#while also calling themselves the worst possible things ever while continuing to be awesome stand up ppl | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rebelontheroad · 4 years

Text

MICHELLE OBAMA FULL SPEECH (Dem Convention)

«Good evening, everyone. It’s a hard time, and everyone’s feeling it in different ways. And I know a lot of folks are reluctant to tune into a political convention right now or to politics in general. Believe me, I get that. But I am here tonight because I love this country with all my heart, and it pains me to see so many people hurting.

I’ve met so many of you. I’ve heard your stories. And through you, I have seen this country’s promise. And thanks to so many who came before me, thanks to their toil and sweat and blood, I’ve been able to live that promise myself.

That’s the story of America. All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their kids.

There’s a lot of beauty in that story. There’s a lot of pain in it, too, a lot of struggle and injustice and work left to do. And who we choose as our president in this election will determine whether or not we honor that struggle and chip away at that injustice and keep alive the very possibility of finishing that work.

I am one of a handful of people living today who have seen firsthand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency. And let me once again tell you this: The job is hard. It requires clearheaded judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen — and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth.

A president’s words have the power to move markets. They can start wars or broker peace. They can summon our better angels or awaken our worst instincts. You simply cannot fake your way through this job.

As I’ve said before, being president doesn’t change who you are; it reveals who you are. Well, a presidential election can reveal who we are, too. And four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn’t matter. Maybe they were fed up. Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn’t be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep. Whatever the reason, in the end, those choices sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 votes.

In one of the states that determined the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct — two votes. And we’ve all been living with the consequences.

When my husband left office with Joe Biden at his side, we had a record-breaking stretch of job creation. We’d secured the right to health care for 20,000,000 people. We were respected around the world, rallying our allies to confront climate change. And our leaders had worked hand-in-hand with scientists to help prevent an Ebola outbreak from becoming a global pandemic.

Four years later, the state of this nation is very different. More than 150,000 people have died, and our economy is in shambles because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long. It has left millions of people jobless. Too many have lost their health care; too many are struggling to take care of basic necessities like food and rent; too many communities have been left in the lurch to grapple with whether and how to open our schools safely. Internationally, we’ve turned our back, not just on agreements forged by my husband, but on alliances championed by presidents like Reagan and Eisenhower.

And here at home, as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and a never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered, stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation’s highest office.

Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.

Empathy: that’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. The ability to walk in someone else’s shoes; the recognition that someone else’s experience has value, too. Most of us practice this without a second thought. If we see someone suffering or struggling, we don’t stand in judgment. We reach out because, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It is not a hard concept to grasp. It’s what we teach our children.

And like so many of you, Barack and I have tried our best to instill in our girls a strong moral foundation to carry forward the values that our parents and grandparents poured into us. But right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another. They’re looking around wondering if we’ve been lying to them this whole time about who we are and what we truly value.

They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see people calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the color of their skin. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good, and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn’t matter what happens to everyone else. And they see what happens when that lack of empathy is ginned up into outright disdain.

They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photo op.

Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation. A nation that’s underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character. And that’s not just disappointing; it’s downright infuriating, because I know the goodness and the grace that is out there in households and neighborhoods all across this nation.

And I know that regardless of our race, age, religion, or politics, when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts, we know that what’s going on in this country is just not right. This is not who we want to be.

So what do we do now? What’s our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, “When others are going so low, does going high still really work?” My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that’s drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.

But let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we’ve got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.

And going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free: the cold, hard truth.

So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

Now, I understand that my message won’t be heard by some people. We live in a nation that is deeply divided, and I am a Black woman speaking at the Democratic Convention. But enough of you know me by now. You know that I tell you exactly what I’m feeling. You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. You know how much I care about all of our children.

So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.

I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who’s lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.

When he was a kid, Joe’s father lost his job. When he was a young senator, Joe lost his wife and his baby daughter. And when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. So Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents. Joe knows what it’s like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number to kids overcoming a stutter of their own.

His life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward.

Now, Joe is not perfect. And he’d be the first to tell you that. But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president. And his ability to learn and grow — we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for right now. Because Joe Biden has served this nation his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is; but more than that, he has never lost sight of who we are, all of us.

Joe Biden wants all of our kids to go to a good school, see a doctor when they’re sick, live on a healthy planet. And he’s got plans to make all of that happen. Joe Biden wants all of our kids, no matter what they look like, to be able to walk out the door without worrying about being harassed or arrested or killed. He wants all of our kids to be able to go to a movie or a math class without being afraid of getting shot. He wants all our kids to grow up with leaders who won’t just serve themselves and their wealthy peers but will provide a safety net for people facing hard times.

And if we want a chance to pursue any of these goals, any of these most basic requirements for a functioning society, we have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. Because right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting. They’re closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They’re purging voter rolls. They’re sending people out to intimidate voters, and they’re lying about the security of our ballots. These tactics are not new.

But this is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden. We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same.

We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.

Look, we have already sacrificed so much this year. So many of you are already going that extra mile. Even when you’re exhausted, you’re mustering up unimaginable courage to put on those scrubs and give our loved ones a fighting chance. Even when you’re anxious, you’re delivering those packages, stocking those shelves, and doing all that essential work so that all of us can keep moving forward.

Even when it all feels so overwhelming, working parents are somehow piecing it all together without child care. Teachers are getting creative so that our kids can still learn and grow. Our young people are desperately fighting to pursue their dreams.

And when the horrors of systemic racism shook our country and our consciences, millions of Americans of every age, every background rose up to march for each other, crying out for justice and progress.

This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth.

So, it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history, echoing heroes like John Lewis who said, “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something.” That is the truest form of empathy: not just feeling, but doing; not just for ourselves or our kids, but for everyone, for all our kids.

And if we want to keep the possibility of progress alive in our time, if we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history. And we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all. God bless.»

Michelle Obama

1K notes · View notes

bl00dgutsgl0ry · 3 years

Note

Yoyoyoyo I absolutely adore your blog and I'm so happy to see one more awesome genshin impact writer here :3 May I get a Childe coming home to snez'whateveritscalled' only to find his siblings surrounding his s/o who he thinks let him go without a goodbye? :D I meed lots of angst with a huge happy ending 🙏🏻💜😭

Pairing - Childe/Tartaglia x Reader

Warnings - Mentions of familial death, possible spoilers.

Other comments - Hello!! I am so glad that you are enjoying my writing!! (//▽//) I did have a little bit of trouble really understanding what you were asking for but I think I got it in the end I hope!! I can only hope that this lives up to what you were asking for! Again thank you so much for the request!! This also ended up being a lot longer than I originally thought, but halfway through I just got so in the zone.

Childe was in a bad mood and everyone felt it. He had been summoned to go on another mission with the other Harbingers by the Tsaritsa and was expecting a goodbye from you. When he went to his place of residence though, you were absolutely no where to be found, with no note or anything said to his siblings about where you were going. To say the very least that was incredibly strange of you, but of course he had duties to attend to so he couldn’t try to look for you; so the best he could do was ask his siblings to relay the message to you and hope that you got back to him.

Now this of course soured his mood, not as much as getting a letter from his siblings stating that they were able to relay the message but still not hearing anything from you. For gods sake what has come of you?! No goodbye at all?! It is one thing to not be able to see you on the day he was leaving, but to not even try sending him a letter to explain yourself?!

It was an understatement to say that Childe was pissed, there was a full blown fury raging inside of his head; though underneath all of this rage was concern. Had he done something to drive you away? Why had you disappeared from him without a trace? Did you regret being with him? He knew how dangerous it was to keep you around, and how frustrating it must’ve been for you to deal with his unruly work schedule of being a Harbinger, so it would make sense for you to try and leave. Now he wasn’t only mad at you, he was even angrier with himself. There must’ve been something he was doing wrong, why wouldn’t you have talked to him about it though. Was he really that unapproachable to you? Have you been lying to him when you said you loved him?

“Oi Childe what the hell has gotten into you?” Scaramouche was not one to inquire about the others personal lives, but this was getting really annoying and it was bothering everyone.

“Piss off Scaramouche.” Something flashed in Scaramouche’s eyes when he was spoken to with such disrespect.

“It’s Balladeer to you, fuckwit. Do not forget that even if you are a harbinger I am still superior to you.” In a flash Scaramouche was as in Childe’s face as he could, with of course a little trouble being shorter.

“My apologies.” Childe sighed out through gritted teeth. At this point, Scaramouche had no more interest with holding conversation with the taller man, so he simply walked away for someone else to address.

Childe knew this was ridiculous, but he couldn’t get out of whatever funk he was in. It was starting to show to his ‘clients’ if you could even call them that. He was much more harsh when collecting debts and left almost no wiggle room for them to try and come up with such large amounts of Mora in the short amount of time he was giving them.

He wanted all of this to be over. He didn’t want to have to be in Liyue anymore, he didn’t want to have to keep scheming with the other Harbingers. He just wanted to see his siblings and you again; but in all honesty he doesn’t know what he would do if you had shown yourself to him right now. Would he reject you outright? Would he lose his carefully crafted temper? It was probably for the best that he wasn’t going back to Snezhnaya anytime soon.

Unfortunately, it turned out that he was going to be back to Snezhnaya a lot sooner than he hoped, rage bottled up in him ready to pop like a fizzy drink shaken for hours on end. He knew it wasn’t a good idea for him to go back to his place of residence so soon; and there was a part of him that was hoping you wouldn’t be there when he got back. He knew it would hurt even more, but it was probably the safest thing for you; now of course his siblings wouldn’t let you get hurt and you had a vision too so you knew how to defend yourself but still he didn’t want to let it get to the point where any of that was necessary, you would for sure leave then.

You on the other hand had just gotten back to Childe’s residence, and were surrounded by his siblings all asking you questions of your whereabouts; Teucer being especially nosy as ever. You always had a special relationship with the little boy, as he was the first to warm up to you. You didn’t hesitate to tell them where you were, and continued to apologize profusely for vanishing so suddenly. You also explained that you had tried to find time to write Tartaglia many times, but was never able to finish a letter. The siblings warned you of Tartaglia as they knew he was going to be upset when he came home, but you could only hope that he would let you explain.

Soon enough, while you were surround by the siblings telling stories and giving out souvenirs from your trip, a loud door creaked open. You all knew who it was, as the sound of Tartaglia’s heavy footsteps were hard to miss, as well as seeing Teucer bolt from his seat to find his beloved older brother. Your blood ran cold when you made eye contact with Tartaglia, the air thick and uncomfortable. You slowly stood up taking a couple steps forward.

“Um... Hello Tartaglia-” You immediately stopped in your tracks as you watched Tartaglia’s fists curl up into a ball.

“Out.” You eyes widened in disbelief as you let of an uncomfortable laugh.

“Don’t you want me to explain-” You were in complete and utter shock with how the copper haired man was acting.

“Get out (y/n). Get out right now before I do something I might regret later. I leave for weeks and you don’t even have the decency to write me a goodbye? Just get out.” In the time span of this exchange, Teucer had made it back over to you and was now clinging to your hand. You looked down at him, then back at the other siblings giving them a small smile and mouthing the words ‘I will find a way to get you the rest of your souvenirs I promise’.

You knew you had began to overstay your welcome when you saw Tartaglia’s fist tighten even more and begin to shake. Without another word and a quick ruffle of Teucer’s hair, you ran out past him, for the first time actually scared of him. You made it a point to not look him in the eyes as you ran past, scared of the look on the tall mans face.

Was this really how your relationship with him was going to end? With a misunderstanding? For now you needed to find another place to stay so you didn’t freeze to death in the cold, so as of now Tartaglia was the least of your worries.

“What were you all doing just now?” Tartaglia approached the quiet group.

“(Y/n) had brought us souvenirs from her trip!” Teucer was the first to speak, quite oblivious to the obvious tension in the room.

“Well throw them away.” This dark tone in Tartaglia’s voice made everyone uneasy. There were many loud protests including Teucer.

“They are from her family! Her mother made them for us!” One of the older siblings voices, Tonia the older sister, rang through the now quiet room.

“What?” (Y/n)’s family? They never talked about their family with Tartaglia before. That’s where their were? Had something happened to them?

“Yeah! (Y/n) was saying how they had gotten a very urgent letter from their mother, stating that their father had fallen incredibly ill, and that he was likely not going to last much longer. They left to visit with them and make sure that the funeral ran as smoothly as possible for their mother’s sake. In return their mother made all of these. You would have known that if you let them explain themselves. But of course you didn’t. This also explains why they weren’t able to write you. They have their own life to attend to Tartaglia.” Tonia’s voice was loud and harsh.

“You of all people should understand what it is like to have a family member fall ill, you know the situation with father and all.” They were right, Tartaglia was being incredibly selfish. He didn’t even let you explain yourself, too wrapped up in his own feelings to even try and consider yours. God how could he have been so foolish. He knew you wouldn’t have just gotten up and left without a good reason, he was supposed to trust you! How could he have done this. Not only did he just send you out completely alone in the freezing cold, you father just passed away!

“I’ll be right back I have to find them.” Tartaglia left as quickly as he arrived, already fearing the worst.

You on the other hand weren’t fairing too much better.

“How did I just lose two of the most important people to me in the span of a couple weeks? He didn’t even let me explain myself! I just... I don’t know.” You were sitting in the neatly made bed, inside of the nearest Inn you could find. You couldn’t stop the hot tears from running down your already red face from the cold. Stifled sobs wracked through your body as you held the small Tartaglia doll your mother had knit for him. You shoved your face further into your fathers old scarf, trying desperately to stop the tears.

It was deadly silent, besides the sound of your soft crying and sniffles when you heard a loud banging against your door. It sound frantic and urgent, which scared you as you pulled out your weapon, your vision coming to life. You slowly approached the door, rubbing the last of the tears off your face. When you looked through the small peephole through the door, standing in front was a panting and shivering Tartaglia, once again desperately pounding on your door.

“(Y/n) please! Please answer the door! I know this is your room, I asked the Inn keeper!” You quickly stowed away the weapon and hid the small doll before cracking the door open. Even though you had stopped crying, it was still very evident with your puffy eyes and red face.

Before you could open the door any further Tartaglia shoved his way in, immediately wrapping his arms around you in a vice like grip; scared that if he let go you would disappear.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know, I should’ve let you explain I am so sorry. (Y/n) please forgive me. I just thought you didn’t enjoy being with me anymore and I got so scared that you had left with someone else. I know now that, that was indeed stupid of me to think. I trust you and I know you wouldn’t have done that I just-” You silenced him by shoving your head into his chest, beginning to cry once more.

“Please it’s my fault I should’ve found time to write you I was just so busy with the funeral and with mom I just..” Your words came out choppy as you tried to speak through quiet sobs. Tartaglia’s hands found your cheeks as he cupped them and forced you to look up.

“Do not blame yourself my love. I know how hard having an ill parent is like.” Soft leather covered thumbs began wiping away tears, as you continued to cry.

After a while, you finally were able to calm down and decided now would be a good time to show Tartaglia his gift.

“My mother made you a gift too. She knits when she is stressed which is why all your siblings have knitted souvenirs like scarves or hats, she knows it gets cold here. I asked her to make something special for you though.” You extend a shaky hand with the small knitted doll to Tartaglia as he stared, eyes flicking from you, down to the doll, back to you, then down to the doll again. A wide bright smile finds his face, as tears begin to well up in his eyes; gently taking the doll from you.

“It’s wonderful I must meet this woman, I have to thank her not only for this gift, but bringing the love of my life into the world.” A rosy blush dusts his face as he rubs his eyes, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, then your nose, then your lips.

“Come now, we must give the rest of the gifts out. I apologize for interrupting. You must also resume your stories from your trip.”

#genshin impact #genshin childe #genshin tartaglia #genshin #genshin impact imagine #childe #childe x reader #tartaglia #tartaglia x reader #childe imagine #tartaglia imagine

421 notes · View notes

guardian-of-the-thunder · 3 years

Text

Well, You Look Familiar

Well, You Look Familiar | A Naruto/Jujutsu Kaisen Crossover Fanfiction

Summary: A rare occurrence of planetary alignment and an enormous amount of killing intent allowed two worlds to meet. What will happen when Team 7 meets their dimensional siblings? | Where 27-year-old Hatake Kakashi meets 28-year-old Gojou Satoru.

Rating: General

Genre: Humor, Adventure

World: Crossover between Naruto and Jujutsu Kaisen

A/N: This fic was actually inspired from one of the artworks of @kkaags where Gojou says that Kakashi is his brother from another mother. XD You can check out her other amazing artworks at her link here. She creates so much awesomeness!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, You Look Familiar | A Naruto/Jujutsu Kaisen Crossover Fanfiction

No one was aware of the rare planetary alignment that only happens once every one hundred years. That's why, when Kakashi was forced to activate his chidori to defend himself from Naruto's Rasengan, Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique, and Sakura's Earth Release during their usual drill session at training ground three, none of them ever expected that they'd all be sucked inside a galactic rift that suddenly formed in thin air and swallowed them in a zap.

"Waaaaaah!"

"Shit!"

"Ow!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura landed on top of one another in the middle of a wide pathway made of bricks and their unexpected fall definitely hurt and probably broke a few bones.

After kicking and tugging at each other because nobody refused to help the other up, they eventually clawed their way out of their tangled human limbs, picked themselves up and dusted their knees, until they realized that not one of them was standing on Konoha soil.

Sasuke and Sakura immediately armed themselves with kunais from their leg holsters while Naruto fumbled with the unfamiliar surroundings and deduced that they were actually somewhere on top of a mountain. What made their situation even more perplexing was that they were in a part of the mountain where it was flat and a series of traditional Japanese buildings surrounded them from either side.

"What is this place?" Sasuke whispered between his two teammates as he traveled his gaze on the architecture surrounding them which looked nothing like the one's they had in Konoha.

"Oi! Oi! Has anybody seen Kakashi-sensei? Teme? Sakura?" Naruto asked, still rubbing the sore spot on his back which Sakura kicked a while back while shifting his gaze between the two when he noticed that Sakura had a weird look on her face and that her index finger hovered in the air pointing at something.

When Naruto and Sasuke turned to look, the former's jaw dropped while the latter's eyes widened upon seeing their sensei having a staring contest with someone who looked so much like their sensei but was obviously not.

The man was clad in all black and his hair was silver-white which was styled in a fascinating disarray like their sensei's. There was a lazy slouch on his shoulders while both his hands were inside his pockets—also like their sensei. But the man towered over their jonin teacher because he was so very tall—probably the tallest man they've ever seen in the field.

The only other difference they noticed between the two aside from their height and clothes was the placement of the mask, which coincidentally, the man was also wearing. Because instead of covering the lower half of his face like their sensei, the black material was tightly wrapped around his eyes which made them wonder if he was blind or something. However, the way he was 'looking' at Kakashi had them discarding the thought of such disability because the man was clearly eyeing their sensei from head to toe.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Gojou-sensei?"

Naruto called as the three of them inched themselves forward and realized that they weren't the only ones who were there. Three other people were present and were standing behind the other man whom they decided to call as Kakashi-sensei 2.0.

"So, your name's Kakashi, huh? I like your name." Kakashi 2.0 said with a smirk. If their sensei was being playful, the three of them could swear that the man's voice also sounded similar to Kakashi. Even so, they were all perfectly aware that their sensei's voice had a much deeper tone to it.

"And you're Gojou. I like your name too." Kakashi replied casually, still intently studying the peculiar man before him.

"You're…small." Gojou said as he took a step forward and entered Kakashi's personal space. He began circling him like a predator assessing its prey and was clearly enjoying the scrutiny he was doing because there was a mischievous lift on his pale lips.

"And you're like a bamboo." The ninja replied thoughtlessly as his lone eye traveled the length of the stranger before him.

Gojou stopped right in front of Kakashi and stared him down behind his mask-covered eyes. Kakashi simply stood his ground, slightly tilted his chin and met those sharp imaginary stare like it was nothing even when the fair-haired man, clad in black was already giving out quite a strong aura.

"I'm the strongest." Gojou nonchalantly declared and everyone who was present during that moment knew that those weren't empty words.

To Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, they could clearly feel the dark, dark energy surrounding the man despite his amused smile and chill demeanor. The air around him was electric—charged and heavy, just like when their sensei activates his chidori—and they knew that if they ever stepped a little closer, they'd be choked and suffocated with such strong presence.

"I know." Kakashi simply responded which had his students gawking at his back.

"H-how is Kakashi-sensei enduring all these? How is he still standing?" Sasuke winced and gritted his teeth because when the man named Gojou shifted his look towards him, Sasuke clearly felt his heart drop to his stomach and only returned to normal when the man shifted his gaze back at Kakashi.

"But you're strong too. Really strong!" Gojou stated, clasping Kakashi's shoulders with his long slender fingers while moving his head up and down his frame, smiling, and that familiar gesture brought Team 7 back to whenever their sensei praised them for a job well done.

"I like you!" Gojou exclaimed and fully beamed at Kakashi which made the latter absently scratch the side of his cheek—the very first relaxed movement they've ever seen from their sensei from the moment they stepped in such strange and unfamiliar world.

"Thank you…I guess?"

"And I like your mask!" Gojou poked Kakashi's cheek which made the three of them snicker because everyone in Konoha knew that no one poked the Copy-ninja's cheek unless they wanted their fingers to be chopped off clean from their hands. But everything was fine. There were no dark clouds or bolts of lightning above because their sensei seemed relaxed and was even smiling while he said that he also liked the mask wrapped around the other man's eyes.

