#<- op honestly yeah

[kacievvbbbb]

You do get the sense that the fallout of Roger's death and the Roger pirates disbanding not so much traumatized Buggy and Shanks indifferent ways but instead generated such drastically different reactions to the trauma.

While the trauma of everything seemed to push Shanks into the future, always constantly waiting for something, putting plans on hold and then later in place, for this great moment, this great coming that he sees on the Horizon. For Buggy it rooted him firmly in the past keeping him trapped in this grief masquerading as anger.

While Roger's death forced Shanks to grow up fast, it kind of arrested Buggy's development keeping him stuck in those same feelings, rooted int that same place.

You get the sense that Buggy's whole east blue schtick is just one long overdue rebellious phase one big fuck you to Roger and his ideals. He's rebelling against Roger's principles. One of their rules was don't steal from innocent people and Buggy was keeping a whole town in poverty. If Roger and Luffy's pirating styles are diametrically opposed to someone like Blackbeard, who might be the most literal pirate in the entire series, then buggy is the parody of that Blackbeard piratism. He is playing up cruelty, being the most piratey pirate possible, hell he's literally a clown on a stage. It's all a show! It's his own special way of trying to "get back at Roger" of trying to discard everything Roger taught him for this overacted, over exaggerated clownish cruelty. Mentally he never left that execution square. He is still 15, alone and scared.

Hell he literally never left either, while I'm pretty sure Shanks' booked it out of the east blue as fast as he could, Buggy never lef, might have never left, if not for Luffy. It's part of why Luffy bothers him so much, he's just like Roger everything that Buggy is trying hard to forget and here comes this kid, whose never even met the Captain but is wearing his hat, shoving it right back in his face.

It makes sense that he never leaves the east blue till Luffy literally forces him out of it (fucking with Luffy gets him captured and imprisoned) and it makes sense that it's Luffy that literally breaks him out of prison, literally sets him free, and on the path to greatness that maybe he was always meant to achieve (even if he trips his way into it). This boy that is tragically so much like his old captain but so beautifully unabashedly himself, is what Buggy needs to start letting go off the past, to start trying to move forward.

Maybe that's why Buggy, at what could arguably be described as his lowest moment, gets the strength to free himself from his own self imprisonment, realizing that even back then he was locking himself away and pinning his own dreams on Shanks. And, maybe for the first time ever, Buggy really own his dream. He declares to his tormentors and his crew and the entire world that; actually He wants to find the one piece, him, as captain of his own crew, this crew, not just a part of someone else's. That's his dream and he's willing to turn the world upside down to do it.

[midnightdemonhunter]

But don't worry. By then, he wants to.

(@romanromulus :D )

[catboywizard]

sometimes i forget how sanitized tiktok and other platforms are compared to tumblr until i come across stuff like this video i saw earlier where someone, as well as a bunch of ppl in the comments, were absolutely scandalized that aziraphale got called a faggot by a kid early on in the good omens book

gays on here throw it around like loose change but ppl on tiktok act like finding it in a book written for adults in 1990 is a huge mind blowing shocker

i’m not saying the book should or shouldn’t have used it, but the video was definitely a big culture shock bc of just how differently that word is treated on here

[runawaymarbles]

Maybe your New Year's resolution should be "learn how to be a fucking casual"

[movinglikebeautifultruth]

There was no fucking point of making them an item sooooo either Josie is playing Cruz knowing her gay ass is so weak for beautiful hopeless ladies oooooor there’s still a chance that aaliyah might come back and season 3 is gonna be a love triangle

[animation-is-my-jam]

Controversial (ig), but I still think it's okay to bash people for getting upset they can't be publicly inappropriate with the characters for a kids' show or write weird shit. Do you want to end up like that Sofia the first meme? Idc if the characters in the show are adults, the internet is already hostile to young fans of anything, and even in places that are supposed to be friendly with their demographic interest, they have to deal with seeing anything weird. I am just too traumatized from the psychological damage the mlp fandom did? Yes; but it's a good lesson to know, so anyone else who was like me doesn't have to be dismissed at for feeling uncomfortable. Heck, still today, I'm uncomfortable with that stuff in fandoms from kids' shows.

(Of course, with other media or shows that are clearly for older audiences, I don't care. Do what you want on that front it's like pretty fine i won't judge.)

But yeah, I've just been feeling like that because of a weirdo in my ask box. And I'm like, oh yeah, I keep forgetting freaks exist.

[kacievvbbbb]

You ever think about how Mihawk definitely does not hear his name alot?

Like there are probably only 2 people in the entire world that consistently refer to him by name. To the rest of the world he’s just an epithet. He might as well have no real name for as little as he hears it.

He’ll hear it at introductions always preface by his epithet, he’ll see it in the bounty posters and notice it in the history books. But barely anyone will ever calm him that. Just a pink headed ghost girl and the red headed half of the most complicated situationship panning 20 years.

You ever think about how Shanks probably has a thousand and one nicknames for Mihawk he cycles through at a whim but maybe Mihawk’s favorite will always be the soft way in which Shanks calls out his given name like that’s all there is too it like there’s a Mihawk that exists all on its own. No matter the situation Shanks calls him Mihawk and he has his full attention

[nenoname]

.....ok it's legit wild to see people saying that emma may is unironically their fave character

[theghostinabadbook]

The Holy Knights have the same regeneration ability as the Gorosei, so if we don't find a way to deal with it in this arc, we're screwed

[the-huxler]

i have a weakness

im not telling u what fandom this is bout cuz im not brave enough

[relaxxattack]

by the way if you want to know what quadrant i think vrisrezi SHOULD have been in. it would’ve been pitch all the way. i just also gotta defend the validity/romance of moirallegiance until the day i die 😔

[beanghostprincess]

headcanon time: i wrote a post about how it’s possible that saboala have been dating for a long time but oda hasn’t told us yet. what if koala was crying over sabo sleeping for three days just because she didn’t want to lose her wonderful boyfriend??? (i know friends can do this but i love them so much as a ship and i want them to be canon so bad adiós)

