#the scenes from the show just hit. this line the delivery the Situations it kills me. im so hnnghghf about them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

palms-upturned · 6 months

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Israeli drone missile hits front gate of al-Shifa Hospital

Nov 3rd, 15:10 GMT

Youmna ElSayed, reporting from Gaza City

A drone missile [hit] in front of al-Shifa Hospital. Of course, there are casualties from that strike, but we still don’t know the exact figure.

Let’s note that the al-Shifa Hospital has over 5,000 patients and tens of thousands of displaced people in the front and back yards.

It is the largest hospital in Gaza City and the Gaza Strip, but this is not the only attack.

In a press conference at al-Shifa Hospital, they said that they demand international protection for ambulances as they have been targeted on al-Rashid Street.

[In] the past few days, they were asking on air for the Red Cross to escort them on their trip to the Rafah crossing, but an ambulance was hit.

We still don’t have any news about the ambulance that got targeted, but we know from local sources at al-Shifa Hospital that it happened just after the strike at the front gate.

‘This was a medical convoy,’ Health Ministry spokesman

Nov 3rd, 15:18 GMT

Ashraf al-Qudra, the Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman in Gaza, says critically wounded patients were being moved to Rafah crossing with Egypt when the Israeli attack hit just outside al-Shifa Hospital.

“We informed the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, we informed the whole world, that those victims were lined up in those ambulances,” he said.

“This was a medical convoy.”

More from Palestinian health ministry spokesman

Nov 3rd, 15:25 GMT

Al-Qudra has provided more information about the medical convoy that was attacked:

The ambulances were carrying about 15 to 20 critically wounded patients.

The patients were going to Rafah crossing with Egypt to seek treatment abroad.

“These were critically wounded victims we cannot attend [to] at the hospital.”

Israeli military looking into report of attack on ambulance convoy

Nov 3rd, 15:30 GMT

Israel’s military says it is looking into the report by the Gaza health ministry that the ambulance convoy in front of al-Shifa Hospital was struck.

Many casualties are feared in the attack.

Dozens feared dead in attacks on Gaza road, al-Shifa Hospital gate: Ministry

Nov 3rd, 15:50 GMT

Al-Qudra, the Palestinian health ministry spokesman, says dozens of people are feared dead in today’s attacks on al-Shifa Hospital and a coastal road in Gaza.

Hundreds are believed to be injured, he added.

“If no safe passage is provided for the delivery of fuel and medical supplies and the departure of victims, we will continue to lose more lives. We are helpless here,” al-Qudra said.

We’ll bring you more information on the casualties from these two attacks when we can.

New attack near Indonesian Hospital

Nov 3rd, 16:04 GMT

We’re getting reports of a new attack in the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza.

Al Jazeera footage from the scene showed people frantically combing through the rubble using their phone lights.

Large plumes of smoke could be seen in the evening sky as small fires had broken out amid the mounds of debris.

We’ll bring you more details shortly.

‘If you wish to kill what’s left of us, let us know’: Al-Shifa Hospital director

Nov 3rd, 16:10 GMT

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Director Muhammad Abu Silmeyeh said the situation in the Gaza City hospital is beyond dire.

“We ran out of medical supplies, we cannot accommodate with the high number of victims and in a few hours time, the generators will come to a stop,” he said. “The morgue of the hospital is totally packed. We are keeping the dead in our freezer trucks.

“We have been sending SOS messages to the whole world,” said Abu Silmeyeh, adding that the hospital has the largest newborn incubator department, the largest operation facilities, and the largest intensive care unit in the enclave.

“The building behind me is [housing] thousands of patients and victims. It is now standing without electric power,” he said from the hospital compound. “If you wish to kill what is left of us, just let us know. If this hospital collapses, the entire health sector will snap.”

Palestine Red Crescent shares images of ambulance damaged in Gaza coastal road attack

Nov 3rd, 16:16 GMT

The Palestine Red Crescent (PRCS) has shared a short video showing a damaged ambulance splattered with what appears to be blood.

It said the vehicle was attacked by Israeli forces on Gaza’s al-Rashid Street earlier today.

The target of the attack “was a group of ambulance vehicles returning from a mission to transport injured individuals to the Rafah border”, including a vehicle affiliated with PRCS, it said.

Area where ambulance was struck is ‘extremely crowded’ with civilians, PRCS spokesman says

Nov 3rd, 16:30 GMT

Palestinian Red Crescent spokesman Mohamed Abu Musbah says the entrance of al-Shifa Hospital, where one of their ambulances was struck in an Israeli attack a short while ago, is “extremely crowded”.

The front yard near the entrance of the hospital is “filled with civilians” and until now, there is no confirmation on the number of potential casualties, Abu Musbah told Al Jazeera.

The ambulance driver and a PRCS staff member who was escorting the wounded have both “survived”, but one of them suffered from shrapnel wounds in his leg, Abu Musbah said.

With them inside the vehicle was a female patient who is now in “serious condition and has been taken back inside al-Shifa Hospital”, he added.

‘What we’ve seen today, we’ve seen many times’

Nov 3rd, 16:40

Mads Gilbert, a doctor who has previously worked at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, says there are “quite sophisticated communication channels” meant to coordinate and protect medical convoys.

He spoke to Al Jazeera after health workers and Gaza officials said an ambulance convoy leaving al-Shifa Hospital was attacked by Israeli forces.

“I’ve been in convoys going from al-Shifa down to Rafah [crossing] to go to Egypt with wounded and I have experienced that, despite being coordinated with International Red Cross and having escort cars in front and back, we were shot at and had to return,” said Gilbert, who was in Gaza during Israeli bombardments in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2014.

“So it’s a very scary experience to have the responsibility of a patient maybe intubated, maybe on a ventilator, severely wounded and you go there and you feel quite naked and you hope that the international decency and regulations will protect you,” he said. “Not so in Gaza, not so with Palestinian ambulances. We’ve seen this many times,” he added.

“This is the last in a long line of extremely, extremely cynical and brutal attacks by the Israeli army on patients, on health personnel, on ambulances and on hospitals,” he said.

More on the situation at the Indonesian Hospital

Nov 3rd, 16:45

We have some more details on the situation at the Indonesian Hospital, after an attack struck near the facility.

Atef al-Kahlout, the facility’s director, has spoken to Al Jazeera. Here’s what he said:

The hospital’s main generator stopped 48 hours ago.

We suffer from a severe shortage of medical personnel.

I appeal to the international community to provide protection to the medical convoy scheduled to leave tomorrow for the Rafah crossing.

‘No healthcare facility should ever be targeted’: Doctor

Tarek Loubani, an emergency physician based in Canada who has volunteered at al-Shifa Hospital for more than a decade, says Israel has been “laying the groundwork” for attacks on Gaza health facilities.

“The claims by the Israelis over the past two decades about Palestinian misuse of medical resources for the resistance have been thoroughly debunked. It was really concerning when the exact same accusations were raised again recently, most notably against Shifa,” Loubani said.

“What it felt like to me was that they were creating the pretext; that pretext has predictable consequences,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The Israeli forces know that people do not accept attacks on health facilities, and for some reason, the Israeli forces are trying to legitimise attacking healthcare workers, healthcare infrastructure and … hospitals.”

Loubani added that he was “absolutely horrified” to see today’s attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers.

“No healthcare facility should ever be targeted directly or indirectly, and no healthcare infrastructure should ever be targeted directly or indirectly. Healthcare workers are dying, paramedics are dying, hospitals are getting bombed,” he said.

“My demand and what I think we should all demand is that the Israelis honour the sanctity of hospitals, the sanctity of the healthcare system, so that whatever else happens, there’s at least one place that remains safe.”

Some 20,000 people ‘residing’ in al-Shifa complex, where ambulance was struck

Nov 3rd, 17:20

Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Khan Younis, southern Gaza

The surrounding areas of al-Shifa Hospital are overwhelmed and [overflowing] with people who are residing there. We’re talking about more than 20,000 Palestinians residing in the complex itself.

[They are] running low on fuel, food, and even medical supplies.

This is not the … first attack. These kinds of attacks have been repeated since the early beginning of this round of fighting.

Dozens of ambulances have been targeted before by the [Israeli] occupation forces. Also, medical teams have been hit … [while] doing their job.

What we know about Israeli attacks near Gaza hospitals

Nov 3rd, 17:40 GMT

As we’ve been reporting throughout the day, hospital areas and medical teams in different locations of the Gaza Strip have been targeted in Israeli attacks over the past few hours.

Here’s what we know:

Al-Shifa Hospital

An Israeli attack struck the front gate of the largest hospital in Gaza, the Health Ministry said, hitting a convoy of ambulances.

Ashraf al-Qudra, the Health Ministry spokesman, said about 15 to 20 critically wounded patients were being moved to Rafah crossing with Egypt. Initial reports said at least 13 people were killed.

Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) spokesman Mohamed Abu Musbah said the entrance to the hospital was “filled with civilians” when the attack took place.

An ambulance driver and PRCS staff member survived but one suffered shrapnel wounds in the leg, Abu Musbah said; A female patient being transported in an ambulance was also wounded and in “serious condition”.

The Israeli military says it is looking into the reports of the attack.

Indonesian Hospital

Al Jazeera footage from the scene showed people frantically combing through the rubble, using their phones as torches.

Large plumes of smoke could be seen in the evening sky as small fires had broken out amid the mounds of debris.

The hospital’s main generator stopped 48 hours ago, the facility’s director, Atef al-Kahlout said.

Al-Quds Hospital

The Palestine Red Crescent said Israeli air raid took place in the vicinity of the facility, in the Tel al-Hawa area of Gaza City.

Some 14,000 people, mainly women and children, are seeking shelter at the hospital.

‘Impossible to evacuate,’ says Gaza hospital director

Nov 3rd, 17:55 GMT

Hassan Khalaf, director of al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza, has spoken to Al Jazeera shortly after separate attacks targeted the vicinity of several other medical facilities in the enclave.

He said there had also been “many bombardments” around his hospital but no damage so far. Still, he warned that the severe shortage of fuel was a major problem affecting both the running of the hospital and the transportation of patients and staff.

“It is impossible to evacuate the hospital; there are no places to go anyway, no safe place in Gaza. They are bombarding many hospitals, they are bombarding ambulances, they are even bombarding children’s schools under the flag of the United Nations,” said Khalaf.

“My plan is to continue with the minimum available services hoping that there will be an international intervention to provide the health sector with the fuel, the medical supplies and whatever else we need because we have now reached a very critical situation.”

Hamas chief says latest attacks reflect Israel’s ‘predicament’ on the ground

Nov 3rd, 18:00 GMT

Hamas’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh has issued a statement decrying the latest Israeli attacks on ambulances and medical facilities in the Gaza Strip.

“These massacres are a reflection of the predicament the occupation and its ground forces find themselves in as they are combated by our resistance fighters, who are defending our land and avenging thousands of martyrs,” Haniyeh said.

He said the “resistance will continue to defend our people with all its might”.

Haniyeh also called on neighbouring Egypt to fully open the Rafah border crossing and called on people in the region and the world to “continue expressing their anger” in response to Israel and its allies.

Haniyeh also urged the international community to uphold its “humanitarian, moral and political responsibilities” and implement UN resolutions that call for an end to the “genocide being committed against our people in Gaza”.

WHO chief ‘utterly shocked’ by attacks on ambulances near al-Shifa Hospital

Nov 3rd, 18:10 GMT

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus renewed his call for a ceasefire in light of the attack.

“We reiterate: patients, health workers, facilities and ambulances must be protected at all times. Always,” he wrote on social media.

Israeli army confirms it hit ambulance, says it was being used by Hamas

Nov 3rd, 18:28 GMT

The Israeli military has confirmed its “aircraft struck an ambulance” in Gaza.

The army claims it was being used by Hamas fighters.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said a convoy of ambulances was transporting injured patients to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

A ministry spokesman also said earlier that the Red Cross had been informed the medical convoy was leaving al-Shifa Hospital before it was attacked.

Gaza health ministry told Israel rejecting humanitarian coordination: Spokesperson

Nov 3rd, 18:40

Al-Qudra, the Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson, gave comments shortly after Israel confirmed it had struck an ambulance in front of al-Shifa Hospital.

Israel claimed the ambulance was being used by Hamas fighters. Palestinian health officials have said it was carrying patients to the south.

“The Red Cross told us and informed us in a very frank way that Israel is rejecting [forms of] coordination for all the humanitarian missions,” al-Qudra said at a news conference outside al-Shifa.

Nevertheless, with hospitals overrun with patients they are unable to treat and some patients approved to cross into Egypt for treatment, the spokesperson said it was decided “to send those ambulance vehicles that would leave or depart from the medical complex from the south at 4pm [14:00 GMT]”.

“Before the vehicles departed, we have informed everyone through a press conference and we have also been in touch with … the Red Cross and also the United Nations agencies to inform them,” al-Qudra said.

‘Burden of proof is on the Israelis’: AJ analyst

Nov 3rd, 18:45 GMT

Commenting on the Israeli military’s statement saying it carried out the ambulance attack, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara says “the burden of proof is on the Israelis” to prove what it has claimed.

“If indeed they suspect that an entire hospital staff is complicit in the smuggling of – to use Israel’s word – ‘terrorists’ into the southern part of Gaza, then Israel should show some proof of that,” Bishara said.

Bishara also questioned what this Israeli attack means moving forward in Gaza.

“Does this really mean that Israel now is going to bomb every possible ambulance because it suspects there are Hamas fighters in it?” he asked. “So it’s going to be bombing, what? More hospitals? More ambulances? More schools? More churches?”

‘A massacre’: More from Gaza health ministry spokesman

Nov 3rd, 18:50 GMT

In the news conference outside al-Shifa Hospital, al-Qudra again called the attack “a massacre against more victims, civilians and wounded people”.

“The international community should stop those massacres that are committed against our people and our paramedics and our injured and our victims,” the Health Ministry spokesperson said.

“We call on everyone to help us create a humanitarian corridor to ensure the transportation of victims and patients and to allow humanitarian aid to be funnelled to the Gaza Strip.”

Israel needs to prove its claim that ‘civilian objects’ used by Hamas: Professor

Nov 3rd, 18:55 GMT

Ardi Imseis, an international law professor at Queen’s University in Canada, says Israel needs to provide “evidence” for its claim that the ambulances it struck were being used by Hamas.

“What we know [is] … this ambulance was marked very clearly as civilian … and therefore enjoys protection against being targeted,” Imseis told Al Jazeera.

“The burden of proof that there has been an alleged change in the character of an object, from civilian to military, rests on the attacking party,” he explained.

Israel is once again suggesting that it is a “general policy of Hamas to abuse civilian objects” like ambulances to carry out operations, however, this is not enough, Imseis said.

“The attacking party needs to demonstrate on the specifics of each and every target that it engages and deploys ammunitions against that those targets, at that time, had been converted from civilian to military objects.”

‘If hospitals are not protected, then there truly is no safe place in Gaza’

Nov 3rd, 20:25 GMT

The head of charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, Melanie Ward, made the comments just hours after Israeli attacks struck near three Gaza hospitals, including the largest in the enclave, al-Shifa.

“Attacks on hospitals and ambulances must end,” Ward said.

“They are sanctuaries for the wounded, places where lives are saved and suffering is alleviated. If even hospitals are not protected, then there truly is no safe place anywhere in Gaza.”

Health Ministry spokesman rejects Israeli claim targeted ambulance was being used by Hamas

Nov 3rd, 20:44 GMT

Ashraf al-Qudra, the Health Ministry spokesperson in Gaza, is holding a news conference outside al-Shifa Hospital.

He has rejected the Israeli military’s claim that Hamas was using an ambulance, which the army bombed earlier today.

We’ll bring you more from the news conference shortly.

More from the Palestinian health ministry spokesman

Nov 3rd, 20:52 GMT

Al-Qudra told reporters that two ambulance vehicles were targeted today.

The first vehicle was targeted at Ansar Roundabout in Gaza City, he said. The driver of this ambulance was injured and a paramedic also suffered critical injuries and is still in the operating room, al-Qudra said.

The medical convoy then turned back, the spokesperson said, and a second ambulance was targeted when it arrived at the gate of the al-Shifa Hospital complex.

Fifteen people were killed in the attack on the second ambulance, al-Qudra said. Sixteen others were injured.

Israel trying to kill ‘as many Palestinians as possible’ as pressure mounts, analyst says

Nov 3rd, 21:10 GMT

Ali Harb

Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a US policy fellow at Palestinian think tank Al-Shabaka, says Israel is intensifying its atrocities against Palestinians as international pressure to end the war mounts.

“Israel is getting the message that with each passing day and as the Palestinian death toll rises they continue to lose international support,” Kenney-Shawa told Al Jazeera in an email.

“What minuscule pressure the Biden Administration is putting on them is proof that unconditional support cannot go on forever. I think they’re trying to kill as many Palestinians as possible in this window of opportunity they have where they’re confident that the US is going to go to bat for them no matter what they do.”

The Israeli military bombed ambulances and areas around several Gaza hospitals today as Blinken was visiting Israel for meetings with officials.

Editor’s analysis: Blinken may have been in town, but Israel makes no effort to stop attacks on civilians

Nov 3rd, 21:30

Abubakr Al-Shamahi (Al Jazeera editor)

Optimists had hoped that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Israel on Friday would bring some kind of respite for Palestinians. Perhaps an agreement to allow fuel into Gaza, or a reduction in air attacks that lead to civilian casualties – maybe even one of the “humanitarian pauses” that the US administration has pushed over the last week.

Indeed, after his meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken said that more needed to be done to protect Palestinian civilians and that they should not “suffer the consequences for [Hamas’s] inhumanity”.

Blinken even appeared to hint at a more robust tone being adopted with the Israelis, and that more pressure had been put on them.

If Israel’s actions in Gaza today were a response to Blinken’s visit, then the message is obvious.

Israel hit an ambulance convoy outside a hospital – at least 15 were reported killed, amid horrific scenes. At least 14 were killed in an attack on Palestinians fleeing south on what the Israelis have termed ‘safe routes’, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. And at least 20 died in an attack on a school providing shelter for the displaced, also according to the ministry.

Whether Blinken is in town or not, the Israelis have made it clear: Their tactics aren’t changing, no matter how many civilians are killed.

Israel might be targeting UNRWA facilities, former UN official says

Nov 3rd, 21:50 GMT

Former UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness pointed to the fact that more than 70 UNRWA staff have been killed and more than 40 facilities have been hit by Israeli strikes.

“Whether or not UNRWA is being targeted, I can’t answer that, but the fact is UNRWA staff are being killed, [and] UNRWA facilities are being hit,” he said.

“They [the Israeli military] know the GPS coordinates. Draw your own conclusions.”

(Note from OP: I included this bulletin because “they know the GPS coordinates” applies to hospitals as well…)

Palestine Red Crescent condemns Israel’s targeting of the Al-Shifa medical convoy

Nov 3rd, 23:07 GMT

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has released a statement on today’s attack on the medical convoy in Gaza City.

Here’s what it said:

Around 4:05pm local time, a convoy of ambulances left the Al-Shifa Hospital in a decision that was coordinated with the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

The convoy, which was headed towards the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, included five ambulance vehicles: four belonged to the Health Ministry and one belonged to PRCS.

The convoy travelled about four kilometres from the hospital to the al-Rashid coastal road, but found it was impassible due to rubble and rocks resulting from shelling in the area.

The vehicles returned towards the Al-Shifa Hospital; When they were about one kilometre from the facility, the first ambulance at the head of the convoy – which belonged to the Health Ministry – was “directly targeted by a missile”.

The other vehicles continued towards the hospital. When the PRCS ambulance reached the gate of the Al-Shifa Hospital, it was “struck by a missile fired by the Israeli forces”.

This attack on the PRCS ambulance killed 15 people and injured more than 60 others at the hospital’s entrance.

Eight Red Crescent ambulances have been “rendered inoperable due to Israeli targeting” since the war in Gaza began, the statement said.

“PRCS emphasizes that the deliberate targeting of medical teams constitutes a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions, a war crime,” it said.

#palestine #free palestine #al jazeera #this is just a compilation of yesterday’s bulletins about the hospital attack #but if you read through the whole timeline linked here #you see that they attacked UNRWA schools and civilians attempting to evacuate all in the same day #it’s horrific…

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sodone-withlife · 3 years

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let's play, my love

for @yourlocalheartbreaker , who posted this painful idea, i really hope you enjoy this! also, apologies in advance for the pain that this might cause you?

characters may seem a bit OOC. as per usual, this had little to no proofreading, so apologies for any mistakes. i might also post a commentary later since there are parts i kind of want to explain (or clarify)

warnings: substances, gun violence, canon-typical violence, abuse, suicide, character death

word count: 3.2k words

They were always good at acting.

He might have forgotten practically all of his lines up on that stage as the Fourth Pirate, but even that fiasco did not detract from his carefully cultivated image as the lone wolf, injured and bleeding but strong enough to rip anyone approaching to pieces.

The fact that she had single-handedly created the drama department in their small school that accommodated all of the children and teens in that little backwater town was enough to demonstrate just how good she was at both acting and standing tall in the chaos.

They were just as good as seeing through bullshit and picking apart facades, no matter how well-layered it might seem to be.

They were also just as good as ignoring what they didn’t want to see, and while that might have done well to keep them together, there was only so much they both could take.

So when he started feeling woozy in his home office hours before he normally hit his limit and two weeks into a local serial investigation, he felt something inside him shatter, giving way to an awakened creature crawling out of its sleep before he finally blacked out.

A gentle light was filtering through the curtains when he came to with a pounding headache. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted over him, and he slowly opened his eyes, only to flinch at the bright light that suddenly flooded the room when the curtains were jerked open.

Hotch blinked the stars away, looked back in front of him, and froze as he was faced with the evidence of his complicity, his weakness, spread all over the table.

The old birthday card.

A single faux feather that he had recognized to have been ripped off from that old costume hat.

An old ticket stub for the opening night of Rent.

A wedding ring.

Even though they were sealed inside plastic evidence bags, he could still smell the perfume he had bought her as a wedding gift, that she had sprayed on all of those keepsakes that she had left behind as taunts.

His breath caught in his throat when cold metal momentarily pressed against the back of his neck, but he forced himself to remain still.

This is the endgame. You have to play now. You can't avoid it like you have been, with your evidence pilfering and self-imposed isolation from the team.

“Don’t bother trying to move. Your handcuffs have been put to good use.”

Haley walked around the table, helping Jack up onto his chair before settling down across from him with a revolver deliberately placed on top of the table. She met his eyes unflinchingly, a cold sort of amusement on her face at the stone facade he was wearing that was quickly falling to pieces.

“It’s about time you are here for breakfast, instead of in the middle of nowhere doing God knows what.”

Hotch couldn’t help his flinch at the sharp jab, knowing all too well how true it was. He tried to force himself together, just so he could gauge the situation with a profiler’s eye, but there was only so much he could do as the once-hibernating creature tried to rear its head.

He focused back on his wife, who was still staring at him, anger simmering underneath an oddly genial expression. “When did you realize?”

It was genuine curiosity, he realized with some faint surprise as he cleared his throat. “I knew something was off two weeks ago, after the first murder,” he said, trying to sound offhand. “The pieces fell together with the third murder.”

“Was it a shock?”

His swallow was convulsive as he attempted to keep the bile down. “No,” he finally forced out, looking away as he thought about why.

My fault. I knew exactly why you did what you did within minutes of figuring out it was you.

“Look at me.”

Hotch flinched at the tone that was so unfamiliar and so strange, and forced his eyes over to Haley after flicking a brief glance at Jack, who was playing with his cereal on the other side of the table. “I know the others,” she spat the word, beautiful features suddenly twisting harshly in hatred, “don’t know that you have had a full profile ready for days.”

“Haley, I know you—”

“Do you?”

The ringing question struck him straight in his core, sending the creature in his chest skittering back as he swallowed convulsively, unsure how to answer. She scoffed derisively. “Well, we’ll find out then, won’t we?” she asked rhetorically, fixing him with a cold stare, rage simmering underneath. “Tell me your profile.”

It was an order.

And with a revolver clenched in her hand and their son only a few feet away, he could only agree.

“The unsub is a woman—”

“Wait.”

Hotch stopped, attention drawn to Haley’s hands, which were fiddling with the barrel of the revolver. Dread pooled in his stomach when he saw her empty the cylinder of all but one bullet.

Russian roulette

“You know what this is, so let's play, my love,” she said mockingly, closing the cylinder and spinning it. She looked him square in the eyes, steely resolve barely masking an anger that was becoming more and more clear. “I read your notes. You get something wrong in your delivery, and we play a round.”

He took in her clenched jaw and trembling hand and tried to summon up his years of expertise only to find himself at a complete loss, the storm in his mind frozen for the first time in years as he was faced with a situation he never could have anticipated. Haley tilted her head mockingly when he didn’t start speaking.

“Show me what you keep leaving me behind for,” she sent towards him tauntingly, hand twitching on the revolver as she lifted it up and let it linger as it was aimed towards his chest, only to bring it to her temple.

She lifted it up and let it linger as it was aimed towards his chest, only to bring it to her temple.

No—

She knows all of your pressure points, of course she would use them.

Use that brain of yours and think.

Eyes unable to leave the weapon, he forced himself to verbalize the stream of consciousness he remembered going through his head as he was writing notes three nights ago.

