond charizard and his decision to challenge the gyms

when they fall apart, just a month before the team flare crisis, i like to think of them like a supernova. short lived but bright and brilliant. doomed from the start.

the details of their falling out are complicated, so we'd be here all day if i tried to explain.

rin fails to stand by him during the fight against lysandre. she doesn't have the courage to. but she does, however, find him in the aftermath. she helps him heal and pick up the broken pieces. that's where 99% of their relationship really comes from.

i filter them into the category titled "couples written by taylor swift's the great war" and if you know you know

because it's important to me, rin gets along great with mairin.

at first she's a bit annoyed by her over-enthusiasm. rin is cold, blunt, realistic, and introverted, mairin is the opposite of all of those things. but once she sees how much mairin means to alain she does a full 180

and mairin's only ever had older brothers (both in her biological family and in alain), so having rin around to show her how to do her hair, her makeup, AND annoy the hell out of alain when appropriate is her favorite thing ever.

they are very good at bullying alain into taking care of himself (because he is very bad at that, as we all know.)

eventually, rin will go on to become one of the kalos elite four, after malva gets arrested (for being Very Fucking Evil).

one of my favorite things ever to think about is how the random internet people would claim "rin is only with alain to try and get famous" (and also make lengthy twitter/x callout threads on how alain is a problematic person because of his team flare involvement, and therefore decently-well-known league challenger rin yukino is also problematic by proxy), only for alain to generally avoid the public spotlight (there are lots of headcanons here. in short, he goes to university) and rin to be hired as elite four. and then she becomes far more famous as a result. and then the internet trolls are like "...oh." and a majority of the general population doesn't even know she and alain are a thing, because it's only obvious if you scrolled intensely through her instagram account.

i don't know why alarin getting stupid hate threads on twitter/x is the funniest thing to me but it really, really is!!

the internet is convinced alarin is a manipulative ploy on rin's end and one day she reads one of the twitter threads making all these claims about what she's done and she just goes "bitch i did what" and finds it absolutely hilarious

ANYWAYS that is all for now!! this post is so long and this is barely scratching the surface?? they mean so much to me i'm so sorry 😭😭

if literally anybody ever wants to hear about them i will share more. i would cry happy tears.

thank you so much for reading this if you did!! i'm so glad i got to share them for tsme week!

#tsmeweek2024 #tsme10thanniversary #ocxcanon #alarin in formal wear omg omg they are SO fine??#im obsessed with them #tsme #pokemon alain #s: alarin #fic: fire of a thousand stars #y: 2024 #fun fact: i speedran this in one day (and basically one sitting)#bc i have not had access to my computer since the start of tsme week #oops!#so it's a tiny bit rushed :(

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blueskittlesart · 2 years

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omg wait- please give us your thoughts botw women!

im skipping zelda because i talk about her all the time but this is mipha, urbosa (and riju), impa, and purah lol. it's LONG so prepare yourself

mipha. ive said before that i think she was done dirty by the writers in that all of her characterization revolves around men. and i stand by that. i generally dislike the archetype of a physically small, softspoken female supporting character whose only role in the story is as a protector or healer--someone for the male characters to bounce their feelings off of. and i think mipha very often falls into this trope. with that being said, i do still think there is room for a nuanced analysis of her character because there IS nuance there it just gets lost a lot of the time because of how she's written. When thinking about her it's important to remember how zora age in relationship to humans. after a lot of math i place her at around 60ish years old physically, with that being the zora equivalent of a 14-16 year old hylian. she is INCREDIBLY young by zora standards but physically, she has lived longer than almost every non-zora she will ever meet. because of this, there's this dissonance between the way her family and kingdom view her vs the way her friends and colleagues view her. We see it most obviously in the champion's ballad dlc--when zelda speaks to mipha about piloting a divine beast, she speaks as though she's talking to an adult. but mipha's father is convinced she is far too young and inexperienced for this role. Mipha, in turn, is caught between these two differing perceptions of herself, to the point where she doesn't really KNOW what she's supposed to be. she takes on a protective role for those younger than her (sidon and link, specifically) and does her best to support zelda where she can, knowing that zelda likely views her as a senior, but she also often vant disguise the fact that she's still a child herself. she plays with sidon in the waterfall. she has a very childish, innocent schoolgirl crush on link. she's caught in between these two perceptions of herself and because she is, for all intents and purposes, mentally fifteen years old, she doesn't quite know how to handle it. The fact that zora live on a totally different time scale compared to other hyrulian races isn't something that would normally pose much of a struggle for them, because zora's domain is deliberately isolated from those other races. zora could likely go a generation or two without ever needing to interact with non-zora at all, beyond the occasional stray traveler. (remember how when you're working your way towards zora's domain post-calamity, you meet a bunch of zora who are super excited to see a hylian at all? most of those zora look to be in early adulthood, meaning by my math they'd be about a hundred years old. post-calamity, zora's domain clearly returns to that same brand of isolation, so most of these zora have probably never interacted with a hylian at all.) but because mipha happened to be born into such a turbulent era, she finds herself having to interact with these other races more than basically any zora ruler might have had to for the past several thousand years. which is why she has so much trouble with link. from her perspective, he changes SO fast. she meets him one day a wide-eyed child and the next he comes back to her a silent, traumatized soldier. she's hardly aged a day but he has experienced a lifetime of things she can't begin to understand and she has NO IDEA how to talk to him anymore. When they interact, she switches awkwardly between treating him like the child she knew and attempting to fix the trauma he's been through without her, but it's always with the goal of getting things BACK TO THE WAY THEY WERE. she is completely incapable of moving on from the past relationship with link that she remembers because as far as she's concerned, it's only been a miniscule amount of time since then. due to the nature of her race, mipha is basically doomed to be stuck in a past that link can never return to. god. i wish they explored her character more in-game im going to lose my mind

urbosa is SUCH a good character. agh. her narrative purpose is essentially to be an actual POSITIVE mentor to zelda, which. let's be honest. without her that poor girl would absolutely not have made it to seventeen. jesus christ. Anyways urbosa is everything zelda wants to be. A strong, independent, powerful ruling force that her people rely on and look to in times of need. she is completely self-assured and confident and she is quite honestly literally the only positive influence on zelda's life. Urbosa is a character well into adulthood, who we can assume has long since grown into herself and found her way. Which is why she is SUCH an important character for zelda, yes, but for ALL the young champions who are just. so desperate for a positive force in their lives. She's so GOOD at what she does, too. urbosa is a woman who was meant to be a mother in one way or another, i think, because the way she handles the kids she's working with is really thoughtful and well-done, ESPECIALLY when compared to the other dogshit adults in their lives. She allows zelda more compassion than anyone else has ever seen fit to give her, and when zelda DOES mess up, urbosa offers gentle but firm redirection. (in aoc specifically, she notices zelda comparing herself to link and immediately shuts it down, WITHOUT making zelda feel stupid or inferior.) she does the exact same thing, albeit less overtly, with link, who she obviously has a lot of compassion for despite being kind of at odds with him over zelda. I think she and link are actually incredibly similar characters--stubborn, a little bit showy, and generally unwilling to admit defeat in any situation. She's uniquely positioned to be able to relate to both him AND zelda, as a ruler AND a soldier. And i think she's completely aware of how similar she is to link, which is why when she pushes him, she does it in a calculated way so that he never takes it as a challenge or an attack. she never outright tells him "this is why zelda dislikes you, you need to work on your communication skills" she talks to him about zelda's childhood in plain terms because she knows that breaking down link's mental wall between himself and zelda by evoking empathy is the way to get the two of them to fucking COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. i really think every game should have an overwhelmingly positive female mentor figure like urbosa. she is so good

