#this is one the hills I’ll die on despite not having watched this show in a long ass time

[neoncolorblocks]

you should totally share your 2012 tmnt opinions bc i already know your based af

I don’t know how based my opinions really are but I’ll share some for you. My opinions are based off my experiences as a kid when I watched it so I’m kinda biased to certain things. I’m currently doing a rewatch of 2012 so some of these might change for me later. Some of them are opinions and others are based off my own headcannons. I’ll make two lists.

My opinions

None of the brothers are abusive to eachother I will die on this hill.

Seriously tho Mikey’s older bros like him they just get annoyed sometimes, it’s not even just Mikey every bro got annoyed with eachother at some point.

The show sometimes has a ‘ew feelings’ vibe when emotional development could’ve fixed some of the problems in the show

Splinter tried his best, he messed up but I don’t think he was abusive to the turtles. But overall he dealt with the cards he got the best he can despite losing a child and then gaining 4 more on accident.

The pressure put on Leo to be a leader and eventual caretaker for his family isolated him from his brothers and detrimentally affected him as a teen.

Watching him talk to a hologram of his only adult figure while his 3 same aged bros were outside broke me dude. Probably an older sibling thing but going to people you’ve been taught to look after for your emotional grief is almost impossible tbh

Raph and Donnie in true middle sibling fashion get sidelined when it comes to development sometimes.

Raph obviously struggles with feeling misunderstood and feels isolated, it causes him to lash out. His position as the team defender naturally makes him more inclined to value his bros over himself and it took a toll on his self worth and identity. Slash and Destroy kinda hurts man.

Leo got saddled with eldest daughter syndrome and ascended from big bro to mom. He’s jealous of Karai because she wasn’t shouldered with the responsibility he has but he also wouldn’t trade it for anything either.

Setting the romance arc aside, Karai’s a fun character to watch. Sometimes I’m like “Go girl! Kill them!”

Idk why people don’t love 2012 Casey more, he’s one of the only charming teenage troublemakers I’ve seen written well. Dudes hilarious

2012 April is not that bad, I was fine with the weird admiration triangle thing she Casey and Donnie had. Girl really loved the turtles and Splinter even without the romance subplot.

Leo killing Shredder was justified, it was an act of vengeance and revenge.

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey could’ve also been good leaders but they trust Leo to keep them safe more than the others.

Mikey’s high adaptive ability is overlooked but is a really good trait for a martial artist. Treating Mikey as a defenseless little kid makes little to no sense when he is the most adaptable physically and emotionally and the most intuitive bro. Mikey could take all of his bros if he needed to imo

Donnie’s sass has a body count

I think people forget that the bros are the same age, it’s such a big deal that they’re technically the same age. Like with Rise, we all know Raph’s the oldest and he acts and is treated as the oldest but in 2012 it feels much more like Leo was chosen to be the oldest. Splinter treats Leo as the oldest but the turtles see Leo as the same age and equal to them. It’s so uniquely jarring to have Splinter set Leo aside and tell him he has this responsibility and he has to be a parental figure to people who are the same age as him. And then having his brothers and teammates treat him like he’s a kid like them and openly challenge the principles hammered into him by his dad is too relatable to me lol. Like the power imbalance exists but at the same time it doesn’t, I have so many thoughts about Leo send help

The “rong” scene is possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Leo’s leg should’ve been a reoccurring thing, when a joint is dislocated it’s very easy to dislocate it again. One of my sibs dislocated their shoulder fighting, dislocated it again on accident and will need surgery someday to fully repair it.

I enjoyed the farmhouse arc and how it gave the characters more internal conflict and interpersonal conflict. Their dynamics shined in some of those episodes

If Leo wasn’t the leader he’d be the inside man and team medic.

The team is split as such: Leo-leader and strategist, Raph-brawler and defender, Donnie-tech specialist and medic, Mikey- wildcard and team morale maintainer

My headcannons that make the series better for only me

Leo and Raph are the twins ever

Mikey’s actually the most naturally talented martial artist but is too busy having fun to train seriously.

Donatello’s mutagen medicine was faulty because he wasn’t the team medic and never made something like medicine before. Leo was the medic and since Donatello was able to learn med procedures fast and knows their biology he opted to be the temp medic. He’s really well suited to it too despite the pressure and anxiety. He became the official team medic after the farmhouse arc.

Splinter didn’t want his sons to get too attached to him because turtles obviously out live rats by a wide margin and he knew he would only be in a small fraction of their lives. That’s a big reason why he was distant from them.

The other reason being losing Karai and thinking she was dead for 15 years.

Raph and Mikey are smart and reasonable like Leo and Donnie but like annoying their bros with chaos.

Donnie’s not actually a caffeine addict, the anxiety just powers him through anything.

Someone finally sat Leo down and made him understand that the team dynamic in Star Trek is what led to success on the show. Not just the captain.

Getting badly injured by Shredder ramped Leo’s mom protective instinct and self sacrifice to a solid 13. Going through the kind of pain your siblings could’ve went through does things to a sibling. Unfortunately for him, getting hurt so bad ramped up his siblings’ protective antics and now he has to deal with his own antics happening to him.

Donatello could build super villain weaponry but stopped when Mikey kept referring to his rocket launcher as the turtle-gun.

Donnie will definitely develop resentment to splinter later in life. Not because he hates Splinter but because Donatello is one of the more observant and intelligent turtles. When he gets more mature he’s going to realize that things were messed up far more than they ever needed to be.

Raph had a little mob of birds, rats, and cats follow him around in the city for food and pets.

Raph paints as one of his anger management techniques but had to stop when Mikey kept taking his paints.

If he had more confidence in himself Raph would make a decent leader

Leo’s strong moral code is what gave him the ability to kill shredder, earlier in the series he’s very against killing henchmen. Completely shutting it down. But after Shredder had betrayed Splinter, killed his mom, separated his sister from them and abused her, killed Splinter, almost killed his bros and himself multiple times and tried to destroy his home over and over again. Leo finally killed him. He made that choice after all he went through because he had to or it would never end. Of course the other kills aren’t as relevant but shredders kill is so important to the story and the characters. imo of course

I will have more things to say when I’m done refreshing myself on TMNT 2012 canon. Please remember that these are my opinions and headcannons. I’m not out to change anyone’s opinions on the show or cannon. These are just my own thoughts and that’s it.

Thanks for asking anon!

#ask box #sorry this is so long anon I have many things to say #everyone is subject to my Leo thoughts no one can stop me lol #thanks for the ask!

[padawansubscription]

Chapter Four: The End PT 2

Pairing: eddie x f!reader

Summary: Eddie left you and Dustin to ‘buy more time,’ whatever that meant. But you’re not ready to let his dumbass go.

Word Count: 1.9k

Warning: strong language, panic attack

Themes: angst angst angst, hurt/comfort

A/N: here’s the scene that started it all b/c i refuse to accept the finale episode (unless kas is confirmed, then okay, i’ll take the L). it’s all angst since that’s all i can seem to write nowadays. also, i know romance isn’t the answer to depression and panic attacks, and that’s not my intention at all! but i know it helps to have someone ground you back to reality and eddie’s my new comfort character :,) feedback is always welcome!

heavily inspired by running up that hill by halocene and when it’s cold i’d like to die by moby (never listened to the lyrics until now and fuck it hurts)

previous chapter

"There will be no more retreating," Eddie announced, emphasizing retreating with a dramatic fist pump, "from Eddie the Banished!" This was his year, and he was ready. Oh, he was very ready—

"Hey, you're really ready for bat-tle," Dustin joked.

You and Eddie turned to the freshman. Dustin beamed at his own joke, practically radiating with pride. How long was he workshopping that? Regardless, you couldn't help the smile that tugged at your lips, especially when he giggled. Damn, this kid was cute.

"You get it? Bat-tle," he repeated, "B-A-T." His smile slowly faded away.

"Good one," you quickly offered, but the damage was done. Dustin turned to Eddie, whose stoic expression remained, if not worsened.

"You're just being nice," Dustin muttered before walking away, heartbreak clear as day.

You frowned at Eddie, sending him silent disapproval, and held out your hand for his shield. Only then did he break his facade with a wink. You rolled your eyes as he carefully handed you his shield—careful not to poke you with its nails—before tackling Dustin.

The boys wrestled in the background as you listened to Master of Puppets and settled on the crate Eddie was using for his theatrics just moments ago. You mindlessly duct-taped your sleeves and legs. If your time at the Upside Down had taught you anything, it's that those bats were nasty motherfuckers. Steve was still recovering. You recalled his stomach, bloody and torn... You groaned as a shiver ran down your spine. That's why you opted for defense over offense, purchasing a tactical shield and handful of duct tape at War Zone. The prices on those bulletproof vests were enough encouragement to start your DIY project. Besides, it's not like you knew how to use a gun. You'd likely end up shooting yourself in the foot anyway.

"Think you got enough duct tape?" Eddie towered over you under the sun. Even as a silhouette, you could tell he was smiling.

"Doesn't hurt to be careful," you bit into the tape and tore it clean. Next was your abdomen.

"I guess," he dropped to the empty patch of grass next to you, suddenly interested in his shield. Your eyes roamed the field, finding Dustin with the Sinclairs, showing off his shield, Max with Nancy, and Steve with Robin.

"This is nice," you sighed.

Eddie followed your line of sight. "What? Harrington?" He quipped.

You scrunched your nose despite the smile on your face. "No, just, this," you waved your hand to the sky, the grass, and everything around you, including him. "I can't remember the last time I touched grass." You tore some from the ground, watching the blades fall through your grasp. "Wish we were out on a picnic instead of prepping for doomsday."

"Add it to the list," Eddie held up six fingers, "have a picnic, at this exact spot." He dragged his foot across the dirt to create a haphazard X. "After we steal an RV and shop at War Zone, nails and all." He tapped his shield on the ground.

You barked out a laugh. It was easy to let loose around Eddie, you realized. You pulled down your headphones and flashed him a smirk. "You're missing a finger," you leaned to pry another digit from his fist. "I added one while you were flirting with Steve."

Eddie gasped, eyes flickering between you and his fingers. "You didn't! I thought we were in this together. I started your bucket list!"

"Right," you pursed your lips in thought, "but it's my bucket list."

"So, what is it?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Unbelievable!" He scoffed.

"It's nothing personal, Munson. Just business." You winked.

"This is why you should never do business with friends," he muttered. You whipped your head at breakneck speed. Eddie jumped at your reaction. "What? What did I say?"

"You, um," you cleared your throat before leaning in conspiratorially, cupping your mouth as you whispered into his ear, "you used the f-word."

Eddie blinked. "Yeah, well, don't worry. Everything'll go back to normal after we kill Vecna. We can be enemies again, the jocks versus the freaks," he playfully hissed.

You hummed in response, using the last of your tape. Only its empty paper roll remained. Squinting, you aimed the roll, shooting it upwards like you've seen many of your school's basketball players do, and watched as it landed near Dustin and the Sinclairs. You gave them a small wave. "I don't know," you murmured as they returned your wave, albeit hesitantly. "This is nice."

Eddie quirked an eyebrow, but you didn't elaborate. Instead, you dropped your head back and basked in the sunlight and spring breeze. You heard a light 'oomph' next to you and turned. Eddie lied on his back, arms and legs apart, like a snow angel.

"You're seriously not going to tell me?" He tried one last time.

"Nope."

You were the first to escape. A low groan escaped your lips as you nursed your back and rolled away, just in time for Dustin to fall. You both shouted for Eddie, urging him to hurry up.

"Eddie, come on!" Dustin shouted, "let's go!"

"We don't have all day, Munson!" You added.

But Eddie didn't hurry. No, he lowered himself. Your mind raced in confusion. What the hell was he waiting for? Why wasn't he climbing the rope? Then you saw it in his eyes, and it clicked. And it happened so fast.

Dustin wailed and begged for the man who was long gone. You stared at the rope in front of you, on the mattress, pathetic and abandoned. Blood rushed to your ears, deafening your senses, and before you knew it, you were pushing the living room desk.

Dustin shouted for your, voice hoarse from crying. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting Eddie," you answered flatly, positioning the desk right beneath the portal. 

"I'm coming with you," Dustin said.

"Go to the Sinclairs. Check on Max." You retreated to Eddie's room, but Dustin didn't leave you.

"No, we have to stick together-"

"DUSTIN!" You snapped. You tried to stay calm, but your voice betrayed you despite its sharp edge. With a shaky breath, you placed a hand on his shoulder. Talk about déjà vu. "Go to the Sinclairs-"

"But Eddie-"

"It's going to be okay. Eddie's going to be okay."

"You promise?" It was barely a whisper. Your heart broke into a million pieces.

"I swear on my life." You sniffed, nodding. "And we're going to kick his stupid ass when he gets back."

Dustin chuckled at your promise and nodded.

"Now, go. Go!"

You made sure he was gone. The last thing you needed was another kid on the loose in the Upside Down. You glanced at Eddie's beloved guitar on the wall and snarled, "Munson, you son of a bitch."

You wouldn't consider yourself athletic by any means. Maybe that's why you landed on your left shoulder with a resounding crack when you crossed the portal. You cried upon impact. You've never broken a bone before. Guess there's a first time for everything.

Cradling your arm, you staggered to your feet and picked up Dustin's spear.

It took everything in you not to cry when you found Eddie. He was on the ground, not too far from the trailer, sprawled and spread apart by the bats. They were eating him. They were eating him. Memories of Steve and his wounds returned, and a wave of nausea washed over you. Still, you ran, using Dustin's spear to slice across the bats, freeing Eddie limb by limb.

Eddie coughed as he scrambled onto his feet. Wild eyes flickered across the dead bats before they found you. He frowned, "what are you doing here?" His tone was more accusatory than he intended and it reignited the rage within you. Ignoring his question, you kicked him his spear and circled him, so you were back-to-back. You were in the eye of the hurricane. The bats waited, taunted you both, when one suddenly lunged at you. But you were running on pure adrenaline and fear was no longer an option. You single-handedly struck the creature, spearing through its mouth. With a grunt, you flicked your spear, tossing the bat's corpse into the dirt. Eddie stared. Holy shit. That was metal. A guttural scream escaped you, and Eddie joined with his own roar. It was you and Eddie against the world now.

"What just happened?" Eddie asked.

"I don't know..."

You stared in awe as the bats fell around you, their ashes scattered like snow. You couldn't explain the phenomenon, but you were grateful nonetheless.

"Do you think they killed Vecna?" He turned around. "What?" He furrowed his brows as you sniffed, eyes ablaze and glaring. You shoved him by the shoulder. "Hey!"

"What were you thinking?" You hissed.

"What-"

"You shoved him again."

"Stop! What the hell is wrong with you?" He shouted.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" You squinted in disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you!? You left us back there! You were supposed to stick to the plan!"

"I was buying us time!" His glare matched yours now.

"Time? What made you think we needed time?"

"I don't know. I-I don't know!" Eddie ran both hands through his hair.

"You don't know?" You let out a dry, cruel laugh. "God! I had to promise Dustin—PROMISE HIM—that you were okay!" You heaved, chest suddenly tight. "Do you have any idea how scared he was? The kid cried for you!"

"I'm okay now. It's okay-"

"Oh, fuck off!" The high of the battle was wearing down, your eyes welled. You could feel it. You could see it. "I thought you were dead," you croaked.

"I'm sorry," his brown eyes softened in admission, weak against your tears. "I just- I didn't want to run away again."

"Run away?" You frowned. "What are you talking about? Why- It's not running away, Eddie. It's surviving! This isn't Dungeons and Dragons. It's real life!" You struggled to say. "When I saw you on the ground, I thought..." you gasped, clutching your chest. "I thought..."

"Hey, are you okay?"

You fell to your knees. Bleary eyes strained to focus as the air escaped you. You crumbled against the dirt, body folded in half. Your right fist, white and angry, clenched against your chest. You couldn't breathe. You couldn't breathe-

"Next time, list five things around you." Chrissy suggested.

Red, swollen eyes found hers. You scoffed. "Is that what Miss Kelley told you?" You slumped against the bathroom stall door.

Chrissy bit her lower lip, and it was enough of an answer for you. "What if I'm not there for you next time?"

"Don't be silly," you smiled. But she was serious, and you knew better than to disregard her advice. She never talked about her counseling, and you imagined this would be the closest thing to it. "What do I list?"

"You can start with..."

The dirt against your cheek.

The spear in the distance.

The scuff of someone's boots.

The rings on their fingers.

And the brown eyes of Eddie Munson.

Bambi.

"Breathe," he cradled your face, "breathe." He breathed with you, loud and exaggerated, but you copied him all the same. Calloused hands brushed the dirt from your face as you sat up to meet his gaze. He noticed your cracked lips, bloody and bruised, and stifled a whimper.

Traces of the battle painted your body. The duct tape helped, but it didn't make you invincible. Scars tattered across your face and arms. Your arm... Your left arm hung limply by your side, like a dead weight. When did this happen? Did you fight with one arm this whole time? Carefully, he wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight, praying to a god he didn't believe as he repeated over and over. "Breathe."

taglist: @sameheart-sameblood​

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fic

[writingforfun0714]

Hey guys :)

Spoilers for the new live action Ahsoka show!!

Did ya’ll hear about that theory going around about Ahsoka going to the world between worlds (from Rebels—when Ezra saved Ahsoka) and she sees an alternate timeline of Anakin on Mustafar and she’s the one to fight him instead of Obi?!? How are we feeling about that? I have mixed feelings (mostly cuz I don’t want them to retcon RotS).

RotS is top tier prequel SW imo and that entire Mustafar scene is just legendary at this point I feel like. If this theory/rumor turns out to be true, I would love it if they kept Obi’s dialog for Ahsoka because it would work for both of them. The whole ‘you were the Chosen One’/‘you were my brother Anakin—I loved you!’ Coming from Ahsoka would hurt so much (in S7 of CW Ahsoka tells Trace and Raffa that she learned her skills from her ‘older brother’).

If the whole ‘alternate timeline’ thing is true, I wonder how the fight scene would go. In RotS, when Obi says he has the high ground, Anakin attacks, using Obi’s move against him, but Obi knows how to counter and slices his legs and arm off. If Ahsoka and Anakin fight, I’d love for Anakin to use that jumping/spinning move he taught her to survive O66 and that’s how she’s able to defeat him. That’s her move, just like Anakin used Obi’s move.

It’s pretty much canon at this point that the reason Obi and Ahsoka have not seen each other post O66 is that Anakin/Vader would not live if they did meet up. Obi-wan is more powerful than Vader, but is unable to kill him because Obi still sees him as Anakin/his bro (until ANH). That’s why he didn’t kill Vader in his own show. He couldn’t do it.

Now Ahsoka, from what we’ve seen (ignoring Legends/EU), doesn’t know Anakin=Vader, and hates Vader (not realizing he’s Anakin until Rebels during their meetup during the Twilight Apprentice arc). In order to save Ezra/Kanan/Chopper, Ahsoka fights Vader (after saying she won’t leave him again, not this time) and despite being able to hold him off, she isn’t strong enough to defeat him. She’s kind of the opposite of Obiwan. She can kill him, it’s just that she isn’t strong enough to fight Vader (yet?).

Overall I’m very much looking forward to this show. I love the idea of Ahsoka/Sabine/Hera/Chop/Zeb going after Ezra and Thrawn. This is probably a controversial opinion, but as much as I LOVE Thrawn, I felt like he was done dirty in Rebels. He definitely had that sort of menacing presence in all of his scenes, but I don’t really remember him doing anything to the Ghost Crew that had lasting consequences (aside from that finale). Honestly, after hearing so much hype about him before I watched Rebels, I thought he’d be more dangerous (but I understand Rebels is more kid-oriented than CW).

I heard that more than one actress will be playing the role of Ahsoka (not just Rosario Dawson) and Hayden Christiansen will return as Anakin/Vader, which explains the whole ‘alternate timeline’ theory. I’m not sure how long Togrutas live (Ahsoka’s species) but it would be interesting if we get old lady Ahsoka during the sequel movie-era. Like what if she still talks w/ Luke/Leia? Luke would ask what to do about Rey and Leia would be complaining about Poe and Ahsoka would just give them advice?? Idk. I’d like her to become a sort of ‘Uncle Iroh’ character as she ages.

