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onlyhereforangst · 3 years ago

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I think Emily made the decision last minute to leave. One thing I noticed is that Katrina laws character was introduced as a mother with a stay at home husband in all the reports in March. Originally she was cast to replace Maria Bello so she did not need to be a potential love match for Torres. I think in this time from when her character was first introduced in the press(March) to when she stepped foot on set Emily made the decision to leave.This is why the writing team changed the premise of Jessica Knight to form a replacement for the Ellick ship because it was at this time they knew it wouldn't be happening anymore as Emily would be leaving. Thus, they decided to make Jessica knight a possible love match for Torres to replace the void from Ellick. It seems to be too much of a coincidence and also her first episode her and Torres were very flirty. Also, Wilmer did a ton of interviews about the finale saying grab your tissues and this is the closest to a friendship or a relationship they are ever going to have so he hinted prior to the finale that the Ellick ship was doomed. It is driving me mad that we had no clear picture of what their relationship was after the elevator talk. I think they got together as Ellie said 'I never meant for us to happen' but then she felt guilty because she knew she was leaving and 'blew him off' as he said without reason. That seems to be the most logical assumption. What do you think?

ok so i've let this sit for two weeks, i apologize. i still have a hard time digging into this stuff specifically because i like to live in denial that Emily isn't returning. i can bargain the remainder of the finale away if i forget that Emily isn't coming back. but i'm having a particularly depressive day in regards to her exit so why the hell not twist the knife a little harder and clear out my inbox 🙃 imma put it under the cut though for aesthetically-appeasing dash purposes and long posts

first- i 100% agree that Emily's decision to leave was a last minute *announcement* and i clarify that because i have to genuinely believe that Emily wouldn't take this decision lightly knowing her fanbase. i of course could be wrong about that, but even if i come off as a bitch to people i do like to give people the benefit of the doubt, always. so while I do think Emily didn't come into this decision willy-nilly (and i'm not going to speculate on her reasons for leaving- it's her own life she can choose to live it however she pleases), it does feel as if she didn't announce it to the show until, IMO after they wrapped all filming.

the finale was certainly more akin to a multi-episode arc for a character and plotline, not a final exit episode. Wilmer boasted great cliffhangers and a tear-filled episode because yes, they thought Ellie was ditching and betraying the team- that's heavy angst stuff! And yes we got a taste of ellick being *real* and even got a kiss- of course in his interviews he thought this was going to be good stuff for the fans. all the actors (Wilmer especially though) and the main social media accounts of the show did a shit-ton of promotion for the episodes leading up to the finale and then after 18x15 aired, the week prior everyone and i mean everyone went radio silent. i'm sorry but who THE FUCK does that when you are supposedly airing this big action-filled, cliffhanger, "true" finale that we deserved because s17 didn't get to have one??? NO ONE. the answer is no one. shows that want ratings (aka all shows, it’s a business) promote their fucking finale. they fucking do. my theory? in between that last week, Emily announced to the cast/crew/EPs that she wouldn’t be returning for s19. and then that leaves them with a WTF finale because that’s a shitty write off for a character who spent 8 years on the show. and now, suddenly, the show would prefer as little as viewership as possible to help minimize the backlash. Wilmer does absolutely zero promotion, zero farewell to his co-actor and good friend of 5 years. so yeah, i think her last minute exit was a last minute announcement and it had everyone reeling, understandably. hopefully one day we’ll get answers on the why because between me and you- that’s what absolutely fucking destroys me. for both the actress and the character; not knowing why Ellie did what she did and feeling a little betrayed Emily left and we got so little why and acknowledgement and heads up for it.

anyways, so i don’t think Wilmer was lying in those interviews, i think he was truly excited about the arc and what that meant for their characters. he could have been just as blindsided with her announcement as we were 🥺

as for Katrina Law’s character- that is a little intriguing because you’re right, when she was initially introduced it was as a married woman with an infant child and stay at home husband. zero of this has been mentioned and Katrina Law herself has taken to twitter with Diona to support a Kasie/Jessica ship. so i’m not sure what her background is, if they writers changed it at all or what. BUT i don’t see them putting Jessica and Nick together. I actually didn’t see those scenes as them flirting at all- more of falling into step as good pals, very reminiscent of Ziva and Nick’s relationship frankly. If Emily’s announcement of her leaving truly was last minute, to everyone including the show, I don’t see the writers and EPs putting them together. I see them scrambling to fix their destroyed cliffhanger arc they had teed up and likely writing a desolate Nick or a vengeful swan Nick. I do not see them giving him a new love interest *unless* they decide to go 2 for 2 with character assassinations and have him regress so far and erase all his growth. but you know who the fuck knows with this shit show 🥲🥲

ok and finally ahaha this is why i did a cut. can y’all imagine what will happen if/when i ever do a wwr? 😅 i’m in the boat that they were *not* a thing, ever. i’m in the boat that that was their first kiss. and i’ll probably break this down more at a later date, TBD because when the fuck will i be strong enough to rewatch the entire finale i almost cried this morning watching 13x10. BUT her “i didn’t mean for us to happen” to me was more of a i didn’t mean for us to slowly fall in love and go from partners to best friends to almost lovers. because i think they both acknowledged their feelings during The Talk™️ but i feel like they both mutually agreed that they needed to take it slow or weren’t sure how to take that next step and they sort of tabled the discussion and stalled in their relationship. then, (since i’m in the camp that Ellie did none of this fully willingly, and instead Odette is holding something over her) Ellie “blew him off” after Odette decided it was now (”now...wasn’t my choice” aka i think Odette got worried about Ellie having strings attached and weaknesses) by saying they should definitely take it slow because of the nature of their jobs (”if we had a normal 9-5″...”i get that, i do”). i think Nick accepted that excuse at the time and then when the pieces clicked at the end of the finale, he realized this whole stupid ass mission was the reason she tried to slow them down/push him away. all that to say, i’m still believing that was their first kiss until Ellie turns up pregnant with Nick’s kid because WHY NOT REUSE OLD STORYLINES WHY THE FUCK NOT WE’VE ALREADY COME THIS FAR.

#ellick #if you can tell #i'm going through shit today #is it too early to down a bottle of wine #asking for a friend #once again sorry for letting this sit i needed time to actually write this all out #ask #anonymous

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davidmann95 · 4 years ago

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JJ Abrams Superman Movie officially announced, with Ta-Nahisi Coates writing

Anonymous said: Just a few days after you said you were happy with DC taking a break from Superman movies and just focusing on him being on tv again, they go and announce a new Superman movie. How do you feel? Coates is an exciting choice, I think

Caught me red-handed! But to be fair a couple times I said that I left a caveat of ‘barring extraordinary circumstances’, which I’d say this qualifies as.

There’s only so much to go off of at this point, but even these tidbits open up a lot to think about.

* As out of left field as Coates feels at first blush - he’s a Marvel man! - it’s not entirely shocking that he’d be on WB’s shortlist to be their ‘how to fix Superman’ guy: he got a MacArthur Genius Grant the same year as his #1 bestselling book about what the American Way actually means, after which he got into superhero writing with a run that ended up having elements incorporated into a cultural moment in Black Panther, and then Between The World And Me was cited as the inspiration for the Watchmen show that substantially drew on Superman iconography and won 11 Emmys. People are already talking about him admittedly not being a DC or Superman guy (though in that same interview he notes his love for the DCAU, specifically including STAS), but if he’s here he’s got something to say and, y’know, probably read a decent amount of Superman stuff either since then/prior to this or to get ready for the gig, so can’t say I’m worried.

* Related note: I’m seeing folks concerned about how much control he’ll really have over the project, which is fair. But that it’s his involvement that’s being touted over JJ Abrams’ (the guy who, like him or not, rebirthed Star Wars as a going concern to the tune of over $2 billion), and that they’re formally announcing and hyping it up as TA-NEHISI COATES’ SUPERMAN MOVIE™, COMING 202X before even having a director or lead actor attached, says to me that whatever his vision is it’s one WB’s going all-in on for the time being.

* I’ve seen plenty of discussion already about the appropriateness of this potentially starring a black Superman given both the dynamics/thematics of Superman as a character, and more significantly the implications of Coates maybe only being brought onboard to do ‘the black version’. That is a conversation I have precisely zero qualifications to wade in on with my own takes, but given that he is a dude with enough options that he could probably even turn down an opportunity on this scale, and the aforementioned weight being given to his role in this, I think it’s safe to say whatever we’re going to get is something he’s onboard with.

* Also seen concerns re: his pedigree as a fiction writer - another one I’m not that qualified to weigh in on, I’ve only read the first year or so of his Black Panther and Captain America runs (though I got the rest of his BP on Comixology while it was free, gotta check it out sometime), which were solid if a bit more workmanlike than you’d hope, along with the (other category altogether) Between The World And Me some time ago, which was...considerably more than solid. I know however his fiction novel debut in The Water Dancer was well-received, his Marvel work rather than staying ‘grounded’ hasn’t shied away from the sort of outré high concepts you’d want to see in a Superman movie, and the main criticism of his runs of ‘they’re too slow’ wouldn’t likely have the space to apply in a 2-3 hour Hollywood blockbuster, so again, not too concerned.

* Perhaps time will make me eat my words, but hot take: there is a basically 0% chance this is about Calvin Ellis or Val-Zod. Yes, yes, the DC movies are reportedly embracing the multiverse an excuse to do standalone stuff, but the two examples of that thus far in Joker and The Batman are still broadly rooted in the conventional trappings of those characters even if they’re separated from the ‘main universe’. Maybe someday the options might go further afield, but right now, when Superman hasn’t had an unambiguous silver screen hit in over 40 years? They’re not going to pour a quarter-billion dollars into a movie with the premise of “last son of the doomed planet Krypton, imbued beneath Earth’s yellow sun with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men and raised with the noblest ideals of truth and justice, Some Other Guy Most Of You Don’t Know protects the world...as Superman!” Not even getting into Val-Zod being just one member of an ensemble cast from a largely overlooked book and having the baggage of being Zod’s kid, and the EVERYTHING of making a four-quadrant tentpole film about Super-Obama (when you haven’t even been able to make your regular Super work) - this is either going to be Clark, or if they do make Superman black or brown but still want some distance it’ll be a Jon movie so it’s still got the direct connection to the original and the ‘son of Superman’ pitch in its corner too.

* Abrams is an interesting partner. He’s Hollywood’s big nostalgia guy, and that’s...probably not what Coates is going to be going for here. I assume he’s basically there to keep things familiar enough for WB’s tastes, which itself raises questions about the nature of Coates’ pitch and how it was internally received even if they’re clearly very publicly committed to it.

* Michael B. Jordan probably won’t really be the guy - he apparently talked about it, reasonably concluded he didn’t want to face that inevitable scale of backlash after what he already went through just playing the Human Torch, and the tradition is to cast an unknown in the part - but I guess never say never. Heck, while I sure wouldn’t bet on it I don’t think Ryan Coogler ending up involved is out of the question either; Coates’ previous screenwriting experience was working on a project with Coogler and Jordan that evidently didn’t come to fruition (Wrong Answer, a drama about a 2006 Atlanta public school cheating scandal), and they seem to have maintained a relationship as they had a public discussion regarding The Water Dancer in 2019.

* Ok I know making fun of Snyder people is passé at this point and usually more “NO SUPERMAN MOVIES MAY BE PERMITTED UNTIL THE CIVILIZATION-REDEFINING FIVE-FILM SAGA IS COMPLETE” howling into the void is barely worth notice, and “this is solely WB retaliating against us for bending them to our will!” in response to a Superman reboot would normally be just an amusing side-note too. But trying to get #HenryCavillSuperman/#HenryCavillIsOurSuperman trending in response to the possibility of a black Superman...I mean obviously so fucking many of them are fully aware they’re just not saying the quiet part loud, but what’re the percentages here?

So that’s what I’ve got so far. How do I feel about it all? It’s odd; given that there are basically no actual details beyond a name attached I’d never thought about in this context, and that this came with no forewarning just as the prospect of Superman in movies for the next long while seemed as dead as it ever had been, it’s so ill-defined and seems so unreal that I don’t feel much of anything about it yet? Plus I’m no longer driven on a day-by-day basis by a savage, all-consuming desire to slake a thirst for quality Superman stuff long left unquenched the way I was even a couple years ago, which likely also plays its part. But objectively? This is a guy formally, nationally recognized for being smart who’s also a journalist and comics fan being given Superman, with what sure feels like a lot of leeway and presumably a blank slate, which is basically the abstract concept of a perfect pick. So yes: I formally rescind my “please no Superman movies in the 2020s” plea.

#Superman #Ta Nehisi Coates #JJ Abrams #Calvin Ellis #Val Zod #Jon Kent #Michael B. Jordan #Ryan Coogler #DCEU #Worlds of DC #Opinion

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livlepretre · 4 years ago

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I started watching TVD while season 5 was airing, and I loved it. I was so excited when I caught up, but quickly started losing interest. As a person who despises pregnancy plot lines that should be impossible and make no logical sense in canon, The Originals was always a lost cause for me. I also hated the oocness of the characters. I begrudgingly made my way through season 6 of TVD and honestly couldn’t make it through the first few episodes of season 7. At that point in time, I didn’t like the conflicts, how the show kept breaking its on mythology rules, and how most characters were acting out of character. I think it’s a total shame because I absolutely adore this universe and the characters attached to it. Canon divergent fics like yours allow me to enjoy what could have been. So, did you watch TVD all the way through? Did you watch The Originals? If not, what was the straw that broke the camel’s back and what plot lines and character arcs would you have liked to see on the show/shows? How would you have preferred the show to end? Finally, what kind of thoughts do you have when you hear crazy stuff that happened (ex. Caroline having Ric’s kids and him being in unrequited love with her or Legacies having their characters fight gargoyles, dragons, etc.. throughout Mystic Falls while Damon and Elena’s kids are still in town raising their own kids) Cuz sometimes I read things and I’m like WTF? Who thought this made sense?

Okay, wow, I love that you asked me these questions, because as it turns out I have been bugging my RL friends with my tormented TVD takes for years now. I’m going to put everything under a cut though because this answer promises to be very long.

Edit: This got sort of stupid long. Read at your own risk haha.

So, I think to answer this, I have to address the things I love so much about TVD and why I’m still thinking about it/writing fic for it years and years after it lost me. I’m going to take this chronologically because there’s a lot to unpack.

What I loved

My introduction to TVD was over the summer before season 2 aired; I remember seeing the promotional materials on the CW before I left for college the fall before, and writing it off (which: fair of me, those season 1 promotions were abysmal). But luckily my sister, God bless her, understood me better than I understood myself and made me sit down and marathon the first season with her. I made fun of it pretty hard until the episode where Vicki got turned, and then an episode later got staked, which shut me up and got me paying attention. At some point over the course of the season that show went from haha laugh at it to holding my throat and there are sooo many good reasons for this. I remained hyperfixated throughout seasons 2-4, which I would religiously watch just as soon as I could pirate them.

