Tumgik
#stoic boy saves girl's life and shows her out-of-character kindness
skania · 2 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
It’s midnight and I’m DEEP into my Scheris/Ryuho feelings. This episode will always, always gut me.
8 notes · View notes
baronetcoins · 2 years
Note
i'd like a snippet/link for "this au turducken has gotten out of hand"
oh ok this bad boy deserves some Context: Me and some friends (@kangoo and @kingstealer) have a destiny ocverse that has enough of it's own lore to be a separate spin-off property at this point, including Kangoo and I's dearly treasured AU, It Takes A Village (ITAV for short). ITAV takes two canon characters (Drifter and Shin Malphur) and a handful of our OCs (My Thyme, Sable, and Shrike, Kangoo's Occam mostly) and says "what if the five dysfunctional adults shared an apartment and together tried to raise a child (Shrike) with strange psychic powers". The au turducken part of this would be we went "what if ITAV had a magical girl au". They're all bird themed, because of course they are.
Anyway I couldn't pick just one part of this block for a snippet so have a long excerpt from the one scene I actually wrote for this incredibly self-indulgent au
When the camera caught them, it zoomed in on the group pulling themselves out of the wreckage. No civilian bodies, thank god—the evacuation efforts had been successful, but they were battered and bruised. Guardian Magpie was supporting Osprey on his shoulders, and Swan was holding onto a wound on their side, but they would heal soon. Jay pulled on Swallow’s cape a little pathetically, and made an up gesture. 
Swallow immediately snapped over to look her up and down. “You hurt?” She signed, scanning for the signs of injury. Healing factor might make them harder to kill, but it didn’t get rid of the pain.
Jay shook her head. “My feet hurt. The heels are killing me.” 
Right. Just because she’d done her time in character shoes didn’t mean everyone else was used to moving in heels. Swallow grimaced in sympathy and went to sweep her up, bridal-style. 
Magpie caught her eye and made a gesture. “Press to your 6,” he mouthed. She adjusted her grip on Jay and turned to watch the news anchor in a windbreaker and remarkably practical shoes picking her way over the rubble gunning straight towards them, with a camera operator not far behind. 
“Game faces.” Osprey whispered. “They aren’t friendly.” 
Swallow’s eyes caught on a moment after. The logo emblazoned on the front of the windbreaker was that of the local far right radio commentator. Internally, she scowled. Externally, she plastered on her best impression of the stoic yet positive hero.The ‘reporter’ flagged them down when she got close enough. She waved a microphone at them. 
“Guardians! I’m Maggie Webber, with the Ely Evans show. What would you say in response to the people who are worried about how you behave yourselves in public? What kind of example are you setting for the children who look up at you when you act like—” She waved a hand at Jay, curled up in Swallow’s arms. “—this?”
Swallow felt her own arms tense as Jay pressed her face further into her chest. She dropped the expression.
“The right one.” 
Webber took a half step back before recovering. “But Guardian Sparrow! Surely you understand people’s concerns with you shoving your lifestyles in the faces of the populace! As public symbols—”
“We just saved your life with the power of love. Are you really going to care who it’s for?” Thyme pressed in, using the height advantage granted by the rubble for all it was worth. “Now excuse us. I need to take care of my girlfriend.”
3 notes · View notes
Text
things they do when they love you
Characters: Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, Tanaka Ryūnosuke, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Kozume Kenma, Tendō Satori, & Ushijima Wakatoshi, all with a Fem!Reader
Warnings: literally nothing - pure fluff <3
A/N: sorry for the lack of content lately! I’ve been super busy with work and school and I feel myself starting to get selfconscious of my work again so I’m hoping I can break through the writers block it comes with! Hope you enjoy! Also thank you to @thisnoodlewritesao3​ and @satan-ruler-of-hells​ for listening to me talk about this fic probably a million times lol
haikyuu masterlist
Tumblr media
Kageyama is awkward with telling you how he feels so he just tries to give you things to show you. like you mentioned once you liked the protein bar that Coach gave you guys and now he bought every single one of them from the store and is bringing it to your house. Oh did you say you liked milk too? Well I guess he’ll just have to bring you the whole fucking vending machine. Just wants to show he will provide you with all the things you love, pls love him back. I feel like he’d also be bugging his older sister all the time - asking her all sorts of questions about girls. She’s the reason your first date wasn’t at a volleyball game (and also the reason why he no longer thinks your first date was the first time you attended his games. “Tobio, a date is supposed to be where the two of you are hanging out together.” “But.... we are together. She’s watching me play.” “.... somewhere where your whole team and the whole of the Miyagi prefecture isn’t!”)
Tumblr media
Tsukishima will let you pamper him lol. He likes the attention so when you’re doing face masks, he’ll like look through them and ask you questions about them. Sometimes it comes off as he’s judging you for spending money on this stuff but he’s really just waiting for you to ask if he wants to try one. You bought a dino face mask specifically for him but you thought he’d laugh at you if you asked. So you just kept it with the rest of your sheet masks. You’re putting one on one day and he’s like …. is that a dinosaur. And you’re like…. no? And immediately he’s like well now I have to have it please show me how to put this one. Lol cut to: it does nOT look like a dinosaur (have yall seen those ones that’s supposed to like look like a penguin or lion or something and just looks psychotic??? yeah that). He still likes it and even lets you take a picture of his first face mask cause you just look so happy that you’re doing it with him. It becomes a ritual and any time you’re doing face masks, he’ll do it with you and you just spill all the tea to him about shit you’ve heard at work or school and he just listens and aggressively calls everyone stupid  lol
Tumblr media
Tanaka aggressively praises you non stop but like in a good way haha. Did you just post a photo on instagram? He’s liked it first, commented a thousand different things about how he loves your outfit and your expression and how you’re the light of his life, and then he sHARES the photo to his story and is like look at how pretty my girlfriend is yall wish this was you. Oh did you just get a good grade at school??? Non stop bragging to his teammates about how he’s dating a genius (“I mean anyone’s a genius compared to you” “Tsukishima that is NO WAY TO TALK TO YOUR UPPERCLASSMAN YOU ASSHOLE”). If you’re feeling upset about something, he’ll comfort you and all but also tell you that you’re such a badass you could handle anything. And it’s not like empty compliments either - he genuinely believes that you are the most amazing human being to ever walk the planet
Tumblr media
Yamaguchi (okay I got this idea partially from @/paige.ipairs on tiktok but it’s so cute that i had to put it here) likes doing anything with you so he likes it when you’re out shopping and you help him pick a new outfit or you style something for him. But his favourite thing is when you’re painting your nails and he’s like … that’s a nice colour… and you’re like Yamaguchi would you like… your nails painted? And at first it’s just the one finger and it’s a matching colour with you. Like on his ring finger to symbolize he’s with you but then soon he’s with you at the mall looking at different colours and picks out one’s he would like for you to paint for him and he just carries them over to you like .. o.o pls
Tumblr media
Kenma will actively look for 2 player games that he can play with you. He’ll pretend like it’s nothing and that he just wants to try the game for the 1 player story but he’ll leave a controller out and just kind waits for you to ask to play or pick up the controller. He really likes it when you play, even if you wander around a lot and aren’t super focused on the story line. Minecraft with the two of you is always fun. He thinks it’s really funny how aggressive you get trying to save your animals from the zombies even though they won’t get hurt. You teared up once cause the pen you made for your chickens got blown up by a Creeper and he actually felt so bad even though you told him it was definitely not his fault. Cut to: you screaming aggressively when it comes to any Creeper as revenge for the chickens who were lost in the battle.
Tumblr media
Tendō starts reading your favourite mangas and watches all of your favourite series/movies before you two really started dating because he wanted to know what to talk to you about. But now that you guys are together, he’ll plan dates where you can binge-watch all of your favourite movies/shows or just lie around and trade mangas (you had this man actually crying at some of them, he wasn’t ready for the hURT). If you’re not the biggest fan of horror films, he’ll insist that you guys don’t need to watch them but he loves when you stick it out with him cause it means extra cuddles and more snacks as comfort! If you do love horror films, he’ll always buy tickets to the new movies so the two of you can watch it together right away.
Tumblr media
Ushijima will hold you no matter where you guys are. Big beefy boy doesn’t really understand why he wouldn’t hold you, even if you guys were in public. When you guys first started dating, you’d avoid reaching out for his hand because you figured big stoic guy like Ushijima, he wouldn’t really be a PDA kind of guy would he? Wrong. Well right, but also wrong. Boy probably doesn’t even realize what PDA is but he’ll reach for your hand and hold it anytime. And if you guys are waiting in line somewhere, he’ll just hold you in his arms in front of him. He has no sense of when not to do this. It’s like you’re his comfort person (which you are). In front of his Coach? Suddenly has you in front of him, hugging you to him. Being interviewed by some reporters? Oh look, you’re here too. Reminding Oikawa that he should’ve come to Shiratorizawa? You’re right in front sticking your tongue out at the Aoba Josai boi like the child you are lol. Honestly, he doesn’t think it’s weird but he knows deep down that he’s just really scared you’ll leave. He likes knowing you’re around because it reminds him you’re always there. 
Haikyuu taglist (let me know if you’d like to join!)
@al0ehas​ @aurumk​ @devilkittymusic​ @thisnoodlewritesao3​ @satan-ruler-of-hells​ @trashy-simp​ @jeppiet​ @lucyheartfilias-wife​ @darkvadeeer​ @haikyuutothetop​ @livy384​ @babyshoyo​
870 notes · View notes
Why Elias And Laia Mean So Much To Me
Okay so I’ve been wanting to write this for a while but knew it would be long and that I’d need some time to get my thoughts in order. So without a further ado here is my attempt:
Why is Elaia so important to me. Well to start off, Laia Of Serra in particular is very important and inspirational to me. She is not only a brown girl who is a hero but she is the most realistic hero I’ve ever had the honor of meeting. I’m so used to white female main characters that are badass warriors who are smart, beautiful, strong, special, that everyone is attracted to, and who fight for their people. I grew up on books like that. In which don’t get me wrong I still greatly enjoyed those stories and some of them are still my favorite to this day.
However I could never relate to those characters and it really solidified the belief that I most likely could never be a hero cause I could never fit that mold. And for the longest time I thought I was okay with that and I never really understood how much physical and emotional representation could mean to me until, Laia Of Serra.
Laia is a brown girl that is afraid, insecure, oppressed, sheltered, poor, weak, with no fighting experience, kind, emotional, girly, and self deprecating. She’s scared and second guesses herself all the time. It’s hard for her to phantom that she’s good enough to make the right choices or save anyone or anything. Which is exactly what I struggle with on the daily let alone in the middle of a war. I first read aeita when I was 17, the same age as Laia. So meeting a heroine that made mistakes, berated herself, cracked under pressure, had no clue what she was doing, let herself cry, understood that in a place filled with skilled deathly warriors she was weak, and let people trample over her. It was so relatable and heart wrenching. Especially when I’ve been wired to think girls like her are useless and typically the first to die or used as a stepping stool for the real hero.
Seeing her continue to fight with what she can and however she can made my heart soar. There were so many times she wanted to give up and feared death. However in time she grew and instead of fearing death she embraced the possibility of it in order to fight for what is right and for the people she loved. She stayed true to herself and became a badass without the need of having to kill people. Laia detested killing people especially after having to see how her people got killed all the time. She’s filled with understanding, love, forgiveness, sensitivity, kindness, and determination. No matter how many times she got knocked down she kept getting back up.
She gave and still gives me hope. Hope for who I am today and who I can grow into the future. She’s a symbol that you can be strong in other ways. That physical strength isn’t the only way to be a hero. Her bravery to face things head on, her compassion towards everyone, her determination to reach her goal, and her heart always willing to accept others is what makes her a hero. Even when it came to the final battle. It wasn’t her powers or weapons that got her to win the war. It was her kindness and understanding and love.
I understand people are disappointed that she wasn’t as “brutal” or stabby as other heroines. I love stabby women as well! But I think her depiction of strength and heroism is so important. It really shines a light on the meek and shy and scared and shows that it’s okay to feel like that. How that doesn’t automatically make you weak and how you can be just as important in the world.
I also love that Laia isn’t reduced or or shown as “not like other girls”. Laia loves to dress up, she likes to look pretty, she does think about boys, she is bossy, she is emotional, often has break downs, and she’s just so human. I find that a lot of the most badass heroines are always the ones that don’t like dressing up and finds it a waste of time, doesn’t fit in with other women, is stoic, cold, good with swords but not with words, and violent. Im not saying that these characters shouldn’t be allowed, but I feel like it reinforces the idea that the normal things a woman feels or behaves is considered weak. Not saying that all women are emotional, but we do feel. We do stress and some of us do love to put on make up and dresses. That shouldn’t be demonized or looked down upon.
That’s why I adore Laia. She’s a normal teenage girl that IS like most girls. And she gets praise and stronger because of it. Also people need to realize that at the start of the series Laia is a 17 year old girl with zero survival training skills. Elias and Helene have been training since they were literal children. Their whole lives revolves around fighting. Laia’s didn’t. So it makes sense and is realistic why she isn’t as “strong” or “skilled” as them.
To expect her to be at their level within the three year timeline between these books is impossible. I feel like people are so used to heroines that know how to fight or learn to become the most badass fighter through mere chapter montages that seeing a realistic depiction of a teenage girl that’s never fought in her life is displeasing. But I love that about her. She always becomes stronger in spirit, braver at heart, but at her core she is still Laia. A teenage girl trying her best.
Her needing help or needing a team to fulfill her goals shouldn’t be looked down on. It’s shown through even real history some of the best fighters or leaders needed a team. Needed support, right hand man, etc. Which is why I feel so connected to her and wish she wasn’t so underrated or looked down upon. Cause I feel like she’s a voice for girls like us that so desperately needed a way to be heard. She’s someone I can look up to and remember and find comfort in when times get stressful or dark.
Now as for why Elias and Laia’s relationship mean a lot to me. It’s simple. They’re a healthy brown couple and I love finally seeing a girl that looks and acts like me get praise and love. I love that Elias sees her strength and admires her for who she is. And how he actually finds comfort in a person like her. How he views her at times even stronger than him and everyone else.
Girls/characters like Laia are always reduced to a side character, the best friend, the second choice for the love interest, the death that motivates the main character, and or the character that pops in and out to give moral support. However under Elias’s eyes she IS the main character. She IS the only girl for him. He loves everything about her and was the first to believe she’s strong. He chooses her above all. Above anything and anyone else.
As a brown girl as shallow or dumb as it may sound it really does feel touching to see us described as not only just strong and desirable but loved and wanted by the warrior. The main love interest. That in his eyes this brown girl that others deem as weak, useless, boring, and a waste of time. To him she is everything. She is brave, smart, powerful, beautiful, admirable, and perfect. It means the world to me. Especially with how characters like her especially in fantasy is seen as never good enough or tossed aside.
I also love that Elias shows the struggles on what it means to be “strong”. How a lot of learning to be the best fighter happened through a lot of trauma, shame, and guilt. He does show how physical strength isn’t the only way to be strong. Which is why Laia is his balance. She is the peace and freedom he yearns for while Elias is the strength, power, and love she’s always yearned for. Where she falls in believing herself he is always the first to count his vote on her. They compliment each other perfectly. Countermelodies. True loves.
They show me a healthy version of love. One of the purest and sweetest kinds of love. Elias is always soft, kind, and patient with her. He’s proud of her even if she feels like it’s undeserved. She sees the good in him even if he feels like he’s a monster. They see each other for who they are and love that about each other. They love each other so much and I’d never seen two characters be as in love as these two are. They are utterly devoted to each other and constantly fought for their way back to each other. It’s been five years and rereading their scenes still makes me smile and feel butterflies, like it’s the first time all over again.
Even now seeing any content of them is like a shot of straight up serotonin. They are my comfort ship. Despite the stress these past five years of being with them and shipping them has brought me. They also bring me great happiness and excitement and I wish I never had to say goodbye.
