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cardentist · 3 years

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I haven’t been in the star trek fandom for very long (I’ve only just started binging the series in the last couple months), so it’s been pretty surprising to find out just how negative the perception of the reboot movies are.

this isn’t coming from the perspective of someone who grew up with the series, so it hit different for me than it might for people with a different relationship to TOS, but I thought it was genuinely clever and Respectful with how it was handled.

To quote leonard nimoy: “Well the alternative timeline gives them license to escape from canon concerns. I can’t see people saying ‘they shouldn’t do that because…’ or ‘that doesn’t tie in to such and such’ because it is a different time and place. Am I right about that?” [Link]

the entire Premise is that the original series happened as it was presented in TOS, but an event late in Spock’s life caused the creation of a parallel universe in which everyone’s lives were significantly altered through two key changes to the timeline. this gives them the freedom to Both revel in fanservice And explore different facets of the characters and their relationships.

the destruction of vulcan Vastly impacts the characters and the plot moving forward, and its a detail that a lot of people take issue with. but the emotional impact of sarek admitting Directly to spock that there is value in his humanity, that his feelings Aren’t wrong, that sarek married amanda because he Loved her cannot be understated. you can read all of these things into sarek as he was in the original series, but he Never had an open conversation about these things with spock. this creates a Believable and Rewarding change in their relationship, where we get to see a different facet of them Because of the changes made. and that’s exactly the appeal. showing us pieces of these characters that we never got in TOS that are nevertheless undeniably Them.

everyone is Different yes, but they’re also fundamentally the same people at their core and that matters.

kirk’s personality obviously takes the biggest change, with him experiencing trauma at a young age, losing his father, and having an implied abusive father figure after that point. he has a harsher personality in reaction to harsher conditions, he’s spikier and harder to love. but he’s also still fundamentally a Good person whose willing to risk everything to help people. he still has what made kirk prime a good captain and a good friend.

I’m not gonna say that it’s the most nuanced story in the world, but it explores a version of kirk that was born from even Less fortunate circumstances than kirk prime, exploring a kirk brimming with potential who learned to bite back after he was kicked down. exploring those themes of trauma and loss, of insecurity and growth, and coming to the conclusion that Fundamentally He Is Capable Of Good isn’t a Bad thing. you don’t have to like it, but his growth into a better person is The Point. they deepened his flaws (all of which were present in a less exaggerated form in TOS) To Show That Growth.

and then of course there’s his relationship with spock.

people are totally justified in not liking that they had a rough start to their relationship, I usually don’t like to see that kind of thing in reboots or hollywood adaptations either, but the way people talk about it is just unfair.

Yes kirk and spock and bones have a very strong relationship in TOS, they also already know each other by the time the show starts. to look at them having to learn to get to know and trust each other when they first meet and say that it’s Bad because they were already full on ride or die for each other in the og series is silly. TOS kirk and spock had to meet and fall in love with each other too, it didn’t just happen over night kings.

secondly, the entire point of the first movie is that Even With reality itself being altered to pull them apart they are fundamentally compatible people that are Bound to each other. they meet each other on bad terms because of circumstances outside of their control, and yet they’re still pulled into each other’s orbit and find the other slotting into place next to them as if they always belonged. one of the first things that spock prime says in the movie is “I am and always will be your friend,” spock and jim are Meant for each other and the movie goes out of its way to explain that. which is what makes it so Weird to see people complaining about how they don’t like each other.

it’s a Different relationship, but it’s absolutely no less steeped in yearning or queer subtext.

speaking of queer subtext ! some people are Very unhappy with spock’s relationship with uhura.

first thing I wanna say is that making the argument that they’re doing anything that the original series hasn’t done is just, completely untrue. kirk has fallen in love with more girls in the og series than he knew what to do with, leonard nimoy was a heartthrob in his time (and he deserves it, awooga) and spock reflects that ! Spock usually turns the women who come onto him down (or when he doesn’t it’s because a plant has literally altered his mind), but there are exceptions to even that. all of three of the main boys have plenty of romance subplots, it happens. if that takes the possibility of them being queer off the table for you (which it shouldn’t, m-spec people exist) then I’m sorry to say that TOS is not exempt.

now, I can understand why Specifically This Relationship could rub people the wrong way or being disappointed that they didn’t outright depict kirk and spock as having a relationship (if not in the first movie then in the following ones after they’ve gotten to know each other), but even in that context the way I’ve seen people talk about it comes off as insensitive.

no, the relationship did not come out of nowhere. they considered having spock and uhura date each other in the original show (and you can see signs of this in the earlier episodes, where uhura very obviously flirts with him and they spend time together in their down time) before they decided against it, and spock was originally going to kiss uhura until shatner insisted that he wanted to do it (because it was the first interracial kiss on tv). [Link 1, Link 2, Link 3]

nichelle nichols was asked about this exact thing (spock and uhura’s relationship in the movie), you can read the interview in full here [Link] but I’d like to highlight this paragraph in particular:

“Now, go back to my participation in Star Trek as Uhura and Leonard (Nimoy) as Spock. There was always a connection between Uhura and Spock. It was the early 60’s, so you couldn’t do what you can do now, but if you will remember, Uhura related to Spock. When she saw the captain lost in space out there in her mirror, it was Spock who consoled her when she went screaming out of her room. When Spock needed an expert to help save the ship, you remember that Uhura put something together and related back to him the famous words, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m afraid.” And Uhura was the only one who could do a spoof on Spock. Remember the song (in “Charlie X”)? Those were the hints, as far as I’m concerned.”

the film makers looked at the fact there were Hints for uhura and spock, that they were Interested in exploring an interracial couple for the first time (both before and immediately after interracial couples won the right to legally get married) but Couldn’t because of the circumstances of the times and decided to Make that depiction. you don’t have to Like their relationship just because of that fact, but it’s Incredibly reductive to play down it’s significance as just a No Homo cop out. explicitly queer relationships are not the only progressive or culturally important relationships in fiction.

moreover, if you can’t imagine polyamory in the communist utopian future that’s on you.

moreover, this perception that this was a soulless cash grab is just, unfounded.

leonard nimoy returned to the role as spock for the first time in 16 years (since 1991) and this was Entirely because of the respect they had for nimoy, spock as a character, and the franchise as a whole.

Lets look at some quotes from nimoy in interviews regarding the film:

Leonard Nimoy: When I first read the script (...) I immediately contacted J.J. and said “I think it is terrific…I think you guys have done a wonderful job. There is still work to be done, but it is very clear that you and your writers know what you are doing and you know how to do this movie and know what it should be about….and I am very interested.” Then as time went by we worked things out with Paramount, but the most important things were J.J. and the script. (...) I am very pleased about that and I am very comfortable with where this is going. I think the writers have done a terrific job. They have a real sense of the characters and the heart of Star Trek and what it is really all about.

(...)

TrekMovie.com: Now in the case of the new movie you have been retired from acting for years. What was it about this one that made you want to act again and go through the make up again? What was it that made you say ‘I really want to do this?’

Leonard Nimoy: You are right, this is a special situation. First it is Star Trek and so I have to pay attention. I owe that to Star Trek. Second place is that it is J.J. Abrams who I think very highly of, he is a very talented guy. Then came the script and it was very clear that I could make a contribution here. The Spock character that I am playing, the original Spock character, is essential and important to the script. So on the basis of those three elements it was easy to make the decision. So those three things: Star Trek, J.J. Abrams, and an interesting Spock role.

[Link]

Praising the cast playing younger versions of characters from the original 1960s TV series, he [Leonard Nimoy] said: “Let me take the opportunity to say this. Everybody at this table [the cast] are very, very talented and intelligent people.”

“They found their own way to bring that talent and intelligence to this movie, and I think it shows. (...) When Karl Urban introduced himself as Leonard McCoy and shook hands with Chris Pine, I burst into tears. That performance of his is so moving, so touching and so powerful as Doctor McCoy, that I think D. Kelley would be smiling, and maybe in tears as well.”

“The makers of this film reawakened the passion in me that I had when we made the original film and series. I was put back in touch with what I cared about and liked about Star Trek, and why I enjoyed being involved with Star Trek. So, it was an easy way to come on home.”

“[In this Star Trek] they said things and showed me things, and demonstrated the sensibility that I felt very comfortable with, and I think that shows in the movie. I like it.”

[Link 1, Link 2]

again, you don’t have to like it just because leonard nimoy did, you don’t have to Agree. but the idea that nobody working on the film Cared is provably false. near everyone working on the project was already a fan of the series or were excited to be involved and did their homework. it’s genuinely a Miracle just how much of a labor of love this was, and in my opinion you can feel that through the movie itself. I’d highly recommend looking into interviews and behind the scenes details about the movies. they had a respect not just for the source material, but for leonard nimoy as a person.

there’s definitely more I Could say about this, but it’s 4 am now so I’m gonna shelve it jklfdsa

that said! it’s Fine to not like the movie, not everything is going to be suited to everyone’s taste, but the specific criticisms I’ve seen feel very off base

#star trek #kirk #spock #uhura #nichelle nichols #leonard nimoy #star trek aos #aos #star trek tos #tos #meta #long post #hello followers I write essays about star trek now

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buckyownsmylife · 3 years

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daddy issues - chapter ix

The one where Ransom doesn’t feel ready to become a father, but he should have thought about it before sleeping with a complete stranger.

When Ransom’s latest one night stand lets him know that he’s going to become a father, he finds himself looking for the qualities he never believed to have so he can become the parent he never got to witness as a child.

for general warnings and author’s notes, please go to the fic’s masterlist.

Y/N’s P.O.V.

“Can’t believe you invited Ransom Drysdale to come to the bar with us.” I rolled my eyes, already used to Ana’s whining, and turned away from the bar to scoop my surroundings. Still no sign of him. But it was early, and he’d warned me he probably wouldn’t be able to get here until at least 8pm, so really, I shouldn’t be looking for him like some sort of lovesick teenager.

I didn’t even know why I was so eager to see him again.

