#'anna are you really thinking about this movie in this context' sorry but. yes.

[potatoesandsunshine]

not to be insane about it but i'm actually gonna be a little insane about it. sorry all

[redclercs]

DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

v. i gave my blood, sweat and tears for this

— the one where both of you have given everything to be where you are.

warnings: misogyny, sexual harassment, this is how monaco went btw i accept no criticism. barely proofread, sorry. 3.7k words (+ article, podcast excerpts)

masterlist ✢ next

'Have we let y/n y/ln get away with way too much?'

By Alan Gomez

Yes folks, it might be our own fault, we have created a monster in the form y/n y/ln. Mediocre actress at best and with an even worse personality, if the latest events are any indication.

But how could we let this happen? Come on, we're smarter than this!

The thing is, y/n brainwashed us into believing that her doe-eyed, no-brain characters were actually her. Don't beat yourselves up over this too much, even I was a victim of those pretty eyes. But now that the blindfold has fallen, we have come to realize we have let y/n get away with everything!

You might know y/n from Supercut, the romantic comedy that took the world by storm in 2019, where she starred alongside Aidan Kim and it lead to these two becoming one of the general public’s most cherished couples. At least until two months ago, when their breakup was announced via Inside Out. Although there haven’t been any official statements, given the circumstances, we believe it was the actress who broke it off with Kim.

RELATED:

→ Aidan Kim and friends at Cannes Film Festival

→ Y/N supports alleged boyfriend at charity football match

But whether she’s dating a new guy now or not, why do we keep letting her do whatever she wants?

How did she actually brainwash us into thinking she’s anything close to an “it girl”? After Supercut, all she’s done is the absolute bare minimum to keep people talking about her, it’s all RomComs and no effort. I didn’t want to be that person, and you have to believe me on this, but Aidan Kim made her.

Let’s remember Aidan built his career from the ground as a member of Star-5 the early 2010’s boyband that split in 2018. He was the ‘someone’ in the relationship. How can people even compare having the hit song “Round and Round” in your résumé to being in Scream (Netflix) and The Mist (again, Netflix)?

Aidan made us like her and the writers of Parisian Valentine, The Hating Game and Last Night In Love, did her a HUGE favor by consolidating her as the “Queen of RomComs” by what standard? Well, don’t ask me.

The truth is, we accepted y/n into our hearts and homes, thanks to Aidan Kim and an unbelievable amount of luck, and we haven’t held her accountable for anything ever.

Here’s what I’m talking about, if you’re still wondering what the point of this article is, click on every link to be taken to the whole context, you’ll thank me later:

❍Y/N yells at paparazzi to leave her alone as she walks around Beverly Hills with Victoria Presley.

❍ Y/N praises Taylor Swift while tearing down several male artists for writing songs about their personal experiences.

❍ Y/N says in interview with ELLE that not every movie has to be “profound”.

And just for fun:

❍ A collection of Y/N’s disastrous looks.

It’s time we realize y/n y/ln is talentless, has a horrible personality and feigns innocence she certainly doesn’t have. You will NOT continue to take advantage of us, y/n! It’s all over for you, so I’m glad you’re dropping your pathetic career to become a WAG. #Y/NIsOverParty.

↺ FROM ❛WE WATCH❜ PODCAST

Paul Byrnes: Can y/n really do another role now, after all she’s known for are romantic comedies?

Anna Sanchez: well, I really liked her in The Mist, she did great as character in a horror it was—

Paul Byrnes: No one cares about The Mist, Anna, just you.

Anna Sanchez: all I’m saying is she’s a good actress, she can do other things. That was your question, Paul.

Paul Byrnes: Well, in my opinion she can't and that's it.

↺ FROM ❛IT TALK❜ PODCAST

Greg Zane: Let's talk y/n y/ln and her fashion choices now that she's an F1 WAG. What do we think?

Riley Green: She's a what now? How long has it been since she broke up with Aidan Kim?

Martha Vincent: I think she's looking great, I just wish she'd let go of the ugly caps.

Riley Green: No seriously, how long did she stay single?

Greg Zane: I agree Martha, but caps are big in Formula 1, nothing we can do about that. I'm wondering if she'll go for a more glamorous look in Monaco.

Riley Green: guys? hello?

Martha Vincent: Oh Riley, we're not talking about her love life, let it go.

↺ FROM ❛HOLLYWOOD VIBES❜ PODCAST

Pauline Oscar: [cont.] I'm just so curious about the reason of their breakup, why hasn't anyone said anything?! It must be juicy.

Brenda Yim: I feel like it's bad for one of them, most likely y/n. Hello, can anyone offer one of their friends some money? Just like old times!

Pauline Oscar: [laughs] Definitely! We need to know! Can it get any worse than the fact that she's already with another guy? What's his name? Charles Le what? She soooo cheated.

liked by charles_leclerc, vicpresley, mati.bassi, carlossainz55 and others.

ynfreesia UM THE LIKES?

xxynbaby it's "monaco" of course

aidanluvs you don't even have the decency to pretend like you're alone? fuck you

ynredstar i cannot defend you if you pull this shit girl

mati.bassi great view for breakfast with my best girl!💕

ynredstar oh ynredstar nevermind thanks mati ↳ feels4aidan don't be so gullible she's obviously covering up for them

THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST ARE DISABLED.

May 27th, Montecarlo, Monaco.

THERE are tears in your eyes, and despite your best efforts not to let them run down your cheeks, it's futile. The worst part is that you're the one doing this to yourself. There's zero need to read 'articles' from pseudo journalists on how a man gave you your career and how you're tossing it into the trash for another. Not to mention the cascade of curses you received for a picture on instagram, where everyone thought you were with the other man.

Has your life really come to this? People don't talk about you unless a guy is involved? You loathe it. Your career was never about Aidan, and it's not about Charles now. Who only makes things worse every time he shows up and yet you can't manage to bring it up to him.

It's embarrassing. You don't want to walk up to him during whatever free time he has in a hectic weekend, and ask him if it really doesn't annoy him everything the press has made up about the two of you, or if he's really that unbothered by being paired up with you in the wildest scenarios, and tell him that he can shut them down whenever he feels like it (you wish he would already), and let him know you won't mind whatever he says about not being involved with you.

But no, Mr. Leclerc is busy giving unclear answers at interviews and liking your instagram posts, as if this isn't already a wildfire.

You put down your phone and pick it back up almost immediately, Vic's ringtone fills your hotel room and you wipe away your tears before answering her FaceTime request.

"Were you crying?" it's the first thing she says, moving her sunglasses to the top of her head. There's a lot of noise in the background and you can barely make the words out, but she comes so close to the phone that all you can see is the tip of her nose. "Why were you crying?"

"It's nothing, Vic. What's up?" you sigh, rubbing your eyes only makes things worse but you don't want to worry about that now.

"I just got to Monaco, babe," the phone is at a safe distance from her nostrils again and you can see around her, the airport where you landed a few days ago. "I'm with my parents," she rolls her eyes, lowering her voice. "But if you could get me into the Ferrari Suite I can hang out with you tomorrow!"

They allowed you one guest and the spot has already been taken by Mati, so there really isn't much you can do in terms of getting her into the Ferrari Suite. "Well, let me see what I can do, okay?"

"Okay," she sounds unsure, you know Vic enough to be sure she expected a different answer. "I mean my parents have Lounge privileges but it's more fun to be with you."

Had she said something about coming to Monaco you might have been able to do something, but as far as you were concerned she planned to stay in France all week, enjoying Cannes and mingling.

"I'll do my best Vic, but you know how they are," you exhale heavily, "Plus it's a crazy-ass weekend."

"Isn't it always?" she's yawning now, "We can meet for dinner later and you can tell me what's up alright? Being with my parents is so boring."

You shake your head, "Be nice, they just want to hang out with you. I'll call you after Quali," you check the clock on top of the nightstand, it's 10 am. You have to get ready for FP3, which you don't care about attending or not but Stuart Schaffer asked to see you, so you haven't got much of a choice.

"Sure babes, love you." Vic pulls her sunglasses down again and blows a kiss to the screen.

"Love you too," it's your turn to yawn as you tap the hang up button.

You look at the special edition Ferrari cap you received as a gift yesterday on top of your suitcase and immediately discard the idea of wearing it. No caps. And then the wave of disgust invades you, are you seriously going to do what some random man said on a podcast you came across by accident?

The answer is yes, unfortunately.

─────────

You would rip your leg off if you could, at least it would mean you’d be able to get out of this chair and away from Stuart. But his palm resting on top of your knee feels like a death grip and you’re frankly afraid to move in case it goes further up.

Mati decided to skip FP3 and you’re really hoping she’ll be on time for Quali because you have no one else to talk to, Stuart is just parading you around again and keeping you way too close for comfort because he’s in a great mood since both Ferraris maintained their top spots and things are looking hopeful for Qualifying.

You know it’s your chance to ask if you can bring Victoria around tomorrow, and you know the answer will be yes, but you don’t. You don’t want to ask things from this man, he’s the type to never forget a debt.

You barely catch a glimpse of Carlos and Charles as they walk by on the way to their debrief and Charles waves at you quickly, with a single-dimpled smile. He’s wearing the same cap you refused to put on.

“I’m going to call my friend,” you blurt out once Charles is out of sight, finally moving your leg back to make Stuart’s hand drop. “She had the worst hangover, I have to check up on her.”

“Oh, you girls get wild in Monaco,” Stuart cackles as you sprint away from him, actually resisting the urge to wipe your knee clean.

"Hey y/n!" Mati's voice can barely be heard above the EDM playing wherever she is. "What's up?"

"Where are you?" you whine, looking back inside the Suite. "Help."

"What's wrong?" you picture her frowning as she tries to walk away from the noise helplessly.

You feel guilty for worrying her so you sigh. "Nothing, I just hate being here. Are you coming here for Qualifying?"

"Yep," she pops the 'p' and laughs. "Listen, why don't we have lunch here at the yacht and then go back for Quali?"

"Yes!" once again you look over your shoulder to where the Elix men are laughing at their own jokes and patting each other's backs. “I’m on my way, okay?”

“I’ll be right here, also don’t scare me like that again, please.”

“Sorry,” you chuckle, embarrassed. Maybe you’re a bit dramatic at times, but it’s really all good-natured. “See you in a minute.”

You turn to the door of the Suite, giving a short jump back when you open it at the same time as someone else.

“Oh, god,” you sigh, stepping inside as Charles moves out of the way to let you in. “Thanks.”

“Sorry I scared you,” he smiles, closing the door again once you’re fully in. Charles is once again holding a closed Elix can, tapping his fingers on the side.

You eye it suspiciously, wondering if the thing has really grown on him. After all, one of the first things he told you was how much it disgusted him.

“It’s alright. I thought you were in your debrief?” You grab a can of Elix yourself, looking good in front of the sponsors cannot hurt.

“It was a short one. Keep doing what you’re doing kind of thing,”

“Right. Well, good for both of you,” you look around for Carlos but he’s nowhere to be seen. “Would it jinx it to say ‘good luck’ for later?”

You know many sportspeople take their jinxes and rituals way seriously, and you don’t want to be the one to blame if something goes wrong for the local star.

Charles considers this for a second and then shakes his head no. “Wish me luck,” he smiles.

“Good luck, Charles.” You beam back at him, enjoying—despite yourself—the way his eyes burn into yours.

─────────

You’re back at the Suite with Mati 10 minutes before Qualifying starts. The tension that had seeped out of your body in the form of laughter and loud singing with Mati is already making its way back to your back and jaw. You’re not ready to be around the Elix people again, but you must. However, first, you make Matilde promise she won’t leave your side.

Stuart Schaffer is already patting the empty seat next to him when you make your way through the refreshment tables. You smile at him, a muscle in your cheek falters as you walk past him on your way to the balcony, to catch both Ferraris leaving the garage.

“Oh don’t drink that,” you whisper when you see Mati walk your way, two cans of Gold Elix in her hands. “Don’t.”

Matilde snorts, “You’re literally the ambassador of this thing, and you don’t like it?”

“SHHH!”

“Fine, but those guys are looking at us so we have to at least sip it.”

You groan, opening the one she offers you and then taking a huge gulp. “Yum,” you mock.

Mati laughs again before her face goes sour with the taste. “Oh my God,”

“Warned you,” yet you take another sip. You think that if it grew on Charles it might grow on you, but you don’t really see it happening.

Q1 and Q2 go by smoothly, at least for Ferrari and you’re on the edge of your seat for Q3. This is the race you’ve been more excited for, but it’s not like you’ve attended many others. Still, Monaco just hits different.

The end of Q3 almost gives you a heart attack, although you also blame your almost empty Elix. You didn’t even notice how much you drank, but the thing that really gets your heart jumping out of your chest is Victoria’s ringtone.

Begrudgingly, you turn away from the track. She has texted you a thousand times, without exaggerating, since Quali started and you know it’s because she’s bored out of her mind at the Lounge with her parents. But you’re starting to find this genuinely entertaining and you are bothered by the distraction.

“I told you I’d call you after Quali, Vic,” you singsong, looking up at the screens inside the Suite.

“Well Quali is almost over, no one cares about the last three minutes.”

You do, Max Verstappen is in first place, then Charles and Checo in P3. You’re crossing your fingers for Charles to manage to get above both Red Bulls. And for Carlos to squeeze in there too.

You don’t say anything else, too enthralled by the battle on the screen.

“Y/n?” Vic raises her voice, “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes Vic, what is it?”

“We’re going to be at Ferrari together tomorrow, right?”

You wince, glad she chose a phone call instead of FaceTime this time around. You haven’t asked and you don’t intend to. Vic still has VIP Lounge access, she’ll be fine.

“They said no, Vic.” You lie, your eyes scanning the screen, it’s the last lap before they get the checkered flag out. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why? Did you tell them I can give them publicity? I have one million followers!”

“Monaco is different from Miami,” you explain gently, “But you’ll still be at the VIP, you have a great view.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she’s beyond annoyed now, as it happens every time things don’t go her way. You can’t blame her, but you also think it will be good for her to spend some time with her parents, whom she refuses to visit although they live in Malibu and pay her mortgage. “We’re still up for dinner though, right?”

“Yep! I’ll meet you at your hotel.”

“Okay see you then, babes.”

By the time your eyes return to the screen, Charles is in P1, Carlos in P3 and the Ferrari Suite is exploding in cheers.

YOU’RE up painfully early the next day. Vic and you went back to your respective hotel way past three am and you’re exhausted, but at least you had enough self-control to avoid today’s hangover.

Nevertheless, the morning goes by in a blur between breakfast with Elix people, calls with Mildred and Walter, your manager, and two casting agents that tell you that no, you don’t need to go for an in-person casting, you’re not getting the role.

By the time you get to the Suite you have a headache and the knot on your throat is progressively getting harder to swallow. You only make things worse by rage-reading tweets with your #IsOver hashtag.

People claim, with more force every day, that Aidan gave you everything and you are starting to regret ever meeting him.

You have worked your ass off for years, taking on small roles, commercials, stock-photo deals. Learning scripts and going to castings and taking classes, you have been criticized and rejected for more things than just “not fitting the role”.

