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thetypedwriter · 3 years

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A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Book Review by Brigid Kemmerer

My gosh, I feel like I have enormous feelings about this book.

So, I had seen this book for awhile bestow the shelves at Barnes & Noble and while it drew the eye, it also didn’t entice me right away. I must have read snippets of the backside summary a dozen times before I finally succumbed and purchased it when the store was having a buy one, get one 50% off deal.

Lame, I know.

That being said, A Curse So Dark and Lonely surprised me in a lot of pleasant ways and at the end of the experience it was a book I genuinely enjoyed reading, despite the flaws throughout.

First off, somehow, in ways that I don’t even fully understand, I did not realize that this was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

You might ask, seeing the title, the reviews on the back literally calling it a retelling of a classic fairytale, the summary itself, and the basic premise, how did I not realize what the true nature of this book was?

I genuinely have no idea.

I really don’t.

It’s so flabbergasting that I don’t even have a proper answer for you other than Beauty and the Beast was not my favorite Disney movie growing up and that I probably should have spent more time checking out what bargain books to buy before I laid down the cash.

Oh well.

That being said, retellings of classic fairy tales has been a fairly popular phenomenon in the YA literature scene (and popular culture as a whole, really) for the last couple of years and while I can see the appeal, it was never something that beckoned me.

I’m not a huge fairytale fan to begin with so a retelling of the original doesn’t hold much sway in terms of intrigue and buy-in.

If I had known what A Curse So Dark and Lonely truly was, I never would have bought it. Frankly, it’s a little sad because I genuinely would have missed out on a very fun and engaging read. Fortunately enough, however, my dumb actions actually paid off in good luck this time around.

The whole premise is exactly what you’ve probably surmised up to this point: an enumeration of Beauty and the Beast with some modern fanfare and twists and turns along the way.

Rhen is the current Crown Prince of Emberall, a country in some parallel world to the one that you and I currently exist in. With a series of twists, the main protagonist, Harper, is unwillingly hoisted from her homeland of Washington D.C. to the magical world of Emberfall, which unfortunately is not all that magical with a looming war on the horizon involving a neighboring nation, rumors of a savage beast that has wreaked havoc on the country, and a wicked witch that delights in torment and carnage to sadistic glee.

Soon enough, a high school dropout with cerebral palsy soon finds herself in the imaginary role as the Princess of Disi, an allying nation that has promised aid and troops to Emberfall and potentially betrothed to the Crown Prince, Rhen.

To make matters more complicated, Harper finds herself often in the company of Grey, the lone soldier of the Royal Guard and Rhen’s constant shadow, a figure she soon begins to trust despite herself.

With a war on the horizon, the ever-present threat of the witch Lillith, the haunting promise of the beast’s return, and evolving feelings, A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a lovely concoction of both fast-paced action, romance, humor, and fantasy. This whole book gave me a pleasant buzz from start to finish.

The plot itself, while recycled at its core, is fresh enough with the modern flare of Harper being from D.C. (Disi-this still makes me laugh), representation in the form of a character with a disability like cerebral palsy, interesting and complex relationships, and opposing enough with the threat of Lillith and future battles that it never seemed pithy or banal.

While the world building is...mediocre, I don’t think it was amazing nor do I think it’s awful, it’s a useful enough background for the characters and their emotions to take place, which honestly is the real focus throughout the entire novel (although the author did take some liberties by inputting in things like the castle automatically regenerating food-how much more deus ex machina can you get?).

Kemmerer’s writing style is also fine. Nothing groundbreaking, but also not writing I find abhorrent or even unlikeable. She comes across as a typical YA author to me in terms of her vocabulary, her figurative language, and her writing style.

The real focus, if you haven’t caught on by now, are the characters.

I genuinely like all three main characters quite a bit, which, if you regularly read my reviews, is quite the anomaly.

Rhen I find to be strangely complex. While he fits the mold of the brooding, arrogant prince that actually cares deeply for his people and his country quite well, I also found him more interesting than just the archetype of the royal son.

He’s surly, dark, and quite temperamental. While he does care deeply about his people, he’s often selfish and petty. Honestly, he shouldn’t be very likable at all, but it’s for that reason alone that I do like him.

I like that while he might be a good ruler he’s not necessarily a good person and I like the dichotomy and the conflict that implicitly comes with that struggle, a struggle often shown to the readers and the two other characters he’s closest with: Harper and Grey.

In addition, often in YA I feel like authors constantly feel pressured to make romantic love interests “perfect” which to me, translates to being stereotypical and boring. Very often my favorite characters are the ones who are flawed and complicated-just like Rhen.

Grey is also a character that I thought would be more simple than he actually turned out to be. I originally thought Grey was going to be the stoic, soldier type and while he is, I also really enjoyed seeing his lighter side, his sense of humor, his love for children, and the deadly loyalty that binds him not because of a curse or a spell, but because of his own stubbornness and dedication to the decision that he made and the refusal to break it.

I found this honor code fascinating and his adherence to it almost obsessive. His loyalty to Rhen is both baffling and intriguing and often it was the best part of the novel for me.

Which brings me to my next point: Rhen and Grey’s relationship is hand’s down the best part of this book. It’s a complicated relationship and, therefore, really fascinating to read about it. They have a serpentine history involving Grey being the one to let Lillith into Rhen’s chambers which sets off the whole curse business in the first place.

However, as Rhen says later on in the book, it was his choice to keep Lillith overnight and to pursue romance, not Grey’s.

There is guilt, blame, affection, loyalty, ownership, friendship, frustration, anger, sacrifice and more to their relationship. Their history stops them from being true friends, as do their roles as prince and guard, yet they are the only companion the other has for seasons upon seasons.

At the end of the day, Grey is all Rhen had for a very long time and it shows.

Their relationship was always so engrossing to read about due to its complications and its nuances. Very few YA relationships, especially that of platonic male friendship, gets even near the level of depth and grey (I couldn’t help this pun) area shown between Grey and Rhen. Their relationship alone is a huge draw for why I found this novel so captivating.

I did wonder for a while if perhaps there were more than platonic feelings involved, but I could never quite put my finger on the true nature of their relationship or their feelings towards each other, which I find absolutely amazing. Their relationship is messy and complicated, just like real life relationships are.

That leaves the third piece of the puzzle: Harper.

Out of the three main characters, I like Harper the least, but I do still like her. I like that she’s strong and tenacious, not in spite of her cerebral palsy, but in addition to her already present bravery and ferocity. She’s headstrong, stubborn, kind, merciful, and compassionate.

My dislike from Harper stems from the fact that she’s a little too perfect, especially compared to Rhen and Grey, who I found to be much more convoluted characters.

Again, harping (hahah) back to stereotypical YA, other than her cerebral palsy, I don’t think there’s anything in particular about Harper that makes her complicated, flawed, or especially interesting.

She’s a good girl willing to give it all up for a country she’s only known for a few weeks even though her mother’s dying at home and her brother is most likely involved in some kind of gang violence.

The best scenes with Harper are the scenes were she is struggling to choose between the two worlds and weighing her options, as at some points it does depict her as selfish and wanting to go home, even though she knows it would doom thousands of people.

But of course, this is all taken care of later when she realizes D.C. isn’t her true home any more and that Emberfall has become where her heart lies.

Lame.

Kemmerer made Harper just a little too pristine for my liking, which is why she ranks lower than both Rhen and Grey when on paper she is by far the best in terms of personality and character traits.

This especially grates on me when Kemmerer tells us that Harper is fantastic instead of letting us glean that for ourselves. I really dislike when an author tells me instead of shows me that someone is brave or kind or amazing or whatnot and I feel like there were enough instances of Harper being all of those things without having needed Rhen or Grey to point it out all of the time.

I also do feel like there is some weird shaming regarding things typically seen as “feminine” in relation to Harper and why that makes her “better.” For example, Rhen talks often about how no girl ever has ever done what Harper has done, like attacking him.

I’m sorry? You’re telling me that Grey has kidnapped hundreds of girls and not one of them before Harper tried to attack them? In any form? Really?

I find that preposterous.

Other instances of Harper being unique in this fashion is also sprinkled in, like how most girls apparently only care about the dresses and the jewels in the castle, but not Harper. Or how most girls would be crying from a scar on their cheek, but Harper is just upset that she misses her target.

I get what Kemmerer is going for, but these force-fed characterizations really bothered me and were the most irritating thing about the book.

Being feminine or caring about stereotypically feminine things like jewelry or dresses does not mean that someone can’t also be strong and brave and fierce. I dislike a lot of the subliminal messages in the novel in regards to that.

In terms of romance, again I have to ask myself when the trope of the love triangle will die. Perhaps it never will. Perhaps it will live on for eternity, forever immortal and present in nearly 90% of YA literature.

The love triangle between Grey, Rhen, and Harper doesn’t bother me so much in this novel as I feel like it isn’t truly focused on very much, which I appreciate. I understand that Harper has feelings for both Grey and Rhen, but her feelings make sense. I don’t feel like Kemmerer is just foisting a love triangle onto the readers for the sake of having a love triangle.

It felt somehow...natural.

In addition, most love triangles suck as they’re very one sided, usually in terms of the female’s POV.

In this case however, the love triangle is influenced by Grey and Rhen’s relationship, where the lines are very blurry and for a good portion of the book I thought perhaps they were in love with each other and Harper.

Frankly, I would have been ecstatic if this was the route Kemmerer had taken. Not many YA authors go down this route, but examples like Mark/Cristina/Keiran from The Infernal Devices and Niall/Irial/Leslie from Ink Exchange are actually the only examples I know from YA literature so this would have been so welcome and anticipated.

If Kemmerer had gone down the route of looking into a polyamorous relationship I would have been over the moon. I don’t think she is sadly, but polyamrous relationships are still so few and far between in YA that it would have been utterly captivating, especially as she has all the ingredients to do so.

Or, I thought she did.

Until it’s revealed at the very end that Rhen and Grey are brothers. Or, at least half-brothers.

Yeah.

It’s super unfortunate.

I’m genuinely disappointed that this is the route Kemmerer decided to take it as it seems so grossly safe. It’s almost like an intense male/male relationship can’t exist unless it’s romantic or they’re brothers and I despise that.

Hence, why I have also decided that I won’t be reading A Heart so Fierce and Broken. I want to keep the memory and the interesting relationships between the three characters as it is: interesting.

I have a very strong feeling that if I read the sequel that will all be shattered.

When all is said and done, I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to reading it and I wasn’t expecting very much, but it met all of my expectations and more.

I am sad that I won’t be finishing the series as a whole, but I know that the direction it's going will only make me frustrated and annoyed and I would rather preserve the positive emotions attached to A Curse So Dark and Lonely than ruin it with a sequel that I know won’t meet the expectations I have.

Perhaps that’s unfair to say, and rightly so, but I know myself and I can see where the sequel is going and I’m almost certain that I won’t like it.

So in this case, I’m going to quit while I’m ahead and savor the moments I had reading this novel in all its fairy-telling glory.

Recommendation: If you love Beauty and the Beast, fairytales with a modern twist, interesting characters and interesting relationships set in a fantasy world where the music never stops playing and a savage beast runs rampant, than this book is calling for you.

I didn’t know that I needed this novel in my life and now I’m so glad that it is. Captivating from beginning to end, if you’re anything like me and a sucker for interesting romance and strong, nuanced characters you won’t be able to put this down either.

Score: 7/10

#a curse so dark and lonely #a heart so fierce and broken #brigid kemmerer #popular fiction #Popular Books #teen books #Teen Romance #teen fiction #book review #book blog #Book Recommendations #book rec #ya fiction #YA Book Review #ya book rec #book blogger

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mylordshesacactus · 3 years

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1, 3, 15 and 23 for the askmeme?

What themes would you like to write about that you feel don’t get explored very often?

Hmm. See, I feel like it’s fairly self-evident from my writing what themes I care about and want to explore, and since 99% of that writing is already embarrassingly niche, it goes without saying that I don’t think those themes get enough love XD

Found family is, thankfully, a very popular trope. The slightly more niche themes that I enjoy exploring are...hmm. How to phrase this.

The (inherent eroticism of the) loyal lieutenant trope; that not only is it okay to not want to lead, but that people can want to be a natural second-in-command without feeling resentful or having that itch of ambition. That being the loyal, quiet support and standing back and watching someone you trust implicitly lead can be what you aspired to in the first place.

The idea of kindness and respect being about what the other person needs to feel safe, not what feels right to do.

The bright, dramatic, larger-than-life fantasy realm is primarily populated by ordinary people. This does not have to be a “deconstruction” or “commentary” on fantasy tropes or on the larger-than-life canon characters; they can and should coexist, because they’re part of the same world.

Asskicking =/= authority. Authority =/= leadership. Leadership in its purest form is soft-spoken and sure, with nothing to prove and no need to posture. Authority only requires certainty that the people under your command can be trusted to do their jobs. Leadership requires certainty that the people under your command can be trusted, fully and completely.

Animals Don’t Work Like That, Actually

Canine Body Language Is Completely Different From That, Actually, You’re Thinking Of Cats.

Loyalty requires you to challenge the people you love outright. Anyone worthy of real loyalty might be angry at first, but will ultimately trust you more as a result.

True love means trusting one another to do the right thing, and knowing for a fact that the other person will not betray their greater responsibilities for your sake no matter how much it hurts them. Anything less is not love; it’s selfish obsession.

What loves do you tend to write about?

Oops I kind of gave that one away with #1 huh. Well, a quick summary then: Agape, philia, storge, pragma, are going to feature most heavily.

Which isn’t to say there’s less of eros. And if you’ve read my smut you know I LOVE playfulness in sex and romantic relationships; all intense passion is exhausting, you should be able to laugh together, and honestly it’s healthy to still have the hallmarks of ludus show up sometimes. Especially when my faves have such fucking awful lives, letting them just kind of...be grinning, giggly young women who like each other a lot is nice.

Mania (as in, the term for obsessive love in the Greek tradition and not like, the psychological condition) is such an intensely terrifying and deeply unpleasant force--writing it makes me feel so dirty--that it doesn’t show up very often if at all. It’s always an antagonist, if it does, because it’s so incompatible with love.