“He’s the father of my child, what did you expect me to do?” That finally had Ana looking away from her shots to glance at my body, perfectly squeezed in one of my tightest dresses, showing just enough cleavage and legs to make it one of my favorite get-lucky items in my wardrobe.

“You’re right. I keep forgetting the reason he’s in your life is because you’re pregnant. Seriously, I was about to offer you a shot and everything!” I shook my head, chuckling to myself at her ways. “I mean, can you blame me? It’s not like you’ve started showing or anything!”

Well, she had a point there. It was also the reason why 1) I had agreed to come out with her tonight and 2) chose this dress to wear. I had to take advantage of this body while it was still like this. Soon enough, I’d be too heavy to handle high heels or crowded pubs, not to mention the fact that I would most definitely not fit into these already uncomfortably tight outfits.

“I’ll give you that,” I grinned, tapping her hand teasingly, like I was trying to calm her down. “Sometimes I forget it too. What the fuck is he doing here?” I added as a familiar man made his way into the bar, Ana’s head whipping around to look at where I was staring at a blond, well-built guy, grinning widely at me.

“Who’s that?” I was too busy grinding my teeth together as I watched him approach, but as he came closer and closer to where we were standing, I knew it was better to let her know who he was right off the bat, so she could help me try to keep him away.

“Steven fucking Rogers.” Ana’s exclamation of surprise was cut short by his arrival, his stupidly handsome face going from me to her as if he waited for a formal introduction. “What are you doing here, Rogers?” My usual irritation at his presence was intensified by a thousand, and I had no idea why. Even he seemed surprised, if his eyebrows raised high were any indication.

As much as I made sure to avoid him, I’d never had any reason to be outwardly aggressive towards him before.

“Same as you, minus the dress.” He made a show out of undressing me with his eyes, and I rolled mine while fighting off the urge to dry heave. Why do men just assume our choice in clothing has anything to do with what we actually intend to do for the evening?

“You know, for someone who’s a university professor, you can be pretty daft.” Unfortunately for me, my comment only made the man towering over my smaller frame start to laugh. “Excuse me, I’m gonna see if Ransom texted me,” I told Ana, while giving Steve a side-eye as I made my way towards the back of the bar.

There was a door to some sort of patio, and so that’s where I went, breathing in relief at the absence of loud music, as the walls made it pretty muted back here. The nice, cold air of the evening was also a blessing.

I looked at the purse on my shoulder and considered if I actually wanted to reach out to Ransom. It was only half past seven, there was a lot of time for him to get here and absolutely no reason for me to make myself look like a clingy girlfriend. I just needed an excuse to put some distance between Steve and I.

But just as I thought that my mission had been accomplished, the sounds of the bar became louder, indicating someone had opened the door and joined me out here. Lucky as I was, I could imagine who that person might be.

“C’mon, honey…” Steve’s voice had me freezing every single one of my muscles, as I refused to turn around and look at him. “You can’t pretend to be some innocent little thing while you’re wearing a dress like that.”

God, I wish I could puke. It was times like these where my pregnancy sickness didn’t appear and for once, I wanted it to. So maybe then I could paint his pretty face or at the very least, his expensive shoes in a pale yellow color and erase that smug look on his face.

I didn’t even have to look to know it was there.

Ransom’s P.O.V.

“You know, I could get used to seeing your skin this exposed…” I stopped dead on my tracks behind the couple I’d followed into the back exit. I’d looked for her everywhere ever since I arrived, she had to be there or I would start to think she had been playing a prank on me.

But seeing Y/N didn’t bring the relief I was expecting, because there was a man with her. And I didn’t know why the sight made my blood boil, but it did. They hadn’t noticed me yet, and so I stayed back in the shadows, contemplating just turning around and going back to my car, but I wanted to be sure of what was actually going on.

“It makes me think about what you’d look like naked.” I saw her shook her head, back still turned to the man behind her (and to me), but then his hands reached out and captured her waist, and I saw her flinch.

“You look so hot, I want to take you right here in this back alley…”

“Steve, let me go.” At the sound of the disgust in her voice, I sprung into action, barely processing my own feelings or noticing how she was squirming in his hands as I hauled his body from hers.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I asked the guy, chest already heaving from anger. Beside me, Y/N looked scared, obviously startled at seeing me, and especially in this state. But I was too far gone to care.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” If I wasn’t so angry, maybe I would have considered the next words that fell from my lips. But my track record wasn’t the best, even in a calm mindset, so not even I believed I would have been able to hold back.

“I’m her man. She’s mine and she’s having my baby, so how about you back off?” A cold hand wrapped around my wrist had me snapping back into reality, looking down to see her staring at me with wide eyes. Oh, shit.

“What is he on about?” The man yelled, this time directing his words to Y/N, who very patiently turned to look at him and say, “Would you care to shut up?” Finally, seeing as he truly wasn’t going to have a chance with her, he decided to leave, huffing to himself the entire time.

“Y/N…” I started trying to explain myself, but she cut me off with a simple shake of her head.

“Not here, Ransom. Can you drive me home?” I closed my mouth and stared back at her, a feeling of defeat filling my chest before I finally nodded. It was the least I could do, after all.

We walked back into the bar together, and together we went to say goodbye to her friend, to whom she very quickly introduced me to. I could barely find it in me to smile at the woman, too busy beating myself up for my behavior tonight.

The drive back to her place was silent. I was wrecking my brain for what I could say to justify my behavior, but couldn’t find anything. I’d failed. I’d apologized to her only this morning, and now I’d already screwed up again.

Why should she want me around? I wasn’t even capable of being a good friend, much less an actual co-parent with her. How could she rely on me if I kept letting my most immature instincts take over?

I stopped the car in front of her building, still struggling with what to say, but to my surprise, she didn’t make any immediate movements towards leaving. It seemed as if she was lost in her thoughts too, and the idea that I might have the chance to change this gave me just the push I needed to say something.

“I’m sorry,” I spilled out, and her eyes darted up to meet mine, slightly wider than usual. “For overstepping. I-I don’t know what happened. I just saw you with him and you looked scared and I… God, you must hate me right now.”

I had to cover my face so I could concentrate, I could feel a headache coming. But just when all seemed lost, I felt a warm hand over my thigh, squeezing the muscle, calling for my attention.

“It’s alright, Ransom. This is new for me too.” I didn’t know relief could feel this relaxing. Finally finding the courage to look her in the eyes again, I chanced a small smile that she quickly reciprocated, her hand still connecting us.

“I- It was actually really nice to hear your voice when I thought I’d have to scream for help. You did good, you were… you were very good back there. Thank you.” Silence fell between us once again, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. For my part, I seemed to have forgotten how to speak. But she didn’t remain quiet for long.

“I just think we have to talk about what you said…” And that was all I needed to jump into explanation mode again.

“I know, I know. I don’t know why I said it. I didn’t mean it, obviously.” And to my surprise, she just smiled, not seeming bothered in the slightest by what I had done earlier that night.

“Believe it or not, I understand. I know I seem quick to jump into conclusions and that hasn’t been a good thing for our relationship so far… but this time I understand where you’re coming from.” It was a good thing that she did, I realized as she let go of my thigh to reach out for my hand instead. Because I had absolutely no idea why I’d said that she was mine. “But we do have to set some boundaries.”

I nodded, despite all of the confusing and conflicting emotions inside of me, starting with the feeling of warmth that appeared to be caused by her holding my hand. “You have to control yourself,” she continued, tone making it clear that she wanted me to give any sort of indication of my understanding of her words.

Deciding to hold back on the comment about how it was impossible, considering just the sight of her made me horny, I opted to go with a more mature, if slightly vulnerable response. “It’s not that easy… I don’t know how to keep those feelings in check. I’ve never felt them before.”

She nodded understandingly, and it didn’t seem patronizing. Before I could further clarify what I meant - or put my foot in my mouth, probably - she filled in the blanks for me. “The feelings of protectiveness.” My mouth opened as I almost let the wrong thing escape, but I reeled it in at the last second.

“Yeah…” I trailed off. “Let’s go with that.” She frowned before her eyes widened in surprise, but then she started laughing, although shaking her head at my antics.

“You’re too much, Ransom Drysdale.” But instead of saying it in a disappointed tone, she just leaned over the console and hugged me, taking me by surprise. I didn’t even have the time to enjoy it, because in seconds she had leaned back and was unbuckling her seatbelt so she could leave.

“Hey,” I called out for her attention, wanting to get one last word in before she left. “You do look extremely hot in that little dress of yours. I didn’t have the opportunity to tell you before.” She narrowed her eyes at my words, but pursed her lips at the same time, like she was trying very hard not to laugh.

“As charming as that is, I think it’s a bit too late for you to try to flirt with me. I’m already carrying your child, aren’t I?” My smile dropped immediately, heart pounding in my chest with fear at her words.

“Shit, that’s not what I meant, I…” but she cleared all of my worries with a single cheeky wink, making me chuckle in relief as I slumped back against the driver’s seat.

“Thanks. I wanted to take advantage of my body while it’s still like this.” I watched as she gathered her stuff to leave, mind travelling to the future and imagining all of the changes she would go through because of this pregnancy.

I decided not to tell her that just the thought of her larger belly and heavier breasts was enough to get me hard. This version of her body, as hot as it was, wouldn’t be missed by me.

“Oh, hey,” she stopped just before closing the door, biting her lower lip as she pondered over something. “I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?”

The warm feeling that had appeared when she held my hand spread over my chest as I excitedly grinned at the woman before me, taking notice of the way she smiled back just as eagerly. I couldn’t help but notice there was a little bit of relief in the way she let her breathing escape after my affirmative answer, too.

“Text me the details?” She nodded.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

I watched as she got safely inside her building, before finally allowing myself to think back on the events of the night - and particularly, on the way I felt seeing her in that dress, being touched by another man, and talking about the changes she feared she’d see in her body. One thing was perfectly clear to me then: being just friends with the mother of my child would be no easy task.

#my series #ransom drysdale fluff #fluff #ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale reader #ransom drysdale reader insert #random drysdale reader inserts #ransom drysdale x you

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loving-daisy · 3 years

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It’s Only Love | George Weasley x Reader

Masterlist

Words: 4.0k

Warnings: jealousy, angst if you squint, brief mentions of anxiety, small and enclosed spaces, loneliness, idiots in love, and fluff.