“The unsub is a woman in her mid-30s to mid-40s and exhibits traits of both an organized and disorganized killer. The killing of the first couple was spontaneous and unplanned, as shown by the messy crime scene. But it triggered something within her, and she killed again within a few days.”

How is it that, out of the two of us, she snapped first?

“This time, the scene was markedly cleaner and demonstrated rather high organization, which helped us narrow the age range. While the wife was killed quickly and efficiently, she loses all control when it comes to the husbands, evidenced by the immense overkill and the destruction of the mens’ belongings.”

How does someone so good snap before someone who didn’t even know love until they were a young adult?

Hotch abruptly came back to the present—you're not at a precinct, dammit, focus—as he swallowed, throat dry. He sent a quick look to Haley who seemed to have turned her attention to Jack, but the gun was slightly lowered and he could tell she was listening. He continued, now choosing his words carefully. “Victimology suggests she was inserting herself as the wife of- of absent husbands. She projects her rage at her own husband towards the male victims and her self-hatred towards the wives—”

“Stop,” Haley suddenly ordered, voice trembling in suppressed rage, and for a brief moment, Hotch wondered how far she had devolved since the last killing.

Look around you. Jack is just feet away.

She took a few deep breaths, trying and failing to return to the level of composure she was at before. In frustration, she slammed the revolver back onto the table, the noise startling both him and Jack, who only looked around in confusion.

She's losing control.

Well done for stating the obvious.

Didn't I tell you long ago not to listen to your heart?

The malicious voice of his father echoed through his head, an oft-ignored presence in his head louder, more present than it had ever been.

And look where that's gotten you.

“I'm surprised at how good your memory is, especially since you forgot about Jack's school performance two weeks ago,” Haley's scornful voice jerked him out of the storm that was once again gathering in his head. “No matter, there is another way we can do this,” she continued, pulling what he recognized to be his phone out of a pocket and dialing a number.

“I'm calling your team right now,” Haley said to him lightly, her tone a stark contrast to the manic anger that remained in her expression. “It takes about forty minutes to get here from Quantico. During that time let's tell them about all the secrets you've been keeping.”

The malice in her voice was like a blow to the chest, forcing all the air out from his lungs.

Haley…

Old lessons from the Academy profiling classes floated back into his consciousness—

Once someone devolves too far…

Years of working in the field, and faced with the woman he helped turn into a killer, he could only turn to the basics of profiling he had learned ten years ago.

Did I do this to you?

He flicked another look towards his son at the side, who was still happily entertaining himself and blissfully unaware of the sheer danger he was in.

… there’s no telling what they could do.

“Hello, Agent Gideon,” Haley suddenly greeted, voice still in a strange calm.

The team—

“Don’t talk, just listen..."

They'll kill her—

"I have a revolver on the table and we're about to play a little game of Russian roulette..."

They wouldn't—

“You would do well to start heading over here.” She sent Hotch a derisive look over, then turned back to the phone. “There are some things I'd like you and your team to find out about Aaron that I think you should know.”

Would they?

She placed the phone on the middle of the table and looked back at Hotch. “Here are the rules, husband. You cannot flinch, you cannot react, you cannot break eye contact with me, otherwise, we go through a round,” she began, her stare boring into him as she carelessly swung the revolver around. “Do you know why I'm doing this?” she asked, making her voice sound saccharine sweet and grating to the ear.

Hotch remained silent, all too aware of the team that was probably listening to him through the phone. Suddenly, his head snapped to the side as a sharp pain bloomed across his face, and the creature in his chest snarled.

“Say it, Aaron Hotchner,” Haley brought the revolver up. ready to hit him again. “Answer the question, or take the gun.”

Finish this.

His traitorous brain superimposed an old memory over her, his father's pose fitting perfectly, and something in him snapped.

A weight disappeared from his chest, it suddenly became much easier to meet her stare with his own dark look, the one he vowed never to bring home, to leave at work with all of the darkness that trailed after him.

Finish this before they get here.

Play the game.

“Uncuff me,” he requested simply.

The creature purred in satisfaction at the surprise that came across her face, but all he could think about how easily he was breaking his promises, ripping through them like they were tissue paper, why was it so easy—

“Try to leave, and I’ll kill everyone in this room,” she hissed into his ear, pressing the revolver up underneath his chin as she slowly freed his hands.

And there’s the threat.

He glanced towards Jack again, reassuring himself and the creature that the child, so innocent and so ignorant of what was happening, was still safe, and then at the revolver that had been placed in front of him.

To be a coward, or to lose everything. That is the question.

“You know I don’t want Jack to go through what went through, a vow I had made years ago. You’re doing this to punish me because in a way, this is worse than what I went through.”

The answer easily flowed from his lips, much easier than he ever would have expected, especially knowing that the team was listening in. The creature in his chest was strangely settled, and he vaguely wondered what that meant when his attention was pulled back towards Haley, who had sat back down across from him.

He looked closely at her, and the high that was in her expression was easily recognizable to him.

How many times had he seen that in unsubs desperate for control, no matter how temporary?

Hadn’t he recognized it in himself for weeks after that night, twenty years ago? When he finally reclaimed control from the alcohol-induced monster that prowled his childhood home?

Taking a gamble, he decided to ask a question. “Haley, you’re entirely in control, and you can choose what to do to me,” the familiar buzzwords fell from his lips, tinged with desperation while trying to be coaxing.

He couldn’t help but flinch at the loud smack that sounded when she slammed her hands onto the table and leaned over towards him, the sound bringing up too many old and unpleasant memories that easily broke through the odd veil of calm that had set over him.

“That’s right,” she began, an odd note to her tone. “I’m entirely in control, so here’s what I’m going to do,” she said, snatching the revolver from his side of the table and opening the chamber again to rearrange the bullet so that it was in the next cartridge.

Haley walked back over and pressed the gun into his right hand so that she was controlling his finger over the trigger. Slowly, she shifted the chair he was sitting in so that it was facing Jack in his chair and brought the revolver to his temple. Hotch could only freeze, mind rapidly moving through scenarios that accounted for his miscalculation, and—

“Game over, Aaron,” she said quietly. “It’s been lovely playing with you, my love.”

He felt the warm blood splattering across his face before he registered the gunshot and the body dropping to the floor behind him.

Slowly with his ears ringing, he stood up, turned around, and stared.

And stared.

The image shifted, and suddenly he was in the doorway of his parent's old bedroom, smelling the sharp tang of blood that was diffuse in the air.

He blinked, and he was back in his house in Alexandria, staring at his wife’s cooling body on the ground with an apathy he thought was left behind in his youth.

But reality suddenly crashed over him in a wave, and all of the emotions he had cycled through in the past two weeks sent him crashing to his knees and the creature in his chest fell silent and still when he realized—

Haley killed all those people.

She killed all those people because of me.

All of those people are dead because of me.

She forced me to pull the trigger

I killed her.

…

And Jack—

He whirled around to pick up his son who was crying his heart out in fear of the loud bangs and wanting comfort from his parents, but he saw that a few droplets of blood had made their way onto his face.

And as quickly as the grief had cascaded over him, an inferno of rage was suddenly ignited within him, burning through his grief.

Stronger and more wild than he had ever felt in his life, it scorched its way through the remnants of his person, burning him from inside out with all of the passionate emotion and hatred and anger he had suppressed over the years until all he could hear was the roaring of the creature inside his chest and all could see was the child that had been the catalyst to a series of events that got his mother killed—

she protected me and he beat her to death

—had gotten the woman he had loved so much killed

she showed me what kindness was, she was a mother of two

–killed because of the one who should have loved her with all his being—

she was too good for this world, and even the darkness of their home couldn’t dampen her spirit, so she had to be killed—

The front door burst open just as another shot was fired.

And then silence.

Silence.

…

Aaron? Is Mama okay? I heard loud noises.

Mama’s fine, Sean She's just sleeping. The noises were my fault, I’m just making sure I didn’t wake her up.

Oh. Okay.

Go with your friends, I know they’re waiting for you.

He knew they were looking at him in horror.

Why wouldn’t they?

He was, after all, standing above the bodies of the two people he was supposed to love and cherish until his dying day.

But they only saw the obvious. They didn’t see that it was his own fault this happened, they didn't see the masks fall and they didn't see the creature prowling about, preparing to rip anyone approaching to pieces.

They didn’t see that this was the only way to make things right, to make sure his cold, ravenous darkness didn't swallow everything now that it was free after twenty years of waiting.

The cold metal tasted of bitter victory.

He smiled.

His father remarried within months, and Sean grew close to their stepmother.

But his little brother was forgetting their biological mother, and soon, he would be the only one in the family who thought about her.

That revelation had hurt more than he could bear.

Over the years, though, he had hardened, and the creature in his chest that was born when he saw his mother take her last painful breaths had learned to bide its time.

He knew of his father’s plans already.

He knew where the note was, where the will was, where the gun safe was.

He was supposed to be on the way to college for his freshman year, and Sean was over at a friend’s place for a sleepover.

It was a warm night, and his father hadn’t raided his stash of alcohol yet, hadn’t turned into a creature of rage.

Which meant they were both fully aware and cognizant when he shoved the metal into the man’s mouth with an ease and apathy that shouldn't be seen in a healthy, well-adjusted teenager—

His smile had always been too sharp, his eyes too dark.

His love was twisted and broken.

Hidden, it lay in wait, ready to destroy everything that posed a threat.

…

He tilted the gun upward, pressing into the roof of the man’s mouth.

He pulled the trigger.

#dedicated to sumayyah lmao #aaron hotchner #haley hotchner #sodone let's play #criminal minds #bau #tw character death #tw guns #tw violence #tw suicide #tw substances #tw abuse #tw murder

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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RWBY Recaps - Volume 8 “War”

Hello, everyone! Story time.

Yesterday food was delivered for my two idiot dogs (they’re thrilled about it) but, because it was delivered by Fed Ex, shenanigans were bound to ensue. These particular shenanigans involved realizing that the food had not been left at the front door like tracking said it had. Instead, it was down the very long driveway by the mailbox. Specifically, it was on a low wall beside the mailbox, currently inaccessible due to a mound of plowed snow.

Now, how the delivery guy managed to get it there I’ll never know, but given that our postal system is currently killing itself to get us our Amazon orders for Christmas, I shrugged, let it go, and resigned myself to lifting an 18 pound bag plus box over that snow without dying. Which meant that in reality I just dragged it, uncaring what bumps the bag might accumulate along the way. What are the dogs gonna do? Complain about presentation?

Snow successfully circumvented; I was home free!

… until I was lifting the box into the car, hit a patch of black ice, and was suddenly looking up at the sky, my right hip and leg screaming.

I’m fine. Bruised, but fine. It’s 2020. Did I expect to not fall? C’mon, Clyde. Be sensible.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because falling on ice at 10:00pm with an oversized bag of dog food was less painful than watching this episode.

I jest... but only a little. To be fair to RWBY, it admittedly wasn't painful in any new way. Everything that's a problem this week has been a problem for years now: confusing motivations, changing semblances, unpersuasive character beats, etc. So in some ways this episode — especially as a hiatus episode — is rather underwhelming. I expected RWBY to do something big before taking six weeks off, but this episode simply set the (unstable) stage for what's to come. With the exception of Ren, nothing changed this episode, which makes for a rather "Okay..." note to end on. It's not inherently bad, it's just a bit of a letdown after hyping ourselves up over the expectation that something even crazier than grimm soup will happen. Which, to again be fair, is on us as opposed to the writers. But that feeling of, "If this was last week, what in the world will we get right before an unpredicted hiatus?" was palpable. Turns out the answer was, "A pretty tame episode."

As always though, let's start at the beginning. This episode is titled "War" — straight to the point — and it's actually a little shorter than our last three episodes, adding to that "Okay..." feeling overall. We open on the outskirts of Atlas, amidst what appears to be a wheat field, or something similar. Upon reflection, it makes sense that the bubbled city would be able to grow things not normally growable in the tundra. This might also explain Cinder's strange beginning. Perhaps her orphanage existed on these rural outskirts and then she was brought into the city proper? We'll probably never know for sure, but at least this is a simpler answer than, "The Madame went off to an entirely different Kingdom to secure her child slave." Occam's Razor and all that.

Ironwood's army has assembled to hold off Salem's army. Wow, aren't we glad Ironwood invested in thousands of trained professionals rather than a handful of independent fighters? Seriously though, this is now a battle of numbers. May says later in the episode that Ironwood's forces are doing their best to assist Atlas, so they should go help Mantle... but that help only exists because years ago he recognized that the tiny class sizes of the Academies, this

wasn't going to be enough if grimm attacks suddenly increased. Sure enough, now they're in a situation where Ironwood needs even more men to keep up with Salem's creation magic. The fact that he has any at all is crucial to what little hope is left. How do Jaune, Yang, and Ren think they're going to get the time to look for Oscar without everyone dying while they're gone? Because Ironwood's army is keeping the attack at bay. I love how the story keeps angling for the "Military people are evil" message while actively showing us how much a military is needed in this world. If Ironwood had been a generic Good Guy who dismantled his armed forces because others wanted to ignore that they've always been at war against objectively evil creatures — both the grimm and Salem — then there would have been nothing to hold Salem off until small team rescue/bomb plans could be implemented.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. As usual. The army is on the front lines and one guy is scared enough that he's shaking. Can't say I blame him. As always, RWBY functions best when it leans towards horror, with skeletons rising alongside the normal grimm and intense music playing to convey the stakes. Ironwood watches the onslaught and immediately calls for a civilian evacuation into the subway system. Get people below ground, behind a few, defendable entrances, rather than wandering about the city where land or sky grimm can pick them off easy-peasy. Makes sense. Yet I'm already seeing fans make snide comments about how Ironwood is "still running," which just demonstrates how many viewers take the emotions of the show at face value — who is Good and who is Bad — rather than considering the situation and deciding for themselves. What's far more egregious than viewers enjoying a story however they'd like on a Saturday before the holiday though (seriously, my salt aside, no one has to enjoy RWBY any one way) is that RT again tries to paint Ironwood as crazy when he's... just not? Beyond the choice to animate him with scary expressions

once he gives the order the soldier starts to say, "But sir — " and Ironwood yells for him to obey right now. The scene makes it look like Ironwood is doing something shady again. Here's this goon balking at the order, but we're not told why. What's bad about getting the people to (relative) safety? Why is this order treated like something to question at all? We're not told and, from what we do know, it's not something that would be questioned, so unless we learn something new post-hiatus, that line exists only to make Ironwood look bad. It's a (nonsensical) excuse to have another ally turning against him (slightly) and to give Ironwood the chance to look scary and violent again. Nevermind that his city is under attack and if a subordinate started questioning a completely sensible and time-sensitive order? I might yell too.

So we're off to a great start. The above looks particularly stupid given that we immediately see the flying grimm arriving in a populated area, terrifying all the civilians there. Everyone bolts for the subway and we cut away from a man trying desperately to reach his daughter, unsure if either of them survive. But people want Ironwood to not use what few resources he has? See, this is why generic messages like, "You have to stand your ground" don't work. Sometimes there are situations where you should run and that doesn't automatically equal being a coward. It means you're smart enough to take the actions necessary to save as many lives as possible.

Later on we'll have a similar issue with the message, "You have to trust people" when my darling Oscar briefly loses his mind.

Now though, we see that the "fugitives" Yang, Jaune, and Ren have been taken into custody. Of course they have. Look, when the preview dropped yesterday I saw a number of takes along the lines of, "How dare the Ace Ops do this. They need to put aside their differences until the attack is over!" but no, they really don't, because it's no longer their responsibility to extend trust towards this group. Especially when doing so, to their mind, has a high chance of making a horrific situation that much worse. What are they going to do if, in the middle of a Salem attack, the kids they decided to trust betray them, attack them, and leave them knocked out somewhere while the world burns?

...Oh wait, they already did that.

See, the group broke trust first. Numerous times. The Ace Ops listened to Yang admit that she and Blake had betrayed Ironwood days ago. Then they watched Ruby betray him again by alerting the rest of the team, turning them against him. They swore they wouldn't attack, so Team RWBY attacked them first. They learn that Qrow had a hand in murdering their leader. They encounter the group again and Weiss gleefully asks if they want a second defeat. They watch Ruby tell the entire world to dismiss Ironwood because he’s the one who can’t be trusted. Outside of JYR not immediately attacking them when they arrived to help (something I praised them for), this group has never put their trust in the Ace Ops. So why do they — and we — expect the Ace Ops to do so now? Imagine for just a moment that it was reversed. We find out that someone betrayed the group for no good reason, set themselves against them, continued to do so as everything fell apart, told the rest of the world they’re the enemy, and then a close associate is involved in Ruby's murder. How many people would expect the group to just shrug all that off? Would they put their differences aside and embrace these people because blind trust is (supposedly) the right thing to do? Of course not! Yang would punch their lights out and everyone would cheer, but that's because they're the established heroes. Outside of that role, no one else is allowed to mistrust those who have proven themselves untrustworthy and take precautions against getting betrayed again. To say nothing of how these characters don’t have our meta perspective. Meaning, they live in a world where this trio is not a part of a protagonist group destined to remain a part of the plot because that’s how story conventions work. They’re three random teens who were promoted to huntsmen early. They’re three soldiers out of many who can, at any time, be taken out of the fight. No one on the Ace Ops is working under the belief that they “have” to be a part of this fight. From their in-world perspective, you could toss them in jail for the rest of the battle and that’s that. Outside of their fugitive status they are entirely unimportant.

So yes, Jaune, Ren, and Yang are in handcuffs. They deserve to be. Don't worry though, they get out very soon.

Yang makes a snide comment about Winter "Still just following orders" and honestly? I've lost the love I used to have for her as a character. Yang is just an exercise in frustration whenever she speaks now. Thus far she's blamed Ruby for everything that's gone wrong (ignoring her own choices there), did a 180 to yell at Ren for acknowledging how bad things are, worried nonsensically about Blake being disappointed in her even though Ruby is the one she fought with, and is now back to the "You just follow orders" shtick. Yang will label anything she personally doesn't like as evil order following, but conveniently ignores how following Ruby's orders helped get them into this mess, and how the one time she went AWOL made things even worse. These characters don't actually have beliefs they stand behind, they just say whatever is currently necessary to make themselves look good, even if that contradicts previous statements or actions.

She also gets mad at Vine for saying that grimm don't take prisoners, ignoring that she only found this out a few hours ago. No one in the group is equipped to navigate the emotional minefield that is this war because they can't even take two seconds to put themselves in another’s shoes. Weiss doesn't bother to consider Whitley's situation. Jaune points at the snow and gets frustrated that Harriet doesn't magically know there's grimm soup flowing nearby. Yang snaps at Vine for stating what she also knew to be a basic fact about grimm up until Oscar's kidnapping. It's all framed as, "How can you be this stupid?" rather than, "Oh yeah, these people haven't had the experiences I have. If I was randomly told this I'd doubt it too. I should try to explain this in a way that will make sense to them and increase my chances of being believed."

This is the group who decided it was a good idea to tell the whole world about Salem and did it just as badly as I suspected they would. The story has shoved a delicate, information-based war into the hands of punch-happy teenagers and refuses to grapple with how that's a bad thing.

Anyway, Ironwood comes on the radio to say that the whale is pretty indestructible on the outside, but it might be vulnerable from the inside, so let's get a bomb in there. Seems like a good enough plan as any, especially given that the grimm is currently on the very outskirts of the city, away from the civilians if/when it's blown up. What kind of bomb might this be though?

Could it, perhaps, end up being a now severely damaged android who is based off of Pinocchio?

Time will tell. For now, the group is quite obviously upset that Ironwood is planning a big BOOM while Oscar (and Ozpin! Tellingly, no one mentions Ozpin...) is still inside. Here's the thing: Both sides are right here. YJR are right to be worried about their friend, while the Ace Ops — who have no emotional ties to Oscar and, as just established, are questioning whether or not a grimm really kidnapped him — are right that they cannot prioritize a single life over the entirety of Atlas. They just can't! And any hero worth their salt is going to recognize this. You cannot knowingly sacrifice thousands of people (if not more) for one (admittedly awesome) farm boy. It would be a different situation if the people of Atlas volunteered to remain in danger to give Oscar a chance at escape, but that obviously isn't the situation here. If someone told me, "Sorry, Clyde, we can't get you out because the place you're in is super dangerous and attempting to extract you would likely cause the rescue party to die. Also, the longer we don't blow this location up the longer lots of other people die" I'd be like, "Fair enough. Have a nice life!" I mean, obviously anyone would be terrified and devastated by the news, but if you're still thinking straight and have even an ounce of compassion for others, you don't trade all those lives for your own. Spock does not open the door to flood the whole Enterprise with radiation!

And notably, neither does Kirk. Oscar isn't given the chance to sacrifice himself — ignoring his choice to try and undermine Salem's forces rather than escaping — so Jaune, Ren, and Yang are deciding that for him. Which, again, makes sense for them emotionally, but it's still a selfish choice. They're prioritizing their family over everyone else's. If someone ever told me they’d risked a whole city for my sake I’d be touched, but also pissed as hell. Because what were you thinking?

Which is really my biggest issue with this divide. It would have been nice if the show had done more to make me believe these three are that ride and die for Oscar. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that they are and I'll take this characterization over the apathy we had in the past, but let's be real, it kind of came out of nowhere. The group as a whole pretty much ignored Oscar up until the movie invite and two of these characters — Yang and Jaune — have actively hurt him in the name of getting at Ozpin. Now suddenly they're willing to toss aside their huntsmen duties — protect the people — in order to save him? Nice sentiment, it's just that, as always, we have very little development for it, especially given the level of emotion shown. Particularly when it comes to Ren. The prospect of someone sacrificing Nora? I 100% believe that he draws a hard line and this kick-starts a change in his semblance. Ren is shown to be thinking about how he lost his teammate Pyrrha? Totally believe it! Someone is sacrificing the kid I'm not sure he's ever had a conversation with? That's less persuasive. At the very least, it would have been nice to have the trio grapple with whether they can or should prioritize Oscar over everyone else, rather than taking such a black and white stance of, "Of course taking the time to save this one guy while everyone else dies is worth it. You're evil for thinking otherwise."

We even get a shot of Winter's hand shaking and clenching like Yang's used to, just to hammer home who the correct party is.

While they begin this argument we cut to Salem who is literally conducting her grimm in their attack against Atlas.

Very nice. I love when a villain has

Emerald watches her, clearly freaked out, and then sneaks off to where Oscar is held. In the hallway she encounters one of the jellyfish grimm, so she casually makes it not see her until it has passed.

Her semblance works on grimm, but not “real girl” androids? Okay.

We all realize how crazy powerful Emerald is though, right? The stuff that she could do in a fight is staggering and I'll be forever salty that all she managed in the Penny battle was to create a couple different Cinders. Emerald, Marrow, Salem herself... RWBY has a real problem of having the antagonists conveniently not use the power at their disposal when the heroes need to win.

So Emerald starts listening in on Ozpin's torture. We learn that Hazel was recruited when he tried to kill Salem numerous times and had to watch her keep reforming. Which, if I remember correctly, is a technique she used back when she and Ozma were playing at Gods. It worked and now Hazel believes that they "share a vision. She's going to create a new world order," one without Kingdoms or Huntsmen Academies. No, says Ozpin, she's going to divide humanity past reform, summon the Gods, and hopefully die when they take out all of Remnant.

...My god, did we finally get Salem's motivations after seven years?

Seriously though: seven years. It's way too late, especially when we now have so many questions attached to this supposed goal. If Salem always wanted to divide the world irrevocably, why didn't she attack, oh, say, a thousand years ago? Why has she kept to the sidelines until now? None of this answers why she held off until our simple soul was conveniently ready to fight her. We also have the issue of Salem's knowledge, or lack thereof. So she obviously knows about the Relics and that they'll summon the Gods, but not how to work them? How did that come about? Even Ozpin's motivations are murky now. He repeats Salem's curse word-for-word — though notably, minus the "You must learn the importance of life and death. Only then may you rest" part — yet unless Salem told him this herself when they first reunited — and we know they both hid things from the other — Ozpin could have only gotten this line from the lore episode, something he witnessed along with us just a few weeks/months back. So is he only now realizing that this is what Salem wants the Relics for? Might he be wrong? Or did he somehow figure this out lifetimes ago and we're just not told how? If this is the case, why haven’t Salem’s motivations come up before now?

This sudden, "Oh yeah, she's always wanted to die" feels pretty tacked on. Like RT had Salem arrive last Volume because that's ~cool~ and then suddenly realized that they have to deal with her motivations now, so they hastily cobbled this together. But, as said at the start, this is entirely expected for RWBY nowadays. A problem to be sure, though one we've been putting up with for a couple of years now.

During all this, Hazel shouts that this is what Ozpin deserves and the first word out of his mouth is, "Yes."

But Oscar and the rest of Remnant don't deserve it, so make the right choice for them. How did RT think they were going to make this guy an antagonist? Ozpin has so much self-hatred and yet is still trying SO HARD that he makes Ruby Drinking Tea While The World Burns Rose look laughable.

Oh yeah, we'll be getting to that scene in just a second, but for now I just want us all to appreciate Ozpin as a character, even if the story won't.

....

.......

..............

...Okay, moment done lol. Sorry, Oz, there's a lot to cover this episode.