Look, Oda isn't making it canon because that's how he works. He once said that he believed he wasn't good at writing love stories and, to be honest? Average writer behavior. Imposter syndrome. This man has such a powerful way of telling stories and especially about love (platonic or not. But I'm talking about romance here). And he never says it's romantic but damn he knows how to write. So I wholeheartedly believe Saboala should be canon because look at them. I know I don't have many arguments for this but LOOK AT THEM. THAT'S NOT FRIENDSHIP BEHAVIOR THERE'S SOMETHING THERE. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT. IT'S THE ENERGY THE VIBES. They're giving Usokaya. 100%. Like they're obviously canon but they're not canon and then OPLA literally said "fuck it, Oda we need romance in here we are NETFLIX if there's no romance we die" and Oda said "Usopp and Kaya" without hesitation (Real conversation I literally heard it I was there I was the script). So,, Just believe whatever you want. He's doing the same with Hibari and Koby and at this point I just consider interpreting OP relationships however you want. I think Yamato and Ace was romantic too and we will never know because this man writes romance in the most obvious of ways but never makes anything canon. The closest we've ever been to a canon romance is Sanji and Pudding and that didn't even work out at the end (well, not really? Because, and this is a manga spoiler btw don't keep reading yadda yadda -> She shows up again. She's gonna be important to the plot. I can't believe this is happening in the anime like, in what? Three weeks? Am I right? I think I am. I miss her so bad. Like-- She's so ending up with Sanji. I am not even trying to make an argument or something I just think it should be obvious seeing how the story has progressed. If they don't end up together I'm gonna fail as a writer because it's just so obvious).

Basically, Saboala is pretty much canon in the OP standard for romance.

[thatartiststudios]

Heyyyy @jelzorz, @raayllum, guess who's starting work on their first Sorpeli fic?

You've properly converted me now (with the help of 6x08 ofc), you should be proud of yourselves

[kristannafever]

A Snow Angel and a Substitute

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: T+ WC: 7122

~Completely self indulgent oneshot

--------------

“Yo, Mr. B!”

Kristoff turned around right as the snowball exploded against his shoulder.  His eyes narrowed at the three teenage boys who were busting a gut laughing.

“Get your asses to class!” he yelled, a smirk pulling at the side of his mouth as he brushed the snow off his jacket.

The boys grinned at him and took off running through the deep snow.  Kristoff shook his head and resumed his work with the shovel.  It was a crying shame their rural school never got the walks cleared in the morning in time, forcing parents and children to navigate the blinding white landscape.  He’d seen his fair share of people slip and fall, not to mention that one time he took a tumble on the way to his truck after school. 

More students filed off the buses, stepping around him as he resumed shoveling the snow.  It was a long walkway along the front of the school to the bus loop, and he was going to have to hurry back inside to make it in time for the second bell to teach his class.

*****

“There he goes again.”

Anna looked up from where she was sitting at one of the tables in the staff break room.  There were four other teachers, all ladies, looking out the window at someone.   This was a new school for her and her first time substituting at it; if she knew the other teachers better, she might go see that the commotion was about.

“He’s such an angel for doing that,” one of them said.

“Every time it snows.  And he always has a smile on his face,” the first one who spoke answered.

“If I wasn’t married, I would be all over him,” another woman said through a dreamy sigh. 

“Ha.  Get in line.  Almost all of us single ladies have already tried and failed to get a date.”

Anna had no idea what they were talking about but curiosity got the better of her and she got up and approached the window.  Outside was a tall man, his blond hair decorated with snowflakes, shoveling the walkways around the school.

The one who spoke first turned slightly, noticing Anna’s presence.  “Oh, you’re Miss Arendelle, right?  The sub for Mrs. Gleeman’s class?”

“That’s me.”  She smiled.  “I’m Anna.”

“I’m Tracy.  Welcome to the school.”  She offered her hand and Anna shook it.  “You get a good look at Mr. B out there?”

“Mr. B?” Anna asked.

Tracy gave her a wicked smile.  “Mr. Kristoff Bjorgman.  He teaches science in the junior high wing.  You’ll see once you meet him.”

Anna was certainly intrigued.  She imagined she’d have a chance to bump into him since she was taking over the Junior High’s English period in the same wing for the entire month while Mrs. Gleeman recovered from knee surgery.    

The rest of the teachers introduced themselves and Anna found them all to be warm and inviting.  They included her in their conversation about the goings-on of the school until the first bell rang and all the women broke up to head to their classrooms. 

Anna headed to the classroom that the principal had shown her when she’d arrived, and turned the corner to come face to face with a very snow-covered blond man whom she’d been looking at only moments before.

“Oh, hello…” he said, shaking snow off his hair and then brushing it off the shoulders of his coat.  “You must be subbing for Mrs. G.”

Anna was immediately enamored with the pink hue of his cheeks from being out in the cold and exerting himself with the shovel.  “I am,” she said with a smile.  “My name is Anna.”

“Kristoff,” he said, and offered a hand.  “Kids call me Mr. B.”

Anna shook it, expecting it to be cold, but instead it was delightfully warm.  “Nice to meet you, Kristoff.”

He gave her a tiny smile.  “Have a good morning.”  Then he walked around her and straight to the classroom beside hers. 

Anna paused at the door to her classroom and took a deep breath.  It was always nerve-racking teaching in a new school she wasn’t familiar with, and grade seven was by far the most ruthless grade she’d ever taught for.  With any luck, she’d get through the day without having a nervous breakdown.

-----

So far, the morning had gone off without too much issue.  There were some rowdy boys in the class to be sure, but none of them did anything too rash beyond talking when they weren’t supposed to be.  The biggest distraction of the morning happened when the classroom next to theirs erupted with noise.

Her students had been reading quietly to prepare for the book report they were going to do on their chosen book, when there was a whooshing sound, a class full of teenagers oohing and ahhing, and then ruckus laughter.  It filtered through the wall with remarkable clarity.

“I can’t wait for science,” whispered one of the boys in the back to his friend. 

“Me either,” his friend responded.  “Mr. B is the best!”

That brought hushed murmurs of agreement from other students and within seconds they were all talking.  Anna looked at the clock, and with only five minutes left in the period, she figured she’d let them be.  In the meantime, she took the opportunity to look up this Mr. B on line, only to find that he had no presence there beyond being listed as a teacher on the school’s website.

The bell rang and the kids filed out to head to their next class.  Not long after the grade eights filed in, talking and laughing.  Anna had read over their curriculum and was prepared.  That class went a little quicker since they were discussing their upcoming biography projects and Anna had to answer a lot of questions before the bell rang for lunch. 