Summary: George didn’t know why he was feeling that way. Turns out, it’s only love.

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It’s only love and that is all.

George slumped into his pillow as soon as he entered his dormitory. Feeling all sorts of things that led him into self reflection in attempt to justify his thoughts. A few moments after, Fred came walking in, hand in his pocket, whistling, ecstatic to have another day of successful pranking.

Turning to see his brother looking so gloomy, the look on his face was changed into concern. “What’s wrong Georgie? Is something bothering you?” Fred asked as he sat on George’s bed, attempting to comfort his twin.

“Nothing, I’m just tired.”

“Tired? But you never get tired whenever we manage to have a successful prank. You can’t fool me, mate. Tell me.” Fred pushed. “It’s nothing, I swear.”

The older twin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, and like I would believe you. I’m your twin brother, George. We go way way back. Starting from when we were just fetuses! Now tell me, mate. What’s wrong? I won’t stop bothering you until you tell me.”

George finally managed to sit down and face his twin. “I think…” George trailed off, playing with his fingers. “I fancy a girl.” He sighed, his heart heavy as the thoughts of earlier events was kept swamped in his ginger head.

Fred smirked, a knowing look in his face. “And who might that be, Georgie? Who’s the unlucky girl who caught your attention?” He teased, poking George’s side, another attempt to make him feel better. Somehow, it worked as it brought George to raise an eyebrow towards Fred.

“Unlucky? Girls around Hogwarts go crazy over me!” George exclaimed. “Reckon, she would be the luckiest girl in the universe if she decides to go to Hogsmeade with me.”

“Mind you, I am more good looking than you.” The older twin stated, obviously not backing down. George looked at him seriously. “Fred” He called.

The older twin raised his hands, defending himself. “What? I’m just stating a fact.”

“We’re identical twins, Fred.”

“I knew that…” Fred said. “But you still haven’t answered my question. Who is it?” He asked, even if he already knew who his brother was eyeing.

It was painfully obvious from the beginning. George was just too painstakingly blind to see it. Everyone basically already knew...well, except for George. And... the girl he fancies.

“Admit first that I’m the better looking twin.”

“Nope” Fred says, popping the ‘p’. when an idea suddenly popped into his mind. He needs a little more push Fred thought to himself. And so, he stood up, walking towards the door before stating “If you won’t tell me, I’ll just inform Y/N then.”

Before Fred was able to reach the door, George went running to it, blocking it away from his twin. “DO NOT TELL Y/N PLEASE. I BEG YOU.” Fred gave George a fake surprised look. “But why? She’s our best friend! She’ll know what to -`”

“Because I can confess my own feelings to the girl I like.”

Fred gave George a smug look, patting his shoulder. “Good job, mate. Now that wasn’t so hard was it?” George gave him a confused look before finally realizing what Fred has done for him to act that way. “Merlin! I really hate you Fred.” He sighed, defeated. “No, you don’t. I’m your best man! I gotta give it to you though, took you quite a while. Everyone already knew about your undying love for Youngheart except for you, I guess.” He shrugged. “Wait, it's THAT obvious?” The younger twin asked, his eyes going wide.

“You must be blimey joking, mate. It’s obvious you want to have her all for yourself. I don’t even know why you’re wasting a good amount of time when you could have dated her a long time ago! That woman is crazy mad for you too!” Fred exclaimed.

The bitter look on George’s face became present once again. “If she’s mad for me, she wouldn’t be giggling earlier with that Hufflepuff.”

Fred was out of words. “...are you perhaps jealous?” He questioned, making George scoff. “No, I’m not.” He denied.

Fred snorted, patting his twin’s shoulder and deciding to just let it go and not waste more time as he suddenly wanted to see Angelina. “Sure, but if I were you, mate, I would go and make a move as soon as possible if I don’t want that Hufflepuff taking Y/N’s heart. Now, move. I’m gonna go see Angelina.” And with that, George was left alone to reflect on the older Weasley’s words.

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“Hey, George. What’s up? You didn’t tell me about yours and Fred’s prank earlier. I heard from Fred that Filch had smoke coming out from his ears!” Y/N giggled as she sat beside George in the great hall for supper.

George gave her a small smile. “Well, it was amazing actually. I was actually looking for you but I couldn’t find you so I decided to just go back to the dormitories.” George clenched his fists as he lied straight in Y/N’s face. He hated lying to you but he had to for him to contain himself.

Y/N gave him a confused look. “But I saw you though...I know you saw me too. In the hallways, remember? I was sitting with this Hufflepuff boy and-”

“I believe you have confused yourself, love. I was sure I didn’t see you.” George said, trying to avoid how the way your eyes sparkled earlier being with that stupid Hufflepuff when it could have been him.

An obvious tension flooded the atmosphere, causing both to just stuff their mouths with the feast laid in front of them to avoid further heat.

“The Weasley Twins have done it again, everybody! Give it up for Fred and George!” Lee announces to the crowd. “Thank you, thank you, I couldn’t have done it without these babies. And of course, there’s Georgie too.” Fred jokingly said, nudging his twin’s arm when he saw how George turned his head from left to right, looking for a certain Gryffindor girl. “Reckon, this was all my idea, Fred. Now if you would excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” With that, George pushed himself through the crowd and walked from hall to hall, trying to find Y/N.

As George turned into the next hall, he was met with the Golden trio. He smiled. “Hey there Harry, Granger, and of course, Ronnikins. What are you up too?” He said, looking ahead of him as he already saw the familiar red scarf. There was Y/N with her hair down, a book in her lap, and a hand in her mouth, stifling a laugh from something the boy beside her said. George’s eyes went dark. His insides giving him an unfamiliar feeling.

“What’s wrong with you George? Why are you suddenly nervous? Get it together, George. You wouldn’t want to fool yourself in front of the girl you like right? Wait,...the girl I like? Do I like her? I must be crazy. Y/N Youngheart is your best friend George Weasley. But the way her hair falls...her eyes, her laugh...her everything is just perfect. She’s perfect.” He thought to himself, his eyes never leaving the Gryffindor.

“Well, do you have any suggestions Fred?” George was brought back to his senses as Hermione spoke. “Fred? But I’m George.” He shook his head, teasing the wise Gryffindor. “Honestly, Granger, you call yourself a friend when you can’t even tell the two of us apart.” Hermione smirked. “I knew it was you all along, George. You just weren’t listening as you were shooting heart eyes to Y/N at the back.” Ron snickered.

George gasped. “I was definitely not shooting heart eyes! What are you-” “Yeah, ‘cause he was definitely shooting daggers towards that boy Y/N was with.” Harry stated. At that moment, it was as if a light bulb showed on top of Ron’s head, coming into a realization. “Wait, are you jealous?” Ron asked. The 6th year Gryffindor was taken aback.

“There’s something wrong with you three if you guys think that way. I think I’m tired. I guess I’m just gonna head back to the common room. See you later!” He dismissed, quickly turning around to head back and have some deep reflection on what he was truly feeling for his best friend. “Tired? But he never gets tired when they pull a successful prank.” The young Weasley confusedly mumbled to his friends, George being able to hear it.

On his way to the common room, he was able to slowly gather his thoughts. “Yeah George, what is wrong with you?” He questioned before quickly shrugging the thought and coming up with a concrete conclusion “I guess there are just those days where you feel a certain tiredness even if you do things you love the most.”

He recalled how he and Fred were able to pull off their prank; from doodling in their parchments in between classes, to stealing Snape’s stock to cook up potions, to the implementation, and to the way his heart felt disappointment when he didn’t spot Youngheart in the crowd to celebrate. The look on Y/N’s face with that Hufflepuff suddenly flashed in his train of thought. Her cheeks shade of pink, her eyes shrinking to form a line from the laugh she’s bestowing, and just everything. George would have felt delighted from the sight if it weren’t for the sweet-looking Hufflepuff. “That damn Hufflepuff. It should have been me.” George muttered as he entered his dorm and slumped into his pillow.

A few minutes after the awkward exchange, the mood became brighter as Fred took his place beside his twin along with the Golden trio plus Ginny sitting across them. Supper was spent with Fred telling them about how Angelina was as red as a tomato when Fred showed a magic trick, obviously smitten for the girl; Harry reading a book with Ginny, Ron stuffing his face as if he hasn’t eaten for days, and Hermione scolding him. If you would observe them, it was obvious that Y/N Youngheart had something bothering her.

George was quietly eating his food, trying to look interested in Fred’s story, until Y/N nudged him. She motioned for him to lean down and when he did, she whispered. “Do you perhaps wanna hang out later?” Y/N asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. George’s heart started beating fast, nervous, but he was able to give her a small smile. “Anything for you.”

--------------------

As Y/N entered the girl’s dormitory, she was met by her cat, Cloud. “Took you long enough. I’m hungry!” He whined.

“Have a little patience would you? You just ate a few hours ago.” She teased as she removed the scarf she was wearing, which was a gift from George.

“But that was a few hours ago Youngheart.” She raised her eyebrows as she faced her pet. “So we’re going to do a last name basis now huh? Did you forget that you’re also basically a Youngheart?”

“Of course, I didn’t forget. I just wanted to remind you that YOU are my mom and that you should be feeding me.” Cloud whined further. “Worry about dressing well later for Mr. Weasley, just please feed me.” He added, making Y/N stop in her tracks as confusion invaded her mind.

“How did you know me and George were going to meet up?” She questioned. “I just do. Now come on, feed me so that you can now finally go to your love.”

“Sometimes, I want to remove this bracelet. You keep on whining.” Y/N jokingly stated as she picked up cloud’s bowl to prepare his meal. For Y/N’s 12th birthday, her mom gave her a kitty as a gift, in which she named him Cloud because he was really fluffy. Cloud liked to meow a lot, but with no skills of cat communication, Y/N never really understood the reason for his noises. That’s why she decided to make a bracelet that would let her understand what Cloud was trying to say.

