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#tagging the chapters because it's related to the caption
692blog · 7 months
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mcu tiktok: finding your super-family
the marvel cinematic universe, or the MCU, is the universe that most marvel movies inhabit; begining with iron man in 2008 stretching to the most recent guardians of the galaxy movie in 2023.
what this means is that every movie, no matter whom it is about, takes place in the same reality as the other superhero films. the first avengers film is the capstone of this concept, with all of our favorite heroes uniting to fight together.
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the avengers, 2012, marvel studios. photo: handout/reuters
the mcu fandom is massive, with the 'marvel cinematic universe' tag on fanfiction website archive of our own hosting almost 500,000 pieces of writing. (the most popular fic, with over a million hits, is an 'extremely nsfw fic' from the perspective of a character named groot, who only says 'i am groot' in varying cadences and is also a tree.)
technicalities aside, what the mcu has done to fandom at large is immense. the sheer amount of characters, relationships, and fantastical superpowers are fertile grounds for fans to stretch their creative muscles.
because of these characteristics, the mcu community on tiktok is huge. what makes this chapter of fans unique not only to its platform but also to its fandom is the presence of short, video povs.
these mcu tiktoks are very similar to the dracotok videos previously discussed - muted audio, captions, superimposing into movie scenes, etc. dracotok and mcutok, because they are both based in popular films, require the watcher to self-insert themselves into the story.
something distinctive to marvel povs is that while they do oftentimes encapsulate romantic relationships, what they highlight the most is the use of a trope called found family.
a found family is, at its simplest, a family that you’ve created yourself that isn’t blood related to you. think close friends, spouses, mentors. the concept of ‘found families’ has its roots in the LGBTQ+ movement, where people found their own families that love and support them, because their blood-related ones might not.
when it comes to the mcu, the found family trope is usually applied to the avengers cast. iron man, captain america, black widow, the winter solider, spiderman, the list goes on. with the amount of trauma that these superheroes go through, they are irrevocably bonded and thus a found family is born.
the avengers found family concept originated in the copious amounts of fanfiction written after the initial 2012 release of the film, and has evolved to fit new fandom spaces, like long-lasting media always does. common tropes included hawkeye (clint barton) working his way through the vents of the avengers tower like a hamster, thor (thor) having an obsession for poptarts, and steve rogers (captain america) being a secret artist.
i reached out to one of my former roommates, a former avid marvel fanfiction reader and someone who would like to remain anonymous, to ask why exactly some of these tropes existed. they responded to my inquiry with:
the idea of domesticated avengers was super big... there are so many stories of them living together and being roomies. and then in 2013 the humor was a weird mix of like just general internet mustache humor but also the general trend of making like tough scary characters seem like big softies.
in the modern day, a lot of the mcu pov tiktoks focus on these fabricated domestic relationships. while romance is there as well (you would be hard pressed to find a fandom space that does not revolve around it), there’s a substantial population of family-focused content (content about families, not content that is family-friendly).
these videos tend to play out a situation wherein y/n (your/name, the ubiquitous protagonist of all fan content) is the focus of a problem or joke, and the mcu cast around her (it’s always a girl) reacts accordingly.
like dracotok before it, these tiktoks do not usually have audio dialogue. there’s text up on the screen overlaying clips from the movies, with a trending audio backing.
for the mcu, these audios tend to be in one of two categories: badass montage music, or a hilarious dialogue snippit to emphasize the sarcastic nature of y/n’s relationship to the avengers. some newer tiktoks use AI voice generators, but they’re not very popular as they balance the precarious line of what content is deemed 'canon' and what can be manipulated.*
popular mcutok tropes include:
1. tony stark (iron man) as a father figure
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notice the call out: "for all my daddy issues peeps out there" - an accurate callout, as most desire for a found family comes from the lack of a foundational accepting one. being accepted despite being 'too much' is attractive to a lot of watchers, as extreme fans (of anything) tend to be condemned as 'too much'. also, if the line "your beauty never ever scared me" seems out of place for a marvel movie, it's because the line is from mary on a cross, a song by heavy metal band ghost. it's also the audio playing in the background of the tiktok, so, instead of whatever he was originally saying, tony now comforts someone who previously thought they weren't worth the trouble.
2. y/n is injured/suffering/otherwise hurt and hiding it
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the caption summarizes another popular trope: y/n not wanting to 'worry anyone'. pretending to be fine but actually being the opposite is commonplace for heroes (and traumatized young adults), so imagining someone, especially your favorite character, taking notice and worrying over you, fills a gap of previous neglect the watcher may have.
3. an avenger (in this case, captain america), as a concerned older sibling
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the use of movie clips shows the round robin of characters (minus, thankfully, captain america) taking a drink to admit they've kissed y/n. this tiktok hints at a promiscuous, but fun, adult life with the avengers. one that includes kissing and drinking games - a y/n life filled with respect, and more importantly with a found family trope, familiarity.
3. y/n is a badass superhero
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this tiktok includes non-marvel movie clip (scandalously, it's a clip from DC's suicide squad) - to showcase y/n's super abilities. again, with emphasis on power and respect, y/n initially seems like a normal girl, but has backing by captain america and is obviously important enough to be interviewed by some sort of nondescript agent. it gives an air of effortless power, something the avengers embody and y/n tends to perpetuate. per usual for tiktok, there's a dramatic song playing in the background. this time it's all the good girls go to hell by billie eilish, which includes the lyric "don't say i didn't warn you". a lot of these tiktoks have dialogue following the lyrics of songs playing in the background, even if it makes the whole piece sound stilted and awkward. the untouchable cool that comes with your own backing track is one of the hallmarks of marvel movies that permeates even the micro-media of tiktok.
4. an even more do-it-yourself trope; the creator posits a situation and doesn't tell you who the watcher is supposed to be. in the comments, the watchers guess at their own pov - almost like a community suggestion board.
in this tiktok, tony, while hanging out with the other avengers, hears an enrapturing voice coming from inside his house.
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notice the description: #POV: ??? - the woman's face is never revealed, all you see is a cunning smile with perfect teeth.
and the comments:
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people are writing multiple sentences to set up this situation, ending comments with numbers, indicating is more written as a reply. these watchers are almost micro-dosing fanfiction, quickly typing out a pov for others to enjoy before scrolling on. casual watchers who might not normally comment can read these situations while the tiktok plays over and over again in the background. this not only creates more engagement, but allows the watcher to think of the video from multiple povs as they listen to the audio repeat itself.
overall, these tiktoks are a symptom of the very basic human desire to belong. while the avengers are superheroes, the heart of these povs are love and support - your dad comforting you, your older brother worrying about your love life - the super strength and flying robots are just added bonuses.
*one of my favorite pieces of academic writing ever, "Disappointing Fans: Fandom, Fictional Theory, and the Death of the Author" by Lesley Goodman for the Journal of Popular Culture, expands more on this concept.
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digitalmarketingweb · 2 years
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A Beginners Guide to YouTube SEO
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In this beginners' guide to YouTube SEO, we'll discuss Keyword research, Title optimization, Chaptering, Closed captions, and more. You'll also discover how to maximize your video's visibility. And we'll touch on the benefits of these features, too. You'll learn about the benefits of SEO for videos, too! So, let's get started! Here's a breakdown of the most important aspects of your videos:
Keyword research
The first step to getting noticed in YouTube search results is to research keywords. To do this, use a keyword research tool such as Ahrefs. This tool will help you see the number of searches for your target keyword, as well as how many clicks the videos ranking for that keyword get. Ahrefs can also help you discover related keywords. Listed below are three tips for getting better YouTube search rankings. Read on to find out how to get started with YouTube SEO.
Use tags and descriptions in your videos. These provide YouTube with context about what your video is about. To optimize your video for search, use targeted keywords and include relevant tags that pertain to the video content. Remember that the order in which you add tags is critical. Your target keyword should be the first tag added to the video. If you aren't sure what keywords to use, try using double-quotes. Double-quotes will allow you to leverage long-tail keywords.
Title optimization
One of the most important factors to optimize for in YouTube SEO is the title. While the title of your video doesn't play a huge role in your overall rankings, it is the first thing that viewers will see, so you should make it as relevant as possible. For example, if you have a video about brand building, it would be best to make the title related to the subject of the video. Then, in the description, you can add the keyword you are targeting.
In addition to the title, you need to include keywords in other content formats. Keywords are typically found in metadata and video titles, but they can also be found in audio and transcripts. Choose keywords that will help viewers find your videos by using relevant search terms and related phrases. It is also a good idea to use the search-suggest option in YouTube to find the right keywords. For beginners in YouTube SEO, you can use this feature to find relevant keywords in your video's metadata.
Chaptering
Video marketers should consider using the YouTube feature of chaptering to increase their video's search engine rankings. YouTube's algorithm favors videos with chapters because they are easier to read and navigate. Moreover, videos with chapters will receive better search engine rankings, as YouTube will give the titles of the chapters a higher rank. Chaptering also improves the viewer experience, as your video will appear in Google search results. Here are some reasons to chapter your video:
In the content tab of your YouTube video, you can easily see whether your video is auto-chaptered. Look for a star icon or text "Chapters available." If you see such an icon, click on it to view the preview. If you want to add chapters manually, you can click the button containing an arrow. This will automatically add the chapters to your video description. Keep in mind that you may have to increase the length of each chapter.
Closed captions
Adding closed captions to your YouTube videos can help your video rank higher in search results. Search bots are able to read closed captions. They also increase viewers' engagement levels, especially in mobile environments. Closed captions are a great way to get your brand's name and other related videos on your channel noticed. Learn how to optimize your videos for the search engines with this beginner's guide to YouTube SEO.
When it comes to SEO for YouTube, the best way to improve your video's ranking is to add closed captions. This can be done by using a tool like YouTube's CC tool to automatically transcribe the content. While a tool like this isn't perfect, it will help your video rank higher. Closed captions are free, and you can add as many as you want.
Thumbnail optimization
The design of YouTube thumbnails is crucial to its success. People who see a good thumbnail are more likely to watch the video until the end. Therefore, making thumbnails attractive is an essential aspect of video marketing. Besides providing viewers with valuable information, they can also be crucial to a video's ranking. As a rule of thumb, the size of YouTube thumbnails is 1280 x 720 pixels and has a 16:9 aspect ratio. Tweens can be saved as JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG files. While high resolution thumbnails are permitted, they must not exceed two MB. Using proper image optimization techniques, a high-quality thumbnail will look good on all types of devices.
Another essential tip to create attractive thumbnails is to make sure your video has a focal point. Ideally, your video should solve a specific problem. The title and thumbnail should communicate this message. The algorithm on YouTube takes into consideration all these elements when deciding whether to promote a video on the homepage or in related search queries. Because most users will view a video through a search query, optimizing its metadata is vital to its success.
Engagement metrics
One of the first steps to YouTube SEO is to track engagement metrics. Watch time is an important metric for measuring how engaged viewers are with your video. Videos that encourage viewers to spend more time on the platform tend to perform better in YouTube search rankings. The longer your viewers watch your video, the better, but not to the detriment of your SEO. Listed below are some ways to track engagement. To get started, download YouTube's free analytics and start tracking your video's performance today.
YouTube uses engagement metrics to determine the relevance of your video. Videos with a high number of likes, comments, and shares are more likely to be displayed for targeted users. High engagement will result in a higher view count for your videos. However, engagement metrics are not the only metric you should monitor. Be sure to watch videos in your niche regularly to increase your chance of becoming popular. If you don't have a large number of subscribers, it's best to avoid using keywords that are too generic.
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cqlfeels · 3 years
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@lansplaining encouraged me to finish this random meta nobody asked for, so let's talk about Meng Yao, Meng Shi, and 孟母三遷 (mèng mǔ sān qiān), a proverb about good parenting.