Though here’s to hoping that maybe we can have an Elaia novella, at the least, in the future 👀🤞
♥️♥️♥️ Elaia Forever ♥️♥️♥️
43 notes · View notes
axebenefits · 3 years
Text
Why Kokomi Teruhashi Deserves Better
let me start off with stating that teruhashi is not pursuing this life of perfection for herself. and you may think “but she seems to enjoy it so much” or “but no ones forcing her to be perfect”. however, there’s a lot more to her goals than just self satisfaction.
teruhashi is a beautiful woman who, seemingly from an early age, was fawned after and sexualized by everyone. even her own brother. though we’ve seen nothing of her family outside of her sibling, we can assume it’s not as perfect as she’d lead everyone to believe.
even if teruhashi’s parents didn’t add to any of the pressure or stress she’s under, they most certainly seemed to have enabled makoto. or at least been negligent in their parenting. how could anyone get to such a state of obsession? especially over a sibling, nonetheless. even saiki points out in the episode makoto is introduced (season 1, episode 9) that the teruhashi parents should not have let makoto get this far in his possessiveness. which leads me to believe that they either are very distant or they’re very careless.
then kokomi attends pk academy. here she has a variety of people her own age. and what happens? they worship her blindly. her gorgeous looks garner her constant empty praise because of this facade she displays. there’s even a fan club dedicated to her, one that has been said to have ADULTS in it. how creepy is that? and she just has to live with it.
but you have to think, would teruhashi even be able to live a life in which she’s not treated as a goddess? she’s exceptionally beautiful, very intelligent, and quite talented. there would never be a world in which she wouldn’t get the attention that people force onto her.
and, as sad as it is, i think she’d prefer attention that she’s asking for instead of something unwanted and unexpected.
this may lead you to deduce that she enjoys the praise and affection. that as long as her ego is being inflated, she’s happy. however, let’s think back to the valentine’s day episode in season 1 (episode 8). it’s rumored that teruhashi has brought chocolate for a special someone, and all the boys flock to her in order to earn her chocolates.
remember how annoyed she was, how frustrated she got when they were tripping over themselves to do whatever she asked of them. and why do they do this? do they care for her? unfortunately, no. she’s an accessory to them, a beautiful gem they can wear out and show off. these people hold no genuine love for her.
she was agitated, despising the crowd that followed her relentlessly. however, this is teruhashi we’re talking about. she gets followed by a crowd of strangers constantly. she gets swarmed by people at café’s. she is so used to such treatment, why was that time so different? it must’ve been a one time thing, right?
wrong! she never enjoys the attention she gets from people. she doesn’t put up this persona of the “perfect pretty girl” for herself. she doesn’t particularly like it, but she feels as though it is necessary. she constantly puts herself through uncomfortable and even downright upsetting situations to continue to show people that she is perfect.
what’s worse is that she’s so accustomed to people treating her more like a reality tv show star than a person. in the last episode of season 2, episode 24, we witness the newspaper club once more trying to tarnish her image. how do they try and get dirt on her? THEY FOLLOW HER AROUND.
and the saddest part is she notices IMMEDIATELY, and is able to take extremely detailed notes on what the perpetrators are like. she outright states this isn’t her first time being stalked. of course we know this, but can we register how upsetting that is? this young girl who doesn’t even have a genuinely caring and healthy family gets stalked constantly.
let’s not forget kokomi has clearly never had friends before she befriended chiyo and the rest. nobody treated her like her own person. they’ve all put her on this incredible pedastol, too far from the top to ever even think about befriending her. so she had no one to confide in, no one to make her feel safe.
but that all started changing when she became friends with saiki’s group. do you know why? because they showed her genuine respect and kindness. not empty validation and unwanted worship. the genuinely do care for HER, not like how the other pk students tend to only care for how she the image she portrays herself as.
no one ever cared to get to know her, until saiki and his friends. saiki’s group brings out the best in people. i could go on an entire tangent on why saiki’s friend group is so wonderful, but we can save that for another time. what i’m saying is that they treated her as equal. of course they do occasionally shower her in praise, but they have no ulterior motive. they don’t want to get with her, they just want to make her happy.
we see how she changes alongside this friend group. for instance, when saiko is introduced in episode 23 of season 1, she even states herself that the “old her” would’ve dropped everything for saiko. but now, she cares too much for her friends to ever let ANYONE insult them like that. and that feeling is reciprocated.
you can argue that every situation ends in kokomi’s favor, and therefore gets everything she wants. and i agree to an extent. she is most definitely adored by the gods. however, positive outcomes do not erase uncomfortable and even traumatic experiences. you can put a bandaid on a wound, but only time and care will truly heal it.
alongside that, i understand some people still view teruhashi as conceited and selfish. in episode 11 of season 2, after kusuke insults teruhashi, she cries in order to form a mob to sworm around him. and yes, this was wrong of her and i will not be making excuses. however, someone as worshipped as her is bound to have an inflated ego, is bound to develop such defense mechanisms. though it was wrong of her, there was reason behind why she acted in such a way.
she still has her flaws, she still gets easily annoyed with people. but let me remind you that, after garnering so much unwanted attention, anyone would get easily agitated by people trying to force themselves into their personal bubble.
building off on that, teruhashi is also extremely defensive of her perfect pretty girl facade. why? because it’s all she had for so long. she may have never had good connections or genuine love, but she had her image. and that kept her at ease.
but you can only fool your mind so much. there will always be a little light shining through the rose colored glasses, giving you a glimpse of what’s actually happening. and sometimes, the reality of it all gets to her.
but now, she has saiki’s group. and as much as i wish things would be different for her, for people to let her live her own life and treat her with actual respect instead of a rare doll to admire, i’m glad she has her friends. i mean, one of the reasons she even likes saiki so much is because he isn’t like the rest. he wasn’t falling to his knees to praise her. he wasn’t following her around like a lost puppy. he did none of that! and she felt comfort in his stoic exterior.
the fact that she likes saiki of all people simply proves that she genuinely doesn’t care for the validation people thrust upon her. all she wants is to feel safe and content, and saiki provides that for her.
but she still deserves better. she deserves to be able to set aside her reputation and be her own person. to say no to uncomfortable situations. she deserves so much more than what she gets. and while her friends are wonderful, i do wish the general population treated her with that same respect.
teruhashi is a strong-willed woman who sadly fell victim to internalized misogyny, to strive to be the perfect woman. and, in her eyes, the perfect woman aligns directly with society’s view of what a good woman is like. pretty, submissive, passive, nice; that’s not who she is though. we see that she has quite a bit of an attitude and is very easily annoyed. she’s also extremely clever and, while deceitful, does have a lot of passion.
and nothings wrong with that! it’s okay to be bitter sometimes. teruhashi still treats others with respect and she does yearn to be better, even if not presented consciously. she works hard to be who she is, and i admire that. but she deserves to be work hard to be who SHE wants to be, not what others expect of her.
in conclusion, while teruhashi is not a perfect person, she’s an extremely well-written character. the development she’s made has been astronomical, and i’m so proud of how far she’s come.
thank you for reading! ♥
148 notes · View notes
Text
Writing Romance: Opposites Attract
Tumblr media
One of the most widespread among romantic tropes is opposites attract, and with good reason. When a couple are opposites, they’re meant to be one of a few things to each other: 1. An inverse reflection of each other. 2. Compliment each other 3. Cover each other’s shortcomings
In a sense, a good Opposites Attract serves to turn two incomplete people into one solid force. If they’re a battle couple, they’ll tend to fight very well together, often balancing force and finesse, melee and ranged, or physical and magical abilities. If the show or book has a lot of time dedicated to foils and character moments, they are more likely to be the ones that each other lean on, since their opposing characters makes them interesting to react off one another. Their roles, story arcs, and backstories tend to run opposite or parallel to one another depending on the series. If one character’s arc is to mature and become more responsible, likely their partner’s arc might be to learn to loosen up and have fun, learn to trust people, or to face a trauma in their past that made them so mature at a young age.
In terms of design, opposites attract partners tend to be inverse in color schemes. Light and dark hair or eyes, warm and cool color schemes, clashing or complimentary fashion styles, etc. The degree in opposition also varies. Some opposites attract look very similar with only a slight difference, indicating that something small is what set them on different paths in life but are otherwise very similar, almost as two sides of the same coin. Other couples are stark contrasts with virtually nothing in common to really emphasize their differences so that they can better make each other whole, as shown very literally through the character of Garnet in Steven Universe. 
Tumblr media
Femme and Butch
While typically, you’re mostly going to see this in femmeslash/yuri pairings, this dynamic is actually fairly universal. This divide focuses on a pairing where each couple reflects the values of masculinity and femininity. Although mostly used as lesbian terms, a femme and butch pairing can also be gay or heterosexual. A fashion-loving twink who cries during romantic movies dating a jock who likes sports and drinks beer is still an example of Femme and Butch. Heterosexual is rather obvious, but can also be inversed, with a tough, assertive woman partnered with a sweet, sensitive man, such as Calhoun and Felix in Wreck-It Ralph. A Femme and Butch pairing doesn’t need to check off every box on this list of traits, but these traits tend to be common in these types of relationships.
Tumblr media
Brains and Brawn
Also known as Jock and Nerd, this romantic dynamic prioritizes the usefulness of both intelligence and brute strength. Another variation is Book Smarts vs Street Smarts. The Brains will be good at doing research, organizing, and will tend to fight more strategically while the Brawn is primarily going to be good at fighting and likely protecting the Brains from serious harm. Princess and Bodyguard is another possible example of this dynamic, albeit a little less directly.
Tumblr media
Hot and Cold
Hot or Warm characters tend to be friendly, outgoing, upbeat, loudmouthed, temperamental, boisterous, and battle-ready. Cold or Cool personalities tend to be shy, calm, quiet, logical, reserved, serious, and emotionally withdrawn. However, while these extreme opposites of hot-head and cold-shoulder balance each other out, it’s worth discussing same heat relationships. Kiribaku is an example of a Hot/Warm relationship, as Bakugou Katsuki is an angry little spitfire with an aggressive streak, while Kirishima Eijirou is a happy-go-lucky sweetheart with a good attitude. This is sort of the same concept, just that both boys are on the warm side of the spectrum, with Kirishima being the cooler counter to Bakugou’s temperamental hot-head. This also works inversely, as the ship Tododeku is a Cold/Cool relationship. Midoriya is a shy, but upbeat young man who tends not to draw too much attention to himself, while Todoroki is stoic, logical, and a bit dense socially. In this case, Midoriya is Cool while Todoriki is Cold, with Midoriya serving as the “Hot” aspect of their relationship as the more friendly and outgoing of the two.  
Tumblr media
Light and Shadow
This archetype is often used as a “opposite sides of the same coin” format, where the characters serve as foils to one another. In Teen Titans, Raven’s powers are dark and demonic, while Starfire’s are bright and extraterrestrial. Both girls get their powers from their emotions, but where Starfire revels in her emotions to make her powerful, Raven must suppress her emotions to retain control of her powers. As the only two girls, they stick out as the obvious foils of the group. Many times, when this trope appears, it’s in the form of Classic Paragon Hero vs Cynical Anti-Hero. Superman and Batman are a great example. Superman is a boyscout token good guy, while Batman is a brooding loner. One is the hope for justice and goodness to always triumph while the other acknowledges that people are flawed, and maybe not everyone deserves to be saved. Naruto is interesting because he has two dark reflections. The first is Sasuke. While Naruto is the golden-haired idealist who befriends villains almost as often as Steven Universe, Sasuke is a dark counter consumed by a thirst for vengeance and the power to exact it. Naruto’s other dark counter however is Gaara. Both are Jinchuriki, but whereas Naruto eventually found friends and love in his fellow genin, Gaara was very much still alone when he met Naruto, reflecting what Naruto could have become without that love and support in this life.
Tumblr media
Protagonist and Rival
Another case of “two sides of the same coin”, most anime protagonists and their rival tend to either have very similar backstories, very similar motivations, or very similar personalities, if not some combination of the three. Both Naruto and Sasuke were abandoned in the world at a young age with the Hokage looking out for them from afar. Naruto started off having nobody, and was always reaching out hoping to connect with anyone. Meanwhile, Sasuke started with a family and lost it, and decided to keep everyone at arm’s length and isolate himself further. Rin Okumura and Ryuji Suguro are practically the same person. Both lost their families and homes due to Satan, both are strong-willed loudmouthed tough guys with a knack for leadership, and both share the goal of killing Satan. Natsu Dragneel is immature and battle-ready, but while Grey Fullbuster at least pretends to be above it, he’ll jump into a fight with Natsu practically unprompted. The main appeal of the anime protagonist and his rival is that they push each other to succeed, often coming from very similar roots, but where they end up is entirely up to the effort they put in and the path they choose to take. They both refuse to lose to each other, and that propells them to constantly want to out-do each other.
Tumblr media
Sweet and Sour
My best friend and I are polar opposites in this sense. When we met, she was far too trusting, submissive, and far too forgiving. Meanwhile, I was a lot more cynical, mean-spirited, and unfortunately, a little more closed-minded than I’d like to admit. After five years of friendship, my friend is far more assertive, has a lot more confidence in herself, is a lot better at handling criticism, and rather than just submitting in an argument, she now has the nerve to get in someone’s face and make her point heard. Because of her, I’ve become less stand-offish, more patient and polite, less of a control freak, more aware of valuing other people’s emotions, and more tolerant of a group I hadn’t realized I’d been intolerant toward. We saw the world in such distinctly different ways that we have managed to rub off on each other, and now we’re both such stronger and more complete people for having known each other.
Tumblr media
Serious and Goofball
A classic comedy duo, the comedian and the straight man. The Goofball character tends to be immature, a knucklehead, a jokester, and comes off as a bit inexperienced. Meanwhile, the Serious character tends to be mature, responsible, disciplined, but comes off as a bit aloof. The Goofball reminds the Serious character to have a little fun every once in a while, while the Serious character reins in the Goofball before they hurt themselves or somebody else.
Tumblr media
Hero and Sidekick
The hero has their act together and the sidekick is just doing their best. This happens a lot in Action movies where the handsome tough guy and the hapless damsel (who he kidnaps a little too often for my liking) is just kind of along for the ride. The two live in entirely different worlds. Sometimes this comes in the variant of Starlet and Manager where one in the relationship takes center stage while the other is content to help them run their life, promote their career, and help them. Another variation is Superstar and Random Extra, wherein one person leads a very visible life in the public eye being adored by millions of fans while their partner works 9-5 in an office dealing with insurance claims. Although they coe from very different worlds and lead very different lives, that doesn’t mean they still haven’t found love in an unlikely place. Often, the reason the hero or big shot loves this random nobody is because they fell in love with them before they ever became famous, or they didn’t know/care who the celebrity was and just liked them as a person without interest in using their celebrity to climb the social ladder.
Tumblr media
Loud and Quiet
She’s quirky, outgoing, bubbly, energetic, and talkative. Too talkative. She never shuts up. He’s quiet, simple, down-to-earth, and calm. Too Calm. He never gets excited. This pairing works to push and pull each other until they’ve harmonized. The Quiet one will be pulled out of their shell and learn to be more open and talkative, while the Loud one will learn to think before they act. This couple is divided along lines of Introversion and Extroversion, and together can navigate the anxiety-triggering unease of a social gathering, and finding joy and pleasure in just enjoying each other’s company without needing to fill the silence with pointless chatter.
Tumblr media
To be fair, many Opposites Attract couples will fit into more than one of these archetypes, and there’s probably more I didn’t list. But if you’re wanting to create a couple that balances each other out, I hope you find this helpful to you in your writing.
4K notes · View notes
popculturebuffet · 3 years
Text
Ducktales Shadow Into Light (Lena Restrospective) Finale!: Lena In Season 3! (Commission for WeirdKev27)
Tumblr media
Hello all you happy people and welcome to the FINAL part of my look at the life and times of Lena Sabrewing. It’s been a long and satsifying journey through the character’s rich arc and some of Ducktales 2017′s best episodes. Lena started as a tourtured but complacient teen willing to do bloody awful evil things if it meant her freedom, who through the power of love and friendship realized what she was doing wrong, that she loved Webby and turned on Magica... and after a brief stint of this going horribly wrong a magica simply just bodyjacked her, she sacrificed herself for Webby he story seemingly done. Of course it wasn’t, Disney woudln’t let them kill a teenager... fully grown lion men horrifcally decaying indiana jones style yeah, of course it’s disney, but killing a teen is where they draw the line. Point is Lena was merley trapped in the shadow realm with a bunch of those guys Yugi beat and with the help of everyone’s faviorte stoic hummingbird, freed Lena. Lena found new family in Violet.. but also found dying is easy but living is harder and had to wrestle with both her fears of turning out like Magica and Magica herself who naturally was gaslighting her to try and get the last scraps of her power back. We also took a detour or two to see where she came from: looking at both Minima De Spell and her rivalry with a 34 year pretending to be a small child, and Magica’s Shadow whose like Lena except almost nothing like Lena. We also took a look at her one comic apperance which was never released here for some reason and was incredibly disapointing. 
So yeah i’ts been one long, fun ride filled with gay subtext, launchpad’s spider sense, giant legs, movie refrences from warriors to jaws to nightmare on elm street 3: the dream warriors, toddlers who look and probably are 34, launchpad apparently huffing enough paint to damage his brain as that’s the only way to explain the terror of the terrafirmains subplot and gay subtext. I’ve enjoyed every step of the way so before I take the last one of those steps, i’d like to thank all of ya for reading this. I’ve gained at least 10 if not more followers off this series alone and I appricate all of you. I’d also like to thank Kev for directly comissioning this, keeping me in work and in x-men comics since 2020. 
As you can probably guess by the title.. this one’s a bit different. This is a combination of two things: The first is that i already reviewed “The Phantom and the Sorceress” when I was reviewing each episode of Season 3 as it came out.  My thoughts have not changed  at all so I felt redoing that review would be redudant and a waste of Kev’s money. The same goes for Split Sword, which has the extra issue of  being a three story episode with only one of the parts starring the focus of this retrospective. The second is while she shows up about the same amount as season 2, her apperances in season 3 outside of her Christmas Cameo are all more substaial outside of her two starring roles. Both COTHJSW and The Last Adventure shed some more light on our faviorite shadow and feel like natural evolutions of her character so it felt wrong to just flat out ignore them. 