You have given everything you are and everything you have, and people assure what you got in return you owe it all to some man.

“Hola y/n!” Carlos is the first one to get back to the Suite and you wish he would rub off some of his good mood on you. “How are you today?”

“Hi Carlos, I’m alright and you?”

“You definitely look it,” he says, semi-sarcastically. “Something on your mind?”

The knot is back in your throat so you shake your head no. “And yours?”

“Nada de nada.” he smiles. You’re still growing on each other, but this is the most comfortable you’ve been while sharing the same space.

Charles arrives while Carlos, Mati (who is hungover from her party at the yachts) and you are comparing workout playlists. Wearing what now seems to be like his comfort cap, and a pair of ugly ripped jeans, he smiles brightly at the three of you.

You’re happy to see both Ferrari boys so smiley after the past couple races. Miami especially. And you hope they’ll do well; but you’re particularly scared for Charles, and whatever it is that made him unlucky in his hometown, you don’t want this day to end on a sour note.

You spend about an hour talking to them about anything, your movies, their races, Mati's tour with Romeo and Juliet. Music, hobbies and quirks, Charles and Carlos have an opinion on everything and they are actually quite fun to be around. Then, a Ferrari Team member comes to get them for the Drivers Parade so you wave them goodbye, wishing them a smooth race.

"You're not going to wish me luck, y/n?" Charles asks, the smirk on his face is one you identify as mischievous, and it makes a small wave of anxiety run down your back.

Mati stops the bottle of water halfway through her mouth to ogle at the two of you, and the palpable tension that has installed itself in the space.

"Good luck, Charles," the smile you return falters in one corner, but Charles doesn't seem to mind as he adjusts his cap and says thank you before leaving behind Carlos.

Mati has forgotten about her need to hydrate and is staring at you with both eyebrows raised. "I thought you were not doing that?" she gestures with her head towards the door through which both drivers vanished.

"I'm not doing anything," you reply, defensively. "He's being—"

"y/n, you could cut the tension there for a minute," Mati finally takes a swig of water and you wait for her to continue talking. "Like I said, I don't recommend it but... you're free to do whatever you want." she isn't unkind while wording that last part, but it still stings you with annoyance.

"Thanks, Mati." you bite the inside of your cheek, leaning back into the sofa.

─────────

The Ferrari Suite explodes in cheers once the checkered flag is out. After a frankly insane race with rain, crashes and too-long pit stops, both Ferraris have crossed the finish line, and most importantly Charles has finally managed to get rid of his Monaco curse. His enlarged picture appears on every screen with P1 right in the middle. Carlos is P4, but the points are extremely important in the long run, so people celebrate nevertheless.

Before you know it, Mati and you are being dragged down to the track for the podium celebrations. You're buzzing with excitement, holding Matilde's hand as you run to one side, where the mechanics can't crush you as they jump up and down.

Even above the general screams of happiness, you can hear talks of 'Charles deserves this so much', 'It was about time' and 'His hard work is finally paying off at home'.

At least someone's blood, sweat and tears are valued.

YOU are probably not living down the Charles dating allegations this weekend. Which is not your fault, honestly, had they enlarged the picture, it would have shown Mati just as excited for Ferrari as you were. She's Italian, and she bleeds for Ferrari.

But right now, surprisingly, you're not overwhelmed with whatever it is they're saying on Twitter. Although it took Mati snatching your phone away and tossing it in her own purse before sitting you down to retouch your makeup for the celebration party.

Victoria is joining you too, because a 'the more the merrier' applies to any sort of party happening in a Monaco club, especially if it is for the unofficial prince.

It is the first time in three months you let go of your worries, even if it is for the shortest amount of time as you dance with Victoria and Mati and drink anything you please and whoop every time the DJ mentions Charles and Carlos.

You're happy to be with your friends, away from Elix and celebrating two people who can become something more than coworkers to you. Although through the night you see them on a few occasions, Carlos waves at you as he passes by a few times only stopping in the third time to let you congratulate him with a quick hug that's more of a shoulder squeeze than anything.

Charles is obviously harder to approach, and to be fair, it's not like you're even trying. He's surrounded by his hometown friends and by anyone who wants to have his attention for a minute, for a picture or a dance or to buy him a drink.

It's past three am when Victoria is beyond buzzed and you're starting to feel exhausted so you decide it's time to leave. Mati has found someone to take home so she's been gone for around forty minutes, minding her business.

"Come on, let's go," you are grabbing Victoria by the wrist as her ankle twists. "We've both had enough," you laugh, Victoria joins your laughter as you snake through the crowd of people pumping fists in the air, some of them point and wave at you and you smile back at them politely.

You hear your name being passed around a few times, but you focus on finding the exit while keeping Victoria by your side, who has started to whine about not wanting to leave.

Once you break into the outside, you take a breath of fresh air, the coolness makes your skin rise in goosebumps and you shiver, letting go of Victoria to lift the hair on the back of your neck.

"It's too early!" Victoria complains once again, her eyes are glassy and she's just as sweaty.

"It's not, plus you're drunk, we should leave," your ears still feel drowned in the sound of music. “My feet are killing me.”

The exit opens again, and a couple stumbles out laughing and they tell Vic and you goodbye in drunken French. Before the door shuts again, Charles is out on the street too.

"I heard you were leaving," he says in what you're sure it's a too loud voice. But your ears have barely stopped ringing, so you can't blame him. "Are you two okay?" he eyes Victoria, who is starting to lean down on her knees to soothe her dizziness.

"Oh we're alright, we've just partied enough," you smile at him. Charles is rosy, bright-eyed and sweaty. Is it corny to describe someone as painfully handsome?

"I didn't get to congratulate you," you add, trying to keep your attention on Charles while being aware that Victoria might start retching at any given moment. "You did amazing."

Victoria straightens immediately, her glassy stare focusing on Charles. "You're such a good driver, Charles, for real."

"Thank you," Charles nods awkwardly a few times as Victoria pokes him with her left index finger. "And thank you y/n."

"Come on, Vic," you chuckle, keeping her hand away from Charles. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you."

Charles smiles again, running a hand through his hair. "Thank you, really. I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier," he points behind him, to the club.

"It's your party, you can't be everywhere,"

Vic is yawning loudly, and you roll your eyes, amused. "We better get going."

"y/n, when are you flying to Spain?" Charles blurts out, the moment you turn to lead Vic down the street.

"I'm not sure, Wednesday probably?"

"You know, I can still show you a place or two in Monaco. If you want." He sinks his left hand in the front pocket of his dark jeans, and you wonder where the mischievous aura from what seems like ages ago went.

You pause, letting Vic put her whole weight on your shoulder as she finally gives up to the exhaustion. "Um well..."

The same tension that appeared at the Ferrari Suite is back, and the more you hesitate, the thicker it becomes.

Victoria pulls you down with her as she throws her head back, yawning again. Charles is just in time to hold you back up, his other arm pulling Vic back to a standing position.

"Only if you want," he says, he is far too close now and you can smell the mix of alcohol and cologne on him.

And maybe it's the alcohol in your own system, and you'll regret this once you sober up and realize that you told Matilde several times this is exactly what you were not going to do, but you say yes.

─── team principal radio: ❝thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I want to say thank you to everyone who interacts with this series, it means a lot to me to know that you're enjoying it!♡❞

✰ paddock club members: @majx00

[a-moth-to-the-light]

My Current Top 10 Itzy Songs

Context: I've been a fan since I first saw the Icy dance practice in late 2019, but I became a superfan with the release of Wannabe and haven't looked back since--well, except for a slight moment of hesitation with the release of MITM, but the delightful Crazy In Love album brought me back!!

I'm in the process of designing my dream Itzy comeback, like @nayeonline did! [link to their post] I wanted to share this top ten list first, so y'all have an idea of what kinds of songs I love most from these ladies! See, no matter how much I trash-talk Itzy's music (sorry, Not Shy, I was too mean to you for far too long), I really do love SO MANY of their songs--I only criticize some of their tracks as passionately as I do because the highs of their discography are soooo high for me. So let's talk about them!

1. Nobody Like You

Itzy are rock stars in my heart <3 Anything with them + a guitar brings me sooo much joy! Also, the second verse is SO pretty, it's what drew me to the song right from the day the album sampler was released :)

2. Wannabe

I don't think there's any other choice for my favorite Itzy title track--I'd be surprised if anyone has a favorite other than Wannabe. I really have to do an essay about this era one day...

3. Ting Ting Ting (with Oliver Heldens)

This song is totally just trolling all of us! I HATED it for that during the first few months after it came out, but now I don't mind at all--I'm completely in love with it, and all of its weird production choices! I love when songs make me laugh, because I don't find too many of those out there, and the prechorus in this one always gets at least a giggle out of me (JUST LISTEN FOR THE WEIRD GRUNTING SOUND IN THE INSTRUMENTAL WHAT EVEN IS THAT ITS BEEN THREE YEARS AND I CANT STOP LAUGHING ABOUT IT)

4. Icy

Yes, I'm THAT guy who likes Icy more than Dalla Dalla. I know minimalistic choruses are overdone nowadays, but this basic chorus format is so well-suited to such a charismatic group--they carry the energy of the song so well!

5. Be In Love

What did I say about me when Itzy + guitar? This song makes me soooooooo sentimental.

6. That's a No No

There are tracks I like more than this from the Wannabe album, but I'm sure this is my most-listened track from that comeback--most days, its infectious, chaotic energy is exactly what I need to get by :)

7. #Twenty

(This one and above are in the category of songs I would die for btw!!) Look, I just LOVE mean girl music! This is a song that barely manages to hold itself together--luckily, it has the Itzy members to give it some semblance of being a... something? (Whatever it is, I can't help but sing along, so here we are.)

8. Cherry

Minimalistic choruses for the win! Again, their charisma really gets to shine here.

9. Loco

Look, I know Itzy aren't anywhere near the best vocalists out there, but they sound SO strong on this song! I think it's one of their best vocally, and Itzy really is one of the first groups that comes to mind when I think about my favorite vocalists. So I love this one :)

10. Love Is

Yay, a sentimental coming-of-age movie pop ballad thing! I've heard better examples of this vibe (see: Playing Games by Anna of the North), but this still makes me feel Feelings, so I come back to it quite a bit!

Honorable Mentions: It'z Summer, 24 Hours, 365 (it's become a comfort song lately! so i don't hate it anymore hehe), Domino, Cake (it's CATCHY go away), None of My Business

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

[the-blue-fairie]

On the Subject of Aporia

I guess I disagree with the notion that Show Yourself is Let it Go done “the right way.”

Much can be made of the fact that, in Let it Go, Elsa doesn’t truly work through her issues. But the thing is... she doesn’t really work through her issues in Show Yourself either. She doesn’t confront the roots of her trauma. She isn’t able to meditate on the roots of her trauma. She doesn’t get true catharsis and she doesn’t get true relief. In fact, Show Yourself goes some ways to sweep the roots of Elsa’s trauma under the rug.

And here I have to discuss how Frozen 2 frames Agnarr and Iduna. Because Frozen 2 never dwells upon the part Agnarr and Iduna played in Elsa’s trauma. It idealizes them, ignoring the fact that they were the ones to initiate the separation of the sisters in the first place, they were the ones who taught Elsa that she had to hide.

In the past, I’ve seen people put the blame on Elsa for the separation - saying that her fear after the accident instigated it and pointing to the fact that Elsa herself continues the separation after her parents’ death.

This reading is disingenuous, to say the least. While the accident scarred Elsa as a child, the separation (which was instigated by her parents, with the affirmation and complicity of the trolls) was what cemented the self-hatred in her heart. Elsa continued the separation after her parents’ death because she learned it well throughout her childhood.

I don’t like the fact that certain people place the blame for the childhood separation on Elsa, who was a terrified child at the time. A terrified child listening to the adults around her, adults in positions of authority. Adults who chose to close the gates, reduce the staff, limit her contact with people, and keep her powers secret from everyone, including Anna.

You can’t blame a child in an extreme situation the same as you blame an adult - but I’ve seen people in the fandom do it - and it frustrates me.

And again, as I’ve always said, Agnarr and Iduna are in an extreme situation too - and they are working under the guidance of the trolls. Agnarr and Iduna are good people - but their choices still contributed to their daughters’ pain.

And neither the films nor the shorts show the sisters processing their parents’ actions and how those actions hurt them.

Not even Dangerous Secrets does that - because Dangerous Secrets focuses on Iduna’s and Agnarr’s perspective. It’s not about the sisters processing what their parents did to them.

And again, “processing” doesn’t mean “condemnation.” I’m not advocating that the sisters condemn or hate their parents. Processing can also mean realizing that their parents were in a painful situation and forgiving them, accepting what happened.

But neither the films, nor the shorts, nor Dangerous Secrets do any of that. Even though coming to terms with the past is a key theme in Frozen 2 and a theme that centers on Agnarr and Iduna, Frozen 2 ignores their part in the childhood separation altogether.

It could have brought it up and, in bringing it up, it could have beautifully paralleled Iduna having to hide being Northuldra with Elsa having to hide her powers. It could have the sisters, as they are forced to make tough choices, sympathize with the tough choices their parents had to make. It could have truly confronted the roots of Elsa’s trauma by referencing the separation when Elsa meets her mother in Ahtohallan, giving the scene greater emotional weight. Or, the film could have highlighted that the True Evil comes from people like Runeard - whose fear causes him to kill, whereas Iduna and Agnarr’s fear for their children’s safety caused them to try and protect, even in an imperfect way.

The possibilities that present themselves are limitless - but only if Frozen 2 had the courage to address Agnarr’s and Iduna’s part in the childhood separation - and it didn’t. It had multiple opportunities to. It simply made the deliberate choice not to do so - to brush those actions essentially under the rug.

It’s like the movie thinks that, if it references Agnarr and Iduna’s part in the separation, that will make Agnarr and Iduna seem bad. But actually, the opposite would be true. If the film directly addressed Agnarr’s and Iduna’s part in the separation, they would become even more sympathetic because viewers would get a clearer understanding of what they were going through and see clearly how they were good people. On top of that, both Elsa and Anna could get a chance at true closure with them.

But the film goes out of its way not to bring that topic up. Even when Olaf recaps the first film, it’s like this: “[as Elsa] Anna, no too high! Blast! [as Anna] Ohhh! [as Elsa] Mama Papa Help! Slam, doors shutting everywhere, sisters torn apart. Well, at least they have their parents. [beat] Their parents are dead.”  “Doors shutting everywhere” and “sisters torn apart” describes the event passively. It’s just “something that happened.” The problem is, within the context of the first film, it’s not just “something that happened.” It’s something that happened as a direct result of the trolls’ choices and Agnarr’s and Iduna’s choices. And I stress their choices over Elsa’s because she was a child in this situation and they are the adults in authority. 

Thus, in a film that’s supposedly all about coming to terms with the mistakes of the past, a film where Agnarr and Iduna play a crucial role, this aspect of the past is actively ignored. Even though not ignoring this aspect of the past would enrich both films and clarify things more fully for people who are on the fence about Agnarr and Iduna (also, hopefully it could address the trolls’ part in all this, because no piece of Frozen media even begins to grapple with the trolls’ part in all this.)