A warning: this is super long (even for me!) and is less quality meta and more my ADHD brain jumping around a maze of loosely related ideas. Proceed with caution!
Let me start by briefly going through why I decided to write this, because it’s important. In haunting Meng Shi’s tag in my starvation for Meng Shi content, I’ve multiple times come across the idea that Meng Shi pushed Meng Yao too hard, that she should’ve been more careful with teaching him to seek his father’s approval at any cost, and that she was too naïve. I’ve never reblogged this kind of post because 1) I personally think it’s rude to go out of your way to ramble about how much you disagree with someone on their own post and 2) if this was an isolated incident I wouldn't care either way, so I didn’t want to direct this rant at anyone in particular. It’s more to do with a tendency, primarily (as far as I can tell) from fans who haven’t had much contact with Chinese culture, to oversimplify Meng Shi and make her relationship with Meng Yao slightly disturbing, and I think part of it is due to CQL basically cutting out her entire storyline (so fans simply don’t have info about her to assess her fairly) and part is due to misunderstanding what a good parent is supposed to act like in the context of Ancient China.
[Of course, Ancient China is not a very useful historical concept, not any more than “ye olde Europe” - things change a lot based on time and place - but you know. It’s fantasy. Extremely broad trends are okay in this case.]
Anyway, the idea behind the posts I mentioned is, basically, that Meng Shi (usually through no fault of her own) is to blame for Meng Yao’s obsession with power, since his desire for approval was inherited from lessons she taught him. Just to start with, I’d argue that Meng Yao isn’t power-hungry as much as he craves security and respect, but that’s a different meta. Let’s assume that she really did teach him to be Like That. Was she wrong to do so? I’m not looking for “does that make for a happy, well-adjusted childhood?” or “would you raise your own son as Meng Shi did?” - I’m trying to figure out, would she have been considered a bad mother in the context of the society she lived in? I don’t think she would’ve.
It is surprisingly hard to find texts about the obligations of parents in Ancient China. Their main obligation is to raise filial children, but I feel like that’s not very useful: whether or not parents are good parents, children are expected to be filial, so a child being filial really says more about the child than about the parent. Maybe the parent completely missed the mark and society at large was what taught the child to be filial!
We can assume, of course, that parents were to raise good people, and that by learning what a good person looked like, we could figure out whether the parent was successful, but once again, I feel like that’s pinning things on the outcome, not on the process - the best of parents can end up with an awful kid and vice versa.
While thinking about all this, it took me a frankly embarrassing amount of time to remember the story of Mother Meng and Meng Zi, but once I did, it wouldn’t leave my mind - in part because the Meng here is the exact same Meng of Meng Shi and Meng Yao (yay! fun if useless parallel!), and in part because this is a story about how a woman can successfully raise a son by herself.
Okay, so important note: one of the most influential ancient Chinese thinkers is Meng Zi (孟子 Mèng Zǐ), who is known in the West as Mencius. If you've never heard of him - he's perhaps second in importance only to Confucius. When Mencius was still a young child, his father died, so he was raised by his mother, who is usually known only as Mother Meng (in Chinese, 孟母 Mèng Mǔ.)
Mother Meng's story is told in Biographies of Exemplary Women (列女傳 Liènǚ Zhuàn), which for around 2000 years beginning around the 18th century BCE, was the most commonly used book used to educate women. The book is divided into sections, each one showing a different way women could be honorable and good. Mother Meng's story is told in the Maternal Models section (母儀傳 Mǔ Yí Zhuàn.) The story has a few parts, some of which I'll quote, always from Kinney's 2014 translation.
Before I go on to quote it, though, I'd like to establish that Mother Meng's story is so, so famous that even if Meng Shi had never read this particular book, I'm almost certain she would've been familiar with at least the outlines of Mother Meng's story. I'm not cherry picking a suitable chapter from the book, I'm literally going with the most famous story in it because Meng Shi would be most likely to know this one if she knew no other story.
Okay, the first part of the tale takes place when Mencius is a young boy and Mother Meng is a widow raising him.
The mother of Meng Ke of Zou [a different name for Mencius] was called Mother Meng. She lived near a graveyard. During Mencius’ youth, he enjoyed playing among the tombs, romping about pretending to prepare the ground for burials. Mother Meng said, “This is not the place to raise my son.” She therefore moved away and settled beside the marketplace. But there he liked to play at displaying and selling wares like a merchant. Again Mother Meng said, “This is not the place to raise my son,” and once more left and settled beside a school. There, however, he played at setting out sacrificial vessels, bowing, yielding, entering, and withdrawing. His mother said, “This, indeed, is where I can raise my son!” and settled there. When Mencius grew up, he studied the Six Arts, and finally became known as a great classicist. A man of discernment would say, “Mother Meng was good at gradual transformation.”
According to the translator's footnote, "gradual transformation" is "a childrearing technique, whereby a child is morally formed through daily exposure to correct models of behavior."
From this story comes the proverb 孟母三遷 (Mèng Mǔ sān qiān) - "Mother Meng moved three times." It's come to mean that a parent - especially the mother of a male child - should spare no efforts to provide an environment that will give their child a good education, paying particular attention to what models are surrounding them.
I'm sure I don't need to say if Meng Shi was at all familiar with this proverb (and she would probably be), she must have been very stressed out over literally raising her son in a brothel. (Here I must mention sex workers in ancient China were often essentially owned by the brothels, so literally "moving three times" wasn't really an option for Meng Shi even if she could miraculously pick up another trade.) Meng Shi did however at least try to surround Meng Yao with the accomplishments appropriate for the son of a cultivator:
Xiao-Meng, are you still learning those things lately? [...] The things your mom wants you to learn, things like calligraphy, etiquette, swordsmanship, meditation… How are those things going? [...] His mom’s raising him as a young master of a wealthy family. She taught him how to read and write, bought him all those swordsmanship pamphlets, and even wants to send him to school.
Meng Yao actually talks a little bit about “those swordsmanship pamphlets” in the only time in canon he directly shares memories about this mother:
Lan XiChen, “Your [guqin] skills are also considered quite fine outside of Gusu. Were they taught by your mother?”
Jin GuangYao, “No. I taught myself by watching others. She never taught me such things. She only taught me reading and writing, and bought a handful of expensive sword and cultivation guides for me to practice.”
Lan XiChen seemed surprised, “Sword and cultivation guides?”
Jin GuangYao, “Brother, you haven’t seen them before, have you? Those small booklets sold by the common folk. First jumbled sketches of human figures, then deliberately mystified captions.”
Lan XiChen shook his head, smiling. Jin GuangYao shook his head as well, “All of them are scams, especially to fool women like my mother and ignorant children. You won’t lose anything by practicing them, but you definitely won’t gain anything either.”
He sighed in a rueful way, “But how could my mother have known this? She bought them no matter how expensive they were, saying that if I returned to see my father in the future, I had to see him with as much competence as possible so that I don’t fall behind. All of the money was spent on this.”
See what’s happening? Meng Shi cannot physically take Meng Yao to cultivators, but she spares no efforts in giving him the closest thing she possibly can -- figuratively, we might say she moved three times.
Of course, these booklets don’t work, but as Meng Yao says, how could she have known this? The cultivation world is very closed off - think of how the entire Mo household gathers to see Lan juniors, and how Wei Wuxian mentions once that “Cultivation families, in the eyes of common folk, are like people favored by God, mysterious yet noble.” Not just noble, but mysterious. That tracks, too - I mean, they live in inaccessible households and mostly leave to night hunt or visit each other, neither of which is an activity that would allow commoners to get much more than an occasional glimpse of them.
Now, if Meng Shi doesn’t even know that a pearl for Jin Guangshan was just a trinket, if she doesn’t know even the wealth of a major sect, how can she read booklets and decide whether that’s genuine cultivation or not? All that she sees is a chance for Meng Yao to be surrounded by the ideas and skills of the people she wants him to emulate - cultivators - and therefore she does everything she can to get him that chance. Mother Meng moved three times.
Okay, but maybe the argument is not “Meng Shi shouldn’t have pushed Meng Yao to cultivation” but rather “she should’ve pushed him, just not too hard." To that, I present another tale from Mencius' childhood:
Once, when Mencius was young, he returned home after finishing his lessons and found his mother spinning. She asked him, “How far did you get in your studies today?” Mencius replied, “I’m in about the same place as I was before.” Mother Meng thereupon took up a knife and cut her weaving. Mencius was alarmed and asked her to explain. Mother Meng said, “Your abandoning your study is like my cutting this weaving. A man of discernment studies in order to establish a name and inquires to become broadly knowledgeable. By this means, when he is at rest, he can maintain tranquility and when he is active, he can keep trouble at a distance. If now you abandon your studies, you will not escape a life of menial servitude and will lack the means to keep yourself from misfortune. How is this different from weaving and spinning to eat? If one abandons these tasks midway, how can one clothe one’s husband and child and avoid being perpetually short of food? If a woman abandons that with which she nourishes others and a man is careless about cultivating his virtue, if they don’t become brigands or thieves, then they will end up as slaves or servants.” Mencius was afraid. Morning and evening he studied hard without ceasing. He served Zisi [a great scholar whose grandfather was Confucius] as his teacher and then became one of the most renowned classicists in the world.
Notice that Mother Meng moved three times to ensure Mencius would have the highest of aspirations - to become a scholar. But just aspiration isn’t enough. Not by any means. Now that Mencius is actually studying, Mother Meng is willing to take an extreme action to ensure he's taking it seriously. Mencius doesn't have a father to smooth his path to success. He has to learn that aspiring to greatness isn't enough. He'll have to put in the effort as if his life depended on it. And if he doesn't persist in his hard work, everything he's done thus far will be useless. Sounds like a lesson imparted on young Meng Yao, doesn’t it?
A lot of fandom rage towards Meng Shi would apply to China's Best Mom Contender, Mother Meng. She gives her son big dreams, and teaches him how to go about achieving them in a society where failing is easier than succeeding. Yes, it's fair to say that Meng Shi taught Meng Yao to refuse to settle for anything less than being “Jin Guangshan's son, a respected cultivator.” Yes, it's also fair to say that she probably didn't allow him much time to play like children his age did. But unfortunately, in the world of MDZS, poor children probably wouldn't get to play anyhow, the difference is that they'd usually be working, not studying. Studying is a privilege! It’s a privilege Meng Yao could not afford but was given to him anyway, through his mother’s many sacrifices. We can even say that while she was alive, Meng Shi was trying to ensure Meng Yao would one day have a better life, at the expense of a fun childhood - and that's very Mother Meng of her, whatever our modern Western sensibilities might have to say about that.
Finally, I’d skip other tales (which show Mother Meng and an adult Mencius) and go straight to the poem that ends the Mother Meng section:
The mother of Mencius
Was able to teach, transform, judge, and discriminate.
With skill she selected a place to raise her son,
Prompting him to accord with the great principles.
When her son’s studies did not advance,
She cut her weaving to illustrate her point.
Her son then perfected his virtue;
His achievements rank as the crowning glory of his generation.
I’d like to focus on the last verse - “His achievements rank as the crowning glory of his generation.” All that Mother Meng wanted was for Mencius to not completely ruin his life, but he became great. You can so very easily see a parallel with how Meng Shi hoped Meng Yao would be a cultivator but he became Jin Guangyao, Chief Cultivator, styled Lianfang-zun, one of the Three Venerable, hero of the Sunshot Campaign.