in relation to urbosa, we then have riju, the youngest and only female of the new champions. she is fourteen years old and she has been thrust into a position of leadership and she works so hard to project that same confidence and maturity that was urbosa's staple. and to her credit she ALMOST gets there but she's fourteen and no fourteen year old is capable of performing adulthood perfectly. Riju's projected personality feels very much like she's regurgitating stories she was told about her ancestors. Urbosa was strong, urbosa was fearless, urbosa commanded lightning, urbosa stepped up to serve the knight and princess when asked. but, crucially, urbosa was not fourteen. riju's insecurities about filling urbosa's shoes are incredibly evident, but she seems to do her best work when she drops the pretense and acts as herself. there's a reason she had us fight naboris on sand seals--they're a source of comfort to her. something she KNOWS she can act confident about. there was no acting involved in her pursuit of naboris--she KNEW she was good with that seal. there's also something to be said about the successor to urbosa, the mentor, being an inexperienced little girl. riju clings to the stories of the champion chief who came before her because she desperately needs a mentor. I wish urbosa could meet her for real she deserves a mom

impa. i. well i wish 90% of her characterization didn't come from hyrule warriors bc i honestly dont like how she was written all that much. i think they had a really strong framework to build off of in botw but aoc just kind of. took it in a direction i wasn't a huge fan of. anyway. impa is sheikah, a race descended from the original protectors of the goddess hylia. Interestingly, in botw the sheikah have been almost completely integrated into hylian society, with kakariko village being mostly sheikah who live like regular hylians. it seems like very few of them actually follow the ways of their ancestors, in contrast to other games where sheikah were only ever warrior bodyguards of the goddess hylia's bloodline. Impa is, presumably, one of the few sheikah who continues to follow the teachings of her ancestors and serve the royal family. this... honestly causes a dillemma if you think about it for more than a few seconds, because, since most sheikah live as regular citizens now, in place of sheikah bodyguards the hylian royal family has an extensive royal guard, eliminating the need for sheikah warriors like impa almost entirely. i can only assume this is why she was relegated to basically 'haha funny quirky ninja sidekick' in hyrule warriors. but personally i think it would have been much more interesting to use this as a commentary on the state of hyrule and even to give her some more obvious internal conflict!! hyrule has until now been in a ten thousand year era of peace. it's no wonder most sheikah settled down and gave up on the whole bodyguard thing. they might have even believed there wasn't going to be another demise incarnation for them to take action against, especially after ten thousand years without any whisper of conflict. to most sheikah, pursuing their traditional martial arts and continuing to serve the royal family would likely begin to feel like a waste of time. for some reason, though, impa didn't feel this way. ten thousand years after the last conflict between demise and hylia's descendants, impa still chooses to train as a sheikah warrior and serve the royal family. why?? my personal headcanon is that she was drawn to the myth of ancient hyrule in the same way that purah was drawn to its technology. purah is the more obvious nerd of the sisters, but i think impa's choice to pursue sheikah martial arts HAD to have its basis in an interest in the creation myth. She is also one of the few characters in botw who explicitly KNOWS and can convey to you the myth in its entirety, or at least, as much of the myth as had survived by the time she began studying it. So here we have a young sheikah girl who is incredibly interested in her own culture as it relates to the myth of hyrule and she's basically singlehandedly attempting to revive a part of it that's been nearly completely lost, all amidst this incredibly tense political environment in which her peoples' past inventions are also being dug up and revived by the royal family with like... seemingly very little care to the context in which they were made or why they might have been buried in the first place. like, in this climate which shows a subtle but obvious disregard for her culture, impa is loudly, deliberately returning to her roots. that's SO INTERESTING!! if aoc had leaned into it more, we could have had moments where impa contemplates her place among the royal guardsmen and the champions--she's not quite one of them, but they have a mutual goal and, in the case of the champions, their lives are all deeply intertwined with the myth of hyrule; or even a bit of commentary on the political climate of hyrule pre-calamity and how fucking horrible it was. i REALLY wish they had explored this more it could have been so cool

PURAH. people think im insane when i tell them shes in my top five loz characters of all time but i am literally obsessed with her i dont care that shes a random new addition to botw only. i think she is a really interesting way to introduce and lead into the idea of ancient sheikah technology. considering how important ancient sheikah tech is to the worldbuilding of botw, giving the player a sheikah scientist guide to walk you through it all is a smart way to go about introducing it. beyond that, though, i think as a character she serves as a reminder of hyrule before the calamity--cheerful and carefree despite the obvious dark implications of her actions. when you first go to meet her you find out along the way that the kids in hateno are scared of her; they think she's a ghost or something along those lines. she is eccentric and strange and she just sort of... glosses over the entire series of events that led both her and link to their present situation, because by de-aging herself, accidentally or not, she has become stuck perpetually in the mindset of pre-calamity hyrule. She still views sheikah tech as something interesting to be studied and played with while most sane people in hyrule view it as nothing but an incredible danger. she's super intelligent, but can't quite break out of the scientist mentality enough to acknowledge the harm the tech she so obviously loves is capable of causing. the de-aging and the bubbly personality are likely a coping mechanism, i think, though maybe not a conscious one. she's remaining frozen in time forever, deliberately refusing to think about the damage she might have caused. I don't think she's ENTIRELY in denial though, if only because she helps link when he asks for it. she's been waiting for a hundred years, never quite sure if the shrine of resurrection worked or if she laid link to rest forever in that cave, so she does whatever she can to keep living, preparing for the worst. When link DOES reappear, it's a genuine shock, to the point that she cant quite let go of the denial she's been using to keep herself going for the past 100 years. but just because she expected the worst doesn't mean she can't work with a better outcome, it just means she isn't quite prepared to deal with it perfectly, which is why she seems frozen in time when you interact with her in botw.

#WOMENNNNN. AGH #loz has a bad track record with female characters but the botw girls are so genuinely good. i love it #zelda analysis #asks

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peninkwrites · 5 months

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Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil. Ch 2 of ?

Ranboo has been going blind his whole life.