The whole premise of the show is about Ahsoka going off to find Ezra and Thrawn in an area called ‘New Space’ or something. It’s like an uncharted area of space or something—idk exactly so please correct me if I’m wrong.

Aside from the Ezra/Thrawn plot and the ‘alternate timeline’ theory, I’m not too sure what I’d like to see from this show aside from seeing more clones in live action. Gimme Rex in his blue 501st armor, staring to grow that gray/white beard he has in Rebels. Post-Rebels, I’d like to see more Luke/Leia/Aunt Ahsoka content. My HC is that Ahsoka calls Leia ‘Snips’ and Luke is ‘Skyguy’. I’ll die on that hill lol.

So yeah, I’m definitely going into Ahsoka (Live Action) with high hopes that it’ll be good, but I’m not expecting too much outside of what’s already been teased/announced. What’s everyone thinking for Ahsoka? Looking forward to it or not? I’d love to hear your thoughts/theories ❤️

Fanfic Update—Those of you waiting for Chapter 5 of my Bad Batch fanfic Older Sister, don’t worry I’m almost done and am planning on posting after Xmas (I’m an artist so I’m working on lots of gifts atm and won’t have time to post here). I’m also working on a few short pieces about the clones (kinda like journal entries or something). For non-SW fics, I also have a few Arcane ‘fix-it’ scenes I’m writing as well as a full Arcane AU fanfic so look out for those as well as a Reader/Self-Insert Arcane fic that I’m not sure if I like lol. Star Wars and Arcane are my obsessions rn, but if any of you want to see something specific, I’m always open to requests. I write for lots of different fandoms ( PJO, Marvel, Harry Potter, AtLA/LoK, GoT/ASoIaF/HotD)—if you’re unsure about a request, feel free to ask any questions 🥰

Thanks for reading and wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!❤️🎄✡️🪔🎁❤️

-Maisy

PS—even though I said I was busy, I will always make time to talk to all of you about anything—fandom-related or not. If you need to vent about life/family/the holidays or something, I’m here for you💕

#Star Wars #Ahsoka #Star Wars Ahsoka #Ahsoka show #ahsoka live action #thoughts #theories #alternate timeline #imagine Ahsoka crying #yelling at Anakin #you were my brother Anakin #i loved you! #goddamn #if they do fight #he’d definitely use that move he taught her #and she’d know how to block/defeat him #and that’s how she chops his limbs off #hope they make Thrawn more dangerous #he was done so dirty in Rebels #Tem needs to come back as Rex #no question #we should get 3 Ahsokas though #cw s7 Ahsoka for the Mustafar fight #Rebels Ahsoka for most of the show #and Mando Ahsoka #depending how long Ezra’s been lost #I’d love old lady Ahsoka too as like an end credit scene #idk what else to tag #thoughts?

[house-of-slayterr]

Finally got around to watching the Eternals, so spoilers I guess if you haven’t seen it.

First of all, the quizzes I took that say I’m a mixture of Dan Whitman and Sersi… accurate as fuck. I adore them both very much.

Gotta say, I’m kinda jealous of whatever gender Sprite has going on. But in all honesty I feel bad for them. Kingo’s whole Peter Pan speech actually made me feel bad. When Sprite said “Why did Arishem make me this way?” I actually choked up a bit. Like I’m so sorry he failed you kiddo. I’ve thought about it many times when I think about vampire lore, but imagine how much it would suck to be seen as a child for all eternity. When you’re literally thousands of years older than anyone currently around you.

Fucking Gilgamesh was the light of my fucking life. He is the best part of this movie and I will die on that fucking hill. It’s bullshit what they did to him. Ajax didn’t hit me that hard because we don’t get to know her nearly as much. But god fucking Damn it, give me my boy back.

Side note, I don’t really like Kingo that much. I just don’t think our personalities gel well. In all honestly, despite how much talent he clearly has, I’m not really a fan of any of that actors characters. I just don’t like the way his character didn’t take anything seriously.

Thena killed me. I’m a sucker for all Angelina Jolie characters. But imagine slowly loosing your mind and being forced to try and kill the people you love most in the world. Especially after she lost Gil, like what the duck, can she live? Can she fucking live? I wanna give my baby girl a hug.

I don’t think I have to say much about Druig, I think we all knew I’d love him. I wanna it’s Barry Keoghan. I’ve been mimicking his stupid adorable accent this whole movie! I think mind control is always one of those powers I’d be truly terrified to have. Like he tried to use them to protect people, and do the right thing. But talking away free will isn’t right. Also the way he flirts with Makkari 🥺 I want that.

I’ll make Phatos and Sersi quick. They are Both adorable and I love them and I wish them nothing but happiness. Like Phatos and his husband and his loiter boy were so cute. God I could watch a whole movie just of them interacting. I love to see POC characters being in the main action!

Least favorite is Ikaris. I hate his stupid smug face, and that silly little hair cut. White boy coming in here and ruining the vibes. Sure his power is kinda cool or whatever. But like even before the twist of the movie, I didn’t like him from the second he showed up. Sersi and Dan are perfect, and Ikaris needs to keep his nose out of their business. Get over her man. Gross.

Now to my favourite character ever. MAKKARI! My sweet baby girl. One she’s literally the hottest person I’ve ever seen, both physically and in personality. Oh my god and the way she signs is mesmerising. I kept reminding the movie just to watch her hands move. I will always love a character who knows sign language, and I think the representation is super important.

If you guys would like any Eternal fics or headcannons let me know. Because I feel cool writing them now that I have seen their cannon interpretations outside of the comics alone.

#the eternals #marvel #Sersi #Druig #makkari #druig and makkari #my faves #new fandom

[imabillyami]

Hiii mate 😁

Juuust wonderin.. What are three things you loved about wrestlemania weekend and two things you hated about it??

(as always no pressure to respond) 😊

Ta 🐨

Hi friend!

(I’ll be responding to your other message shortly, I completely forgot about it amidst the hustle and bustle of Mania week.)

So, three things I loved:

Everything Sami - his little interview on the kickoff show, the segment before his match with his family, Gable and Kevin, his entire match, BRAINBUSTAAAA (his mentor's indie run means the world to me, I loved seeing him pay homage to the late great Generico), his title win & celebration, the lil segment before Kevin’s entrance, him celebrating with Cody (& Samijey crumbs). I’ve been on this journey with Sami since the day he made his first TV appearance on NXT in 2013 and seeing him so happy and content and finally appreciated just means the entire world to me. Anyone who suffered through the dark days with him will understand, I think. So yeah. Just. Sami. Always.

The women’s matches. The Big Three vs Damage Ctrl match was entirely too short, but it meant the whole world to me. Bayley and Iyo putting on an instant classic, Rhea and Becky fighting through sickness and panic attacks and just kicking ass and delivering a banger. The women’s division shone so bright this weekend and I hope they’ll be given more chances to shine. (This is me asking for a midcard women’s title and more women’s matches in general.)

Tonight’s main event. It was everything I wanted. Well, initially I wanted Roman to win, but I understand why he didn’t. I’m a lot more relaxed about it now that it’s confirmed he’s not leaving. Anyway. I said in a post yesterday that I wanted it to be this ridiculous over the top match to end all matches. Cause I wanted Cody to fight for his life and I wanted Roman to go out with a bang. And boyyy did they deliver. I loved everything about it, seriously. I was entertained the whole damn time, I loved all the spots and the people who showed up and how Roman and Cody still got to shine. I’ll never be a Cody fan, that’s just a fact of life, but I can appreciate the chemistry they had in the ring and the sportsmanship he’s shown. So yeah, I loved it exactly as it was. And the ending made my little Shield-loving heart beat faster. I'll forever love these boys and their era. So Seth essentially costing Roman again? God I'm LIVING for that. (+ I loved the ending with the roster coming out to celebrate.)

(Honorary mention: I love how much fun everyone seems to be having lately. I know they talk a lot about how backstage morale is at an all time high these days and how they’re all working as a team to the point it barely feels like work, but this weekend I truly felt it. I had been taking a bit of a break from the weekly watching, despite being a loyal fan for almost 20 years, but this weekend truly reeled me back in and convinced me to give this new era a chance. I’m not doing well with change, it overwhelms me more often than not, but I feel like this weekend was a good start to shake the fears off and return to the product I love so much.)

As for the two things I "hated". I’m not really one to "hate" things. But I do have one thing/person I HATE soooo here we go:

Logan. I don’t think I have to explain that one any further. He’s the definition of human piece of trash. Anyone wondering why can look up my old posts about him. I don’t think a person like that deserves any platform whatsoever, no matter how many eyeballs he brings to the product. He belongs in jail and I’ll die on that hill.

I didn’t really „hate“ it - it was more a matter of being extremely saddened by it: The Usos getting so little time and a joke of a match. The buildup was so damn weak from what I’ve seen these past few weeks, the video packages and interviews really got me hyped again, but the shortness of the match and the match itself were a massive letdown. For what was supposed to be their dream match, I hate that they got done dirty like this. It wasn’t their fault, not in the slightest. I completely blame backstage politics and the production team. Honestly their spot in tonight’s match showed what they’re willing to do/ capable of, so I’m hoping they’ll get a proper feud leading up to Summerslam. With a proper build not overshadowed by anyone else, a fitting stipulation (anything goes, no dq?) and some proper time actually allotted to this match? I KNOW they can make pure magic. So yeah. That’s more sadness and disappointment on their behalf. Cause they deserved better.

Anyway. What about you? What did you love/hate about Wrestlemania weekend? I’d love to read your thoughts! 

Hugs to you!

#lovely anon #anon #asks #m answers #replies #wrestlemania 40 #wrestlemania #🐨

[zennialemo]

Blacktober Prompt #5: Earth

Jamie waits, leaned against one of the wooden posts that designate the parking lot from the trail they’ve chosen. Technically, the Blue Hills are closed, as it’s long past dusk and far too early for dawn. It makes him a little nervous, to do something that’s against the rules. But May was insistent he needed a little moon magic in his life, to touch grass. So here he is, waiting for her.

He takes a deep breath. Honestly, this is already kind of nice. The crickets sing from every direction, the stars shine bright over head. And there, just behind the edge of the trees a little ways back, is the full moon. 

He turns at the sound of wheels crunching over gravel, squinting and holding a arm up to block the headlights.

The car lights die, and May gets halfway out of the car, smiling ear to ear. “Are you ready!?”

Jamie lifts his leg. “I wore hiking boots and everything.”

May laughs, a loud contagious sound. “I knew you owned stilettos, even ballet flats, but I never thought I’d see you in hiking boots.”

“I,”  He pops a hip out to the right. “Am fabulous in everything.”

“There have never been truer words.”

May is decked out in athletic wear, complete with her own well worn hiking boots. She even has a backpack.

Jamie runs a hand down one of the straps haphazardly. “I thought the trail was short.”

“Ah, but we are two black gays frolicking in the woods.” She winks at him.

Jamie smiles a little. “So we’re getting drunk.”

“Maybe. Never say never. Anyway, shall we?”

—

They walk quietly. It’s weird. May always has a story, or some fact to share. But, Jamie reminds himself, this is spiritual for her. She looks a little otherworldly under the intermittent light of the moon. Dark brown skin glowing in the moonlight and hiding in the dark shade of the trees. It’s like she’s one with the nature around them.

“Doing okay?”

He’s pulled from his thoughts when she turns to meet his glace. He nods. “It’s not as difficult as I thought it would be.”

She grins. “Told you all that biking you do would come in handy.” May turns back around. “Okay, a little detour off the path and we’re there.”

“I don’t want ticks.”

She sighs, and he can see her roll her eyes despite the fact that he’s looking at a head full of ombre box braids. “Pants tucked into socks?”

“Yeah, but-”

“Permethrin on your clothes?” She turns and levels him with a stare. 

“Okay, okay. Fine. Lead the way.”

—

The clearing they come to is small, but brightly lit by the moon. May spreads out the blanket she brought for them to sit on, splays a tarot deck and snacks, lastly pulling out a bottle of moscato. 

Jamie, perched on the opposite of the blanket, perks up at the sight of the sweet white wine. 

She chuckles, jamming the bottle opener into the cork. “What do you love about the earth?”

The question gives him pause. He rubs a hand over the blanket, feels the texture of grass pushing through the cotton. “I don’t know,” he admits. “What about you?”

“Everything.” She hands Jamie a glass of wine. “She gives me a place to put my feet, she produced the grapes that made this wine. She turns steadily to show us the sun and moon…  everything.”

The wind picks up, and Jamie closes his eyes at the pleasant breeze. “I love the wind. Sometimes, it feels like the world speaking to us.”

“Yes!” 

“I love watching the trees dance when it’s gusty. Oh! And.. and way our whole world changes with the seasons.”

He opens his eyes to find May positively beaming at him, and he can’t help but return it. She holds up her glass, and he taps his against hers.

Jamie sips, then pauses. “I thought we were here for the moon.”

“Did you forget already? We’re also here because you needed to touch some fucking grass, look at leaves.” She downs her glass. “That’s the earth, baby.”

“I guess there’s time for both.”

May reaches for his glass to refill. “Always. Anyway, for us, there’s no one without the other.”

“Like you and me.” Jamie says, smiling.

She looks up at him, pouting a little. “Ow. Don’t say stuff like that. I’ll cry.”

He chuckles. “It’s true.”

“It is.” May says seriously. “You better not go anywhere.”

“Where would I go? I would be lost without you.”

May carefully puts down the wine and scoots to throw an arm around his shoulders. “Me too.”

---

Jamie and May are two of the characters in my future novel. This is my first time writing them! It was lovely to step away from planning to play with them for the first time. I know it only loosely hits the prompt, but it was a free-write - they did what they wanted to do. I hope it was enjoyable. 

-Zennial

#blacktober #original character #ocs #queer characters #black characters

[aminiatureworld]

Small Bits of Memory

Characters: Scaramouche, gn!reader

Word Count: 1,531

Warnings: None

Premise: Little moments between Scaramouche and the reader.

Author’s Note: Warning, I’m not caught up on the archon quest. I did skim the wiki (which made me kinda sad ngl), but if there are inaccuracies, that’s why. I also may have made Scaramouche a bit sappy because of this.  

I took “comfort” to mean “hurt/comfort” so if some of these are a bit melancholic it’s because angst brain does not turn off.

Scaramouche

Scaramouche is well familiar with nightmares. He knows the feeling of opening yours eyes in the dark, not moving, not crying out or sitting up; simply opening your eyes as the latent fear of your dreams finally catch up with you and finally your breathing starts to speed in your chest, as your finally realize how afraid you were. Thus on the first night he wakes to you staring intently at the darkness around you, still to the point of stiffness, he automatically understands what’s going on.

At first he’s too scared to wrap his arms around you, afraid that you’ll find the action frightening, or that you’ll instinctively reject him. He only reaches out his hand, secretly relieved when you entwined your fingers within his. Feeling vaguely sentimental in his tired state he whispers: “I’ll protect you from the dark, so stop staring and go back to sleep.” He hopes that you won’t tease him about it tomorrow, as some small part of him knows that it was a very silly thing to say.

Afterwards he grows a little bolder, inching closer to you, then letting one arm rest on your shoulder, fingers featherlight on your skin. Thankfully your penchant for nightmares isn’t too great, so it’s about two months before he wakes up the next day to his arms wrapped around you, you nestled within his sleepy embrace. Seeing you sleeping peacefully after the look of uncomprehending panic plastered across your features the night before calms him like few other things, and he sighs peacefully, letting his eyes flit closed once more. The two of you sleep in that day.

Scaramouche always panics slightly whenever you get hurt. It could be a paper cut, it could be a bruise, it could be a battle injury, his response is relatively similar each time. You might squirm as he cleans your cut off for the third time in ten minutes, assuring him that you aren’t going to die, but he isn’t truly listening to you. There’s a glazed look in his eyes, and it takes him a few moments to register that you’re calling his name. You worry about it sometimes, you wonder what might happen if you were to truly injure yourself. You hope he wouldn’t blame himself too much. Scaramouche has a surprising penchant towards self-flagellation, when he’s not telling himself that he’s superior to everyone around him.

Scaramouche has never horsed around in a river, never experienced a snowball fight, never watched a sunrise for the sake of it. He was not created for such things after all. It’s hard for him to imagine enjoyment in the little pieces of universal humanity, perhaps because he feels somehow separated from such a privilege. You start keeping a list of these sorts of things, small moments to enjoy. He finds the idea silly at first, but gradually grows to like the experience. Perhaps not the individual activities, but the experience as a whole. He might not understand the “universal human experience” as you call it, but the snow against his skin is cold and clear, and the sun looks like fire in the sky, and you’re smiling next to him, and all is well in the world.

Scaramouche doesn’t have much attachment to Inazuma, considering it a desolate land where the people survive despite, not because of, the land. He has no love for the plains, or the skinny forests, or the craggy rocks and hills. The flowers glow preternaturally, and the electricity that fills the air makes unpleasant crackling noises. Nevertheless he has to admit a fondness for the cherry blossoms that bloom on Narukami Islands. It’s as if a small sliver of beauty managed to scrape its way into the world. He’ll take you to see them sometimes, regardless of his status as a Harbinger and a general menace. Perched amidst the falling petals you remind him of some sort of spirit from folklore. If he could draw well at all he thinks he would make a portrait of you surrounded by those blossoms. Certainly there’d be nothing else worth painting.

The two of you like to read together, Scaramouche going over whatever plans he’s currently focusing on, you curled up with a book. If you find a passage or a quote you particularly like you’ll tap him on the shoulder, and Scaramouche will duly listen to you read it aloud. He likes the sound of your reading voice, the way it varies slightly from when you talk. Unfortunately he made the mistake of telling you that once, and you began to insist that he read for you. Though he secretly enjoys doing so, he still grumbles about it out of habit. The both of you know he’s only doing it for show.

Scaramouche once caught you using a broom like a sword. Though you looked very drunk he secretly found it endlessly endearing. He offered to teach you some basic sword forms (despite his weapon knowing swordplay is a basic requirement for all Fatui soldiers). You accepted eagerly at the time, unaware of how much you’d underestimated Scarmouche’s fervor when it came to training. It took a wooden sword snapped in half for him to lay off a little bit, but at least his troops started dropping hints at you that they no longer feared for their lives. Though you think they were joking, you were still glad for the learning experience. You two still spar every once in a while though.

Living up to his title of “Balladeer” Scaramouche has quite the haunting voice. Not particularly high, his range still has a natural warmth to it that belies his cold exterior. You almost never catch him actually singing. The first time it happened was when you had a migraine. Refusing to leave your tent – you hadn’t actually convinced him you weren’t dying – he seemed torn between boredom and worry. At first it was a mere hum, but soon enough it morphed into a captivating song. He refused to tell you the name of it, claiming he’d forgotten, and refused to bring it up the next morning. Still sometimes you’ll catch him now and then humming out a tune, usually when he’s reading or if you’re sick or upset. His singing is something you associate with comfort.

Scaramouche is a terrible letter writer. If you send him ten letters while he’s away he’ll send you three. Still what he lacks in quantity he makes up for in word count. Curt in his official reports, his letters to you are pure stream-of-consciousness, captivating whatever he’s thinking about at the time. Usually the letters are somewhat sappy (or surprisingly bold) missives on how much he loves you and misses you, somehow more honest than when he speaks to you face-to-face. Still you’ve also gotten quite used to a thousand words on how much he hates his fellow Harbingers. You don’t mind, keeping all his letters to you in a box. Though he claims to burn yours, he does the same.

Scaramouche always tell you the days he’s leaving and the days he’s returning. Sometimes he’ll have it down to an estimated hour. Though he appreciates the pomp and spectacle of appearing around others unannounced – something he does quite a bit when working – he refuses to keep you in a limbo of waiting. Secretly he’s also always afraid you might not show up on the docks one day, and every time he sees your face after a long time away a weight lifts in his chest, the pressure on his soul just a little easier to bear every time.