“Has he confessed yet?” Cloud asked. “Confessed? Why would he confess? I think you should be asking ME if I have already confessed.” Y/N suggested, giving her cat a raised eyebrow. “He obviously likes you back.” Replied Cloud nonchalantly.

Youngheart finally laid down the metal bowl that holds her cat’s dinner before sitting on her bed. “And how would you know that? You don’t even leave this room.” She nagged, getting nothing but noises coming from the cat’s bowl due to its bell hitting the metal. A few more seconds passed before Cloud looked up to her and said “Are you sure?”

Youngheart gasped. “Don’t tell me you have been sneaking out.”

“Then, I won’t tell you.”

“Cloud!!!” She squeaked. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Disbelief all over her face.

“Because you’re overprotective! You act as if I can’t take care of myself.”

“Well, you seem to look that way! Look at you! Always hungry and whining. What would you do without me?”

“What would I do without you? Not whine of course! I only whine in front of you because I love you.”

--------------------

A blanket was laid inside the astronomy tower. There they were, Y/N Youngheart and George Weasley, having a midnight picnic as if they didn’t just have supper at the Great hall 2 hours ago.

“Y/N.” George called, making Y/N look to her side in order to face the ginger. “Yes?”

“You know we’re in our sixth years now but you never really told me what you want to do in the future. I already told you about me and Fred’s plan of starting a joke shop, but what about you? You’ve given me and Fred a lot of support for our future and I wanted to do the same for you. You are our best friend after all.” He explained, his voice soft and warm, like a sweater you wear during the cold holidays.

Youngheart was taken aback by the sudden topic. “I….don’t really know, George.” She began. “All I know is that I really love potions. I like mixing potions. It’s just...it's amazing isn’t it? How a group of ingredients mixed together to form a mixture that could do something different. But I really want to make a potion that could heal people. Should I be a healer instead? But I don’t really want to deal with people. They give me anxiety!”

As if the ginger’s eyes held the entire universe, it sparkled. “Potions, eh? How ‘bout you join me and Fred’s joke shop? You can be the mastermind of our potions! How ‘bout something that makes your teeth fall off? Or something that can turn your hair red!” He suggested.

Youngheart giggled, causing the ginger’s heart to beat like crazy. Serotonin spreading throughout his body. “Why would you need a potion that turns your hair into red? Your hair is already red!”

“I’ll use it for you so you can become a Weasley.” He joked, earning a full blown laugh from the girl. “There are other ways I can become a Weasley that doesn’t necessarily need me drinking a potion to turn my hair red. I can go just marry Bill or Charlie and I’ll immediately become a Weasley!”

“Bill or Charlie?” He queried, the familiar feeling he felt earlier splashing through his stomach making it ache like it was acid. Youngheart raised her brows, feigning an innocent expression. “What? What’s wrong with them? They’re your older brothers, afterall. Not like I would marry Percy….or Fred...or You….or Ron! I’m just basing it from my ranking of my favorite Weasley.”

“Am I not your favorite Weasley?!” George asked, pushing the green monster away from his facial expression and feigning a hurt one instead. The look on Youngheart remained innocent. “No?” She answered.

“Honestly, woman-”

“Ginny is my favorite. If I could marry her, I would. But she’s too smitten with Harry. And she’s like a sister to me. That would be weird.” she blurted before sitting up and grabbing a chocolate chip cookie that she and George stole from the kitchens.

Right, a sibling. If Y/N sees Ginny as her sister, she might see me and Fred the same? Nice try, George. I guess you’ll have to spend the rest of your life being in love with your best friend who only sees you as a brother. The ginger thought to himself before mirroring the actions of the girl he fancied.

--------------------

George once again, slumped into his pillow rather loudly, a thump on his wooden bed, accidentally waking his snoring twin. “Hey mate, quiet down will you? Some want their beauty sleep and that someone is me.” Fred nagged.

“Fred, what do I do?” The younger twin asked, his voice filled with worry causing the older twin to pull down his blanket and eyeing his twin with squinted eyes. “What do you mean?”

“She only sees me as a brother, mate. An older brother! And she said she wanted to marry Bill or Charlie...I better keep them away from her.”

“She said that?” Fred asked in disbelief.

“Well…” George began. “She mentioned how her favorite Weasley is Ginny and that she would marry her if she could. It's just that she sees her like a sister. Which means, she probably sees me like a brother too...right?”

Seriousness enveloped Fred’s sleepy face, blinking at his twin for a few times before exclaiming “Merlin! I won’t deal with this right now. You’re giving me a headache George. You need to go to sleep.”

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow yeah?” He added, earning a soft “Yeah...” from George.

--------------------

“Hello? Earth to George?” George quickly snapped out of his trance as Y/N pinched his right cheek in hopes to regain George’s attention to her. “What was that?” George asked, shaking his head.

“I said, do you want to meet in the astronomy tower later? We could pass by the kitchens and steal milk and cookies! We could-” George cut her off.

“I’m sorry, love. But I’m kind of tired. Maybe some other time?” Y/N frowned, her eyebrows meeting and her lively energy dying down. “O-okay. Good night, George.” She said, standing up from the couch she and George had been sitting on in the Gryffindor common room, walking away.

George was left alone in silence in front of the fireplace, his heart feeling empty and his head full of thought until his twin popped out of nowhere, smacking the back of his head with a book. “Ow! What was that for, mate?” George sputtered, rubbing his head to relieve the pain.

“You are impossible, mate. Why are you pushing her away? She clearly wants to spend some time with you!” Fred exclaimed.

“Why would she spend time with me when she could have just asked that Hufflepuff boy? He obviously- Oi! Stop it, will you?” Fred once again, smacked the back of his twin’s head. “If she wanted to spend time with that boy, then she could have asked, you’re right. But Merlin! She asked you, mate!”

George scoffed. “But why?” He questioned, earning a groaning Fred. “Because she fancies you, mate! Are you blind?”

The older twin was about to lose his mind. His brother was impossible! It was obvious how Y/N fancied him and how he fancied her too!

“If she fancies me, she wouldn’t have proposed the thought of marrying Bill or Charlie to become a Weasley! She only sees me as a brother, mate. You and me both.”

Fred sighed. “You know what, I’m not dealing with you anymore. You’re really something else. But piece of advice, if you don’t want that Hufflepuff boy winning Y/N’s heart, you have to do something about it.”

--------------------

For the next few weeks, the younger Weasley twin managed to avoid Y/N, who was confused, blue, and angry at the same time. She didn’t know why the tall ginger would go the other way whenever they would cross paths in the halls of the wizarding school. She was clueless on why she never sits beside or across from George anymore. She was clueless on how whenever she would ask him to have their usual midnight escapade to the astronomy tower, he would decline, telling her that he was tired or that he had an essay to do. The Weasley twins never do their homework. Not ever.

On her way to divination class, a force from a grip on her wrist led her to the nearest broom closet, bodies pressed together as they both forced themselves to fit in the small space. Looking up at her kidnapper, she saw a familiar ginger. However, it was not the ginger that she was yearning for.

She feigned a sigh. “Look, Fred. You’re probably here to confess your undying love for me but I fancy somebody else. I’m so sorry. We can still stay as friends though, we can pretend that nothing ever happened.”

Fred cackled, earning a smile from the girl. “You do know how to make things less awkward, Youngheart. Maybe you should join me and George’s pranking streak? We could use that wit of yours into good use.”

Y/N frowned at the mention of the twin’s name, her eyes glossy with tears threatening to spill, earning a hug from the taller lad. “Aww, there, there, Youngheart. Everything’s gonna be okay.” Fred comforted, patting the back of her head as he wrapped his arms around her small shoulders and cuddled her like a newborn baby. The girl couldn’t help but show her vulnerability to the ginger. He was her best friend after all.

“What did I do, Fred? Did I do something wrong that could have upset him? Did I say something?” She couldn’t help but question. “I don’t know what to do.”

Before Fred could open his mouth to curse his twin and call him a dimwit, the subject man unbolted the small space, his face full of rage as its color became alike with his hair. “How could you, Fred?! How could you?!” He bellowed, causing the pair to pull away from each other and face him with wide eyes.

“George…” The girl stammered.

“How can you take Y/N from me when you know how much I fancied her?!” The younger twin growled.

“What?”

“It’s true! I fancy you, Youngheart. I really do! And it’s driving me mad because every time I see you with somebody else, a monster invades my whole being! And it’s not just the monster, it's the green monster!” George began. “At first I was clueless on why I was feeling that way but then I realized that it’s only love, Youngheart. So screw that. I don’t just fancy you. I love you!” He revealed, suddenly gaining the Gryffindor bravery and courage as a result of being too infuriated when he caught his twin and the girl he loved being too close in the small room.

“I love you, Y/N Youngheart. With all my mind, with my body, and with all my soul.” He added, finally processing the look of bewilderment in his best friend’s face. “I know we’re just best friends, Youngheart, and that you only see me like a brother but what I feel for you is in no way or form like that way. I-”

George’s small speech was interrupted as Youngheart pushed herself into him, tiptoeing as her hands made their way on the sides of his face, holding him, as their lips pin together in a deep passionate kiss. “I love you, too.”

George Weasley and Y/N Youngheart were crazy mad for each other. It took them a while to finally admit it to themselves but everything eventually fell into its place. What they have? It’s only love.

--------------------

Author’s note: Merry Christmas! <3 Just a little TMI, my “Cry For Me” series that involves a George x Reader type story was supposed to come out this 25th. Unfortunately, I had to postpone it for inevitable circumstances. To make up for it, here’s a short work made by yours truly. Enjoy the holidays! x Daisy

Find me and my works on AO3 too!

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It’s Only Love

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imreallyhereforkataang · 3 years

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hello, i don’t know who to ask about this but i’m new to the fandom and saw that you really like kataang. what’s your interpretation of katara’s glance down after the kiss before the invasion? i’m not a fan of the surprise kiss trope but even with that said, i had thought she liked him back. it didn’t seem like she did at that point or through the rest of book 3, and then next thing we knew they were endgame in the finale. sorry for being a bother, i’m just a little confused (like katara i guess haha)

Hi, Anon! Welcome to the fandom! Hopefully it treats you nicely lol.