The thing about TVD was that it was, for several years, a master class in narrative structure. What I mean by this is that it did two things very very very well:

1) one thing always led organically to the next -- the thing that actual kicks off the plot in TVD is Damon coming to town to open the tomb. From that point on, he opens the tomb, which leads to the tomb vamps escaping, which leads to Katherine taking notice, so she comes to Mystic Falls, which leads to others discovering Elena, which leads to Elijah, which leads to Klaus, and the other Originals. Very neatly done, and a wonderful, fast way of constantly shifting the action in believable and organic ways

2) they had this thing where they would announce something cataclysmic, like opening the tomb or sacrificing the main character, or even dropping the veil in season 4/again (?) in season 5, and in most shows, the whole point would be to avert those things-- but TVD has this way of announcing the doom and then forcing us through it.

There were other things-- stakes were high (ha! pun!) -- Vicki could get staked midway through season 1, Jenna could get killed in the sacrifice, and they could sweep the rug out from under you by having the whole premise of what you THOUGHT you understood about the show turn out to be untrue-- the first big instant of this was the certainty that Katherine was actually in the tomb and if the tomb was opened that Damon would save her-- finding out she was never in there at all was mind-boggling. Another really excellent moment I recall was 2x09-- so, the thing is, one of the biggest mysteries in the show up until that point was “Why does Elena look exactly like Katherine?” We knew/suspected she was a descendent, and the term doppelganger was bandied about, but it felt really shocking to have it LITERALLY be used in the mythology (to see your doppelganger is a sign of certain death, which it IS how CREEPY!) and then in 2x09, everything gets turned on its head AGAIN when we discover “it’s not that Elena looks like Katherine, it’s that Elena and Katherine look like someone else”-- the idea that KATHERINE is a doppelganger was earth shattering. This show.

Also the way that the show played with audience expectations? Like, in 1x04, the audience expectation would be for Elena to be angry at Stefan and not trust him after Damon (or was it Caroline? It’s been years since I’ve watched) says some stuff intended to set her against Stefan. But instead she figures it out fast and comes back to slap Damon and apologize to Stefan. It was an early sign that the show would jump over the expected hurdles. One of the brilliant things it does too is play with the horror genre. The characters (in the early seasons) were some of the smartest on tv because they were genre savvy, and they thought like a real person would and not like a character so often-- I remember being amazed by how often they jumped over the obvious pitfalls and came to sound conclusions. 2x12 The Descent sticks out to me-- Elena versus the mad dying vampire. Also the entire daggering sequence in 2x16 is God tier, as well as Elena’s bargain with Elijah in 2x11. Hmm and also the way the show would even play with expectations based on the fact that it’s a show? The fact that Katherine and Mason were working together is still one of the greatest plot twists of all time in my opinion, not because of how left field it is or wild or anything, but because it should have been totally obvious but our expectations of season premiers made it totally camouflaged! Like, yes, Mason and Katherine DO show up at the exact same time... in 2x01, which is a season premier, so we as an audience know and expect that new characters will be introduced in that episode. The fact that the show knew that and played us for fools will always go down as a favorite moment for me.

Well. Needless to say there are countless other amazing things. The darkness of the show and its commitment to exploring vampirism as a curse, and oddly a very human one, was mesmerizing. Damon breaking Jeremy’s neck. “I miss being human. I miss it more than anything in the world.” Elena slow moral decay. The shock and horror when Caroline is turned. The relationships between the brothers. The way that the gang can’t ever sit easy with each other-- that Bonnie sees how Damon and Stefan are a poison, how everyone lies to Tyler and it hurts him so he hurts them-- Katherine’s doomed history? Tragic. Beautiful. Amazing.

I remember the fandom was a very different space in those early seasons too. The show was just so dreamy and frightening and dark. It was like a very bad dream you couldn’t wake up from and maybe also didn’t want to. The fics were kind of gloomy and frightening and people were much more willing to explore the monstrous side of the show.

So. The issues that I had.

The very first thing I remember feeling a twinge of unease about was when they put Katherine in the tomb in 2x07 only to take her out again in 2x09. I remember her getting sealed up in that tomb in 2x07 was HORRIFYING but also??? Brilliant? Justice? Amazing? It was taking out a villain when and how they said they were going to do it and I loved it. I didn’t quite like how she kept being an active role in the story, no matter how much I adore Katherine as a character, because it destroyed the impact of her in that tomb at all. If it were me, I would have put her in that tomb and saved her as a character, only to take her out like seasons down the road when the audience may have mostly forgotten about her and she could have been a secret ace.

There were other ultimately minor things in season 2-- the sun and moon curse being a fake, for example-- which at the time ruffled me a bit but I was willing to just brush it off because, well, season 2 of The Vampire Diaries is unspeakably good.

I went into season 3 with the same level of hyperfixation as I had in season 2 (read: immense). And those first 6 episodes were pretty damn near perfect, with 3x05 being like the horrible culmination of everything I, already a klaulena shipper, could ever want.

My first sign that things were going in a weird direction was 3x07, Ghost World. I remember that episode feeling... weaker. Like, what was the point of Lexi having Elena torture Stefan? That didn’t seem to do anything at all. The Other Side stuff is something I pretty much disliked at the time but at this point I’m so used to it that I accept it as a kind of limbo space mostly for vampires (and also witches? but hopefully more pleasant and less of a wasteland of eternal wandering for witches than it is for vampires).

3x08 Ordinary People was an abomination and I still hate it and everything built on it. So, at the end of season 2, Elijah says his family comes from Eastern Europe. A nice, normal answer that makes sense. It also dovetailed really well with Slavic vampire folklore, so there was a great tie in that felt right with the meta-awareness of the show (it was for a while very much so a vampire show about vampire shows, and the diaries were part of that meta level writing). The idea that they were VIKINGS in VIRGINIA in this random WEREWOLF SETTLEMENT gives me such a migraine that I don’t think I can go into it here. I hate it with an unflinching fury. I think I used the “Mikaelson” name once or twice in FE and I hate myself for that more than anything else I’ve ever done in my writing. It makes no sense and betrays the writers as not even having a very vague idea of history and it is like fingers on a chalkboard for me. My fingers, feeling all of that horrible chalky friction. ELIJAH THERE WERE NO WILD HORSES IN AMERICA A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. WHY ARE YOUR NAMES HALF VIKING AND HALF HEBREW EXCEPT FOR THE RANDOM GERMAN NAMES. WHY WHY WHY.

Deep breath.

The other thing I really hated in that episode was Rebekah’s “it’s a protection spell of course.”

Honestly I think that was the actual sword plunging into TVD’s heart and the show just slowly bled out from there and I was so shocked and betrayed by that that it just took me years of trying to stop the hemorrhaging before I finally accepted that it was a mortal wound.

You have to understand that I continued to watch seasons 3 and 4 the way an abandoned dog will wait for its owner to return. I just couldn’t help myself. It had been my favorite favorite show (and sort of still is?)

Well. Why did I hate this protection spell thing so much. TVD had made it very clear in the early seasons of the show that becoming a vampire was BAD. It was a fate worse than death. The whole angst of season 1 relies on us feeling the TRAGEDY when Giuseppe murders his sons and they become vampires. Because vampires in TVD aren’t inhuman, per se; they’re still the same person, they still have their souls, their consciences, their moralities... they’re just also saddled with this insatiable burning thirst for human blood that drives them to commit the very worst deeds, that drives them down these dark paths of horror and soul-scouring guilt as they repeatedly succumb, over and over and over and over again, to their worst impulses, until they finally stop caring and become monsters in truth. Until they forget about the simple warmth of a human connection, of good things like love and friendship and family. TVD made it clear that to be a vampire was to be in hell. It’s why Damon promises Stefan an eternity of misery. It’s why the group responds with HORROR when Caroline is turned in 2x02. It’s why Damon’s confession in 2x12 rips at our hearts, and why the stakes are so high when we wonder whether Elena will be a vampire at the end of season 2. The show is very clear that it’s not actually becoming a vampire that makes us monsters, but the actions we take once we become vampires that make us monsters... but that those actions are also nearly inevitable and precipitous once the transition occurs. It’s really tragic.

I remember the summer before season 3 aired the fan spaces were all abuzz with speculation about “what could Klaus have done that was so bad that not only was the vampire curse inflicted on him, but also on his entire family?” (that was the prevailing theory for how he could be the “first” Original vampire-- he was the one who had actually done whatever the thing was that had precipitated what was OBVIOUSLY a vengeance curse.)

Ordinary People was like LOL! NOPE! Joke’s on you for thinking we were going to actually discuss self-destructive behavior and the human psyche through the metaphorical lens of vampirism ;)

There were definitely other things in season 3 that bugged-- the serial killer thing was hard to follow (and I tend to criticize anything that’s hard to follow for any viewer watching week to week, while also paying close attention... because that means it’s probably not well enough explained), the white oak stake bridge was LOL fine, it did lead to some epic stakings by our boy Matt tag-teaming with Elena and Stefan, and I did enjoy the idea that the whole bloodline dies... anyway, I digress.

The flashbacks started being a problem in season 3. In season 1 & season 2, the flashbacks basically all told a continuous B storyline. In season 1, of course, we have 1864, in that gorgeous blue cast. We get a little additional information of that in season 2, and it’s amazing. But then in season 2, the B story is 1492, in that golden cast, also amazing.

After that the flashbacks that start in season 3 are pretty random. We don’t have stories being told in the past throughout the season, but instead, random one-offs in random colors telling random stories. Not bad, per se, but definitely less affecting and much less cohesive and meaningful.

Here’s the big big big issue with season 3: Klaus.

The whole point of the season was to kill Klaus. It was explicitly stated.

Every other season, once the motivation was stated, the show went through with it: open the tomb, stake the tomb vamps, take down Katherine, find a way to save Elena during the sacrifice, etc.

Now, as everyone knows, I love and adore Klaus. But I also sort of hate him because I think the writers loved him too much and they wrecked the show a bit with him. They wanted to create drama with a “kill Klaus!” arc but there was never that much tension in it because I was certain from 3x12 onward that they never would. (well, I was stunned when he got staked at the end of season 3 and I just sort of whispered, “good” to my empty dorm room at the time-- but that was short-lived). It really really really took the wind out of the show’s sails when they didn’t stake him by season’s end, so the MOST major thing I would have done would have been to kill him off somehow at the end of season 3.

If they didn’t kill him off, they should have devised a way to make peace/have Team Mystic Falls need him and him need them much earlier and much more concretely than they ever did. With the way things played out in actuality, our protagonists failed to do the one thing protagonists MUST do: take defining action. All of their actions in season 3 are completely for nothing, and that makes the whole thing fall apart.

This also brings me around to something that will surprise absolutely no one: I have a lot of problems with the way that klaus x caroline was handled. I think it COULD have been done convincingly, but the writers were lazy/were very clearly just trying to get Klaus a ship because the actor is hot, and so they gave us the horse drawing, and the prom dress, and the ball gown, and frankly, a list of villain decay moments that I just... don’t know what to do with. And the ship pretty much ruined Caroline’s character because the whole point of her was that she was so much deeper and kinder than anyone gave her credit for, even than she gave herself credit for, but the ship was like LOL! NOPE! (I have a lot more on this written elsewhere in my blog) Also my boy Tyler got cut out of a HUGE amount of this show to make room for this ship, which was lousy.

My last thought about season 3 is that this is when the characters-- especially Damon-- started to really decay. Rewatching early seasons of the show is WILD because Damon is WEIRD. He is so other and off-putting-- beautiful, but very very strange-- it’s in the way smolderholder held himself, the way he spoke, all the little things that sent little alarm bells ringing. He was delightfully inhuman.

I vividly remember the stupid chipmunk argument in... 3x16? somewhere around there-- with Stefan in some back alley in Mystic Falls and I was just??? That was the moment I realized that all of those things about Damon’s acting that had appealed to me had vanished. I think the writers were trying to make him more likable/humanize him so he could be the main love interest, but it was very frustrating to me.

Moving on to season 4. I was actually into the sire bond because it was difficult and problematic and felt to me like a chance to explore more complex issues through the “vampire” metaphor the way the show had done in earlier seasons. (I know this storyline is pretty much hated, but my stance is: if you don’t want dark, problematic, uncomfortable, and toxic storylines, don’t watch vampire genre tv shows. That simple!)

I don’t mind the idea of the “cure” and I don’t even mind the Hunter thing/that Jeremy could be a Hunter (although I found the coincidence dumb).

ACTUALLY what I would have liked VERY MUCH would be for Elena to go through most of her season 4 storyline-- becoming a vampire, having Jeremy die and her turning off her emotions, then going on her evil vampire rampage and actually killing and hurting innocents, only THEN for her to have the cure forced on her after like a year of being a vampire. The defining arc of Elena’s character in the early seasons is her moral decay-- Katherine is the warning of what Elena will inevitably become if she continues down the path she’s on-- so it would be fascinating to see her go DOWN that path, very far, and then to have her become human again-- and have her actually have to deal with the horrors she committed. (I have a bit of a theory that vampires have one foot over the veil into the realm of death, and maybe this, if anything, makes it easier for them to forget their humanity/become truly monstrous, but that becoming human again would slam all of that into the front and center again)-- it would be a way for Elena to actually have to confront her story arc-- what path is she going to go down? Is she going to continue her slide into callousness and monstrosity? Or can she turn it around? Must she give up the Salvatores to do that?

I don’t really mind the season 4 Silas content. Will say that once again the inclusion of any of the Originals in season 4 is pretty useless which is frustrating to me, and their place in the TVD narrative in general is an annoying dead-end.

However, I do think that Silas introduces a big shift in TVD: their need for a yearly big bad. As I mentioned above, TVD was always “one thing leading to another” -- starting with Silas, they started introducing yearly Big Bads (Silas, the Travelers, Kai) that were arbitrary and frustrating and were the thing that most broke me out of my suspension of in-universe belief. The idea that the show would need a big bad was a fundamental misunderstanding of the narrative structure of the first 3 seasons by the writers in those later seasons.

You asked what the straw that broke the camel’s back was and I can tell you, it was this:

I laughed myself sick and that was the last time that TVD was appointment television for me. I call this the Party City Greek costume.

I did eventually marathon season 5 well after it was over, and even though a lot all of the ways the show retconned itself drove me insane, it was overall fun just to watch for the drama and the pace.

My biggest problems with season 5...

This was around the time that Bonnie was dead then alive then dead then alive... I can’t actually keep track any more at this point what’s up with our girl

Stelena pretty much disappeared.