So rather than do a full review of the episodes i’m just going to go into Lena’s apperances for Season 3. This way I can cover Phantom again without fully repeating myself, and fully track the last steps Lena takes as the series closes out in a fresh and hopefully enjoyable way. So join me under the cut for one last step into the shadows as we finish bringing Lena into the light. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!
Challenge was one of the very first Ducktales I ever talked about on here, alongside Quack Pack, so it’s quite a trip returning to it a year later, even if i’ts just my memories of it. It’s also an excellent episode, with a great and engaging main plot and a “it’s just kind of there” subplot. 
It’s also one of the only three episodes to focus on Violet, and one of only two that focuses just on her and not on Lena in any way. It is a shame: While I love Lena as a character, I wouldn’t of just spent several weeks talking about her if I wasn’t getting paid for this retrospective or not, Violet is equally intriguing and so i’ll be taking a second out to talk about her as I really HAVEN’T gone into her character this retrospective and given how important she is to Lena and to all of us, most Lena fans like Violet just as much and vice versa. I’ll still be talking about Lena in this episode, obviously, but I feel her sister from two misters deserves some time in the spotlight too as the show only gave her three episodes, and one was more focused on Webby and Lena by design and the other we’ll get to. 
Violet is an excellent character. She speaks well and with little emotion but that’s just how she is and she’s never called out for it or insulted, something I like. Likewise she dosen’t judge others, never really batting an eye at the rest of the groups own quirks and at most being freaked out by leg huey a bit. She’s just a kind, curious, intellgent young lady. 
And this episode shows that off: We get to see her in the spotlight of her own, every bit the Woodchuck Huey is and more, but still supporting and encouring him, seeing their contest as a friendly one and putting no stakes into it as she’s failed before, she can fail again. What matters is she get back up and keep going. Her “razzing” is also just downright adorable, and nicely shows off her and Lena’s new dynamic: they’ve gone from friends to siblings, something really not shown off last time and something that wason’t confirmed on screen till now but it just works naturally, the cool and collected but chaotic underneath that lena just plays perfectly off the uttelry calm and deadpan violet. It’s a natural, perfect dynamic that they clearly had mapped out from the beggining and simply had to build up to that. 
Her genuine shock at Huey’s betryal... hurts the heart, as she genuinely thinks it’s her fault and not just my boy having a panic attack and doing something questionable. But it also shows her character.. when givne the same opprunity and no guilt for it, he struck first.. she dosen’t. She saves him because it’s the right thing to do and shows Huey she really is the bettter woodchuck.. but htere’s no shame in it. It’s okay to fail, what matters is you keep trying. And as a result despite giving Huey the opporunity to win with her.. he turns it down. She gets a deserved win, celebrating with her family and just wearing the most adorable smile. She also just has.. buckets of chemistry with Huey. I mean it was apparent to me with the whole Library Scene in Nightmare but god damn do they ramp it up with this one. They just contrast each other perfectly here, the handshake is adorable and he clings to her.. while also being hilarious “I naturlaly defer to authority!”. I will take this ship to my grave, and fully support it... that being said if you ship Huey/Boyd or all three togehter, go for it man. I do the latter sometimes. Your good. You didn’t need me to tell that but sometimes shipping discorse can get downright ugly so rather than make it a war between two ships, I just wanted to offer an olive branch for once you know? Same with Weblena. I obviously adore that ship but if you have a non-boys ship with her, tha’ts cool too. Ship what you want to.. i’m just doing me through this retrospective. 
Now back to Lena. Her apperance in this episode is really heartwarming and really nice after all the shit she’s been through. This is the first episode she’s in where NOTHING bad happens to her. No really, every apperance, even her two cameos had her suffer in some way. She spent the entire first season grappling with Magica, and her season 2 apperances trapped in a shadow dimension and nearly loosing her girlfriend to her own jealously, horrifically stalked by her abuser using her own self doubt against her, attacked by a literal tempest in a tea pot and captured by aliens. The girl has not gone one friggin onscreen break since the series started and probably not many off it either. 
Here? She just gets to cheer her little sister, proudly celebrating both her and her new dads. She gets to teach her sister to trash talk, even if that ends up backfiring a bit but she meant well. And she gets to celebrate with her family when her little sister wins. It’s all small stuff.. but it’s all things she’s NEVER had. A sibling to be proud of and support. Dads to sit with and go places with. A family to celebrate things with. This is all pretty normal stuff, but not something everyone gets to have and something Lena NEVER had even remotely. But now she’ll ALWAYS have that. A supportive loving family to give her a place to belong, and to support in turn. After a nightmarish 14-15 years of existance, she’s FINALLY allowed to just be happy without having to fight a giant monster first. 
Tumblr media
She’s finally made it, she’s hoped and she’s waited, for the first time in her life she dosen’t feel alone. Her hearts started to heal, to know this is real, this is how it feels.. to have a home. Yes I haven’t given up on that song. And if you think this is the last time i’m going to quote a song you clearly didn’t read the review I did of the next episode. 
Tumblr media
The Phantom and the Sorceress:
Season 3′s primary focus outside of the FOWL plot was tying up loose ends. Pretty much every major recurring episode outside of Fethry got an episode tying up their character arc and of course Lena was no exception.
You’d think with Magica no longer a threat to her and having fully accepted she’s a good person now, and having found a place to belong that Lena was done.  But while she accepted her past, that she’s not magica, and that she deserves to be happy.. she never accepted Magic as part of her despite being made of it and that’s what this episode ties up as well as the mystery of the blue aura that surronded her magic at times. 
The episode starts with Lena’s amulet, which she has back now which is the only part of this episode I don’t like as they don’t really explain why she’d take it back from Violet. But her magic keeps goofing up and making Sleepovers dangerous, and gets Scrooge grousing about how magic is bad.. only to naturally backpedal when an angry Webby points out Lena is magic. He does amend things and genuinely apologize for it, having not meant her at all and not even thinking of her as part of his hatred of the stuff. It also shows why Lena likely didn’t take him up on his offer.. with her self loathing still going she probably thought he was just pitting her and would always resent her.. when really he just geninely did not care despite his overwhelming hate of magic. It worked out granted, she found a better fit for her family wise.
But Lena hates it too.. and while she hasn’t fully brought it up before it makes perfect sense: We saw how she viewed it as dangerous and not worth the risk to bring her back in Friendship Hates Magic and Magic has brought her nothing but pain, nearly killing her on several occasions, allowing magica to fuck with her head  or directly control her and general putting the one person she cares about more than anyone in harms way. She hates what she is.. because it’s brought her nothing but pain and misery. She has ever reason to resent it..
Yet this episode is about forcing her to accept it.... to realize that Magic is part of who she is, and that it’s not inherently good or bad, it’s all about the intent of who uses it. Her last two uses of it were not made with any malice and in fact using it to pull her friends into her dreams allowed her to break free of Magica. 
And it’s perfectly done by giving her a new enemy, something I REALLY wish tehy’d done with Fenton at some point, but get why it took this long with Lena: The Phantom Blot. The Phantom Blot, like many characters in this series is HEAVILY redone: he keeps the iconic look and threat level but instead of being an operatic supervillian, he’s an anti-villian with a link to magic he never really had before. He works with FOWL sure but it’s likely because unlike the rest of FOWL he actually agrees with Bradford’s goal for a less chaotic world and his desire to wipe out magic is perfectly in line with that. 
He’s also given a backstory that perfectly parallels him with Lena: Both were created by Magica in a way and horribly abused by her: Lena mentally and phsycially, and Blot by having to suffer under her rule after he took over her family and then barely survivie as she wiped out his villiage, his family and his normal life swearing vengance on her. LIke Lena magica didn’t care about him or see him as a threat, figuring like most people who swore eteneral vengance on her he’d get swatted down like a gnat once and never return. INstead he returned again and again and again for decades, learning each time getting stronger and wiping out more magic along the way. He went from what was probably a good normal person to a vengeful vigliante dedicated to wiping out magic good or bad because he can’t concieve that it isn’t ALL bad. He’s easily what Lena could’ve become if , ironically enough she hadn’t encountered him, seeing the end result of hating something just for what it is as it tried to murder her. That hating and resenting Magic would just lead her to become as hollow and vengful as the blot, having a good cause to start.. but slowly loosing yourself to hate and anger. Letting the person who ruined your life still control it simply by focusing all your energy on hating them and people like them. 
It also gives us an interesting and painful teamup as with the boys and Scrogoe stuck in another dimension, there’s only one person they can turn to deal with Magic: Magica herself, whose resulted to depression eating pizza and the most she can do as a threat is eat the garlic Violet was wearing in case of vampires (”There now your susceptible to vampires!” is easily the best joke of the episode, from how Magica eats the garlic in one bite to her manical laugh to Violet just being annoyed rather than terrified or anything). Magica only agrees because they have a common enemy and if he sucks up her magic amulet, that’s the end of any magic she has left. 
It’s also here we learn the reason for the blue and purple color coding: Duckworld magic is indeed color coded.. but rather than be based ont he emotions used or anything.. it’s based on the user. The purple is Magica, and as we later learn Poe’s, magic, and thus Lena borrowing it via the amulet. The Blue is HER magic. Tapping into her emotions and her own inante power. It’s a nice twist I didn’t see coming but makes absolute sense in hindsight: Every time she’s triggered it.. it’s been when she’s been using her own emotions and been doing thigns for her own good, and not for anyone elses. It also explains why the Magica powers aren’t working for her or stable: their not HERS to control and thus are fighting her. 
So she trains to use her own using the time honorted traditions of montages and having your sibling shoot things at you out of a magical amulet. She grows in her talent and power and herself, even if she learns from the person she hates more and comes to accept magic.. in time to fight the Blot who misguidedly thinks harming her will show Magica the pain he felt.. even though as we learn later that ship already sailed and we already knew she cares nothing for Lena. 
But as he drains her amulet... she focuses on what she cares about... and if we didn’t already ahvea  MOUNTAIN of subtext for webby and lena her “frienddship” montage has maybe one or two shots of her sister.. and about 80 of webby. Seriously they.. they weren’t even hiding it at this poitn outside of the finale, which we’ll get to. 
And so she takes hold of her magic, no longer need the amulet to channel it and taking on her super mode! Which was highly contreversal at the time.  BUt I get why. As a transformation, ala dragon ball, and a superhero type costume it works, giving her a power and grandeur not seen before and showing she’s using all of it, giving weight to when it only shows up in the finale when she needs it most and likely would’ve given it weight any other time it showed up. But it wasn’t clear if this was her permenant look now and Frank’s response to it was to say he wanted to dress everyone up in that outfit , at the same size Lena has it, including launchpad wearing it like a cape. Which while hilarious and it was, was also blatant trolling as her return in Split Sword showed it wasn’t her default form, and they could relax. But as a form showing the apex of her power, character development and confidence, it works and has all the drama i’d expect from a form like this, reflecting the blot’s power back onto him and overloading the gauntlet and facing down Magica easily. 
It’s the perfect way to cap things off... Lena finally acccepts herslef as she is fully: she’s not evil and neither is magic.. magic is a part of her and her power is not something to hate.. but to embrace. To use to protect the world from people LIKE Magica who would misue their power to harm others or the blot who belivie her power is inherently evil. This is a lena freed from the chains of self hatred, fully accepted. It turns her story into a wonderful, beautiful story of escaping abuse and accepting yourself as who you are, that no matter what you are or where you come from, you are beautiful, you are good and you can do good. And as she flies off with her sister and girlfriend, she’s finally, fully, truly at peace with who she was who she is now and flies into the future.. and to free her girlfirends dad from another dimension. Nothing is holding her back now, no one can push her around, she’s who she wants to be, she’s the master of her, and the thoughts enough to lift her off of the ground. She and Webby are independent together and they are flying. And yes i’m linking the song again. 
youtube
But even with her character Arc Wrapped she still could support others in their own growth. Case in point:
Tumblr media
The Split Sword of Swanstantine!
This was the vingette episode, with a pair of the kids, one from Team Magic the other from the Duck Boys, going after a piece. And while Violet’s segment is neat it dosent’ really expand on her enough for me to go into it like I did with Challenge, so i’ll only be covering the cold open and Lena and Huey’s segment. Given these two are some of my faviorites, Lena hasn’t really gotten to have any meaningful interactoins with anyone besides Webby, Violet and Magica (And scrooge but for like.. two minutes), and this bit is really creative and intresting I loved it. It also has Steelbeak so I got a nice Jason Mantzokus fix on top of that despite him barely getting to speak in this one.. and really all season. Season 3 REALLY wasted Steelbeak, only using him three times and just ignoring the whole idea of him growing more compitent with time. Maybe Frank’s saving that for darkwing duck if he gets to do that I dunno. At least Invincible and Close Enough are using the man properly so I got that. 
THe setup to the episode as a whole is comedic gold: Scrooge has taken the kids to Monocrow to find the split sword, one of the missing mysteries before FOWl.. only to then realizze in one of the best jokes of the season, after HOURS of plane travel probably that Violet and Lena had also come along having slept over and thus spending the episode in their sleep clothes. As Violet puts it in LIebe’s best delivery of the series “You said eveyrone get on the plane so we got on the plane”. So, fricking relatable. Scrooge’s awkard “Do you.. like history?” is also great, David is a treasure, as if he’s just now realizing he really dosen’t know Webby’s closest friend and girlfriend and is scrambling for some common ground so he can stop talking. 1/2′s good enough and we’re off. 
Lena and Huey’s plot, the final one of the three, likewise has a simple setup: Huey finds the sword piece.. and also Steelbeak, whose ready to punch  him some children. Lena freezes time as she can do that but can’t delay the inveitble, just give them time to plan. 
And this is a nice showcase for Huey and a nice chance for Lena to be snarky as Huey wants to try anything and everything he can do that dosen’t involve fighting as he hates it and Lena endulges him as he gets tossed around, playing on her phone while he tries dumb scheme after dumb scheme from prtending to be his dad, to his inner child, to construction to offering him a snack, to “what sword piece” while hodling the sword blade twice his side behind his back.
Lena eventually calls him on it: He can’t keep avoiding this and there’s some reason he dosen’t want to fight. The reason turns out to be he bruce bannered himself and thus has a split personality for all his agression and primal rage, the duke of making a mess,  Huey’s version fo the McDuck family anger he’s buried away and is ashamed of, hating his  more impuslive emotions due to his desire for control. 
As for how Lena impacts this.. it’s her own acceptance of the part of her she hated, her magic, that gives her the clarity to help Huey, helping him realize like her this shit isn’t healthy and to make peace with the Duke instead of fighting him and locking him away. The result is a perfect combo: a huey with all the power and strength of a mcduck, but the nuance and tactics Huey normally has to beat Steelbeak easily. Lena is impressed, a friendship is forged and we see how far sh’es come: from hating herself.. to helping others stop doing it before it gets worse. 
Tumblr media
How Santa Stole Christmas!
All we really learn here is that she and Violet share a room and a king sized bed.. but we got that cheek smooch and I had to mention that so there you go. 
Tumblr media
The Last Adventure!:
Like most of the main cast Lena gets a decent note to go out on, if a bit wobbly. The wobblyiness comes from two sources. The first is just a nitpick of mine; We don’t get to see the climax of her fight with the Blot alongside Manny. No really. The Blot got two spotlight episodes, his own sidekick/wife/amy sedaris, and was built up as one of FOWL’s biggest threats.. and his defeat isn’t even shown on screen for some damn reason. I feel they just ran out of time but given how important Lena and Manny were series wide and how awesome the keith david reveal was, it’s a cop out
Speaking of Cop Outs we can’t talk about this episode without talknig about the elephant in the room: Lena saying Webby “already has two sisters”, seemingly shooting down any posiblity of Weblena. I do not see it that way but do feel the two could’ve phrased it better and we could’ve gotten SOME Weblena by the end instead of none to offset this. I feel Lena’s motivations, esecpailly given the context were purely to try and placate Webby to keep her from investigating the twins further and endangering herself, not realizing how badly this wouldn’t work as Lena’s never cared about where she comes from and her past is all pain and abuse before Webby, while Webby had this gnawing at her her whole life. I do think the last episode was the WORST POSSIBLE place to put this, as it comes off as queerbaiting evne though I don’t think that was the intent. So yeah this line sucks and was poorly conveyed. 
Everything else though is thankfully excellent: Her raging frekaout at June feels warranted, as June is literally trying to cut Webby out of her life and was purposffully trying to galight webby as we find out. Her and Violet’s reason for going is also just pure awesome, pure heartwarming and pure badass, both angrily and simply proclaming when stating why their going on the final attack no fowl “It’s Webby”. Webby helped Lena become a better person and lnvoes her more than anyone else and vice versa and Webby gave Violet Friends, a sister and a life of her own. Nothings going to stop them and Scrogoe wisely backed down on that one before they strangled him. 