Scaramouche has always felt most comfortable at night. When the world sleeps, when he has the advantage of being awake, being alert, being more powerful. When there are fewer eyes on him, and he can even tell himself that he is the only one awake in the world, can indulge in those moments of wondering, wondering whether he has ever felt something, whether he is missing a crucial piece. Whether he has ever been happy, whether he wants to be so. He can be vulnerable at night, and thus is the reason it appealed to him so much.

Now the night is his favorite time of day because he can always be near you at that time. If you two are in the same land, then you will spend the night in the same room, the same tent, the same bed. Listening to the sound of your breathing, letting himself revel in your closeness, your arms wrapped around his waist, or his wrapped around you, Scaramouche feels truly content. Perhaps he is even happy, perhaps this is what happiness is, what love is. Perhaps it is something more than that, something undefinable, something too abstract to put into words. He loves you, he realizes to himself, he loves you so much. It is overwhelming, like a tidal wave, yet it does not frighten him. He could be struck by lightning and it would not frighten him. It will in the daytime, but now is the night, and now he can marvel peacefully at the fact that he truly loves you.

#made myself emotional with this #genshin impact #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche #genshin scaramouche #genshin impact fanfiction #headcanons #requested #my writing

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

do you have any unpopular opinions/controversial opinins/hills you will die on about twdg?

Of course. I think everyone has at least one hill they’ll die on or an unpopular opinion they’ll never change their mind on. I’ve actually answered this type of ask twice before. Once in 2019, and once in 2020. Some of my opinions have changed since then.

Okay look…. I’ve stepped away from this blog and the fandom for a while. I needed a break. I wanted to get back into my personal writing/art, I’ve gotten into Dragon Age and exploring its fandom, I’m reading through Tillie Walden’s other works in preparation for the Clementine comic and the review I’ll do of that. This time away has been good for me- I’ve done a lot of soul searching, looking deep inside myself as I reminisced about how the fandom has progressed over the years, all the good times and the bullshit, anons getting pissy with me, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t give a shit anymore.

So before I tell y’all about my unpopular opinions and show you all the hills I’ll die on, here’s a disclaimer that should be obvious and yet in this fandom it needs to be explicitly said: These are MY opinions and how I view twdg and it’s fandom. I’m going to say things like “I hate this/this choice is awful.” There’s a certain ship that I’m going to call bad. I’m going to criticize certain parts of the fandom and their behaviors I disagree with.

Understand that Bad/Worst DOES NOT EQUAL Invalid.

Whether you and I like it or not, ALL of the choices presented in twdg that don’t end in an YOU ARE DEAD screen are valid and canon. I don’t give a shit if you hate, let’s say… the ending where you don’t trust AJ and Louis or Violet die saving Tenn, for example. I don’t care if you think that ending is garbage, or it doesn’t count because it’s a determinate choice, or if you don’t understand why someone loves it. It’s still a valid and canon choice players can make.

You’re allowed to hate choices, characters, and ships or think one is better than the other, but that doesn’t make it the more or less valid choice. If you disagree with my takes, that’s fine. I respect that, and my feelings about the choices are not a reflection of my feelings toward you. You are allowed to do that just as I am allowed to disagree or agree with you.

And really, the only people I'm side-eyeing are the people who don't respect this.

You’d think that after all this time we would learn the concept of “agree to disagree,” instead of taking the Kenny route of “Agree with me or fuck you.” but here we are.

We have different experiences with these games, and no amount of shitty anons or petty vague posts are going to change that. If you think I'm a piece of shit for anything said here, good for you. Have fun with that.

I’ll start off with the more mild things and get spicier as we go. Cool? Cool. Buckle up, it's a long post.

Wellington is the best ending in S2. There’s no changing my mind about that, one of my hills is the Wellington ending.

I’ll fully admit that some of my meta knowledge plays into this. As someone who has played these games over and over again, I know Wellington exists even if the characters don’t. I know there are things that don’t add up about it, but despite those things, for me it’s the best chance Clementine and AJ have after all the bullshit they went through.

It’s the most satisfying ending, story wise. I don’t like Kenny, lemme just throw that out there. I view him as one of S2's antagonists, just to a different degree than Carver. By the end of s2 I just want him the fuck away from Clementine and AJ, but I won’t deny that it’s emotional watching him finally let them go because he knows this is their best chance, even if it leaves him alone again in the end. He's so possessive of them to the point where it endangers them so to see him immediately give them up? for their safety? It's like he finally gets it.

Staying at Wellington and watching Kenny go gives you an uneasy feeling knowing that by doing this, Kenny could fall onto one of two paths- self reflection and healing where he sees who he's become and actively tries to change his behaviors moving forward, or utter destruction that pulls him into a tragic grave. His fate is unknown. It’s so good.

I’m aware Wellington falls eventually and I’ll always be salty that ANF doesn’t give as much attention to it as the others even though it’s the best. Before it falls, Clementine and AJ get to feel safe in a community, have their own room together, be around other people and socialize. They’re away from Kenny which makes me feel better, they’re behind high walls, and they get some sort of normalcy back before everything goes to shit. It makes it feel like something was achieved. We lost everyone along the way, but Clementine isn’t completely alone anymore. She has AJ, and she has a new community that will feed them, keep them warm, protect them.

My only big gripe with the Wellington ending is that I have to let Kenny kill Jane in order to get it. Being completely honest, even though the part with Kenny in this ending is good.... if I could go to Wellington with Jane, I would. Which… uhhh….

I like Jane. She’s a good character.

I know, how dare I? Don’t I know “Kenny good, Jane bad”??? Liking Jane goes against at least three of the Boat God’s 10 Commandments! I’m practically a sinner for liking this fictional video game character who is not real. Pray I repent lest my soul gets swallowed by the unruly locks of Kenny's beard.

Cheeky absurdities about the extreme Kenny stans aside, I do genuinely like Jane. She’s not a favorite character or anything, she's definitely not making it into a top 10 list or anything, but I will jump to her defense when the mood strikes me. She gets a lot of criticism, and I totally get it. I have my own issues with her.

Where it starts to lose me is claims that Jane is the worst for being a manipulative asshole who hates children, for gaslighting Clementine into thinking the way she does and turning her against Kenny, for attempting to murder little baby AJ, and Kenny is the better option because he cares about Clementine more so we should all happily put our guns away and let him stab her. All those things are one way to interpret events. All of which I disagree with to a degree, if not entirely.

Honestly, I could do a whole deep dive into Jane’s character but for the sake of not making this a million words long, we’ll keep it contained and I'll go into detail about claims that Jane doesn't care about Clementine, yeah?

If Jane didn't care about Clementine, she wouldn't have helped her and Rebecca get out of the walker herd, she would've ditched the second she was free. She wouldn't have taught Clementine any survival tricks or engaged with her about personal stories about herself and her sister, something that's still a sore spot.

A big issue with Jane is the Sarah stuff, and believe me, I agree that leaving Sarah behind the first time is the wrong move, but I recognize that's a response she's having after having flashbacks to what happened with Jamie.

But y'know, when Sarah's second death comes along, Jane will try to save her if Clementine asks her to. Jane will put her safety aside to help Sarah and it's not her fault that she couldn't be saved. It's not her fault that she was staggered after getting hit with a piece of wood and couldn't get Sarah out before the walkers got to her. And she is genuine in her apology to Clementine for Sarah's death.

Jane leaves, but she comes back for Clementine, and ends up saving them by killing one of the dudes attacking them.

Oh and you wanna talk about Luke's death scene? if Clementine goes after Luke and falls through the ice?? Who is the one to pull Clementine out of the water and carry her in a panic to land and only cared about starting a fire so that she didn't fucking freeze to death?? Jane. Like... if Kenny cares about Clementine sooo much more than Jane ever did, then why the hell was he so hyper focused on beating the shit outta Arvo than on the fact that Clementine could drown or freeze to death? Kenny always puts Clementine first? No, Kenny always puts his feelings first.

Jane actually listens to Clementine and puts in an effort to see things through her perspective, even if she doesn't agree with it. She tries to tell Clementine that if all else fails, she can survive on her own. Jane makes it clear that she's not very comfortable with babies, but will still hold AJ when Clementine offers and tries to her best to bond with him.

And yes, the final fight is stupid. That's a huge mistake on Jane's part. She left AJ in a car to prove a point that if something ever happened to AJ and if Kenny saw it as Clementine's fault, this is what would happen and she felt this was the only way to make that clear...... it's not a great plan and she fucking knows it if you shoot Kenny.

I'm not claiming that Jane is the best character in s2 or that she doesn't deserve criticism, but I don't think she's nearly as bad as some insist she is. I could write more but hhhnnngggg long post is long, and we still have a lot of hills to climb.

BUT I WILL SAY THAT ANF DID A COMPLETE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION OF JANE'S CHARACTER AND THAT RIGHT THERE IS A HILL I WILL DIE ON. THEY DID HER DIRTY.

....Anyway. Speaking of ANF- Kate should’ve died in place of Mariana in ANF. I don’t hate Kate or anything, don’t love her either, but I will die on the hill that if ANF had killed Kate off and completely removed the terrible love triangle aspect of the story and instead focused on Javi, David, and the kids, it would’ve been soooo much better.

A story where Javi and Kate canonically end up together romantically. They’ve raised Gabe and Mari this entire time, they raised those kids and had each other through it all. But then Kate dies, and not only did Javi lose the woman he loves, he lost his partner to helped him with these kids. Everything rests on his shoulders now, he is completely responsible for them… and not only that, but Gabe and Mariana lost their step-mom. Everything hurts, we still could’ve had the burial scene in you stayed with Clementine to finish things or to go with your family because Mari got shot instead, or Gabe got shot.

So these kids are all Javi has left, and one of them is shot and could possibly die. He’s desperate to save them by any means necessary, even if it means appealing to those who are responsible for the wound and for Kate’s death…. Only for David to show up. It all worked out in the end, right?

Well, Richmond doesn’t like Javi and he has to leave, and the kids can’t come with him. David IS their father, they’re HIS children… but Javi raised them from the beginning of the apocalypse and taking them away from him feels fucking cruel.

THAT is sooo much more compelling of a family drama than just “aw shit man I kissed my brother’s wife because I thought he was dead but he’s not dead oh no better not tell him I’m in love with his wife until she tells him at the worst possible moment”

Again, don’t hate Kate, but letting her shine in one episode is better than her downward spiral over the course of the season.

Alright, ready to get extra spicey? Because the hills are burning from this point on and we're outta marshmallows.

Louis getting all the blame for voting Clementine and AJ out when he wasn’t even present as Mitch suggested they take the vote and everyone else went along with it only happens because certain Violet stans view him as a “threat” to their ship so they want to find any excuse to make Louis an asshole, including ignoring his trauma and everything else canon with his character, to fit their narrative. ..... Yep. Uh-oh.

To me, if this WASN’T the case, these people would give Ruby, Omar, Willy, and Mitch waaaaay more shit, but Louis is singled out because he's the other love interest.

Louis is not the sole reason Clementine and AJ were kicked out and acting like it’s all his fault that AJ was shot is blatantly ignoring the fact that Ruby, Omar, Willy, and Mitch also voted them out. Mitch gets heat for it sometimes, but the whole “Louis’ vote could’ve made difference! It could've made it a draw so the group would have to discuss further!! It’s ALL his fault, he’s such a shithead, he doesn't get to feel bad for what happened because he voted them out! Clementine would never love him when he put her and AJ at risk by voting them out like that!” argument is weak.

Ruby’s vote could’ve ensured that they stayed.

I guess that makes Ruby a shithead for kicking them out, too.

If she had voted for them to stay, they would’ve been tied and had to discuss it more. She was also upset about Marlon’s death, and was mad at AJ. Surely Ruby knew if they were voted out that AJ would get shot. How could she put Clementine’s sad murder baby in danger like that?? Being mad at AJ AND voting them out is enough to ensure no positive relationship can grow from that point forward. Because Ruby voting them out is always gonna be there, y’know? Ruby might as well have shot AJ herself when she voted them out. AJ is just a big ol’ baby boy who shouldn’t be held accountable because he’s a baby child! He doesn’t know any better! No one taught him anything!

It’s going to be a constant thing on Clementine’s mind at all times every time she talks to Ruby and she will never forgive her for that one vote she made when she was grieving because her grief doesn’t matter when it doesn’t benefit me. Ruby’s reasons for voting them out do not matter because the only feelings that are valid in this situation are Clementine’s and everyone else who voted for her to stay. Y’know, if only there was a way for Ruby to get shot in the arm as karma for her vote. That would show her for having feelings that I don’t like, make her regret ever crossing Clementine! And if she ever apologizes for voting Clementine out [which she never really does] I’ll tell her to fuck off because that is what she deserves. Let the raiders take her, I say! It's what she deserves for voting them out!

...Have you had enough or should I keep going? Because if I keep going, the Ruby crowd might get mad and start poking me with pitchforks and I don’t need them upset with me while I already have the Violet crowd shooting arrows at my hill.

Now someone who is of the opinion that Louis is the worst and clouis would never work because he voted them out might look at that and politely point out, “Well CJ, Louis and Ruby are different. Ruby forgave Clementine and AJ the day after the vote when they came back to the school. Louis didn’t forgive her until two weeks later.”

And to that I say you’re right. Louis and Ruby are different.

Ruby, to our knowledge, never actually apologizes for her vote. Louis does.

Ruby’s forgiveness happens sooner if you help her bury Ms. Martin as she’ll tell you that she’ll tell the others she’s changed her mind about you. Louis’ forgiveness doesn’t happen so soon or as easily.

Louis had a stronger connection to Marlon. Ruby didn’t.

Now my point with all of this is Ruby doesn’t get as much shit for voting them out, even though her vote could’ve possibly prevented AJ from getting shot just as much as Louis’ vote. She was in the same position as Louis and gets no shit. It’s easy to change her mind about you once you come back, and she’s not a love interest for Clementine, therefore she isn’t viewed as an interference, if you will.

A big point of argument against Louis is him putting AJ in danger with his vote, and as a love interest, that makes him a bad one whereas Violet voted for them to stay, hence not putting them in danger. Violet in her full romantic route never puts AJ in danger, but in his full romantic route, Louis does.

Except I would argue that Violet does put AJ in danger at least once in her romance route: in ep3 while they’re on the boat. The moment Violet chose to stay with Minerva she not only put AJ in danger, but the rest of the group as well. She could’ve easily left Minerva there and gone with Clementine to get AJ. She could’ve helped Aasim carry Omar [who was still shot] and Louis [who had his tongue cut out], but she didn’t. Despite the emotions she is feeling, she should be aware that if she lets Clementine go alone, something could happen, the danger on this boat is immediate. The raiders won't hesitate to kill Clementine if they have to, they won't hesitate to hurt AJ. Violet knows this.

“But CJ, that’s not fair, that’s not comparable. Violet stayed with Minerva because of her past trauma! She couldn’t leave her to die on the boat, she has abandonment issues! It’s not okay to blame her for that when it’s not something she can help!”

That's fair. I understand that Violet has her reasons for staying with Minerva, and while I may not like that she chooses Minerva after stopping her from murdering Clementine, I won’t invalidate reasons that I as someone watching from the outside may not understand.

But may I ask why is Violet putting anyone, not even just AJ, in danger as a result of those things seen as understandable, sympathetic, better… but Louis doing the same thing isn’t?

Louis found out who Marlon really was after years of blind faith. Marlon admitted to murdering Brody and pinning it on Clementine. If you appealed to him, then Marlon pointed a gun right at Louis and had to full power to kill him right there and yet, he didn’t back down. If you appealed to Violet, Louis saw Marlon with the power to kill his friend. Marlon admitted that he gave away the twins, admitted that he would do it again if he had to. All in a short period of time.

Then Louis watched Marlon get murdered…… and you assume that wasn’t traumatic for him? You assume that he’s turning against AJ and Clementine because he’s just a shit head and not because what he saw not only hurt and horrified him, but is something that he will carry with him for the rest of his life? He’s not having a response to trauma, he’s purposely just trying to screw you over?

Just get over it, Louis. Marlon was a murderer, and AJ apparently doesn't know any better. This pain your feeling? Stop it. You don't get to vote us out and feel bad.... right?

No. Ignoring all of that just to make an argument that he sucks and isn’t a good love interest for Clementine doesn’t sit well with me. Choosing to get him shot in the woods by Abel as an act of karma for his vote, being offended that he doesn’t grieve on your time schedule, getting annoyed that he has conflicting feelings about Marlon because to you it’s cut and dry that Marlon was bad and Louis should just get over it, telling him to fuck off after he makes an effort to repair your relationship, romantic or otherwise...

And y’know, whenever I see someone condemn Louis for taking two weeks to grieve before going to Clementine and forgiving AJ but praise Violet for taking the same amount of time after AJ shoots Tenn to grieve but isn’t ready to forgive him, it screams double standards, hypocrisy. Violet is allowed to lash out at AJ when she’s hurt, allowed to snap at him for killing Tenn and take as long as she needs to grieve, she’s allowed to not forgive AJ right away for hurting her, but Louis isn't because you don't like him and don't want to respect/acknowledge his issues.

I know we always get upset and insist on not comparing trauma because each character is different and they handle things differently, and it’s not okay to invalidate that….. But it’s also not okay to ignore those things just because they don’t benefit your favored ship. It says a lot.

I could go on and on, I’ve written several posts about Louis in ep2. at this point if you still don’t like Louis or clouis, that’s fine. Agree to disagree.

And just to be crystal clear, this isn't a dig at Violet. Her issues and pain are understandable and I respect that she handles things differently. Just because I don't prefer her route that doesn't mean she's invalid.

Now if I didn't have any unburnt bridges left, let's rip the bandaid off: clemerva is a bad ship. I fucking hate clemerva.

I don't care if it's in an au or taking place in canon, in my opinion it's a terrible ship that's built on a canon where they try to kill each other. Clemerva is about aesthetic because most Minerva stans care more about her looks and sexuality than they do her actual character or the bullshit she went through.

Now this bothers me so much and the reasons I will die on the hill that clemerva is bad deals with a lot of little personal things.

Firstly, I have a history of not liking Minerva. Go back to posts from a year ago and you'll find me saying things about how I can't stand her, I don't like her, I don't get why people love her........ and things have changed.

I fucking love Minerva. She is such a fucking tragedy, her role in the story and how it's executed makes more sense now, and she's fascinating. What changed my mind was throwing away everything people have said about her and playing the game by myself and looking at her character, making my own interpretations, drawing conclusions.... and it clicked. It makes sense, Minerva is great!

And this change of heart only made me hate clemerva more because it does such a disservice to her character all for the sake of making her kiss Clementine, someone she fucking hates. Like... that's it. Throw her at Clementine, who cares if Minerva would NEVER want her.

If you want a more in depth look, I have this post I made about Minerva's character, and the only thing that I would change is that I don't dislike her anymore. I am a Minerva fan now.

it just gets under my skin that a wlw ship with two queer girls who physically harm one another on several occasions- the spitting thing really gets me because spitting at someone is so demeaning and gross and ugh .... y'know, that's why Lilly's character is ruined the moment she spits at and calls James "it"- they have no friendly chemistry and Minerva is too far gone at that point... that's the wlw ship people insist is good and that I'm wrong for not liking it and like...... you can't just argue that away.

You can't convince me that Clem and Minerva could eventually have a healthy relationship in canon if Minerva made it back to the school without erasing her trauma or the murder attempts.

And when it comes to AU's where Minerva wasn't taken by raiders or whatever... I can understand someone who likes Minerva wanting her to be happy and so they make an au where she didn't get traded to the raiders. That's fine, I don't have a problem with that. I want her to be happy, too, even though I know it'll never happen. My problem is the fact that shipping her with Clementine is viewed as more important than anything else.

if anything, some fans are kinda like Violet where they have this ideal, romanticized picture of her in their heads but the difference is Violet sees who she's become and eventually accepts that, she doesn't try to erase it. but when certain Minerva stans see her in canon..... no, don't like that, she doesn't fit the mold I made of her when her character was first teased and I am going to blame the writers for giving her ugly bits that I don't like, they are wrong for not giving my redemption arc, I want to see the tall, pretty, happy, queer girl I made up in my head kiss Clementine or Violet and you're wrong for not giving me that. I will use her trauma against anyone who criticizes her but I won't actually take it into account myself because that part of her isn't important until I say it is.