I actually think one of the bigger problems in the show was that the show was stronger when it was mostly about Damon, Stefan, and Elena, and at some point they gave more equal screen time to other characters which ended up meaning that I spent a lot of screen time with characters I just didn’t care about (ENZO)

UGH THE DOPPELGANGER STUFF

So, if you’ve read my fics, you know I spend a huge amount of time parsing the mechanics of the doppelganger, how the magic around it might work, what the implications are, etc.

I CAN’T STAND what happened to the doppelganger stuff in season 5! UGH. HOW DOES TOM WHAT’S HIS FACE EXIST? DID STEFAN HAVE A BABY WHEN HE WAS 15?!? Seriously!!! HOW!!!! Because it’s real clear in canon that only DIRECT line descendants create doppelgangers!

ALSO. The Amara thing. Just stop it.

This actually leads to a pretty major issue: TVD had a bad habit of establishing really exquisite doomed histories and then wrecking them with too much information later.

The story of Tatia Petrova is a masterpiece in doomed, tragic, romantic mythology. Teenage girl falls in love with two brothers and so their parents decide to use her as the blood sacrifice for their creepy curse “protection spell” and so they murder her-- you get the image of how terrified she must have been, dragged out of her home in the middle of the night, trapped, maybe dying slowly, how she dies for loving too much, for being just a little too wild, a little too trusting-- and how that curse echoes down the ages. The idea that that act of savagery somehow created the doppelganger line. The Amara thing (as well as the Originals revelation that Elijah killed Tatia) gut the impact of that TVD myth-- which was a strong one in the imaginations of the viewers.

And the idea that vampire doppelganger blood is useful for anything??? I can’t. The WHOLE POINT of season 2 is that Katherine turns herself into a vampire to avoid the sacrifice! We are explicitly told-- you can’t be two things at once, if you become a vampire, you negate your identity as a witch or a doppelganger or whatever-- literally the WHOLE PLOT of season 2 centers on how useless Elena’s blood would be if she were turned! And now Stefan is in on this? NOPE. I’m out.

Anyway, another myth that got wrecked in season 5 was the Katerina Petrova myth. Part of her tragedy is that she never even gets to hold her baby. Is the idea that her baby grows up and has a normal life and Katerina never even gets to find out anything about her. That she completely loses this one thing that might have humanized her. And then of course the great tragedy in England that ultimately destroys her. I really hated meeting Katherine’s daughter, because it reversed the pathos of Katherine’s past and rendered it emotionally inert. And also Nadia sucked.

The Travelers were fun enough but also they made no sense (DOPPELGANGER VAMPIRE BLOOD) but most especially I hated the idea that Katherine was a Traveler just WHY

I got... partway through season 6, although, I couldn’t tell you where exactly I stopped watching for no particular reason.

I remember really enjoying Tyler x Liv and the way that they made Tyler human again, and brought Alaric back, etc at the end of season 5-- it felt like such a fresh reboot to everything and it’s one of the things that TVD does really well.

That Thanksgiving episode sticks out to me as a train wreck though because I realized that the central conflict had absolutely nothing to do with any of the characters I actually cared about, and was instead about the twins... whom I liked, but not really any more than I liked the Martins in season 2, you know?

Also vampire blood being unable to cure cancer sounds arbitrary to me.

As for how I would have preferred the show to end?

Hmm. Well. I think it should have ended sooner-- this “the show is really about these two brothers” is just incorrect. The show was about the two brothers and Elena. It was about that triangulated relationship. I think that even if Elena ended up with one or the other at any given point in the show, the other third point in that triangle should have stuck around-- I’ve always disliked Stefan slinking off in season 5 because it tears apart the foundation of the show.

I have no idea how it should have ended. I guess? the ending? was okay? I’ve never actually seen it.

On to the Originals... so, the magical pregnancy didn’t really bug me because there are plenty of fandoms where vampires can procreate/I guess if Klaus is part werewolf, he has a foot closer back to the mortal coil, and vampire bodies in TVD have heartbeats, are warm, digest food, etc, so it was like, fine, sure.

I would say I watched... some of season 1? and I watched most of season 2? I watched whatever I needed to watch for fic research basically, and have a very confused sense of what happened on that show. I’m always skeptical of anything set in New Orleans though because no one ever seems to leave the French Quarter which is so preposterous because the Quarter is probably smaller than Mystic Falls. But anyway. The tribrid thing has never made sense, but I just sort of rolled with what I’ve heard about the Originals? I really love Marcel and think he was actually the protagonist of the show, whereas Klaus was definitely the antagonist. (I just can’t bring myself to side with Klaus on pretty much anything...)

Okay I think this ties up all of your questions/most of my thoughts except for maybe... what I find absurd.

To answer that: every time I learn something new I am stunned and my jaw drops in a literal guffaw. For example, today reading your ask was the first time that I found out that Ric was unrequited in love with Caroline (although, former student carrying her former teacher’s children also makes me uncomfortable). As far as I know from seasons 7-8, Damon sleeps with someone named Crystal, Caroline somehow magically carries Alaric’s children with their dead witch mom (and apparently Alaric is in love with Caroline while that happens?), Matt might be a cop, Damon and Stefan fight the literal devil and Katherine is their queen, Bonnie and Enzo??, Caroline and Stefan get married, what’s a Jeremy Gilbert, maybe Damon sets Elena’s fake coffin on fire?, Damon kills Tyler (WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE), there are witches who are vampires called Heretics, and also there are Sirens and maybe Mama Salvatore is one. The end. Every time I learn something new it’s the most amazing thing I have ever heard and I can’t imagine how it could be so, but I accept it.

Am I missing anything?

Legacies is so beyond my comprehension that I just have to roll with everything I hear. God Bless Matt Davis for leading that cast.

#anonymous #tvd meta #this got really long

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raidbossmadi · 4 years ago

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PLU: Flights of Fancy

The first time she flew Tyreen was alone. Out in the harsh Necrotafeyan landscape, normally Troy would be here as they tried to find solace away from the oppressive atmosphere of their home with their father. However Troy was unwell and that was all the more reason Tyreen had needed to vacate the premises. The walls had been closing in one her but now as she stood on the edge of a cliff a faint urge tickled at the back of her mind.

Take the leap. Claim what is yours. You yearn for it.

The words were simultaneously hers and not, but the urge soon grew to be unbearable. She looked down into the valley below, to the hard unforgiving ground that would be her doom should this urge lead her astray. Tyreen waited until she could not contain the urge any longer like an itch begging to be scratched, she hurled herself off the cliff into oblivion’s embrace.

The fall never came though. In the split second between leaving the ground and the tug of gravity her body responded in kind. Large bat-like wings of glowing purple energy coalesced from her back and held her aloft. It was like breathing, she barely had to think about it to keep aloft. It was like speaking a language you didn’t realize you knew, she could understand how to navigate the air currents.

She spent the better part of the afternoon practicing maneuvers and dives. It was a rush she had previously thought she could only get from leeching other creatures but this, this was so much more than that.

She wanted to go home and tell Troy about it but the voice in the back of her mind nagged. He wouldn’t understand. He worries so much, he’d probably tell me never to do it again.

Maybe Troy didn’t have to know just yet. Anyway it would give her time to practice some cool tricks before she showed Troy her wings.

It ended up not coming up. Not til a cool breeze blew across the harsh Pandoran desert as the twilight kissed the sky.

The twins giggled like they were children again as they ran out the back exit of the Cathedral. One day this space would be filled with altars of devotion but for now the Cathedral was in its infancy and such designs were merely blueprints in their minds.

They had stopped halfway between the cliff side and cathedral for Troy to catch his breath. The air growing ever cooler in the shadow of the monolithic building.

“It’s crazy how liveable this planet becomes at night. I don’t understand how the clans manage it during the day.” Troy remarks between heaving wheezes, he may have pushed himself too hard but the exhilaration of getting out of the stuffy building was worth it.

“Probably because they aren’t spoiled little brats like us from a low light planet.” Tyreen teases bouncing on her heels unable to stay still in the moment, she wonders if this is how it feels to be a shark, to be so full of energy you cannot stop. Her eyes trail over to the cliff and she makes a plan her body automatically agrees to act on.

She grabs his hand and pulls him to his feet. “Vamos, hermano.”

“T-Tyreen?” He doesn’t have time to ask more as they continue a full sprint forward. He feels something tense the pit of his stomach as Tyreen pulls him closer and closer to the precipice. If she’s about to do what he thinks she’s about to do there’s very little time to come up with a plan of action.

“Don’t worry Troy this is gonna be cool.” She says between giggling as the edge nears.

He calculates just where he would need to dig his heels in to prevent tipping over the edge but just before he does Tyreen let’s go. She launches herself over the cliff side.

“Tyreen no!” He grabs at the empty air where his sister just was. His balance thrown off by the sudden release he falls to the ground, tucking inward on instinct to protect his right side. He quickly scrambled to look over the edge expecting to see his sister's body dashed on the rocks below, feeling bile rising in his throat.

It was at that moment that the ringing in his ears cleared and he heard the telltale peals of laughter they could only belong to Tyreen. He willed himself to look up to find his sister hovering above him. Purple bat-like wings cut through the air with a low hum on the downwards stroke and Tyreen looked like the cat who’d eaten the canary.

“Ahahaha! It feels so good to be in the air. I haven’t gotten to stretch these babies in forever.” She did a midair twirl before landing back beside Troy, wings tucking agiasnt her back but not phasing out of existence. She offered him a hand up scrutinizing his face which had grown uncharacteristically pale.

“What’s the matter? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“That wasn’t very funny T-Tyreen! I th-thought you just jumped into oblivion, you know?” He hissed the last dredges of the setting sunlight catching as a glint in his golden fangs.

“Do you really think I’d off myself like that Troy? Do you think I’d off you like that?” She challenged, an eyebrow shooting up towards her hairline.

I don’t know what you were thinking to be honest!”

“What’s got you so wound up? Surely you have wings too! You're a siren too bro.”

He scoffed and turned away from her.

“Yeah well… I can’t fly Tyreen.”

“Have you ever tried?” She balked, surely she would know if he’d ever tried wouldn’t she? There was scarcely ever a time when they weren’t in close proximity while he messed with what little abilities he had.

A red glow cracked across the shadowed ground casting them both in its light. Troy’s back was still facing her and she took in the source of the light. Two skeletal wings attached at her brothers back, bathed in crackling red energy.

The left one a skeletal mirror of her own, the right however made her gasp in surprise as she registered it. It was incomplete, having no wing fingers save for a singular malformed thumb and its forearm was twisted painfully the wrong way on its deformed elbow. The wing hung off him like a broken tree branch twitching constantly. A surge of red crackling energy coalescing around it and it spasmed painfully.

“AGH F-FUCK!!” Troy pitched onto his knees, the wings dissipating into a cloud of red smoke as he wrapped his left hand over his right side massaging the painfully spasming muscles in his back.

Tyreen approached to help him but he swatted at her as she knelt beside him.

“Fuck off, Ty!”

She tries not to be offended knowing it’s the pain talking and not Troy. If she had known what was wrong with him she never would have pushed him that hard.

When the pain had gone from blinding to just an ever present throb in his back. He rose from the ground, he needed muscle relaxants, a hot bath, anything to help take his mind off the fresh pain. He couldn’t even bear the light pressure of his vest against his skin right now.

He began to walk away ignoring Tyreen’s pleas of apology. He ground his fangs together and had only a few parting words for her before he strode out of her earshot.

“I’m not a real siren, remember.”

#Borderlands 3 #Troy Calypso #Tyreen Calypso #Calypso twins #Borderlands #People Like Us #My writing #My art

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yan-purgatory · 5 years ago

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Ensnared

Request: Yandere! Jungkook: his S/O trying to break up with him and him going psycho mode lmao 😔

Admin: ღ

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Why don’t you go and show Mommy what you got?” Hearing the scurrying of feet and her husband’s voice softened (Y/N)’s heart. Jungkook had said he’d take their child out for the day, and by the excited babble of the infant it had been a pleasant trip.

“Mommy, mommy look at this!” (Y/N) turned around to see her family at the entrance to the kitchen. Her son was clutching something in his fists, which upon further inspection (Y/N) realised with horror that it was dead hare.

“We got it for you!” Daehyun thrust the dead mammal towards his mother with a toothy grin, only pausing when he saw the ghostly look on her face.

“Go to your room, Daehyun.” (Y/N) said, with a low voice.

“B-but…!” The infant looked to his father, who gently took the animal from his sons hands and pushed him in the direction of the doorframe.

“Wait for Daddy upstairs, Daehyun.” Jungkook said firmly, smiling unfazed.

As soon as their son was out of earshot, (Y/N) snapped.

“What the hell did you do?”

“I took him hunting.” Jungkook replied nonchalantly.

“You gave our five-year old son a shotgun? What on earth is wrong with you?” (Y/N) was aghast.

“I didn’t give him the gun, he just watched.” Her husband scoffed. “But he has to learn the ways of a man at some point.”

“You can’t turn our son into a murderer.” (Y/N) had hoped when she found out that she was pregnant that Jungkook would settle. That his violent ways would end to be a better role model for his son. But his intentions were clearly the opposite.

“I’m proud of him. I just want the best for our family. You want that too, right?” He pressed a kiss to her lips, smiling softly as if nothing was wrong.

~ ღ ~

(Y/N) resolved that getting away was of the utmost importance. Staying around would only corrupt her son’s mind, and whilst she could bear her husband’s love and company, she didn’t want Daehyun to fall under Jungkook’s spell.

Thus she made discreet plans with an old friend of the family, someone who could be trusted, to take them in for a few weeks until they sorted a way out. It did hurt (Y/N) to give up on the marriage she’d committed to for so long, but thinking about her son covered in blood, just like his father, was enough to ease any disbelief.

The date had been set. That day, Jungkook left early in the morning, barely having time to kiss his wife before rushing out the door. But (Y/N) knew that her husband was a smart man, and surely she’d be caught if she was too hasty. Rather, she spent the morning with Daehyun, packing his books into his backpack and putting some of his clothes into a duffel bag she also filled with a small amount of her own. She couldn’t bear to take anything else, not with the sentimentality attached to all of Jungkook’s gifts; if she so much as touched them, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to leave.

When the clock hit quarter past two, she tugged Daehyun’s coat onto his arms and gave him his backpack, explaining that they were going to go on a special trip to see their uncle. With her son content, she started to lead him out of the side exit, knowing that the front exit had a security feed going to Jungkook’s laptop, whereas sneaking out through the garden would be less detectable.

But she made a crucial mistake when she stepped out of that door.

The sharp pain that shot through (Y/N)’s leg was almost as agonising as the birth that had sparked her desire for help. She looked down, wincing at the grisly sight of her ankle ensnared in the teeth of a bear trap sat menacingly by the gate, just waiting to catch someone. She cursed herself for not checking the premises before making her move, but it was not the right time for regrets. Protecting Daehyun from Jungkook’s influence was her priority.

