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#she always pushes that narrative on anyone besides herself
thornpixie · 8 months
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I am Team Jeremiah, but that doesn’t mean I hate Conrad. However, I find it very hard to feel any sympathy for him: an essay.
I truly hope Conrad finds happiness. I just don’t think he and Belly are right for each other. And no, I haven’t read the books (you can read my feelings on that argument in another post I’ve done lol), so I’m just going off the show.
I am Team Jeremiah, I make no secret of it. But that’s because he is just the better choice for Belly. Not because he is better than Conrad, full stop. They both have their flaws. Should Jeremiah have made out with his brothers ex girlfriend like that, without at least talking to him first? Hell no. But come on - the guy tried to resist. He tried so hard. Belly kept pushing. And let’s remember what Conrad said to Belly at the start of the season after they kissed - ‘Do you want to be with him?’ ‘Being with you is all I’ve ever wanted.’ ‘Okay so be with me then.’
Belly choosing Conrad over Jeremiah was all that mattered back then, not how it affected anyone else, even though she was quasi-dating his brother for most of the summer. He didn’t give a fuck about Jeremiah and if it wasn’t for Belly saying no, he would have flaunted her immediately, even knowing she had kissed Jere a few times. When he asked Jeremiah for his blessing, I don’t believe he did that for any other reason than Belly would continue to distance herself from him until she believed Jere was over it. Conrad did not go to Jeremiah to make sure he truly was okay. He was ticking a box for Belly. Jeremiah was quite obviously not okay with it but Conrad chose to ignore that because he wanted Belly. We saw that in what he told Belly about it afterwards. He took the parts of the conversation that suited his narrative and the outcome he wanted, and he ran with it. And it worked. Jeremiah got hurt, and Conrad didn’t care, because he had Belly.
Their relationship wasn’t this epic love story. I still don’t understand where it came from. I understand Belly’s crush. But when and how and why did Conrad start loving her? The writers of the show seemed to just say ‘he just does’ and we are supposed to say ‘okay yeah sound makes sense.’ I just don’t understand the timeline. Besides that though… Look, I understand and empathise with the fact that his mom was dying while they were dating, and that he was struggling with his mental health. It was a lot for an 18 year old to deal with. (Of course, Jeremiah was dealing with it, too, but Conrad stans conveniently forget that). But Belly suffered in that relationship because of it, and no one should have to do that. To me, it seemed like she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for him to pull away. Scared. Maybe Conrad wasn’t going to break up with her at prom, and she jumped the gun, but it says a lot about how she was feeling that she immediately assumed that. A relationship shouldn’t be like that.
Jeremiah, though… from day one he was open and honest with her. He asked her straight up if she could ever love him like she did Conrad and she said YES. Belly said herself - Jeremiah is always there when she needs him. That’s what you need in a life partner. And fuck me, the passion they have. A perfect blend of supportive and passionate. Tie that man DOWN. He is supportive, he defends her, he speaks his mind, he is honest and reliable (the only time we saw him ‘let her down’ in any way was when he missed the dance at the Deb Ball and jeez, he had a damn good reason so no one can blame him). He makes her laugh. They can have fun together, but can also have the serious conversations. I married my best friend and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s honestly amazing to know you have that person who truly sees you, loves and supports you. Who is your comfort. Jeremiah is that for Belly. Honestly, I could go on and on about how Jeremiah is the perfect match for her - and the chemistry between Gavin and Lola definitely adds to it, but it isn’t the only factor - but everyone has probably given up reading by now…
Both boys have been dealt a shit hand, losing their mother. Both boys have made mistakes and have flaws. But they both have incredibly good qualities, too. Personally, I just think that Jeremiah is more suited to Belly, and they will have a happy, healthy relationship.
Also, the way she kissed him back in that episode… I’m sorry but there’s no way she’s not jumping his bones when they start officially dating. It wouldn’t make sense to me. She was smiling against his mouth and knotting her fingers in his hair, and it was ‘Wattpad level hot’, as Taylor would say. Considering she’s already done the deed, I can’t see any logical way for the writers to incorporate a ‘no intimacy’ storyline for them. Especially after that scene in particular, but also their first kiss in the pool back in season one, and the booby fondling in the car - WHERE BELLY STRAIGHT UP SAID SHE WAS NOT NERVOUS BECAUSE IT WAS JEREMIAH. Sorry, but let’s be real - there’s not a chance in hell those two are not banging the brains out of each other. And good on them. So I hope that is a change made to the books. Furthermore, show-Jeremiah cheating? I cannot see it happening. I really really hope it doesn’t.
IF Bonrad must be endgame, then please, Jenny Han, I beg of you to right your wrongs and not assassinate Jeremiah’s character to reach that ending. There are better ways to do it. But I maintain that the better choice for Belly is Jeremiah. And Conrad should meet someone new who is more emotionally mature and able to deal with his very obvious mental health problems. Someone he feels he can open up to about them. Because, as a sufferer myself, you need that support. Belly doesn’t provide that for Conrad and, as a result, Conrad doesn’t give Belly what she needs either.
One last parting thought - what the fuck happened to Jeremiah and Steven’s friendship? Jeremiah told Steven how much he cared for Belly in season one. Why did literally no one listen to him? And how did no one see it in the way his entire personality seemed to shift in season two. He’s lost his sparkle. YES most of that is because of his mom, but is everyone really that blind to him? No one notices that poor guy. He’s completely overshadowed by Conrad in every aspect. Everyone just expects Jeremiah to roll over and let everyone else have their happy ending while he gets trampled on because he’ll ‘just get over it’. Come on. WRITERS - DO BETTER. There is too much phenomenal acting talent in this show to let bad writing and tropes ruin it.
In conclusion, I haven’t written this much on one topic since I did my degree and I am obsessed with this show. Goodbye.
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the-yuri-librarian · 3 months
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Bloom into You Analysis: Chapter 2
As many people know, chapter one of Bloom into You ends with Nanami confessing that she is falling in love with Yuu. This is obviously a shock to Yuu, who had the misconception that Nanami was like her -- unable to feel love. Through the use of symbolism and foreshadowing, chapter two pushes this moment from a simple proclamation of love to a situation neither of the main characters, and a few of the side characters, can ignore.
Here's my favorite panel from this chapter (it was an easy pick), followed by the analysis below the cut:
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Chapter two starts quietly, with Yuu sitting in the tub wondering what the heck just happened:
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This is, for her, a totally natural thing to do given the circumstances of the day. As she reflects on her conversation with Nanami, the audience sees of flashback that shows how the conversation ended: with Nanami realizing that she had done something weird and backtracking it. At first, this seems like an odd choice from a narrative perspective. At the end of the last chapter, the audience sees the inciting incident; Nanami confessing her love to Yuu. Then, at the beginning of this chapter, the narrative seems to be walking that inciting incident back, returning the story to the status quo (somewhat) from before the confession. This is not entirely the case. But, to understand what the narrative is doing, we first have to take a step back and give it a moment to establish what this new pseudo-normal looks like.
So, the next day (or maybe a couple days later, the manga is not really clear on the timeline), Yuu and the rest of the student council meet at the student council room to celebrate a successful year, and the upcoming departure of their president and the current officers of the student council. Then, through dialogue, the soon-to-be former president asks Nanami if she is planning to run for student council president, proclaiming that she will win by a landslide. Nanami confirms that she is running. Then, another member of the student council asks Sayaka if she is running, a question she answers with a resounding no, before saying, "Like always... I'm just happy to stay by [Nanami's] side and support her" (v.1, ch.2, pg 8; emphasis original). Long term yuri fans will immediately flag this comment as suspicious for reasons we will get into a moment. While all this is going down, Nanami has pulled Yuu aside to ask her to be her campaign manager, leading to this moment:
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This page is incredibly interesting because it is foreshadowing on several different levels. It is setting up the first major arc of the story, which the next few chapters will on. It is also creating a pretense for Nanami to spend time with Yuu, signaling to the audience that their relationship is likely going to develop. And notice who beside the two leads is on this page: Sayaka. Look at the disappointment on her face. It is incredibly clear that Sayaka expected that she would be Nanami's campaign manager over anyone else. And now, this freshman who Nanami has only known for a few days is getting the job? This is goes beyond foreshadowing, because there is a bit of a twist involved. From the outside, it appears that Sayaka is getting jealous because she is getting ousted as Nanami's best friend. In fact, they even have a brief argument about this later:
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But, Sayaka herself, as well as people who have already read the manga, knows the truth. She is in love with Nanami and is afraid Nanami is falling in love with Yuu. It has been long established, in Sayaka's mind, that Nanami cannot fall in love and she therefore has no chance to be with her. So, she has accepted her fate, and has decided to be as close to her as friends as she can, and that will be enough. But now, she is reading between the lines and is starting to worry that Nanami has fallen in love, but with someone else. In the scene prior to this one, Yuu is contemplating why Nanami would pick her over Sayaka, and she comes to a similar conclusion. Regardless, Sayaka acquiesces, telling Nanami that she better not lose and asking Yuu to take care of Nanami. And, with that, Yuu and Nanami walk home together, presumably to strategize, which leads us to the conclusion of this arc.
As the leads girls walk away from the school Yuu gets the courage to ask Nanami about the awkward moment from the other day, leading to my favorite panel, and two incredibly significant pages of the story:
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And this moment is why the narrative seems to backtrack away from the confession at the beginning of the chapter, and it is full of symbolism. But, to fully explain the significance of this moment, we have to look at what happens right before the kiss, starting below:
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As Yuu and Nanami are walking, they approach some train tracks, which they cross. But, right after they cross, the bars of the train crossing drop. Here:
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And here:
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Now, this story does not fit the archetype of the hero's journey, but I am going to borrow some terminology from that literary device. In this moment, Yuu and Nanami are crossing a symbolic threshold. Think of the train tracks as a door. Yuu and Nanami are walking through that door, and the train track barriers dropping for an oncoming train signifies that the door is about to close. In the moments that the train arrives, Nanami turns, and as it passes she kisses Yuu, before confessing love to her again.
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This moment has a weight to it that Nanami's first confession did not have. Before, they were both standing in one world, where Nanami's confession could disappear and they could both pretend it never happened. Now, they have stepped through a door into another world, one where Nanami's feelings are tangible in a way they weren't before. And, the door to their prior world has shut. There is no going back. From here, the story starts in earnest, and we are left in a very different place than we were in the first chapter. Now, instead of Yuu figuring this out alone, Yuu and Nanami are standing in the aftermath of what happened, together, as they wonder what they should do.
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See you on Friday, January 10th, for Chapter 3! ^-^
Here's the bonus image for this chapter, which is about the pre-written speech Sayaka gave Yuu to read:
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markantonys · 7 months
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what's wrong with book!Min (gave up on books right now because i can't anymore, i'm on 4th I think? she is just not there)
book 5 is exactly when she started sucking haha so you stopped at the right time! i do get into some spoilers here, though i tried not to say anything too specific that you wouldn't have already known from the first few books (such as the fact that rand has multiple girlfriends and min is one, which her viewing revealed in book 2). also, maybe you won't even want to read this if you'd rather let your opinion of show!min continue on untainted, because i will say that 90+% of the things i'm about to complain about are very unlikely to be a thing in the show.
basically she just gets hit with an abysmal case of Men Writing Women: out of the blue she decides to throw her whole life away to chase rand down and make him love her, she changes her whole personality and style to try to cater to what she thinks rand would find attractive (i'm all for wanting to look hot for your man, but min herself doesn't seem to enjoy her new clothes or find them comfortable, and that's a problem), she stops having any relationships or connections outside of rand, she barely has scenes with anyone but him and in ensemble scenes she's just there to cling sexily onto him while having 0 dialogue because she has nothing to contribute to the plot-relevant discussion going on, she has no storyline besides barnacling herself to his side and being on tap for sex 24/7, she has no narrative role or in-world obligations besides Being Rand's Girlfriend, etc.
and on top of all that, you have fandom calling her ~Best Girl~ and saying that she is the only one of the 3 women who deserves to be with rand because she Puts Her Man First like a Good Girlfriend should, and fuck the other two for having the audacity to have responsibilities outside of being his girlfriend. fuck them for actually being complex, well-rounded characters with independent storylines and character arcs, right? we only like female characters who exist to serve men's storylines!
and on top of all THAT, she DOESN'T EVEN serve rand's storyline! she literally doesn't do anything! she always makes me think of the "let me ask you a very fair question. what DO you do successfully?" vine. you could cut her out of the entire series and very little would change. min fans claim that she was integral to keeping rand anchored during dark times because min and rand claim that is the case, but the actual scenes between them in the text do not back up that claim. i can think of ONE scene where min actually makes an effort to have a serious conversation with rand about what's worrying him; every other time she just stops his doom-and-gloom talk by punching him or waving knives at him or distracting him with sex. and the way people put her up on a pedestal for taking care of rand at his worst (which she doesn't actually do anyway) is a romanticization of the shitty idea that it's a woman's job to be the sole emotional dumping ground for her male partner. i guess it could simply be that Dating Your Therapist is a romance trope i personally dislike, but ugh, i HATE that vibe of their relationship and especially of the way the fandom talks about their relationship.