I can't with clemerva, it usually erases Minerva's character and replaces her with an OC wearing her face and it's just not for me.

You can vague post shit about me or send me anons like "wow imagine hating clemerva lol couldn't be me'" or "if you don't ship clemerva you are a coward lmao" or "clemerva haters are sexist/lesbophic/biphobic" all you want, it's not gonna make me change my mind about a ship between two queer girls who canonically try to kill each other on several occasions, where one spits blood in the other's face, and the other shoots her. Sorry that I don't think all Minerva needs is a new girlfriend instead of a therapist to overcome a years worth of trauma and brainwashing.

Look, I hate the ship but remember what I said in the beginning? Just because I hate it, that doesn't mean I hate people who like it. You have your reasons and I respect that, and I ask that you respect my reasons for not liking it. My only annoyances are with those fans who try to change my mind because I'm "wrong" or shame me for it by completely ignoring my issues in the first place.

Ugh..... anyway, there they are.

There's all my dumb unpopular opinions and hills I'll die on. Wasn't that fun? I'm gonna go make myself some tea because my salt train doesn't end here- I have asks about the Clem comic to answer next sksksks

#asks #long post #twdg clementine #twdg louis #twdg clouis #twdg aj #twdg violet #twdg aasim #twdg ruby #twdg willy #twdg lilly #twdg minerva #twdg mitch #twdg marlon #twdg jane #twdg kenny #twdg javi #twdg david #twdg gabe #twdg mariana #twdg kate #twdg omar

[hide-the-moonlight]

The Seiya-Mamoru Wars

alright everyone I’ve had enough.

So you ship Seiusa or Usamamo? And you hate the other ship? Because come on, how could people actually like that ship? He was a sleazy bastard, and they’re stupid for not seeing it, and ALSO —

Yeah, stop right there. This post is for you. Sorry, this essay is for you. 

This is going to be the essay thats fuelled and conquered by love and I’m going to argue that you should stop this ridiculous fight between the two ships,

and here’s why!!!!

Part 1: Keep your interpretation

Part 2: I’m projecting — you’re projecting — we’re all projecting

Part 3: Mamoru is not a wet sock (reflecting on Mamoru’s role in the show, at a glance)

Part 4: Seiya is not a slimy snake (exploring the reasons for Seiya’s behaviour. Yes, in MY interpretation. I don’t know yours)

Part 5: Usagi deserves to be loved  (and to LOVE, its not a goddamn SIN to have feelings for someone if you’re in a relationship, and I’ll die on this hill if I have to.)

Part 92832: how long is this essay Jesus Christ. 

Part 420: my gay disclaimer

(Psst this is also on ao3)

Hahaha okay, now we can finally begin. 

Part 1: Interpretation

Every fanwork represents a different character. Every time someone writes about Seiya Kou, we meet a new Seiya Kou. The same for every character ever. 

If you’ve ever read a fanfic in this fandom about either of these two ships, or hell, any fanfic ever about any ship, you will know just how individual the relationship is to the author that wrote about it. The Seiya and Mamoru that you have in your brain are completely different from the Seiya and Mamoru that someone else has in their brain.  

“Oh but in the anime Seiya/Mamoru is horrible because—“ Wake up. People have different experiences than you of the same world as you. The same anime we all watched, the same characters we all know and love. In each of us lives a different character, despite them all sharing the same name, Seiya Kou, or Mamoru Chiba, or Usagi Tsukino.  

Key in this is that your experience is valid, and it’s real, and you have just as much cause to hate whatever character you want as the next guy. The Seiya or Mamoru you have in your head is as real as they have ever been. 

But.

I’m sick of people taking such bold stances about these characters categorically as if you’ve experienced a truth beyond anyone else’s. I am not saying you’re not allowed to hate them, because you can do what you want. But what I am against is the way people express this categorical declaration that Seiya/Mamoru are, well, scum. 

So…how am I going to make this defence of them, you might ask? Well, I’m going to take my stance because I don’t like seeing antagonism of any kind, and particularly when it feels so…pointless to me, when it comes to these characters.

TL;DR (Part 1): just because you hate Seiya/Mamoru because of an idea you have in your head, doesn’t mean that other people suck for loving that character because, they don’t have the same character in mind as you!!!

Part 2: I’m projecting — you’re projecting — we’re all projecting

My BIGGEST problem with this (—I think I say that a lot) is that people feel like if they like one character that means they have to hate the other. Where in the world did you get this idea? Is this also you subscribing to the idea that you should hate your ex? And that every ex is evil? And that if you like more than one person, you have to choose one, and somehow vilify the other? Because assflash newshole, you don’t have to hate people just because you used to be together and now you’re not (yes you can hate people who wronged you etc etc, but, based on the fact alone that you broke up? yeah sorry that’s not cool).

The people I loved who are not in my life anymore are still very precious to me and I wish the best for them always, and would be friends with them again if our lives crossed paths again. Yes my heart broke leaving them. Yes it hurt. Yes I love them. And YES I feel Usagi would be the same. Yes I’m projecting. Yes, you are all also projecting your experiences of people onto how you read characters.

So many tropes where there is more than one romantic interest, people feel the need to find a glaring negative thing about one of them, to make the choice easier. And, to put it simply, I think that’s stupid. I think that both Seiya and Mamoru can be appreciated for their many wonderful traits, and the many wonderful futures that Usagi might have with one or the other (or both;) ). So you might ask, how could we choose which one is better, Seiya or Mamoru? You know which one you prefer, just go with that. It is completely unnecessary to derisively ridicule the other.

And if you’re wondering how Usagi could choose, if there is no clear choice between Seiya and Mamoru, and one isn’t made out to be explicitly worse than the other? Well, choosing one can carry with it grieving the loss of the other, and that is beautiful and tragic and she can still be happy with her choice even if she grieves a future she can’t have. (But also, she can have it, if you just write a different timeline fic where she chose the other! Haha)

Life and love is more complicated and nuanced than finding one obvious soulmate. Love is something that you can create on your own, endlessly transforming it as your partnership and life changes like a kaleidoscope of tenderness, honesty, and love. And I repeat again, a relationship is choosing to love who you love, to love your partner over and over again, freely and honestly.

Okay okay, I promised we’d talk about Mamoru and Seiya. Let’s get INTO IT!

Part 3: The Mamoru Problem

Some genre of Seiya fans defend their stance using the argument that Mamoru suffered from a bad case of being a soggy wet sock. And that usually means things like “he wasn’t supportive”, “they had no chemistry”, “he was rude”, “he was neglectful”, etc. My argument for him stands on the base belief that Mamoru barely got ANY time during the entire show. Yes the first season was about him, but even that had less emphasis on their evolving dynamic and relationship than what the 5th season allowed for Seiya and Usagi. 

Mamoru and Usagi were forced to (rather traumatically) go from being antagonistic towards each other because they pushed each other’s buttons, to finding out they’d died for one another a thousand years ago, and that Mamoru’s alter ego (that he just gained awareness of) has been protecting Usagi’s alter ego. Okay, thats complicated.

And then he gets brainwashed. Okay, that complicates it more.

And then…sadly, we don’t get to see much of their relationship after. Yeah, we see that they date again (and break up, and date again), but I never felt I got to see Mamoru for who he is, y’know? Please reply to this if you have more to say in support of Mamoru :)

But, I really feel like there is no room for the development of their relationship, because the story is big enough with its large epic history and history repeating itself. It’s the story about them, not with them, if you follow me. The reason they get together in the first season is only because they loved each other one thousand years ago. Just as Mamoru himself said in season two, that's kind of insufficient reason to be together. 

We also see how Usgai is quite different from the Princess Serenity she used to be, and I would argue the same for Mamoru. We never saw Prince Endymion being so snarky and sharp like Mamoru was in the first season, which are very fun aspects of his character. These things point towards the fact that Usagi and Mamoru on Earth in the 20th century are different people, and it is a little irrational for them to get together based on the fact alone that their previous lifetimes had a love beautiful love between them. The love was between two very different people. 

I understand people believe they are soulmates, (and if its not clear yet then it will become soon that I don't particularly subscribe to that idea. Relationships are an art that we get to partake in, and that is the greatest gift we have as humans) and Usagi and Mamoru being soulmates would be justification enough for them getting together in present day. Oh, how beautiful, their souls are tied together so tightly that throughout all of time they will always be brought together by one common thread... 

There is so much beauty in that, that I think people rightfully recognize and cherish. I wish I could give an even more in depth account of the wonder of this trope, but I’m trying my hardest to write for both sides while personally being invested in one side than the other. If this is unconvincing enough, I will write more on this if need be.

Alternate to the long-lost soulmates story, someone might prefer the beauty of seeing two people meet and connect, and their relationship change into something incredible based on the people they are for each other now. Seeing the beauty of people choosing to love each other. There is something to the idea that someone being able to make you happy now is a better predictor of them being able to make you happy in the future, than someone who'd made you happy one thousand years ago, in a previous lifetime. The latter is no predictor at all.

To me, choice is so much more powerful than predestination. The latter might involve so little effort, but the former carries with it deliberation and a battle against reasons to fight to be together. Life has a way of pulling and pushing and tearing and binding, and to choose to fight against that torrent of everlasting change, just to be with someone? 

My point in bringing this up is that Usagi and Mamoru's relationship in season one and all that follows, lies on this base assumption that to be soulmates is the highest form of love. This is antithetical to the idea that love is choice. To the idea that love is something that you might jump towards, might care for, might nourish and grow. Something you move deliberately towards when you meet someone with whom you are happy, safe, and burning with life.

I feel like the battle between people who love Mamoru versus people who love Seiya, is just a preference for a soulmates-view opposed to the found-love view. Usagi and Mamoru have been bound by fate since beyond time immemorial. That is eternal and beautiful and timeless, and people rightly see the beauty in that story. On the opposite end, Usagi and Seiya found something beautiful between each other, right then and there. People also rightly feel for the spark they had between each other, because they know what its like to meet someone and be captivated immediately, and yearn to be able to meet that person and get closer to that person and be able to love them and protect them, despite everything.

Usagi and Mamoru's relationship was based on the soulmates idea, and never had time to show their actual progression of going from strangers to enemies to friends, and that sweet, sweet, transition to realizing they like each other. We didn't get to see that in season one. 

And then…the seasons that follow: the second season is entirely about Chibi-Usa. The third is about Chibi-usa and Hotaru (and Michiru and Haruka). The fourth season is about Chibi-usa. (This show should be called Chibi-Usa and her cool mom Sailor Moon). I loved Chibi-usa when I was a kid, and I won’t have any slander towards her. And if you have ever been around 3-6 year olds…yes they’re annoying, and yes they are deserving of love, and very fun little people. That’s who she is.

I digress.

So what’s left for the intricate romance chemistry explorations in this world? Not much, is what I’m getting at. Season 5 is the first time where we’re not focusing on the story about Sailor Moon, because she is already Sailor Moon, and she’s living her life now. She knows the routine, what-its-like-to-be-a-Sailor-Scout has (finally, mostly) been explored, and the pile of things to explore has reached relationships. 

And Chibi-usa and Mamoru exit the scene. This story is about Usagi. 

And in comes Seiya.

Part 4: Seiya and the arguments against him/her. (I use the pronouns interchangeably, hope it’s not confusing) 

Some of these are almost valid. Almost.

I love this arc because Usagi wasn’t going to be swayed by looks and charm anymore — she has Mamoru, and more importantly she’s grown up. I’ve seen others mention this, but yes, I agree that if Seiya had appeared in season one that their story would’ve been so vastly different, because Usagi would be so easily captivated by his charm that Seiya wouldn’t have had to fight to get to know her, and I feel like Usagi wasn’t mature enough yet.

Season five Usagi not seeing Seiya as a charming boy she wants to date lets them have a progressive relationship in which they spend time together, and their dynamic becomes more defined. And this is just something that season one Usagi and Mamoru just didn’t have time to do. It’s not Mamoru’s fault, for christ’s sake!

The biggest points against Seiya: that he’s a stalker, and the moment in the rain. 

My defences follow. 

First of all, let’s review the facts: I’m assuming that ‘stalker’ refers to things like how Seiya waits for her after school just to talk to her, and he comes to her house in the evening one night. First of all, my biggest defence is: this is like, 1996. How else do you think he could’ve gotten in contact with her? On the first occasion, they don’t know each other that well, he hasn’t got her phone number. There ain’t no social media Seiya can use to contact her. Dude.

And the same is true for the night he comes to her house. They’ve lost contact because the Starlights aren’t going to school anymore. At this point, I believe he’s tried calling her, and she doesn’t reply because she’s trying to call Mamoru for hours. (Aka the saddest thing I’ve ever experienced. Oh my f*cking god, he’s literally dead. She’s trying to call him and he’s dead ;-;)

So what’s Seiya to do? It’s 1996. 

A couple of years ago I was chatting with my dad when I asked him, hey wait a minute, how did you plan to hang out with your friends if you couldn’t message them ahead of time? Or call them? And he laughed, “you just go to their house, of course.” Yeah, this shocked me, because I’m blind to the many aspects of culture that I had no idea changed because of the internet, because I’ve grown up with it. But, think about it. What else could you do? It was much more normal then than it is now. Now if someone comes to your house without texting you first, you’re like ‘omg creepy, you didn’t tell me you were coming’, which, now is a good response! If someone comes to my house with no warning they better have a damn good reason for doing so. 

But this? Seiya, a sad lad in 1996? It’s a different day and age. 

Case closed.

The other problem: why did he have to go and say “aren’t I good enough?” when Usagi was crying about Mamoru in the rain?

Consider this: what is Seiya’s perspective here? 

Seiya, a rash and emotional teenager, has seen Usagi, for the entire duration of the season, talk about, pine over, and cry over this dude, Mamoru. 

This mystery Mamoru supposedly went to America to study, and not bothered to contact her at all. Seiya sees how Usagi glorifies him, how he’s supposedly the best person in the world, and— without any, any evidence, how is Seiya supposed to interpret this? As I understand it, Seiya, in her frustrated state and head-over-heels in love, doesn’t understand how someone supposedly so good would leave Usagi, the most wonderful and sweet person Seiya’s ever met and loves so deeply, hanging like this? With no attempt to contact her?! It’s been months! What the hell?! 

TL;DR: Seiya has no idea Mamoru is dead (this is so fucking sad ;-;), has no idea Mamoru is good or kind or sweet or caring, all seiya knows is that Usagi deserves to be loved, and she doesn’t deserve to feel like this, and what if this Mamoru type isn’t who she thinks he is? How terrifying is that thought? What if Usagi's been tricked by a sleazy guy?

A million things could’ve run through Seiya’s mind, and Usagi could’ve said a million things to confirm Seiya’s fears. As I understand it, Seiya’s pain about the situation exploded, seeing Usagi cry like that in the rain.

Seiya had been trying to keep her cheered up for these many months of her being alone, and Seiya would do it forever if she had to (if only she could…). And it hurts because if Seiya has been able and successful in cheering Usagi up all this time, maybe Usagi could be happy with Seiya too?

In conclusion: Seiya has no idea who Mamoru is, and feels it’s unjust that Usagi is being treated like this. In comparison to this absence of Mamoru, isn’t Seiya good enough to cheer up Usagi for now? How would Seiya have known any better…. 

:(

We’ve almost made it to the end, but not quite.

Part 5: Oh my god have you come this far? (It’s time we think about how Usagi feels for once.)

My last argument comes from the point of view of Usagi, and my adamant opinion that both Seiya and Mamoru are lovely and deserve to be loved, and Usagi deserves to be loved by everyone.

What did Usagi experience? 

I want to make the case that we shouldn’t hate Seiya for pursuing Usagi, because Usagi clearly liked Seiya. (See: she came to the Three Lights radio show to see Seiya. She came to Seiya’s concert. She asked Seiya to come to the school cafe event. I could go on.) And we shouldn’t hate Mamoru because Usagi liked Seiya — that’s ridiculous, I’m sorry, what, why would you decide to hate Mamoru for that?!

Here’s my big problem with this, which is also my hottest spiciest take:

People are allowed to like other people, to have crushes on other people, and even feel love towards other people when they’re in a relationship. The key is that you stay true to your relationship, as you and your partner defined it. 

A relationship means choosing the person you’re with, despite everything else. It means being true to your relationship, it means discussing boundaries, it means being honest, open, and communicative with your partner -- “I’m having feelings for this person, how does this make you feel? I value you and your experience more, so if you feel uncomfortable, I can distance myself with this person. But I’m open to having a conversation about why I value our relationship, and don’t want you to feel threatened by my feelings for this other person. I have no desire to act on these feelings, it just felt wrong to keep something like this from you.”

And the emphasis of this is that, being unable to communicate with Mamoru to discuss any of her feelings and engage with him in trying to understand the emotional situation together, Usagi maintained the integrity of their relationship and never betrayed him once. Importantly, she didn’t blame Seiya at all for the situation.

And during this time, Seiya was shocked too about the situation, since Seiya’s goal had been to save Princess Kakyuu, and meeting Usagi turned Seiya’s entire world upside down. I think meeting Usagi changed the entire experience of life, and I hope is what made Seiya fall in love with the world.

All this means that I think Usagi is not in the wrong for having feelings for Seiya. It means that I think it’s beautiful that despite having feelings for Seiya, she stayed true to her relationship with Mamoru, because in their absence of communication she still valued him and his experience and being honest with him. It’s terribly tragic. And all the while, she didn’t vilify either of them or make a big deal out of choosing between the two of them. And I think it’s beautiful, and that Usagi deserves to love and to be loved as freely and openly as she might wish.

I believe that Seiya wasn’t wrong to try and be around Usagi as much as possible, because I think Usagi liked Seiya as well, and I like to think that Seiya could sense that and could feel the internal battle Usagi had raging inside her too.

PART 1,000,000: CONCLUSION

In conclusion, loving one ship shouldn’t have to mean that you have to hate the other. Usagi deserves to be loved and to love as much as she can and wants to, and it’s the beauty of our ability to tell a million stories about this world through fan fiction that she can experience exactly that. 

This is why I’m writing my fanfic — because I’d like to create a world where Usagi doesn’t have the agonizing experience of having to balance Mamoru’s absence with her feelings for Seiya. I want her to experience her feelings for Seiya freely. And likewise, I want her to be able to love Mamoru, and I personally don’t want to ridicule Mamoru by creating a fantasy in which he is the scumbag Mamoru-haters wish he was.

I believe that if he knew he was going to die, he would have wanted Usagi to find love and happiness in this world without him, because he loves her and wants that for her more than anything. I would want that for the people in my life too.

I TRULY think the best take to have here is to love both of them, and burn the idea of exclusivity, and embrace polyamory xD Hahaha, it’s a joke but its also not a joke. I think that is a much better take than the antagonism has ever been. 

THE END, GET OUT OF HERE 

#PART 420. Disclaimer: Yeah i have a gay crush on Seiya she makes me feel gay and tender in this cold dark world and yeah I’d die for her. #usamamo #usagi tsukino #tsukino usagi #mamoru chiba #chiba mamoru #seiya kou #kou seiya #Seiya x Usagi #usagi and seiya #seiusa #seiya x usagi x mamoru #mamoru x usagi #sailor moon #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #fanfiction #sailor moon fanfiction #shipping #essay #lmao haha #yes this is an essay

[createandconstruct]

From @lightning-struck-thrice​​

BASIC?! IMPOSSIBLE. The Not Alone sequence is the BEST scene in the e n t i r e game. I’ll die over that hill. I was driving yesterday, shuffling my music, and the Distant Worlds version of Not Alone came on. Safe to say I was crying while trying to merge lanes.

What’s truly beautiful about the sequence is that Zidane is stripped down to the ugliest part of him. He’s cruel, harsh, lashing out at everyone who tries to reach him. And yet they reach. out. anyway.

"Leave me alone..."

"This has nothing to do with you."

"Shut up! Just shut up, you stupid brat!"

"Will you little twits just shut up!"

"There are some things kids can't understand."

When Eiko and Vivi arrive he’s angry, hateful, he pushes them away, and speaks so unkindly to them, unlike he ever has before. Through their entire journey Zidane treated Eiko and Vivi as equals yet here he throws their ages in their faces and refuses to listen to their words of truth.