And all my fanfic faves are like no philautia we hate ourselves like wlws.

What physical quirks do your characters tend to have?

Oooo, I LIKE this one.

This is pretty clearly OCs, since with fanfic characters I at least TRY to just accurately recreate what their physical quirks onscreen seem to be. So, my OCs...

One linguistic quirk that I like to give to OCs is an oddly specific one--you can get a LOT of characterization into a small package by creating characters who are extremely laconic--writing their dialogue by trying to get across their idea in as few words as you possibly can, and using body language for the rest. The most recent version of this is my WoW character Talet, who I actually write as mostly nonverbal. In her case, this is the result of long-term isolation and partially due to trauma; she can and does speak, but she communicates mostly through lupine nonverbal signals to the point where her ward (officially her “apprentice” but in practice, her adopted daughter) openly describes herself as Talet’s “translator”.

I also have a weakness for characters with extremely still body language; not necessarily stiff or tense, just....still. No fidgeting or wasted movement. And for characters who can be described as soft-spoken--often as surprisingly soft-spoken, like my blunt and impolite mule handler with a low, rough voice...who has a completely contradictory tone, very gentle, very calm. Only with her beasts, of course. Or trauma victims. Or children. Or--

Do you prefer reading series or standalone novels and does that reflect on how you write?

Oh that’s also a good one. I like both! Honestly, SHOCKING information from a fanfic author--I love stories that set up a unique and interesting universe with like...rules? Especially when that universe feels bigger than the one story we get to see in it.

And I’m a sucker for the IDEA of spinoffs, I’d normally adore big sprawling universes that allow for lots of stories to be told in the same basic world. It’s a shame that expanded universes get so bloated and that the writing gets so bad--and I think a major failing of that format is that they so quickly lose sight of the POINT of an expanded universe and try to make every goddamn thing interconnected. The whole POINT is that you can just....read or watch the stories that appeal to you, and while knowing other stories might enrich that experience not knowing them doesn’t detract from it.

(Discworld. The perfect model for how to do this is Discworld. Not interested in the Watch? Cool, here’s a pile of books about other characters. Not interested in Granny Weatherwax? Cool, have fun being wrong but also have fun reading all these witch-free books while doing it. Not interested in Death? Tough shit and have I got news for you about the degree to which not being interested in Death affects its presence in your life, but you don’t have to read books ABOUT Death.)

However, I do have a firm policy about series, and ESPECIALLY about the first book in a series: Cliffhangers are cheating, and they’re weak writing, and they’re only allowed if they’re setting up the actual finale.

(It’s a mark in Rise Of Kyoshi’s favor that I didn’t....entirely....mind the cliffhanger because the rest of the book was so good. And since the Kyoshi novels are a duology, it’s TECHNICALLY allowable)

You CANNOT use a cliffhanger at the end of your first book. That’s a horrible sign in the author’s faith in their own story. If this is your FIRST IMPRESSION, and you don’t think the story you told is good enough, you don’t think your world and your characters are compelling enough, to get me to come back without straight up leaving the story unfinished in order to make me come back if I want to find out basic information?

Cool. You’re probably right. I don’t care anymore.

Your first installment HAS to stand on its own. The penultimate book can end on a cliffhanger if you really must, because at that stage in the plot it’s normal to assume there’s lots of things happening quickly, and it feels like less of a cheap trick; if I got four books into a five-book series, or two-thirds of the way through a trilogy, I was probably already planning to come back for the finale. But the first installment has to tell its own story, whole and entire, or I’m probably not gonna care enough to stick around.

Open endings are not the same as cliffhangers. Open endings are great.

So, yeah. A well-written standalone novel and a well-written series are basically the same, and the initial book in a series at least should also serve as a well-written standalone novel in the first place!

#askmeme #natsu-tigre

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whereissora · 5 years

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My Favorite Sora and Riku BroTP Moments

First off, I don’t ship Soriku. Sorry, but I just don’t. I have never gotten a romantic vibe from them EVER and I really enjoy how they interact and work together like a pair of brothers. There are plenty of other tumblrs that post Soriku, and I assure you they’re not hard to find.

Riku is sexy and important and Sora is a literal drop of sunshine, and I love both these boys so much. I really enjoy how much Riku’s character arc reminds me of Zuko from ATLA and how he embodies the “protective big brother” cliche which can be seen in a lot of animes. Likewise, Sora is a wonderful protagonist and the way he adores and actually listens to Riku makes me want to give Riku a thumbs up:

Good job, Riku, on somewhat-raising Sora. He’s wonderful in a million amazing ways~

I know Sora has parents alright, im just messing around~

And so, as I write this, I will be viewing Sora and Riku in a very platonic manner. These two are close to the point of being real brother’s, and since Kairi does play a part in their relationship, she will be mentioned here and there.

Just know that even if you ship SoRiku and I ship SoKai, doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy this list! This is a BroTP post, not an OTP post, but you may find one of the reasons you ship SoRiku on here even if I have a different understanding of the moment in question.

I will be leaving comments open, with one request: you may say whatever you like in response to this post so as long as you are respectful about it. So please, no character bashing, no ship bashing, and definitely no harassment or bullying. I will block any guilty party and/or close the comments for this post.

10) Encounter in the Land of Dragons

Sora spends the majority of KH2 looking for Riku, and eventually, Kairi. By the time he makes his second trip to “The Land of Dragons” (I’m super tempted to write China, here) Sora has still yet to encounter Riku despite all the extra behind-the-scenes help Riku keeps giving him.

They finally run into each other here, but Sora assumes its a member of Org XIII given what he seems to be doing and what he is wearing. Riku casually warns Sora to watch his back by pointing at the heartless, which Sora then takes out. After the fight, Riku makes this hilarious gesture, like he’s saying “well, look at that. You’ve become so dependable,” then runs off. Sora gives chase until losing sight of him at which point he wonders aloud:

“That guy...”

“No...! Why... Would he...?”

Sora thinks that it’s Riku he just met, and kinda reaches for him as he calls his name. He says “Riku?” in a way that doesn’t hide how cautiously hopeful he is, and is overjoyed later when he hears from the emperor that the guy in the black coat “was kinda rude.”

Sora, YOU’RE a little rude.

9) Riku demands to know what Diz wants (with Sora)

Diz is a pretty suspicious character, and Riku trusts him about as far as he can throw him. Unfortunately, the only people Riku trusts implicitly are comatose, absent, or far away. He can’t wake Sora up on his own, so he begrudgingly accepts Diz’s help.

Near the end of Sora’s reconstruction, Diz expresses his thoughts over Sora waking up in a way that’s... mildly creepy.

Diz doesn’t really care for Sora as a person. He’s a means to an end. Riku isn’t stupid--he can tell. His priority is doing everything he can to help Sora wake up. But the minute Diz says Sora’s name--in a tone that makes it abundantly clear he is being used, like Roxas is--Riku takes a seat like “Don’t you f***ing dare. What do you want with us, anyway?” And says the polite version of that.

8) Riku visits Namine

I’m not sure whether Riku knew to go see Namine on his own, or if he was summoned there by Diz. But either way, Sora’s awakening is taking way too long.

After leaving Castle Oblivion, Riku began investigating the Organization since they literally forced Sora into an indefinite, comatose state. Namine promised to look after Sora, and when they meet again, Riku, gently, but firmly, reminds her of this, as if to ask “What’s taking so long?”

There can’t be a good reason, so he needs to know. That way, he can help.

Unfortunately, the situation is that some of Sora’s memories currently reside in two different people. Namine carefully explains that there is no way to help Sora without harming them, and if they try to do that anyway, Sora will wake up only to realize no one remembers him.

Here, the camera shifts from Namine to Riku while keeping that one line on the screen, making it clear that’s not an option for them. Sora cannot wake up to find out he’s been forgotten--they are not willing to risk that.

This leaves just the worst possible option, and that is to kill two people.

A role which Riku now resigns himself to.

This might have been higher on the list if not for how SAD it is... For everyone involved.

7) Sora remembers how they grew up together

KH1′s ending broke a lot of hearts (cough not as much as III cough) and final mix’s version just twisted the knife with this little scene. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not remember seeing this little Sora-flashback first time around.

The door has been shut and locked, leaving Riku and Mickey stranded in the Dark Realm. Sora looks on as he recalls his childhood spent growing up alongside Riku, how they laughed and ran together, and this scene couldn’t possibly be more heart wrenching--

Hears Project Destatis D.B. themes and variations playing in the background~

👏Thank👏you👏Everglow👏

You, too @projectdestati

6) Sora and Riku fight the final battle together

I love all the little scenes in this fight.

You get a lot of these two protecting/supporting each other here.

At one point, Sora is nabbed by Xemnas and is having his HP drained, and you get to fight as Riku in order to free him.

When Xemnas starts firing those light-rods or whatever they’re called at Sora and Riku, the boys stand back to back as they deflect them.

This leaves them so drained that Xemnas is able to kick Riku back and attack Sora, but Riku pulls Sora out of the way AND TAKES THE HIT HIMSELF.

Sora and Riku use their combined strength to shoot Xemnas out of the sky.

And on top of all that, you get this:

SORA AND RIKU STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT TO FIST BUMP!!!! This is canon. THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!

It’s as if they’re each telling the other:

“No worries! I’m here.”

5) Riku meets Xion (twice)

For the sake of keeping this list to my top ten, I’m including Riku’s first and second meetings with Xion as one reason. I know, I know, I’m kind of cheating, but I really can’t choose between these two.

While investigating Org XIII, Riku must wear their coat. It allows him to move about without detection. Ironically, this also gets their attention since he’s Riku, he’s not one of their members, and he’s clearly opposed to them. They send Xion to take him out, but he defeats her and is both disturbed and concerned by her appearance.

Xion demands to know why Riku is dressed as one of them, and he answers:

“To make sure my best friend... Sleeps in peace.”

Riku is determined to protect Sora, who is vulnerable in his sleeping state, no matter what Riku is forced to wear, or who he transforms into. This may partly be due to the fact that:

Riku was the one who opened the DTD and destroyed the islands.

Riku is the reason Kairi’s heart was separated from her body and went into Sora’s for shelter.

And Sora ultimately had to stab himself through the heart to free her and complete the keyhole in Hollow Bastion.

And all of this led to the creation of Roxas, Sora’s Nobody, being born. Sora wouldn’t even be in this mess if it weren’t for Riku’s actions. Heck, without Riku, Sora never would’ve gotten the keyblade, which has made Sora a huge target for Org XIII. Riku carries that guilt with him everywhere he goes throughout Days, as he struggles to help Namine complete Sora’s reconstruction.

The next time Riku meets Xion, she’s run off from the Organization because she learned what she really was. She tries to ask Riku where Sora is and he outright tells her:

“That secret stays with me.”

Riku says this in a way that makes it clear he would die before he handed Sora over to the enemy, and isn’t willing to risk Sora’s safety for anything.

Riku, buddy, you’re a priority, too.

He never blamed Xion or Roxas for the Organization’s actions, though, because just like Sora, these two were being used. So when Xion asks “Do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?” Riku’s answer is:

“Nah... I guess I’m just sad.”

Me:

Xion is the reason Sora cannot wake up! On top of that, because Xion exists, Riku must see to it that both she and Roxas meet their ends if he ever wants to see Sora again. And despite all that, Riku doesn’t hate her.

5) “Don’t be so reckless. Do you want to end up like Riku?”

Halfway through KH2, Saix implies that Riku has ended up in a dire situation, causing Sora to react with alarm. As far as Saix knows, Riku was taken out by Roxas, and he’s more than happy to let that slip to Sora who has been searching everywhere for him.

With or without his memories of C.O., Sora’s last real memory of Riku is watching him be trapped in the Dark Realm when they closed the door together.

The Dark Realm is basically the KH version of Hell, and it’s not the place for hearts of light residing within still-living individuals. From what Sora’s seen of the Dark Realm, it is crawling with dark sides, and even if there is a light within the darkness, the Dark Realm is not a safe place to be.

So hearing Saix say “Do you want to end up like Riku?” has a pretty powerful impact on him. Aside from his own firm belief in Riku’s strength, Sora has been given every reason to believe Riku is dead. There’s no sign of him anywhere, no word of him from anyone, and the last place he was seen in is a relatively fatal environment.

And now he has even less reason to hope Riku is still alive.

4) Riku rescues Sora in 3D

Say what you will about 3D, but the bro feels are HEAVY in this game.

Once again, Sora is lured into one of the Organizations traps.

And again Riku attempts to protect him from this trap.

Again, he failed to reach Sora in time. It is only with the help of Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Axel that he is able to retrieve Sora before it is too late.

Sora’s heart was trapped in darkest abyss, leaving Sora’s empty body in a sleeping state, similar to what Ven suffered through for over a decade. Yen Sid theorizes that Riku, who unlocked the seven sleeping keyholes within Sora’s dreams, now has the ability to retrieve Sora’s heart and wake him from his sleep.

Come to think, maybe this has something to do with why we see Riku looking for Sora in the KH3 secret movie instead of Kairi?

It’s insanely dangerous to venture into the abyss, but Riku goes anyway and is successful in rescuing Sora.

3) Did I mention that Sora called for Riku when YMX nabbed him?

Sora’s afraid! He’s steeming in darkness and he’s struggling to keep his eyes open because he knows there’s a chance this will be the last thing he sees! He’s aware that if his body is turned into a vessel, he’ll be used to hurt Riku, Kairi, and everyone else he loves.

So what does he do? He calls for Riku!

Riku has been taking the exam with him, and if there’s anyone who can pull him out of this mess its Riku, the same person who has almost always come to his rescue.

And Riku does that just that.

I actually really enjoyed 3D just because it was fairly dark, and heroes can’t succeed all the time. Plus, Riku got to play the role of the one who has Sora’s back no matter what and was rewarded with the title of Keyblade Master for his trouble.

Sora deserves to be Master, too--

2) Kairi reunites Sora and Riku in TWTNW

This scene has me in tears, even now.

As mentioned before, Sora has been given every reason to believe Riku is dead.

He saw someone in the Land of Dragons who was using Riku's keyblade, and was kind of acting like Riku. But was that really him? Or just another member of Org XIII messing with him?