And I know you might say, “Well, Dangerous Secrets addresses the parents’ part in the children’s separation!” And that’s good that it does so. But that still doesn’t get to my central point: that no piece of Frozen media shows Elsa and Anna coming to terms with what their parents and the trolls did to them, and how that influenced Elsa’s actions in the future. 

Now, some people have argued that the films and shorts do address the sisters coming to terms with what their parents did to them, because through their parents’ portrayal in OFA and F2 it is implicitly suggested that Elsa and Anna have no ill feelings towards their parents.

But I’ve addressed this before in the past:

“Having ‘no ill feelings’ is the culmination of an emotional journey that we don’t get to see. We get to see the sisters dealing with the emotional ramifications of their childhoods and what it means for themselves, yes. We get to see them reconnect during Frozen Fever. But we don’t get to see them processing feelings for their parents (and the trolls) that must be complicated for them.

And saying that emotional journey is implicit or is addressed subtly because we see that the sisters bear their parents no ill will... I’m sorry, but that just isn’t good enough for me. The sisters bearing their parents no ill will is an endpoint. It’s not the emotional journey itself. We don’t get to SEE that journey addressed directly. We just have to be content with... implication.”

And the fact we just have to be content with implication when Frozen 2 is so much about the sisters’ relationship with their parents and Frozen 2 offers every chance to go beyond implication is... troubling to me.

It’s more than just an oversight on F2′s part. It’s a deliberate choice.

And it weakens the emotional impact of Show Yourself.

Show Yourself is framed as Elsa gaining closure regarding her mother, her trauma, her sense of self. But, regardless of that framing, it... doesn’t exactly give Elsa that closure.

Because Frozen media, outside of Dangerous Secrets, seems bent on glossing over the part Elsa’s and Anna’s parents and the trolls had in the sisters’ traumas in childhood. Because Frozen media doesn’t give the sisters a chance to talk together or reflect together on their parents’ and the trolls’ actions and come to terms with them. Even Dangerous Secrets, which does better in exploring the nuances and complexities of Agnarr and Iduna, can’t do that because the book is telling the parents’ story, not Elsa’s and Anna’s.

So parts of Show Yourself feel like... going through the motions of catharsis with no actual catharsis - because there are still open wounds that Show Yourself doesn’t even try to heal because the film won’t openly admit they exist. Because, as with Let it Go before it, there is still work to be done.

But at least Let it Go let Elsa be frustrated with her parents’ poor choices. At least it allowed Elsa to repudiate the strictures placed upon her:

Don't let them in, don't let them see Be the good girl you always have to be Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know Well, now they know 

There’s more reflection on her parents’ part in her pain in those few lines than in the whole of Frozen 2 - even though much of Frozen 2 is directly about her parents.

I’ve seen people describe the transition from Let it Go to Show Yourself as a transition from reckless defiance to acceptance and peace... but this framing doesn’t work with the film’s portrayal of Elsa’s relationship with Iduna. Because for that framing to work, we’d actually have to see Elsa’s transition towards acceptance of her mother’s actions. We’d actually have to see the emotional process of Elsa making peace with her parents’ choices.

And we don’t.

And that’s tragic because, especially with the backstory Frozen 2 gives Iduna, there’s so much you could have done with Elsa’s relationship with her mother. So many parallels Elsa herself could have made as we see her truly going through the process of healing.

(Also, this last note isn’t related to Let it Go or Show Yourself, but, How does Anna feel about the trolls modifying her memories in childhood? I’m sure it has come up in the intervening years in-universe, but we’ve never seen it addressed... and that speaks to the larger issue I’ve been discussing.)

EDIT: Kristanna and Greatqueenanna have informed me that Anna’s missing memories are the subject of Memory and Magic, the second book in the Sisterhood is the Strongest Magic series - and, while I’m glad of that, I still am a bit bummed that they are relegated to an obscure book that not everyone will read and may be of dubious canonicity at this point instead of being addressed in the feature film that centers on addressing the past and coming to terms with it. While Dangerous Secrets is much more high-profile, I have similar reservations about it as well - because not as many people are going to find it as find Frozen 2. Moreover, Dangerous Secrets is meant to be a supplement to Frozen 2 and it doesn’t focus on Elsa’s and Anna’s emotional journey regarding their parents. I guess Frozen 2 is supposed to be that emotional journey in a way, but because Frozen 2 refuses to touch the childhood separation and Agnarr’s and Iduna’s accountability for it, that leaves a... gap in the text... so that the emotional journey feels incomplete.   

[painted-starlight]

Frozen 2:The Impression of Accountability, Iduna and Agnar Characterization Analysis

Warning: LONG POST, Anti-Frozen, spoilers for Frozen 2, swearing, talking about racism and mentions child abuse. If I get anything wrong on the issue of accountability, please don’t hesitate to correct me. 

Summary: Examining the inconsistencies between Frozen 2′s depiction of the behavior of Iduna and Agnarr and how this affects the overall themes of Frozen.

Introduction 

I’ve let myself sit on Frozen 2 and how I feel about it for a couple of months now. I’ve mostly focused on the meta-aspects of the film, from it’s character design to the early spoilers, but nothing too in depth until recently. 

And I’ve come to this conclusion that Frozen 2 is almost accountable, but backs away from any true accountability on the part of Arendelle and, most controversially from the response from my posts, Elsa and Anna’s parents. 

Arendelle: The Spirits Hate Them But Not Really

Frozen 2 is often praised for it’s handling of holding Arendelle accountable for it’s crimes. The spirits are angry with Arendelle for the previous king, Agnarr’s father Runeard for killing the leader of Northuldra. It is up to Anna and Elsa to right the wrongs of the past and destroy the damn that brought only grief to the Northuldra and the spirits of the Enchanted forest. 

So, I have a question. If the spirits were so angry with Arendelle, then why trap the Northuldra and allow Agnarr to leave to rule Arendelle without any real repercussions? Sure, King Runeard is killed in battle, an immediate consequence for his actions but that was ultimately a good thing because he sucked. Only a few soldiers were left behind as well. And King Runeard was later succeeded by king Agnarr, his son, who sucked slightly less than him. 

Arendelle was allowed to prosper with a better king, and Iduna is rewarded for saving his life by the spirits by having her child be gifted with magic. 

For saving the son of the man who murdered the Northuldra leader. 

Because that is something to reward...?? 

I’m starting to think that the concept of accountability is kind of twisted in Frozen 2. Arendelle is explicitly in the wrong, and yet, they are rewarded constantly for no reason. 

The entire Northuldra community, who have a good relationship with the spirits and were merely acting in self defense, were collectively punished and forcibly kept in a magic barrier for 34 years. That doesn’t sound very fair to me.  

Arendelle is Rewarded Rather Than Truly Punished

Yeah, Arendelle is wrong, but they get more benefits than punishments in long run. In fact, you could argue they were exponentially REWARDED for their heinous actions because as a result of the battle they have:

A super powerful monarch who wields magic (which no one else has because Elsa is special)

A better king than the one who died in battle to succeed him (King Agnarr) and who is married to the woman who is the favored child of the spirits

Citizens allowed to go anywhere they want and do trade with other countries to their benefit

Any consequence of said powerful monarchs magical actions (eternal winter) maybe only lasted three days, TOPS. After that she is immediately accepted for her powers and now Arendelle is essentially bulletproof because they have a magic ice queen to defend them.

Allowed to get a warning before the flood of Arendelle, but the Northuldra didn’t get any. 

Allowed Elsa to stop the flood to spare Arendelle, because for some reason the spirits are super cool with Arendelle now?

Like, how fucking crazy would it have been if the spirits woke up and immediately destroyed the dam while everyone in Arendelle was sleeping? THAT would’ve been a life or death conflict. 

But the movie is determined to deal with accountability with kid gloves, or weasel out at the last minute. 

Part 2: Iduna and Agnarr

Now, the aspect I want to talk about is the way that the story frames Iduna and Agnarr and how this contrasts with what we know about them up until the most recent movie. 

This is an examination of the theatrical installments of Frozen because they are the most canonical. Extra stories in books or supplemental material that wasn’t widely released or accessible don’t really count. And not to mention, the consistency between the theatrically released movies and shorts are mostly made by the same team. Therefore, have most canonical elements to them.

Iduna and Agnarr’s Relationship with their Children

Up until Frozen 2, the general consensus was that Iduna and Agnarr’s parents was...misguided. 

Misguided being a very soft term in my opinion because I truly feel that what they did was completely out of line and extreme, crossing the border of abuse. But that’s my personal opinion and it’s not how they are framed in the movie. 

Control vs. Love Theme

Iduna and Agnarr love Elsa and Anna. That much is true. However, Frozen, like a lot white disney princess movies believes that good intentions means benevolent actions. (Please note: I’m going to refer to Elsa and Anna as white coded, because that appears to be the most appropriate given that they are canonically white passing Indigenous characters. Yet, all the white disney princess tropes definitely apply to how they are framed and their characterization in the first film). 

However, this is not true whatsoever in reality, but most importantly, it’s not consistent with what is shown as a result of their desire to control Elsa. 

And yes, their desire to control and contain her meant that their “love” for Elsa-- least the impression they gave her and never made her feel otherwise--was conditional love. It means that as long as she controlled her powers they approved of her and gave positive reinforcement.

Iduna and Agnarr’s Love Had Conditions, Anna’s Didn’t

Their approach love can be compared to Prince Hans, because he is another extreme: He wouldn’t be interested in Anna if she didn’t have the power he desired. Many characters in Frozen are compared in whether their love comes with conditions, or is unconditional. 

Iduna and Agnarr, unwittingly, proved to Elsa that their love for her was conditional. Yes, they loved her, but they didn’t love every part of her. And that, in of itself, is placing conditions on their love. 

If we go by the narrative context of Anna’s love in comparison, hers comes without condition. Elsa’s powers are at their most controlled when she is given love without strings. Which is why the solution was (admittedly very cheesy and somewhat out of place) “love.” 

The more specific kind is the love Anna has for her sister. She never stops loving Elsa, even after she is hurt by her. She might be angry, frustrated, but in the end loves Elsa the right way.  

Frozen Fever

Subsequent installments drive home this point even further. In Frozen Fever, more is revealed in implications about their parents without directly referring to them by name. 

Iduna and Agnarr don’t celebrate Anna’s birthday after the incident. Elsa cannot recognize when she is sick and in need of medical attention. She feels like she needs to go overboard in celebrating Anna’s birthday, is highly self critical, because their parents never allowed either of them to celebrate it. 

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure goes even further into the theme that Anna and Elsa are moving away from their parents traditions and expectations. 

Elsa laments not having a Christmas tradition, because her parents only rung the bell in front of the citizens as a superficial way to signal “everything’s just fine,” when it wasn’t. When all the mandated bell ringing was done, they went back to separating the sisters. 

At the end, Elsa and Anna make their own unique traditions, and that ringing the bell doesn’t matter anymore. Their bond is what makes Christmas special for them. This is narrative cue that they are moving away from their parents and looking toward the future. 

Frozen 2: Iduna and Agnarr’s Love is Depicted as Unconditional

And then we get to Frozen 2. 

I have problems with the way they portray Iduna and Agnarr as parents in Frozen 2. It started when the film opened with Elsa and Anna playing with Elsa’s magic while their parents look on smiling. 

That’s confusing, and a little out of character. I didn’t get the impression in the first movie or shorts that Iduna nor Agnarr particularly cared for Elsa’s powers, and I also didn’t think they would be so cool with her using them so blatantly. 

Elsa’s ice powers were the bond that kept Anna and her together. That’s why they had to go and play in secret. Because Elsa’s powers were supposed to be something that couldn’t be played with out in front of their parents. That was the first cue that something was very different about this Iduna and Agnarr. 

And Frozen 2 is telling it’s audience that the parents would be supportive? Then why would Elsa feel so anxious about using them and locking herself away for so long after her parents explicitly made changes to the staff, the access to the outside, and refusing to tell Anna about Elsa’s powers? Her actions didn’t come from nowhere. Their negative reaction to Elsa’s powers was a common occurrence. 

In fact, that very same night where he looks on lovingly at Elsa’s ice magic, we hear Agnarr immediately placing blame on Elsa for an accident and exacerbating her trauma. This is a reprimanding that has been done before. Her ice powers were something to be hidden.

Agnarr: “Elsa, what have you done? This is getting out of hand.” 

Elsa “It was an accident, (to Anna) I’m sorry Anna.”

Iduna: “She’s ice cold.”

Agnarr: “I know where we have to go.”

Does this sound like the same man and woman who, just hours earlier looked on with happiness at his child using her ice powers to play pretend with her sister? It really doesn’t. 

King Agnarr and Queen Iduna specifically decide to “Lock the gates, reduce the staff, and limit her [Elsa’s] contact with people. Keep her powers hidden from everyone...including Anna.” 

The filmmakers really pulled out all the stops in the sequel to make sure that all the pain and suffering Elsa went through was actually totally just her own decisions, and the not the decisions that her parents made for a young child. 

I’m not going to lie, I get why they made so many changes. They wanted to expand on Iduna’s heritage and explain Agnarr’s view of magic without complicating the story too much. 

But these morally gray elements to their characters and the revelations on their backstories didn’t need to be mutually exclusive. If the filmmakers held Agnarr and Iduna accountable, we could’ve had a very unique set of parents in disney canon. 

Personally, I think that portraying them without the morally gray areas of their actions and having with an unambiguously supportive relationship with their children in Frozen 2 conflicts with their earlier actions. It makes the story flow a little bit better in the sequel to uncomplicate their relationship, but I think the way they set them up would’ve been interesting too. 

Olaf’s Recap Removes the Parent’s Decision to Lock Elsa Away

I was also tipped off that the whole framing of the parents was being twisted when I saw Olaf’s recap in Frozen 2.

Olaf: [As Elsa] Anna, no too high! Blast! [a Anna] Ohhh! [as Elsa] Mama Papa Help! Slam, doors shutting everywhere, sisters torn apart. Well, at least they have their parents. [beat] Their parents are dead. 

The way he describes the situation is bizzare to say the least. He doesn’t mention “conceal, don’t feel” even once. He mentions the parents positively, stripping their role in Elsa and Anna’s separation and only leaving it between the lines. I think this is because if they remind the audience about the things the parents did, the audience would have a harder time accepting their sudden support for Elsa’s powers. 

If the parents actions weren’t controversial, then I think that they wouldn’t have this problem. But it’s like they went out of their way to make it appear that it was actually all Elsa’s decision to lock herself away instead of her parents expecting her to do so without protest. 

It Was Iduna and Agnarr’s Decision to Isolate Elsa, Not Elsa Herself

When we really look into the specifics of Elsa’s isolation, we can’t ignore Iduna and Agnarr’s role. The only reason why Elsa became so secretive is because she was conditioned to do so by her parents. 

How many times did Anna go to her parents and ask what was wrong with Elsa, only to be turned away to the point where she doesn’t bother anymore? 

How could they look at this situation for more than a week, and just allow this to happen? Easily, because it was a solution that worked for them. It honestly looks like they got used to the situation after years of Elsa’s isolation.