"I can take care of myself."

Yet then comes Freya and Amarant. Freya tells him, "Looks like you need some help," only for the once loner Amarant to show up, jabbing, insincerely, "Can't you even take care of yourself?” Zidane responds, but that hot anger isn’t there from when he spoke to Vivi and Eiko. Something’s changing, yet he brushes off their words of help with an isolating, dismissing, responsive. It’s still not getting through.

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to trouble you anymore."

He walks on only this time to happen upon Steiner and Quina already fighting for his sake. "Steiner...Quina... What are you doing..." Is all he can say. In complete shock at the sight that more of the party have come for him. As he joins the fight he can only quietly say, “You guys...” As Steiner responds, without missing a beat, “You’re late, Zidane!” And when the battle ends, the anger has all but fizzled out. The truth of Zidane’s outburst is leaking out. Zidane doesn’t wish to be alone. No one truly wishes for such a thing. Yet we often run from the comfort and love of others in fear of what we’ll bring them in return. Trouble, Zidane says. He believes his presence at their sides has only made things worse. That it will only continue to do so. For all they have given him, in this moment, he truly believes he has given nothing but pain to them in return.

"You're all a bunch of babysitting bastards!"

He’s at his ugliest. He’s at his point of most despair. Everyone who’s come before, from Vivi to Steiner, he throws their kindness in their faces. Shouting that their following after him his almost like suffocation. That their compassion and devotion is unwelcome. That they’re the ones who are wrong. He’s the one who wants to be alone, so they should simply grant his wish.

And yet...

"But trust me, I know that I'm the worst bastard here."

Despite their time together, despite the blood they’ve shed beside him, the tears they’ve shared, the very scene before his eyes that they’ve returned for him despite his opposition, he quietly says his true belief, his honest fear, that they’re beside him out of obligation. That they’ve stayed beside him by mistake. That by walking with them, welcoming their friendship, love, and goodness he’s led them to despair. He’s a useless child they’ve been looking after, one who belongs to the very world who spilt their blood and brought their tears. He’s the bastard. Not them. Never them. Because he’s the one who never could deserve them. 

That’s his truth. That’s the darkness hidden within Zidane. For all his optimism, all his cheer, Zidane is the one without a home. He’s the one without a father. He’s the spawn of Terra. The evil they’ve been fighting is his origin, the pain radiating from Gaia is in his blood, he must hold responsibility for the suffering of these people, who, despite his words and actions, he holds most dear. These people who only earlier he was desperate to still call his in the very face of his creator. 

“I'm aware of all the laughter, all the tears I've shared with the people I grew up with on Gaia.”

He enters the final battle against the Shell Dragon. A battle no one could win alone. One he fights in silence. One he fights with a clear end in sight. He takes a hit that brings him to his knees and one can only say that his mission here is clear. It is the one thing a lost, misguided person can do to rid those they care about of the burden they so tragically believe to be themselves. 

“Is this how you want to solve the problem?”

Dagger doesn’t let him. 

“You try to do everything by yourself, don't you?”

She sees right through him. She sees that ugliness, she hears that despair, she feels him push away and yet she. Reaches. Out. Anyway. She sees it for what it is. She refuses his self-hatred, she pushes back against his isolation, she tells him she won’t take no for an answer. When someone refuses a hand that aims to pull them up - that is when they are truly at their lowest. It is when they believe they don’t deserve help that they need it the most. It is when they seek to be alone that need someone beside them.

You've always protected us. But you still don't understand that we looked out for you, too! We watched your back while you watched ours. And we believed in you the same way you believed in us! Just like you protected us... We want to protect you.

Zidane pushes back. He lists the reasons, the horrible burdening weight he doesn’t wish to inflict upon the people he always thought of as friends, yet never had the confidence to believe went both ways. And Dagger tells him off. Breaking through his delusion of despair. For every kindness he gave, they returned. For every joy he felt with them beside him, it resounded within them too. If he expects to save them then he must except them to save him too. Even if he doesn’t wish it, even if he scratches and bites and spits anger and hate that he doesn’t truly mean, they will not budge. Because the truth of this beautiful scene isn’t that Zidane is “not alone...”

...it’s that his friends won’t ever let him be.

And what can Zidane say in the face of such selfless, unconditional love.

"Ha... What am I gonna do with you guys?"

Nothing, really. 

Because truly, what needs to be said?

He simply does the one thing we as humans can do in this often dark, painful, lonely life we’re given: 

He takes the hands of those he loves and holds them.

#asks #lightning-struck-thrice #ffix #zidane tribal #final fantasy ix #final fantasy 9 #garnet til alexandros #steiner #vivi ornitier #eiko carol #freya #amarant #quina #this scene is beautiful and a light #sorry this post is long but I have so many emotions that needed to be spewed #i made myself cry #AND I DIDN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT T H E STEINER LINE OF ALL STEINER LINES

[atlatus]

Disease

Character: Xiao

Pronouns: They/them

Post type: Angst

The green haired man opens his eyes to an unfamiliar scenery. He was on the ground, trees covering his surroundings, he can't seem to remember how he got here. Pushing himself up with his arms, he stands up, walking towards the crowd of trees.

While walking through the forest, he finally sees light. The adeptus runs towards it, arriving to see unusual contraptions¹ that he has never seen before. He furrows his eyebrows, 'Where am I? What is this place?' Due to his unusual appearance and clothing, a bystander unsurprisingly notices him. "Excuse me sir, are you perhaps lost?" He turns around, his eyes narrowing, "Who are you?" They're eyes widen, "Oh, sorry! I haven't introduced myself. My name's (F/N)." They smile.

He looks at them suspiciously, ". . . . My name is Xiao." (F/N)'s eyes widen a bit before smiling, "What a nice name! Won't you come with me? It's a bit cold out tonight." They propose. Though the adeptus is cautious, he nods. They giggle, holding out their hand, "Now, let's get you somewhere warm." 

_

After about 2 weeks with Xiao, you decided to try and convince your parents to get him into to your school. Even though you're quite calm most of the time, you were determined to convince them. Your parents sigh before nodding, beaming with excitement, you rush to the guest room. Knocking on the door frantically, Xiao opens it, clearly agitated. "What do you want?" You smile, "Hey hey! You're going to my school now!" 

He furrows his eyebrows, "I don't see the reason for me to go to school." Pushing the door the close it but you caught it with your foot, "C'mon~, it won't be that bad." You say. He rolls his eyes sighing before nodding. Your heart beats with excitement.

_

Xiao's first day in school has finally arrived, wearing different clothes made him itch a bit. He's isn't used to this type of attire.

Looking up at the school, surprised at the size of it. His face made you giggle a bit, "Alright, let's go." They both walk up to the entrance,  you open the door for him. He narrows his eyes a bit before continuing on through the hallway. Immediately, people started noticing him, some observing his face while others looked more shocked. 

'Hey doesn't that guy look like that character in Genshin?'

'Is he a cosplayer or something?'

'I have to take a picture with him!'

'Oh my god, he looks so cute!' 

The whispering got louder and louder, 'Why is everyone staring at me like that?'  Finally arriving to his classroom, you both enter. The sound of the door opening got the attention of everyone, the teacher looked over at the door, "Ah, you must be the new student! I'm Mr. Johnson, I'll be your teacher this school year!"

Xiao looked uneasy and uncomfortable, you quickly pat him on the back before sending him a reassuring smile, quietly telling him "It'll be alright."

"Now, would you mind introducing yourself?" The green haired man nods a bit before saying, "My name is Xiao, it's a pleasure to meet you." Some people in the classroom start whispering to their friends, "Oh my god, no way is it actually him?" "How did he even get here?" They were beaming with excitement.

"Well, nice to meet you Xiao! Why don't you sit next to your friend there. They sit at the corner seat over there." You smile before guiding him to where you're sitting. The teacher quickly quiets the class down before starting the lesson.

_

Xiao unsurprisingly got popular, many people would crowd around him to either talk to him, ask to hang out, or take pictures. He was quickly overwhelmed with the attention but got used to it after a few days. He started gaining friends fast and wasn't able to be with you anymore. Though you are glad he's happy, you can't brush off the feeling in the pit of your stomach. It feels like thorns poking in your chest and throat. You despised it. Not only did it hurt, but it made you feel like throwing up.

Everyday, you miss his conversations with you. Watching from afar with jealousy evident in your eyes. It's the same cycle everyday, people crowding him when you both arrive to the school. He

doesn't even look at you anymore. You feel like a ghost, no one acknowledging your existence, you're basically just. . . there. 

One day, the urge to throw up made you lurch forward, putting a hand on your lips. You stand up quickly before running to the restroom. Kneeling down in front of the toilet, you throw up the, coughing and gagging. You look in the toilet bowl, eyes suddenly going wide. 'Flowers? What the hell-'  Panic quickly flows through your body, 'What is this? Am I gonna die?'  You reach for your phone in your pocket, searching up 'throwing up flowers'. The first result is something called the Hanahaki Disease. The article states that, "Hanahaki disease is a disease where the victim of unrequited or one-sided love begins to vomit or cough up the petals and flowers of a flowering plant growing in their lungs, which will eventually grow large enough to render breathing impossible if left untreated." Your eyes scan through the article again, 'Unrequited or one-sided love?'  You start to panic again, 'I won't be able to breath if this is untreated?'  Your breathing becomes uneven and shaky, your expression suddenly turns into one that's sad, 'Does this mean Xiao. . . doesn't like me back?. . .'

Looking at the article again, you see 'cures for the disease', "Hanahaki can be cured through surgical removal of the plants' roots, but this excision also has the effect of removing the patient's capacity for romantic love. It may also erase the patient's feelings for and memories of the enamoured. It can also be cured by the reciprocation of the victim's feelings. These feelings cannot be feelings of friendship but must be feelings of genuine love."

'I can get them surgically removed, but, what's the point? I'll lose my feelings for him. I don't want to. I like it when my heart thumps whenever he smiles, or whenever he pouts in embarrassment due to a teasing comment from me. I don't.. I don't want these feelings to end.'

The ongoing thought of you losing your feelings for him made you cringe. '

Is it too late?'

_

Throughout a month, the condition only got worse. Throwing up these petals made you feel sick, it feels like God is planning to take your life right then and there. Xiao doesn't even talk to you anymore, you see him in the house sometimes but he's outside most of the time. The disease affected your mental and physical health, you were noticeably skinny and tired. The bags under your eyes proved it. Your parents have tried to talk to you about it but, you refuse to say anything.

The desire to keep feeling love made you like this. Your grades have dropped and now you lost all your friends, they're all too caught up with Xiao. At this point, you gave up on getting help. This whole situation will end when you die. You plan to talk to Xiao once more before you pass.

_

Two months. . .

It's been two months now. . .

The condition worsened greatly. Flower petals littered your room. You looked sickly, almost like a dead body. Well, that's what you're going to be in a couple days. . .

Using all your strength, you lift yourself up. "Need. . to go. . talk to. . Xiao." Right now, Xiao was with his friends. Luckily, you slipped a note in his locker the day before-

Meet me on top of hill tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.

- Sincerely, (F/N)

You had followed him when he opened his locker, he shrugged before stuffing the note into his backpack. You hoped that he would listen to it. If he doesn't show up today, you'll die happily knowing he is happy without you. His happiness is more important than your feelings or life.

You arrived at the hill. Looking at your watch, '5:15. Guess I'm early.'  You sit down on top of it, looking at the sun slowly setting.  

After a few minutes, you hear footsteps. Turning around, you see Xiao, his face neutral and calm. He then sat beside you, "So, what did you need?" He asks. You look back at the sun before smiling, "Have you enjoyed your time here?" Though your throat is aching, you still managed to say something.

He seems confused, "Of course I have. I've never been this

happy. ." Knowing he's happy made you feel relieved. To think that you found him in front of a forest, confused and cautious. It almost made you tear up.

"I'm happy that you are, Xiao."

You both stay silent, "Xiao, before I go, whatever happens after, promise me you'll be happy. I can't stand seeing you with a frown." You say with a raspy voice.

". . .Of course." 

 _

You find yourself laying on a hospital bed. You try to move but your body is too sore. Your ears perked up to muffled talking, "I'm sorry sir, ma'am but the kid is going to be gone soon. The Hanahaki disease already clogged up most of the patients lungs. We can either surgically remove it or-" The doctor was quickly cut off, "Surgically remove it! Please save them! Just remove the damn flowers, please!" You heard your mom scream.

"Ma'am, we have to get the patients consent. Removing the flowers will cause the patients enamored feelings for their-" The doctor was cut off once again, "I don't care anymore! Just please, save my kid!"

The argument was ongoing before you stored up all your strength and spoke, "M-mom. . . I don't want my. . . feelings to go. . . away." Your voice was barely audible, but they heard it. Your mom rushes over to your bed (despite the doctors warnings), "(F/N)! Don't be like that! Your life is more important!"

Tears start welling up your mom's eyes, "Please don't leave us. . ."

You stare at her before smiling, "It's okay mom, besides-" You cough, "It's already. . . too late." Despair was evident in your mothers face.

"Oh and. . . before I go. . . tell Xiao to stay happy. . . and that I love him."

The lights started to go dim, eyes slowly closing before your slow breathing stopped-

Permanently. 

_

Your funeral was held at a nearby cemetery. Your coffin was the color brown, a glass covering the top of it so they could see you. Xiao was there, staring at your face.  When he got the news that you died, his world fell apart. He thought this was just some sick joke, but the body in the coffin proved him wrong. He could faintly see flower petals near your mouth.

Your funeral and seeing your body is what made Xiao cry and scream out in agony and sadness. "No No NO! (F/N) don't leave me!! Please tell me this is a joke please! (F/N)! I love you please don't leave!"

He prayed and prayed that you would wake up. . .

But his prayers weren't heard.

_

One week after your funeral, Xiao's whole demeanor changed. He was a calm boy who would speak only when spoken to. But now, he doesn't speak. He ignores all his friends, he ignores your parents, he ignores everyone. He stays cooped up in your room. Sleeping on your bed and smelling your scent that lingers on it. Oh how he misses talking to you, your bright smile was what made him feel alive.

He was laying on your bed one day (as usual) and for some reason, he felt a bit sick. He brushed it off thinking it would go away in a few hours. But it only got worse.

He rushes to the bathroom then looks at the mirror. He looks terrible, bags under his eyes and skin looking a bit pale. He suddenly lurches forward, coughing and gagging.

He looks down and laughs a bit. Petals, beautiful petals covered in blood.

Looks like he's going to suffer with this disease as well. . .

Unusual contraptions¹ - cars

#xiao x reader #genshin impact #gender neutral reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #bitter angst #isekai

[dreamkidddream]

“Are we just friends?” For Levi please! If possible 💗

Levi deserves all the love and I will die on that hill 🤧💜 Reader is gender neutral and sorry this got kinda long!

Prompt: “Are we really just friends?” with Leviathan!

He couldn’t take this anymore.

He knows that his sin is envy, but this feeling gnawing in his stomach was making him clench his jaw tighter by the second.

The one time he actually leaves his safe haven of a room to go to RAD, he sees some demon that isn’t him cozying up to you, his Henry, by the lockers. And the demon had the audacity to smile in your face even more when they saw him staring- well really glaring- at them. He’s far enough to where he can’t fully understand what’s being said, but his hearing is good enough to make out a few words. The demon asking something along the lines of why he’s here and who he is to you, and the worst thing that could happen happened.

He heard you respond that he’s just a friend.

It wasn’t a secret that Levi has a crush on you, that he’s in love with you. He hasn’t confessed to you yet but he thought atleast after all the long nights of gaming and marathoning together, that you would atleast notice something! The times where he would lend you his controller and even show you how to play by putting his sweaty palms over yours, the moments spent with you comforting and uplifting him when he goes through his outbursts, even the rare nights where you slept cradled in each other’s arms, with his tail wrapped around you protectively. Did that mean nothing to you?!

He wants to feel betrayed, to feel deceived, but he can’t. He doesn’t want to be fully upset with you, and while he is hurt, he can’t fully blame you for only seeing him as a friend. He’s nothing but a worthless otaku. He’s supposed to be the third strongest out of his brothers, the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy, and he’s acting like this? The lower demons don’t even fear him, that was evident with the one standing right in front of him!

Why would someone amazing as you want to date someone as low as him? He’s nothing but a waste of space, and he’s stupid to try and convince himself that he had a real chance to be with you. That you actually love him like he loves you.

He can’t look at this scene anymore, and he took off before he could feel the tears leave his eyes.

He never noticed how you took off after him, quickly ignoring your friend who was looking at you in disbelief.

-

Despite him not doing any kind of physical activity, Levi moves fast. Not to mention how RAD isn’t exactly a small school, so weaving through halls and jogging down so many stairs was starting to get exhausting but you couldn’t stop now. You were able to catch a blur of purple rush into an empty classroom, and you managed to finally reach him before he could lock the door.

You heart shattered.

There he was, huddled against the wall, steady tears rolling down his cheeks that he continuously tries to wipe away. You know how sensitive Levi is, and you know how much he gets inside his own head, so seeing him like this pained you beyond explanation. By the time you slowly slid down next to him, he already tried to shuffle away, but you grabbed his hand before he could get far.

You weren’t expecting him to snatch away.

“It’s not fair! Why is it that I’m not good enough?! That I’m never good enough! The one person that I finally think I have a chance with, that sees me for me, I can’t have”, he turned to you, tears freely falling. “All the time that we-we spent together, you said that you love me, but-but- it’s not in the way that I do.”

Levi took a pause and gazed into your eyes, desperately searching for a way to prove him wrong.

“Are- are we really just friends?”

“Levi...”

You didn’t give him a chance to look away, cupping his face. “Of course we’re not just friends...we’re more than that. Why would you think otherwise?”

“Don’t lie to me! I heard what you told that other demon-”

“That you’re not just a friend?”

Levi stared at you, mouth agape. You’re messing with him, you’re trying to trick him again like when you told him that you loved him!-

“Oh Levi”, you brought your forehead to his, which was making his face turn redder than it already was. “I told my friend that you’re not just a friend, that you’re more than that. Why would I ever say that you’re just a friend? You mean so much more than that to me.”

You delicately rubbed your noses together, “Why would I ever say that about someone that I love?”

When he did his typical “WOAHHH”, you knew that you’re making some progress on this whole situation. He’s still shutting down somewhat though, shaking his head is disbelief. “S-SO! You tell my brothers that you love them all the time, how is telling me t-that any different?!”

“Well, I know how you get whenever it comes to...intimacy, so I’ve just been waiting until you’re ready. I don’t want to overwhelm you Levi, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to rush into things that you aren’t ready for. When you become my boyfriend, I want it to be when you’re ready, and I’ll wait for you however long it takes. That is...if you still want to be with me?”

“R-really? You would wait for me?”, you only saw this look on his face whenever he talked about a new release with Ruri-Chan (honestly just Ruri-Chan in general), so you being the reason that he has this look has you feeling giddy. “Ah! I-I mean...why would want to be with someone like me? You shouldn’t waste your time on a useless otaku like m-”

“Because I love who you are. You’re always so passionate, so caring, not to mention how cute you are. Not bad on the eyes at all~”

Could his face get any redder?

“You’re not useless, Levi, you never were. You play a bigger role in this family than you think, you’re stronger than you think, and I wish that you see that. You have flaws, we all do, but that doesn’t make me want and love you any less.”

You were slowly inching towards him, eyes darting to his lips and back into his gaze.

“Can I prove to you how you’re not just a friend?”

He found himself nodding before he fully processed it.

-

Something was up.

Cyn couldn’t believe that you just ditched them so fast, and for him nonetheless! The fact that you said that that weirdo was more than just a friend, and that he already owned your heart made them want to throw up. Whatever, they still have some time to shake some sense into you, no matter how much you refused to listen and got upset with them.

Seriously, they didn’t understand how the hell you continuously defended the third brother (why couldn’t it be someone like Lucifer or Asmodeus!) and claim that you’re so “in love”. They weren’t as dumb to actually try and confront Levi, no matter how weak or weird he acted, he’s still powerful enough to grind them into dust.