Of course you can say “Jin Guangyao did many Very Wrong Things to get there, though!” Which, sure, okay, fair point. How many and how wrong depends on which canon we're discussing, and your own interpretation, but there’s no version of the story in which Jin Guangyao is 100% an innocent child uwu. But blaming that on Meng Shi is just... straight up weird? I don’t see anyone going “If Jiang Fengmian hadn’t adopted Wei Wuxian, he’d never have dared become Yiling Laozu!” and that’s pretty much the same logic. Would street kid Wei Wuxian have invented a new type of cultivation if he had never been taken in by the Jiang? Probably not, but raising undead armies is very much not something Jiang Fengmian could’ve predicted. In the same way, how could Meng Shi have predicted that teaching her pre-adolescent son “You are the son of a cultivator, act like one and earn your place in society” would’ve ultimately resulted in innocent deaths? How could she predict “You’re not destined to having the same horrible life I did, you can get something better than this” was a bad thing to teach? I quite honestly don’t know.
Finally, I'd like to point towards a much flimsier evidence that Meng Shi did great as a parent. And that is Meng Yao’s love. Nie Huaisang at some point comments Meng Shi is someone who Meng Yao "cherishes more than his life," and I think his assessment is correct.
Even putting aside the fact he built a whole temple to get his mother to reincarnate into a better life, and even putting aside how he refuses to flee the country without her remains, there's still crystal clear evidence that Meng Shi must've done something right. Because a lifetime of people using his mother to bully him doesn't seem to have made Meng Yao resent her. Had their relationship not have been very strong, odds are he'd feel bitter and/or ashamed of her. That doesn't seem to be the case. He's attached to her even decades after her death.
I want to be very careful with equating mutual affection with good parenting, though. When I was a rather rebellious teenager, my mother (in typical Chinese fashion) used to say that parents and children don't have to love each other as long as they're dutiful to each other, by which she meant that a parent-child relationship isn't informed by warm and fuzzy feelings, but by whether you'd be willing to do anything for each other. Specific to my case, she meant "I don't care if it makes you hate me, you will do as you're told because that's what's best for you." (That may also be the reason why people more familiar with Chinese culture see the Jiang family less as outright abusive and more as #complicated, but that's another meta.)
Whether your kid wants to hug you every time they see you is of no consequence to traditional Chinese thought - raising them to be the best they can is all that matters, because at the end of the day, you won't be around forever, but you can definitely set up your kid's life so that it goes smoothly and virtuously. How that's accomplished varies depending on many factors, but to have the goal be "I want my child to love me" rather than "I want to raise my child right" would've been considered selfish as hell.
So even if all that Meng Shi had given Meng Yao had been stern lessons about the need to go get his birthright, she would've still have been considered a good mother!! In fact, she would've been doing everything she was supposed to do, under extremely difficult conditions! (Remember the importance of environment? That Meng Yao grew up to want to be a cultivator despite having probably never even met one speaks wonders about Meng Shi's childrearing powers!!)
But just based off how over the top Meng Yao's filal dutifulness is, I'd go a step further and say that even as she did the impossible, she was also loving enough to inspire genuine affection. This is complicated because children who have present fathers could expect their mothers to be tender with them. The first century BCE text 禮記 Lǐ Jì or The Classic of Rites says that:
Here now is the affection of a father for his sons - he loves the worthy among them, and places on a lower level those who do not show ability; but that of a mother for them is such, that while she loves the worthy, she pities those who do not show ability - the mother deals with them on the ground of affection and not of showing them honour; the father, on the ground of showing them honour and not of affection.
But when the father figure is lacking for any reason, the mother must abandon her tenderness because someone must guide the child, and without a father, the role falls to the mother. A single or widowed mother had to be very careful to not smother their children with affection and raise useless, spoiled kids, or so it was thought. (The presence of Qingheng-jun and Lan Qiren is why Madame Lan can be so affectionate with the Lan boys, by the way - if she was raising them by herself she would've been expected to be much more practical. AUs where she just gets her kids and runs away could do very cool things with this idea. But I digress!)
Where was I? Oh, okay. Because Meng Yao seems to not just respect, but actively miss her, it seems that Meng Shi somehow managed to deal with her son on the ground of both honor and affection, to paraphrase.
So basically, all things considered, it seems not only would Meng Shi have been considered a great mom (if people could look past her being a prostitute, anyway) but she also went above and beyond the bare minimum. She truly spared no efforts on any front to make sure her son had everything your average gongzi would have - someone to teach him and someone to love him, access to education and confidence in his birthright. That she couldn't actually make him a cultivator, that she couldn't actually raise him in a proper home with no one being cruel to herself or him - that's immaterial. Even Mother Meng couldn't control what her neighbors did, only what she taught her son! The key point is Meng Shi tried. She did everything she could to educate her son right. You couldn't ask more of her, and quite honestly, you should probably be asking less.
Of course we can't err on the other extreme and say she was Perfect. Given MXTX only ever writes flawed characters, we can safely assume that if we'd known more about Meng Shi, we would've seen many flaws. Indeed, just the fact she didn't teach Meng Yao the guqin when he apparently wanted to learn it might point to some conflict we don't know enough to speculate about (maybe she focused too much on cultivation when Meng Yao's interests lay elsewhere? Maybe she wasn't able to sufficiently shelter him and he felt it'd be a burden to ask her to teach him anything? Maybe maybe maybe, go wild with your fics.) Nevertheless, I would never hold a female character to a higher ideal than a male character - if the male cast of MDZS can be a hot mess and still be admirable for what they're trying to do, then so can Meng Shi.
At the end of the day, when I look at Meng Shi - and I've made myself a document with all the references to her in the novel canon so I could easily contemplate her life and character - all I see is a woman every bit as determined and resourceful as her son, willing to do everything it took to raise her little boy into the sophisticated and ambitious man he became.
Finally, here's a fun little parallel that I'm 100% sure was unintentional but I still love. I said Meng Shi couldn't have moved three times. She couldn't, but I think maybe she taught her son he was worth moving three times for. Qinghe Nie. Qishan Wen. Lanling Jin. Isn't that super fun to think about?
Alternatively, tl;dr: Oh My God I Can't Believe We're Blaming Women For The Actions Of Their Adult Children In The Year Of Our Lord 2k21, Meng Shi Was Doing Her Best, Chill!
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nashibirne · 3 years
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Gimme Shelter - 7
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Here it is, the last chapter of Gimme Shelter. It took me a while to write it, I kinda had a hard time to let Kat and Henry go... I'm going to miss them. I hope you like the ending I chose for these two. If so, please let me know by leaving a comment, reblog or like. Feedback is much appreciated. 💜
Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC (Kat Spencer)
Words: ~ 4.5 k
Summary: Henry has to deal with a personal crisis and he finds shelter with his old rugby mate Sam and his sister Kat. She used to be Henry’s best friend a very long time ago. Will they be able to become friends again or maybe even more? Chapter 7: An important conversation, a celebration and lots of love.
You can find the previous chapters and my other fics on my masterlist!
Warnings: RPF, mention of mental health issues, smut, sex (p in v), vanilla, unprotected sex, nsfw, 18+, fluff
UNBETA'ED! English is not my mother tongue, so expect bad grammar, wrong spelling, chaotic punctuation and clumsy language. All mistakes are mine…
I got a little help with a certain paragraph, thank you so much @sillyrabbit81 for your advice and your support. Love ya 💕
Credits: Pics for the moodboard from Pinterest. Face claims: Kat = Jennifer Connelly
Disclaimer: I don’t know the real Henry Cavill or anyone who's related to him in any way, this is pure fiction and a lot of wishful thinking.
Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed)
@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen @a-little-counter-esperanto @starstruckkittyangel @mary-ann84 @sillyrabbit81 @emelinelovesjc @wheretheriversrunintothesea @lam0ureuxq @kingliam2019
Let the grand finale begin....
***********
"There's no need to be nervous, Kat."
Henry gave her a smile before taking a sip of his coffee.
They were sitting at their gate, waiting to board the plane that was going to fly them to Jersey.
"I know", Kat sighed, shaking her head slowly, "but I still am. I haven't seen your family in years, there will be so many people I don't know…"
"And they will love you. Look, Kitty, today is gonna be relaxed. You'll meet my parents, my brothers and their families and that's it. Just a casual dinner. Tomorrow there will be the celebration and I promise you it's gonna be great. My folks know how to party," he winked at her with a grin, "and on Sunday everyone except for my parents will be gone and we have a whole week to relax and just enjoy the island and our time together. Okay?"
"Okay," she smiled at him and took a bite of the muffin she had bought at one of the airport cafes, "I'll try to relax. Just distract me, tell me something... anything."
"That's the text for Instagram. The open letter to my fans and followers."
"Well, actually there's really something I want to talk to you about", Henry said reluctantly. He grabbed his phone and opened his google docs. "I need your opinion on this." He gave her his mobile.
Kat saw that the display showed a long text. "What's that?"
"I see," Kat chewed on her lip, looking him in the eyes, "and you want me to proofread it?"
"I want to know what you think about it."
"Alright. Let's see."
She stared at the words on the screen with a beating heart. Henry had been working on this statement quite a while now and she knew it would include his plans for the future. They had talked about different scenarios but she didn't know what he'd finally decided to do with his life and his work. She was curious but at the same time she was scared because many of these scenarios meant that he was going to leave St. Ives and her life. She took a deep breath and started to read.
The statement was deep and of unabashed openness. The way Henry described what he had gone through in the past year was very touching and she had to fight back tears several times. Relief flooded her when she read that he was asking his fans to give him a little more time to reorientate and that he intended to remain in the background for a little longer, stating that he was very happy at the sanctuary he had found and that good friends had given him shelter. What left her completely amazed was the last paragraph.
"Kal is going to take over your Instagram?"
Henry grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah. For a while. I think it's a good solution. I'm going to post pictures of him with captions that let people know what I'm doing without giving up my privacy until I'm ready to return and face the public again. It's my way of letting my fans be a part of my life although I'm not really present. I want to share what I'm up to but not the way I used to do it. I want to do more than promotion and I want to be more than a thirst trap, Kitty."
"You're much more than that, Hen", she took his hands in hers, looking at him with a frown, "so much more."
He gave her a grateful smile.
"I know that but many people don't and that's my own fault. The way I've presented myself on social media was very one-sided in the last year and it will be interesting to find out how many of my 17 Mio followers still like me when all they'll get to see in the next weeks is my dog. The ones that remain are the ones that count and in the future I want them to see who I am and what's important to me. I have picked three topics I want to concentrate on. First: conversation and protection of species in cooperation with Durrell. Second: mental health, focusing on problems men often face. I want to found a charitable trust that helps and supports men with mental health issues and that raises awareness of that topic. Thirdly: Fitness, because it's such an important part of my life. I want to show how good moving can make you feel but I also want to show the risks of overdoing it and that even very fit people can still have body issues and how I deal with these issues myself."
"First of all I think the statement you want to post is great. It's so sincere and you open up so much... It's a risk because you expose yourself but I think people will appreciate your honesty and I'm sure many can identify with what you've been through. And your plans sound fantastic, Henry. I know how important these topics are to you and you're going to be a great ambassador for all of this because it's authentic. This is you, people will notice and appreciate that." She couldn't help but give him a spontaneous hug. "God, Henry, I'm so happy for you."
Henry let out a sigh and shrugged, looking at Kat with an expression full of doubt and insecurity.
"What do you think?"
He hugged her back, pulling her into a tight embrace. "That's such a relief, Kat. I was worried it might sound stupid."
"Not a bit! It sounds perfect. But what about work? Do you already know where to go with your job?"
He took a deep breath.
"Yes. I want to return to filming but I want to leave my comfort zone a bit and try to get different kinds of roles. I'll have to talk to my agent and hope that he can find some interesting projects for me. I also thought about going on the stage again. Back to the roots, maybe I will find a theater that is willing to give me a chance. But that's just an idea, I'm open to anything. I just know for sure that I love my job. I want to be an actor and I'm ready to work again."
"And you will work again. I'm sure. Are you going to tell your family about your plans?"
"Sure. It will be a great relief for them to see that I'm back on track."
"Of course. It's a relief for me too."