What did Saix mean when he warned Sora not to be reckless like Riku was?

King Mickey made a promise to Riku, but what sort of promise? And why won’t he say anything about Riku?

What happened?

Where is he?

Thanks to Kairi, Sora is able to reunite with Riku properly. Riku wasn’t even going to say anything to Sora--he still feels ashamed of himself for betraying Sora, and for looking the way he does. But Kairi takes both boys hands and has Sora close his eyes, and Sora is able to finally figure it out:

Riku was always close by, helping him. He just looks a little different.

Sora raises his head, and his eyes first widen then scrunch up as the tears come.

He takes Riku’s hand and falls to his knees.

Once he’s down there, he can’t hold himself together anymore and just starts weeping.

This is part of the reason people ship SoRiku at all, and heck, I might have too if not for SoKai and the fact that Sora is a super affectionate person.

Also, it’s pretty clear by how relieved and tearful Sora is that he more-or-less believed Riku was gone. He looked for him, but couldn’t find him anywhere. The organization loves to mess with him--maybe that guy who was behaving like Riku in the Land of Dragon’s killed him and stole his sword. Maybe the reason Mickey won’t say anything is because the truth is too much.

I have best friends that I’ve grown up with, too. If they were to vanish like Riku did, and I went from country to country in search of them, and then if I finally found them after being told everywhere I went that they were gone... Well, I’d be more of a mess than Sora because I’m not as strong as him.

Sora manages to choke out that he looked ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE for Riku. To which Riku answers:

This earns a shocked little gasp from Sora, because it’s kind of a slap in the face to Sora’s efforts to locate Riku.

Not that Riku is trying to be cruel here. Sora doesn’t understand yet that Riku only pushed him away in order to protect him. And when Sora demands, “Why didn’t you let me know you were okay?” Riku calmly explains that he couldn’t stand for Sora and Kairi to see him like this, with Heartless Ansem’s face. The face of the man that possessed him and nearly killed Sora and Kairi.

But they don’t care what he looks like, because it’s still Riku on the inside.

1) Riku protects Sora in KH3

Gosh, this was such a heavy moment.

Sora and Riku were just forced to watch as all their friends were whisked away into the Demon Tide. The last person to go was Kairi, and once she’s gone, Sora falls to his knees lets out a scream that destroyed me physically, emotionally, and mentally.

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We have never seen this side of Sora before, and neither has Riku. Just after Kairi is taken away, Riku is standing nearby, staring out at the demon tide, apparently in shock. We can’t see his face, but Riku grew up with Kairi, too, and he’s clearly distressed by what just happened.

But Sora screams his heart out and Riku immediately rushes to his side. He kneels and listens as Sora gives up and claims he is worthless without the others. Riku’s expression is soft at first but slowly hardens, and after Sora cries over his failure, Riku quietly gets up and tells him:

“Sora, you don’t believe that.”

“I know you don’t.”

Riku then walks forward without another word, and singlehandedly keeps the demon tide at bay.

Sora cannot find the strength to get up and help, but Riku doesn’t yield. He screams in defiance as the shadows overtake him, determined to protect Sora until the end.

Overall, I just really like how Riku has Sora’s back no matter what and how Sora quietly acknowledges that in KH3 when comparing Riku and himself to Anna and Elsa:

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These two are bros for life.

#Sora #Riku #Kairi #Elsa #Anna #Kingdom Hearts #video game series #brotp #bros for life #i love these boys #riku is sexy and important #sora is literal susnhine

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the-marvel-imagines-blog · 5 years

Text

Madness | Chpt. 13

Requests are Open

Chapter Title: “Once Upon the 40′s”

Pairing: Loki x Original Female Character

Word Count: 6,850

Warnings: ???

Name Pronunciations: Hjalmar: “He-all-mar” | Aaldir: “All-deer” | Ephinea: “Eh-fin-ee-uh”

Summary: Eva recalls her past with Loki and runs into some very familiar faces along the way, faces she’s never been able to forget.

A/N: Like I’ve stated previously, I’m taking a lot of creative liberties with this fic, and I hope you understand. I’m definitely taking more within the following chapters. Thank you all for being so patient. Once again, I’ve heard a lot of really good theories about what might happen next, so I’m definitely excited to hear what you guys think of the story going forward. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this fic, and all I can do is hope that it shows. You’re all so phenomenal. I love all of you so, so, so much. PLEASE NOTE: this will likely be my final time posting an update for this fic before Endgame is released. I have a few other oneshots that I will release throughout the week before Endgame. I know everyone has said it at this point, but PLEASE if you see the movie, do not spoil it for anyone. I heard about the recent leak, and I refuse to scroll through any forms of social media at this point. I got on here just to post, and I’ll be getting right off. If you do have spoilers already, I ask that you please not share them here <3 -Ellie

Tagged: @teddyboobear @alledeglyfunny @xletmetaste-yoursmilex @itsknife2meetu @mynameisyara @j-j-ehlby-writes @jillilama-blog (anyone who wants to be tagged can message me and ask. It’s not a problem at all)

“We’re still going dancing after this, right?” I asked, gazing up into his blue eyes that matched the color of the sky. Midgard was beautiful as it was, but he made the world around him that much more beautiful in my eyes. My dress-a material that matched the color of his eyes-swung around my knees as we walked toward the expo that Loki had been speaking of for weeks since our last trip to Midgard. He smiled down at me, his eyes still glistening with a hint of excitement that he always tried to hide whilst in the midst of his father. Odin never treated him fairly and always scrutinized when Loki was happy “for no reason.” He knew that he never had to hide any piece of himself from me, though, and that he need not even try. We had known each other for nearly a thousand years, ever since I could remember, and I knew everything there was to know about the young prince of Asgard.

He snickered, “would it be a trip to Midgard without a little dancing?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. Dancing was something we always did when we made any trips to Midgard, regardless of what our trip was for in the first place. Loki was born with a grace and talent for dancing, and it showed in the way he moved. He walked with the same purpose and grace as he did when he danced, and that paled in comparison to the way he held me when we danced. The only thing it could be compared to was the way he held me at night after we spent hours rediscovering one another in the most intimate ways. Those were some of my favorite moments with him, when we were both so vulnerable to each other, but we were comfortable with it because we knew that our insecurities, our fears, our needs would never be exploited by the other. We trusted each other implicitly, and that would never change.

I smirked, remembering the one time that we didn’t go dancing. Loki had been so tired after the full day of mingling and running about the garden with me that we cancelled our plans to be at the wedding and celebrations of Mary, who I had taken a liking to for her fiery attitude, and Francis. Mary was beautiful and gentle, but she was also regal with a sharp-tongue, which was something I admired her for greatly, especially as she grew older. I visited her often with Loki, looking after her as if she were my own. Loki often admired her for being powerful in the face of adversity. People were reluctant to seeing a woman upon the throne, but Loki and I had seen too much to hold prejudice against someone simply because she was a woman. It was a terrible shame when we discovered what happened to her. Still, she had never let us forget that we missed her wedding, often bringing it up lightly to tease Loki and I, “do you remember the 50’s?” I asked, reminding him of a time that didn’t seem that long ago, a time that felt simpler in a way. We could spend hours running through the courtyard of the tudor style home Loki had built for us. It was our place to escape to when we left Asgard.

“Almost 400 years, and you still bring up that one time,” he reminisced, a smile breaking out across his face. I watched the memories dance across his mind, gazing up at him as I longed to revisit our old life. We had always been happy, but the days seemed to move slower then. We could just exist together. He drew himself closer to me, his face growing closer and closer to my ear. I could feel his warm breath cascade across my neck, “perhaps I can make it up to you later tonight?” he whispered, his voice low and smooth as velvet.

“Loki!” I gasped, pushing his chest in a playful manner. He began laughing, and the sound was like music to my ears. There had never been another song more beautiful than the laughter of my love. I stifled my own laughter, not wanting to draw attention from the passersby, but I couldn’t help the smile which tugged at my lips. I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing that he wanted to get that reaction out of me, “you won’t have any of your fun unless you take me dancing. If you back out, you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” I teased him, accepting the challenge to see which one of us would back down first. He rarely brought it up if he wasn’t fairly confident that he would win, but I knew how to beat him, how to make him tick. I loved winning for the simple fact that I loved watching Loki blush.

“I know what to do to get you to sleep on that couch with me, darling. I know how to make you quiver,” he murmured, his voice resembling a growl, causing my most primal urges to bubble up to the surface. I gripped his arm tighter as we continued to walk. He traced a slender finger of his free hand along the skin of mine, and I shivered beneath his touch. I found his eyes once more to see that he looked hungry, as if he were eyeing his prey, “you should enjoy that pretty blue dress because I’m going to have fun tearing it off of you later,” he remarked as a mischievous grin tugged at his lips.

“Watch what happens to you if you tear my dress,” I challenged him, cocking my eyebrow at him.

“You should watch your tongue, my love,” he chuckled, thinking that he won the unspoken challenge, that I had somehow run out of ways to make him blush.

I didn’t.

Without missing a beat, I veered off into an alleyway that left us barely visible to the passersby. No one would take notice of the two of us, especially since we knew how to blend in with the general public for the time period we found ourselves in when we travelled to Midgard. I pressed Loki against the stone wall, taking care not to hurt him as I held him against the cool surface. I leaned in close to him, allowing him to shiver with anticipation. I brought our faces as close together as they could be without partaking in a kiss that would relieve so much of the tension we were both feeling. I leaned into his ear, my breath hitting his neck. I grew close enough so that my lips brushed ever so lightly against his ear, and I felt him tremble beneath me, “you want me to watch my tongue? Make me,” I whispered before removing myself completely from his space just in time to see the color rise to his cheeks.

I won.

The moment he lunged for me, ready to admit defeat and ravage me with kisses, I pulled away from him and walked back out toward the street. That was part of the fun. We knew each other well enough to know what made the other tick. I knew how to get under his skin, and he knew how to get under mine. I knew that not allowing him to kiss me was my way of building up that tension. The lust within him would continue burning until we were alone that night, until I was able to lose myself in him and him in me. Before I could walk along the sidewalk alone, he resumed his place by my side, and I looped my arm through his once he offered it to me. We walked along, falling in perfect stride with one another, as if nothing had happened, but we would remember it later. The tension never died, but it just became like a smoldering fire, which would continue to burn until we extinguished it.

As we walked, we passed by a man and woman, and I noticed the rings on their fingers, symbolizing their eternal love, which was something Loki and I had talked about from time to time. The woman was pushing a baby carriage, and within it, there was a baby who looked no older than 3 months. He was dressed in a little blue outfit that matched his blue eyes. His hair was light, and his skin was fair, much like Thor’s. I smiled into the carriage, feeling my heart flip within my chest as my sudden urges came to light once more. I could feel Loki tense up next to me, and I knew why. It was something we had only talked about briefly, but I knew he wanted that life just as much as I did. His grip on me tightened, and I could feel his eyes lingering on me, so I turned my gaze up to meet his. He smiled down at me so sweetly, just like he used to when we first fell in love. The thoughts crossed his mind, and he didn’t even need to say a single word because I could always read him like an open book, “You know what my answer would be,” I stated, grasping his arm with my free hand. We had already been in the stage of our relationship where we wanted to get married, but we were also coming to the stage where we were both thinking about what would come next: a family.

He sighed, gazing once more at the baby in the carriage before gazing back down at me, “father has always treated me poorly, and he’s never been particularly kind to you. I can’t imagine what he would think of our…” he trailed off, his eyes beginning to water as soon as he even thought of the word. It was a difficult thing for either of us to think about. I was abandoned by my parents, and Odin never treated Loki as one of his own from the very beginning.

“Children, Loki,” I finished for him, giving his arm a gentle squeeze to regain his attention. Once his mind wandered, so did his eyes. Once our eyes locked, I knew that he was focused on me, “they would be our children and ours alone,” I reminded him, wanting him to understand what I had already accepted. I didn’t have to follow in my mother’s footsteps, and I wouldn’t. I would love my children endlessly, and I would never abandon them, not like my parents did to me. Loki’s fears and insecurities were justified because he was terrified of being the father to our children that his father was to him. As upsetting as it was to think that he was self-conscious about failing our future children, I always silenced his doubts about everything as soon as they arose, “you would be the most incredible father, in spite of how you were treated by your own father.”

Once I said my piece, he fell absolutely silent. I gazed up at him, trying desperately to decipher him. There were moments when he was an open book to me, but there were others where he was like a puzzle with dozens of pieces missing, and I became more and more stressed because I couldn’t figure it out. There was the alternative method of reading his mind, his thoughts, but that was something I saved for only the most dire circumstances. He was my lover, my soulmate, my best friend, not my experiment. I couldn’t just pull apart his mind whenever I felt like it to get answers to a question I didn’t want to bother him with. It was my job to read him as any woman would read her love, the way I had read Loki all along. When our eyes met, I knew exactly what he was thinking, as if it were painted across his blue eyes. He was picturing them. A wide smile spread across my face, “the first one would be a little girl, a little princess. I imagine her with your hair, wild and unruly and black as a shadow at night,” I murmured, my eyes flickering between his.

He snickered, “my hair is not unruly!” he defended himself, acting as if he had been terribly offended at my comments about his wild and unruly hair, which it was.

I cocked an eyebrow, ready to challenge him, “have I simply imagined the times when you struggle to brush it out and keep it in place in the morning?” I asked, a sly grin taking over the smile on my lips, “have I imagined the dozens of times when you beg me to brush it because only I can undo the tangled mess that you manage to get it into throughout the night? You always go to sleep with perfect, silky, beautiful hair-and I know because I brush it and look after it-but you wake up the next morning as if you fought four wars all on your own in the middle of the night,” I teased him, grinning up at the man who owned every piece of my heart. We hadn’t lost that spark between us. Sure, we argued with each other and had our fair share of disagreements, but we had been together for hundreds of years, so we knew how to make it work through all of that. Still, no matter what, I always looked at him as the boy I fell in love with. I still got butterflies when I talked to him. I still blushed when he paid me a compliment or looked at me for a prolonged period of time. I still giggled when he called me beautiful.