"You know…if you pushed that forehead protector up and we kissed, our faces would mold together and our mask will be complete!"

"Uhh, I believe that's really a great idea but I'm not into men."

"I'm not into men too, but when I saw you I knew you were the one." Gojou said while wiggling his brows at Kakashi as could be seen from the movement beneath his eye mask. "Two beautiful people gotta stick together, correct? Similar yet so dissimilar. So different yet so alike." He grinned which made their sensei turn red in the ears.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were so enraptured at how the other man was so forward with their sensei that they failed to notice the other group of three approaching them. It was only when the orange-haired girl from the other team spoke that they all shifted their gazes from the animated display before them towards the curious looks on their side.

"Is that your sensei? He's pretty cute! I'd say he's definitely hotter than our Gojou-sensei."

"Your sensei's quite adorable too. He's got that boyish charm that could make any girl swoon." Sakura replied as she eyed the orange-haired girl who was also staring at her.

Beside them, respective introductions also took place as she heard Naruto introducing himself to the spunky and fun, pink-haired boy named Itadori Yuuji, while the stoic and calculating boy named Fushiguro Megumi was trying his best to coax Sasuke of his name.

"The name's Kugisaki Nobara. First year here at Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College, and I think I'd look great with pink hair too." She confidently said with a flip of her hair.

"My name is Haruno Sakura and I do agree that you'll suit my hair color especially with that hairstyle of yours." She said, and when Kugisaki grinned at her, and Itadori loudly admired Naruto's whiskers, and Fushiguro showed Sasuke his summons, and Gojou-sensei showed Kakashi-sensei what was under his eye mask, everything just suddenly fell into place making their unusual arrival in such a foreign land feel so damn right.

Suddenly, these new people whom they didn't know a few minutes back where dragging them around and giving them a tour. The next thing they knew was that they were already sharing a hearty meal inside the school's mess hall while their team, as well as Gojou-sensei's team were trying their hardest to get a peek of what was under Kakashi-sensei's mask.

The two grown-ups simply shared a knowing smirk while they continued to discuss how they got into that new world and what were the possible ways to get back. The discussion was quite heavy because it involved killing intent and cursed energy as a fuel for the 'jump', and a lot of other unfamiliar words that were a first for Team 7 to hear.

"If worse comes to worst, you'd have to wait for another hundred years for the planets to align. That's how you got here in the first place. That particular rare occurrence combined with your students' killing intent during your training." Gojou-sensei told Kakashi which was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"A hundred years!? So no Ichiraku ramen for a hundred years?!" Naruto cried as his face slowly filled with dread.

"What's Ichiraku ramen?" Kugisaki whispered on Sakura's ear. However, even before Sakura could answer, Fushiguro spoke which completely interrupted the female ninja from her trail of thought.

"Can't they stay here, Gojou-sensei?"

The man in question thoughtfully looked up as he began rubbing his chin with his slender fingers as though weighing imaginary options in the air while he hummed.

"I'd love for my brother and his kids to stay here. I know they'd be great sorcerers and it'll be fun to train you guys together, but we may be disrupting some cosmic balance here. Who knows?"

"So, what's the plan, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, still petting Fushiguro's Divine Dogs to which he was suddenly so very attached to.

"I heard this world is in the middle of an impending war. So, up until the time Gojou and I finds a way to get us all back to Konoha, what do you say about training and having fun in here in the mean time?"

The three of them perked up upon hearing the word war—not because they were afraid but because it brought a certain amount of excitement, like their first S-class mission or something. And if anyone asked for their opinion, the three of them were very much willing to stay and help as much as they can.

"Well, if we're going to face a war, you better bring me this world's best ramen first or else I won't be of any use when the time comes! I'm telling you, I refuse to go to war with an empty stomach!" Naruto warned which made the group laugh. And despite the threat of warfare like what their sensei said, at that particular moment, Team 7 simply felt at home and were really glad to have met their dimensional siblings or probably their selves from a parallel universe. No one really knows…

#naruto #jujutsu kaisen #naruto jujutsu kaisen fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #anime fanfic #naruto jujutsu kaisen crossover #hatake kakashi #gojou satoru #uzumaki naruto #itadori yuji #haruno sakura #kugisaki nobara #uchiha sasuke #fushiguro megumi #jjk freeform #naruto freeform #a little oc for team gojou and team 7 #the author regrets nothing

47 notes · View notes

outshinethestars · 3 years

Text

Germany gets to have a Nice, Relaxing Day for Once (Hetalia, Immortal Prussia au)

Germany woke the next morning to find Prussia sitting on the kitchen counter.

“You’re up early,” Germany said in sleep-fuzzy surprise.

“It’s six-thirty already,” Prussia said, “You slept in.”

“Mmm,” Germany said. Even so, Prussia usually slept until eight at least. Just another reminder that until last night his brother had been literally on the brink of death.

“Coffee?”

“Please!” Germany said. Prussia handed him a mug.

“You really should do something about that caffeine addiction of yours,” Prussia said.

“I’ll make a note in my schedule,” Germany said, then, “You made breakfast,” the coffee having restored in him the ability to notice things.

“That I did,” Prussia said proudly, “Who’s the awesomest big brother in the world?”

Prussia with breakfast ready for him when he got up, it was like being a kid again. Germany smiled.

“Switzerland, probably,” he said.

Prussia pouted. “I can’t believe I raised such a brat,” he said.

They took their time with breakfast, talking and relaxing. It was nice.

“So,” Prussia said as they finished, “What’s on the agenda today?” “Nothing,” Germany said, “I’m supposed to still be in the US. I suppose I should--”

“Awesome,” Prussia cut him off, “You get a day off! Go read a book or something. After you reschedule with America, I guess.” “I’ll email him this afternoon,” Germany said, “It’s one am his time.”

“Oh, he’s definitely still awake,” Prussia said, “He has the worst sleep schedule of anyone I know. You don’t have a sleep schedule so don’t look smug.”

Germany rolled his eyes, and made to start cleaning up the dishes.

“Don’t worry about that,” Prussia said, shooing him away, “I’ll clean up. You go enjoy your luxurious one-day vacation.”

“You’re sure?” Germany asked. Prussia had drilled into him quite firmly the idea that you did not leave the cleaning up for other people.

“Of course I’m sure. Go! Shoo!”

Germany shooed.

Apart from the digs at Germany’s life choices, Prussia was being almost disturbingly nice. Germany chose to enjoy it while it lasted.

Prussia was right about America still being awake. He answered Germany’s email in under a minute, and they were in the middle of the deeply annoying and complicated process of rescheduling when he heard Prussia yell, “I’m going out!”

“Remember to wear sunscreen,” Germany yelled back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Prussia replied, and the door slammed.

Prussia hated sunscreen. He loathed it with every fiber of his being. He hated the way it smelled and he hated the way it felt even more. It was just so incredibly gross . He’d survived for centuries without it, and he saw no reason why he should have to start wearing it now. Sunburn was annoying, sure, but he was used to it, and if he preferred his skin to be on fire than to cover it in slimy-sticky-ickiness, that was really none of Germany’s business.

However, at this point Prussia had no idea how he was still alive. And, jokes aside, he had no idea in what sense he was alive either. Was he human now? Did God just… forget about him? He knew that last idea wasn’t how it worked, but he couldn’t think of any other explanations that made sense either. Could he get cancer now? Who knows!

So Prussia was wearing the damn sunscreen. And a hat for good measure.

Prussia was going out. He had vague ideas of buying groceries at some point, but mostly he just wanted to walk out his front door and continue to walk, and enjoy the fact that he could keep walking and look at his city without collapsing immediately from pain and exhaustion.

Gilbird flitted from Prussia’s shoulder to a tree and fluttered round his head, delighted at being out and about again.

“You’d better not die,” Prussia threatened him. Theoretically he wouldn’t, he was still in close proximity to Germany. Gilbird was an unusual case anyway, being around Nations tended to make animals age more slowly, but it didn’t usually make them stop aging entirely. In any case, Prussia suspected Gilbird was some sort of immortal cryptid creature in his own right, because he had no idea what sort of avian a Gilbird was supposed to be. He mostly looked like a baby chicken, but obviously wasn’t.

Gilbird twittered at him cheerfully, as if he found the idea of dying funny.

They’d been enjoying themselves for about an hour when Prussia felt an odd buzzing sensation in his skull.

And then long-honed instinct had him ducking out of the way as a stranger, quick as lightning, pulled a sword from under his coat and tried to remove Prussia’s head from his body.

“What the fuck!” Prussia said, but he was already running.

Prussia was just minding his own business in a perfectly peaceful park when a stranger tried to decapitate him with a sword out of nowhere. That didn’t happen! Was this some sort of cosmic glitch? Did some kind of heavenly bureaucratic error cause him to not die so now the universe was going to have to try to kill him off in increasingly unlikely ways? What the fuck!

Prussia ran full tilt, with Gilbird twittering frantically above his head, in the direction of streets and people, with the hope that the murderous madman wouldn’t want to kill him in front of witnesses. Prussia’s legs were shorter than the stranger’s but Prussia was good at running, and also, he was running for his life, which always gives you an edge.

Damn he’d missed this.

He slowed down when he reached a busy street with plenty of pedestrians, and fortunately the crazy guy hung back and didn’t attack him. He did keep following him, though, despite all of Prussia’s efforts to lose him.

The smart thing at this point, Prussia knew, would be to go home, where he had a door that locked, and also weapons. However, it was Germany’s day off. Germany deserved a nice, relaxing, totally murderer free day off!

So, Prussia was not going to lead this guy back home. He continued wandering around in an effort to get away, or at least make him lose interest. Unfortunately the guy turned out to be both incredibly good at following a target (seriously, what was he, some kind of super spy?) and absolutely fixated on murdering Prussia specifically.

By noon, Prussia was eating lunch at a cafe, and the crazy sword murderer was glaring at him from across the street. Prussia was resigning himself to the fact that he had no way to get the creep to stop following him. He knew he really should just admit defeat and take a taxi home at this point. But. Germany’s Nice, Stress-Free Day! Bringing home crazy sword murderers just wasn’t polite .

What Prussia did next was, in retrospect, quite possibly the stupidest choice he’d ever made, which is really, really saying something. In his defense, he hadn’t known his stalker was potentially a trained killer with millennia of experience. In his not-defence, he probably should have thought of the possibility.

Prussia pretended to get lost and ended up in an abandoned back alley on purpose.

As far as he knew, his attacker was just some guy with a sword. He was the Awesome Prussia. He could totally take some guy with a sword empty handed.

Unfortunately, it was immediately apparent that this man knew what he was doing. It was all he could do for Prussia to dodge. The alley was a dead end, so there was no escaping, and Prussia tried desperately to get inside his attacker’s guard with no luck.

The sword grazed him on the arm, and the cut healed with lightning sparking over his skin.

Fuck, Prussia finally realized he’s an Immortal, we’re Immortals , followed almost immediately by, Oh, shit, I’m gonna die. ( Almost immediately because his first thought was, Yay! I don’t have to wear sunscreen!)

Luckily for Prussia, this particular Immortal was somewhere in between Some Guy With a Sword and Millenia of experience, honed to a razor’s edge. He was competent, but nothing special, and he was becoming increasingly frustrated that Prussia was not dead yet. (What kind of Immortal didn’t carry a sword? What kind of Immortal didn’t carry a sword and walked straight into a dead-end alley knowing he was being followed? What kind of Immortal was that clueless and still this hard to kill? )

With his new perspective, Prussia was better able to assess his assailant’s weaknesses. He was very experienced, but his experience was very narrow. He was used to one-on-one sword fights, specifically one-on-one sword fights where both opponents were aiming for the head. This left him with a few blind-spots.

Eventually, Prussia found his opening and charged, low to the ground with his head and neck forward and inside his opponent’s guard, ignoring the sword coming down to stab him in the back and bowling the enemy over onto the ground. They grappled, Prussia using his bony elbows with great efficiency, until he had his opponent’s sword arm pinned down and pried the sword from his hand.

Prussia rolled to his feet and cut off his attacker’s head as he tried to stand.

Lightning flashed.

It was a feeling like taking new territory, that feeling of Who I Am being altered, added to with the lives of others, but somehow more . More, intense, more personal, altering something on a deeper, wrong level. There was a feeling of euphoric power, like winning a victory that history books would one day call a “Turning Point”, it was nothing like what being shot through with high voltages of electricity actually feels like, but a lot like how you would always half imagine it would feel like.

Prussia collapsed to the ground, panting.

“I am never doing that again,” he said.

Gilbird swooped down from where he had been hiding and swooped down to nestle in the hollow of Prussia’s neck comfortingly.

Immortals. He was an Immortal. It made sense, in its way. Prussia had never heard of a Nation becoming an Immortal, but then nobody knew how Immortals worked in any case. Many Nations didn’t even know that Immortals existed, and Prussia didn’t know if any Immortals knew of the existence of Nations.

Prussia looked down at himself. “Shit,” he said.

His clothes were ripped and covered in blood, both his own and the other Immortal’s. What was he going to tell Germany?

Nothing, he decided. Germany didn’t need to know that anything had happened.

By some miracle, Prussia managed to buy a new shirt and pair of pants and change in a public restroom without anyone calling the cops on him. It helped to act very calm and confident and polite, and not at all like someone who had just killed a dude in a back alley. Most people probably thought he was wearing a very convincing costume of some sort.

Looking, once again, like a sane and law-abiding member of society, Prussia considered how he was going to explain his change of clothes. An idea struck and he called North Italy.

“Hello, Prussia! How are you today?” Prussia briefly examined the “how are you today”, wondering how pointed it was, before discarding that train of thought.

“Hey, Veneziano,” he said, “If I were to tell Germany that I lost to you in a game of strip poker today, would you back me up?”

“... Why do you want Germany to think you lost a game of strip poker?”

“I might have had to change clothes because I got in a fight. Just a little one. But I don’t want Germany to worry.”

Italy sighed. “Prussia,” he said, his voice concerned, “You know you shouldn’t do these things. It’s not sensible, and it’s not responsible. Please take better care of yourself.”

It was always a little shocking when Italy acted like some sort of older, wiser friend towards Prussia. Like, “Yes, I knew you when you were a baby, and I was a baby too but also hundreds of years old, and even though you look older than me now, I know and you know that you aren’t actually.”

“I know, I know,” Prussia said, “If you’ll believe me, it wasn’t my fault. You won’t tell Germany, though, right?”

“What do you think I am, an idiot?” Veneziano said, “Of course I won’t tell Germany. And I’ll help you with your little lie.”

“Thank you,” Prussia said, “How much do I owe you?” “Owe you?” Veneziano said, “Can’t you believe I’d do a favor for a friend just to be nice?”

“No, I can’t” Prussia said, “I’m not my brother, I know you.”

“That’s mean,” Italy said, “Germany knows me very well. Parts of me, anyway. And,” he added, his voice tinged a little with sadness, “You really don’t need to owe me anything for this, Prussia.”

Prussia knew that Italy only said that because he felt sorry for him. He thought that Prussia was dying and going down a self-destructive spiral so he wanted to be supportive. Prussia’s enormous desire to not be in Italy’s debt warred with his desire not to take advantage of his misplaced pity. The latter won.

“I’m not dying, Veneziano,” he said, “I was dying, but I got better. I’m better now.”

“And because you suddenly didn’t feel awful, you went out and picked a fight with someone. Which is a really silly thing to do, and you don’t want Germany to know. That is like you. Okay, then, you’ll owe me a favor.”

“What sort of favor?”

“I’ll tell you when I think of one!”

“ What ?”

“Just a little one, promise. You should learn to take advantage of people’s assumptions, Prussia. Deal or no deal?”

“Fine, deal.”

“Excellent!” Italy said, then added thoughtfully, “There is one problem with this plan of yours, though.”

“What’s that?”

Italy giggled, “Germany won’t believe I beat you at poker. He thinks I’m an innocent.”

“Oh, come on, he isn’t that blind. I did teach him history.”

“Yes, you taught him history. I can imagine it right now,” he pitched his voice high (higher) “‘Big brother Prussia? How did Venice support itself after the trade routes changed and he lost all his terra firma land?” And then you blush very red and you say, “Well, Little Germany, they… well, lots of people came to Venice for the uh… History! Yes, the History, because Venice used to be so very important, you see, and they… they sold glass! Venician glass is very famous!” And then Germany frowns, because he is very clever, even as a baby, and says “Was that really enough to support the State?” And you say, “Yes, it is very expensive glass.” No mention of gambling houses, and certainly nothing to do with prostitutes . I bet you’re blushing right now just hearing the word!”

“Yes, well,” Prussia said, “I guess I’ll have to besmirch your completely undeserved good name a little.”

“Oh, well!” Italy said, “I’m sure it will all work out somehow.”

Prussia was delighted to find Germany messing around with the engine of his car, which was the peak of leisure by Germany’s standards.

“What happened to your clothes?” Germany said when he saw him.

Prussia tried to look appropriately embarrassed.

“I ran into Italy,” he said, “And then I might, possibly, have lost terribly to him in a game of strip poker.”

Germany frowned, “If you ran into Italy, why didn’t you call me so I could join you?”

“Did you want to play strip poker?”

“No, you’re right, I would have stopped you from teaching Italy to play strip poker. You really shouldn’t have done that.” “I didn’t teach him! He suggested it, he wasn’t born yesterday, you know.”

Germany shook his head. “I can’t believe you let him win,” he said fondly, “And you say I let him get away with too much.”

Prussia opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, rather like a dying fish. When Gilbert was just a little baby Holy Order, pure and innocent as the driven snow, it had been Venice who taught him how to gamble, and then how to gamble all his clothes away and come home naked and ashamed, swearing never to do anything so sinful and foolish again.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!?” he texted Italy later.

“he's adorable isn't he?” Italy texted back, and then, “you both are”

#aph Prussia #aph Germany #aph Italy #hetalia #fic and fic-like things #my stuff #Immortal!Prussia

12 notes · View notes

theonceoverthinker · 4 years

Text

A Winter’s Snowball (CS Role Reversal)

Summary: It’s unusual for love to be in the air just outside of a ball meant to inspire it, but that’s how the Charming family has always worked, hasn’t it?

AO3 Fanfiction.net

A/N: Hello, OUAT fandom! It’s great to be back, and just in time for the @csrolereversal!

What? Did you think you’d get rid of me so easily? As if!

AND LOOK AT THE AMAZING ARTWORK THAT INSPIRED THIS, YA’AL!!! ALL of the props in the world to my super awesome artist, @clockadile. Clockykins, what can I even say? I love this artwork. It’s an incredible mix of the classic Captain Swan aesthetics as well something so new and fun! The watercolors are gorgeous, and give off this amazing fairy tale feeling that works so well with all things OUAT! It really helped me to make this piece the quirky thing that it is.

()()()()()()()()

If there was one thing that Snow White was more certain of than anything in regards to her daughter, it was that she did things her own way. It’s what Snow loved about Emma the most -- Emma was hardly the ambiguous type, always upfront with her feelings and at-the-ready to follow her gut and her heart.

David joked that it was something the two of them had in common, and Snow wholeheartedly and unashamedly agreed with the sentiment, proud of all that it entailed, especially because in so many respects, they truly were different in so many other things.

For instance, they had different approaches to their kingdom’s grandest of celebrations.

Balls were fun for Snow and David -- remarkable events with elegant dances, decadent food, and encounters from all over the kingdoms of the world that brought with them memories the attendants would have for life. Rooms came alive as conversation, lights, and music beamed all throughout their castle. Snow was positively invigorated by everything about them, from the planning phase to the final bits of cleaning the castle’s halls up.

However, while they were fun for Snow, they weren’t so much for Emma, as she was often one to tell them. It wasn’t that she hated her dresses, the idea of dancing, or even the socializing -- quite the contrary in those respects, since she loved those things at times where balls weren’t being held.

No, what she disliked was actually what Snow loved the most -- the grandeur of it all. Emma compared balls in their castle to what would happen if an entire circus or bazaar was shoved into their dining room, calling it “too much to handle at once.” In her defense, she wasn’t wrong. Balls could serve as courtship openings, family reunions, dances, and managerial work all at once.

Oh well, not every daughter was like her parents. She supposed it couldn’t be helped.

At least Emma was like her where it counted.

That’s the conclusion Snow reached upon seeing Emma playing in the snow of all things from the balcony, in any case.

While Snow loved balls with all of her heart, even she wasn’t about to say no to a short break from one after a few hours, and few spots in the castle served better to hide away in during those breaks than the balcony just outside the ballroom. It was private enough where she could get a moment to herself, yet close enough to the festivities that if she was needed, she could be there within moments. And the view from this balcony in particular was simply gorgeous. Their castle was blessed with a luscious garden, and while the snowfall that started this morning and persisted until the start of the ball had covered the lovely bushes of flowers there, it left the ground with a beautiful blanket of snow amidst the garden’s many arches and gazebos that was quite the sight to take in all the same, and much of it was captured so well by that balcony’s vantage point.

Snow had spent a few minutes there by herself, enjoying both the quiet that now surrounded her and the cold and crisp nighttime air. It was so peaceful there that if not for the ball inside, she’d have been content spending the entire evening out there.

But all of the sudden, that placid atmosphere was interrupted when she heard a sound from down below.