"I know…"
They were interrupted by the announcement that boarding was about to start and so they got on the plane, heading to Jersey with a pretty good feeling.
****
36 hours later Kat was still feeling pretty good. The garden party was in full swing and she really enjoyed the jolly atmosphere, the food, the drinks and most of all Henry's company. His family had given her a very warm welcome and so she had a very good time. The garden was beautifully decorated and lit by countless torches, candles and chinese lanterns. A local band was playing cover songs on a little stage and a clown was entertaining the children.
It was almost midnight when Henry turned to her with a smile.
"Time for the big surprise."
"Can't wait. You've been such a mystery-monger lately."
"I know, but you'll soon know why."
"Well, you want to surprise your mum. Isn't that the reason?" Kat was visibly confused and Henry gave her one of his perfectly imperfect winks.
"My mum and...you. Maybe?"
He went away with a grin and left Kat with a beating heart. What kind of surprise could he possibly have for her? On his mother's birthday? She smoothened out her plain black dress with a nervous gesture before she followed Henry with her eyes, her arms resting on the cocktail table right in front of the stage. When he grabbed the microphone, Kat assumed he wanted to hold a speech, maybe telling his family and friends about his future plans but when he turned to the band leader for a whispered exchange she knew there was more to it. Henry nodded at each of the band members and Kat could tell he was nervous by his body language.
"Hello everyone," his deep voice echoed through the speakers, "I'm sorry to interrupt, I know everyone is having a great time and don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with a speech, but I still have prepared a little something. A surprise."
He flashed a bright smile at his mother, ignoring the teasing cheers and whistles coming from his brothers.
"Mum, I racked my brain over a special present for weeks. What would make you happy? What would surprise you? Eventually I had this idea I knew you'd love but that really got me out of my comfort zone. I worked hard on it and I hope you and everybody else will like the result." Henry cleared his throat with a sheepish smile.
"Come on man, spill it." That was Henry's younger brother Charlie and Kat couldn't help but chuckle when his older brother Simon joined in.
"Yeah, Hen, the suspense is killing us."
Henry shook his head, laughing and Marianne Cavill shushed her sons with an amused smile.
"Okay, well... I'm going to sing for you."
"Oh please, spare us. You can't sing." Charlie again, he'd always been a cheeky guy and obviously he hadn't changed a bit. Henry laughed out loud, pointing his finger at Charles.
"Right, brother, that's why I took lessons. I spent many, many hours at our neighbour's who is a vocal coach. Kat is my witness."
All eyes turned on her now and she couldn't give them much more than a shrug, a nod and a smile to confirm his words. She wasn't able to say anything, but her mind was racing. He had been taking singing lessons with Mel, who had been a music teacher and vocal coach before her marriage. The revelation hit her hard and unexpected, flooding her with relief and a hint of shame. She had been so suspicious all this time without a reason. Nothing had been going on between Hen and Mel, nothing inappropriate, nothing intimate. He had been telling the truth.
Henry's voice interrupted her thoughts and she took a deep breath, turning her attention to what was happening on stage.
The band started to play and Kat immediately recognized the song, Green, Green Grass of Home, and when Henry began to sing she was completely captivated by his full, warm and dark voice. He did great up there and it didn't take people long to pull out lighters and smartphones to wave them in the air to the slow rhythm of the song, creating a sea of lights that illuminated the garden.
"Well...I better get started before I chicken out and change my mind." He nodded at the band with a grateful smile.
"We only had the chance to rehearse two times so please be lenient with me. Thanks guys for playing along and allowing me to take over... Anyway, I've prepared three songs. Enjoy."
Kat looked at Mrs Cavill, no, at Marianne -it still felt strange to call her by her first name- and she was beaming, tears of pride and joy sparkling in her eyes. Kat was incredibly happy and proud too, it just felt so good to see Henry perform, completely at ease with himself, confident and charming as ever.
The next song seemed to be some kind of family hymn. After only a few lines of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline everybody was singing along, even the kids, and Kat joined in, soaking up the jolly atmosphere and the good mood that was so infectious. Henry obviously had a great time too. He was smiling all over his face and it made Kat glad to see him so relaxed and happy. Before he began singing the last song, he spoke softly into the microphone.
"The next one is for everyone who's in love. Grab your loved ones and get on the dancefloor, it's time for slow-dancing", and after a little pause he added, "this one's for you, Kat."
I know that you've been hurt before
He looked her straight in the eyes and his words sent shivers down her spine. She noticed the curious glances people gave her and she knew she was blushing but she did her best to pretend to be cool, calm and collected, taking a sip of her red wine. When the music set in, Kat easily recognized the song. It was a slow version -Henry's version- of a Curtis Stigers song and she already loved it after the first few words. She knew the lyrics by heart and thinking about them awoke the butterflies in her belly.
Happy couples filled the dancefloor looking lovingly at each other, dancing slowly to the music. Henry's full voice was perfect for the song and he kept looking at Kat. Their eyes were locked and to her it felt like no one else was around, like Henry was singing just for her.
But that won't happen anymore, no no
Just give your heart to me
And I'll guard it with my life
I don't know what I'd do
Baby, without you
His words found their way right into her heart and for the first time in 22 years she felt ready to finally let go of the past, to completely trust him again, to believe him and to forgive him.
You're all that matters to me
The ground that you walk
The air that you breathe
Someday you'll discover
I don't want no other, believe me
You're all that matters, baby
All that matters to me
She realized that a teardrop was rolling down her cheek and she wiped it away hastily. Concern was showing in Henry's eyes when he saw that she was crying but the smile she gave him showed him it was a tear of joy and relief flooded him. He couldn't wait to finish the song now, couldn't wait to dance with Kat, to hold her in his arms.
Loud applause followed his performance, accompanied by calls for an encore that he declined politely with a shy smile. Henry made sure to tell the band to continue with some ballads and after receiving some very tight hugs and kisses from his extremely happy and proud mother he finally joined Kat at their table.
"Fancy a dance?" He offered her his hand with a charming smirk.
She nodded and took his hand, following him to the dance floor where he pulled her close. They swayed slowly to "You Are The Sunshine of my life" for a while without saying anything, content with just looking at each other, before Kat broke the silence.
"You were great up there."
"You liked it?"
"I loved it, Hen. You have a wonderful voice. Mel seems to be a good coach." Kat gave him a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, she is. Once she'd realized that I wasn't interested in more than singing lessons she was very professional and pretty strict."
Henry grinned at her, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was supposed to be a surprise and I wanted you to trust me." He shrugged, giving her a tender smile.
"And I didn't. I let you down. I was such an idiot, Henry. I should have believed you, I am so sor…"
"No, Kitty, please... don't apologize, okay?" He looked at her with a frown, seriousness showing in his eyes. "You had every right to be mistrustful, I understand that. Just tell me that you think you will be able to trust me again some day."
"I already do. I…"
They bumped into another couple and it wasn't the first time. The dance floor was crowded and everyone was keen on congratulating Henry on his performance. It felt like every single party guest was watching them.
"Wanna leave?"
"Yes," Kat nodded with a smile.
****
"It's so peaceful, isn't it?"
"It is. It's beautiful." Kat squeezed Henry's hand before resting her head against his shoulder. They were walking down the beach along the dark shore, that was romantically enlightened by a bright full moon hand, in hand. The sea was calm, just giving off its soothing sounds and a cool breeze that made Kat shiver. Henry took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Thanks", Kat said with a smile, "not only for the jacket but for bringing me here and for this wonderful night."
"Did you enjoy the party?"
"Of course, it was so much fun and I loved your performance. Especially the third song."
Henry stopped walking and turned to her, taking both of her hands in his, looking her deep in the eyes.
"Every single word was true, Kat. I meant it. I'd never hurt you again. You're really all that matters to me. I know you find it hard to believe me, but…"
"I believe you," Kat cut in, "I felt it. I feel it now."
Henry stared at her. "You do?"
"Fuck, yes, I do!" Kat threw her head back, laughing out loud, feeling incredibly happy and light-hearted all of the sudden. "And I feel the same, Hen. Exactly the same."
She cupped his face with her hands and did what she had been longing to do for so long. She kissed him. It was a gentle kiss, almost shy and when Henry felt her mouth on his, her soft lips united with his, skin on skin, no tongue, just tenderness and love, he was beyond happy and savoured every single second.
When Kat pulled away reluctantly he rested his forehead against hers taking a deep breath.
"I feel like 17 again", he whispered.
Kat laughed softly at his words. "So do I. It feels great."
The next kiss started off just like the previous one, innocent and sweet, but when Henry pulled Kat close to deepen the kiss all the bottled-up sexual tension and energy, all the suppressed passion and desire of more than 20 years erupted and they started to make out hungrily, starving for love and intimacy. After a while things really heated up and Henry was the one to put the brakes on when Kat started to fumble with his fly.
"If you don't want me to take you right here we better take it to the bedroom, Kitty", Henry sighed, his voice thick with arousal and desire.
"Well, I've never done it on the beach…", Kat smirked, biting her lower lip.
"Seriously? Here?" Henry took a look around checking if the coast was clear.
"I was joking, Hen. I hate having sand in every pore." Kat nudged him with a grin. "Just take me home."
They made it to the cottage in record time and started to undress each other right in the little hallway, kissing and fumbling like teenagers. While Kat was unzipping Henry's trousers, he was unsuccessfully trying to open her bra.
"Front clasp, Hen", Kat explained to him breathlessly.
"Fuck", Henry chuckled, "I swear I'm not gonna be that clueless once I'll have you naked."
"Good," she answered with a lewd smile, stripping off her bra when he'd finally managed to open it, standing in front of him in just her panties.
"God, you're beautiful, Kitty." Henry let his eyes wander all over her body while stepping out of his pants. He took off his socks and now he was facing her naked too, except for his briefs.
"You don't look so bad yourself, pop."
She grabbed him by the hem of his underwear, pulling him close for another kiss. Kat gasped when he lifted her up effortlessly, wrapping her legs around his waist, feeling his hard-on pressing against her wet panties. She moaned into his mouth when he moved his hips, dry humping her teasingly. Henry carried Kat to his bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He stripped off her pants before he did the same with his and when they finally were both naked he climbed on top of her, looking her deep in the eyes, before kissing her again. It was a long, slow kiss and Kat let her fingers run over his back till they reached his butt. She squeezed his ass and pulled him close, sighing with lust when Henry started to kiss her tits and to suck her nipples. She reached between her legs and grabbed his dick that was pretty impressive, giving it a few strokes that made him moan loudly.
"Fuck, Kat...I need you…I need to feel you...now."
She brought the tip of his cock to her entrance, bucking her hips, inviting him in.
"Take me. I'm yours, Henry."
"Are you on birth control?"
"I am, don't worry. Just go for it. Please."
Her words weren't more than a hoarse whisper but Henry heard them crystal clear. He moaned again when he realized that it was finally going to happen. He was about to make love to Kat and it was like a dream come true. A hot, sexy, wet dream and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He penetrated Kat slowly, gently, enjoying the moment that marked the beginning of their first time.
"God, Hen…", Kat moaned softly as he stretched her pussy, kneading his ass and lifting her hips to meet him halfway, "you feel great."
"I love you, Henry," she whispered before she came with a loud moan. She arched her back and Henry felt the shiver that ran through her body and the contraction of her pussy that tightened around his cock. The feelings that flooded him were more than Henry could take and he cried her name out loud when he got off, releasing an enormous amount of cum and the thought of filling her up like this made him thrust into her cunt hard and deep one last time. "Fuck...Kitty." He collapsed on top of her, gasping and panting, holding her tight, pressing a kiss on her lips. Henry looked her in the eyes with a loving smile.