Walking down the steps, Cyn debated on ditching you like you did them, but your human ways rubbed off on them. So standing outside of RAD, they impatiently tapped their foot, and when they heard steps behind them and recognized your sense, they quickly turned around to tear you a new one, when they stopped.

Why are you two holding hands?

And why on Devildom do you two look so happy?!

“Oh Diavolo please no-”

“Hey Cyn! Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you wait! And I know that this sounds terrible, but we’re just gonna go ahead and head home, unless you wanna walk with us? Although I don’t want to make you third wheel.”

They practically gagged right then and there, but when they saw the death stare you were giving them, they just sighed and gave up. Grinding their teeth together, you heard them grit out something that sounded like “no problem” and went about their merry way.

Well that took care of one problem.

“They aren’t going to be too mad are they?”

“Ah, who cares? They’ll get over it. Now, which anime are we binge watching tonight? I’ll let you pick since-”

“TSL!”

“Sure”, you leaned over to peck his cheek. “H-hey! What was that for?!”

“Sorry was it too much-”

“N-NO! I-I mean- GAH you’re such a normie MC!”

But you saw that he didn’t pull away from you, in fact he leaned closer to you, despite what he’s saying.

It would take some time for him to get adjusted to this, but that’s okay.

You have all the time in the world if it’s for him.

#obey me x reader #obey me reader insert #obey me levi #obey me leviathan x reader #leviathan x reader #obey me levi x reader #dream’s 100 + 200 followers prompt special 💙

[kdinjenzen]

Rating the "Moms" of RWBY

Summer Rose - 9/10

Has "every kid is my child" energy.

Willing to do whatever it takes to protect her kids.

Cinnamon roll but could actually kill you.

Gives great hugs and will make you hot cocoa any time you want.

Probably says "Oh sweetie..." a lot.

Willow Schnee - 6/10

"Wine Mom" in both energy and actuality.

Most likely to say: "I have a husband, but begrudgingly."

Probably would stab someone with a broken bottle with a smile on her face.

Put down the booze for good and I'll bump you to a 7.

Raven Banwen - 3/10

Yells "I DON'T HAVE ISSUES, YOU HAVE ISSUES" to her kid, but her kid’s issues are ACTUALLY her mom.

Looks like she will kill you and will actually kill you.

"Everybody gets one" energy.

The only reason you're not a 0 is because your VA is the best mom ever.

Kali Belladonna - 10/10

Only one of the main 4 who didn't abandon her kids, even if it was for a good reason.

Cinnamon roll but CAN & WILL actually kill you.

"I made you your favorite meal to help you relax" energy.

Probably said "Nya~" unironically at least once in her life.

Saphron Cotta-Arc - 8/10

More like an older sister than a mom, even to her kid.

Busts out the embarrassing pictures the moment company comes over.

When someone asks "Want some tea?" she goes "OH WORM, TEA!?"

Can and will steal your girlfriend energy.

Terra Cotta-Arc - 7/10

"I'll teach you how to steal a car, just don't steal MY car" energy.

Brings home the bacon & also knows how to cook the bacon.

Voted most likely to "accidentally" start a fight.

Laughs at her wife's jokes even though she doesn't fully understand them.

Glynda Goodwitch - 5/10

Everyone calls her "Karen" behind her back.

"Let me speak to your manager" energy.

Probably watches soap operas/dramas and complains that they aren't "realistic" enough, despite the world being ACTUALLY BONKERS.

If the "¯\_(ツ)_/¯" was a person.

Lil' Miss Malachite - 2/10

If you ask her if she knows where her kids are, she'll respond "I don't have kids."

Looks like she can kill you and is probably planning to kill you right now.

"Eats a spider just to show you how much of a freak she is" energy.

Salem - 4/10

Has pictures of her biological kids and stares at them longingly while actively yelling at her new adoptive kids.

Says "Mommy has business to attend to" and her business is JUST STRAIGHT UP MURDER.

Voice of an angel, face of the devil.

She's still hot tho.

Sienna Khan - 8/10

Can and will step on you and you'd say "Thank you" while she does it.

All Faunus are her children & she can and will KILL for them.

Her subjects have accidentally called her "Mom" more than once & she thinks it's cute.

RIP Tiger Mom, we hardly knew ya. QQ

Robyn Hill - 7/10

Not an actual mom but has MAD "Your daughter/son calls me mommy too" energy.

All the children of Mantle are her kids and she CAN AND WILL kill for them.

Smile that can be both calming and threatening, you never know which you'll get.

Probably can't cook.

BONUS ROUND:

May Marigold - WEIRDO/10

"Gay Disaster Mom.”

"Smart but also really dumb" energy.

Says “Oh Sweetie...” in a threatening tone.

Will cook for you but makes you say “thank you” before actually giving the food to you.

Voted most likely to say “Touch my kids and die.” to literally anyone within 5 feet of them. even if that person is a friend.

#LONG POST #RWBY #Summer Rose #raven branwen #willow schnee #kali belladonna #saphron cotta-arc #Terra Cotta-Arc #Glynda Goodwitch #Salem RWBY #Lil' Miss Malachite #Salem #Lil Miss Malachite #Sienna Khan #Robyn Hill #May Marigold #image #images #picture #pictures

[kaypeace21]

What's in a name? (Analysing all the names in stranger things)

*I'll be repeating some names more than once as I break down categories .

Show , book, and tv easterggs

Alot of character names may have deeper meaning but some are also refs to stories they liked. The stranger writers twitter posted a list of movies said to inspire s4 (which I’ll be referencing).

Dart- dustin names him this after d'artagenean (a 3 musketeers book character) and one of Dustin's fav candies (3 muskateers). Similarly his pet turtle yurtle is implied to be named after the dr Seuss’ story 'yertle the turtle'.

Brenner- main character from 'the birds', which was on the st s4 list.

Byers- john byers from x files. The duffers mentioned x files was an inspo for the show. Although John byers (from x files) resembles Murray as an unhinged conspiracy theorist. The documentary paradise lost was also cited as inspo for st- john byers and his son, terry, Michael, and Steve were names in said film

Jim Hopper- in Predator (another st inspo) he was a soldier who was flayed to death in the woods. Another character in the film with a similar fate was “Hawkins”.

Detective Wheeler and elle Holloway- from silent Hill franchise. Another ref mentioned by the Duffers. Holloway was the surname of st's Heather. Elle (is el) and Wheeler is Mike's surname. Wheeler was also on the ep of twiglight zone (another cited ref by the duffers) . In the ep 'mute' sheriff wheeler takes in a mute psychic girl as his foster daughter. So some hints at hopper too . Hopper even mentions el-anor (gilipse) in s1. The surname of a main character in the silent hill series.Lt. Colonel Sullivan (s4) could be a eastergg of silent hill 4 which had a Sullivan character.

Henderson- st twitter mentioned how all the bond films were on the s4 inspiration list . So Dustin's surname being the same as one of the bond characters is a nod. Duffers also mentioned ‘freaks & geeks’ as inspo- and 1 character’s surname was also Henderson (another nod).

Mrs Driscoll (from s3) - a nod to invasion of the body snatchers which was mentioned as inspo by the Duffers. And clear inspo for s3.

Powell (cop and partner of hopper ) - diehard films also on s4 list. He's named after the cop powell.

Callahan (cop and partner of Hopper) - father Callahan ref. He shows up in many of Stephen King novels. The Duffers have cited over 10 novels and books from him as inspo for st

Nancy- she's called ‘Nancy drew’ (from the novels). And the duffers have mentioned they are fans of elmstreet - who's main character was Nancy. Nancy also references 'Oliver twist" ,and that book has a character named Nancy in it. Nancy was also a first Lady in the 80s similar to her friend Barbara- who was also a first Lady in the 80s.Nancy's name might also be inspired by "Nancy Wheeler", a secondary character in the 1970 book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret written by Judy Blume.

Fred (s4)- apparently a high-school journalist who may be friend or foe. This one is a stretch but given nancy maybe being an elmstreet ref- and her enemy being fred-die kreuger. Fred may have animosity to Nancy and that's why his name is Fred. I mean ... they even cast a new s4 character with Freddie kreuger's original actor.so...

Jason (s4) - is in the 1986 Nancy drew novel (when s4 takes place). He is similar to the duffers description. In the novel he's a rich, popular, arrogant jock and blackmailing students at the high-school . S3 even named one of its episodes after a nancy drew novel- so wouldn't surprise me.

Christie carpenter (s4/reffed in s1 by hopper)- christie is the main character in the hellraiser series (which is on the s4 st list). Carpenter is the surname of the director of 'the thing' name dropped in s3. (The flesh monster in s3 also resembles the thing) , and in s1 mr clarke watches it ,and mike has the thing movie poster in his basement.

Argyle (s4) - die hard 1-2 were on the s4 st list. And is a name of a diehard character.

Max- her name is 'mad max' like the 80s film. But since the Duffers like videogames. Her name may be a ref to max caufield from the ‘life is strange’ game as well. She has a 'never Maxine rule' similar to max in st. But the game character is similar to jonathan as she is a teen photographer and says similar words to jonathan in s1 saying she would rather watch people through a camera than interact with them.

Eddie munson (s4)- not going to lie. I have no proof of this but I immediately thought of the TV character Eddie Munster (the friendly monster ).

Possible comic book easteggs

The duffers are no stranger to comic book references. The duffers have already directly reffed xmen, wonderwoman, and green lantern. Kali's place also has a comic book ref to 'the invisibles' on the wall. While the s4 movie list mentions thor ragnock , age of ultron, and 2 batman films. Some of these refs will go over your head if you haven't read my DID theory. But a lot of this analysis will still be enjoyable. :)

Jane st ives (jane ives aka el). marvel. (jane st ives sees her dad k*ll her mom and vows revenge against him.Sort of similar to what brenner did to terry).

Stephanie harrington (Steve harrington)- 80s marvel comic. DP.7. Will DID ref. Antibody, is a medical resident who can project from his body a dark figure of himself (also called an "antibody", a word play on the medical term) that flies, can become intangible, and transfer its memories to another person by physical contact (mindflayer).  He later merges with the antibody. like how susie refs ‘wizard of earthsea’ -the novel where the young wizard Ged releases a shadow monster (said to be an ancient evil) but it turns out to be the dark aspects of his personality and the only way for the chaos to stop is to accept his darkness and merge as 1.

Barry bauman (Murray bauman) . marvel comics - Will did easteregg.Bauman lived in never ending darkness. He felt, that there was a realm outside the darkness and started to explore the entire content of his brain thus using now more than the usual 10 % .Also had telekinesis.He turned his attention to the stars in order to exact revenge on the human race which spends billions of dollars to kill each other, but wouldn't spend the mere million or so it would have cost to cure him. For his vengeance he transported the suns near our galaxy into his omnipotent brain. As the people of Earth would learn of the disappearing of the suns they would panic and feel Bauman's loneliness before he would destroy Earth.Despite the death of his physical body, Bauman's consciousness somehow survived and began hopping from body to body throughout the galaxy, his powers growing until the Star Thief was recognized as a major threat to galactic society.

Sinclair- last name of xmen rhaine.  Will Did ref. storyline Rahne Sinclair is mentally bonded to Havok against her will(Will/mf).She is subsequently manipulated by the Shadow King. Her bond with Havok causes her to act irrationally, sometimes threatening teammates, sometimes by flirting with them.  She undergoes more than one attempt to undo the bonding, with varying results. Her instability also manifests in many odd dreams, in which her identity is merged into pop culture figures. What’s funny is charlie heaton (jonathan byers) was just in an xmen movie with this Rhaine character.

Victor creel (s4)-sounds like mutant victor creed of the xmen comic. x men Mutant with ab*sive dad and poor socioeconomic background. He had a "birthday tradition" of ab*sing his young relatives on their birthdays. Which reminds me of Lonnie making jonathan cry for a week (because he forced him to k*ll a rabbit on his b-day). Not to mention Lonnie is prob coming back for Will’s b day in s4... so... the name is prob a ref to that ‘birthday tradition’. Could also be a stephen king reference -since Duffers love him. The Creel family was in sk’s book “pet cemetary’-which fun fact (the actress who plays El’s aunt is in the recent remake)!

Yuri (s4)-Yuri Topolov (Russian: Юрий Тополов) was a Soviet scientist and the first foe of the Hulk. 

Dimitri (s4)-Dmitri Bukharin was born in Kuibyshev, Russia (some sources say Moscow).  First appeared in Iron man.

Peter ballard ( s4 character) may just be a hellfire ref . since I guy with last name ballard was a double agent for the hellfire club (name of st s4 ep 1). And ballard means bald which the actor is certainly not lol. I don't think he's literally associated with hellfire but its just a ref. And because its implied in his st character summary despite working for the mental hospital-where brenner is most likely at- he's horrified by the treatment of the psych patients. So that may be where the double agent aspect would come into play.

Ian Hargrove (billy hargrove)- batman comics. had a history of mental health problems dating back to childhood, which his parents were unable to afford treatment for. His brother John hargrove tried to keep him out of trouble but Ian developed an uncanny talent for explosives (will the wise fire powers). He ends up at Archam asylum. Cough billy is Will's alter. Why he has the name billy (a nickname for William) . Jonathan in s2 mentions how he likes the writer vonnegut- who wrote slaughter house 5- the main character was Billy. Already mentioned how it connects to my did theory .

Jason carver (s4)- carver is the last name of the comic hero thunderbolt (in the flash)-the first name of thunderbolt is Will and his brother is named Lonnie. There was also a John carver in the comic.

Holland (barb's last name) last name of Swamp thing. I think its plot has quite a few s4/5 spoilers but Im not diving into it right now.

Names associated with religions or mythology 

(if you’ve read my DID theory- some themes will appear relevant in relation  WIll’s alters or to WIll’s past/tr*uma).

-‘Kali prasad".Kali  is the name of a Hindu goddess . Kali’s iconography and mythology commonly associate her with death,  violence, s*xuality, but also paradoxically -motherly love. In myths ‘she only k*lls demons’ and is described as  ‘overflowing with incomprehensible love for her children’ - (aka ST’s Kali k*lling people from hawkins lab for hurting kids). Her third eye stands for wisdom (like Will the wise).Kali is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ (will the wise/fire powers).The devotee makes her image in his heart and under her influence burns away all limitations and ignorance in the cremation fires. This inner cremation fire in the heart is the gyanagni (fire of knowledge), which kali bestows (cough Will the wise-fire powers). The goddess also could create a darkcloud of lightning (similar to the mf). The phrase “brilliant as a dark cloud” is a snippet of one such prayer dedicated to Kali.The name Kali is derived from the Hindu word that means “time”. Kali receives her name because she devours ‘kala’ (Time)- like clocks ticking when El sees demogorgan/clock being wonky when Will see mf/clocks in s4 promos.’ After devouring time she resumes her own dark formlessness. “This transformative effect can be metaphorically illustrated in the West as a black hole in space” (cough mf cough hopper blackhole/time refs). Kali’s s2 butterfly-“Kali is the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy. ... The cocoon, butterfly and the karmic golden wheel reflect Her deep connection with life.”And Prasād (her last name) is a material substance that is a religious offering to gods in  Hinduism .

-While, EL is the name of a Cannanite (male) god associated with “salt water “ (pool filled with salt in s1) who “dwelled in a tent” (in s1 Mike’s blanket fort) .And his gray-beard was described as " "full of wisdom.” él’  in Spanish means ‘he’- which could be a nod at her ( androgynous) presentation in s1. El can also be translated to "God" or 'god'. The el character has various mythologies depending on which culture/ religion is using the term 'el'. In the post-biblical period, "el" became a regular element in the names of angels such as "Gabri·el," "Micha·el," and "Azri·el," to denote their status as divine beings.And Jane translates to " Yahweh (god) is gracious/merciful". The cannanite god El was also dubbed “Compassionate God of Mercy.”  Earlier, a ninth century B.C.E. inscription  identifies Ēl- the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the watery subterranean abyss (cough watery  dark void in st). Terry (el’s mom-aka Teressa) was originally used in the Middle Ages for a “child baptized in holy water” (El in the sensory water tank/Terry used it too,according to Becky in s1). Eleanor (called this in s1)- can mean "sun ray" (possible the opposite of the ‘shadow monster’ or Kali who can represent a “black hole”). 

-Will-the s4 st movie lists (‘red dragon’, gods of monsters, & ‘blade runner’ ) mention the artist and writer William Blake  (specifically his painting of the angel michael fighting a dragon in revelations - reffed in st s1). He was one of many painters part of the exhibition of “ The World Turned Upside Down: Apocalyptic Imagery.”The World Turned Upside Down explores the myriad ways that artists in England visualized the apocalypse in a period fraught with political, religious, economic, and cultural change. 

During this period Blake was commissioned to create over a hundred paintings intended to illustrate books of the Bible along with revelations .  He also drew illustrations for the novel Dante’s inferno. Blake’s brutally satirizes oppressive authority in church and state.He said those who proclaim restrictive moral rules and oppressive laws as “goodness” are in themselves evil. Hence to counteract this repression, Blake announces that he is of the “Devil’s Party” (cough hellfire club ref-and dissing the satanic panic of the hellfire club and other marginilised groups) . He also says “men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.” So Instead of looking for God on remote altars, Blake warns, man should look within.He produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the “imagination as “the body of God.” He wrote his own stories based on biblical writings- one includes the fire wielding character of Los (will the wise) who represented jesus. Los (like jesus does in revelations) causes the destruction of the world and the second judgment unfolds. The poem ends with Los’s unfallen state rising up and shepherding in science and removing the dark religions. I also talked about  how this story ‘book of los’ hints at the DID theory-but this is getting long-so you can just read the explanation here if interested. Also, hellooo Both names are William B(yers/lake). Billy (a alter of Will-sharing the name William) in s3 he even wore “lady of pillar” medallion- i.e about jesus/mary.

JOHN (supposedly Jesus’ blood relative- who wrote ‘revelations’.) In scripture John was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved as a brother” .Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Jonathan did light the demogorgan on fire). Many scholars consider John & Jesus ("apocalyptic prophets"). Jonathan itself translates to " yahweh (god ) has given" in Hebrew.

Michael- Similar to kali, he’s a religious figure known for killing demons. He’s the arch-angel from the book of revelations (Apocalypse). A evil Beast (with seven heads usually translated to ‘satan’ or ‘dragon’) appears .“it was a 7″ causes Will to be attacked by the demogorgan ( which in d&d is a demon with multiple heads). The Archangel MICHAEL fought and defeated this 7 headed beast/satan. Corresponding with Mike at the end of s1 writing a fictional d&d story for Will (based off defeating the demogorgan) which was about helping kill a 7 HEADED MONSTER! Michael is also the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire (Mike telling Will the wise to use ‘fireball’ to defeat this same 7 headed monster in the game, at the end of s1)! Ironically though Jesus /Christian god is also associated with 7s a lot (he has 7 angels and during the apocalypse causes 7 plagues , he has 7 candles etc .)cause the number seven, represented ‘perfection’ according to ancient numerology . Will’s b day is March 22- (3) +2+2 =7 (“it was a 7”). Will’s bday even falls in what christians call “the holy week”( the week immediately preceding Easter.)  At the end of s1 they even defeat this 7 headed monster because Will rolls a 14 (which can be broken down into two 7s). Michael & William also have 7 letters in each of their names respectively- equating to this 14. This dragon biblical story (of Michael) is also William blake’s most popular painting. Also, random fact in revelations god has a rainbow throne (with thunder /lightning -will the wise powers- coming from the throne, and seven lit torches next to it ) . He also wears a rainbow halo. Lol. Michael also roughly translates to  ( 'Who like el?' The answer being roughly translated to ' no one like el' ... which i mean literally is saying there is no one similar to her. But I still think its a linguistic pun/ burn that Mike is not actually into El romantically).

Jim (James) hopper- According to the s3 script Hopper’s real name is James. JAMES (JIM) was an apostle to jesus- brother of john. And in the bible was called a ’son of thunder ’. Will’s powers/ hopper being an alter of Will's so technically brother of jonathan and thunder powers. Not to mention David on Instagram saying hopper has " he has risen. like bread" is a Jesus ref to 'he has risen"... even the bread ref could be a catholic ref to the last supper.