Ah yeah. I've seen this talked about a lot over the years. And, y'know, I get it. It can seem a little out-of-place at first since, as you noted, Katara shows signs of being romantically interested in Aang beforehand, and now that they've had their second kiss, she doesn't look too happy about it. As someone who ships them, I initially would have loved to see them happy in that moment, to take another minute to themselves just to share grins and maybe laugh a bit because they've taken that step, put their feelings out into the open, and they're both glad for it. To a shipper, or to someone who's rooting for our protagonist to express his feelings, this does feel like a celebratory moment. I'm taken out of the context of the scene for a second because the pretty music has shot in and I'm still surprised at Aang's move and I'm happy to see an actual, mutual (as Katara leans in) kiss between them.

Then again, this situation is a lot realer for them than it is for me. I'm the viewer, I can hear The Cave of Two Lovers' theme, I can see this being painted in a positive light because we see these two come together for a brief moment, and the narrative is, in a sense, praising that. In-universe, though, it's a bit more complicated, and Katara looking sad really isn't so out-of-place.

Remember where they are and what they're doing, what they were saying moments before and what they're about to risk. For them, this is the quiet before the storm, their possibly final goodbye. Aang is about to fly off and face his destiny, confront what he's been training for over most of the year, "since the day we met" as Katara puts it, and determine the fate of the world based on whether he wins or loses. Whether he comes back or not. And he puts the reality of the situation out there. "What if...what if I don't come back?" It's the threat of that possibility that spurs him to kiss Katara. And she figures as much.

Despite the music suggesting otherwise, this isn't a happy scene (and perhaps that's why we don't get the full score until the finale, because this kiss is only foreshadowing what could be). It's tense, and bittersweet, and pretty tragic imo. Aang knows he could die. He says so. And then he kisses her. And I feel like Katara breaking out into a great big smile in that moment, even though she does have feelings for him, would just seem off. Idk, personally I'm not sure how you (impersonal) can celebrate finally kissing the person you like when you remember that what drove them to make their move just now is the very real possibility they might never see you again. That they're about to leave and face that risk, and there's nothing for you to do about it. Seems like an upsetting situation to be in.

There's also the fact that I'm skeptical Katara didn't already know Aang had feelings for her. I'm not saying it was always on her mind or that she paid much attention to it, she may have been putting all that stuff on the back burner or pretending it wasn't there as much as it was (including her own feelings) to focus on more important things, but I think she at least knew it subconsciously. I mean, Aang's not very subtle sometimes lol, and they've shared plenty of moments. So when Aang kisses her and Katara jerks back and her eyes widen in surprise, it's not because she didn't expect Aang to have these feelings (at least imo), but because she was in the middle of talking and is taken aback that Aang broke the unspoken barrier between them.

They're touchy feely throughout the show. Katara's kissed him on the cheek plenty of times, they've even kissed on the lips before now. They have sparks, and they've been dancing around them quite a lot, from the Book 3 premiere at the latest. But they haven't gone that extra step to put it out there too far, where there's no mistaking the meaning behind these gestures. I think, on Katara's end, she would have been okay with putting off making any official moves for a while, given the war and several other possible factors preventing her from feeling able to spend too much conscious thought and emotion on it, and so she's surprised that Aang's kissed her because they'd been keeping their more romantic intentions implicit up until then. She won't be realizing afterwards or celebrating in her head that "omg, the guy I('ve sorta been avoiding my feelings for but actually do) like likes me back," because she’s known this, but it’s been left unsaid and kept slightly quiet in Katara's musings. Now, it's out there in the open, they're past the safe zone, there's little room for ignoring the feelings anymore, and it sucks so much that they had to make their way there now. It's such tragic timing, a kiss that doesn't stem from a smiles and rainbows conversation where they sit down to talk about their feelings and where they want to go from there, but a kiss done out of desperation, out of the possibility that Aang doesn't come back. Through that lens, it's almost like they kissed "too early," especially for what happens next.

See, my impression is that Aang's kiss was meant for two possible scenarios -- Aang loses and thus doesn't come back, which means there's obviously no future for him and Katara. Alternatively, the day is won, the war is over, he comes back and the world is finally at peace; they can stop running, they can celebrate and breathe and talk about where they're going from here in an environment more appropriate for that. And since Katara kissed him back, it seems like she affirmed that there's something there for them, given he returns. But instead, something happens that I don't think they anticipated. Aang does come back, but he didn't win. So, in terms of Katara and Aang, they're now at a bit of an impasse, a situation that their kiss wasn't intended for, and it leads to this semi-awkward limbo because Aang's still alive but ideally that kiss between them wouldn't have happened yet.

Everyone needs to regroup, start it all over again, keep grinding and come up with a new plan. There's no time to get sidetracked, now more than ever. And, to me, that's reflective of what happens to Katara after Aang kisses her and takes off from the sub.

Katara's reaction is to dwell on the kiss. She wants to, but Sokka reminds her that there's no time to. So Katara snaps herself out of it, and she moves on. And then they survive the Day of Black Sun, but the fight isn't over for them yet.

You asked about the DoBS kiss, so I'm not gonna waste your time hyper-analyzing Ember Island Players because there is a lot that's been offered and discussed about that episode. But if you were to simplify the reason for Katara's stance there, it's pretty much just holding up what was established in DoBS.

At the Invasion, while caught up in surprise because she had an expectation that they wouldn't broach the subject this way, if at all, for a while, Katara kissed Aang back, and she kissed him back because she wanted to. But since then, she's had more time to think, and she won't be so caught off guard next time. Aang expresses during EIP that he wants to try a relationship with Katara sooner rather than later, and that he'd thought she felt the same since she kissed him back (as well as the moments they shared before), but Katara is adamant now about this not being the right time. She fully intends to keep her head in the game, like Sokka reminded her at the Invasion. That's essentially what she thinks Aang needs to remember now, too (and yeah, like I said, there are other ideas that can be brought in that contribute to the articulation, but this is the primary point being conveyed here).

Whatever the reason, her response causes Aang to reevaluate his conclusion about where they stand. Even though the war isn't over, he thought that, because he survived and Katara accepted his kiss before, maybe they could try anyways. But Katara still feels stuck in limbo, and she makes that clear. It's also significant to note that Katara doesn't make Aang any promises about being together after the war, which imo was a good move on the writers' part (I have a wip about this but idk when that'll be done lol). Anyways, Aang backs off, following her lead and putting romance aside.

I do want to talk about the second half of Book 3 as a whole, though, not just EIP. I've seen people criticize this portion of the story in terms of Kataang, but I think that, besides the substance of these episodes, it's important to keep in mind that the last 10 episodes of the series (The Western Air Temple and on) originally aired 7.5 months after Day of Black Sun. Not only that, but these episodes all aired within the same week. It was a big, hyped-up event on Nickelodeon dubbed "Countdown to the Comet," and it took place over the course of 6 days. That sort of schedule for finishing a show is...unusual. But it was also intentional here.

Even though the episodes don't have to be watched that way, the final 10 episodes are, in a way, all together the final big bang of the series. They're majorly dedicated to the most critical elements of the main story, including Zuko finally, after 2.5 seasons, joining the gaang and him finding his place in it. I'd say that The Western Air Temple to The Southern Raiders are most generally about that, about Zuko being accepted and making amends especially to the original three members of the gaang (who he's hurt much more than Toph). The viewer is gratified by watching Zuko do what we all hoped for him, forming relationships with Aang, Sokka, and Katara after all this time, merging our most important A and B plots. The other major things the last 10 episodes are for are the final battle, of course, because that's going to be our conclusion to this journey, and Aang's preparation for it.

So yes, onscreen interactions between Aang and Katara are fewer, but by no means does that make the rest of Book 3 an undoing of what they have. All their setup has been established, we're good on that, and we're going to leave that relatively be for now while we delve into the action until we're ready to revisit. And besides, imo, they still have extremely critical moments in the last 10 episodes that I am deeply, deeply happy exist. They're more subtle and less explicitly romantic -- a lot of them take place when they're not even around each other, but they speak volumes to me about how Aang and Katara have influenced each other, and how important the other is to them.

These 10 episodes are like a refocus of our largest priorities, and Kataang coming together is put on hold (again, I think that benefits the main story) for the end. But even though we watch less scenes where they're together, with more scenes of Zuko joining and hanging out with each of them individually in place, there's hardly indication of Katara and Aang avoiding each other after their DoBS kiss, or even post-EIP.

They're still friends first. What they're avoiding is not each other, but a new possibility for themselves, because right now they're choosing to ground their feet in what they have. Basically, around each other, they're pretending what unfolded between them never happened until, possibly, on Katara's say so, it's appropriate to resume that aspect of their relationship.

And after the war, probably into a few months of peace (based on the state of Sokka's leg), she decided it was. She felt ready, and they dove right in.

I hope that clears things up! And don't worry, you weren't a bother at all! I love talking about these two, but unfortunately I became really busy the past couple days (plus this response got deleted and I couldn't salvage it because I saved a copy of a cursed screenshot of Aang and ig it was scary enough to erase my clipboard history :3). Thanks for your patience lol!

#i hate tumblr it happened again #id in alt text #kataang #kataangtag #atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #aang #irhfk replies #oh yes and btw i have LONG been aware of the other storyboard lol #i have also listened to the official commentary for this ep #the girl is sad for him yk #and she been knew he has feelings for her #so i'd appreciate if ppl would not rb the other storyboard. seeing as it's not canon it's irrelevant to the conversation

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timerainseternal · 3 years

Text

New theory: the amount that the Hargeeeves' powers are confusing to me specifically is directly correlated to the amount of impact they have on the plot.