We cut to a semi-conscious Nora who asks Weiss, "Now what am I good for?" So that’s a double serving of oof. That's when Ruby arrives with fine china steaming with tea. Or coffee. Or hot chocolate. Whatever it is these girls are drinking. What comes next is accompanied by a strange kind of vindication for me. I mean, the fandom dragged me so hard for taking issue with their snuggly smiles during Ruby's message, yet now we literally have the girls sitting back in a mansion as everything goes to shit around them. I know the knee jerk reaction to this will be, "They have to watch over Nora" and “They deserve a break” but really? All three of them need to watch her? And a break during the height of the action? Blake says she hopes everyone else is okay, but who is actually out looking for information about the rest of their team? May. Who's going to do something to get Nora help? Whitley. These characters are so good at telling us they're the heroes while rarely ever displaying those traits. They all (somehow) saw the attack on Atlas and have the ability to get out there and defend people — the job they wanted — yet Ruby looks out the window and asks, "What can we even do?" while taking a long sip of tea. The people of Mantle are (supposedly) freezing to death, yet one of the few with aura, Weiss, sits by a roaring fire going, "Do we just wait for someone to come? If they even come.” I'm sorry, you didn't consider this before you told the whole world about Salem? No one questioned whether asking for potentially non-existent help was worth the risk and what they'd do if it never came? Or even just what they’d do in the meantime? I’m not saying the girls can’t have basic necessities like drinks, or that it can’t be done in style when that’s conveniently available. I’m saying them enjoying the food, warmth, and relative safety of the Schnee household (built on racism) while casually talking about what, if anything, they should do for the people dying outside looks a bit Not Good. "Should we wait for the fire department?" Asks the character as their kitchen burns, sitting beside a number of water buckets that could help slow things down. "If they even come," they sigh, taking another sip of tea. This is ridiculous! The city is currently under attack by the series' Big Bad and half our heroes are just sitting around, watching the evil lightning, wondering if they should try to do anything about it.

"How did it all get like this?" Ruby asks her cup, ignoring the many steps she took to make things this bad. It continually boggles my mind that Ironwood is out here trying to keep people safe in the subway, coming up with a plan to blow up this whale, sending out an army to kill countless grimm... yet "What can we even do?" Ruby is supposed to be the hero here. You know, the one who has silver eyes and could one-shot huge numbers of Salem's army if she actually went out there and tried to help.

Ironwood is taking action... and so is May. As said, she's the one out looking for info on their teammates and when she returns says that they should all get back down to Mantle. Why? Because, as mentioned earlier, Atlas at least has an army to help with things. Mantle only has them.

Yet suddenly, Weiss doesn't want to leave.

Where did this come from? They succeeded in their preferred plan of telling the world what's going on over Ren and Yang's plan of helping what people they could, and now they're looking for something to do. Why wouldn't they head back to help? (Especially now that the shields are down.) Weiss yells that there are people dying in Atlas too but, as established, Atlas has the army. And where was this concern when they refused to let Atlas leave? After a Volume and a half of pro-Mantle content, this seems to come out of nowhere. Worse, Weiss tries to guilt May by asking if she has family in Atlas, which leads to the reveal that she's trans. Her family rejected their daughter.

I want to be clear that I'm very happy RT made this canon. For what she is — a side character we know incredibly little about — I really like May and the fact that they were clear in her identity rather than keeping it to twitter deserves recognition. Yet I'm not going to pretend that the reveal didn't leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, simply because we have this incredibly privileged cis girl, who knows a great deal about shitty families, hearing how horrible May's was and still trying to tell her she needs to suck it up and help Atlas over Mantle. When May angrily asks whose side she's on, Blake makes a comment about hearing that before, comparing her to Ironwood. May is painted as the misguided one here, but can you imagine if someone told Weiss to go help Jacques over her found family, Team RWBY, regardless of what he's done to her? The fandom would explode, and rightly so. There's something to be said for realism here, showing us Weiss and Blake's inability to see where May is coming from... but it doesn't feel like a commentary on that. It feels like another Penny situation: May is put in her place for being inconsiderate, even though this time it's her choosing to help people who are ALSO in danger over the people who represent family she's broken with.

I wanted conflict this Volume and I absolutely got it, but damn if it isn’t badly thought out at times.

Because rather than grappling with these personal motivations, Ruby brushes them aside by yelling, "There are no sides! We want to help everyone."

Does that extend to Ironwood? Ruby's speeches started falling flat when she betrayed Ozpin, attacked Cordovin, betrayed Ironwood, attacked the Ace Ops... This girl does not want to "help everyone." She wants to help those who agree with her.

Yet her rock solid optimism generates the question, “So how exactly do we get out of it?” which, as expected, Ruby has no answer to. The story keeps showing us how bad a leader Ruby has become, yet no one is actively responding to that. They kinda disagree about lying to Ironwood, but still go along with it. Yang kinda criticizes her sister, but that's then lost to general worry as they split (on Ruby's end, anyway). They want to know how she'll lead them next and are seemingly fine when Ruby continually says, "I don't know." At this point I'd be like, "Well... you didn't like May's plan of going back to Mantle, but apparently can't come up with a plan yourself... so I'm going to go with her."

This is the same conflict we had last Volume: Ruby spoke optimistically about saving everyone, yet was unable to come up with a way to do that. Ironwood had a plan that, while horrific, might save a lot of lives. Yet Ruby is presented as the one to back. Now here she is, hours later, still unable to figure out a way to achieve her perfect outcome. Ruby wanting things to be a certain way is not going to make them so and I’m wondering when someone within the group is going to recognize and act on that.

As Ruby fails to answer this crucial question, we pull back to see Whitley listening in at the door.

Cutting back to Ozpin and Oscar, Hazel has listened to all this craziness about Gods, immortality, the destruction of Remnant... and literally goes, "Cool story, bro."

Okay, he says "Nice story" but the emotion is the same. Which I'm really happy about! I mentioned in a recent post that, as far as we know, Hazel hasn't been told anything about the Gods up until now. What Ozpin is telling him sounds like gibberish at worst, incredibly hard to believe craziness at best. Now chuck in Mercury's point that as a tortured prisoner he'll say anything to get free, as well as the fact that this is Ozpin talking to Hazel... and I'm really glad Hazel just ignored his speech (for now at least). It wouldn't make sense otherwise. Granted, this means that the plan literally amounted to, “Let’s info dump a bunch of nonsense-sounding lore on our enemy in the hope that he’ll believe us and betray Salem.” It’s something to try, certainly, and it admittedly is a much better plan than what Oscar is about to cook up.

So since Hazel won't listen to Ozpin, Oscar wants to try instead. Why did you two switch in the first place? It's really obvious that RT is having the characters do weird things in order to stretch out the plot.

Either way, our farm boy is in control again. What new strategy will he try?

"Her name is Jinn."

This is BEYOND stupid. No, none of this "You have to trust people" nonsense. This is not “people,” this is Hazel. There is a Grand Canyon's width of difference between learning to trust your allies and blindly trusting an active villain who just rejected your "Please defect :(" speech. Even if we remove Hazel from the equation, this is still a monumentally foolish move. I mean, has Oscar considered where he is? This isn't some random warehouse he's been taken to, this is a semi-sentient grimm, a creature creating other creatures out of its ceiling

and whose doors automatically open when people need them to (Mercury). This is a living being created by and connected to Salem herself. How does Oscar know Salem can't hear everything he says? Or that the whale can't relay information to her? That the grimm in the walls won't pop out and run to their master? Or even that a normal person isn't listening in at the door — like Emerald is. If that had been Tyrian instead, that's it. They're done. Game over.

Someone: "Wow. Salem got the Lamp and managed to ask where the Beacon Relic is. Since the school is still overrun by her army, she snatched it up quick, finished destroying Atlas, and is now on her way to Vacuo. She's nearly completed her plan in days! How did all this happen?

Oscar: I, um... told her what she wanted to know?

Someone: You what?

Oscar: But not Salem! I just told Hazel! ... and then the information somehow got back to her.

Someone: "Somehow?" You deliberately told one of Salem's henchmen this crucial piece of information, in a place where there was a good chance you would be overheard by conventional or magical means, and you're surprised that she "somehow" learned it and used that information to doom us all?

Oscar: ...Yes?

This is so staggeringly stupid it... well, it could only have been done by a kid. So at least that fits lol. Oscar, I love you, but Ozpin should have been screaming in horror the second those words left your mouth. Generations of precautions undone because a kid wants to believe the best of the guy currently pummeling him. Sweet, but stupid. I’m all for optimistic characters, they just can’t risk the whole world on that optimism. Oscar risking himself on the seemingly doomed plan to turn Hazel is one thing, Oscar risking all of Remnant on the seemingly doomed plan to turn Hazel is another thing entirely.

Even though you know this is precisely how the story will go. Oscar willingly hands over Jinn's name to Salem's forces, but happily none of the THREE who hear about it will tell her. The story's unwillingness to follow through on consequences doesn't change what a bad move this was. I mean, Oscar himself accused Ironwood of playing into Salem's hands by disagreeing with them about how to not die, yet a few hours later he will willingly give Hazel the one piece of information Salem needs to move closer to world-wide destruction? That's uh... well, that's something.

They should have just had the poor boy be tortured, spill the beans to make it stop, and start an arc of self-forgiveness. Oscar can be awesome without coming up with world-dooming plans.

So yeah, Oscar is hoping that Hazel will use the Lamp himself and find out the truth. He wants Hazel to trust him and the man he despises most in the world enough to go against the immortal woman he's terrified of, get the Lamp away from her somehow to use for himself, wasting a once in a generation question to confirm all this, so that Salem will lose a guy with muscle who, to be frank, is absolute insignificant in the grand scheme of her power. Fantastic.

As said, Emerald overhears all this and immediately runs to Mercury, who is less than convinced by her "Salem wants to destroy the world" talk. Just as he's expressing doubt, Tyrian appears to confirm that this is exactly what she wants to do — and he's loving it.

“Of course she is! You’re surprised? Salem is destruction incarnate!”

It's a legit point. Are our villains so dense they never considered that Salem might do something to the world they didn't like? It's like the group not thinking about how Salem is still around if Ozpin has been fighting her for a thousand years. RWBY continually gives the impression that these characters don't think about their situation past what they're doing at any given moment.

Tyrian maintains his title as best villain though, simply because I understand what he's doing, why he's doing it, and he's so damn good at it.

Also, can we appreciate Mercury's face here?

Amazing. This is the kind of humor we should be getting in such a tragedy-laden Volume.

The two of them, Tyrian and Mercury, head off to Vacuo for the Secret Mission, despite Mercury's newfound hesitation. I quite liked these quiet moments between him and Emerald. It has a very "Do what you've gotta do" vibe while showcasing their care for one another, something we haven't seen in a while.

Back with the airship group. YJR are still horrified that Ironwood would blow up Oscar (even though he has no idea Oscar is there), begging the Ace Ops to give them "a chance to try to rescue him first.” Ren goes pretty hard on the "no one is replaceable" bit, which is frustrating not being what he’s saying is inaccurate (it’s not), but because that's not the issue here. The writing has Harriet start yelling about Marrow replacing her old teammate and Winter replacing Clover, but the question is not whether you'll just forget a teammate and move on with someone new, but whether you're willing to sacrifice them for the greater good. That's the stance: Should we sacrifice one life to save thousands? Will you, as a protector of the people, put those people before your own found family? Yet what RT has Harriet say is: Oscar is replaceable. Which obviously makes her come across as an ass. Like the random soldier questioning Ironwood — or making Elm about to punch a defenseless Ren in her anger — it exists solely to show how bad these character are... even as they say pretty persuasive things.

The writing also continues to be confused about whether the Ace Ops are friends or not. Yang certainly didn't think so... up until she asks (rhetorically) whether Marrow would sacrifice himself for Elm, Harriet, and Vine. Since their introduction, the story has loudly insisted that the Ace Ops aren't friends... up until it's revealed ("revealed") that Harriet is actually gutted about Clover. So which is it? Are we supposed to believe that these are cold soldiers who only work together out of duty, or that they're a team who clearly love one another? I'd say that show has shown us the latter, but it doesn't seem to understand what point it's trying to make. Does this look like a soldier who doesn’t care?

It’s especially weird when Ren again makes the claim that this is why they lost to Team RWBY. Because they're not a team.

...So is this why they did such a fantastic job fighting the geist, demonstrating such perfect teamwork that the group was open-mouthed impressed? Is this why they nearly took down a Maiden together? Is this why Ren, while furious at Yang and Jaune, was still able to work seamlessly with them to try and rescue Oscar? Do we think if Yang was suddenly beside Ruby again that the two would fail spectacularly in a fight because they had a minor disagreement?

This is now the third time RT has tried to excuse nerfing the Ace Ops with, "They disagree about things and are thus not friends and thus can't fight well together" — despite all evidence to the contrary — and it's getting really old.

At one point Harriet tells Ren, "I had you pegged as the most level-headed of the bunch, but I guess you’re just as naïve" which, ignoring her then random claim that people are replaceable, is correct. I also pegged Ren as the most level-headed of the bunch considering he was just yelling at Yang for how much damage they've caused, all the mistakes they've made, and that maybe — just maybe — they should have tried harder to work with Ironwood. Yet now here he is, in a position to start that process, and the Ren we got in the snow is simply gone. He's fully Team Yang and Jaune again, facing off against the evil Ace Ops.

I knew this was going to happen, but it's still disappointing. The story gave Ren a great speech to appease those of us frustrated with the direction the story has taken... and now we’re back to ignoring that. Ren was told off for daring to question how great the group is, apparently thought it over in the snow, and is now of the opinion that yes, they are that great. People are going to die because of us? Who cares about that anymore! We will absolutely, single-handedly rescue Oscar and there's no reason why this might be a questionable choice when an entire city is on the line. Again, emotionally understandable (if we buy into the group suddenly loving Oscar this much), but it rings hollow right after making Ren the one person who was willing to look at the big picture.

Good news though: Jaune got the braincell this week! He suggests that they go in to try and rescue Oscar/provide intel, but won't stop the Ace Ops from launching the bomb when necessary.

See, this is heroic. This is what the group should have done during the Mantle conflict: Volunteering to take the personal risk of facing off against Salem while letting Atlas try to escape. Basically, not forcing everyone else to risk their lives for their pipe dream, which is what Ren and Yang want by rejecting the bomb entirely. Jaune recognizes here that they can't prioritize Oscar over an entire city, but also that they may still be able to save him before the bomb is complete and ready to go. So they compromise, with JYR the only ones at risk.

Good job, Jaune!

Winter agrees to this plan with a firm, "I outrank you" to Harriet. People are going to love that.

Oh, but in his anger Ren's semblance suddenly changes. So we're back to the ridiculous.

Truthfully, I like this direction. Granted, I would have liked some buildup to it, especially since this is the second time this Volume that RWBY has dropped a major semblance change on us, but the idea itself is really cool. Ren can now see emotions! Awesome! And I don't mean that sarcastically. I actually think that’s a neat extension of his original semblance.

Too bad the story seems to think he's a mind reader.

Seriously, take a look back at the dialogue. What Ren sees are confetti-like petals floating around a person, their color seeming to determine their emotional state. Red means Harriet is mad, blue is sadness for Marrow, etc. But what Ren ends up saying is a great deal closer to mind reading. Harriet is angry about Clover and is gutted at his loss. Marrow is questioning his place here and wants to leave. These aren't base emotions, they're targeted thoughts and feelings about situations not immediately apparent from the verbal conversation. “In fact, you don’t want to be a part of it at all anymore." How does Ren know that? They just gave him telepathy instead of the cool power with firm limitations that the imagery suggests.

There are also some, uh... iffy implications in all this. For example, Ren allows Yang privacy by not reading her mind emotional state, but has no qualms about reading every one of the Ace Ops’. So privacy is only for the people you care about, huh?

We could also say something about RT perpetuating unfortunate racial stereotypes: the two women of color are pure anger, the marginalized man is pure sadness, the Asian coded character is pure calm... and the white woman set to turn against the others gets a mix of all emotions. AKA, human complexity.

To be clear, I don't think RT is doing this deliberately. Rather, they’re writers who have demonstrated time and time again that they don't have a good handle on depicting the sort of sensitive material that RWBY is infused with, and that extends to the mild, but still unfortunate, implications in scenes like this. Even if we ignore the iffy details — a benefit of the doubt that, at this point, many fans aren’t willing to grant — we're still left with the continuity errors. Visually, we're presented with a woman who is experiencing multiple emotions at once and is, therefore, torn. Yet Ren reads Winter definitively: "I know you [don't want this] either." It's yet another moment that makes me wonder how much communication there is between the writers and the animators, because too often the two seem to be at odds with each other.

As the group prepares to go into the belly of the beast (literally!) we return to Ruby who is, once again, failing to make me believe she's this super compassionate person.

“Wait! What about Qrow and Robyn? Maybe if we get them out of wherever they’re held—”

Please tell me I'm not the only one who took issue with this? Ruby doesn't express an ounce of worry for her uncle, not even when she learns he's been arrested, and the one time she brings him up it's in the context of what he can do for them in this fight? Ruby doesn't grapple with whether to rescue her uncle (personal desire), or get the message to the world (her version of the heroic action) and then realize that, now that her duty is done, she can finally turn to the more selfish act of helping her immediate family. Instead, Ruby seems perfectly happy to let Qrow stay in prison up until she's unsure what to do next and thinks that maybe he has the answer. Heaven forbid Ruby think about rescuing him because she loves him.

Sadly, this Ruby is long gone.

In recent years she's expressed no gratitude for him saving her life, no respect for him as her teacher, demonstrated incredibly little compassion for his own struggles, and outright told him that if he wasn't going to listen to her then he doesn't need to be part of the team. Then he's arrested and she doesn't care until she deems him useful again. Like the fandom wondering where the sisterly bond between Ruby and Yang went, I'm likewise wondering where the bond between Ruby and Qrow went.

May outright rejects this though, yelling that they still don't get it. “This is not a situation where everyone wins!"

She tells the trio they have to choose for once: Are you going to help Mantle, or Atlas?

...which means there's immediately a knock at the door, interrupting the moment where they have to decide.

See, this is just like Ren. The story keeps giving us moments where characters speak absolute truth, dangling the potential for the group to grow from these realizations... only to pull back before it goes anywhere. Ren is once again aligned with Yang and Jaune in their desire to save Oscar. May's demand is interrupted by the plot. If means nothing to give us these moments unless the story acts on them.

It's Klein at the door. Whitley called him to help with Nora because I guess he's a doctor now, as well as a butler? Fine. Let’s run with it. Weiss is super pleased to see him and hugs Whitley for the good deed.

Why so shocked that Whitley would look out for another, Weiss? Could it be because he's had so little reason to be kind when everyone, including you, has treated him horribly? If Klein always had these medical skills — if you’ve grown up with a doctor — why didn’t you talk to your brother and ask if he knew how to contact him? And of course, she apologizes to Klein for her father’s actions, but not to Whitley for her own. Whitley's surprise isn't cute to me.

Weiss stuck a weapon in his face, insulted him, sent him to his room like a toddler... and now is randomly hugging him because he did something she liked. The context of this scene doesn't paint Weiss in a good light. Like the rest of her friends, she only extends basic respect and kindness towards others when they're assisting her. Whitley was nothing to her until he suddenly proved himself useful. That's not cute sibling love, it's a love that's going to run out the moment Whitley puts a toe out of line, according to Weiss' unspoken list of what behavior keeps him in her good graces.

I believe that Klein cares for Whitley because he greets him kindly and gives him that shoulder pat on the way up. Whitley didn't need to first prove himself to Klein somehow and Klein didn't start this interaction by shoving a gun in Whitley's face, just in case he wouldn't let him through the door. They feel more like family than this hug does.

So yeah, Whitley and May have done more good this episode than our entire main cast. How about we just make this story about the side characters instead?

We then hear a massive boom and the group runs out to find a crater. Penny has landed in front of the manor, which is pretty convenient considering we saw her pass out as she fell.

She's somehow still in control despite the hack and apologizes to Ruby, then falls unconscious (again).

And that's where we end! Definitely a cliffhanger, though a rather underwhelming one considering we already knew Penny was in serious trouble. As said at the start, this episode felt rather underwhelming to me, especially as a halfway point before a hiatus, and compared to some of the stuff we've seen previously. It's not bad per-se — especially if we ignore the issues that have been around for an age now, which is most of what this recap deals with — it's just not terribly exciting either. Everything of importance — Salem's attack, Oscar's rescue, Penny's demise, subordinates turning, Nora's condition, etc. — had already been established in previous episodes and very little of it moved forward. Ren's semblance is the only thing the episode gave us that we couldn't have (generically) guessed for ourselves between last Saturday and now.

So yeah, underwhelmed is the mood of the day, with a hefty dose of salt for everything that continues to be a story-breaking problem in this show. I will say though that, as has become the trend for this Volume, all the establishing shots are gorgeous. RWBY is, at the very least, pretty to look at.

As a final note, in lieu of the Bingo board (since, again, not a whole happens plot-wise) I want to point out something mentioned by a friend: how absolutely bonkers our timeline is now. We began the second day last episode with the sun rising (recall that Jaune had tried to sleep that night at the outpost. So it’s definitely sunrise as opposed to sunset).

And we re-confirm that it’s sunrise at the start of this episode.

Yet throughout the episode many of our shots take place at night (note the stars behind the trio).

These moments with Ruby can't take place in the past because they're talking about the attack, an attack that only happened after Jaune's group met up with the Ace Ops and the geyser attacked — during early morning. I doubt I'm supposed to believe that it has been another full day of Salem starting an attack, a full day for the group to fly to the whale, a full day for Penny to fall, a full day which would put us at the end of the Volume’s timeline at only the halfway point... so I think RT is just going for the aesthetic of night shots without thinking about what that does to the continuity. It's a mess.

Not the highest praise to end on, but I’m working with what I’ve got lol. I feel as naïve as Oscar when I say that maybe Part II will be better.

I will, of course, see you all in six weeks. Until then, I'll do my best to catch up on asks. Another doomed endeavor, but one can try!

A very Happy Holidays to all of you who celebrate and, as always, thanks so much for reading! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby recaps #rwby war #mymetas

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lizardrosen · 3 years

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National Theater Live King Lear

Hello, here is a ridiculously long review of this production! I just had a lot of feelings and thoughts!

Setting/Staging/Mood

I really loved the sound design for this one. It’s hard to describe, but the chords gave it a real presence and sense of motion. It was vaguely reminiscent of horror movie music in the way the chords lingered and didn’t blend in seamlessly, but I wouldn’t call it horror music exactly. The BELL tolling while Lear zips up his folder was such a good first image and bit of sound. And there were drinking songs, which I always love to see in a play. Put that Epic Theater technique straight in my mouth!

The circle in the middle that’s red in the first half and white in the second was a really creative detail, and the actors used that space effectively, especially with overlapping exits and entrances to make it feel that scenes happened in different locations while still being thematically connected.

The opulence and ceremony of the first scene gradually gives way to the more sparse and modern staging of act five — formal military dress to fatigues

I love how Lear raises his hand in prayer and command, compelling everyone else to follow suit to show their devotion and allegiance (and is there a difference between their king and their gods in this world?) even when they’re unsure about whether he’s right to be so cruel to Cordelia.

The recurring imagery of money changing hands really fits in well with the theme of love as currency that’s already in the text!

The single tree in the background of act five gave me Waiting For Godot vibes, which works SO WELL with the absurdism and nihilism of Lear.

Thoughts about specific characters under the cut!

Edgar! My SON!!

Luke Thompson is the reason I’ve wanted so badly to watch this production; ever since I saw his standout performance as Laertes in the 2017 Almeida Theater production, and found out he’s also played Orestes and Edgar, I’ve just been rabid about it!

It’s neat to see him actually at the ceremony of the first scene, with Edmund already Literally in his shadow.

He’s a little less hapless and distracted than most of the Edgars I’ve seen, a little more watchful. In 1.2 he’s actually pushing back against Edmund’s insistence that he’s in danger, and then in 2.1 there’s a long moment of just Looking at Edmund’s knife before he flees.

Similarly, his decision to become Poor Tom felt a bit more calculated. It’s not that he isn’t scared and lost and desperate, because he definitely is, but the plan itself doesn’t seem to grow out of that feeling as much as he (sort of) calmly looked at his options.

Of course, he doesn’t stay calm; that agonized scream when he actually cuts himself, and later on when he sees his father blinded and screams “World, world, o world!” really feels like he’s letting something out, and more than usual he seems to have been holding this part of himself back for a long time.

The counterpart to that is the self that does the watching — it’s a part of all Edgars that makes him a really compelling character, with his self-aware asides, but it’s particularly pronounced here — there’s a moment where he says “Bless thy five wits!” in his normal voice, and then catches himself and has to reassert the role he’s playing for his own safety.

At times he’s very impatient and frustrated while leading Gloucester, but he also cares about him a lot and is so terrified that he’s actually died when he “fell” from the cliff, this poor boy’s entire body is trembling!

He instinctively moves to protect Gloucester from Lear when he gets more violent and unpredictable with “find these son-in-laws and KILL KILL KILL” and it was a good moment

Gives into his own viciousness in the fight with Oswald, and then, Hamlet-like, lugs the guts into the neighbor room.

Edgar doesn’t seem to know if he wants his dad to recognize him or not — he puts Gloucester’s hand on his face, but then as soon as he seems about to realize who he is he very quickly takes it away again and gets them moving

He’s even more desperate and reckless than Edmund in their duel, but then once Edmund is fatally injured, he’s right by his side, holding his hand, helping him through it!