It was a man’s yelp.

Immediately, Snow’s attention moved to the previously peaceful ground.

Her speedy reaction was rewarded when she saw a young man emerge from below the balcony, now hurrying across the formerly clean landscape.

“Y-your Majesty!” he cried, his right hand massaging his shoulder where a bright spot on his otherwise dark navy jacket appeared to be.

And then she heard a second, quite unorthodox sound.

It was her daughter’s voice.

“For the last time, Killian, it’s Emma!” Emma barked through a chortle. Something then flew from her form to his, something small, and something fast, but something Snow also couldn’t quite see -- that is, until it hit him in the chest.

Yes, the man -- Killian -- filled in the remaining blanks of her sight with another yelp.

“Bloody hell, that’s cold!” he shouted, as what was clearly now a snowball made contact with the space just above his ribs.

“Not used to the winter?” Emma asked, the hand that held her snowball now resting against her hip.

“Not at all,” Killian answered, seemingly coming down from the chill that the snowball birthed in him. “My work tends to keep me in warmer climates.”

It made sense, now that Snow thought on it. The way he was dressed spoke of a military profession, and if Snow remembered correctly from his introduction alongside his brother earlier in the evening, he was a lieutenant.

Hmm. A princess and a lieutenant -- how unorthodox.

Snow wasn’t surprised though -- after all, this was her daughter.

And they looked cute together.

“But,” Killian continued, “I will say, though the winters here are merciless, they are indeed beautiful all the same, just as you are, Your Highness.”

Instinctively, Snow’s hand shot to her mouth.

Killian seemed to instantly tell what he has done wrong as well, as a sound -- not of any existing tongue, but one that could only come from the worst of realizations -- left his mouth not three seconds after he addressed Emma.

Bless this young man’s heart -- Snow knew he was quite earnest and liked him already, but she knew her daughter well, a Emma was never one for royal titles.

“I-I!” Killian started saying, trying to cover up his tracks.

But Emma crouched to the ground and rolled up another snowball, clearly not about to let him get away with it.

“Looks like the lesson hasn’t sunken in yet,” Emma said, seemingly very excited about what was to come once more. “Good thing you like the winters here, because here’s another taste of them.”

Killian tried to catch the snowball with his hands, but was woefully unprepared for Emma’s speed. After all, lieutenant or not, no one could compare in a snowball fight to the girl who cornered her own father when she was only nine.

And so another snowball hit him, this time square in the chest. Another followed seconds later, just above Killian’s right bicep. A third hit just seconds after that, this time on his left knee.

Despite every part of her upbringing telling her she shouldn’t Snow couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the scene before it.

“Emma, Emma, Emma!” Killian yelled. “That’s your name! I promise to Poseidon that that’s all I’ll ever call you from now until my dying days! As far as I’m to ever concern myself with, the only name you go by is Emma! Will that suffice?”

Snow could hear her daughter chuckle as she approached Killian.

“Well,” she said, “when you put it like that, how can I say no?”

Killian’s breathing was so loud that Snow could hear it from the balcony, but while it was heavy, the last thing she expected to see was him fall to the ground from exhaustion.

That made it all the more startling when that’s exactly what happened.

“Killian!” Emma cried, her tone quickly shifting from lighthearted to worries as she now ran over to help him. Snow covered her mouth, now in freight, not daring to utter so much as a call in their direction out of fear of distracting Emma from aiding him.

This man -- he seemed so healthy. There was no way he could just collapse like this, could he?

Then again, Snow knew more than most just how powerful diseases could be in this world. It was certainly possible, and especially in this kind of weather.

Killian was right -- this weather was indeed merciless. But hopefully, it would make an exception this one time.

As Emma was checking on Killian’s situation, that’s what Snow prayed for.

Thankfully, with Emma’s help, it seemed like Killian could at least stand. Snow sighed in solace as she watched them rise from the ground, snowflakes sticking to their clothes, imprinting themselves onto them like fingerprints to a blade.

Few things were ever as much of a relief as seeing someone come through a scare like that. And though she cared for Killian’s fate, Snow was especially relieved for Emma’s sake. The guilt of feeling like one caused the death or even pain of another was something Snow would never even wish on her most vicious of enemies, let alone her own daughter. Words couldn’t begin to say how good it felt to know that Emma wouldn’t feel that way tonight.

“Thank you, Emma,” Killian said, just barely audible enough for Snow to hear. “I’ve worked with strong sailors before, but you’ve quite the powerful throwing -- and apparently, lifting -- arms on you.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Emma retorted, smiling and winking all the while.

Killian slowly stood back from her, as if testing his balance after his fall. Fortunately, he looked to be stable enough standing on his own, another relief in a moment filled with them. He and Emma smiled at each other, and Snow relaxed her elbows upon the balcony’s edge.

“I promise you I shan’t again.”

Emma turned and looked out towards the rest of the snowy garden, possibly in search of a bench or something they could sit down on.

Snow was tempted to call out to them and see if Killian needed any further assistance as opposed to letting him linger on outside in the cold, but before she could, she saw something in Killian’s right hand. It was obstructed by the night’s sky, but she knew what it was.

Oh, Emma!

Killian smirked. “But,” he continued, “I’ve quite the strong arms myself, and one thing you ought to know is that there’s only one thing a man can say after enduring an attack like that -- revenge is a dish best served cold!”

And with that last sentence, a muted snowball flung through the air and landed right in the middle of Emma’s back.

It was now Emma’s turn to yelp, and yelp, she did.

“Eep!” she screamed, jumping forward, only to trip and land face first into the snow.

Snow covered her mouth again, though unlike the previous times, she was unsure if it was out of shock, amusement, fear -- for Killian’s sake, that was -- or all three.

“You sneak! You planned that!” Emma shouted.

Killian’s smile had grown into a smirk so large, it bordered on a grin.

“Aye, love. Charming though you may be, I can’t let you get away with your crimes so easily.”

Despite Killian’s retaliation, Emma met it with a smirk as she got up and wiped the snow away, half shocked and half cocky.

“Something you ought to know, Killian -- Charming is my father, not me. I’m more of the vengeful type too. So trust me when I say you’re going to PAY for that!”

“Assuming you can hit me again,” Killian cheekily retorted, now smirking at her as he rolled another snowball into his grip. Snow realized as he did so that one of his hands was fake, but he was so adept at it that she hadn’t even noticed it. She wondered if Emma did. “Looks like I’m adapting quite well to these winters, aren’t I?”

“I’d say so, but let’s put it to the test, shall we?”

“Ready whenever you are, Emma.”

Emma said nothing, simply crouching down to grab another snowball of her own.

And then, the fight began.

Killian took off running, making sharp turns as he ran through the gardens, with Emma hot on his tail. The garden’s smaller space kept the game exciting, and kept them close to each other the whole time.

Snow had a feeling they liked it that way.

She certainly did.

For minutes on end, Snow watched them run around, laughing as their various snowballs hit and missed each other without reason or rhyme. It was so exciting to watch that she had completely let the time fly away from her, perhaps for too long given her role at this ball.

And someone took notice of her absence.

“Sn-o-ow?” David called in a sing-song fashion, walking out from behind the curtain onto the balcony, and gently pulling Snow close to him. “I was wondering where you went off to. And where’s Emma? It’s almost time for desser-.”

The finale of that sentence never came, as David grew quiet upon looking out into the expanse of the garden below them, clearly realizing what he was now bearing witness to.

As David studied the two of them, Snow eyed him warily. It was always impossible to tell how David would take things regarding Emma’s love life, and especially under such unconventional circumstances, even Snow was at a loss for how he would react.

After a pregnant pause that followed his glance at Emma and Killian, David looked to Snow, and then back to them, and then back to Snow.

“Are they having a snowball fight?” he finally asked, more confused than any other emotion Snow could so much as hope to discern from him.

“Yes, they are, David,” she answered, careful to keep pride and support in her tone.

David nodded. “Okay. Just wanted to check.”

Then, his reaction came out, and in a way Snow never expected it would -- he smiled.

“You know,” Snow said, positively beaming from his reaction, “when I pictured our daughter falling in love, I probably should’ve considered that beating whoever it was over the head with something was a possibility.”

“You didn’t?!” David cried, mock surprise littered in his voice.

Snow playfully smacked David’s chest, but settled back into his embrace not five seconds later.

“At least the snow won’t leave a scar, unlike the one my lovely Snow did,” he continued.

Feigning shock, Snow turned from him, her mouth agape and a hand to her collarbone. “Are you trying to get kicked out of this ball? Because if you are, know that you’re going to have a far worse time outside than they are if you do.”

David kissed her temple.

“No, I know my wife. She would never kick me out of a ball, and if she did, I would just take her with me.”

Snow chuckled as she once more snuggled up to David and looked out at Emma and Killian in the garden.

“Do you think we could take them in a snowball fight?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” David answered. “We’re the ones that taught Emma to throw a snowball in the first place.”

“That may be so, but she’s better at it than you.”

David scoffed, though his smile betrayed him. “She got lucky once, and you two have never let me live it down since then. I could take her.”

“He’s good, too. You should’ve seen him get the jump on Emma earlier.”

“Whose side are you on?!” David teased, nudging Snow.

“I’m just being realistic!”

The two of them broke down in laughter, watching as Emma and Killian came together in much the same way.

A powerful gust of wind brought Snow’s attention back to the fact that outside of their little bubble, there was still a ball going on, one they were needed at more than they were on this balcony.

Snow sighed as she sadly looked at David, who was already giving her the same look she knew she herself carried. Balls were wonderful, but she was starting to understand why Emma found herself able to ignore them so easily in favor of having such a wonderful time outside.

From atop the balcony, Snow could see Emma snuggle into Killian’s side, nuzzling her face into an unmarred part of his uniform for warmth while his arms surrounded her. Despite that chill, they looked so warm together.

Still, all it took was another gust to remind Snow that while it was lovely outside, it was indeed cold, and these winters were gorgeous, but intense all the same.

“We should make sure they come inside,” Snow said. She didn’t know how she’d broach the topic, especially since it meant revealing that they’d been watching the two of them for however long they’d all been out here.

Thankfully, before Snow needed to put too much effort into it, David beat her to the punch, at last breaking the silence between the two couples for the first time.

“Hey, guys!” he shouted.

Never before had David seen two people stop what they were doing faster than Emma and Killian as they jumped apart from their embrace and straightened their postures to face David. It was almost enough to make Snow keel over in laughter.

David smirked.

“They’re serving cake now, and it’s going fast,” he continued. David then turned to Killian. “The first thing you should know about Emma is that she cannot ever be held back from her desserts without serious repercussions.”

The smirk dissolved into a smile, one that grew as he saw the tension drop in both of their shoulders. Emma smiled at him, moving closer to Killian once more.

Killian let himself smile as well.

“Well, in that case, we shall be right up!” he called out. “Can’t have Emma going without a slice. She has too good of an aim to chance the consequences.”

Emma started laughing, a laugh that Snow recognized well. It was a laugh that spoke of such happiness, such hope, and Snow couldn’t be happier to hear it.

From below them, Emma and Killian made a start for the nearest entrance back into the castle, and while Snow and Charming came back into the ball, Snow made a point to request to one of the servants that a set of matching towels be brought to the door closest to the garden. And while the servant gave her a look, all Snow could do was smile and shrug.

After all, her daughter did things her own way, and as it turns out, so could she.

#ouat #once upon a time #captain swan #cs #emma swan #killian jones #cs role reversal #csrr

61 notes · View notes

skunky2 · 5 years

Text

Top 11 Worst Cartoons of the 2010′s!!

We had so many great cartoons introduced in this decade and while I haven't seen every last one I can say this decade was one of the best for animation in general! Sadly for every good animated show produced in this era there are also some bad apples in the bunch the following cartoons are some of the worst I have seen but please remember this is only my opinion if you like any of these shows then that's great continue to enjoy them don't let me stop you!!!

Now let's get this list started!!!

11. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs the series (2017-2018)

Ok before we talk about the show I want to make one thing clear I don't hate the films in fact I actually find them enjoyable even going as far as calling them guilty pleasures the show on the other hand is a huge flop compared to the movies were the films had creativity and fun humor the show lacks that in fact this is by far the most boring show to be based on a freaking film about an invention that makes it rain food!! The other problem I have with this show is it's set before the events of the films so Flint hasn't even become an inventor yet but instead it's about him in high school and apparently him and Sam knew each other already did they even watch their first film!? Also the mayor is the principle because why not seriously this has got to be the worst show based on a hit animated film it's so painfully unfunny that I question how kids found it entertaining to begin with!!!! Not every movie needs a tv series and this one proves it!

10. Total Dramarama (2018-ongoing)

Oh the pain to see the Total Drama series downgraded to this especially since the original Total Drama Island took a ton of risk for a show aimed at kids also how did we go from a series that spoofed reality shows to a bad Muppet Babies rip-off!! What's really sad is that creators have no desire to produce a new Total Drama series they just want to work on this. On the plus side it's still not as bad as other shows your going to see later on the list.

9. Super Noobs (2015-ongoing)

Other then the "how do you do fellow kids" title I wasn't expecting this show to wow me considering it was brought to you by the same dude that brought us Johnny Test aka the original most hated cartoon of all time I got the DA pics to back me up! The worst part is this show has a very interesting concept but it's ruined due to the bad humor and characters. The show is about a group of outcast middle schoolers who receive super powers in the form of power balls from aliens who then become their mentors and how they must save the world from an evil virus that threatens the world sounds like an awesome plot too bad it's not pushed further.

8. Almost Naked Animals (2011-2013)

Yes this is a children's cartoon not a title for an X rated film. All I can say about this show is why? Why would anyone greenlight a show about an animal nudist hotel not only is it disgusting but those character designs yikes!!!! They look so ugly looking no one wants to see something that looks this hideous!! Not to mention the humor is just as terrible as the art design.

7. Breadwinners (2014-2016)

You know when you feature twerking in your show you automatically fail. The best way I can describe this cartoon is it's just awful first off the two idiot main characters who I'm not going to refer by name since they are some of the most stupidest names for characters seriously SwaySway and Buhdeuce!? Anyway the show is about these two "ducks" I say ducks like that since they look nothing like ducks they look like frogs or aliens or something. Try to make your character if they are an animal try to look as close as possible as the species they're supposed to be so it will make it easier for you audience to identify them. Well they fly around in a rocket car or something I really don't care and deliver bread to stock-image ducks which brings me to another problem they can't even draw background characters they just go on Google find a duck photo and photoshop cartoon eyes and whatever on it how lazy a can you be!! Also I found out a long time ago your actually not supposed to give ducks bread yeah it can use malnutrition and illness to them so this cartoon is spreading the wrong message to kids.

6. Brickleberry (2012-2015)

You know why I despise most adult cartoons because most of them are either trying way to hard to be quote on quote "adult" with overuse of swearing, gore, shock humor, and sex jokes and guess what this show is full of this!! Not only is the animation similar to that to Family Guy it's just as disgusting and offensive!!! The show revolves around these park rangers and their everyday lives at their jobs and the characters aren't very good either they are pretty much all assholes, stereotypes of usual characters you see in adult animation, and your typical characters that are just there to offend you! In fact the little bear cub character is pretty much the shows answer to Brain from Family Guy with the personality of Cartman from South Park. Now I haven't seen this show in a long time but I just remember it wasn't a pleasant experience if you want to check it out just be warned it's not for the faint of heart. Also the creators of this show produced another show for Netflix that is just a carbon copy with cops instead of rangers and I though that Seth McFarlane was lazy when it came to plots!! It's called Paradise P.D. btw

5. Teen Titians Go! (2013-Ongoing)

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah you've heard it all before this show is garbage, a disgrace to DC comics, stupid etc. The animation community has tore this show apart so there really isn't much to say that already hasn't been said but I will say this I never intended to hate this show as much as I do in fact I was fine with it when it fist came out I mean the original Teen Titians cartoon from 2003 will always be better then this show in every possible way but I wasn't one of the fans to jump on the hate wagon when this was announced I mean I had nothing wrong with it just focusing on comedy if you remember correctly the original had eps that were just as silly and bizarre. The main reasons why this show is so high up on this list is for the following reasons the first is I've never seen a show like this disrespect a fan base this much it's like the creators have it out for the original fans and they get joy out of mocking them with all these pathetic critic call out eps they do it also shows that they can't take criticism at all!!!! Second is how the creators view their show and animation in general they literally came out in an interview and said the reason why they made the show so stupid is because it's for children you do know kids aren't stupid right guys they deserve shows that don't try to talk down to them!!!! But the main reason for my anger towards this show is how they made an episode awhile were the moral literally was that cartoons are only for kids and told the original fans to grow up!! Mainly the creators themselves have this warped mindset that I honestly wish would just die out that only children should be allowed to watch cartoons and that their show should be immune to all the hate since it's for kids so they use the "just for kids" excuse for their show being like it is. It's hard to believe they would even have a mindset like that when they are adults themselves making an animated cartoon show. I didn't mean to rant this long but I mainly hate everything this show stands for and sadly it's going onto to get 300+ eps. Personality I really think it's time for this show to officially Go not because I don't like it's mainly because it's showing signs it's on it's last legs and with that Sixth Titian thing they pulled this summer and repeating episode plots is starting to show that the writers are becoming burned out this show was never good but I think it's time it ended. There are tons of other reasons this show is bad but I rather not go into them this has gone on long enough already.

4. PPG 2016 (2016-Ongoing)

Well TTG isn't the worst reboot/spinoff Cartoon Network produced in this decade the honor has to go to this piece of trash Powerpuff Girls 2016!! Why was this made simple CN wanted more money so they made this show to sell toys yes that was the only purpose of this reboot to sell merchandise too bad the show sucked so hard that the target demo along with the fans of the original Powerpuff Girls hated it! There are tons of problems with this reboot that have already been explained such as god awful animation errors, bad writing, and let's not forget the memes those outdated memes. Not to mention they removed the character Ms. Bellum since the creator thought that having a beautiful, warm-hearted, motherly, intelligent and strong-willed woman on the show was offensive to the new generation! Not to mention they got rid of breast but they did allow the girls to twerk tho!!! Yes because having an intelligent good-looking woman with boobs is bad but kindergarteners doing a sexually explicate dance is fine!! Seriously I feel so bad for Craig McCracken it was bad enough he was screwed over by Disney but to have his show turned into this!!

3. The Problem Solverz (2011-2013)

If you want to know my opinion for the worst animated show Cartoon Network has ever made it would be this one! Not only is the show ugly to look at but it uses enough bright colors to make your eyes bleed. The show is about these detectives who solve problems in their home town too bad they cause 90% of the problems they need to solve. These characters are so nasty to look out we got this ugly fish-like man, some robot, and a big nosed hideous lipped Domo wannabe. It was cancelled from tv but ran it's final season on Netflix. I still feel pain for any child that had to sit though this.

2. Pickle and Peanut (2015-2018)

Ugh this show!!!! If you've never seen it you may guess this would be something on Adult Swims line up since they're more known for wired shows like this but no it's not from Adult Swim in fact you'll never believe who made this Disney!!! Yes Disney Television Animation produced this the very same company that bought us shows like Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb, Star Vs. and so on made this garbage. There are several problems with this show first off the animation remember when I said that Breadwinners was lazy for using stock-images as background characters well this is the same damn thing but in reverse they couldn't even animate a pickle and a gosh darn peanut this is a peeve I have with most modern cartoons if it's not for a joke then why use stock-images it just makes your show look lazy! Second the humor it sucks it's mainly is "trying" to be Regular Show since both characters are slackers and get into bizarre adventures. Also this show loves to show gross-out shots like the ones in Spongebob for example but unlike Spongebob these are not funny and just plain disgusting like how is this show fun for kids to watch I mean I can understand why kids love cartoons like TTG but I can't see any child liking a show like this!!! Finally we have to talk about the god awful theme song it's not even a theme song but a random robot voice listing off things adults think that children are into so pretty much they're trying way too hard to appeal to kids just like with PPG 2016. There really isn't much more to say about this show it's just awful and it's still hard to believe Disney had a part in making this.

Now it's time for the cartoon from the 2010's that I believe disserves the crown as the worst show from this decade. Out of all the shows I've seen this year none of them of completely disgusted me more then this one it pretty much has everything I despise in modern adult animation it makes Brickleberry look tame in comparison!!! It comes to us from our friends at Adult Swim may I present to you the cartoon that I consider the worst!

1. Mr. Pickles (2013-Ungoing)

I honestly don't know where to start on this one it's just god awful!! First it's got all the things I despise in adult animation shock humor, sex jokes, violence for the sake of it, and ugly character designs!! The show is about a family who owns a dog who is either the devil himself or one of his loyal followers and the dog does extremely messed up things to people stuff I rather not try to remember let's just say this show is MA for reason. If you have a faint heart please stay away from this show at all cost!!!

So there it is my opinions for the worst shows from this decade I hope you all enjoy it since I worked really hard on it.

I didn’t include Big Mouth or Paradise P.D. because I’ve never seen them but yeah I know they’re bad.

#top list #cartoons #my stuff #just my opinion #I'm going to make a best list soon #worst cartoons #ttg #cartoon network #nickolodeon #adult swim

6 notes · View notes

elleberquist6 · 6 years

Text

Play Upon Me Like This Piano - chapter eighteen

Summary: In many ways, Phil’s life is perfect: he loves his life in London, he has a wonderful brother and parents, and he has a great job as a radio DJ for BBC Radio One. There’s only one thing missing in his life… A rumor reaches an executive at the BBC about a talented local piano player named Daniel. The executive decides that Daniel would be the perfect guest on Phil’s radio show, so she sends Phil to speak with the evasive and mysterious piano player.

