#Like it had to be blatantly obvious sets where it's ship heavy but these people STILL go “mm here's my two cents no one asked for”

[molinaesque]

Yo you know what I REALLY like? When people have the audacity to reblog a post that blatantly involves a thing they don't like... Just to comment/tag how they don't like said thing. Here's a cool suggestion... How about NOT engaging with the thing that's obviously not meant for you? Or yknow make your own post about it instead of piggybacking off someone else? How CRAZY of a suggestion is that?

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH27

What are Marinette and Chloe going to do now that they’re in cahoots? Find out below~

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Chapter 27: Better Than Revenge

“I’m surprised to see you here, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe said as Jean Luke poured their tea.

Marinette averted her gaze the way Adrien always did when he came over. People with morals really were annoying.

“Lila’s gone too far. I can’t turn a blind eye and watch my friends get walked over,” she said. “This afternoon, she-”

“Look, I’ve already agreed to help you. I don’t need the whole sob story.” Chloe held up a hand.

“Where were you today anyway? I didn’t see you at the Louvre,” Marinette asked.

“I needed a spa day, so I conned Adrien into taking notes for me.” Chloe examined her perfectly manicured nails. “I see you’ve changed your mind about the status of those brats in your life.”

Marinette sighed. “They’re my friends, or at least, they were at one point. I hate seeing Lila blatantly manipulate them for her own selfish gain.”

“Yes, yes, I’ve got that much, how noble, now what are you thinking? I say we invite her onto a ‘game show’ only in reality it’s a trap we’ve set up where we’ll get a bunch of celebrities to diss her on live television.” Chloe took a sip with a wicked grin.

“Look, I’m agreeing to help you, but we need to set up some ground rules first,” Marinette said.

Chloe sat back with a groan, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine, what?”

“I want everyone to find out that she’s a liar, yes, but I don’t want to be needlessly cruel.” Chloe rolled her eyes, but Marinette continued, “We need to be smart about this, or else she’ll just play the victim.”

Chloe thought back to their previous failed attempts and pursed her lips. “Fine. Anything else?”

“Yes. Secondly, and most importantly, Adrien cannot find out that I’m helping you,” she said. The corners of Chloe’s lips twitched into a smirk. “I’m serious, Chloe. Don’t tell him.”

Chloe eyed her for a long moment, debating whether or not to say anything when another knock pounded on her door, and Jean Claude moved to answer it. She squared her shoulders, lifting her teacup to her lips with a sly grin.

“I won’t tell him.” She vowed as Jean Mark unlatched the lock. “You can tell him yourself.”

“Okay, Lila has gone too far this time. I’m ready to do things-” Adrien stormed into the room, stopping short when he laid eyes on Marinette, “-your way… Marinette?”

“Adrien?”

“What are you doing here?” They said in unison.

Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed, and he flicked his gaze between Marinette and Chloe.

“I was just-”

“Oh, save it you two!” Chloe interjected with a groan. “Adrien texted me earlier; Dupain-Cheng just showed up at my door, and now you’re both here for the same reason.”

“I know we promised to stay out of it, but Lila has gone too far.” Adrien flashed Marinette pathetic puppy eyes. “I’m sorry for going behind your back.”

“No, you’re right. Lila has to be stopped. That’s why I went behind your back too,” Marinette said. “Forgive me?”

“Of course!”

“Ugh, if you two start kissing, I’m gonna throw up,” Chloe moaned. “So, what’s the plan? I can get a crate addressed to the middle of the Amazon here in the next 20 minutes.”

“Ship her to Egypt for all I care!” Adrien threw his arms out in exasperation.

Chloe reached for her phone with an excited grin that deflated upon seeing Marinette’s contemplative frown.

“Don’t even try to convince us. It’s two against one unless you’ve got a better idea.”

“As fun as it would be, I’m pretty sure that’s highly illegal,” Marinette said pointedly.

“Buzzkill.” Chloe slumped, letting her phone fall back to her lap.

“We need to figure out a way to help everyone realize the truth and prevent her from ever lying again.” Marinette tapped her chin.

“Perfect. Do you want to call Jagged Stone, or should I?” Chloe picked up her phone again.

“You saw how well your interview with Ladybug went. Everyone knows I have an in with Jagged, so exposing her will only make us look like the bad guys for ganging up on her.” Marinette shook her head.

“Don’t you think she more than deserves it? After everything she’s done to you, Marinette, and especially after today with what happened.” Adrien winced. “Look, normally I’m with you, but Lila is evil. She can’t be saved.”

“No, but our friends can.” Marinette turned to face him. “Regardless of how obvious her lies are and how many times we’ve tried to tell them the truth, they’re being manipulated, and it’s going to break their hearts when they find out.”

Adrien held her gaze, pursing his lips, but after a moment, he nodded.

“Okay, you’re right.” He gestured for her to take the lead.

“What? You’re switching sides on me? Traitor!” Chloe shot forward with a gasp, though she shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Chloe, I’m not suggesting doing nothing, just doing something smarter,” Marinette said.  

“Like?” Chloe cocked a brow, and Marinette took a thoughtful sip of tea. She really hated how methodical Marinette could be.

“Well, I sort of have half an idea.” Marinette set the cup down. “You and Adrien have a lot of power and money as do a lot of my new friends, and today at lunch when they were talking about Christmas with royalty and charity trips I had a thought: What if we recreate all of Lila’s lies ourselves as truths for the whole world to see?”

“That way when news trickles down to the school they’ll realize that Lila never did any of those things.” Adrien finished, and Marinette nodded. “That’s genius! We’ll have all the proof, and Lila will be forced to admit that she lied without us ever having to confront her.”

“And we get to help people along the way and bring some good from this messy situation.” Marinette added.

“I always knew you were brilliant, mon ange.” Adrien lifted her hand to his lips, gaze soft and disgustingly affectionate. Chloe wanted to barf.

“I still prefer making her disappear, but I guess your idea could work too.” Chloe relented with a huff. Anything to get them out of her suite. She still couldn’t believe Adrien actually fell for her of all people. “It’s the most Marinette way you could have suggested. Always trying to make the world a better place, so annoying.”

“I’ll talk to my friends tomorrow at school and come up with a plan of action. It’s a lot of work, but I think this way Lila will have nowhere left to run. She’ll have to own up,” Marinette said.

“I’m behind you all the way.” Adrien gave her hand a squeeze.

Chloe stood up, clapping her hands. If she had to sit through any more of their cooing, she was going to break out in hives.

“Wonderful, now if you two don’t mind I’m late for a date with a hot stone massage.” She waved her arms in a ‘shoo’ motion, so Marinette and Adrien took their leave. “Jean Clarke, tell the cage guy to be ready on standby. Just in case.”

“Yes, mademoiselle.”

♪♫♪ Call It What You Want ♪♫♪

The slam of Chloe’s suite door echoed in the hall with a bang, and Marinette rubbed her temple with a sigh. Was one normal day so much to ask for? Marinette thought she was getting out of this mess when she changed schools, but somehow she kept getting dragged in deeper.

Adrien slipped his fingers into hers and tugged her toward the stairs. “I think you and I have a lot to talk about.”

He remained quiet for the first flight, lips screwed into a pensive frown. Should she speak first? What would she even say? They’d both gone behind each other’s backs to see Chloe, but they’d done it to protect each other. All she wanted was one perfect day with him, but it seemed that the closer they got to each other, the more complicated everything around them became. His silence ate at her as they rounded the second flight, but halfway down he finally spoke.

“I know you didn’t want to get involved with Lila, which is why I came here today. Even if Lila hadn’t pulled that stunt at the end, I’d already texted Chloe to start again.” He lowered his gaze to his feet. “You must be disappointed in me.”