He started to move slowly once he filled her completely, looking her in the eyes. It was impossible to turn back time. He wasn't her first, she wasn't his first but he still intended to make their first time together feel special, he didn't want to fuck her mindless, he wanted to make tender love to her. He thrusted a little faster and deeper now and Kat followed his rhythm, her gaze resting on his face. They shared another sensual kiss, moving in sync for a wonderful long time, prolonging the intimate moment as much as possible, enjoying the sensation of closeness, their bodies and souls connected.
Henry's moans got louder, turning into raspy grunts which was a great turn on for Kat, who was a panting mess. Breathing heavily she was getting closer to cumming with every thrust that hit her cervix, with every stroke, brushing against her g-spot, with his lower body pressing and rubbing against her clit. She watched Henry, who had his head bent back now, eyes half closed, his upper body propped up on his elbows that were placed left and right of her torso. She wrapped her legs around him, making him go even deeper before she grabbed his head and pulled him in for a sweet kiss. They locked eyes and his gaze was full of tenderness, his pupils tinted black and filled with lust.
"I love you too, Kat."
A few minutes later they were lying side by side, holding hands, their faces turned to each other.
"We should have done that 22 years ago."
Henry grinned at Kat, stroking her cheek with his thumb.
"I doubt it would have been so good. Teenage Kat was very self-conscious and a little prude and I guess teenage Henry wasn't a pro at handling this weapon right from the start." Kat touched his dick and gave him a teasing wink that made Henry chuckle.
"Right. We've come a long way. It just feels like we've wasted so much time...all these years."
"We can't change that, Hen", Kat said, "but we can make the most of the time that's still to come. Let's just be happy together from now on. Let's spend as much time together as possible, let's have lots and lots of fucking great sex, let's have fun, let's share our joys and sorrows, let's share our lives."
****
Epilogue
Two years later.
Kat sat at her desk in her office with a happy smile on her face. Mr. Darcy was sleeping on her lap and she held a letter in her hands. Bringing it close to her nose she took a deep breath, smelling Henry's scent, his tangy, musky cologne. It was a habit they had established in the last years. Whenever Henry and Kat were separated for more than a few days they sent each other love letters. Handwritten in ink, the exclusive, handmade writing paper perfumed with their odours, the lines filled with their love. The letters usually weren't long, most of the time they shared just short poems or simply a few sentences about how their days had been without each other. It was their old fashioned way of showing their affection and of staying in touch in addition to their conversations via phone or facetime.
"A letter from daddy", Kat whispered, stroking her round belly tenderly. Eight weeks to go until they would welcome their first child and a little more than half a year until their wedding. "Let's see what it's saying."
Kat opened the letter carefully and pulled out the thick paper to unfold it.
"My darling Kitty,
Only three days to go until I finally can take you in my arms again. I can't wait to kiss your lips and your belly to greet you and our little bean. I don't have much time, you know how tight my schedule is, but I needed to write down this poem for you. It would make a great wedding vow, don't you think? Just read it and let me know how you feel about it when I'm back.
"Mouthful Of Forevers
I am not the first person you loved. You are not the first person I looked at with a mouthful of forevers. We have both known loss like the sharp edges of a knife. We have both lived with lips more scar tissue than skin.
Our love came unannounced in the middle of the night. Our love came when we’d given up on asking love to come. I think that has to be part of its miracle. This is how we heal.
I will kiss you like forgiveness. You will hold me like I’m hope. Our arms will bandage and we will press promises between us like flowers in a book.
I will write sonnets to the salt of sweat on your skin. I will write novels to the scar of your nose. I will write a dictionary of all the words I have used trying to describe the way it feels to have finally, finally found you.
And I will not be afraid of your scars. I know sometimes it’s still hard to let me see you in all your cracked perfection, but please know: whether it’s the days you burn more brilliant than the sun or the nights you collapse into my lap your body broken into a thousand questions, you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I will love you when you are a still day. I will love you when you are a hurricane."
Isn't it perfect for us?
by Clementine von Radics
I love you!
Forever yours,
Henry"
***********
The End
102 notes · View notes
alfredolover119 · 3 years
Note
I looooove your zukka rec lists! I recently became Avatar-obsessed, never got a chance to watch it as a kid and only just got through it all! I was wondering if you'd consider doing a specifically angst rec list? I love fluffy zukka everything, but sometimes you just gotta have your heart ripped out of your chest and put back in after being thoroughly blended.
thank you! i relate heavily to “recently became Avatar-obsessed” haha. as for the angst list, i sure can try! warning: all of these have happy endings because im a crybaby who can’t read unhappy endings. also, p much all of the fics in the completed section were featured on my other lists but this is specifically the ANGSTY ones >:^)
angsty zukka wips
first, most obviously, feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe
-currently at 102k with 19/27 chapters posted; rated teen
-the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. the amnesia fic. you know. i haven’t actually read it yet because, as previously mentioned, i’m a crybaby and am waiting for it to finish up but, from my understanding, this fic will murder you in a dark alleyway with no remorse. if u like zukka angst, you’ve probably already read this, but just in case!
An injury leaves Sokka with amnesia. His last memory is of the failed invasion, of leaving his father behind in enemy territory on the Day of Black Sun. Of hopelessness. Rage. // But then he wakes up, and the war is over. Suddenly, he must come to terms with the fact that years have passed, and that he's somehow the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation. He is also supposedly friends with banished-Prince-turned-Fire-Lord Zuko, of all people. Close friends.
Yeah, nah.
and i’ll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands) by @goldrushzukka
-currently 38k with 6/8 chapters posted; rated mature
-holy shit. holy SHIT. modern au based on the “my cat likes my fuckbuddy and i am falling in love” trope(?). maybe it’s just because of how the last chapter ended, but oh my god. this one made me cry. made me want to commit violence. when it’s not angsty as hell, it’s pretty funny, but holy shit. ao3 user nebulastucky please.
It’s supposed to be a one night stand. Pick up some guy at a bar, barely remember his name and never learn anything real about him, send him packing in the morning with a thanks for the ride and a cup of coffee to-go. That’s how it’s supposed to go. // But then it’s the best sex Sokka has ever had, and he thinks he’ll hate himself if he never gets to have it again.
Violet Blossoms and Celestial Objects by @hollypunkers
-currently 15k with 2/? posted. rated teen.
-this is the sequel to blue (an angsty, zukka rewrite of book 2-- go read it if u havent!)! !! this is a book 3 rewrite. only two chapters in and mrs hollypunkers is really abusing the miscommunication tag, as zukka writers seem to enjoy doing. im excited to see how the world and story develops with the changes to the story! you should be too!! its very good! obviously spoilers for blue lmao
Having sided with the Avatar in Ba Sing Se, Zuko not only must navigate his new relationship with Sokka but returning to the Fire Nation as a banished enemy. His own journey of self discovery and personal growth must now coexist alongside the personal struggles of every other member of the Gaang as together they blaze a treacherous path toward an unsure victory against Zuko's own father and nation.
breakable heaven by @fruitysokka
-currently 71k with 9/11 chapters posted. rated teen
-swt ambassador zuko! soon to be chief sokka! fake dating ur best friend to get out of an arranged marriage! what could go wrong!!! i also haven’t read this one ((see: i’m a crybaby who is being hurt by too many zukka wips already)), but it has been hanging out in my marked for later for months. from what i understand, this fic has: angst.
With his twenty-first birthday looming just around the corner, the Southern Water Tribe Elders have decided that Sokka, next in line to be Chief, needs to get married. Sokka does not want that, but he does need to get them off his back until he can figure his way out of it. What better way to do that than to pretend to date his best friend (and newly minted Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe) Zuko? // Seriously, this is a foolproof plan. Maybe one of Sokka's best. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.
angsty zukka fics (completed!)
(i’ll put these in wc order)
lighthouse beam by @incorrectzukka
-7k, rated g
-a modern college au!! zuko’s inner-monologue is very angsty in this fic. typical zuko. also per usual, theyre both fucking dorks. they sort themselves out in the end, but not before The Angst. zuko is semi-deaf in this fic and also he has a bit of internalized homophobia.
Sokka’s breathtakingly beautiful and he’s smart and makes other people laugh. Zuko has a half-burnt face and a deaf ear. It’s not rocket science. // Or, Zuko falls in love with the boy in his Philosophy class.
This Isn’t My Idea of Fun by @khaleeseas
-9k, explicit
-moon spirit/nwt prince!sokka, no war to be found here! admittedly this isnt THAT angsty but like. the angst IS present. zuko is still the prince. a lovely childhood friends (though they hated each other for a minute haha) to lovers story. 
If you asked Zuko, he and Azula saw far too much of Chief Hakoda of the Northern Water Tribe’s children growing up. It wasn’t until they were older, and Azula pointed out that - duh - their families were trying to set them all up, that he realized why. // He was told by his mother to be polite. These people were their friends and allies, and though their nations were as different as they came, harmony between nations was the most important thing. // It wasn’t his fault the Chief’s children were so annoying.
put your lips close to mine (as long as they don’t touch) by @celestialceci
-9k, teen
-modern au! zuko and sokka are college roommates. zuko goes to spend the summer with sokka. again,, not really that angsty but-- its there!! the detail and feeling of Home in this story make me happy. zuko is insecure as hell here too. if ur into that. 
Zuko hates his home. He likes college alright, but he likes Sokka even better, his assigned roommate turned best friend. Spending the summer with Sokka will be fun, a welcome change of pace he desperately wants. It probably won't awaken anything in him... right?
the thing about dancing by anodymalion
-9k, teen
-yes. this one right here officer. it makes my heart ache. also trans sokka! which is cool. but the zuko angst in this one. hurts me. not so much relationship angst as it is zuko learning he deserves happiness angst. i’m sure u know The Type.
The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.
i could (never) give you peace by @zukkababey
-10k, mature
-OUCH. OUCH OUCH OUCH. boys please learn to communicate im begging u. also zuko.. zuko, dude. as the tags of the fic say, hes “really going through it” in this one. YOUCH. post-canon.
Zuko almost said it. He almost said the words I think I’m in love with you, but he choked them back down at the last second. // Zuko would never be able to be what Sokka wanted. They might have needed each other during the summer, when two boys with too much weight on their shoulders found comfort in each other in the only way they knew how. // But now Zuko was Fire Lord, and Sokka was leaving.
this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by @meliebee 
-18k, teen, major character death 
-i lied. THIS is the one, officer. found family.. good mai and zuko and toph friendships.. . ozai escapes prison and tries to overthrow zuko. OBVIOUSLY angst ensues. poor boy. he Does heal in this but it gets worse before it gets better. angst angst angst angst.
Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup.
Anything for You by beersforqueers
-23k, explicit
-istg. this is probably one of my favorite zukka fics. its PAINFUL. modern au where theyre broken up but sokka hasnt told his family yet so zuko goes home with him for kataang wedding. a bit smutty, but the plot oh my god ohgm y fuvk. made me cry the first time i read it. (see: crybaby!me) insert that one picture of the horse with the caption PAIN. 
In which Sokka and Zuko have broken up but Sokka hasn't told his family yet. So when Katara and Aang's wedding weekend rolls around and he doesn't want to break Gran-Gran's heart, he asks Zuko to pretend to be his boyfriend for one last weekend. // Things don't go as planned.
Moving Mountains by @thefangirlingdead
-64k, mature
-so. when i read this the first time it was in one sitting. soulmate au set within canon era / the comics, to an extent. soulmates can hear each others thoughts. i will happily say this is slowburn, jesus christ. champagne without the cham. 
Soulmates are chosen by the spirits and can hear each other’s thoughts. Sokka thinks it’s cheesy and dumb. Zuko thinks it’s poetic justice that he doesn’t have one because he doesn’t deserve it. Cruel irony is finding out that the prince of the Fire Nation (and the person currently hunting you) is your soulmate.