When they finally meet, Phil starts to think that he has found the person who will make his life complete. Unfortunately, Dan has a secret that will make getting close to him difficult.

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1691

Warnings: Smut

—

Siren fact: Competition with the Muses: After some time, Hera came to visit the Sirens on their lonely island. She had heard praise for their songs, full of beauty and anguish, and she was not disappointed by the live performance! So the goddess decided to give the girls a challenge. She invited them to enter a singing contest against the nine muses. After consulting together, the Sirens agreed to enter the contest. Of course, they had heard of the Muses’ legendary music, but they also knew that the power of their own songs.

The competition produced some of the most haunting music that the Greeks had ever heard, with the Sirens pouring all of their arresting heartache into their music. Still, the Muses—goddesses of music, where the Sirens were mere mortals—won the competition. To celebrate, they plucked out the Sirens’ feathers and made crowns for themselves. The Sirens returned to their island in humiliation. [https://mythology.net/greek/greek-creatures/siren/]

By the time Dan finished his coffee, the pain killers had kicked in and he felt more like himself. After putting the empty mug in the sink, he walked to the bathroom to see if Phil had an unopened toothbrush he could use. He found one in a linen closet with the towels and tore open the package. When he was spitting foamy toothpaste into the sink, he heard Phil’s alarm clock going off in the next room. As he rinsed his mouth, the alarm stopped making noise and he knew that Phil must be awake.

Dan looked at his reflection in the mirror. There was a smile on his face, put there at just the thought of seeing Phil. Dan hastily combed his fingers through his tangled fringe, wanting to look good when Phil saw him this morning, but his fingers got caught in the dried blood he hadn’t realized was clumping his curls. He winced and the motion tugged at his sore scalp as he extracted his fingers from the knots.

Sighing, Dan gave up on the idea of looking good. It’s not as if fixing his hair would improve his looks much, since his forehead under the curls was black and blue around the cut. Really though, Phil had seen him at his worst last night. Hopefully the morning after wouldn’t come as a shock. Dan was startled from his thought when the bathroom door was flung open. Phil stood in the doorway, gaping at Dan for a moment before sucking in a shuddering breath. He had a funny look on his face as he continued to stare.

Dan asked, “What is it?”

“I didn’t know where you were.” Phil swallowed heavily before continuing, “I woke up, and you weren’t there. I didn’t know what had happened to you.”

“Oh, Phil, I’m fine.” He stepped closer to give Phil a hug, but Phil leaned in for a kiss instead.

Phil’s lips were warm and soft, and the kiss was gentle. When Phil leaned pulled back from the kiss, his eyes roved over Dan’s face. Dan was watching Phil carefully too, seeing how he had relaxed a bit but still looked worried. He lifted a hand like he wanted to touch Dan’s face, yet didn’t want to hurt him and his eyes lingered on the bruise. Phil asked, “How do you feel?”

Dan shrugged. “I woke up with a headache, but it went away after I took some pills and had some coffee. I feel okay.”

Phil bit his bottom lip. “Maybe I should call out from work? I’m supposed to leave soon, but I can…”

Dan smiled and shook his head. “Go to work. I’ll be fine. I’ll probably just take a nap, and when you get home…” Dan’s eyes widened as he realized he had made an assumption. Would Phil feel comfortable leaving Dan here in his home? This was only the first time Dan had spent the night here, so maybe not. If he couldn’t stay here, where would he go? Not to his own apartment, where the psycho might be waiting. Nowhere else seemed safe. Tentatively, Dan asked, “Is it okay if I stay?”

Phil leaned in to place a kiss very softly on Dan’s cheek. Then he said, “Of course. You can stay as long as you like. And it would make me happy to thing that you’ll be here when I get home from work.”

“I’ll be here,” Dan said with a smile.

After Phil went to work, Dan knew what he wanted to do – he located Phil’s game console in the living room and started playing Mario Kart. Whenever he felt frustrated, nothing helped him to relax more than kicking the asses of random strangers online on Mario Kart. As he joined an online race, Dan smiled. He was picturing the possibility that perhaps he and Phil had unknowingly crossed paths in this way before. Or they may have even been nearer than they thought before, since they both lived in London.

That’s not to say that they met before – Dan felt sure that if he had seen Phil he would remember him – but he liked the idea of them both moving around the city, perhaps standing in the same line at Starbucks, or sitting a row apart in the movie theater, or just randomly walking down the street. As they unknowingly passed nearer and nearer to each other, they moved like ships in the sea being pulled by the current until they finally came to this common destination. The thought warmed Dan’s heart. It felt like fate.

Dan’s phone rung, startling him from his thoughts. The game was on the menu screen, so he just muted it before answering his phone. He hadn’t bothered to check the caller ID, and his heart pounded as he realized it might be the police calling to tell him that they had caught the man who tried to kidnap him. In a breathy voice, Dan asked, “Hello? Who’s calling?”

“Dan! It’s me, Robert.”

“Robert?” Dan’s voice rose in surprise. While he had been forced to see Robert at the bar where they worked, they hadn’t spoken a word to each other since the day Robert accused him of not caring about music and Dan had flipped him off. Unsure why he was calling, Dan asked, “Do you need something?”

“Just calling to check up on you, man. The police knocked on my door this morning to ask me if I saw anything suspicious last night. They told me that someone attacked you! Are you okay?”

“Oh…” Dan’s eyes got a bit misty as Robert’s concern touched him. “I’m going to be alright. Thanks for asking.”

“I am so sorry. I wish I hadn’t let you go outside alone. I could have left the bar with you when you walked home. If I had, then you would have been safe.” Dan started to make a sound of protest because that was ridiculous, but Robert talked over him, “And the worst part was that I saw that bastard! I noticed him staring at the door when you went in the back. He was obviously waiting for you and it was suspicious, but I didn’t do anything! Dan, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry, I gave the police a good description – they’re going to catch this guy.”

“Thanks, Robert. And please don’t blame yourself. None of this was your fault.” Dan bit his lip as he thought about what he’d said to the doctor and Phil at the hospital, as he blamed himself for his attacker’s insanity. Phil had been horrified as he said, Don’t you dare think like that. Not for one second. You’re perfect and you’ve done nothing to deserve being treated like this. As he listened to Robert irrationally blame himself, Dan had to wonder if he had sounded the same way. Did that mean that Dan was wrong to blame himself and Phil was right? Was none of this his fault either?

“I’m just glad to hear you’re okay,” Robert said. “You’re not in the hospital? Are you recovering at home?”

“Oh, I’m at Phil’s actually.”

“Phil… wait, the BBC guy?” Robert laughed in surprise. “How did that happen? The last time I spoke to him he said you didn’t like him.”

“Yeah, the BBC guy,” Dan said, and he chewed on his lip as he thought about what he might have done to make Phil think that. Well, the answer to that question was obvious. He told Robert, “I was being an idiot. I realized that after I got to know Phil a bit better recently.”

“He’s seemed like a nice guy whenever we’ve spoken.” There was a pause in the conversation.

Dan could tell that Robert wanted to ask if he and Phil were just friends or more, but he didn’t want to be rude. Appreciating that Robert wasn’t being nosy, Dan offered, “Yeah, Phil’s a really nice guy. The nicest guy I’ve been with in… well, my whole life. He’s great.”

“That’s awesome,” Robert said with an audible smile. “He sounds like just the sort of person you need in your life right now. I’m glad you’ve got someone like him around, taking care of you.”

“I’m glad, too,” Dan said, thinking about how amazing Phil had been.

There was a pause before Robert said, “Listen, I’ve got to go. But give me a call if you hear from the police please? I want to know the second they catch this bastard. If it seems like they’re not giving your case the attention it deserves, they’re going to get a complaint from me.”

“I’ll call you,” Dan assured him. “And I’ll see you the next time I come to work. Bye!”

As Dan hung up the phone, his stomach squirmed at the thought of going back to work. He couldn’t go back until this kidnapper was caught. He couldn’t even go home. He didn’t feel safe and the only thing grounding him right now was Phil.

Thinking of the note on the calendar on Phil’s fridge, Dan resolved to ask him about it when Phil got home. He couldn’t be alone right now.

#phandom #phanfiction #phanfic #dan and phil #dan x phil #merman #siren #mermaid

5 notes · View notes

i-write-shakespeare-not-disney · 6 years

Note

How about a klance one shot where they are soulmates and whenever one of them gets hurt, the other feels it? You can make it as much angsty as you want and it'll be awesome if they were already in a relationship and are in space :))

So this came out way fluffier than I meant for it to, BUT

I will write an angsty continuation for it because of another prompt suggestion that also wanted angst lol

What’s Mine Is Yours

The world had never been kind, and it seemed that theuniverse wasn’t either. When Keith turned 16, he began to feel the strange,faded sensation of pain that wasn’t his. It was hard to explain, really. Thepain could be strong, but it was dull at the same time. As intense as the paincould be, it had a slow build and a slow fade which was what told him it wasn’treally his pain even if it felt like it was.

The first time he’d felt it, it had been a sharp pain in hisarm that built slowly until it seeped deep into his bone. He could feel thesting of bones tearing through muscle and skin, but his arm was very muchintact. That didn’t keep Keith from letting loose a string of curses andfighting the tears that prickled in his eyes.

He’d never believed the stories. Well, he had once, but whenhe failed to feel any random pain, he figured maybe it was because he didn’thave a soulmate. When he was about 13, he figured maybe it was because hedidn’t work like other soulmates. He wasn’t into girls, so maybe he wasexcluded from the soulmate pact of feeling the other’s pain. When he first fellfor someone at the age of fifteen and had his heart broken, he figured maybe itwas all just bullshit. There was no such thing as a soulmate.

And yet there he was, sixteen, feeling the agony of a brokenarm when his arm was perfectly fine.

He’d felt more pain after that, and had given his soulmate afair share as well. Sprained ankles, fist fights, one time his soulmate camedown with a flu which came at the worst possible time for Keith, and not tomention the stubbed toes. It wasn’t until one day when Keith felt a painsprouting up slowly along his arm until it morphed into the uncomfortablefeeling of an arm being twisted just enough to make someone stop moving.

Another fight?

Then the sharp scrape of something digging into his skin. Itfelt so deep, so precise, that Keith knew it wasn’t just a scrape. Someone wascutting his soulmate. Keith grabbed a marker and traced along the pain thatsprouted on his skin.

Wetback.

Keith stared at the word he’d written in shaky, smearedblack ink. He felt a flare of anger at these strangers, these people with nofaces who were hurting… well someone Keith didn’t know, but who was hissoulmate regardless. And who the hell carved something like that into aperson’s skin? Was his soulmate crying? Screaming for help? Were they holdingback their tears? Were they fighting back?

Keith spent a long time wishing there was a way he couldcommunicate with his soulmate after that.

When he was admitted into the Garrison, Keith found that hissoulmate seemed to have a habit of getting into fights. He just wasn’t sure ifthey began because of his soulmate or if a lot of people just seemed to have itout for them.

The second year he was in the Garrison, there were lessmoments of sudden pain. It had dwindled down to a few stubbed toes and theoccasional pinch on the arm.

It wasn’t until Keith had found himself on a ship, far outin space, with three strangers, two aliens, and Shiro that Keith had evenremembered he was supposed to have a soulmate. They’d been given their bayardsand while Keith inspected his own, he felt a wave of electrifying shocks spreadthrough his body, making him wince. At the same time, he turned to see Lance onthe ground with Pidge standing over him with a smirk.

“Yeah, cute,” she chuckled, powering her bayard off.

Still, it wasn’t until Keith had gone to the Blade ofMarmora base with Shiro and returned to the ship that he’d felt absolutelypositive. When he’d returned, Lance was holding his side where a blade hadmanaged to slice Keith’s skin. For a moment, Keith just stared at him untilLance noticed he was back.

His eyes had gone wide as his fingers touched the apple ofhis cheek where Keith knew he had a swelling bruise. Keith had left withoutanother word. He had more to worry about than a soulmate.

As the months went on, Keith found himself growing fonder oftheir goofball, loverboy, sharpshooter. He had become Keith’s stability. Hisvoice of reason. Lance had become someone Keith needed in his life.

Then one night, when Keith couldn’t sleep, he’d decided totake a walk around the castle. He’d run into Lance who was staring out at thestars with a blanket wrapped around him.

“Lance?” He noticed Lance wiping his face before turningslightly. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, just… thinking of home.” Keith frowned and satbeside him. “I just…. I know I try not to think of it too much, but… I justneed a moment to let myself feel homesick.”

“So that’s what that is,” Keith huffed, taking a deepbreath. “No wonder I couldn’t sleep.”

“What?”

“I just… felt weird. I couldn’t sleep. I guess physical painisn’t the only thing we share.” Keith bit his lip as he waited for a reaction.They’d never really spoken about the connection between the two of them. They’dalways danced around it, both pretending like they didn’t know.

Then Lance laughed and pulled his knees up to his chest. “Soyou caught on too, huh? I was starting to think it was just me.”

Keith shook his head and looked out at the expanse of stars.“I just never really knew how to bring it up. I mean, you weren’t really fondof me to begin with, and I was supposed to believe we’re….”

“Soulmates,” they said together. They looked at each otherand burst into laughter, both blushing.

“The first time I felt you, you’d broken an arm.”

“I remember that. The one time I’ve ever broken my arm. Iwas racing my sister, climbing a tree in the park. I was fifteen,” Lance said.He looked at Keith and smiled. “The first time I felt you, you’d gotten in afight. I only felt it in my hands and a hit in the stomach. I take it you won.”

“I’ve been in two actual fist fights in my life, so you’reeither talking about the time I got called a fag in school or the time I got ina fight with my first and only boyfriend. He’d broken up with me for somethingstupid so I sort of lost it…. I won both, so….” Lance frowned and looked away.“You got in a lot of fights. Can I ask about one?”

“Sure.”

“They hurt you. Wrote something into your skin. I traced itout on mine.”

Lance grimaced and grabbed his forearm. “Yeah, I remember.I’d just come to the States from Cuba. My English was… rocky. But I was smartin math. I got bullied for it a lot. Until I got admitted to the Garrison. Igot to start over. My English was better. I wasn’t just the boy from Cuba, Iwas… a pilot.”

Keith bit his lip and reached out hesitantly to touch hisshoulder. Lance looked at him and smiled. “I’m not that great at comfortingpeople.”

“Hugs work.” Lance opened his arms, expanding the blanket inhis arms. Keith smiled and shuffled forward, wrapping his arms around him asLance brought the blanket down around them both. They didn’t talk much afterthat. They simply looked out at the stars, until they fell asleep on the floor.

After that, they found themselves working together mucheasier. Lance was like an extension of himself, something Keith knew andunderstood. But it wasn’t until the day that the team nearly died that anythingchanged.

Keith had gone with the Blade, and Voltron had been trappedat the hands of Haggar. They would suffocate and die if something didn’t breachthat stupid barrier. His soulmate was there. His family- Shiro, Pidge, Hunk,and Allura. Pidge had just found her brother. They deserved more time together.It wasn’t a hard decision to make. Not for Keith.

But then, Lotor of all possibilities had come and saved theday. By the time everyone had gathered on the castle ship to figure out what todo about Lotor and his sudden change in morals, Matt had told the team whatKeith had planned to do.

Horrified, they’d gone to see him, making sure he was okay,making sure he was sane, lectured him, and hugged him. Except for Lance. Lancehad stood there, face blank, and absolutely still. Keith felt somethinguncomfortable bloom in his chest as he pulled him aside to get a reaction outof him. Before he could even say anything, Lance took a sharp breath andgripped his shoulders.

“What were you thinking? Why would you-? You-” He keptstammering over his words, but before Keith could calm him down, Lance cuppedhis face and kissed him.

Everything else had stopped. It had melted away. The secondLance’s lips brushed against his own, he felt like he had been renewed. He feltinvincible. Nothing could ever hurt him again.

As they pulled apart, he found tears streaming down Lance’scheeks, his eyes brighter than ever. His fingers trembled against Keith’scheeks.

“Please don’t ever do something like that again.”

Keith could only manage a weak nod.

Ever since then, they’d been nearly inseparable. Keithremained with Voltron acting as a messenger for the Blade, training weekly ashe updated them. It was a little rocky at first because Keith was so unused torelationships in general and Lance was a very touch-based person whereas Keithwas very talk-based.

Lance tended to search for hugs, for hand-holding, for lighttouches, and any other form of human contact as reassurance. He used touch as away to express himself. Keith on the other hand preferred to just be told. He wasn’tgood at picking up on signals and he needed to simply be told when Lance neededsomething, when Lance was upset, just like he did with Lance. Keith was very to-the-pointwhen it came to communicating with Lance whether they were arguing or trying tohave a moment. It drove Lance crazy because he needed build-up, understandingof every explanation and outside factor and Keith didn’t understand why plainand simple wasn’t enough. What was the point of why’s and where’s and how come’s?

Eventually though, they found a bit of a compromise. Lance beganto ask permission to touch Keith if it was a random urge, which later turned intosimply letting him know. And Keith began to incorporate explanations before Lancecould ask for them and offer the touch reassurances he knew Lance needed in orderto keep from reading into things. Arguments dwindled, and they were able towork together much better.

The wonderful part was that despite how used to each otherthey were, there were still moments when Lance surprised Keith. Moments when hesort of stepped back and had to think, Whoa.This guy is actually my soulmate. Like the battle they’d had on a planetnamed Draxa.

There, the children had been taken to a special bunker to keepthem from the rest of the war. A platoon of Galra soldiers had targeted it andplanned to ambush it. Lance had left his lion and gone to fend them off all onhis own. When the battle had ended, he’d gone to every single child to makesure they were okay, to comfort them if they were frightened. They all staredat him, this real-life hero right in front of them that had saved their lives.

That was the day Keith realized he was in love.

Kissing Lance was one of Keith’s favorite things. Theykissed every morning, every night before getting into bed, every time before abattle even if they were mid-argument, and each time after a battle. There weretimes when Lance randomly told him, “Hey, I’m gonna kiss you now,” and Keithenjoyed those too.

But not as much as the ones he expected.

In those routine kisses, he knew and craved the touches hewould receive. The fingers raking through his hair, the warmth of a handpressed to the small of his back, the fingers ghosting over his cheek. He knewhe should expect touches and those were the only times Lance didn’t have to lethim know a touch was coming. And he loved touching Lance. He loved feeling thesoft but quick thump of his heart by pressing a hand to his chest, he lovedfeeling how warm his dark skin was just under the hem of his shirt, he loved hearinghis breath hitch each time Keith dug the pads of his fingers lightly into thenape of his neck, loved kissing him until Lance’s lips were slightly swollen,his cheeks flushed, and his breaths short.

Although his absolute favorite thing about Lance were hiseyes. How he’d give Keith the softest look just before falling asleep, thedesperation in them when they reached each other after a battle and knew exactlywhere the other was hurt, the lazy daze after waking up or after kissing, thefocus when they trained together. He even loved his eyes when they were darkand stormy during an argument. But Keith would never forget the passion,adoration, honesty, and fervor in his voice and eyes when he first told Keiththe words, “I’m ridiculously in love with you, Keith.”

Le continuation: Your Eyes

#tw: racial slur #tw: homophobic word #klance #one shot #fluff #part one of two #Anonymous

158 notes · View notes

nicknederson · 6 years

Photo

For the Sake of Content: Sara Reads the Hardy Boys Adventures Series Because She Has a Lot of Credit on Google Play and Not a Lot Going On, Admittedly

Hardy Boys Adventure #2: The Mystery of the Phantom Heist

(or) Some Girl Just Has the Worst Party Ever and It's Not Like the Hardy Brothers Help

The SWS! (Summary without Spoilers)

Brothers Frank and Joe are trying out for the role of Roman gladiators with their friend Chet and, no, it's not for any sort of production of Caesar. Instead, the boys are applying for a position as waiters at the Sweet Sixteen of local rich girl Lindsay Peyton. When Chet is rejected, Frank and Joe quickly give up that venture (and subsequently forget about the whole thing) only to stumble across a group of violent pranksters called the Scaredevils plaguing the city of Bayport. Is this just the latest viral video campaign or something far more sinister? Frank and Joe will find out... eventually.

The Review! (spoilers below the cut)

I think I should start out by saying that yes, I am not the biggest fan of the Hardy Boys. For a while now, I've seen their adventures as the try-hard, pseudo-masculine version of Nancy Drew (which is not an incorrect statement) and I just really can't wrap my head around why their aunt lives with them among other things. I hated how the first book in the new series went and I sort of hated this second installation, too. Why? Well, to put it simply- these brothers are dumb.