“That’s only because of you!” he argued, raising his voice only slightly. He wouldn’t yell at me, but he was clearly trying to defend his wild and messy hair. Whenever I closed my eyes and imagined our future children, though, they always had his hair. My hair was dark, but his was exceptionally dark. His hair was darker than the forest on a dark night when the stars didn’t even shine through the trees. The darkness would envelope me, and I wouldn’t be able to see my hands had they been directly in front of my face. Each of our future children, as I saw them, had his wild hair. It would fall in curls, and they would all wear it the way he did: long. His light chuckle pulled me from my daydream, “you keep me up far too late, or have I simply imagined the times I’ve nearly fallen asleep at the breakfast table with my mother?”

My mouth hung agape as I recalled one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, “that-!” I stammered, trying to find a way to defend myself. It was true that it was my doing which left him embarrassed at the breakfast table with Frigga, and it was the moment she understood how deep our relationship was, how serious we were about each other, “that happened one time, and it was only because you wouldn’t stop looking at me the way you are right now!” I blamed him with a smirk as our eyes met once more. Mine danced along his face before I lost myself in the oceans of blue that pooled up against the dark pupils of his eyes, like land masses that felt like home.

His eyes flickered between mine, and his smile fell. The solemnity that overcame his feature worried me for a moment as I wondered if I had gone too far; however, when I saw the tears well up in his eyes, I knew that he was thinking about them. He thought about them just as often as I did, even though he didn’t like to admit it, “they would have your eyes,” he murmured, pulling me closer to him, “a green that matched the colors of spring when the land is reborn after the cold winter, a green that feels like the warm breeze in the middle of the forest when it ripples through the leaves, a green that feels like home. They would wear that same look in their eyes, too. They would have that determination and ferocity but also the love and appreciation of life and all living things. They would have your nose, your cheekbones...your laugh because Gods know there is nothing sweeter or more poetic and beautiful than the sound of your laugh,” he said, tearing up at the thought of our future children. I knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that he would be the best father to our children, and I knew because he loved them already, just like I did.

I stopped completely, not wanting him to focus on anything but me. I reached up and grasped his chin in my hand before turning his head until our eyes met, “I have told you for hundreds of years that all you have to do is ask me, and I’ll be yours for the rest of eternity, Loki,” I reminded him, knowing that all he would have to do is ask for my hand, and I would accept his offer in a heartbeat. He didn’t have to write a speech or plan an elaborate proposal because he was the only thing that mattered.

“I’m just worried that I could never be able to offer you all that you want in life,” he murmured, his eyes acting as windows into his very soul. I knew that he always felt unworthy of me, of the love I gave to him, like he didn’t deserve me. It was the same way I felt at certain times in our relationship, when I wondered why someone who could have anyone or anything he wanted would choose me. He always silenced those doubts, and I did the same with him.

I shook my head, “all I want is you,” I insisted once more, grasping his hand in my own as I gazed up into those uncertain blue eyes, “I want to marry you and start a family. I want to see you with our baby, to watch you hold him or her, to watch you fall in love with the way they laugh, the way they dance, the way they look at you. I want to raise children with you, however many we decide. I want to get up early in the morning and rock our baby to sleep and be reminded that they are the product of the two of us, that we created something that was bigger than ourselves, that our love created life,” I reminded him, my eyes stinging with the hot tears as I thought of a life we had yet to begin. I watched as his eyes brimmed with tears, and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze “we’ve been together for hundreds of years, and you have given me all that I could ever want and all I could ever need, but that is the one thing that’s missing. I want that life with you and no one else,” I finished, stepping closer to him.

“That’s what you want?” he asked, his focus becoming firm, and I knew that he would be focusing on picking out any hints that I was being dishonest, as if I would even try to with him after so long together.

I nodded, “it’s what I’ve always wanted.”

He nodded once, continuing to gaze down at me. Upon seeing that I wasn’t trying to mislead him, his gaze lightened, and he gathered me in his arms in one swift motion. I gasped at the sudden and unexpected action, but before I could speak, his lips crushed mine, silencing whatever words I was about to utter. He kept my body pressed to his firmly but not aggressively. His hold on me was all encompassing as his right arm snaked around my waist, arching my body into his. The fingers of his left hand caressed my cheek and jaw, holding me steady as we kissed. The moment he pulled his lips from mine, it was as if my very breath left with him. Luckily, he didn’t let go of me, or I was sure I would have fallen to the ground. He pulled his head back only slightly to take in my reaction to what just happened, but I had no words, no emotion to give. He took my breath away with that kiss, and it felt like we were at the very beginning of our courtship once more, like we were still naive lovers who saw nothing but one another.

Without warning, he began laughing lightly at what had just transpired. Had we put our love on full display in the streets of Asgard, Odin would have forced the two of us away from each other. It would have been improper for him and unladylike for me. However, on Midgard, people seemed to pass by without taking much notice. Of course, I could still feel eyes on us because it was still a rarity, but we would not be punished for a kiss. I saw, once more, the boy I fell in love with, my Loki. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to contain my laughter once he began laughing. Rolling my eyes, I turned on my heel and pulled him along, “come on, love. We don’t want to miss the expo. It’s the whole reason we came here,” I reminded him as we walked toward the crowds of people.

Upon reaching the large groups of people, we began making our way to the front of the stage in the pavillion where we saw the most commotion. Everyone was talking, and the buzzing of life around me left me with a euphoric feeling in my chest. Warmth spread from the depths of my chest all throughout my body, leaving me gasping for the sweet air to fill my needy lungs. I loved the sensation of life, the vibrations of the energy around me. Loki’s hand found mine, and he intertwined our finger, his fear of large groups becoming more and more clear. Whenever he needed to find his footing once more, he reached out to me, and I was always there. His grip on my hand tightened whenever the noise in the pavillion increased, and I accommodated it by pulling the two of us closer together. I knew where his fear and anxiety stemmed from, and I would always comfort him when that was what he needed.

Once we reached the front of the stage, we watched as young women in matching outfits lined up in front of a car. Shortly after Loki and I took our place, another man with two young women at his side broke through the crowd and stood beside Loki and I. The man in the group was tall and built like a warrior. I took note of the uniform that seemed to hang from his broad shoulders and knew that he was one of Midgard’s soldiers. He smiled up at the stage as the two girls beside him began conversing amongst themselves in their excitement for what was to unfold. Trailing behind them was a smaller man, but I could feel the vibrations within me begin to grow stronger and stronger the closer he grew to me, and I just knew there was something about him, something I couldn’t place my finger on. Our souls were connected somehow, similarly to how mine was connected to the souls of Loki, Ephinea, Hjalmar, and my father. I didn’t even know his name, but I knew his soul.

The taller of the two men glanced over at me, a playfulness in his eyes that matched Loki’s, and I knew that it was a light the world so desperately needed. He smiled down at me, though I was only slightly shorter than him, “good evening, ma’am,” he greeted me with a tip of his hat before turning his attention to Loki and doing the same, “sir,” he greeted politely, causing the God of Mischief to bow his head in a friendly greeting.

I stepped closer to the young man, breaking away from Loki’s side and feeling a chill run through my body at the sudden lack of warmth he brought me, “you can call me Eva, and this is Loki. He’s not much of a talker until you mention literature,” I laughed, gesturing over to Loki before offering my hand.

The soldier took it and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of my hand. I knew it was what was considered respectful and courteous at the time. Loki still did it to me when we were in the company of others. The soldier lifted his head and released my hand, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Eva,” he stated before turning his attention over to Loki once more and sticking out his hand for him to take, “Loki...that’s not a common name,” he noted, trying out the name on his tongue.

Loki chuckled, “I’m not a common man,” he replied as he took the soldier’s hand and shook it.

“The name’s James, but most people just call me Bucky,” the soldier finally introduced himself before turning to the shorter man beside him, “and this is Steve, he’s like my unruly, rebellious sidekick who likes to look for trouble,” he teased his friend with a wide smile.

I smiled and stepped closer to the newly introduced stranger, “it’s nice to meet you, Steve,” I replied, reaching my hand out. Instead of taking it and kissing it, he just gave it a quick shake, and I could tell that he was nervous about the sudden introductions. The moment our hands touched, an electric current surged through my body, as if a piece of his very essence was transferred to me and a piece of mine was transferred to him. It was a strange occurrence, an event that had only happened a small handful of times in the past, but it always forged a powerful connection to the person it happened with. The energy surged through me as I felt his essence intertwine with mine, pieces of our souls coming together to form one. I wondered, for a moment, if he felt the same thing or something similar, and the sudden wonder in his eyes told me that he had experienced it as well.

He tried to shake off the awkward silence between us, his cheeks becoming flushed, “So, where are you two from? Your accents sound...foreign,” he asked, trying to propel the conversation forward after a powerful experience we both shared.

“Smooth,” Bucky teased him as he gazed up at the stage that was continuing to be prepared.

I smiled, “it’s alright. We’re from Westminster in England,” I lied, recalling a place Loki and I had visited dozens of times in the past. It’s not like I could tell him the truth, that Loki and I were from a completely different realm altogether, that there was life beyond Midgard. They would discover our existence at some point during the course of humanity, but it didn’t need to be today, “what about you? Where are you from?”

“Brooklyn,” he answered with a kind smile. It was clear that not many people gave him the time of day, but I wanted to. I wanted to learn everything about him because I was certain he would play a large part in my life. He gestured between Loki and I, “and you two are...married?” he asked, and I could sense the boyish bashfulness rising within him.

Bucky snickered, “wow, how subtle,” he teased Steve again.

“Not yet,” Loki answered before I had the chance to speak.

I furrowed my eyebrows at his confession, taken aback by his answer. Steve and Bucky raised their eyebrows as well, but I knew that their surprise came from the forwardness of it. They didn’t know Loki like I did. I knew that he was rather bold, but I just never expected that answer because I didn’t know if he truly wanted to marry me the same way I did him. We had been together for hundreds of years, the better part of a millenia, and he still hadn’t asked me to marry him. I cocked an eyebrow, “should I be expecting a question soon, or will I be waiting another thousand years?” I asked, teasing him about how long it had already taken him.

Bucky and Steve both laughed in unison, thinking that I was exaggerating the length of time I had been waiting. It was only slightly exaggerated, since our thousand year milestone wouldn’t happen for another 67 years. Loki’s grin at me caused my heart to flutter as I thought of how and when he would do it. After a short amount of banter between the four of us, Loki and Bucky began having their own conversation, leaving Steve and I with a comfortable silence that fell between the two of us. As we gazed up at the stage together in anticipation for the upcoming show that was sure to be put on, I could feel his eyes on me. Loki made a habit of doing the same thing early in our childhood, before he even began courting me, but it remained something he did even after so long together. He would always watch me. It was never in a way that made me uncomfortable, but it was the same reason I watched him, to memorize every little piece of him, how the rays of the sun sat so delicately upon his eyelashes, how his slender fingers would swim through his raven black hair when he pushed it back into place, how every smile started at one corner of his mouth, how the tears rimmed his perfect blue eyes whenever he read something I wrote for him, or how his eyebrows pulled together in fascination whenever he looked at me. I committed every piece of him to memory just in case there was a day when he wasn’t mine, when his body returned home. Though I wished for us to meet our end together, I knew that one of us would outlive the other, and my selfish dream was that he would be the one to do so. I couldn’t bear a life without him, so even if he went before me, I wouldn’t be far behind.

As I felt Steve’s eyes on me, I also felt the familiar warmth of Loki’s gaze as well. His conversation with Bucky had become a conversation about me, and my suspicions were confirmed when I felt the unfamiliar eyes of the soldier on me again. I glanced over at Steve in an attempt to keep myself from blushing at the attention that I was getting. As soon as I turned my head to interact with Steve, our eyes connected, and a blush rose to his cheeks almost immediately. It was exactly what happened when Loki and I first began our relationship. He would be caught in the act of studying me, and his cheeks would flush with color in his bashfulness. It became less of an occurrence the longer we were together, but there were times when it presented itself once more. Steve glanced down at the ground, trying to seem like he wasn’t watching me only seconds prior. I smiled to myself, thinking about how endearing it was, but what he did next was even more shocking and endearing. He extended his hand with the paper bag filled with popcorn in an attempt to offer some to me.

That was the moment I knew.

That was the single moment I figured out exactly who Steve was, almost as if I could see straight into his very soul. It was one of the purest, most beautiful things I had ever seen in all my life. The innocence and innate goodness he had within him made me want to cry. There were only a handful of moments in my life that left me so emotionally overwhelmed, whether by the sheer beauty I witnessed or sorrow I felt, that left me unable to contain my tears. That was one of those moments. It felt like Steve and I were just made to find our way to one another, like we were created for the soul purpose to run into each other at some point, but the reason was unclear. With Loki, our bond with each other was clear, but with Steve, I didn’t understand it. Why us? Why him? As I tried to sort through it, he maintained his outstretched hand. I gave a polite nod and collected a few of the pieces of popcorn, maintaining eye contact with him and trying to suppress the smile that only continued to grow on my face.

Knowing that the only way to silence the parade of questions through my mind was to talk to him, I ate the popcorn in my hand and spoke, “what are you doing out here on a night like tonight? What brings you to the expo?” I asked, looking for any way to stop falling into a platonic type of love with him. It was the strangest, most unexpected feeling, but I could feel the love within me growing for him with every passing second. It was as if my soul recognized his, and I couldn’t help it.

He shrugged his shoulders, “well, it’s Bucky’s last night as a free man before he ships out. You know, he’s my best friend in the world, so when he wanted me to come out, how could I say no?” he asked, trying to minimize his act of kindness toward his friend. He forced himself to be uncomfortable just to make his friend happy. That was love, pure and untainted love. I smiled as he continued, “it’s not really my cup of tea, though. I’m not really into crowds, but I know it’ll make Bucky happy.”

Nodding my head, I reached out and grasped his arm, “everyone needs someone like that in their lives. He’s lucky to have you.”