Anna lingered a moment to gather her notes for the grade nine’s she would be teaching after lunch, then grabbed her bag and headed for the staff room.  Walking passed Mr. B’s classroom, she noticed him out of the corner of her eye.  Pausing, she turned towards the open door and leaned against the frame.

“Do all the teachers eat lunch in their classrooms?”

His head remained still but his eyes looked up from the book he was reading, a sandwich paused half way to his mouth in his other hand.  He blinked at her and finally brough his head up, setting his lunch down.  “Um, no.  But I do.”

“Oh?” Anna cocked her head to the side.  “Is everyone here that insufferable?”

A smirk played out on his lips and he set his book down, looking away from her eyes.  “No, nothing like that.  I just like peace and quiet.”

Anna nodded slowly.  “I get it.  Sometimes I need a breather from all the talking and listening to the students.”

Kristoff looked back and smiled at her but didn’t look like he was going to say anything in response, so Anna told him to have a good lunch and headed to the staff room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kristoff was out there again the next morning, shoveling the snow that had fallen overnight.  The school district crews had been there in the afternoon to clear the accumulation from the day, but everything was once again under a blanket of snow.

Anna walked into the staff room to a nearly identical scene from the morning before, only this time where were five other female teachers lined up at the window.  She didn’t bother to join them since it seemed a little juvenile.  Not that she didn’t understand; he truly was a very handsome man, but why bother ogling when he wasn’t interested.  Anna certainly would have joined him if he’d offered her to eat lunch with him yesterday.  Only he hadn’t, so it was fair to assume there was no interest for her either.

She put her lunch in the fridge and headed to her classroom.  There were already a few students milling around in it, and she got everything set up for the day.  Then the junior high door opened and shut and the sound of someone stomping boots on the mat came down the hallway.  Kristoff breezed by her open door a moment later on his way to his classroom without sparing her so much as a glance. 

“Yo, Mr. B!” came through the wall a moment later, and the sound of kids bombarding him with comments and questions was drowned out by the second bell. 

The day progressed much like the day before, only with the other grade seven and eight classes.  Then the lunch bell rang and Anna headed to the staff room, glancing briefly in Kristoff’s classroom to find it empty.   As soon as she entered the staff area, she could see why.  He was digging around in the fridge, bent at the waist, with every single pair of female eyes staring at his wonderfully shaped back side.

Anna fought with a smile and the urge to break out with laughter.  These women were worse than love struck teenagers.

Kristoff pulled out a brown paper bag and shut the fridge as he turned in her direction.  He almost slammed right into her, and had to stumble back a step.  “Oh, sorry.  Didn’t mean to almost run you over.”

“No worries.”  Anna smiled at him.

The side of his mouth curved up in response but he walked around her and said, “Have a good lunch.”

“You too,” Anna said to his back as he left the room.

Silence stretched on for a moment when Tracy piped up.  “He is so fine.”

A male teacher sitting at a table guffawed at her comment.  “Put it back in your pants, you cougar.  He ain’t interested.”

“I know that,” she snapped at him.  “Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate that fine form.  Not to mention that perfect ass.”

Some of the ladies in the room giggled while the male teacher rolled his eyes with comedic drama that told her the ribbing was all in good fun.   Anna turned away from the group and grabbed her lunch and found a spot to eat while conversations turned away from the attractiveness of co-workers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kristoff never had to shovel the next morning, which disappointed him just a little.  He liked doing it, getting out in the cold fresh air and making life a little better for the parents and students.  One of the gym teachers used to do it, but the guy only shoveled the entryway to the front doors, so when Kristoff got to the shovel before him one morning, he never made a move to grab it again.  It was for the better.  This way the entre walkway was free and clear of deep snow, and Kristoff always got the de-icer to sprinkle if there was ice left on the walks. 

One of the good things about not having to shovel at least was not seeing a bunch of faces staring at him from the window of the staff room.  Some of those ladies were relentless. 

At least it was hump-day and Kristoff was excited to dazzle the kids with another experiment.  He put his lunch in the fridge, ignoring the stares, and went to his classroom to organize his day.  As the kids filtered in, he was greeted warmly. 

He tried not to listen to much of what they were saying, especially when he heard a swear word or two fall out of their mouths, but one of the boys talking caught his attention when he mentioned ‘Miss A’.

“… is so awesome.  She’s so chill.  I like her.”

“Dude, she’s hot!”

“Jackson!” Kristoff warned, not bringing his eyes up from the quiz he was grading.  “Inappropriate.”

“Sorry, Mr. B,” Jackson responded sheepishly. 

Kristoff went back to his work.  He understood these kids had hormones fucking up their brains at this age.  Hell, he’d received googly eyes from plenty of the girls over his years teaching.  It was natural for them to feel those feelings.  And of course, not one of them ever acted on them.  Which sadly, couldn’t be said for all teachers.

He’d worked with a guy before who’d crossed the line with one of his students.  Kristoff laid him out with one punch when he found out, and got him fired on the spot.  The girl was consenting and technically eighteen, but it was still so fucking wrong.  

He saw a flash of colour scurry past his open door and met Anna’s eyes for one brief second as she hurried down the hall.  Kristoff stared at nothing for a moment, regretting not thinking of something better to say to her when she’d stopped by his classroom that first day.  Truth is, she was hot.  And he was instantly captivated by her eyes and her easygoing smile. 

The noise level in the room was getting out of hand so Kristoff had to rein in the students and begin class.  The morning flew by, and before he knew it, the lunch bell was ringing and he was swiftly left alone in his classroom.  He hurried to grab his lunch and managed to get out before too many people came in, and was once again alone in the solitude of his classroom a moment later.

Mid way through unpacking his sandwiches, a familiar voice came from his open door. 

“How do you do it?” she asked. 

Kristoff looked at her, those clear blue, intelligent, eyes, and felt a jolt of longing.  He hadn’t really ever felt an attraction like this before, and it went well beyond her looks. 

“How do I do what?”

“Get them to love you so much,” she said with mock exasperation as she took a couple steps into the room and threw her hands up dramatically.  “Those kids adore you.”

He felt his cheeks warm instantly, and shrugged to her.  “I just like teaching science.”