Ch 1

Ch 3

crossposted to ao3

Ranboo knows blindness is inevitable. He’s known this since he was small. His mothers had never said it to him directly, but it seems maybe they regretted having a child who was only half enderman. How could they have known he would inherit his other half’s tear ducts? They did their very best to raise a child who wouldn’t cry, but they were fighting an impossible battle. The early years were the worst. Ranboo lost maybe a quarter of his vision in the first six years of his life. Six was old enough to hold back, to refuse tears through skinned knees and childish insults and getting lost. It took him a few years more to realize that never crying would have a different toll. Ranboo kept his emotions clutched carefully to his chest, letting them pour free not in burning salt, but ink.

Eventually it became clear that their forgetfulness went beyond the ordinary, and his book began to serve a different purpose.

Not that Ranboo remembers these finite details, things like his mothers, his childhood, where he is from. Nor is he really sure how he arrived on the SMP, only with the vague goal of winning an election. He remembers a few essentials kept carefully in his memory book. Tears burn, they make his vision worse, and one day he will go blind. Crying will hasten the process, and even as that scares him, he cannot let it scare him enough that tears fall.

So he doesn’t cry. First he meets Niki, whose voice is soft and kind and reassuring, and she shows him around the server. He follows her closely, and she points out different structures and places and Ranboo pretends to perceive them. He pretends there isn’t a fog over his vision, confining his view to the prime path and a bit beyond that, depending on the brightness of the sun that day. His peripheral is worse, but as long as he’s looking at something head on, something close enough, he can see it generally. Niki he will remember by voice, by her outline, her hair, but not really her face. He would have to get way too close to see what she really looks like, but he knows enough to recognize her. He can remember people relatively well by name and vague appearance, it’s who they are, the details of what they have done together, that’s where things get fuzzy just like his vision.

This was not ideal, as the next person he met, the current president, introduces himself and rather curtly tells him: “I’m pretty much totally deaf, so, sorry if I’m not much for conversation.”

“Oh,” Ranboo had briefly had no clue what to say, before some impulse built on the sound of this boy’s voice, his small stature, wearing a suit, by the looks of it, he felt inclined to show a little faith. “I’m… I’m kinda blind, so,” he mumbled.

“Um, like I said, man. I can’t hear, so. Dunno what you just said.”

Ranboo’s cheeks flushed green and red, fumbling for his memory book and flipping to the back of it.

I’m a little blind, so. I don’t think I’ll be very good at sign language.

He holds it out to Tubbo, who frowns at the page, reading slowly.

Instead of irritation, he laughs. “I mean, that works out! Sort of. Maybe not, but, how about I help you with the seeing bit, and you can… you could be my minutes man! If you’d like.”

“Minutes-?” Ranboo stops, going back to the page. Minutes man?

“Yeah! If you want, you could write down the stuff we talk about in meetings, so if I have a hard time keeping up, I can still keep track of stuff,” Tubbo says brightly. Ranboo knows he’s staring at him. “So, is that why..?” Tubbo’s hand goes to his own face, which Ranboo notes is slightly discolored. “Sorry, I shouldn’t…”

“Oh! The scars?” Ranboo brushes against his own cheeks, and the deep, red divots along the corner of his eye. “It’s okay,” Ranboo shrugs, hoping that’s reassurance enough.

“I’ve got some pretty gristly scars too, dunno if you can tell,” Tubbo says.

“Not really,” Ranboo shakes his head, and then shrugs. He should really just write.

“Huh, you can’t even see that?” Tubbo says unthinkingly. “Sorry, that was, well, not very tactful of me. If you want to, I could like, I dunno,” Tubbo pauses, thoughtful “I could describe stuff? If that would help?”

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, I mean, I–” Ranboo nods and starts talking before remembering, returning to his book.

I’d like to be the minutes man. I was actually planning on running in the next election, so it would be cool to work with you. And that might be nice. If you described stuff sometimes. I don’t know I’ve never tried that.

Tubbo reads, and sounds surprised. “Oh! You’re planning on running, then, Rambo?”

Ranboo almost goes to correct him, but can’t bring himself to, endeared.

“Right, well, least I can do is show you around! Or, show you what I can,” Tubbo says sheepishly. “How bad is your vision? You don’t have glasses, you know? Feel like that could help a bit.”

Ranboo tries to remember the explanation. He doesn’t have glasses. Because..? Another quick scribble on the page.

I don’t really remember why. I think it might have to do with the different types of eyes? I’m not really sure.

“Huh. Well, if you want, we could see about getting you glasses. My friend Wil–” Tubbo stops, and Ranboo cannot see that his expression is stricken. Tubbo continues, and Ranboo notices the slight tremor in his voice. “My friend Wilbur. He wore glasses. So, I’m sure we could get you some as well.”

Ranboo hesitates, writing slowly.

thank you. That would be nice. Maybe it would help.

my vision is pretty bad. I can’t see far over distances, it gets all foggy, and my peripheral is almost nonexistent. And things are always a little blurry unless you’re right in front of my face.

Tubbo reads it slowly and carefully, murmuring the words as he does so, maybe meant to be inaudibly, but Ranboo can hear him. “I am also dyslexic, so, the reading stuff is a bit slow for me.”

Ranboo just nods.

“Well then, Rambo. I will give you a specialty tour of New L’Manberg!” Tubbo had originally wanted to take him to the top of the hill, to look out over the city, but he now knows that wouldn’t exactly be much use, so instead he takes him over to the platforms.

“I built this recently,” Tubbo puts a fond hand on one of the support posts. “Made it out of spruce, and look, can you see how new it is?” He motions Ranboo closer.

Ranboo follows, having to crouch down, but once he does, he sees the grain in the wood, he sees the fresh bark still left on the logs and the new metal bolts holding it all together. “You built–” Ranboo quickly course corrects.

you built all this?

Tubbo stares at the page, always a delay, but not that Ranboo minds. When Tubbo has to lean in to read it, Ranboo can see a bit more of his face. “Yeah, I did! With some help from the rest of the cabinet, and… and from Ghostbur.”

it's really cool

Tubbo reads it, and for a second Ranboo thinks he might be blushing, but then Tubbo is too far for him to tell.

“Right, now over here, we’ve got a few houses set up. This one here,” Tubbo all but escorts him to the front door. “It’s the one to the left of the stairs up. It’s where Phil lives. You’ll like Phil! He’s really great.”

Ranboo nods, and he is startled when Tubbo takes his hand, pulling him along to the next doorway.

“This house is unoccupied at the moment. The door is also spruce, and we’ve even placed flower boxes outside! The house is a bit small, but it has two stories. And I dunno if you know this, but the whole city is on stilts right now. Over a big crater. The plan is to hopefully refill it with rain water, there’s already some starting to collect, and make it a little less… rough,” Tubbo actually guides his hand to the flower boxes, so he can touch the dirt, so he’s close enough to see the flowers clearly, and Ranboo, if he weren’t so repressed, thinks he might have cried. Tubbo doesn’t seem to notice, moving along. “And here’s the flag! The flag for New L’Manberg. Maybe I can find you an old flag and show you that one too. The history is important, you know?” Once more, Tubbo hands the cloth to Ranboo, so he can feel its material, and hold it up close enough he can see the colors and the heart stitched on its surface.