Is it their fault? Probably not, they're just fictional characters. Is it the author's fault? Definitely- what the hell were they thinking? For starters, you have the boys going to interview for the job of waiters at Lindsay Peyton's party. They make these really gross, derogatory comments about Lindsay while looking at her portrait and then, later, when they actually meet her, they continue making gross comments about her. It's part of this trend I've seen in the two books where the boys view girls in three ways: the hot undesirable (because of personality or some sort of flaw in her very one-dimensional character), the hot desirable (usually a nerdy girl with brown hair like Janine Kornbluth or, in this book, Sierra), and the sister. The sister is just that- the sister of one of their male classmates or friends. In the last book, we had Sharelle and in this book we had Iola. These girls tend to be more fleshed out, but only in the sense that they do traditionally 'tougher' things like saving the boys (Sharelle) or fending off attacks against them (like Iola does in this book). Now these are just the girls the boys interact with that are their own age- the others are all older women like their mother or Aunt Trudy who don't really do anything except fill in some necessary exposition or feed them. Which is another weird thing- Aunt Trudy is their housekeeper? Does their aunt live with them because their mom just doesn't like doing household things that their stay-at-home dad never seems to do? I didn't read enough of the older books to understand this.

But other than the very one-dimensional female characters the boys interact with, there are also plenty of male characters that don't get enough personality- including the boys themselves. The chapters switch between Frank and Joe's perspective and it's a quirk that almost does nothing for the book because- quite frankly- I cannot tell them apart either way. Joe is supposed to be the kooky, funny brother, but Frank always seems to make the same wry jokes. Frank is supposed to be sensible, but he's not exactly making any decisions Joe isn't making. It's really just a useless ploy the Adventures books use and a pain in the ass for readers who have to occasionally flip back to the beginning to check to see what boy they're supposed to be reading from the perspective of. All that said, these are just problems with the general format of the series and not even the problems with this book- Mystery of the Phantom Heist- in particular. Because this book has some problems. A lot of them.

As I said earlier, the boys seem impossibly dumb. And I'm not just saying this as a general statement, but in the very first few chapters, we have them leaving the Peytons' house only to discover that Lindsay's car has been keyed with the rude phrase 'Rich Witch'. Now, for some reason, the boys relate this to a prank video they had been watching some minutes earlier where a boy chucks a slushie at an unsuspecting drive-through attendant. Why? I have no idea why, but they do turn out to be related so I guess that was the book's way of telling us that right from the get-go. Keep in mind, these same types of jumped-to conclusions disappear in the latter half of the book when they would rightfully make sense. But more on that later- for now, we're still talking about the keyed car.

After leaving the Peytons' house, the boys see this keyed car in their driveway and don't do anything about it. No, in fact, Joe touches the vandalized car- several times- and the boys make comments about how it's too bad for Lindsay while implying that it's what she gets for being a bitch. They do not- in any way- put together two and two and realize that they'd just walked out on the Peytons' house after being 'rejected' from the position as waiters and that this vandalism could easily be seen as something they did to get back at the family. They don't seem to realize that at all. So they go with their friend to some generic burger place to get some generic burgers- all while commenting on how gross Lindsay is and how cute Frank found Sierra- only to get into a disagreement with some boys from Bay Academy.

Now, this is another thing that I have a problem with when it comes to the Adventures series and their attempt at world-building. It is very one-dimensional and it doesn't try to be inventive in the way it takes this small town and tries to make it something new. Instead of creative, new takes on things, we have the age old rivalry of public school vs. private school in Bayport High School and Bay Academy. The Bay Academy boys are brutish, entitled, and drive around in Mercedes Benz with vanity plates that say 'Awesome Dude' while harassing bus boys at the local burger place. Frank and Joe- mimicking this psuedo-masculine sensibility that comes from older books- decide to stand up to them for this great unjustice, but keep in mind, these are the same boys who saw someone's car vandalized and decided to just walk away without even informing the owner because they just plain didn't like them. This entire scene goes down in such a robotic, bizarre way up until the police arrive. As another testament to how dumb the brothers seem to be this entire book, they assume the police are there to arrest the trouble-making Bay Academy boys.

Which... ?????

No, actually, the police are here to arrest them because they were the idiots who had a disagreement with the Peytons' and then did nothing when they saw their car vandalized in the driveway and just carried on their merry way. "Oh, but we didn't do it!" Yeah, but it clearly looks like you did, genius. This could have been easily avoided if you'd paid attention for five whole seconds and realized you couldn't just leave after seeing Lindsay's car vandalized. But whatever! This is just a children's book, right? So whatever.

The boys get dragged into the police station and you'd think it would be no big deal because they're chummy with the police, but oh no- big plot twist, the one officer on the entire force who doesn't like them is chief now. Hm, wow, hate it when that happens. This will become a recurring problem throughout the book when Chief Olaf- who is just so poorly characterized you cannot tell if he's evil or just stupid or maybe both- constantly acts as a roadblock for the boys' progress on the case. If you could call it a case. Which I wouldn't. Because they don't seem to really know what's going on until about chapter... thirteen.

After making it clear that the boys are suspected of being the vandals, the book switches gears to just sort of divulging into a mess of Joe frequently checking YouTube videos posted by the vandals and the boys always being a second too late to stopping them. I would admit that was a cynical view of what happens, but it's actually not too far from the truth. It's only about half-way through the book that the boys do any sort of detective work and even then, it's incredibly simple. Frank recognizes someone in one of the Scaredevil videos, but can't figure out who it is. But, oh, Tony Riley from school is here and wow, he's got a really obvious scratch on his face and he's carrying around a jacket with a bandanna hanging out of his pocket JUST LIKE IN THE VIDEO.

Is it really detective work if you just spot something hanging out of someone's pocket? I don't think so- no.

Especially when the person makes it very obvious that they now have money when they shouldn't and leave their phone on the table while going to check on their car supposedly being keyed only for Joe to just go through their texts and find the ringleader. Who is it? Surprise, the only person who it could possibly be since he's been a violent and very obnoxious character from his introduction. This would be Bay Academy's Colin Sylvester. Colin Sylvester is apparently not Bayport's sweetheart but naturally, the boys can't go to the police with their suspicions because the police outright say that they won't investigate him since his parents donate to the police station. While this very apparent corruption of the legal system in Bayport feels like a problem they should look into, the boys ignore it in favor of doing some other inane things around town trying to figure out how to pin Colin with the crime.

When their garage gets burned down, the boys get video evidence of the arson with Colin's voice on the recording saying 'this will keep the police busy', but since seeing the chief is apparently inconvenient, they just skip over that bit for a few chapters until it becomes relevant again. Now, this is also one of those books where it very obviously plots the clues out in verbal cues throughout the boys' activities- we have exhibit A, exhibit B, and exhibit C all happening in succession, but of course Frank and Joe don't pay it any mind since it doesn't mean much of anything to them until much later when they finally string everything together. I understand that's a tactic used in these kinds of mysteries, but it's also so painful for the reader to have to sit through clue after clue falling into the boys' laps while they just idle around waiting for the big reveal to happen. We have everything written out for us- the least the author could do is let our protagonists agonize over it a little bit longer. The Hardy Brothers don't seem to want to spare the time to do that when they could be, say, going on dates with pretty girls.

This brings up the issue of Sierra- the party planner of Lindsay's Sweet Sixteen and Frank's crush. Sierra- from chapter one- is clearly pegged as a potential culprit, but the boys don't seem to realize this until they physically see her with Colin later in the book. It takes them an impossibly long time to realize Sierra is up to no good even when her erratic actions- like asking them out on a boat that subsequently breaks, lying about what she was doing for the five whole minutes they were on the boat, and becoming defensive when they catch her in the lie- are a clear indicator that she's up to something. Even when Joe is the first one to realize she might not be up to par, Frank is so adamant in his misplaced trust of her that he refuses to listen to his brother. So we have a clear culprit who is only ignored because Frank thinks she's pretty. I'm dead serious. These boys also don't seem to realize that going onto a boat that isn't rightfully theirs without Sierra is a clear set-up to get them into further trouble with the Peytons. And when the throttle breaks, it takes them a second to realize another way to stop the boat is to turn it off.

Frank's obliviousness concerning Sierra is also another reason the boys decide not to trail her and Colin when they see them leave the movie theater after they spent an entire night trying to stake out Colin to see what he was up to. Frank is just too sad after seeing them making-out to continue their detective work and can't believe she would do this to him. Is it really that hard to believe, Frank? No, because it's very obvious.

Other parts of the book feel as equally pointless or misplaced- the strangely high-tech device one of their dad's former co-workers give them that echos with the ridiculous tech they used in the over-wrought Undercover Brothers series, how easily the boys give up when questioning involved persons or how slow they are to piece things together, the fact that the boys still refer to girlfriends as someone's 'girl' despite it being the early 2000s, and even the very ending of the book. The mystery itself is very clever and somewhat interesting, but the execution is lazy at best- made especially apparent in the last chapter. The Scaredevils- the gang acting as the mysterious culprit- is a group of people that, as the boys learn, are being paid off by Colin Sylvester to commit various acts of vandalism and destruction around Bayport. They start fights, they graffiti things, and they leave their mark on plenty of objects all while uploading videos of their barely concealed faces to YouTube to document their reign of terror. There's also a little bit where Frank and Joe seem surprised that girls could be involved in this scheme that just made me roll my eyes. But the scheme itself is hinted at being part of a larger plot to keep the police around Bayport busy so that none can act as guards at Lindsay Peyton's Sweet Sixteen- the biggest event in Bayport this year. Sounds interesting, right?

Well, it is- until you learn that this entire scheme is just Colin getting revenge against Lindsay for never going on a date with him and not letting him be friends with her. As to why Sierra is a part of this, there's no given reason besides that she happens to be dating Colin at the time. Seriously, no reason given. And while there could have easily been a way to spin Colin's discontent at being rejected, the very ending trips over itself on its way to the point when it seems to remember it's called 'The Mystery of the Phantom Heist'. Huge spoiler alert, guys: there is no Phantom Heist.

Colin and his friends easily infiltrate the party at the end and- after using a very obvious scheme to get the guards outside- proceed to pull guns on the guests and demand their valuables. Seems pretty scary, right? Well, it probably would have been if there had been any thought to it. The guns are fake, the guards get back in easily because no one bothered to bar the doors, and the police show up in seconds after the boys go through the erroneous steps of disarming Colin and his buddies because they didn't even take the guests' phones away so it was incredibly easy to call 911. Colin, Sierra, and his friends are all arrested and Lindsay declares the party back on and the relationship between Bay Academy and Bayport High School is superficially mended. Another joke is added to this when the boys express disbelief that they fought armed Roman gladiators at the party of the year and Chet chimes in with a joke about having recorded the whole thing. End book.

Now, this isn't just lazy writing, but a problem that I have with the entire Hardy Boys franchise. In that, it feels the need to step itself up to the point where it reaches unobtainable standards that it can never deliver on. For years, the boys have tried to reflect the 'masculine' side of detective work that their counterpart Nancy Drew apparently can't cover herself. There are gun fights, dramatic heists, and danger galore while the boys fight assassins and deadly ninjas and other some such exaggerated threats. This was all well and good back in the 1920s to 60s when the most dangerous thing Nancy dealt with in her stories was a fall from one foot too high, but in the modern era, we're seeing this attempted divide between the Drew Crew and the Hardy Boys being exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. The predecessor to the Adventures series- the Undercover Brothers- borderlined on absolutely unrealistic with the way it had the boys hangliding over Ireland to escape armed gunmen while using a pizza box as a high-tech communication device. It was like James Bond for babies, but the lacksadaisal tone it set made it so high-fantasy it was impossible to relate to on so many levels. Seeing as these are books primarily aimed at a younger audience, it's disappointing to see that this standard of 'snails and puppy dog tails' vs 'sugar, spice, everything nice' is still being stuck to in these newer books. The Hardy Brothers shouldn't be this dumb, they shouldn't be this off-puttingly trusting, they shouldn't need fancy technology that doesn't even exist to make up for where their lack of intelligence and wit causes them problems, and I- as a reader- shouldn't have to see none all of these traits in Nancy, but all of them in her 'boy version'. One of the things that bothered me the most about Frank's complete trust in Sierra is that I knew that Nancy would never do that. She would see Sierra as a suspect from the beginning- male or female- and she wouldn't make the same erroneous mistakes that the boys do. It's almost like Nancy- as someone raised as a girl- knows not to trust people easily, treats undeserving people kindly, and always has to evaluate a situation for danger before she enters it. Weird, right?

Either the publisher needs to stop treating Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys as too wildly opposite sides of the spectrum or they need to get better ghostwriters on the HBAs. Because while I'm going to read the next book- The Vanishing Game- because I have the Google Play credit, I am not... going to enjoy it.

#sara reads a book and posts about it #i didn't expect this to be this long but this book made me mad #and yes i know it's for younger audiences #but regardless of age you don't deserve shit books #i was also thinking of recording this somehow but

3 notes · View notes

zigsexual · 7 years

Text

Empiricals (maxwell x mc)

hey hi hello!!!! it’s me your friendly neighborhood thirsty gurl back with maxwell fic because like, do i need an explanation

summary: this is a continuation of my last fic, hypotheticals (u can read it if u want that would be so nice!!! i think it’ll still make sense otherwise tho), which has wobbly roots in the real timeline BUT basically this is the day after beaumont bash feat. brunch, croquet, holding hands, whiskey, olivia??????, kisses

word count: 3300+

(also my MC’s last name is Aldridge so that’s what i used here)

Riley can’t stop thinking about it.

For the entirety of the party, she had stood there thinking about it: about the way his hands felt on her skin, the way he laughed as he helped her with her dress, the blush of his cheeks as he smiled at her with his hair all tousled from her fingers.

The rest of it had been a daze; a half-dream coated in glazed over memories of stolen kisses, making it near impossible to keep up appearances as she stammered through conversations with Liam and Drake and the other girls.

She’s got no idea how she’ll be able to handle it all over again today.

There’s a knock at her door, but she’s barely just sat up in bed and doesn’t feel like answering. The comforter is still pulled up around her like a cocoon, her hair knotted in what used to be a bun. She blinks. “Yeah?”

The door slides open, and Maxwell pokes his head in. “Riley?”

“Yeah?” she says again, biting into her bottom lip. He steps into the room, closing the door behind him, and she notices that he doesn’t look entirely done up himself, which is a first. His hair is still a little disheveled and he looks soft, fresh from sleep in the same way she is.

He pads over to her bed and sits down close at her side, turning to face her. It’s so reminiscent of the last time they were on a bed together that she feels her face redden, not that it seems to give him any pause.

“So,” he says, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”

Riley blinks at him again.

“You’re supposed to, you know,” Maxwell rubs at the back of his neck, “tell me which one you want to hear first?”

“Great.” Riley leans back into her pillow, closing her eyes with a grimace. “Okay, bad news. Hit me.”

Maxwell sighs. “Well, the bad news is that Liam wanted to have a little get together before the rest of the festivities kick off today, so he arranged to have an enormously elaborate brunch this morning as a surprise to the suitors and it’s here in my dining room and also Liam is here in my dining room, too.”

Riley sits up immediately, eyes wide. “What? He’s here, right now?”

Maxwell nods, and she presses her palms to her face, dragging them down her cheeks in frustration. “Fuck. Okay. What’s the good news?”

“Good news is that Drake managed to intercept him before he could really go to town, and now Drake and I are coming to the brunch too! It’s a friends-and-suitors brunch.”

Riley stares at him. “Excuse me, how is that good news? That’s even worse news. That’s literally worse than the original bad news.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Riley groans and pulls her comforter over her head, trying to block out the reality of her life. Brunch — elaborate, royal brunch — with all three of the men currently in love with her. And all of the courtly ladies who want her gone. Awesome. Great. A fine example of the shitshow this trip to Cordonia has turned out to be.

There’s a rustle in the bed, a flurry of sheets, and then Maxwell’s head pops up and he is there too, under the comforter with her, inches away in the filtered light. She sits back on her hands and looks at him.

“I’ll be there,” he says quietly.

“That’s the worst part,” she replies. Because three guys in love with her? She can handle that. Certainly not ideal, but manageable.

The problem is the one that she is in love with. The one under the comforter.

Riley leans forward and kisses him, needy and soft, and he lets his hand come up to touch her cheek, and at the feel of his skin she presses forward just a little too hard and tumbles against him in a mess of crisp white bedding.

Maxwell gazes up from underneath her with a sheepish smile, and she lets out a ragged breath before propping herself up on her elbows. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he says. “Just… you need to get dressed. For brunch.”

Riley smiles back. “You wanna help me?”

“God, no,” Maxwell rolls his eyes and sits up, pushing the tangle of sheets and blankets off of them as his feet touch back to the floor. “Sounds like the worst.”

“The worst,” Riley is still smiling, even as she watches him head back towards her door. “See you at brunch.”

“See you at brunch!” he calls back, and when he shuts the door, Riley collapses back onto the bed and kicks her feet into the air.

—

“Do you want some cantaloupe?” Liam asks, holding out a bowl of fruit in her direction. “We had it imported so it would be ripe. Do you like cantaloupe? I didn’t know if it was a big thing in America, but—“

“Liam,” Olivia sighs loudly from her place across the table, “everyone has cantaloupe.”

“It’s okay,” Riley says, taking the bowl from him before Olivia has more of a chance to go off. “I love cantaloupe.”

Liam smiles at her, dazzling and smitten and terribly cute, and she feels her resolve waver. The brunch has been a so-far-so-good scenario, but any more of Liam’s doting and she might just crumble into dust.

Anyone would be so lucky to have him. Anyone but her.

Next to Liam, Drake is silent and sullen (or, more so than usual). He keeps avoiding eye contact with Riley, which is probably for the best, given that they still haven’t spoken about that time when he showed up and promptly confessed his affection for her before vanishing back out into the night.

Thankfully, Maxwell seems to be pretty much his usual self, carrying on the conversation with Liam even as Riley stuffs her mouth full of eggs (and cantaloupe) in an attempt to speak as little as possible. Sometimes his arm brushes against hers as he brandishes his fork for anecdotal punctuation, and she feels her heart warm.

The other girls have been chattering amongst themselves, occasionally filtering in on the conversation in an attempt to draw Liam’s attention. Olivia and Madeline are the only two making any real progress, and are perhaps the only two really trying, as the rest seem to have resigned themselves to their fate. Riley wishes Hana were sitting closer to her, so at least she could have someone to ground her, to be a constant.

As it stands, Liam had asked if she would sit near him at the head of the table, and of course she’d said yes, and of course Drake and Maxwell had followed suit, and now of course here she is, wanting to die again.

She takes a sip of her mimosa. It’s not really mimosa, more champagne with an afterthought of orange, but it’s exactly what she needs right now.

“I didn’t realize you’d pulled out all the stops for the party,” Liam comments, looking over at Maxwell. “I mean, the chocolate fountain, the horses, the ice sculptures… there really wasn’t a need to do that for me.” He pauses, glancing over at Riley with a smile. “Well, I shouldn’t take all the credit. Riley wasn’t at a loss either.”

“Hmm?” Riley chews through a mouthful of toast, eager to change the subject away from herself.

“Your new dress,” Liam says. “It was so you, and so you to debut it in the middle of an event, too. I think everyone else was jealous they hadn’t thought of it.”

Riley swallows. “Right. My new dress.”

Her mind flashes back to the day before, arguing with Maxwell while she stood in his room in only her underwear, hands thrown up in exasperation because why didn’t they have any dresses in this whole goddamn estate didn’t women ever visit like look a bachelor pad is one thing but a mansion?

Maxwell had crossed his arms and complained in a huff that it wasn’t just like girls were waltzing into his bedroom every other day and ripping their dresses so why should this even be his fault when clearly she was the one with the faulty clothing.

In the end, she wore one of his shirts as a dress and knotted a belt at the waist. It practically screamed ‘we just fucked in a back room’ (which was, unfortunately, not the case), but for some reason it passed off as chic. The timeless LBD and all that, praise the lord.

Maxwell coughs.

“Aldridge, ever the fashionista,” Drake rolls his eyes. “Thank god she’s got Maxwell to help her.”

“Don’t be rude,” Maxwell says sweetly, “You’re wearing double denim right now.”

Olivia has been watching Riley during this exchange, a bemused expression on her face. She glances between Drake and Maxwell, then says, “Right, the t-shirt dress.”

She takes a bite of omelet and chews for what seems like an eternity before speaking again. “Cute.”

When she smiles, it lacks all the comfort of warmth.

Riley focuses back in on her food, hoping that whatever god is out there, he will be a merciful one and let her go peacefully in her sleep tonight. They won’t even have to spare an expense for her funeral; they can just use the same flowers from the party. An ideal situation, really.

It’s only a moment later when she feels Maxwell’s hand brush against her knee. At first she thinks maybe it’s an accident, glancing over at him to find he’s still laughing with Liam. But then when she reaches down her own hand, his fingers find hers and intertwine together too quickly for it to be coincidence.

She feels a gentle warmth rise within her and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, barely suppressing a smile. Next to her, Maxwell is talking as though he doesn’t have a care in the world, as if this brunch is merely a formality and not a terribly intimate moment hidden beneath stained wood and tablecloth. She watches him, wishing.

Maxwell looks over at her, catching her in the act of her admiration. There’s a blush spreading up her face now, and she squeezes his hand, her smile finally breaking free. He squeezes back, smiling at her too, and for a moment she feels alight with anticipation. Something flutters in her chest, too delicate to name.

“What?” Olivia says, breaking the spell. She’s looking at them with one eyebrow raised. “You two talking shit over there?”

Maxwell snaps his attention over to Olivia. “Riley had egg on her face.”

“Thanks,” Riley mutters, just as Olivia replies, “When does she not?”