In the Soft Light by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning
-83k, teen, graphic depictions of violence
-moon spirit!sokka living in the northern water tribe. zuko is sent to the northern water tribe as a cultural liaison. iroh is the fire lord but while he is away taking care of lu ten after his injury ozai steps up. i cannot express how many emotions this fic made me feel. background yuetara. i would almost say found family?? but. anyway. plenty of angst to spare here with a healthy dose of enemies to friends to lovers.
As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.
That Midnight Sky by @zukkababey
-103k, teen
-now now now. tms... modern college au where sokka agrees to tutor zuko in physics because zuko has to maintain straight a’s and physics is just not doing it for him. so. thats cool but THEN azula moves in, randomly, with zuko. to hide the fact that sokka is tutoring zuko, they fake date! what could go wrong!! the mutual pining in here combined with the angst... wonderful, tasty. everyone read it rn. also SLOWBURN 
In Zuko’s strict family, needing a tutor is just about the worst thing you could do. Failing a class, however, is even worse. The only rational solution? Take up Aang on his offer to find him a physics tutor and have Sokka—beautiful, smart, handsome Sokka—tutor him in secret. // When Azula’s arrival threatens to reveal Zuko’s secret, it’s up to Sokka to convince her this definitely isn’t what it looks like. See, he’s actually… Zuko’s… boyfriend? // Hmm. There’s no way this could get complicated, right?
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sou-ver-2-0 · 3 years
Note
Gotta love how Shin canonically cannot handle food in general
I know!! Poor Shin!! He has a very sensitive stomach!!
Here’s what he has to say about food at the end of Your Turn to Shine, depending on how many fondness events you’ve done with him:
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Shin admits to struggling with eating in ever scenario, but he acts more hopeful about trying to eat healthier if Mishima has gotten closer to him.
He is canonically frail, being described as “unbelievably weak for an adult man.” (That seems harsh, Nankidai! Oof!) Shin’s frailty is a consistent topic of mockery by Nankidai and YTTD’s fans. I’m of two minds about it. On the one hand, I think a lot of these jokes are good-natured and even affectionate. We love fictional characters who can be the butt of a joke! We’re all pathetic and embarrassed sometimes! Jokes help humanize fictional characters. If a character is “too cool,” then it can be harder to relate to them. I think Shin’s easily-mockable features actually contribute to his popularity in the fandom, because we’re often laughing at ourselves even as we laugh at him.
On the other hand, it’s easy to see how these types of jokes can cross the line and become insensitive. Obviously “frailty” should not be considered a mark against one’s moral character. It’s easy to feel sorry for Shin on this matter! So I think another reason Shin is so beloved is because we feel sympathy for him. There he goes, trying to be the game’s Cool Antagonist, but his frailty keeps getting in the way.
My favorite plot point example of this is how Chapter 2-2 begins with Shin’s nightmare, and then Kanna wakes him, saying, “Don’t startle me all of a sudden…! / Y-You’re all I have left, Sou… / Please… don’t suddenly collapse…” Shin tries to recover his composure, and it’s then revealed that Q-Taro was also in the room the whole time, so Shin apparently fainted in the middle of their secret evil meeting!
Exactly why Shin suffers from bad eating habits is open to fan interpretation. However, I think the fact that he’s poor definitely contributes to his poor health. Nankidai indulged in some dark humor about this with these tweets.
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“Ehehe, so delicious…it’s been a while since I’ve been able to eat.”
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“But there’s ten days left in the month, and I only have 150 yen left, huh…”
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“Ahaha! This juice is delicious! So delicious!”
(It’s hard to see in my screenshot, but the juice actually has a price tag of 150 yen.)
I didn’t realize the captions for these sketches were that tragic until recently! I had only seen the charming illustrations of Shin eating and drinking, without knowing the full context…
Poor Shin! He could really use a friend like Mishima to help cook for him and make sure he’s okay.
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izzyizumi · 3 years
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Digimon Adventure x Digimon Adventure tri ~ featuring CHARACTER: Koushiro[u] Izumi [Koushiro “Izzy” Izumi in US dub] (+relationship with Mimi Tachikawa) [+Taichi Yagami] + IMPORTANT DIALOGUES (in Adventures & connecting to tri.) + CHARACTER/STORY PROGRESSION
also known as: KOUSHIRO vs. COMMUNICATION {further a.k.a: Communication Is Hard.}
{the following related quotes and information relates more specifically to Tri!Koushiro. There will be minimal spoilers for both his & Mimi’s roles in tri, without majorly spoiling the ending / plot surrounding Meiko.}
“I WISH THAT KOUSHIRO would act more spoiled and unreasonable instead of always keeping it inside”
“like a 'GOOD BOY’”
“I want him to tell me what he LIKES”
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“and” “HATES”
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“That’s what being A KID is all about!”
“...Don’t you think so?”
- Mrs Izumi, Adventure Episode 31 (Japanese version)
{... Or maybe it would have been better if you
NEVER SAID ANYTHING AT ALL.}
- {Koushiro, internally, @ himself, Often, Probably} [?]:
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Original Posters’ {Mine} Commentary:
{Some Food For Thought TM, Maybe}
(a refresher, of relevant Koushiro backstory potentials from the novels written by Adventure director Kakudou!) {I tend to refer to these passages a Lot when discussing or analyzing Koushiros concepts for Reasons}: [with translations thanks to Onkei; as tumblr refuses to show posts with links in the tags nowadays, please check in comments if you want the links to novels, thank you!]
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- from the opening chapters; when lost on File Island
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- from the part covering Adventure episode 28; a.k.a. “the Gate”:
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“Before now, before he had come to the Digital World, Koushiro had considered himself
an insignificant and WORTHLESS human being.”
{Note: it should be important to be kept in mind that Koushiro within this point of the pre-series story [Novels, above] is 10~ years old and he’s been feeling those things SINCE HE WAS A TINY CHILD [Ages 5~10].}
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{“THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING [INTO/OBSESSED WITH] COMPUTERS!”} [Note: in novels, it’s translated as “obsessed with”.]
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BONUS:
{from later in the same sequence of Adventure #31, above}:
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{from later on in Tri; Kyousei ending}:
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THE BIGGEST BONUS:
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tri. head Director Motonaga: As tri. is connected to 02, the entire theme of this work is depicting what the first generation of Chosen Children would be thinking about as they become adults.
Because the question of what kind of adults they’ll become has already been answered, we’re working on the problem of getting to that answer, in a sort of reverse problem-solving.
(on Koushiro) As Koushiro begins to try changing his clothes in Part 1, he wants to become someone who can do something by himself.
- Otomedia, February 2016 (Digimon Adventure tri. interview) [with translation credit thanks to website DigiLab Blog!]
“what they were learning in Tri.”: (KOUSHIRO):
“ After understanding about himself, GAINS ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS. Learns to easily/OPENLY ACCEPT OTHERS’ LOVE TOWARDS HIM .”
- from a post-Tri livestream interview given by Kazumasa Habu (who, along with Kenji Watanabe and Mr. Maekawa, are members) of the Digimon Staff that works with the LCD Virtual Pets [with translation via Onkei]
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{pictured: Habu holds up the planning sheet for Tri.}
MIMI - ‘selfishness’{-like quality, aka ‘Jikochu’ in Ketsui} disappears, learns to be courteous towards others
[&] Learns not to expect others to be sweet on her "just because she's a girl." {<- this includes Koushiro Izumi!} learns that when it's necessary, she'll have to get dirty herself and give in to things.
start of {Kokuhaku} / {Confession} [Movie #3]:
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(earlier on, as well), {Ketsui}:
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{Kyousei} / {Coexistence}; Movie #5: {when she becomes stuck in a familiar-to-the-viewers setting with Tentomon}:
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[hey, wouldn’t you know, she’s very clearly not upset with Koushiro anymore?]
{Kizuna}:
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[the last we have of Original!Koushiro so far, from the credits; he’s now the head of his own company, having learnt how to UNDERSTAND others while openly ACCEPTING LOVE towards HIMSELF, from the people who CARE about him, {and even simply learning how to communicate in TEAMS}]
(people who CARE ABOUT HM): {ALSO KNOWN AS: HIS FRIENDS} & {HIS FAMILY}
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“KNOWING NOTHING is just a chance to learn new things, RIGHT?”
“PLEASE KEEP LEARNING NEW THINGS,
... AND ENJOYING IT.”
{Note: this post is part of a series discussing Koushiro using canonical references and quotations from the original Japanese version [and not the U.S. dub] to attempt to explain his progressing storyline; you can view more of my headcanons thoughts and analysis at my Neurodivergent Koushiro analysis series!}
caps/gifs by @izzyizumi,
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Hey. I don’t like posting this because I like to be a positive person and this is a really cool and positive fandom, but I need to say please avoid melodicalmusic on DeviantArt/doggiebeats on Quotev. Initially I thought it was just someone who was missing the point, but they are far worse and actively harmful. (notes under cut)
melodicalmusic/doggiebeats is the author and illustrator of an au fic named “Velo Life”. At first glance it is harmless, the art is fine. The story revolves around a mask named Pap (a papillon dog) doing things, being an assistant to the monarchy, and dating Fox. Sometimes other masks get chapters, but the overall focus is on her oc, which is fine, as ocs can be good. The problem isn’t conception, it’s execution.
Transphobia: Melodic decided to cast Leopard as a non-binary intersex character. It was a fair design choice, other than the fact she referred to them as a “pseudo-h*rmaphodite”, which is medically outdated, as well as the inclusion of ‘pseudo’ is more offensive than the slur alone. Leopard has biological cubs, despite most intersex (obviously not all) being infertile or unable to carry children showing a lack of research on the topic, as well as it being a very dysphoric situation for many trans and intersex people.
Leopard was referred to as a “quing”, combination “queen” and “king”. Now. Mull over it. Okay stop mulling, because she had every inch to just use “Monarch”, such as “Monarch Leopard”, as well as titles like “Their/Your Majesty”, which works for both kings and queens, so it should have been suitable for Leopard.
Unprompted, she backpedaled saying “But I wanted Leopard in my AU to be a actual female. Cause I think it's for the best. Everyone kinda hated Leopard, but I love everything she does. No not Transgender, just really a female.”. Besides the fact she took it in her own hands to decide that a mask played by Seal was ‘now a cis woman’, she implies that trans women are not women, calling cis women ‘really a female’.
In her fic, the only other trans character is Egg, who is exceptionally ambiguous to being trans, not specifying if Egg is NB, FTM, or if he as well was going to be intersex. She dedicates a chapter to pride month, yet a lot of the focus is on the cishet masks (Pap (her oc), Frog, and Fox), as well as a concerning ship of T-Rex and Poodle, as everyone knows that T-Rex is somewhat coded to be a child, since Jojo was only 16 when she performed. Despite claiming to respect trans people, she only had two trans characters, and decided that one of them wouldn’t be trans anymore because “I admired the high-pitch voice that was fitted for the Leopard, it just suits SO well. Even if the show kept going, I always hear the digital high vocals.”. Call me crazy, but that’s not a reason to make a man a cis woman.
As a trans man, Leopard was disgustingly handled in the show with the panel first week, accusing Seal of ‘tricking’ them for wearing drag and acting feminine (not acting like a woman, acting feminine), and I hoped it wouldn’t leech into the fandom. Clearly I was wrong.
Homophobia: Where to start with this. As stated, she changed Leopard from a NB intersex character (in her original canon) to a cis woman. In the fic, Leopard is married to Nick. I don’t need to tell you that she made Nick x Leopard into a straight ship. She made the only gay ship tease in the show into a straight ship. I wish it ended here.