It’s pretty

“Thank you! I tried, you know?” Tubbo sounds a little bashful. “Um, maybe it could be your house! You’ll need to have a house here if you want to run in the elections.”

yeah!

Tubbo opens the doors to the house. “Check out the inside! It’s got barrels for storage, and a crafting table already set up, and a ladder up to the second floor.”

Ranboo can see the outline of the walls, and the second floor, he can guess where the ladder is from how it stands out distinctly to the cobblestone. He can see the lanterns hanging from the ceiling from the harsh streaks they leave across his eyesight. Ranboo also finds his vision does better in the dark. Outside in the sun, the fog gets worse.

“You’d have to buy it.”

Ranboo scribbles faster. Wait how do I do that??

Tubbo laughs, and Ranboo wants to make him laugh again. “You’d have to talk to Ghostbur. Don’t worry, he won’t charge you an arm and a leg for it or anything.”

Ranboo nods.

“And down here we have market stalls built! No one is selling anything at the moment, but Ghostbur has decorated each one with wool and these… these decorative panel things, um, banners! Lots of different patterns and things,” Tubbo nods him over to one of the stalls so Ranboo can see the detailed weave. Tubbo walks to the next stall, and then the next, pausing at each so he can see the decorations.

“Alright, come on. Stick close to me. There are railings around the main platform, but we haven’t finished adding them to the sides really yet, or the stairs.”

I can see the railings and where the edge drops off. I just can’t see far away or details unless it’s really close.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to… to patronize or assume or anything.”

it’s ok! thanks tho

“No problem, bossman! Up here, this is Karl’s house. I’m sure you can hear the llama?” Tubbo says this more hesitantly. “There’s also bright red flowers.”

yeah! The flowers are nice. You’re right the llama is loud. So is the redstone track.

“Oh, right, the redstone!” Tubbo stares at the track perhaps thoughtfully. “Forgot about that,” he murmurs, and Ranboo isn’t sure if he was supposed to hear him or not. “Um, back over here is Quackity’s house. It’s very… open concept at the minute. All those big gaps over there?” Tubbo points to a large opening in the far wall. “There’s no glass in there yet, so it’s very… airy.”

Ranboo nods.

“Right, and over his Fundy’s house, it’s across this bridge here,” Tubbo leads the way. “And… he’s got blue carpet!” Tubbo actually sits on the floor in his fancy suit, and brushes through the woven wool.

Ranboo can see the color, he knows it’s carpet, he doesn’t actually need to know what it feels like, but Tubbo is trying so hard, so Ranboo sits beside him and threads through the wool. Ranboo smiles. He glances up to Tubbo’s face and is unsettled to find that he’s most likely staring at him. He hopes Tubbo isn’t looking him in the eye. Even if Ranboo can’t tell, he doesn’t like the thought very much.

“Right, um, anyway. Down here is the rest of Fundy’s house. His house is very nice, it’s properly furnished, lots of that blue carpet,” Tubbo describes it as they go. “And outside here, under the crane, this is Ghostbur’s property. It’s not all under water, he just… he sort of lives next to the sewers––storm drains, to be clear, nothing gross.” Tubbo heads down into the water and Ranboo hesitates.

He fumbles with the edge of his iron armor. He should be safe enough to make it down there. Ranboo can’t help but cover his eyes as he follows.

“You… you alright?” Tubbo asks carefully.

“Y-Yeah!” Ranboo quickly nods, relieved to find his face is dry. He needs to have more faith in his enchantments, and once he gets some netherite, he shouldn't have to worry about water anymore.

“Um, well, in here is Ghostbur’s house. His thing is making invis potions, as you can tell. Reeks of blaze powder,” Tubbo flips through barrels of supplies. “And in here is his library…”

So it follows.

Tubbo shows him everything, every little thing close enough, at least. He gives him things to feel, and he points out sounds he knows should be there even if he can’t hear them anymore himself, and Ranboo cannot describe the feeling it brings him to follow Tubbo. It’s not merely caring, it’s the fact that in some way, Tubbo understands. He won’t realize for a long time that that was where he started to fall in love.

Next, he follows around Tommy, who is an explosion of noise and energy and his hands always a flurry of motion that Ranboo cannot quite make out. He does his best not to reveal how little he can see. He doesn’t know Tommy well enough for that; Tubbo’s own confession had felt like enough. When Tommy questions Ranboo accidentally hitting him––Ranboo hadn’t noticed Tommy out of the corner of his eye until Tommy was right there, he’d reached out to stop him, severely misjudged the distance, and apparently hit Tommy––Ranboo fumbles an explanation about wanting to hand him a flower. He cannot read Tommy’s hazy expression as he says, “y’like flowers, Ranboo?” but since Tommy continues to talk to him, asks Ranboo to walk with him, he assumes Tommy wasn’t offended.

Ranboo agrees to join Tommy in his mischief. He doesn’t realize the house is burning until he smells smoke, and Tommy drags him away from harsh yellow light and heat muttering a fierce string of curse words. He hisses to Ranboo as they walk quickly up the prime path, “we saw nothing, got it? We saw nothing.”

And Ranboo nods and deigns not to tell Tommy how true that is.

When they are dragged to a court house, Ranboo doesn’t remember what happened. He remembers going somewhere with Tommy, he remembers Tommy’s panic, but he doesn’t grasp the details. He doesn’t see Tommy’s face, but hears him defend him, and support him when he explains why he can’t remember.

So Ranboo is let go, and Tommy isn’t.

And it only gets worse from there.

Ranboo is overwhelmed by how everyone starts to panic, but he told Tubbo he would follow him, that he would try to help, so he does, and he tries to keep the minutes.

#aha comrade #dsmp #my writing #ranboo

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caxycreations · 2 months

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Just got out of a work meeting

Vent below the cut.

My face hurts

I'm not used to smiling so long

No it wasn't a genuine smile

It's the mask we call Business Caxy that smiles because a smile is friendly and friendly is good and good is business-appropriate.

It faltered once.

Just once this time.

When a Partner (one who works at the HIGHEST LEVEL OF EMPLOYMENT) in the company, who is so financially wealthy that she could quit today and never work again in her life, her husband could quit today and never work again in his life, and her son could NEVER GET A JOB and still be set for life (she admits these facts HERSELF)

said to all 40 of us in the meeting

"Money's just paper, it doesn't mean anything."

And now, as I sit here after the meeting, eating a beefy 5-layer burrito from TACO BELL that my roommate BOUGHT FOR ME because I don't have the money to spare for fast food if I want to make it through the month

I am reminded

The rich fucking suck.

"Money's just paper"- that paper buys medical treatment because healthcare is a scam. That paper buys food because we starve if we don't have it. That paper buys safety and shelter for us and our loved ones.