She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Nuh uh.  It’s more than that.  You have a natural talent for reaching these young people.  They look up to you, and they listen to you, and most importantly, they learn from you.”

The heat in his face deepened and he had no idea what to say.

She sighed.  “We all had those teachers growing up.  You remember, right?  The one, or if you’re lucky, two, that really make a difference.  The one’s that leave an impression.  You are one of those.  How do you do it?”

Kristoff was at a complete loss for words.  No one had ever said anything so flattering to him before.  He was further taken with her. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then.”  She uncrossed her arms and turned back towards the door.

He had a moment of panic, wanting this conversation to keep going only his mind was still drawing a blank.  She was almost out of sight when words finally came to him and came out with halting awkwardness.  “I don’t really know how… I just love science.”

She turned back and looked at him with curiosity.  “You really don’t have like, a secret, or something?”

He shook his head.  “No.  Not at all.  In fact, I’m actually a really quiet person.  I just… like talking about science.”

Anna stared at him, making him a little uncomfortable.  “So you’re basically a unicorn,” she said finally.

The absurdity of the statement made him laugh.  “What?”

She waved her hand in front of her face.  “Never mind.  Just means you’re a rare individual.”  Then she turned and disappeared out the door before he could utter another word. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was tired as hell, and shoveling the dump of snow that had fallen overnight was hard work.  By the time he stomped his snow-covered boots on the mat and changed into his school sneakers, he was ready to call it a day and go home.  Only the day was only just starting. 

The reason he couldn’t sleep, appeared rushing to her classroom as he approached his door, and she threw him one of those breathtaking smiles as she passed him.

All morning, he struggled to concentrate, leaving his kids quietly passing silent glances at one another.  He finally had more than he could take and told them to just take out their textbooks and read over the material in their unit to study for the upcoming test next week.  While they silently worked, he stared at his computer and tried to make himself work. 

He almost dozed off and the bell ran, startling him, which was embarrassingly noticed by almost all of his students.  They filtered out of the class throwing him questioning glances and his next class sauntered in.  He managed to hold it together a bit better, then he looked at the clock, realized how much time was left, and told them to do the same as he did with his other class.

Miss A… Anna… was thoroughly under his skin.

By the time the lunch bell rang, it felt like eight hours had passed instead of four.  He went to the corner of his desk where he’d thrown his lunch bag when he came in.  He was too tired to put it in the fridge and he pulled the items out without really thinking about it and started to eat his first sandwich.

Then she was at his door again. 

“It’s noticeably quiet over here today.”

“Pardon?” he asked, his tired mind trying to understand.

“Your classes are kind of loud,” she said, walking into the room and right up to his desk.

He swallowed the sudden thickness in his throat and maintained eye contact with her.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to be a disruption.”

She gave him a brilliant smile.  “That’s not what I’m saying.”  Anna grabbed a nearby student chair and pulled it towards his desk, sitting across from him.  “I just mean the kids seem a little less upbeat today.  And… so do you.”

Did that mean she had been watching him while he was shoveling?  Did she notice that his enthusiasm was not what it was at the beginning of the week?

“Just tired…” was all he could think of to say. 

She stared back at him with eyes that were more knowing than anyone else he’d ever met.  “I get it.  We all have those days.  That’s why the kids seem quiet.  They feed off your energy, and when you don’t have it, they worry.”

He frowned.  “You think they worry about me?”

“Of course they do!  That’s all I heard murmured when my next class came in.  They come straight from you to me.”

“They noticed,” he said more to himself than Anna as his gaze fell to his desk.  He was a little taken aback, as this had never really happened to him before.  Upon reflection, he supposed he was pretty constant with his attitude.  No wonder the kids were thrown off.

She nodded.  “Don’t worry, no one is saying anything bad.  Just that you look tired.”

He looked back into her eyes.  “Yeah, I am tired.”

“Why?”

Shit, if his tiredness was throwing his kids off, her question as to why certainty threw him off.   “Just a restless night,” he said carefully.

“That’s too bad.”  She frowned.  “Everything okay?  You need to talk about something?”

The fact that the reason he couldn’t sleep was asking him why, was amusing his tired brain.  “No, it’s all good.  Just couldn’t stop thinking.”

“Ah, I have those nights once in a while.”  She leaned back in the chair.  “Definitely no fun.”

He shook his head slowly, watching her eyes as they flicked to the clock and then back to his desk, before finally coming up and meeting his gaze.  It was all over her face; she was going to get up and leave him to his solitude and join the masses in the break room.  All he had to do was say the words.  She stood and it came out of his mouth. 

“If you want, you can bring your lunch here and we could talk.”

A slow smile spread across her face.  “Sure.  I’ll be right back.”

Kristoff watched her leave the room and caught her eyes as she looked back at him.  That was a good sign. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anna had a restless night, and now she had a better understanding of why Kristoff had looked tired the day before.

The talk they had over their short lunch, had opened up something between them.  It was there, and real, and she could feel it.  Kristoff could too, she could tell.  His eyes bored into hers as they talked, taking her in in the way she was taking him in with hers.  And then the bell rang way too soon.

Anna went back to her room feeling fluttery and light.  She even lingered a moment after class, and waited until she saw him walk past her room, looking in and smiling.  She’d called out that she’d walk to the parking lot with him, and he waited while she put on her coat and grabbed her purse.  The talk was brief, but she was suddenly desperate to find out everything about him. 

And then he was on her mind all night long. 

The next morning, it hadn’t snowed and the forecast was for clear skies, so Anna went into her classroom early, not surprised one little bit that Kristoff was in his.  She stopped by his door and noticed there was only one kid there so far, reading quietly at his desk.  She was hoping for an empty classroom but this was going to have to do and the student in question was a quiet one.  Not that this wasn’t going to start a rumor. 

She approached the desk where he was going through some papers.  “Morning, Kristoff.  How are you?”

He looked up quickly and have her an even quicker smile.  “Morning!  I’m Good, how about you, Anna?”

“I’m good.  A little tired, but you know… pretty good.”  She suddenly felt a little flustered in his warm brown gaze. 

“Hmm.  Didn’t sleep well?”

“Not really.”

“Seems to be going around.”

Anna did not miss what he meant by that and by the way he was looking at her.  “How about you?  You catch up on your rest?”