So things continue as they do: Liam is kind, Olivia is loud, Drake is sarcastic and Madeleine is cunning. Hana knows all the finer points of dining etiquette, Penelope is fussed over her poodles, and god knows what language Kiara is speaking. It’s not a surprise, really — after all her events with this group, Riley knows the drill.

And yet, the break from normalcy, the one piece out of place in this delicately crafted puzzle: her hand, holding his.

—

The cleanup is easy and swift; when you’ve got an armada of household staff, things tend to go quickly. Riley almost wishes she could have a moment to stand in the kitchen, hands wet with soapy water, and clean off a dish. Just a moment to do something routine, to clear her head.

Yeah, she misses dishwashing. It’s been quite the day.

They’re outside on the lawn now, playing croquet. The sort of thing noble people do, apparently, when there aren’t enough horses around to play polo. Liam’s met his match with Olivia, who won’t even let a prince win, and the other girls are doing their best to keep up.

Riley is sitting this round out, hiding in the shade of the balcony. She can already feel the sunburn on her shoulders, and besides, it’s getting too hard to play along with coronation chatter again.

“What’re you thinking about?” Maxwell says, sidling up next to her. She jumps, surprised, and he laughs, leaning forward against the railing with her.

“I thought you were inside with Drake,” she says, folding her arms up next to his and looking out over the lawn. Hana is laughing at something Kiara has said, and Madeleine has a hand on Liam’s shoulder.

“I was,” Maxwell replies, “But he’s been… extra Drake-ish, lately. Probably something to do with his mad crush on one of the suitors.”

Riley groans and closes her eyes. “Don’t remind me. I’m trying not to think about my love life right now.”

“You might be the only one,” Maxwell looks out at the lawn too, his brow furrowed. “Seems like it’s all there is to think about these days.”

Riley straightens up. “Can we just… go do something? Something normal? Is there anything inside to clean or arrange or like, take down? I just…” She sighs. “I don’t know, all this stuff is messing with my head.”

Maxwell glances back at the doorway. “I mean, Liam brought his people, so there’s really not much to do in there. But I’m sure we could find something boring.”

“Boring sounds great,” Riley answers. “Let’s go be boring.”

Unfortunately, it only takes one thorough sweep of the Beaumont estate to recognize its veritable lack of household chores whatsoever. Riley realizes Maxwell wasn’t kidding about Liam’s “people,” who have gone as quickly as they came and left not a speck of dust in their wake. The place looks too perfect, just like the prince is too perfect and the palace is too perfect. Perhaps she has made a grievous error in thinking that seeking out boredom would be the answer to all this.

“What do you think I should do about Drake?” she asks Maxwell on their third meandering round through the house. “Should I talk to him, or will that make it weird?”

“The real question is, what should any of us do about Drake?”

“I’m serious.” Riley stops in front of him, grabbing his arm. “What do I tell him? And, frankly, what do I tell Liam for that matter?”

Maxwell tilts his head slightly, surveying her. “What do you want to tell them?”

Riley lets out an exasperated sigh. “You can’t answer a question with a question. It doesn’t help.”

“Well, maybe I’m serious,” he says. “What do you want to tell them, Riley?”

She doesn’t even think before she kisses him, pulling him to her and pressing up on her toes just a bit, messy and chaotic and too fast, just like everything they do. His hands find her hair and she tightens her grip on his arm, willing him to be closer, wanting him to be nearer.

When he pulls away she lets out a tiny sigh.

“Riley,” he says, “we’re in the hallway.”

“I know,” she says. “But what if we weren’t?”

“Well,” Maxwell answers, “We don’t have to be.”

It takes them less than a minute to find a door, and Maxwell says, “It’s the study, no one ever goes in here,” and Riley is already pushing him back against it as the lock clicks and her lips find their way back to his. They’re frantic all over again, like every minute could be the last one, like they’re running on borrowed time.

Or maybe it’s just the adrenaline of it all: the way his hands trace her collarbone while she shrugs off her dress, the tremble of her fingertips as she undoes the buttons on his shirt, the whisper of kisses against exposed skin. The fluttery feeling has returned, threatening to overtake her this time.

She pulls back. “Max.”

“Mhmm?”

“Do you think…” She hesitates. “Do you think Liam would understand, if I… if I told him how I feel and, maybe if we—”

“Riley,” Maxwell sighs, pushing back his hair with a hand, “You shouldn’t talk like that.”

“Why not?” She reaches for his hand, threading their fingers together. “I think we’re already there.”

He kisses her forehead, and she closes her eyes for a moment, breathing him in.

“Look,” he says, “It’s not that I don’t… that I don’t think those things, about… about you. I do, all the time, and after yesterday, I’m just not sure how to explain…”

She kisses him, her free hand cradling his cheek, murmuring against his mouth, “It’s okay, we don’t have to talk about it right now.”

It’s Maxwell who pulls back this time.

“No, you were right, we should talk about it,” He purses his lips, looking down at the ground, then back to her face. “It’s just that—”

Suddenly, he freezes. “Oh shit.”

Maxwell is staring over her shoulder, eyes too wide. And she knows, already, she knows, but she yanks up her dress and turns anyway, just to confirm.

Drake is standing there, behind the desk, an empty glass in one hand and his expression twisted in shock.

For a moment, no one says anything.

Finally, Drake manages a weak “you could’ve knocked.”

“I thought you said no one ever goes in the study,” Riley hisses, crossing her arms tight over her chest.

“Um.” Maxwell blinks. “I forgot that Drake sometimes goes in the study.”

Drake waves, expression still dumbfounded. “Hey. Drake. In the god damn study, right now.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Riley stares at him. “You’ve been in here the whole time and you couldn’t — I don’t know — cough for courtesy?”

“Well, when I heard the door open I figured it was just some random court hookup,” Drake says, “Not… you. So forgive me for being a little speechless.”

“At least you don’t have to tell him anything now,” Maxwell whispers to Riley. She glares.

“Jesus,” Drake folds his hands behind his head, pacing along the line of bookshelves. “Okay. Okay.”

“Drake,” Riley starts to say, “wait—“

“Nope.” He holds out a hand. “Put your clothes on, I’m not having this conversation with both of you looking like the first half of a low budget porno.”

“Low budget?” Maxwell scoffs.

Riley pulls her arms back through her sleeves, then steps forward tenuously.

“Listen,” she begins, “Drake, we can explain—“

“You’re a ‘we’ now?” He shakes his head. “Aldridge, seriously? This is like, more than a one time thing?”

“Technically,” Maxwell says, “It’s been a no-time-thing, what with the inhabitants of this house and their constant disregard for privacy.”

“How many times do I need to reiterate that I was in the fucking study first?” Drake lets out a frustrated sound, then pauses, narrowing his eyes at Maxwell. “Is this why you made that double denim comment at brunch?”

Maxwell looks at him incredulously. “What? No. I made that double denim comment because you were literally wearing double denim at a royal function.”

Drake frowns. “It’s coming back in style.”

“Good god—okay,” Riley shakes her head. “First of all, no, double denim is never coming back in style, and second,” she holds up her hand, “Let me just say that this is not ever how I wanted to start this conversation with you, Drake, but we’re going to talk now. I promise. I’ll explain everything.”

“No shit,” Drake sighs. “Well, the coronation is tomorrow, so you better get started.” He slumps down into the desk chair and looks at his empty glass. “Something tells me this is going to call for a lot more whiskey.”

#the royal romance #trr #maxwell x mc #maxwell beaumont #playchoices #trr fanfic #tropes tropes tropes i love tropes #this is @ pixelberry since we didn't get to fuck maxwell in his room #i am PRESsed about this #this whole fic is a long ass fever dream tbh #my fic

147 notes · View notes

theclacks · 7 years

Text

Angel Thoughts - (S4 E15-E18)

I can pretty much sum up my thoughts on these episodes by saying that Connor is officially, unequivocally, 100% objectively...

Okay. Okay. In all seriousness, these were probably the best crop of episodes in season 4 so far (thanks in no help to either Connor or Angel). So let’s dig in shall we?

BtVS & AtS Recap Master Post located here

Episode 15 (Orpheus)

My favorite episode of the bunch. Probably because of combined Faith and Willow power. Both of them just showin’ up to the club like “wham bam, thank you, ma’am.”

At first I thought the Orpheus stuff was going to yet more straight forward Angel flashbacks and I was like “come on, really? I am all good on the Angel flashbacks.” But then both Angelus and Faith were there to watch and it was kind of awesome.

Well, half of it was awesome. Half of it was groan-worthy.

The Awesome:

I love my Spike & Angel comparisons. I love how 100% set Angel is in his ways that his experience is the Universal Vampire Experience (TM). I love how he dissociates from his demon self enough that--not only do they have two different personalities--but Angel goes as far as to block certain memories as well. It’s fascinating. And it’s like, on the surface, it seems like he’s the “noble” one for doing this, that he’s so disgusted at his demon and the thought of being evil by association, that he’s keeping himself “above” it, but he’s really doing the opposite?

Like, to hearken back to Lies My Parents Told Me (and now I’m kinda wishing I’d done these two episode metas in the same post), if the First was in LA, Angel would have soooooo many triggers, like holy shit his team would be screwed. And Angel would never, ever face them... or at least, would never face them in a way where he assumed responsibility and accepted his actions as things that’d happened and are in the past and are therefore unchangeable, so stop letting them rule you and do you best with the things that are currently in the present.

And, it’s like, until he does that, Angel won’t ever “grow”, he’ll just get more and more self-mired in his own angst while Angelus continues to destabilize into more and more of a ticking time bomb in his sub-conscious.

Just... holy mental issues, Batman. No wonder his moments of perfect happiness only happen during sex; he’s too fractured and fucked up for them to occur any other way.

The Groan-Worthy:

So yeah. That diner scene. I didn’t get it.

Oh no, Angel fed on a human that was already dead? The horror? Was I really supposed to be as shocked and disgusted as Faith was? Like I get the need to add new scenes, but really? This was BY FAR one of the least questionable things Angel has done with a soul.

Like... why didn’t they show him palling around with Darla, Spike, & Dru again? Darla mentioned in 1900 he’d been killing murderers and thieves to put on a show of still being evil. Killing murderers is questionable, but thieves? Steal a loaf of bread, get chomped by a vampire? They could’ve done something with that.

Or, you know, they could’ve also just flashed back to this scene:

How many people died in that bout of violence? 20-30?

But no. We get “ohhhhhh noo, Angel fed on a dead guy!!!!!!11!1” and are expected to care. Like puhlease. Give me a break.

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE HYPERION

Willow coming to the rescue was great. The best thing about crossover characters/cameos is the chatter.

So yeah. Wesley & Willow’s scene was amazing. I loved how Wesley was like “you couldn’t possibly understand my pain” and Willow was all, “ummm... yeah, about that... I flayed a guy last spring.” And I think that more that anything hit home how you don’t need to be the dark & edgy, more adult version of a show to have serious shit going down.

Also I’m glad that the Willow/Fred UST was called out because through-out the whole episode I was like, “daaaamn Alyson.... you are standing in the same room as your husband and are having 9000 times the chemistry with Amy Acker than him rn.”

But all’s well that ends well and Angel’s soul is popped back in, just in time for Cordelia to come down the steps wearing an ensemble that just SCREAMS, “I AM EVIL”. Surely our heroes will notice?!?

Episode 16 (Players)

Spoilers, our heroes don’t notice.

I’ve really been snoring to death on the evil Cordy thing (mostly because I hate Connor and all of Cordy’s lines have been reduced to “but Connor! think about the baby! think about us!”), so I’m gonna focus on the Gunn & Gwen subplot. Or main plot? IDK, I liked it a whole lot better than the baby drama.

Gunn is fascinating. He’s like the Xander of the LA team, but if Xander had maintained his soldier experience/role? Although I hated the fact that the Gunn/Fred relationship drama was happening in the midst of all the other drama, I’m actually kind of glad it happened because it did/does expose key issues in both their self-perception of each other + themselves.

In Gunn’s case, namely that he’s not smart. Or rather, he’s not book smart, because Gunn is hella smart. He can think on his feet, he can improvise, he can strategize... but all that pales and his confidence wanes when put beside the others.

Because when’s the last time he had to play a part and be all sneaky? When’s the last time he gotta to devise a battle plan (Angel & Wesley are the ones always taking charge)?

This episode really took the kernel that was planted back in Supersymmetry re: Gunn accompanying Fred and trying to care about what she cares about even though he understands 0% of it vs Wesley openly being able to discuss her arguments and positions...

It’s like, no, a relationship doesn’t require both partners to understand the other’s job, but when Fred has dedicated her entire LIFE to understanding physic principles, it DOES create a gap. It’s this untouchable, unknowable part of her brain that will always be unknowable as long as Gunn remains uneducated. Which he will.

And that’s not an insult because, hell, even I’d be uneducated compared to Fred & Wesley, but it’s like...

To pull an example from my own life, I recently went on a first date that went really, really well. At one point the topic switched into movies and we literally spent the next TWO HOURS talking about movies. Talking about narrative, talking about cinematography, talking about editing, talking about film as a medium as a whole and how the best film stories are the ones that can only be told through film and it was AMAZING. And yeah, I just think of that vs other dates where I’ve asked the other person what kind of movies they liked and they’ve just said “eh, superhero movies are good i guess” or “i haven’t had much time recently for movies,” and it’s like, sure, not being passionate about movies isn’t a dealkiller, but film/tv love takes up such a HUGE part of my brain that NOT clicking with it is always going to leave a significant deadspace re: things that are frequently on my mind vs things I know I can converse about.

Yeah.

TL;DR, both Fred & Gunn deserve people that they can not only be cute and loving with, but also passionate. Like mentally passionate.

Episode 17 (Inside Out)

I hated this episode. I mean, yes. Woo Lorne, acting the bait but otherwise??

Ouch.

Like... Angel knew Cordelia was evil by the way she said “my sweet”? Really? That was your master clue-by-four? You know it’s lame when you have to do a flashback all Mr. Monk style and LITERALLY EXPLAIN IT TO THE AUDIENCE.

IDK, part of me’s just remembering BtVS S3 Enemies and how damn good THAT reveal was.

But yeah. Oh no, Connor and Cordelia run off. Oh no, Angel angst.

And then Connor just continues to be THE WORST. Like kidnap a girl and ignore the voice of his dead mom and then murder the crying girl THE WORST.

Like JESUS CHRIST. Your dad and... pseudo-nephew? Is Spike Connor’s psuedo-nephew? That’s messed up. Anyway, Your dad and pseudo-nephew at least had the No Soul Get Out of Jail Free card. What’s your excuse?

And, yes, evil!Cordy has been brainwashing him, but not to this extent surely! Like Holtz was screwed up, but he spent 15+ years instilling right vs wrong into him. And even if was swayed into confusion, CRYING GIRL PLEADING FOR HER LIFE. WHAT IS CONFUSING ABOUT THAT?

CONNOR YOU ARE THE WORST.

And then everything continues to go to shit and Cordelia gives birth to Gina Torres.

End episode apparently.

Episode 18 (Shiny Happy People)

My one complaint is that it took way too long for the ball to drop. (Not surprisingly, I had this same reaction to Madoka Magica: Rebellion--30m in of wtf dreamland vs eventual dark reality.)

But then once it did.

HOLY SHIT, FRED. I LOVE YOU.

I didn’t realize how much Fred had gotten side-lined this season until this episode and that’s a tragedy because Fred slayed it in this episode.

And omg, that one cut to Jasmine’s true face. HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, WHY THE FUCK DID THEY DO THAT. I watched this episode right before going to bed. I was not prepared for that! I was not okay with that!

Like, even now, I am too scared and revolted to scroll back through the episode and rewatch/pause that scene.

I’m just wigged.

Completely wigged.

Gah.

But yeah. Currently Fred is the only sane one and completely segregated from the rest of the cast + 99.5% of LA. How is she going to get out of this one? I honestly have no idea and for the first time in forever Angel has ended on a cliff hanger I actually get a fuck about so as soon as I hit “Post” I am headed off to watch the next episode.

That’s it for now, folks! Until next time, I’m gonna close out on my favorite line of this set of eps.

#angel #angel the series #ats #orpheus #shiny happy people #clacks from theclacks

8 notes · View notes

sage-nebula · 7 years

Note

If you could rewrite Pokemon Sun/Moon with things like better character development and more depth to the Aether Foundation, how would you do it? :D

I mean, these games were such a ridiculous disappointment (especially with regards to the Aether Foundation) that we could be here all day, but …

Let’s get started.

General:

Let the Island Challenge actually be a fucking challenge. I love the concept behind it, and how similar it sounded to the Orange Islands in the anime, and I love the idea of having that instead of the standard Gym challenge, particularly since it allowed Alola to be run under a religious oligarchy rather than the typical League system (even if Kukui staged a political revolution, but more on that in a second). However, the actual Island Challenge itself was pathetic. There was hardly any exploration, the challenges themselves were like teeny-tiny minigames … and considering how interesting or challenging they could have been, it made the entire thing feel boring, particularly since the “totem battle” at the end is basically just a Gym Leader battle, albeit against “wild” pokémon. It’s a cool concept that Game Freak didn’t bother to flesh out at all.So instead, I’d want the Island Challenges to actually be detailed and fleshed out. Give us temples or caves to fully explore. Give us actually challenging puzzles to complete. Make it a blend between Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda. And don’t just have us do a totem battle for every single one, or at least—perhaps there’s a way to pacify the totem pokémon without battling. Maybe you can battle, but you can also find alternative solutions with your team, thereby strengthening the message of unity between person and pokémon and also giving players various different ways to complete their Island Challenge—a way to make it unique to each person. At the very least, don’t just have us go through pretty much empty locations (like Kiawe’s mountain—there was practically nothing there, just a boring hike to the top and then a ridiculously easy “game” before the totem battle) until we hit the end goal. Give us more lore, exploration, and challenge instead of wasting a perfectly good concept.

GIVE. US. BACK. THE. BIKE. Or at the very least do away with the fugly outfit and godawful Ride music. And for that matter, let us use our own pokémon for the Ride feature. I should not have to call upon a charizard when I have a charizard in my party. That’s asinine.

Similarly, MAKE ALOLA BIGGER, and make it so that we can surf between the islands. Alola feels tiny. Having a tiny region isn’t necessarily new—some of the other regions aren’t that big, tbh—but it feels very compact because you just insta-travel between the islands, rather than being able to surf the distance as you could in, say, Hoenn. Additionally, some of the islands are mini, sometimes only having one city or town. I get that Alola is based on the State of Hawaii, but there were certain design choices that limited exploration that make it seem infinitely smaller, which is a disappointment. Make Alola bigger, or at the very least let it breathe.

Stop having everyone fawn over and worship the player character. It felt so unnatural and got to the point where I wanted to punt all of the other characters into the ocean. The player character—or player, I guess—does not need to be worshiped and have their shoes licked for being “OMGOSH SO AMAZING BEST TRAINER EVAR!!1!!!1!!” by the other characters. I hate that. Let the other characters be incredible, too. Let them recognize their own strengths and talents. Shine some light on them, rather than on this rando child who spontaneously moved to this region and yet is somehow the savior they were all waiting for. I just … hated that, so much. It felt like even more fawning and salivating over how awesome the player is than usual, and it really rubbed me the wrong way.

Put so much more focus on Kukui’s honest-to-Arceus political revolution. Kukui overturned the religious oligarchy that had governed Alola for ages and turned it into a League system because … well, because he felt like it, I guess, and yet this not only goes smoothly, but basically no attention is called for it whatsoever. Now, I know that Nintendo did this because they still wanted to give the player a chance to be the Champion and have an actual throne to sit on while the rest of the characters at the game salivate at their feet (sigh), but that doesn’t change the fact that this should have been met with a lot of resistance and upheaval and should have been a very solid B Plot (if they weren’t going to make it the actual plot), particularly since the end result was an eleven-year-old child who had just moved there and knew nothing of the history or populace suddenly being placed in charge. Like, you would think Hala would take serious issue with Kukui being an upstart and calling for a revolution, but no, he was fine with it because … just because. We don’t know, because Hala didn’t get to actually do much in the main story despite being hyped up as an important character. But as far as we know, everyone was perfectly fine with Kukui’s massive political revolution, and the ramifications this would have on Alola (both domestically and internationally in fields like general politics, finance, et cetera) were completely ignored.So let’s explore that at least a bit. Even if Kukui is still ultimately successful, perhaps show him meeting resistance from people like Hala, and gaining support from people like Nanu (since Nanu doesn’t want to be a Kahuna anymore lol), and people like Olivia being torn. Show the effect this has on the kids, where perhaps Hau ends up coming into conflict with Hala because Hala is against Kukui’s revolution, while Hau thinks it could be interesting and fun, and so they encounter some family strife there as Hau tries to find his own way in contrast to what his grandfather wants for him. Show this coming up again and again, and explore Kukui’s motivations for it more deeply. Why does he want a revolution so bad? Is it really that he wants Alola to have a stronger presence internationally? Does he have personal stakes in that? Will Alola have a stronger presence internationally if they switch to a League system? And so on and so forth. And since he’s the one leading the revolution, make him the Champion, versus the eleven-year-old who literally just moved here and knows fuck all about Alola. Honestly, please give Kukui some semblance of intelligence and let his revolution actually be treated with some degree of gravitas, as it should be. (Alternatively, if Game Freak is incapable of doing this, remove this subplot and let Alolan government stand. We don’t need to be the Champion. It’s not that big of a deal after six bloody generations of letting us do just that.)