and on top of all THAT, their relationship is totally logic-breaking at times because rand will go "i'm so isolated and alone! i'm going to go snuggle up in bed with my live-in girlfriend and think about how isolated i am." he will go "i am so dangerous, i have to push away everyone i love! come on min, i'm taking you into the most dangerous magical event of the age during which many channelers will show up to attack us, even though you're a defenseless civilian and there's no reason you need to be there." it feels like RJ wanted to give rand an isolation arc but also wanted him to have a sexy mistress on his arm at all times, and could not understand that those two things are mutually exclusive (unless said mistress is just no-strings-attached sex, but that was not intended to be the case here, although the cognitive dissonance often makes it feel like rand DOES see min as just no-strings-attached sex rather than a real person whose safety he needs to worry about).
her behavior about the whole romantic situation also drives me nuts because she is SO possessive and jealous, which i personally absolutely hate in romantic relationships, though some people do find it attractive, including min herself - there's a scene where she tries to make rand jealous because she thinks it makes the sex hotter and i was like girl wtf? get some dignity. actually "girl wtf? get some dignity" is my attitude towards all her behavior about the relationship because listen, i fully support girls being silly over their crushes, but christ alive the way min comports herself brings me so much secondhand embarrassment. she'll be like "i'm sooooo mature and worldly, i will never lose my head over a man like OTHER women do, because i am Not Like Other Girls, i'm superior to them" (the Not Like Other Girls vibes is another huge annoyance about her character & fandom reception of her character) and then she'll proceed to go plop down into rand's lap and dandle herself on his knee in the middle of a political meeting to show off to everyone present that he belongs to her. girl, you are a grown-ass woman! get some dignity! she also has a shitty attitude towards the polycule situation, i won't say more since the details of that are beyond book 4 and this post is also getting super long, but suffice it to say that, surprise surprise, possessive and jealous people do not work well in polyamorous relationships.
but most of the above is the fault of the author (or the fandom), not the character. i can't exactly separate the two while reading because "RJ is writing min badly" very quickly blurred into "i feel super annoyed every time she is onscreen" very quickly blurred into "i can't stand this character," but it does mean that the show has a good chance to fix most or all of these problems with her because they aren't necessarily intrinsic to her characterization, they're just symptoms of RJ's weird ideas about het romance and gender norms. the show making her a world-weary 30-something-year-old who takes no shit and who is GNC in a queer-presenting genuinely-doesn't-care-what-straight-men-think-of-her-looks way rather than a not-like-other-girls-tomboy-who-still-caters-to-the-male-gaze way is already a HUGE step in the right direction!
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opinated-user · 1 year
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One thing I always found weird about Lily's hatred for Rebecca Sugar (besides, you know, it's existence) is that i remember Lily occasionally bringing up how much Sugar made financially and being like "Y'all thought being an executive producer didn't pay? She's a millionaire" but like... What does that have to do with anything. Sugar isn't part of the 1%, she's not Elon musk, what does this have to do with how supposedly shitty her show is? How is her getting paid for her work a point of critique? This is another reason why I personally believe Lily is jealous of Sugar. It genuinely feels like she's not just mad a show she hates is to this day beloved, but like she's jealous of how successful and beloved Sugar herself is, that her show was an incredibly important part in LGBTQA+ rep history, and in smaller part, of how much she made financially off all of it.
you're absolutely not the only one who had that impression. for years LO has tried her absolute best to diminish any accomplishment that Sugar had.
has her show won awards? then the people giving awards were wrong because they didn't understand they were liking nazi propaganda (according to LO the Gentile who refuses to hear jewish people)
is her show still being fondly remembered by people as one of the necesary pillars that allowed for more queer content? everyone is wrong actually, this old anime from the 60 was a bigger difference and deserves the recognition more (according to LO who famously hates anime and has a media library as deep as a drop of water).
do people enjoy her music and say it was one of the best aspects of the show? the music is bad on a fundamental level that only LO, our "musically inclined" (don't ask what that means, you won't get an answer) genius, can discern and you should feel bad for liking it at all on the first place.
all of this without even counting all the times that LO insulted Sugar's appearence (bordering on antisemitic comments when she called her jewish hair as a mop) and pushed the narrative that Sugar is a creep because:
1. stevonnie exist.
2. she made NSFW drawings when she was a teenager and then deleted them long before she worked on the industry (but LO can flash her naked body multiple times, talk about sucking her wife during streams, comment she's naked and invite fans for sex, on top of having a NSFW gallery available for anyone to see and she is not and will never be a creep).
on top of the accusations without any base or foundation that Sugar coddles nazis.
jelousy actually is the only explanation that makes the most sense. LO wants to be a referent for LGBT+ media, she wants to be a recognized creator, and she isn't but Sugar is. nobody could say in good faith that SU alone is worth this level of vitriol for so long.
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shelby-2704 · 4 months
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At least with his family it’s usually Sophie and Victoria making an effort to see him and not him going out of his way to see them usually// How do I start, first of all I really do not want to offend anyone and make it clear that I really like Sophie, but at the same time can we stop with the poor Sophie never gets to spent time with her son narrative. She is the PARENT If she wants to have a more close relationship with her son, who didn't grow up at her house and didn't see her as much during his childhood, she can't just wait around for Max to feel closer to her, because Max is always going to gravitate toward Jos who was his main person of reference growing up. The candle thing is super sweet but, besides the two day trip for his birthday this year she only comes to the races that are basically at her doorstep (and I don't think she even went to Belgium GP this year only the Dutch GP correct me if I'm wrong). So I don't agree as the other anons suggested she goes "out of her way" to see Max (and Vic lets be honest has her own family and two toddlers). Jos went to more than half of the GPs this year (even more than her eminence the Jellyfish herself) despite having two young children and an active rally career. He even went to Abu Dhabi for two days despite having a race in Belgium on Saturday. Why didn't Sophie join them when Max plane did the stop in Amsterdam. She could have spent time with Max until he went to Japan. A lot of People on social media always try to portray Jos as some Monster, but the man is a really good father in my opinion. Maybe I am unfair I don't know what Sophie does professionally and how involved she is with Vics children or maybe there are circumstances we all don't know about, but that's just my opinion sorry for going on so long.
No, no. Respectful opinions are always welcomed. I agree with you to an extent. If Sophie doesn't feel welcomed somewhere, she won't go there, like any other person. For example, Max's bday, from what we saw they were an afterthought. I also understand her not really wanting to go to the races, watching your son driving a death machine and all the cameras... i get it. I do think she is afraid of being cut out, and that is why she doesn't push. She should that is her son for fuck sake.
I agree with you about jos. To me, he is a good dad. All dads fuck up sometimes. I think he was in AD all 3 days. Non the less he is there for his son constantly. Remember when Max was asked about who does he reach out to when he is felling down, re respond with i don't need to (reach out), my dad is always texting me. I thought that was soo cute.
We need to stop calling k jellyfish because jellyfish are majestic and beautiful while she is just poisonous as jellyfish are.
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ubiquitousidol · 9 months
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You came. @juyoung
Send "You came." for me to write drabble where where my muse finds themselves in a moment where they feel lost, scared etc, all while eventually noticing that your muse came for them.
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before joining the survival competition, juyoung had plenty of experience performing in front of cameras and live audiences. what she didn't expect upon her return to the entertainment world was her panic attacks to be displayed and distorted. all for the sake of drama to create some negative narrative against her. all filmed and released without her consent.
she thought she could deal with the constant stream of phater messages. thought it would get easier to deal with the accusations of faking her attacks for sympathy votes. but the longer the show went on, the more her resolve was beginning to crack as she tried to ignore the online chatter.
eventually, she reached her limit. her body wasn't feeling any weaker. it wasn't threatening to shut down despite the harsh beating of her heart under the lights. but she knew what was coming and she needed to find somewhere private.
with a practiced smiled she thanked the film crew during the episode wrap-up, ignoring the palpitations and sweat matting her back. (. if anyone asked, she'll just blame the performance. ) but she could do this. she was almost backstage. as soon as they were given the okay, she stumbled off the stage and ignored the eyes inevitably watching her. she just hoped no one would grab a camera and film her. again.
( please — she deserved at least that much from them. )
pushing her way through a door to an empty storage room, she didn't wait to hear whether the door clicked shut or not as she collapsed into a corner of the room to finally breathe. or try to. all the emotions she attempted to ignore were now running through her mind. anger at the staff for using her struggles for views and ratings, anger at herself for being so weak, confusion over the voting results that nearly eliminated eiji, and finally fear that her dreams was still unobtainable even after all her effort she put into returning.
tears blurred her vision as she forced her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around herself, clutching her chest tightly as the door slowly swung open. she expected hushed whispers giving instructions on how to film her with low lighting. but all she heard was the sound of eiji's voice and the weight of something — a blanket? — draping over her shoulders before he sat down down next to her. and true to eiji's character, he didn't say much after he pulled out his phone to game beside her. giving her exactly what she needed. comfortable silence while knowing she had someone to lean on.
❝ eiji-kun, how ... do you always know where to find me ? ❞
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inkyvulture · 3 years
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"Do I have this issue or is my brain hyperrealistically adopting this issue to self sabotage?"
A musical.
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ladyanput · 3 years
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Ok so this is the third time that I'm sending you an ask tonight. (or is it night time in your country?) I'm being annoying right now but whatever. So I've been cackling about those salt fics you wrote because they are just amazing. I have a request, though it is up to you to write it or not. So, can you write a salt fic where someone got an interview with Ladybug (probably Aurore) and then they ask her why they replaced the old heroes like Rena Rouge, Carapace and etc. and LB is just like I don't work with dumb shits or somethin'. Then there is also a new Black Cat (Probably Luka, Felix, or Damian) because Adrien here is an asshole and this fic is saltier than salt water. Then LB also insults Alya's blog and their school. Those foolish mortals get some lawsuits and the rest is up to you. (This request is probably messed up since it's already midnight here and I can't sleep.)
You're never annoying, I just apologize that it took me so long to get to you. I do hope you don't hold it against me, darling.
A one on one interview with Ladybug was basically unheard of if you weren't the Ladyblog or Nadja Chadwick. Ladybug had made it firm that she wasn't a celebrity, she was a hero. She wasn't there for clout, for attention, for fame or fortune. She just wanted to keep Paris safe.
That's was Aurore admired about her. And why she felt queasy as she sat across from the heroine, who had given her of all people an interview. But she got ahold of herself, taking deep breaths as the cameraman began counting down. And when he hit 'one', she put on her best smile and straightened in her seat.
"Hello Paris! Welcome back to 'Latest Buzz'! I am your lovable host, Aurore Beauréal. Today I am here with a very, very special guest, our very own heroine of Paris; Ladybug!"
Ladybug beamed right at the camera, but gave a shy little wave, giving away the nerves she obviously had.
"Now, Ladybug, I'm so glad you requested to be on the show. You know, I initially thought I had misheard when Estelle told me. Usually you're not big on personal interviews." Aurore gave her full attention to Ladybug, but keeping the bright, friendly smile and perfect posture.
"Well, I tried a few times actually. But when I did, none of them were really great experiences." Ladybug admitted and both girls immediately thought of that disastrous Face-to-Face interview. It left a bitter taste in their mouths. "My issue is that misinformation has been spread around a lot recently. It's made me realize that I need to find more trustworthy sources."
"Ladybug. I vow on my integrity as a host and Estelle's reputation as a journalist that we are people who research facts. We don't ambush our guests, we respect them." She said, placing a hand on her heart. Ladybug saw an honesty in her eyes that she hadn't seen in such a long time. It honestly made her feel.. Respected. "Now, Ladybug.. We both know you have a lot of fans. A lot of admirers. False information can be spread so easily these days, which sources specifically are you telling people to avoid?"
"Well.. With Face-to-Face, I found that I was entirely ambushed in that interview. I wanted to speak about my hero work, but instead Nadja kept trying to needle her way into my personal life. That picture she had shown in largely out of context; when Dark Cupid attacked and Chat Noir was under his spell, it was the only way to get him free."
"Yes, I remember watching that. I'll be honest Ladybug, I felt bad for you." Aurore bit her lip, but smiled a bit when Ladybug nodded. "I mean, Chat Noir wasn't helping either. He seemed to be trying to push this narrative forward that you two are a couple."
"And we're not!" Ladybug burst out before she could stop herself. Everyone in that studio could hear the utter stress and frustration in her voice. "I've begged and begged Chat Noir to stop with the flirting, the 'telling people we're dating', everything! I just wanted him to focus and he couldn't seem to do that!"