To be clear, I'm not talking about how much they break the laws of the universe. This is just a Certified Silly Post and I do not have the brainpower to debate whether monster tummy, Very Convincing, spooky scary skeletons, or the ability to manipulate physics in a very specific way, is the most glitch-inducing. Nor am I talking about how much we don't understand about the powers, just what we do know about them and how consistent they are with the stated power. (Could Diego yeet the moon into the Earth? The world may never know.) Basically, as I watched the show, how much my brain said "that works for me, I guess" is the metric I'm working off of. They're also grouped together, since I couldn't decide on a 1-7 scale, so there are instead three levels of confusing and plot-relevant. This is also entirely memory-based, so I may miss things, and does not account for the character's importance to the plot, only the power's.

The Completely Understandable:

Luther: Strong and Tough™ are not confusing, and nor are they brought up very often. A chandelier fell on him, he punched some things, but like, what did that change, plotwise? Not much.

Diego: Again, this one only sort of gets used, like with the bullets and all, but it's also not really a plot changer. We know he can change the trajectory of thrown objects, which is fairly straightforward to see and understand. Like in my moon example, we don't know how far that extends, but while there are a lot of questions about his powers, what is directly shown is neither too confusing or too contradictory to our understanding. I've seen people curve soccer balls before, and bullets and knives are not different enough from one another to surprise me when he switches.

Ben: Now, you may be wondering why this is here and not later, but that is because we are Not discussing logistics here. I do not know how this power works in terms of physics, and I do not know where the tentacles are when they're not out. However, Ben's power isn't confusing, practically speaking. Open chest: boom, tentacles. It's also not plot relevant because he's dead (oops), though if losing control was how he died it's a bit more important. That's conjecture though, and should be stricken from the record.

A Bit Weird, But I Get It:

Klaus: I'm gonna be honest, I debated where to put Klaus. His power is a major driving force behind his personal plot, but his personal plot doesn't tend to impact the course of events as a whole too much (sorry, Klaus). I guess it gives us Ben, which is nice, but also he's very rarely plot relevant since he's, you know, dead. Also Klaus' powers grow as he sobers up and practices, so it's pretty inconsistent, but given a general understanding of how ghosts work in media there's nothing too out of the realm of understanding. I'm...not sure how much of the Little Girl putting him back on Earth is part of his power--like whether his power annoys her or if he just does that through sheer force of personality--so I'm just...not gonna touch the strange not-immortality that is seemingly not caused by his own doing. In short, if ghosts were just dropped on us without general media context, he'd be way up there, but since it's not, and since the power averages out to kinda plot-important but not completely, I put him here.

Allison: Rumors are obviously very important to the plot as a whole, both in Allison's personal journey and with they key rumors of repressing Vanya's powers and then of being throat-slashed. This normally wouldn't line up with how confusing her power is--mind control is pretty understandable so long as we put away the questions about how it works--but the scene that really boggles me is the "I heard a rumor I blew your mind" part. Like, what? I thought it was just make a person do a thing they can do, not making brain explosions! What is that!!! I know it's in the doomed timeline, but it still counts as a thing she can do. Theoretically I could use this one example to put her in the next category because of how many questions it opens up, but Five and Vanya are so plot important and confusing that they are a class on their own, so Allison gets to be with Klaus on this one in the kinda plot-important, kinda strange section.

The Utterly Wild:

Five: On the surface, Five's powers kinda make sense, except that they don't because the Umbrella Academy categorically refuses to make rules about time travel. Time-travelling back made him thirteen! And also made his siblings briefly children again too, unless that was a metaphor! How does changing the past change the future? How does it change your personal past? He can just completely rewind everything, which is sort of fine except that it also rewound and unshot him, even though he should still be travelling forward in his personal timeline! Also his powers run out even though nobody else's seem to, and maybe if they explained why that happened with even one line I could let it go but they have not! And my, oh my, the plot relevance of Five's powers. They are there to solve everything and kick off the plot, and also create problems on accident. Very confusing in the presentation of the power's rules, and very plot-relevant.

Vanya: Oh, Vanya, destroyer of worlds. Her powers are the exact opposite of Five's in terms of plot: there to ruin everything and end the plot, and also solve things on accident. They are the thing the plot is working to stop, so they're very important. They're also wild. Okay, sure, turning sound into energy, that's fine, I can play ball. Blowing up the moon, sure, that just takes a lot of energy. Destroying the world in the original timeline to a level where things are not absolutely atomized nearby, but also it seems like absolutely everyone is dead, and that's only with an energy blast or something? That's...hard to figure out exactly how it got done, but I guess that's fine. Holding up your siblings with weird energy beams as your skin and eyes are bleached white? Uh... Using your sound-based powers to heal a drowned child and gIVE HIM POWERS TOO??? WHAT? WHAT?????? VANYA WHAT ARE YOU DOING???????

So, in conclusion, the plot relevance of a power is directly correlated to how absolutely bonkers it is. People are free to disagree with my ranking, especially since I did rank this under the caveat of "not touching how any of this works," but I think it's pretty funny that the more the writers have to use a power in the plot, the more they freak out and slap extra stuff onto it and absolutely refuse to explain any inconsistencies that arise. (This is a very fun show to analyze at 3am.)

#well it's neither super strength nor tkme travel #i guess I'll put you here #tua #the umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #tua meta #i hope this will be coherent when i wake up tomorrow #and i hope you all like my 3am epiphanies #also i think lila would be with allison and klaus in the section of #we'll just have to speculate about the sparrows #if being a cube counts as a power i think christopher gets his own section above five and vanya #tua spoilers

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pla-teau · 3 years

Text

WANDAVISION SERIES FINALE THOUGHTS

WHOEVER’S CUTTING ONIONS NEEDS TO S T O P.

hayward | i was one of the many few who really wished death on the man cause he’s just the worst. this man emptied his clip at two children. i’m glad jimmy was able to pull a fast one on this dick and that darcy hit him with the ice cream truck and very happy to see the man being taken away in cuffs.

vision vs. vision | while i would’ve enjoyed seeing them fight it out until one completely lost, it wouldn’t be vision without some philosophic conversation. it’s true vision fashion. he doesn’t fight unless it’s a last resort. he’s logical and can assess other means in which to deter a foe. truly enjoyed the scene and now i’m just curious as to where tf white vision yeeted off to after regaining the memories from hex!vision? some have speculated possibly wakanda since that is the place where he died. twice. i would love to see him possibly interact with shuri since she would’ve appeared in the memory montage that hex!vision provided him with alongside other events from infinity war.

agatha (aka not mephisto) | overall, i loved agatha as a character and i’m glad she wasn’t killed off by the end of the series. i know she was more villainous in the show but i’m glad they somewhat neutralized her even if it was by cruel punishment brought upon by wanda to keep her trapped in westview as a nosy neighbor. it keeps the door open for us to see more interactions between her and wanda. i’m also glad that she was the foe wanda had to go against. i know many (like myself) speculated mephisto would appear and be revealed but i’m happy i was wrong about that. this is the first entry into phase four and to spill out a big bad right away? probably not the best move. i know ant-man 3 is planning on introducing kang the conqueror so i wouldn’t be shocked if mephisto is used as a red herring to distract us from the actual big bad of the phase, kang the conqueror (while still keeping mephisto around obviously for future battles and possibly use him as a big bad down the road).

family is forever | i was sobbing when seeing the hex start shrinking down in the distance outside the boys’ window. i love that wanda and vision made the move to put them to bed as a way of saying goodbye so they wouldn’t have to see them disappear. i hope to see these same boys come back cause i think no matter what your theory was on them, viewers fell in love with them. if planning for young avengers, i cannot wait to see them be a part of it. given that these boys weren’t real and not actually wanda’s children, i think they’ll go the route that they’ll find each other even if not as a blood related family but reincarnations that know that wanda was their mother in one instance and see her as a mother figure (alongside their actual mothers, of course). i just love them and i really wish they stuck around but i know this won’t be the last time we see them!

wanda’s outfit | i love it and i think pays homage to her comic book costume while still fitting the aesthetic of wanda and the mcu. love the attention to detail and the pattern on her headpiece. someone on here also pointed out in a post how it resembles magneto’s suit and it makes me love it more because of that. in conclusion, this is the scarlet witch and she’s hot.

wanda and vision’s farewell | if i was sobbing at billy and tommy’s fate, i was wailing by the time these two started saying goodbye. we learn that the main reason vision was able to be created the way he was by wanda was because of the mind stone. while she is the scarlet witch, she was exposed to and enhanced by the mind stone that ended up becoming vision. like she said, it’s a part of her. he lives on in her and overall, this scene just cemented that these two are meant to be together. they are going to be that power couple in the mcu moving forward, together or apart. we know these two are meant for each other and have so much love for each other and will find their way back always. while they may change, the one thing you can bet your ass on is that they fucking love each other.

ralph bohner | the twist that no one saw coming - peter is ralph. it’s clear that he was being controlled by agatha because the moment monica took off the necklace, he woke up from her spell. a lot of people are swirling around to say that he’s probably woo’s missing person. we don’t know that and it’s something that’s left unconfirmed. while i would’ve enjoyed the reveal to be peter actually being peter from the x-men universe, i’m also happy he isn’t. yes there was a lot of fanfare and hope for this series to introduce the multiverse but in retrospect, it would’ve been too much to throw at us at the beginning of phase four. throwing in the multiverse right away would’ve taken away from the series being about wanda (separate point i’ll get to at the end). do hope to see evan peters in a future mcu project, though!

wanda’s story moving forward | i hope wanda becomes a sort of anti-hero for the future. this does set up her appearance in doctor strange 2 and i can’t wait to see what she does. while agatha said she’s destined to destroy the world and her power exceeds the sorcerer supreme’s, i hope the writers don’t make wanda into this villain that loses her logic because of extreme power. wanda has proven agatha wrong already by acknowledging the error in her ways. when she realized she was hurting the people of westview, she let them go and stopped hurting them. she learned that yes, she is hurting them without knowing so what she has to do is let them go. wanda has learned throughout her years with the avengers the consequences her powers can have on people. we know she’s never been trained by a witch and yes, that makes her dangerous with her chaos magic. the second post credit scene shows us that she’s determined to teach herself even if it’s through the darkhold. in seeing what she’s done and the power she holds, i think wanda will be this gray moral character. she holds a great deal of power, the most powerful being on the planet at the moment, and that can cloud her judgement at times. despite being an avenger, this show has really shown us that wanda is alone. while she was with the avengers, what have they really done? they kept her in check and helped her utilize her powers for good but then when civil war happened, she was detained and treated like a weapon of mass destruction. the avengers are clearly nonexistent and those that are around, haven’t bothered with her. i also hope that this new phase of marvel kinda tears down the original avengers and their actions because while intentions were good, not everything or everyone was perfect and there’s consequences. and i hope those consequences are shown through the main characters of this phase like wanda.