He shook his head, not fully convinced by my words, “I think it’s the other way around. I’d be nowhere without Bucky. He’s the only family I have left after my mom died. He’s like a brother to me. I owe him everything. The least I could do was come out with him tonight,” he spoke, his voice soft and full of sincerity. Suddenly, a wide smile formed on his lips and he cast his gaze to the ground once more as a blush overcame his cheeks, “I mean, I got to meet you out of the deal, so it wasn’t all bad,” he complimented me with a quivering voice before trying to laugh off his clear embarrassment. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I realized just how genuine the compliment was, and I couldn’t help but step closer to him. It wasn’t a romantic gesture, and I didn’t take his compliment as a flirtatious one; all I wanted was to feel closer to the warmth his very essence provided. He was like the light of the sun-all encompassing, bright, and warm.

Before I could respond to Steve’s remark, the voice of a female announcer silenced the crowd, “ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!” she announced, her voice leaving the audience even more lively than before. As the crowd began to cheer and applaud, the man who I presumed to be Howard Stark, the man of the hour, sauntered onto the stage wearing a tuxedo, a top hat, and a grin. The women on the stage all presented him, holding their arms out as he passed by them. One of the brunette girls stepped out of line to take his hat and trade off the microphone she had in her hand. As he took it, he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and pulled her close before pressing his lips to hers in a quick, suggestive kiss. Once he wiped the lipstick from his lips, he spoke into the microphone, his voice echoing throughout the calming crowd, “ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won’t even have to touch the ground at all?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

The two girls Bucky and Steve arrived with were two of the many people in the audience who covered their mouths and gasped. Loki and I shot a knowing glance at one another that this was no new technology to us, as Asgardians had perfected similar technology so long ago. However, it was a remarkable achievement for Midgardians to be making. I turned my gaze back at Howard Stark as the women who once stood in front of the car pulled the wheels off of it and walked away with them. He glanced out at the audience, holding the microphone up to his lips, “with Stark gravitic reversion technology, you’ll be able to do just that,” he promised before stepping aside and allowing everyone in the audience a clear view of the spectacle that was about to take place. With the flip of a switch and the press of a button, the car began hovering above the stage with a gentle hum. I glanced around at the small group I was with to see that everyone wore looks of pure astonishment at the idea of flying cars. No matter how advanced our technology was, Loki was still impressed by the humans, just as I was. They showed great promise, and that was one of the many reasons why we swore to protect them.

Howard’s eyes scanned the crowd as he looked truly proud of what he had accomplished. I watched him intently as everyone else watched the car. All I could do was study how his pride grew more and more as he witnessed what kind of reactions he could elicit with his own genius. Suddenly, without warning, his eyes connected with mind, and his scanning of the audience stopped as those brown orbs focused on me. They felt familiar, like we had met before, like I knew him from another lifetime. I sensed something within these humans that felt surreal, like I could have been dreaming it. I had such an intense connection already to Steve, and I knew Bucky on a level that should have been impossible, given that we had only spoken a handful of words to one another. Then, there was Howard. All we shared was a prolonged moment of eye contact, but something within me came to life in that moment, and I knew that this would be the beginning of something. What that something was, though, I had no clue. All I knew was that Howard and I-like Steve and I, or like Bucky and I-would be bound by a silken cord that was strong as a chain of steel that would never break.

The one thing that pulled our gaze from each other was the sudden crash that came from behind him, and my eyes found the car now on the floor where it had once been hovering over. The crowd gasped but slowly started to clap, and I did the same. It was a true accomplishment, regardless of how long the car managed to hover. He was the first Midgardian to discover that technology, and while there was no way he would be the last to tamper with it, he made waves on that night. He chuckled into the microphone, laughing off his “failure” before speaking, “I did say a few years, didn’t I?” he asked, his eyes flickering to mine again before winking at me.

As the expo continued, Howard showed off more impressive technology that he was working on, but nothing was more impressive than his persistence, considering he didn’t even know who I was. Every chance he got, it seemed like he caught my gaze, and the playfulness would sneak into his brown orbs. I could sense a childlike wonder about him, something I hadn’t experienced much, especially not with the Midgardians. However, Howard seemed to exude those playful, childlike qualities just as much as his confidence and self-assured attitude. Once Howard’s portion of the expo was finished and the crowd applauded him, I felt the sudden absence of Steve’s warmth as he broke away from the group without a word. I wondered to myself if something had happened that upset him, or if he just needed to be alone. Bucky smiled to himself, “hey, Steve, what do you say we treat these girls to…” his voice trailed off as he turned around to see that Steve was no longer present. He sighed to himself, and I could sense his distress. I knew that he only wanted a night with his friend, especially considering the hell he was about to walk into.

Then, there were screams.

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kekeslider · 6 years

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What is 'Klance' to you? Like, what do you want it to mean, what are the best parts of the relationship, or what do you think is the best/worst parts of it?

This essay question is so out of nowhere, but I’m a giving person so I’ll answer

Klance isn’t rep for me. I’m not a boy, I’m not a mlm. It’s significant to other people who are those, but I won’t claim something that personal.

To me, klance was just the best writing direction. From the moment they’re introduced, they’re set up as a pair. We see Keith the first time through Lance’s eyes, we understand who Keith is in relation to Lance before anything else. It’s because of Lance that we knew Keith was the best pilot of his generation, Lance is the one that told us they were rivals, and even though Keith didn’t know that before, Keith seemed completely willing to play that part. He had no issue competing with Lance. But even though they literally butted heads, they both were still able to put that aside and work really well as a team. During the first 2 seasons we saw it as a rivalry and also a partnership, and then season 3 set them up as partners that were no longer rivals. It was the biggest turn around of any relationship at that point, and it felt significant. Rivals to friends to lovers is such a popular trope because it shows so much development for both parties, and as of season 3 we saw them ALMOST reach that friends stage. They definitely trusted each other, but like pretty much every other thing in the show, it was under developed. We don’t get a lot of soft, casual moments between any pairs. Everything is always deep and emotional and whatever.

It’s the best writing decision because those 2 were set up as a pair for 2 seasons straight in a way that the others really weren’t. There was a lot of time and focus given to them in the first season especially, but the second as well. It makes sense to keep writing that development in the trajectory is was on, which at the very least should have been close friends. We’ve seen that trope all the time, of two people who don’t mesh at first but forge an unbreakable bond (and yeah, it’s cheesy). And when those 2 characters are a man and a woman, it almost always ends in a romantic relationship. Scully/Mulder, Booth/Brennan, JD/Elliot, Sokka/Suki, Jake/Amy, etc. When it’s characters of the same gender, it at least ends in a great friendship with deep trust, like any combination of Kirk/Spock/McCoy, Hinata/Kageyama, Holmes/Watson, Katara/Toph. (it’s legitimately hard to come up with examples for girls because a lot of shows don’t even have 2 prominent female characters). It’s satisfying to watch that change happen, the relationship becomes a microcosm of character development because any development they go through can be measured against each other and themselves. The way that voltron just halted their relationship development doesn’t make sense as a writing choice. You should always want to develop the relationships between characters, especially when they’re meant to be a great team.

The best thing about klance from the beginning is that they were always basically equals. They were on the same footing in the beginning, two sides of the same coin. They were both great pilots, they were similar in strength and intelligence (here’s where I’ll point out that their original stats were much more equal, but in order to make Keith always seem better than anyone, they nerfed Lance’s stats), they were, in the beginning, both paladins of equal standing, neither was the leader. Their traits and skills were complementary: long range/close combat, fire/ice, small&fast lion/big&strong lion. As an extension of that, they made up for each others’ shortcomings. Keith has great instincts and sometimes it’s best to follow them, but several times Lance’s thinking and planning saved them. Keith had a tendency to be mission oriented, while Lance kept sight of the big picture.

Even in just personality, Lance was the peppy social one and Keith was the reserved loner, and they could meet in the middle.Indirectly,Keith challenged Lance to be a better pilot and paladin, and Lance challenged Keith to be a better person and teammate. In battle when Keith would run in half cocked, Lance would cover him or pull him back. And when Lance was in trouble, Keith acted quick enough to help. The combo of instinct and strategy was strong.

The worst thing about it now is the lack of development. It dropped off in the middle of reaching a satisfying end point. Even before that, like almost every other relationship in the show, there’s such a lack of casual closeness that the friendships seem stiff. We know they trust each other implicitly, but we don’t really know if they like just.... hanging out. But again, I’d say that applies to almost every other pair in the show, even a//urance only has one instance of just hanging out and being chill, and that was still in a group setting, but it still feels similar to the space goop fight in season 2. That was Lance trying to goof off with Keith through competition (which they both clearly enjoy) and bring him out of his shell. Not continuing the development between then is just dropping the ball.

The other worst thing, following season 7, is the regression in their development. You’d think after everything, Keith could at least be nice to Lance, but he isn’t. There’s still that trust between them, but there’s no actual kindness or emotional support, even when Lance was actually being nice. It’s a really confusing turn around. Even if they weren’t heading for romance, they should have at least been heading for friendship. They’re the heroes, the audience WANTS them to be friends.

This is really long, and poorly organized, and probably still doesn’t cover everything but. Yeah.

#keke answers #i have to go do actual life things so i'm cutting it off here #also why you ask this??#Anonymous #ask

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fyasamisato · 7 years

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Character Talk: Korrasami

So in hype and celebration for Turf wars. I wanted to take the moment, years later and finally talk about my opinions on Korrasami. Given the blog, I imagine you can figure out what I think lol. But I don’t think I’ve actually ever talked about it all that much, since this blog usually just focuses on Asami. But I like talking about this show and I’ve been sitting on this aspect for while. So many people, more intuitive or smarter have offered their reasoning’s, and I don’t really think I’m about to add anything earth shattering. But I’ve been mulling it all over in my head for years now, and I’ve come to a lot of different points with a lot of different emotions, as I really tried to understand why it struck me the way it did, and why I still care about it which is something I can’t say for like any other fictional romance. And I think I’ve figured it out, at least for me. It hit me, that it resonated so strongly, cause it was the most like real relationships I’ve, and I think many other people have had. Minus walking into a spirit portal, lol.

To start off, I think I should tell my shipping story. Never had I shipped before, well maybe a little but I didn’t know it was called that. Haven’t really shipped all that much since either. I enjoy romance but it’s not the major factor for me liking pretty much anything. But I’m getting ahead of myself. So I can’t claim I was on this boat since day one. Like I said, it was just something I rarely think about when watching a show. The moment that made me think about it, and start this crazy ship obsession was in the beginning of season 3.

I can tell you my exact thoughts when watching this scene. “Huh, they actually have really good chemistry.” Like they seemed to talk really easily to each other, the dialogue felt very natural and their laughter felt genuine to me. That’s when I got my boarding ticket. Cause watching that, I realized how utterly rare it was for me to think that. This is by no means a brag lol, but I have wasted a stupid amount of my waking life taking in stories. And I mean a lot of them. And I can think of precious few, if anyway, where I thought there was any chemistry. It’s why I was so disinterested in romance. Cause I’d seen hundreds of movies and shows where the leads had no connection whatsoever. No bonding moment, no casual conversation, no mutual interest or similar senses of humor. No REAL moments. Most of the time, they fall in live cause both are attractive and both are lead characters, and there’s usually little else there. And, most noticeable of all, is that it’s usually a pair of characters who’ve known each other for a day. A week at most. There’s no bonding usually cause there’s no time to. And that’s why I think chemistry is a major failing in many things. There’s no time to form it. And if you don’t believe the characters really like each other on personal level then why care?

So when I see people say Korrasami was rushed? I couldn’t disagree more. In fact to me it’s basically the least rushed romance I’ve ever watched. And to me, it doesn’t matter what “lens” your watching from. How can it be rushed? It’s two good friends, realizing they have had feelings grow for each other over the course of three years. Rushed? That’s more realistic than almost any romance I’ve ever seen. Cause it didn’t start right away. And so now we go into the personal talk. Almost every date, and romance I personally have had, has been with someone I was friends with for years before. We grew to like each other. We didn’t just lock eyes in a carnival one day and realize love was in the air. There was no whacky circumstance or embarrassing meet cute. It was hey, I know I like you. But wow I think I might realllly like you. The romance came from how well I knew them, how at ease I was with them, how we knew each other well enough that we could almost always make the other one laugh, and that we could talk to each other about whatever in our lives was difficult or painful. Someone to trust enough to confide our rawest emotions in. That is something I think most media is sorely lacking. It is for this reason, I think korrasami hit me so hard. And it’s why I think it’s brilliant, and one of the best romances I’ve ever watched. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re adorkable.

I can’t speak for everyone. But I get the sense there’s at least many relationships that start the same way, and they’re really unrepresented in media. (Not the only unrepresented thing that korrasami represents) Through the series, the two grow closer and closer. Korra was stand offish at first, but Asami basically tried her best to make friends right from the start. And then the rest of season one, they’re friends, if not the closest kind. By season two, it’s clear the gang has spent more time together. And it’s also clear there’s not that much weirdness between them cause of the whole love triangle thing. Asami helps the southern water tribe, and by extension supports Korra, basically the whole season. Going through dangerous situations and dark times is a quick way to form trust with those around you. And it’s clear that they do trust each other by then. One never questioning the capabilities of the other. Then season 3 happens, and it’s clear, they’re close friends by now. They spend time together, just between them. They confide in each other, they offer encouragement, and joke around with each other. In fact one of my favorite moments is after the press conference, when Korra is feeling powerless and Asami says she’ll work out a solution. Moving on, they have to put their trust in each other when they’re captured by the earth kingdom, and both observe the strengths of the other, protect each other. Everything becomes a stepping stone the two used to get closer and closer. Every experience is working to build a stronger bond. That’s life isn’t it?

The ending of season 3 hit it home. Showing how the two’s relationship was changing. Asami offering support, that she’d always be there. She grew to care for Korra more than just in a friendly way by then. By the time we get to season four, we know Korra only felt comfortable confiding in Asami, and we know Asami was willing to drop a lot in her own life to go with Korra to help her heal. And the rest is history. When the two sit together at the end, just to talk and catch their breaths. They’ve know each other for a long time. Been through a lot together as friends. Then both reach the point where they open up completely, and admit their feelings for each other. Feelings they didn’t have right away, cause that’s not how intimacy works. At least in my mind. Rushed? Even if by accident, this to me was one of the most methodically set up romances I’ve seen.