His smile widened and he chuckled low.  “Went to bed at eight, so yeah.  Got nine hours in.”

“That’s great!  I imagine your class will be lively again today.”

“With the experiment I have planned to show the kids, we’ll definitely be disturbing you.”

Anna grinned at him.  “Wonderful.  I love hearing the kids have fun.”

“If it gets too loud though, please let me know.  Mrs. G complained to me all the time.”

“I promise it won’t,” she said, noticing a few kids filtering into the class behind her.  If she was going to go for it, she better get it out now.  “Have a fun morning, and if you want, you can join me in my classroom today for lunch?”

One eyebrow twitched up ever so slightly.  “Sure.  I’d love to.”

-----

Despite Anna’s attempt to keep things low key, she was already hearing kids talk rumors.  And it had only taken a matter of hours for the gossip to spread.  The kids were apparently tickled pink with the idea of Miss A and Mr. B getting together and going on a date.   Now all Anna had to do was get Kristoff to ask her out on one. 

Kristoff showed up for lunch before all the kids had left the room, which she knew would further stoke the flames of the chatter.  Not that she really cared. 

He asked her all about how she got into teaching and she had a great time talking to him, then the bell rang and they finished teaching out their day and walking to the parking lot together again.  He bid her a good night but did not ask her out.  It had disappointed her, but Kristoff seemed kind of laid-back to her, like he just rolled with it, so maybe he just had no presence of mind to rush things.  Unlike Anna, who had already pictured kissing him, among other things, about a dozen times. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kristoff parked in the staff lot and lingered in his truck a moment.  There was no snow to shovel, so no real reason to hurry into the school so early.  That, and Anna’s car wasn’t there yet.

He was going to ask her out on a date, of that he was certain.  What he wasn’t so certain about was whether or not it was a good idea.  He’d already heard the kids whisper about them, and it bothered him.  He was very careful to maintain professionalism in the workplace, and while there were absolutely no rules about dating a staff member, the fact that the kids were so into it was weird to him. 

He decided to let it go when he saw Anna’s car pull of the main road and made a show of slowly grabbing his bag and getting out of the truck so it wasn’t obvious that he had waited for her.  She parked beside him with a bright smile while he shut his door and lingered.  Her head popped up over the roof of the car a moment later.

“Morning, Kristoff.  Walk in with me?”

He smiled.  “Sure.”

“Just a sec…”  She disappeared back into her car to gather her things. 

“No problem.”  It took her a moment, making him smile a little more.  Finally, she gathered her bag and her purse and shut her door.

“TGIF, am I right?”  She laughed, falling in step beside him. 

“Definitely.  Any plans for the weekend?”

“Eh, not really.  Call my sister on Sunday, but that’s about it.  Maybe some Christmas shopping.  I like to get that done early.”

So did Kristoff.  In fact, he was already done.

“How about you?” she asked, as they rounded the bus loop and headed towards the front doors. 

“Oh, not too much.  Go to my folks for dinner on Sunday.”  He took a quick breath and went for it.  “Maybe take you out for dinner tomorrow night?”

Anna stopped in her tracks only feet from the front door and Kristoff resisted the urge to look at the staff window to see who was spying on them.  That was the whole reason he wanted to ask her when they were alone.  The gossip among the staff was sometimes worse than the children.  

She smiled at him in a way he hadn’t yet seen, and it made his stomach do little flips.  “Sure, Kristoff.  I would love that.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On Monday morning, Anna was accosted by Tracy in the staff room. 

The woman had her hands on her hips.  “So you and Mr. B went on a date this weekend?”

Anna bristled at the stern look from the older woman.  “How in the hell did you hear about that?”  She’d been careful not to let the kids know about their date plans, and no one had been around when he’d asked her. 

“Janice, the kindergarten teacher, was at the restaurant that night and saw the two of you canoodling over dinner.”

“So?  Two consenting adults going on a date isn’t a crime.”

“It is when the man is that fine,” Tracy said, arching and eyebrow and giving Anna and evil smile.  “Good for you, girl.”

Anna smiled and giggled nervously with no idea of how to respond to that.

“I’m just joking with you, Anna.  Relax.”  Tracy left the staff room laughing to herself and Anna’s cheeks were on fire. 

She quickly grabbed another coffee and rushed to her classroom, stopping briefly by Kristoff’s open door to smile at him.  Their date, had been magical.  Kristoff was wonderful, kind, honest, intelligent, and sexy as all get out.  He was the man she’d been looking for her entire life.  The sparks flew, and yeah, she supposed they were canoodling over dinner. 

Then Kristoff dropped her off at her place, declined the invite inside, then kissed her in the most wonderful, yet chaste way, leaving her weak in the knees.  She was already head over heels about him and could not wait to go on their next date.  If all went well, they’d be spending more of the weekend together than just their Friday night.

*****

Kristoff went on with explaining the science projects that the kids were going to create and test, but his mind was completely occupied with thoughts of Anna and how he already knew that he was going to fall deeply in love with her.

She ignited things in his soul that he didn’t even know were there.  Time with her was some of the best of his entire life.  And the best part was, he could feel the same kind of energy coming from Anna.   She had wanted him to come into her place when he dropped her off, she made that very clear.  But Kristoff was raised with respect and somehow, he managed to decline despite what his body was telling him.  They were going out again this Friday and he knew she was going to ask again for him to come in after their date, and while he planned to say no, wanting to hold out for the third, he had to wonder if he’d have enough strength to deny her again.

SIX MONTHS LATER

It turned out that Kristoff did not possess the strength to be able to deny her again, and after their second date, him and Anna made love for the first time.  They were inseparable after that.

Anna had been set to leave the school when Mrs. Gleeman returned, only to be informed that the healing was taking its toll on the much older woman, and she’d need another three to four weeks of recovery.  Kristoff was sad that Mrs. G (even as grouchy as she always was to him) was having a hard time, but happy that meant Anna would be at the school a little longer.   And with the thought of her eventually leaving the school looming in his mind, he asked her to move in with him only five weeks after their first date. 

His home had never felt like home until Anna had moved in.  She made his life so much better, and they did absolutely everything together.  Except, at school it was business, and they kept the fact that they were so involved, from everyone there.   Even Tracy had stopped pestering Anna after not getting the information she wanted.  The kids still talked, because Kristoff and Anna still took turns eating lunch in each other’s classrooms, but with no ammo besides a healthy friendship, the murmurs soon ceased. 