“Adrien,” Marinette said, tightening her grip on his hand. “I came here without you too, ya know. Lila isn’t giving us the option to stay out of it anymore. She’s not going to stop unless we do something.”

“I know.” Adrien stopped and pulled her into his arms. “I just can’t stand to see you so broken and upset. Just when I started to think that things were going to be okay, she goes on the offensive again. Sometimes I feel like we’re never going to win.”

“We will. One day Lila won’t be able to touch us.” Marinette assured him.

He pulled back with a tortured frown. “That wasn’t how I wanted things to happen earlier. I didn’t want our first kiss to be so heavy. I was hoping that tonight… I planned something for us, but now I feel like everything is ruined.”

“You planned something?” Marinette quirked a brow, heart fluttering.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I was hoping we could have dinner at my place and finally celebrate your designs for Clara. We could still go—if you want. Everything is set up.”

Marinette’s cheeks warmed, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her prince was always looking out for her. She leaned in to kiss his cheek.

“I’d love to.”

♪♫♪ Fun Tonight ♪♫♪

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

Nino flicked his gaze over to Alya as she set a tray of juice on the desk. She crossed the room to sit beside him on the bed, and Nino buried his face in his knees.

“What did I do wrong? I was right there, she could have come to me,” he said.

“I never painted Ladybug as the type of person to take her anger out on other people, but I guess it’s true when they say no one’s perfect.” Alya remarked bitterly. “But if she wants to be that way then, who cares? We don’t need superpowers.”

“But having superpowers was awesome! Fighting crime with Ladybug and Chat Noir was totally legit!” Nino lifted his head with a frown.

“Well, what kind of hero is Ladybug if she turns her back on real heroes? If she puts hurt feelings over the safety of the city? We never gave her a reason not to trust us,” Alya said.

“You used to look up to her, Alya.” Nino sat back and looked her up and down. “Now you’ve deleted your blog, and you sound like you hate her.”

“Can you blame me? After how she treated Lila and now she’s taking it out on us?” Alya shook her head. “She’s not the person I thought she was.”

“Al…” Nino lowered his gaze. “I know you’re hurt, but I’m worried about you. You’re always stressed and exhausted and angry nowadays ever since…since you and Lila started hanging out more.”

“At least Lila hasn’t turned her back on me!” Alya snapped. She knew exactly what he omitted.

Ever since Marinette left.

Nino sighed, placing his hand over hers. “It’s been a long day. Let’s not fight, okay?”

“Sorry, I’m just all riled up from this afternoon.” Alya crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against his shoulder. “Lila says her ankle still hurts.”

“Do you really think Marinette pushed her?” Nino asked. “I mean, I know Marinette has been kind of a loose cannon lately, and their beef runs deep, but I’ve known Marinette a long time. She’s not the type to hurt someone.”

“She hurt me,” Alya mumbled.

“Don’t you think this feud has gone on long enough? There has to be some middle ground somewhere. I mean, I lost my best bud too,” Nino said. “I miss the way things were before all of this. Don’t you?”

“Nino…” Alya lowered her gaze, then nuzzled in closer. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Nino sighed, and Alya sat up, cupping his cheek. His eyes swirled with unease that only added to Alya’s reservoir of guilt, but he didn’t argue further. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her in.

“Then let’s not talk.”

[tundrainafrica]

Hi!! Do you think Levihan as a ship is kinda underrated? Like even though its the third most popular ship(just behind Ereri and Eruri) but I don't really think many people give it the credit it actually deserves. Someone on reddit pointed out how if the interactions LH had, especially the ones in and after ch 115, were between some ship involving two cis man, literally everyone would've called it canon. Do you agree?

Do you think Levihan as a ship is kinda underrated?

You know, I actually used to think Levihan is underrated. But i was surprised to find out that Levihan actually still has a fair amount of fics. In fact it has more fics in ao3 than Aruani or Eremika and maybe even Connie/Sasha. It’s actually surprisingly one of the top non M/M ships in the AOT fandom in ao3. But I don’t know how much the number of AO3 fics have to do with popularity though.

But why is it lower than Eruri and Ereri? 

I think you partially answered your own question by pointing this out.  “Someone on reddit pointed out how if the interactions LH had, especially the ones in and after ch 115, were between some ship involving two cis man, literally everyone would've called it canon. “

But there is something else I want to point out actually. I think that even if Levihan was a relationship between two CIS men, I still think it would remain less popular than Eruri and Ereri. 

First things first though, let’s answer the question: Why are Ereri and Eruri popular? Because Levi is popular and the general consensus of the majority of fangirls is to put Levi aka the most popular character in ao3 with the two sexiest men in the whole fandom who have at least a reachable and justifiable bond with Levi. 

If we consider what actually gets people into a ship, (personally I still don’t understand Ereri but lemme try), 

1. They look cute together

2. They have a very obviously deep bond with each other. 

3. The enemies to friends trope gets incredibly enticing.

So Ereri I think fell with number 1 and number 3 (I’m honestly thinking of the courtroom scene now).

 And I read a fair amount of Ereri fics (no, I never liked Ereri I just wanted my hurt Levi fic and I was desperate), and one thing which a lot of Ereri fans like to explore is the fact that Levi becomes his bodyguard for a while and Eren has to stick close to Levi right? There are a lot of themes relationship wise (enemies to lovers, slowburns, bodyguard and ward) which can be explored with this set up. Eren is obviously one of the most popular characters in AOT too and the main protagonist so it is only natural that this would fall on top. 

On top of that Eren is pretty cute. 

What about Eruri? Eruri takes the cake for reasons 1 and 2 first of all.

On top of that, Eruri rose through the ranks of one of the top ships in AOT because of Season 3 in particular but I think even before that, Erwin and Levi had enough crumbs already to justify shipping them. 

Sure, Levihan won with the fact that Levi was first introduced next to Hange. But, in the more iconic Levi scenes in Season 1-3, for example when Eren got to talk to Levi for the first time in the dungeon, who was Levi with? Erwin. 

When it came to the more serious, more plot relevant scenes, Erwin and Levi were almost always together. Actually, the only time Levi and Hange spent a lot of time together in very plot relevant scenes was during the uprising arc when Erwin was out of commission. 

But then after that, we get the Take back Shiganshina arc where Erwin and Levi had their most iconic moments. 

So with Levi and Erwin constantly together during the more plot heavy scenes, most of the audience, even the most casual people would remember their relationship over Hange.

That’s why Eruri is still more popular than Levihan. 

What about Levihan? Only number 2 applies to Levihan actually.

Also, it’s not very memorable? Like if you’re not looking for a relationship in AOT you won’t find it. And really, who looks for a relationship in AOT.

Most of the scenes where Hange and Levi are shown together are incredibly light scenes and they’re usually shown for the lolz and are not as blatantly plot heavy as the scenes where Erwin and Levi are seen together,. Most of the plot heavy Hange and Levi scenes happen when Erwin was out of commission which makes it easy for the audience to think that Hange and Levi were together out of necessity.

And when we consider reason number 1. Hange is not conventionally attractive or cool to the average viewer. I have lots of friends who actually don’t like Hange and they’re casual watchers. They find her weird, crazy, and not as clear cut or cool as Erwin or Levi so even if Hange were a guy, I don’t think her relationship with Levi would have topped the AOT charts

Where does Levihan actually shine though? 

It shines in Season 4. We notice in Season 4 that Levi and Hange are constantly together. But the thing is, with Season 4, we kinda ended up with a new setting, we have new characters and we have new perspectives on how to approach the story. So even if Levihan is more obvious there, even if Levi and Hange are shown to have a closer bond in Season 4, it gets overshadowed by other things like the Marleyans, the actual war and the actual chaos. 