Her final scene is the best though: Not only do she and Violet give May and June friendship braclets but despite the earlier hostlitlity... Lena helps them with not a second though. She now understands them, gets that their like her: a being made by an evil dickhead who saw them as a tool to use and not a person and was willing to kill them the moment they were no longer useful. She too was once lost, sad and felt alone..but Webby pulled her out of that and now she’s going to be there for these two, these alterante versions of the love of her life, to give them the same support and encourages them they’ll find their home. And sure enough my boy comes by not a second later to adopt both of them. In an instnat they’ve gone from alone with only webby like Lena was.. to having a family of their own and loyal friends to stay by their sid.e 
And so Lena ends the series charing off into the wild blue with her sister and her newfound friends, the future all ahead of her, the past finally put to bed, and herself finally at peace, in love with Webby.. and with herself at long last. 
This retrospective was a wonderful time. I throughly enjoyed going through Lena’s history and being more and more impressed how much I’d missed and how it was even BETTER the second time around. This arc is Ducktales at it’s best and Lena is the finest thing they acomplished. This is easily Kimiko Glenn’s best role and really let her show off her range. Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ll see of this wonderful lesbian shadow, but as it stands with peace, love and self worth found, it’s still a good place to leave her. If she ever returns i’ll of course pick this up again, and free of charge but for now I enjoyed the ride and throughly enjoyed this retrospective. T
Thank you all so much for reading. If you liked this retrospective, please stick around. My next comissioned story arc is covering the various crossovers Lilo and Stitch did, but after that in three weeks return here for Season 2. All three arcs, All done intermidtley. Buckle up. 
Until then follow for more, and join my patreon. My next stretch goal is monthly reviews of darkwing duck and reviews of the super ducktales mini series, and after finsihing this post i’m going to throw in some extra non-duck ones! 25 is being changed up from covering Tailspin every month, to covering a Danny Phantom episode every month, and the beloved special ultimate enemy. So check that out. I may throw in some more on both 20 and 25 so stay posted. And just for joining at the 2 dollar tier you get acess to my discord server and get to pick one of the shorts for my varoius shortstaculars I do. Next one up is goofy’s birthday with Donalds in june so join now! 
ANd if you just have one speciifc episode I haven’t covered you’d like me to, those are 5 bucks a pop on commission and available via my ask box, direct messages on here or discord at technicolormuk#6550 and until the next rainbow i’ts been a pleasure
19 notes · View notes
link-is-a-dork · 3 years
Note
You know something, you've had a love of the Zelda series since you were a little girl, ever since Ocarina of Time came out, but I don't think I've ever asked you why you, specifically, love it so much. Like, what made this your lifelong obsession when it comes to gaming? I guess it just never occurred to me because when we were kids, it was just as much a part of my life as it was yours, so it's like one of those "it's all I've known" kind of things.
Rose you opened up a can of worms that even I wasn't ready for. You expected a few sentences? Nah you get an essay with more effort put into than anything I've ever done in school.
I don't even think I covered it all.
Your interests as a kid can heavily influence your interests as an adult. I grew up with Ocarina and Majora and just kept following the series.
I don't know I guess it is a "it's all I've known" thing for me as well but it's one of those VERY few game series I follow adamantly. Kingdom Hearts is another one I love for the characters and their personalities and connections, but that was part of my life into my mid teen years, not since I was 5 like LoZ (and Resident Evil).
I don't know. I just really enjoy playing them, the simple stories with a random gut punch of depth here and there, the characters, the familiar gameplay with a fun gimmick (let's stop pretending gimmicks are inherently bad).
Link may be a blank slate of a character but sometimes he shows his own personality, while subtle at times. Link is a hero you can't help but admire. He's diligent in some games, but a goofball in others. He's a loving brother and grandson, embarking on a personal journey to save his sister and he finds himself on a quest to save the world as well. Or he may be skilled yet gentle warrior with a soft spot for children and animals, a farm boy chosen by the gods, destined for greatness.
The Hero of Time, a young, lonely hero with many faces who can't save everyone no matter how hard he tries. Forgoing his own happiness, he carries the burden of the dead to bring happiness where he can and prevent the end of the world after already doing it once.
A lazy schoolboy with impeccable skill at swordplay and lofting flight, dealing with everything from school bullies to the embodiment of evil itself. His love for his best friend being his motivation.
A teenager who just wants to go home, shipwrecked on an island that only exists in the dreams of a god. His desire to leave supersedes the lives of people who weren't even real but the bonds he made with them were.
An amnesic who's either a trash gremlin who eats dirt and frogs, running through a thunderstorm buck naked, or a stoic knight, set on sealing the great evil away alongside the princess, as is his duty. His personality is truly your personal choice.
In several cases, Link's motivation is saving someone he loves, be it family or friends, but fate and circumstances have something more in mind for this young man with humble beginnings.
~
Zelda herself is so different each game as well. She may be a dainty princess who seeks help, using what power she can to call to you in the dead of night. A young woman hidden in plain sight, guiding you through your journey even if it isn't obvious to some. A respected child pirate who's got a heart of gold, and captain of a loyal crew at her beck and call. Your best childhood friend who just wants to go to the fair and maybe see a magic rodent.
Your best friend and classmate who will ALWAYS be your Zelda even if she's a god.
A wise ruler who knows surrender will save her people if only for a time until someone on the outside can help, but she is also incredibly adept in battle in her own right, shooting Ganondorf while STANDING ON THE BACK OF A GALLOPING HORSE.
A young woman, pressured by her desperate father into unlocking a power she can't, anxious to help in any way she can. Starting off as an overwhelmed brat and growing closer to her appointed knight, finally unlocking her god given powers when it's seemingly too late. Zelda may not be in the spotlight most times, but she's important.
Your various companions, like them or hate them, are another thing that I like when they're there. Navi, the fairy assigned to guide the Kokiri who doesn't belong, is the only constant on Link's journey in Hyrule, wordlessly parting ways when her job is done. A powerful old man cursed by his own apprentice, Ezlo learns humility throughout your journey and leaves you with a parting gift to remind you of your time together.
A deposed princess angry at the world, Midna is cursed into the form on a catty imp by the very man who stole her rightful place on the throne. When kindness is given to her on her deathbed, her motivation is less about her and more about the lives of her own and Hyrule's people.
An emotionless android by design, Fi is knowledgeable on everything in the world, in the sky and below. During your journey, her stoic disposition is broken only once, as she tells you her understanding of happiness before saying the two words you've heard countless times on your journey, and hides away into the newly forged Master Sword one final time.
~
The antagonists have I less to say about but they're there. Disconnected from reality, Zant is a greedy, false king among a people who have been conditioned to have no selfish desires, only able to usurp the throne by using a power he didn't earn. Ghirahim is an eccentric leader of monsters, a dedicated tool to the evil demon king who started it all. He is a force to be reckoned with who relishes in the suffering of others.
Vaati is an arrogant mage who seeks a magical force to grow more powerful. Skull Kid felt abandoned and forgotten by his friends, so he made new ones and stole an evil relic with more power than he could handle. He had no idea what he was in for, in the end he was not wearing the mask, the mask was wearing him.
Ganondorf's motives for power and control are kind of the same in his every appearance but in Wind Waker at least his motive is understandable. Instead of power for the sake of it, he wanted to help his people, but it seems he approached it in the wrong way and went astray. His greed doomed his people and he was blind to the destruction he caused. My enjoyment of Ganondorf is surface level, not much depth for the most part.
I probably put more into this than necessary but my feelings and interpretations are why I love this series. I love the characters, companions, the settings. The game may primarily focus on swordplay but with all the fun tools at your disposal, you can play how you want.
11 notes · View notes
jokerfan99 · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media
My Top 10 Favorite Anime Heroines by DarkChild316
Being a hero isn’t easy, but someone’s gotta do it! And these ladies have shown to be just as capable as their male counterparts. Now I’ve already done a list showing everyone “My Top 10 Anime Villainesses”, but I figured: “Hey the good girls deserve some love too,” so I decided to give you guys my list of my Favorite Anime Heroines as well. So, with that in mind, here’s my list:
#10. Saeko Busujima (Highschool of the Dead): This is an anime that will give you plenty of two things in abundance…boobs and zombies! While it may seem like your run-of-the-mill apocalyptic fanservice anime, among the well-proportioned ladies is this kendo warrior who’s more than capable of holding her own against any foe and would fit right in with even the most old-school samurai-themed anime. When the dead start to walking most of the cast usually reach for a form of firearms, not this lady who prefers to slice apart the undead with the greatest of discipline and precision, whether it be with her signature bokken or her deadly Murata-tou sword. There’s no denying that Saeko’s the ideal companion we’d want on our side for a zombie apocalypse.
#9. Touka Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul): Living as a ghoul isn’t easy, especially when you’re trying your damnest to retain what little remains of your humanity. Starting off as a cold, yet collected individual, Touka found shelter in both the horrors of her dark past and her constant hunger for flesh in her day job at a café as a waitress which serves other ghouls and as a hangout stop for ghouls. While she grew warmer as her relationship with one Ken Kaneki grew, she’s not without her bestial side, possessing an abject hatred for the CCG after they killed her parents. In a series where everyone seems to be on the edge of insanity and turning into a rampaging, bloodthirsty monster, Touka is one of the few characters genuinely fighting for a chance at a peaceful life.
#8. Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist): Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye is undoubtedly one of the best female anime characters of all time and for good reason, she is truly the perfect soldier. As both an Amestrian State Military’s officer as well as Colonel Roy Mustang’s bodyguard, Riza Hawkeye is a dangerous sharpshooter and firearms specialist. From the outside she can seem strict and even a little cold, but those close to her know that there’s much more to her than her strict no-nonsense attitude, including a courteous nature in the presence of her allies and a desire to protect those she holds dear. Beneath the strict persona is a kind soul who understands the difficulty of carrying a heavy burden and let’s not forget…she’s a true badass in every sense o the word!
#7. Erza Scarlett (Fairy Tail): She went from child slave to arguably one of the strongest mages in all of Fiore. All while battling against S-Class mages, terrifying demons, and even her own psychotic mother, now that’s dedication folks! Forced by her possessed childhood friend to build the Tower of Heaven, she manages to escape her captivity and make her way to Fairy Tail, where she would soon rise to become one of Fairy Tail’s youngest S-Class mages and one of the most truly badass fighters in Fairy Tail’s ranks. With her magical ability known as Re-Quip, she has an unlimited number of weapons and armors at her disposal, each possessing their own devastating abilities. She’s a stoic warrior with a soft heat and a dark past, and you can bet your ass that she’ll fight to defend her Nakama to the bitter end.
#6. Ryuko Matoi (Kill la Kill): Her choice of armor may be a bit on the revealing side but going against this rebel isn’t the smartest idea if you value your life. You’re not likely to find a more stubborn soul in this absolutely whacky series and trust me…NONE of these characters are on the subtle side of things. In search of her father’s killer, Ryuko takes up the sentient life-fiber uniform Senketsu, and openly battles the dictatorship that is the Student Council. Stubborn as hell, Ryuko will always stand up to anyone who gets in her way, no matter how badly the odds are stacked against her. How can you not love someone with that kind of drive!
#5. Saber (Fate/stay night): Before she became a hero in the endless Holy Grail Wars, Saber was actually Artoria Pendragon, known throughout history as King Arthur, the mythical King who united Britain. As the Saber-class servant, Artoria generally tries to hide her identity in battle by using an invisible sword. When pushed, she can brandish Excalibur instead though, a sword she wields with unmatched skill and can do long-range attacks as easily as close-range. With her holy sword, and her “Mana Burst” ability, she is one of the most powerful Servants. Saber is loved by fans worldwide for good reason: she is kind, valiant, and fierce, all traits that make for one divine heroine. None would mind putting the fate of the world in this blonde beauty's hands.
#4. Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan): Attack on Titan's Mikasa is one of those reserved, stoic characters who doesn't speak very often and seems to be stuck in her own head. After all the trauma she’s experienced living under the looming terror of Titans and the carnage she witnessed while part of the Survey Corps, not to mention the brutal murder of her biological parents by criminals, it would be difficult to come out unscathed. Perhaps it’s endurance that is one of Mikasa’s most relatable traits. Despite her often-cynical comments about the world around her, she manages to retain her humanity. Mikasa herself said, “This world is cruel. And yet... so beautiful.” The stereotypical boy-saves-girl gender roles that play out in media are also very much reversed when it comes to her relationship with Eren, which is a refreshing and welcome change of pace to see, though her protectiveness of him seems a little unhealthy at times. On top of everything mentioned, she’s also totally ripped.
#3. Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion): I just couldn’t leave out Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Asuka Langey Soryu from this list of awesome female protagonists. Asuka is a classic anime heroine and remains beloved by fans of the show to this day. Asuka is an American teenage girl who serves as an Eva pilot for the Evangelion Project and pilots the Evangelion Unit-02. Asuka was raised in Germany and often swears in German. She was a child prodigy with a college degree at only fourteen years old, but definitely has her human flaws. She has a temper and is obsessed with being the best at everything she does. Despite these flaws, Asuka is hilarious in her own way and has the kind of confidence and pride you rarely see in a young girl. She knows she can do her job well and isn't afraid to tell you about it. Asuka is relatable in that she is stubborn and often has a hard time properly expressing her feelings and vulnerability to others. Her eventual nervous breakdown shines a light on her humanity-- she is not a perfect person and she is still a child forced to do a job that no child should be forced to do.
#2. Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell): Major Motoko Kusanagi is one of the primary protagonists of the popular Ghost in the Shell franchise of manga, films, and animated series. Motoko is a cyborg who works as a field commander for Public Security Section 9 on the Japanese National Public Safety Commission. Motoko is a very physically strong and incredibly intellectual who that is quick-witted and an excellent hacker. But put a firearm in her hand, and she’s especially deadly. As a child, Motoko was comatose following an airplane accident. After her health began to steadily decline, her consciousness was put into a  "full-body prosthesis,” an augmented-cybernetic human body. Motoko causes us to question exactly what makes us human. She is an emotional, stoic, strong woman who fights for the citizens she protects, yet she lives inside an artificial body. But her greatest use is as a platform to speak on the nature of humanity in a technological age. She's a human mind that has been stuck in an artificial body since childhood, and her life and trials bring up the age-old question, "What does it mean to be human?"
#1. Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon): You really can’t have a list of awesome female protagonists without including everyone’s favorite schoolgirl superhero: Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon. Usagi is the embodiment of an empowering female in anime in her fearless display of conventional femininity without any implied weakness. Usagi is your typical teenage girl who is all about her friends, food, and cute things, while simultaneously being a badass heroine who cleanses the streets of evil. In the original manga and anime, Usagi was portrayed as reluctant to be a superhero and would often run away from fights and be a crybaby. However, through her careful character development, Usagi becomes a brave, reliable, and confident person who cares deeply for her friends. She becomes a better version of herself without stereotypically “shedding” her girliness. Instead, her femininity becomes a defining feature of hers, deconstructing the idea that being girly makes you weak. On the contrary, Usagi’s girliness makes her funny, relatable, and a good role model for young girls. Usagi set the template for a generation of female heroines for generations to come, and it’s for that reason why she’s well-deserving of my #1 ranking on my list.
So that's my updated list, what did you guys think about it? Love it, hated it? Go on and tell me what you think and let me know who your favorite anime heroines are. See you soon!
Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/darkchild316
52 notes · View notes
flowerbinniee · 4 years
Text
et sanguinem flos petalis [i] - peter parker
Tumblr media
title:  et sanguinem flos petalis
summary:  first loves are never easy, especially when they have the power to kill you.
pairing: one-sided peter x reader, peter x mj
word count: 1765
warning(s):  swearing, blood, dying character, angst, one-sided love, the hanahaki au that no one asked for
a/n: here’s the first part, guys! hope you enjoy.
“No,” you murmur in horror as your friends stare at the bloodied rose petals in your palm. Not here. Why did it have to be here?
“Y-Y/N? Are those rose petals?” Betty asks, her eyes wider than Brad’s basketball. “Wh-Why are you… coughing up rose petals?” You’ve reached the point of no return, my little petal. You have no choice now.
“I-I…” You scrambled for some sort of excuse, a lie, but there wasn’t one. The voice in your head was right: you don’t have a choice. You have to face it. “There’s this disease. It’s called, uh, Hanahaki—”
Realization washes over MJ, and her shoulders slump. “Who is it?”
The sting of tears burns the back of your eyes as more petals and droplets of blood fell to the tile floor beneath your shoes. “M-MJ, please under-understand that I d-didn’t want y-you to find out this way… I-I never—” Your apology dies on your lips as you meet her eyes. Flames of rage were rampant behind the dark brown irises.
“Would you rather us find out after you were already dead? Because you were too much of a coward to face me? Face him?” Her words tore at your heart, but she was right. You are a fucking coward.
Another suffocating cough sends more petals into the open air between the two of you. “There are o-other options,” you tell her as blood drips down your chin. “I-I wouldn’t have to die.”
“That surgery isn’t always successful, Y/N! And you’d have no capacity for any kind of romantic love or any memory of him when you woke up. Do you really want to put him through that?”