“Listen, Daehyun, y-you need to find u-uncle Jin. H-he’s waiting b-by the back of the garden and you can leave with him in the car, go to him o-okay?” (Y/N) spoke rapidly, pushing her son towards the

“Mommy, are you okay?” Her heart broke seeing the worried look in his chubby face and knowing it was the last time she would see it, but her resolve to protect him had been made and she would carry it to the bitter end.

“I-I’m fine, go find uncle Jin and I’ll see you soon.” It hurt to lie, and it hurt even more to see her son leave but it was for the greater good. (Y/N) would endure this pain forever to protect him, that much she knew.

For the long hours of the night, (Y/N) could do nothing but wait for her fate. She couldn’t move, not wanting the trap to get any tighter. All that there was to do was to wait for Jungkook to let her out so she could face the consequences of her actions.

However, she quickly realised that leaving her to wait was Jungkook’s sadistic intent. Because as she shivered the bitter winter air, she started to resent her son for dooming her to this torture. If he’d never existed then maybe leaving wouldn’t have required so much preparation, if he’d never existed then Jungkook’s power over her would dramatically decline. But her love kept her heart warm, all the way up until she heard the distant sound of a motor, and saw the headlights through the light evening fog, drawing into the drive.

(Y/N) couldn’t bear to look up, only knowing how her husband was approaching by the crunching of gravel, until his shoes came into her blurry field of vision.

“Quite the predicament you’re in, my love.” Jungkook crouched, reaching out to rub his thumb over her cold cheek, before picking up the duffel bag next to her in a taunting move. “I’ll go find the tools.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help but let out a small whimper, not just out pain but fear. Fear that whatever punishment awaited her outside of the trap was much worse.

Jungkook took his time searching for the clamps. He wished that he could have stayed there to listen to his wife’s sweet noises, even take advantage of her compromised situation but he wanted to give her a glimmer of hope, just so he would be able to snatch it away.

“I didn’t think I would have to do this.” (Y/N) jumped at his voice, having zoned out the keep her mind off the numbing cold.

“I thought that I would come home from a grueling day at work to find my adoring family waiting for me at home. And what do I find?”

Jungkook’s fingers found their way to (Y/N)’s ankle wound and his nails started to dig into the flesh, causing her to cry out in pain.

“My son is gone and my wife is bleeding alone in the cold. I guess I was right to think so lowly of my family. I should have known you’d be stupid enough to try and leave me.” He spat, his grip tightening. “I saw those texts on your phone but I didn’t think you’d follow through on it. Silly girl.”

“You’re a monster. Daehyun doesn’t deserve a father like you.” (Y/N) whimpered at the pain.

“You think Jin would be better?” Jungkook growled in jealousy. “The bastard will be dead by the morning, mark my words. Then our son will be back where he belongs, and hopefully you will have learnt your lesson.”

He stood up and turned on his heel, walking away from the hopelessly injured animal begging for his mercy.

“Wait! Jungkook! Please don’t leave me here!” (Y/N) wailed after him. She wanted to leave him, but she certainly didn’t want to die from exposure at his hands.

He returned a few minutes later, a soft blanket in his arms. With a delicacy foreign to the barbaric situation, he draped the warm material around his wife’s shoulders, before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“You can wait outside until Daehyun comes home. Don’t worry, you won’t die from this.”

Jungkook withdrew his car keys from his pocket, smirking.

“You can just sit here and think about how hopeless it is to try leaving until I return with our son.”

#yandere kpop #kpop yandere #yandere au #yandere #yandere requests #yandere jungkook #yandere bts #bts yandere #yandere x reader #yandere jungkook x reader #bts jungkook #yandere bts au

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siebenschoen · 5 years ago

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not stupid

fandom: ikemen sengoku

pairing: yukimura x MC

warning: I took the premise of Yukimura’s route and went wild with it, but the plotline gets mentioned in enough other routes, so it’s not really a spoiler, besides that some angst and fluff

this was sparked by two things: firstly, @littlewitty mentioning in the ikesen group chat that there is not enough yukimura content (which is absolutely right!) and secondly, that I feel mc is often portrayed as naive and that may be so, but she is not stupid (or at least, I don’t want her to be)

summary

Mai is not stupid. It is part of her job as a designer - seamstress, now - to pay attention to details and it has become second nature to her. She is good at picking up the little things that don't add up, the one off thread that might ruin a pattern. It shouldn't come as surprise that she is able to notice that quite a few things don't add up with Sasuke's merchant friend.

Mai is not stupid. She is a good designer – seamstress, now – and the secret to design lies in the details. She prides herself at how good she is at noticing them – because she is good at what she does, and she has keep telling herself that, because 500 years in the past, she doesn't feel like she's good at much- years of practise have trained her eyes to find beauty in everything. (But she finds other things as well.)

It's hard to pick up at first, but once she's started to notice she can't bring herself to stop. Picking apart people is a bit like picking apart a pattern, she thinks. Hundreds, thousands of little stitches that come together to form something new, something that is more than the sum of its parts. And a single wrong stitch can ruin the entire picture. A single wrong detail can crumble even the greatest facade. And Yuki's hands are too rough to be a merchant.

She first notices it, when he is talking with Sasuke. His hand clenching into fists at something their friend says before flying into the air in a helpless gesture. He storms off afterwards – muttering to himself – but it is enough time for her to notice the calluses in his palms, how rough his finger tips seem. These are not fingers used to holding delicate, little ornaments, she thinks, but Sasuke interupts her train of thought, before any fruit can come from it. She stuffs her observation away, to the back of her head. It doesn't matter, she tells herself. Sasuke trusts Yuki. And she trusts Sasuke.

It just so very hard to not notice how odd everything about him is. His stall seems almost always empty, and he suspiciously unconcerned with it. Yuki has no talent for sweet-talking and persuasion like other merchants – here or on the other side of the thrice damned wormhole – do, he doesn't seem to care much if he sells anything or not and lacks the passion for his goods that might explain such a behaviour. Either Yuki is truly horrible at his job or something else is going on here. (And she knows her own heart well enough to admit which option she suspects.)

She is only here for three months, she tells herself. She should stop playing detective, she tells herself. The secrets of this time are not hers to uncover, she tells herself. Sasuke trusts him, she tells herself. And so she bites her tongue, whenever there's something so decidedly odd right in front of her nose. And resists the urge to raise her brows, whenever something most definitely does not add up. It is none of her business. (But – oh – how she wishes it would be.)

Mai debates avoiding Yuki to cure that burning curiosity within her, but quickly dismisses that option. Being with Yuki holds a deep familiarity in it, that usually only hanging out with Sasuke brings along. His quick, never serious insults and nicknames remind her of friends that she left behind 500 years from now. And she could easily picture him in the future, tagging along to the cinema or a concert, sharing vine references and inside jokes with Sasuke and her, always a bit confused, but still part of the squad(tm). (When, she wonders quietly, did she start to consider him a friend?)

She feels herself drawn to his stand, whenever she's running around town. The knowledge that there is more to him than meets the eye so exciting that she doesn't find it in her to stop her feet, when they turn to take the already familiar path towards him. She doesn't need to uncover his secrets. She is not a greedy person. (She just likes spending time with him.) Yuki comments once on her regular presence. Friends, she declares wisely, mocking him in a way only those who truly care can, are the best antidote to homesickness. He blushes at that and calls her a stupid boar woman, but she just laughs it off. She wasn't lying. (And she can see him smiling.)

No, she wasn't lying. She does feel homesick sometimes. It is easy to forget when she buries herself in work, but it gets harder once the work is done and her hands are empty and the sky above her feels familiar and strange enough to make her heart hurt. Talking with Yuki helps. Maybe because he reminds her of Sasuke and Sasuke reminds her of home.

Her ninja friend isn't often around. He too has secrets, but even with less effort he hides them better than Yuki ever could. Yuki has an air of honesty about him, even when he lies through his teeth. And she finds that she likes his honest face. (It is a pretty face. She will give him as much.) And so she decides to meet him at the festival. He doesn't invite her. She doubts that he could ever be capable of such a forward thing. But mentions it often enough to not be a coincidence. It presents a chance, to her at least, to forget too high houses and too bright nights. A distraction from an unfamiliar life that is beginning to feel too familiar. There is nothing more to it, she tells herself as she gets ready – Sasuke's words of three months, of emotional attachment ringing in her ear. She's living on borrowed time. (She might as well make the best out of it.)

Mai meets Hideyoshi on her way to leave the castle. He looks concerned when he hears of her plans to head out for the festival – alone – but Nobunaga calls for him before he can offer his company. On his way, he turns around and says that the kimono she chose for herself suits her and sends her one of his charming smiles. It makes her feel pretty. But the way Yuki blushes when he sees her makes her feel beautiful.

And the darkness of the evening makes her feel bold. So she slips her fingers between his, when he is looking the other way. Not saying anything, just smiling, as he stops dead in his tracks, blushing up to the tips of his ears, before he catches himself and slowly squeezes her hand back. Before she can feel the calluses of his hand pressed against hers. Secrets, it rings in the back of her head louder than Sasuke's voice ever could, secrets, secrets, secrets...

For a moment she thinks that it would be better to let go. But Yuki's ears are still red, and she can't bring herself to do it. She's letting herself get tucked along instead (or tucking him along whenever he gets too shy) banning the whispers in her head far, far away. Maybe if she would stop to consider what she's doing, she would come to the conclusion that it is surely something very, very stupid. Mai doesn't stop though. She drinks in the evening around her, the masses of happy faces, the smell of food both familiar and not. And if Yuki's warm hand in hers is a comforting presence, then so be it. The devil may care, she doesn't. Not tonight.

Mai is not stupid. Her ears are working and even though her mind might not be as sharp as her needles, it is still sharp enough. She has heard of the whispers of war. (And really – should she be surprised? This is the Sengoku after all.) And she knows that enjoyments such as festivals can very well be used to take people's minds looming danger. (It's just one of the many things she wouldn't put past Nobunaga.) War affects everyone. War also affects Yuki, for all that he pretends to be a merchant. There's a sense of urgency in the way he burries himself in all the joy the evening has to offer, in the way his hand holds hers tightly, ever since she slipped it in his. It very much feels like an end, for all that she's laughing and teasing (and blushing). And something about him tells her that he feels the same way. (She is not stupid. Just too good at reading people for her own good.)

She tries not to feel sad about it. Whatever this is, whatever it is his closeness does to her, it was doomed from the very beginning. There is no sense in mourning something that could never truly be, when she can just enjoy it instead. And besides – what really is there? She spent an evening holding the hand of a man who is too – shy, handsome, earnest – for his own good. It is not nothing, but isn't (shouldn't) be enough to make her worry so.

So, she doesn't. Worry, that is. And just follows Yuki up to the hill. "You can see the stars best from up there", he says, and she believes him, even though he doesn't sound sure about himself. It's the nerves, she tells herself. Yuki is nothing if not shy in his stumbling and awkward ways. (Or, a part of her things, it's secrets.)

He is right though. The stars shine beautiful in the deep night sky. Slightly obscured by the branches of the tree next to them, but still so very bright. She can't look at them, though. These are the same stars, she thinks, the same stars that will shine 500 years from now. And suddenly she feels wrong and alien and out of place in a way she hasn't since the first day, when she stumbled through the wormhole, through time itself. The stars have seen her before, many hundreds of years from now. They know her being here is wrong. They know she doesn't belong. She thinks of Sasuke, the best friend she ever had and one of the smartest people she's ever known, and how hard he tries to get them back, to home, to safety. How a part of her doesn't want to. And it rushes over her with a sudden clarity, that there is something here that she doesn't want to give up. (Maybe she is a greedy person after all.) And it shocks her to her very core, and she nearly gasps out loud. The stars are still beautiful and bright, but she can't bring herself to look at them any more. In her head, they spell betrayal.

<p>Instead, she looks away, only to find Yuki looking at her. And that, she decides, is an entirely different problem. Because he too is beautiful and is cheeks are bright (red, not white), when she catches him. The dim light of the night makes the line of his jaw out to be sharper, than she ever thought it to be, and she is utterly fascinated by the glow the moon bestows upon his hair and skin. Yuki's blush doesn't fade, but he also doesn't look away. There is an uncertainty in his eyes, that makes her think that maybe she needs to be bold for both their sake. And the thought makes her heart jump. Mai is not stupid. But this one stupid thing, just this one thing, she will allow herself.

She leans forward and his eyes widen, but she continues. Determined, bold. (Stupid.) His breath fawns other her face and this close she can the feel the heat of his body. Everything inside her screams. She looks up into his eyes – impossibly round, but still brown and warm – before she glances down to his lips. His tongue darts out quickly to wet them – unconsciously, she can't think of a world where Yuki would do such a thing on purpose – and she can see him swallow. Before she lets her eyes fall shut and her mouth cross the last distance between them.

It is sweet, their kiss. Barely more than the press of two lips against each other. It is honest though, and earnest. Her hand finds his cheek as she pulls away, and she smiles up at him. Never before has she seen him so red. There is awe in his eyes and something else that she can't quite place yet. His eyes flicker from hers to her lips, back and forth, as if he can't quite believe that she just kissed him. "I", he starts and pauses and then starts, "I don't really know-" She strokes his cheek and lets her fingers brush over his lips. They are warm – and the fact that she already knew makes her feel giddy with joy. "It's okay – you will learn-" But he breaks her off. His lips on hers – harder, bolder than she ever thought possible. But, oh, she is not about to complain. Instead, she pulls him closer. Lets her tongue trace along his lower lip. Encouraging him, guiding him. (He doesn't need much convincing as it turns out.)

When they break apart, he rests his forehead against hers. "Can you stop being so god damn cute? It's doing things to my heart, dummy", he breathes against her lips, and she just giggles, too happy to care and leans in again, too unwilling to part. "Meet me here again tomorrow morning", he mumbles between kisses, "I've got something I want to tell you." She nods and smiles and kisses him until a smile of his own tucks at his lips.

They part soon after and Mai feels like a rebellious teenager, sneaking out after curfew to meet up with her secret boyfriend. She hushes down the still busy streets of Azuchi, grinning like a fool and feeling carefree like a child.

Hideyoshi awaits her at the entrance of the castle. Worry written into the deep scowl on his face. At another time she might feel bad for making him so anxious, but this is not the time for guilt, she decides. She greets him with a big smile and presses a kiss to his cheek before he can say anything and it stuns him so much, that he doesn't even think to lecture her about running in the hallways, as she darts of to her room, an enthusiastic bounce in her every step.

Morning comes not quickly enough, in her opinion, and she is up and about way before her usual time. But none of the warlords comment on it. Well, nearly, none. Mitsuhide sends an engamatic grin her way and asks her as to what has got her so excited in a voice, that tells her he can very well imagine what that thing is. She just rolls her eyes at him and tells him to eat his breakfast (but smiles while doing so).