"Is that why you replaced him? Because of his slacking off and refusing to take anything seriously?" Aurora sat up an bit straighter, her eyes going wide.
".. Not exactly, no. It was a bunch of issues that eventually piled up and boiled over." Ladybug made some gestures with her hands, trying her hardest to find the words but just letting out a long and pained sigh in the end. "I do enjoy my new partner now. He is more serious, more stable. I know he won't go off and pout if I deny something he wanted. I needed an entirely new team, as a matter of fact."
"Well I am going to say, on behalf of everyone here, that we're glad. We swear on our integrity as journalists that if such rumours were to ever surface again, we will do our proper research." Aurore beamed and many of the staff and crew behind the cameras nodded and gave Ladybug their thumbs up. Honestly, it warmed Ladybug's heart to see such support.
When had been the last time someone had supported her like this? Sure, her parents supported her, but her friends..? Her peers? No, none of them had supported her in a long time.
"Speaking of research, I'd say to stay away from the Ladyblog." It burned to say it but it had to be said. Alya had crossed so many lines it wasn't even forgivable at this point. She had gone too far, had betrayed too many.
"Wait, what?" Aurore nearly jumped out of her seat but quickly composed herself, taking a deep breath. "Pardon me Ladybug, but the Ladyblog has been a vital source of information since the very beginning."
"And I'm not denying that!" Ladybug quickly held up her hands, her eyes desperate now. "But please let me explain. The Ladyblog was amazing in the beginning, but like all things, it started to go astray. It was things like trying so hard to find out my identity. Trying to push that narrative of that whole superhero couple thing.. Ladyblogger Alya Césaire has proven time and time again that she is not trustworthy. I mean, I thought she was my biggest fan. Why does she keep pushing my words aside?"
Many people who watched the interview would agree. If you idolized someone, respected someone, truly looked up to them.. Why would you push aside their words, their wishes to try and push the narrative you're so convinced is true, but isn't there?
"And don't get me started on the whole Lila Rossi craze she seemed to be on now." At Ladybug's mention of Lila Rossi, both Estelle and Aurore had to keep from rolling their eyes. They knew all about the girl.
"You speak as if you are quite frustrated, Ladybug. What an odd reaction to your best friend." Aurore leaned forward a bit in her seat. Everyone else got to the edge of theirs. Ladybug only shook her head, looking utterly defeated.
"That's the thing, she isn't my best friend." It took everything to keep from satin that she hated her, that she had taken away her friends and her life. "The only times she's met Ladybug is when she's been akumatized, which has been around six or seven times at this point. And the other things she's claiming are so outlandish! Saving Jagged Stone's kitten from a airport runway? Clara Nightengale stealing her dance moves? And the Ladyblog just posts it out there, claiming every single story is true. I'm just scared that people are taking this one hundred percent seriously. That's why I had to drop Rena Rouge and Carapace from the team as they believed Lila Rossi over me. They didn't even try to confirm these rumours! And it hurts to think that one day, someone will take Lila's words seriously and get hurt. What if she says it's safe to dip strawberries in bleach? Or tells someone that she found a way to tame some kind of wild animal? Someone would get hurt because they believe her story and try it out for themselves!"
"My goodness, I can definitely see how that is a problem. Misinformation is very easy to spread thanks to the internet, so you being worried is a very relatable thing." Aurore nodded, then tilted her head ever so slightly. "Ladybug, do you know anyone who has taken her word seriously? This is besides the Ladyblog of course."
Ladybug closed her eyes briefly, mentally debating with herself before finally giving in. These things needed to be said.
"Collège François DuPont. Now I wasn't there personally, but I heard about this situation and looked into it. The entire situation was appalling. Apparently a student was found to have cheated, assaulted another student, and commited thievery. But the thing that stuck out is only one person saw her do all of these things; Lila Rossi. No investigation was done, no questioning other students. This student was then expelled immediately. Her teacher and her principal didn't even give her a chance. And from what people have been saying, Miss Rossi's behaviour is actively encouraged in that school. She misses countless days, no, months of school, claiming she's traveling. But when she was supposedly in Achu, doing whatever it was she was claiming with Prince Ali, I was fighting her akuma here in Paris on Heroes Day!"
"I was at school the day that happened. I knew the student that happened to. They're the nicest person in that school! Never a bad thing to say about anyone, always willing to help! I agree with you on how things were handled, it's a level of incompetence that is baffling." Aurore's hands slowly curled into fists as she remembered it all. She slowly shook her head. "The principal, their teacher, their class who backed up Rossi. It must have hurt them so much, made them feel so alone."
"That's why I want people to be more careful with what information they take as fact. It's so important, because stuff like that can lead people to a desperate place. They feel alone, like the entire world is against them. I wouldn't have let the principal and the teacher get away with that gross negligence in their jobs." Ladybug leveled her gaze directly to the camera. "People of Paris, please listen to what I am saying. I am here to be a hero, to protect you from the terror of Hawkmoth and to defeat him. But please, do not be like Principal Damocles, do not be like that teacher and her class at DuPont. Do your research, look up your facts. Do not let a liar lead you to do something dangerous and hurt yourself as well as others. Respect each other, talk and be honest. I swear on my life that I shall do the same. You are the people I swore to protect and I love. I am saying this all to protect you. And I'll hope you'll all forgive me for not protecting you sooner."
...
The interview rocked Paris. Ladybug speaking so openly about her frustrations, about the discrepancies in the Ladyblog and Lila Rossi had many people double checking the sources of everything they learned from that blog.
Alya could barely show her face as she made her way though the school hallways. Her reputation as a journalist had gone down the drain. People had basically started boycotting her blog, harrassing her, or trash talking her on other forums and sites. Even a lot of news outlets picked this up.
What hurt the most from that interview last night was Ladybug's words towards her, both as Rena Rouge and as Alya. Surely the heroine had to be mistaken, she had never beytrayed Ladybug! And that Oblivio incident, it was just to show Chat Noir and Ladybug that they were meant to be together!
Her family was upset with her. No, upset was too tame of a word. They were pissed.
"I can't believe she lied to us.."
"Well what do you expect from someone who keeps harrassing Ladybug?"
Alya flinched when she heard the whispers and rushed into Miss Buster's class. The entire class was there, all seated, all looking utterly miserable. Many of them looked as if they had been crying all night. A lot like she had.
"W-where's Miss Bustier?" Alya asked when she eyed the empty desk. Many of her classmates shot her glares, but didn't say anything about the interview last night. After all, they had no room to talk.
"She and Principal Damocles are with the school board now. We're getting a new teacher." Adrien was the one that spoke up. He looked utterly miserable. So unlike his usual self.
"Lila isn't coming back. She was pulled from school when her mother found out what happened." Alix muttered from her seat, arms crossed and shoulders hunched.
The class went quiet as they all internally contemplated how things had gotten like this. Their eyes focused on the door when it abruptly opened and Marinette came strolling in, carrying a box.
"Good morning everyone!" She said brightly, pretending not to notice the downcast expressions on their faces. She set the box on the teacher's desk before she turned towards them. "Oh? What's wrong everyone?"
".. Did you not watch the interview with Ladybug on 'Latest Buzz'?" Alya stared at Marinette, a bit dumbfounded by her friend's lack of awareness of the situation. She had been expecting Marinette to rush in with support and a fiery vengeance against those who had humiliated her best friend, maybe even a fresh pastry. But instead she was greeted with empty hands and a cheerful hello?
"Oh, well I haven't really had the time to watch much television. I mean, with my transfer papers, needing to plan out my new schedule with all of those new classes. Busy as a bee, that's me!" Marinette just beamed, giving Adrien a playful wink that had his stomach churning.
"Wait, transfering?" It was Rose that spoke up, her large eyes seeming impossibly large now. "Transfer what?"
"To my new school, of course." Marinette giggled and clasped her hands together. "I start on Monday."
"New school?!" Alya was on her feet and rushing towards Marinette. The others quickly followed, crowding around her. "What do you mean new school?! When did you ever say you were going to a new school?"
Marinette blinked, as if stunned, then tilted her head ever so slightly.
"I told you all last week, don't you remember?" Marinette tapped her lower lip, seeming to be wracking her brain before she abruptly snapped her fingers. "Oh! I forgot, you all were deep in conversation with Lila about her upcoming event with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightengale. You know, the one she said she'd be attending with Ladybug, since they're such good friends. Did she ever say how it went?"
All of the students shifted uneasily, suddenly seeming to refuse to meet her face.
Alix murmured something so barely audible, Marinette held a hand to her ear and leaned closer.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Lila was lying to us!" Alix snapped as her cheeks went a flaming red.
"About everything! She never knew Jagged Stone!" Juleka spat out in fury.
"Or Prince Ali!" Rose sniffled.
"And she wasn't friends with Ladybug? They were barely acquaintances!" Alya wailed out as tears welled up in her eyes.
But Marinette hardly reacted the way they were expecting. She just gave them a small smile and nodded.
"Oh, yeah. I know."
Alya sucked in a breath sharply.
"You knew..? But why did you never..?"
"Oh Alya, you silly forgetful thing. I told you the day she returned from her long 'trip', remember? I told you she was lying." Marinette gave Alya a smile that said 'oh you silly thing'. "But you told me that I should really check my sources. And I got tired of trying to bring up any lies, since that was always your response. So I decided to just stop. I mean, since you're such an inspiring, honest journalist you must double and triple check every source you come across and found every story to be true!"
Alya flinched and looked away, feeling the churning feeling in her gut again. No, the Ladyblog had been the only source for the stories. The. Only. One.
"And I'm sure all of you knew what you were doing! I mean, it makes sense; trusting the words of a complete stranger over someone you've known for a while now. Some of you since we were in diapers!" She focused her gaze on Nino and Kim, who had the grace to at least look ashamed.
"Marinette, you really should-" Adrien began, reaching out for the girl, but was cut off by her clapping her hands together.
"But it's alright! I decided that fighting with you all wasn't worth it, so I took Adrien's advice and took the high road! Don't bother exposing Lila, she isn't hurting anyone!" Marinette announced brightly, giving her hands a little wave.
The temperature in the classroom dropped by several degrees.
".. Adrien, she's kidding, right?" Nino glanced over at his friend, his eyes pleading for him to deny it all. But the sight of the blood draining from the model's face and the sweat starting to bead at his forehead told him everything he needed to know. "Dude.."
"How could you?! You knew this entire time and didn't even try to tell me?!" Alya rounded on Adrien, fury in her eyes.
"Now, now, don't get mad at Adrien. I'm sure he knew you all were going to do you research. Besides, it's not like this did anything bad for anyone." Marinette pressed a hand to her cheek, still grinning. "I mean, it's not like you all took her advice without doing any research. You didn't try the things she suggested without actually checking them out to be true, right? No one lost any scholarships or job opportunities. No one's relationships were ruined. No one was hurt."
The nauseous feeling spread to all of the class as the reality of everything caught up with them.
"I'm sure everything will go back to normal, right? I mean, I'm sure that that woman from the education bureau isn't here to fire Damocles and Bustier for their severe neglect in their duties. Expelling me with the most mediocre and shaky proof. Surely that's a school I should feel safe in! That I should be proud to be a part of. But alas, my preparations for my new school are already done, so oh well."
Marinette shrugged and adjusted her purse strap.
"Anyhow, I wish you all luck with the amazing things Lila has helped you to do! I know it must have been worth ignoring me and convincing me I was crazy. With all of the free time I've had, with you guys practically replacing me with Lila in the group, I've had tons of time to spend with my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?!" Alya's eyes went owlishly wide as she gaped at Marinette. "But what about Adrien?!"
"Oh Alya, I fell out of love with Adrien forever ago." Marinette shook her head in an almost patronizing way that had Alya's cheeks burning with embarrassment. They didn't even pay attention to Adrien's noises of surprise. "I mean, you claimed I was jealous of Lila getting close to Adrien, that I should let the jealousy go. And you know what? You were right! So I decided Adrien wasn't worth the stress, the embarrassment.. I mean, I couldn't even talk to him straight. I thought he was the most perfect guy in the world! Goodness, did I learn my lesson!"
She giggled as if she found the entire thing amusing. She then beamed at the class.
"Well, ta-ta! I need to get back home and make sure everything is ready to go. I wish you all the best, I really do!"
They all watched, shellshocked as Marinette breezed out of the classroom like it was nothing. Like she wasn't leaving her friends, her school, her life behind. And they all would wonder exactly how badly they screwed up, if she could walk away do easily, without a care.
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palmofafreezinghand · 2 years
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How do you think Carlisle and Esme dealt with another couple in their family when Emmett came along, especially a couple that is so overt with their physical expressions of love?