It's just paper, sure.

But it's pretty fucking important, and the fact it means so little to you means you don't deserve a goddamn cent of what you have, because I can list TEN PEOPLE I KNOW who, if I gave them $5 today, they would BEG me not to because "That's five dollars!! You don't need to spend so much on me, I'll be okay!" as they sit there with growling stomachs and aching bodies.

Meanwhile that woman sits in a $1,000 office chair at a $5,000 desk in a million dollar home and tells US that money is just paper.

I fucking hate the corporate elite. I swear to fuck when I get to the point I'm making as much as she is, not a goddamn cent beyond what I need is going to myself.

I'm taking care of my needs, my life goal of travelling, and if I know of someone in need I'm making damn sure they're sorted for as long as they need because I'll be fucking DAMNED if I ever turn into the kind of person that can sit comfortably on a multi-million dollar fortune while people around me suffer and I go into fucking ZOOM MEETINGS to tell those very people "Money's meaningless".

#vent #swearing #strong language #money #fuck the rich #if im ever rich ill burn cash on every little thing people need #fucking throw that shit away to whoever needs it cause i dont #i need food #clothes #shelter #and gas money #beyond that i dont need shit #wants are different #they dont matter #if my choice is to be rich and have all i want or just have my needs met and know the people around me have all they want #i will sacrifice every penny on gods green earth

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heartlurch · 4 months

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hai heart !! its me again , anon :3 have you got any so called au ideas of mystery n8 nene ?? nene’s name involves the number “8” , so of course people are theorising that she’ll become the 8th mystery. if so, the mystery of what ? 🤍

Hi again :0

I'm certainly aware of how Nene's name alludes to the number 8, since other characters have numbers correlating to their seat #. A maddening detail honestly... I will admit, it's not the sort of thing I can think of as an 'AU' so much as... 'There's this thing being foreshadowed that I have to brace myself for.' I've more or less just stared at this detail and felt helpless and confused lol. What is sensei trying to tell me!? <- I'm too busy thinking this and crying...

Beyond that, I can't really think of an 8th mystery the same as I would the others, too strugglesome. I mean, if we try and imagine it like 'we tack on No. 8 with the others' it would mean that a new seat could be created that doesn't previously exist. How... do you do that... But like, we don't know how the previous mysteries were made... Were there always 7?? If not, how do you add more, who decides(or decided) that? Would a rumor have to be made to make way for this mystery Nene-? Or could she manifest before having a rumor-?? Is being appointed just a matter of someone saying so, or is there more to it? (More prerequisites?) We don't even know what Sakura does when she appoints someone, and Tsukasa seems to exist outside of the system's typical conventions so I can't base too much on what he does with Mitsuba...

Each mystery seems to have jurisdiction over some, element, aspect of the world. But these concepts are as broad as 'time', 'life/death' and 'records'... While I like the story of JSHK and analyzing it is lots of fun, I feel like I cannot really simulate Iro-sensei's thought process— not enough to conceive of what an '8th Mystery' would dictate...

So... that's me being pedantic about a bunch of things. BUT... What I can tell you, that I've thought of on my own: I don't actually think Nene will 'become a mystery' in the manner we've seen... I think being "8" actually means she's something new, errr... rule-breaking? That's the vibe I get from her... I think Nene's existence is a bit of an anomaly. There are various things about her yet to be explained.

(MY SMALL ADDENDUM TO THIS is the fact that No. 7 already seems to operate differently than 1-6, so we already don't know enough about THAT guy... arghh.)

Why is Nene a kannagi? Aoi's family history explains her position, but somehow I doubt this is the case for Nene as well? So... where is her blessed nature coming from? And it's eerie, you know... how she meets Hanako just in time to be there to commence yorishiro, as the broadcast club orchestrates rumors. Why is that? What were they going to do if Hanako never got his hands on a kannagi...? Their goals are quite exact, with little room for error, aren't they... hm.

Nene has technically, from the twins' chronological perception, been interacting with them multiple times throughout their life. So her fate has been tied to the Yugi 'since the beginning' of this story... The cherry on top is the fact that her lifespan is inextricable from the existence of the mysterys' yorishiro. For whatever reason, if you get rid of all the mysteries, Nene will die. All I can infer from this is Nene's very existence is tied to that of the mysteries, so — I don't think she will become a part of the system, as much as she is already deeply involved in it? ...?? Perhaps she is already... No. 8? In SOME manner? You feel me??

My wife's even pointed out, it's troublesome Nene is already an isolated weird girl who gets whispered about in the halls... what 'rumors' exist of her already, we don't know. I wonder how blurred this line between human/kaii/mystery can be. There's no way to know, but... something to chew over. (The recent ASHK chapter showing an ominous dream that calls to question Nene's authenticity was designed to make me insane btw.)

Last thing I will say, prolly will seem out of nowhere but, my gut tells me Nene's existence... is tied to the well god, and Tsukasa. If the god inside Tsukasa / is the same god the mysteries are deriving power from / then Nene's lifespan is directly correlated to that god's power being unleashed (as the yorishiro/mysteries are simply a means of divying out these powers, controlling things like time, life, death, wishes, etc.)

It's my delusion but I'm holding out that all this information will kiss passionately someday. And-!!!!!!!!! Then I'll explode.

#asks

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haleigh-sloth · 2 years

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The League 🤔

I've been wanting to do this for a while but I haven't gotten around to it with everything I got going on. And good lord this isn't going to be a popular opinion, but I'm at a point where I don't care. I just want to predict what's going to happen based off of what we know.

I got into a recent back and forth with someone about the "Shigaraki as the final villain" argument, and quite frankly, nothing that has been brought to the table has changed my mind on that front. He won't be, because as he is in the story right now, he's just not final villain material (a thread talking about that in that link). I still stand by that.

But one of the counter arguments to suggest that he'd manage to fight his way out of AFO's control was that he has strong convictions tied to his and the LOV's goals, and that he'd hold onto his hatred enough to keep fighting for "that". And well, given that in the text it's literally stated that the more he hates, the weaker he gets against AFO, I'm not even gonna bother diving into the "letting go of hatred to set himself free" argument. We have the solution in the dialogue of the characters, there's no point in debating what we literally already know for a fact. What I DO want to tackle is this idea that the LOV have goals to work toward, because personally I feel like that's romanticizing what they're actually doing into something more grand and spectacular than what's actually happening. That is what I'm gonna counter below the cut:

"The LOV have goals to work toward." Do they?

I mean, what goals do we have, honestly:

We have Touya, whose goal was to meet his end in a blaze of glory alongside his dad. So basically, to die. Yes, you can say he was trying to bring his dad to justice, but look at the response to the exposure we literally HAVE. In the end Endeavor would have just been upheld as the hero who was killed by a villain. I'm sure Touya to some extent understands this, and understands that (in HIS mind) his family would go on resenting him for killing their dad. But he would be dead, so he wouldn't care. He wanted his dad to see him, and that was his way of making sure he did. Also like...nobody in the Todoroki family is condemning Touya for being angry. None of them. Shouto didn't say "get over being mad at dad", he said "Stop taking innocent lives and take your rage out on US". Shouto is the one who said "he is me." Nobody in the Todoroki family is saying Endeavor should be shielded from the hatred, resentment, and criticism, from the family or the public.