Let alone the fact that Levi and Hange spent a huge chunk of the chapters before chapter 115 away from each other. And when they are together, the plot and the overall war ends up outshining whatever relationship development they have. 

Yet regardless, even if a lot of their interactions weren’t very plot relevant thus, very forgettable for the casual reader who is not in the mood to analyze relationships, I think that 115, 126 and 132 are still very important for the relationship of Levihan and are decisive evidence that there is definitely something there. Like actually I showed 115, 126 and 132 to multiple people who have never watched AOT in their life and a lot commented that the scene in 126 in particular screams ‘COUPLE.’ but the thing is, the forest scene in 126 was overshadowed by more pressing things. In fact a lot of people criticized it for being a slow chapter. 115 was overshadowed by Zeke’s backstory and the actual war. 132 was overshadowed by her death.

And when I did notice the relationship enough to appreciate it, I did look back at the previous AOT episodes and the previous Levihan scenes and I really did see that most of the interactions of Levi and Hange in the earlier seasons are not as obviously relevant to the overall plot. So if people don’t actually look for it, they won’t see it. 

It’s an incredibly subtle ship and as a fan, I actually only appreciated it in retrospect so I kinda understand why it’s not so popular. 

So to answer your next question.

Someone on reddit pointed out how if the interactions LH had, especially the ones in and after ch 115, were between some ship involving two cis man, literally everyone would've called it canon. Do you agree?

Actually, I don’t agree with this. 

Sure, if Levihan was a ship between two CIS men then Levihan would probably be more popular. But I think a lot of people still wouldn’t consider it canon. 

I used to read a lot of works and participate a lot in Shonen manga fandoms, sports anime fandoms (I’m literally a simp for sports animes man I think I’ve watched most of the iconic ones) in particular so I am aware of how ships with two cismen go. And even if they do have a lot of sexual tension like let’s say Daichi and Sugawara, Kageyama and Hinata  from Haikyuu, Kuroko and Aomine from Kuroko no Basuke, Oishi x Tezuka from Prince of Tennis, people in the fandom at least have the head to say “It’s not canon.” 

But at the same time, people still ship them. 

On the contrary, I think people are actually more likely to deem something canon if they are a heterosexual ship because we live in a heteronormative society. On top of that, writers (especially Japanese writers) are more likely to make something canon if it’s a heterosexual pairing because societal expectations and marketing and corporate synergy and bullshit like that. 

I need to point out something about male writers though. Male writers are incredibly good at writing male to male dynamics but for some reason tend to fuck writing women up a lot. So we end up with incredibly blah ‘die for our ship’ women and two guys with so much sexual tension if they were a man and a woman, people are more likely to deem them canon. 

Naruto and Sasuke for example or Riku and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. I can swear that Riku and Sora had way more development over the course of five games than Sora and Kairi but Sora and Kairi became canon. Naruto and Sasuke had more than enough development and literally Naruto did the equivalent of Hange jumping into the river at 115 by literally begging all the fucking kages to spare Sasuke during the great ninja war but Naruto married Hinata and Sasuke married Sakura.

And even in Western media, we have Johnlock, we have Destiel. And even among female writers I have half the mind to add Will and Jem from Clockwork Princess to the mix for men with the most sexual tension but are never made canon. 

So I don’t think it’s the male/male dynamic which makes people think, oh they’re canon. I think it is the premise of the show overall which makes people hesitant to deem Levihan canon. 

The scenes which are very important to the Levihan shippers are scenes which the casual watchers who are allergic to romance will skim over. We saw a taste of that when people got angry that ch. 126 was winning the Besatsu polls for example. 

People just wanna focus on the titans, the action and the exposition. And the moment anyone decides to add romance to the mix, suddenly people are like, NO DON’T RUIN THEIR CHARACTER. OR NO STOP TURNING AOT INTO A ROMANCE.

Because people have this idea that the moment we decide to explore the relationships of the show, when people start falling in love in the show, the show becomes bad. Really, I believe a lot of the reason for this though is because a lot of male writers don’t know how to handle romance or it becomes difficult to pair people off in the end because a lot of their Male x male relationships actually have more sexual tension than a lot of the male x female relationships they write so a lot of the endgame heterosexual pairings end up falling flat.

Going back to AOT though....

One other thing to note:  Looking from the eye of those who don’t look for romance or are just a casual watcher,  the scenes which had more titans and action and overall exposition (which most people watch AOT for) tended to show Levi and Eren together or Levi and Erwin together more which explains why these relationships ended up shining more since these scenes are more memorable. 

I like to think of Levihan as this awesome product with lots of potential but has the shittiest marketing team ever. Because the marketing team just did a horrible job on where to put the ‘billboards’ and how to design their flyers if you know what I mean. So even if Levihan is a great product, it won’t sell because they just didn’t have the right ‘billboards’ ‘flyers’ or other marketing material in canon. Like people have to make the effort to look for it to actually find it and to actually appreciate the canon but when they do, they got some high quality product. 

So I like to compare Levihan to those  hole in the wall restaurants in the small towns or those street shops which sell the most authentic cuisines or those treasures we find in the antique shops. 

Thanks for reading and sorry for this long ass meta. Anyway...

I’d like to end this long ass rant with just two tweets which summarize my overall thoughts on this.

Link to the tweets: 1 2

Again, Thanks for reading!

[starstruck-xavier]

It Will Only Hurt If You Let It

ao3 || wattpad || fanfic masterpost || main masterpost

words: 1925 ships: analogical (no romance implied but think of it however you want) warnings: injuries, angst

summary: "Not that any of you care, but I am unharmed, and I don't want to talk about it." - Logan and Virgil talk after the events of Putting Others First.

Logan materialised again in the mind palace, feeling a multitude of things; dejected, lightheaded and a pain in his side coming from that cane that pulled him away from the discussion. After being thrown around from within his text box, actively ignored and disregarded, he couldn’t come up with any words to describe his current mental state other than shitty.

The logical trait found himself in the kitchen of the mindscape, about to reach for the coffee machine yet again to keep himself coherent just in case he was actually needed. A seedling of doubt planted itself in that thought, making him hesitate, but he started the machine anyway. The sound drowned out the faint discourse and what sounded like laughter going on in the real world, allowing him to put his mind at ease for only a few blissful moments.

Logan knew that in order to perform his job at its highest efficiency he’d need less coffee and more actual sleep. However, it appeared obvious to him that Deceit had everything covered, seeing how he had easily replaced him without anyone else knowing. Heck, they only found out he’d been impersonated because Deceit decided to reveal himself! Logan sighed sadly. There was likely a mild bruise forming where the cane had snagged him, making him fixate on that lasting pain as he brought the fresh coffee mug up to his lips, fogging his glasses. The faint breeze of Roman entering the mindscape, directly to his room, touched his being in such a subtle way that, if he wasn’t already thinking about it, he wouldn’t have noticed at all.

It was only after a moment of thinking about that breeze that Logan also felt the feeling of being watched. The sound of someone clearing their throat made it to his ears in time for him to whirl around towards the countertop.

“Ah— Virgil, greetings.” Logan set his mug on a different counter before he could spill the beverage in his surprise. Virgil raised an eyebrow, looking equally as troubled as him. One foot had been pulled up to rest on the countertop too, which Logan would’ve pointed out was unhygienic if there wasn’t such a depressing feeling hanging thickly in the air.

“I've been here for, like, ten minutes and you didn’t notice? What’s up with you today?”