Ok first off thank you so much for the ask, second as a surprise to no one turns out I have a lot of thoughts on this I apologize in advance: 
I think the first major concern on both Esme and Carlisle's part is essentially always going to boil down to Edward and how things effect him.
In my own head-canon realm Edward left in 1927 after walking in on them (there was a lot more to it but this isn't about that or him) and Esme and Carlisle kind of took that as if he comes back we will never dare to show as much as an ounce of affection in ‘public’ to the point when Edward returned in 1931 he thought they were divorced, for weeks. 
So when Rosalie and Emmett become a thing and aren’t really... chaste in their affections, alarm bells start ringing for Es/C. Edward is shockingly okay with it, a little annoyed but mostly happy for Rosalie, although he’d never admit it. 
Which leaves Esme and Carlisle having to deal with why they’re uncomfortable with this (beyond the it’s awkward to watch pda all the time).
 - undercut for brief mentions of domestic abuse & sexual assault. - 
Carlisle oversteps his place, shocking I know. It’s a couple weeks in and Emmett just kisses Rosalie, no reason besides he wanted to. Rosalie is fine with it she wanted him to too, Carlisle doesn’t get that. He pulls Emmett aside and not so gently explains that you can’t do that with women like the kind they love. He makes his stupid “easy to startle baby deer” analogy and emphasizes it’s their job as men and partners to wait and let their partners take control. And while Emmett has disagreed with Carlisle’s approach and the victim narrative he’s been touting for months this is the first time he pushes back. 
“Why not? I like her, she likes me, I wanted to kiss her. If she had a problem with it she’d tell me.” 
Carlisle hems and haws about consent and unspeakable horrors for awhile and Emmett finishes the conversation with something about liking to make the women he likes know he likes them and not being like Carlisle watching from afar. Which is a bug that sticks in Carlisle’s ear and doesn’t relent. 
Esme has issues with it for different reasons. For a really long time she associated being a willing sexual partner to being a good wife. Which isn’t true but was a mindset she had to work like hell to get out of, and at this point probably, or ever, wasn’t fully out of. I think this contributed to her using sex as a crutch for emotions she didn’t really want to feel or conversations she didn’t want to have. There’s a bunch of psychology and commentary about hyper-sexuality after abuse but long story short for a really long time she was initiating sex she didn’t necessarily want to have but thought she should. 
So now she sees Rosalie jump head first into a relationship with a guy Esme herself didn’t know well (which is a whole other set of analysis). Esme tries to mind her business, she knows meddling won’t end well, telling Rosalie not to do something will only make her do it. She holds her tongue until a few months in Rosalie comes to her and asks for advice because her and Emmett are considering taking the next step and Esme just can’t hush up anymore. She asks isn’t that a little soon, Rosalie gets defensive and makes the point that she’s known Emmett longer than Esme knew Carlisle when they got married. Esme counters with how she got married far too soon and she regrets not taking things much slower (both times), something she hadn’t quite vocalized to anyone, let alone Carlisle. Rosalie makes a snide comment about how Esme’s mistakes aren’t her own and she’s smarter than to fall for someone like... that. She means Carlisle but Esme interprets it to mean Charles which is much more hurtful. 
Things kind of continue in this vein for a little while. Emmett and Rosalie decide to take things a little slower, because they communicated about it and not because of others’ opinions. 
It’s one of those rare moments where all the ships are passing and Esme and Carlisle have a moment alone as one is getting ready to leave and the other is getting home when they finally talk about it all. 
“Will you talk to him?” Carlisle sighed. 
“What did Edward do now?” 
“Emmett. I’ve tried to explain he needs to stop the kisses and the hugs and the everything and he just won’t listen to me.” 
“Why should he stop?” 
“It needs to be Rosalie’s choice.” 
They then have a big conversation about how it’s not one partner’s job to initiate everything and that actually puts more pressure on someone and the only reason Esme initiates so much is because Carlisle refuses to and she wasn’t ever sure he even ever wanted her to. 
“So I should just kiss you whenever I’m thinking of it?” 
“You think of it?” Esme asks genuinely, absent of the sardonic tone he would expect with such an absurd question. 
He then proceeds to kiss her whenever he thinks of it for the rest of the fight discussion, which happens to be anytime she makes a good point because lord is her wit best when aimed at him. 
They revisit the conversation at a later date: calmer and able to articulate their perspectives a little better. Carlisle’s able to reaffirm he does desire her and she’s able to admit part of the whole feeling obligated to initiate intimacy struggle (not all of it because Carlisle would never touch her again if he knew and she knows that). From then on they’ll never reach the full pda levels of r/e but Carlisle’s hand always finds the small of his wife’s back as he passes rather than her shoulder, he finds she fits pretty well in the crook of his elbow if he wraps his arm around her waist - he likes the way she leans into him when he holds her like that. 
In the end they’re both able to recognize maybe they don’t know everything and are able to become a listening ear and a helpful friend to Rosalie and Emmett rather than an end all be all.  The four of them end up learning from each other in odd ways. 
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klaineownsmysoul · 2 years
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I was going thru a/shly Weston ig out of curiosity and as far as I could see M is the only so I could find from her clients.. I don't know if it's coz they are actually good friends or coz she has to promote her.. it was just very curious to see... M was also the only other so that I could see with the celeb which was another curious thing .. of course who are we kidding we all know M is the real celeb 🤦‍♀️
Of course M is the real celeb here, don't be silly!! No one doubts that. Its plainly obvious for all the world to see - everyone else in her orbit are just the lucky SOBs who get to bask in her luminous presence and thank the heavens every day they are allowed to be that close to her, her "spouse" included. Imagine being in her circle and NOT spending your time promoting her on your SM. That kind of talent and work ethic? Not everyone can order dresses online or buy halloween crap from amazon...except for all the stories you see of toddlers who grab their parents' phones and buy a ton of shit because they left themselves logged in.
AW is a tricky one. She's the only member of his team who actually does her job and she has other famous clients besides D, so there's that. Though its hard to tell sometimes, because so much of her Insta is food and her showing off all the expensive free crap she's gotten from designers and other high end vendors. M being the only SO you see is pretty much par for the course when it comes to D and its one of my biggest gripes. All of the press events he did for ACS? She was always - always - right there with him, claws around the neck, fake ring on her hip, and smirk firmly in place. None of the other actors from the show had to trot out their SOs at every turn. I don't remember seeing pics of any of them with anyone outside the cast at any event, except for D. P/enelope Cruz - an actual movie star - is married to another actual movie star - J/avier Bardem - and I don't recall ever seeing him at anything. Does that mean they don't love each other as much as m/iarren or could it possibly mean that they are both mature adults with their own careers who don't need to siphon free air time from the other in order to keep their names in the press? I'm gonna go with the later, thanks. And that's the m/iarren relationship in a nutshell: one piece that works and one piece that bleeds the other dry. But she has help bleeding him dry and that help comes in the form of D's "work family." The extravagant shopping trips M and AW share, the last minute overseas getaways they go on - I have a feeling its all a smokeshow. She'll post some pics of them looking all cute and buddy buddy and then it will be radio silence for months on end...until another fancy trip pops up. And M is always available to attend because she does nothing. She's HIS stylist and yet for some reason, she invited her to Cannes as her plus one? WTAF? What happened here? How does that make any sense at all? For someone who didn't want to be in the spotlight, she sure does manage to finagle her way into it a lot. And if that was true and AW was really her friend and knew that, why would she invite her to press-laden events?
She pushes the narrative when she has to and then sort of recedes back into her own world. The whole ridiculous mess with the baby shower and her "accidentally" spilling the beans on the baby's gender was pure pr bs and nothing else. Nothing is a whoopsie daisy my bad when it comes to drumming up press and someone who works in Hollywood would know this better than anyone. She'll pose for pics with the unemployed non-famous plus one all the time but not with her own actual working client? She didn't want to get a shot of herself with the excited father-to-be? Maybe he'd even have put his drink down for this, we'll never know. Pray tell me how that works exactly because it doesn't add up.
I don't know whether M/anny J/acinto has an SO (nor does it matter). We know now that CB (RIP) was married but you never saw or heard anything about his wife. Imagine that - a celeb who manages to keep his private life private. Its almost like the relationship mattered more to both of them than the fickle bright lights of toxic Hollywood. Crazy, isn't it?
I'm very curious to see how all of this shakes down in the coming future. Fancy dress up parties that go into the wee hours of the morning are not places infants and small children are welcome. Its hard to go galavanting across Europe for a few weeks with a baby in tow, especially when the things D's going to are not child friendly. The idea of someone who doesn't do anything all day and night long needing a nanny or full time childcare is hilarious and yet perfectly on brand for her lazy self-centered person. Does anyone really think she's going to give up her famous by association lifestyle to stay home and watch Peppa Pig?
D needs to clean house from top to bottom if he ever wants to be taken seriously as an actor again.
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So I went down a rabbit hole today, trying to learn more about theories that Emily Dickinson was lesbian or bisexual. I've heard about this before, but never knew what to make of it because I now always wonder whether someone was homosexual/bisexual or aspec bi/homoromantic, but because of lack of education, people just assume the former.
What struck me was first how people would toss the word "asexual" around as some sort of insult and antiquated way of viewing a person because you wanted to sexually repress them due to your discomfort with the idea of them being sexual or due to homophobia.
Inwardly, I cried out for broader understanding of asexuality and aromanticism and more representation so that people don't make these painful characterizations of us, so we get the respect for our sexual identity that we--like EVERY human--deserve, and so that asexuality is not stigmatized. Stigma creates shame and hurt and leads people to live in the closet or love in denial (or even ignorance of their orientation), harming them in so many ways.
I'm tired of seeing asexuality used in antiquated ways, implying someone is a robot or killjoy or not fully human or uptight or repressed. Many of the articles and social posts I came across acted like the idea that Dickinson was asexual was distasteful and so she must must must be lesbian or bisexual instead.
I read some excerpts of Dickinson's letters to her love interest, Susan Gilbert (her sister-in-law), and found myself wondering, "How can we know this is a sexual relationship? Why can't it be a romantic one?" This may sound homophobic, but I say this to advocate for those of us who are, say, biromantic but not bisexual. To make room for other types of relationships besides the traditional sexual romantic marriage-baby carriage idea of love that has been pushed on us all, superceding all other forms of love and being treated as the only valid form of partnership. And expanding our ideas to see, "maybe I am not physically attracted to women, but I would rather be in a committed relationship with a woman than a man. Or maybe I don't want a relationship at all... I've just felt like I had to. I have just gained valuable information about myself and what makes me happy, potentially side-stepping a thorny path of trying to force myself to fit into a heteronormative, autonormative society, and searching for a relationship that meets my needs."
I don't want to invalidate celebrating public figured and characters for being (or possibly being) LGBTQ as a way to empower people, I just want to raise awareness that there is an A to consider too. And that considering that could deepen our understanding of those people, but also allow others to explore their own identity.
I don't know enough about the subject to make my own judgments about Dickinson (and I'm not sure we should say anyone's sexuality with 100% certainty who hasn't outright proclaimed it...goes for straight people too.) But my mini research journey highlighted some troubling tendencies I see in the world outside of aspec community. I feel people could benefit from knowing about the split attraction model.
I admit some of this comes from a place of my first intro to the aspec community being from having strong feelings for a female friend. I was confused; I was not sexually attracted to her, but I found imagining spending my life living with her, even getting married. A friend recommended I look into the asexual spectrum, and since then I've been on quite a journey. One that has been invaluable to my happiness and well-being.
I haven't even touched on quasiplatonic relationships either. All that to say, I feel erased from the world and the scholarly narrative seeing that these types of nontraditional romantic and platonic relationships aren't explored or are even spat on because it would presumably be shameful to be asexual or have a platonic or solely-romantic love.
Again, I don't want to make this a debate about Dickinson herself because I don't feel qualified to speak to that, but this whole thing raised some questions and frustrations for me that I've felt before.
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flightfoot · 3 years
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If anyone wants to read a fanfic focusing on Alya’s problems and feelings, centered around her as a person, I HIGHLY recommend “can you keep a secret?” by euphorickiri. 
It starts off looking like it’s mostly just gonna be interested in shipping Alyadrien (which it DOES do very effectively), with early chapters having a good portion of the plot be driven by Alya suspecting that Adrien’s Chat Noir and wanting to spend more time with him, find out more about him in order to become sure of it.
But even then, even as early as chapter 1, you get to see that there’s more going in with Alya than you’d normally see in such a fic. That she can’t get herself to post to the Ladyblog after the Lady Wifi business, that people at school are treating her differently after being akumatized, along with going over her current issues with her friends and family, things that are shown and develop more and more as the series goes on.