Mai finds the hill easily enough. Wandering through Azuchi's castle town as if she were in trance, or a dream even. Perhaps that is what makes it feel so much like waking up, when all she finds instead of Yuki is a letter. It is an apology, she supposes, but it's hard to process words that hurt so. He had to go, because of urgent merchant business – his words, not hers. The paper crumbles in her hands. The kanji in front of her hard to read, but so undeniable Yuki's. Honesty in every stroke. Oh, she thinks, he's even bad at lying with a pen. Secrets, secrets, secrets, the voice in the back of her head whispers again. And she knows that she shouldn't itch so to finally uncover them. It's not her place, not her time. (And she doesn't care, she finds, not as surprised as she should be.) Maybe it's anger that burns in her, but the tight set of her jaw feels more like determination. She pushes the letter into her sleeve and decides to fight.

Yuki's little stall is gone by the time she reaches it. That is what she expected, but it still hurts to see. Mai bites her tongue in an desperate attempt to remain calm. She can do this. (She is not stupid.) She will find him. And then she will give him a piece of her mind. She will not be left behind like this. She will no longer content herself with lies. Instead, she searches through her memories, through everything that might give just a smallest hint as to what he's up to.

She stops dead in her tracks. Yuki's message said that he would have to go far away for now. And it seemed to have been written in a hurry. The only way to travel a far distance relatively fast in this time is by horse. Mai shakes her head. Horses are only used for the means of transportation by noble mean and samurai, not merchants. Except, she thinks, Yuki is not a merchant. And if he is not a merchant, he has to be someone else. Someone who has a high interest in keeping his true identity hidden. (Regardless how talentless the actual execustion.) It all fits together so seemingly perfect that her breath hitches, because suddenly everything makes sense. Why Yuki hides, why he has to go, why Sasuke knows him...

If she is right (and she hopes, prays that she is) then that would mean that Yuki probably does not keep his own horse around. A merchant with a horse of his own would be way too unsual, too suspicious. Which means that he needs one in order to leave. Azuchi might be a busy town, but it's a town favoured by merchants and commen folk and not nobility. And Mai knows of only one place to get a horse besides the castle itself. She picks up her skirts and runs.

An old woman, who is friendly enough to not comment on Mai's wild hair, red face or the fact that she ran through the wooden gate so fast she nearly collided with her, points Mai in the directions of the stable. It doesn't take long for her to make out the swirl of fluffy brown hair and when she does she nearly cries with relief, before she catches herself. She is not here to throw herself into his arms and weep (she wants to though, a tiny voice in the back of her notes), she is here to get answers. And answers she'll get.

Yuki must be entirely focused on the task ahead, because he doesn't hear her approaching and only turns around as she knocks on the wooden frame of the stable, before he nearly doubles over, when he sees her. "Mai", her name is a broken question on his lips, and she crosses her arms infront of her chest. "I am not stupid", she says, just to get it out of the way.

If possible is eyes widen even more and his cheeks are bright-Yuki-red. He looks good when he's speechless, she thinks, but decides to focus on that particular part later. "I didn't think you were", he finally presses out. She nods. Good. Mai considers going easy on him, but really, she has been doing that for a long time, so she just blurts it out. "I guess, that means you can stop lying to me now."

Yuki's cheeks go so red, she fears he might faint, and he looks mortified enough, that she wouldn't not expect it. But she doesn't feel very merciful today. "I know you're not a merchant." She steps closer and adds quietly, only for his ears, "And I think I know what you really are." Panic fades and suddenly Yuki looks downright serious – as serious as he did, when he asked her to meet him again and it makes her want to kiss a smile on his lips – and she knows that she is right, now. The man before her is no longer Yuki the merchant, he is someone powerful, someone who knows how to be dangerous.

She should probably stop. She is in way too deep, has let everything happen that Sasuke warned her about, but she just can't bring herself to do it. Instead, she grabs his hand and squeezes his fingers with hers. "And I also think that I know what you planned on telling me today." He blushes at that, though he still looks serious and it is as if the two worlds merge together. Making her understand that whoever this man is, he is still very much Yuki, the most honest liar she has ever known. "I understand, if you're not ready to say it", she continues, and she really does. She can be patient, that she has learned. "I just want you to be honest with me."

Yuki draws in a deep breath and mutters something about Shingen and killing him. "My name is Sanada Yukimura", he says finally, and she almost laughs – because of course she had to go and fall for one of the most renown warriors in Japanese history – but stops herself, because she is sure that he would understand it wrongly. "My lord Takeda Shingen has called me back. That's why I have to leave, because there will be war." He stops. "War against Oda and Azuchi." The way he says Nobunaga's name – so full of hate – makes her shiver, but she just nods. It is, after all, what she expected. His expression shifts back more to the Yuki, no, Yukimura she knows and the blush that dusts his cheeks warms her heart. "I'm sorry that I lied to you. I didn't want to and I hope that you can forgive me" – maybe, she thinks, she will tell him that she already has – "as to being more honest...", he trails off, his eyes leaving hers and darting about the stable. "I'm not really good at", he breaks off, "Words, they...", Yukimura sighs deeply and turns back to her, "I find it hard to be honest with my words."

"I noticed", she throws in, not able to keep the grin from her face. His face flares up in a deep red, and she uses their still linked hands to tuck him closer. "You are very honest with your actions, though."

His quick glance towards her lips is all the warning she gets, before he cups her face with his other hand and kisses her deeply. Her eyes fall shut and all she smells, all she feels is Yukimura and the burning warmth that spreads through her body. They part and her breathing has become heavy, but so has his and really it's not that she minds. "Dummy", his voice is raspy, "why do you keep on saying things like that? It's driving me insane." She doesn't stop herself from grinning, but decides to spare him the quick retort – for now. Instead, she presses her cheek to his. "Next time", she whispers in his ear, "next time I want you to look me in the eyes, when you say goodbye."

Yukimura nods, but she figures it has more to do with a lack of words than a lack of sincerity. He pulls away from her then, until even their fingers are no longer interlocked. Mai didn't think it would be possible to miss something as much as she misses his warmth.

Yukimura gets the horse ready, and they leave the stable together (she can feel the twinkling eyes of the old lady follow them). Before they reach the street that leads out of Azuchi, he turns to her, but she speaks first. "Stay safe." "I will." He smiles. It's a fragile and sad little thing, she supposes her own mouth mirrors his. "Try not to get in any trouble while I'm gone, boar woman."

She tries to get angry at the nickname, but finds that she can't. After all there is no malice behind it, only affection. "I will." This is it, she thinks. I'm seeing the person that I love off, knowing that he might not return. What has the world come to.

"Please", Yukimura's hand caresses her cheek as her eyes begin to burn up, "please don't cry. I promise, I'll come back." She nods. "I'll find you if you don't", she finally manages to press out.

"I know. You're not stupid after all."

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen #ikesen yukimura #yukimura x mc #my writing #ikemen sengoku yukimura #ikesen fanfic

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janiedean · 5 years ago

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how is the weirwood dream proof jaime will live?

well, have the entire thing so I’m eviscerating it once and for all.

premise: this entire thing is basically your gateway to 90% of jaime’s issues.

other premise: it’s a weirwood dream so it’s prophetic.

third premise: I’m going off basic dream interpretation symbolism which grrm definitely knows a thing or two about dream interpretation and the likes, and the basis is that your dreams are a wish fulfillment that your subconscious is trying to send you or warnings that your subconscious is trying to send you but that you might censor because you don’t want to face what it is that your subconscious is really telling you, which in this case we have in spades. so, with that stated and going at it from beginning to end.

He closed his eyes, and hoped to dream of Cersei. The fever dreams were all so vivid …

point one: he hopes to dream of cersei. ie the person he loves/he thinks is his other half/soulmate/that he thought of while imprisoned to find himself a motivation to go on/that he associates with love-comfort-being understood because she’s his supposed half and that’s how it goes. fair enough, he’s had a pretty bad time lately, right? then the dream starts.

Naked and alone he stood, surrounded by enemies, with stone walls all around him pressing close. The Rock, he knew. He could feel the immense weight of it above his head. He was home. He was home and whole.

now, what did we say before about conflicting messages? the basic message here is DANGER DANGER DANGER because he’s naked and alone and surrounded by enemies and walls pressing close which gives a pretty claustrophobic feeling….. but he thinks he’s home. with an IMMENSE WEIGHT ABOVE HIS HEAD. spoilers: his home (casterly) weights immensely on him (with his name attached to it), but he can’t realize that it’s a negative thing because that just doesn’t register - he knows that it should be a good thing so he processes it as such… while his subconscious is screaming danger at him. also surrounded by enemies = pretty much all his life, right? then:

He held his right hand up and flexed his fingers to feel the strength in them. It felt as good as sex. As good as swordplay. Four fingers and a thumb. He had dreamed that he was maimed, but it wasn’t so. Relief made him dizzy. My hand, my good hand. Nothing could hurt him so long as he was whole.

MORE RED FLAGS HERE, as in: he has the right hand. the one he lost before and that he hates to think he’s lost. now, what does he associate it with? sex and swordplay. also: HE HAD DREAMED THAT IT WAS MAIMED. and NOTHING COULD HURT HIM AS LONG AS HE WAS WHOLE. so: his right hand and his swordplay skills are what makes sure he doesn’t get hurt, which is fairly obvious given that jaime’s basic problem solving skill when it comes to anything is trying to kill it and he doesn’t have a flight instinct. also: swordplay = sex, and sex = cersei, so being whole = he has the right hand = he has his swordplay skills = he has cersei = he has his love and he can defend himself = nothing can hurt him. it’s all on the same level.

except that he doesn’t have the hand anymore, not really. but let’s go on. [under the cut because it’s long]

Around him stood a dozen tall dark figures in cowled robes that hid their faces. In their hands were spears. “Who are you?” he demanded of them. “What business do you have in Casterly Rock? They gave no answer, only prodded him with the points of their spears. He had no choice but to descend. Down a twisting passageway he went, narrow steps carved from the living rock, down and down. I must go up, he told himself. Up, not down. Why am I going down? Below the earth his doom awaited, he knew with the certainty of dream; something dark and terrible lurked there, something that wanted him. Jaime tried to halt, but their spears prodded him on. If only I had my sword, nothing could harm me.

now, here we’re in downright creepy territory. he’s just said that nothing can hurt him…. but then he thinks if only I had a sword, nothing could harm me, so it’s not just his right hand now. he needs the sword. he doesn’t have one yet. keep that in mind because that’s half of the point. now, he’s surrounded by dark figures he can’t place who force him to go down instead of up even if he thinks he should go up, and he knows that his doom awaited below, so he knows he’s going straight where something dangerous, dark and terrible lurks there. mind the specific word choice - dangerous, dark and terrible. so even if he thinks he’s whole and safe, he knows deep down that’s not a thing and that he’s being forced to face something that wants him and that’s not a good thing either. which is…… the same kind of split he shows when he thinks that he’s cersei but at the same time behaves the opposite way and knows that she’d hate to see him looking differently from her. also: his doom awaited, which means that he’s sure he’s going to die or that it’ll be his end. and he’s not really processing it, because he still thinks that as long as he has the right hand and a sword he’d be fine. except that no, that’s not the kind of thing you solve by killing it.

“The steps ended abruptly on echoing darkness. Jaime had the sense of vast space before him. He jerked to a halt, teetering on the edge of nothingness. A spearpoint jabbed at the small of the back, shoving him into the abyss. He shouted, but the fall was short. He landed on his hands and knees, upon soft sand and shallow water. There were watery caverns deep below Casterly Rock, but this one was strange to him. “What place is this?”

“Your place.” The voice echoed; it was a hundred voices, a thousand, the voices of all the Lannisters since Lann the Clever, who’d lived at the dawn of days. But most of all it was his father’s voice, and beside Lord Tywin stood his sister, pale and beautiful, a torch burning in her hand. Joffrey was there as well, the son they’d made together, and behind them a dozen more dark shapes with golden hair.

and here we go.

one: the dark cloaks and figures are the other lannisters before him, who at this point we can deduce symbolize his name/legacy that he feels he hasn’t lived up to and who are basically bringing him down to a trial as they shove him into the abyss. he ends up some place he doesn’t know or remember, and let’s remember that jaime’s preferred coping method for trauma is dissociating, so this is most likely a hint to the fact that he can’t recognize a place that his own subconscious is telling him is HIS place, as in….. where his trauma/issues are rooted.

and who is in this dark, dangerous, terrible place where his doom awaits?

tywin, cersei and joffrey. and more lannisters, but those three are the ones that are named.

also, cersei has a burning torch in her hand.

so… according to jaime’s subconscious, his father, cersei and joffrey are in the dark, dangerous and terrible place where his doom awaits.

sounds to me like said subconscious is entirely aware that tywin was a shit to him, that cersei never gave a fuck about him and that he regrets having had joffrey with her because joffrey is who he is, but let’s go on.

“Sister, why has Father brought us here?”“Us? This is your place, Brother. This is your darkness.” Her torch was the only light in the cavern. Her torch was the only light in the world. She turned to go.“Stay with me,” Jaime pleaded. “Don’t leave me here alone.” But they were leaving. “Don’t leave me in the dark!” Something terrible lived down here. “Give me a sword, at least.”“I gave you a sword,” Lord Tywin said.It was at his feet. Jaime groped under the water until his hand closed upon the hilt. Nothing can hurt me so long as I have a sword.

now, this is even more damning. first thing, he asks cersei why did tywin bring them there, so he’s already putting blame on him rather than assuming that cersei has a hand in anything that might hurt him…. but cersei replies that this is his place and his darkness, while holding the only light in the cavern/the world. so, if it’s his darkness and his place, if she’s holding that light, then we can surmise that the light is jaime himself. and what does cersei do?

she turns and leaves him there.

then he pleads to her to stay with him, and she doesn’t (mind that later the text says that he pleaded with rhaegar to have someone else guard aerys with him and he was told no) and he doesn’t want to be left alone in the dark, and he still doesn’t realize that the terrible thing that lives down there is in fact all three of them, and at the end he asks for the sword…… which is the only thing that can help him be safe as we established before, right?

so: tywin gives him the sword, which is obviously foreshadowing tywin giving him oathkeeper later, so PROPHETIC THING #1. and again, NOTHING CAN HURT ME AS LONG AS I HAVE A SWORD. at this point he has the sword and cersei has the light in her hands, and we established that he is that light, right?