On that note, Professor Burnet needs to play a bigger role in the Aether plot. While Kukui is spearheading his revolution, Burnet is studying wormholes and Ultra Space and, as such, should have played a bigger role in the main plot, going up against Lusamine (or at least assisting the kids in doing so) in the process. That she was all but ignored in favor of Kukui, whose research and ultimate goals had absolutely nothing to do with the Aether Foundation, was a huge mistake and (imo) just one of the MANY ways in which Gen VII treated its female characters horribly.So let her be more involved. Actually show her relationship with Lillie, rather than just telling us about it in a couple lines of dialogue. Let her continuously run experiments on the wormholes and dig deeper into what the Aether Foundation is doing. Show her her science contrasts with that of Lusamine’s, in addition to how her parenting contrasts with that of Lusamine’s. Let her show up at various times throughout the plot, including when Aether Paradise is stormed, because this is her field of expertise and, as such, she is damn knowledgeable about it. Let Burnet be the one to point Lillie and the others to the pedestals where they can get the flutes, and let her be the one to direct them when it comes time to play. Basically, actually utilize this wonderful character that was created, instead of ignoring her because she’s not the “main professor” (or more accurately, because she’s female, because apparently this series can’t give us a female professor without upstaging her with either her father (Cedric Juniper) or her husband (Kukui), regardless of how little sense that upstaging makes).

Make the RotomDex optional. This speaks for itself. The RotomDex was obnoxious, and is quite possibly one of the worst companion characters I’ve ever seen in a video game (far worse than Navi, for instance). I hate it.

Don’t make Team Skull bad guys at all. The idea of having them appear to be criminals (or at the worst being punks) but actually having some heroic moments near the end was one that was kicked around a lot, and was also one that was shamefully wasted by making them cardboard caricatures of villains instead. Instead, it’d be much better if they were instead representative of the terrible CPS system / justice system in Alola (at one point a cop NPC mentions there being no crime despite crime being everywhere, showing how useless the police in Alola are), which could potentially be fuel for why people like Kukui and Nanu want a revolution, thus tying into that B Plot. It would also drive home a message about appearances being deceiving to have Team Skull actually be decent people despite being forced to sometimes steal food because they have none, whereas the Aether Foundation looks pristine but clearly isn’t. It’d certainly be more meaningful than the “they’re comic relief but also still Bad Guys™” message we were given instead.On that note, LET PLUMERIA PLAY AN ACTUAL ROLE, GOD DAMN IT, particularly with regards to Guzma teaming up with Lusamine (if he still acts as her grunt), and Plumeria being the one to confront him over it. If Plumeria is the aneki of Team Skull, let her act like it, and let us see her acting like it. I would have her stepping up and taking charge, the one truly in charge of Team Skull (and even Guzma tbh) because she has her shit together. I would also expand and build upon her relationship with Gladion, with whom she actually does have a good relationship with, so that he, too, had some support outside of Null / Silvally. But more on that in a second.

Give Hau actual depth. The most we get out of him is that he has an inferiority complex, is a bit of a stepford smiler, and dislikes how much of a bully Gladion is to him (and thus dislikes Gladion—and yes, he did dislike him, complete with an D8 reaction whenever Gladion showed up, and their “reconciliation” was rushed af, so I don’t count it). That’s not really enough, and Hau deserved better. If Kukui’s revolution B Plot was given more focus, inserting that conflict between Hala and Hau mentioned before could spur Hau to really find himself and his own motivations other than what was expected of him + his “having fun” excuse. He could also have his relationship with Lillie explored more, particularly since they were friends before the player character showed up and stole everything, meaning that he should have been more prominent as a support figure for her rather than being shoved to the side so that the player could do it instead (again, rather inexplicably). And as a final idea, perhaps he could be manipulated by Lusamine (whom he seemed to like in the games) into working for her, possibly even for Lillie’s sake (potentially) because he wants to help Lillie reconcile with her mother, + believes Lusamine is doing the right thing, + is potentially even trying to escape the brewing conflict between Kukui and Hala and figures that since the Aether Foundation is removed from it, joining up with them is a safe way to go. He doesn’t know that Lusamine is evil af, of course, and so he (rather like Alan in the anime) is completely manipulated into thinking he’s doing good—but that could spur his development along even more and make him a much more prominent and important character, which would be awesome considering the fact that he was another under-utilized character who, again, deserved better. There’s no reason why he can’t be involved in the plot from multiple angles so that he can exist as more than a simple rival, and I think that would be a good way do it.

Aether Foundation + Aether Twins:

LET. THE AETHER. FOUNDATION. BE. SCIENTIFIC. And I don’t mean general zoological science, but I mean, very specifically, that I want them to be drenched in alchemy and science of that nature. It doesn’t have to be historical, realistic alchemy; in fact, making it strictly realistic would be boring, which is the reason why stories such as Fullmetal Alchemist go the “magical alchemy” route. Nonetheless, I want that. I want the basis of the Aether Foundation to be scientific and alchemical. I want the reason for their existence to be based in the alchemy plot that makes up the A Plot, because these games have been heading toward alchemy for several generations now and it would have made so much sense to have that payoff be here. I want to see experiments, I want to see talk of theories and hypotheses, I want tests, I want—I want the Aether Foundation to resemble Aperture Science Laboratories in a lot of ways, basically.

On that note, the “conservation” needs to be a farce. None of this “well, most of them were good, but it’s just the neurotoxins that made them bad!” bullshit. The conservation needs to be nothing more than a facade in order to gain them funding from the government + good press. Additionally, the pokémon that they “save” could be used in experiments (such as the chimera creation experiments that created the likes of Type: Null) behind the scenes. Essentially, just as Team Skull should have been good with bad publicity, the Aether Foundation needs to be bad with good publicity. LET THEM BE EVIL, particularly since I love the visual contrast between how pure and clean they look, but how corrupt and vile they are beneath the surface. Love that so much.And note, too, that it isn’t necessarily that every single grunt knows the full scope of Lusamine’s plans and is on board with them. Perhaps some of them are in it for personal gain, perhaps some of them are in it because they’re interested in studying science, perhaps they put up with parts that creep them out because they feel the benefits outweigh the cons, et cetera. Not every unnamed Aether employee needs to be evil, they can all have their own motivations for going along with the plan + might only know bits and pieces, but by and large the Aether Foundation should have been our large villainous organization for this game, rather than the half-assed nonsense we were given. And on top of being villainous and corrupt, they should have also been massively scientific, in terms of actually carrying out experiments that we see and using conservation as an excuse / way to get test subjects. Don’t make them charitable; make them corrupt. Go big or go home.

LET WICKE ALSO BE EVIL. My god, Wicke had all the personality of a wet piece of cardboard, and it’s bullshit that she was relegated to just being a motherly piece of cardboard while Faba actually got to be the villain he always wanted to be. Wicke, as I characterize her, would know pretty much everything of what Lusamine is up to, and would be in support of it both because it aligns with her personal beliefs and because she loves and is deeply devoted to Lusamine (what type of love that is would be up for interpretation by the player, but in any case, Lusamine doesn’t return it, she just takes advantage). Wicke wouldn’t truly care for the twins, but would instead be the type to guilt trip them for not also being loyal to Lusamine + hurting Wicke in the process by running away and whatnot. She has that simpering, faux honey approach, similar to Umbridge. She’s allowed to be competent, strong, and every bit a member of the villain triad as Faba and Lusamine.

On that note, let Faba be more of an actual scientist. Let’s see what contributions he has made to the Aether Foundation other than his ego. Maybe he was the one who made the chimeras. If so, great! Let’s see that. Let’s see why Lusamine bothers to keep him around. Let’s see more of a conflict between him and Wicke that isn’t so much that he puts her down and she cowers, but more that she looks down on the fact that he’s here mostly for his own self-interest (+ interest in science + Lusamine lets him do what he wants) and less because of loyalty to Lusamine, whereas he thinks that her loyalty to Lusamine (/ her reasons for that loyalty) are pathetic and that the only thing that matters is, well, science. Like, he’s loyal to Lusamine, but he’s loyal because she’s giving him the opportunity to do / get what he wants, rather than because of personal feelings for her. He thinks he’s using Lusamine. He’s not aware that the situation is actually the other way around. Let’s see that, let’s explore it, and let’s explore how his hubris is in direct contradiction to the principles behind the Philosopher’s Stone and, more importantly, the lion that devours the sun, according to alchemical writings from our own world, long in the past.

LET THE TWINS HAVE AN ACTUAL RELATIONSHIP. My god, one of the things that bothered me the most was the fact that Lillie and Gladion barely interacted, on top of how under-utilized Gladion was and how Lillie seemed, in so many places, to exist only as a way to further boost up the player and make them feel special rather than getting to explore her story for her own sake. (Right down to giving Nebby to the player, ugh.) To begin with, I want to know more about their past at Aether Paradise. What happened the night Gladion left? Why did he leave without Lillie? I’d like to think there was a fight or disagreement there—that Lillie wanted to stay because she was insistent that perhaps they could change Lusamine’s mind, or that combating her plan would be easier from Aether Paradise, or (far more likely) that it was their duty to stay, that they were family and thus it was wrong to leave. Gladion disagreed, and so he left, leaving Lillie behind when she refused to come with him. This creates tension between them in the main plot, because Gladion resents Lillie for seemingly choosing their mother over him, whereas Lillie resents Gladion for leaving as he did, even though she herself leaves later in order to save Nebby.But over the course of the game, they encounter each other again and again, and slowly their relationship mends. Gladion appreciates that Lillie is now willing to rebel against their mother, while Lillie learns to admit that her brother had good reasons when he left two years prior (even if his method of leaving still chafes with her), and she respects how he has managed to survive on his own (well, with Null). They meet again and again, come to understandings, and ultimately reform the bond of best friendship they had prior to Gladion’s departure in order to stand against their mother TOGETHER in the climax. (So if there are two flutes to be played, the player is standing off to the side watching while the twins play the flutes in restored harmony.) On top of all of this, I would want to modify Lillie’s personality so that she’s more than just the demure, shy, moe girl who worships the player. Gladion shows the C-PTSD he has from years of child abuse by being harsh, closed-off, and cold. While Lillie doesn’t have to be exactly like him and while everyone is different, I feel that Lillie just being ~omg shy~ as a result of her abuse is not only playing into the Good Victim / Bad Victim dichotomy (with Gladion being the Bad Victim), but was also done just to make her someone the player would want to protect at the expense of making her a well-rounded character with a believable personality. So I would want to modify Lillie so that she’s also stand-offish and cold in various ways; where she, like Gladion, feels that she has a unique view of the situation because of her background, where she’s incredibly studious and smart even if she doesn’t battle, where she’s unwilling to open up to others without the others putting in serious effort (such as Hau potentially, pre-game), where she “defrosts” just as much as Gladion does, because girls can be cold and hard as well and she should be no exception, regardless of how feminine she is. Lastly, both of the kids should have been adopted by Kukui and Burnet at the end of the game. I won’t budge on this.

LET LUSAMINE BE THE VILLAINOUS SCIENTIST QUEEN SHE WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE. Lusamine’s canonical role / personality is perhaps one of the biggest letdowns the Pokémon franchise has ever bestowed upon me and I’m never going to be over it. Whether she’s actually an Ultra Beast herself or not (and I’m still disappointed that the Ultra Beasts didn’t get to be shapeshifters), she still should have been the mastermind behind everything, the one in control, and the one perfectly aware of everything she was doing, as well as the one wanting to do it because of her own grand plans, rather than just being ~*~manipulated by neurotoxins~*~ and ~*~in need of redemption~*~. So to that end?Lusamine is the actual founder of the Aether Foundation, versus it being founded by her father or grandfather or whatever that NPC said, because I’m sick of this series having women simply inherit positions from male relatives or else be overshadowed by them. Lusamine founded the Aether Foundation as a scientific organization to promote her own ambitions and goals while using pokémon conservation as a convenient cover (as well as a means to get government funding if need-be). She’s the president and founder both, and everyone respects her for it.To that end, Lusamine is blindingly intelligent. Not only does she have a wealth of scientific knowledge across various fields (alchemy is obviously her forte, but she’s also incredibly knowledgeable about chemistry, physics / astrophysics, and various other fields), but she’s also quite knowledgeable in terms of history, various fields of mathematics, and other areas of study. She is very much a Ravenclaw in that she loves learning and studying, but also views the universe in terms of the ultimate question True or Not. She is very interested in the (or at least a, but in her mind she is always right, so the) universal Truth, and seeks to not only claim knowledge of the Truth for herself, but also to grasp it in her hand show the rest of the world / universe that she has it. Right or Wrong doesn’t matter to Lusamine, because both of those things are subjective. True or Not is what matters, more than anything else. She is very, very Ravenclaw. So Lusamine is the Big Bad. I have actual motivations and goals for her in my AU fic, To Devour the Sun, and I won’t get into those here—but if Game Freak didn’t want to make her actually an Ultra Beast, they would change anyway. Instead, we could say that perhaps Lusamine was furthering her alchemical ventures in an effort to grasp the Universal Truth™, much as alchemists of the past were always searching for that very same thing (in a fashion), usually by means of the Philosopher’s Stone. In the context of Pokémon, Lusamine could not only be searching to harness the power of Solgaleo (or Lunala ig, but Solgaleo makes far more sense) for this endeavor, but could also be trying to rip open the Gates between Worlds in order to obtain the Truth (much like Father in FMA:B!). This could potentially put the entire world at risk, particularly since Lusamine wouldn’t exactly care who or what needs to be sacrificed in order to make her dreams reality. To that end, no, she doesn’t care about her children; in her mind, they would be additional pawns that could be used in order to accomplish her goals, and if they disobey then they are cruelly punished—but otherwise, she doesn’t (and has never) care(d) about being a family with them. Mohn isn’t really important, either; he has no bearings on Lusamine’s motivations or desires. If anything, he doesn’t even need to be in the game, at least not as the twins’ father. It’s not like he adds to the plot, and it wouldn’t be the first time kids didn’t have present fathers in this series. (Additionally, if the Johto Rival’s mother is never identified, I don’t see why the twins’ father needs to be.)So yes, Lusamine is frighteningly intelligent, calculating, savvy (she doesn’t take gambles or risks if they can be avoided, generally—once she has everything in place, she won’t risk it for a lesser payoff than she’s planning for), extremely manipulative, and ruthless … with a spiteful or sadistic sense of humor at times (in terms of causing emotional pain, rather like GLaDOS). She uses whatever and whoever she needs to in order to achieve her ends, and while I’m aware that sounds Slytherin, remember, Lusamine does not have precious / important people, does not care about those close to her, and is concerned with the question of True or Not, which is all very not Slytherin and also very Ravenclaw. (And yes, while her actual goals are different in To Devour the Sun, this is the characterization I’m using there, too. She, like Sycamore, is a Ravenclaw. She just also happens to be a very terrible person on top of it. She foils him, in other words, in a variety of ways, on top of having some surface resemblance to Lysandre.)Let her be the true, unapologetic villain she deserved to be. Let her be in command the way she was supposed to be. Lusamine was done a massive injustice in canon and I’ll never be over it. (Oh, and as a final note? She either dies or goes to prison in the end. No exceptions.)

Of course, I’d still love it if the Aether fam were Ultra Beasts as well (and that Ultra Beasts could have human forms), but if Game Freak didn’t want to go that route in canon, then the above is fine as well.

This is all I’ve got for right now. Completely rewriting the plot would take more time (and would likely largely ignore the player, but tbh that’s probably for the best, because the fact that Lillie’s most important was relationship was with the player instead of her brother will never cease to make me salty af), but these are the base ideas I have that would have made me more happy than the disappointing, flat mess we were given. Here’s hoping USUM can improve things, but unless the plot is radically changed, I highly doubt it will.

#chidorinnnnn #honestly it makes me legitimately angry how disappointing these games ended up being #we could have had it all #and instead we got . . . this #what an incredible disappointment #and unlike the Kalos saga it doesn't seem like the anime will be improving on it #(I mean the Kalos anime had its issues)#(but it also had TSME + Flare arc which were 👌👌👌)#(things are still early for Alola so MAYBE it will improve over time)#(but right now it feels very unappealing)#(and unless we get a sitch where they do specials with new characters)#(i don't see that changing so)#(we'll see :/ but so far Gen VII has failed me in every way)#(i'm so ready for Gen VIII to come cleanse this palate)

26 notes · View notes

meggannn · 7 years

Text

im a fuckin mess rn thinking abt how much i love FMA and ME at the same time, my love for both these stories could move mountains, and i remembered when i first played me3 last year, i realized that i thought ME is the second-best story i’ve seen that explores humanity for... what it is, and what it’s worth, with fma being the best. i’ve been meaning to revisit that idea for a while, because i was so busy playing in the moment i didn’t really think abt why. so anyway here’s some dumb meta. mild spoilers for ME and FMA

(this isn’t a post meant to make the argument that FMA is better, though imo since FMA is like... quite likely the closest a human being has ever come to making a perfect story, that might color some of my meta here.)

i ran into this quote the other day that really sums up my ideas abt what i think both stories are about: "If you are writing any book about the end of the world, what you are really writing about is what’s worth saving about it." — Justin Cronin

both stories involve a protagonist serving in the military. both stories involve humanity doing terrible things to itself, either to survive or in the nature of supposed “evolutionary progress.” both stories involve very tough discussions on morality and the value of human life (or in ME’s case, sentient life at all). both stories use the theme of body horror, and “swallowing” people (souls or genetic matter) to create “the next stage” of humanity under the guise of “the betterment of the world/universe.” both stress the emphasis on personal relationships being one of the strongest reason why life is worth living.

(i feel like i’ve blabbed a lot about how shepard/garrus themes remind me of mustang/hawkeye too, which may be one of the reasons i’m so attracted to it, but that’s a post for another day)

ultimately what i like abt these stories is that they line up all of the reasons why humanity can be terrible and inhumane and selfish, it lines up the very worst that we do to each other, and yet for every reason why, they give edward and shepard reasons to find double that many reasons to fight to preserve it. there is no question that for all their valid criticisms against humanity, the reapers and father must be stopped.

for example, the reapers harvest genetic matter in every cycle in order to continue their function. it’s a matter of continuation for them; every cycle is a fight for their survival as well. but there’s absolutely no question that they are in the wrong. if peace were an option, it should be taken, but it isn’tt. the reapers don’t know the meaning of peace, however much they think they were built for it. and maybe that’s why the ME3 ending irritates and also fascinates me. the catalyst shows up and makes one last-ditch attempt at convincing shepard that synthesis is the correct path forward for all sentient life in the galaxy, because the reapers are scared of dying, too. they don’t want to be destroyed. they want to convince shepard that destroying them is against her better interest. for me, the answer is still obvious: i chose destroy because i believe any species whose very nature requires active endangerment and widespread destruction of other life forms is not a species worth saving. (maybe on earth, nature conservatists will say that says something about my bad politics, but for the sake of fictional species in scifi, that’s my stance.)

and we... kind of have a similar thing in FMA, but on a different kind of level, with the homunculi. at the end father is revealed to be a relatively simple thing that is absolutely terrified of confinement, of losing the individuality it has gained with its human origins (that it enjoys rejecting). it was extracted from the gate of truth and given the material properties of a human, including all of human’s flaws, and very human desires: knowledge, power, wealth, with the means to achieve them and absolutely no ethical code. i think what i like about father as a villain is that... he was born from humanity just as much as from the essence within the gate. he is everything that’s wrong with us spruced up with the power of a god. and he is defeated by the best of us who come together to say “humanity can and must be better than you” and decide that they’re going to make it that way.

obviously with ME it’s less of an emphasis on humanity and more of a “our differences make us stronger” story. substitute in humans for aliens and humanity for sentient life and the sentiment is much the same. one thing that actually irritated me when i first played ME was the fact that there was so little difference between humanity and most alien species. the asari and turians and salarians etc are not particularly stronger or smarter or more advanced, however they sometimes acted like it. they could be just as petty and arrogant and violent. then i realized that’s kind of the point of the story (not to mention what drives the necessity for a protagonist in story-world): what if we make it to the final frontier and... everyone else out there is just like us? within the sake of the story, it means that no one else is going to solve our problems, and when the reaper threat comes, we can’t count on someone else to save the day. we’re going to have to roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves.

father consumes human souls to create philosopher’s stones for energy he uses to keep consuming souls. reapers convert humans into husks and break down their genetic material to create more reapers. both of them see themselves as the apex of life, the top of the food chain.

there’s this great set of lines from van hohenheim to father in the climax of the show: “you insist on treating humans like a lower life form. but don’t you see? only through them can a philosopher’s stone be created. and only through a stone can a homunculus arise. but what does a homunculus produce? what do you create? creation is all, and you’ve done nothing but destroy. you may think you’ve reached a perfect state of being, but all you are is a dead end.”

like, what kind of an awesome fucking message. a huge insult, but he’s right. what’s the point of a species that doesn’t give back? what did the homunculi ever offer to the world that humans weren’t already? and what did the reapers give back to the universe? they took and processed and recycled people but they never changed the status quo; the universe literally remained static. life had no chance to grow beyond fifty thousand years. the reapers’ programming assumed that self-destruction was an inherent trait in organic life. they considered themselves the betterment of all life for accepting this inevitability and for destroying civilizations before it became a reality. and it’s possible they were right, that it is an inherent trait and our biggest weakness, but without the chance to evolve beyond it, like, how are we ever gonna know for sure? the reapers’ are the pessimist’s solution to solving modern civilization! and shepard is the stubborn optimist’s response to the reapers! i love that.

and also, about the military aspect... god this post is so disorganized... so i’ve been thinking about how both stories tackle the fact that, by necessity their protagonists are part of the military. (i’ve been meaning to write some meta about how bioware specifically uses the military in ME/DA as, like, a prop? but i always forget.) first off, i actually love that shepard is a soldier. for me, it gives me something to latch onto about the character, and it tells me a bit about who they are. thanks largely in part to the writing and hale’s fantastic voice acting since i always play femshep anyway. but in a larger sense I just... i love how FMA talked about the military while simultaneously being wrapped up in it. it was a story about that openly discussed imperialism, genocide, warmongering, and the dangers of military states. in ME, there was none of that, because i guess nobody wants to see real life politics in a video game, people would throw fits. so they don’t want to hear criticism of the rl military within a game that features a badass commanding officer like shepard, who has devoted their life to the alliance.

again, for me... this is not a bad thing for shepard’s character. i like it. it makes sense that shepard is a marine first. we need a war hero who cannot hesitate when making tough calls. but i have to admire that FMA went further. edward is in a position to see the military’s faults more clearly; shepard is a top agent who often has to find the best possible solution to a problem with her hands tied behind her back. edward is part of an organization with a centuries-long history of abuse that he finds himself unable to defend or stand buy the more he learns about it; shepard is built by the military, rebuilt by a paramilitary terrorist group, and then used by both and forced to fight for others with no promise of help in return. god where was i going with this. anyway i like FMA just that bit more because i feel like wherever ME was going... FMA hit the high score, then kept going and going until it doubled that high score. and maybe also at FMA’s heart is a glimpse at the ME3 ending that could’ve been. i don’t know.

anyway what is the point of this post. the new point of this post is that i just remembered greed didn’t deserve to die and im gonna fucking call arakawa about it right this second

#megan talks about bw #megan talks about fma #next time on megan blabs: shepard/garrus and roy/riza parallels because what the Fuck

9 notes · View notes

hekate1308 · 7 years

Text

Ad Astra Per Aspera

I swear I haven’t forgotten about Destiel, and like I said, my DCBB is definitely coming, I have just been going through Crowley/Drowley feelings - for obvious reasons - so here, have a Drowley ABO AU with politician!Crowley and artist!Dean.