They had to work through misgivings, and trials. Get to know each other, realize they cared enough to support the other. Korrasami is one of the most real pairings I’ve ever experienced. They didn’t meet in a bar, and hit it off. They didn’t get struck by love at first sight. And they didn’t get intimate first, then work out the relationship afterwards like it was an afterthought. They both grew, both figuring out themselves along the way. And at some point, friendship blossomed into something else. We as the audience were allowed to watch them grow, follow their struggles and softer moments. Instead of asking us to care about the characters because of romance, we got to care about the romance because of the characters.

And this is all before we even touch on the issue of bisexual representation, or woc representation. In that regard, this show is leagues beyond hollywood or mainstream tv. The representation is utterly important today as it was when the show ended. Getting to see that in a show so many cared about, with characters they loved, is one of the most amazing things that’s happened in the world of fiction. And the impact that had for so many, can never be diminished. You can watch reaction videos to the finale, or read the millions of words written about the paring to see that. Some days I still can’t get over the fact that the show existed. In a way I kind of now hold it as the standard in this regard, and it is not a standard that is just not met. I know I’m not the only one who can say it helped through difficult times. It helped with my own relationships, and showed me that it’s not weird to not fall in love right away. That it’s okay to grow your connections, and that if feelings do arise, that it’s okay to talk about it. That sometimes the pace of love is slower, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And if I can throw some shade, that is not a message or sentiment that’s thrown around nearly enough.

Another quick point, is that both Korra and Asami are characters who have suffered and been through a lot. More than life’s fair share, and both carry those wounds with them. But now, they don’t have to carry them alone. That’s another essay though, so I’ll just leave it at this. It’s a hopeful message to show that you can get through trauma on your own, but that you don’t have to.

Korra and Asami grow to be so incredibly at ease with each other. They never once belittle the other for actions or feelings. They never asked the other push themselves to where they were uncomfortable. They supported each other almost implicitly, had each other’s backs at great risk to themselves no matter the odds or threats. It would be hard to think that two women as passionate and empathetic as they are wouldn’t start falling in love. Their bond of respect and trust is a foundation any relationship would be better off for having. That’s why I think Korrasami works. Trust and respect, and those are two things many romances don’t have nearly often enough. Healthy, and supportive and mutual relationships like this are to me the peak of what a relationship should be in any work of fiction, and it is why I have been affected far more by this than I have any other romance. I am so glad, that it helped and impacted the lives of so many people, and that so many in general saw it. I hope it can impact the next generation too, to look back and remember it. And I can’t wait to see these two incredible women’s love continue to be expanded and to grow in turf wars. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can all cry tears of joy together! Keep on loving these two dorks! And never forget together, Korra and Asami are happy.

#asami sato #korra #korrasami #lok #the legend of korra #korrasami 4 life #character talk #essay #character essay #character analysis #i've thought about this along time #writing #all the love #turf wars hype

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fanfictionconnectionwordpress · 7 years

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Mystic Messenger Fanfiction | JuminxMC Good Ending Continued | Ch. 13 Man In Charge

***This is it! This is the end of the JuminxMC character arc. I hope you've enjoyed it despite my infrequent postings thanks to the real life issues I was having. There also weren't as many hidden scenes because of that, my apologies, and the usual of them raising their teenagers might not come out for some time as I'll be focusing on getting to Seven's Good Ending Continued series to give regular updates there as well as a Vanderwood fanfiction, but it will come out once I feel like my regular posting abilities are back. So sorry T_T,

Next week is prep week for Seven so there will be no Good Ending Continued posts!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the email list for access to R-Rated Scenes and my monthly newsletter. You can support my writing on patreon and get access to my VIP Discord Server or other goodies like early chapter releases and hidden scenes. JuminxMC Good Ending Continued Chapter Directory ~Let’s Connect! FFC***

"I've told you. I'm asking your brother to step into the position." Jumin simply placed another document to the side before starting to read through the next, but our eldest daughter crossed her arms, the cat at her feet walking in circles around her. "Father. It's incredibly unfair. You just wish to give him the position because he is male even though he has no interest in it at all." With that, she and her cat left my husband's in home office. I simply closed the door behind her calmly before approaching him and wrapping my arms around him from behind his chair.

Jumin put his hands up to hold my arms and leaned back against my shoulder, his ever graying hair still dark but not in the way it had once been. His retirement was getting close, and it had made the entire household into somewhat of a mess of late. "Who am I really supposed to choose, MC?" I nuzzled his hair. "That's not really my decision to make." Of course, he would know that. My husband was as practical as ever, and I knew he wasn't seriously considering giving the position of chairman to our son.

Out of our six children, our son was the youngest child and he had always been a sensitive thing from the very beginning. Jumin found it irrational how emotional he tended to be, but loved him every bit as much as our daughters, but it had been clear that there was no way he would ever succeed at C&R, and Jumin desperately wanted to hand the position on to one of our children. Each of our daughters was currently a head of a department, except for our eldest whom he refused to allow into the business despite how badly she wanted it.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh on Kyung, though? You know how badly she wants to be a part of the business, but she's always been babied thanks to her sight." It was true, our daughter was blind, but she got around the house so easily, partly thanks to her cat, the eldest kitten of Elizabeth the 3rd, otherwise known as Philip, and she was the most like my husband in her practicality and business sense, but he had always been sensitive with her. Jumin had even stiffened at my question and now his voice almost dipped into that same business tone it would with others when he didn't want to deal with them. "She's not fit to work in such an environment."

I let go of him and he let go of my arms reluctantly as I stepped away. Jumin pushed his chair back to get a look at me as I tilted my head at him. "Are you really going to shut down your emotions towards your own wife?" At this point it was almost impossible for him to get away with such a thing and it seemed he was already fully prepared for what I said, because he'd already shook his head. "My apologies, darling. Allow me to try again. I am worried for her. She's blind, and knowing how fast-paced that environment is, someone I trust implicitly would have to be her advisor to read her everything that couldn't be transferred over into braille and help her through the meeting and business trips. There is no such person."

That was more like it, a practical analyzation still, but at least he was expressing his real feelings about it. "All of our younger daughters are wonderful, but they aren't strong enough to lead an entire company. Their plates are at their maximum capacity as department heads, we both know this." I was trying my hand at reasoning back to him, even if it wasn't my forte', but over the years I'd learned how his mind processed things, and I would do just about anything to help our children and their relationship with their father knowing just how happy family made him. "You really can't think of anyone you trust? How about Zen and Jaehee's son? He's a fantastic young man and his mother was an excellent assistant for you before she left the company to start her cafe'. Surely he's looking for an internship by now."

It was pretty clear to me that Jumin had been planning to negate whatever suggestion for a person I made at first, but that he had actually started to think about it once I explained. He was playing with his cuff links like he had a tendency to do from the moment I had met him. "Perhaps...but that doesn't solve the issue completely. She hasn't ever worked in such an environment." This made me giggle just a little before I responded. "Isn't that somewhat the fault of her father for not letting her? She's nearly as old as you were when we met and she's never had a position in the company, but she was always delegating tasks to her younger siblings and she's been making great strides managing my work with the RFA as well. You can hardly say she isn't mentally prepared for running a business if she's done so well from a young age and is even managing a charity organization."

If that didn't convince him, I didn't know what would, but just at the moment, there was a knock at the door. Jumin didn't break eye contact with me for a few more seconds, his eyes the same dark gray as always, before he turned towards the door. "Come in." Kyung pushed the door open, her pale gray eyes looking straight forward, unseeing, as her dark black hair cascaded down her back. She held out a manila file, stepping forward exactly seven steps before placing it on the table. "I brought a list of my skills and relevant experience in a full resume' as well as a list of the benefits and negatives of hiring me. I've also included arguments and solutions for the negatives. Please excuse me, father."

Her keyboard had the braille letters on them, and she'd gotten quite good at typing, but it must still have taken her an excruciating amount of time to complete this task, so I was completely floored, as was my husband, as she simply left the room, closing the door behind her. Philip had waited for her patiently in the doorway, and once again we were alone in my husband's home office. I heard him start to chuckle, a low sound that slowly became louder as he picked up the documents. "I guess she's made my decision for me. So much for being the man in charge." I had to admit, it was pretty comical. Really, I hadn't needed to bother having this discussion with him in the first place, because of course Kyung would find a way to properly appeal to him in the end.

***

So, Kyung became the successor to the C&R company while her sisters continued to lead four of the main departments. Their youngest child and only son soon after took over MC's place in the RFA, which he'd inherited from Kyung who had originally manned it. This was far more his style.

It wasn't long after Jumin's retirement that he and MC decided to move to a home outside of Korea. The other RFA members were all remaining where they'd always been, Yoosung working as a vet while Seven taught their son how to build games, Zen acting while Jaehee took care of their cafe' and their son worked as Kyung's personal assistant. The RFA was continuing to flourish and even doubled the numbers of MC's last party.

All in all, MC and Jumin had helped raise billions of the twenty or so years since MC had joined the RFA initially and fell in love with the elusive 'Korea's most eligible bachelor'. Their life was one well-lived and well-loved. Their family was far from lonely, and that was probably the one thing they had missed when they'd moved to the vacation home, having their children running around in the house even if they mostly had their noses in paperwork. After a year or so in their new home, Jumin started to forget little things here and there, which eventually became more and more prominent. It was somewhat because of the fact that he wasn't exercising his brain in the way he'd used to with all of the information he had to soak up in a matter of moments before meetings and phone calls, but they were also concerned that it was a symptom of the dementia that had caused his father to go crazy towards the end of his life. They had access to great medical care and invited a caretaker/nurse into their home once it seemed like that was really what was happening.

MC was by Jumin's side even as he forgot who she was and constantly told her she was the prettiest and most honest woman he'd ever met, expressing how impressed he was that she wasn't simply after his money. The birth of their first grandchild wasn't something he could quite process, but he still played with the little one almost constantly when Kyung would visit. After a few years of this, his body gave out and he passed peacefully in his sleep.

It wasn't long after this that MC caught pneumonia, and not wanting to fight it, she simply asked the doctors to make her as comfortable as possible. At first, the children weren't fans of this idea, but after meeting with their mother and having her explain just how lonely she was without their father, they understood a little better, and recognized that sometimes when you've lived a long and happy life and achieved everything you ever dreamed of and more, there comes a moment when there's simply no more to do and when your time comes after that, why try to fight the inevitable.

Jumin and MC were buried in the Han family graveyard not far outside of the city of Seoul and visited often by their children, grandchildren, the new RFA, and the old RFA alike. As much as Zen had once hated Jumin, he had to admit that the man had changed from their younger years, and even he missed the once seemingly cold and unfeeling man that they'd all come to know as a heartfelt and honest individual. He had mattered a lot more to other people than he'd ever thought he could thanks in part to MC's help in tearing down his emotional walls and barriers.

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JuminxMC Good Ending Continued Chapter Directory

#jumin han #jumin #jumin mystic messenger #mystic messenger #mystic messenger fanfiction #jumin fanfiction #juminxmc #jumin x mc

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those70scomics · 7 years

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i hate people keeps saying hyde only loved jackie when he was in love with donna for good part of season 1. he clearly loved her deeply and probably still does until season 5 (he even casually offered to sleep with her in season 4). in season 1 he fell for his girlfriend chrissy, in season 4 he had feelings for the cute black girl and he had feelings for his wife (they were married!). it's selfish of JH shippers to say the only woman hyde ever loved is jackie.

i hate people keeps saying hyde only loved jackie when hewas in love with donna for good part of season 1.

I’m going to analyze this assertion from a fact-basedstandpoint, using evidence from the show.

Hyde has held onto a picture of her from middle school foryears where her bra strap is visible. He explicitly tells Donna in “First Date”(1x16) that he has “feelings” for her. He asks Donna why she has “a thing” forEric in “That Disco Episode (1x07), and he pursues her relentlessly throughoutmuch of the season.

It’s the nature of that pursuit, however, that makes Hyde atroubling character in season 1 and reveals his original purpose on the show:to be Eric’s villainous foil and illustrate how much better a person Eric is –in general and for Donna – in comparison to him. While Hyde is definitelyshown to have romantic feelings for and sexual attraction toward Donna inseason 1, labeling it love or as him being in love isproblematic. What he experiences is a sense of possession over and/orentitlement to Donna. As will become evident in the discussion below. The Eric/Donna/Hyde triangle isn’t actually a triangle. From “That ‘70s Pilot”(1x01) and all the subsequent episodes of season 1, Donna’s romantic feelingsfor Eric are explicitly stated and demonstrated. “You could’ve had me when wewere four,” she tells Eric early in the pilot and kisses him on the lips by theend of it. She also implicitly (subtextually) demonstrates her romanticfeelings for Eric.

She never, however, demonstrates – explicitly or implicitly– that she has romantic feelings for Hyde. In fact, the opposite is true. In“Eric’s Buddy,” Hyde puts his hand on Donna’s thigh. She tells him to “Moveyour hand.” She means, “Remove your hand,” but her imprecision inspireshim to rub her leg up and down instead. She grasps his hand and shoves it offher, clearly not welcoming or enjoying the physical contact. After Hyde hits on her in “Ski Trip” (1x13), she tells him, “I’m up here with Eric, alright Eric, get it?Not you!”

A true romantic triangle requires the person in the middle have romanticfeelings for both suitors. Donna does not. She has romantic feelings for onlyEric. And this is where the problem lies. Hyde ignores what she wants. She tells andshows him repeatedly that she doesn’t share his romantic interest. He continuesto pursue her. He forces a kiss on her in “Ski Trip” after she tells him tostop hitting on her. She shoves him off her during the kiss and slaps him.

But he still doesn’t get the message or care about her desires. Heessentially stalks her in “First Date” and attempts to stop Eric from givingher his class ring and making their relationship official. Once Eric does give Donna his class ring, however, that is finally enough to get Hyde to stop pursuing her and invading her boundaries, but thedamage has been done.