Somali, an oc, has potential. Not here, but he has it. Somali is gay. If you think I’m undermining his character, that is his character. Somali likes magic and theater, and is very flamboyant. He is a gay walking stereotype. In his description, it is stated, “The story is that he turnout Gay, Of course Pappy was Supportive, but she knew it wasn't fair, especially through everything she's involved.” If you need me to translate: Somali broke up with Pap after realizing he was gay. Pap saw that as unfair, and that she was a victim of being lead on because he found out he was gay. Yes, Pap is making Somali being gay and dealing with his internalized homophobia… about herself. She goes to the point of calling him her nemesis. Which is a... toxic way to refer to someone who broke up with you on clean terms.
Somali eventually teams up with Rottweiler, Pap’s brother (who abuses her, despite it being out of character in every means) and is. Evil, and he hates Pap now apparently. We can’t go a minute without the gay oc being evil huh. Somali being gay doesn’t add to the story, it just suggests the only reason he stopped dating her was that he was gay (which is bad and offensive in Pap’s eyes) because he is not shown to fall for Rottweiler, or have any crushes on other male masks. His homosexuality is an accessory tag, and it’s really not a good one when he is the only gay character with a lot of lines.
Every. Character. That. Is. LGBT. Is. A. Token. Ice Cream and T-Rex are the closest ones to not be tokens, as Ice Cream has a job at a diner and T-Rex gets lines, but T-Rex is only used for exposition, and again, a child shipped with an adult mask. Peacock’s and Rabbit’s role outside of the first chapter is to have a rocky relationship, being forced to rekindle their relationship after Pap tells them to do so for a love festival. Several of the female masks are bisexual or lesbians, but they add so little to the plot, that I don’t even remember which ships are which. Every [since Leopard used to not be but is now] main character is heterosexual and cis (Pap, Fox, Leopard, Kitty, Frog, Turtle, Rottweiler) which doesn’t imply that she actually is that pro LGBT. Drawings of hers for Ice Cream and Egg are captioned “Just something Gay for you guys to see~” (fetishizing much?).
Ableism: One of the ocs in the fic is a Red Panda, who is related to Panda (don’t be confused, animal wise they are not closely related at all). In the fic, Red Panda suffers from PTSD due to an accident which caused her to be disabled in the leg, who uses a single-leg-crutch to walk. The physical disability is handled well enough, not being a hindrance or made fun of, but her personality is the worst. Red Panda is a cowardly and sniveling child, scared of her own shadow and completely incompetent. Her PTSD is very thinly written, not giving her any specific triggers or reasons for anxiety. If her PTSD was presented with her being afraid of entering a vehicle or certain smells that would relate to the accident (rubber, smoke, leather), it would make sense, but Red Panda is scared of everything. On a dare, Frog tells Kitty to impersonate a mask. Kitty impersonates Red Panda, making fun of her cowardice, which can be an actual attack on people who have PTSD (like myself), Kitty justifies herself, saying she couldn’t think of anyone else, Red Panda immediately accepting it. Being a minor character, there is no time for her to develop, and the Red Panda we were presented with is already a mess.
In the same chapter that Red Panda is introduced, Axolotl (mentioned a lot later) dares Fox to remove his prosthetic arm. I don’t need to need prosthesis to know that asking someone to take their ARM OFF is unfunny and uncalled for. Pap, Fox’s girlfriend, decided to take the time and kissed the welt, commenting that it “looked interesting”. Don’t- don’t do that. Don’t kiss people’s scars or cuts or welts or anything related to their disability, especially without permission. Axolotl was being ablest to Fox and somehow Fox didn’t know better and forgot to tell her she was acting uncivilized, despite being one of the smartest masks in the canon.
Condoning Incest: One of the ocs in the fic is an Axolotl. The axolotl is Frog’s biological sister, Frog having Turtle as his adopted brother, which in fic Turtle is stated to have been adopted in Frog’s family for over 15 years. In the axolotl’s description, it is stated “Though Axolotl is a relative of him, She deeply has a crush on him. Which maybe weird but hey, Turtle's Adopted. So not a big deal”. No, it’s not ‘ok’ because Turtle is adopted, especially since they’ve been related 15 years. It’s not like Frog and Turtle are ‘close enough to be brothers’, they are related by law. Axolotl is presented to quirkily force a kiss on Turtle in one chapter, which she is not punished or condoned for 1. Sexually harassing him 2. Committing incest and putting it on his conscience, OTHER than her getting salmonella, which all characters who kiss Turtle are prone to getting (Ice Cream in chapter was stated to have fallen sick after kissing him). Axolotl is treated completely fine and Turtle has her in his band, regardless of the fact she is predatory towards him. Additionally, Axolotl is treated as a babysitter towards all of the children on the island, despite, again, sexually harassing someone she is related to, which people saw happen.
Incest is a harmful thing that can cause people to self-deprecate themselves or worse. It’s not a quirky “ha ha, they kissed, so funny!” because Axolotl DOES want to prey on Turtle. She DOES want to be with him. She didn’t CARE about his feelings, in the moment or after. It wasn’t a cute kiss on the cheek, and it wasn’t funny.
Fetishization of Japan: Pap is a weeeeeb. Pap is stated to be Japanese (her last name being Akita) which is confusing on account of the fact Rottweiler and her family are not shown to be Japanese? Anyways, Pap uses broken Japanese, completely unsparingly, and just says it in a way she expects everyone to understand her. It’s not Engrish, she speaks English well enough, she just adds it in sentences, and Melodic doesn’t even offer translations at the end of chapters. Phrases used are arbitrary, one some reason ending with “translator”. Entire sentences can be in Japanese, making the story hard to follow. If this fetishization of the language was limited to Pap, it’d be more tolerable, but other masks, ones who have no reason to know Japanese, use it as well, equally poorly.
Xenophobia: Some reason the USA and UK masks are all good guys (other than Rottweiler) but the German masks live in a ‘badlands’. German Monster teams up with Rottweiler and is his girlfriend, while German Dragon sexually assaults Kitty when they go through the badlands. There is no rhyme or reason why they are the scapegoated ‘evil’ series, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Inability to handle criticism: I tried. I tried my absolute best to tell her that what she was writing was harmful and past borderline offensive. I told her that Somali was a gay stereotype and very poorly presented, not getting a personality out of ‘likes singing’ (which all masks do…) and ‘is evil gay’. She didn’t care. We told her she was using slurs and that turning a mask played by Seal into a cis woman was offensive and transphobic (as well as Leopard already poorly being handled). She didn’t care.
In fact she more than didn’t care. She called us insensitive and whiny. Quote from her, "Now, I been feeling upset about some Haters/Karens harassing me on my AU ideas. And yes that's dumb.” Karens. You know, the stereotypical older women who hate the gays and trans people and bully people doing their jobs? Karens? Yeah, no. A Karen would be against any characters being trans or gay, insisting the show is for families, not telling them to stop using literal slurs (which have been outdated over 20 years) and to actually write gay characters. She genuinely acts like she can do no wrong and that everyone that doesn’t fawn over her is bad. This has nothing to do with the quality of the writing and the lack of grammar, this is about how she is unapologetically offensive and writing triggering content for the sake of being ‘quirky’.
I’m not saying “go rally against her” or “dox her” or “flame her story”, I’m suggesting please don’t give her attention. She’s clearly a child, and she’s not willing to change. All we can do is limit how much attention she gets until she grows up.
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sofwrites · 3 years
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The shout out was SO cute. I cannot tell you how honoured I am that you mentioned me 💕
Sutton was also my fav character from the show, and when it came to the choices they made with her... well, let's just say that I have questions but even more so I have complaints
Girl, I'm so relieved to find out the reference wasn't in this one. I went full clown swiftie looking for clues that aren't there with this one. New Year like the song??? Them facetiming because "a tiny screen's the only place I see you now"??? Benji was previously mentioned but maybe I didn't pay enough attention then??? I even read the chapter twice because the first time I did so was late and I figured maybe it passed over my head eventhough I'm a radar for all things related to her. I'm already excited about the next chapter, but knowing the reference is going to be there will be an extra treat for me. You don't have to, but I cannot explain how much it means that you go out of your way to include it. That's so lovely of you 💕💕💕
Her lyrics do fit Penelope so well. The thing about Mr. Perfectly Fine is that I can't listen to it or even read the name of the song without remembering Sophie Turner's insta story. That's when I snort. Even when you associated it in the fic with the incident, I was still amused. Blessed be female friendships
I love mutual pining and angst, as long as there's a happy ending. I'm not suffering in vain. Possibly the only fic that I've read that ends in tragedy, was the one you wrote about Colin being too late. It made me feel things, mostly sad ones. Even at that, I thought you did a great job at exploring the plot, that could have been a possible outcome if someone else would have courted her. I think I've read it like three times? But then i go and revist fluffy fics to make myself feel better. You know, for self care purposes
Your efforts not only show, but they also pay off. The fic is so enjoyable and it's very impressive how you manage to pack a whole plot on short text messages. I love it so much. As for rereading your fics, the thing is, they bring me comfort, WCBCR especially. Polin, in case it wasn't obvious, is my fav couple of the books and your fic is what I would have liked the book to be like. I mentioned it in a previous ask, that for me it just makes more sense than the original story (no disrespec to JQ). I go through all the emotions when I read it and aren't we all in need of that? I'm truly thankful that you continously decide to share your talent with us ordinary mortals, we are not worthy 💕💕💕
Now, on today's episode of me projecting my life on your fics, I also picked up crochet and am watching reruns, just that in my case is of Teen Wolf. The only thing I'm lacking is a cute guy to be in love with me. I'm cool with that though, we're still in a pandemic and I don't want people to get near me
AND YESSS! WHAT? IS? SHE? PLAYING? AT? This is the chaos era, but I'll enjoy it as long as she keeps giving us stuff. Between her releases and your updates, the serotonin won't stop coming my way
[I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO SAY I DID CATCH THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE REFERENCE. YOUR FICS ARE WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF (I had to, you know I had to)]
- YOU ARE SO CUTE. These messages give me life and you're just the best
- yeah Sutton and Richard were so good that they just decided to make up problems for them and just... fixed it without actually fixing anything it was rude
- no I'm so sorry you had the stress of going through it again!! I even read through it because I was like "wait what was the reference I put in there" cause I wrote my tags so long ago 💀this certain reference is from one of my favorite TS songs and it's such a Polin song and I know you won't miss it!
- Sophie Turner posting a screenshot of Mr. Perfectly Fine was iconic. Miss queen is iconic for that and I love any woman who clowns her husband
- I can't believe that the only fic without a happy ending you've read is mine AND that you've read it multiple times... Like oh my god that's so overwhelmingly heartwarming. I actually love that story and don't mind at all when people don't want to read it (hence why I was so clear in the tags), but knowing people like it even despite the ending is so wnejfnasjkdfnskfd
- STOP you're honestly so kind I'm basically crying while reading your message. I wrote WCBCR so completely on a whim and that the fact that it became 100k is maddening and even more maddening is that people use it as their comfort fic. ACK I constantly am going between missing writing it and being so relieved that it's done
- no literally re: Penelope spending her life in quarantine is literally just what I did. I watched Love Island and learned how to crochet. However, I too was lacking a cute male (and a cat 😭)
- she's actually crazy and being a stan is so tiring and I'm not even one of the ones that deciphers her codes
- OH THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE REF. I actually went to Italy 2 years ago and basically word-for-word copied the Instagram caption from my own post 🤪ANYWAY ILY FOR CATCHING THAT
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maisondenachtai · 4 years
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Oscar Darling (2/??)
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Paring: Chris Evans x Black Female Reader (but honestly everyone can read it) Previous Chapter
summary: a man will do seriously desperate things to get what he wants. (author’s note: ....I seriously don’t think chris would do this. This is not Chris behavior...but this is fiction...and I love it. Okay read!)
taglist: @chaneajoyyy​
            Like Peter to Jesus in the bible, you denied him three times.
The first time came four days after he messaged you the first time, after you stewed over the fact that Chris Evans was messaging you and that everything in your body told you that you would be committing a crime if you told him no.