Logan hummed shortly. “It’s a lot to explain, or even think about, in regards to today’s discussion with Thomas.”

“Well, I don’t have anything else to do, so I’ll listen.” The logical trait sighed before taking a sip of his coffee and returning the mug to the counter.

“I thought I’d provide my usual studies, examples and facts to keep the conversation from going too off track. I took the less physical form of a video game character with a text box because we have learned in the past that serious topics can be discussed in different ways. It seemed that Roman and Patton were attempting to explain what they thought by using video game metaphors, so this seemed fitting. I had previously acknowledged that my philosophical and psychological examples are not always received well by the group, so I gave them the option to ignore me. I just suppose I didn’t expect to be… uh— to be actually ignored so blatantly.”

Virgil frowned, letting both of his legs dangle off the surface and rocking backwards and forwards just slightly. “I wish I could’ve been there to listen to you.”

Before Logan could say another word, the slightly muffled words of the real-world discussion drew their attention.

“Janus?”

“I’ll take care of him.”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Oh. Whoa. Well.” The rocking increased a little as he let the words play through his head, as if confirming he actually heard the name. “He finally told him.”

“Deceit’s name is Janus?” Logan inquired, to which Virgil hummed in affirmation through a bitten lower lip. The familiar breeze of Patton returning to his own room ran its course too. Meanwhile, the two inferred a continued conversation between Thomas and Janus. Nevertheless, Logan picked up his original question again. “Why couldn’t you make it, Virge?”

“Janus got Remus to distract me so I couldn’t interrupt his plans, or whatever. I just kept asking Remus what he was doing and eventually he caved and told me that Janus didn’t want me in the way for when he went out to help everyone come to a conclusion. As much as I know that I would’ve definitely been in his way just because I can’t help badmouthing him, I think… what he’s told Thomas is going to help him restore his mental health, which does help me out, ‘cause right now I feel awful.” Virgil almost looked guilty in the way that he fiddled with his jacket whilst wearing such a downcast expression.

Before Logan could stop himself, he remarked, “You’re not the only one.”

Virgil glanced up again. “What do you mean, Lo? Are you okay?”

“I— I mean,” The logical trait took a seat on one of the stools in the room as he tried to assemble his words. “I’m… a little frustrated. Patton asked me what I thought and then when I tried to talk he seemingly changed his mind. De— Janus… he pulled me away with his cane and replaced me for a while.” Logan held his mug up to his glasses again, hoping the steam would hide the hurt in his eyes. “No one noticed.”

“Oh, Lo.” Virgil hopped off the counter and took a few steps closer. “Are you hurt at all? Don’t lie.”

Logan set his mug on the counter again before feeling the bruised area to check it was still hurting. “Just a little. Got a cane pulled into my ribs and all that, but I should be okay.” The added sentiment didn’t help Virgil’s anxious demeanour. He was silent for a moment, seemingly in deep thought. Finally, it seemed that Janus had returned to the mindscape too, the displaced air barely felt.

“Logan?” Virgil didn’t make eye contact, making a regular tapping sound with his knuckles next to Logan’s mug.

“Yes, Virge?”

“When Thomas first met Remus, and he injured you like that, you felt that too?” Logan saw the alarm creeping onto Virgil’s face, quickly conjuring the anxious trait’s favourite fidget cube and handing it over to him.

“Well, Remus on his own is quite easy to handle. Since we’re not real, if you tell yourself that it will only hurt if you let it, the pain can quickly go away. I had mentally prepared myself for Remus’ antics ever since Thomas began to feel troubled the previous night, therefore that didn’t really hurt me. This situation was a little different, though. I just can’t shake the thought that I wasn’t actually needed and that I got hurt for no reason. So, the pain seems to be running its course.”

Virgil pressed the buttons on his cube, attempting a deep breath as he did so. “Logan, you’re always needed. When you cooperate with Roman, you can help Thomas to focus on his smaller goals before taking unnecessary risks with bigger ones. You and Patton help Thomas to build life skills like cooking so that he can be a more functioning adult. You can ground me when I’m being too much. You can very quickly shut down Remus and… you have the facts to debunk Janus’ lies. Without you, every part of Thomas would go crazy.”

Logan smiled sadly. “I think everyone else can lose sight of that. It’s appreciated that you don’t, though. You’re my only hope sometimes.” He chuckled, feeling that heart-clenching feeling that always preceded tears. Virgil noticed how Logan turned his head to the side in an effort to force that feeling down.

“You’re allowed to cry, Lo. It’s only us. No one minds if you do, anyway.” The anxious trait took Logan’s hand for comfort, watching as his eyes began to redden with the salty solution. “Eventually people reach their limit for this kind of thing. You’ve been hurt a lot more than the rest of us. I will say I’ve never really been hurt by another side - it’s almost as if I’m out of bounds for slapstick - but I know that pain affects us. It’s alright to not want to get hurt.”

With each word, the feeling continued to rise until Logan couldn’t control the pool of tears spilling onto his cheeks. His eyes scrunched at the corners and he removed his glasses with his free hand, blurring his vision even more. Virgil let go of his hand for a moment; Logan could only hear the sound of another chair being moved to touch his, then Virgil sat close to him and secured an arm around the middle of his back, careful not to touch where it hurt. Logan let the sobs wrack his body softly, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about his current state as he fidgeted with the glasses in his hands. Suddenly the pain felt so much worse, and he audibly winced as he leaned further into Virgil’s comforting touch.

“Is it hurting, Logan?” Virgil asked softly, tracing circles into Logan’s back with his thumb. Logan could only nod, one hand clamped over his mouth as if he was scared to cry louder. “Just remember,” Virgil echoed the logical trait’s words from earlier. “It will only hurt if you let it. You are needed and you should be listened to. You don’t deserve to hurt.”

It took a few minutes, but eventually, Logan was able to hang onto what Virgil had said. He was logic - they were all supposed to listen to him. The pain began to lessen, only pulsing quietly. Moving his hands to wipe his tears away, Logan managed a heavy sigh, his mind still on the bruising. Virgil continued the steady circle motion, using his other hand to take Logan’s.

“Are you okay?”

“Not fully, but better.” Logan’s voice sounded strained from the emotional outburst he had finally let out, and the pain still made itself known, but the worst was over. “Thank you, Virgil.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, dude.” The ghost of a smile traced Virgil’s face. “I know that I’m usually the side who needs constant reassurance, but I'm here if you ever want to vent.”

Logan nodded. “Likewise.”

The silence that fell over the two afterwards felt comfortable; Virgil continued his comforting motions and Logan finished his coffee, the bruising completely slipping his mind. It was nice. Only a few minutes passed before Patton’s footsteps could be heard padding over to them and he was apologising for disregarding Logan, and Logan said it was okay. The paternal trait began talking about the discussion, bringing the two up to speed on everything. Perhaps Virgil felt too worn out after a mentally taxing day for Thomas to care too much that Janus was being trusted, or maybe he was finally growing to accept it. The atmosphere in the mind palace thinned out to allow room for deep breaths, laughs and kind smiles. Even when Roman appeared from his room with puffy, regretful eyes, he was pulled into the fun and quickly cheered up.

Logan hadn’t wanted to talk about it before, but now he didn’t need to. Virgil remained by his side while the four of them chatted about miscellaneous things and sang whatever songs got stuck in Thomas’ head. At one point the two shared a look; maybe it was going to improve from here.

They were both ready to accept that.