Just look at the body language of Elsa’s farewell to her parents, Elsa is NOT happy. Unlike Anna, she remains a good distance away from them. She is nervous and sad without her parents to direct her. 

This is reaction they are most likely expecting. Her parents smile on, almost as if to say “she’ll be ok for a couple of weeks, then we’ll be right back to normal and keep her in check.” It’s a reassuring smile, that things will go back to the way they were once they come back. And they don’t.  

Elsa Hiding Things is Learned

Look man, I feel like Elsa should be held accountable for a lot of things. Abandoning her people, twice, in the middle of a storm she created. Not getting help for Anna when she was injured and kicking her out of the ice castle instead. All things she should get shit for. 

However, I also think that her parents shouldn’t be let off the hook. 

My other problem comes from Frozen 2′s emphasis on Elsa hiding things from Anna. The constant references to Elsa shutting Anna out, making decisions without her, would definitely lead a more casual viewer under the impression that it was all Elsa’s decision to lock herself away for years at a time when this simply wasn’t true. 

On a meta note, I’ve seen people place all the blame on Elsa to lock herself away to in order to prop up her parents and give them the benefit of the doubt. That they were trying their best in a situation they didn’t have any knowledge of. However, this is an extremely inappropriate reaction to a character who is depicted as a child under the care of her parents. 

I think that there is an intrinsic desire for people to believe the framing of movies, and that good intent creates good results. But the text of Frozen shows this isn’t true either. Iduna and Agnarr should be able to be morally gray characters who made decisions that aren’t always beneficial, even with the best intentions. 

Elsa and Anna, like most siblings, have wildly different feelings toward them. For example, Anna insists to Elsa after finding out the truth about their death that she is not responsible for their decisions when Elsa blames herself. 

On one hand, this seems to be an acceptance by the story that they were not perfect people and that Elsa needs to take into consideration that she is not responsible for their actions. 

However, the way that this conversation is framed shows that this is a different conversation altogether. Anna means that they gave their lives to HELP Elsa, and that she is a gift for Iduna saving Agnarr. It martyrs their sacrifice, something that most fictional parents, who are portrayed as ultimately good, would be. They died to help her, because they were good parents who made good decisions.

They are Flawed Characters

But...they didn’t make good decisions. They were very flawed individuals. Once something is portrayed as flawed, it can’t be flawless. You can’t just dump their decisions on how they grew up, or say it’s all Elsa’s fault they treated her that way because mature writing means that you accept that your characters need to be held accountable for their decisions. 

No matter how many sad looks they give to convey their sympathetic nature in Frozen, the reason Agnarr and Iduna used the gloves and kept Elsa in a constant state of fear so much was because it was working. It wasn’t a good long term plan, nor ideal for them, but it was the one they went along with because it kept Elsa’s powers in check.

I personally don’t like how the filmmakers made them the idea of parents. Iduna is the idea of a mother and Agnarr, the idea of a father. We are supposed to put fond memories of good parents into their characterization because they rely on audiences not really remembering them in the first movie. The biggest scene with them is their death in the original movie. 

If they simply were just parents who died, then the characterization is Frozen 2 would be a welcome expansion of underdeveloped characters with little screen time.And within the vaccum of the sequel, their unconditional love for their daughters makes sense. If we place the generic idea of a mother into Iduna’s role, we get to know the mother who always loved her daughter finally reconnecting with her after her tragic death. With Agnarr we get a loving father who only wanted what was best for his daughters, who was misguided on the truth of the past. 

But Iduna’s big duet with Elsa, “Show Yourself” only highlights the parents role in her involvement with making Elsa suppress her powers with “conceal, don’t feel” since it’s a direct response. 

Agnarr’s misremembering of the past is used to highlight the truth that needed to be revealed. It’s portrayed as tragic, since we can assume he never learns the truth. And their treatment of Elsa’s powers is never brought up in detail, just glossed over. 

Even Parents With the Best Intentions Can Hurt Their Children

The problem is that we could’ve really examined how Iduna, forced with suppressing her identity, made mistakes in trying to protect her daughter. Sometimes people from marginalized groups who have no choice but to assimilate force their children to hide their identity to protect them from harm.

Agnarr’s upbringing is often pointed to as the source of his extreme views on magic, and that he inherited it from his father. But ultimately he is responsible for his actions, and he hurt his daughters. Sometimes people who seek to do better than their parents end up making the same mistakes.  

Maybe Iduna regrets hurting Elsa but felt it was a better alternative than being killed for who she is, or Agnarr so focused on protecting her he never realizes it was doing her more harm than good because it was controlling her and giving him the results he wanted. 

This could’ve been parallel with his lack of critical thinking when recounting the enchanted forest story. He doesn’t question why the conflict started, even though he has the pieces to put it together himself. He told it in a way that benefited him the most, without considering the people around him. 

Both parents could still be held accountable for the pain they caused Elsa and they would also be characters who inspire different feelings from both daughters. This could also be a turning point in Frozen 2′s theme that the sisters are on different paths. 

Final Thoughts

Like I said, I understand why the filmmakers of Frozen 2 decided to tone down the harsher implications of the parents actions. And maybe in the end, people really prefer this version of Iduna and Agnarr. But I can’t really ignore what they’ve done because their actions permeate the very themes of Frozen’s views on love and control. 

However, these are personal feelings toward this subject and I think it could’ve been handled a little better. 

[azaffranist]

Was the Unity Snowflake, in the deleted material context, supposed to be a manifestation of Elsa's soul?

Hi anon! Again I reply 24 years later to asks and I’m so sorry about that! I haven’t been on Tumblr much because of other projects. But let’s stop the excuses and answer your question.

So, short answer - Yes. At least probably. We know that they probably planned on at least showing Elsa in the form of a snowflake once she died thanks to some sources who’ve spoken up. So really, we would’ve gotten something similar to this scene:

Now, here we might discuss how they wanted to portray Elsa’s death. We know that in a certain point of the development of the movie they did plan to kill her off and at least not come back in human form.

So in the context of a Disney movie, killing off a character like this would’ve been brutal. Yeah, true, killing her off in general, even if her return was hinted, would’ve been brutal. But her presence being represented by a snowflake (as you said, the representation of her soul, her being) would’ve softened the fall.

I’ve given my views on what I think that’d mean for the overall theme of the movie here. Unsurprisingly, my views haven’t changed. And what you brought up is actually really interesting.

Just speculation here, because we don’t know the details and we just have to work with what we have. It’s obvious that if they were gonna kill Elsa off, they wanted to portray the topic of loss, but in a new way. In a comforting way, I’d say. And there are many things that point to this fact. The costume design in Frozen 2 is genius; I’d say even more genius that in F1. 

Colors have meanings attached to them, and the way they worked with Anna’s design here was just wonderful. I know it sounds like I’m just going on tangents and I usually do but hear me out!

Anna’s travel outfit consists of two layers. The outer layer is the one we see throughout most of the movie. She wears a bright pink coat, not only in a nod to her F2′s clothes with saturated colors but because it reflects her personality. She’s bold and fearless; energetic; sociable; she always stands out. The bright pink reflects all that.

But unlike in F1, where she wore a pink cape, now she wears a pink coat. Coats conceal things. And once she loses her coat, the outfit under is finally revealed in its entirety. 

A black dress. With black boots. And a few details in orange.

Orange, in this movie, means change. The color leaves turn, or the vegetation in the Enchanted Lands. With change, comes maturity.

Black. Tell me, in which situation would you use an outfit that’s 95% black? Anna’s not a teenager, she got over her goth phase. This outfit straight up screams death and funerals.

 So when she loses her coat because she fell in a deep dark cavern with no way out, revealing a black dress that metaphorically means maturity and grief, then what’s next?

Anna and the cave were literally designed for the moment she’d receive the shocking news that Elsa is dead and that Olaf would die in her arms. This part of the story was given a huge weight. You don’t see Frozen 1 preparing a whole character’s design to fit Anna’s death, simply because it wasn’t the focus. But F2 has a huge focus on loss; and I believe, after the plot changes, this focus was lessened quite a bit; Elsa’s first death by freezing was made less dramatic and there’s proof of that, for instance.

So. Back to our main idea. F2 was gonna focus on loss. It still does to a degree. I mean, there’s a reason TNRT wasn’t scrapped, even knowing the fact that it was one of the first songs created for the movie and these are very likely to be cut. And we know why the creators chose this path, too. This very specific way of displaying loss, and how they didn’t gloss over a death and instead chose to linger with Anna’s feelings to give a frightening sense of reality.

With Elsa being represented as a snowflake, I think they wanted to say, ‘look, she’s still there, among us.’ ‘Her soul is still with us’. Not in the religious sense. But by following what I think would’ve been the big message. “Love is permanent”. And when we talk about messages, we gotta take into consideration what this would mean for the audience. Simply, it’d mean that even if a loved one died, their love for them would never change. So by showing Elsa still being there in the form of a snowflake, I think they’d be trying to convey that even after a person’s death, their presence, their soul - they’d live on within the memories of the loved ones. And that snowflake would’ve been a metaphor of that, in my opinion.

So, yes. This is what I can understand from putting the pieces together. Elsa’s snowflake, in-universe, would represent the permanence of Elsa’s soul and presence in a magical way, visible, Disney way; contained in a very pretty snowflake. Out-of-universe, this would mean the permanence of a loved one’s soul and presence in the memories of a person who went through loss. Because as Olaf said, love is permanent.

We don’t have too much info (those NDAs are a nightmare) but we can work with what we have.

And I don’t wanna prove anything with this, I’ll just leave for anyone who’s reading this to think... Remember Neil’s little tweet whining about snowflakes not having 8 sides? Yes, we know, Neil. We just call it a snowflake for convenience. But Jen’s reply was interesting. I don’t have a screenshot, she deleted the tweet later, maybe because it was a bit too aggressive. But she said “You assume it’s a snowflake”. Or something like that, I don’t have photographic memory. So she’s basically saying it’s not a snowflake. I mean, by scientific means it’ll never be one, but it sort of is a snowflake in the movie, because it represents the magical part of the fifth spirit: Elsa, and her powers, which are ice. Ice, snow, snowflakes. A snowflake representing a magical being who wields ice and snow seems pretty fitting.

Then what is the Unity Snowflake? If we’re not gonna call it a snowflake then what is it? Besides, the way she talked about it sounded as if we were gonna find out in the movie. Well, congrats, if it was something else, we didn’t find out. 

So I’ll just... slowly leave this here. Just food for thought, not trying to confirm or prove anything. But it’s interesting nonetheless.

Sources say Elsa was still going to die in February.

The teaser and the teaser poster were released in February, and the Unity Snowflake we liked to call a compass drove the fans crazy. What was it?

Was this a character poster?

Okay, bye.

[bigfrozenfan]

OK, i've read all the posts since my own last post. Now i will read the +99 posts i've missed since then.

Just a few thoughts i've noted down for brainstorming during i've gone thru all the posts here. This post is NOT worked out, it's just a list and some quick thoughts from me to the topics! There are also more complicated posts which i can't put in only a few words.

- Anna as Queen: 3 years have passed, she's older and wiser and learned from Elsa as regular Queen. Additionally they won't have any secrets from each other. - Frozen II is being judged before it's out in cinema: this is ridiculous - testing the water for Frozen 3?: no matter how the ending will be, it seems that i'm the only person in the fandom who hopes there's a F3 some day (not a TV series, a whole feature film) -  maybe WAIT to actually SEE the film before jumping ship and shitting on the film?: EXACTLY! - If this is the ending, at least it is HER choice.  And I’m okay with that.: Well, it's about our two main characters and their development. Don't be surprised if a decision takes another way you've expected. Just like in real life. - We’re all just going to have to watch the movie.: The best we can do, yes! Don't give up the fandom you were in since years just because some leaked pictures. - I mean, we don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore: Unfortunately...all in the fandom are puzzled and confused and heated each other up. - i think i’ll still love the movie: everyone in the fandom should do this further on! - Bye: Don't go! Not in this way, not after all this years in the fandom! There's still hope. - Y’all really going to dox the creators, the hard working people that worked to make this perfect, over an ending you don’t like that you don’t even know the full extent of?: THAT's so true. Perfectly said. - people are allowed to feel what they’re feeling: Yes, but what i see is that suddenly, after all this love for our gang for years (!), after thousands and thousands of posts now it should all be over and people in the fandom try to convince other fans that all of these was wrong? WRONG! Only because of some leaks without any further context? That's what is wrong. You deny your love to Frozen over night. - Y’all gotta remember that fandom =/= canon & respect that and the creators too.: Respect is that what's missing suddenly. - Disney are idiots for choosing THAT ending: Sorry, that's disrespect and no one has simply the right to say this!

Maybe i will post something to the heated up atmosphere in the fandom but i'm not sure at this state if it makes sense at all. Let's see...i have to think about now some time...

One thing I noticed after all the posts. There were a few people in fandom who heated up the sad mood even more and not only talked badly about the movie but also extended their bad mood to the makers of Frozen II. These "few" try to convince other fans with their posts that it's worthless to believe in Frozen, plus some very questionable statements more. Sorry, but this is the behavior of a typical troll. And how has the fandom reacted to trolls so far? Since when do we take the allegations of trolls or Frozen haters at face value?

By the way...i always tagged spoilers with #frozen 2 spoilers AND #spoiler because i love tags and i use them profusely!

[purplesurveys]

594

How are you today? I’m doing okay. My classmates in my least favorite class, Newspaper Layout and Design, have been a big pain in my ass and I’ve been carrying the entire class on my back because no one has the initiative to start giving a fuck about the requirements (I’d want to not give a fuck either, but someone has to and I’m probably the most grade-conscious person in that class) – but it’s a Friday and I’m having amazing coffee right now so it balances out. Do you have mean comments that replay in your head and haunt you? Not really. Some days I’ll remember the one hate comment I got on my ask.fm which led me to delete my account altogether, but it doesn’t bother me because I kinda proved that person wrong eventually.

For context, they told me I should stop wishing to be in UP so bad and to actually pass the entrance exam first before I’m allowed to talk about how much the university means to me. Joke’s on them – I passed the UPCAT not long after. Doesn’t mean I’d forgot the demotivating message, though.

^If so, do you know why that is? I always want to please people and thrive on compliments, so I’m bound to remember every single bad thing anyone tells me. What are you currently worried about, if anything? I’m worried about my deadlines for my Layout class. The requirements are a group effort, and so long as my classmates don’t start moving, I can’t really pass my parts anyway because I have to wait on them. UGH Did you go Black Friday shopping this past Black Friday? Pls stop asking me first-world references

^If so, what was the best deal you got? Have you ever been Black Friday shopping? What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? Do you wear a watch every day? No. Wearing them always makes me feel like there is something on my wrist, and that bugs me haha.