“H-He’s got you,” you weakly defended. “He’ll be okay.”
A low growl rouses from her throat, and she clenches her fists by her side. “God, I want to fucking punch you. You really want to keep it from him, don’t you? You would rather have him watch you die than tell him you’re so in love with him that it’s literally killing you.”
“There’s no other way.”
“Yes, there is!” She shouts, gaining the attention of some people around you. One of which includes a certain brunette. “Tell him, Y/N! Tell Peter, or I will.”
“Tell me what?” Of fucking course.
“Peter,” you murmur, eyes locked on his form. “H-Hey.” You feel him search your face until he spots your bloodied chin.
“Holy shit, Y/N, you’re bleeding! What happened?” Those innocent doe eyes reflect concern for your well-being, and you want to hate him for it. But you can’t. He cups your jaw in his hand and swipes at the blood with his thumb. “Are you okay?”
You nod. “Yeah, Pete. Of course. I just coughed a little too hard, I guess.” You avoid eye contact with MJ over her boyfriend’s shoulder.
“I’ll say,” his little laugh stirs up the flowers in your stomach.
“She’s lying. She’s nowhere near fine.” Peter whips his head around to face his girlfriend, eyebrows raised.
“MJ,” you protested. She shakes her head.
“Y/N, I told you to tell him, or I would.” She focuses her attention on Peter. “Do you remember that disease I told you about, Hanahaki?” He takes a moment to think before nodding.
“That’s the one where the victims cough up flower petals until they die, right?” He watches the stoic, angry girl reach down and scoop the handful of bloody rose petals from the floor, showing them to him. He stares at them in the same unsettling horror that Betty did when she first saw them. He slowly turns to face you again. “That’s what she wanted you to tell me?”
Not having the courage to look at him, you stare at the droplets of your blood that spattered across the floor.
“B-But that’s for people who have an unrequited love—“ He cuts himself as he continues to stare at you. “Who is it?”
“Peter,” you say. His expression turns stony as you evade the question.
“Tell me who it is, Y/N.”
“Knowing is only going to make you feel worse,” you try to tell him.
“I get enough of that bullshit from Fury! Tell me who it is; tell me who is literally causing you to die,” his fists clench just like MJ’s did, and fear presses down on your heart like the weight of the roses growing inside of you.
“Y-You.”
;
Things between you, Peter, and MJ become reasonably tense after the incident at the airport. Peter hasn’t spoken to either of you in almost two weeks. And you were too embarrassed to speak to them because you were so afraid that their knowledge of your feelings would destroy their relationship. They deserve happiness, they deserve each other.
Your new, depressing normal shatters fifteen days after your secrets are bared. A firm knock at your bedroom window lures you away from the AP Biology homework you’d been slaving over. Flipping the latch and shaving the pane up, you’re greeted by overly familiar brown curls and doe eyes.
“Peter,” you breathe. “What are you…” His mouth presses itself into a hard line, and his shaking head interrupts you.
“We,” he gulps down the growing lump in his throat, “We need to talk.”
“Yeah.” You move away from your window to allow him to crawl into your bedroom.
“I want to try to save you from this,” he starts. “I don’t want my best friend to die.”
“Peter, no.” You wring your hands together. “The only ways I can be saved is the surgery or—”
“Or if your love becomes requited.” He finishes your sentence softly, “I know.”
“So, unless you magically convinced Tony to fund my surgery, there’s no way out for me.” You sit back at your desk, your eyes never leaving Peter’s form.
He tilts his head up for his eyes to meet yours, bites his lip, and slumps his shoulders. “What if you didn’t have to have the surgery?”
Raising a skeptical eyebrow, you continue to eye the brunette web-slinger. “Peter—“
“What if I… learned to love you?”
Anger from the pit of your stomach sparks and catches like hellfire and brimstone. “Get out.”
His innocent eyes that damned to this in the first place blow wide, and his face tightens with confusion. “Y/N—“
“If you even think that I would let you not only ruin your relationship with MJ and disrespect my feelings like that, you are sorely mistaken, Peter Benjamin Parker.”
“I’m trying to save you, to keep you from dying like some c-caged animal!” He protests. “I don’t want to watch one of the people I care about most waste away when there’s something I can do.”
“I don’t want to watch the boy I’ve loved practically all of my life kill himself trying to save me from the inevitable. Peter, I’m going to die either from this or some other circumstance.” Sighing long through your nose, you hang your head into your hands. “I want you to love me, more than anything. But I want you to love me because you want to. I don’t want this to be an obligation for you.”
When you pick your head up again, Peter is closer to you than he was five minutes ago. He’s kneeling in front of you and gripping a leg of your chair. His free hand slowly reaches for the left side of your jaw, and he brushes the pad of his thumb across the length of your cheekbone. “I just want to help you, Y/N.”
“I know, Pete, but I don’t think you can this time.” He purses his lips and pushes them into a tight frown. He stills for a moment, and you’re afraid to touch him in fear of breaking him. Surging forward after the moment of hesitation is over, Peter gently pulls your face down to his and presses your lips together.
You always wondered what it would be like to kiss Peter; what his lips would feel like, what they would taste like. It’s not what you thought it would be. His lips are soft, sweet, and supple. The lingering taste of his spearmint gum bleeds into your mouth and tingles your senses. But there’s no affection or love in the kiss. There’s desperation, anger, anguish, pity in your kiss. You didn’t want your first kiss with your best friend, the boy you’ve loved since you were six, to be because you were dying. Seconds bleed into hours as the two of you sit there, lips pressed together. Suddenly, as if his lips had burned you, you pull away from Peter.
“Why did you do that?” Your voice is so soft, breathy. Chest heaving and cheeks flushing, Peter lifts a shoulder wordlessly. “Because I wanted to.”
;
The news of Peter and MJ’s demise as a couple spreads through your little friend group like wildfire. The news doesn’t surprise you, but it does upset you. What does surprise you after your kiss with Peter is MJ’s attitude about it. She doesn’t throw a temper tantrum, doesn’t scream or curse at you, doesn’t avoid you like a resurgence of the Bubonic Plague. In fact, she comes up to you during her free period the Monday after the ordeal.
“Hey,” she says as she looks unenthusiastically at her fingernails.
“H-Hey,” you smile sadly at her. “I’m, uh, guessing Peter told you.”
She nods once. “He did.”
“I… I don’t know what to say,” you lamely confess.
“His superhero complex is extremely irritating,” she sighs and balances her chin on the heel of her palm.
“You can say that again.”
“But I think you should let him try.” She peers down at you. “Let him try to love you.”
“No,” you shake your head. “I already explained to him that if he loved me, I didn’t want it to be out of obligation.”
“But what if it works? What if it saves you?”
Your silence on the subject reveals your reluctance. MJ then places a gentle hand on your shoulder. “I want to see my best friend live.”
Deep in your subconscious, you knew that you wanted to live, too. You wanted more than anything to not die at sixteen. Even if it’s selfish, there was a part of you that wanted Peter to love you despite his new sense of obligation to you. If it could save you, you would love him as if you didn’t have a care in the world.
If it could save you, you would love Peter Parker as if he loved you back.
446 notes · View notes
xsugarysweetsx · 4 years
Note
Oh!Could you do a thing where reader is Nozel’s twin,but she’s not uppity and actually shows that she loves Noelle,like bruh.But anyways,her and Nozel are really close,but differ a lot on opinions.And one day they get into a huge fight,reader leaves, gets ambushed,becomes gravely injured,and Nozel finds her and then is panicking.And then the reader dies,but with an amazing speech because that’s how it works.And Nozel and Noelle are really sad, but Nebra and Solid are like hah!Serves you right
Yay more Nozel :). I’m still going to say it, after he apologized to Noelle my heart has been soft for him ever since. Also I changed it just a tiny bit I hope that’s okay!
Please enjoy anon! And thank you so much for waiting ! I know I left this one for last but I promise you it was no on purpose! thank you!❤️❤️
Tumblr media
*This’ll take place as one of the episodes, the one where Solid was a jerk to Noelle; 
(Disclaimer; I DO NOT own Black Clover, the characters or the plot of the episode. This is a fanfiction* just in case)
You and Nozel had always had your similarities. People thought it was a bit scary, sure Nozel was one story but you being his twin is like seeing double! 
get ready for trouble, and make it double
Although having the same mentality and views, you also had your differences. Yes you were strict, and skilled like him, but you also had a soft heart. In a way, you were like your cousin Fuegoleon. You had a soft spot for your youngest sister Noelle, you never understood why she was outcast-ed.
She was all you had left of your mother, and it didn’t help that she looked so much like her. You always made sure to put Nebra and Solid in their places when they were so cruel to her. So, if you had to be her protector, then so be it.
You knew Nozel loved her too, but he was hiding it, maybe a little too well. You even started to believe that he didn’t like her. As years pass and you grow older, you begin to grow apart. It made you sad to know so many years have gone to nothing. Years of laughter, fun and training together were as if it never happened. 
There was going to be a gathering today after being given new rankings. Finally after months you get to see your baby sister once again. Nozel had put her into the Black Bulls, a low ranking squad with a bad reputation. Nozel had always told her how weak she was and it broke your heart. You would always come and pick her back up.
In a way you took up the role of a mother to her. 
“Don’t act a fool Y/N, I know how you act around Noelle” he said in a cold tone 
“Don’t tell me what i can and can’t do“ you said just as cold, once you reach the banquet room you split from him. Looking around the room for two lavender twin pigtails. As you looked you spot your younger cousin Mamosa
“Y/N! It’s so good to see you! How have you been?“ she was always such a sweet girl and you admire her kind heart. 
“I’m just fine Mamosa, how’s your brother?“ you joked, a shade came over her eyes 
“Don’t ask“ you both laughing knowing just how she felt about him.
“By the way have you seen Noelle“ she nodded and pointed you over to a table with a boy eating as though he’s never had food and there she was. You walk over with a smile, once you reach her you clear your throat
“Well hello..“ she turned with wide eyes “I see you still have your manners“ you smiled with open arms 
“Y/N!“ she practically jumped into your arms. You wrap your arms around her, holding her tight. She looked like she was doing well, you heard the Black Bulls have been moving up because of the newbies
“I have so much to tell you Y/N! I-“ she stopped in the middle of her sentence when a fluid ran down her head. You look up to see Solid pouring water on to her head. She turns “W-Why would you do that Solid?“ She was trying not to cry but you can tell she was hurt. All he did was laugh and it made your blood boil. You push Noelle behind you 
“Just who the hell do you think you are?“ he knew that look all too well, he had pissed you off.
“Oh come on it was funny, just look at her face“ Noelle just looked at her feet not wanting to feel the embarrassment. You grab his collar and pulled him only inches from your face 
“Listen to be you good for nothing, lowly punk. I don’t give a damn if you’re my brother!” now everyone’s attention is on you “Who are you to be doing this to your own sister!” you were in pure rage and everyone could see. You were about to land a punch but Nozel intervened. 
“Don’t you dare” he held you hand in his “You’re going to embarrass yourself and me” he said with the same stoic look he always had. You now turn to him to rip him a new one.
“Don’t you dare say that to me Nozel! Tell that to Solid who’s been nothing but a jerk to our little sister her whole life!“ Everyone could feel how cold and sense the tension between you both growing. 
“You disgrace our family name Y/N“ that was the last straw and you finally snap 
“Don’t talk about disgrace, when you’re the disgrace!“ everyone gasped “Don’t you remember what we promised mom? You broke it long ago! What would she think now! You’re the one who disgraced us and our mo-“ a hit came to your face followed by more gasps. He had slapped you in front of everyone. He had never laid a hand on you in all your years of living 
“Alright that’s enough you two, this has gone too far“ Fuegoleon had come between you both stopping the situation from escalating.
Nozel completely ignored him and stared at you “Do not talk of my mother again” he simply said and walked off. You hand came up to your face touching your stinging cheek. Fuegoleon turns to you 
“Are you alright?“ you nodded not saying a word. Before you could meet eyes with anyone and become embarrassed a messenger came into the room 
“The kingdom is under attack! King Julius requests all magic squads to go out at once!“ everything came to hold as everyone rushed to save the kingdom.
When you got out there it was chaos. Creatures you’ve never seen before, fire, crashing buildings. You were part of the Silver Eagles but right now you needed to help whoever was in view. These things were ones you’ve never seen before., they look almost dead..? Their skin an unnatural color, mindless, and had no intentions but to bring harm. 
It was difficult with the fires, creatures and trying to save people at the same time. You and Nozel both shared the same mercury magic from your mother, so defense should come in handy. Acting as both a shield and an attack you tried to reach as many people as you could.  Every chance you had you got as many citizens as possible and escort them to a safe area.
Nozel had flown by on his mercury eagle to the next area after this one was cleared. As you Made your way to the rooftop you spot something. Someone was on a higher roof after Nozel, and was going to attack
“Nozel!“ you call out but he continues, not hearing you. You push yourself to rush to him quicker. What looked like to be a spear or arrow made of magic was shot through the air, on it’s way to his back. You rush over to him and push him out of the way. Both of you hurdling to the ground
“You idiot what were you-“ he stopped talking when he felt something soaking his clothes. He lifts his hand to his face and sees blood coating it. He sat up and looked down at your limp body, he flipped you over frantically.
“Y/N? Y/N!? Please open your eyes! Look at me!“ you weakly open your eyes at him, coughing up blood. The arrow pierced through your ribs from the back 
“N...ozel...?“ your vision was blurry as you search for him 
“I-I’m right here,“ he placed your hand against his face, it was weak and almost limp “Stay with me please...w-we can get someone I-I just need time“
“No..“ you said with a raspy voice “You need to..save everyone..the kingdom is in trouble..“
“B-But-“
“Listen to me...you’re stoic and stuck up...“ you said “..but, you are my brother. There was never a day I didn’t worry or think or you. You’re the one who mom would be so proud of..and Noelle..she needs you..she needs you most, she’s strong but just doesn’t know it yet..please promise me you’ll make everyone proud...and don’t..don’t forget about me..“ you ask for final requests 
“H-how could I“ he starts to cry and hold you closer to him “I could n-never..you’re my b-baby sister...“
“Only..by six minuets“ you smiled weakly “....I love you...“ your eyes finally close leaving the soft smile on your face. Nozel didn’t cry out, he didn’t panic. He stood up and took you to a safe area and finish what he had to
TIME SKIP 
Today he buried his sister. First his mother and now his sister. They all stood in front of her grave, beside his mother’s. He kid flowers for his mother and your favorite flowers as well. But what happened next no one will ever forget.
“Heh serves her right, it’s what she deserved” he chuckled without the slightest hint of grief that his sister has passed
He was pulled close by Nozel with his mercury magic. Now Nozel was the one person he would never mess with
“ You listen to to me and you idiot. I just had to bury my sister, your older sister. You’re nothing but scum to me, if I hear one more remark out of your filthy mouth I’ll make sure you aren’t able to talk for the next month” he said with a deadly glare as the material tightens around Solid. “Understood?”
“Y-yes...” he quivered.
Every month he goes to your grave and visits, brings flowers for you both. Hell relive memories he had with you and what’s been happening recently. He even started to write to Noelle and get closer with her. It’s what you would have wanted
And whenever a soft warm breeze would come by he knew it was you
Alright last request has gone up and I hope your enjoyed this anon!!❤️ thank you all for readin and requesting! I love you all❤️
155 notes · View notes
atths--twice · 4 years
Text
Soulmates
Soulmate: a person to whom you feel an immediate connection. A connection so strong and powerful, you are drawn to them in a way you will never experience again. They are your perfect other, the missing half of you, and no love will ever compare. No matter the distance, soulmates will find their way back where they belong. ________________________________________
The long believed alien invasion of 2012 never occurred. Since that fated night, Mulder has searched for answers to questions, but has come up empty handed. Scully has been standing by watching brokenheartedly, as his obsession has begun to tear them apart.
A heart can only stretch so far before it shatters and the pieces left behind must be put back together. Sometimes a shattered heart (or two) needs extra care, love, time, and help.
Sometimes it needs guidance from someone who understands grief and pain. Someone who will not give up or back down. Someone who will see a broken heart and not declare it unfixable, but grab the tape, glue, or whatever it takes, to fix it and make it whole again.
________________________________________________________
Okay.... I have posted about this before, but as I’m a bit, just a small bit mind you, more savvy with Tumblr, I am going to post it again. Before I only posted the link to AO3 and not chapter by chapter, as I had no idea how to do that at all. I have figured it out and all I can say is... get ready...
I have recently had the pleasure of meeting two incredibly wonderful and supportive fellow Philes, @prichan7​ and @scullybuck​, and their encouragement and love for this story has filled me with such a sense of pride and happiness, I am so thankful to have met them. Ladies... your kindness means so much to me, you truly don’t know.
I am going to post the first three chapters today and then one, or sometimes a couple, the next day.. and so on.
This is my baby and the one I am the most proud of... I hope you like it.
Tumblr media
Chapter One 
The Origin of Maggie Scully
Maggie had been a romantic all her life. When she was younger, around 10, she began to read from the “grown up” section of the library, the young adults area. She was always an advanced reader and devoured books. She discovered Anne, the orphan girl adopted by a brother and sister. She learned new, big descriptive words reading about Anne.