More time went on and Anna had been getting genuinely depressed when it was looking like she’d have to move onto another school to substitute at, when low and behold, Mrs. G showed up one morning to meet with the principal and Anna.

Mrs. Gleeman’s daughter, lifelong friends with one of the mothers who Anna taught, had commented about her improvement in her child’s grades and the fact that she was genuinely having a better time at school.  Apparently, Anna’s sharp ears, zero tolerance for bullying and taunting, and constant encouragement to be kind and to help one another, had put an end to her friend’s daughter getting picked on.  Now she even had a couple of good friends and raved about what a great teacher Miss A was.  And apparently, they were not the first parent to comment on the positive changes in their children.

By the end of that meeting, with Mrs. Gleeman’s plans to retire early and her encouragement, Anna had a permanent job teaching junior high English.  She had thanked the older woman and the principal profusely, and went back to her classroom weeping with happiness.  Her students, shocked to see her in such a state, inquired to her emotion.  Kristoff had never heard such a ruckus roar of approval coming from her classroom as she told them she wasn’t going anywhere.  By the end of that day, it was all the kids who entered his class could talk about.

Then, the inevitable happened.  Him and Anna were out bowling on a date in town, when one of their students happened to be there at the same time.  Neither he or Anna had noticed the kid until after a bunch of PDA, and by then it was much too late.  They decided to pretend the student wasn’t there and went about their date.  And as they expected, the following Monday, tongues were wagging among the kids, and they had not stopped for over a week.  Therefore, by that second Friday since that date, Kristoff had an idea to put that to rest once and for all.

He had to put his plan together quickly, informing the principal and other junior high teachers for approval before getting the most important part of his plan.  He was a little nervous, having only been with Anna for six months, but knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were meant for each other.

The morning finally came, and all the junior high students were called into the gym to address the rumors that had been flying around for the past couple weeks.  Kristoff watched them all file in, shaking with nerves.  He couldn’t believe he was about to do this, but having Anna stand by his side, filled him with confidence. 

“How could they not have given us a heads up that we had to address this?” she asked him, leaning over to speak low as the remaining kids and teachers came into the gym.  She’d been informed by the principal at the same time as her class that they were all about to meet to talk about two teachers rumored to be in a relationship.

“Uh, actually, this was my idea.”

Anna’s head snapped in his direction and she looked at him with wide questioning eyes.  “And you didn’t tell me?”

Kristoff pursed his lips but didn’t answer her.  The door to the gym swung shut with the last teacher ushering the kids in and he decided to just go for it.

“Hey, hey!”  He held up his hands.  “Quiet down.”  The kids were too excited and the volume didn’t drop one bit.  “Quiet down, please!” he said, louder, repeating himself a few times, and finally the murmurs died down.

He spared a glance at Anna standing beside him, her cheeks alight with embarrassment and looking over all the kids to the back of the room.   He felt a pang of regret, like this was suddenly a really bad idea, then he looked back at the kids and found renewed strength.

“I’ve had several students mention something to me,” he started.  “Raise your hand if you’ve heard a rumor about Miss A and I.”

Every single student raised their hands and started to giggle and talk.  The noise level took off again and Kristoff had to speak over the din.  “Hands down.  Okay!  Hands down, quiet please.”

The students all quieted and Kristoff resumed his speech.  “There is a rumor going around that Miss A and I are dating.  So I think it’s about time that we address that rumor, and confirm that the answer is… yes, Miss A and I are dating.”

The kids freaked out.  They all shouted with genuine glee and Kristoff looked over to see Anna smiling despite the fact that her face was now crimson.  She looked back at him still shocked and wondering what in the hell he was doing given the fact that he had not mentioned this to her beforehand, but also looking a bit more relaxed about the whole ordeal.

It took him a moment to settle the kids back down, all the while his heart hammered away in his chest.  Once the students were finally settled again, he went for it. 

“The truth is, we are a little more than dating…”  The murmurs began so Kristoff talked over them to get it out and not prolong this any more than it already had been.  “Because I am completely in love with her.”

The kids gasped and started to cheer again and Anna had started to get emotional at the clear delight and support from their students.  She wiped at her glistening eyes as she looked back at Kristoff, and he raised his hand, waiting a moment to get enough of the chatter down to finish this. 

“Quiet, please,” he said loudly, his hand slipping into his pocket.  “Quiet down!”  The noise died and Kristoff took one last nervous swallow, slowly turning to Anna and sinking to his knee.  “I was wondering if Miss A, would like to become Mrs. B?”

Anna’s hands flew to her mouth as the gym erupted with excited screaming.  All Kristoff could do was look at her in question as his words would be drown out by the excited teenagers.  She nodded an enthusiastic yes before offering him her hand to slip the ring onto.  As soon as it was in place he was up on his feet, pulling her into a protective hug while the students carried on their joy for their teachers.   He knew she was going to be shocked, made evident to him in the way she was shaking in his arms, but he knew she would appreciate his plan. 

And she did.  Later that night, after a celebratory dinner, she confided in him how wonderful his gesture was to include their kids, and how special she felt. 

Then they made love and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

THE NEXT WINTER

“Yo, Mrs. B!”

Anna turned around and ducked anticipating what was about to happen.  The snowball sailed over her head and she gave the now eighth graders a stern look, even though she couldn’t help but smile.  “Get your butts to class, gentlemen!”

The boys laughed and took off to their door with Kristoff chuckling beside her.  “Seem’s like I’m just chopped liver to them now,” he said.  “Those snowballs used to have my title on them.”

Anna laughed.  “Don’t worry.  It’s the first snowfall of the season.  I am sure the next one will have Mr. all over it.”

Kristoff hummed his amusement and him and Anna continued to shovel the walks.  They decided to do it together since it would get done faster, and Kristoff mentioned to her that he was genuinely relived not to see a bunch of faces watching him from the staff room window anymore.

The whole junior high body was invited to their wedding ceremony.  Not to it proper, of course that would have been crazy, but to watch the live stream if they were so inclined.  After the first couple days of their honeymoon, Anna had checked and was surprised to see how many people had actually watched it.  There were tons of wonderful and supportive comments.