Pineapple or pepperoni? I don’t like either. All-cheese pizzas are my favorite. What food makes you feel nauseous? Not to say that it makes me feel like vomiting or dizzy, but I was never really a big fan of blue cheese. I can handle it on my pizza and sometimes its flavor jibes well with the other cheeses, but the taste always sticks out so I’m not particularly obsessed with it. Have you ever seen a spirit? No. When you have your own house someday, what color Christmas tree do you want and how will you decorate it? I want it traditional, so I’m going with green. It’s gonna have all sorts of decor like baubles, snowflakes, tinsel, leaves, etc. My family has always made an effort to make our trees look super nice and detailed and I wanna pass that on when I have my own place and maybe even kids down the road. Name 3 youtube channels you've been loving lately. HiHo Kids, Mankalor, and Moon Jeongwon’s vlogging channel. Do you have a youtube channel? I do but it’s only so that YouTube can tailor my homepage to what I’m into at the moment, and so that I can like/dislike videos haha. I don’t post my own content. ^If so, does your family approve? ...I don’t think they should have an opinion about me owning a YouTube account. But in any case, they don’t really mind. What do you think about the new "for kids" or "not for kids" rules? Like, parental control? I guess it’s a good thing. Kids have always had very makulit hands and end up seeing stuff they’re not supposed to. Makulit is a Filipino word that defies translation, but I guess the closest thing to it is either mischievous or restless.

Case in point: Back when I was in high school, I was working at one of the library computers when these Grade 1 kids sat at the computer beside me. They were searching images of the movie Frozen and it was all normal for a bit, but they scrolled too far down and eventually they landed at this very questionable manip of Elsa and Anna doing some stuff that kids that age definitely shouldn’t be seeing. ^ Do they affect you? No. I’m neither a kid nor a parent. What is the most disgusting thing you have ever eaten? [slight trigger warning for the vegans!!! Sorry, Filipino cuisine can sometimes be a lot to take for non-Filipinos]  I’m super adventurous when it comes to food so I haven’t found anything I’ve tried disgusting. I don’t particularly like the flavor of bopis (pork/beef lungs and heart) and pinapaitan (goat and ox innards meat flavored with bile, tamarind and chillies), but I don’t find them disgusting, and I’d still eat them if that was served at a family party.

What food is so disgusting you could absolutely never eat it? Dog/cat meat. Do you like sushi? Love sushi. What color was the last sweater you wore? Gray. Name 3 material items on your wish list right now. Nintendo Switch, a new pair of shoes (wow I really am a grown-up), and cash. Are you planning on doing Vlogmas (for youtube) this year? No. Zoella’s the only person I know who still does lmao Have you ever done Vlogmas before? No. Have you ever made money off of youtube? Omg no Are you happy that the year is coming to an end? SO HAPPY. 2019 felt like it was three fucking years long. Have you ever bought a designer purse? I haven’t bought any with my own money. Do people tell you that you look sick when you wear a certain color? No? ^If yes, what color? Do you consider yourself creative? Not at all. ....outgoing? Kinda. It depends on the situation. If I’m meant to be doing something I like or hang out with people I know, I can be very outgoing; but if it’s an unfamiliar situation, I tend to be more shy and let other people lead the way. ....free-spirited? I don’t think I’d call myself that. ....shy? Yep, at first. ....socially awkward? It’s a hit or miss. Sometimes I’m great with socializing; other times I just miss the mark. Do you often feel alone? Mostly during the Christmas season. Otherwise it’s an on-off thing for me, but the loneliness is for the most part turned off. What could be the theme song to your life? I never know what to answer in questions like this. My life has had a lot of phases and it’s hard to sum it all up into a single song. List three new songs you've discovered this year that you like a lot. I Saw You In A Dream by The Japanese House, the Summer section of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (thanks, Portrait of a Lady on Fire), and Joji’s Dancing in the Dark. If you could win a shopping spree in any store, what would it be? Fully Booked. Do you wear jewelry often? Very seldom. List 10 of your favorite girl names. I list them on surveys all the tiiiiiimeeeeeeeee. Uhh Olivia, Mia, Arden, Harper, Juliana/Julia, Isabella, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Lily, Emilia. I’m feeling the name Eloise tonight too, so let’s throw that one in as a runner-up. List 10 of your favorite boy names. Miguel, Joaquin, Javier, Jacob, Mason, Noah, Liam, Seth, Leon, Luis. Andres is also good, so I’m putting that in even though it’s name 11. List 10 girl names (or up to 10) that you don't really care for. That’s so many and possibly offensive :((((( I’ll just go with boomer names like Sally, Linda, Agnes (sorry to my Lola, who’s named Agnes), Karen, Pamela, Susan, Brenda...and maybe more common ones like Angela, Marie, Sam. List up to 10 boy names that you don't really care for. Not a big fan of boy names in general, but ones I don’t particularly like nor dislike are names like John, George, William (lmao just naming all the royals now I see LOL), Benedict, Jeffrey, Donald, Michael, Daniel, Drew, Mark. How old were you when you found out Santa wasn't real? Five. I didn’t find out; I just put the clues together. Do you own a Polaroid camera? Nope. I want one though. ^If so, what color is it? List one past regret. The one dumb thing I did in one of my classes where I forgot to submit something on time, and I had to make do with a late submission, which would already have deductions. Do you own Converse, and if so, what color? i used to; they were red. I stopped wearing them after a bit though so my mom threw them out. We have white Chucks now – my sister brings them with her in her dorm but when she’s home, I’d borrow it sometimes. What color was your senior prom dress? Let’s plz avoid talking about the stuff we purposely want to forget Are you colorblind? No. Name the people you know who are colorblind. Nobody, other than the colorblind folk on Twitter/Tiktok who make wholesome videos separating different colors of Skittles or M&Ms heh. What's one pet peeve of yours? People who DRIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO LANES YO WHAT’S UP WITH Y’ALL Would you ever consider a career in writing? Sure, I’m kinda headed that way anyway. What was the first thing you wanted to be when you grew up? Astronaut. What was your first favorite color? Purple. What is your favorite color now? Pink or black. Do you know a lot of people with the same middle name as you? Yeah, Isabelle is very common. But where I live it’s usually spelled Isabel or Ysabel. Do you like the name Brynn? Not really. It sounds very 2010ish, wherein people would give their kids double-N’s like Kaitlynn, Rylinn, Brooklynn, Ashlynn and I was never a big fan of that trend (except for Finn, Flynn, and Quinn, which I find cute). List five names you hate the spelling of. Literally those 4 names I just mentioned. Oh and in the Philippines, there’s this trend of putting H’s on otherwise normal names, e.g. Jhulia, Mhae, Ghabriella, Mhark...it’s common in the lower classes so I don’t judge, but like it’s just not really not my taste lmao. Do you watch Niki and Gabi on youtube? No. Do you watch Brooklyn and Bailey? No. ....Bethany Mota? No. But I did see her once when YouTube held a FanFest here in Manila and she was part of the lineup. ......Gillian Bower? ....LaurDIY? .....Family Fizz? ....Chronically Jaquie? No to literally all of those. Have you ever purchased a youtuber's merch? No they are always way too expensive lol ^If so, what did you buy?

[greensconnor]

TRR or ILB for the mc thing? (or both LOL)

i WILL do both but seriously ty all so much for these asks i had a rough day and this has calmed me down significantly shskshs

trr/trh mc: maya abernathy

how tall are they?

maya is really tall! she’s 5′11″ which is about an inch shorter than i imagine her husband to be but he’s a king so what does he have to worry about?

how do they tend to dress?

maya has always had a very classy style, even before she was queen of cordonia. she loves bright colours and floral patterns, and really adores light and breezy things. she does miss the functionality of jeans now that she’s a royal, but she makes do with some very classy pantsuits even though pixelberry are cowards and won’t give them to me.

do they like how they look?

yes! maya’s grandma always made sure that she got her self-worth from her actions and the way she treated people as opposed to how she looks, and maya is really proud of herself and doesn’t really care all that much about what other people think of her!

are they an only child or do they have any siblings?

maya’s an only child! i hate to think that her parents or family just don’t care enough to come to her wedding, so my headcanon for her is that her parents died in a car crash when she was young, and so she was cared for by her only surviving relative, her grandmother, until her death in maya’s first year of college. since she doesn’t have any living family that’s why no one was there like seriously what the fuck pixelberry

are they a morning person or night owl?

morning person! maya’s friends always joked that she had the soul of an 80 year old woman but she really does go to bed pretty early all the time and she likes to wake up to the sun! she loves sunshine and she loves hearing birds singing in the morning, which is her favourite part about being at duchy valtoria!

are they a cat person or a dog person?

maya’s a dog person! she likes cats, and she loved the last cat her grandmother had very much, but she’s always liked dogs a lot more by sheer virtue of being an outdoorsy kid who loves to be playing and getting muddy in the back yard, which was much easier to do with a dog than a cat.

got any favourite foods?

LOVES rogan josh and barbecue. anything spicy or smokey your home girl got it covered, but her favourite dessert is cheesecake!

how about favourite drinks?

maya loves traditional lemonade! she had a lemon tree in her back garden growing up, and her grandma taught her how to make lemonade from the fresh lemons. she also grew up drinking tea with her gran, but she isn’t really one for caffeine in general and much prefers hot chocolate since she has a sweet tooth.

what are their favourite movies/tv shows?

maya LOVES period dramas. laps that shit up. stans the jennifer ehle and colin firth pride and prejudice adaptation, could rewatch anna karenina time and time again and actually really liked the great gatsby movie, plus she tends to like shakespeare movies with kenneth branagh, or recordings of stage productions from the globe theatre which she has yet to visit, but as queen of cordonia she wants to see her favourite play (othello) put on there!

do they have any hidden talents?

maya is a really good singer! it’s only been busted out at karaoke, but she’s also an excellent mathematician and can do really complex equations in her head, which scares... pretty much all of her friends.

do they believe in love at first sight?

maya is a romantic at heart, and her grandma used to tell her stories about how she and her husband fell in love at first sight, so she’d like to believe it was true! it’s part of the reason that she decided to go to cordonia in the first place, because of the connection she felt with the then-prince.

who is their love interest?

,,,, hajime which is a renamed prince liam i know i’m sorry we don’t deserve rights that’s true but you don’t understand. the association with the name ‘liam’ is my gay cousin who came out after both me and his older brother came out, left to sweden and now lives in berlin djing gay leather clubs, doing drag and posting on his Very Public Facebook Page asking for recommendations for the best gay bdsm clubs in berlin so i really can’t unmarry that image and i had to change his name i just had to i couldn’t do it. anyway maya and hajime are very happy together

what are they afraid of?

maya isn’t afraid of water or the ocean, but she is afraid of sharks and jellyfish. she prefers to swim in fresh water or pools, but there was a period where she was terrified of crocodiles and alligators as well despite not living anywhere near crocodiles or alligators.

what are their guilty pleasures?

carrie underwood singalongs and those 80′s aerobics videos.... maxwell bought her a pair of legwarmers for her birthday because of it and she cherishes them

what was their dream job as a kid? is it still their dream?

maya wanted to be a vet when she was little, but when she got older she realized she was too squeamish for it ahskshs. it’s not really her dream anymore, but she’s happy with where she is in life!

have they ever broken a bone?

no, she was a very careful child!

have they ever been in trouble with the law?

not really no! she’s been involved in a few marches/protests that met skirmishes with law enforcement, but she’s never been arrested or charged with anything, except for like. the trouble in cordonia i guess.

+ three other random facts about them! 

it is my greatest heacanon that maya used the money she inherited from her grandma to get through college with a degree in communications, and before she was waitress-ing she’d been working pretty long-term for a business in PR but her boss was paying her unfair wages and refused to negotiate so she just quit and was looking for another job, so having justin/anton assigned as her PR ‘team’ was a grievous insult to her ahskshs. another fact is before the royal heir i already decided that maya and hajime have three kids: hollis (after maya’s dad), charlainne “charlie” (after her mum) and oliver, in that order, and the third fact is that her favourite colour is green!

ilb mc: leon vance

how tall are they?

leon is 6′5″ which makes him the tallest of the ilb gang, even taller than parker who is still so in awe that someone managed to be bigger than him

how do they tend to dress?

leon is a frat boy jock with the countenance of a golden retriever. he has an extensive snapback collection, but for the most part his outfit is pretty easy just jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, lots of hoodies, some shorts and those big low-cut singlets etc etc

do they like how they look?

yeah lmao... the one downside is that sometimes people think he’s straight which he’s not about but like. self-confidence is sexy and i don’t fear god so none of my ocs do too. if someone talks shit about him leon will just beat them up ahskshsjsls

are they an only child or do they have any siblings?

leon has elliot ofc, and i hc that his dad re-married and has two young daughters with his second wife, but leon doesn’t know them because he and his dad have virtually no relationship at all.

are they a morning person or night owl?

night owl! leon thinks the stillness of the night is really calming and he’s pretty energetic, but he’s also an early riser. he prefers nights but he also doesn’t sleep in very often since he likes to go for a run before the sun comes up while it’s still nice and cool, plus he usually gets to watch the sun rise on the way back!

are they a cat person or a dog person?

dog.... big, big fluffy dogs. it’s not really surprising when he’s basically just three golden retrievers and one kinda angry chihuahua in a human-shaped trenchcoat but tom gets a lot of no-context pictures of dogs all hours of the night.

got any favourite foods?

leon loves cajun wedges. he thinks there’s an art to making them and he’ll stand by that, but he’s also a bit of a pizza snob and he splurges on wood-fired pizza for him and elliot on uber eats nights whenever he can, although he can’t really do that in pine springs.

how about favourite drinks?

leon vance is the MASTER of keg stands and he’s learned to love shitty bears, but he tends to like dark lagers the best, and besides that he’s a big fan of peach drinks from the chinese grocer down the road from his apartment near campus.

what are their favourite movies/tv shows?

leon loooooves animated movies and elliot is a bit old for him to use as an excuse to go see them, but his favourites are mulan, brave and the quest for camelot which is pretty obscure but garrett was his first love... in terms of tv shows he really likes comedies and watches a lot of comedy specials on netflix too but he’ll also watch pretty much anything with steven yeun in it because he has.... a crush

do they have any hidden talents?

not many people get it initially but leon can actually draw really well! most people think he’s just kind of a meatheaded jock, but his degree is in software engineering and he wants to get into making video games, which is something he decided to do because he loved playing games so much with elliot and he wanted to make something for his brother! he cleans up on rhythm games, and he also plays the piano and the guitar and can sing! he’s very talented!

do they believe in love at first sight?

not really? he wants to believe in romantic things like that, and he definitely believes in attraction at first sight, but he’s a little cynical about the idea of being able to love somebody just from a glance.

who is their love interest?

tom! he & tom are really happy together and one of their favourite things to do is make pancakes on sunday mornings for elliot, and then tom will read his book while sitting on leon’s back while he does pushups. domestic co-existence ahskshs.

what are they afraid of?

leon has always been too bold for his own good, but he’s really not a fan of thunder or lightning and he gets really freaked out during storms.

what are their guilty pleasures?

loves playing roblox with the lads, also he was a gay kid growing up in the 2000′s, a bitch read homestuck and warrior cats and given the opportunity he WILL conduct full-scale discourses about it. yes this is me projecting. no i do not have the decency to be ashamed about it anyway stan vriska

what was their dream job as a kid? is it still their dream? 

initially, leon wanted to be an astronaut, but only so he could meet aliens. as he grew up he realized he didn’t really want to get involved in that field, especially since with his sports career he kind of looked like he had a set path anyway.

have they ever broken a bone?

he’s broken his nose a couple of times and his toe twice, but other than that he’s been very careful because he kind of needs his bones in order to like... do sport.... which is what his scholarship is for.

have they ever been in trouble with the law?

his frat has had noise control turn up a couple of times and once he got picked up for speeding home with medication for elliot’s cough because he was worried but other than that he’s squeaky clean aside from antagonizing chief kelly in pine springs ahsklshsjsh

+ three other random facts about them!

he’s quarterback on his university’s team and looking at prospects of an nfl draft, but he’s also a competitive swimmer and has competed in the junior olympics where he has a silver and a gold medal individually and a gold team medal. second fact is that he’d most like to travel to australia because he likes the accents, and the third is that his favourite animals are bears so he felt personally attacked by the bear lake monster attacking him and his friends

ask me about my choices mcs!