He needs Lear to recognize Kent, he needs Lear to not be dying, he’s so sincere, but then he decides if he can’t save anyone here he can at least help Albany to help the country heal and pledges himself to the future.

Lear

Awful but also very pitiable, more like a human losing his grip and knowing it, than just a Vessel for themes that are echoed in other characters.

Lashes out at himself more than at other people, but he definitely still does both.

“But they shall be the terrors of the earth” is just a man who’s terrified to be losing his words.

He has bad knees and everyone knows it but he keeps trying to kneel, and sometimes it feels like he’s mocking his daughters — look how much I’m suffering for you even though you’re ungrateful — and sometimes it feels like he’s forgotten his own body’s limitations.

Spends a lot of time offering physical comfort to other characters, since he can’t be a dad for his real daughters.

His flower crown scene was Just ophelia, and I think that’s beautiful.

aaaaa, his helpless grief for Cordelia! He moves the noose from her neck to his!! and then he takes out a handgun and threatens everyone away from him, but he’s just so helpless and sad!

Edmund! my other son!

I was a little surprised to see that this actor is James Corrigan, because I recognized him as Roderigo in the RSC Othello, and he’s sort of the anti-Edmund, so I was excited to see the contrast, but honestly there wasn’t as much of a contrast as I expected. He had many of the same cringing appeasing mannerisms, but in a way that makes it clear that he’s aware of his unfair situation in a way his Roderigo really isn’t. Despite being a bastard he has a lot more social power and mobility than Roderigo so he doesn’t seem nearly as pathetic.

Other Edmunds are composed and precise in their soliloquies because this is the one place no one will see them planning things out, and this Edmund is babbling and overwhelmed because this is the one place no one will see him feeling things, because feeling things is dangerous.

He’s so! scared! of his dad! It’s painful to watch, and it’s almost as painful to watch how he’s still looking for approval and respect from Gloucester. Someone save this boy!

He gets in WAY over his head, and it feels like he’s scrambling at every turn, but then at some point he just levels up and strides with confidence, and it’s really good to see.

oh my god, oh my god, he saw everything that happened with Gloucester! After everyone else leaves he comes out from his hiding place looking just devastated. He hated his dad, but he never hated him that much, and by the time he couldn’t stomach it any longer there was no way for him to escape, and then he’s still processing it when he sees that the Fool was also there, and he has to kill him because no one can know he was there. I SCREAMED when this moment happened, it was so good!

WOW, he’s so smooth, it’s no wonder both the sisters want a piece of that! It’s more of a power play with Regan, and a little more courtly with Goneril, and he just knows what each of them want and need from him.

When Lear and Cordelia are captured, Lear says “As if we were God’s spies” and he’s still kingly enough that the soldiers drop to their knees and lift their hands in allegiance, and Edmund has to rush in to make one of them stand up while saying “Take them away” sort of impatiently, and then he immediately checks the order he’s written for their deaths, because he’s just seen how dangerous it is for these two to be kept alive. aaaaa, and then when the captain hesitates, he holds a gun to his temple on “Either say thou’lt do’t, or thrive by other means” !! I love that line and I love the sheer range of deliveries I’ve seen for it!

The wonder in his voice at “Yet Edmund was beloved.” is really good! He’s so desperate to do some good by the end, and I love! Edmund of Gloucester!

Kent

Having Kent played by a woman does some really neat things to the character, not least of which is crossdressing Caius! She sort of feels like she overperforms toxic masculinity to fit into the culture of Lear’s retinue. Other Kents seem to be allowing their latent desires and bluntness to emerge with this role, but this Kent isn’t suited to it, and sometimes she gets a little carried away or makes missteps like beating up Oswald, but she has to see it through, for Lear’s sake.

Kent also doesn’t feel Big In Love with Lear, but she’s definitely devoted to him — and even more than that, she’s devoted to the image of loyalty itself.

Her genuine affection for Cordelia, and pride to see how she’s doing as a queen, is really sweet and good!

After she’s been banished, she rushes out of the throne room as Burgundy and France enter, covering her face like she’s desperately trying to hold back her tears.

She’s with the French soldiers looking for Lear, and is the one who tells him “You shall have anything!”

At the end she’s not exactly surprised that Lear doesn’t connect her with Caius, and she’s not upset (about that part of it anyway, plenty of things in this scene are upsetting), but she’s definitely feeling something.

ahhhh, she picks up Lear’s handgun and sort of cradles it to her side when she prepares for her final journey! sweetheart!

Gloucester

he’s just! a terrible father!! simply the worst!

A lot of the time Gloucester isn’t a very good dad just because he’s friendly and careless and just not paying attention to how he’s treating his sons; this one is actively awful and I actively hate him!!

From the very first scene he’s so scornful and dismissive of Edmund and hitting him for no reason, and then turns around to show off photos of Edgar, and that doesn’t even really benefit Edgar either, because he’s held to an unfair standard he can never live up to.

It really shows in how both of them are touch starved but also extremely cautious about being touched. Someone save them!!

(In fact, in the serial killer Claudius AU, a certain Earl does get himself murdered when Edmund is sixteen)

Not a Bad Dad thing, but not really showing Gloucester in a good light: he does think Lear’s age and reverence should be respected, but his motivation seems to be a lot more based in his indignation that Regan and Cornwall have taken over his home and order him around. For this Gloucester it seemed to be less about feeling sorry for Lear, and more about reasserting his sovereignty.

But because this is Lear I don’t just hate him, and he’s not just a bad father, you also feel for him a lot after he’s been blinded and his legs are just trembling and he’s so scared and lost.

Even after he’s blinded he keeps turning to his photos of Edgar in his wallet, and it’s sad and regretful instead of showing off.

He had a really good cliff fall! He goes up to what he thinks is the edge, and then turns around and braces himself to fall backwards, and then Edgar has to rush to catch him, and lay him gently on the ground, and panic that maybe he’s actually died.

Lear Sisters

No one was prepared for Lear’s announcement and the way each of them responds informs so much of how they act through the rest of the play!

Goneril is startled and unsure and fumbling, and I really felt for her and her “hateful life”, and the way she’s stunned in the wake of Lear’s abuse, but then needs to pull herself together again when he returns. For so much of this play she feels small and adrift, but then she’s so happy for once whenever she’s with Edmund. Albany really does seem to care about her and he’s trying to be good for her, so he takes it when she yells at him, and then stays behind to pray for a bit. He’s a little less nice later on but to be fair she is cheating on him and not bothering to hide it very well.

Regan! With her fake tears and her constant flirtiness, and the way she’s always twirling and showing off! She is a hot mess, and she only gets hotter and messier as the play goes on, but she and Cornwall love each other a lot, and she wants to be suited to torture the way her husband is, but she gets into it by the end of that scene. And then!! her hand on Edmund’s throat! W o w

Cordelia is calm and sure and knows exactly what her sisters are, and in that first scene she comes so close to reaching her father and getting him to change his mind about disowning her. And that carries through to the rest of her performance — she’s competent and precise and loving, and France is smitten with her and listens to her and respects her. When she’s reunited with Lear she wants him to wake up, but also isn’t prepared for it to actually happen, and then she’s so surprised when they say she should be the one to address him first.

Cornwall

I first saw Daniel Rabin as Reynaldo in the Almeida Theater Hamlet (ask me about how Reynaldo and Laertes are half-dating whenever he follows Laertes to France, because I have Opinions), and his Cornwall is SO different

He’s not just manipulative, but violent and enjoying his violence, but he’s also sexy and possessive and commanding, and it’s no wonder Edmund falls for him as hard as he does!

TYING HIS SCARF around Edmund’s hand after he wounds himself for love and validation!? The soft tender look of surprise that Edmund gives him in response!? wow! wow, what a MOMENT!

And then he shoves Edmund into the room after he’s been shown Gloucester’s letter, he has to punish the messenger and assert his position. And after “Thou shalt find a dearer father in my love” Edmund HUGS him, and he’s startled at first but half-returns it (and probably thinking about how he can Use this) (and then cornwall/edmund/regan happens, shhh)

Like Daniel Rabin’s Reynaldo, his Cornwall is very Watchful, just stepping back to observe what’s going on, and then quietly making his judgment before he says anything — and when he does speak he absolutely has the other person’s number.

Good commanding headtilts!

Oh, the laugh right before he uses the hook from the slaughterhouse on Gloucester is just terrifying and compelling, and he’s so turned on by this. Good for him because then he gets to die, and he’s so disgusted and vicious when saying the first servant should be thrown onto the dunghill.

Miscellaneous Moments

Lear puts his jacket on Edgar, and Kent puts her jacket on Lear, and then he immediately takes it off and puts it around Edgar’s shoulders and ties the arms together, but while he’s trying to take off his shirt too, Edgar’s already getting on the ground and letting the jackets fall off of him. Just! Jackets and touch as a form of affection!!

When Gloucester comes out to find Lear, he and Edgar see each other, and there’s just a moment where they’re frozen, Edgar terrified that his father will recognize him, and Gloucester perhaps feeling there’s something familiar about this madman but having no idea what.

While Gloucester is telling Kent about how he had a son he loved who betrayed him, Lear and Edgar are in the background sharing a long hug that almost feels like a beautiful dance! It was such a striking moment, I loved it sooo much.

the HUG with Edmund and Cornwall!! Not over it, never over it.

when Cornwall tells Edmund to leave with Goneril, he gives Goneril his jacket and she’s just quietly surprised and pleased, and it’s cute, and I want her to be happy!!

#king lear #edgar #edmund #gloucester #kent #cornwall #goneril #regan #cordelia #my writing #sort of

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writings-of-a-daphodil · 4 years

Text

Fire Keeper: Chapter 3

Douxie x fem reader

Chapter 1

Masterlist in bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim's older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures. Chapter 3 summary: Your first magic lesson with Vendel leads you to a certain book store. A/n: This is a really long chapter. I wanted to combine two episodes together and I had quite a few scene ideas and I wrote it so they went together and then suddenly I realized I got to 3k, so have fun. I hope y’all like it. Enjoy!

“Have some fun on your field trip today, okay Jim,” you said, giving your brother a quick hug, something you were beginning to do more often.

“You too, have fun during your magic lesson and don’t forget to enjoy your day off either.”

“I will,” you responded as you began walking down the sidewalk towards the canal.

It wasn’t too far of a walk and you were down the crystal stairs and on your way to the Heartstone in no time.

“Ms. Lake, welcome,” Vendel greeted as he turned to you.

“Hi Vendel,” you responded, taking your seat next to a pile of books. You had begun your lessons the day after you arrived in Trollmarket and by now it was a routine. Vendel would finish whatever he was working on while you read a book and practiced your trollish. You were picking it up quickly, unlike your brother, but you understood that he was busier.

You focused on the pile and you felt your magic begin stir inside you. You focused a little harder and your hands began to glow orange and seconds later so did the books. You waved your hands and the books floated into the air, forming a line. You began to read the covers to try and find one that interested you and you settled on the fourth book.

“I see you’ve been practicing,” Vendel said. From his work table as you opened the old, worn book.

“Practice makes perfect,” you replied as you began to read. You were halfway through the book—which was on the history of the troll-gnome relationship—when Vendel finished his work.

“So, what am I learning today?” You asked, bookmarking your page and giving your full attention to your teacher.

“I do not know much about Wizard magic, troll magic is different and I am running out of things I can teach you,” he paused to think and you waited patiently. “Hmm, I could teach you a few healing spells.”