Those first two weeks of newlywedded bliss exploring the fjords of Norway, had been the best of Anna’s entire life aside from the day she married her best friend.  Kristoff was the most wonderful person she had ever met in her life, and she was thankful to be able to call him her husband.

They finished shoveling and returned to their classrooms to begin preparing for the day, when the principal made an announcement that he would like all the junior high students to assemble in the gym.   Anna ushered her kids out of the classroom and received a concerned and questioning look from Kristoff when she met him in the hallway. 

She shrugged her shoulders and kept back the smile that was fighting to form her lips.  Anna had truly adored the way that Kristoff had proposed, but still vowed to herself to get him back. 

The teachers gathered in the corner while the kids huddled together, sitting on the floor and waiting for whatever they were about to be told.  The principal came in, greeted everyone, and got the ball rolling.

“Quiet down, please,” he said, gesturing with his hands for the kids to settle.   “I’ve called you all in her to receive an announcement from one of our teachers.  Mrs. Bjorgman, you have the floor.”

Kristoff’s head whipped in her direction and he stared at her with shock, so Anna decided to get it out while she still had the nerves.

“Well, I have to say that I am going to be taking a leave of absence.” 

The students started to murmur with concern and Kristoff went so far as to reach out and grab her hand.

“Anna?” he asked quietly, his tone full of worry.

Anna looked back at him, gave hum a gentle smile, and returned to the kids.  “I will be taking leave of my position at the end of April.”

Hands shot up with questions and Anna felt Kristoff squeeze her hand firmly but did not look over at him yet.  She picked Brie, since she was sitting in the front row.  “Yes, Brie?”

The grade sevener frowned.  ““Are you coming back?” 

“Yes, of course.”

The students started to murmur louder and Anna picked another kid with their hand up.  “Yes, Brandon?”

“How long will you be gone?”

The students quieted down immediately to hear the answer.  “A year.” 

More hands shot up and Anna felt Kristoff squeeze her hand again.  She picked another student.  “Yes, Samantha?”

“Why are you leaving?”

Anna finally looked at Kristoff, and his expression was in awe.  She knew he was too smart not to figure out what she was going to say next, and she smiled at him, eyes welling up with happy tears.

She turned back to the kids.  “Mr. B and I are going to have a baby.”

Much like Kristoff’s proposal, the kids cheered for them, and Anna let the tears come as Kristoff pulled her into a protective hug. 

“Anna, I am so happy,” Kristoff said, his voice wavering with emotion.  “I can’t believe you’ve kept this a secret for four months.”

Anna laughed, not at all surprised Kristoff had done the math.  She pulled back to look at his glassy eyes and happy smile.  “Well, I had to get you back for that surprise proposal.  So… surprise!”

He chuckled, and pulled her into another hug, the volume of the kids rising as they began talking excitedly.  “This is the absolute best surprise,” he said in her ear.  “Thank you, Anna.”

Anna hugged him back tighter.  Her heart was happy and full, and she could not wait to meet their first baby in the spring.

[m0thcl0wn]

Pleasepleaseplease you asked for OP characters so 👉🏻👈🏻 can I have a Nami? Draw a Nami? Silly cutie patootie pookie Nami? 🍊🧡🍊🧡🍊🧡

ANYTHING FOR U

this is the second? time ive drawn her which is criminal really but i like this a lot so i think ill finish it!!!

[one-squash-one-end]

An analysis on gender and sexuality - Blue Sargent

Hi! This belongs to my big Raven Cycle analysis, click here for the masterpost!

This part will deal with our favorite short ant, Blue Sargent. A sort of silly but still intentional analysis/essay on why I think she's nonbinary, where I go off on random tangents because i have adhd and access to the internet. Enjoy! (This will be so fucking long though, I had Thoughts)

3. Trust me, the characters are queer as fuck and I can prove it (+ my professional opinion on whether they’d wear a crop top)

a) Blue Sargent

Look. No matter how I look at this entire character, there’s simply no way Blue is not genderfluid. (The fluid is one of Maura’s footy healing teas btw.) And I am here to spread the agenda and force my own identity onto fictional characters so that after you have read this analysis and interpretation, you will agree with me on my correct opinion.

To begin with, there is this entire theme of not fitting in and dressing in an “unusual” way. It becomes very evident that Blue is really proud of being weird and eccentric, this displayed in attitudes towards her mom, the boys and her internal monologue about Mountainview High. She does not want to fit in if it means changing for others, yet she says “the problem with being weird was that everyone else was normal”. This could possibly be a metaphor for being trans; being proud of it, yet being only surrounded by cis people, who conform to all those societal gender norms. It means one would feel sort of isolated (as Blue does mention she is), not being able to relate to or feel deeply understood by anyone in their environment.

Additionally, alternative fashion (or at least that’s how I would describe her aesthetic in general) has quite typically been claimed by queer people. I know this is a lot of interpretation here, and it’s worth mentioning that you absolutely cannot tell someone’s gender by how they present on the outside. However, the evidence gets stronger as we dive deeper. If we look at her fashion sense together with the statement of “I don’t care to be pretty, I care to look on the outside as I do on the inside.”, it sends quite a clear message: Her outside is very jumbled, not conforming to societal norms, a mix of many different styles that seems to change its focus daily. In my opinion, that’s pretty gender of her. If that’s how she presents on the outside (which is not traditionally “female”, among other things I just mentioned), just think about what that would mean for her inside. It’s chaotic, it’s messy, it’s just a lot of things. It’s called being genderfluid.

The second big theme we have is her constantly being treated as “one of the boys”. And yes, of course cis girls can be friends with large groups of boys (and the other way around) but it is quite rare or unusual, especially if all of them are straight (so my point is this: Blue is not cis and also the boys are all queer, more on that later). Either way, Blue defies traditional gender norms and “girly” hobbies by taking part in fun teambuilding activities such as cave exploring, trespassing, grave robbery and burying a body. We stan.

Then we have this quote, which is talking specifically about Blue truly being part of the group for the first time: “They were loud and triumphant and kings of Henrietta.” Now, while kings are a theme that is quite consistent throughout the books, each of the boys and Mr. Gray being called one at least once in significant scenes of their character arcs, by that time it is not yet that established. There would have been so many other words for Maggie Stiefvater to use. First of all, kings and queen, though that would be a bit unwieldy. She chose not to alienate Blue. But there were other alternatives, something not quite so gendered, such as royals, or gods even. Yet, that specific wording happened, showing she is in no way other than the boys. And maybe in that scene she really wasn’t, feeling more masculine that day perhaps.