[mr-hoebot]

Watch the Stars - Chapter One

Pairing || Ben Hardy!Roger Taylor x OC

Note || Uhm. So. I’m really fuckin apprehensive about posting this. I have never dabbled in RPF before because it’s so...controversial and I totally get why. In this case, I’m really not writing about the real people involved here, but the biography that was based off of them? Which is still about real people. I was basically inspired by the movie if that makes sense, and I’m writing entirely in the context of the movie. This is 100% fictionalized and not meant to offend anyone. Julie-Anna is just a character who popped into my head. 

So anyways. I don’t encourage involving any actual real-life people in fiction written online, and all that. I just figured that the BohRap fandom seemed like a pretty nice place. So I thought I’d give it a shot and see if you guys will like, accept me into your fold or whatever. 

Summary || After playing a show on Halloween night in New Orleans, Queen’s drummer takes off on his own and is solicited by a very unusual woman who is definitely going to drive him crazy. 

Content || Past parental abuse, drinking, drugs, sexual assault (not romanticized in any form), smut. 

It’s late. Julie-Anna Ackerton doesn’t know what time it is, she just knows that it’s late because the sky has been dark for a while now. She checks it every now and then for the aliens. There’s nothing.

Maybe next time.

In a tiny gas station restroom a few hours earlier, she sprayed on perfume that smells like artificial candy apples, tried and failed not to smudge her eyeliner, and pulled a ratty faux fur coat on over her dress. Now she’s standing out on the middle of the road, heels in hand. They started hurting her feet after some time and she’s not getting any clients tonight anyways.

New Orleans is even buzzier than usual tonight, and it’s not just because of Halloween. There was a concert on at the Municipal Theater and she can feel the ground shaking, hear the cheers of the crowd, feel the wild excitement of people pouring out of the venue, chattering to each other about how amazing it had been.

Julie realizes just then that she can add it to the list of things she’s never done. Never been to a concert. The list just keeps growing longer.

1. Never been really kissed for real for real for real.

2. Never had a beautiful dress like a princess, just like in the movies.

3. I can’t give you the whole list. It would go on forever!

Well, Julie might not have a beautiful princess dress, but she has a silky negligee coming apart at the seams. She shifts her coat off her shoulders and starts walking, pausing by a car with a few men inside.

“Any of you gentlemen looking for a good time?” It doesn’t sound at all like her, but it’s what she’s supposed to say. Still, it never comes out as sultry as it’s meant to. She always sounds too eager and soft.

“I’m spoken for, honey.” The man in the front puffs on a cigarette. “Get lost.”

Concerts are usually a good night for business, but this one is proving to be a bust.

“Are you looking for a good time?”

“Would you like some company tonight?”

“I’m feeling lonely. Could I hitch a ride?”

None of it matters. All the chatter in the world hasn’t gotten her anyone, and Julie is getting desperate. Slowly, she’s drifted away from the bright lights of the main streets and fallen into the shadows behind Halloween costumes and concert memorabilia.

Julie steps out of an alley and keeps walking, keeping her eyes out for any parked cars that might contain possible clients. She scans the area and sees several people drive by, a few drunken stragglers stumbling home with their arms around each other, a woman shouting at her boyfriend.

And a car parked right up on the curb.

Julie fluffs up her hair and tries to saunter forward, imagining herself looking very beautiful and irresistible. Isn’t that what she needs?

The car window is rolled up, so she taps on it a few times to get the driver’s attention. When it rolls down to reveal a blonde man with red eyes, smoking a cigarette, she feels her heart skip a few beats.

Wow wow wow! This isn’t for the list of things I’ve never done. But wow!

“Can I help you?” the man asks. He looks exhausted. Bad news.

“Um.” Julie opens her mouth, then shuts it, suddenly finding herself forgetting her lines. “Oh! Yes. I remember. Are you looking for some company tonight?”

He rolls his eyes. “I don’t need to pay for company.”

“Oh,” she replies dejectedly, “Oh. Yeah. I guess not.”

Before she can say anything else, the man is rolling the window up. The car still doesn’t move though, and just as she starts to walk away, she’s hit with the realization that she needs a ride back home. She hitched one into town with a trucker driving in for the night, but he’s long gone now.

Julie spins around on her heel and stumbles back over to the car to tap on the window again. When the man rolls the window down, he looks irritated. “What?”

“Let’s trade.”

“Trade what?”

“Could you take me home? Please? I’ll make it worth your while. Do you know what worth your while means? I’ve learned it’s very persuasive.”

He stares at her in confusion, “Are you serious? I’m not having sex with you to give you a ride home.”

Julie swallows the lump in her throat that’s started to form. Tonight hasn’t brought her anything but bad luck and she’s going to need to pay rent soon. “Please? Oh, it won’t take long. I would walk but I get lost a lot, especially in the dark. Once I got lost and walked into a small pond. I stood there very confused because I didn’t know why my feet and legs were wet. And then I said, ‘Oh Julie-Anna Ackerton, you walked into a pond! That’s why your feet and legs are wet!’ Then I looked for frogs, but I didn’t find any. But I know my address. It’s-“

“Okay, okay!” The man puts his hand up. “Get in. I guess I need to drive somewhere anyway.”

She claps her hands excitedly. “Thank you! Thank you so much! You’re very nice! Very, very, very nice. Very, very-“

“Please just get in.” He actually looks like he might smile. “Julie-Anna Ackerton, huh?”

“That’s right,” Julie says cheerfully, opening the door to the other side and getting in. The car smells like cigarette smoke, so she rolls the window down. “Do you like my name?”

“Sure I do. It’s a nice name.” He starts to drive but extends one hand to shake hers. “I’m Roger.” “It’s real nice to meet you,” Julie shakes his hand excitedly and slips her coat off of her shoulders. “Why’re you just sitting in your car?”

He shrugs. “It’s not mine. I rented it. I needed to drive, clear my head. It was kind of a wild night.”

“Did you go to the concert? I saw lots of people going. I’ve never been to one before, but I think it would probably be magic and beautiful. I really like music. Did you have fun?”

Roger looks over at her, surprised. “Well, yeah. I mean, kind of.”

“You kind of had fun?”

“No, I mean-I kind of went to the concert. I mean, I played it. I’m the drummer for the band.”

Julie gasped, her inner voice telling her to calm down, even thought it was just so, so hard. “How neat! I wish I could be a drummer. Or a singer. Or a movie star. Or a goddess. I just want to be a beautiful beauty queen. Do you think I could be a beauty queen?”

“Oh yeah. Definitely. Why aren’t you one?”

Julie sighs sadly. “I don’t have a beautiful dress or a special talent, and you need those, I guess. But if I close my eyes really tight and try to dream, I can imagine that I’m Miss America, y’ know? And it’s so beautiful. I look like a superstar.” She emphasizes the last word with all the reverence and adoration of someone talking about a religious icon.

“I’m gonna be a superstar one day,” she tells him.

Roger laughs and turns a corner, “I don’t doubt it.”

“Are you going to be a star too?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I feel like I already am, but I guess that could be me getting ahead of myself. Fifteen minutes of fame and all that. I’m just trying to enjoy it while it lasts.” He falters a bit, looking unsure.

“Aren’t you?” Julie asks.

“Aren’t I what?”

“Enjoying it.”

“Oh. Well, sure. I am. I just…I don’t know. I was kind of stressed out tonight. I don’t think I played as well as I could have. I got in a fight with our guitarist. Things were loud and we were drinking…” he shuts his eyes for a moment before focusing again on the road and sighing, “I guess I just needed some time to myself. So. Rented a car and here I am with you. Which was not part of my plan by the way.”

“Sorry,” Julie says cheerfully, “But maybe I can make you feel better. I can tell you a joke.”

“You don’t have to-“

“What’s red and moves up and down?” Without waiting for an answer, she hurriedly says, “A tomato in an elevator.”

Roger snorts, “You’ve got to be joking.”

“I am. It was a joke.”

“No, I mean-nevermind. That was really funny, Julie-Anna.” It comes out with obvious sarcasm.

“Oh, you can just call me Julie,” she says, “Everyone does except for Dad, and he doesn’t really like me that much.”

“I’m sorry. Speaking of, where did you say you lived again?”

Julie-Anna lists out the address, the same old place on the edge of town that she’s been for ages. The same place she always will be, until she’s a famous beauty queen.

[themattress]

From the maker of this great video.

13 points I have to make on it:

1.) Holy shit, he outright agrees with me on the best way to utilize Disney worlds! Sweet!

2.) I enjoyed Marluxia in Corona, but yeah, I agree that his alliance with Gothel was a huge wasted opportunity. Beyond the unfortunate implications of him taking the Stabbington Brothers’ role only for him to be manipulating Gothel when it was the other way around with the Stabbingtons, why get us hyped with that first scene with them and then never have them actually interact on screen again? It’s more than Larxene and Luxord get, since we never see their interactions with Hans and Cutler Beckett on screen, but I honestly felt that Vanitas’ partnership with Randall was stronger, and the two of them don’t even speak to each other!

3.) Disagree on two counts with his thoughts on the Caribbean. I thought it was the strongest movie adaptation reworking (with Corona in the middle and Arendelle as the weakest) not only due to Luxord’s strong role and Sora, Donald and Goofy taking an active part in the story’s climax but also because of all the skipped over movie context/events and not including Sora, Donald and Goofy in it, which was beneficial as opposed to detrimental in this case because all of those context/events sucked. Having them kept off-screen honestly elevated the material, giving off the feeling that Sora, Donald and Goofy are taking part in something on a grander, more epic and adult scale than they’re used to. And I definitely do not agree that Dead Man’s Chest should’ve been adapted in one game and then At World’s End saved for another one, that kind of cliffhanger would’ve just been frustrating in game form. If you wanted to do both movies, then they should have done the “two world visits” route of KH2, where the first visit adapts Dead Man’s Chest and the second adapts At World’s End. That way you get both halves of the story in one game, making it a more satisfying experience.

4.) “It’s amazing that Rapunzel wasn’t allowed to so much as see Marluxia” - BUT SHE DID, THOUGH! Marluxia replacing the Stabbington Brothers caused a scene where Rapunzel did meet him and he threatened her with two Nobodies! How did he forget this!? He should have said that Elsa and Anna weren’t allowed to see Larxene, that’s an accurate statement!

5.) Very good points on Vanitas, I never thought about them before but they’re true.

6.) OK, Kairi was NOT a “useless damsel in distress” in KH, if that was something he was implying in his discussion of how she was mistreated. She was a useFUL damsel in distress, as she was the prime motive for Sora, Riku, and the villain alliance, her distressing situation was crucial to moving the story along and enforcing some of its core themes, and there was more nuance to it than it appeared (which is sadly lost on way too many people since they’re shallow surface readers who like to boil her down to the archetype she was playing rather than actually grasping how that archetype was played with and subverted, something that is true of Sora and Riku in that game as well). And at least in KH2, her period of being pointlessly made into a useless damsel in distress was followed by a period where she wasn’t, where she took an active role in the finale and helped to save the day. Here, it’s totally ass-backwards, where we get all the hype and build-up that she’s going to take an active role and help to save the day, only for the finale to make her a useless damsel in distress.

7.) I know they’re going to retroactively explain what Xion’s deal was in DLC, but that doesn’t change how badly written her return is, or how badly written it has been at every point building to this game. I too kind of like seeing Xion back and having a happy ending, but it would have ONLY really worked for me if it WASN’T so telegraphed ever since BBS’s secret ending, and if it hadn’t just happened for the sake of happening with every previously established canon rule and consequence of what happened to her being broken. Because as it stands, she has officially become the Mary Sue she was accused of being from the start.

8.) “Dream Drop Distance set the bar so low that anything that’s remotely an improvement is seen as passable by me”.  Yes, exactly this.  

9.) Agreed on all points about Maleficent, whom I’ve also talked about recently.

10.) Perfect sum-up of how lacking in closure KH3 is, especially compared to KH2.

11.) Yeah, Xigbar was always going to be more important as the series went on, but it’s painfully obvious that Nomura never thought ahead as to exactly how he would be. He just wanted him to be the series’ Revolver Ocelot, he didn’t actually think up his full backstory and role, and when developing X and KH3 he finally just applied the Luxu retcon to him, and he loses a lot of his charm (moreso than he already did when he was made “half-Xehanort”.)

12.) Shanelle Gray and Derek Stephen Prince deserve all the praise. :D

13.) My biggest disagreement with him has got to be the conclusion he reaches. I’m fine with him feeling that way, different strokes and all, but I just cannot remotely feel the same. The overall experience matters to me, I cannot be content with just “moments”. There is no reason to care any more about the narrative, world and characters of the KH series, and so I am not sticking with it anymore. I’m glad to be out, ‘cause sorry, it ain’t ever getting better.

[noradarhkpalmer]

and i will hold onto you

Title: and i will hold onto you

Rating: PG

Pairing: Nora Darhk/Ray Palmer aka Darhkatom

Warnings: It sad

Summary/Notes: It's the anniversary of Anna Loring, Ray's late fiancee's, death and this year it's hitting Ray harder than it ever has. This time he has Nora there to comfort him.

I’m so sorry I fell behind on these! I had some personal health problems come up but I am going to try and catch up! This one is extra long! Enjoy!

Day thirteen of 25 days of Darhkatom! Feel free to click the through the tag to see the others! Basically, I will be posted all loosely related (unless stated otherwise) fics for 25 days straight!

Ray, eternal sunshine, always smiling, Palmer was quiet on what Nora thought was a beautiful day in May. Anachronism activity had been light and so the Legends decided on a little shore leave. Ray still had an apartment in Star City so they decided to go there. Nora was surprised to see Ray relieved to spend time away from the other Legends and yes they were insufferable at times but she also knew that Ray and the Legends were thicker than any blood ties that he formed with this family.

She followed him up to his apartment with their belongings and walked in behind him. When Nora got to the bedroom she placed her bag on one side of his bed and she sighed. Something was wrong with Ray. She walked back out to the living room and saw him staring out one of the floor to ceiling windows. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed her cheek to his back.

“Hey… what’s on your mind, babe?”

Ray turned so he could wrap and arm around Nora and she snuggled into his side. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and sighed. “It’s nothing, I’m sorry I’ve been quiet, just trying to adjust to being back here.”