“I’m ready.”

~~~~

“You’re beginning to master the basics, and your training with your brother is beginning to show,” Vendel praised as you were able to recite all the incantations back to him. While levitating. Upside down.

“Thank you,” you beamed, settling back down to the floor.

“Your welcome.”

You said goodbye and made your way out of Trollmarket to enjoy the rest of your day. Enjoying the rest of your day would feature possibly visiting Douxie’s bookstore and reading the trollish books you had borrowed. It may not seem like the most thrilling of things to do, but you were excited.

You entered the bookshop and a bell tolled your arrival. You glanced around at the quaint store, it radiated a sort of peaceful and relaxing energy. You could definitely see yourself coming back and spending a lot of time there.

You wandered amongst the shelves looking at the books. Many of them looked old and you wondered if you might find something on magic. You were desperate for more knowledge and Vendel didn't exactly have books on your type of magic. For the time being you were stuck making troll spells work for you.

None of the books in the store seemed to be calling you so you made your way over to the staircase. Maybe there would be something for you on the second floor.

As you turned and got your view of the second floor, you also got a view of a cat. Said cat just so happened to be wearing glasses.

"What in the world?" You mumbled, staring at the cat who was staring right back at you. It meowed, breaking eye contact and began to lick one of his paws.

You continued to stand there, frozen in confusion.

"Ah, Y/n. Hi," a certain English-accented boy said, breaking you out of your thoughts.

"Um, hi Douxie," you said, turning your focus to him. He seemed to notice your confusion and he looked around, his eyes landing on the cat.

"Oh, that's where my glasses went. I've been looking all over for them!" He laughed a nervous sounding laugh and took the glasses from the cat. Putting them on he said, “Anyways, how may I help you?”

You stood there, not saying anything for a few seconds longer. Douxie wearing glasses was an interesting sight and you had to admit he looked kinda cute.

“Um, I’m looking for old books,” you stated lamely. You didn’t really know what else to say. You weren’t really looking for any books in particular and you weren’t exactly expecting to find a book with magic, you were just hoping.

“Right this way.” Douxie motioned for you to follow him and he walked past you, rather slowly, down the stairs. He went to turn and rammed into the banister, almost falling down the rest of the stairs.

“Douxie!” You rushed down the remaining stairs to help him up.

“Thanks,” he said as you helped him up.

“Are you sure those glasses help you see?” You jokingly asked.

He chuckled nervously and continued to lead you to a shelf. “These may interest you.”

You walked up to the shelf crammed with old books. You began to read the titles on the sides, occasionally pulling out a book that caught your interest, but so far none of them were really calling to you.

You were so involved in your search you forgot that Douxie was still there.

“Here, what about this one?” He asked, handing you an ancient looking book. While none of the other books called to you, this one did.

You opened it up and began to leaf through it. The pages were filled with magic spells and they even looked like it was your type of magic. You flipped to the front of the book and found the author: M. Ambrosius.

The book seemed so authentic, you knew you had to buy it and show Vendel.

You turned to Douxie. “How much?”

“It’s on me. We’ve had this book forever and no one seems to want it. Getting rid of it will open up space for more.”

“No way, you’re working three jobs just to make ends meet. Here,” you handed him some money and gave him a quick hug. You were so excited about finding the book, you didn’t realize you were doing it until it was over.

“Anyways, thanks,” you mumbled, embarrassed. You internally rolled your eyes at yourself, falling for Douxie wasn’t a good idea.

“Any time,” he replied and you noticed his cheeks were tinted pink.

You opened your mouth to say more but your phone started ringing. It was Jim.

“Hey, is everything okay?” You asked, worry gripping your heart.

“Yeah, but Eli, one of my classmates, found some kind of troll remains. Toby and I are going to take Blinky and Aaarrrgghh to see it tonight.”

“Okay send me the address.” The two of you said your goodbyes and you hung up.

“Is everything okay?” Douxie asked, his face showing concern.

“Yes. My brother just worries me sometimes and I always assume the worst.” You smiled at Douxie and began heading towards the door. “Again, thank you.”

“Anytime.”

You hopped into your car and drove to the address Jim had sent you. It didn’t take you too long and you were able to easily find and unfortunately recognize the remains. If your guess was right then they were the remains of a goblin.

You had never met one before, but you had recently finished a book on magical creatures and they were evil little things that would be out to kill whoever or whatever made the splotch on the ground.

You called Jim to tell him of your findings and he promised to meet you at Eli’s house at nightfall. Meanwhile you began reading the book Douxie had given you.

Time flew by as you read the book. It was fascinating and had little notes in the margin. You were interrupted from your reading by the arrival of everyone.

The five of you were able to determine that the goblins would be after the delivery guy who would be back later that night and so the stakeout began.

You hid with Jim and Blinky and were able to catch up with your brother. It had been a long while since you had the time to just talk with him about everything that was going on.

You were able to talk about his fight with Steve, his upcoming one with Draal, and everything else. It was really nice.

You were able to talk for hours before the delivery guy arrived and the goblins followed soon after. They were terrifying, but you tried to keep your cool. You didn't want them sensing your fear.

Unfortunately Jim and Toby were unaware of that little but important fact so goblins began to chase the five of you all the way to Toby’s house.

It was your first time out on the field helping Jim ‘Trollhunt’ and you didn’t know if you were exhilarated or terrified. It took you forever to fall asleep and you were jittery and extra alert during your job the next day.

That afternoon as you were on your way to the Heartstone for another lesson when Jim called you.

“Hey, Toby and I found out that the goblin hideout is at the Museum. We’re going with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh tonight.”

“Okay, stay safe. I’m going to go to my lesson if you don’t need me.”

“I’ll always need you, but have fun at your lesson.” After that and your goodbyes you hung up as you arrived at the Heartstone.

“Hello Ms. Lake.”

“Hi Vendel. I found a book yesterday and it looks like it might be about Wizard magic.” He turned to you, quickly abandoning whatever he was working on. You handed it to him and he began to flip through it.

“Merlin wrote this,” Vendel said, turning his attention back to you. “It’s authentic, but I’m concerned about the means in which you bought this book.”

“I can look into it,” you offered as the gravity of the situation hit you. It would be very bad if there were more books out there like this and humans were reading it and believing it.

“Good. I suppose we can go onto our lesson now. We’ll move to the Hero’s forge and I want you to try levitating while blasting targets.”

Time passed slowly as you practiced your magic. You were pretty proud of yourself for ho9w quickly you were learning magic and excelling in it.

Levitating was hard though and took up lots of energy so you had to take frequent breaks, but slowly the breaks were becoming fewer and further between.

You levitated into the air again, ready for the next round when your phone beeped, startling you. You crashed to the floor hard and Vendel chuckled. “Perhaps you should work on your concentration.”

You smiled at him while checking your phone. “It’s from Jim.”

You unlocked your phone and read the text aloud, “Museum, shapeshifter, help, hurry.”

“Go,” was all Vendel said and you took off running. Exhaustion was only an afterthought as you rushed to get to your brother.

The worst thoughts entered your mind when you saw the police cars in front of the museum. You ran up to an officer.

“Sir, what’s going on?” You asked panting.

“Some kids broke into the museum for some sort of bracelet,” he responded in a bored tone and you tried don’t to roll your eyes.

“Y/n!” Toby called out to you as he was pushed into a squad car.

“You know these kids?” The officer asked.

“Yeah, the tall one’s my brother. I, uh, told them to wait till morning so I could talk to the curator about getting the bracelet back, but obviously they didn’t listen,” you said smiling. It wasn’t your most creative lie, but you couldn’t tell the officer that what they had really gone in there for was to follow goblins.

“Well we’re just going to the station so follow us there.” With that said you got into your car and made your way to the police station.

You were sitting in the waiting room when your old history teacher, Mr. Strickler, arrived.

“Ah, Ms. Lake. I didn’t know you decided to stay here for college.”

“I’m taking a break,” you said. “I didn’t know you frequented police stations in the dead of night.”

“I’m here because of your brother actually. Nomura and I are close friends and I am hoping to convince her to drop the charges.”

“Wow, thank you, Mr. Strickler. That’s very kind of you, you’ve been a great teacher to both Jim and I.”

“That is what I strive to do, Ms. Lake,” he said as we walked down a hall to where you assumed Nomura was.

Soon after your mom arrived. “Y/n, what happened?”

You quickly explained what happened and you did your best to talk her down from grounding him indefinitely. You knew Jim shouldn’t even be getting booked at the police station and you wanted to make sure he didn’t have too bad of a punishment. Eventually you and your mom settled on him and Toby being grounded until they apologize. By the time that was decided you were heading home.

You were exhausted and fell asleep the moment your head hit the pillow and in the morning you almost missed your alarm. The day went by quickly and you arrived at home to see Jim making a feast.

“What’s all this?”

“My fight with Draal is tomorrow,” he said in way of explanation. You smiled sadly, you couldn’t handle the fact that Jim thought he was going to die. And on top of your fear and worry you weren’t able to get tomorrow of work.

You hugged your brother tightly and began setting the table. “Anything you want me to do?”

“Just… just take care of mom.”

“I meant with dinner, goof. You aren’t going to die. I refuse to believe it.”

“Fine, can you stir this?” He asked, handing you a bowl. You didn’t fail to notice that he didn’t react to your statement.

“So,” you started in an attempt to change the conversation, “what were mom and Mr. Strickler talking about last night, she seemed almost giddy when you got home.”

“Ughh, they’re going out for coffee.”

“Oh,” you said smiling to yourself. Mr. Strickler was a great teacher and if he made your mom happy you were happy.

Your mom arrived home soon after and you had a wonderful family dinner filled with laughs. It was one of your best nights in a while.

That night you fell into a peaceful sleep. Tomorrow would be scary, but you believed in your brother. He would win.

You were sleeping so peacefully you almost missed your alarm that you had specifically set early so you would be able to talk to Jim. Your mom was already gone for work and so was Jim. So much for that plan. You quickly got ready for work and arrived almost a half hour early.

Throughout the day you were a huge bundle of nerves. Your focus was on Jim, but thanks to your training in multitasking you were able to do a good job at work. With adrenaline and worry coursing through your veins you got your work done twice as fast, but distraction plagued you too. You almost used your telekinesis to save a tray that was spilled by your coworker.

You were so distracted you didn’t notice when your shift ended and Douxie took the broom from you.

The bistro had quieted done almost a half hour ago and you had been sweeping that whole time even though you finished in fifteen minutes.

“Are you okay?” Douxie asked. Concern, this time for you, was etched on his face and you tried not to read much into it.

“Some things are going on with my brother today and I’m scared for him,” you explained.

“Why don't I help you to your car so you can go talk with him?” Douxie offered and you nodded. You quickly took off your apron and grabbed your stuff.

“Do you need me to drive you?” Douxie asked as he noticed your hands were shaking. Now that you didn’t have work you were only more afraid and upset over the fact that Toby or anyone hadn’t called you.

“No thank you,” you replied. You didn’t want to make Douxie late to work.

“It’s really no problem,” he replied and you were about to respond when your phone began ringing. You fumbled to grab it and you almost dropped it. You looked at the caller id. It was Toby.

“Toby? Please tell me Jim is okay.”

“Jimbo’s fine, he even spared Draal’s life. Most of the trolls aren’t happy about that, but we’ll be home soon.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” you mumbled, then, “Bye Toby, thank you for being there for Jim.”

“Anytime Y/n/n.” He hung up and you turned to see Douxie offering a tissue. You were confused at first but then you realized you were crying from the joy and relief that Jim was alive.

“Good news I hope,” Douxie said as you took the tissue and wiped your eyes.

“Jim’s okay.”

“It’s sweet how much you care about your brother.”

“He has a lot on his shoulders and he cares so much for everyone else. Someone had to be there for him.” With that said you wished him well and started driving home.

You pulled into the driveway just as Jim walked up with Toby. You leapt out of your car, not bothering to turn it off, to hug them.

“I know this is probably only the first of many times that I will be concerned for your life and the first of many post-death-defying-situation-hugs, but please try not to do this often. I was worried for you all day. One of my coworkers had to walk me to my car because I was shaking so much.”

“Sorry I put you through that Y/n.”

“Thanks. It won’t be the last time, but I’m glad you’re safe now. By the way I called in your absences at school.”

“Thank you.” They both exclaimed and you smiled. The three of you said your goodbyes and you turned off and locked your car while Jim took care of his bike, then the two of you walked inside together.

Unfortunately it wasn’t time to celebrate yet Nomura was inside the house talking with your mom. You scowled at her as Jim began talking. You never expected Jim to actually apologize to the changing and you had planned on covering him, but here she was now, having tea with your mom.

Your mom started to say something when she fell unconscious.

“I‘ ll get mom!” You immediately called out as Jim said the amulet’s incantation and began to fight Nomura. Your heart rate sped up for the thousandth time that day as you checked her pulse. It was there and you began to believe Nomura that whatever was in the tea would only hurt your mom’s memory.

Jim retreated up the stairs and you began to recite the healing incantations you had learned a few days ago. They didn’t wake her up, but you could tell your mom would be alright. You heard Jim take the fight outside and you realized it wouldn’t be good if your mother woke up at the table.

You focused on her and she began to glow orange. She floated up from her seat and you were able to move her to her bed without hurting her.

You quietly closed the door and realized that you didn't hear fighting any more. You carefully walked out to the backyard only to find Jim and Draal chatting.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

“Yeah, Draal showed up just in time.”

You turned to Draal. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome, sister of Jim. I have requested to your brother that I stay here and protect your home. I can not go back to troll market while my honor is tarnished”

“First, call me Y/n and second it would be lovely having an extra line of defense here.”

“Good.” Draal walked into your house and Jim made to follow, but you pulled him into a hug first.

“I know having Nomura here wasn’t your choice, but why don’t you take the rest of the day off? It’s been a long one,” you suggested.

“That sounds nice.”

****

And I hope y'all liked it. I had a blast writing it and I have planned many more chapters. I've really enjoyed exploring Y/n 's life as well as her relationship with Douxie and there will definitely be more of that. Anyways I've written a sort of bonus half chapter from Douxie's pov and I will post that tomorrow. Have a great night/day and stay safe! Thank y'all for reading!

Chapter 3.5: https://writings-of-a-daphodil.tumblr.com/post/627219547087323136/fire-keeper-chapter-35

#douxie x reader #douxie imagine #douxie #toa douxie #wizards douxie #toa imagine #toa #tales of arcadia imagine #tales of arcadia #wizards imagine #wizards #trollhunters #trollhunters imagine

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winchesterwords · 4 years

Text

“Keep Your Secrets” Part 2 - Sam Winchester x F!Reader

PART 1 PART 3

Summary: After Sam finds you missing, he calls Dean and the others and they start looking for you. When Sam and Dean arrive at your place, they find something odd...

Word Count: 3205

Warning: None

Song I Wrote To: “Natural” by imagine Dragons

Note: Part 2 of Keep Your Secrets. There will actually be one more part so stay tuned!

---------

Sam paced the floor of your office as he waited for Dean to arrive.

The sulfur has invaded his senses and all he could think about was black-eyed assailants coming for you. The thought alone made him feel sick. A bitter laugh left his throat as he thought about all the times he worried about protecting you from the world of the supernatural. He should have known that no matter what, the monsters in the dark always found him.

As soon as Sam had told his brother that you were gone, Dean said he was on his way. There was no doubt now that Dean knew about you. Sam didn’t care about keeping you all to himself right now, all he cared about was finding you and finding you alive.

Sam had just sat down on the couch when the door to your office opened and Dean entered followed by both Cas and Jack. “What happened?” Dean asked, already taking in the scene before him. Sam got up, pushing his hands through his hair.

“I don’t know,” Sam admitted, still flustered. “I tried calling her when we got back and when she didn’t answer I got worried. When she didn’t answer her office line, I came here and found this,” he said gesturing to the room around him. Dean spotted the sulfur just as quickly as Sam had.

“Demons,” Dean sighed.

“Low level,” Cas said as he focused on the room. Jack watched both of them, trying to follow their lead, but he was still new to hunting.

“Alright, we need eyes on what happened here,” Dean said, leaning against a nearby bookcase. “Sam, are there any cameras in the building?”

“There should be some at the entrances and the main hallway. (Y/N) was saying that they were recently doing maintenance on them and causing too much noise,” Sam explained with a frown.

“Security office shouldn’t be too far from here,” Dean figured. “Jack, you come with me, I may need your wings.” Jack followed Dean out the door, simply going along with whatever Dean needed as usual. As soon as the two of them left, Cas was left alone with the younger Winchester.

“Sam,” Cas began.

“This is my fault, Cas,” Sam said, trying to stay as calm as possible. “This always happens.”

“We don’t know that this had anything to do with you,” Castiel said, trying to comfort him. “Demons go after people for all sorts of reasons. You know this.”

“It’s not a coincidence. It never is when it comes to us,” Sam said, shaking his head. “I swear when I find out who or what took her…” Sam braced his hands on your desk, trying to center himself. Cas approached him and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, wishing he could heal the pain that was not physical.

“This woman is very important to you,” Cas said. Sam nodded, keeping his eyes on the wooden surface beneath his fingers. “Then we will find her, Sam."

“You don’t know that, Cas,” Sam said, finally looking at the Angel. Cas tilted his head, his brows going up as he gave Sam a small smile.

“For as long as I have known you and Dean, you’ve never not completed a mission. I know you Sam, and I also know that when it comes to someone you care about, you won’t stop until you save them.” Cas put pressure again on Sam’s shoulder and Sam relaxed a bit more.

“Thanks, Cas,” he said and the Angel bowed his head, taking a step back just as Dean came back into the room with Jack who was holding a box of security footage.

“For a University, they could at least use a flash drive,” Dean said as Jack dropped the box on the desk.

“Did you break into the office?” Cas asked, looking at Dean.

“Not exactly,” Dean said as he powered up the laptop in front of him. “We didn’t break in, Jack flew in and unlocked the door from the inside,” he said and Jack nodded, happy to be helping. Cas sighed, but didn’t say anything as Dean began filtering through the CDs. “Sam, when do you think she was taken?”

“She texted me just before we left for the hunt and she seemed fine,” Sam said, trying to think, “her assistant isn’t here and he didn’t report anything, so it must have happened either this morning or last night.”

“Okay,” Dean said as he picked the right CD and placed it in the laptop. It didn’t take him long to find the right cameras. Sam joined him at the screen, scanning for your face.

“There,” Sam said, pointing to the upper corner of the screen. He watched as you arrived on campus, a cup of coffee in your hands as you reached for the keys that opened the building.

“She’s pretty,” Dean said and Sam smiled slightly before concentrating again.

“Fast forward,” Sam said and Dean did, flashing through most of the day. He switched to the cameras in the main hall. Your assistant Brian was at his desk, working calmly when suddenly, he froze in his seat. Cas and Jack had joined the brothers behind the laptop as they watched as Brian slowly stood from his seat and then that’s when they saw it.

Brian had black eyes.

“Dammit,” Dean swore. All four men watched as Brian headed to your office and kicked in the door. There wasn’t audio on the tapes, but Sam could imagine the sound of your voice and the confusion in it as Brian entered the room. The hallway was empty for a moment before Brian appeared again, but this time, he held you over his shoulder.

You were limp in his arms and from the angle of the camera, Sam couldn’t tell if you were hurt or dead. The demon that possessed Brian grinned as he walked down the hall with you.

“Try to follow them,” Sam said and Dean flicked through the cameras until he found the one that showed the loading dock at the back of the building.

The area was usually used for deliveries, but now it held a dark black sedan. Brian walked towards the car and another man with black eyes got out of the back seat and helped put you in the car. At least one more was driving.

As soon as the sedan left the loading area, Dean lost them. “Son of a bitch,” Dean swore. “Sam, I’m sorry.”

“If they wanted to kill her, they wouldn’t have taken her with them,” Castiel pointed out.

“Cas is right,” Sam said. “There has to be a reason.”

“Then what do they want?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know. She has nothing to do with any of this!” Sam yelled. Jack reached out a hand to try and comfort him but dropped it before he could make contact.

“She’s a lore professor,” Dean pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s all theory. She doesn’t actually believe in any of it,” Sam suddenly froze as a realization set in. “I have been lending her some of our books.”

“They might think she’s a hunter,” Jack concluded and Sam lashed out at the closest thing to him which was a stack of textbooks. They scattered across the floor.

“Dammit!” Sam swore. This time, Jack did step forward to comfort Sam. the younger Winchester looked down at the Nephilim and saw the worry in his eyes.

“It’ll be okay, Sam.” Jack tried and Sam softened at the words.

“The kid is right. We’ll figure this out, Sammy,” Dean said. “First things first, let’s get out of here before someone comes knocking.”

------

Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack returned to the bunker to collect their thoughts.

Sam couldn’t stop pacing as they sat around the table in the War Room. Jack watched him, his eyes flicking back and forth as Sam wore a hole in the floor. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since you had been taken and his mind couldn’t keep the crime statistics at bay.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the last time he had seen you. He had told you that he would go and see you when he got back and you had said that he better. Sam internally cringed at the memory of hugging you instead of doing what he actually wanted to.

The two of you hadn’t kissed yet. You were taking it slow, but there had been so many perfect moments and he had always shied away from you. It was at that moment that Sam decided that if he got to you in time, he wouldn’t waste another opportunity.

“Alright,” Dean said, taking charge of the situation. “Sammy, sit down before I tie you to a chair myself.” Sam rolled his eyes but sat down anyway. “Normally in a situation like this, I would outsource for information. However, the one insider from Hell that we knew is now dead so we may have to go old school with this one.”

Sam knew he was talking about Crowley. Whether any of them admitted it or not, they all missed the demon. Dean acted like he didn’t care, but Sam, Dean, and Cas had all spent significant time with the late King of Hell and Sam, at times, did miss his banter.

Normally, hunting down demons was easy. Sam and Dean had been doing it for more than a decade, but right now, he couldn’t seem to think straight. “How hard is it to hunt a handful of damn demons?” Sam asked.

“It’s not, Sam,” Dean reminded him. “You’re just not thinking clearly. If this was any other hunt, where would we start looking?”

“Places they’re most likely to hold up,” Sam said automatically. Dean pointed at his brother with an approving nod.

“Exactly,” he said. “Demons like dark holes or abandoned buildings. Or there are the classier ones that like penthouses and fancy hotel rooms.”

“I don’t think these demons would take (Y/N) to a populated place,” Cas said. “If she is some kind of hostage, then they would need a place where they could keep her quiet.”

“Underground?” asked Jack.

“Probably not,” said Dean. “Demons are strong, but if they are keeping her alive, the would need somewhere they could fortify. Too many things live down in the sewers or tunnels to ensure that.”

“Can we stop saying the word ‘if’,” Sam pleaded. Dean grimaced.

“Right,” Dean said, “Sorry. Okay, this is what we’re gonna do. Jack, you and Cas hit up the warehouse district. It’s close enough to the University that they could have set up there. Sam and I will go to (Y/N)’s apartment and see what we can find. Text us if you find anything.” Jack nodded and then stood up from his seat. Cas followed after him.

Jack slipped his Angel blade into his coat and then grabbed Cas’ arm. With a loud flutter of wings, both Celestials were gone. Sam stared at the spot his friends has just disappeared and Dean clapped his hands together loudly, gaining his brother’s attention.

“Grab your gun,” Dean said. “You know where she lives?” Sam nodded.

“I dropped off a book for her once,” Sam said, grabbing his weapon and following Dean up the stairs.

“Good, come on.”

-----

Dean drove as Sam gave him directions.

“So, this professor of yours,” Dean began. Sam sat next to him, twisting his Angel blade in his hands as Dean tried to keep his brother focused. “How come you didn’t want to tell me about her?”

“What?” Sam asked.

“I mean, I get it. Big brother and all and I’m a bit...overbearing, but it seems like you really like this one. I just thought it was odd you never mentioned her,” said Dean as he pulled up to a red light.

“I don’t know,” Sam said, keeping his eyes forward.

“Yes, you do,” challenged Dean. Sam sighed, giving in.

“I just… I didn’t want to jinx anything,” Sam admitted.

“Sam, I’m your brother,” Dean said. “Hell, you listen to all my drama when it comes to women. So I believe you are almost required to let me know when someone has entered your life. Besides, she sounds like a total badass.” Sam smiled at that.

“She is,” Sam agreed.”And she is just so...normal. You know? She’s not a werewolf or a demon or another hunter. She’s just this incredibly smart girl who happens to be interested in everything I am.”

“You really care about this girl, don’t you?” asked Dean.

“More than you realize,” Sam said. “More than she realizes. I’ve never wanted to settle down or anything like that before. Not until I met her.”

“Hey man, trust me, I get it.”

“Because of Lisa?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Dean said with a nod. He never outright said it, but Sam knew that Dean regretted a lot about the way his relationship with Lisa had ended. While he loved her, Sam also knew that Dean regretted bringing her into the world of monsters in the place after almost losing Ben the first time.

“You couldn’t keep Lisa out of the life,” Sam reminded him.

“No, but you are not me, and (Y/N) is not Lisa,” Dean said. “Also, there was baggage with Lisa that you don’t have with her.”

“I still can’t help but think this is my fault. Whoever took her must have seen me around her office. I figured that was the safest place to see her.”

“Maybe it is your fault,” Dean said and Sam looked at him with his brows raised, but Dean just shrugged. “And maybe it wasn’t. Whatever this is about, it happened and now we are going to find them, gank them, and get your girl back.”

“You seem oddly optimistic,” Sam noticed.

“Sam, after Lucifer killed Cas and we were alone with the kid, I didn’t think anything could be good again. I mean, you saw me and how I was. And then, lo and behold Cas came back to us and I realized we can’t take any of this for granted.”

Sam thought over his brother’s words. Dean has been a wreck after Cas died. Sam had been mourning too, but anyone who knew both Dean and Cas would know that the pain Dean was going through went very deep. Losing Cas was like losing a limb and when Jack had brought him back, Dean had recovered almost instantly.

“So, what you’re saying,” Sam said, “is that you have a good feeling about this?”

“Come hell or high water, Sammy, we’ll get these assholes.”

“Thanks, Dean,” Sam said, reaching over and gripping his brother’s shoulder.

“Anytime brother, anytime.”

------

Sam and Dean arrived at your apartment and Sam kept watch as Dean quickly picked the lock.

Pushing open the door, Sam took a few moments to take in your space. He had never been inside the place just on the doorstep. Your home was very… you. Books lined all your shelves along with other accommodations you had gotten while being a teacher. Your style was relaxed and comfortable, but he could spot antique pieces here and there as well.

The number of take-out menus on your counter made him smile. You had mentioned once that you really didn’t like to cook and seems you were understating that little fact. An unopened bottle of wine sat by your stove and as Sam picked it up, he felt his heart sink a bit.

“What is it?” Dean asked.

“I recommended this wine to her,” Sam said sadly, gently placing it back down. Dean frowned as he continued to look around the room. Sam scanned through the kitchen before Dean shouted for him.

“Sam!” Dean said from the living room. Sam joined him.

“Find something?” Sam asked and Dean held up his hand which was coated in yellow dust. “Sulfur.”

“Also this,” Dean said holding up a folded piece of paper. “It has your name on it.” Sam took the note from Dean. S.Winchester was scrawled on the front of it. Sam hastily opened it and read it aloud.

“Come save your girlfriend, Boy King,” Sam said, gritting his teeth. “There’s an address at the bottom,” he said bitterly.

“Let me see,” Dean said and Sam handed the note to him. Dean tapped the address into his phone and frowned. “It’s an old hospital. It’s been closed for over a decade,” Dean explained.

“I don’t understand any of this!” Sam yelled as he began to pace again. “Why are they doing this? Why her? Why are we always getting into situations like this!”

“Sam!” Dean said, grabbing onto his brother’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. “Calm down and breathe. We have a location now. We can call Jack and Cas and we can go get her. They wouldn’t have left he damn note if they had killed her.”

“I know, I know,” Sam said, more to himself than to Dean.

“We’re gonna get her,” Dean said again, “I have always been a hero for your love life and I ain’t about to let you lose this one.” Dean then pulled his brother into a hug and Sam relaxed, resting his head on Dean’s shoulder. “You good?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” said Sam as he pulled away. “I’m good.”

“Alright then, let’s get going. We’ll call the heaven brigade in the car.”

------

On the way to the hospital, Sam checked their supply of holy water.

“We’re killing them, right? Not exorcising them?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, we’re killing them. If we just send them back, they’ll just come back for her,” said Sam.

“What about the assistant?” Dean asked. Sam sighed, momentarily forgetting about Brian.

“I don’t know, maybe,” he said and Dean just shrugged.

Suddenly, there was the fluttering of wings, and Cas and Jack appeared in the backseat. “Oh, good, backup,” Dean said, grinning at them in the mirror.

“You have a location?” Cas asked.

“On our way there now,” Dean told him.

“Sam,” Cas continued, “tell me about (Y/N).”

“Uh,” Sam said, unprepared for the question. “She is brilliant and kind. You would really like her, Cas. Her humor kind of reminds me of yours. She has all these ideas about what she wants to do with her life. (Y/N) wants to write books and travel more. She’s never been to New Orleans so I told her I would take her there one day.”

“She sounds nice,” Cas said, wistfully looking out the window.