Furthermore, “whatever her identity crisis was, it seemed to live at home, not with the boys”, meaning she does feel alienated around all those women, but she does somehow fit in with the boys. Yes, this is also a teen thing of being misunderstood by parents while identifying a lot with peers, but when what she rejects is femininity and she seems to embrace masculinity, it’s a bit sus, don’t you think? And then lastly it’s not only the Gangsey, but also the Vancouver crowd as well, a group of boys held together by somehow being different than the rest of Aglionby (if I remember correctly), that she feels immediately at home with.

Next, there are the 300 Fox Way women. As we just established, Blue feels a sort of identity crisis in this house filled with women. She does not fit in, because she is the only one without any psychic abilities, meaning she is already “other”, but there is a clear focus on showing how she is so, so loved, by her direct family (like Maura) but also the others (Calla, Persephone) have accepted her as one of their own. Now, what if she was also genderqueer? Wouldn’t that give her one more reason to be different, while simultaneously putting emphasis on the fact that trans people can and deserve to be loved by their families?

I saved the strongest evidence for last (well, sort of, there’s still more to come actually). The following quote is the ultimate confirmation Blue is not female. As she, the Gangsey and some of her family group together in the kitchen, she says there were “three boys, four women, and one Blue”! Here she is specifically not assigned either of the aforementioned genders, not grouped together with the 300 Fox Way women in a “five women, Blue being one of them” manner and also not one of the boys in this scene. This might be an age issue (like how for months I wasn’t sure if I dislike both the terms “woman” and “girl” being used for me because of age or gender), but the scene could have easily said “women, boys and one teenage girl”, focusing on groups divided by age and gender like the original intention might seem to be. And yet it didn’t.

Now for some more quotes. After some guy from her school draws a penis on the unicorn on her binder, she says “she preferred her unicorns ungendered”. For the reasons already listed I deduce that, much like the unicorn, Blue prefers herself ungendered.

“She felt one thousand years old. She also felt like maybe she was a condescending brat.” is of course supposed to show how contradicting growing up can feel, perception of oneself flickering between being terribly grown up and still being a little child, who cannot know anything. I would also argue, though, that this duality can be quite reminiscent of her gender identity, feeling like multiple, supposedly contrasting, things at once. As an additional afterthought, the theme of being ageless is sometimes associated with omniscient beings, detached from being human, such as deities. Another thing that would be quite typical for gods, especially when they are so apart from society, is being genderless, or having a gender that fluctuates. Some examples for this would be Dionysus, Loki or the ancient genderfluid entity Asushunamir, stemming from the mythology of one of humanity’s first civilizations, Mesopotamia.

Then, naturally, we have other people’s perception of her. While she probably has been described as a girl in quite a few instances in the book (one of them being Henry, though before he really knew her), to me it sticks out that she describes herself as a “sensible teen”, not a sensible girl, though that might have made even more sense in the context of not going around kissing random boys (but yes, let’s be honest, that’s some antiquated slut-shaming, people can kiss as many consenting people as they like). Further instance is that Gansey says “Blue was a fanciful, but sensible thing. Like a platypus, or one of those sandwiches […]”. Like, he goes out of his way to not describe her as a girl in that scene, instead drawing weird-ass comparisons. Now, while calling his friends magnificent creatures is totally his thing (maybe Gansey rejects gendered terms and embraces silly greetings), this did seem intentional to me. Not to mention the obvious parallel of platypuses being mammals but laying eggs, somehow combining different species. Despite reproducing differently than “normal” mammals (also having different sexual organs), they are still recognized as such, and if that isn’t very trans rights of them, I don’t know what is. (Yes I know being a mammal is not derived from reproductive organs and this is probably all somewhat wrong, but I am relying heavily on metaphors here and also I dropped Biology.)

Now as a last thing I chose the entire theme of “something more”. If I’m not mistaken, “something more” is important for every other character as well (I specifically remember Henry), but it begins with Blue and seems to be most relevant to her either way. As I’m writing this I realize so much of the evidence I have collected can also be read under points of view of growing up, but still fits her gender, showing not only that Blue is pretty reminiscent of how teenagers feel, how things in their lives contradict, but also that we come to realizations about our own gender as we grow up, whether it’s realizing at five, fifteen or fifty years old, self-discovery is an ongoing process. So “something more” is absolutely about her future, but it might also relate to her gender being something more than simply female, more than the binary dictates.

If you read this entire series with the opinion that Blue is not cis (like I do! And like my real life friends hopefully will after reading this J), there are masses of hints pointing towards it and creating evidence. Smash the cis-tem.

By now I’ve made my point about her gender pretty clear, so now it’s time to point out that Blue isn’t straight either. First of all, if she does not confirm to either of the binary genders, she cannot, in any way, be heterosexual, but either way, there’s just no way she’s straight.

Now, if you read this essay (? analysis? meta deep-dive?), you will soon be convinced that her entire friend group is queer somehow, which absolutely accounts for something because I can confirm, from real life experience, that queer people seem to flock towards each other. I will admit that we don’t really see her interact with many female characters outside of family (yes I will admit this is a red flag, but I promise the book passes the Bechdel test), but the vibes she gives off are clearly m-spec.

Additionally, because I am always looking for some representation of my own identity, Blue could potentially be somewhere on the aro-ace spectrum. This isn’t shown super strongly, especially since she does get a canon relationship and it’s very sweet and romantic. Yet, she is not really sex-driven or anything like that and seems to value friendship a LOT, though the entire theme of friendship in general throughout the series will be explained in a later part of this analysis. Also, while I am aware that the books are YA and thus won’t focus on sex too much either way, especially in teen characters, it’s comparably low, considering the premise is (wrongfully) about true love’s killing kiss. We can also compare her storyline and character to Kavinsky, someone her age who seems to be very obscene, and characters like Ronan, who are somewhere between them on that scale. Overall, I would probably call her pan, but once again, there might be some greysexuality or something similar in there.

Lastly, Blue would absolutely wear crop tops of course. Now that I think about it, she probably even does at some point in the books.