“Yeah, I guess it has been a while for you, huh?” She closed her eyes as he absently stroked her hair. “Do you want to go out and get lunch or maybe or in or cook? I’m up for anything.”

Ray nodded. “Yeah, we can order in.” He broke away in search of takeout menus and left Nora at the window.

Nora wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. He was still hiding something from her.

It wasn’t like Ray to put up walls like this. Usually he was knocking hers down. She walked back into the bedroom and was putting books on the bedside table when she knocked a frame off the nightstand. She heard it thud gently onto the carpet and picked it up. It was a woman, about her height, with kind brown eyes, brown hair, smiling standing next to Ray. She had her arms around his middle and an engagement ring glittered in the photo. Nora sucked in a breath. It was Anna.

She combed back through memories and factoids about Ray until she settled on one. Deathstroke had killed his fiancee in May not even four years ago… no it was four years ago… to the day. It was the anniversary of Anna’s death.

That’s what was wrong.

Nora wasn’t sure how to act being on the other side of things. She wasn’t sure the best way to approach him or if she should approach him. Maybe she should just let him sulk and be sad Ray Palmer for the day. Nora sat the frame gently back in its original place and continued unpacking her things. She walked back out into the living room to find Ray on the couch with takeout menus in front of him. She sat on his lap, trying to see if the affection would distract him and he wrapped an arm around her, smiling sadly.

“Hey… let’s order some Chinese and then we can watch a movie, okay? How about… Singin’ In the Rain?”

The prospect of watching his favorite movie with his favorite girl seemed to perk him up a bit. Ray nodded and called in their order.

Nora kissed the top of his head, sitting in his lap afforded her a height to do so, and carded a hand through his hair. Her boy needed a haircut. She liked that he was growing out to look less boyscout-ish but it was only getting unruly. The longer hair didn’t suit him as well as his shorter style. It was less Ray to her.

When they got their food, Nora queued up the TV to start their movie. Nora pulled out the thickest blanket she could find and draped it over both of them, something inside of her, knowing it was the anniversary of her boyfriend’s ex fiancee’s death, she wanted to protect Ray, his heart, and anything else to do with him and his feelings about today. She rested her head on his shoulder and started the movie.

They ate in silence as the movie played, Nora wanting so badly during the slower moments to broach the subject but she just couldn’t. They had shifted to sit only somewhat further apart and when Ray finished his food, twice her size as he may be, decided he wanted to lay his head in her lap. Nora had no problem with it. She carded her fingers through his hair absently and let him just lose himself in the movie, knowing that was probably more than she could do to help in that moment.

When the movie ended, Ray sat up and pulled Nora in for a hug. He squeezed her a lot tighter than she ever remembered him hugging her and she hugged him back. She couldn’t let him know she knew, she wanted him to tell her. He needed to be ready.

Nora watched him get up from the couch and throw their takeout boxes away. He muttered something about going for a run and that he would be back soon. Nora nodded and remained seated on the couch as she watched him disappear into their bedroom, come back out in sweats, and kiss her softly before heading out the door.

xxxx

She knew this went beyond any snooping she had ever done for a mission but she was just curious. It was four years ago but three of those years were taken up by being a Legend full time so who knows what she would find. She started with the chest of drawers, all his clothes, mostly workout and loungewear and undergarments. Next she moved onto the dresser and pulled open each drawer, trying to gauge if any of the belongings were Anna’s. She only got halfway through the dresser before she stopped. Something just felt wrong about this. She took in a deep breath, this would’ve been the place Anna and Ray would’ve started their lives, and probably had begun to before she died. Ray had probably attempted to change as much of he could without selling the place. There was no trace Anna, no ghost of her memory to find.

Ray had been gone for hours at this point and she was starting to get worried. The sun was starting to set and she hadn’t been in this city for over twenty years. Somewhere a very scared fourteen year old Nora Darhk had just been possessed by Mallus and even though she had met a very handsome knight and his team and tried to rescue her from her prison, she was still somewhere in this city, alone and afraid.

It was much like she felt now. She had never been the one to figure out how to break someone’s walls down and Ray was a seasoned pro at this point. She guessed that also meant he was an expert at putting them up. Nora looked out the window onto nightfall settling over Star City and sighed.

“Ray, where are you?”

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there but she finally heard the door open and turned around. Ray. He didn’t look so good. Intoxicated? No. He’d be stumbling. High? No that wasn’t Ray at all. He just looked… broken.

Nora slowly approached him, not sure how much contact he wanted or needed.

“Ray?... Is everything alright?”

Ray simply shook his head. He sat down on the couch and Nora sat with him. She took one of his hands and stroked hair away from his face with the other.

“You said you were headed out for a jog, did something happen?”

“I shouldn’t have gone there.”

“What?”

“I shouldn’t have gone to the cemetery. It’s too soon.”

“Too soon for what? Talk to me.”

Ray shook his head. “It should’ve been me. I got away with just a couple of broken bones but she died. It should’ve been me, I was there protect her and I didn’t. I did the one thing I thought I was good at: protecting others.”

Nora stroked his hair. “You’re going to have to give me more context, sweetie, who is this about?”

“Her name… her name was Anna Loring… she was my fiancee. She died four years ago when Deathstroke attacked Star City. I got away with a broken leg but they… he just snapped her neck like she didn’t matter. But she did. She was the most important person in my life… I don’t… I don’t remember being this sad last year or even the year before… I don’t know why it’s hitting me so much this year…”

Nora shrugged. “I’m so sorry, Ray… I don’t know what to tell you. Before I could even really mourn my parents I was placed in protective services and told to forget about who I was before. I was Emily now and I was an orphan. It didn’t matter that my mom and dad had just died. So I had to lock it away. I didn’t deal with it for years. I think it’s okay to cry about this, she was important to you… you loved her and you were planning on spending the rest of your life with her. You don’t just get over that.”

Ray laid his head on Nora’s chest, the angle awkward because of his size, but Nora reclined into the couch to make it a bit easier. She continued to stroke his hair and took in deep breaths until his breathing was in sync with hers. She felt her shirt become wet and knew he was crying. She hummed quietly against the top of his head to let him know she was there.

“I know I’m probably bad at this since you’re the one with tons more experience at dealing with all of my junk but, I’m here for you, Ray… I’m sorry you lost her and know it’s okay to be sad about it. You can cry on me as much as you want, we can move to the bedroom if that’s more comfortable or we can stay right here. Whatever you want. I can make us tea or I can stay right here. You call the shots.”

Ray lifted his head up and reached to wipe away his tears but Nora caught his hands. She wiped the tears from his cheeks instead and reached for a tissue on the coffee table. She handed it to him and he smiled in thanks. He leaned in and kissed her softly and she smiled sadly as they pulled away.

“I think… I think that tea and staying here is what I want to do.”

Nora smiled. “I’ll get the kettle on.”

xxxx

They sat there in silence, both stirring their mugs to keep their mind focused on something. Ray hadn’t said much more but Nora knew to just let him be, give him the time he needed to reveal or not reveal whatever he felt comfortable with.

“Nora…?”

“Yeah, Ray?”

“Thank you… for… well… you were my rock tonight… this has been the hardest anniversary I’ve had. And I don’t think I would’ve gotten through it without you.” He took her hand. “Thank you, really, I mean it.”

“You have been there for so many things for me, Ray, I didn’t know exactly what you were struggling with but I could tell something was off. I just needed to make sure I made myself emotionally available. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this is for you.”

“But your parents…”

“Died a long time ago and my dad died a hero the second time around. It’s… the same but different. I guess I know what you’re going through in the sense that I’ve lost people too, but I haven’t lost anyone that meant as much to me as Anna did to you.”

Ray squeezed her hand three times, “I don’t want you to think that because of what we have and what Anna and I had, they’re somehow in competition.”

Nora waved him off. “No, I could never think that. I know I can never replace Anna, I wouldn’t try to. She was probably very different from me and that helps me to know that I definitely could never replace her. I want whatever part in your life you’ll have me for.”

Ray pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “Anna would want me to be happy… I think she would like you. You guys were very different yes, but I needed her for the part of my life between college and becoming the ATOM. But I need you for this part of my life. The part of my life that I hope is the rest of my life because I don’t want you to leave. You don’t just have a part in my life. You are my life.”

Nora leaned up and kissed him softly. “Let’s head to bed.”

Ray nodded and followed her wordlessly to the bedroom.

xxxx

Nora, now changed into a nightgown, was finishing up in the ensuite bathroom when she saw Ray come up behind her in the mirror. He was in pajamas too and wrapped his arm around her torso. Nora placed her hands on his forearm and rested her chin in the crook of his elbow.

“Hi.” She smiled, looking into his eyes through the mirror.

Ray buried his face into her neck and breathed her in. Trying to hold onto her impossibly tighter than before.

Nora let him hold her for a minute before turning in his arms and cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him softly. She broke away and tugged on his hand to follow her back into the bedroom. She noticed the picture of Anna had been moved to his nightstand and she got under the covers next to him. Nora picked up her book and began to read. She reached for Ray’s hand and squeezed his hands three time, glancing up at him. He leaned in to kiss her once more before laying down for the night, facing her, and keeping their hands clasped together.

[worangetravellertravels]

In The Darkness of It All... A New Light Lingers For You And Your Love

(Please read until the end! The opening might sound awful but there’s a logic to this I swear)

It’s just the second day and I feel like my life is already over. 

Everyone told me I was a mistake, a wreck, a consumer of joy and happiness and I hurted my beloved so bad that she would most likely never recover from the mental damage I’ve have done to her! I lay now on my bed, which feels like a coffin from where I will most likely spend the rest of my days alone.

It’s the middle of the night, or day? I don’t care honestly... I only see darkness, fitting... since it’s what I am.

???: You always know how to light up the mood don’t you?

I look to my left, suddenly a tall shadowy figure looms above me. A foul demon of disturbing aura and skeletical structure. I do not fear this creature, I welcome them thought usually I only do in dreams, and I’m quite awake right now (my sadness wouldn’t let me sleep) so... what was a Wraith doing in my room?

Wraith: YOU! - he shouts with a boastiferous tone while pointing at me

Y: If you have come to take my life I’m sorry... I already gave it away.

W: I know... and I’m sorry for being a part of your self destruction.

My eyes widden and turn my head to see the Wraith, there’s barely a face to speak off... but you can see two holes were eyes are supossed to be... and watery regret emmanating from them.

Y: What do you mean?

W: The truth is... me and many others have seen you and your friends life from a wall beyond your reality, sounds silly I know! But we saw you hardships, your relationships... your poetry. And in a vein streak of our own we deemed ourselves worthy enough to help you... selfserving and all it is what we’ve tried for you and all your friends since the start of the year.

Y: ... so you’re the voices that called me out on how horrible I made my beloved feel? Well, good for you I guess... I broke up with her 2 days ago... you got what you wanted, now leave me alone...

W: THAT’S THE THING THOUGH! We didn’t wanted THIS outcome, or not all of us at least. We aren’t exactly a one mind collective, at best we are one loudmouth, 5-6 regulars and a mysterious amount of shadows. We just all wanted your happiness... we probably failed in deliver a good idea of how.

Y: You made yourself quite clear! Every move I make, every action I do, every inaction I do hurted my beloved! I now i’m messed up and broken and ruined but you HAD to hammer the idea in didn’t you?

W: We aren’t omniscient...

Y: What? You wanted to see all what we do every single hour of our days now?

W: NO! It’s just... we are limited of what we see... and from many standards what we see of her looked like she was withering away and what we look of you felt many times... questionable.

Y: Like what?

W: That time you said you compared her to a puppy or that you could be her dog?

Y: IT WAS A METAPHOR FOR LOYALTY!

W: Or the time you dismissed her saying “this is perfect me time for watch a movie based on a novel, she won’t care”

Y: You honestly think she would have cared to see a horror movie? I KNOW SHE WOULDN’T!

W: But the option OR the offering woulld have been nice wouldn’t it? Look, we probably get a way minor look at it all, but that look scared us because from there... I looked like you didn’t even see her as a person?

Y: ...

W: We know you love her... but we are worried that romantic love is all there is for you and nothing else. The love for your family isn’t big (or existant, we don’t know and won’t really asume?) you have friends that care about you (they have been lousy at showing it maybe, but they are) you HAVE a friend who you connect in a very special and meaningful way... and somehow she is not your significant other? I know is complicated to understand but... romantic love is not all there is.

Y: ...

W: You put her on a pedestal, and everytime someone tries to ask you about it or even get a response you focus on something else. You’re hidding from your own truth? Or you are just afraid to admit that? Or maybe we are seeing thing and everything was f... yeah no, cant even finish that sentence... Something WAS wrong... but we think It’s not unfixeable.

Y: Why would you think it’s not unfixeable if all I did according to you lot was hurt her?

W: Because it is not all you have done! We know it, we forget to mention it regularly but we know it! You lift her spirits and help her grow, and she did the same for you. Between when you fell in love with her until you “accidentally” began dating? You two were great friends! But then suddenly you started your relationship and something... felt weird. Maybe you do have those old tender moments of helping each other now outside of our eyes but eventually we saw fewer and fewer of them and more dismissive moments from you and doubt from her and... I guess we panic and thought we needed you to change soon or it would be unbearable to her and in our horrible nightmares (yes Wraiths DO have nightmares) we see the situation exploding and everyone crashing down and...

The creaure stopped themselves for a moment, with a blending expression of exasperation, fear, shame and worry... it was somehow relatable to how I feel when people give me weird looks about my hobbies... huh...

W: We’re sorry... I am sorry... I wanted to help and in the end we rushed it all leaving you too damaged and...

Y: And now everything is over.

W: Do you want it to be over?

Y: What does it matter what I want? I only do the wrong thing don’t I?

W: It matters! You too have feelings that are complicated to see to us or get muddied for OUR understanding of the world... but... we do understand something from you that probably not even you have cnsidered.

Y: What is that?

W: You love her so much... you preferred to let her go that seeing her unhappy. You know how big of a proof of love THAT is? Maybe what you had wasn’t meant to be romance but your relationship does NOT have to end... both of you care for each other, maybe try to care for each other in a less restricting way? Maybe one day you can return to each other as a romantic couple and your dream’s desire will be fulfiled but right here how both of you are is not the right time... but also is DEFINITELY not over...

Y: ...

W: And that’s it. I can’t truly keep trying to write you anymore in this story Yuri (I also probably did a horrid job, I mean I even had to left you speechles twice because honestly any reaction would have been a disservice to you) I just wanted to apologize and one more time try to explain what worried us, but also admit that we forced the situation too much, I keep saying that is to not see something similar to what happened to Monika but... regardless it was too unfair to you. You still have things you can change and trust me you CAN! But some you shouldn’t though... or you would stop being you. If you want you can write your response to give this story a proper ending... but I would be happy just with you keep doing your best AND KNOWING you can.

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

@ask-sayori-ddlc Anna I need a favor! Give this story to Yuri, you can read it if you want but in reality this story is for her and don’t wanna show it to the rest of the club (maybe Sayori? I dunno). Might be too personal and she obviouslly will feel embarassed? The intention is an explanation/apology for my actions... and to give an interesting epiphany I got about Yuri after yesterday’s disaster. I really hope she doesn’t take it the wrong way... I even tried to write it in a way she would like? Well... we will see... thank you.