Maggie fell in love with Gilbert, a sweet, romantic, caring boy who was “fathoms deep” in love with Anne upon first meeting. She yearned, despaired, and was elated when Anne and Gilbert were finally joined together in marriage. She read of Anne and Gilbert’s children. Of Rilla, their youngest who was in love with a family friend. He went off to war and her heart was broken. She cried and mourned along with all her beloved characters. When she finished the books, she began again. She became obsessed with the love the characters had for one another.
The words she read were poetry to her young soul. She needed more. The librarian observed how often Maggie was borrowing the same books. On one of her trips to the library, when she was 12, the librarian, a “kindred spirit,” showed Maggie to the literature section. She suggested a few new books she may find interesting and Maggie’s eyes lit up. She borrowed Emm a and Sense and Sensibility.
Oh … being lost in the stories of yearning love, hardships, misunderstandings, broken engagements, and true love realized, made her heart soar. She wished that she could live in her books, to know these characters, to attend balls and dance through the night.
She felt a thrill when she discovered the word ‘soulmate.’ A soulmate. It was a word she fell in love with immediately. She rolled it around and around in her mind. To think that there was someone out there destined for her, her other half, made her stomach do flip flops. She read when true soulmates had found each other, there was an unspoken understanding between them. They would feel unified to have finally found the one they had, wittingly or not, been searching for. They would be together in unity and no other happiness or joy could ever compare. Oh, how those words and thoughts had thrilled her, down to her very soul.
Reality came calling, however, no matter how a person may romanticize the world around her. Her father felt reading, especially books far beyond her age, was a waste of time. He found it “foolish for a girl to be doing, especially the books she was reading. Stories about love and romance filing her head full of frivolous unattainable things. A handsome man racing up on a horse to save her, or dying for one's true love.
Try as she might, there was no reasoning with her father. Her mother was a meek woman and she complied with her husband. Maggie’s trips to the library became obsolete. She was told to focus her attention on other things.
Her parents were devout Catholics and her time for confirmation was approaching. She was to attend the classes and study what her faith would prepare her for in her future- a life devoted to her faith, husband, and a family.
Although she obeyed, she felt that a part of her was gone without the chance to read her books and become lost in their stories. But after her confirmation, she began going to parties and meeting people. New girlfriends to gossip with, share lipsticks (of which none of them were allowed to even possess), even try out smoking, and laugh about which boys they would like to kiss.
She loved the thrill she felt being in a group of boys and girls, seeing if she might feel a spark with of them. She had not given up that she had a soulmate out there somewhere looking for her. There were boys she felt an attraction to, but it was not the same as that deep desire for a soulmate.
Then when Maggie was 20, her mother passed away. She was left with an empty hole in her life. Her father took her mother’s death extremely hard. He began to drink heavily. He was moody and depressed. But at times he was kind and emotional. During those times, he spoke of his love for his wife. How beautiful she had been, how she could light the room with her smile, how much he missed her, how lost he was without her, how he loved her from the moment he saw her, how he wished he told her more.
Maggie sat in shock. Of course she knew her parents loved each other, she was not stupid. But this ... especially from her father, left her speechless. He was tough, quiet, closed off. She had no idea he was capable of feeling that way. How naive she was, how childish in her thinking.
She was an adult, but she was still much like a child, believing love was something a person longs for, pines after, or has to suffer a huge loss to find. She saw and learned of true love, of actual soulmates that day. Not the silly little girl version she had imagined with music sounding and “happily ever after.” This was a love that ran deep and true and real.
She was emboldened by this revelation. She made a firm decision. She would not let her father drink the rest of his life away. Her mother’s memory did not deserve that disrespect. His love for her needed to be stronger than the ease at which he grabbed the bottle for comfort.
It was not an easy task, but she got him to quit. She learned things about herself during this time. Patience, understanding, and extreme empathy. Her grief was raw, but her father’s was devastating. Spending time with each other, expressing their grief, had brought them closer together. She always felt a disconnect from him, as though he did not care for her as her mother had. As they learned from each other, her heart warmed with the discovery that his love was simply quiet. He was proud of her, loved her, and wanted the very best for her. He did not say it with words too often, but his eyes and his smile told her every day.
When Maggie met Bill, she knew right away he was a good man. He was somewhat like her father-quiet, serious, stoic. Under his outward presentation, though, he was sweet, funny, romantic. He was rational and cool headed. He would be a good husband, provider, father.
She loved him, immensely, but it was not until she had Bill Jr. that she realized how much she needed and relied on him.
She was sick throughout her pregnancy, never truly gaining much weight. She could not get the baby to feed very well once they were home. She was not sleeping, had not showered, the house was a mess, and she could not stop crying. She felt like a failure as a wife and a mother.
One day, a knock sounded at the front door. Bill Jr. had just spit up all over her last clean shirt and also managed to soil his last clean diaper. Maggie felt like lying down and giving up. She did not care about the person at the door, she just wanted to sleep, cry, or scream. Maybe even all three.
The knock sounded again and a muffled voice called out, “Mrs. Scully? My name is Evelyn McCreary. Your husband works with my husband. He asked if I could look in on you. He wanted to be sure that you were okay and didn’t want you to be alone.”
Maggie began to cry. From exhaustion, embarrassment, but mostly from the caring her husband showed by asking for help for her. She would never have asked on her own. She was a navy wife now and needed to keep that stiff upper lip. As she cried, she caught a whiff of both herself and the baby. It was not a good combination.
Her pride worn down, she walked to the door. She did not look at her reflection in the mirror by the door. She knew she looked like death warmed over. If this woman was truly here to help, she was going to see how big her job would be.
Opening the door, she found not a young woman, but an older one. White hair set in a fetching style, clothes and makeup perfect. She even had a pair of gloves in one hand and her purse in the other. This woman? She was going to help?
Maggie almost closed the door in her face. Close the door before she ruined the clothes of this poor well meaning woman. She had probably thought that Maggie was simply bored and was looking for someone to gossip with and drink some tea, maybe something stronger. Well, Maggie thought, that sure ain’t the case. She stared at this immaculately dressed stranger with a look of defiance.  
The eyes looking back at her were soft and understanding. She took in Maggie’s spit up covered shirt and could smell the baby’s soiled diaper. She smiled kindly at Maggie and put her gloves in her purse with a snap as it closed.
“Well,” she said with a square set to her shoulders. “It looks like we have our work cut out for us. How about you invite me in and we can get started?”
Maggie was completely floored. She expected this woman to be aghast and walk away. When she did neither, she could not do anything but allow her in the house. Evelyn set her purse down on the crowded dining room table and turned to Maggie.
“First things first,” she said with determination in her voice. “You need to get cleaned up and I will take care of this adorable baby.”
“No,” Maggie said with more force than she actually felt. “First things first. You tell me who you are and why exactly you are here.” Evelyn smiled at her, just as kindly as before, and clasped her hands together.
“My husband and your husband have become friends. They have recently worked together and have taken a liking to one another. Your husband mentioned that you had recently had a child. My husband, Philip, had asked how you were doing. Bill was honest with him and said it had been hard. My Philip told me, and I knew I had to come right over. You see, Mrs. Scully,” she said with a brief pause as she took a breath. “I know how hard it can be. How you can feel ... alone and no one understands. I have had six children and I was unprepared for each one of them.” Maggie balked at her. Six children? God. That sounded exhausting.
“My husband and I married young,” she continued. “My mother had passed when I was a girl and I never learned about ... well many aspects of marriage.” She laughed and her cheeks flushed. “When I discovered I was with child, I was terrified. I had no idea what I would do.” She smiled at Maggie kindly and reached out to touch the baby’s foot.
“My husband was wonderful to me the entire time. He was tickled that we would be having a baby. He boasted to everyone how happy he was to be a father. How he loved that I would be giving him that honor. But then the babies came ...” she became quiet for a second, lost in her memories. Maggie shifted uncomfortably, aware once again how terrible she smelled.
Evelyn gave a little shake of her head and then smiled at Maggie. “Mrs. Scully,” she said kindly. “I would love to tell you my story when you have had a chance to clean up a little. I can imagine you don’t feel so wonderful at this moment.”
Maggie’s eyes filled with tears at the kindness in her voice. “I can’t get cleaned up,” Maggie said with a sob. “There is so much laundry to be done, and I don’t have any more clean shirts.”
Evelyn reached for the baby, and this time Maggie let her take him. She brought her hands to her face as her tears began to fall faster. Evelyn tucked Bill Jr. into her side and drew Maggie to her with an arm around her shoulder.
“My dear,” Evelyn said softly. “Please lead me to the bedroom and we will get you sorted out.”
Maggie tearfully led Evelyn toward the bedroom. She set the baby down in the bassinet that sat in the room. Evelyn walked into the bathroom and started the shower. When it was a comfortable temperature, she turned to Maggie and told her to take her time and get cleaned up. Maggie sobbed and began to unbutton her shirt. Evelyn walked out and closed the door behind her.
Maggie left all her clothes in a disgusting heap on the floor and stepped into the warm steamy shower. She let the water wash over her and cleanse her body and soul. She was so bone tired and this shower was the best experience she had in days. She stayed under the spray and felt her muscles relax. She cried and cried. Let all her anxiety out in that shower. Felt it wash away down the drain.
She washed her hair and body twice, exhilarated by the feeling of being clean. Erasing the stench of milky baby vomit and soiled diapers. She stayed in the warm cocoon until the water began to cool. Finally she had to turn the water off and return to real life.
A towel had been placed out for her and her disgusting clothes were gone. She had not even noticed Evelyn return to the bathroom. She grabbed the towel and wrapped herself in the fluffiness. God, she felt like a new person. She dried her hair with an extra towel until it was just slightly damp.
Maggie walked into her bedroom and found that Evelyn had put some clothes on the bed for her. A button down shirt of Bill’s was laid out beside a pair of pajama pants. She slipped them on, no underwear available to be worn. She did not care and she doubted Evelyn would either.
Once she was dressed, she walked out to find Evelyn in the dining room. She had cleaned up the clutter on the table and changed the baby. He was laying in the bassinet that she had moved from the bedroom.
She looked up and smiled as Maggie came in the room. She walked toward her and put her arm around her shoulder, leading her to the table. Maggie sat and Evelyn disappeared into the kitchen. She came back with a two cups of tea and set them down.
“Do you take cream and sugar?” Evelyn asked kindly. Maggie shook her head. “I was able to find one last diaper for the baby, but he will be needing more. I placed a call to a friend of mine and she will be dropping off some items for you as soon as she can,” Evelyn said as she sat and drank her tea. “I have also started washing some clothes in your washing machine. Such a wonderful invention. Things took longer in my day. Once those clothes are done, I will hang them for you and start more clothes.”
Maggie was silently crying, looking down at her teacup. She was overwhelmed by everything, but especially by the kindness this woman was showing her. She did not know her, but she was here and she was helping. She had already done so much in the short amount of time she had been here.
She lifted her eyes to Evelyn. She could not talk around the lump in her throat. She shook her head, trying to fight back her tears. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak.
“Before you say anything,” Evelyn said softly, setting down her cup and taking Maggie’s hand. “Let me tell you my story. Drink your tea and just listen.”
Maggie took another deep shuddering breath and nodded. She did not know what she was going to say anyway. That she was fine? She clearly was not. She did not need any help? It was obvious that she did. She just needed to say something. Instead she took a sip of tea and waited for Evelyn to speak.
Evelyn placed her hands on the table and folded them together. She told Maggie of her hardships with her babies. How she had been wholly unprepared for caring for them. She did not know anything about children and she felt like a failure every day. She cried more in that time than any other time in her life. When the babies cried, when they spit up, when dinner was burnt, when her husband’s shirts were not ironed, or worse, when they too were burnt.
But through it all, her husband had been there for her. He was always encouraging, always positive. He ate the burnt dinner, smiling through every bite. He hid his scorched shirts beneath jackets, kissing her goodbye and thanking her for seeing that he looked respectable and loved. He was her champion, her cheering squad and she loved him immensely for it.
They moved to a new base when she was pregnant with their fourth child. Two of the children were in school during the day at that time, so she was home with only the youngest child. She was thankful for that because the fourth pregnancy had been her worst. She was sick almost throughout. She could barely eat, she was not sleeping and the housework began to suffer.
There were not scorched shirts anymore, there were simply none ready at all. Dinners were late as they had to wait for her husband to cook them and he worked late shifts. She would cry as she sat holding the youngest one and her husband served the older children soup and toast, grilled cheese, eggs. Whatever was on hand and easy to make. He would make them laugh with silly voices and songs he made up. Then they would help him clean up and head to bed.
He would come to her and wipe her tears. Tell her he loved her, she was the only person he would ever love in this lifetime and the next. He would take the little one and bathe her, put her to bed, and come find Evelyn still on the sofa, crying. He would take her to their room, help her get her night clothes on, and brush her hair. He would sing to her as he did, telling her how beautiful she was. How her hair was like spun gold and it shined brighter than the sun. He would hold her as she cried when they went to bed.
It had been two weeks and this had become their routine, until she heard a knock at the door. She opened it to find a dark skinned woman with the biggest smile she had ever seen. She told Evelyn that her husband had run into her, literally, and helped her pick up the items she spilled.
He struck up a conversation with her and found she was looking for work, but no one wanted to hire her. He said that was ridiculous and he hired her on the spot. Said he needed someone to help his wife because he loved her so much and seeing her breaking down the way she was, was breaking his heart. He cried for his wife, cried for her suffering, and asked, begged, for her help.
Her name was Tanzie and she was a godsend. She helped with anything and everything. She washed, cleaned, cooked, ironed, and cared for the children. But most important, she became the friend that Evelyn needed. She cared for her. Cooking bland foods that she could hold down, offered up advice her mama had for pregnancy, remedies that were a wonder for Evelyn.
Tanzie helped her get back to herself and her family. She was the best friend Evelyn ever had. They shared secrets, dreams, and their lives.
“Mrs. Scully, without the love of my husband, and the care of others, I would have crumbled. I would have given up. I am a lot older than Tanzie was when she showed up that day, but I would like to be here to help you as she did for me.” Evelyn said kindly, looking into Maggie’s eyes.
Maggie sat in rapt attention, tears running down her face, through the whole story. Listening to Evelyn’s story of love filled Maggie with hope, with happiness and such immense love. She read of soulmates, saw it through her father’s eyes, knew she found it in Bill, but Evelyn’s story ... it was pure love and devotion.
And now Evelyn sat there, in a dirty house, with clutter and laundry piling up, offering her help because Philip heard about her need from Bill. A loving heart reached out to another loving heart. As a result, without hesitation, Evelyn came to help Maggie. To offer what she could, however she could.
Through her tears, Maggie smiled and nodded. “Please, call me Maggie,” she said as she grasped Evelyn’s hand, reaching out for the lifeline that had been sent to her.
I had posted all of this story here, chapter by chapter, but now… I’m not sure how to find it. So, I am posting the link to it on AO3. Happy reading… with perhaps some tears along the way. 💕
89 notes · View notes
lady-griffin · 4 years
Text
Things Got Crazy at a Slumber Party...
I would just like to say the title of this episode is so misleading…nothing crazy happened. False Advertising!
Eat the Rich
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Seeing Anne’s room made me want to talk to her and urge her to revolt against the rich and distribute their wealth.
Spare Katarina, but rise up and revolt.
When I first saw her room, I legit thought Katarina was going to be surprised by Anne’s room and maybe (somehow by the end of the episode) was going to redecorate it and upgrade it for Anne…but nope. That idea quickly faded the second it went into my head.
Revolt against the aristocrats, Anne. 
Spare Katarina, but rise up and fight.
Eat the rich!
No, but in all seriousness, sometimes I have problems with anime (stories in general) where the affluent and opulent wealth of characters is just the background and it’s never going to be address in all seriousness. Particularly when they show that not everyone is as wealthy…
Why show Anne’s room to be like, if you’re never going to actually talk about it nor resolve the wealth gap. Why show her room to be depressing looking? Why not just give her a nice room? It doesn’t have to be Katarina’s room’s level of finery, but something.
That aside, let’s continue onward to the rest of the episode.
Katarina running off to tell everyone (and to thank them) for her making it to the second year, was adorable. Katarina throughout this episode was so goddamn precious.
LOOK AT HER!
Tumblr media
LOOK AT HER!
Tumblr media
JUST LOOK AT HER!
Tumblr media
I just…Katarina must be protected at all costs. She is the best girl that ever existed.
I love this beautiful, bisexual-mess of an idiot. She’s perfection.
I’m still mad at Anne for denying Katarina’s original PJ choices. How dare you Anne! How dare you deprive me of that. How dare you!
I’m going to discuss the episode in more detail further down, so we’re going to get into some spoiler territory (I guess?). So, you’ve been warned.
Potential Spoilers Below
--
Anne’s view on each of the character’s feelings for Katarina was fantastic.