“Yeah…” Sam said. “I can’t let her get caught up in all of this.”

“I think it’s a little late for that,” Jack said.

“Kid,” Dean said with a look at him in the rear view and Cas looked at Jack with his “disapproving dad look.

“It’s okay,” Sam assured them,”he’s right anyway.”

“Well, right or not, we’re gonna fix it,” Dean said as he pulled Baby to a stop. They had arrived outside the hospital and Sam couldn’t help but think of the terror you must have felt being dragged into here. “Alright, crew, gear up,” Dean continued and then looked at his younger brother, “time to go save the girl.”

TAGS:

@reginalaufeyson-holmes

@her-storybooks

#Sam Winchester Imagine #sam winchester x reader #spn imagine #reader insert #supernatural meme #supernatural imagine #castiel #jack kline #dean winchester #winchesterwords #sam winchester x y/n

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dast218 · 4 years

Text

Assassin’s Heart pt 2

Part 1

Dodging and aiming for a high punch, Jason, or currently better known as Red Hood, let out a grunt of dissatisfaction as he kept failing in pinning Damian down. The little Demon has been keeping up with his attacks for the past twenty minutes with no sign of sweat, frustrating Jason to no ends.

“Hood you should spare yourself the embarrassment once you land face first on the platform.”

Canceling out the cheers Jason mouthed “bring it on little brother”, receiving a tisk and a full force punch in his ribs. Stumbling back, the cladded in blood red and black vigilant continued the taunting, aiming to distract the little demon until he leaves a side unguarded.

Rolling onto his side, Jason avoided becoming a punching bag and swung his feet under Daman’s. The urge to pull out a gun started to become unbearable.

Huffing in irrigation, he couldn’t up but wonder how the heck he got pulled into this shit-show. Being an attraction and following guidelines was borderline neglect. Why do people find throwing hands so fun to watch, like I am trying to kill someone not liberate them.

He should probably mention that the rules of this match were borderline neglect: No weapons, no killing, make it entertaining and keep up the distraction.

All because of a stupid bet.

Oh right context:

Damian and Jason found themselves on opposite sides of a bet. The typical bickering in the noble house of the Waynes had gotten out of control, ending with blood and knives scattered at every inch of the dining room. The argument over who had the rightful claim of the newly golden trimmed weapons escalated, and in hopes of calming down the tension a bet was made. Whoever wins will get their prized possessions.

Who in their rightful mind thought that a bet would calm down the Waynes boys? Dick ficking Gayson, that's who.

But of course things couldn’t go smoothly. That would have gone against the whole lifestyle of the Waynes, and the universe just wasn’t yet prepared. Honestly speaking, it probably will never be. Scoffing, Jason dodged another kick and started recalling the series of unfortunate events that got them in a fighting pit of all places. Somewhere along the lines he ended up going to the market in hopes of interrupting an illegal shipment of gunpowder. He couldn’t have the guy come in 2 days before his placed bet. Then the Demon would win and that was simply not happening under his watch. And yes for all those wondering, they placed a bet about a delivery date, the most sane thing the Bats did in a very long time.

Arriving at the scene, to Jason’s utter disappointment, the youngest Wayne was already perched on the side of a rooftop.

“How?”

Ginning, Damian curtly answered “Alfred.”

Before Jason could counter Damian’s response (like he could ever go against the Alfred argument), shouting and cursing erupted in the streets below.

From there the details blurred. One moment they heard the dealer screaming that his lot got stolen and the next they were down breaking apart a fight. Hidden under masks -hey living the noble life is way too boring- the Bat boys dealt with the situation fairly quickly. They found out that the dealer was only left with a few scraps of powder, meaning that Damian won.

Jason couldn’t believe that the brat had his toys and on top of that is currently beating him in the ring. Why couldn’t Bruce just dump the little rotten back to his mother. Curse his adoptive nature. Even if the brat is his, that man adopts too many!

Anyways upon further questioning, people claimed to see a woman in black running around the city. At first Jason didn’t make anything of it, as that was not the weirdest thing they witnessed in Gotham. A few hours later the news of Malnesias lord’s murder reached the manor, prompting the lord of Gotham to send the noble houses into action. With a lead from a few drunk soldiers and traveling merchants, the undercover Waynes found themselves on a trip to the Kingdom of Adan.

While traveling, Damian slipped information that he had personal business with this infamous Shadow girl, who a few months ago decided that releasing his herd of sheep from their “prison” - as she put it in a lovely letter - was a good idea. The Wayne boys kept snickering every few miles, everyone understanding why and joining along. Heck, Jason was dying of laughter even hours after the reveal.

That was a week and a half ago.

Somehow getting more information on this Shadow woman required creating a distraction. And that's how he found himself currently throwing a punch to Damian’s ribs.

It was way too early to deal with the wants of the king. On the other side of Marinette’s wooden door someone - by the sounds of it her maid - has been knocking for the last five minutes with no success.

“Madam please open up. You are going to be late for breakfast!” With a barely recognizable sigh she added, “Again”

Slightly smiling at the display of distraught, Marinette flipped onto her side, simultaneously pulling the gray cover over her face. Today is my sleep in day.

The next thing she registered were two sets of arms grabbing her shoulders, pulling her up onto her feet. Grumbling at the force, Marinnete yielded and allowed the girls to circle around her. She learned a long time ago that when facing a group of determined women, it's better to let them have their way. Thinking otherwise would have called her a hypocrite in ten different languages.

Looking at the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at the person staring back at her. The tight blue dress hung her body, enhancing her curves and muscles. From a distance you could see that the material is expensive, sparking in the sunlight with a delicate touch. She knew that someone with her status had to look appropriate, but dressing all lady-like wasn’t at all her style. I can’t wait to change into a running outfit after this fiasco is over with.

Heading to the dining room her vision started to blur, with each step requiring more energy than the last. Marinette couldn’t help but grunt as she felt herself losing balance. Leaning against a wall, she tried to steady her breathing. In and out. In and out.

After a few counts, the lightheadedness disappeared as quickly as it appeared, leaving Marinette confused. Her headaches were getting worse by the day but each time she tried remembering why, the feeling of losing control came back. It was like something was blocking her memory. Frustrated, the blue dressed assassin continued walking.

Entering into the ridiculously expensive dining room, Marinette met eyes with the King. Without a second glance she sat down, thanked the server and started eating. The King was never the talkative type and with the morning she had, she didn’t feel like talking either.

After a while the emptiness started to bother her and with a lift of her head, she asked “Where is Adrien.” Marinette didn’t know what prompted her to ask as his whereabouts never interested her to begin with, especially after their argument few weeks ago. Matter of factly, staying away from the golden hair men was on her daily to do list.

“You mean Prince Adrien”

“No, you heard it right the first time”

“He came in drunk yesterday.” Gabriel finally said, short and indirect as usual. Fine two can play that game.

Humming in response, the assassin pushed her plate and lifted her legs to the table, her heals hitting the metal with a clack. She didn’t care if her actions were unladylike or down right rude. Leaning back and crossing her hands she irritatingly got to the point.

“Look Gab, I am in no mood to play along with your games today. Its way to early to deal with your pesky attitude.” Hearing few gasps she grumbled, apparently all it took was a few weeks out and suddenly everyone forgets that she doesn’t care what comes out of her mouth. Gezz cut me some slack, like hello I could have still been enjoying my sleep if this guy with a crown hadn’t woke me up.

“What the heck do you want from me?”

------

Finally done with school and got the plot down!

Disclaimer I got inspo from the Throne of Glass book series, just putting it out there. (Assassin’s Heart won’t be similar in many aspects butttt ... yea just letting you guys know)

Tag List: @thestressmademedoit @dreamykitty25 @loveswifi

@dorkus-minimus - not sure if u wanted to be tagged or not, let me know :)

#maribat #assasin's heart

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tirorah · 3 years

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’Minna’s Sky’ is Road to Berlin’s Crowning Achievement

A long time ago, in a universe far, far away, three young girls met each other during a war: Minna, the caring leader; Gertrud, the stalwart defender; and Erica, the lazy prodigy who kept them smiling.

As the fighting continued, a friendship began to form. And now, years later, that friendship lies at the heart of something truly exceptional.

Minna’s Sky is the culmination of twelve-and-a-half years of relationship development, and it gives this special trio the sendoff it deserves. I was overcome with conflicting emotions while I watched this episode; when it finished, I was left shaken and almost lost for words.

…Which is why I wrote an essay on it! And that entire essay is contained under the cut, so you’d best buckle up and hold onto something, because today we’re diving into what I believe to be the pièce de résistance of Strike Witches.

In a previous post speculating on what Minna’s Sky could hold—which, by the way, was thoroughly proven wrong—I took a moment to outline my love for Minna and my frustration with her neglect. Initially, this trend continued in Road to Berlin: in episodes 6 and 8, the characters were faced with circumstances that would’ve been greatly helped by a Witch with Space Understanding magic. Of course, I understand why the writers chose to exclude Minna from these events; having Minna there would’ve negated the drama of Trude thinking Erica was dead, and of Sanya and Eila clashing over conflicting sensory reports.

But Minna’s episode hit back hard. If RtB is Strike Witches’ magnum opus, then Minna’s Sky may well be RtB’s masterpiece among masterpieces. It combines the intensity and raw emotion of Hounds of Vengeance with a ticking time bomb that ratchets up the tension all the way through, finishing with a series of events that makes you feel like anything can happen.

Role Reversal

Minna’s Sky starts with a surprise right away. In episode 8, Minna and Trude expressed anxiety over losing their magic. At this point they’re just under three months removed from their 20th birthdays, where decay will certainly start to set in. But in this episode, we learn Minna’s already feelings the effects. At first this confused me, as their birthdays are only nine days apart, but I do recall seeing something about how Trude’s magical reserves are pretty large, second only to Yoshika’s. I can’t find my source for that, but this could be an explanation for Minna’s earlier decline.

Trude notices Minna’s flagging strength, and at that point, a switching of roles takes place.

Minna, who once held Mio at gunpoint for refusing to give up on flight, is now doing the same thing. She’s still herself, but she essentially slips into Mio’s previous role. She takes this burden upon herself and stops communicating with the others over it, even avoiding them during mealtime.

Last episode, we could see her mask starting to slip, and here, all her logic and serenity fades, replaced with a wholly emotional desire. She and her girls have worked so hard to get here, and she wants to uphold her vow of retaking Berlin, so she makes the decision to give this fight everything she has, despite the danger involved.

This puts her at odds with Trude, who slides into the calm and perceptive role Minna used to fill.

You know, Trude may be my favorite character of all time, but she hasn’t always been handled well. In Season 1, she was a great balance of the calm and quiet supporter, and the stern disciplinarian who thought yelling at Erica would make her get up earlier. In Season 2, this equilibrium was lost; it leaned much more into her anger, and there were precious few moments of Trude being the gentle and tender woman I know she can be. The movie had the same problem, as it had to reintroduce eleven characters in one sitting. Operation Victory Arrow worked hard to remedy this problem, focusing on smaller casts which gave them time to show different sides of themselves—like Minna and Trude having breakfast like a married couple. Ahem.

This is one reason why RtB has been so gratifying for me. It knows what it’s doing with Trude and while she’s certainly had some angry moments, RtB has built her up as a more mature, level-headed executive officer. Consequently, it feels natural for her to take up the position Minna would usually hold in this type of situation.

Even when she privately confronts Minna over her magic, there is no anger, only attempts to reason her friend out of her decision. But Minna doesn’t want Kiel to be lost, and at that moment, it’s made clear that she prioritizes Operation Southwind over her own well-being.

And this is entirely contradictory with what she usually tells her girls! Like I said before, the 501st is a circle of love, and while that love motivates them to fight for one another’s sakes, as Sanya did, it now leads Minna down a path of self-sacrifice that would’ve absolutely killed her if it was one of her girls doing it. Moreover, with Trude now filling Minna’s role, she’s the one pleading with Minna not to go, and like Minna once failed to stop Mio, Trude now fails to stop Minna.

This causes inner turmoil. Trude doesn’t want to lose Kiel, but if Minna perishes, she’d never forgive herself. Like she said in Hounds of Vengeance, when she thought Erica was dead, retaking Berlin would have no point if Minna wasn’t there to celebrate it with them.

It says something, then, that Trude chooses to go along with Minna’s wishes, and even keeps her waning magic a secret from the others. Instead of declaring Minna unfit for battle—which I imagine she has every right to do—she instead becomes Minna’s most ardent protector, immediately volunteering for the high-risk operation. When Minna becomes anxious and nearly makes a mistake, Trude is there to rein her in and calm her down. Minna even comments on how this would usually be the other way around.

Fortunately, Minna is better at this self-sacrificing stuff than Mio is. While she initially uses her desire to protect Kiel to justify her actions, a heartfelt campfire scene shows us that she’s aware of the ramifications her death would have. As Erica complains about their fake coffee, Minna promises to make her a proper batch when they return; Trude tells her not to make such promises, but Minna reassures her she’ll come back safe, and even proposes they go to a café together once Berlin is retaken. On the surface, they’re making plans for the future; but underneath, it’s an implied message to Trude: I understand. I’m not going out to die. I’ll come back.

Isn’t that first pic just the cutest Trude shot ever, by the way?

And Trude is pacified. She places her trust in Minna and continues to support her as best she can.

Of course, things are never that simple. Minna succeeds at her objective, and just when the episode seems to be steering to a happy conclusion, the Hive screeches and loads up all its rockets at the same time. As Trude once again begs her to stop, she does the unthinkable: she cuts the line and dives into a suicide run, breaking one promise to keep another.

The facial expressions and body language have been god-tier in RtB.

I must commend Tanaka Rie here. I’ve often complimented Sonozaki Mie (who voices Trude) for her impeccable delivery, but Tanaka Rie is equally excellent, possibly better in some departments (like range, just hear her role in Mai Otome for example). Here, as Negai no Tomoshibi starts playing in the background, the gravity of the scene rests entirely on Tanaka’s voice work. And boy, does she nail it! The exhaustion, the desperation, the sheer will, it’s all there. Her desperate pants and cries at the end are especially powerful, and they make this scene even more dramatic when she faints right after.

Trude manages to catch her—and only Trude was there, because 1: we only saw Trude catching her; 2: the hand we see is Minna’s left, and in the next shot, Trude is carrying her right arm instead; and 3: we only saw one blue dot in the Hive, and the episode previously established one dot was one Witch.

Ahem! Trude catches her and brings her back, and she…breaks down.

Wow. Trude doesn’t cry easily, you know. We’ve seen her depressed, despondent, even heard her sob as she told Yoshika to leave her behind, but until Hounds of Vengeance, we’d never seen Trude cry. While that one ended in a victorious moment, here the emotion is allowed to run its course, and it’s heartbreaking. Trude doesn’t just cry, she weeps, and as she yells and screams at Minna that she could never follow an order that would involve leaving Minna behind, her facial expressions convey just how terrified she truly was.

I said earlier that Minna switched to Mio’s role, and while that’s true, there’s something even more poetic at work here: this episode mirrors Season 1’s Episode 4 in some places, to the point that I feel like it has to be on purpose. That’s one reason why I made this photoset. Just look at this:

Oh look, more apologizing! These two are so emotionally responsible to one another. It’s always good to see.

The roles are shown as reversed, with Trude crying and reprimanding Minna, and Minna apologizing for her actions and agreeing on a better path forward.

Sexy Gal

I also need to devote some space to Erica here. She wasn’t as prominent—Minna and Trude’s bond took center stage—but this episode is probably the best showcase of Erica’s qualities. We already saw her surviving in the woods and rationing her chocolate three episodes prior, but here, it’s clear more than ever what her role is in the Karlsland Trio’s support structure: the morale boost.

In the “Erica Hartmann 1941” manga, we’re shown how Erica becomes a ray of hope for everyone, and especially Minna and Trude, whom she begins to develop a friendship with at that time. It’s this aspect which is finally on full display here: while she’s not as overt with her support as Trude is, she helps in her own way, and her easy-going personality consistently puts a smile on her friends’ faces. That’s why it’s so important that it’s Erica who makes Minna laugh—not once, but twice. In a group where the other two members have their fair share of baggage, Erica is a breath of fresh air and equally important.

Rising Tension

Okay, with the character work out of the way, let’s look at the episode’s story. Because holy crap, I felt like I was watching a movie! At first, I was a little annoyed by some of the stiff animation (especially for RtB’s standards). I was afraid they were going to half-ass Minna’s episode. But as the episode proceeded and absolutely everything got better and better, I realized I was in for a very special ride.

I’ve always had the opinion that Strike Witches is at its best when it plays its war drama straight, but it’s not as simple as striking the serious tone and having the characters fight for their lives. Strike Witches isn’t a pure action show; the stakes in battle often revolve around the characters overcoming their flaws, struggling to protect the world and those they hold dear. Thus, Strike Witches relies on its lighter moments to develop the cast so that when danger comes to them, your emotional investment in the characters helps to create additional tension.

In general, RtB has been great at this, but for me personally, the most emotionally intense episode prior to Minna’s Sky was Episode 6: Hounds of Vengeance.

But that one was different. It started off with relatively low tension, then brought it up to full when Erica was left behind and Trude had a meltdown over it. But when it’s revealed that Trude isn’t just moping around, and that she’s working on a plan, the tension evens out. The central question goes from ‘Will Erica survive?’ to ‘How awesome will Trude be in this episode?’ The climactic action is triumphant, and although Trude’s reaction to Erica’s ‘body’ is heartbreakingly real, we as viewers know that Erica is fine; in fact, she hasn’t seemed that down at all, obviously having faith in her rescue.

Episode 9 doesn’t do that. It immediately confronts you with Minna’s magic issue and her hiding it from her friends, then pretends to be innocent for a while, with Patton being an idiot and Ursula introducing her helmet gun. (“It’s a helmet, with a gun on it.” NO, REALLY?) But as soon as the Komet is introduced, the pressure builds and it never lets up.

It all comes to a head when the trio (plus Ursula) reaches the launch point. Minna’s been dropping death flags all episode, and now things go haywire over and over. An hour left? Nope, the Neuroi spotted you and moved up the rocket’s launch. Barely enough time to intercept the rocket? Hey, there’s that Neuroi that beat the two top aces of the world in single combat, and it’s coming to stop you. Thirty seconds to go for the fuel? The Neuroi gets past Trude and Erica and nearly destroys the Komet, hurts Ursula and blows up one of their trucks. Trude and Erica get it away from there? Oh look, the Hive’s about to launch!

We then get an epic scene where Minna takes off, uses her magic, and destroys the rocket. Speaking of which, I didn’t say anything about this when I talked about episode 8, but I’m so happy we finally get to see some of the Witches’ magic from their point of view! Seeing Eila’s future sight was haunting, and Minna’s is awesome to see as well. Erica and Trude manage to finish off their quarry, showing their skill and adaptability; it seems their prior experience means they’re better prepared to deal with its unique movements this time around.

Erica asks for chocolate and grumbles when Trude tells her she’ll get some later. Minna laughs, but there’s still that tension because Minna’s fuel is almost up, and she’s hanging around that damn Hive.

And then the Hive loads up all its rockets at once, and all hell breaks loose. Trude loses control of the situation as Minna goes on a suicide run, and then the insert song starts playing. It’s difficult to explain the impact of that song without simply showing you the episode. The moment that piano hits, it feels as though a veneer of tragedy descends upon the scene. The Komet nearly stops working, and Minna is on her last legs, and she’s reduced to nothing but cries and gasps. She faints moments after she destroys the last rocket.

And then the music gets louder as Minna plummets into the Hive, red slowly filling the screen. We’re treated to a long shot of Minna falling into the swirling, angry clouds, her tiny form fading into its mass. And at that point I freaked the fuck out.

It was somewhere around Season 2’s finale and watching the movie that I realized Strike Witches doesn’t kill off characters. Let’s just say killing a beloved character probably wouldn’t work too well for future sales. (“Hey, look at this awesome figure of the girl who died! Don’t you just love her? We’ll accept your tears as interest.”) If Mio of all people can have plot armor rivaling the size of the planet, then Minna sure as hell won’t perish here.

And yet, for a fleeting moment, I was absolutely terrified she would. All because of the masterful tension of this episode, and this entire fight scene in particular.

Fortunately, Trude manages to locate Minna in the clouds and brings her back, and the viewer can finally breathe easier as we head to the happy ending they deserve.

…Oh right, the ending.

Yuri alert

Let me start off by saying this ending is complete bullshit. It feels shoehorned in—no, I don’t care what historical event it’s referencing—and it doesn’t fit the tone of the episode at all.

Having said that, as much as this made me laugh (even more than Trude’s literal asspull in Hounds of Vengeance) it did get one thing completely right: yes, Ursula, it IS very beautiful. The love between these three is great. What kind of love that exactly is, I’m not entirely sure anymore.

Yes, you’re going to roll your eyes at this—oh no, she’s going to rant about Minna x Trude again—but…I was watching this ending, right, and I could almost hear the gears in my brain turn as I tried to process this image. Emotionally, I felt like this ending was communicating love of a different sort.

Look, for all I know they’re just best buds who’ve come to deeply rely on one another for emotional and psychological stability, but my god, this ending definitely felt like a ‘oh by the way, the three of them are married to each other’ signal to me. I’m not joking!

Does that make Minna x Trude canon, even as part of an OT3? No. In fact, for all the delightful Minna x Trude subtext this episode had…

Deflection by way of flirtation. Oh là là~!

…Trude did all but confess to Erica in episode 6, and later this week, Mio might finally return in a big way and might have screen time with Minna. But my point is, in that moment, my ship felt realer than ever. In that respect, this episode gave me more than I ever thought I’d receive.

Insert clever ending header here

Right, so that’s my ramble on Minna’s Sky. I hope I’ve managed to get across why I believe it’s the best episode of the entire series. The character writing was top-notch, the tension was through the roof, the music was evocative and the animation was beautiful. Barring an absolutely spectacular final three episodes (and I wouldn’t put it past RtB to deliver that), I think this is as good as it gets. It’s not easy to beat emotional stakes that were established twelve years ago, after all.

Minna’s Sky was absolutely the episode Minna deserved, and I was very happy to see the Karlsland Trio getting its spot in the limelight as we gradually draw closer to the ending. It’s their home they’re trying to take back, after all. And while I have no doubt Minna will continue to fly until the end of the season (she seems to be fine in the preview), Operation Southwind will most likely be the bookend to Minna and Trude’s careers.

I can only hope this won’t be the last we see of Minna and Trude. I’d love it if we got to see their lives after Karlsland’s liberation, either as supporting members of the Wing or trying to live normal lives after fighting a war for nearly a decade. (Shameless plug: I have a Minna x Trude fanfic which explores the latter.)

But most of all, I don’t want Road to Berlin to end.

#strike witches #road to berlin #minna-dietlinde wilcke #gertrud barkhorn #erica hartmann #minna x trude #minna x trude x erica?#anime

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curly-bangtan · 4 years

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In HW will we ever see something Historically funny, like Taehyung , Y/N parents coming to visit without notice and them scurrying to clean up just in general... lol

Hahaha I love that idea. Let me write a little drabble right now. (I know you said clean up in general but I thought it would be funnier if they were in the middle of something...)

Warning: smut, somehow morphed into angst I’M SORRY

The island kitchen counter is Taehyung’s favourite place to eat you out. And despite the hard slab of marble pressed cold against your back rather than the soft cushion of your mattress, the scandalousness of the location, so out in the open without the shelter of walls, makes it arguably your favourite too.

Splayed out on the counter, your legs swung over his shoulders, his hair is the only thing you can grip on in the absence of bed sheets. And he loves it.

“Fuck, Taehyung, keep going, I’m close.”

You feel him smirk against your cunt, the rhythm of his tongue hitting your clit quickening. Your eyes are screwed shut, lips stinging from his biting. This orgasm is going to be spectacular, you can tell.

Ding dong.

The pit of your stomach drops when you hear the familiar sound of the doorbell.

Taehyung’s face resurfaces from between your legs, eyes wide at the interruption. “Delivery?” He asks, wiping his sheen-coated mouth.

“Hmm, could be my clothes.” You purse your lips in annoyance. You were this close.

In a careless hurry, you forgo your panties on the floor and put your sweatpants on, and you silently thank that Taehyung was too impatient to take your top off before devouring you. Shirtless, he lounges back on the stool, spinning it to face the door, probably to death stare the delivery boy. Though, even without the death stare, his massive boner poking out his checkered pyjama bottoms would send the guy running.

When you swing the door open, your heart stops beating.

“Sweetie, hi!”

Oh fuck.

You hear Taehyung stagger off the stool behind you.

“M-mum? Dad? H-hi. What are you… doing here?” You forget how to breath when your parents pull you into a bone-crushing embrace. This pigeon-shit luck of yours will get you killed one day.

“We were just in the area since we were having brunch with Meredith. You remember Auntie Meredith? She looked after you that one weekend your dad and I went to France when you were eight? So we’d just thought to pop by and say hi.” You don’t know who the fuck Meredith is, nor do you care. Because your parents are currently pushing pass you into your house, where a completely horrified Taehyung is scrambling around the island counter so his boner isn’t full on display to your parents.

When your eyes meet his, you can’t tell who is panically more internally.

“Taehyung!” Your father greets, eyes scanning the poor boy’s stark chest. “Wow, look at you!”

You could say that Taehyung is pretty well-acquainted with your parents, though you would rather them not be this overly friendly with your roommate. He’s usually good with your folks, joking around with them, especially if the subject of conversation is you. But right now… A bead of sweat trickles down his cheek.

“H-hi, Y/D’s/N. Er, it’s nice to see you.” Arms crossed to preserve his modesty, Taehyung stutters. With your previous activity still fresh in your mind, you think you can just about dissolve into a puddle of embarrassment. Had they heard you moaning? Oh my god...

“Jeez, Taehyung, it’s been a while! Where’s your shirt? Don’t get me flustered now.” Fanning her face, your mum jokes. She likes to make it blatantly obvious how attractive Taehyung is, and it makes you want to pull your hair out.

“Right, sorry, we weren’t expecting you. We just woke- I just woke up. I’ll go put something on right now, give me a second.” Your eyes meet as he flees the scene, and you give him a lethal daggering glare for leaving you to fend for yourself.

The sensual ache between your legs has completely vanished, replaced with that throat-constricting feeling of dread. It’s not that you’re not happy to see your parents - you are - just not right now of all times.

“Surprised, sweetie?” You mum fawns over you, fingers combing through the tangles in your hair while your dad surveys your messy place.

“Very surprised, mum. Pleasantly, of course.” You force a sickly sweet smile at her, mouth dry with guilt. If only she knew the filth you had been up to with Taehyung. He had kept you up all night last night, which is why you only got out of bed at noon. And even so, he still wanted to eat you out for breakfast.

Your eyes follow your father’s tacitly judgemental gaze, no doubt preparing to scold you on your disorganisation. It doesn’t take more than a minute to wash up a goddamn mug! You can practically hear him say. Then your eyes land on your thong on the floor.

Oh no. Oh no no no no no.

“Are you even listening, Y/N?” Your mother chides. “I said, Taehyung is really quite handsome, don’t you think?”

“Yes, yes, mum, of course.” Without paying attention to her words, you answer.

The black lace underwear lies rather inconspicuously by the corner of the counter. From a fleeting glance, it could pass off as a discarded sock. But knowing your father, knowing how his scrutinizing eyes never fails to find every single flaw, there is no chance he will miss it. He is pacing on the other side of the counter, a few steps away from reaching it; and you’re standing a good five metres away, you won’t be able to hide it without being obvious. Doomed.

Just then, Taehyung emerges from his room, a creased t-shirt thrown over his head, hair still sticking out in places where you were tugging. Your eyes immediate travel to examine his bulge, which is less prominent than before, confirming that the poor throbbing thing is tucked under the band of his boxers.

“Taehyung!” Your mother flocks over to him, clutching his arm too enthusiastically. “We were just talking about you. You’ve grown out your hair! It looks great on you!”

Your dad stops pacing on the other side of the counter, and you let out of breath of relief as your underwear remains hidden under the counter. In two strides, you bend over to pick it up and stuff it in your sweats while the attention is diverted to Taehyung.

“Thank you. Y/N wouldn’t let me cut it, she said she likes it long.” Taehyung chuckles nervously, glancing over at you. Your eyes narrow at his innuendo. Intentional? Probably not, he’s way too freaked out right now.

“Come on, it does look better long and permed, doesn’t it?” Though your voice resumes its regular tone, your heartbeat has yet to calm. Your parents absolutely cannot find out about you and Taehyung. From the fact that you have not had a single boyfriend in your life and how repulsed you act every time they ask about men in your life, they probably think that you are a virgin. You’d rather keep that pristine image of yourself.

“Taehyung looks good either way.” You roll your eyes as your mum pats Taehyung’s cheeks fondly, and the pleased grin it coaxes from him. Too smug.

“Thanks, Y/M’s/N.”