[vfenrirsv]

You can fit everything you know

In a bottle for you to show

Pick your brain apart and put it in

And build it again with needles and pins

For too long I haven’t been making myself a priority and I have been drowning, badly. I just feel heavy, like I have the weight of this entire relationship on my shoulders, like I am the only one worrying about if we are okay or good or if we’re even getting along. When was the last time we even had a conversation that was more than a hello or goodbye as we pass each other in the living room? I feel like I have to be the happy one, the responsible one, the adult in this partnership. And I am so very, very, tired. You haven’t even noticed, have you? There are so many things that I want to do in this life, and there are no many places that I want to see, new music I want to hear, new food I want to taste. I used to think that you would be right there beside me while I chased my dreams and followed what I feel is best in me and what satisfies my soul; but now, with the comments you make and the things you decide not to do, and the flagrant disregard for things that I consider important, I am not so sure.

Everything you have earned is a ship

With blue waves crashing into it

But nothing can touch your happy thoughts anymore

With your glass ceiling, walls, and floor

I don’t want to live in this state anymore. I don’t even know why I thought that moving out here would be good for me in the long run, but it has swiftly become obvious that I am not interested in anything out here. What is there to explore? The desert stone canyons to the West, far enough away to be Colorado? How about the hot springs to the South East, so far away as to be Arkansas? I need to live in a place that brings me joy by simply being a place where I can get out into nature and breathe a sigh of relief on days when my brain is moving too fast for my body. I want to live in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, or Florida. The Midwest does nothing for me. These farmlands and flat prairies feel open and empty and lonesome. I need the ocean or the desert or the wild woods to soothe my soul. I’m not finding that here, and you don’t seem to care. I do.

Sailing on a ship in a bottle

Anchor all your thoughts to the bottom

Pulling ropes and pulling your head back

To see what is breaking the foremast

I want to pursue a job in my field. I want to be able to gather evidence, test samples, and work with a department lab. I have studied for years to get a job in my field and I am going for it. I have the brains and the drive, why should I say no? If I get offered a job out of state I am going to take it. I am going and you cannot stop me and I don’t even care anymore what you think or want or feel. You say that you are family oriented and want to stay near your parents and brothers and all of your hundreds of extended family members – but I think you’ve forgotten that you are supposed to be my family as well. My familial needs matter. It’s not all about you and I am so tired of you using your family as an excuse as to why you would never consider following me out of state in support of me. Not once when I have brought up moving out of state to find a job in my field have I asked to you abandon or cut your family out of your life; but that is how you act. You act as if moving out of the county we live in is tantamount to you being ripped from your family and being forced into solitude. It’s dramatic and childish and selfish. You’re not the only one with family. It’s not all about what you want.

You set sail alone there is no crew

No one on the deck who can help you

This is all your own battle to win

This is your ship and you are the captain

I don’t want this house. I don’t want these dogs. I don’t want his furniture. I don’t want this stuff. I should have been more firm with you in my expectations and opinions about what I wanted and needed out of this relationship. There are so many things that I have compromised on in order to make you happy and help you achieve your dreams that I have gone ahead and compromised myself into a noose. I am flagrantly unhappy here with all of this clutter and mess and dysfunction that I cannot seem to keep a handle on by myself. I expected you to help me keep everything under control and in order and pleasant; but you’ve made it blatantly obvious that you have no intention of starting any time soon. You don’t keep things clean, you don’t vacuum or treat the carpets, you won’t go thru your belongings in the garage, you won’t hand wash dishes; I could go on and on: you don’t do what you say you’re going to do. And I’m over it. I’m over you.

Oh, captain, let's make a deal

Where we both say the things that we both really feel

I feel scared and I'm starting to sink

And I only sink deeper the deeper I think

Oh, captain, Oh, captain, deal, Oh, captain, deal, Oh woah~

I don’t want to be with someone who won’t be intimate with me. I don’t want to be with someone who spends more time on their phone, or watching telly, or playing video games than they do talking to me about their day, their dreams, their wants or needs. I don’t want to be with someone who won’t explore the world with me. I don’t want to be with someone who refuses to engage in confrontational or uncomfortable conversation about things that matter, things that partners should face and conquer together. I don’t want to be with someone who won’t support me with all of their heart the way I do for them. I don’t want to be with someone who won’t keep their word, doesn’t follow up or follow thru. I don’t want to be with someone who won’t take care of themselves. I don’t want to be with someone who continually says “these things take time” when I talk about building our lives together. We’re in our life. Right now. I shouldn’t have to needlessly wait to build memories, build a home, or build a family with the person I fucking married. I don’t want to be with someone who sees the loneliness and sadness in me and says nothing at all.

There are red spots under your eyes

From when you cry into the sky

Ocean waters rising above your neck, mmm

You feel the glass start to crack

I don’t want to be a prisoner in my own life anymore. I feel trapped in this relationship. I feel guilty about wanting to leave and follow my heart and mind, to go and live my life, because I do love you – I do – but I feel like love just isn’t enough anymore. I am not being fulfilled on any level, so what I thought we were building together is tarnishing. When was the last time you called me your wife? When was the last time you treated me like a new girlfriend? When was the last time you spoke to me like a friend? We are stars passing in the night, roommates who happen to live in a house they bought together, strangers wearing the face of people we thought we loved. I am done not being treated like I matter. I want to go out and have some real friends and actually live my life outside of work, home, grocery store, the gas station, and the occasional coffee shop. I want to go out to bars and grab a drink. I want to dress up and dress down and walk the town and see the lights and I am tired of everything we do being centered on you or your family or your friends or your interests. Why do I have to go and do things on my own? You tell me that you are willing to experience things with me, but don’t go with me when I hike or explore or go into the city.

Sailing on a ship in a bottle

Water's leaking through holes in the bottom

Flying flags of ships that have long since

Sat at the floor of the sea, but in defense

People often say “you have one life to live, so live it to the fullest,” or “in life you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” This is something I am slowly but surely coming to realize. Often there are times where I question whether something makes me seem like this or like that; if I’m being too bitchy or needy or distant or assertive. I think about what other people will think of me, which is normal because no one inherently wants to portray themselves as something they aren’t. But, ultimately, those opinions and judgments are irrelevant. I can't live my life day by day and question what people will say or do. I am not responsible for how other people interpret their exchanges with me. I am not responsible for their opinion of me based on piecemeal interactions. I have to live my life for myself. I haven’t lived my life for myself in so long I almost don’t even know if I can anymore. I have been so tied up in someone else for so long that I am not even sure how to become myself again without pain, and struggle, and heartbreak. But I’m ready to do it.

You set sail alone there is no crew

No one on the deck who can help you

This is all your own battle to win

This is your ship and you are the captain

I’m ready to love myself, challenge myself, and be a priority for myself; and right now all I feel is like all you’re doing is dragging me down. I come home and you are a thunder-cloud who is satisfied with not living your life. It is not my responsibility to fix your problems, soothe your depression, or enhance your diet and health; and you may think that’s cruel, but all I have done for the past year is try and try and try to make everything clean and functional and okay in our relationship, in our lives, and in our home. I want you to be happy, sure; but I want me to be happy more. I love you, sure; but I love the idea of not loving you more. Now is the time for me to make myself the priority. Now is the time for me to be selfish and ego-centric and self-centered. I need to do what I want, feel how I want, eat and drink what I want, go where I want, and just be who I want to be. I am the captain of my own ship, and now it’s time for me to deal.

Oh, captain, let's make a deal

Where we both say the things that we both really feel

I feel scared and I'm starting to sink

And I only sink deeper the deeper I think

Oh, captain, make up your mind

Before the salt burns your eyes and you run out of time

'Cause you're popping the cork, you get lost in your brain

And you lose touch with all the things that made you feel sane

Oh, captain, Oh, captain, deal, Oh, captain, deal, Oh woah~

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

Ship In A Bottle, by Steffan Argus

My Priority: Don’t Drown, by Vann Fenrirs Volchitsa

[iainwrites]

The Rise of Skywalker Likes and Dislikes

This is going to talk very bluntly and blatantly about things that happened in the movie.  So if you’ve been holding off on seeing it, here’s your warning.  Or if you don’t want to read someone criticizing something you enjoyed.  Skip past everything.