What Hyde demonstrates in season 1 is not love for Donna butselfishness. His own feelings are the only ones that matter, not hers. Love isacceptance and compromise. It’s giving to another for that purpose only: togive. Love often entails making sacrifices. It can also mean letting the personone loves go if it means s/he’ll be happy.Hyde begins demonstrates these qualities of (romantic) love only withJackie.

With Donna, Hyde’s “love” is ignoring what she wants to get what hewants. Invading her boundaries. Trying to disrupt her happiness with Eric.

[Hyde] clearly loved [Donna] deeply and probably still does untilseason 5 (he even casually offered to sleep with her in season 4).

What Hyde demonstrates during seasons 1-8 is platonic love for Donna.Not romantic love. He supports her relationship with Eric unconditionally. Hehelps them out when they have problems (may episodes throughout seasons 2-7).

Saying “he even casually offered to sleep with [Donna]” is an imprecisedescription of what actually happens in “The Relapse” (4x106). His comment mustbe taken within the context of Donna’s story arc, the episode, and the scene inwhich that line takes place.

Donna is grieving the end of her parents’ marriage and the absence ofher mother. She’s so desperate for distraction from her pain that she has sexwith her ex-boyfriend, Eric. She’s in the midst of trying to eat away herfeelings (literally eat; she gobbles down all the food she can), but it’s obviously not working. That’s when she initiates sexualcontact with Eric.

Eric, meanwhile, is heartbroken over his breakup with her. Because ofhow much trust Donna needs in Eric to have sex with him during theirrelationship, he falsely believes having sex with her in this episode meansthey’re back together. He doesn’t take into account the fact that she’s inmourning. He’s thinking of only his own grief.

Later in the episode, Hyde informs Donna that Eric believes he and Donnaare “back together”. Hyde tells her this as a friend to both of them, to makesure they clear this up before either of them gets even more hurt.

Donna, though, admits that, “I would have done it [had sex] withanybody.”

Hyde recognizes her pain, and hisgo-to-place in tense moments is to try to lighten the mood. We see him do thiswith Eric’s parents a lot, with Eric in “Eric’s False Alarm” (4x25), and he doesthe same with Jackie in “Black Dog” (5x09). So he says to Donna, “Anybody?Damn, and I was just over there watching stupid Donahue. Hey, let’s doit right now.” He’s teasing her, trying to get a laugh out of her. When it doesn’t work, heshifts out of his normal make-jokes mode and gives her the sympathy she needs.He says, “Yeah, I’m just kidding about the do it stuff. I’m sorry aboutyour mom.” He puts his arm around her, giving her platonic, physical (not sexual)comfort, too. Like siblings would do.

He silently holds her for a very long time. It’s not something we’ve seenhim do before, and considering his childhood, it’s probably not something he’sexperienced himself. He can tolerate only so much of it before his discomfortbecomes unbearable, and he falls back into his defense mechanism of makingjokes.

“Seriously, let’s do it right now,” he says. That’s his way of makinghimself feel comfortable and, perhaps, of ending this very (platonically)intimate moment between him and another person. Hyde is someone who doesn’tdeal with emotion well, largely because he’s been through what Donna’s goingthrough during season 4. After season 1, he often tries to hide his feelingsfrom himself and the world, and empathizing with Donna’s grief takes an emotionaltoll.

in season 1 he fell for his girlfriend chrissy

Chrissy is not Hyde’sgirlfriend in “Punk Chick” (1x22). He knows her for twenty-four hours at most. They meet each other for the first time in the early evening. He sleeps with her twice,and she asks him to go to New York with her. The next day, he tells her hecan’t go with her. By the end of the episode, he and his friends spot herdriving off on her Vespa with another guy on the back of it.

The episode shows no evidence that Hyde falls in love with Chrissy. He fallsin love with the idea of leaving his awful childhood (and mother) behind andgoing to New York and maybe meeting one of his rock idols, Lou Reed.

in season 4 he had feelings for the cute black girl

Yes, Melissa is verycute (and smart) and had a lot of potential as a character. But Hyde knows herfor all of an hour. They don’t have a relationship. They have an awkward,uncomfortable time together at the get-Hyde-a-girlfriend party. He’s clearly physically attracted to her from the start, butlove? That would take a lot longer than an hour of awkwardness to develop.

and he had feelings for his wife (they were married!).

Hyde marrying Samin season 8 is entirely out of character, and it’s not something he wouldactually do. The new showrunners hired for season 8 stated in an interview (TVGuide, I believe) that they hated Jackie and Hyde together and neverunderstood their romantic relationship. So they were putting an end to it. How?By marrying Hyde off to a new character.

In order to view Hyde’s marriage to Sam as legitimate, one must ignoreHyde’s long-established characterization and storylines from “Prom Night” (1x19) to the season7 finale. None of what happens in season 8, however, is legitimate. Even DavidTrainer, That ‘70s Show’s director for the whole series, save the pilot,called season 8 an “alternate universe” and “one of many possible futures” forthe characters.

it’s selfish of JH shippers to say the only woman hyde everloved is jackie.

J/H shippers don’t say that Jackie is the only woman Hydeever loved. Perhaps many of us say that she’s the only woman he is ever properly inlove with.

I can speak only for myself, but selfishness has nothing todo with my views about Jackie and Hyde. I analyze and interpret Hyde and Jackiebased on their actions on the show, within the context of the whole series,and I take into account the writing. What were the writers’ intentions with aparticular story arc? Does conflict arise organically from who the characters are,or are the characters manipulated against their natures to manufactureconflict?

You clearly don’t like Jackie’s character and/or don’t likeJackie and Hyde together. That’s your right. But calling or viewing other people as selfish for not sharing your opinion isnot beneficial to you or anyone else.

#That 70s Show #That '70s Show #Jackie x Hyde #Steven Hyde #Donna Pinciotti #Ask #Anon #My Meta #My Essay #Special

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emelye · 7 years

Text

Snape Appreciation Month - Day 14 Favorite Relationship

(Again, late.)

I’d have to say I always enjoyed the scenes between Harry and Snape best. I always held out hope that at some point in the books they would have reached some sort of truce and become real allies, but alas. It fascinates me that both grow up in functional poverty. Both experience some level of abuse from their families. Both are incredibly lonely. Obviously both he and Snape are designed to be mirrors of each other as well as Voldemort, and in turn, mirrors of the Three Brothers. Which as a literary device is super cool, but I always wanted more between Snape and Harry. It seemed like a shame that they remained antagonistic to the end and never found any common ground with one another.

The relationship that confused me the most was that between Snape and Dumbledore. I was glad when the final book came out and explored some of Dumbledore’s history, because some of the choices he made were downright ruthless where Snape and others were concerned. It was nice to have a little confirmation that Dumbledore WASN’T intended to be a flawless character. Still, Snape was obviously very close to Dumbledore, Dumbledore trusted him implicitly, yet Dumbledore didn’t seem to take him very seriously, which is understandable at some points and baffling at others. Dumbledore was also SUPER manipulative of Snape and in such a way that leads me to believe Dumbledore was the sort to only trust someone if he had some sort of hold over them. A very Slytherin trait, and one he probably came by honestly after the Grindlewald fiasco. But the whole “And what will you do for me?” piece after Snape begs for the Potter’s lives, seems pretty weird. I get wanting to get Snape’s allegiance, I don’t get acting like he somehow wasn’t going to act on Snape’s info without it? Like, in what universe would he have said, “Fuck it. Snape didn’t switch sides, so Imma let those Potters die.” I don’t blame Snape for being taken aback.

I’m still not sure what their relationship was like. The best I can figure is that Snape, with his lower than low self esteem, probably regarded Dumbledore as a mentor and dear friend, and Dumbledore saw Snape as a necessary evil, if an occasionally amusing and useful one.

So yeah. Love Harry and Snape. Super confused by Dumbledore and Snape.

#snapeloveposts #snapeadoodle

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nikodraws · 7 years

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Answer all the oc questions about your problematic fav oc

I FUCKING DID IT DAMN YOU! Problematic fav is a hard since a large fraction of my characters are terrible trash babies. So I chose what I consider to be the worst boy I’ve ever made.

Caddy Baptis. A terrible thing spawned from making Anime Campaign characters

and this is too many questions! So I’ll just go till I just don’t have it in me to continue.

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?

Caddeford “Caddy” Baptis. Means literally nothing. Was originally gunna be for a different character but the name didn’t fit so I just kept it for later.

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them?NOPE. He’s not that important.

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory?

Caddy has no memories of anything that happened to him before his was 8! If you ask him his child hood was… Good?? His fond memories would be any of him and Nikki palling around the orphanage. A bad memory would probably be the brief moment in time the care takers at the orphanage attempted to separate Caddy and Nikki in an attempt to protect her from the violent dangerous child that has attached himself to her. It was short lived. Caddy’s horrible behavior got increasingly worse the longer he wasn’t allowed to carry Nikki around.

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents?

Caddy has no memory of anything before he was 8. He was just found wondering around with a massive head wound, no memories, and no one looking for him.

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults?

Caddy has his “sister” Nikki baptis. They are not related. They were in the orphanage together and Caddy just ghosted her away in the night when he got too old to continue living there. Caddy loves the shit out of Nikki and the two are super dependent on each other. Caddy will do anything or maim anyone to keep Nikki in one peace and Nikki is the only one who can talk him down once he gets too worked up. She tends to just go along with any and all of his dangerous and illegal plans without question. She trusts him implicitly even though she knows his impulsive and dangerous. Nikki is one of only two people Caddy actually views as anything aside from being a game piece in his on going and ever escalating quest for dangerous thrills. The two are so emotionally dependent on eachother it’s questionable that if one would be able to function without the other.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

Caddy never finished any schooling. Caddy often found school boring and a bored caddy is a dangerous Caddy. He would skip classes and get in fights on a regular basis. Caddy was good at Phys Ed since it gave him a temporary outlet for his energy. Everything else was a no-go. He was briefly in theater.

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood?

Caddy had no friends besides Nikki as a kid. Due to their appearance and the tendency kids have to be shitty he started out a victim if ridicule and quickly became feared when he badly injured another child. He and Nikki are still very close.

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals?

No.

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?

No.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect?

No.

11. Do they have any special diet requirements? Are they a vegetarian? Vegan? Have any allergies?

Nope.

12. What is their favourite food?

Caddy really like Mac and Cheese.

13. What is their least favourite food?

Caddy will actually eat anything. He doesn’t like the taste of artificial strawberry flavoring but will still eat anything fake strawberry nonsense if presented to him.

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal?

Not really.

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking?

Caddy isn’t super good at cooking. He only learned so he could make food for Nikki after they left the orphanage. His specialty is what I can best describe as “Struggling single dad trying his best” meals. He knows it’s mediocre at best.

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?

Weaponry Mostly guns and explosives. Used mostly to rob banks. He keeps them at their safe house and in the secret compartments of Chance’s car.

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos?

No. It’s not an aversion. Just a general disinterest.

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

Caddy likes cartoons, soap operas and horror.

19. What’s their least favourite genres?

Sitcom.

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes?

He does! Caddy loves music and musicals. When his favorite song (Or any song he knows) comes on he belts it loudly.

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper?

Oddly enough Caddy doesn’t have a temper and is rarely genuinely angry. He’s fairly patient willing to wait around for hours to accomplish a thing he’s decided is going to happen and can put up with even the most trying of people. Caddy is likely a cold fury type.

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

As violent and loud as Caddy is he’s not much of trash talker. He might refer to someone as ‘Fucker’ from time to time but his language is actually pretty mild. He has negative filter so he’ll say rude and terrible thoughts out loud with no regard for who is nearby.

23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces?

Caddy has a good memory for things and people he cares to remember. If he decides it’s not something he needs to worry about he’s disregard it pretty much instantly.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

Caddy doesn’t sleep much. He’s generally either on 0 or 100 and he doesn’t hit 0 very often. He snores like a lawnmower and can sleep on anything. Tends to fall asleep on the couch on in the car. He’s not allowed to drive and car motion puts him to sleep.

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves?

Caddy has a dangerous sense of humor. Most of the things he thinks are funny involve other people have a bad time. He thinks he’s hilarious. No one else does.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

Caddy is pretty open with how he’s feeling actually. He’s pretty happy most of the time. He’s loud and rambunctious on his best days. And friendly in an almost sinister way on his worst.

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad?

Sad = angry. Very rare.

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared?

Caddy’s biggest fear is loosing Nikki. Other then that he’s positive he’s scarier then most other things. When scared Caddy fights with even less regard for his own life then usual since that probably means Nikki is in danger.

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective?

Depends. For people he’s close to (AKA Literally only chance and Nikki) He might give a weird phobia a hard time but he’ll be mindful and is probably the one to resolve the issue if it comes up. For anyone else he’s not interested and won’t engage in anyway.

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

Yes! Caddy is a very physically oriented guy. His primary source of income before the crime spree was underground bareknuckle boxing. His behavior isn’t super different going into or out of a work out? Afterwards he might be slightly less aggressive for a while having used up some energy.

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing?

He does not! His epithet kind of makes it so he has to go extra hard on drinks to get drunk and he doesn’t much like it anyway. Again he’s surprisingly patient. He thinks drunk people are hilarious the sloppier the better. Though the already high chances that Caddy get in a fight might get exponentially higher in a bar full of rowdy people.

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?

Caddy dresses… fine? He doesn’t put a lot of time and effort into what he’s wearing but he’s not a slob. Generally a hoodie (Usually his favorite “POW!” hoodie), t-shirt and jeans will do him fine. He wears only brief to sleep. He doesn’t wear make up on a regular basis but it’s not unheard of. And Caddy has far more hair then he has any business having. He keeps it tied up to keep it out of the way but when untied it dangerous close to ass length.

33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties?

briefs

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body?

Caddy is a brawler. Built to give and dole out pretty heavy damage. He’s about 7'2" and he thinks he’s hot.

35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure?

Caddy has no guilt. He likes cartoons, musicals and shitty pop music openly.

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing?

Caddy is very good at fighting and various physical activities. He’s also surprisingly good at crafts and practical affects, at some point he worked with props and affects at a theater. His hobbies are fighting and fighting. And yes he can sing pretty well if he wants. But usually is just yelling.