Geordo’s Feelings 
Tumblr media
While we didn’t actually get to see it, which was disappointing, Anne being scared of Geordo for initially telling Katarina that her scar was gone was hilarious. I am disappointed we haven’t seen Geordo at his true level of horrifying, but still…
Just his eyes narrowing may have cut a few years off of Anne’s life alone.
Keith’s Feelings
Tumblr media
Poor Keith. Again, I don’t ship them, but still you still gotta feel bad for him.
What is the purpose of others thinking you’re good-looking, if the one person you want doesn’t?
Tumblr media
I love Keith and his mother. They’re hilarious.
Alan’s Feelings
Tumblr media
OMG Alan, how have you not figured it out, yet. You’re playing the violin for vegetation at the request of Katarina…I just.
Alan sweetheart, you are in love with this woman.
I do like how he actually did it for Katarina. That’s so fucking funny.
But also, just look at this face, how could he not.
Tumblr media
It’s a good thing Katarina doesn’t want any actual political power or anything like that, she would be unstoppable.
Mary’s Feelings
Tumblr media
Mary is several levels above everyone else. No comparison. 
She is subtly convincing Katarina that Katarina won’t do well as a Princess-Consort and has already figured out a way for them to leave and probably already has a manor set up by the sea, with a field already to go for the two of them (and Anne).
Mary is a bit scary in all honesty.
Nicol’s Feelings
Tumblr media
Nicol’s cute smile was just adorable. Nicol x Katarina aren’t really one of my main ships, but I do love the contrast between these two.
Katarina this bright and bubbly ball of energy and sunshine and Nicol, a stoic statue who has trouble expressing himself, but can’t help but smile when he’s in Katarina’s presence.
Sophia’s Feelings
Tumblr media
Sophia wanting Katarina to get with Nicol, even though she also loves Katarina is everything. Her listing off her brother’s good qualities (at random times) is hilarious to me. Always has been.
Sophia is just so damn cute.
Maria’s Feelings
Tumblr media
Maria is giving Katarina all the treats. Smart Lady! She may have come late into the race for Katarina’s heart, but she’s playing to win.
In general, I like how we got quick snippets of everyone’s feelings for Katarina. I also love how the anime, legit just says the girls are in love with Katarina. I’ll always appreciate that.
--
Anne and Katarina
Anne’s POV in this episode was just everything. I’m so glad the anime adapted it from the Light Novel, seeing as the Manga just ignored it. I’m so very happy.
When she lifted up her sleeve to reveal the burn marks, I gasped.
I wasn’t sure if the Anime was going to actually include that part (the Manga did skip over it), so I’m very happy the anime chose to include Anne’s full backstory. 
It makes me sad, but it’s good angst.
It’s not the same as the Light Novel, but Anne’s backstory and her relationship with Katarina was everything. That little montage of Anne and Katarina… my heart can’t handle such cuteness.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Also, I genuinely really love how when Katarina asked Anne’s father to not take Anne away, she had a bit of a bratty vibe to her. Very similar to Katarina before she regained her memories.
Even though she has her memories, Katarina is still a kid. And I just love that.
Anne refusing her father’s order. Mwah!
I really appreciate how the anime changed that scene from the Light Novel to Anne standing up for herself and actually speaking up.
Well Done! Good Choice!
Also, Luigi Claes stepping in to talk to the Baron himself was just nice to see. 
It was great seeing him being intimidating and such. While Katarina sees him as her dopey, doting father, there is more to him.
In the LN, it’s made clear that he learned about the man Anne’s father wanted to marry her off to and was not happy with that and came to Anne’s defense. 
But I also just like how a part of it, is probably because Katarina wanted Anne to stay with her (and Anne wanted the same thing) and Luigi can’t deny his daughter anything.
Luigi Claes doing the right thing (because it’s the right thing) but also, because he’s the kind of father, who will give his daughter anything. There’s a reason why OG Katarina was so spoiled. 
The fact that Katarina knew Anne would come into her room in the middle of the night to put her covers back on her, was just so sweet. 
Because Anne probably thought Katarina never knew she even did that, but of course Katarina knew.
Katarina giving gifts to Anne and being the first person to ever give her a birthday present…I swear I’m not crying, you’re crying.
I LOVE THESE TWO!
I guess while it’s never stated, I presume all the other stuff in the box were gifts from Katarina or objects related to a fond memory Anne has of Katarina.
Which gives me a headcanon.
Headcanon – Everyone has kept all the gifts they’ve ever received from Katarina as well as certain items they associate with a specific time or event they shared with Katarina.
We know from the Light Novels, that Keith has kept all the birthday presents he’s ever received from Katarina. And I thought it was said he kept the remnants of the door Katarina broke down, but I couldn’t confirm that. But now that’s a headcanon of mine as well.
More specifically, I now have the headcanon that either Geordo or Alan kept the snake toy that Katarina first threw at Geordo all those years ago. 
Probably Alan, as that memory is 100% positive one for him. While for Geordo, that memory probably mixed at best.
There is something cute about Geordo being scared of that toy, telling on Katarina and getting her in trouble, but nonetheless keeping that dreaded fake snake.
Anne and Katarina and their whole relationship was just everything. They were truly and absolutely the highlight of this episode. My heart was ready to burst.
Tumblr media
--
Sleepover
Overall, it was very cute. It was nice seeing the girl’s hang out and be in their pajamas. 
Katarina saving Anne from the girls’ question about marriage, was just very nice and does show Katarina is not as dense as we may think. She’s aware.
I will say, though, it was a bit lacking in comparison to the bonus Manga chapter in Vol. 5 (LN).
Particularly in regards to Mary. I mean just look at Mary in the Light Novel for comparison. It almost feels like a different scene. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Also, while I did realize this last week. 
Sophia’s wish in romance and how over-the-top, pure fantasy, based on romance novels her ideas actually are, really makes her fantasy in last week’s episode (I became Engulfed by Desire) feel way more off. 
And just not accurate to Sophia’s character.
You’re telling me that Nicol in his amplified fantasy is basically Tuxedo Mask jumping around Venice with Katarina, but Sophia’s amplified fantasy is just her being in her family’s library with Katarina.
I call bullshit.
Sophia’s desire book fantasy, should’ve been the most crazy and over top thing ever. 100%. And this episode confirms that.
Both Maria and Katarina wanting to cook for their partner is very lovely and shows their compatibility.
I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see the boys’ sleepover, but Nicol’s eyes sparkling when he heard that the sleepover would include boy’s talk was just too precious.
His thoughts are definitely much more innocent in comparison to what Sophia was thinking when she heard about Boy’s Talk…I love Sophia.
--
Geordo and Katarina
I was really looking forward to seeing Ch.17.5 be adapted to the anime, but unfortunately, I was thoroughly disappointed by it.
It was much less sweet, cute and funny then it was in the Manga. Seeing the scene in the anime just made me want to read the Manga chapter again. 
Seriously, you don’t have to read the whole Manga (you should though), but do yourself a favor and read Ch. 17.5. It’s amazing!
Just look at this dork
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
This was a golden opportunity for the anime, to really show Geordo’s feelings and relationship with Katarina from his perspective. And just endear the audience to him. 
They completely dropped the ball.
I feel like the anime doesn’t understand or even like Geordo’s character. He seems less dynamic, engaging and interesting in the anime. And the aspects that make very endearing and heartfelt, are basically taken out.
He hardly comes across as the leading male…which is disappointing for me, since I really love Geordo and Geordo x Katarina.
I am very disappointed with the treatment of Geordo. The anime is doing a disservice to him, in my opinion. Especially in comparison to Alan who the anime has added extra moments for.
I do appreciate those extra Alan moments, but I would appreciate them a lot more if it didn’t feel like Geordo was being left out. 
Nonetheless, Geordo’s face when he saw everyone else and when saw that they all got Katarina gardening shears as well was fantastic!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
--
Katarina Speaks Two Languages Headcanon
I mean this episode basically confirmed that. With Katarina writing the letter to Geordo, but writing everyone’s name in Kanji (?) on their gardening uniforms.
While we do have Keith’s and Duchess Claes’ signs not being written in the country’s language, that’s more for comedy sake as those signs don’t exist in reality.
But did anyone in the Harem wonder, why Katarina wrote their names in an entirely different language? I just love the idea of everyone being shocked to learn that Katarina can speak and write fluently in two languages.
--
Conclusion
I overall enjoyed this episode. 
Some scenes I found a bit lacking (or more than a bit) in comparison to what they were based off of from the Manga or Light Novel. I will say I liked how this episode did take its material from the Light Novels and the bonus chapter in the Manga, as well as adding their own bits and pieces.
It was well done.
I’m definitely salty over how wrong they got Ch. 17.5. I just…at times it feels like the anime gets the core of certain scenes and characters (without doing the exact same thing from the LN or Manga or adding their own scenes) just right, but for Geordo they just seem to miss the mark.
Also, the material from Ch. 17.5 just felt like it was added onto the end, it didn’t really go with the rest of the episode…
And in relation to that, Mary being subdued in the sleepover scene was disappointing as well.
I understand there are budgets and restrictions, so I’m hoping they’re saving it for the last three episodes.
Anne and Katarina were the clear highlight of this episode. Without them being the focus of the episode, I would’ve found it less enjoyable, even with all the cute and precious moments we got to see.
But overall, a lovely episode with so many precious moments and it gave me so many feels in regards to Anne and her relationship with Katarina. So many!
97 notes · View notes
pinkanonwrites · 4 years
Note
I loved the animal crossing vs karasuno boys hcs u did!! Do u think u could do another one with a different team? Maybe nekoma but u can choose whatever!! Thank u 😊
AAAAAAHHH This has been sitting in my drafts almost-completely finished for MONTHS and I’m FINALLY GONNA POST IT! Thank you for the request, I love Nekoma so, so, so much! (Fukunaga please call me. I’ll do all the talking)
(( Also also since I did all boy villagers in the Karasuno one, this one has all girl villagers))
Tumblr media
LONG POST BELOW!
Kuroo Tetsurou
“Celia is so pretty!~ I love her so much!”
Kuroo’s attention snapped to you, doing his best to keep his face neutral as his brain went rocketing off in the worst direction possible. Pretty? Pretty girl? You like a pretty girl?
He had no room to judge, he also liked pretty girls. But there’s no way you liked this pretty girl more than you liked him, right? Right?
He pulled his attention back to the practice match just in time to avoid getting wailed in the face with a volleyball, able to turn it into a clumsy receive at the last possible second. If his teammates noticed, they were at least kind enough not to call him out.
When he sidled up to you at the end of practice he did his best to sound fake concerned, not legitimately worried.
“You replacing me with some cute girl? I could hear you mooning from all the way on the court, you know?”
You just laughed and shook your head, lifting your phone to show a character from the game you and Kenma had been gushing about. Your phone lockscreen had been set to a picture of an, admittedly adorable, cartoon eagle.
“I finally found someone who had Celia in their town. I wanted her so bad!”
Kuroo snorted, ruffling the top of your head. “Well I’m glad you got her. Next time give me a warning before you start going all mushy for video game birds, alright?”
Kai Nobuyuki
“Oh, Lily! Lily, you’re so beautiful!”
Kai barely gave more than a twitch to indicate that he’d heard what you’d said. He’d heard you gush about celebrities or anime characters you’d liked before, but not to the degree that you’d call them just by their first name.
“New favorite character?” He offered, continuing to pack his practice bag and try not to look too curious about who you were fawning over.
Luckily for him, you were more than happy to supply the answer yourself, squiggling under his arm and holding your Switch up to his face so he could see your colorfully-dressed character sitting at a picnic table with an adorable cartoon frog.
“She’s so cute! I can’t believe I got her in my town.” “I didn’t know you liked frogs so much.” He breathed a silent sigh of relief, feeling silly for letting himself worry, even the tiniest bit.
“Yeah, well she’s the cutest frog!”
“Cuter than most frogs I’ve seen.”
Kai fought a smile as you began passionately debating the cuteness of real life frogs, tugging you a little bit closer with his arm.
Yaku Morisuke
“Ah, Cleo! How could anyone ever be so cute?”
Yaku didn’t much enjoy it when you called him cute, but hearing you call somebody else cute was somehow a thousand times worse. He could swear he felt his own blood pressure spike with that sentence alone.
“Ooh! Who’s cute?”
And there’s Lev. So much for his blood pressure.
You held up your phone screen to Lev and he began nodding along in agreement with you, which somehow made Yaku feel even more irritated than he already did. A stray volleyball rolled across the floor near him, and he sent it spiralling into Lev’s lower back with a kick.
“Quit talking about cute girls and focus on your receives, shithead!”
“OWWWW!!! Yaku-senpai, so mean! You could’ve missed! Then how would you feel?”
“Get back on the court, Lev.”
“I’m sorry!” You said when you pulled Yaku aside after practice. “I just was just really excited about Animal Crossing, I didn’t mean to distract Lev.”
“Animal….. Crossing?”
“Yeah! I got a really cute villager!” You held up your phone and showed Yaku a picture of the pastel horse that had just moved into your village.
“...Oh. Cleo.”
“Mhm!... Are you okay? You’re turning a little red. Maybe you should drink some more water.”
Kozume Kenma
“Rosie! Oh, Rosie is definitely best girl.”
Despite being very well-versed in Animal Crossing, it still caught Kenma off-guard for a half a second to hear you so openly mooning about your favorite villager. Luckily for him the two of you had been talking about Animal Crossing since the new game was announced, so he’d had plenty of time to get to know your favorites.
“Did you find someone to trade with you?”
“Yep! I just need to get Egbert to leave so she can move in! Get outta here, chicken!”
Resting his chin on your shoulder, Kenma watched with a small smile as you started building cliffs around the perimeter of Egbert’s house, determined to get him to move away. Maybe someday he’d have to deal with the discomfort of hearing you openly moon about someone attractive. Thankfully, today was not that day.
Fukunaga Shouhei
“You’re so perfect, Ellie! Don’t ever leave!”
Fukunaga glanced at you and quirked an eyebrow, but you were far too immersed in your Switch screen to notice. Your expression had dropped into this soft, moony-eyed gaze, one that Fukunaga wasn’t used to seeing directed at anything that wasn’t him when you thought he wasn’t looking.
It felt… weird.
“Oh! Shouhei, do you wanna see?” You finally seemed to notice him glancing in your direction, scooting over to show off your screen. “Ellie was moving out of Kenma’s town and he let me take her! Isn’t she cute?”
While your character ran circles around the little tan elephant all Shouhei could do was watch you smile with a warm, fuzzy feeling blooming in his chest.
“Second cutest here.” He quietly replied.
Yamamoto Taketora
“Molly! She’s so cute I can’t even handle it!”
Normally Yamamoto would find the idea of you fawning over a cute girl to be equally cute. That way the two of you could fawn over cute girls together!
But it was significantly less fun when it meant that one hundred percent of your attention was on your phone and zero percent of your attention was on him. He spent the majority of the day landing awesome spikes only to snap his attention towards you and see you fully immersed in your phone screen.
Finally his not-so-quiet grumbling about your lack of attention got the better of Kuroo and he hollered over to you, asking what you were looking at. Before Yamamoto could shush him you raised your phone, showing off an adorable cartoon duck.
“I finally got Molly in my town!”
Kuroo burst into laughter as a blush crawled its way across Yamamoto’s face and up to the tips of his ears, taking a swing at Kuroo to try and get him to shut up.
Haiba Lev
“She’s so stoic and cool. How can you not be completely in love with Whitney?”
“I can be stoic and cool.” Lev grumbled.
“She’s got such pretty white hair and sharp eyes.”
“I’ve got white hair and sharp eyes.”
“I should get her some flowers.”
“Can’t you get your boyfriend some flowers?”
“Hm? Lev, hun, did you say something?”
He’d been quietly murmuring under his breath since you started gushing about Animal Crossing but honestly, how could you not? Whitney was one of your dreamies and finally, after many a Nook Mile Ticket spent, you finally had her on your island. Maybe you had been going on about it for a bit, though.
“I’m sorry, Lev! I’m just excited. I wanna know what you said though!”
Lev puffed up, jabbing his thumb into his chest. “I’ve got all those things you love about this Whitney girl so much, so you shouldn’t need anyone else!” You stared at him in disbelief for a long, painfully awkward moment, before snorting hard as you dissolved into laughter.
“H-Hey!”
I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh!” You choke out between giggles, just silently holding up your Switch to Lev’s face to show off your character presenting some roses to a cartoon wolf…
… Named Whitney.
You don’t think you’ve ever seen someone turn that shade of red before.
“W-W-Well she must be your favorite because she’s so much like me! Right? Right?!”
Good save, Lev. Good save.
Inuoka Sou
“Piper’s just so cool and chill! That’s why she’s my absolute favorite.”
Oh. Oh! You liked cool and chill people? Inuoka had no idea. But that’s okay! He can be cool! He can be chill!
“Dude, you okay? You’re like… Vibrating.”
At least, that’s what Inuoka had thought at the beginning of the day. Truthfully he had no skill when it came to containing his energy, especially since every time he saw you it felt like his heart was doing the equivalent of spam texting you a dozen lines of heart emojis. By the time he had gotten to the end of practice he felt jittery and uncomfortable, like he’d been holding a lid down on a boiling pot of water. He just hadn’t been acknowledging it until Yamamoto pointed it out.