Likes:

-Finn at the beginning.  It’s nice to see his character growth from oblivious and try-to-hard former Stormtrooper, to still a little blundering Resistance fighter but still shows he’s capable, to a man confident in himself/in himself/in his friends and allies.

-When Chebacca learns of Leia’s death.  That’s the look of someone who has lost their oldest friends and don’t even have the strength to be angry.  There’s just loss.  THAT is one of the most powerful moments in this whole movie.

-Fine.  Ben’s “Okay bitches.  Now we can do this.” shrug before carving through the Knights is a great bit of physical acting and (I guess) comedy.

-The new main trio meet at the end and… hug.  No kissing.  No pairing off.  Three people who just survived a war and are happy that each is still alive.  Especially Finn.  This is his family and they’re okay.  Not everything has to end with hook-ups or resolved love triangles.  

Dislikes and Opinions:

-Palpatine.  Why?  He did his bit in the prequels, died in the OT, had no bearing in either TFA or TLJ.  So why bring him back now?

-What was the point of Rose in this?  She gets limited screen-time and doesn’t move the plot along.  The movie could have used this as a means to continue its slow show of representation, but apparently that’s a bridge too far.  But we did get Naomi Ackie as a supporting character of color with screentime and lines?  So we… traded?  Maintained?

-The fuck was with that Finn “I have something to tell you” line?  There was no lead in from any of the prior movies at all.  And no, it doesn’t count if it was revealed in the novelisation of either of the previous films.

-So Rey can sense Chewie is on a ship… but can’t tell that he’s on a different ship than the one she blows up?  Or that he’s not on the ship that she’s telekinetically fighting over?

-D-O is cute factor and nothing more or better.  Add onto that: Babu was there for cute factor.  And people shit on Jar Jar (me included) because he was written as something to entertain children.

-Rey is a Palpatine.  Why was that a choice that was made?  Why does she have to be related to anyone pre-existing in the Star Wars canon?  And why did things have to be explained not in the movie, but in tweets, interviews, the novelisation, etc?  Like the fact that Rey is a Palpatine.  Movie made you think that one of her parents was Sheev’s child, right?  Which one?  Sorry, didn’t tell us.  Oh, and it was her father, by the way.  Oh, and he wasn’t Palpatine’s child; he was actually a failed clone of Palpatine.  And that’s just one part.

-How does the blade work in the grand scheme of things?  Was it made after the destruction of the Death Star (because how else would it be able to line up so well with the wreckage)?  Who made it?  Why didn’t they pillage Palpatin’s hidden room of important shit?  Why didn’t they pass it on immediately to Kylo if he’s the second coming of Vader?

-Leia’s death.  Yes, all they had was archival footage.  So you mean to tell me that they couldn’t have done anything with that miraculous CGI technology to create a facial/vocal facsimile?  That they had no point of reference of ever doing that?  That there was absolutely no budget?  Or that rewrites were an impossible thing?  Because “Leia lays down, dies, and gives her son a moment to pause and get stabbed” isn’t doing right by Carrie Fisher or respecting her legacy.  That’s “Well, this is what we have.  Guess all we can do is use only what we have to make something and not put any more effort into it.”

-”We have no source material!” Except the whole “Emperor trying to find a new body” thing was done in Dark Empire.  As was the fact that the Emperor we saw was a clone that decayed rapidly without a Force-strong host.  And the fleet of ships to turn the tide of things was done with the Katana Fleet.  And Force Heal has been done in games like the GBA version of Revenge of the Sith.  And and and.

-Han Solo forgives his son!  Except it’s not Han, or a Force Ghost of Han (because Han wasn’t Force sensitive or trained to become self aware in the Cosmic Force after he died because that’s the explanation that they’ve been establishing in the Clone Wars TV series since the end of Season 6), but a figment of Ben’s imagination.  So Ben imagined that his father forgave him for murdering him.  … That’s not how it works.  If you’re imagining your murder victim forgiving you, there’s probably some deep psychological shit to deal with.

-People have talked about it, so I’ll hop on the train: how in the hell did Lando travel quickly enough to get that many ships when a distress call put out by Leia herself couldn’t shift asses?  How can he cover that much area, gather all those ships, then get through the mists or whatever the shit surround Exogal when one of those tracking beacon/map thingies have been set up as the only way a ship can travel through?

-For everything that Abrams did to negate TLJ, Palpatine’s monologue of Rey’s actions is very similar to Snoke’s monologue of Ren’s actions.  Down to the “HAHA PSYCH!” moment.

-The Knights of Ren are just a shit-show.  The name sounds cool, though, right!  Aaannnddd they’re killed off without a single line said or them proving to be any sort of threat representative of their “feared” name.

-Here’s something: when all the past Jedi are talking to Rey, you’re told who the male voices belong to (including stuff like Young Obi-Wan and Kanan).  But you only get Female Jedi 1 and Female Jedi 2.  That’s kind of fucked up and sexist, right?

-They set up Rey’s anger throughout the trilogy as being her path to the Dark Side (going as far to show what she could be like if she gives into those darker urges)... and never really do anything to resolve it.

-They REALLY lean into the idea that Finn is Force sensitive in this movie, don’t they?  Despite no evidence of it in any other movie.

-The random scene of just revived Rey grasping Ben’s hand and the frames drop (maybe that’s just my copy, but it's still a standout).  If it’s something everyone gets… then why the hell is something that glaring still in the movie.

-The kiss.  The novelisation said that the kiss was one of “gratitude,” but seriously?  Rogue One had a moment of gratitude where Jyn and Cassian are together and they… hug.  That’s it.  Piss off with your gratitude; there was a kiss because this movie substitutes sense with forced fanservice and they knew that people wanted to see Rey and Kylo together at some point.  Just like they likely kept Rose out of the movie because people gave Kelly Marie Tran shit.  Like that could have made the movie even possibly worse.

-Ben dies and fades away… and Leia’s body fades away at the same time.  Even though she’s been dead for a day+ at this point.  Because… she connected her spirit to her son?  See, that’s something I pulled completely out of thin air, but wouldn’t it be nice if that was the truth and the movie actually explained that was what happened instead of just giving random ass coincidences?

-Rey Skywalker.  Why does she have to be Rey Anybody?  There could have been such a positive spin to what she said earlier in the movie.  “Just Rey.”  Have her say it with pride and ownership now.  She’s her own person, unburdened by the names of those who have gone before.  She doesn’t have any name to live up to.

-Fuck you for your obvious, blatant and unecessary fanservice and self pleasing imagery where the twin suns are arranged to look like BB-8.  He’s not so important that one of the last lingering moments has to be of your new creation, Abrams.  You’re not so essential to Star Wars that you have to make a “HEY LOOK AT ME THE GUY WHO MADE THIS MOVIE” made-for-screenshots image.

Meh

-There’s no meh.  There are just rare moments of contentment amongst a constant feeling of disappointment and frustration.