Enjoy!

The last place Sam Winchester expected to find his long-estranged brother was a John Oliver segment.

And yet that was precisely what happened that Sunday Night.

The theme of the week was omega rights, so naturally he and Sarah had decided to watch.

But Sam was not fated to take in much of the program, since only five minutes in, in a throwaway gag nevertheless, he saw Dean.

John Oliver was talking about “hope” states, where it was just possible that a more liberal Governor might be elected during the next term.

“And then there’s Kansas, where Fergus Crowley might – mind, I’m only saying this now just in case I can later say “I told you so” – actually take back the state from the Republicans in the upcoming elections.”

As an omega rights lawyer, Sam had of course heard about the Democrat after he’d decided to make them his signature issue. At the same time, he’d been a little suspicious, since not only had he never shown an interest before, but his contacts within the party had told him he had a certain ruthless reputation – and that he’d only become a Democrat to spite his mother.

“Of course he’s interested in omega rights, and not just because of politics – his whole mating story looks like the before and after pictures matchmaking services use to promote themselves. Do you happen to look like the weird uncle who’ll inevitably turn evil and betray everyone at the Democratic National Convention?”

A picture of Crowley dated 2007 appeared; Sam had to admit he looked out of place and decidedly moody amongst his own party members.

“Get mated and have a kid, it’ll fix it”.

Another picture, this one dated 2013, showed up. This time, Crowley was bouncing a baby up and down, looking decidedly happier and more accessible at the same time; as a matter of fact, he seemed to be conversing with Naomi Tapping, a well known pro-choice activist.

“Do you have problems with your kid?”

A picture of Crowley and what Sam assumed to be his then teenage son (he remembered vaguely that he’d been conceived during a one night stand and been brought up by his mother) arguing, this one taken in 2009. They couldn’t have looked less like family if they tried.

“Find a mate and you can bond over how cute their new siblings are”.

2017, Crowley and his son in a coffee shop. The son was holding an adorable toddler while Crowley was giving a bottle to the baby in his arms; there were smiles on both their face. It practically screamed “happy family”.

“Do you abhor these charity events you have to visit?”

Crowley sitting at a concert, 2010, an incredibly bored expression on his face.

“Let the arrow of love strike you. Congratulations. Every night is date night”.

2017: again, a concert, but Crowley was not sitting alone.

And that was how Sam learned what had become of his brother. Because that man, holding Crowley’s hand and being looked at adoringly by his mate, giving him a happy grin in return, was definitely the brother he’d walked away from when he had got into Stanford, and who’d been on his mind more and more often as the years passed.

“Sam?” Sarah asked, obviously concerned.

“It’s Dean” Sam forced out while John Oliver continued his segment, oblivious to what he had done.

“What?”

“Fergus Crowley’s mate... It’s Dean, Sarah.”

“Are you sure?” she asked him gently.

He could only nod.

In the following days, he did all the research he could.

Dean Crowley – he’d taken his mate’s last name, so that’s why the Google searches he’d started in recent years had led to nothing – was a sculptor already pretty well-known in Kansas who was slowly gaining fame outside of his home state.

The few articles Sam could find about how he’d come to be Dean Crowley all pointed to Crowley’s own interviews as sources, so he decided to simply watch them.

First, he found an old one from 2009. Since they’d met in early 2011, he was about to click away, but then he became curious about the man his brother was mated to.

He didn’t like what he saw one bit.

Crowley was by no means rude, but much too smooth; exactly the kind of career politician Sam had always feared he was. He thought of Dean as he had left him, passionate, deeply loyal to his loved ones, quick to laugh and anger. Could he ever...

But it had been so long...

He shook his head.

On to the next interview.

This one was from about six months after they’d met.

And immediately, he was struck by the difference.

Crowley actually smiled and joked a little with the omega reporter, made sure she was comfortable with an alpha in such an enclosed space, and when asked about his private life just replied, “It is all very satisfactory”.

It reminded Sam a little of when he had first met Sarah.

Then, around the one-year-mark something must have gone wrong, because in one piece, Crowley looked as if he hadn’t slept in several days, all but bit the reporter’s head off when he asked whether he had any plans to be mated, and was generally angrier and more impolite than he had been before they met.

That apparently hadn’t lasted long though. In fact, just a few weeks later, Crowley had once and for all embarked on that transformation that was slowly making him the darling of Kansas voters, being more relaxed, open, and happier than he’d ever appeared before; and it wasn’t long before Dean began to accompany him at events, causing a small uproar in the state when people realized that yes, against their expectations Crowley was in fact courting a male omega.

They mated soon enough, Crowley announcing the fact at an interview as if he’d just won the most important election of his life.

The children soon followed; the elder one, a girl, was about four now, the baby only six months.

When Dean had presented as an omega, the doctor had told Dad it was unlikely he’d ever be able to bear children. Sam knew he’d always wanted them. He must have been ecstatic.

John Oliver had definitely been right about the pictures, too. He didn’t found a single one of them in which Crowley didn’t look absolutely smitten and Dean radiantly happy.

He then followed their twitter accounts and spent the next two weeks stalking his brother’s life from the sideline.

From a publicity standpoint, they were pretty clever. Neither revealing too much nor too little, and always careful to keep their children as much out of the limelight as possible.

But there was still enough for the gossip-thirsty public to fawn over.

For example, one day, Crowley had tweeted “Surprising the mate. Just knew he’d love this”.

It was a first edition of Slaughterhouse-Five that must have cost some money.

Dean had almost immediately retweeted it, commenting “Not much of a surprise now, peaches. Looks awesome, but you really shouldn’t spend all that hard-earned money on me ;)”.

To which Crowley’s reply had been another retweet: “And here I thought you were too busy with your masterpieces for your show next week to be on your phone all the time”.

“What can I say? I miss my mate. Mary and Bobby say hi to their Papa, by the way”.

The whole thread had gone viral, with such comments as “Omg look at these cuties #goals”, “Did you notice that not only is Kurt Vonnegut often called an “alpha author” but he also didn’t ask him why he wasn’t looking after their children? #WhatRealEqualityLooksLike”, and “Seriously, I can’t. Where can I buy a Fergus Crowley? #ForeverAloneBecauseTheyRuinedMeForAnyoneElse”.

Of course there were the usual negative reactions, but they were far outnumbered.

Then there was an incident that had taken place only two months prior, when an “alpha rights” activist had attacked Crowley with a knife; the alpha had taken him down together with his body guards, but had afterwards loosened his tie slightly. Normally, he was impeccably dressed, so that this had been the first time the public had seen his neck properly.

“Confirmed: Fergus Crowley believes in equality, wears bite mark” the caption of the picture read.

Sam had Sarah’s too, but way too few Alphas bothered to, claiming that it was quite enough to claim the omegas themselves.

Of course this had gone viral too, and Sam was beginning to ask himself how he’d ever managed not to see these things.

“Ashahdgjhasgfjhgf would you believe it #TrueLove” one tweeted, another “Can someone please tell me how to get your mate to accept the bite #ComeOnItsBeenTwoYears” and someone else “Please tell me there are pictures of Dean coming to get him after that #IHaveAMightyNeed.”

Of course there were, and Dean had shown up with both of their children, clearly upset; even Sam admitted that the photo of Dean and Crowley lying in each other’s arms and scenting each other to calm down was touching.

“You know, you could always just call Dean. His studio has a phone number” Sarah talked him after several agitated weeks.

“I –“ he stopped.

She was right.

What was the worst that could happen?

As it turned out, all his fears of Dean being opposed to seeing him again after all these years were unfounded. On the contrary.

The very next weekend found Dean, his mate and their children knocking on Sam’s and Sarah’s door.

“Sammy” he said, drawing him in his arms, Crowley having the good sense of introducing himself to Sarah while keeping an eye on the kids.

“Dean”.

This of course was not the brother who, at twenty-two, had told him he was betraying his family by going to California without him or Dad; by the time their father had drunk himself to death five years later, Dean too had been gone from Lawrence, and no one had been able to tell Sam where he was.

“Didn’t expect you to call... but I’m gadl you did.”

“Me too”.

With that, Dean introduced his mate and his children.

“Sam Winchester. I have heard a lot about you”.

“Mostly good things, I hope” he said carefully. If Crowley looking at Dean in pictures had been telling, Crowley looking at Dean in real life was even more so. It seemed like he was about to burst into song at any given moment.

Sam came to know him better on Sunday; Saturday of course was entirely giving up to catching up with Dean as well as he could; and even though he found much to regret at having lost contact with him for almost two decades, the happiness Dean displayed at his life, mate and children, was more than enough to make up for it.

He got to know Crowley better the next day, when they took the kids to the beach.

They talked about their work and the bill Crowley hoped he would eventually be able to introduce, getting rid of the strict unnecessary rules that had been placed on abortion clinics.

“You weren’t always this outspoken about omega rights” Sam eventually began, careful not to anger him.

“No”.

Crowley looked over to where his mate and children were playing – or rather, his mate and his older child, while Sarah was holding the baby.

His face lit up.

“No, but things have somewhat changed since then”.

“Dean said you met at one of his shows”.

He also mentioned he noticed Crowley because the alpha followed him around the whole evening and he didn’t appreciate his posturing.

Crowley snorted.

“Yes. And by God was I an idiot about it then. Thank God Dean taught me better ways”.

He really was a clever politician, but he was also deeply in love with his brother.

And that was enough for Sam.

“You know” he admitted to Dean shortly before they left, “I never would have pictured you as a Governor’s mate”.

“Not saying anything about Governor yet, Sammy” he answered, his eyes sparkling. “But really, I don’t mind. We can make the world a better place together. Common goals are important in any relationship.”

“So when will I be the brother of the First Gentleman?”

“Let’s call that one a long term goal”.

“Long term” in this case meant that eight years later Sam, Sarah and their children stood proudly next to Dean and his family at Crowley’s inauguration.

#my writings #drowley #politician!crowley #artist!dean #estranged!sam #john oliver #it all makes sense in context #alpha!crowley #omega!dean #past mpreg #lis hearts comedians

4 notes · View notes

katieskarlette · 7 years

Text

In defense of Illidan/Maiev

If you’ve ever wondered why anyone would ship these two, or rejected the idea as ridiculous/gross/stupid/an abomination against nature/the reason aliens don’t visit us/a sign of the apocalypse... this post is for you!

I’m only one fan, I don’t claim to speak for other shippers, and I’m not trying to win any converts, but I wanted to clear up some misconceptions and questions I keep seeing about the Illidan Stormrage/Maiev Shadowsong ship.

TL;DR version:

They are both complex, gray characters with a lot in common. The appeal of the ship comes from watching two very similar, strong, evenly-matched characters play off each other. Their banter is snarky and fun, and there are intense emotions connecting them.

It is possible to ship them and keep them in-character. Maiev is a resilient, no-nonsense character who has proven herself capable of matching Illidan in wits and tenacity. Her awesomeness is not in any way diminished by being in a relationship. They are both badasses separately, and they would continue to be just as badass if they were a couple.

Yes, they canonically hate each other. The “enemies to lovers” trope is as old as time and remains popular for a reason.

It’s not the kind of relationship you want to model IRL, and that’s okay because it’s fiction. Playing a Death Knight doesn’t mean I’m going to pick up grave robbing as a weekend hobby, either.

It’s totally understandable that the ship isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. You don’t have to ship it. Just please don’t be rude to people who do.

[Long version -- with funny pictures -- below!]

Argument #1: “Shipping Illidan/Maiev trivializes her character, reducing her to arm candy or playing into the horrid trope that a woman who isn’t all sunshine and flowers 'just needs to get laid.'”

That’s not at all how I see their dynamic working. Maiev has very valid reasons to be a fireball of fury and vengeance. Her character is not, never has been, and never will be, anything resembling demure or passive. There’s not a force in the cosmos--demon hunter dick included--that could change who she is at a fundamental level. And who she is, is badass, self-sufficient, determined, brash, brave, stubborn, hot-headed, unyielding, unforgiving, clever, stoic, deadly, and awesome.

I can understand why people would dislike the idea of Illidan/Maiev if they’re imagining her turning into a lovesick teenager who doodles “Mrs. Maiev Stormrage” in her notebooks. But that’s not even close to how I imagine the ship working.

Even putting aside the fact that night elves are a matriarchal society, it’s against Maiev’s very nature to stand back and defer to Illidan on anything. The only reason she would ever voluntarily stand in his shadow would be to launch a sneak attack on him. In fact, she is the dominant one who sees Illidan as her property.

She is extremely possessive of him. She was enraged when Tyrande released him from prison (and, yes, killed a number of her personnel along the way, which admittedly didn’t help her mood any.) She refused to accept Malfurion’s decision to pardon Illidan and grant him exile instead of imprisonment. She bristled at the thought of Akama or the players landing the killing blow on him. She even stashed away his body in a vault for years so she could continue to be in control of him in some way. Illidan is hers to do with what she sees fit. His fate is in her hands alone, as far as she is concerned.

I would even argue that Maiev is the stronger person. Where Illidan has stumbled and failed time and time again, she has proven herself consistently competent. It’s not about her “needing a man” or some rubbish like that. It’s about the fact that she’s just about the only one who can see past Illidan’s grandstanding, stand up to him, and call him out for his reckless, morally questionable schemes. Illidan could use a voice of reason standing by to tell him when he’s getting in over his head.

Wanting Maiev to pair up with someone as capable and badass as herself is a compliment to her character, yet I often see it framed as “shippers want her to be tamed/domesticated/broken by a man.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

[Image sources: Illidan fanart | Maiev fanart]

If they hooked up absolutely nothing would change except maybe slightly fewer death threats, and more sneaking off to work out some of that tension between the sheets.

Argument #2: “Maiev is too good and righteous to be associated with a villain like Illidan.” (Or, “Illidan is way too cool for a 'cr*zy b*tch' like her.”) “All they have in common is being cooped up in the same prison for ten thousand years.”

There’s a tendency among people who dislike the ship to either gloss over or magnify one character’s flaws to make the other seem incompatible.

This is nonsense. They are both deeply flawed, conflicted, gray characters. They can be bloodthirsty and ruthless, but neither is evil incarnate, either.

The point is, they have a lot common. So much so, in fact, that other characters remark on it in-universe (Malfurion in WCIII and Akama in the recent Illidan novel.)

The way they condemn each other for traits they actually share is delightfully ironic. Their inability to see flaws in themselves while fixating on the same flaws in each other is what makes their interactions so fascinating.

They both brag about their noble goals (saving the cosmos from the Legion, dispensing justice) while using morally questionable methods to achieve those ends.

They both have delved into dark magic (he more than she, obviously, but in a Warcraft III optional mission Maiev did not hesitate to use a dark artifact called the Shadow Orb to help her inside the Tomb of Sargeras. She also freed the player demon hunters from stasis when things got too hairy early in Legion and she thought they would be useful.)

They both make and break alliances for their own convenience without regard to any promises they might have made to cajole aid from others. (Kael’thas got burned by both of them, poor guy.)

They have both outright murdered people who disagreed with them. (In Warcraft III Maiev left Tyrande to either drown or be torn apart by undead. In the novel Wolfheart, she stalked and murdered numerous night elf mages, and attempted to kill Malfurion, as well.)

Illidan and Maiev both operate under their own codes of morality. You do not want to stand between them and their goals, because they are more than willing to incur collateral damage along the way. You’re either for them or you’re against them, and if you’re against them you’re irrelevant at best and a liability at worst.

They both think that only they know what’s best. Admitting they were wrong about something is not an option.

They also have similarly traumatic backstories. When the Legion first invaded, they had their whole lives ahead of them. Illidan was working his way up the ranks as a sorcerer, spurred on by the belief that his golden eyes were a sign of a great destiny. Maiev was vying for leadership within the Sisterhood of Elune. Neither came from illustrious backgrounds. They were both fighting tooth and nail to make something of themselves, and were succeeding quite well until the demons showed up and ruined everything. The bitterness of thwarted destiny and crushed dreams certainly gives them common ground.

And perhaps the most important thing they have in common: they are both fixated on either other.

[Above: A coin you can fish up from the fountain in Northrend’s Dalaran. Dang, Maiev, get a hobby.]

Their mutual obsession is one part Ahab and the Whale, one part Javert and Valjean, one part [insert superhero of your choice and their nemesis], and one part stalking-your-ex trope. They can’t stop thinking about each other, talking about each other, talking to each other, goading each other, and getting under each other’s skin with practiced ease. They know exactly what buttons to push to get a rise out of the other.

At the end of the boss fight in the Black Temple, they both admitted how closely linked their lives had become.

That is a powerful connection, whatever kind of relationship you think they have.

Argument #3. “They hate each other. Like, really, really hate each other. To the point of actual homicide.”

Yes, and?

“Enemies to lovers” is a popular, long-lasting trope for a reason. Illidan/Maiev is actually listed as an example in two different places, but it is by far not an isolated case. For many reasons too complex to address here, this type of narrative resonates with a large number of people.

Remember, this is fiction. “I am entertained thinking about these characters in a romantic and/or sexual context” is literally all that is required to ship something. It doesn’t have to be canon. People ship characters who never even meet in canon. At least I/M have a strong emotional connection to start with.

I also don’t see many shippers who seriously believe these two are romantically linked in canon. (At most, maybe some kinky prison hatesex happened.) Instead it’s often shipped in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, and the WTFery is part of the charm.

I should note, however, that there were a couple quotes in the Illidan novel that pinged my shipping radar. See here and here.

Argument #4: “Illidan’s still in love with Tyrande,” and/or “It seemed like Maiev was in love with Naisha.”

Because people only fall in love once in their entire lives, right? And it’s impossible to have feelings for two different people at the same time. And you have to be deeply in love with someone to have sex with them.

Oh wait.

Argument #5: “It’s abusive and unhealthy!”

No shit. Again, it’s fiction. I enjoy watching Godzilla movies but that doesn’t mean I want a kaiju to destroy my neighborhood IRL.

[Above, Maiev and Illidan demonstrate that they are, indeed, fictional characters.]

Argument #6: “It’s creepy and wrong!”

That’s a perfectly valid opinion. Thankfully, no one is forcing you to ship it.

[Above: Not what is happening.]

It’s fine to dislike a ship. Heaven knows I have NOTPs of my own. Personally, I practice the Thumper doctrine (”If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”) when it comes to shipping. Everyone has different tastes, and as long as the characters are adults and no incest is involved, it’s not my place to tell other people what they can and can’t enjoy. Fandom is supposed to be fun!

Speaking of which, I had a lot of fun writing and illustrating this post. I hope it was entertaining, even if your opinions weren’t swayed.

If, after having read all this, you still think I/M is the worst ship ever, that’s totally okay! Just move along and let us shippers have our fun. Thanks!

#illidan #maiev #illidan x maiev #shipping is such a powderkeg #No drama PLEASE #katieskarlette makes images

87 notes · View notes