Toga, who "wants to live free" and be herself, but even she can't voice how that looks beyond the small community of acceptance she received from the LOV. The LOV were a small glimpse at what she wants, but seeing her recent attempts at achieving the same thing with the hero kids, she still doesn't even know what "free" looks like. She still can't express it without creeping the other party out.

Twice? Not that it matters because he's gone now, but I didn't see him voice any goals. He was just happy being with the LOV. They could have planned anything, and he would have gone along for the ride. They could have run away and lived in a forest somewhere, and he would have just gone along with it. And before people say that they all felt that way, show me where? Lol.

Compress is just living up to his lineage in a way and following up on ideals carried through generations. Kinda just letting Shigaraki, Toga, Touya, and Spinner take the reins in getting there. But really didn't contribute much beyond just being a warm body there.

There's Spinner, who hasn't evolved beyond following people he idealizes and puts on pedestals. First Stain, now Shigaraki. And no, there is no framing to suggest it's a good thing that he's doing this. It's a flaw that is waiting to be addressed in his arc.

Then we have Shigaraki. Who, the very first thing he was called out for (by a scared Izuku at the mall) was having no conviction or ideals. Shigaraki came to a conclusion (a world without All Might), which actually was something that produced a vision to work toward, but then not long after that abandoned even THAT. All Might retired, the symbol was gone, and the frailty of their world was exposed, but the LOV still existed and were still suffering. Shigaraki was still left with unaddressed anger, resentment, grief, and sadness (which shows you exactly WHY everything he is doing is not the solution). He went from having a specific idea for what kind of world he wanted to exist, to just--wanting their world and everything in it to come crashing down. He didn't evolve his convictions into something intricate and grand, he devolved them into the opposite. Yes, it's reactive. Yes, his complaints are valid, I'm not discounting that, in fact, that's a different discussion altogether. But people continue to think that everything that happened in MVA was positive development for him, starting with the "Why not destroy it all?" speech. And it I fail to see how. Was it development? Absolutely, it moved his arc forward, got him closer to the conclusion he'll get at the end of the story. And it was necessary for this story to be told, obviously. But was it positive for him? Hmmm, not sure I believe that. I don't see it.

So.....tell me exactly what goals we're talking about? What exactly is AFO standing in the way of, in terms of what the LOV is trying to achieve? He's not stopping Touya from completing his suicide mission, he's not stopping Toga from "becoming the people she loves", and he's certainly not stopping Spinner from worshipping the ground Shigaraki walks on. All of these "goals" the individual League members have point in the same direction AFO is heading toward. And currently you don't see any of the LOV members fighting or going against AFO at all--who btw aren't really all that in the dark about AFO and Shigaraki's situation, as they've seen and been horrified by what they saw in that cave. They're not fighting against him because....everything they're all doing points in the same direction.

With the state the League is in right now, they're all operating on their own individual agendas. This is clear. They're not coordinating any plans together, they're not forming teams to combat anything.

We literally SEE the individualistic mindsets they're stuck in through Toga's actions at the beginning of this arc. She didn't pull Izuku through that portal with the intent of just fighting and killing him. She pulled him through as a last ditch attempt to reach an understanding and maybe find some sort of answer to her question that she's been asking since Twice died:

She wanted an answer.

She pulled him through to talk. Obviously it didn't work, it was never going to. Izuku hasn't thought hard enough about her, had enough one-on-one time with her to deep dive into her mindset, and he's got his thoughts elsewhere too much to talk it out in their setting. Plus, there's the obvious narrative issue that she's not his villain ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .

But Toga pulling him through at the last second was showing just how much she's focusing on herself right now.

The LOV trio are all operating on their own self-interests. You could actually split the LOV in half and see how differently the six members were operating:

Twice, who just wanted to be with the League, regardless of what was going on

Compress worrying about keeping everyone together during MVA, while Shigaraki trudged on ahead, worried about keeping everyone together during the war arc as well, while Toga split for Ochacko, and even sacrificed himself so they could all get away

Spinner, following Shigaraki around during MVA, trying to keep everyone together during the war arc while Toga split, continuing to get lost in his idealization of Shigaraki in the current arc and now *gestures toward current Spinner*

Then compare to the trio:

Touya, who kept his identity a secret the whole time, who constantly split off to "recruit", gather intel on other people where it might come in handy later to bring his dad down crashing and burning

Toga, again I bring this up a lot, but constantly wanting validation and attention from Ochacko, Tsu, and Izuku--how does that align with anything the LOV are working at? (Tomura even said he wouldn't destroy the things she likes, butttt he tried to kill Izuku like a bunch lolol)

Then Shigaraki--who, yes wants to destroy the corrupt society they're in because it brings about its own villains, causes pain, ignores those who need help etc. etc., but he also has an entire other set of issues completely separate from the "lost child wandering the streets and being ignored"

His family. How many times does he remember the pain associated with them, with losing them. How many times do we see the Tenko that existed before his family died to represent his honest thinking?

And, well, Shigaraki's family has nothing to do with the League. Just, another notion that the LOV aren't all in sync and working to rebuild some "fixed" version of what they're living in now.

So back to Shigaraki just magically becoming himself again (which, I've already explored why that ain't happenin)--what is is exactly that AFO is keeping from happening? Again, he's not keeping Touya from his plans, or Toga from hers. Does he view them as equals? Nah. Not even a little. But idk what Shigaraki would be fighting for when the LOV aren't even fighting against AFO themselves, as in, they don't view it as a fight TO fight for.

At this point, literally the only thing AFO is "in the way of" in terms of the LOV and what they're doing, is Shigaraki being himself. That's the obstacle. The rest of the League are all also operating on an individual agenda that doesn't have much to do with each other, or anybody else.

Again, this isn't to say they don't care about each other. Like....I'm not here to throw shade at anybody's interpretation of their friendships or anything. But the romanticizing and woobifying of what they're actually trying to do is getting in the way of analyzing what's actually going on.

You know, people on the other side are probably suffering too (there are several canon examples actually!), but, they'll die if the LOV win. This isn't a fight for making things better for people in general who are suffering. It's a reaction to their own unaddressed pain and suffering, it's revenge, and anybody who gets in the way is going down.

And that's why saving is so important. Because if the LOV win, they still lose. (expanded on there) They're still miserable, they're still ignored by the people they wanted attention from. Nothing gets better. That's why their solution is not a revolution or a positive thing they can continue to pursue, it's not even remotely framed that way. It'll only hurt them more, and--once again, that's why being saved by the "other side" (heroes!) is so important for them to get what they need.