The second time came two days after that, and you didn’t feel so horrible about it that time. In fact it was kind of flattering that a man would want to go to dinner with you that bad.
The third time was completely satisfying, not only had you denied him but he had sent with his request a picture of him and his dog with the caption, ‘Dodger would really like it if you had dinner with me.’
You replied, and you felt so badass for it:
I hate to let Dodger down, since he is a good boy, but I must decline. Please tell Dodger that my people will send his people (i.e: you) the best doggie treats for such a good boy.
           It made you feel even better when on Twitter, Chris put up a simple picture of your doggie treat basket with the caption,
Dodger gets more love than I do.
           You were walking on the moon, if you weren’t afraid of looking a fool you would walk down the street like Tobey McGuire in Spiderman 3. Not only had Chasity and the PR team spun your little drunken tirade into relatable gold, but you had gained an endorsement deal with a dating app. You were making bank because you were a drunken mess, and isn’t that everyone’s dream?
You stuck a spoonful of cookies and cream ice cream in your mouth as you strutted around your apartment. Your best friend Diana was watching you with amusement as she absentmindedly thumbed through an Ebony Magazine that you were on the cover of.
“I can’t believe you’re so happy that you denied Chris Evans.” Diana’s eyes followed you as you went over and kissed your Oscar and then flopped out on your couch.
“It’s not that I’m happy about that…but it’s the fact that I could do it Diana.” You said looking up at the ceiling. “Like…I made it. I won an Oscar, I’m turning down dates from hot guys. I have endorsement deals, I’m on the cover-
“Wait.” Diana put the magazine down and stood up crossing from the dining room to your living room. “You said guys…plural. Who else have you turned down?”
You sat up, “Seriously, I said all of that and all you got was the ‘guys’ part?”
“Stop changing the damn subject. Who else?”
You smirked, “Well, I might have gotten a call from Drake.”
“DRAKE?” Diana said mimicking Soulja Boy. “Champagne Papi? 6god? Jimmy in the wheelchair?”
“Yeah all three. He invited me to cheesecake…you know he loves to go there.” You joked and then laughed at your own corniness. “But I said no. I mean, he’s cute and all…but no thanks. I don’t want to be the girl in Hollywood that just dates everybody.”
Diana rolled her eyes, “Plus you like the attention.”
You grinned, “It is nice.” Your phone dinged, and then dinged again. Then there were several dings. Even Diana’s phone started to ding. Your mood dropped. What could it be now? What did you do this time? Was Rose McGowan finally calling you out for your attempted sexual harassment of Chris Evans?
Before you could even grab your phone, Diana was already laughing slightly.
“What?” You looked over at her.
“You might want to check out Facebook. …oh and put some pants on, maybe.” Diana smiled.
“Wait what?” You pulled out your phone and clicked on Facebook where you were tagged in a live story by none other than Chris Evans.
           He, in all his bearded glory, was in a hallway that looked quite familiar and smiling brightly.
“Hey guys, just wanted to let you know some updates about my day. First off, my beard is coming in nicely, thank you for noticing. Also, Dodger is well and loved the treat basket that he got so much that he wanted to thank the girl that sent it to him in person. Isn’t that right Dodger?” Chris kneeled down to get Dodger in the frame and on cue Dodger barked and licked his phone.
The bark echoed loudly, too loudly.
“Oh my fucking god, he’s in my hallway.” You stood up, in just your panties, ice cream on your face and shirt.
“No shit Sherlock.” Diana smirked at you.
“Guys wish Dodger luck, he’s totally nervous about meeting her. He’s been waiting for a long while…like since Oscar weekend.” He smirked in the camera, but you wouldn’t know because you were rushing around your apartment like a mad man trying to look decent for your unexpected guest.
“I mean, I invited this girl out to dinner with me and Dodger of course, three times.”
Thump.
“Motherfucker! Ow!” You cried out as you fell down in a tangled web of pants that were around your ankles. Diana just sat there halfway watching you act like an idiot and halfway watching her phone in amazement at Chris’s boldness.
“She said no. Isn’t that awful? She said no to poor Dodger three times! Who could say no to this face?” He rubbed Dodger’s face which made the dog excited. “So Dodger told me to call her people and see if we could get her address because that basket deserved a thank you in person. …I know it’s kind of creepy guys, but Dodger was desperate.”
“I can believe he’s using his dog for sympathy. And playing down the fact that he used his connections to get my personal info. That is pathetic.” You were sliding Fenty Lip Gloss on your lips in your hallway mirror.
“So pathetic.” Diana said sarcastically.
“I’m gonna kill Chasity.” You fluffed up your hair and then picked up your breath spray and sprayed three times. One for the father, the son and sweet baby Jesus.
“Totally murder her.” Diana was so amused. For someone who had so ruthlessly denied someone else, you sure were doing a lot.
“So, guys I’m gonna go now. We’re almost at her door and she’s not expecting us…I want it to be a surprise.” He whispered comically. “Love you guys! And remember to buy Love and Murder* on DVD/Blu-Ray and Digital.”
The phones went silent for a moment and you waited on bated breath for the knock on the door. When after five minutes it didn’t come, you released a sigh of slightly disappointed relief.
“Maybe he was just bullshitting. There are a lot of these apartments in LA.” Diana said when you looked over at her. “Look at you, you got dressed for-“
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Nothing.” Diana finished jumping up herself.
You took a deep breath and unlocked the door slowly, not wanting to seem like you were over-zealous for his arrival. He was the thirsty one, not you. When you opened the door, he was there in a bomber jacket, looking as gorgeous as he always was grinning like the Cheshire cat.
“Nice to finally see you, Y/n.”
---------
(a/n: ...I hope you like. Love and Murder is the name of the movie that won you the Oscar. also...Chris’s facebook has not been active since ‘15 or ‘17...so use some imagination. thank you for reading! leave me comments! I love reading them!)
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iamdeltas · 3 years
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001 agatha/wanda
(Can I just say, I find it very amusing how pretty much every time I've reblogged a fandom related ask meme within the past few months, I without fail get at least one Agatha-related ask? You guys know me well. Either that or you saw my icon and tumblr title and took a wild guess at what character I probably like haha)
001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:
when I started shipping it if I did: TBH I don't know if I ship them, as in, I'm not incredibly invested or anything (as is usual for me with most ships), but I guess I casually ship them? As in, I Just Think They'd Be Neat! And that pretty much started after episode 8. I'd seen a gifset after episode 1 with Agatha and Wanda with the caption "Harold..." and I was like 👀 but I hadn't honestly thought much about the idea of them as a ship until seeing their dynamic in episode 8 because wow was that an interesting mix of fascination and hatred, especially on Agatha's end! I was very intrigued.
my thoughts: I Just Think They'd Be Neat. Like I said, I loved their dynamic, whether in the sitcom bits or in the In Real Life bits, and, I mean, who doesn't love a ship between foils, you know? (Definitely read an interview with Jac Schaeffer talking about how they're both kind of similar in that they're both a mix of good and bad so I sure felt vindicated!) I think they're more similar than either of them would care to admit and it'd be cool to see them having to maybe reluctantly team up and learn more about each other and admit/realize their surprising similarities.
What makes me happy about them: I dunno? I guess the possibilities there are for character dynamics with them?
What makes me sad about them: Uh. IDK. Maybe the fact that I'm really worried we'll never actually see them interact again and that we might never even see Agatha again (there's a part of me that's insistent that, look, if the MCU, which does kill off a majority of its villains, kept Agatha alive, that probably means they're gonna bring her back! But then the rest of me is like, this is the MCU, fool! Lower your expectations!) or if we see her again, she'll be mischaracterized or she'll not have learned from her previous encounter and will just. try to take Wanda's magic again, and words cannot state how much I Do Not Want That. I want to see Change and Growth dammit! Not just a rehash of their last encounter!
things done in fanfic that annoys me: Honestly I don't read a lot of fanfic for them. I might sometimes venture into their AO3 tag out of curiosity but most fanfic I read nowadays in general just comes from friends' recommendations, and most of their fic recs are from other fandoms soooo. But I guess one thing I've seen that irks me a tad is when fics rush through the "enemies to friends" part of the "enemies to friends to lovers" thing. I guess this is just a general enemies to lovers thing but I have seen this in a few Wanda/Agatha fics and... I get the impulse, but I really enjoy that slow journey from hatred to tolerance to learning more about each other to, not liking quite yet, but a mutual understanding, to actually enjoying each other's company to finally maybe being friends? to oh shit, maybe there's some other feelings here! to lovers. And also it just doesn't make character sense for them to, IDK, have sex with each other after a couple of chapters, especially if it's canon compliant! At this point in canon, both of them would hate each other for totally reasonable reasons! Wanda would hate Agatha for, y'know, the whole manipulating her and threatening her kids thing. Agatha would hate Wanda for, oh, I dunno, imprisoning her in her own mind behind a Nosy Neighbor Sitcom Persona. They've got some shit to work through! Let me see that process!
things I look for in fanfic: Same as with any fanfic really--good characterizations. Good characterizations will sell me on any premise, even AUs I'm normally not a fan of. (Except maybe high school AUs.)
Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Easy answer for Wanda: Vision. Look, they're very cute together. For Agatha, honestly, the sky's the limit. I don't have any preference and there are a lot of interesting possibilities. I once saw Agatha/Hela as a suggestion which was intriguing as hell. Also I would like to see Agatha and Nebula interact, mostly cuz I think their dynamic would be really fun and hilarious, though I do mainly mean as friends BUT I wouldn't be opposed to seeing romantic shippiness either, sooo....
My happily ever after for them: Not entirely sure. Just something involving Wanda getting to find love again, Agatha learning to care about someone other than herself for the first time in a long time, and them just... being happy together, I guess? I can't see Agatha ever getting into the heroing biz but I can see her just becoming a fun Chaotic Neutral presence just watching Wanda do her superhero thing.
who is the big spoon/little spoon: I think they switch, tbh.
what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Probably doing magic together.
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nendochntl · 3 years
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Random Rants pt. 1
Welcome to Random Rants!
[I had a typographical error earlier and wrote ramdon haha I’m not hungry, it’s just easy to mistype random especially if I’m typing really fast.] 
Since this is the inaugural post for this type of content, I want to share with you what it’s going to be about. It’s everything that will not be related to Nendoroids. This is my way of sharing my fandom and other interests I have outside of toy collecting. If you read my blog description, you’ll see that there is a section that said + some rants on this blog. This is it.
Based on the tags, you already know what this is going to be about. I am obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. For those of you who do not know what that is, it’s a web novel (it has a webtoon now, actually). The concept is a fantasy novel becomes real life and only one person was able to read it until the end (well, not really the end but before the epilogue). So basically, this person who has read it knows what will happen in the future. The settings is like Hunger Games mixed with mythology. I’ll add a plot below so you can check it out if you get interested!
A novel called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (written by the anonymous author tls123) has been written and published over the course of a decade, and Kim Dokja is the sole reader who has followed it to its ending.
You can read it as a web novel or as a webtoon.
I started reading this over the weekend and I’m now halfway through. Usually, it takes me about a day or two to finish a book but it’s taking me a while on this one since it has more than 500 chapters. There are some cliché parts but that couldn’t really be removed besides, the writing style is rally great so I don’t mind. 
Personally, I didn’t get hooked on the plot. I never read the plot HAHA I just started reading this because of a fanart. I saw a picture of Yoo Jonghyuk (the protagonist of Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World) with his sister, that’s it. The caption played a huge part on making me read it but I forgot what it was already. All I can remember is the word sauce. 
But yeah, that’s about it. I’ll probably upload a few things about this in the near future (like once I finish the whole thing) and do a little character analysis.
BYEEEE! <3
- nendo.chntl :) 
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