Random Asides

-Kathleen Kennedy did an interview with Rolling Stone in November of 2019 leading up to The Rise of Skywalker.  You may have seen it float around, but she said “Every one of these movies is a particularly hard nut to crack. There’s no source material. We don’t have comic books. We don’t have 800-page novels.”  It’s in relation to how difficult it is to write and direct the movies, but come on.  There’s TONS of source material, dating as far back 1977 for the comics AND the novels.  There might not be 800 page novels, but there are trilogies, doulogies and massive story arcs that exceed those numbers (NJO and Legacy of the Force may not be your thing, but they’re there).  Rebels went and borrowed Zeb’s look from the original script AND took characters directly from Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy; Clone Wars pulled from Legends while Legends were still considered canon and afterwards.  Not all of it is good; it’d be difficult to translate a lot of it to screen without heavy edits these days.

“I love that we have these amazingly passionate fans who care so much. And I know sometimes they may think we don’t listen, but we do, and I thought it was fantastic that people got that engaged. It just showed me and everybody else how much they care. And that’s important for all of us that are doing this. We really look at them as the custodians of this story as much as [we are]. We look at it as kind of a partnership.”  Except when we’re not happy with a product that turns out to be sub-par.  Piss right off.

-Billie Dee Williams seems like he’s dropped in from a different movie entirely.  Not a bad thing; his delivery and presence is just so different from anyone else’s.

All In All

-It’s my least favorite of all the movies.  Worse than any of the prequels.  And say what you will about the prequels: at least they had a connecting story and the director didn’t try to kneecap something that happened in the middle movie before burying it in a shallow grave while taking a dump on the things left behind that didn’t fit in their vision.  It’s worse than Solo.  No amount of fanservice can fix the fact that the movie was by-and-large unenjoyable.   

[stark-park]

OUAT, Episode 7x01 Thoughts

Ok so overall, I enjoyed it, I think? It's very different. It's the same, but different. @fezfanatic quite accurately compared it to the new Bake Off series: it's the same, but there's different people and only Paul survived. I'm very confused right now. I have many reservations over the new season, the main one being the dramatic change in cast, but I'm hoping the storyline(s) can keep me captivated and invested.

This is the first time I've, well, basically reviewed my opinions after watching something but here goes. Underneath I've listed likes, loves, dislikes, hates and a few general observations. All of this is my own opinion (with a lot of Fez agreement thrown in) so if you don't agree, that's fine. All opinions are welcomed and valid. Likes: - Lucy is with her real mum. That's nice. - I liked the idea that it wasn't Henry's story, but at the same time, I thought the idea was that Henry left Storybrooke to find his own story. I'm not sure about this yet, but I don't dislike it. - Dark Alice, she seems quite cool. Also her lair with the luminous mushrooms was awesome. I definitely wanna see more of her story! - Henry's keys with Emma's swan key ring on. The only reason this isn't in my love category is because it wasn't subtle enough. OUAT does a lot of nods and subtle references throughout the seasons and usually, they're really well done (for example, there's a lot of stuff in Rumple's pawn shop that isn't always blatantly spoken about, the doors in the Mad Hatter's Hat to the different realms and then there's a little picture of a pirate ship in Henry's apartment), but this one was so set up I'm not sure whether to love the fact Henry has the key ring, or hate the fact the camera focused on it for so long that it made me remember Emma is no longer the saviour. It also made me over-analyse it's significance. - Like father, like daughter. The check/plaid is strong in this family 😂 she is definitely Henry's daughter!

Loves: - Henry's leather jacket. It's nice to see that while he's being a responsible motorcycle rider with the leather, I bet he already owned the jacket knowing his mother and step-father 😂 I love it! HE FINALLY UPGRADED HIS COAT! No more black duffle coat for adult Henry. I also love the fact it's brown, it's probably just a good way to go from Jared in brown to Andrew in brown but I like the idea that it's nod to Graham's beautiful leather jacket because that was just 👌

- The portals. I mean, at the end of the day it's just a portal, but damn I like the style. It looks a lot cooler than the season 1-3 portals, in my opinion anyway. I dunno they just look cool okay.

- RUMPLE! He seems really cool but like, DAMN! I'm kinda terrified of him. That twist at the end where you find out he's actually a corrupt cop! (Well, that's what it seemed to imply anyway.) Dayuum man! I also love the fact he's called Weaver (or some other spelling of that, I apologise), like, he was Mr Gold, now he's Weaver. WILL HE EVER HAVE A CURSED FIRST NAME? At this point, I don't care because it's hilarious, the neglect of his first name 😂 I love it.

- Andrew J. West/Older Henry. I really like this guy, I think they did well on the casting here, like he has the same nose as Jared! How he played Henry as well made me actually stay focused on the episode. I also liked the tone of how he said a lot of things because it so reminded me of Emma's sarcasm and I like to think he got that from her.

- I said before I watched the episode, just randomly when talking to Fez, "I bet Henry is an amazing swordsman/knight! He's been practising since he was 11 with wooden swords, he's got his grandpa Charming having taught him and then Hook practising with him too." This guy is quite possibly an expert now and I'm so glad we got to see a scuffle where he pulled out his sword!

- I love Lady Tremaine's take on power. We've had a show dominated by magic and now she's saying that it's not everything is quite refreshing, for a villain anyway. I am intrigued as to how she handles magic in the rest of the season since she clearly has experience with it and I'd imagine we'll see some more magic.

- The new carefree Regina! Just casually sitting on the bar, you know how it is. I love her new hair too! 👌 I hope she's gonna be a lot more carefree throughout the season as she has been in this episode because I really enjoyed it. She's free, she's confident in herself and I like her. Oh and imagine if Henry ends up staying with her, like Emma stayed with Snow, and Roni having a few scenes where she's totally maternal towards Henry. That would be too cute, but it's not a must, just a small cute thought.

Dislikes: - What's going on with Lucy's wardrobe? It might be in fashion I don't know, I'm just not a fan. The longer shirt with the tiny sized jean jacket and then full length coat. I guess I just don't like her jean jacket. It's way too short.

HATES: - Now I know OUAT is not famed for it's amazing continuity, but COME ON! The first scene and Henry's jacket collar is up and down, up and down as if it's the aftermath of my granny chugging a glass of water! Seriously, it's the first scene and they can't even remember if his collar is turned up, or turned down! I might've been able to forgive them if it wasn't so blatantly obvious but it is. URGH! It just really bugged/bugs me.

- Right... my sigh is heavy as I write this one because in all honesty, it was soul crushing. I love OUAT and one of the things throughout the show has been a theme of family, and the fact that you can do anything when you're together. The fact that it was only Regina seeing Henry off into ANOTHER FRICKIN REALM kills me! Henry had clearly planned when he would depart, so why was the rest of his family not there? Maybe we'll find out during the rest of the season because it is only the first episode, there may be plot holes to be filled (however skeptical I am that they will be filled) in later episodes. But if there is no other mention of this scene, then by Once I will be angry! Henry has such a loving family matched only by the Fuller & Gibbler family, in my opinion. Snowing and Captain Swan would never have missed their boy riding off to ANOTHER FRICKIN REALM unless they were physically unable to, i.e. they were dead or already in another realm. It would also have been a lovely opportunity to have had a slightly older Neal and possibly slightly older Robin and Gideon too because episode 1 already told us that Rumple is looking out for his grandson, so it wouldn't have been a stretch to have them all together wishing Henry their best as he starts his new adventure. On his own. It just feels like the writers didn't truly think about this scene. Sigh. That rant is over.

General thoughts: - What's this power struggle between Cinderella and her step-mother over Lucy? We've been here with Henry, Emma and Regina so hopefully season 7 will give a slightly different take on child custody. I'm intrigued nonetheless. - Who's the sarcy police officer? 😂 I hope there's at least, a tiny story about who he is because he is bitter and I need to know why.