“Sou?” You had been waiting for him outside the gym! Waiting! For him! His heart felt like it did a kickflip off the inside of his ribcage as he enveloped you in a hug.
“I tried! I tried to be calm and chill like you like but I just can’t do it! And whenever I see you my heart goes a RAAAAAHHH so it’s basically impossible anyway! I hope you don’t mind!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on.” You cupped his face in your hands and he melted into your hold, smiling like an idiot. “When did I say I like calm, chill guys?”
“This morning, you were talking about some girl named Piper and you said she was so calm and cool and that's why you liked her so I thought if I could be like that you’d like me more too and-”
You pressed a finger to his lips and he couldn’t help but sigh, turning to putty at your merest touch.
“Babe, I was talking about a character from my game! You know, the one with all the animals?”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“So I don’t need to act all calm and cool for you to like me?”
“Of course not! I love you just the way you are.”
“Heehee~… I feel a little silly.”
“You are a little silly, babe.”
Shibayama Yuuki
“I’m in love! Flora is so perfect! I’ve never loved so much in my life!”
Shibayama stumbled over his own two feet when he heard you professing your love of this ‘Flora’ to one of your classmates during lunch. Glancing just around the door to your classroom, you were holding your phone in one hand and wildly gesturing with the other, leaving your friend chuckling at your excited antics.
He felt an uncomfortable sort of chill in the pit of his stomach, making his just-eaten lunch feel more than a bit unwelcome. Did you even like this Flora more than...him?
It was easy to tell that Shibayama was a bit out of it at practice, doing his best to stay focused but still uncharacteristically quiet. It wasn’t until you met him after practice to walk home that everything was cleared up to him.
“S-So, um… Who’s Flora?”
“Huh? Oh! Oh, lemme show you!”
You pulled out your Switch and ran your little character over to a flamingo and began talking to her, and Shibayama felt all the tension in his body rush out in a single breath. He let out a small chuckle as you fawned over the character.
“Yeah, she’s pretty cute!”
45 notes · View notes
champagne-bucky · 4 years
Text
The Undoing: Two
Summary: The truth about a past life is unveiled.
Warnings: THIS IS A DARK STORY!! dark! Steve Rogers x reader, kidnapping, non con and dub con (or at least mentions of), dark! Bucky Barnes, Stockholm syndrome, grooming, mentions of pregnancy termination and suicide mentions (for one chapter), possibly more tags to be added!
Notes: Welp, it’s here. Hope you guys enjoy chapter 2. There is one more chapter explaining the background of the story and our main character. Hope you all enjoy!! Please make sure to like, comment, reblog, inbox, and follow me for more! Enjoy :)
Tumblr media
PLEASE READ WARNINGS!!
*Eight Months Later*
You were in pain. So much fucking pain that you thought you were about to combust from the inside. The contractions started early in the afternoon yesterday. Steve was being stubborn and said that it wasn’t time yet and that the baby will be born on its due date. However, the baby was having other plans.
“Steve,” you tried to scream up to the kitchen. Hopefully he wasn’t out.
“STEVEEEEEEE,” you screamed as loud as you could. You didn’t even know what time of day it was.
Following your obnoxiously loud screams, you heard a series of footsteps from upstairs coming to the basement. The bastard at least gave you a cot to sleep on since you were getting bigger.
“What do you want,” if you weren’t in so much pain you would’ve notice how he barked at you.
“So much pain. I’m in so much pain. I think the baby is coming,” tears were in your eyes as another contraction hit you.
“Sweetheart, the baby isn’t supposed to be here for another two weeks. I think it’s just something that you ate and now your stomach is upset,” he tried to be comforting but in reality he was tired and annoyed you woke him up.
Just as you were about to say something, you felt a gush of water from in between your legs. You screamed out loud and Steve looked bewildered at the sight in front of him.
“Fuck, fuck, fucking shit, fuck. It’s too early. They aren’t ready,” Steve became frantic as he found the key in his pocket to unchain you.
To get up the stairs was a major dilemma. Every step was like climbing a mountain. Eventually, Steve got tired of how slow you were taking and just ended up picking you up and taking you out to his car.
He got on the phone and dialed up Bucky to meet him at the hospital. You found out that the two were never father and son. They were just posing as ones at work events and family parties that were being thrown. It was just all a scheme to get you.
The pain was doing a number on you. At one point you were finally able to fall asleep, but not until you heard Steve make another phone call.
“Hey, it’s time. Get them ready,” was all you heard from your kidnapper before you passed out.
_________
Hospitals were always a scary place to you. Ever since you were 16, you tried to avoid them as much as possible. Well, this hell hole might just work as your saving grace.
Steve had never taken you out anywhere, not even to get the baby checked by doctors. Knowing him though, he probably did all his evil deeds when he gave you things that made you sleep easier at night.
“When we get in there you so much as utter a single word about anything and I’ll make sure you’ll regret it,” Steve warned you before he ran in to get you a wheelchair. You couldn’t even register the feeling of fear for the wave of contractions hitting you.
Soon enough, you were in a hospital bed and were propped up on stirrups. The nurse had put an IV in you and Steve refused to leave your side. From what the nurses told you, you dilated really fast and baby Rogers wanted to come out now.
Never in your life had you experienced a pain worse than this one. The doctor and Steve yelled at you to keep on pushing, but you felt so numb you didn’t think you were doing anything. Steve squeezed your hand hard because he was getting impatient about meeting his baby.
Notice, his baby. He made sure that during this whole pregnancy that the baby you were carrying was his, not yours or ours. This was his way of breaking you down. Rightfully so, it was starting to work. During those months, you found yourself asking him to stay a little longer after sex. Asking him to hold you for a second longer. You didn’t think that you would succumb to the situation so easily. Well, now that the baby is almost here you need to do what’s best and protect it.
“I see a head!” The doctor yelled and she urged you to keep on pushing. “C’mon, Mama Rogers, just a few more pushes and you get to meet your baby!”
You couldn’t remember the last painful moments of childbirth until the tiny squalling newborn was being placed in your hands. The little babe was still covered in God knows what, but it didn’t matter. The little thing screaming and crying ignited a light inside of you that you thought had died a long time ago.
“It’s a girl! Congratulations mommy and daddy,” the doctor finished cleaning you up and another nurse took the baby girl to get cleaned up, your baby girl.
Steve still had a grip on your hand as he refused to leave your side. He stayed stoic when the doctor announced the sex of your baby girl. “I wanted a boy,” Steve mumbled before walking over to the nurses that asked him if he wanted to see the baby.
Internally, you smirked to yourself with the little bit of strength that you had left in you. He didn’t get what he wanted this time around. Steve Rogers would have to live with the fact that he couldn’t have the control on one thing in your life.
“Have we thought of a name yet?” A young nurse comes over to you and Steve.
“No, I’m going to need a little more time for that,” Steve answered before you got a chance to. As much as you didn’t want to raise a child, let alone Steve’s, you had thought of a perfect name for the baby.
“Well,” the nurse seemed unfazed by Steve, “we are gonna bring baby girl down to the nursery while we let momma rest. Want to bring some family over as well?” The nurse did not put her eyes on you once and only directed questions to Steve.
Steve left along with your baby girl. He gave you a “loving” kiss on the top of your head and gave you a warning glare. Once you were all alone you got straight to work, you pressed the nurse call button and hoped that the nightmare was ending tonight.
________
“There she is,” Steve tried his best to perk up while he showed Bucky the little newborn.
“She’s beautiful, Steve. Congratulations,” Bucky admired the adorable little girl squirming in her crib.
“Yeah, yeah, thanks,” Steve paused for a moment. That’s all he would need before he asked Bucky the worst possible question a new father could even conjure up.
“You want her,” Bucky snapped his head at Steve. He chuckled at first thinking that Steve was just nervous about fatherhood and all, but the face he made that went along with his question was completely serious.
“Steve, you can’t be serious now, what makes you wanna do that?”
“I don’t know. Just doesn’t feel right,” Steve simply shrugged.
“What do you mean? I’m sure Y/N isn’t ready to be a mother either, but you guys can work it out. I know you-”
“Something isn’t right...about her,” Steve looked at the baby.
Bucky was confused as he eyed up Steve and the baby that was being taken away by a nurse for feeding time with you. “Steve,” Bucky chuckled warily, “you think a half and hour old newborn baby is capable of what exactly? World domination?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Steve turns to Bucky with wide eyes. Bucky thought the man was having a psychotic break.
“I know what I’m talking about. There’s something about that thing,” Bucky gasped.
“Steve, don’t call her that, she’s your daughter,” Bucky spoke above a whisper.
“Then why don’t you take her then?” Steve almost growled at Bucky when a nurse hurried over and tapped Steve’s shoulder.
“What?” Steve barked at the nurse.
“Mr. Rogers, it’s your wife. She’s doing what you thought would happen,” Bucky was left in the dark at this statement.
“That fucking bitch,” Steve stormed passed the nurse leaving Bucky to look at the rest of the newborns.
___________
“Please, please, if you just listen to me,” tears were streaming down your face as the nurse kept dismissing your revelation. She kept trying to push the baby towards your breasts, but you kept pushing back trying to explain to her your situation.
“One of you go get the father,” the nurse yelled as one scurried out into the hall.
“No, no, please don’t get him. Get me out PLEASE,” you were screaming hysterics as the nurse yelled at everyone to clear the room.
“You're having crazy thoughts, my dear. We can give you something after you’ve fed the baby,”
“NO! PLEASE I’M BEGGING YOU CALL SOMEONE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!” You were full on wailing as you tried to grab the nurse.
Steve walked in. His smile was kind and patience towards the nurse. You missed it, but for a millisecond his eyes were on yours with a fear of God hidden behind them.
“I’ve got her. You take the baby, I wanna talk,” the nurse yanked herself away from you and tore the now screaming baby from your arms.
You were left alone with Steve. The room was quiet all for your whimpers. Steve stalked his way over to you with the death glare clouding his once blue eyes.
He didn’t say anything. His breathing got heavy and his fists were clenched real tight. It was a moment later, but the next sound to fill the room was the sound of the smacked flesh of your cheek. The tears flowed more and your whimpers turned into screams for help. Steve grabbed you by the hair and smacked a hand to your mouth.
“I told you. I fucking TOLD you you’d regret it if you pulled something like this. After everything I’ve done for you. After everything I gave you! You know what? Say goodbye to the baby, she’s gone!” You screamed through Steve’s palm as loud as you could, but he only slammed you into the pillow of the hospital bed. Your screams and pleas were muffled as you tried to beg Steve not to take away your baby girl.
“Shut up, SHUT UP,” Steve screamed at you and you tried your best to quiet down. “I’ll make a deal with you,” he drew away his palm.
“I’ll let you keep the baby, but you have to work for it. No slip ups, no more outbursts, no running away, no defying me. You break any of these rules Mrs. Rogers, I’ll ship this baby off to the farthest foster home in the country. That’s a fucking promise.”
That was the day the light died down in you entirely. There was no hope and you'd have to accept that. You had to keep it together. If not for you, then for the baby. All for her.
All for Sasha.
Tags to be added in comments!!
149 notes · View notes
cynthiaandsamus · 3 years
Text
Custom Toonami Block Week 68 Rundown
Code Geass: Lelouch gets Rolo to Za Warudo Suzaku so he can talk to Nunally for a bit before pretending he doesn’t know her. Then they decide to go hijack Nunally’s airship and “rescue” her before she can become the new viceroy. Kallen gets a flying upgrade to the Guren that matches Suzaku’s “Lancelot but with bigger gun” model and now she can fly too which is enough to take out all of Britannia’s airforce apparently. Still Nunally sees Zero!Lelouch and is like “you’re running around murdering people, that’s not cool” and Lelouch is like “I’m murdering people for you damnit” and turns out Nunally asked to go become viceroy so she can continue Euphy’s “Let’s just all get along” plan which was basically pacification by the higher ups anyway so it’s not like she’s NOT being used but she at least has the illusion of agency and Nunally rejecting Zero kind of breaks Lelouch. Also Suzaku flies in and adbucts Nunally and instead of moving the Lancelot’s arm like one foot and fucking punting Zero into a wall to end this whole thing once and for all, he uses the safety triangle go save Nunally.
Inuyasha: It’s filler time again! This time we do have an admittedly adorable version of Inuyasha being duped into household chores for Totosai while taking care of a young lynx demon that reminds him of Shippo, being nicer to Bunza than he ever was to Shippo for some reason. Still Inuyasha breaks the Mantis Demon (it’s always Mantis Demons wtf) barrier and saves the day before Totosai has to come clean and we get way to much information about his hygiene habits but Inuyasha finally gets the real lead on how to break barriers because the Tessaiga is a swiss army knife of stolen techniques.
Yu Yu Hakusho: We’re up to the third Saint Beast and Hiei is not about to stand for some Ice asshole killing someone for being weak which taps into his tragic backstory gland and leaves everyone else puzzled as to why the most stoic person of their group is so triggered by betrayal he definitely would have done himself. Seiryu and Hiei do the ice tango for a bit before Hiei does ninja shit and no-sells the ice to slash him up like it’s nothing. Meanwhile Suzaku gets his info and is like “Oh boy, Yusuke has a childhood friend to exploit” like all the other villains find out sooner or later. Despite the stupid name he gives the song and the corny one-liners from the zombie teachers chasing Keiko, hearing the haunting melody of the Makai Whistle/Flute (seriously that’s not a whistle it’s a fucking flute) while seeing Keiko go about her day before being hunted down by zombies is pretty striking.
Fate Zero: So Kirei’s like “Oh no, Gilgamesh killed my only servant, better hide out in the church till this is all over” only to have like 39 other servants to fuck around with that are gonna try and get some stealth kills based on the fact no one knows they exist. Also Iskander is walking around Waver’s place in booty shorts trying to reenact Citizen Kang on President Clin-ton and fetishizing bombers and jets. Kiritsugu’s got his guns and shit, ready to do his Homura thing but is worried about having feels now and being a dad may make him only able to kill 999 people without breaking a sweat instead of the full 1000. And lastly we catch up with Saber and Iris who definitely knows she’s being thrown into this to die as Saber’s fake master so Saber takes her out for a night on the town to enjoy herself and possibly question her sexuality. Doesn’t last too long though as their lesbian outing is interrupted by Lancer, seems like the Lancers are just the starter bosses in Fate for some reason since UBW started with a Lancer fight too.
Konosuba: So the last member of Kazuma’s party is revealed, Darkness the Masochist Saber has arrived. I mean I really don’t know what to say about these bits because everyone already knows the premise of Konosuba and going too much into it is probably just explaining the joke. Kazuma gets his steal ability and can only steal panties because his luck is so good and haha irony. Cabbage hunting also happens and Darkness has the Dead or Alive 2 jiggle physics on her tits turned up to Age 102 (god I’m dating myself with that reference). But it’s funny, Kazuma doesn’t seem happy about it but everyone’s just kinda having a good time fucking around and being insane. Like I get the joke is none of this is practically useful but I kinda wish Kazuma would stop being such a wet blanket and just enjoy being friends with everybody while he can, the girls seem to get along well enough together and they even give him praise when he does cool stuff, like really this just seems like a pretty positive (if insane) friend group and I wish he was more down for it.
Sailor Moon Crystal: So our third Sailor Guardian is a priestess fresh off of preparing for the Cotton Drifting festival (wait, wrong anime, thank goodness, Usagi just plain would not survive Higurashi). But I love how Ami convinces Usagi to go with her just by saying there’s a pretty girl there, like it’s so ridiculously gay and Usagi’s just all for it. Rei’s probably the most complicated character so far and gives the most thought to why she’s doing this out of the first three, like Rei literally asks Usagi what she’s fighting for and she badly mangles a Spider-man quote. That being said we’re starting to see that group dynamic come together which is fun and other than weird teleportation shenanigans and teleporting right into the boss’s lair and then just leaving making me scratch my head, this was a fun episode.
Durarara!!: This episode kind of reminds me of a pre-school cartoon show, but in a good way. Like they just pick a theme, in this case “lost things” and have all the characters have a small plot around that and kinda navelgaze on it for a while. Obviously the main plot is Celty’s continuing existential crisis over losing her head and Shinra’s insistence that she doesn’t need it despite him being tied to the pharmaceuticals company that almost certainly has it and he probably knows where it is at this point. It’s an interesting philosophical point that the show keeps bringing up, that Celty has made a life in Ikebukuro and the real disembodied head was the friends she made along the way. In other anime that would probably be the answer but it’s more complicated than that because Celty does feel incomplete without it, hundreds of years of her life and something deeply personal to her is just missing. Shinra’s terrified that the person she’ll become once she’s “complete” won’t be the same woman he loves and will leave him behind and Celty wants to balance enjoying the time she has spent in this town with being complete in a metaphysical sense. She should be able to take solace in the life she’s made but you also understand her yearning and that makes some really good moral quandaries right there.
2 notes · View notes