In chapter 1:
Nino was her closest friend besides Marinette. They bonded quickly over their mutual love for comic books and have only grown closer since then. Often when Alya felt like she couldn’t talk to Marinette, Nino was always there to lend an ear. This was happening a lot more recently than she wanted to admit. She didn’t know exactly what was going on, but Alya wasn’t stupid. Marinette was hiding something from her. Something big. She showed up to school half-asleep most of the time and when asked to hang out she came up with every excuse in the book to avoid going. There were even certain times she would just disappear without telling anyone. It seemed like it was taking a huge toll on her and Alya didn’t want to add to that burden. So she plastered a smile on her face for her best friend and supported her in any way she could. Still, she couldn’t help but be suspicious about what was going on.
She hated how much Lady Wifi took over her life. She pretended not to see the dirty looks people sent her, ignoring how hurt she felt. Nino was right. They weren’t themselves when they were akumatized. But that didn’t mean everyone sympathized with akuma victims. And she was no exception. Even Chloe was wary around her now. Chloe . The most fearsome person at school. So Alya preferred not to talk about it at all. It was just something else she had to deal with.
She wasn’t weak. She wasn’t . She could handle herself.
And with chapter two, it starts laying the foundation of her family situation.
“What do you guys want?” Alya asked tiredly.
“Breakfast,” Ella replied. “Can you make chocolate chip pancakes again?”
Alya ran a hand over her face and looked over at her alarm clock, relieved she had a decent amount of time to get herself and her sisters ready for school. Her parents worked during the day so it became Alya’s responsibility to look after the twins. Make sure they get to school, pick them up from school, feed them, dress them - everything. It could be draining, and as much as she loved her sisters, they were still kids who acted out and refused to cooperate at the worst times. But if she didn’t look after them, no one else would. Her parents, especially her mom, were too engrossed in their work. The one time Nora did come home to visit, Ella and Etta didn't know who she was. That’s how long she’s been gone.
So, this was Alya’s burden to carry. Alone.
“You guys have to eat something other than pancakes every morning,” Alya scolded, reaching for her phone. “I’ll make oatmeal with some fruit instead.”
As the story goes on, Alya’s family situation with her parents fighting and using her as a go-between while pretending everything’s alright, with herself being her younger sisters’ rock, becomes a bigger part of the story and necessary background to the emotional struggle Alya goes through, informing a lot of her character and why her thought process is the way it is.
The rest of the day consisted of Alya trying to get Marinette to speak with occasional assistance from Nino and Adrien. Nothing worked. The only person able to get a reaction out of her was Juleka. The other teen waved passing their table during lunchtime and Marinette waved back. And as worried as she was, Alya couldn’t help but be a little annoyed. There have been days where all Alya wanted to do was yell at anyone who dared to approach her. But she never took it out on Marinette or anyone else. But here they were, the situations revered, and Marinette wouldn’t even look at her . What made Juleka the exception?
No one wants you.
Alya pushed her tray of food away, her appetite gone.
She almost pulled her hair out when Miss Bustier told everyone to sit with their partners during their last class of the day and Marinette bolted out of her seat. Alya tried to hide her irritation when she saw Marinette and Juleka talking out of the corner of her eye as if everything was normal.
“Remember your projects are due tomorrow! I’m giving you the entire class period today to finish up,” Miss Bustier announced. “I’m very excited to see your presentations!”
Adrien slid into Marinette’s empty seat. “We need to find a couple more pictures for the poster but other than that we’re good.”
“I agree.” Alya glared when Marinette laughed at something Juleka said, not paying attention to his words. “We should do that.”
Oh? So quick to replace me? She tensed up as her own words mocked her.
Marinette rested her head on Juleka’s shoulder. Don’t worry, you’ll always be my number 1 partner. You’re irreplaceable.
Wrong. You’re disposable .
Alya’s feelings and emotions are validated by the narrative, even though she has the wrong idea about Marinette replacing her. 
Lady Wifi plays a big role in the story as well, since she’s not actually gone, and serves as a kind of embodiment of Alya’s negative emotions and worst impulses, as well as a looming threat. The tension between her and Alya helps accentuate the emotional heart of the story.
Alya also gets to disagree and talk things out with Ladybug and Master Fu, when she doesn’t agree on their handling of situations, though with them not being demonized in the process either. 
Just... if you want to read a fic focused around Alya’s problems and emotions, but that treats everyone else well too, that gives her a lot of agency and also a lot of support, I HIGHLY recommend this fic.
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bellmel · 3 years
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Reading you, before the fall
An angsty contribution to @clarensjoy’s Hinny Ficfest 2021 (A huge thank you, by the way - seeing my feed flooded by new Hinny fics today has been truly amazing. I’m so glad you arranged this!)
Prompt #40 - “I love you.” “Why do you look like you’re confessing a sin?” “I might as well be.”
AO3
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There were several things Ginny Weasley could do with her eyes closed. She could cruise along on her broom, guided by nothing more than instinct and her finely-tuned spatial awareness. She could navigate the staircase of the Burrow in absolute darkness. She could tell which of her brothers was walking up behind her just by the distinctive thud and pace of their footsteps. 
And with her eyes closed, she could read Harry Potter. 
Harry had always been a fairly easy study. He had never been particularly good at hiding his emotions – his temper and brazen manner left little room for uncertainty. But in these past three weeks that they had shared together, Ginny had learnt to look beyond what was plainly visible, turning her attention instead to the subtlest of his quirks and mannerisms. And when she was pressed up against him with her eyes closed, her other senses truly awoke, picking up on the unspoken and the unseen. 
The sound of his voice, steady with confidence, or stilted and hushed with an almost vulnerable uncertainty, betrayed more about him in those moments than his words ever could. The way his breath hitched just so each time she leant into his lips, as if he could never tire of kissing her. The way he sighed when their fevered kissing would ease and Ginny would tip her head, resting her forehead on his chest – it was a soft and shaky sound, a sigh born from an odd blend of contentment and something like trepidation. They were sounds that she felt as much as heard, each one filling her like a warm rush of blood that pulsed through her body, settling and expanding in her chest. 
But while the sound of him was like a well-studied soundtrack, it was her hands and fingers that had learnt to read Harry Potter with expert certainty. She could read his mood and anxieties according to the tension in his muscles and the stiffness of his limbs, the way his body responded to her touch, and the fluidity of his movements against hers. 
She would trail her fingers over his arm, his torso, his cheeks. Dancing a familiar path across his body, her feather-light touch would skim over his skin with the practiced confidence of a blind person reading braille, the twitch of his muscles and his goosebumps telling her a story of grief, longing, regret and fear. 
And like many a narrative of love and loss, her reading of Harry had been hinting at a turning point in the days since Dumbledore’s death. The signs, albeit subtle, were all there. They left a trail of crumbs that she couldn’t bring herself to follow.
It put her even more on edge, nervous anticipation having settled heavily in her stomach. She had no way of knowing if it was the next scene, the next page, the next chapter when the twist that they were so clearly moving towards would drop. And in a way, she figured it didn’t matter. What was to come had already been written, and nothing she did now would change it. She didn’t believe it was fate, more an inevitability.
But Ginny’s mind was firmly focused elsewhere on this early morning in June. Harry’s hands had that ability, an unconscious way of commanding her attention. Even the stones of the tall castle wall jutting into her back were just a distant annoyance, drowned out by the feel of Harry leaning into her, his hands gripping her hips and waist.
He was quiet this morning. Both of them had woken early, sleep proving somewhat elusive these days. They were the first ones in the common room, but they hadn’t lingered long, instead escaping out onto the castle grounds before the other students were due to start trickling into the Great Hall for breakfast.
Outside, the grounds were sleepy and calm, the early rising sun having done little to budge the thick fog that had settled over the lake. It was fitting in a way, the grounds of Hogwarts as unclear as everything else inside the castle.
With little interest in talking, Harry had led Ginny to a partially hidden alcove around the side of the castle, and immediately started kissing her. It was frenzied to begin with, Harry clearly chasing a distraction through her, but she didn’t care. They stayed there, engrossed in each other, until Harry’s lips and body became less frantic, and his kisses and touch eased to a slow and tender pace.
After several minutes, Ginny pulled away just enough to catch her breath. “Harry,” she exhaled. It was still and quiet all around them, and Harry’s heavy breaths next to her ear filled the void.
From inside came the first distant sounds of students moving about in the castle, muffled laughter and shouts as they made their way down the staircase to the Great Hall.
Harry looked down at Ginny, realisation etched on his face as if he had only just remembered where they were. “Oh, do you-” he started, straightening up. “Sorry. You probably want to go get some breakfast.”
Ginny shook her head. “No. I’m not really hungry.” She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. “Besides, I’d rather stay here with you.”
She expected him to protest and insist she go in and eat before their classes begin. But he simply nodded in agreement, and bent down to kiss the top of her head.
She wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down further to place a kiss on his nose, his lips, and his stubbly chin. He responded by cupping her face in his hands, his thumb caressing her cheek.
“Ginny,” he sighed. With eyes shut tight, he pressed his forehead to hers and let out a long shaky breath. And then, in a moment that would reverberate through both her dreams and her nightmares, came those words. “I love you, Ginny.”
It was softer than a whisper, an utterance that could be felt more than heard.
She had heard those words her whole life, sometimes said as a reassurance or as a farewell, or through the gritted teeth of a chastised sibling. But never before had she heard those words said like this. It wasn’t a declaration or a promise, it was something else entirely.
Ginny looked up at him, at his creased brow and pursed lips, and her breath caught in her throat. His face was streaked with pain and remorse.
Her voice quivered, the hint of a nervous laugh. “Why do you look like you’re confessing a sin?” she asked, silently willing him to prove her wrong.
Instead, he opened his eyes and looked regretfully into hers. “I might as well be.”
And it was this exact moment that Ginny realised the suspicion she had been pushing against so desperately these past few days was no longer simply a suspicion. Harry’s admission told her everything she needed to know.
The regret she saw in his eyes wasn’t for his words, but for all that they meant.
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the knowledge from her mind, desperately trying to tamper the howling agony that was ringing in her ears. Placing her palms flat against his chest, she braced herself and exhaled slowly, forcing her heart rate to ease, attempting to take her time over every detail. Hoping against all reason that she could slow things down, delay the ending, just for a little longer.
And with the clarity of hindsight, she realised he had been doing the same. Ever since his mentor had died, Harry had been trapped in a restless cycle of indecision. He would tense under her touch, only to relent a moment later and melt into her. He was pulling away from her at the same time as he clung to her, like a drowning man grasping at the one thing that could keep him afloat.
Leaning back to look up at him, she ran her hands up his arms, her fingers skating over his shoulders, his collarbone, and coming to rest on his chest. His eyes remained fixed on hers, as if he too was trying to etch this moment into his memory, before his arms tightened around her, and he dragged her in closer. Ginny leant into it, allowing Harry to keep her braced. She should have felt nothing but safe, comfortable and certain, being here with him. But all she felt was the shudder and tremble of his still-grieving body wrapped around hers, and there was no comfort to be found in that.
Her heart ached for him. For the boy who had far too little choice afforded to him, and far too much expectation placed on him. For the boy who had experienced so much already, but wasn’t yet done. For the boy who seemed to have finally found happiness, and was now trying to find the resolve to turn his back on it. Because yet again, it was up to Harry to do what was necessary.
You do it, a voice whispered in her head. You can break it off. Her eyes shot open, mind whirling with realisation. This was the one thing she could do for him, the one responsibility she could lift from his overburdened shoulders and carry herself.
She looked up at him. His head was bent forward, eyes fixed to where her small hands were pressed against his chest. And Ginny knew she couldn’t. She would never be the one to walk away.
She couldn’t look him in the eye, a boy who had known so much rejection and such little love in his life, and tell him it was over. Even if she knew it was the right thing to do.
Even if she knew what the alternative would mean for Harry.
Because while Harry was the protagonist of his story, turning his back on Ginny would make him feel like the villain. For as noble as he was, as selfless and kind as he was, he was still a boy who was terrified of letting anyone down.
If she was honest with herself though, she would have to admit that her reluctance was driven in part by a tiny but insistent piece of her that wondered if maybe she had read this wrong. That feared acting on something that perhaps wasn’t inevitable. Even though the rational part of her knew better.
Coward, the voice in her head reproached. And she agreed.
Taking a deep breath, she drew up her shoulders and steadied her resolve. If she couldn’t be the one to ring the death knell on their relationship, she could stand aside and let him do it. She would watch him walk away from her, and she wouldn’t try to stop him.
But until then, she would be here with him, savouring him.
With steady hands, Ginny pulled Harry down towards her and captured his lips with hers. She wanted him to know that she understood. That she didn’t blame him. That she didn’t regret him.
But she had no words. She didn’t even know if the right words existed. Instead, she poured it into her kiss and her touch. Let her lips, her tongue, her mouth say the things her voice couldn’t. I’m sorry, her kiss said. I forgive you.  
I love you.