the complaints | while i loved this show so so much, i did have some issues. while i enjoyed that this show fleshed out more of wanda’s past, i’m sad that they didn’t confirm or at least try to make wanda jewish since they completely erased her romani roots from the comics. this goes back to my whole thing with representation which i’ve mentioned before in response to an article. while i love elizabeth olsen’s portrayal and care she has for wanda, a romani actress still should’ve been cast from the beginning. the least they could’ve done was at least make her jewish even if ever so subtly because that is the other half of wanda’s identity, even if it’s been retconned often. if they are never going to confirm her as magneto’s daughter in the mcu, at least honor that aspect of her identity if you’ve erased one major one already. representation matters and i wish they tried to do right by the character since they clearly paid close attention to other aspects of her comic book history and took a deep dive into her mental health. come at me for these thoughts but i’ll stand by them. another is just directed at the press for the show (i’m looking at you paul bettany). while fans went ham on the theories and marvel will do anything to misdirect you, i think there should’ve been a clear up from marvel about bettany’s claims of a big cameo coming in the series when it was about himself. i get you don’t want to spoil the show and the big surprises it may hold for the audience but still. i think there should’ve been someone behind the scenes or bettany’s publicist could’ve kinda told him to stop hinting at a super duper big cameo. yes, fans got carried away but i think when you’re doing press for marvel, it should be somewhat common knowledge that fans are going to analyze and try to figure out wtf is gonna happen. it’s fun theorizing, don’t get me wrong but when it’s gone the way it has for this show, i think it leaves a lot of people unsatisfied. i’ll admit i was being a clown thinking i’d see patrick stewart as professor x again since he’s an actor paul’s never worked with before and would be a huge fan service for the audience like in the mandalorian season finale. tldr; crazy fan theories comes with the territory. my final grievance actually has to do with the set up for monica’s engineer. i was also hoping we’d someone big or someone that could be big in the future, possibly it was a skrull at the end but the tone and way monica talked about it, i think it was underwhelming to see a character that we came not to care too much about.

final thoughts | overall, i loved this show and it was refreshing to see marvel embrace the magical side of their universe as it continues to expand. the cast was amazing. everyone in the cast and crew deserve awards because this really gave us a show about wanda. i think a lot of people lost that (including myself) with all the theorizing; goes back to my complaint about press for the show. it gave us a show that dealt with trauma and grief in a way we haven’t seen before in marvel’s cinematic universe. i’ll admit i didn’t care much for wanda as i did with the others but this show made me care for her a lot more and made me a bigger fan of her and vision’s story. it grounded itself in dealing with wanda’s grief and trauma in a new way while also exploring her character more. so i’m happy that we didn’t get a super big cameo or that the multiverse wasn’t confirmed because then the tone and attention would’ve shifted away from this story being about her. i hope marvel can give us shows like this that make us care about a character’s emotions and feelings rather than just how cool and badass they look in a suit. it was clear that the cast and crew made this with such love and care that had good storytelling and kept us on edge every week. i hope that marvel can show us these types of stories and ranges from characters in future movies as well.

#scar’s thoughts and rants #scar’s theories #wandavision #wandavision spoilers #marvel #mcu #peter maximoff #monica rambeau #darcy lewis #jimmy woo #agatha harkness #vision #billy kaplan #tommy shepard

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

Text

Discredit Pt. 2: More Recommended Reviews For A.Z. Fell’s

Alright, folks. Some notes first:

1. You all rock. I’m sending out 20k+ virtual hugs for all the notes I NEVER expected to get on this nonsense.

2. This is probably the final section, just because I’m not sure I can adequately follow up part one and it might be foolish to attempt it here. Let alone twice. But for now, here we go.

3. Kudos to the anon who reminded me of Aziraphale’s cash-only policy <3

4. Nicole Y’s review is based off an actual comment I read years ago, but heaven only knows where online it was. I’ve got the memory of a goldfish.

5. Trigger warning for the use of a queer slur in this. It’s the same review as above, number 5 if you want to avoid it.

6. There’s a text-only version of just the reviews at the end, after all the images. I’ll upload that to my Sparse Clutter collection on AO3 in a bit.

Bonus 7. People thinking this is a real shop deserve all the good things in this world.

That’s all I’ve got. Hope you enjoy! 👍

****************************************************************************

I’m a simple guy who likes simple jokes. If there’s a whoopee cushion I plant it. I will call you up to ask if your refrigerator is running and then tell you to go catch it. (Actually that one died out so thoroughly it’s actually capable of a comeback now!). Yes, I’m a dad and yes, I have a t-shirt that says Dad Jokes? I Think You Mean Rad Jokes! which I wear un-ironically every Saturday. All of which is just to say that my wife was well prepared for my stupidity when I walked into Fell’s.

I? I was not.

You see the bibles when you walk in? The ones to the left? Let them be. Don’t even look at them. Definitely don’t pick out the fanciest one you can find and absolutely don’t walk up to the owner with it held in your pudgy little fingers, grinning like a loon, cheerfully asking whether this should be in the fiction section. Just don’t. Mark my words you’ll regret it. Though your wife won’t. She’ll get a great old laugh out of it all.

In conclusion: it’s quite possible that mama did raise a fool and he just got his ass verbally whooped by a guy in a bowtie.

***

Shout-out to Mr. Fell for being the only decent bloke in this city. I’ve popped in and out of his store for years—including before I started transitioning. So he knew my dead name, dead look, whole shebang and I was definitely nervous to play the ‘You know me, but this is what’s changed and are you gonna throw a fit about it?’ game.

You know what he said? “Oh, Rose! What a lovely choice. Crowley dear, why aren’t you growing any roses? Some white ones would look splendid next to my Henredon chair.”

That’s it. He just went straight into dragging his partner for not giving him roses. So hey, Mom? Next time you’re snooping through my social media why don’t you explain to all these nice people why the 50+yo book seller accepts me in ways you won’t. Don’t go telling me age is an excuse or that you’re ‘Stuck in your ways.’ I’ve watched Fell dress in the same damn clothes since I was ten!!

Yeah. Sorry. Rant over. Fell’s a gem. That’s my take. Rose out.

***

Anyone else in the shop when that guy started yelling about buying pornography? And then got escorted into the back room for some ‘private conversation’? Well done, Mr. Fell! Didn’t know you had it in you.

***

Alright alright alright alright I am TOTALLY calm about this.

Went into A.Z. Fell’s last Thursday. Not because I knew anything about the place. Just because I’ve been hitting up every bookshop within a twenty-mile radius, asking if they’re hosting any book signings. Long story short I self-published my novel Blight last month—which you can get for a mere £5 here but I swear this isn’t a promotional thing I’m just BROKE—and have been looking for networking opportunities, tips, stuff like that. So the owner listened politely as I explained all this. Then said he didn’t do anything of that sort, which didn’t surprise me given the shop’s vibe.

But then? Then??? He offered to let me do a signing there??????

As said. Totally calm about this. This man either plans to kidnap me or is actually giving me my first shot at an audience outside my blog. AKA totally worth the risk.

Tuesday the 9th. 7:00pm. Just in case anyone’s interested ;)

***

holy sweet baby jesus i was tripping balls last week you tryin’ to tell me that kING KONG SIZED FANGED FUCK SNAKE IS REAL

***

Witnessed the most perfect exchange the other day:

Grumpy Dude With No Manners: “You. Boy. Where’s the man I spoke with over the phone?”

Mr. Fell’s Partner Who Knows Damn Well Only Two of Them Work There But Clearly Doesn’t Like This Guy’s Tone: “Did this man give you his name?”

Grumpy Dude: “Might have. Don’t remember. Sounded like a fairy though.”

Me: “....”

My girlfriend: “....”

This Poor Sweet Startled Kid On Our Left: “?!?!?!?”

Fell’s Partner In The Drollest Voice I’ve Ever Heard: “None of us have wings. Out!”

***

This shop gets full stars simply because every time I walk in they’re playing Queen.

I mean, I’ve walked in once, but once is enough when you’ve got Crazy Little Thing Called Love blasting full volume.

***

Okay, I’m still kind of shaken up but I needed to write this out somewhere and this seemed as good a place as any.

I spilled my latte on a book. Just tripped on thin air, popped the lid, and chucked a venti’s worth of coffee all over a very expensive looking text. I didn’t mean to, obviously, but it happened and I just started bawling on the spot. Full on sobs because this semester has been absolute hell, I ruined this guy’s antique, there’s no way I can pay for it, I can’t even sneak away because I’m drawing the whole store’s attention...just all the things all at once. I really was straight up panicking and was seconds away from pulling out my inhaler. I couldn’t breathe.

And then Mr. Fell showed up.

Jesus it’s embarrassing to admit but I think I hit him once or twice. On the arms I mean, because he was trying to touch me and I figured, I don’t know, it was a restraint or something. He was going to call the police and hold me until they got there. But then he managed to start rubbing my back and I lost it like I hadn’t already been bawling my eyes out in this shop. Ever cry into a perfect stranger’s chest? I have! But if Mr. Fell seemed to mind he definitely didn’t show it. Just kept holding me while I probably ruined his shirt and then took me into the back and made me a new coffee in this cute little angel mug. He let me stay there while I called my sister and waited for her to arrive.

She’s a good twenty minutes outside of Soho, so we talked for a while. It’s not like Mr. Fell could fix my shit roommate or bio classes, but I guess just talking about it all really helped. I was a lot calmer by the time my sis arrived and Mr. Fell insisted I come back any time I wanted—for browsing or more coffee.