37. Do they like to read? Are they a fast or slow reader? Do they like poetry? Fictional or non fiction?

Caddy isn’t much of a reader. He’s not a speed reader or anything but he can read competently. He not into poetry, and if he is gunna read ever he prefers fiction.

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had?

I don’t think… Caddy admires other? He loves Chance though! He thinks chance is the coolest person in all of the land and admires his ability to function calmly and collectedly in dangerous and horrible situations.

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging?

I… have no idea. I don’t even think he has a phone. The idea of Caddy handling technology is actually baffling to me and he doesn’t have anyone to write letters to.

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert?

He doesn’t tend to need energy drinks or coffee. He’s epithet keeps him running at pretty much all times.

41. What’s their sexuality? What do they find attractive? Physically and mentally? What do they like/need in a relationship?

Caddy is super pansexual. And is attracted to anyone who can be described as “Pretty” Male, female, or otherwise and he doesn’t relationship. That would require the ability to be emotionally invested in anything that’s not Nikki’s continued survival.

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition?

Caddy is addicted to thrills. The need to experience an adrenaline rush is what drives him. The only thing he considers self sacrifice worthy is Nikki. And non of his ambitions are secret.

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people?

Caddy is not religious even the tiniest bit. Has never put much thought into it, and has no interest in what anyone else thinks of it.

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most?

Caddy prefers colder weather so fall and winter are his favorite seasons. You’ll often catch him complaining in summer because he runs hot and very quickly becomes his own personal oven.

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves?

I CERTAINLY HOPE NO ONE SEEMS THEMSELVES IN CADDY! Most people will see Caddy as a loud violent crazy man. Even during his calmer moments if your not used to has behavior he might seem friendly enough but there’s almost always alarms ringing in the heads of people around him. It’s probably that unhinged glint in his eye.

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves?

PROBABLY NOT! Caddy his almost 0 sense of personal space and will often get a little to friendly a little too soon. He also has the horribly unnerving habit of prolonged eye contact.

47. How do they act in a formal occasion? What do they think of black tie wear? Do they enjoy fancy parties and love to chit chat or loathe the whole event?

I don’t think caddy has attended a formal event in his life. I think he’d actually be pretty comfortable in a suit and tie but he’s still Caddy so while would likely be appalled and a little concerned that he was even allowed inside. Which is half the fun really.

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organize the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend?

Honestly Caddy probably doesn’t like parties very much unless he has a reason to be there. Crowded rooms filled with people not doing particularly anything but maybe drinking does not sound like a good time. Chances increase the Caddy gets into a fight for fun without Nikki or Chance there to keep him under control.

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them?

Nah. Caddy’s not a materials kind of guy and doesn’t tend to hold on to things. Nikki is the only reason they have ever had nice things.

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

Nikki…? Barring that. Spare clothes, a gun or two, grenades, wads of cash, meal bars and water. If he’s packing a bag to leave with his probably going on the run.

#50 fucking questions #Caddy Baptis #Anime Campaign #Fan shit #Worst thing I've ever made

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shipcestuous · 7 years

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Klaus/Violet

The day ASOUE came out I had said it wouldn’t be a priority for me this week because of stuff and things but I have watched the first two episodes, so I have made a significant dent but I’ve only seen a fraction of the total.

I have received quite a few asks about it, and it looks like a few of them have come people who haven’t talked about Klaus and Violet on here before (and are maybe shipping it for the first time), so I’ll start with my tag for them, which is here. And some background on me: it has been a few years since I’ve seen the 2004 version, and I’ve seen it two or three times. That movie was my first exposure to the franchise and I have never read the books. (Though I would like to, at some point.)

Anon #1:

Oh man, I was really into ASOUE as a kid, but coming back to it with the Netflix series as an incest shipper... Violet/Klaus is killing me. Just the way that they implicitly trust each other and depend on one another, and put each other(and Sunny) before anyone else.... It's so great.

@flareonfury:

I am in love with Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events... Violet & Klaus (and Sunny of course) are amazing. NPH is perfect, granted I haven't read the books but I loved the movie but I think this TV series is sooo good and addictive (rewatching it already). But all the Violet & Klaus scenes or glances between the two. *hearteyes*

@rutrexing15:

Ok so as a fellow incest shipper I suggest you go watch A Series Of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. Because Klaus and Violet are very shippable. It has made want to go back and watch the 2004 movie version again and reread the books. Mostly because I wasn't an incest shipper back then and need to more Klaus and Violet until the next season.

Anon #2:

I ended up shipping Violet with Klaus and now I don't know what to do. This site will go after anyone who ships them....

Anon #3:

have you watched the new Netflix original "A series of unfortunate events"? if so what are your thoughts about it?

Anon #4:

Thoughts on Violet and Klaus Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events? Movie, books, tv series, whichever you've seen/read...

Anon #5:

I don't know if you watch a series of unfortunate of even buuuuuut... the two older siblings on there would defiantly be the cutest pairing when they get slightly older

I hope everyone is enjoying having their childhood’s ruined!

But seriously, I’m not sure how someone who shipped incest at least occasionally could watch this series and not ship Violet and Klaus. THEY ARE TOO ADORABLE.

I feel like they have this perspective that everyone in the world is crazy except for them. And the thing is, it’s true. The only other people their age that they’ve met (within the two episodes I’ve seen) were Mr. Poe’s kids, and they were both horrible. And even though there are sympathetic characters, like the judge, they’re still a little out there and not entirely to be relied upon. Even the kind characters are unable to help them. Why wouldn’t they turn to each and begin to feel like the only person that could really know them is the other.

The best thing about Klaus and Violet is definitely their trust. So much between them is implicit. I just love their silent communication, and even more importantly, the fact that they don’t even have to communicate with each other sometimes, they just *know* and automatically agree about what should be done. And their discussions are very practical - not *what* should be done, but how it should be done

It is so sweet how hard they try to cheer each other up and look after each other, like when Violet forced Klaus to take the bed because he had been up all night the night before trying to figure out the marriage plot. And then the way they speak up for each other and are always bringing up the skills the other has in such a proud and confident way.

Which brings me to how much they complement each other and form a a team. It takes Klaus’ booklearning and Violet’s mechanical skills to get the job done.

Also, I don’t know how it is in the books (and I don’t remember how it was in the movie), but Lemony Snicket said that all of these events happened years ago, which means Lemony Snicket is in a present where Klaus and Violet are late teens at least. So in a way they’re already grown up.

There is such great chemistry between the two actors and I just love all the looks they exchange and how much time they spend looking at each other. The casting was really great.

Also, have you noticed all the parallels they have with their parents? (ETA: not their parents. But a couple all the same, and friends of their parents’, presumably.) Sometimes they say the exact same thing to each other. They’re not copies of their parents but they’re all cut from the same cloth in an extraordinary way and the parallel game is just so strong. You can just imagine that they admire their parents and want to become their parents and that extends in a way to their relationship with each other.

Also, did you notice the way that Count Olaf was taunting Klaus in a very specific way about Violet, the same way he would if Klaus had been her boyfriend and not her brother? I think there were two or three times when I noted it, though I was lazy and didn’t take down notes and now I can’t remember the specifics, except one time was definitely when Count Olaf put his hand on Violet’s shoulder and said to Klaus essentially that he could touch Violet however/whenever he wanted to.

I’m really looking forward to the other episodes. If you guys don’t know what to do with all your feels, I encourage you to write meta and fics!

#asks #baudelairecest #violet x klaus #flareonfury #rutrexing15 #anonymous #klaus and violet #klaus and violet: commentary #commentary #r: brosis #nc #a series of unfortunate events #tw: incest #noiv #nr

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automatismoateo · 6 years

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Advice Requested: Atheism, Activism, and Apologetics via /r/atheism

Submitted August 12, 2018 at 11:07AM by Basic_Anywhere (Via reddit https://ift.tt/2MjbgrE) Advice Requested: Atheism, Activism, and Apologetics

"My father is Catholic, my mother is a Protestant, and we go to a Lutheran church. So, I think I am Lutheran but I'm not sure why I'm not Catholic or Protestant. We change churches a lot, so maybe next time."

-My typical childhood response to "What religion are you?"

"Dear God, please send Peter Pan to take me to Neverland. I promise to do any chores as long as I can stay, I would like to say bye to my family but understand if I can't and am ready to go. In the meantime, please keep my family and all the kitties in the world safe. And please tell all my stuffed animals I love them even if I could not hug the ones on the top shelf."

-My typical personal prayer session ages 8-11

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Something with religion has never clicked with me, even Sunday School always felt like an obligatory story-telling session and secretly I was always a little paranoid that the adults were just trying to distract us so they could eat doughnuts without us. To be honest though, I am not sure how serious I was supposed to take it. I struggled hard with the difference between the concept of a god just as I struggled with the concept of Santa and the Easter Bunny. Despite my internal struggle, I was fortunate to have 2 loving and well-intentioned parents that I trusted implicitly. I was a stellar at doing what I was told and when asked about God, Santa, or any other character my parents told me about I defended their honor and integrity. My parents said God was real so I believed them; that also meant I felt just as passionately about Santa and his entire crew of fictional characters.

2 specific events at ages 11 and 12 occurred that rocked my world; my first flight to heaven and my epic 7th grade santa debate.

My father didn't tell us until that morning, it was a surprise. Not only were we not going to school today, it would be all week! And wait for it, we are going to Disney World and we are flying! It was 1996 and I was 11 years old; in some way, I always thought that if I could get into the sky I could verify that heaven existed. I spent the next 4 hours (there was not much time between the news and getting on the plane) filled with this immense excitement to get some closure about this whole God and heaven thing. I had visions of angels lounging in the clouds playing their harps, but more importantly, I was extremely interested in figuring our the temperatue-control in heaven. I knew at a young age I didn't like winter and prefer a warmer climate. I wanted to see if it was hot in hell if that meant heaven would be chilly. Short story long, there was nothing up there and the flight was climate-controlled. I was silent for the rest of the flight and felt pretty disillusioned, but I brushed it off, just as I clearly did everything at that age if my parents told me to.

After my god-less flight, I think my parents could sense I was doubting things. They probably got this sense when I decided the following Christmas to write Santa a letter along with my list. In my letter, I not only asked but begged for the truth. I knew that when I sent the letter out in the special mailbox, it wouldn't be found by my parents and I would get some real answers. My real answers came in the form of another letter under my pillow on Christmas morning. The letter praised my faith and verified his existence. I was sold. I was so 'sold' with my physical evidence that Santa was real that I was even willing to prove my friends wrong. By this time I am in 7th grade and it wasn't the best idea. My intense desire to find physical evidence to support my parent's teachings led me to a straight-face debate at 12 years old in support of Santa. I lost, clearly. After this happened, I went home and told my mother. My mother at this point quickly realized that preserving my innocence regarding Santa and crew might impact my ability to fit in socially so she came out with the truth, "There is no Santa." I wish I could say that she only had to tell me once, but she had to go further. I was firm in my beliefs because I had proof now, I had a letter directly from the man and I brought it to her. I was now in a point where I was arguing with my mother in defense of Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. She confessed to it all and told me she wrote all the notes, cookies, tooth money, everything. I would love to say I was devastated, I would love to say I cried, but I didn't. My only question was, "Why?" Why lie? And how could you let me defend you tirelessly and not see or understand that all I wanted was the truth. God was not brought up that day, but to be honest, I knew my parents were not the ones I needed to ask about these things.

As an adult, I realize that these thoughts and beliefs are inconsistent with normal childhood development and I had a poor grasp on several life concepts. I would like to think I have changed, but a lot of my naive traits have carried into adulthood. I am a trusting person and will typically trust a person unless I have evidence to show otherwise. It has led to getting burned in the past, but I still value the learning experiences and like to think I truly learned from each one.

______________________________________________

More recently, in my mid-30's I have been reflecting on the community I surround myself with. While we physically enjoy similar lifestyles and careers, something always changes once people discover I am an atheist. Everyone seems okay with me not being a Christian (or Lutheran, or whatever), but when I reject a higher power completely I lose them, their eyes say "What on earth happened to such a beautiful woman that made her lose all her faith?" and I just want to rage back that I am not sure if I ever had it. I am not losing friends, but I am at the same time. There is a loss of closeness and I really don't want to get any closer to them, if anything as a human I am also trying to find a sense of community in my own way.

In an effort to preserve relationships, I decided to start researching ways I could tactfully express my beliefs without offending others; in my quest, I discovered The Athiest Experience in Austin Texas. I enjoy how the show is able to present excellent arguments in a respectful manner and their work has inspired me to want to become an atheist activist. How can a person be a good activist without a firm understanding of the bible. I feel like when a theist retorts with, "You don't know, you have not read the bible" that they are very correct. They are so correct and I don't want to read it either. How can I be a good activist without harming the atheist community with ignorance? I am ignorant to religion because I have rejected it oddly my whole life through confusing it with other fictional characters and a general lack of understanding of the world around me ::insert that cute emoji with a woman holding both her hands up as if she is asking a question in a confused manner::.

I am such a literal person and I can't wrap my head around anything they say to even start arguing. Unfortunately, I love to argue. How can I be a better advocate for the atheist community without sounding like an ignorant theist*? I am super able and willing to learn, I just need the correct information and to be helped with presentation methods. Ideally, I would like to protect and defend my views and be a resource for anyone that also questions what they were told to believe. Like an atheist apologist. I still can't tell if I just want to protect my beliefs in a professional manner or if I want to convert the world. I get angry and defensive when people try to convert me and I don't want to do that to others. On the flip side, religion truly can and does hurt our society and oppress people. I watch friends and family suffer through both physical and emotional abuse in the name of God. I see wealthy men become wealthier and the good ole' boy system is alive and well. Where I see religion is where I typically see the most corruption and pain. So, what happens now? I've been sitting and watching naively for too many years, how can I become an asset to this community?

*In saying "ignorant theist" I mean the people that blindly defend religion without having studied it either. The ones that place all faith in things their religious leaders simply tell or preach them without second thought. I have no argument myself, I just have a general lack of belief in a higher power that is supported by a "prove me otherwise" attitude which no one has been able to do.

#reddit

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