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everythingsinred · 3 years
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Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt. 20)
PART TWENTY! I've written thousands and thousands of words about this particular character's love. That's really crazy. And you guys read thousands and thousands of words! And we're not even done yet!
We will talk about the second half of this "gap arc", including one of my favorite chapters, and then the school will turn upside down, as we will see in the next part.
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Chapter Ninety-Three
Mikan was so exhausted saving Narumi from Persona’s alice that she ended up hospitalized. Nobody else seems to know much of what really happened except Natsume, who spends so much time in the hospital these days that it would have been more surprising if he didn’t know she was there too.
Besides, Natsume knows so much about Mikan. He knows about her mom and that the ESP is interested in Mikan possibly possessing the stealing alice. He knows that she’s in danger. He’s vigilant, as I’ve said, and this vigilance means absorbing all possible information. He overhears Narumi warning Mikan to keep her new alice a secret, and Natsume gets confirmation that Mikan does indeed have the stealing alice, that Narumi knows and wants to protect Mikan too, and that this information could possibly get to the ESP if they’re not careful.
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Dead man walking. Or rather... dead boy walking.
He walks away from her room, unseen, coughing. He walks down a hall of doctors and patients and nurses and he doesn’t stand out at all. Natsume’s presence in the hospital is so normal that nobody bats an eye anymore. Kaname is hospitalized for long stretches of time, as we shall continue to see, but Natsume merely goes to the hospital for limited periods of bed rest and for getting huge bags of medicine to take before bed so he doesn’t accidentally pass away in his sleep. Natsume might be in just as much need as Kaname for long periods of hospitalization, but he can’t for two reasons.
One, the school absolutely does not want that. They want their favorite child soldier to be always at the ready. He can’t be at their beck and call at all times if he’s cooped up in a hospital bed. He needs to be where they can grab him easily, and pumping him full of medicine and pretending that’s enough for him is the most they will do.
Two, Natsume absolutely does not want that. Mikan is in more danger than ever, and being sequestered in a hospital without seeing anyone leaves her alone and unprotected. How is he supposed to spy on the ESP and Persona for information on Mikan if he’s hospitalized? He needs to be free as a bird, just like they want him to be, so that he can be at Mikan’s beck and call. At the slightest threat, he will be there for her.
Later, when Bear follows Mikan around while Kaname is sicker than ever, Koko can discern that Bear wants Mikan to steal Kaname’s alice from inside of him. Many people are onlooking, and Natsume has a shocked expression, not because he didn’t know that Mikan has the stealing alice, but because he’s concerned for what consequences may come if more people find out. If the ESP comes to hear any of this, serious issues will arise. Things are already dangerous enough, but if the ESP finds out, then turmoil will come sooner than later.
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This is an "Oh, shit" moment! How terrible.
Things get worse when the rumors about Mikan’s alice spread through the upper divisions. Mikan gets chased by upperclassmen who want her to steal their alices because they think their star rank will go up if they can catch her in the act. The ESP seems to have purposefully spread such a rumor in order to speed things along. He wants to push Mikan into a corner, perhaps force her into using her alice and exposing herself, so that he has an excuse to swoop in and take her into his custody.
We see a panel of Natsume hearing the news of the middle schoolers’ pursuit of Mikan and he’s just as shocked as before. Her life is endlessly hectic in the worst way. She is always under attack from rumors and speculation and being honest about her alice will only end poorly for her. This is the last glimpse we get of him this chapter, but his reactions, despite the fact that he says nothing this whole time, is enough to give hints to where his mind is right now. His priorities and concerns are all made clear, building up to when he will eventually be quite needed.
Chapter Ninety-Four
Class B is getting ready for swimming lessons in P.E. Most of the class, especially Mikan, are excited for this.
There’s not much Natsume in this chapter either, but we can see him on the poolside, obviously not well enough to swim. Swimming is one of the most physically taxing exercises because of how much it requires you to use your full body. Natsume can’t waste what little energy he has on P.E. when he has missions to do. Those are much more important.
Mikan may get occasionally down or sad about her alice and the uncomfortable state of things, but Ruka is there to cheer her up and play water polo with her. Natsume simply looks on.
Tsubasa spots him, and instantly looks troubled. He and Natsume are not just both in the DA class now, they’re also going on many of the same missions. He’s also the only one who knows the truth about Natsume’s alice shape, and how much the taxing missions affect his body. Seeing Natsume sit on the side and not join in with the others is not a good sign. He’s not doing well.
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Fun and games are over! It was never gonna last long anyway!
The panel of everyone having fun while Natsume coughs by himself, isolated from everyone, brings to mind the page from Chapter Nine, so long ago. The last page of that chapter has Natsume being sent on a mission, in stark contrast to the final panel of the rest of the class having fun and bonding over dodgeball.
He could never join in for long was the message we got then, and it’s not any less true now. Natsume let himself get attached to Class B and to Mikan in particular but his fun happy times of joining in on the fun were never meant to last. He can’t play the sax anymore. He can’t run around with the rest of them. Luna was a warning to him as much as she was to Mikan. His time is running out and his life will always be too different from the rest of theirs. He will always be shrouded in darkness and an imminent death. They can take occasional breaks from the stress and worry of their lives, but he can’t. Not anymore. Not in any real way. Not without it taking a serious toll on his body.
The last page features two groups of best friends: Natsume and Ruka looking out the window at Hotaru and Mikan as they walk through the rain.
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Bad things are going to happen. And that right soon.
There’s a feeling of foreboding in this arc. The last page carries some threat with it while also trying to stay on the side of hope. One should not take things for granted is the main take-away, a harsh lesson for these kids to learn, especially in this way.
These few chapters between the Sports Fest and the next arc are almost similar to the gap chapters between the Hana Hime den chapters and the Sports Fest. They are a much needed respite from the heavy chapters before and after. The difference is that these gap chapters are heavier and there’s a threat looming over Mikan and the others in each one. The happiness and lightness of the Valentine’s day chapter are not present, even in this sweet chapter about swimming. Everyone is unsettled and disturbed, aware that something horrible is to come.
Chapter Ninety-Five
And nothing good ever lasts, as this chapter reveals. The tension that has been building for so long is starting to reach a boiling point.
A lot will happen here. Hotaru gets called to the headquarters. Yuka returns to the Alice Academy campus to find Mikan. Tsubasa goes missing.
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God, could they stop sending children to get blown up for FIVE MINUTES?!
Natsume and Tsubasa are separated during a nondescript mission. A warehouse explodes and Natsume screams out for Tsubasa, not knowing where he’s disappeared to, or if he’s even still alive.
Tsubasa is missing, his location unknown. Natsume has returned to campus from the mission, but he hasn’t been seen by anybody yet either. He’s busy trying to locate Tsubasa, trying to find information.
Natsume goes on missions all the time. He goes with other DA types and is frequently in life or death situations with them. That being said, he hates most of his classmates, Youichi being one exception. But Tsubasa is different. They have an unspoken respect for each other, and might even be considered friends. They spent a lot of time in the DA class on missions that we haven’t seen in the manga and their work to find--or rather not find--Yuka and protect Mikan has probably brought them closer.
Natsume wants to find Tsubasa because he’s so important to Mikan, because she loves him like a big brother and losing him would break her. He wants to find Tsubasa because Tsubasa is his friend too. If something happened to him on a mission they went on together, then it’s his responsibility to bring him back, and he might even feel guilty for his disappearance as well. Knowing what we do about Natsume’s self-esteem, martyr complex, and tendency to blame himself for everything, he is probably not taking this very well.
It’s exciting and nerve-wracking to see so many people involved in this chapter, but seeing as everything’s coming to a head, many of the characters narratively have to be involved.
Nobara, who discovers that Narumi plans to run away with Mikan to keep her safe from what’s to come, is soon after made aware that she will be blessed with a friend in the DA class: Mikan. Nobara and Natsume do not get along, but so far she’s been diligent in communicating with him about information she discovers that he would not otherwise find out. There’s no way she wouldn’t try to reach out to him, which explains why he knows about it.
Natsume has been mainly absent from the chapter, and from school as well. Nobody has seen him, because he’s too busy trying to find Tsubasa. But it’s nighttime now and everyone is going to sleep. The rumors about Tsubasa’s disappearance are all around the school and he knows that Mikan knows by now. And she’s all alone.
So he takes a break from all the work he has to do to go and comfort her. He cannot leave her alone, even if he originally planned on it.
He appears in her window and she rushes to him. She asks him questions, about where he’s been and all those wounds on his body, but he didn’t come here to talk about what happened to him. He’s here for her. He confesses that he hadn’t wanted to see anyone until he’d found Tsubasa safe and sound, but he had to see her, fearing that she was crying on her own.
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They're both sad. They're each other's comfort.
Natsume knows Mikan, that she frequently acts fine even if she’s suffering. Her resilience and determination are great traits, and it’s easy to get lost in the illusion that she should always be bubbly and optimistic and smiling, but even a girl like Mikan needs to let it out sometimes. Finding out that someone you love is missing is not easy, and smiling in the face of that is not something that even Mikan can do all the time. She needs comfort, and Natsume wants to be there for her.
He’s wanted this the whole time, deep down, to be someone she could rely on, someone who could comfort her, and now he’s the only one who can. All the things he’s wanted to do for her this whole time: to comfort her, to tell her it’ll be okay, to hug her. He does it all because after all they’ve been together, she knows now that he’s someone she can rely on.
She’s crying, and she admits that she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to, because she has to cry in Natsume’s place.
Natsume came to comfort her, yes, but he’s been through a lot too. He also cares about Tsubasa and has been suffering on his own for even longer. He also needs comfort, and because he won’t let himself cry, she’ll do it for him. Mikan can see that he can’t afford to not be perfectly composed all the time. She’s thinking of him, too, and it must be nice to be seen so clearly by somebody he loves.
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She knows that he's close to Tsubasa too, even if he won't admit it. THEY'RE EACH OTHER'S COMFORT.
He tells her he will find Tsubasa, and “about her too”, which means he’s letting her know he’s taking care of her. He will keep an eye out and try to keep her safe. He’s hinting that he knows about her other alice, and that he’s on top of it. He has to go now, but his farewell--his promise--is his final way of comforting her for the night. She doesn’t need to worry too much about Tsubasa or what will happen with the school, because he will fix it all. He will protect her.
Conclusion
There's something looming over the kids at the academy. Something really bad is going to happen, and everyone seems somewhat aware at this point. Natsume is at the ready for the slightest threat to Mikan, and he will finally be able to spring into action in the next edition of this already-too-long essay.
So... This is the twentieth part. If I'm to guess, I'd say there's not going to be another ten parts to make it to thirty, but I might be wrong, depending on how long my analysis gets in the last parts of the manga. As I post this, I'm about fifty chapters ahead (which sounds impressive but actually isn't considering the Time Travel Arc has groups of entire chapters that I had to skip). Maybe it'll get to something like twenty-eight but I'm not sure about thirty. We'll see. Once upon a time I thought it'd be forty, even! No, not Natsume's. Mikan's, maybe, but not Natsume's.
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13uswntimagines · 4 years
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Uh Oh Spaghettios (Uswnt x Swift!Reader)
Request- Y/n Get's hurt in a game, Taylor Comes to the hospital to take care of her and the fans find out about Y/n.
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Hey dudes, this is part 2 of a one shot series I have labeled A Swift Life that will follow the characters in this universe. I’ll list the other parts down below. I still haven’t decided if it’s going to be a purely Emily/reader endgame or a Soran/Reader endgame. If you have any requests or suggestions, please feel free to hit me up. I hope that you enjoy!
Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
The smile that etched its way across your face when the ball found the back of the net for the 4th time was blinding. You sent the Australian bench a wink as you copied their own star forward’s signature backflip, being engulfed by your teammate the moment your feet were back on the pitch. The ref blew the whistle signaling that the first half was over, and you laughed as your team ruffled your hair during your walk back to the locker room. You were proving to be a problem like no other for the Australian team, and the dangerous looks crossing the defender's faces showed that they may not have the answer for how to shut you down.
Emily’s arm wrapped around you as you neared the tunnel, your cheeks flushed as she leaned in and placed a light kiss on your cheek.
“4 goals in 20 minutes, you would think the defenders went on break.” She joked, pulling you tighter to you. Your smile got impossibly wider.
“Well, not everyone can be as good as stopping me as you are.” You laughed, ducking your head as she kissed your cheek. You had really opened up to the team since you had finally told them about your family. You had become touchier with everyone, especially a blond-haired defender. You weren’t always good at voicing your thoughts, but the team was finding that you were much better at expressing yourself through body language and touch. Plus it helped that you were a secrete cuddle bug.
“Yeah kid, what’s gotten into you today? You’re like on fire,” Lindsey asked as she wrapped her arm around you from the other side.
“Taylor said that she was going to watch the game.” You shrugged, causing both women to laugh.