Of course, sis offered to pay for the book herself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look so surprised in my life. “Certainly not!” he said. “Contrary to popular belief, no one should pay for their mistakes. It’s what makes you all so wonderfully human.”

So yeah. Thanks, Mr. Fell.

***

This little shop must have started a book club for kids! Lately I’ve seen the same group of children hanging out at Fell’s. Three boys and a girl. They’re a bit rambunctious at times, but who isn’t at that age? So wonderful seeing literature passed down to the next generation. Even if some of it is rather questionable looking...

***

It’s an honest crime that more of you aren’t talking about what a wonderful bookstore this is.

I’m a book lover at heart and Fell’s always makes me feel like I’m coming home. I just arrived somewhere safe and familiar after a particularly harrowing day. I’ve slipped under the covers of my bed after dinner and a bubble bath. It’s something like that, but with an element of surprise too. One of the reasons why I adore private and used shops over chain stores is that little touch of chaos. You walk in and sure, there are general sections to browse, but everything is just a little bit disorganized from people leafing through books and then putting them back somewhere else. There’s no real record keeping, you’ve just gotta head to one particular corner and hope for the best. It’s not the sort of place you go to if you want something specific because the chances of them having it are slim—that’s just how the universe works—and even if they did no employee knows where it is anymore.

But if you wander the shelves for a while, crouch down low to get a look at everything on the bottom shelf, pay attention to the books that don’t have easy to read titles or any summaries to speak of... you just might find something you didn’t know you were looking for. That’s Fell’s: the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of the unknown.

*** A lot of people might assume that these stories are embellished or outright made up, but as a bookseller myself going on twenty years I believe every single one of them.

That being said, I accidentally moved a rug and found chalk sigils that look like they belong in a cult. Make of that what you will.

***

There’s a special place in hell for 21st century shop owners that only take cash. Who carries cash anymore? Not me! I haven’t bothered with that nonsense in years! You can get a card reader for 15 pounds on Amazon. Or you know what? Be stingy and pay 7 for the little attachment on your phone. This place is nuts if it thinks it’s going to survive much longer on a cash-only policy, especially with some books that look like they’re worth hundreds or thousands of pounds! Yeah, yeah, just let me pull out this giant wad of bills for you. I’ll carry them around a crime-laden city because there’s no ATM near you either.

I mean jesus, you’d think this guy didn’t want to sell anything.

***

I walked in. There was a man screaming at a fern while another threatened him with an umbrella. I walked out.

5 stars do recommend.

***

I once walked in on the same (?) guy yelling at a book for daring to fall on the owner’s head. I think that’s just a Thing over there.

***

Like a lot of people here I didn’t actually go to Fell’s for any books (flat tire, Angel Recovery taking forever) and ended up staying three hours (not because of Angel). No, I wandered towards the back and found this ancient CRT set propped on a table of books, the kind that my Dad used to watch Twilight Zone on. This lanky guy had a marathon of Gilmore Girls going... though how he was managing that with a broken antenna and no DVR, I really don’t know. But yeah. He told me to pull up a chair and I did. Guy gave me popcorn.

I wish I’d paid a little more attention to his name. Charlie? Curley? I really can’t remember, but thanks for the enjoyable afternoon, man.

***

I BOUGHT A BOOK HERE

Not sure how though. Just kinda happened. First edition of Just William. Frankly I didn’t even want the thing, but the owner basically shoved me out the door with it when I took two seconds to look at the spine. Odd that he was so willing to part with this one.

Update: ... hold up. I didn’t buy a book because I never actually paid the guy. ‘Basically shoved me out the door’ was literal. Do I go back??

***

This page has really gone feral the last couple of months so I’m just gonna bite the bullet and say it:

Anyone notice that Fell’s snake and Fell’s partner are never in the same room together?

***

I really don’t like the implications of this…

***

This is precisely why the Internet has turned into a cesspool. You all should be ashamed of some of the stuff you’re writing here. Can’t two men just be friends anymore? Two real life men? These guys aren’t some characters for you to ‘ship’ or whatever. Quit making outrageous assumptions about their sexualities and use this website for what it’s actually for: reviewing the bookshop. Honestly I’m so sick of this sort of this shit.

***

Dude. They run a queer-focused shop together with a flat on the second floor. Fell calls the guy ‘Dear’ and he’s always calling him ‘Angel.’ People have literally seen them kissing. If you want I can give you the number of my physician. He might be able to help you pull your head out of your ass.

***

What the hell is your problem? I’m literally just reminding people to stop making assumptions. It’s gross and insulting. These guys check their Yelp page. You really think they’re gonna be okay with this stuff?

Also: I’m not the five-year-old relying on insults, so.

***

Making an account purely to set the record straight: I’m the hot twink in question and I married that angel. Peace

#good omens #ineffable husbands #air conditioning #good omens fic #guess who spent 48 hours doing nothing but writing and formatting #can I get a wahoo

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emmys-grimoire · 3 years

Text

Lesson 50 - Bad Mentors and Creepy Houses

Told you the cliffhanger was going to be silly.

It was just Mammon sleeping in and making us late for the train.

To chase down the train Mammon picks up Luke and carries him like a football lol

The babies start squabbling once inside and you can score a double tsundere sundae by remarking on their closeness!

Once inside, Luke goes over a pamphlet and begins gushing about how all the train cars are named after angels.

The funny thing is that Michael seems to stridently restrict angel-human interaction, but the existence of Dominions does suggest the Celestial Realm regularly communicates with the Human World. It’s just normally restricted to that caste, which is why Satan remarks on Luke’s and Simeon’s presence in the Human World being strange, which then leads him to conclude Michael must be up to something.

It seems angels in the OM! universe likely reprise their biblical role as human guardians and helpers.

Michael in particular seems to be just as venerated in the OM! universe as he is in ours. So of course Luke notices and Mammon begins to taunt him about it. And goads him into flipping a coin to steal his dessert.

He loses and Mammon rubs it in even further.

It goes a little too far and Luke runs off to lock himself in his room.

Unsurprisingly (to me at least), it’s not losing his dessert that’s bothering him.

He’s confused about why Michael still cares about someone who is obviously so nasty.

It’s interesting that Father never seems to factor into Luke’s calculus. It makes me think that Father is an even more distant figure to angels not in his direct orbit, and Luke mistakenly believes his values must match Michael’s. Michael is his dad much more than actual dad.

Also, this confirms that it was Michael who personally cast them out, and not Father himself... or Luke just has his facts wrong. Personally, if this is true, I think he might have done it because the clear alternative was killing them. I think that seems to be more like Father’s style when he’s trying to have Lilith obliterated for stealing food. I can only imagine what the proper punishment for treason and rebellion is.

No you really should because it seems he does lmao

Yeah you’re gonna be in for some serious inner conflict in the future, kiddo.

Bro why are you still bullying him he’s not even here lmao

Nah I can definitely see that.

Didn’t think he’d have to pull strings? But Mammon makes the same conclusion Simeon did in the first season: Luke was submitted to the exchange program to expand his horizons beyond the Celestial Realm. The thing is, I don’t think Mammon is the best demon for this...

I don’t think Luke didn’t expect you not to scam him out of his dessert.

This tracks with Mammon logic, but nine times out of ten this just reaffirms the other person’s initial biases/prejudices/opinion and makes them double down, and that’s exactly what happened. Mammon didn’t do anything that redeemed him in Luke’s eyes, and it just confuses him more. If the lesson was “the angels aren’t right about everything!” I’m not sure how you think you succeeded, my dude.

Don’t ever teach lol

Actually this explains a lot lol

Aww, good baby.

... aaand he’s probably never gonna want to do that again lol.

Whatever, fine.

He drags Luke to the roof, much to Luke’s initial alarm, but they get into a cute conversation about stars and guess what -- some lessons stuck! (Sort of)

Huh. Lucifer holes himself in his music room, Michael holes himself up in the observatory. I wonder if he and Belphie bonded over constellations? It’s interesting to note that the Celestial Realm does not have a night cycle: he’s either peering at stars in broad daylight, or his telescope peers into the night skies of other realms. Since he taught Luke and Mammon Human World constellations, I’m thinking it’s the latter.

It also points to Michael having technology or the magical capability to watch the other worlds remotely. And that, again, strikes me as power I’d expect an entity like Diavolo to have. Maybe whatever he uses is something his dad created but what the fuck lol

Yeah Mammon is the worst mentor ever lol

He’s not wrong.

We arrive and wander into a creepy but prettily lit forest.

They remark on how creepy it is and Luke puts what appears to be a blessing on us. Our first glimpse into angel magic!

You can suggest he put the same protection on Mammon.

Mammon brings out the worst impulses in everyone lmao

We naturally find a creepy haunted house in the creepy forest. But it’s not just ANY house!

Of course Lucifer would find a creepy house in the middle of the woods, discover it was the site of a bloody murder mystery, and go “fuck yeah WE SHOULD LIVE IN IT”.

And no, it’s not good enough to just build an imitation.

We of course wander inside, marvel on how it really does look like a complete copy, and then we turn around and Mammon and Luke have disappeared. That’s the conclusion of the lesson.

The next will probably have us running around trying to escape the axe murderer.

On the whole, I liked this lesson even if I don’t have a very high opinion of Mammon’s... effectiveness. I hope Luke’s arc does get the conclusion it deserves. I don’t think they’d plop all that in there without intending to wrap it up.

#obey me #obey me!#obey me lesson 50 #obey me spoilers #obey me mammon #obey me luke #obey me michael #commentary

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almaasi · 3 years

Text

reaction post typed while watching SPN 15x18 “Despair”

WOW TODAY SURE IS A DAY, HUH

04:40pm

Y’ALL

I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS

I KNOW WHAT’S COMING

BUT AM I PREPARED?

my post leading up to this: https://almaasi.tumblr.com/post/634003656411381760/i-have-seen-the-spn-spoilers-okay-okay-okay

i found a faster torrent and there are 7 minutes until it’s done I’M GONNA GO WANDER AROUND FOR A BIT BRB

04:51pm

window is blacked out

i am as ready as i can be, i think