  Martin Brenner/marsha holland-  have their first name reference the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ (will the wise/mf powers). EL (in cannanite mythology) also allowed Baal the storm god to rule the entire earth.

ROBIN- was the God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’The red belly robin is also an important bird in Christianity. Legend has it that the robin got its red belly from a fire in which it was trying to protect Jesus. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire (will the wise) who brought human beings life and knowledge. And Steve looks at Robin and says "let there be light" a biblical passage. The robin represents selflessness for a higher truth. 

Barb- Saint BARBara- dad kept her locked away from the outside world (like el/brenner) . He tried to k*ll her when he learned she didn’t believe in his religion- so the dad was punished by “god” who electrocuted him with lightning/lit him on fire. (Will the wise powers).

Nancy- is derived from a medieval diminutive of Annis, an English form of Agnes.  There’s the christian saint Agnes- who was beautiful and from a wealthy family. She was the Christian saint of girls and v*rginity . And the duffers subverted this along with the problematic horror movie trope of the ' v*rgin female heroine surviving while her more se*ually liberated female friends are punished by the villain' ( by having her survive specifically because she decided to have s*x).Agnes was also led out and bound to a stake, but (allegedly) the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her (will the wise fire powers). Also people claimed that any man who tried to r*pe her was struck blind.

Hopper's wife’s name -Dianne- is also the roman goddess of ,nature, hunting and wild animals( and greek equivalent to Artemis) .Becky  means ‘snare’ -for hunting animals .Teressa (Terry) means ' huntress'.  The name was originally used in the Middle Ages for a child baptized in holy water . Name of 2 saints-Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. Lonnie’s gf (Cynthia) was originally an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, as well.

Power couple Angela & jake (s4) - Angela means 'messenger of God". And Jake (also means ”supplanter”) is derived from jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebecca in genesis. El’s aunt,Becky (Rebecca) is wife of isaac.Other theories claim that Jacob is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".The name jacob is also where the names James/jim is derived from.

couple Steve spies on in s3- Anna Jacobi & Mark Lewinsky. Anna ( name of the mother of the Virgin Mary) Jacobi ("he who supplants"-aka same meaning as jim since both names are derived from jacob). Mark (”the god mars”-same meaning as martin brenner) .Lewinsky (lion-same name meaning as Lonnie). Also derived from the Hebrew root לוי‎ (leví, “priest”)

Joyce means "lord". Could also be a ref to the ('unofficial') saint Joyce who gave up wealth to live in poverty.

Ted-is the short form of the names Theodore and Edward. Theodore is a Greek name meaning "gift of God", Edward has an English origin and means "wealthy guard." Eddie (from s4) also means ‘wealthy guard”

Holly (nancy and Mike's sis)- Holly meanings are 'One who is pious' or 'sacred'

Karen- can be short for Katherine-one of the first christian saints.”Saint Katherine of the Wheel “(er). A 4th century martyr who suffered t*rture on a spiked wheel.  Wheeler does mean ‘occupational name for a maker of wheels’ after all. 

Gospel of LUKE (lucas?) , or simply Luke, tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Sinclair- Catholic saint of computers and TV screens (i mean... he is in the av club).

MAXimilian was deemed a saint in the 1980s- saint of journalists and radios. (Both aspects of s3)

Saint stephen/steven ( STEVE)-an early disciple and deacon . Considered one of the first m*rtyrs of the church.Stephen is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food (lol icecream) .According to Orthodox belief, he was the eldest and is therefore called “archdeacon”.

Sara- Her name is a feminine form of sar (Hebrew: שַׂר‎), meaning “chieftain” or “prince."  She was the wife and sister of Abraham (ew -given her being an alter of Will though, such a name doesn’t surprise me). Similar to st Barabara’s dad - Abraham tried to k*ll his son isaac in the name of god. Becky (El's aunt) - is derived from Rebecca - wife of Isaac.

Claudia (Dustin's mom)- Christian woman of Rome greeted by Paul in his second letter to Timothy (in the bible).

Sam mayfield (max's dad) -  Short for Samuel or Samantha, from the Biblical name Shemu'el, which means "God has heard", from the Hebrew shama, meaning "heard" and el, meaning "God". Samuel is rumored to be argyle first name.

Marsha Kelly (s4)- Kelly means "frequents churches" or " bright headed". Given she's a counselor the bright headed pun makes sense. But maybe she's not to be trusted if she frequents churches during a satanic panic arc which was fueled by Christian religious extremism . Or she's someone who contrasts the rest of the religious people in town since she's not originally from hawkins...who knows. x files’ main character was catholic but in one ep she criticized a small town for the satanic panic occurring-and says how accusing these kids who listen to rock as satanic or being k*llers is ludicrous.

Peter ballard (s4) - Peter was also the name of an apostle. 

Tina (side character s2)- like christy (s4) it’s short for Christina which translates to "follower of christ" or 'stream'. Tina was the gal who hosted the t halloween party and also the name of one of Erica’s friends in s3.

Samantha (goth girl jonathan talks to in s2 party) translates to "told by god".

Tommy (s1-2) "God's gift" or "twin".Thomas is the Greek variation of the Aramaic name Ta’oma’. It came about because there were too many apostles named Judas; Jesus renamed one Thomas—meaning "twin"—to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and the Judas also known as Thaddeus.

carol (tommy’s gf)- Carol is the short form of Caroline and the meaning is derived from the English vocabulary word for “song” or “hymn". A hymn being a religious song or poem.

Benny ( who helped El at his dinner) - originally derived from latin bennedictus which means "blessed"

Stacey (s2-3 ) rejected dustin at dance. Stacey- "resurrection "

Grigori (the guy following and tracking hopper, Joyce, and alexi)- The name was adopted by early Christians heedful of the Biblical passage located in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful."grigory now means 'watchful and vigalent'

Alexi- prob based on the russian folklore story of alexy. A clever priest's son who tricks a dragon.

Harrington- similar to Robin's religious animal iconography. Harrington means 'he goat'.The most popular image of the Satanic goat dates back to the ever-mysterious Knights of Templar, who were accused of worshipping an idol known as Baphomet (a 1/2 human 1/2 goat man). Roman Catholic society decried it as a demon that demanded human sacrifice — but it would take a few more centuries before the goat became a truly occult symbol.Anton Lavey adopted Baphomet as the sigil of the Church of Satan in 1966, and it has appeared on countless metal album covers. But, Baphomet isn't the lone source of inspiration for our goat-like depictions of Satan.it's also believed that early Christians, seeking to demonize preexisting Pagan traditions, drew comparisons between the Devil and the Greek god Pan (god of nature), who happened to resemble a goat.Some cited how in revelations- during the apocalypse- Jesus separates the 'lambs from the goats'. ( supposedly Good vs bad)

Given the fact s3 alluded to the satanic panic. A Christian movement in the 80s that demonized and said d&d ,rock music, homosexuality, other religions, stephen King,horror films, wearing black,and non conservative ideology were 'satanic.' I wouldn't be surprised by this possible ref. Heck even William Blake criticized similar religious movements in his own time period. Several movies from the s4 list allude to this. The most obvious being the documentary paradise lost (named after the fictional retelling of satan/adam and eve story) - the documentary directly focuses on a witch hunt of rock loving teens (wrongfully accused of m*rders) in a small town during the satanic panic. Not to mention ironically s4 is hinted to be around easter. So Using such symbolism to address religious fundamentalism and the bigotry/hysteria it can cause isn't surprising. No i’m not lumping all religious people into this negative category- obviously.

Other Names with similar definitions

*Hunting /forests woods, nature, animals

Hunters and people in forrests

name meaning : becky - snare (a trap for catching birds or animals). Teressa-huntress. Dianne/Cynthia (Hopper’s ex wife/Lonnie’s gf) - is a roman/greek goddess of hunting and wild animals.  Rhadaghast- Will's password for cb is a lothr wizard who protects forests/wildlife.martin/marsha- previously god of agriculture/plants.As an agricultural guardian, he was believed to directed his energies toward creating conditions that allow crops to grow, which may include warding off hostile forces of nature (pumpkins rotting in s2). El in phoenician culture was called Elus and its Greek equivalent Cronus (god of agriculture) steve- he goat- associated with pan- god of fields, groves, wooded glens . brenner- ‘someone who cleared forests by burning’. the blond women, Brenner worked with,  Fraizer-  “of the forrest men”

* FUN FACT: Kali’s name originally was going to be ‘Roman’ (which is derived from Romulus-the son of Mars... aka Martin Brenner) .

Trees

Ives and owens- ives means 'yew wood' while Owen means 'yew tree. ' bauman- nickname for someone who lived near a tree.comes from the German word "baum," or "boum" in Middle High and Old German, meaning "tree’. Jennifer hayes- Jennifer  derived from Old English words "jenefer", "genefer" and "jinifer", all of which were variants of Juniper used to describe the juniper tree.Lonnie means "oak tree; or lion". Lion plushie in cb and the lion el has along with the tree establishes a connection between all 3 maybe? Oak groves were especially sacred to  the goddess dianna too. Buckley (it has many different translations) - Old English "boch ley" (with boch meaning beech tree and ley meaning wood, glade or clearing).

Nature

buckley if translated from "bok lee," means meadow, or field. mayfield- open country (field) where madder (mæddre) grows. Holland- wood land, Bruce (who was also possessed) - means WILLow lands . Keith (s2-3) : woods or forrest.Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (Jonathan’s hunting story).Holloway is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, or type of tree. Tina means 'river' . Burness (guy who claimed he jumped into quarry)-stream. Neil- cloud. Lowe (Bruce's last name)-This surname is derived from a geographical locality 'at the low,' i.e. the hill. Hayes means "hedged area'.

Flowers

Flo (hopper's secretary)- means flower. Suzie-  lily flower. Susan (Max’s mom)- means lily, lotus flower or rose. Karen (in Japanese can mean)- flower, lotus, or water lily. Heather is also a variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas.  Erica is a type of "heather" plant. martin/marsha: in the legend of Mars,his mother become pregnant with him using a magic flower- which was given to her by the goddess flora.

Bright (aka intelligent)

Bob- nickname of Robert . Both Bob and Robert mean 'bright, shinning or fame'. Aka smart -he's called ' Bob the brain ' for a reason.

Robin- is also diminutive of Robert . And we all know robin is smart too. Being multilingual/ cracking the code.Robin (like Robert) also means 'bright, shining , or fame.'

Lucas- means "bright" or "shinning" aka he's also a smart cookie. His firework plan saving the day.

Lonnie and Larry (the mayor) can both be nicknames for Lawrence which also means ' bright one' or 'shinning one'. Well... both are cunning I'll give them that. Lonnie is unfortunately ...smart. I think this detail had other foreshadowing. Joyce to Will about Will the wise ' if he's so wise why does he need the fireballs? can't he just outsmart the bad guys? " Will: " yeah. Usually. BUT sometimes the bad guys are smart too." I never understood why on earth Joyce would be with someone as awful as Lonnie in the first place- than be with his literal opposite Bob- but maybe she just found intelligence attractive?

Names associated with thunder/lightning/fire (Like Will/mf/Will the wise)

Byers-reprsents Greek Zeus (god of thunder/lightning). Martin - references the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ .ROBIN- was the German God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’Jim- “son of thunder”. Christian god- has throne (surrounded by thunder /lightning). Kali- could summon thunder storms.Nancy/Barb-both saints associated with fire. Kali-is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ /and bestows the fire of knowledge. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire. Mars -the keeper of Rome's perpetual flame . The Robin bird in a Christian story myth protects Jesus from hell's fire. William Blake- wrote about a fire wielding character of Los who represented jesus. Jesus during end times wields fire. Michael is the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire. Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Saint John- called Jesus’s brother).

Animals (and their symbolism)

Byers- means ‘ cattle shed’.The Greeks considered the bull animal totem to be a symbol of Zeus (god of thunder and lighting - will the wise powers). He is the head of the gods and the almighty ruler of Olympus.  I”n hinduism, Shiva is known as Gorakhnath, means the lord of the cows.  And is also known as, Pasupathinath, the lord of all animals (similar to Rhadaghast). According to some scholars, Shiva’s association with cows and bulls might date back to the Indus Valley period. Cows have a special significance in Hinduism, as aspects of Mother Goddess and as symbols of selfless service. Mahatma Gandhi declared the protection of cows a central feature of Hinduism.Hindus worship cows as the Mother Goddess and symbol of motherhood, kindness and forbearance.”

Tigers: (Sarah’s plushie/ Hawkin’s macott/ Will & Mike have tiger posters in their rooms): The goddess Kali & God Shiva wore a tiger skin (this fact was actually mentioned by Kali in the prequel novel ‘suspicious minds’ ).”In many tribal traditions of India, the tiger (or lion) is worshipped as a god. In some Hindu hymns the domestic fires are compared to the tigers that guard the house.Tigers also figure prominently in many Indian folk-tales, Jataka-stories, and the Panchatantra.”

Lions:(Lonnie means ‘lion’ and el and Will have matching lion plushies)- In the Bible, the lion has two opposite meanings: it is compared to the Devil (1 Pet 5:8) and to Christ (Rev 5:5). Aka: Lonnie is the devil. The kids are the opposite. Nancy also compares the demogorgan to a lion. “In many tribal traditions of India, the lion is worshipped as a god.One of the ten incarnations of Vishnu is Narasimha, who has the head and shoulders of a lion, but the torso of a human.Goddess Durga, a fierce form of Parvathi or Shakti, has a golden lion as her vehicle, while Rahu, a planetary guard, rides upon a black lion as his vehicle.Lions form an important part of Hindu religious art. The face of the lion (simha-mukha) is used in images and sculpture in many Hindu temples to decorate the doors, walls, arches, and windows.The memorial pillar at Saranath  contains four beautifully carved standing lions at the top on a round abacus representing the imperial power. They now constitute the official emblem of the government of India.”

El almost k*lling a cat- “Some superstitious beliefs are also associated with cats in Hinduism. For example, killing a cat is considered a grave sin, for which one may have to offer prayers and give in charity at least seven golden images of the killed cat. “

Harrington- he goat. Buckley- has various translations. Anglo-Saxon: ‘bucc and leah’ meaning goat and wood respectively. And obviously there’s the robin-bird. And I've already discussed their symbolism. Goat= baphomet/pan. 

Robin- thor's fav bird/ helped Jesus from hell's fire.

Buckley- can also translate to " field filled with deer" (like the deer attacked by the demogrogan or the bambi film jon reffed in relation to the hunting story about lonnie).And Karen ( when from it’s Hebrew origins) can mean- antler or horn. Also the caananite God el was usually depicted with animal horns on his head.Diana in Roman art usually is accompanied by a hound (demo dog) or deer.  Because of the story of her turning an attempted r*pist-hunter into a deer/ and then causing dogs to attack him.  Deer is also one of the symbolic animals accepted since early Christianity as an allegory of Jesus Christ and the Christian Disciple. And when associated with Shiva (kali's husband) in Hindu iconography, the deer omen denotes sovereignty over nature and symbolizes the lord of all animals, humans, and the King of the Forest. In many visual and written illustrations, human beings and deer appear as close companions and in some cases, humans adopt the face or antlers of a deer, in images more common in stories of human strife. Deer also have a supernatural significance and appear as apparitions of divinity and in legends of spiritual awakening.

Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (like the rabbit lonnie made jonathan k*ll.) Hopper sounds like thumper the rabbit- which jonathan mentions in relation to bunnies . And ... idk... Hopper did make that pun in s3 about bunnies to Larry (lawerence) ? We also have rabbit refs elsewhere like with- el in Benny's. They play the song 'white rabbit' a song referencing Alice in wonderland and in el's room at Terry's house is the white rabbit from that story. Also paralleling to jonathan- el was almost made to k*ll a cat by her father (Cheshire cat aka Alice in wonderland ref + cats are associated with magic powers/witch craft).In Celtic folklore, the rabbit is seen as a supernatural being from the Otherworld.The rabbit symbolism in Christianity has found its way through the Germanic deity Eostre from which the name Easter came to be (s4 will most likely have the Easter holliday).One tale describes the rabbit as the pet of Jesus Christ. And rabbits were often inserted into art of jesus' mother .

Creel- basket or container of fish.fish is taken as symbolizing Christ’s faith, charity, and abundance. A biblical story goes how Christ fed his disciples with 2 fishes and called them “fishers of men.”  The Christians made an acrostic from the Greek word for fish, “ichthys” as early as the first century and it is, “Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter”, meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

Names hinting at character traits (which are very literal)

Mr clarke (science teacher)- clarke means 'scholar'

Dottie (in kali's gang)- she was in an insane asylum . And ‘Dotty’ is a very old British slang term  for 'crazy'

War (usually relates to ‘villains’)

Troy- means ' foot soldier'. Martin brenner: Martin means 'war like'. Lonnie is diminutive of Alonzo or Lawrence. Alonzo means 'ready for battle'.

In contrast to Lonnie, Will can mean "desiring peace. " Axel  who is part of Kali’s crew (who i think Will created along with others ) even means "father is peace."

Twin

Tom (Heather's dad) and Tommy mean ‘twin’. Robin's crush Tammy ('twin') Thompson ( 'son of tom’).

* Besides similar/identical name meanings.There’s also a lot of other repeated names that go into this whole twin/mirror imagery which i find strange... makes me wonder about @strangertheory ‘s version of the did theory. If not...maybe it’s just a allusion to the whole Will vs Will the wise arc (possibly) coming up?

Jennifer hayes (popular girl) & Jen (Mr clarke’s gf). Tina (highschool gal) & Tina- erica’s friend- Tina & christy are also nicknames of christina (s4 character). Susie (dustin’s gf) & susan (max’s mom). Sam (max’s dad) and Samantha (girl at party)/ samuel (possibly argyle). Billy Hargrove, Bill (dianne’s new huband),  and Will-all being nicknames for William. Robin & Bob-nicknames for Robert. Lonnie & Larry-nicknames for Lawerence. Ted  & Eddie being nicknames for Edward.James (Will’s bully), Jim Hopper (real name James), jacobi, and jason- all 4 are derived from jacob . Marsha Holland (barb’s mom) and marsha kelly (therapist s4)/martin relate to mars. Tom (reporter), tommy (highschooler), thompson (other highschooler).

it’s definitely peculiar to repeat names like this in a story. Unless it means ...something... I talked about how David was mentioning alot of doppelganger/twin imagery recently-here. So the name mirroring could just be an allusion to the Will/WW arc coming up ...possibly?

#will byers #mike wheeler #el hopper #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #jim hopper #steve harrington #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #murray bauman #robin buckley #byler #kali prasad #martin brenner #lonnie byers #stranger things #stranger things theory #billy hargrove

[nothoughtsonlynat]

Human (Natasha Romanoff)

Human: Chapter 1

A/N: Troyes, France is 6 hours ahead of NYC so 7pm there is 1pm in NYC. For the sake of this fic we’re going to pretend that the Battle of New York lasted quite a few hours.

*This is my first ever fic and I wrote it at 3am so bear with me

WARNINGS: swearing; mentions of weapons; violence; panic attack; anxiety; my crappy writing; and I think that’s it (lmk if there’s anything I should add)

Barcelona, Spain; January, 2012:

The repetitive ticking of the clock registered in my brain before my eyes even opened. I didn’t need that clock to know what time it was, of course. It was 4:30 am— the same time I've woken up everyday for the past twenty-five years of my life. I no longer need to wake up this early, yet it’s a habit so deeply engrained in my framework that it’s seemingly unbreakable. I roll out of bed and make my way into the dingy kitchen with light footsteps. With some quick math I figured that I got barely two hours of sleep last night, but that’s more than usual. I started the coffee machine and asked with a sigh, “Would you like some coffee or are you just going to lurk in the corner?”

The leather-clad stranger with an eyepatch stepped up to the kitchen island opposite of me and responded, “I wouldn’t mind a cup. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you knew I was here.”

“Well, you know what they say about old habits. You got a name?”

“You can call me Fury. We have a lot to talk about, Eight.” I slid him a mug of cheap coffee and gestured for him to take a seat. 