As he raised the sword a finger of pale flame flickered at the point and crept up along the edge, stopping a hand’s breath from the hilt. The fire took on the color of the steel itself so it burned with a silvery-blue light, and the gloom pulled back. Crouching, listening, Jaime moved in a circle, ready for anything that might come out of the darkness. The water flowed into his boots, ankle deep and bitterly cold. Beware the water, he told himself. There may be creatures living in it, hidden deeps …From behind came a great splash. Jaime whirled toward the sound … but the faint light revealed only Brienne of Tarth, her hands bound in heavy chains. “I swore to keep you safe,” the wench said stubbornly. “I swore an oath.” Naked, she raised her hands to Jaime. “Ser. Please. If you would be so good.”

first thing that happens: the moment he takes up the sword, the sword becomes alight, so the light that cersei has in her hands is currently in his own as well. if he is the light, we can definitely deduce the message that if before he thought he was her and she was his half completely, now he’s starting to take it back from her even if cersei still has some with her, which means he’s starting to detach himself from her. also, the moment he does it, the gloom pulls back. as in: the moment he starts to reclaim himself from cersei, the feeling of doom and gloom momentarily goes away, but he’s still on guard and he’s not really doing too well - there’s the imagery of his feet being deep in cold water and he’s expecting anything to reach up and drag him down. we can add that water is a primal element and has a lot of symbolism attached to it first of all rebirth and cleansing, but in this case it’s not exactly that - usually deep water or a large quantity of it means your emotions and if they’re turbulent or cold or not cleansing it’s there to symbolize your emotional turmoil and if you feel lost in it it means you can’t control your emotions. except that then there’s a splash from behind him as in someone erupting from nowhere and who shows up?

brienne. first he whirls towards her but then goes like ‘oh it’s only her’ so she’s not perceived as a danger, and… she has chains around her wrists, as in, she’s forbidden from doing anything that she wants, same as she’s been all her life and jaime subconsciously knows that. and what does she tell him instead of ‘well I gave you a sword, your business’ or ‘this is your darkness, not mine’?

I swore to keep you safe, ser, and then she’s naked (as in the bath at harrenhal) ie at her most vulnerable same as him, and she’s pleading him to let her keep him safe.

now, we already know (he told qyburn that she’s his protector) that by this point jaime associates her with being safe/protected regardless of how much he might not process it in depth, but she did keep him safe as much as she could, she kept him alive while they were prisoners, she materially cleaned him up/made sure he’d eat as much as she could when they were prisoners and they’ve shared intimate confessions in the bath at the end of which she caught him/washed him/dressed him, and wow, who is that shows up when he feels alone, naked, his family is deserting him and danger is looming on him?

right, brienne. who can’t do anything until he does something about it, though. and what happens?

The steel links parted like silk. “A sword,” Brienne begged, and there it was, scabbard, belt, and all. She buckled it around her thick waist. The light was so dim that Jaime could scarcely see her, though they stood a scant few feet apart. In this light she could almost be a beauty, he thought. In this light she could almost be a knight. Brienne’s sword took flame as well, burning silvery blue. The darkness retreated a little more.“The flames will burn so long as you live,” he heard Cersei call. “When they die, so must you.”“Sister!” he shouted. “Stay with me. Stay!” There was no reply but the soft sound of retreating footsteps.

so: she asks him to let her keep his oath. the moment she does, her chains fall. then she begs for a sword, and in his own subconscious, he conjures one for her from nothing and he gives it to her (same as he’ll give her oathkeeper later) and the moment she puts it around her waist and takes it out, he thinks that she could almost be a beauty/a knight, and let’s remember he’s dreaming that both of them are naked. and what happens the moment he gives her the sword?

the sword takes flame. so both their swords are burning.

what were we saying about what the light symbolizes here? right, that it’s himself. and what happens? the darkness retreats some more. as in: he gave brienne a part of himself or better yet, his subconscious picked her as the person he trusts with that part of himself.

now: cersei is still there but he hears her, he doesn’t see her. she tells her that ‘the flames will burn as long as you live’ and so he must die when they disappear’, and he still shouts at her to stay with him, but she doesn’t and leaves.

now, at this point you could say ‘so we’re talking about his own life’, but let’s remember that this is symbolizing jaime’s worst fears (being abandoned by his family) while at the same time his own subconscious has placed those three plus his legacy in what damns him and what harms him and defined them as *his darkness* that he should try to conquer. but that’s not all there is to it so let’s go ahead.

Brienne moved her longsword back and forth, watching the silvery flames shift and shimmer. Beneath her feet, a reflection of the burning blade shone on the surface of the flat black water. She was as tall and strong as he remembered, yet it seemed to Jaime that she had more of a woman’s shape now.“Do they keep a bear down here?” Brienne was moving, slow and wary, sword to hand; step, turn, and listen. Each step made a little splash. “A cave lion? Direwolves? Some bear? Tell me, Jaime. What lives here? What lives in the darkness?”“Doom.” No bear, he knew. No lion. “Only doom.”

now: this dream brienne, other than having more of a woman’s shape to her, which is already telling re what jaime thinks of her subconsciously, other than asking him if they keep a bear there (prophecy! bear pit!) asks if there are direwolves (the starks) and cave lions (the lannisters), and calls him jaime, not ser jaime or kingslayer, and again, that’s jaime’s head, so he wants her to call him like that. also, he insists that it’s not bears or lions, but just doom. and we haven’t seen all of that yet.

In the cool silvery-blue light of the swords, the big wench looked pale and fierce. “I mislike this place.”“I’m not fond of it myself.” Their blades made a little island of light, but all around them stretched a sea of darkness, unending. “My feet are wet.”“We could go back the way they brought us. If you climbed on my shoulders you’d have no trouble reaching that tunnel mouth.”Then I could follow Cersei. He could feel himself growing hard at the thought, and turned away so Brienne would not see.“Listen.” She put a hand on his shoulder, and he trembled at the sudden touch. She’s warm. “Something comes.” Brienne lifted her sword to point off to his left. “There.”

she looks pale and fierce, more positive attributes thrown at her. and she says she mislikes the place and he says he doesn’t like it either - well, it’s his head, hello jaime’s self-loathing, we had missed you. their swords are both alight, so she’s helping him keep the place not dark. his feet are wet, and remember what we said before about the water. brienne says that he can climb on her to get out, and he thinks ah sure so I can see cersei, gets hard and doesn’t want brienne to see it… so he doesn’t disappoint her? and why? she knows and she’s in his dream, she won’t judge him for it……. but he still hides it from her as if he’s ashamed of it. a moment later she touches him and she’s warm same as in the harrenhal baths. and she warns him that someone’s coming. she’s pretty much keeping him safe as she had sworn. again, this is all jaime’s subconscious. that’s how he sees her at this point.

“He peered into the gloom until he saw it too. Something was moving through the darkness, he could not quite make it out …“A man on a horse. No, two. Two riders, side by side.”“Down here, beneath the Rock?” It made no sense. Yet there came two riders on pale horses, men and mounts both armored. The destriers emerged from the blackness at a slow walk. They make no sound, Jaime realized. No splashing, no clink of mail nor clop of hoof. He remembered Eddard Stark, riding the length of Aerys’s throne room wrapped in silence. Only his eyes had spoken; a lord’s eyes, cold and grey and full of judgment.“Is it you, Stark?” Jaime called. “Come ahead. I never feared you living, I do not fear you dead.”Brienne touched his arm. “There are more.”

now: he thinks it’s ned coming, and he goes like I didn’t fear you either living or dead…… but didn’t he really, if his judgment hurt him so much that he thinks that’s what he’ll find in the dark, dangerous, terrible place that’s *his darkness*? doubtful, jaime, doubtful. notice how brienne is still touching him and going around him and being supportive. anyway, he’s expecting ned.

he doesn’t get ned.

He saw them too. They were armored all in snow, it seemed to him, and ribbons of mist swirled back from their shoulders. The visors of their helms were closed, but Jaime Lannister did not need to look upon their faces to know them.Five had been his brothers. Oswell Whent and Jon Darry. Lewyn Martell, a prince of Dorne. The White Bull, Gerold Hightower. Ser Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Morning. And beside them, crowned in mist and grief with his long hair streaming behind him, rode Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone and rightful heir to the Iron Throne.“You don’t frighten me,” he called, turning as they split to either side of him. He did not know which way to face. “I will fight you one by one or all together. But who is there for the wench to duel? She gets cross when you leave her out.”“I swore an oath to keep him safe,” she said to Rhaegar’s shade. “I swore a holy oath.”“We all swore oaths,” said Ser Arthur Dayne, so sadly.

aand we have the jackpot: his doom, along with tywin/cersei/joffrey who left him instead of supporting him through it, is rhaegar and his kingsguard.

because jaime feels still fucking guilty about it, even if he knows he did the right thing and he couldn’t have done much else…. except that his subconscious doesn’t really agree on that. so he’s facing them/his doom and who is with him?

brienne. what does brienne have? a burning sword that’s a part of him that he gave freely to her. what does jaime have? a burning sword that’s the part of him that he reclaimed directly from cersei.

so: he tells them they don’t frighten him, so he sees them as enemies, all of them. and he asks them to duel brienne too, because he knows she would… as she swore an oath to keep him safe, as she says for the third time or so later. like, guys, the fact that jaime is so fixated on brienne’s oath to keep him safe when the entire dream started with him thinking that if he had the right hand then he didn’t need anyone to do it for him speaks volumes about how he sees her subconsciously, because most likely no one actually ever swore to keep him safe from anything (he is the one who keeps people safe/his loved ones safe or that he should do/that he feels guilty for not doing)… except that she did, and she keeps on telling that specific oath…… to every single person that his subconscious sees as dangerous/that he might need to be protected from.

I mean, he’s being fairly transparent here, but let’s go on to the crux of it.

“The shades dismounted from their ghostly horses. When they drew their longswords, it made not a sound. “He was going to burn the city,” Jaime said. “To leave Robert only ashes.”“He was your king,” said Darry.“You swore to keep him safe,” said Whent.“And the children, them as well,” said Prince Lewyn.Prince Rhaegar burned with a cold light, now white, now red, now dark. “I left my wife and children in your hands.”“I never thought he’d hurt them.” Jaime’s sword was burning less brightly now. “I was with the king …”“Killing the king,” said Ser Arthur.“Cutting his throat,” said Prince Lewyn.“The king you had sworn to die for,” said the White Bull.The fires that ran along the blade were guttering out, and Jaime remembered what Cersei had said. No. Terror closed a hand about his throat. Then his sword went dark, and only Brienne’s burned, as the ghosts came rushing in.“No,” he said, “no, no, no. Nooooooooo!”

now: the moment jaime justifies himself for aerys, both rhaegar and his KG brothers start vomiting on him every single thing he has struggled with for his entire life since the kingslaying and that he couldn’t have helped. now, we as readers know that jaime was right, that aerys was dangerous and that he would have never let elia and the children die if he had had a clue, and we also know that it was unfair of them all to leave the seventeen year-old in charge of the entire castle/of the king/of elia and the children. but jaime’s subconscious which has been struggling with it, his issues with his vows and so on for his entire life doesn’t know that, and what happens? the light in his sword (the one that he got from cersei in the passing of the torch) starts going dim every time they bring up what turned him into the kingslayer. it goes dim when rhaegar accuses him of letting elia and the children die and the flames die when his *commander* reminds him he should have died for aerys, and wait, why should he have died for aerys? because he joined the kg. why did he join it? also because cersei convinced him to. what light dies completely? the one in *his* sword that he had been given by cersei…. but not the light in brienne’s sword which is the light *he* gave to her freely.

and then he wakes up and what does he do? goes back to harrenhal to go get brienne.

now: that dream is symbolism for a lot of things including a metaphorical death……. for jaime as the kingslayer/for jaime’s issues/for jaime’s tendency to not deal with his own trauma, not for *himself*, because brienne’s sword is still burning in his darkness and that’s his light as well. it wasn’t just the one that went out.

what happened metaphorically is that cersei rejected him wholly and washed her hands off him as she will do later, he reclaimed himself back kingslayer and all, then he gave brienne some of the light cersei had which still stands for himself and the one he had in his arms that died died when he confronted his kingslaying/his trauma connected to his experience in the kingsguard that he always refused to deal with.

what he did metaphorically is that he took himself back from cersei, gave brienne the best part of him to keep safe and suffered while he had to deal with the fact that he never really got over aerys as he wishes he had.

but that means that when he gets over it fully (and he’s on the good road for it as since he wakes up from the dream other than saving brienne he vows to try to be the person he wanted to be, owns up to his shit, starts detaching himself from cersei and deals with his problems, and if you compare his asos povs with his adwd ones you can see that his emotional maturity [which was about stuck at late teens ngl] has taken a huge damned leap forward) then he’ll have killed/shed his kingslayer persona and probably his kingsguard duties, not that he’s going to die.

because the light in brienne’s sword never went out and that was *his* light, too, and he gave it to her subconsciously in a prophetic dream in which he left behind all the toxic parts of his family/they left him behind as well and had to be without them (mind that neither tyrion nor tommen/myrcella appear in the dream at all) and faced his *darkness* and doom with brienne at his side and she kept the sword with his light burning.

which means he’s definitely going to live.

or at least, he’s going to outlive cersei and die on his own damned terms, but I really think that the dream is about him confronting his trauma and the kingslayer persona he never really wanted, not about his death. because it says nowhere he will die, never mind that the person who says is cersei and his entire storyline is about him distancing himself from her and realizing that she’s completely wrong about the two of them and that he doesn’t want the same things as she and viceversa.

or I mean, that’s my two cents at least.

#jaime lannister #jaime x brienne #asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #janie writes meta #otp: i dreamed of you #ch: jaime lannister #ch: brienne of tarth #Anonymous #ask post

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years ago

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January 27: 2x04 Mirror Mirror

Had some technical difficulties but finally managed to watch Mirror Mirror. (Now I’m very tired.)

I see these aliens are more intense pacifists than Spock.

When Kirk says “But we won’t [force you], consider that,” right over his shoulder and into camera, it looks like he’s posing for a commercial.

Ah ha, the Classic Transporter Accident. (Aka how that became a classic trope lol.)

I love that they zero in on Spock’s beard first thing, like that’s the weirdest part of this universe.

Oh no, the agonizer!

So my big question is: do all the ISS Captains wear that gold vest or is it a Kirk thing? I just find it very funny that the men in the mirrorverse wear about the same amount of clothing as in the regular universe, and the ladies wear a lot less...and then there’s Kirk, conspicuously showing off his arms. Vests are NOT regulation!

When does he get a chance to record his log? And wouldn’t it be... recorded in the mirrorverse?

Kirk’s salute is hilarious. Uh, yeah, salute and wave, I guess??

He’s really focused on Spock. “Another ship. Another Spock.”

Kirk’s patented reassuring upper arm grab.

Uhura on the bridge! You can’t tell she’s nervous because she’s brave and strong.

This episode, and to a lesser extent The Naked Time, are why I think Sulu has a thing for her. I know it’s a different universe, but I still think it’s true.

Kirk’s salute is getting better. More confident.