“She’s here?” Emily asked trying to untangle herself from you., her eyes frantically searching the stands for your older sister.
“She’s in New York, but she cleared her schedule enough to catch the game.” You said quietly, grabbing Emily’s arm and pulling it back around you. You understood that Taylor was busy, and it made you feel warm inside that she always did her best to watch your games. She had almost flown out to watch this game live, but you had insisted that she didn’t need to. It wasn’t like the game mattered in the long run, and you didn’t feel right pulling her from her own responsibilities when the stakes weren’t that high.
“She’s still worried about the fans?” Lindsey asked, pulling you from your thoughts.
“Hm, something like that. I think she just wants them to know me for my footie skills and for her name.” You mumbled. It wasn’t that you guys were hiding from the fans. You just hadn’t explicitly admitted that you were related. You were barely on social media as it was, so your public interactions were limited. Taylor was also trying to protect you. She knew that you were shy, and when the fans finally put two and two together, they would be more all over you than they already were.
“I’m surprised that they haven’t connected all the dots yet.” Lindsey snorted. If any fandom on the planet was going to figure it out, it was them.
“Yeah, they’re like the world's greatest detectives” Emily smirked, and you rolled your eyes. Sure they were good, but considering that half of the fandom was still ignoring the fact that the subject of her songs wasn’t brit boy, you weren’t really worried about them realizing that you were a major part of her narrative too.
“They’re not Batman,” You grumbled, mumbling a thank you to Alex when she held the locker room door open for the three of you. She nodded your way, a smirk set on her lips.
“No, you’re superman, flying around and scoring goals,” She said as you passed her, and you frowned.
“Does that make Emily her Lois Lane?” Alex asked, causing the entire room to burst into laughter, and your cheeks flushed.
“In her dream” Emily snorted, untangling herself from you and pushing you away lightly. You averted your eyes from Lindsey’s I’m sorry eyes and stared pointily at the floor. You missed the glares your teammates were sending towards the blond defender. It wasn’t a secret to them that you had a thing for Saucy Sonny.  They had bets going for who was going to make the first move and how long it was going to take for the two you to stop being oblivious.
“That’s enough ladies, we need to go over some things before the next half,” Jill interjected, before beginning to talk strategy. You knew that she was way out of your league, but hearing and seeing her disgust with the very idea of giving you a chance still hurt. You spent your halftime half-way listening to Jill drone on and on about positions and getting behind the defenders, while the other half of you was trying not to stare at Emily who was pointedly not looking your way.
Your thoughts were spiraling by the time you made it back onto the field, the playful atmosphere that you had stepped off the pitch with completely gone. You were distracted by the swirling idea that Emily would never want you in the way you so clearly wanted her. That you had been so stupid to even hope that she would give you the chance to prove that you could be a worthy partner.
From the time you were little, you had been told that it only takes a second of distraction for everything to go wrong. But here you were, waiting for Christen to take a corner kick, watching the way Emily was bouncing on her toes, rather than paying attention to the defender who was marking you. You didn’t see the ball flying in your direction, or the opposing defender that was leaping into the air to meet it. One moment you were looking at Emily and the next all you saw was black.
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Alex had had a perfect view of the collision from the bench. She saw your eyes following a certain blond defender and not the ball. She had seen the opposing defender leap into the air, her leg catching you in the side of the head. She had watched you fall to the floor, and Kelley rushing to your side. Emily had flipped her lid the moment she saw your unmoving form on the turf, screaming at the defender who had hurt you and earning herself a yellow card.
Alex was at your side the second the trainers had carried your unconscious body off the field and loaded you into the ambulance. She had held your hand all the way into the hospital, only letting go when the doctors wouldn’t let her into the back with you because while she was your team mom, you didn’t share any blood relations. She had been regulated to the waiting room, where the team had joined her after their victory over Australia.
“Does anyone know why there are about a million camera’s out in front of the hospital?”
“I think that would be our fault,” Taylor said, rushing into the waiting room, her blond girlfriend skidding to a halt not far behind her. Alex felt her shoulders relax at Taylor’s voice.
“Thank fuck you’re here. They won’t tell us anything because we’re not “family”” She
“Not family my ass, you guys spend more time with her than anyone else” Taylor spat, finally taking in the exhausted faces of your teammates, her eyes lingering on Lindsey and Emily’s red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She wasn’t thrilled that you were going for someone (or multiple someones?), so much older than you, her protective instincts wanting her to make sure that you didn’t get taken advantage of. But on the other hand, they clearly cared for you deeply.
“That’s what I said, but it’s the policy or whatever” Kelley grumbled, pulling Taylor’s attention away from where Emily and Lindsey were curled together in the corner of the waiting room, both being comforted by Sam, Tobin, and Christen.
“Let’s go find the doctor babe,” Karlie said quietly, running a hand up Taylor’s back. Taylor sighed. There would be time to grill the two women who you may or may not be crushing on later. For now, your health was her first priority.
----------------------------------
The first thing you noticed was the incredibly annoying beeping coming from somewhere in the room. It was probably your roommate's alarm again. You couldn’t remember what time you had gone to bed last night, but all you wanted to do was sleep a little more and the annoying beep was preventing you from doing that. Why you had been paired to room with Becky for this camp, you didn’t understand. She was a total morning person while you loved to stay in bed all day.
“Turn it off.” You groaned, your eyelids fluttering. God the sun was bright this morning.
“No can-do kiddo,” The voice beside you chuckled, startling you. That wasn’t Becky’s voice or anyone from the team.
“Tay?” You asked groggily, attempting to turn your head to survey the room, but realizing that that was a terrible idea as a wave of nausea hit you. “Whoa”.
“Stay still babe,” Another voice said from beside Taylor, a hand resting on your chin to prevent you from wiggling around.
“Yeah, I’m here, so is Karlie,” Taylor whispered quietly, hovering over your face so you could see her. You winced, moving Karlie’s hand and trying to sit up on your own again. Alex (who was on your other side) and Taylor immediately jumped in to help you.
“What happened?” You asked, wincing as the pounding in your head increased for a moment as you settled back against the pillows.
“You scared the shit out of us” Kelley grumbled from beside Alex. A small smile etched its way across your face at the sight of the 4 women who were more like parents than siblings sitting by your side. The 4 women who always supported you, and only wanted you to be yourself.
“You got hit in the head really hard. Try not to move around too much. ok?” Taylor said, running a soothing hand through your hair. You pouted. If there was one thing that you hated more than anything else it was being forced to remain still.
“You probably have a concussion kiddo,” Alex added, grabbing your hand and running her thumb over the back of your knuckles.
“No not that. Did we win?” You asked anxiously. The last thing that you remembered was being ahead, and if the team had lost because you got hurt, you didn’t know what you would do. It would probably mean that your USWNT career was over.
“Of course that’s what you’re worried about,” Kelley sighed exasperatedly. You were going to have to learn that there were more important things in life than winning and losing. It was a little scary how much of your identity you based on your abilities on the pitch.
“Well did we?” You insisted, causing the women to chuckle again, Alex nodded and began to rub soothing circles on your shoulder again.
“I’ll find the game for you, just give me a second,” Karlie added, grabbing the remote control and beginning to flick through the channels to find the replay of the game.
“I’m going to go tell Em and Linds that you’re awake,” Kelley said after a few moments, rubbing your leg as she stood up and moved towards the door.
“They’re still here?” You asked, your eyes widening and your cheeks turning red.
“Trust me, kid, they’re not leaving until you do,” Kelley threw over her shoulder as she exited the room. The room was quiet for a few moments, the only sound being the soft murmur of the television. Karlie had changed the channel to the Sportscenter. You relaxed back into the bed, content to watch the commentators break down the game. Your breath caught in your throat as they played the collision again. It wasn’t watching the accident that made you freeze, but instead the photos of a very upset looking Taylor rushing into the hospital. You never wanted to scare or her them, and knowing that you did was really hard. You weren’t upset that the fans had figured it out, frankly, you were surprised that it hadn’t happened earlier.
“So I guess we should tell the fans that I’m not dead,” You mumbled after a few minutes, slowly turning to look at Taylor.
“You’re ok with them knowing?” She asked hesitantly, running the hand that was carding through your hair down your cheek in a soothing motion. You sighed into her touch. She wasn’t your mother, but she had always been nurturing towards you. She was the one who held you after a nightmare or a game that didn’t go the way you wanted it to. Your mom was a firm believer in tough love, sometimes too tough. She wanted the best for you, Austin and Taylor. That meant pushing you to your limits and expecting you to live up to the things your siblings had done. You knew your mother loved you, but Taylor was the one who filled the nurturing role for you.
“I’m not ashamed to be your sister Tay.” You whispered back, and she nodded. She never assumed you were. She knew her fans could be a little… much, and she had just wanted to protect you. Now you would be under an even brighter spotlight than you had been before.
“I never thought you were. I just wanted to make sure you were ready first.” She said back, placing a kiss on your temple. You hummed back, your eyelids fluttering. The fans were like a wave. You could watch from a distance and pretend you knew what you were getting into, but in all honesty, there was no way to prepare for them. You would have had to jump in sooner or later, at least now your teammates could post the videos of them annoying you with her songs online now.
“You know that this means that I get to talk about how awesome you are now right?” Taylor said with a chuckle, and you groaned. Taylor never wanted you to feel like you were in her shadow, and now that the fans knew she was related to you, she was going to take every opportunity to show them just how amazing you were. The fans were about to find out how big of a Y/n Swift stan she was.
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alicemitch09writes · 3 years
Text
the catastrophic history of us
PAIRING: ryoumen sukuna x reader
SUMMARY: This is a story of two people - one was destined to see all while the other was destined to be all-powerful.
They came from different factions of society, though not entirely different if you compare a humble hut versus the slums.
This is a love story.
But it is not a happy one.
A/N: This is a continuation and sort of prequel to 'written in the stars' which gives light on why exactly Sukuna killed the reader and what he meant by 'waited a thousand years for this'. It's been in my head for a while and was an idea I wanted to try.
From what I've researched, Ryoumen Sukuna is said to hail from royalty while some he was just there, so I kinda wanna explore more on his background and ended up crafting my own. I'm sorry if it's kinda cliche. I ended up using the already existing lore about him, but added a bit of my own to fit the story and the narrative I want.
also available on ao3.
disclaimer: i own NOTHING but the plot.
This is a story of two people - one was destined to see all while the other was destined to be all-powerful.
They came from different factions of society, though not entirely different if you compare a humble hut versus a grandiose palace, a benevolent being versus a power-hungry one, one who dances with the mystic arts versus one who challenges the fates, one royal highness and his royal spiritual advisor, - two very different beings destined to meet, destined to fall together, destined to be together.
This is a love story.
But it is not a happy one.
This is a story of two star-crossed lovers.
But again, to reiterate, this is not a happy story. There is no happy ending here.
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Legends speak of a name, so feared and great that just the mention of it sent shivers down the spines of many – young, old, human, curses.
Just the mention of his name was akin to devastation and disaster, killing all forms of life regardless of status.
Ryoumen Sukuna.
Also known as ‘King of Curses’.
Call his name, and you are invoking yourself to a life of damnation, of no return, of death.
However, once upon a time, Ryoumen Sukuna was once a simple man.
A prince to be exact, son to the Great Emperor, heir to the throne, general commander of the royal army, and quite possibly, the strongest warrior in the land.
Once upon a time, Ryoumen Sukuna was a man of great power and privilege.
He could take soldiers with a swift blow of his sword, could conquer lands in a day, with only a swagger down the road that could bring the mightiest men quaking, could overpower just about anyone with only his presence - his menacing and great presence.
Wise beyond his years, versatile in combat, cynical, ambitious, and wicked – these were the traits of the soon-to-be Emperor? How unsettling. The kingdom would no sooner meet its demise and burn into flames than to shine brightly with a ruler with blood and warfare on his mind.
Many had thought so as well, yet did little.
For what can they do against someone who can promise dominion and power? They can all but kneel and acquiesce to his bidding.
He did possess a younger twin brother, but compared to his brother, he was passable at best. The brother doesn't talk much, says very little, but paid close attention to his surroundings, his companions, even to his older brother, whom he admired greatly.
It was sometime during his time as a prince when fate decided to play their hand.
But no one saw it coming.
Save for one.
The Emperor’s royal spiritual adviser, the kingdom’s revered onmyouji known only by the name (Y/N).
"That's quite the look on your pretty face, (Y/N)."
Sighing, the (h/c)-haired woman ever so carefully dipped her brush into the ink well before continuing her writing.
"Oya? No wisecracks this time?" the voice drew near, she could feel his hot breath beside her ear. "Is that any way to speak to your future king?"
Unfazed, she dipped her brush into the well again, careful strokes bleeding into the paper. "Truly not worth his royal highness' time if I even breathe or say a word."
Even without looking, she knows he's smirking. He knows he got what he wanted, ever the child.