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general--winter · 1 year

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Could we please get general relationship headcanons for Ann from Persona 5?

author's note: Ann my beloved. My best friend in the whole wide world. I see a lot of myself in her actually, if I wasn't so reserved lol. I bestow upon you the headcanons. Please, enjoy and thank you for the request!

rating: general

fandom: persona 5

pairing: ann takamaki x gn!reader

warnings: mentions of objectification of women's bodies

word count: 671

summary: What would Ann be like in a relationship?

Oh gosh Ann, I love her with all my heart. There’s a reason her element alignment is Agi (fire), she’s a passionate and driven woman who will stop at nothing to see her way to her goals. So, I imagine that when her mind is set on pursuing someone romantically, she would be the one to pull out all of the stops, but only if she’s already comfortable around them. Perhaps as a friend or acquaintance she has a positive history with, that she can trust. I definitely don’t think she would want to be in a relationship before being friends with someone, just to make sure their vibes are proper.

Chocolate on Valentine’s Day? She’s suave as all hell about it. Flowers? Any time you meet up to hang out, she’ll sneak to the florist and get you a single rose (or whatever your favorite flower is when she figures it out). A nice night out? I’d imagine once her modeling career takes off, and why wouldn’t it, she would treat you to a delectable and fancy all-you-can-eat buffet and take you on a walk through Inokashira Park.

Her love language is acts of service and gift giving, these two especially going hand in hand. She loves to do things for people, to show them that she cares about them through what she does. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t also appreciate a good gift though. Perhaps buy her that makeup collab set she’s been talking about all month? Or the new album from her favorite band that just came out? Just to show you listen to her and care about her interests as much as she cares about your own!

Despite her forward nature when pursuing a romantic interest, she’s pretty shy about physical contact. The first time you hug her, she’s stiff as a board and takes a minute to relax into it. You initiate your first kiss together, and it flusters her beyond all belief. This stems from her negative experience being objectified as a model, especially as a woman with traditionally Western features (naturally blonde hair and blue eyes) in Japan. She definitely has to be eased into it very gently, and reassured consistently along the way that you’re not there just for her physicality, but for her as a complete person. Either way, she’s not really touchy-feely, but if your love language is physical touch, I guarantee you that she will do her best to make sure you feel as loved as you make her feel.

I think the Phantom Thieves would all really enjoy your presence when you’re introduced to them (if you don’t already know them), except the way you make Morgana bicker way too much. If it is your first time meeting Ann’s friends, their opinion is incredibly valuable to her; she trusts their instincts as much as she does her own. It would be best to make a good impression! Especially with Shiho too, I imagine that she’s Ann’s personal shadow defender and will hurt you if you do anything to Ann. (Don’t let the kind and outgoing facade fool you after her recovery from depression, Shiho can and will throw hands for Ann for playing such a huge role in saving her life.)

Overall, day-to-day with her I imagine to be very exciting and fun. Ann is always down for an adventure to the beach or the amusement park to spice up the day, but she’s more than content staying bundled up inside or just hanging out at Leblanc all day with you. Her personality is unpredictable and she can have an incredibly short temper, but overall it's usually in jest. It’s easy to tell when Ann is being sarcastically pissed off for comedic effect or when she’s really angry by the tone of her voice. She’s incredibly impatient, and you catch yourself teasing her until she’s incredibly flustered and “enraged” about her overreaction to the crepe stand’s wait times. She secretly enjoys it, not that she’ll ever admit it.

#persona #persona 5 #persona fanfiction #persona 5 fanfiction #ann takamaki #ann takamaki x reader #request #headcanon #gender neutral reader #GOD i love ann she's so awesome #i want to be her when i grow up.

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historyhermann · 9 months

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Job creep among fictional librarians

In her 2018 In the Library with the Lead Pipe article, "Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves," Fobazi Ettarh writes about job creep. She defines it as subtle and slow expansion of job duties not recognized by the organization or their supervisors. Since librarians are often expected to place their duties and place the profession above their own interests, leading job creep to become common. This manifests itself in employees doing more but having less time to accomplish their tasks. As a result, employees who can't do more than what is in the job description are seen as not doing the minimum and their managed may believe they are not committed to the organization or its mission if the extra tasks aren't completed. This interconnects with the idea of librarianship as a religious calling, with some asked to do "dangerous emotional and physical labor" without getting the support or tools provided to other professions who do those duties.

Originally published on Pop Culture Library Review on August 3, 2023.

Job creep is more than employees being pressured to "deliver more than the normal requirements of their jobs" and tied to undercompensation, part of a twin phenomenon in librarianship. It is interconnected to vocational awe, meaning that assumptions, values, and ideas librarians have about the profession or themselves. This results in the beliefs that libraries, as institutions, are "inherently good and sacred, and therefore beyond critique" as Ettarh puts it. Such job creep is inherent in librarianship due to self-sacrificing and service-oriented workplaces, as noted by Ettarh.

In terms of libraries this means librarians are "undertaking jobs they might not have trained for" like giving tax help or even administering Narcan to people who have overdosed. In terms of fictional librarians, I struggled a little to find those who do more than what is expected. One example, could be, perhaps, Myne/Main in Ascendance of a Bookworm. Although she is dedicated to becoming a pioneer of the printing press in this world, she becomes a priest in order to work in the library, so she can be a librarian who helps people. It was much more than she "signed up for", just as it is with librarians who deliver Narcan but never signed up for such a task. [1]

On the other side are characters like Kaisa in Hilda. As she is a librarian first, and witch second, perhaps she believes as some librarians do, that librarians are responsible for the safety of "patrons who come inside your library doors". In the case of Kaisa, she takes this responsibility far through her magic. She makes sure Hilda and Frida are ok, and safe. At the same time, Hilda and Frida help her get out of the void and make sure all of them aren't lost for eternity. The Trolberg library probably doesn't have active-shooter response training, like some libraries, but that doesn't matter because there are witches, who work below the library, or in the library itself, like Kaisa. She undoubtedly recognizes that there are other ways to protect patrons "besides having a gun and going blasting" as some librarians have stated.

There are other librarians who do more than expected. Take Clara Rhone in Welcome to the Wayne. She provides the protagonists with "critical information" and recognizes there are "different pathways to attaining information." She also realizes, to some degree, the role of librarians to help people "meet their informational needs." [3] Without her help, Ansi, Olly, and Sarah would have never found the mysteries, and secrets, of the Wayne apartment building. If the library she works, the Stanza, had never been there, it could have never been a sanctuary from those who were chasing them. It would have never been a place to give them the information they needed for their journeys. Without Clara, the protagonists would have not succeeded in their goals, not for a second. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

Clara is not alone. One librarian who appears to do much more than they bargained for is the unnamed and uncredited librarian in an episode of We Bare Bears. Possibly voiced by Ashly Burch, [4] this librarian undoubtedly encountered homeless and semi-homeless library patrons. This is because she is working in a library somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, as I wrote about back in May. This librarian appears to let the protagonists sleep the night over at the library, which is unique, considering that some librarians, at least in anime, are shown sleeping at the information desk, which will be the subject of a post two weeks from now. This librarian likely believes that you have to, as some librarians argued, "do the job that’s actually there, not the one that exists in your head", realizing the importance of librarians in serving the community in whatever way possible.