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

Notes:

We all have our limitations when helping, they aren’t valid excuses, but in context might show you some truths? We shall see...

Tomorrow, as my last story for you two... what I think you mean to each other. (Even when apart.)

Now read the story again but listening to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkc3XCJril8 (Mou Sukoshi (karaoke ) )

[calliecat93]

Your top 5 most misunderstood characters in your opinion and why?

Huh... that is a REALLY good question Anon. Like sometimes the misunderstanding is just something stupid that gets overblown in fandom, but... hmm... okay I’m going off the top of my head here so there are probably better examples out there. But here’s my picks in no particular order:

1. Donatello (TMNT 2012)

If anyone has followed my blog since my 2k12 phase, you all already know what I’m going to say. During mainly Season 2, but it was kinda there in Season One, Donnie got a TON of stalker/creeper accusations because of his crush on April. Now I won’t lie, there ARE good reasons why and looking back now, I think I was too harsh and missing the point when I argued back. I am now more understanding of these kinds of problems and why so many were against it and I apologize if I came off as bitchy or aggressive in my defense posts. Nevertheless, my stance still stands. Donnie is an idiot teenager in love, bot a stalker. His motivations were overall well-intentioned, if carried out poorly. Fortunately by Season 3, this more or less died but since I spent about over a year arguing about it, it still stands out in my mind.

2. Martin Kratt (Wild Kratts)

Okay, it’s surprisingly hard for me to think of misunderstood characters cause as I said, it’s mainly for stupid reasons. This one is very minor, but I thought of it. The WK fandom is usually overall on the same page, hence why it’s the most tolerable fandom I’m in. Now Martin is a very happy-go-locky character, most characters in the show are. But he’s normally characterized as ditzier and well... dumber than his brother Chris. This is because Chris is the more logical thinker, but the truth is they are pretty equally intelligent. Martin isn’t as logical and straightforward with his creature knowledge, but he knows just as much as his little brother. He’s more emotionally smart and seems to have a better understanding of a creatures behaviors and emotional thinking. In short, Martin isn’t stupid. Reckless and short-sighted maybe, but so is Chris so...

3. Elsa (Frozen)

I’m gonna get a lot of heat for this one. Elsa has become very beloved since the movie came out, especially due to Let it Go. A song about accepting your gifts and allowing yourself to be set free. Indeed the song and the sequence that accompanied it are amazing... and are very bad in context. Elsa isn’t a bad character. I sympathize with her a lot, but IDK if I’d call her empowering. At least not until the end. While Elsa accepting her powers is a good thing and healthier than her previous mindset, it’s STILL unhealthy. She’s still isolating herself form everyone. She’s still living in fear. While she didn’t know about the storm until Anna showed up,s he was still abandoning her sister and a kingdom that was counting on her. It isn’t until the end when Anna more or less died for her that Elsa finally faced her problems. I hope the sequel will do a better job of letting Elsa become a confident character, but as it stands in Frozen she is nowhere near as great as she gets made out to be imo.

4. Professor Snape (Harry Potter)

Ho boy, this one. I was struggling to think of one when THIS popped into my brain. I hate Snape. I hate him so much. But SO MANY think that he is this sympathetic character who ultimately did nothing wrong and did all that he did because of his love for Lily. Which yes, he can warrant sympathy and him acting as a double agent was a very brave act that in the end helped the good guys grately. But... Snape is still an absolute asshole. Just look at his treatment of Harry, or really many of the kids. He’s outright rude an insulting to Hermione, a child, and I think int he books he was to Neville as well. But Harry? He is harsh, cruel, and cold to this kid because he’s the son of his former crush and his former bully. Look, he can hate James forever, but Harry did NOTHING to him. He is a kid who never even knew his parents and Snape KNEW THIS. If he truly loved Lily, he’d have at least been decent to the kid because he understood his loss. But not, he treat shim like dirt. He also got Lupin fired because he was friends with James by outing him as a werewolf, which was just terrible in so many ways. Also he never got over hating muggle borns from what I can tell, he switched because he was in love with a woman who he himself drove off. Yet we’re supposed to hate James more, nvm that he changed his ways by the time he and Lily married and wasn’t a racist. Sorry Rowling, but Snape is a terrible character imo and while his double agent act was indeed brave, I will never understand why so many try to paint him as a character who did no wrong when he was without question an asshole.

5. Professor Ozpin/Ozma (RWBY)

I saved this for last because it’s the most recent n my mind. I already wrote about this yesterday, but... man do many demonize this poor guy. Because Ozpin has had to make crappy decisions and has a tendency for secret keeping, so many wanted to paint him as secretly evil. Even moreso than Salem. Because... IDK, the male character always has to be terrible? Now Ozpin is a shady character, but even when all this started in V3, I always saw it as him trying to do what was best for the greater good and he clearly didn’t like doing those things. There were never any signs to me that he was evil or using people as sacrificial lambs without giving a damn. He does, and that’s what makes him interesting. He has to do all these questionable things that he himself hates because if he doesn’t, he risks the Gods wiping out the world. Essentially, many want to use Divide, the VILLAIN SONG that paints Ozpin as this terrible person from the VILLAINS POV, and use it as fact. Truth is, Ozpin is a regular guy who got given an impossible task and sadly to fulfill that task, it involves making the harsh choices that no one wants to make. But even after that revelation, so many still want to stick to the ‘he’s a heartless bastard using children soldiers’ crap and accuse the writing of being bad because they didn’t get what they want. Ozpin is a very complex character, and people need to accept that instead of clinging onto him having to be 100% good or 100% bad. Humans don’t work that way.

[missallycat]

Once in the friendzone always a Martyzoned

I don’t like Marty. I don’t understand how is “Team Marty” a thing, how it’s even in existence.

Let’s start with who is naked guy... I’m sorry but so many people insist he was treated badly and I have to say BY WHO?? Other than Colin a couple of times (because they only see each other a couple of times) when was he treated badly? By Logan because he didn’t remember him? They weren’t friends, my guess is they didn’t have classes together since Logan was a year or two ahead in school and lets face it, Logan when he first shows up he partied hard, why did he have an obligation to remember a guy he had hired to work at a party? The “I’m seeing a uniform” thing... I don’t know if it was offensive or him just being “high” lol actually I could be wrong but when Logan first shows up I didn’t like him as much although he did make me laugh, and I really thought he was high lol the way he walked and talked in that first encounter, the squint saying I’m seeing a uniform of some kind... Or maybe he simply didn't remember because why would you if you only see them in a specific context sporadically, why would you remember someone who wasn't your friend or classmate? I get it can be seen as mocking but I honestly thought it was more for the viewers to mock Logan as “frat boy probably high or drunk out of his ass in broad daylight, doesn’t even remember his own name”, than for Logan to mock Marty. Other than that, Marty was always treated with courtesy by Logan (he offered to treat him and that wasn’t meant to be offensive, why would Marty agree to go to the friggin chinese restaurant KNOWING how these guys spent money, when he didn’t have money to pay for himself!? who was to guess he didn’t have money? Why is it so horrible to offer to treat him, is it because it was another guy? because he was interested in Rory? I thought that one was bad on Marty). Colin not so much, but I always thought Marty had a deep inferiority complex. Colin insulted again and Logan gave him a look, again saying although non verbally this time, "don't be an ass". But this time Marty was out of earshot.

Why is it assumed that because a guy is interested in you, and is apparently nice to you, you automatically have to fall head over heels for him??? Why?? Because he happens to be a guy and you’re a girl so you have to take the first dude who happens to be civil because otherwise you’re at risk of what... the big bad wolf? Of actually dating someone you’re... what’s that word again, oh yes ATTRACTED to?

Don’t get me wrong, when we first met Marty (I mean really meet him not naked drunkard passed out in the hallway nor trying to humiliate Rory in her pj’s and bringing her to his creeper friends who say “oh yes nice robe we all took turns trying it on”, seriously? that’s how you try to win a girl?) despite the trying to humiliate her, I liked him, I thought HOW COOL!!! Now Rory can have an actual GUY friend, someone who will be like the male version of Lane, a masculine (softer lol) counterpart for Paris. Other than Michel (but in a little aspect as much as I positively LOVE him, he doesn’t count, I’ll get to it in a sec) the Gilmore girls don’t have any guy friends, straight guy friends who aren’t romantically involved with their closest girl friends (I love Michel but not only was he Lorelai’s friend not Rory’s and older than her, he was also gay so in the not attratcted to them part he’s already not attracted to women), men who while unattached, instead of drooling over them choose to be just friends with them, men who could be into them but really aren’t. 

We saw Rory get rejected by William the laundry guy (now him I thought looked cute too bad nothing but humiliation afterwards came from that, for Rory lol) but we don’t see either Rory or Lorelai have actual guy friends who aren’t into them. Lorelai and Luke were friends for years but there was always this undercurrent of “more” between them. So when I saw Marty appear and I thought FINALLY a new kind of friendship. And at first things seemed to go very well, they were friends and he was funny and they had movie nights and they’d study that was fun

lol I mean he would even try to go head to head with Paris (losing of course but one had to give it to the guy for the sense of humor). 

Two things were perfectly and absolutely clear from day one

1. Rory had ZERO romantic interest in him whatsoever  

2. Marty never made a move for Rory. 

Yes we saw that Marty started taking SOME interest in Rory, asking her if she had a boyfriend, and trying to see how that was doing, but seriously dude? seriously? That’s how you work it? You’re just cowardly feeling out the land to see if she might reject you before you even try? We, viewers saw that, but Rory just saw her friend, a guy to talk to. 

Say whatever you like about the Rory boyfriends or crushes even if you like them or not EACH OF THE GUYS: from Dean to Tristan to Jess to Logan (heck even poor one date Trevor), they all made their intentions perfectly clear once they were into her. Even Logan, he didn’t want to make an actual final big move because he didn’t want a relationship but he flirted with her, he always was very clear like he was interested in her and after that, they started being together and then they got in a relationship. 

Marty was sort of a pet, a lapdog (I love dogs, I have a lapdog, is not an attractive quality outside the canine world) and a sort of a doormat, always ready to be at her feet at her side, at her beck and call.

Why must she owe him anything simply because she was his friend and he felt something else? Facts are:

- Dude never ever asked her out on a date

- He never ONCE said he was interested in her (before it was SPELLED out to him that she wasn’t during Chilton’s little Anna visiting

- In fact when he asked her if she was with anyone, he said I’m just curious, which prompted her to go looking for who? Oh that’s right, NOT Marty ;)

- He was a sort of a lapdog poor thing. 

I feel bad saying it but he was always at her beck and call always around her yet never actually trying to get her attention, never even trying to flirt with her or complimenting her, never ONCE even attempting to ask her out. He was a bit of a doormat, always ready to be relied on, stepped on, never saying no, never denying anything, never having anything else to do but be around her... She liked him as a friend, she considered him a good guy, but he was always going to be a friend and nothing more because he put himself in that spot all on his own and then actually got mad because he had it spelled out.

I mean the guy had clearly SPELLED OUT he was considered a friend, and at first I felt sorry for him. I felt really bad for him because he had been sort of a pet, not really considered a guy not even considered a best friend...

But then this “wonderful” friend decides to simply bolt, he dissapears after sending Rory back in a taxi during the whole Anna debacle and he doesn’t talk to his friend. Same friend he used to visit and talk to daily, he just stops showing up, and so when she suddenly sees him outside decides to try and talk to him, invite him to watch movies, to hang out as they used to, to try and reconect their friendship, and is perfectly clear she was still treating him as a friend, Rory was always a little self centered to notice and honestly, which one of us at 19 in that situation would have noticed the very subtle signals almost non existent that Marty had? And what signals were those? He was at her beck and call, that’s friendship, rather too “doormat-y” because he’d never say no to her, he’d never hang out with other people and her, just always hovered around her, he came running when she called and he asked if she had a boyfriend “just out of curiosity”... are those signals? 

See, I’m one of those people who think men and women can be friends if they want to, no extras whatsoever just friendship, I have guy friends who are my closest friends who treat me like another guy sometimes or sometimes like a sister depending if they’re being annoying or protective. I’m an adult yet I jump up and down while grabbing my best friend’s arm (a guy) while he indulgently rolls his eyes at me (lol) and tells me to calm down. I would hug my guy friends or hang of their arm WHEN is someone I really see as a friend. I don’t see how watching movies with a friend or studying with him, even having her feet on his legs for a while (at 19 I really don’t see the bad of it) I don’t see how that is leading him on. Why? Because she’s a girl and he’s a guy? I’d put my legs up on my best friend’s bed (girl this time) or on top of her legs while watching movies, if she was gay or we were both gay then I’d be leading her on? Or is that only because it was Marty on the recieving end and Rory on the unconscious end? Will it be the same if Marty hadn’t been interested and Rory had, would people still assume he SHOULD have gone out with her? he SHOULD have been interested in her?

I always thought Rory treated Marty as a friend, why shouldn’t she try and invite him to watch movies (Duck soup) when she didn’t know why he had briefly lost touch with her? He only stated he was into her when it was perfectly obvious, after she had already SPELLED IT OUT loud and clear in his face that he was nothing more than a friend to her, when it was clear to a blind man that she was already involved with Logan, that’s when this great friend decides to make a move on her? Why? because that way he can have the excuse to be butthurt and bolt.  See that’s my problem with Marty, I think with friends like that, who needs enemies?.

Marty is this guy who constantly put friendship coins in the little “relationship with Rory” machine, and when “love” or “sex” wouldn’t come out he got offended, angry and left his friend. If it was only that, I’d probably still feel only mildly annoyed over Marty and a little sorry for him and that would be that, but on season 7 he had to show up again... why, Marty? why didn’t you stay doing musicals?

He shows up and instead of being for example “oh hey yes I knew you, you know life, work, school crazy stuff how have you been haven’t seen you since freshman year” or such “crazy how people can lose touch huh?” I mean that would have been a lie but he wouldn’t have seemed like this sad little character who didn’t get over his one sided crush with Rory EVEN while being in a relationship with someone else! WHY??? He could have been awkward but over her, but no, Instead he pretends he doesn’t know her and becomes monosyllabic idiot who grunts and makes Rory uncomfortable. (I’m not defending Rory in this little part, she should have said something after the initial shock, she should have spoken up and confronted him and told Lucy but I’m not talking about that right now) I never understood why he came back? to create a conflict between Rory and her new friends? To make a fight between Logan and Rory? I stopped being sorry for Marty right after Anna shows up to break havock at Yale and I started REALLY hating Marty when he came back in season 7. If only he had stayed as a friend, if only he hadn’t come back as this pathetic little man with a huge inferiority complex, reverse snobbery and still drooling over some girl who had only ever treated him as FRIENDS! from day one!!!! They didn’t even become an item or even kissed, nothing, he was this sad little man still hung up on a first year crush. Oh Marty, you could have been as cool as Lane, but you had to go and ruin everything. For all of the above I just really really REALLY don’t like Marty