He just doesn’t know how to be evil. He’s too good, too pure.

Hmmm, Security Chief Sulu? He really does have a lot of interests.

I wonder what Vulcan is like in this universe. They are still clearly post-Reform. But more ruthless. Scarier. Probably meat eaters.

Damn little Chekov. Just waiting for his chance to mutiny.

Security Chief, like the Gestapo. Did not know that was what the reference was supposed to be.

Hmm, male computer voice. This MUST be an evil universe.

“I’m a doctor, not an engineer.”

Evil Kirk strikes again! Honestly, this scene of the ISS crew on the regular Enterprise might be my favorite in the whole ep. Yet again obsessed with Spock’s facial hair. And Spock is obviously just loving it. “I find it extremely interesting.”

I think Kirk and Spock BOTH know what would buy Spock.

“I should regret your death.” I mean that’s basically a love confession. I love how they depict the K and S relationship in the mirrorverse. The subtle ways in which they’re still a team.

Spock would absolutely have killed Chekov for trying to kill Kirk.

I find evil!Spock the most convincing of all of this universe. I think he simultaneously feels true to the original character, and is also obviously of this universe, and that’s a pretty impressive feat.

“Terror must be maintained or the Empire is doomed.” Print that on a t-shirt.

“Conquest is easy. Control is not.” A lot of the mirror verse is over the top cartoony villainy but this is a very good point, and this scene in general is super interesting and subtle.

Kirk is so tunred on by that conversation with Spock. Like even in these circumstances, he still looks at Spock like he’s in love.

Hmmm, I like Marlena.

Of course evil!Kirk has an on-ship girlfriend, which good!Kirk would never do.

Evil!Spock is still very loyal, so much for all that “I would be a formidable enemy” stuff lol. “You’ll never find another man like him.” Too true.

Of course there’s some plundered alien tech plot device. I actually think that’s an interesting twist in a way... of course the ISS wouldn’t care about stealing, and so some...interesting artifacts might find their way onto starships.

Spock is upset he wasn’t included in this landing party meeting.

Hmmm, Sulu already wants to be Captain.

WHAT? SPOCK HAS OPERATIVES? VULCAN OPERATIVES? WHO ARE THEY? I MUST KNOW MORE. (Is one of them T’Pring?)

Marlena’s Starfleet uniform was hotter than this...paisley nightgown thing.

She’s so dramatic. Kirk is busy one time and she’s like well! I guess we’re over! Transfer me to another ship!

Another Captain Kirk arm grab moment.

I love how literally no one was surprised by that Uhura and Sulu moment on the bridge. “I’ve changed my mind again whoops.”

I can’t believe getting kicked once and then knocked on the head would almost kill Spock lol--seems like probably he might just have a concussion?--but I do like the concept of McCoy risking being left behind to help him. (And Kirk signing off on it because duh.) McCoy is just so good hearted.

Captain Sulu strikes again. Everyone has their own agenda lol. So many obstacles when everyone’s just out for himself.

Haha well that solved that. Zap zap zap and they’re gone.

As suspected, Spock recovered pretty fast. And he goes straight for the mind meld, obviously. That does seem pretty evil of him.

And another obstacle lol. I like that Kirk says Marlena can’t come with them because they can only bring 4 people because of the Calculations, even though... like surely he should already be able to guess there’s another Marlena in his universe and she can’t exactly replace a person who already exists? That would be bad.

Damn Uhura, saving the day again and looking damn fine doing it.

“I must have my Captain back.” Not even subtle about it. He MUST.

The Empire is illogical because it cannot endure.

Is Kirk literally asking this Spock to overthrow his other self and become Captain?

Also...is Marlena going to attach herself to the new Captain?? What does she think of all this?

This is probably one of the best end-of-episode bridge banter scenes in the series. “If I read my Spocks correctly.” Spock is a bit of a pirate. (I think Sarek would agree.) Spock loving the evil humans. Being jealous of Marlena. Kirk probably wondering how Mirror!Kirk and his Spock got along.

I think this is a really great episode, obviously, and I liked all of the intrigue. I thought the double, triple, quadruple crossing was really well plotted. Marlena is one of the better Love Interests and I thought she was really compelling. I LOVED Mirror Spock, and the general characterization of and subtleties to both Spocks. Mirror Sulu was interesting (what does he say about real Sulu I wonder?) and of course we got great Uhura moments and a good Bones moment too. I thought Kirk was interesting in this ep also, not quite confronting his evil side like in The Enemy Within, but...well I do think that was a part of him, the inferred characterization of mirror!Kirk, ambitious, single-minded--”inflexible, disciplined once you’ve made up your mind”--isn’t so outrageous or hard to understand.

I think the weakness of the ep is in the Mirror verse itself. It’s always struck me as a bit too cartoon-villain-y, painted in too broad strokes. Everyone wants to use violence to gain power. If deaths are so common, how has anyone survived this long lol? They allude to this sometimes--Spock not wanting command because it makes him a target, Kirk telling Spock the Empire is wasteful and ultimately unsustainable and thus illogical--but that just invites scrutiny under which the premise doesn’t hold. Imo, an organization like the Empire could never have lasted as long as or become as powerful as the Federation. As Kirk says, control is harder than conquest. I’m not even sure that all of the planets of the Federation could have come together in an Empire, and any allegiance would be very unstable. In other words, I don’t think “the Federation but make it evil” is even a sustainable premise.

Also, while people surely do crave power for the sake of power, I... tend to need a little more in my villainous characterization. Like, when I see that kind of villain, I always think of Price in Mr. Robot: “Every room I’m in, I ask myself ‘am I the most powerful person here?’ and I don’t stop until the answer is always yes.” That really is the core of him--and yet he’s still a subtle villain. That’s kind of the standard for me, I think. To put it another way, maybe the core of all villainy is just lust for power (and/or money) and maybe the best way to get power is brute strength, but the manifestations of evil are usually more subtle: some people who just want power, some people who have more narrow goals and can’t see the whole, many people who have been manipulated, and then just human ills like laziness, ineptitude, selfishness, short-sightedness. Only the most blunt of those traits and instruments really made it into the Mirror verse.

I would have liked to see the mirrorverse be more like... the mob.

...But it is only a 50 minute episode lmao.

Anyway, I find it very interesting that mirror!Spock has Vulcan operatives. His personal security guard is Vulcan, and taking these facts together, I think it’s safe to say that there are more Vulcan officers and enlisted on the ISS Enterprise than USS Enterprise. I’m not sure what to do with that but I find it very interesting. Is he more powerful on Vulcan? Is he more attuned to his Vulcan side? Are Vulcans more impressed with or deferential to him?

Anyway I am exhausted rn and I still have two more days this week so... off to bed. Next week’s ep is The Classic, The Apple.

#the year 2021 #2021: fandom thoughts #2021: star trek #star trek tos

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millennialzadr · 5 years ago

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Regarding the ZADR issue

Hey guys, so about the whole zim being an adult issue, I wanted to share my thoughts really quick. At first I wasn’t going to since I basically just got here and I only enjoy shipping adult zim with adult dib anyway, but I have technically been part of the fandom since I was a kid, and it’s very saddening to see how distraught some people are right now, so I’m hoping maybe my take can help ease some worries.

I talked with a friend about it so here’s what I said to them:

“i’m honestly a little shocked from some of the reactions i’ve been seeing bc like.... this isn’t the first time jhonen has said zim isn’t a kid, he said so in the commentary for the show, this isn’t new news

like guys, we been knew zim wasn’t a kid. even then its basically exactly like making an anime loli a 1000+ year old demon like for characters, demeanor and appearance says way more about age than factual age, and like ???? for adult fans of the show we already only ship adult ZADR, and for KID fans of the show, whats wrong with kids enjoying a kid ship????? like you’re really gonna slap a comfort ship out of the hands of a 13 yr old bc the nonhuman character that goes to school and hangs with kids and looks and acts like a kid isn’t technically a kid? its a cartoon fam like chill, the vast majority of fans that ship underage zadr are underage themselves, not p*dos fjkghfgjkgfjkhkj

like i get it man so many people are hurt by p*dophilia and the perpetualism and normalization of p*dophilia in media but kids wanting cartoon characters to kiss each other isn’t where these issues are stemming from

i wish things could be more black and white instead of endless speculation and arguing but society is not simple, and i UNDERSTAND their upset i REALLY do, the angry ones have every right to be angry, i just wish they didn’t attack other fans who have no ill intentions dfjgjhg they’re not the enemy!! but i do see these massive types of fights sort of like growing pains while we as humans learn and educate each other about ethics and the extremely convoluted ways that ethics are compromised, people being so anti p*do is still such a better sign than people (and kids!!) thinking things like actual extreme age gaps in romance media is acceptable and desirable

the premise of the show itself is terribly silly!!! and in no way based on fact or any relevant logic!! the whole show is a joke the lore is a joke its all a big ball of gags!!!!”

I know this a little all over the place but my point is this: the whole issue is a terribly slippery slope, made a hundred times more complicated by the fact that cartoon logic does not translate easily to real life logic, and while I think acknowledging and discussing it is a good thing, I do not think that underage fans continuing to ship zim and dib as they are depicted in the show is wrong, and I do not think that these fans need to tear themselves up and doubt themselves and feel that they’re terrible for liking a ship that they had no idea included a quote on quote “adult” character.

nobody is required to enjoy anything they don’t wish to enjoy and everyone is allowed to form and stand by their opinion. constructive speculation and challenging ideas is GOOD, but making people, especially kids, feel like shit about themselves in regards to these topics is not okay! attacking others is not okay!! if you want to change someone’s mind, you can be angry and still be civil, and if you can’t change their mind, block them! if you hate and are made uncomfortable by specific content, blacklist it! sending hate messages is never the answer and only spreads conflict, it does not solve anything.

underage fans in any fandom only have the responsibility of taking care of themselves, being safe, and being kind to each other. this issue should not fall on them to analyze. ADULT fans in any fandom are the ones responsible for being aware and sensitive to current issues, and it is our job to make sure we distribute content that is not harmful, keep adult content confined to adult spaces, and speak out against other adults who are behaving dangerously. OUR JOB. NOT THEIRS. adults who enjoy and are comforted by the show enjoy wholesome and canonical content of the canon characters, and relate to and ship adult versions of the characters. if adult fans are shipping and sexualizing the canon characters in the first place, that’s an actual red flag. if underage fans are shipping and sexualizing the canon characters, they’re relating to them, and there’s nothing wrong with kids wishing to explore romance with other kids and kid media. zim does not read as an adult. anyone who watched the show with no further knowledge of the lore believes zim is a kid. there is a clear line within the show between adult characters and kid characters. slapping an age on a character doesn’t make them read as that age, and suddenly learning that a character is a vastly different age than what you thought they were doesn’t necessarily change how you feel about them. spongebob is a grown adult with a house and a job. would you date him??? would you date spongebob squarepants??? HUH? I DIDN’T THINK SO. don’t make kids fucking hate themselves because they’re attached to a cartoon character. fuck.

and for those who feel discouraged and targeted by Jhonen himself, don’t be. Jhonen has said some things and had some attitude problems towards fans in the past, but the instance that slighted ship fans in particular was over six years ago, and we should keep in mind that Jhonen was having problems with fans overstepping his boundaries and asking him questions like ‘how does it feel knowing thousands of fangirls would love to tie you down and r*pe you.’ I’m hoping that with the magic of communication through the modern internet he’s changed some of his opinions, but I do not think that he had any ill intent releasing this tweet, I believe he was simply interacting with the fans and sharing a fun fact. and if support from the creators comforts you, please remember that the voice cast, particularly Richard Horvitz and Andy Berman (voices of zim and dib), have absolutely no problem with fans enjoying zadr, and have done things like make zim and dib puppets smooch each other and say ‘I love you zim!’ in dib’s voice, all to make the fans happy. I highly recommend watching the live script reading of mopiness of doom and listening to the nickelodeon podcast that interviews Richard, Rikki and Melissa (zim, gir and gaz). in the podcast they talk about how much it means to them that fans are so touched by the show and is incredibly uplifting and heart warming.

so that’s all guys. bottom line, be kind to each other, decide for yourself how you feel, and don’t worry too much, especially if you’re a teen, you’re still growing and learning and I’m so proud of you for wanting to do the right thing. to my fellow adults, lets keep making wholesome content, keep protecting the kids, and keep being good examples of human beings.

#invader zim #zadr #text post #my post #reblogging/replying is okay!#i hope this helps even one person to feel better!#love you guys!#discourse

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bloodfcst-a · 5 years ago

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given the revival of the vii fandom with all of the hullabaloo surrounding remake, i can think of no better time to do this meme. i also suggest you check out my updated nav page if you haven’t already! i worked really hard on it okay sobs.

things a new rp partner should know about me !

write 3-5 things a new rp partner (or those who want to be) should know about you and tag 3-5 people! it should be related to rp and not to other interests.

tagged by: no one, but it’s a shame bc... i got thoughts. you were warned.

tagging: @angereve @enshijou @breselin @serophs @strfe @fractempyreal @extremepath @localmagicalboi @shimmerseas @duplikiss @verumking @asterites + if it strikes your fancy.

i. i am not your mother’s/father’s yu.ffie blog. while i do have a verse reserved for compilation content, that’s not the main premise of this blog. if you came here for oversexualized underage ninjas.... i’m going to have to direct you elsewhere. out here we’re primarily an adult modern interpretation... who does not daylight as a ninja constantly. she can, however, be a y.akuza or a sheltered member of high society who enjoys kicking ass for justice so if you’re interested in that, y’know. c’mon down.

ii. the typical ‘ yu.ffie is a kleptomaniac ’ / ‘ stop stealing my stuff ’ trope is like. one that grates my very existence. i have talked about this many times, but for those of you who are new: yufi has only stolen out of necessity to her cause. the only time i’ll refer to petty theft on this blog is if she like steals a fry or something. if we’re joking around, okay, but... please don’t consider that to be the sole core of her characterization. i’m begging. i’m on my knees. i’m warning you, i’ll cry and then i’ll probably ignore whatever post you’ve mentioned it in if you’re serious. just. don’t be that person if you’re following me.