“So,” your dad crosses his arms and leans onto the island, “What's up with you two lately?” So the interrogation has begun.

“What do you mean how have we been?” You bristle. “We’re fine, still great friends. Why would anything be up with us?” Taehyung bites the inside of his cheeks at your response. Great friends, indeed.

“Hey now, I meant how have you guys been, Miss Sensitive.” Taken aback by your defensiveness, you dad chuckles.

Right... You clamp down on your lip. You should shut up before you give anything away.

“Yeah, Taehyung, you got a girlfriend?” Your mother’s brows raise suggestively. Oh god, not this again.

“Mum-”

“Nah, no girlfriend.” Taehyung shakes his head shyly, scratching the back of his head.

“Really? Oh why not!? I’m sure girls are lining up to be with you!”

You’re about to drag your mother off Taehyung when you actually consider her question. Why doesn’t Taehyung have a girlfriend? It’s not like he’s really sleeping around nowadays anyway. And though he never expresses it to you, since it would probably be weird, he is definitely the type to be pining for a girlfriend at heart.

When you glance at him, his cheeks are tinted, eyes searching the floor frantically. “I don’t know… I guess I’m just… Not really actively looking for a serious relationship right now? I’m happy with the way things are currently with my life.”

You’re not sure why you feel as though his words are aimed at you and your situation. Are you overthinking? Or is he saying that he doesn't want anything to change between you? Not that you want anything more, god no, you just… Maybe a selfish greedy part of you hopes to keep Taehyung all for yourself.

“Psh, yeah right, that’s what I used to tell myself, buddy.” Your dad chimes in, and you’d just wish he would dial his abrasive tone down a little. You've definitely taken after your father. Good thing he likes Taehyung, or the savagery would show its claws. “Trust me, you’ll want a girl sooner or later.”

“Exactly. And I know you’ll kick me out for this, sweetie, but you two would make a great couple. Why not just give it a go?”

Taehyung has gone completely stiff. You can’t believe what your mother is saying. This isn’t the first time she has urged you to date Taehyung. He’s good looking, a nice guy, makes you laugh. Y/N, why not? Why not? Because- Because…

“Mum! You’re right.” Her face lights up. “I’m definitely kicking you out. Please, we’ll have dinner this weekend. But we’re busy right now. Goodbye.”

As you usher your parents to the door despite their protests, you purposely avoid Taehyung’s eye, sensing the heat rush profusely to your face. “Wait but, Y/N-”

“Taehyung and I are best friends. I’m not going to be his girlfriend, we’re happy right now. Okay?”

Strangely, when you slam the door after your parents, it feels as though you’re trapping yourself with the very problem you wish not to face, rather than having banished it. Cheeks bashfully red, Taehyung doesn’t say anything when you approach him, muttering your apologies on behalf of your parents.

His mouth opens, and shuts.

You’re glad that he stays quiet, glad that he doesn’t disagree with what you said. Because you don’t know you would handle knowing that Taehyung wants something more.

Unedited and rushed and sporadic and kinda shit sorry

#heatwave #heatwave drabble #ask: Heatwave #taehyung #taehyung smut #taehyung angst #bts #bts taehyung #bts smut

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mysterylover123 · 4 years

Text

Top 10 Bakugou Moments I Can’t Wait to see Animated!

MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD THROUGH 251

Our loudmouthed Lord Explosion Murder sure has grown up a lot, hasn’t he? While there was traceable growth in him even before The Thing happened (The Thing being Episode 61), he really shot off like a rocket on the Character Development Train following that grand wakeup call. Since he’s basically on hiatus from the anime until we get through the damn basement arc (sorry to those who like it, I just think it’s way too long) I thought I’d celebrate the Top 10 Katsuki Bakugou moments from the manga I can’t wait to see animated.

#10. “That’s a good look for you, dreamy boy!”

Chapter 166

I’m basically hyped to get to all of the Todoroki/Bakugou shenanigans from the License Retake mini-arc (every interaction they have here is gold) but this moment stands out as the most fun one to see transfer to animation. Bakugou actually laughs for once at a joke rather than his own triumph; his line is translated differently, either as an actual compliment to Camie or a borderline flirty, teasing comment towards Todoroki. Either way, it’s funny as hell, and a great BakuMoment I’m looking forward to seeing finally hit the screen (and to hear both Okamoto and Chapin try and make Bakugou laugh like that).

#9. “I came here to find what I lack”

Chapter 247

Bakugou really kicked off the self-awareness train post DVK2, of course. But this is one of his more self-aware moments since then, as he goes to intern with the #1 pro and talks about what motivated him to do so. Bakugou knows he’s great at many aspects of being a hero, and he’s even learned how to do the Saving and Teamwork thing from last arc, but he still feels like there’s something he’s missing as a hero. So he comes to learn from the #1, and gives this little speech (accompanied by another cute flashback with Baby Deku). Another moment I’m impatient to hear voiced.

#8. “Have you gotten any better?”

Chapter 168

After the first 120 chapters of being the Central dynamic of the entire series, post DVK2 Bakugou and Midoriya rivalry is a lot more low-key and very different in nature. Namely, Bakugou flips from being desperate to tear down every success of Midoriya’s out of fear to being surprisingly supportive of Deku’s success and quick to give him a push in the right direction. He speaks here to ask Deku how he’s doing, and challenge him to catch up. No longer afraid that he might, but practically demanding that he actually do it. That, my friends, is growth.

#7. “I’m gonna kill ‘em all with my sound”

Chapters 171-182

Culture Fest Bakugou is just a surprising delight from beginning to end. It’s one of those arcs that really reminds me he’s a teenager, immature and petty but learning to be better. There’s two specific scenes I’m excited for in the anime: firstly, of course, the aforementioned quote, as he protests the way the other classes are treating Class 1-A, and then during the performance itself, as he not only does great, but realizes that he needs to put his own ego aside and play along for the good of the class as a whole. It’s a very short little mini-arc for him, but another sign of how much more empathetic he’s grown.

#6. Post OFA breakdown concern

Chapter 217

I’ve got a number of the “Kacchan acts like a concerned, supportive friend for Deku” moments on this list, but this little sequence has a special place in my heart. Of course, there are the multiple close-ups on Katsuki’s concerned looking face during the match as OFA goes berserk, but then there’s the cut to post-Training when Kacchan spars with Deku to bring out his power, sits on the couch with him to consult about OFA, and serves as a very helpful intermediary between Deku and All Might, spurring Midoriya to realize some uncomfortable truths about OFA. Also, “Icy hot can be so smart and so damn dense at the same time.” Cannot wait to hear that one.

#5. “Didn’t hear of any time limit”

Chapter 218-219

Finally having their Provisional Licenses, Bakugou and Todoroki leap into action within less than an hour of getting them to save some civilians from a villain attack. Not only is that cool, but Bakugo once again shows his growth by prioritizing getting their stolen wallets back from the criminal, somehow managing to store them all inside those giant gauntlets. Pulling off teamwork with his (best friend) greatest rival, saving to win, and getting head-pat from All Might? It’s enough to seriously warm the heart.

#4. “Did something happen with One for All?”

Chapter 202

And my favorite of the “Kacchan worrying about Deku” moments, from Chapter 202. After nearly a year’s worth of complete hiatus from the Rivalry, Kacchan returns with a new attitude towards Midoriya, one where he actively inquires into his wellbeing, encourages him “in his own way”, to quote the Symbol of Peace himself, and nags him about being more cautious and trying harder. He just exudes such a kinder, better energy here, despite still exploding and covering it up with harshness, than he ever did before. I can’t wait to hear that new, more tender delivery from both Dub & Sub.

#3. “If you’re always looking down on people…”

Chapter 167

Ah, the climax moment of the License Retake arc. Not only does Bakugou figure out exactly how to reach the bratty kids (Bakugou!!!), but he takes a moment to pull the ringleader by the hand to join his friends and tell him the lesson he learned himself about self-examination and the consequences of looking down on others. Again, another moment I’m excited to see animated partly, yes, for the animation, but mostly for the sake of hearing Kacchan’s gruff voice actors pull this off (And of course, after the way they both nailed DVK2, I know they’ll be amazing).

#2. “He’d achieved a different kind of strength”

Chapter 208

The first moment when we truly get to see the new “Save to Win” dynamic play out on screen. Living up to his own hype to Deku and All Might, Katsuki not only leads his team to a perfect 4-0 victory (the first for Class A), but does so through 1. Teamwork and Cooperation with his classmates, and 2. Jumping into action to save Jirou from an upcoming attack. We’re reminded, in this moment, of those key words from the end of DVK2, as the person who brought about all this change in him (Midoriya) watches on in awe. I want to see the action, voice acting, and maybe a hint of the “Katsuki and Izuku” OST to start playing at this point. Hype!

Honorable Mentions: “It’s too damn early” Chapter 249, Christmas Kacchan, Chapter 242, Eating the Speech bubble, Chapter 194 (how are they gonna pull that off in animation?), grumpily waiting up for the Internship kids (Chapter 162).

#1. Saving Natsuo

Chapter 251

Yep. Most recent, most hype-a-ble. Kacchan finally getting to rescue someone from a real, honest-to-god crisis situation. This chapter went by really fast, so I’m hoping the anime gives us the proper animation and focus on Kacchan (the chapter was also way more focused on Todoroki’s thoughts than his). I want to see him have that switch flip, that Deku moment where he just moves to go save someone without thinking. And in this case, I think he does. He jumps into a action to save good ‘ol Natsuo from a dangerous villain and gets himself a hug from the #1 for his trouble (hugged by 2 #1 pros, wows). Definitely cannot wait to see this finally hit the big screen.

#my hero academia #katsuki bakugou #kacchan #bakugou katsuki #i do love making a top baku moments list #he's so lovable now #like he starts as the guy you think will be the villain #and then #all of a sudden #post dvk2 he's lke the unexpected heart of class a #you just wanna pat his head and hug him #jealous of endeav a little

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littlestsnicket · 4 years

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the witcher: betrayer moon

The beginning of this episode seems to draw so much more on horror tropes than other episodes. Not that I watch a lot of horror to actually know that. This bit isn’t actually that gory, but there’s something about the slow painful dying that’s really ick.

The random ass Witcher is smoking a fucking pipe! I missed that the first time around. It seems like he dies a lot too easy for someone with heightened Witcher senses. I guess there just narratively isn’t time for that to take longer but it feels a bit sloppy in a way this show usually isn’t.

Two funny things about the scene with the prostitute: (1) we immediately establish that they’ve been at it long enough to run out of refreshments which is great, and (2) she’s singing Jaskier’s songs and using them to identify Geralt’s scars. That comes up in shippy stuff a lot but let's assume that is not what they’re going for. The best thing about it is that Geralt is annoyed at the singing and scar identification but also 100% willing to ignore all that if it means a pretty lady is touching his chest like that. I’m amused.

Oh hey, organized labor!

‘You can’t kill the vukodlak so you decide to kill your king?” — that’s a real odd take on the situation, but I suppose it’s not an unreasonable take on what Geralt knows of the situation. Maybe. And he’s so derisive about it. Geralt’s political views are complicated and warrant more thought than I am willing to give them right now to unpick.

“And if you can’t kill it?” “Then I die.” ICONIC.

It’s an interesting touch that the guard captain knows people by name. He seems very engaged on a personal level. It gives you a feeling of how small Temaria is.

I’m not going to look at this in terms of adaptation (that would be a separate thing if I even get around to it) but I think it’s a really interesting choice to pull Triss into this story.

This has been going on for 6 years?!? No wonder people are close to revolt.

Oh Geralt’s angry face when he finds out that Triss lied about the other Witcher fleeing. Like don’t undermine his professional honor.

I’m really glad they didn’t give Geralt cat eyes. I found it really distracting in Good Omens when Crowley wasn’t wearing his glasses. It’s just an odd thing to see on an otherwise human passing creature.

Yenn? Why are there illusions of people you conjured watching you have sex? Why is that something you thought to do? The way they are smiling and the just like... warm applause is so odd. What is the kink you’re exploring there? I want to understand, Yennefer.

“You are a first draft of what nature intended.” The delivery of that line is so funny. (Also, I imagine that is how book!Dandelion’s hair looks.)

“We remake ourselves on our terms. The world has no say in it.” There’s a lot to unpack there. Especially with how Tissaia explains it in terms of power.

“Call her a unicorn if you like.” Fanon is wrong about how much Geralt talks in the show. It’s not all just hmm. Relative to all of his dialog there’s not actually that much of that.

I very much enjoy the way Geralt’s deduction skills are shown here. And also how he confronts royalty as someone who is both not a subject and has very little to lose in terms of social standing.

Stregobor!! AAAAAGH! He’s so awful

“The all powerful sorceress Tissaia de Viress is knocked down from her glass pedestal.” Teenage rebellion Yenn (although that does oversimplify their relationship.)

Geralt just like... ignoring Triss’s questions is really good. There’s not nothing to the fanon characterization of Geralt.

Sniffing! Sniffing years old scents! How does Geralt function out in the world with all of that input? I guess he’s used to it.

“Kings have done more for less.” “True.”

Istredd calls her Yenna!

“I will not be schooled by some man that pimps the world as some romantic adventure. My world is cruel. Unpredictable. You enter, you survive, you die.”

“You’re just angry because you lost your chance to be beautiful.” “I want to be powerful.” “Seen and adored with everyone watching.” “It is what I’m owed.” “No amount of power or beauty will ever make you feel worthy of either.” This whole exchange is so good. Yennefer and Istredd are young and flailing about but know each other to hit the mark a few times.

The aesthetic of this ball is so confusing. What is that music? Maybe Yenn’s dress as “what a early 2000s teen thinks a witch should dress like” was more intentional than I thought. That’s what this party is too. It’s got a strong, for lack of a better word, fanon Harry Potter vibe.

Angry Yenn! She has got to be so used to being able to emotionally beat down people by the time she meets Geralt.

“This isn’t my first time trying to save a princess who others see as a monster.” “What happened to that princess?” “I killed her.” Geralt is fucking impeccably honest. That is a huge part of who he is as a person. What a thing to say to a king.

The prostitute assumes Geralt was in love with the princess and Foltest assumes he is incapable of it. And Geralt does not correct him.

“She was hiding from the brotherhood...” Wait!!! Did Yenn give the guard captain the curse?!? I think she could have timeline wise.

Yenn chooses to keep her eyes and her scars. She also very explicitly knows what she is giving up. Which she, importantly, never puts up for debate. But this really isn’t informed consent. That is the life path she was, essentially, sold into. She also doesn’t get what she was promised in a court appointment. The thing that stands out to me on this watch is how little real power and influence Triss has in Temeria. I think it’s easy to suspect that Yenn didn’t put in her all at court, because by the time we see her next it’s been such a long time and she is so jaded. But I don’t think that’s the case at all. There is something going on here with women needing to be beautiful to exercise power and it also, simultaneously, undermining them. It’s a complex thing.

Geralt can be pretty fucking ruthless when he lets himself. Just abandoning captain dude to die. Not that he’s a good person or whatnot, but still.

The snow particles add a lot to the aesthetic of the fight sequence with the striga. And the noises the striga makes are truly horrifying.

Yennefer is insane to do this without any kind of pain relief. I read some very good meta about Yennefer believing it should hurt. I don’t have anything insightful to say about it.

The little moments of Geralt being clever while fighting! I’m trapped so let me aard through the floor to escape. That is next level situational awareness!

Yenn’s transformation intercut with Geralt fighting to break the striga curse. What does that imply? Lots but I’m really not sure exactly what.

Geralt trapping himself in the crypt. It’s so clever but also feels like an act of desperation. And he’s relatively unscathed until the mostly uncursed but totally feral princess tries to eat him.

Yenn and feral princess are in very similar fetal positions post transformation.

Yenn’s face when she walks into the ball! It’s a really complicated face. Something about her ever so slightly vague open mouthed expression reminds me of Steve Rogers post Captain America transformation. It’s a similar “I have just undergone something incredibly painful and now am different” thing.

So what would have happened if Yennefer ended up in Nilfgaard? Would it have made any difference?

“Anyone else would have killed the princess. You chose not to.” “I’ll take my coin now. I need to get back to my horse.” yeah sure Geralt. Triss knows you’re not in this just for the money.

Vortex of Fate!!! This is not one of the episodes where they say destiny an unreasonable number of times, but Triss does say it there at the end. (And also the bit about destiny being related to choices.)

“I feel something waits out there for you. Something more.” CUT TO CIRI! There are a lot of really clever things with how these storylines are woven together.

You know what? I did not miss Ciri at all this episode. Freya’s performance is good and there’s nothing wrong with the writing, but she is definitely the character and storyline I am least engaged with.

#the witcher #mayo blogs the witcher #oh hey i did the first two of these literally 4 months ago--since i picked it back up again that is good odds i will finish eventually #this is really more for my reference than anything else but why not share my rambley thoughts about things

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kuningannasansa · 4 years

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A musketeers rewatch (that nobody asked for) 1x04

(warning: not always complimentary towards all characters, especially not aramis, anne and athos. dont like, don’t read)

We start with Louis being a prat and in this instance I love it!

Richelieu is wearing his red robes over the hideous black outfit. I wish it was just the robes.

Athos wonders what’s wrong with Aramis and Porthos says “have you forgotten about the massacre at Savoy?”. This is clumsy exposition. Realistically Athos the character would not have forgotten but I guess the viewers need to know.

“A strategically important pimple” - Lmao! Who says Armand hasn’t got a sense of humour!

This marks the beginning of these strangely depopulated court scenes. I do wish they had been able to afford more extras!

The Duke’s name is Victor... idk how I feel about that

The conversation between Marsac and Aramis is very well written, the exposition feels natural and also Aramis handles the situation quite well.

Now the Duke is mad and everyone is trying to calm him down. Treville points out that they should wait for the facts and Anne says that the shot could have hit any one of them, they are family and should stick together. This is why I liked her back in season 1! She was clever, had some political acumen and was good at playing her role as queen (women being seen as the gentler sex whose job it was to calm mens anger) while still maneuvering and getting her own way.

It is funny thou, how everyone else is making good points and Richelieu is pacing around in a panic not saying anything at first, not even responding to Victor’s insults. And when he does speak he miscalculates and angers the duke. He is brilliant when given time to think and consider, but not always quick on his feet lol (as pointed out by @tatzelwyrm in her wonderful fic Reformation, which I really must remember to review cause I fucking loved it).

Louis calls the duke a pomous arse and Richelieu points out that France needs Savoy, but his face says he agrees xD

There’s definitely some sexual tension between Aramis and Marsac. Or maybe I’m just a shameless slasher...

“If this gets me hanged, I’m going to take it very personally” - lol, I do love musketeers humour!

The scene between my dear grand deceiver and his bluff honest man of action is SO GOOD!! The dialogue, the delivery, the acting in general!

Richelieu’s room is ridiculously large and empty thou xD

“Death in battle is one thing, but your world of back alley stabbings and murder disgusts me” - that seems to be the show’s morality in a nutshell and I don’t like it. Whether you’re killed by Milady’s dagger between the ribs or a musketeer sword, you end up no less dead. Sometimes secret assassinations are necessary, that’s why countries have spy agencies. And while yes, in battle you can see your opponent coming and have a good chance to deny him, I am convinced that a big part of why killing in battle is seen as more honourable is that it is the more traditionally masculine option. Also, it is an option most easily accessible to able bodied men. Everyone else can’t always afford to “fight fair”.

“Not everything I do is pleasant, but it is all necessary.” - well, that’s not true either. Not all.

Richelieu panics again and wants to move the prisoner but Treville says a transfer would only attract attention and Richelieu is like “yeah, you’re probably right” lol. Poor cardinal, he’s trying to run the whole country alone but he needs advisors just like anyone else would to make the best decisions. If he would just admit it, his life would be a lot easier!

Dartagnan gets all jealous and territorial over Constance. I know it’s meant to indicate their true love, but I’ve never found that shit charming.

Aramis ties Marsac up. This is making me horny now.

“I’ve thought of you many times” - omg, I gotta see if there’s fic of them!

Constance finds out that Marsac is a criminal and instead of kicking him out, she kicks D’artagnan out! Bless!

Okay, so the Duke’s men killed the 20 musketeers because the Duke thought that they had come to kill him and put his son on the throne. And Treville told him where to find them through Cluzet (spl?). But actually it was all a distraction to kidnap Cluzet. Noting this down, cause I don’t remember the plot anymore.

PORTHOS DEFENDING TREVILLE!! <3

And Richelieu just couldn’t resist going to see his prisoner!

And Cluzet worked for the Duke officially but was actually a Spanish spy! Okay, that makes sense. I wondered why they kidnapped him lol.

Richelieu is gloating now. He should have stayed away from there.

“Total solitude, unlimited time to reflect... I almost envy you.” - oh Armand! You will learn in the Spanish prison :(

(yes, in this house the Spanish prison AU is canon)

Porthos: “this is the captain we’re talking about” Aramis: “which is why we owe it to him to clear his name” - damn, that’s a good argument! I like Aramis in this episode! That’s probably why I remember liking him a lot when season 1 first aired...

“If it is true, what then?” - @donnaimmaculata made an excellent point about that here: https://donnaimmaculata.tumblr.com/post/109300936446/aramis-was-actually-at-his-smartest-in-this

Louis playing swords with Louis Amadeus is so cute!! And the kid is a more gracious loser than Louis is a winner xD

“I don’t want protection, I want to be treated as an equal.” - that’s a good Constance line, much more feminist than that nonsense about the duchess later in the episode

And D'artagnan apologizes and promises not to lie to her again. Mentioning that cause his respect for her boundaries and acknowledging when he makes a mistake goes totally out the window in season two.

The duke: “Have you captured the man who tried to kill me?” Richelieu: “We should not be distracted by minor issues.” - what is wrong with him this episode?? he is not being at all diplomatic

The duke challenges Athos to a duel and Treville is so cool and quietly confident while Richelieu frets.

And Treville smirks at his evident distress xD

Treville gets mad at Athos for humiliating the duke. He could have defeated him in a way that left him his dignity, apparently. But Porthos says he would have cut his head off, so Treville should consider himself lucky, really.

Porthos is very good at spying!

Treville’s filing of documents is “meticulous”, apparently. Sorry, but that does NOT sound like him!

“I will never believe the captain is a traitor” - that’s noble of you Athos. Maybe you could have extended the same courtesy to your wife?

The confrontation with Treville is so angsty and well acted and tense! This is the show at it’s best, dealing with a serious issue and giving it the weight it deserves. I love!

It’s kind of sad seeing how in love the duke is with his wife! I hope he never finds out she’s a spy lol xD

Now Marsac tries to rape Constance. Was that really necessary? Like, really, why?? We understand he is an antagonist, there is no need to make him cartoonishly evil, especially by using violence against women.

I don’t know what his friend being a seezy rapist says about Aramis thou...

Dart to the rescue, yawn!

I do love how we are led to believe they’re gonna kiss and then she goes “teach me how to shoot” xD

“Honour? There’s no word in the language more likely to cause stupidity and inconvenience” - lmaoo, Richelieu I feel you

“You think I won’t have you arrested? That you’re above the normal rules of soldiering?” - Yesss Treville, have him arrested! You will save everyone a lot of grief down the road!

Aramis punches Treville in the face! LOL! xD

Aramis and Marsac argue how to handle Treville (Marsac wants to assassinate him) and Aramis just cradles his face!

And then Marsac punches aramis in the face and knocks him out cold! LOL! xD

I love how the duke is actually objectively right in this episode. Imperialist France is meddling in the affairs of another sovereign state. The weak suffer what they must. And the musketeers are not on the side of good by helping the King and Richelieu conceal Cluzet. They follow their orders and work for the state, but the state is, well, not always nice. Just pointing that out...

The duchess looks so cool and beautiful riding into the garrison in that yellow dress with her cloak flapping in the wind!

“You traitor!” Cluzet says to the duchess. Pot calling the kettle black

“Not your average duchess then” - I don’t like this line! It sort of implies that an average duchess without fighting skills is somehow lesser and plays into a long pattern in television when women are only valued when they have “masculine” skills. But I do love her character a lot! More on that here: https://kuningannasansa.tumblr.com/post/100754198434/a-duchess-of-savoy-appreciation-post

Richelieu’s FACE when he sees D'artagnan as the guard! xD

But I wonder what his plan was? What if the musketeers had not shown up to save his ass?

“Paris has a number of excellent places of correction, if you’d like a tour of them all?” - aawwww, sassy cardinal!

He even gives Dartagnan a look of acknowledgement. As well he should! The Cluzet switch was brilliant and funny!

Now Marsac is going to kill Treville, but Aramis stops him, saying there should be a court martial. Well done Aramis, keeping your head! Also, justice! It does exist!

This is another very well acted emotional scene!

Aramis shoots Marsac, choosing Treville over him. It’s sad and tragic and wonderful television!

“I love my husband, very much” - I like their relationship

Lmaooo now Richelieu is already plotting the Duke’s murder xD

Wet Aramis at Marsac’s grave is hot!

In conclusion, there were some things I didn’t like, but all in all this was a very good episode!

Red Guards killed in the line of duty: none

Women fridged: also none! this really was a good one guys!

Best dressed: Constance

#the musketeers #bbc musketeers #cardinal richelieu #captain treville #trevilieu #constance bonacieux #milady de winter #musketeers rewatch

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probablypartalien · 4 years

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I’ve seen a lot of posts that more or less equate the Joker to schizophrenia. And I feel that, while possibly true, is a gross understatement to the character as a whole. I’m not going to try to play psychiatrist and diagnose a fictional character. So for the sake of this argument, we’ll just say he’s schizophrenic and move on. Schizophrenia is largely about a disconnect with reality. Think of the scene in Suicide Squad where Harley Quinn makes the joke (joke?) about voices in her head. That right there is normally as far as we get with seeing “schizophrenia representation.” We hear about hearing voices and seeing things that don’t exist.

Joker, on the other hand, delves way deeper. His character sees a different reality than Batman or the audience can see. His unpredictable nature isn’t unpredictable to him. That’s where Leto’s portrayal fails. His method acting was to create shock factor scenarios for his coworkers because the Joker, to him, is simply “an agent of chaos.” While that’s true, Leto’s Joker fails to show why he creates chaos wherever he goes. Just that he does. And sure, that’s more origin story material than side-character in a cluster of other loud characters acting on a plot that has nothing to do with what the Joker wants or does.

Phoenix shows that his character is seeing another world than we do. Not only do we get a hallucination of his love interest, a very common schizophrenia in the media trope, but we also get to see him see the world. In the Murray scene, watch Arthur’s eyes and expressions as he takes in the world around him. We see the rage and sadness and conflict. Then we see the realization hit. We’re not told what his inner monologue is. But we see its impact. Arthur stops “pretending.” He stops interacting with the world in a way “normal people” would. And we get it. We get that this is no longer someone who can be controlled.

The Joker is going to be the one in control 99% of the time. And he knows it. Even behind bars or getting his face punched in, he firmly believes he is in control. But he, while incredibly theatrical, doesn’t feel the need to constantly convince people he is in control. Let’s look very closely at how Leto’s Joker, Ledger’s Joker, and Phoenix’s Joker interact with people. Yeah, they all kill someone on screen. They all create very chaotic scenes; helicopter scene in Suicide Squad, riots in Joker, and the boats in Dark Knight. They all surprise us at some point or the other. But where the award and history book worthy depictions are concerned, the Joker speaks quietly when showing his knowledge of his control. Leto’s “big hunka hunka” line delivery feels wrong. It feels over-acted. It is silly, but not in a good way. That was Leto trying to show the Joker’s knowledge of control. He manhandles a larger man, speaks loudly, and demands attention.

Ledger and Phoenix, on the other hand, seem like they are in vulnerable positions when they claim their control. Ledger’s Joker is getting battered by Batman when he says that nothing can hurt him. Phoenix’s Joker is being verbally battered by Murray when he says that he has nothing to lose. And from there, the Joker wins. Whether it is in getting Batman to lose control or in killing Murray, both Jokers get what they wanted. And both are simultaneously punished as well as exalted for it.

The juxtaposition of being in a powerless situation but being in control isn’t an easy thing to do well. Suicide Squad and Leto had a very watered down formula for the iconic character. Dark Knight and Joker, Ledger and Phoenix; they knew what they were doing, why they were doing it, and how to get it done. Coming back to the idea of seeing reality in a different way, let’s look at where the two end. They end in the same place, an asylum. If a “normal person” was in that position, they’d see it as a failure. They sure as heck don’t end the movie by ruling the world. But in a way, they do. Because they are the ones who construct or at least act in reality as they see it. In their eyes, they won. In our eyes, they shouldn’t see themselves as winners. It’s a very different view of the world, of priorities, of adversity. The Joker may be the Joker because he’s schizophrenic, but that explanation alone does very little to paint who this character is.

#joker #batman #suicide squad #dark knight #joaquin phoenix #jared leto #heath ledger

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real-jaune-isms · 4 years

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RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 7 Rundown

This episode was not as stressful and tense as the last... it was just kinda depressing. But I felt better at the end of the chapter than I did at the beginning, which is a good thing.

Much like how last episode started with the aftermath of the rioting over SDC layoffs, this begins with the Grimm attack following Jacques’ election and Tyrian’s killing spree being pretty much over. I had expected it to be a much bigger deal, honestly. But shows what I know. The worst Mantle has ever seen is yet to come.