“Then we’d better get started so you can get the hell out of my apartment.” He simply chuckled in response and I could already feel my patience wavering.

Two Hours Later:

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division? Really, dude?”

“Yeah, it’s a mouthful. Trust me I know.”

“I’m sorry that you came all this way for nothing, Fury, but there’s no way in hell I'm working for some government spy circus.”

“It’s technically an extra-governmental spy agency-“

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not joining,” I said, cutting him off.

“So, you’re just gonna hop from one shitty apartment to the next until you die? That doesn’t seem like a great life.”

“Better than the one I lived before.”

“You aren’t the person to live in hiding. You’re the person who thrives in the action and lives to kick ass, and we both know it.” When I didn’t respond he continued, “I’ll leave you my card. When you change your mind, which you will, you’ll know where to find me. You don’t have to be the bad guy anymore, Eight.” With that he slid off the stool and left my apartment, leaving me with nothing but my rapidly spiraling thoughts and a black business card.

Troyes, France; May, 2012:

It had been four months since Director Fury came to my apartment in Barcelona. We’d kept in contact and he hasn’t given up on me joining S.H.I.E.L.D.. I'm living in my third apartment since then. Wow…those landlords must really hate me. I was watching the seven o’clock news when I saw something that made me choke on my Cheerios. “An alien invasion?! What the fu-” My Cheerio-muffled exclamation was interrupted by the ring of my burner phone. “Hello?”

“Eight, you watched the news recently?”

“Uh yeah, I'm watching it now. You fighting aliens now, Nicky?”

“Okay first of all, I told you to stop calling me that. Second, yes… aliens. I’m forming a team of…extraordinary people to help protect against these threats and they could really use a hand to finish off this fight.”

“I may be weird as hell but I ain't ‘extraordinary’, Fury. I don’t wanna join your band of misfits.”

“Alright, how about a compromise? You fly your fancy jet here right now and help them out and if you still don’t wanna join once the battle is over, you can go right back to France and I’ll stop bothering you about joining.” After a few seconds of silence I agreed. 

“Fine, but I’m not gonna change my mind. Wait, how do you know about my jet?”

He gave a hearty laugh and said “I know everything, Eight. You should know that by now.”

New York, New York; 96 Minutes Later: 

I flew my jet into the city, making sure to take out a few flying Chitauri in the process. We don’t need to talk about how I got my hands on a German jet that can fly 2100mph. I saw a few interesting characters standing in a circle fighting off an endless sea of aliens. I maneuvered the jet and— wait…is that guy wearing blue tights? Is this what Fury meant by extraordinary? Whatever. I landed in the street about 20 yards away and killed the engines. I hopped out and started jogging towards the group. A couple of them turned around, probably wondering who the hell the chick in the black uniform is and— whoa that’s a beautiful woman. After realizing my steps had literally faltered in a mini gay panic, I slowed to a walk and said “Y’all need a hand?”

“Depends on whose hand it is,” replied the redheaded source of my panic.

“I’m a friend of Fury’s. He practically begged me to come save your asses.”

“Fury doesn’t beg,” she said in a doubtful tone.

“Not typically, but I'm just that awesome. If you don’t believe me then call him up but I’m gonna go kill some aliens.” With that I took off down another street where there was a group of the repulsive bastards. After unloading all of my magazines into Chitauri bodies, I switched to my swords and daggers. After another hour or so of fighting, there were no more aliens in sight. I started jogging toward the rich dude’s tower when I saw said rich dude falling through the rapidly-closing portal. I stopped next to Mr. Blue Tights and the buff blonde guy with the hammer when the big green dude grabbed Mr. Rich Dude from the sky and landed next to us. The green guy yelled, waking Mr. Rich Dude up with a start. “What the hell? What happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me. Except for her, she’s pretty hot,” he said nodding toward me. Just then the redhead jogged over to us and eyed my blood-soaked form from head to toe. 

“See something you like, Red?”

“No. I’m pretty sure I'd be classified as a sadist if I liked the sight of that much blood,” she said with a raise of her eyebrow.

“Yeah that’s fair.” She shook her head at me with a small smirk. There was barely a second of silence when Mr. Rich Dude spoke up. 

“Anybody want shawarma?”

Three Hours Later:

I had gone to the Triskelion after the band of misfits apprehended Loki. Agent Hill showed me where to park my jet and directed me to a room so I could shower and stay the night if I wanted to. I had put on black jeans, a white tee, and a black jean jacket, all of which had been in a to-go bag in my jet. I was toweling off my hair when someone knocked on the door. I opened the door to see none other than the one-eyed-wonder standing there. “What can I do for you, Nicky?”

“The Avengers are being debriefed in Conference Room 6B in ten minutes. You should come.”

“The Avengers? Is that what you’re calling them? That’s cute. But I'm not an Avenger and I don’t want to be an Avenger, so no thanks.”

“You should come anyway.”

“I don’t actually have a choice, do I?”

“You know me so well, Eight,” he said with an amused grin.

I walked into the conference room and the Avengers were already there. Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Natasha Romanoff—whose names I learned from Hill— were scattered around a large table, along with Fury. Romanoff eyed me from where she was standing and arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me. I squinted my eyes and wiggled my eyebrows in response, and I could see her stifle a laugh. “What’s your name?” She accompanied the question with a blank expression, which made me feel oh-so-special. 

“That’s a very personal question, Miss Romanoff. Let’s slow the pace, please.”

“You know my name but I can’t know yours? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“The world isn’t fair, Miss Romanoff, and I love a good mystery.”

“If you two are done flirting, we have business to attend to,” interjected Fury.

“Right, my apologies, Nicky.”

“Don’t call me that, Eight.”

After an excruciating 43 minutes and 27 seconds, Fury finally let us leave. I was so close to freedom when that unbelievably sexy voice called to me. “Eight!” Romanoff hastily walked towards me in an effort to catch up.

“Yeah?”

“Is your name actually Eight?”

“If you want it to be.”

“Why are you so damn stubborn?”

“It amuses me, Red.” There was a brief silence during which both of us were trying to figure out if the conversation was over. 

I was about to leave when she continued, “So that’s it? You’re just gonna leave?”

“Well, no. I’m going to stay the night, steal some really expensive jet fuel, and then leave in the morning before Fury can get up my ass about joining his little team.”

She rolled her eyes and responded, “Why won’t you join the Avengers? And why won’t you tell me your real name?”

“It’s just not my style. I’d rather fly solo.”

“You ignored my second question.”

“Then maybe you should take the hint and stop asking.” With that I turned around and started walking away, but a hand on my arm stopped me dead in my tracks. Alarms started going off in my head, and I'm pretty sure Romanoff was saying something to me but I was too caught up in the memories of beatings, punishments, and psychological conditioning to register it. After a few of the longest seconds of my life, the white of my vision cleared up and the voice telling me ‘physical contact is strictly forbidden’ faded into the background. My heart was still hammering in my chest and I was trying to keep my breathing steady despite the inevitable panic attack trying to drag me under, I regained my neutral expression and said. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“Are you okay?” She had a concerned expression and if I wasn’t so blinded with anxiety, I would’ve appreciated how cute the furrow of her eyebrows was.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just gonna turn in. It’s been a long day.” I turned around and walked back to my temporary room at a brutal pace. As soon as the door closed behind me, hot tears raced down my cheeks and I lost the ability to breathe. It was gonna be a long night.

3:21 am:

I finally managed to calm myself down and stop the panic attack after almost four hours. Well, I passed out because I couldn’t breathe but it did calm me down. Trying to sleep would be pointless, so I decided to leave before anyone woke up. I didn’t really have much to pack so I grabbed my duffel bag and left the room. I made it to the corridor attached to the landing pads and ran into the one person I really didn’t want to see. “What are you doing out and about, Red?”

“I’ve got places to be and things to do. Were you just going to sneak out in the middle of the night like a teenager with a rebellious streak?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing, actually. Do you need a ride? Where are you going?”

“Madrid. Fury said I could hitch a ride on another plane that’s headed for Germany.”

“Well I’m going to France if you wanna ride with me. My jet will get you there a lot faster.” She studied me for what felt like way too long, probably debating if I would try to kill her or not. You know how spies are with their trust issues.

“What the hell, why not?”

And that is how I ended up in a jet with “Candy Shop” playing over the speakers and Natasha Romanoff in the copilot seat yelling at me to, and I quote, ‘slow the fuck down.’ “Why would I slow down, you psycho?! That’s the whole damn point of this thing!”

“Where did you even get a German jet this fast?”

“Germany.”

“No shit Sherlock. How did you get it?”

“I went to Germany, stopped in at the local speedy-jet dealership, and walked out with this beauty.”

“Sarcasm is a defense mechanism, you know? You’re only being like this to keep me from seeing the real you. You built walls. You want everyone to think you’re fine when in reality, you’re falling apart.”

“Okay…um…there was no need for that, Dr. Romanoff. I can find my own therapist, thank you very much. And don’t go pretending you’re all healthy in the head, Miss Assassin.” It was quiet for all of five seconds before we both burst into laughter.

Madrid, Spain:

I landed the jet at the local S.H.I.E.L.D. base and killed the engines. Romanoff and I removed our headsets and I stood to help her get her bags. “Welp, I’ll see you around I guess.” I really wasn’t good at this type of thing. Or any social interactions, really. Twenty-four years in a cell will do that to you.

“Will I? See you around, I mean?”

“Um, I don’t really know, honestly. I’m not part of S.H.I.E.L.D. so we won’t just run into each other or anything but…”

“Why won’t you join S.H.I.E.L.D.? I mean what else are you doing?”

“Ohhh, I see. You just love me so much that you don’t want me to leave. You’re gonna miss me so much-” I was cut off when she threw her backpack at my head. “Hey! You’re lucky I caught that! Freaking crazy woman.”

When our laughter died down she said, “Well I should probably go. Thank you for the ride.”

“Of course. Hitchhikers are always welcome aboard my beloved jet.” A small smile appeared on her face and she stepped forward to give me a hug but she must’ve seen my body go rigid because she stepped back. She might’ve said something but the voice in my head was too loud for me to understand her. I don’t know how long it was before I unfroze but when I did, she was gone. I walked to the front of the jet and started the journey to France.

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff #black widow #black widow x reader #natasha romanoff angst #natasha romanoff fluff

[7-wonders]

Hardships Unnumbered

Summary: The quest to save Julia begins, but not everything is as it seems in this mystical land.

Word Count: 1969

A/N: Hi friends! This is the second chapter of my Labyrinth King!Michael AU fic, "It's Only Forever." I'll link the first chapter down below. I hope that you enjoy and, as always, likes, comments, and reblogs make my world go round.

(also there's a couple of little easter eggs/one big one and I'm really excited to see who figures them out)

Chapter One

Though you put your hands out in front of you to brace yourself, it doesn’t help you to discern which way is up and which way is down until you finally stop rolling. With a groan, you shove yourself up to your feet. Your palms are scraped and slightly bleeding, your jeans are torn at the knees, and leaves and twigs now adorn your hair. All in all, this is not the way you had hoped to start this mission to get Julia back.

Now that you’re already at the bottom of the hill, it’s easier to decide how to start this jaunt through the Labyrinth. After all, you certainly can’t go back up, and the solid ground beneath your feet only leads one way. The shining spires of Michael's castle at the center of the maze, closer than you had thought, rise high above you and act as a compass. All factors considered, you can definitely run this in a couple of hours. Then, once you’re both safely out of here, your first order of business is to call the cops.

Your confidence begins to fade the longer that you walk along with the wall separating you from the inside of the maze. There’s no door, or arch, or opening anywhere to be seen. Turning around, you look back to see if you’ve missed the entrance. Instead of finding one, movement catches your eye. A man, tall and willowy, cries out victoriously at something trapped under his foot. He seems to be your best bet, and you decide to approach him.

“Excuse me?” you say.

The man startles, obviously not expecting to see anybody here. “Oh!” he cries in surprise, looking at you as if you’re the first person to ever cross his path. His hair is bleached to look almost white, and he has a pair of oddly-shaped sunglasses with purple lenses covering his eyes. The checkered jumpsuit, complete with ruffles on the shoulders, both does and doesn’t go with the sunglasses. You’re not quite sure why the people that live here dress so funny, but it’s making you feel underdressed.

“Which way do I go to get into the Labyrinth?”

“Now, why would I tell you that?”

“Because you must have come from there,” you pause, looking down at the man’s foot when you hear a squeaking, “oh! Is that a fairy?”

“Mhm.” Your childlike wonder is abruptly swept out from under you when he kicks the small, blue creature into the forest.

“Why did you do that? That wasn’t very nice!”

“Go ahead and pick one up,” the man says, “you’ll see how nice they are when you’re missing a finger.” As if to prove his point, a fairy flies up to you and hisses in your face, showing off two rows of razor sharp teeth. “What is it that you wanted, again?”

You huff. “To know which way to go to get into the Labyrinth.”

“Did you try asking it?”

“I’m sorry, what?” You roll your eyes in disbelief before mocking him. “‘Labyrinth, please let me in!’ Is that what I should say?”

He doesn’t have to respond, for a sudden rumbling has you turning around. To your shock, there’s suddenly an open space in the wall that hadn’t been there just a second ago.

“You’re joking.”

“No, I’m Gallant.” You want to tell him that you weren’t guessing his name, you don’t even want to know his name, but he continues. “Who are you?”

“(Y/N).”

“Ah, that’s right.” So this is one of Michael’s ‘subjects?’ After all, if your dreams have been right (and you’re still half-convinced this is just the elaborate scheme of some unhinged weirdo and not magic, despite what you just saw), then that means that Michael is also the ruler of the Underworld. With that logic, Gallant must be some sort of a demon. If that’s the case, you certainly don’t want anything to do with him.

“Well,” you say awkwardly, “I’m going to go now. Running on limited time, and all that.”

“You’re just going to go in there? Alone?”

“Yep.”

“But--but the Labyrinth leads to the Labyrinth King!”

“That’s kind of the whole reason why I’m here.”

“You’re going to get hurt in there.” Gallant gasps. “You could even die in there!”

You set your shoulders, walking to the hole in the wall and glancing back. “I won’t, but thanks for the concern.”

“Wait!” Even if you did want to listen to what he had to say, you couldn’t, for the wall closes back up on itself the moment you step through it. Mildly jarred though you may be, there’s not much you can do to change this, so you turn around and try to figure out whether to go right or left. Both directions look exactly the same, so with the flip of a mental coin, you go right.

After both walking and jogging for what must have been over a mile, you’re no closer to any sort of landmark that would tell you where you are or how close you are to the castle. There haven’t even been any corners to turn past, just one long, unending aisle. You’re starting to feel a little claustrophobic as you finally come to a stop, needing to take a break for a minute. Sinking down against the wall into a sitting position, you find yourself looking back and forth down the path. Both directions look exactly the same, for as far as you can see. You groan dejectedly and put your head in your hands, allowing yourself a moment of pity before getting up and trying again.

“Hey there!”

You jump at the sudden Southern-sounding voice. “Who’s there?”

“Me, of course!”

Looking around, you see a small door just to your left, and a small woman, probably less than a foot tall, standing next to you. Her curly blonde hair is pulled up into a ponytail, showing off her pointy ears. “And you’re...talking to me?”

“There’s nobody else around, is there?” The woman glances inside the open door. “‘Cept the missus, of course.”

Another woman, also blonde, pokes her head outside and smiles up at you. “Hello!”

“Why don’t ya come inside for a while? ‘Delia makes a killer gumbo.”

“Uh...no thanks. I’m just taking a break for a moment before I find a way to the castle.”

The woman’s face turns severe, and she holds her shawl tighter around herself. “You must be awfully brave if you’re so determined to go up there.”

Brave? You wouldn’t call yourself brave. Stupid, maybe, for bowing to the whims of the guy who’s kidnapped your charge, but not brave.

“But anyways, just go through the wall across from us and you’ll be on your way.”

You look in front of you to see the solid wall. “Through there?”

She nods.

Logic is telling you that this is obviously false, but, considering the same thing happened with Gallant, it can’t hurt to try. Standing up, you cautiously put your hand up to the wall, expecting to meet, well, a wall. Instead, you almost fall through a doorway that leads to another passage in the Labyrinth. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“You will be if you keep going.”

You choose to ignore this, at this point knowing that everybody who lives here is terrified of their ruler. “Thanks for the help.”

The elf stares at your back as you walk through the new corridor, figure becoming smaller and smaller. “If she would have stuck around, I would have been able to get her on the right track back home, not towards that horrible man.”

From inside the house, a timer beeps. “Misty, supper’s ready!”

///

In the stone chamber of the King of the Underworld’s throne room, a three year old girl is currently winning a staring contest against a demon. Michael watches as the demon’s eyes begin to water (with blood, of course), before he eventually gives in and blinks. The little girl cheers before looking at Michael.

“My daddy’s gonna kick your butt, you know. He saved mama from aliens once.”

“Silence, child,” Michael commands, but he can’t help the twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth. It’s difficult to hide his amusement when this child is the most lively thing to grace his castle since...well, he can’t quite remember since when.

Being surrounded by demons of all shapes and sizes, with a variety of horns or extra eyes or tails, gets old after a while. Demons, quite frankly, are a bore. All they want to do is scare people and cause mayhem, yet continue to use the same methods that have been in place for thousands of years. If Michael’s being honest with himself, everything’s a bore to him here. In the early years, this job had been quite fun. Lots of naive humans to terrify and endless souls to torture.

Michael himself had been prone to naivety, then. It was easy to deal with the buffoons that called themselves demons when it seemed that, soon enough, he would find somebody to share this burden with him. After all, it was the guy upstairs who believed that emotions were for the humans. Michael, however, found it to be one of the most carnal pleasures. To love, and to be loved, seemed like the greatest sin. As the years passed, and the whole routine of ruling the Underworld became stale, Michael began to embrace the feelings of dejection, while simultaneously dreading the thought of an eternity alone.

That’s why, no matter the outcome of tonight, Michael would at least have something to add a little color to his black-and-white world. At the very least, the child would provide much-needed entertainment in the Underworld. She seems quite creative, which could potentially lend itself to some new and innovative torture methods. But, that would almost be a non-starter, considering the whole reason that she’s here, the whole reason Michael implemented this plan in the first place, is to get to you.

You, who managed to somehow win over demons disguised as beggars that loitered outside of the bookstore you worked for. You, who was constantly coming up with your own ideas for stories, creating and erasing entire worlds within your mind (a power far more powerful than any regular magic, Michael believes). You, who had somehow managed to vex and enchant him, without ever having spoken a word to him. He had seen you on one of his visits up Above, talking to a beggar demon as if they were your equal, offering food and shelter to their grotesque form. From then on, he knew that he had to have you, and from that, a plan was born. The Labyrinth, which he had subtly placed in every single one of your dreams for months now, was impossible to run through. You would inevitably lose. And when that happens, he’s prepared to accept your frantic offer where you exchange yourself for the child. He is, after all, a benevolent ruler.

“Mr. Michael?” Julia questions, breaking Michael out of his pondering.

Michael hums, deciding that he won’t lecture her on the importance of referring to rulers by their titles. “Yes, little one?”

“Do you have juice here? ‘M thirsty.”

“Abaddon!” Michael calls, the demon appearing in a puff of smoke. “Get our guest some refreshments.”

The demon turns to do Michael’s bidding, shocked when Julia grabs their clawed hand and skips along with them. “I really like your spiky horns,” she says.

Michael looks up at the clock on the wall, noting that only nine hours remain for you to reach the center of the Labyrinth and rescue the child. Perfect. He’s not one to get too cocky (yes he is), but these are odds he’s willing to take.

//

Tag List (send me a message if you want to be on this!): @sojournmichael @dark-mei-rose @blakescoven @xavierplympton @michaellangdon @trelaney @ajokeformur-ray @babyloutattoo89 @bloodcoatedeclipse @threeminutesoflife @annikathebananana @wth-trippy @thatonehumanbeing05 @dumybitch

#labyrinth au #labyrinth imagine #labyrinth fanfiction #michael langdon #michael langdon imagine #michael langdon imagines #american horror story #american horror story apocalypse #american horror story imagine #ahs #ahs imagine #duncan shepherd