if we’re going into it, the only times she’s stolen anything were: > in crisis core, as the ‘ treasure princess. ’ but this is arguable, as the treasure is truly up for grabs to start with & zack repeatedly goes after these locations she’s sent to him ( which, by the way, were sent to her from rufus to attempt to retaliate against + destroy shinra hq ). zack already knew what was up when: 1) she showed up in his spam folder; 2) she literally said she’s on the hunt for treasure; and 3) he knew at least after the second time that he was gon’ get goinked ( please see definition #2 ) so... can’t help him there. > in vanilla vii, when the party is foolish enough to meet her and not recruit her off the bat ( it be ya own self ). to be fair, 99% of her interactions with easterners / non-wutai prior to that moment had been people who either wanted to kill her or exploit her, so... it’s only self-preservation to use them before they use her or worse, leave her for dead. a sad reality for a 16 year old. > in vanilla vii, only after the party arrives to wutai & she thinks she can successfully finish her mission of “ getting all the strongest materia. ” after she’s captured, she does apologize, and then afterward makes cloud sign it in writing. so. y’know, she did learn from her mistake & said “ ugh, guess i gotta put that diplomacy training to use. ”

y’all could argue that she’s a thief class and that’s what they do, but note that it’s NOT one of her core skills-- it’s a MATERIA. which means everyone out there with a steal materia could be out here being a kleptomaniac. cloud? barret? tifa? red xiii? none of your favs are safe. her skills in the game, however, are shit called “ blood festival ” ( oh? see the username’s relevance all of a sudden? aha! ) and “ doom of the living. ” she’s out here summoning ghosts and reigning otherworldly power on ur ass but... fandom wasn’t ready for that conversation !! some folks were too BASIC and couldn’t handle her true strength... so i will gladly champion that for you.

iii. i like to emphasize that yufi is an emotionally strong yet traumatized figure, which stems from her origins and that i just put that in the forefront. we have a character who is haunted by her mother who died after childbirth, seemingly rejected from her father yet held to the highest of his standards, has attachment issues because she’s the “ black sheep ” and doesn’t just accept defeat or dejection even if it comes from her core community, survived multiple wars, has led in post-war rescue efforts on multiple occasions, was wrongfully imprisoned, was on the forefront of pandemic outbreaks as a first-responder, joins and rises to the top of an organization created to restore world order, is one of the two top operatives in said organization ( and the one out on the field longer--sorry vin.cent, but u only got involved at lu.cretia and when the actual gunshots disturbed your brooding and wine session filled isolation sessions. but like, mood tho ), pretends to be cheery despite clearly remembering all the hauntings and death and other bullshit she’s been facing since she was a toddler.... oh, and she disarmed bombs when her country was wrongfully targeted + used as political bait for terrorists...when she was a child. that’s canon, if we’re talking about “ accuracy. ” even in vanilla vii, she had no outlets, no one to turn to, ‘cause everyone was cloud vc: “ not interested. ”

so if you’re on this blog, it’s not like you won’t see happy yufi... but realize that i recognize that she is multifaceted and has a lot of baggage. emotional issues which unfortunately i bring to every verse gfdohfofh but u know, it’s core to her character + y’all gon have to deal, or... idk, go find another yufi. i’m not forcing you to be here.

iv. in my opinion, the best plotting comes with ooc conversations/interactions. i’m not saying if we plot that we’re required to be friends, ‘cause i don’t wanna force anyone into friendship, but i truly believe that if you want super deep plots with frequent interactions, we should... probably talk more than once. pretty simple, imo ! sometimes people claim i play favorites, but i really don’t... if you never talk to me and you don’t respond to my attempts to interact, then how am i supposed to know you’re interested?

as a general rule, i’ll put in as much effort as i receive. if i see you’re interested in me, if we’re really vibing when it comes to plotting, if you’re sending asks & liking posts, we’ve got some threads going, rad ! if i like starter calls and send you asks and message you and you never respond to me... ? i’ll take that as a sign you don’t wanna talk + i should move on to someone else. if i’m wrong, well... do something to change my mind.

v. i know i went hard as fuck on this meme, but that’s bc I’M REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT ABOUT THIS MUSE. in reality i’m actually quite soft + a weenie babie. if you ask.......... most people, i think they’d say i try really hard to be approachable and adaptable. i think everyone who talks to me on discord laughs at me because i’m scared of the stupidest things + i love to make jokes and just be funny and relatable. so please be nice and love me and my sassy fighty extremely tough deprived child. we both need hugs.

kthx i’m finally done.

#♝ mun.#long post /#WHEW.#also my nav legit has a f.a.q so like.....#i'm trying y'all !#but ! if u never ask u'll never know.#until i decide to drop a wealth of knowledge on you all gdoifdhodgd #whoops my hand slipped......

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diyunho · 5 years ago

Text

The Joker x Reader - “Darkness”

The Messengers of Darkness have a clear purpose: to always create havoc and destruction no matter where they go. Lately one of them slowed down for a weird reason: the entity fell in love with a mortal. Such transgression is bound to attract unwanted attention from its peers, yet the Dark One posing as The Joker won’t let anything stand between his kind and the woman he will protect at all costs.

The sound of distant thunder makes you snuggle to The Joker’s chest; you feel your forehead being kissed before another rumble disrupts the gloomy dawn.

“Is there a storm coming?” you yawn and open one eye. “Should we close the windows?”

“No, it’s fine,” J replies, carefully listening to hidden whispers scattered in the breeze making its way around Gotham.

“Ok…” you mumble and pull the covers higher until your nose sticks out from behind the thickest comforter. Your steady breathing queues J you’re dozing off again and he rolls out of bed, displeased about the unwanted presence he senses nearby.

“I know you’re here,” he growls while sniffing the air.

A low humming confirms his suspicion and The Clown Prince of Crime sneaks outside on the terrace in order to greet the emissary sent with a clear assignment.

“Why are you hiding?” the question echoes in the quietness. “Show yourself!”

“I’m not hiding.”

As soon as the words are spoken, the sinister apparition materializes in front of The Joker: it has human shape, yet is made only of Darkness. The being and its counterpart posing as The Clown Prince of Crime were born from the same abyss: one could say that makes them siblings, although the notion of family doesn’t exist in the Shadow Realm.

“What do you want?” J mutters, unhappy his early morning is interrupted by a visitor bearing ill news.

He can tell.

“The High Council demands your attendance for a meeting.”

“Regarding?” the green haired King bites on his cheek, already guessing on the answer.

“Your relationship with the mortal.”

J is watching the lightning chaotically striking inside the creature’s body since The Dark Ones are in a permanent state of mayhem: their blackness is carried within and enables them to travel between different dimensions.

“What relationship?” The Joker huffs, pretending to brush off any attachment that’s out of character for his kin.

“I was told you slowed down your activities in the past six months after you’ve met the woman.”

“I didn’t slow down. I’m actually planning for more anarchy,” the explanation prompts advice from the entity:

“I hope you won’t dare lie to the members of The Council like this; they will immediately know just like I know.”

The Joker exhales, glaring at the grey clouds above.

“What are you doing anyway?” the wraith lectures out of pure spite. “We don’t engage with these maggots; they’re useless and their lives are gone in a blink of an eye! We’re immortals and unstoppable, designed for a simple purpose: to reign this miserable planet and ensure its doom! So I’m asking: what are you doing?!”

For the first time in the whole eternity, he doesn’t have a reason for his behavior.

“I can’t rationalize what I feel,” J approaches the specter, “but allow me to demonstrate,” he transforms into the wretched monster that he truly is, identical to the one standing before him.

There is a big difference though: the fire bolts illuminating his frame are not randomly striking at once, they keep on hitting the same spots in a very organized pattern.

“What… what is this?!!” the uncanny sister marvels at the view.

“Not sure, it happens when I’m around Y/N. Here, you can feel it also,” he takes her right hand and places it on his chest.

She gasps at the unexpected sensation: quietness. Complete quietness; no crazy havoc, no evil thoughts, no urge to kill.

“How did you do this?!!!” she inquires, dumbfounded.

“I have no clue,” The Joker reclaims his human shell, waiting for her to snap out of trance.

“The Council won’t like this,” the evident truth is spoken aloud. “How did you even connect with the girl on such a level?!”

J lifts his shoulders up, confused.

“I really have no idea.”

Awkward stillness.

“We must leave,” the apparition urges a troubled Joker; it’s strange for him to worry about someone and for the moment he’s concerned about you while dreading the encounter with his kin:

How did a twisted devil like him actually learn the definition of such complicated emotions? How can he justify such abomination to his peers?

It most than likely won’t end well because The Council is already suspicious regarding his bizarre actions.

“I’ll return shortly,” he snarls. “I have to say goodbye.”

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

You stretch under his weight, J yanking at the sheets to expose your face.

“I have an emergency meeting,” he grumbles in your ear.

“Baaaby…”, you cuddle to his neck half snoozing. “Can I take a shower and join you?”

“No… Stay in bed; I promise I’ll come back for you.”

Y/N smiles, totally oblivious at the meaning.

“You’d better Mister J; your girlfriend might get cold and she’ll need company,” you pout and he stands up, bending over to kiss you.

“I will,” the grin disappears from his face as your eyelids close; he wishes he could linger on the premises yet the messy situation requires hasty measures. Another kiss and he vanishes into thin air, abandoning the woman at The Penthouse.

You sigh in your sleep, the sudden cold gust of wind filling up the room. In a few minutes the chillness intensifies and Y/N is unaware of the grave danger she’s in: another Dark Messenger is there to annihilate the target she became after changing the laws of nature.

The meeting with The High Council was a pretext to send your protector away; The Shadow known as The Joker is a powerful entity among his kind and they didn’t want to risk any trouble. Your faith was sealed the second you bonded with him and although you aren’t guilty of anything, it doesn’t matter: you are guilty to them and that’s the sole logic they bow to.

Invisible to the human eye, the enemy is near: it watches you turn on your side, wondering what’s so damn special about an average mortal; nothing peculiar to indicate you could create trouble and switch the balance hanging in their favor. A woman like so many others.

And yet unique in a way The Dark Ones will never understand.

The wraith awaits for a little bit longer: your guardian has to be far, thus he won’t have an opportunity to save his cherished human. Ten extra minutes… fifteen…twenty…thirty…

The creature unravels his claws, quickly closing the distance between the two of you. Another step and it’s here, smelling your scent with disgust.

“Repulsive being…” he sneers, touching the lump of skin and bones peacefully resting without a care in the universe.

There is no warning, no escape: your body instantly disintegrates, the silver ashes flying on the pillows you were hugging.

The specter chuckles at the sweet victory, reckoning the reward for its mighty deed will be greatly remembered in the centuries to come.

If only…

Ironically enough your demise will set things in motion unseen neither in the world of the living or the Shadow Realm: the ordinary girl might have been just a grain of sand passing through infinity, but they forgot one important detail: she was HIS GIRL.

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

The two companions are almost reaching their final destination at the end of the 7th Gate of Darkness, when the twisted spirit posing as J halts.

“Something is wrong,” he mumbles, the unbearable emotion of impending doom growing stronger.

“What is it?” his escort curiously inquires as the lightning inside his celestial shape strikes chaotically again: no more steady pattern since you are gone.

“Something is very wrong; I can’t feel her anymore!” he shrieks, preparing for an interdimensional jump. “I’m going back!”

“We’re practically home; I’m sure she’s fine,” the soothing lies have the exact opposite effect. “We are expected and The Council hates delays.”

“I don’t care! I’m going back!”

“Wait, I’m coming too!” she offers because the whole charade points out at the ugly reality: they used her to lure him out of the nest without sharing their plan.

************** Ten minutes… fifteen…twenty…thirty…

“I told you I can’t feel her anymore…” his sister hears as soon as she catches up to him in the master bedroom where you were left to nap. “Did you know about this?”

He keeps on caressing the soot scattered on the blankets, numb to her sentences:

“I didn’t know! They just entrusted me with an easy mission and I obeyed. I was only told to bring you in front of Council for questioning; they didn’t share the bigger picture with me.”

The more she defends her innocence, the more her voice fades within the infernal ruckus shaking the building from the ground up.

“Ummm… What are you doing?!” she asks even if she can sense his intentions.

The decorative objects scattered around The Penthouse shatter into tiny particles drifting towards The Joker and he buries his face in the lifeless ashes on the bed, the only proof you were once there.

“You can’t do that!” she screams over the deafening commotion. “You can’t turn back time, it’s forbidden!”

“I want her back!!!!”

“Stop!!!! You can’t control it! You’ll lose your powers for the transgression; how will you even find her?! You’ll end up before you’ve ever met and she won’t know you!”

“That’s my burden to worry about, not yours!” the Dark One hisses amidst the hellish storm created in order to reset The Clock: the sands of time are moving backwards and he doesn’t care about consequences.

It’s better to take the risk and try to recover the lost connection than endure ages of solitude in the eternal murkiness.

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

You drag your feet on the concrete, squeezing the bag full of groceries to your chest; three more blocks and you’ll finally be home after another exhausting day at work. You keep on admiring the nice clothes and shoes exhibited by the chic boutiques on Main Street: that’s all you can afford anyway….lots of window shopping.

You manage not to cry at the harsh disappointment of finding yourself in a desperate situation courtesy of your boyfriend Mark; I guess ex-boyfriend to be more specific. God knows how difficult it was to save money together for almost a year for a downpayment on a condo situated in a better neighborhood since this one is going downhill!

And the unthinkable happened: you had another terrible fight thus he took his stuff and moved out the following week. You were at work so Mark came to gather his last items; he was supposed to leave the spare key, take half of the money prepared for him and flee. But he didn’t have the decency to split the cash: he snatched his envelope and also searched for your share hidden under the stairs, grabbed it and skipped town.

All ten thousand dollars and the hope for a better future is gone; right when you think you know someone… damn…

Why do you have to be stuck in this district you hate?! So many weirdos popping at every corner, for example the creep that just stopped behind you. You can discern his reflection in the glass: a strange man with toxic green hair, his mouth slightly opened like this is the first time he sees a woman. Jesus!

You shiver at the view, taking one last glance at the pair of earrings displayed by “Zales Jewelry Company”. Maybe if you speed up the guy won’t be able to track you in the crowd. Or maybe you’re paranoid and a glass of wine in the safety of your apartment will make you laugh at how stupid you are while watching a movie on the couch. And then you’ll probably sobb until you doze off…

Every few moments you look to ensure he’s not pursuing; the spooky man gave out an unsettling vibe you can’t shake off. Although you’re dead tired, you find the energy to hurry and you’re finally home.

You place the grocery bag on the counter and freeze: the anxiety you felt earlier is crawling back in your heart. Oh, you know why: did you lock the door?

You instinctively glare at the exit, concealing a scream: the individual you saw earlier sneaked inside! He’s staring you down and it clicks: the mace in your purse! If you can get to it before he does, you could have a better chance of escaping the intruder.

You count to three in your head, gathering your courage; you rush for your handbag yet the guy is faster: he cuts you off and pulls you in his arms, tightening the grip as you fight to break free. You are completely terrified when he swiftly kisses you; you struggle to escape but you realize he’s not attempting to do anything else. He loosens his embrace, still firmly holding on to Y/N’s waist.

Does it sound insane that his touch feels familiar?!

You part from his lips and gaze at the hypnotic blue eyes, faintly whispering:

“Who are you?...”

The devilish smirk gets wider as he utters the words:

“My name is Jay.”