It starts with somber music on a somber scene: Penny sitting sadly and in deep self doubt back in her father’s Altas lab as she gets a small sign of reassurance and comfort, that being a mechanized arm probably used mostly for maintenance patting her on the head. Other than that, she’s all alone and she definitely feels it.

Ironwood is now in full paranoia mode and has enforced a curfew for everyone in Mantle. No one is allowed to be out at night without good reason, and no one may gather in assembly for any reason. It’s incredibly restricting, but it’s all he can think to do to keep people from grouping up in any place they might get attacked again. At least, that’s the only logic I could think to gather from it. As airships patrol overhead, we see that the thirsty mom who gave Jaune the casserole two episodes ago is still alive with her child, though still very much afraid. Unfortunately... they were some of the lucky ones. We see two of the little kids Jaune helped cross the street hiding from Atlas soldiers behind a dumpster. I can only assume it was their mothers who were slain by Tyrian, and now they may go hungry on the streets or maybe don’t know how to get home. It’s incredibly depressing and upsetting...

Two people walking the streets are chased by soldiers just for being out late, and a newscast says that despite a public statement about the killer footage of Penny being faked people still think she’s a danger to society and should be shut down. With the rush of a truck in front of our view, we cut to a thrilling scene that lifts our spirits a little. As a supply van, the same sort we saw Ruby, Marrow, Qrow and Penny riding in a few episodes back, drives through the city we see some figures giving chase from the roofs. Familiar figures. Then another welcome face stands in from of the truck and makes it stop. It’s the new FNDM favorite, May Marigold!!! When the robot drivers tell her to step aside, that gets the attention of patrolling soldiers down the block. When they round the corner... there’s nothing there. Not even the truck! Turns out it was May whose Semblance was keeping her and Joanna invisible when they approached the other truck in their first appearance. And even more good news, dear Fiona has made a full recovery! And it turns out her Semblance is really amazing. She just places a hand on the van and the entire thing dissolves into dust as if being sucked into her palm. How exactly it works we don’t know, but it reminds me of Blackbeard from One Piece and his ability to create black holes to absorb anything he touches and save it for later. In this instance it’s a very useful way to take all the contents of the truck without taking up much room.

Unfortunately it’s also really bad news for Ironwood because now Robyn is officially breaking the law and adding even more trouble to the situation of Penny being framed for a massacre and Jacques getting a position of governmental power. And Winter prompts even worse news out of him. Because of Robyn’s new habit of hitting up supply trucks to redistribute the materials to where the city most needs them, the Mantle suppliers have gotten bold are refusing to supply until conditions improve. So there will be no more deliveries to the Amity Project, no more progress. It’s been stalled completely, so close to the finish line. Nobody likes that. The only solution Winter offers is an even worse prospect though: declaring martial law to make every business obey military demands. And much to Nora’s quite vocal dismay, Ironwood is willing to take that path. He sees the big picture first and foremost and it’s blinded him to how important it is to address how awful the problems are here and now. Global communication? Or keeping their equivalent of a ghetto in good enough shape that the people can sleep safely at night and stop complaining to him? He said before he doesn’t care about his public image being ruined, but if this is what it means to ignore the defamation and bad press then maybe he should?

Nora is having NONE of his bullshit. He’s trivializing the lives and safety of hundreds of people. Saying they have to wait a little longer for things to start getting better is easy to say from the tallest and safest building, in the richest Kingdom ON THE ENTIRE PLANET!!! He doesn’t have to hide in the dark wet streets unsure of where the next safe place to sleep or thing to eat will come from, not knowing if he will be found and eaten by Grimm or arrested by the military just because he wasn’t where they want him to be. He doesn’t know what it’s like to be the little guy. Nora, we can mostly certainly have guessed by the condition she was in when she met Ren, has. Ironwood claims everyone has had to struggle in these recent times, but he refuses to admit he’s making Mantle bear all of the burden because that’s the easiest path for him with the least direct resistance. Ignoring their pain and keeping on with this game of patience is only making it worse on them, and sending more men to bully and order around more people will only create despair and strife, and they all know damn well that will just be trading the current problems for more Grimm than even they can handle. It’s a staredown, and ultimately Ironwood backs down and takes a seat to contemplate. Ruby is on Nora’s side, this treatment of Mantle isn’t right and is only going to make ripping the peace apart easier for Salem. This is exactly what Tyrian is here to cause.

Which brings up an interesting moment. Clover says the only reason Ren, Nora and Ruby are here is to confirm without a doubt that they saw who they say they did. He pulls up a visual of what’s essentially Tyrian’s rap sheet, and Winter explains that he was one of the worst killers Anima had ever seen who disappeared after he was caught and then let free by a Grimm attack on his prison transport. The info page itself tells a pretty eerie story of his past. The arrest was aided by a huntsman with the last name Pickerel, who insisted there should be more guards for the transport to the point he had to be removed from the mission for obstructing the process. A pickerel is a type of poisonous frog, and Tyrian’s inspiration is said to be the fable of the scorpion who asks a frog to carry him across a river on his back. The frog doesn’t want to for fear he will be stung, but the scorpion assures him he would not because it would only lead to him drowning as well. Yet the scorpion stings the frog anyway, for it is just in his nature to do so, he can’t help it. Poetic, especially since after Tyrian’s escape Pickerel is found dead in his home. Despite Grimm activity in the area of the transport route being minimal shortly before, a distress call came from the pilot that a swarm of Grimm came for the ship as Tyrian was in transit. Despite the ship being split in two within 6 minutes and some people whose names seem to be redacted from the record presumably dying, that same pilot named Cornetto continued to talk over the transmission. And a lot of that was just “What are you?!?!” before he too was killed. The last thing anyone heard from the scene was Tyrian himself seeing his unholy savior Salem for the first time and weeping at her beauty. Quite telling of why he worships her so much.

Ruby and Qrow agree that this is proof he’s here as Salem’s agent to start chaos before a major attack; Atlas is definitely her next target. Unfortunately, Ruby’s hopes that the public can be warned about this dangerous suspect and know who to watch out for instead of Penny are dashed by Clover. No one is gonna like the news that a long lost serial killer is in their streets, it’ll only make things worse so this has to be secret too. Nora? Well she hates that too, she hates ALL the secrets Ironwood is making them keep. Cooperation and appeasing tensions would be so much easier if they could tell people who the enemy is, what Atlas is actually doing to help. But that makes the General the Big Angry. Any info getting out is a disaster in the making. Telling people about the Amity satellite means more opportunity for the enemy to sabotage it, and telling people about Salem means people are going to freak the fuck out sooner than the good guys will be ready for. So secret it must stay and complete the tower must be, though hindsight is kicking us all in the ass because a few words said way sooner would have gone a long way to making the situation better. For now, the General implements a strategy the likes of which haven’t been seen since Kyle Rayner in Infinite Crisis! Arrest Robyn Hill and make her cut a deal so the supplies can start running and the tower can be finished. As you would expect, Nora and Ruby don’t like that plan. But Daddy Ironwood don’t care, he’s on a roll here. Priority #1 is Robyn and anyone not on that case needs to find Tyrian and his accomplice to figure out what their plan is and how they’ve gotten this far. And in full totalitarian leader mode he calls Mantle/Atlas HIS Kingdom. Winter and Clover are of course obediently agreeing, but surprisingly so is Ren. But it’s not hard to understand why. His village was destroyed by a Grimm that there was a possibility might have been defeated if there was a Huntsman or two there, so of course he has respect for the established power he wishes could have been there in his time of need. Inversely, Nora has very likely been a street urchin in the big cities and seen how poorly they treat the common man so she holds a grudge and wants them to make changes for the better. It’s fascinating character juxtaposition that may very well drive another wedge between them...

But that’s a problem for another time. Now we have the Bees in the back of a truck for one of my favorite scenes this episode, nay this Volume. They’re part of the effort to bring in Robyn, being in a decoy truck while most of the Ace Ops are implied to be in other trucks so they can cast a wide net and no matter which one Robyn decides to ambush she will be met only with opposition. Once a truck gets stopped the others will be alerted and come running as backup, but until then it’s radio silence. And in that quiet comes some time to talk. After all this escalation of force Yang wants to know if Blake thinks they should have told Ironwood the whole truth about Salem and Oz earlier on. Blake can tell that’s what Yang thinks should have happened, and the blonde clarifies that even if she does have faith in her sister she still believes the General deserves to know just like they deserved to. Blake has reason to disagree, since Ironwood’s behavior even without that knowledge shows a paranoia and habit of overreaction that could have been exacerbated by such catastrophic news. He didn’t have many good options to work with, to be fair, but those are in short supply for all of them these days anyway. And these two have had to make more of those choices than most recently, not just the secrets but also killing. Yes, after 7 episodes it’s time for these two to actually talk about killing Adam. Because you don’t just do that without repercussions, without feeling some guilt and remorse. But Yang says it plainly: that was the only option they had in that moment. It was what they had to do. They can feel remorse and guilt about killing, but it was in self defense against an evil person who intended to murder them. Still makes the both of them wonder how far down this path they’ll have to go to keep doing “the right thing”. And one thing is for certain, even if it was what they had to do in that moment Blake wants to make sure they never find themselves in a place where they have to again.

My mind wanders back to the Adam character short between Volumes 5 and 6. When Blake voiced her concerns and apprehension about what they were doing to Adam and said she wanted to stop hurting people, he chastised and belittled her for not having the strength to do what he insisted they had to. He gaslit her into thinking she was weak and cowardly, that she was an insult to the White Fang like her parents and her way of thinking was invalid. He wanted her to be unwaveringly obedient to him and not think for herself. In stark contrast, when Blake says she doesn’t feel right ambushing a Huntress trying to do good for Mantle... Yang agrees. She admits that’s a valid way to feel and that they don’t have to go through with what they were told if it’s going to make Blake uncomfortable. It’s differences like this, not explicitly stated but evident if you’ve been paying attention all this time, that show how much better a partner Yang is for Blake, romantic or otherwise.

The scene shifts once again to Pietro’s lab where Penny seems to be in a charging stand of some kind while they analyze her personal footage to prove she didn’t kill anyone at the party. Ruby and Weiss are there with them, as is Maria!! Our chaos grandma makes her return after 6 episodes of absence!! Ruby wants to make sure Penny is gonna be okay after how traumatizing being framed must have been, and Pietro assures that she likely will, she’s just scared about how wrong things have gone and how she’s hated and feared now. They can prove her innocence, surely, but they can’t just take away the fear and doubt that are in people’s hearts now. In that sense, Watts has won so far. And that upsets Pietro a lot, since Robyn would be dead if Penny hadn’t been there to try and help. But Ruby sees the truth here, Robyn was never in any real danger. Salem just wanted people to think she was and that Penny was to blame so further division and distrust could be sewn in Atlas and Mistral. Penny stepping in was exactly what they wanted, just as many others had been in Vale two years ago (their time, as best as I can guess). Pietro points out that the similarities don’t run there, since Atlas tech is once again working to the enemy’s advantage since the footage everyone is in a tizzy over uses imagery from all the hero work she did in Mantle so it would take a tech genius with a watchful eye to gather what they would need for this deep fake.

Maria gives a point of levity we were all subconsciously thinking and says she misses the days when people just fought to the death face to face. Thank you for that. Pietro admits the Mantle security system is chump change for the kind of hacker they saw the work of at the Fall of Beacon, but Atlas got the better network protection. And a million IRL I.T. people screamed in frustration that they left the ghetto city with outdated security that could undeniably and inevitably lead to their downfall. Weiss asks the important question, how WOULD someone get access to the Atlas Network? Fortunately, only few people have that clearance: Ironwood and other Council members, the leads of surveilance and cybersecurity, and the overseers of critical city systems like sewage and the heating grid. And there’s where the ball drops: Weiss reveals the heating grid is run in partnership with the Schnee Dust Company. Suddenly everything Watts has been doing becomes much more clear. He wouldn’t have helped Jacques win the election for free, so clearly he asked the SchneeEO for access to the heating grid in exchange, and now that’s his in to mess with the security of Atlas as a whole. And we see what he does with that next episode...

But for now, the heroes don’t know as much as us so for now they’re just a little suspicious. Ruby already knows about Penny so now she asks how Pietro himself is doing, and he admits the stress of both building the tower and worrying about people wanting to hurt Penny would have broken him down if Maria hadn’t been helping him. But we see there are still cracks in his composure as he starts tearing up just looking at her. My heartstrings are tugged every time I see the emotion on this poor man’s face. Ruby tries to reassure him that even if the worst does happen to Penny he can always rebuild her like he did after Beacon... but she doesn’t know the whole story. Penny is one of a kind for a very good reason. And so we get her backstory.

Ironwood initially challenged a team of Atlas’s best and brightest to come up with the next breakthrough in defensive technology, and Pietro was the most creative and introspective with his idea. A protector with all the might of Atlesian innovation, but the indomitable soul of a human. Apparently very few thought the same way he did, but the General believed in the project and so it was chosen. It’s likely that many of the other scientists who had pitched their concepts were transferred to help make Penny whether they believed it could work or not. From the photograph Pietro is holding as he recounts this tale, that includes a certain disgraced Atlesian with a fabulous mustache. We now have a plausible motive for his betrayal and defecting to Salem’s side. Considering his skills being computer hacking and enough cybernetic knowhow to build Tyrian’s tail, he may have had a plan for something akin to Skynet or Dr. Gero’s Androids but his idea got tossed aside for something he felt was ridiculous and beneath him. It does still give him enough experience with the development to know how to hack Penny however, and that does concern me a good deal. What worries me even more is what we learn about how exactly Pietro got the Penny Project to succeed. Everyone thinks he managed to create an artificial Aura for her, but that’s not really accurate... He actually gave her a portion of his own, leaving himself that much weaker. He’s had to do this both times he built her, and he doesn’t have enough life left in him to survive a third time. People complained there were no stakes or risk with Penny if she could be so easily rebuilt without consequence, but that all goes right out the window here. If she gets destroyed again, it will either be permanent or mean Pietro will die for her. Because look at that man. You know he would do it. And we really don’t want him to... As Ruby promises they will find the one responsible for all this trouble we get the “dramatic reveal” that Pietro’s thumb had been covering Watts’ face in the photo... but we had guessed it already.

Scene shift again right back to the streets of Mantle as the Happy Huntresses are striking again at another truck, which as luck would have it is the one with Blake and Yang. Robyn opens the back doors to see the Bees raising their hands in surrender, but she panics and runs anyway, telling the rest of her squad to scatter and regroup back at base. The girls chase Robyn into an alley where there is a very cool shot I can best describe as panning up from the pavement to dolly zoom in on Robyn as she checks over her shoulder. Blake tries to trip her up and then has to dodge bolts from the crossbow on the older woman’s wrist, all the while trying to explain that they just want to talk. But Robyn doesn’t stop to listen, she just slashes with her weapon’s razor sharp sawblade of feathers. Very versatile and transforming weapon there, Miss Hill. Blake uses a fire powered shadow clone to dodge, and Yang strikes from above and tries shooting at Robyn as well. But the feathers make a good shield too, as she further demonstrates when both huntresses start attacking up close and she fends them off pretty well. It takes the Bumblebee technique (yes, I’m sticking to the name, it works well and it’s canon) to send Robyn flying back a bit into a more open area with a kick from the airborne Blake. Robyn tries to intimidate the pair by saying they won’t be enough to take her in to Ironwood, and they openly admit they aren’t the only ones looking for her and their backup will be on their way since the truck got stopped. So they need to talk NOW, because she needs to hear this. She thinks it’s just a stalling tactic, but Blake presses on and reveals the plans for the satellite and the Tower... and Robyn is in disbelief. Yang tries to explain what that would mean, but that’s not what Robyn is so hung up on. So we get another reveal that’s been hinted at for an episode or two, her Semblance. Blake is told to take her hand and answer the question again. And with a green glow of the Aura flowing between them, we see Robyn is a human lie detector. The confirmation of the Tower being Ironwood’s secret project only confuses Robyn more, because surely he could just tell people that’s the plan and there would be no argument it should be done. Blake tells her the people framing Atlas for all the wrongdoing could cause a lot more harm if they knew the Tower was being worked on, but they won’t tell Robyn who those people are yet. She almost calls bullshit on that, but we can’t have swears in this show so Harriet radios Yang to check on her and Blake and Yang cuts the conversation short and says Robyn needs to trust them that the Amity project must stay secret since they trusted her enough to tell her this info. Blake runs off to distract the nearby soldiers long enough for Robyn to get away while Yang lingers to make sure she agrees to their terms. Reluctantly the politician turned vigilante does, but she says she’s still determined to learn the full truth. That strikes a deep chord with Yang since she had that same drive to seek answers from Raven for so long... and now she’s keeping the secret that Raven is the Spring Maiden.

For our final scene we shift to a First Civilization vault from Assassin’s Creed... I mean the Atlas Vault for the Relic of Creation!! Sorry, they look very similar. Ironwood is down there with Oscar explaining that he had hoped seeing this place would jog some of Ozpin’s memories within the lad. Plot twist, the Staff is what’s keeping Atlas floating in the sky, an idea originally pitched by Ozpin. The public story is that it’s Gravity Dust doing that job, but the Staff is a constant seemingly limitless energy source that could in theory lift Atlas higher than they could imagine. And that’s where Ironwood got the idea for doing that to Amity. But they have to use Gravity Dust for that, since the Staff can only do one job at a time. And the sky grows much darker from that sudden foreshadowing... Someone is definitely going to move the Staff or use it for some other purpose, and Atlas is going to fall... Oscar gets a surreal feeling from seeing something so complex that his past incarnation built, but Ironwood assures him that he will soon acclimate to the assimilation... real smooth there Jimmy. Ironwood admits he wishes he could get Ozpin’s advice in a time like this, and since he can’t give that Oscar offers his own opinion. The way Ironwood is handling this, trusting only himself, is only going to hurt him. The General asserts that nothing matters more right now than beating Salem, but Oscar has a counterpoint. Keeping their humanity matters, because it keeps them from becoming like Salem. Ironwood worries that’s Salem’s advantage though, lacking humanity means she’s willing to sacrifice more to achieve her goals and that may end up winning her the war. She may not feel fear or hesitation anymore, while her attack on Beacon brought both those debilitating emotions out of Ironwood as he helplessly watched his robots hurt people and was taunted by her calling card of the Black Queen virus being on all the computer screens. As the elevator comes to bring them up out of the vault, Oscar encourages the General that fear is normal but they shouldn’t let it control them. Ironwood doesn’t want to become like Lionheart, and wants to know if Oscar believes in him. Oscar has the only good answer to a question like that, that he believes in multiple people INCLUDING the General. The best thing Ironwood can do is talk it out with the people he’s afraid of, so he can learn to relax and let others in. But be careful what you wish for, because Winter is waiting up top for them with a letter. Jacques has invited them to a dinner party at Schnee Manor where Ironwood will have to go before the Council and defend his position. Sounds like an excuse to see our heroes back in fancy dress and meet Mama Schnee...

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thatwriter-leahlolita · 4 years

Text

Surely not?!

Summary: Avid fans of Dan and Phil have always dreampt of meeting their favourite YouTubers in person. Only a rare few get the opportunity. Never before though, has one (You, the reader) managed to bump into them repetitively.. as if it was fate?

Ship: Dan and Phil

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Lately, you've felt tired. But of course that could easily be explained by the number of hours you've spent leaning over a maths textbook in confusion. Not only was it completely impossible to figure out what 'x' was, but in all honesty you couldn't care less. Your teacher is an ass and he has never helped you actually learn anything important in all the years of education you've had to face with him. It's all pointless, all of it!

Deciding this was a great time to attempt escape from another existential crisis, you clumber your legs out from under the kitchen table and stretch. In the living room, you could hear the sound of the television playing "Housewives of Somewhere Expensive". Deciding to save yourself from the horrific scenes that lied before you, should you dare to enter, you walk over to the fridge to grab some milk and make yourself a coffee. It's 6pm, but honestly any form of energy is highly welcomed at this point.

Unfortunately for you, there was no milk. You turn to the coffee pot to see, no coffee.

"Kannst Du Nitch~" You grumble softly under your breath. "Mum/Dad! There's no coffee or milk left!"

Your Mum/Dad, busy wasting their time watching crappy daytime television, yelled back, "Well go to the shop then, you've got legs!"

Grumbling, you stomp over to your Dan Howell Sad Boi hoodie and black converse shoes, and then make your way to the shops.

***

Dan was tired, and grumpy. He hated 6pm because it's always the time he looses energy and wants a nap. But clearly 6pm is too early for bed and too late to nap. His compromise is coffee.

"Where you going Dan?" Phil wined, turning away from the TV to look at him. "You promised you'd watch this with me."

"I will, but first: coffee." Dan waves his hand nonchalantly back at Phil as he makes his way to the kitchen. "Phil!"

Phil tuts, pausing his show. "Yes?"

"Where's the coffee?" Dan replied.

"Oh... yeah, about that..." Phil winced. "I finished it earlier and kind of forgot to get more."

"Well that's just great!" Dan sighed, now facing Phil as he stands in the door frame of the living room. "Come on then!"

"Come on what?" Phil whined.

"You can't expect me to go get coffee alone can you? This is your own doing Lester!" Dan demanded, chucking Phil his coat.

"Fine." He replied. "But we are finishing this episode when we get back!"

***

The shop was quiet, most people at home eating their dinner or watching TV together. The only noise that filmed the building was the beeping of scanners and rustling of shopping trolleys as people wheel them around the store.

(Y/N) was stood at the coffee isle, staring meekly at the coffee's in slight confusion. They was not usually much of a coffee drinker, at least not making it themselves at home. There is a LOT more range then they could have ever imagined... If it was up to (Y/N) they would pick any random one, but their Mum/Dad was a stickler for coffee and would grumble if they picked the wrong one.

A few more moments past, staring at the coffee types, before a strangely familar voiced peaked their attention.

"Listen Phil, I've told you this once and I'll tell you again, Svens Universe is not more of a priority than coffee. Yes, it's a tough choice but honestly, coffee will always win."

Could that be- No... surely not?!

The men themselves, Dan Howell and Phil Lester walk towards the coffee aisle in haste. (Y/N) had absolutely no idea what to do. Should they move to another aisle, smile and continue shopping? They were way too anxious to actually acknowledge them.

When they arrived at the coffee, (Y/N)'s heart stopped. They stared at the coffee for a moment, before Dan leaned over (Y/N) to grab a coffee from a higher shelf that (Y/N) could never possibly reach.

"Dan! You just leant right above that person!" Phil gasped, turning to you in haste. "I'm sorry about that, you see Dan here will probably murder someone for coffee if needed!"

You turn your head up to face Phil, who stood taller than you by a long shot. You then looked over towards Dan, who huffed at Phil, cradling his instant coffee.

Eventually, realising the situation in front of you, you manage a reply: "It's o-okay. I've been here a while struggling myself!" You laugh meekly.

Dan peaked interest in that moment, "Why's that? Need help grabbing something?"

You blush softly, "Well, no, not exactly. You see I have no idea which coffee to get.." you realise this is a wierd conversation to have with strangers, eventhough they surprisingly don't feel like strangers to you. "Nevermind."

"Oh well if that's the case, " Dan smiled. "Here you go!" He passes you the Starsucks brand coffee he's been cradling, and then grabs himself another from the shelf. "This is by far the greatest coffee I've ever had from here."

Phil retorted, "But of course that's his opinion, you don't have to get that one."

"No, I- Thankyou. That's a great help." You smiled, placing the coffe in your basket beside the fresh oat milk.

Dan stuck his tongue out at Phil, "They want it see, I'm always right!"

"Shut up Howell."

"Watch your tongue, Lester!" He retorts.

Standing in bewilderment, you stare at the clearly apparent lovers flirting with eachother right in front of your eyes. Eventually, Phil turns to you again and realises his placement right now.

"Sorry about him," He smiles. "He's cranky when he doesnt get his coffee. Hope you like yours though."

Dan agreed, "Yeah, bye~". Then he hurried over to the self serve counter to pay.

You stood their a few minutes longer, shocked by what just happened in front of you, before heading home to finally have your much delayed coffee break. The least that experience has taught you, is that Dan Howell has amazing taste in coffee.

***

A few days later, you decide since the new "Animal Crusing" has come out, you would go to the game store to pick it up. You would usually just order it online for preorder and anxiously wait for the delivery day to arrive. But in almost some kind of introverted people hate crime, they released the preorder for store pick ups only!

Arriving at the store, you see a long que. "Well, here we go." You grumble, falling into line in the que quietly. This is why it's better to stay at home, cosy and warm, and wait for the delivery man to deliver the goods.

When suddenly, a voice moaned in the distance. "See! Look at that que! Store pick up only, I mean, the makers of "Animal Crusing" must hate us. And why did we choose "GAMING" of all places to pick it up! This place is always busy."

"Phil honestly you always complain about stuff like this, would it kill you to que for a bit for a lifetime of fun?" Dan replied.

"Lifetime my butt!" Phil retorted. "I give it a few months before you loose interest."

"Absolutely no faith." Dan gasped fakingly, bringing a hand to his chest.

Again? How is this even possible?? You wonder, anxiously staring at the two famous YouTubers walking towards you for the second time this week.

They eventually join next in the que behind you, and you barely keep yourself calm as you feel the heat rising up your body. It's like an itch you can't scratch, knowing they are behind you watching your every move. It is scary, to say the least.

"This better go quick." Phil mumbled, kicking a stone on the floor with his shoe.

The stone rolled quickly across the floor and slammed abruptly against the back of your leg. It was small, so you barely felt it. But the awkwardness of the whole situation just took a much more dramatic turn.

"Oh my God!" Phil squeaked. Tapping your shoulder lightly.

You have no choice, he wants your attention. So you turn slowly and act innocent, listening to Phil grovel about how sorry he is for doing something stupid.

Then Dan spoke up, "Wait, aren't you coffee dude from the other day? When we went to get coffee from Bainsburies?"

"Oh, yeah. That's me." You smiled softly, hoping your eyes didn't give away how obvious it was that you knew WHO they were and that you was intensely aware that you saw them 3 days, 4 hours and 27 minutes ago in the coffee aisle in Bainsburies.

"Small world, huh?" Phil smiles. "Sorry again, though. I didn't mean to hit you."

"It's fine, I barely felt it anyways."

"So, you know what they say," Dan interupts, "Once a stranger, twice a friend."

"What now?" Phil quizzes confusingly. "I've never heard someone say that, ever."

Dan shoves Phil slightly, just enough to make him loose his balance slightly. "Anyway... I'm Dan, that loser on my left is Phil. Can I ask your name?"

"(Y/N). Nice to meet you both." You blush, realising that one way or another, Dan freaking Howell just called you his friend.

"You too!" Phil beams, pushing Dan back in revenge. "So you like Animal Crusing?"

"Yeah! I loved the mobile app version, but I've never played it on a real console yet so I'm super excited."

For as long as the que took to shorten, you three talked. About a lot of things. Boredom and a long que made you all relatively good friends by the end of it. And as a nice bonus, you all got the new Animal Crusing game. You was ecstatic. But this was now the end, you had to go home eventually.

But before you left, "Hey guys."

Dan and Phil turn to you, replying "Yeah?" in unison.

You gulp, breath in and out, and then said: "I have a confession." You continue, "I kind of know you guys already a little, as in I am a bit of a fan of your YouTube channels, yanoo."

They sigh, looking slightly releaved. Phil slapped your arm softly and smiled. "You scared us! I thought you was going to tell us that you were secretly stalking us for months or something!" Then he looked nervous, "Wait, you wasn't, was you?"

You laugh. "Of course not! But is that okay, me being your fan and all that?"

Dan smiled at you again and swished your hair out of place. "Of course its fine (Y/N). It was kind of obvious, you WAS literally wearing my merch when we met at Bainsburies the other day, and you seem genuinely kind. Why wouldn't we want a friend like that?"

".. Oh yeah." You laugh.

Your smile couldn't have reached further then that day. You exchanged contact with them, had one final chat, and then headed home.

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Thankyou all for reading. Hope you enjoy. If you have any requests I'm open to them!

#dan howell #daniel howell #phanfiction #phan #amazingphil #phil lester #reader #x reader #she #him #them #AU #cute #fanfic #fanfiction #writing

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