On the other hand, this librarian likely is not being supported by any managers or mentors telling her that burnout, as is empathy fatigue, a big problem, and to not be so hard on herself. Even so, I hope that she believes that she can't "solve all the problems" and that it isn't her responsibility to leave "work at work." [5] Hopefully she is like those librarians who take vacations, if she has paid time off, which is hopefully provided by her library, when needed, and relax.

There were other stories of librarians having trauma from their experiences, even if they loved "providing a service to underserved people". Maybe they believed that society "needs an overhaul for how we treat people" like one librarian. [6] In the past, I've written about a papermaster (Anita) in R.O.D. the TV who was traumatized by the burning of books, which scarred her for life. Learning that one of the protagonists, Yomiko Readman, was behind the act (because her powers got out of control), ruined her. I've also noted that an action of a librarian, Wan Shi Tong (voiced by Héctor Elizondo), caused Korra, a protagonist of Legend of Korra to be even more traumatized that she already was previously in the series.

More than the aforementioned characters is Amity Blight (voiced by Mae Whitman). She is a lesbian who is in a relationship with another protagonist, and she directly experiences trauma, something which is at the core of The Owl House, as I noted in an article last year. As some reviewers have argued, Luz becomes a revelation that Luz needs, even if she has to confront trauma and "move away from those in her life who are only capable of hurt." This also involves going at trauma head-on and realizing it doesn't control her anymore. [7] At the same time, Amity gets fired from her job at the library, in the episode "Through the Looking Glass Ruins." Although she gets her job back, some have argued that getting fired can be an "extremely traumatic experience". It can also come with depression, anger, and resentment, although those feelings can fade over time. Some have even argued that getting fired is a form of "abandonment trauma" and can be tragic, especially for those who feel they are fired for no reason. It can also lead to self-defeating thoughts and distress of some kind. [8]

In the case of Amity, she undoubtedly feels distressed about the whole thing, considering she got the job and her own study room in the library. However she recognizes that her boss, Malphas (voiced by Fred Tatasicore) can be nice at times, but would also feed her, and Luz, to bookworms if they were caught in the forbidden section. Despite this, she endeavors to help Luz, even though this puts her job on the line!

This brings me to other librarians. Some have argued that although those in library school don't "ever teach everyone everything they might need to know" and it becomes impractical to believe that students can be taught "all the dimensions of their jobs." These same librarians argue that while certain things aren't included in library classes, "curriculum- and program-level changes are difficult." One person who would likely recognize this is Mo Testa in Dykes to Watch Out For. She is a graduate from library school dedicated to social justice, even rejecting a job because the previous librarian disagreed with the Patriot Act and left. She clearly sees the library as the "temple to the written word", connecting with what I have earlier about libraries as being like temples, in Japan and beyond.

She is also a lesbian and a feminist. At the same time, she is a reference librarian, is a White female who wears glasses, and is passionate about her beliefs. This undoubtedly translates into her work as a librarian and that stands against stereotypes in more ways than one.

There are librarians who describe job/mission creep as a big problem in librarianship, with "other duties as assigned" becoming a bigger part of your job. Then, you are seen as doing "less than" others when your colleagues do the extra work. These same librarians reject the idea librarians can solve community problems or be social workers when trauma counseling doesn't exist, and supplant the jobs of social workers or medical professionals. Such librarians would also argue against being "stretched thin" by trying to be librarians, social workers, mental health professionals, and more all at the same time, setting a bad precedent, instead of just being information specialists. [10]

I tend to sympathize with this view the most, as a person who once countered a now library consultant (then manager) who I called "Justin the librarian." I wrote, back in 2019, something I still agree with, that it is clearly ignorant to say that librarians do "everything" for every community member. Instead, librarians should do what they can, but never try to be "everything". That would, as I wrote at the time, undoubtedly stretch their personal capacities and the institutions themselves, weakening the profession, even as librarians work to serve patrons from all walks of life.

While characters like Doctor Oldham, who is an old "sage" and a medical doctor, on the Gargantia inter-locking fleet in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, would fulfill what the previous librarian I summarized would completely oppose, others are different. I would believe that Lydia Lovely in Horrid Henry, Mira and Sahil in Mira, Royal Detective, would not do more than what is assigned. Even Ms. Herrera, who is possibly Latine, in Archie's Weird Mysteries would likely not go beyond what was assigned to her. She does help Archie, an often patron. On the other hand, she may be a bit stretched thin, but that would only be because the library seems to be understaffed and she has a lot on her plate as a result. Hopefully she is well-compensated.

Notes

[1] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Chera Kowalski, Assistant to the Chief of Staff Free Library of Philadelphia in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[2] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Tom Rink, Instructor of Library Services at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[3] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Homa Naficy, Chief Adult Learning Officer at Hartford (Conn.) Public Library in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[4] After listening to various video clips of Ashly Burch, Demtri Martin, and Philece Sampler, all of whom were credited with "additional voices", I think the closest to this is Ashly Burch, but I could be completely wrong, and it could be Demtri Martin.

[5] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Graham Tedesco-Blair Adult Services Librarian at Newark (N.Y.) Public Library in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[6] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Amanda Oliver, MFA Student at University of California–Riverside who formerly worked in libraries in the Washington, D.C. area and presumably D.C. Public Library in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019. Also see: Oliver, Amanda. "Working as a librarian gave me post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms," Los Angeles Times, Apr. 19, 2019.

[7] King, Jade. "The Owl House Is Showing Young Viewers The Necessity Of Queer Rebellion." TheGamer, Jun. 21, 2021.

[8] "Trauma From Being Fired: How to Get Over It and Move On." An Overviews Of Societal And Workplace Issues And their solution, Oct. 3, 2021; Anderson, Susan. "FIRED FROM A JOB: A Silent Form of Abandonment Trauma," AbandonmentRecovery.com, Sept. 12, 2014; Hamdi, Awatef. "How to Get Over from Trauma of Getting Fired for No Reason," fratres, 2021; Carmichael, Ava. "Can Being Fired from a Job Cause PTSD?" Ava Carmichael's website, accessed June 24, 2022; Carter, Sherri Bourg. "Seven Things to Avoid After Being Fired." Psychology Today, Aug. 18, 2011.

[9] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Nicole A. Cooke, Associate Professor and MS/LIS Program Director, School of Information Sciences, at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

[10] Quoting/summarizing from the section by Fobazi Ettarh, Undergraduate Success Librarian, Rutgers University–Newark (N.J.) in "Other Duties as Assigned: Front-line librarians on the constant pressure to do more," American Libraries, Jan. 2, 2019.

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