Silence filled in. She, continuing on with her scrolls, and he, lazily perched himself awfully close to her side, sliding his gaze from her eyes, her face, to her kimono, to her nimble fingers.
From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he was fascinated by her very being. More so, when she revealed that she was to be the royal onmyouji with the ability to see all. 
Technically, her position was better suited for a man, especially a man from a renowned jujutsu family – for trivial reasons.
However, no man could ever compete with one with an all-seeing eye, with impressive control of her cursed energy other than this woman, this strange woman.
No one else but her.
He would like to think that he became a man no long sooner after their first verbal spat, after their second introduction – having differing ideals and morals, never backing from the other despite their status. He and his twin had just turned 18, a prime age for the king to be. It was what drew them together in the first place.
From the moment their eyes met, he had unwillingly declared this fascinating woman as his and only his.
When she was finished writing, just as she laid her brush aside, a hand slammed on the table. She didn’t flinch, even as the man effortlessly picking her up into his arms. "Surely you must be bored from all that gibberish writing, eh?"
Allowing herself a genial smile, (e/c) eyes alit with life, she draped her arms around his strong shoulders. 
"Must I remind you time and time again that they're readings?" Fingers slipped and carded through his locks, grabbing tufts of hair playfully. Tilting her head, she used her free hand to ghost over his strong jawline. “Your great kingdom would crumble would it not be for said readings. Lives would be lost. Blood will be shed. Your name tarnished and damned-”
"Blah, blah, blah, is all I can hear you say," pushing her against the wall, he welcomed himself between her legs, drawing himself ever so close to her. “Don’t you ever get tired of spouting bullshit?”
“Surely you would know,” she gasped as something hard pressed against her core. “that’s all your mouth is good for: running your filthy mouth.”
He met her smirk with his, hot breath fanning hers. “And here I thought you’d be this docile diviner.” Scoffing, he drew close. “Thank fuck I was wrong.”
Hot lips pressed against hers, just as the ink dried out and the shadows danced in the dark.
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"We order you to join forces with us destroy Ryoumen Sukuna."
"I refuse."
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Even she can't deny that the man she loved was a danger to everyone, probably to all of humanity. He was quick to be enamored with power, sadistic even in his means to achieve greater feats and exploit his foes.
Eventually, she saw how the man she came to love drastically turned into the cynical, malevolent King of Curses he was.
Mad with power, ambition, and glory, in order to achieve all and more he sought out the dark mystics that made him murder his younger twin brother granting him his grotesque figure - two faces, added appendages, and dark marks littering his body.
It started with a vision. Then came the prophecy.
Overnight, a brother was murdered in cold blood by his own, through his blood spawned the King of Curses.
Many months were soon bathed in more blood as he sought nothing more but destruction and chaos,
In the end, she knew what she had to do, what must be done, what must happen, what was foretold – even if it ends up breaking her heart.
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"Could you do it?"
"...I have no choice."
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This is it, she thought. The end.
The end of the beginning.
Fire licked throughout the field, soot rising from the ashes, craters, devastation lurked wherever the eye could see. There was even the occasional ice covered in blood, sometimes encasing 
It had been a long, treacherous, arborous, and exhausting battle – sorcerers and Imperial soldiers against fellow sorcerers and curses.
Jujutsu sorcerers – especially the high-ranking ones from esteemed clans, set aside their petty differences for this one battle, to put down the King of Curses.
Ryoumen Sukuna.
It was a hard-earned battle, as Ryoumen Sukuna had with him a rather interesting set of warriors to fend off against them.
But finally, they got him.
In the middle of all this madness and bloodshed, a victor was finally declared.
And it wasn’t him.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?" He screamed, binding spells forcing him to his knees, his whole body weakened and paralyzed by countless battles and countless spells against him. “(Y/N)!? HOW COULD YOU!?”
She forced herself to hold him down as the sorcerers around her continued their spells.
Amidst it all - the undeniable pain, the humiliation of being pinned, the utter betrayal - Ryoumen Sukuna turned to her and only her, red eyes burning her very being, as though ready to incinerate and devour her on the spot.
At the front line, that’s where she was to be – supposed to be, as she was their leverage to get close to the King of Curses.
She was leverage at best, the one thing that can keep Ryoumen Sukuna down - despite the countless claims that no one and nothing can do so.
"In this life, know that you were always the man I hold closest to my heart, the warmth on a cold winter's day, the joy from a day's tiresome work. There is no one but you, Ryoumen Sukuna," she was openly crying now, uncaring of anyone and anything. "But in this life, we cannot be."
The spell had been cast, paralyzing Sukuna, allowing the rest of the jujutsu sorcerers to attack.
With the final blow, she poured a bit of herself into her final, most powerful spell. Sealing him and vaporizing any memory of her in it, emptying his being until he was but an empty husk.
"YOU BITCH! YOU LIED TO ME!" Despite being in constant pain, his body slowly reddening and wax appearing all over, he found it in himself to spout angrily at her. "WAS EVERYTHING A LIE!?"
Memories upon memories - of their first meeting, their first verbal spat, their next meeting, him cornering into a corner, of their first kiss, of their first night, of their many nights, of promises under the sheets, of eyes searching, of eyes yearning, of eyes hurting - voided one after the other.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU DEAD, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He doesn't mean it, she tells herself, adding more spells that caused him to scream in even more pain.
"Y-YOU FUCKING BITCH! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" His eyes were blank, regarding her with all the hatred man could possess. "YOU'LL BE THE FIRST PERSON I KILL THE MOMENT I GET BACK!" choking on blood, he feels himself weaken. "I SWEAR IT! I'LL KILL YOU THE FIRST MOMENT I GET!"
A sob escaped her, as much as she tried to swallow it down. To no avail, she cannot fake her remorse, her pain. She knew it was the right thing to do, for the betterment of all – humans and sorcerers, but it cost her so much sorrow and pain.
"Nothing is a lie," she croaked, feeling the last of her energy leave her, tearfully gazing into the eyes of her beloved. "But I have to say goodbye."
And just like that, the King of Curses was no more.
And when the fighting was over, the Seer vanished without a trace.
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It came abruptly.
Without warning, without a sound, without a whisper, without a call.
The end of the beginning.
Of when fate decided to try its hand with life, changing the course of all.
For a thousand years ago, the jujutsu society was at its high boasting about great families within their ranks and a seer to guide them all.
The seer, who were specialists in the mystics and great beyond, who helped build empires, defend against curses, win wars - the great seer revered, respected, and treasured. 
Alas, this seer fled, vanished, and doomed the jujutsu society.
For without her visions, how can the sorcerers ever know of the truth and lies that the future holds, to protect them from whatever threatens them? Of the corruption that would soon waste them away? Their arrogance and overdependency on her visions became their downfall, yet few could actually attest to that.
The jujutsu world was a strange, fickle, archaic, and destructive kind with an equally disturbing system. A system unwilling to change, unwilling to adapt, willing only to lead by example.
After her disappearance, they were left with crumbs to pick up, on where she'd be for their next life - for without her visions, how would they be able to secure safety for themselves?
(how selfish of them)
Lo and behold, a thousand years later, and she would appear again, outside of Japan and born half a Gojo! What tremendous luck they have!
Without wasting another second, they sent their best sorcerers to abduct the child and took her by force from her mother, bringing her all the way to Japan.
Only they could have their hands on this seer, one they've waited for thousands for years, one who remains theirs, rightfully theirs, one who has to atone for her sins of leaving the jujutsu society vulnerable all those years ago.
Yes, this child must bear the sins of her ancestors, must live a life for the future of the jujutsu sorcerers.
She is theirs.
Theirs and theirs alone!
But alas, Gojo Satoru caught wind of the other Gojo, singlehandedly took her from them and took her under his care.
How dare he!
So long as he was alive, no way would they ever get their hands on the seer, the great diviner, the all-seeing eye!
How dare he!
Gojo Satoru who manages to effortlessly insert himself in situations he shouldn't be, halting or stopping decisions entirely, establishing his presence as the strongest sorcerer - a title that many of them cannot deny, with much disdain, he, who is without a shred of doubt, a threat.
The Gojo seer continued to live her life, foolishly and blissfully unaware of her true value. Foolish little girl!
The past and present converged into one another, tightly wounding and bounding, meshing and mixing in between the seems, for a future nobody knows, a future nobody is prepared for, but a future nonetheless for all.
However, unbeknownst to all - even to the jujutsu higher-ups, the Great Gojo Satoru, and his beloved little sister, the future in store was not kind. No.
It's as though the past comes back to haunt, to call out for sins to be repented.
Strange as it seems, it all went according to plan - Gojo Satoru finding out about his sister, Fushiguro Megumi sent to Sendai, Miyagi to fetch a cursed object and meeting Itadori Yuuji, Itadori Yuuji ingesting said cursed object and hosting Ryoumen Sukuna, reviving the King of Curses after a thousand years. Yes. Marvelous. All according to plan. 
The characters were set, ties looming into each other. Glorious.
It was inevitable, that these characters had special ties connecting them with each other, keeping their lives intertwined, for such was the plan for the grander scheme of things.
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There was nothing.
A sea of nothing.
Endless nothing.
It went on and on and on and on and on and on.
It was a nothing that comforting, a nothing where nothing existed, a nothing where nothing was felt.
It was a nothing with that - nothing.
The perfect word for it would be void, however, voids can still have something in them.
And there was red.
A field of red spread across, going on forever and ever and ever.
Curious, she got to her knees to inspect. A flower, it was a red flower with six umbels and a long stamen, blooming outward, as though seeking life. Fingering through its petals, her eyes followed along millions of them spread.
Suddenly, a cold chill ran down her. For some reason, she looked up, meeting nothing.
And yet, she remembered the feeling dwelling in her in a sea of nothing.
Yes, she remembered this feeling.
She knows that feeling.
"Where am I?" a voice cut through the nothing.
In front of her stood someone who looked exactly like her, except, one pair of her eyes had the trademark Six Eyes of the Gojo clan, there was a streak of white running down the right side of her hair, and she was dressed in clothing much different from hers.
Recognition fell upon her, blinking calmly as a faint smile graced her lips.
“Who are you?” asked the girl.
Her smile turned sad as she approached, crushing the flowers under her feet.
The same recognition fell unto her mismatched eyes, but probably not the same kind of recognition she had.
With the gentleness akin to a mother, she eyed the girl before her.
“I’m sorry,” she cried, her voice echoing in the dark. “I’m sorry to have cursed you – all of you,” confusion crosses her face, it hurts her even more. “to have you all carry my burden." The red all around them seemed to glow, a vibrant, blinding red. "I’m sorry.”
Confusion continued to riddle her features, which makes this meeting just more bittersweet.
And then came rain, pouring down on them.
It washed over them, over the flowers.
And then nothing.
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Come a thousand years later, and there they were.
A promise foretold, enacted finally.
He, a man resurrected from the dead, free from the curses that kept him away, taking what was rightfully his with her beating heart in his.
And she, a shell of a woman in the form of her now empty descendent.
At last, he had his comeuppance, at last, he got his revenge.
As he devoured her heart, feeling the remaining pieces of his powers return, as did the memories. What a cruel twist of fate.
Suddenly, his mind felt like a rush of water downstream. He could feel his immeasurable power returning, could feel in pumping his veins, yet at the same time, there were tears.
Elsewhere was Fushiguro Megumi, screaming over and over the name of the woman he had just killed – a scream of desperation, anguish, and pain. Why did it sound so familiar?
Finding a blackened uniform, hovering over a body laid in her own pool of blood, the boy continued to scream and scream.
Fushiguro Megumi was a man he couldn’t wait to see at his full potential for battle, another in his list of to-kills, having shown great potential as a jujutsu sorcerer and as part of the wretched Zen’in. But this was far from the man he knew, all he saw was a weeping boy, a boy who lost his mind as he was grieving, begging over and over a corpse, the corpse of his beloved.
Satisfied, he should be, right? Yet, why doesn't he feel it? Why does a part of him feel a great loss? Why does a part of him feel as though he was the one with a ripped soul?
A flash of white came to view, standing next to the crying boy, his stance was rigid, apart from that nothing with his back turned.
Kneeling, Gojo Satoru let his fingers press against the dead girl's eyelids, closing them shut. His hands fell to her cheeks, engulfing them in his large fingers, lingering, thumbs caressing her ice-cold cheeks. Once filled with warmth and life.
"Megumi," says Gojo Satoru, cursed energy just radiating off him. "mind if ya take yourself and (Y/N) aside?" lowering his blindfold, his cursed energy increased in power, reeking of maliciousness. "Things are about to get messy."
He met Gojo Satoru's murderous look head-on, finally getting that fight he long promised him.
And yet, as he stood there, tears leaked from his eyes.
Even with all his powers returned, him being at his full glory, his heart felt more hollow than before.
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