- The repeat curse, child believing in curse when everyone else doesn't: we've seen it. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad or good thing. The fact we've seen it will either bring nostalgia or annoyance, not exclusively of course. I think they could have done it differently, imagine if Henry had been the only one to actually remember? He is the Truest Believer after all. But maybe that title has passed on to his daughter now that he is known as The Author? It certainly would've been different to have an adult be the only one remember pre-curse happenings, but I guess we'll just have to see what happens. (Of course, Rumple and Regina did remember the Enchanted Forest during season 1 but they didn't actually try to change everyone else's beliefs, what I'm suggesting is they could've had an adult try to change other adult's beliefs.)

- Does Hook remember or not? There was clearly a baffled expression when he looked at Emma, does he recognise her or not??? My guess, he probably does but maybe doesn't understand or remember where from. And what's going on with his hand? He quite obviously uses it a few times (to hold the book and he adjusts his shirt too using it), so why the glove? Does he have scarring and the glove is a way to shield people's eyes from it? Was he not meant to actually move the hand and the glove hides a prosthetic? Who knows, but I'm excited to find out. "What's in the glove? WHAT'S IN THE GLOVE?" D'you see what I did there? 🤓

That's all I have right now, again, overall I generally enjoyed it. Of course I am a OUAT lover and fan, it is the first and pretty much only show that I have invested my writing skills in because I love it so much. And it's because of this I will continue to watch season 7, but it's also because of this that I hold my own certain skepticisms. I truly hope that all the people working on season 7 don't balls it up because that is the last thing I want to see. I guess, when it comes to season 7, if OUAT goes downhill I will decide whether I accept it as part of the series, or disown it like many other trilogies and shows have done to certain parts of their universe, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor being a prime example. I mean, what? There's a third Mummy film? No there isn't 👀

Here's hoping for good ou(a)tcomes for season 7.

[eggsaladstain]

Love Makes Her Stronger: Thoughts on Daisy Johnson and Quakerider

So I’ve been thinking (okay, obsessing) a lot about Quakerider since that finale, mostly kicking myself for not shipping them during the first half of season four. And judging by the reactions to this post, I’m not the only one who was surprised to find themselves suddenly all in for Daisy and Robbie. Now, when I say I was surprised, I don’t mean that in a bad way. I was surprised to see all these cute, blatantly shippy moments between the two of them in the finale because, back in the Ghostrider arc, any romantic moments they may have shared were much more subtle. And for any other ship, this might have felt rushed or forced, but with Daisy and Robbie, it didn’t feel that way at all because they’ve been through so many heavy, intense situations with each other already. When I say I was surprised, I mean that I was surprised that I never shipped them earlier, because, after watching them interact in the finale, it’s so obvious how great they are together, how good they are for each other. 

When we look back at Daisy’s previous two relationships, it becomes even more clear that Quakerider is a very natural progression that matches Daisy’s evolution as a character. I don’t think Daisy could have become who she was without Ward or Lincoln, and I don’t think Quakerider could have happened without Skyeward and Static Quake setting the stage. And even though they’re separated again by the end of the season, I think it’s open-ended enough that it feels more like see you later instead of goodbye. 

But before I get deeper into it, I want to look at how we got here, so let’s take a trip down memory lane and take a look back at Skyeward and Static Quake, shall we? Quakeriders, it’s gonna get wordy but I promise the payoff is worth it. 

If we’re being thorough, Daisy has had 3 love interests before Robbie - Miles, Ward, and Lincoln. Miles taught her everything she knew about hacking and was her romantic partner and her partner within the Rising Tide. Ward was her SO, her teammate, her protector, and her almost boyfriend. Lincoln was the first person to make her feel safe in Afterlife and taught her about Inhumans and was her partner both in the field and outside of it. These three men couldn’t be more different, but they also all have one thing in common - all three of these men are, in some way or another, a mentor to her. Girl clearly has a type. 

Now, all three of these relationships also ended in varying degrees of messiness. She left Miles because he sold out. She left Ward because he was a traitor. She lost Lincoln because he sacrificed himself to save the world. But what I love about this show’s treatment of Daisy is that, through each of these relationships, she becomes so. much. stronger. Not a single one of these relationships was wasted time in her life. Not a single one of these men, no matter how vile they became (I’m looking at you, Season 3 Ward), was wasted space in her life. Daisy didn’t just become stronger in spite of them, she became stronger because of them, literally. 

With Miles, Daisy learned how to hack and became a member of the Rising Tide, which led her to SHIELD where she became an asset. With Ward, she learned how to fight, which led her to become a highly skilled agent and integral member of her team. With Lincoln, she learned more about her people and her powers, which led to her embracing her abilities and accepting herself. I love this so much, you guys, I love so much the way she grows with each relationship. She opens her heart to these men, she learns from them, and then, when they betray her, when they hurt her, she cuts them out of her life and becomes even stronger after they’re gone. She turns her pain into strength and uses what they taught her to become better. There’s a defiance to the way she deals with breakups, almost as if she thrives on them. 

But while she becomes physically stronger and more capable with her powers, there’s a downside too - with each broken relationship, she becomes a little more distant, a little more detached. Look at the person she became in season 2 after Skyeward. Disciplined, cold, calculating. Look at the person she became in season 4 after Static Quake. Harsh, hard, ruthless. She doesn’t soften the pain, she sharpens it so she can turn it into a weapon and cut down her enemies, but in doing so, she’s also cutting herself on those sharp edges without realizing it. 

Now, enter Robbie Reyes.

Out of all the men in Daisy’s life, he has the shortest history with her. Miles had only 1 episode onscreen but they had plenty of backstory offscreen. Ward had more or less 4 seasons and Lincoln had a solid 1.5 seasons. Robbie has only had I think 10 episodes with her, but in that short time, they’ve already formed a strong, solid bond, and I think a lot of that comes from the fact that Robbie is her equal. 

Unlike Miles, Ward, and Lincoln, Robbie is not Daisy’s mentor in any way, shape, or form. He is strong like her, angry like her, broken like her. In fact, when we see them in their first episode together, they are both at their worst, quite literally - destroying everything around them, each convinced they are doing the right thing even though they’re very clearly not, his face erupting into flames right in front of her, her telling him she deserves to die. That’s why this ship feels so authentic and compelling despite their limited screentime together - because we got through the hard stuff, the pain and the vulnerability, at the very start. 

Remember that Ward and Lincoln both kept secrets from Daisy and hid the worst parts of themselves from her because they were afraid of being rejected by her. But there’s no hiding with Daisy and Robbie. There are no secrets between them. They’ve seen each other’s scars from the very beginning and they chose to stick with each other in spite of all that. They literally started from the bottom. And now we’re here. 

Remember the person Daisy became in season 2 after Skyeward. Disciplined, cold, calculating. Remember the person she became in season 4 after Static Quake. Harsh, hard, ruthless. Now, look at her in the season 4 finale. She started out the season alone but by the end of it, she’s back with her team, her family. And while she’s still kicking ass and taking names, but there’s also a gentleness to her that we haven’t seen in a long time. When she tells Robbie that it’s good he’s here, her voice is soft and full of emotion and when she agrees to keep an eye on his brother, we see how seriously she takes that promise. When she says goodbye, we can see clearly on her face how much she’s going to miss him. 

And look at Robbie, the man with the devil inside who works alone and decides who lives and who dies. He supports Daisy in every way, both big and small. He could have easily killed Robo Russian with his flame chain, but he bends a knee and lets her finish him off. He holds the walkie talkie up for her so she can talk to Fitz and hack the Framework at the same time. He trusts her with the life of his brother, who is the most precious person in his world. And when it’s time to go, Robbie, who does not hesitate, who does not falter, who always does what needs to be done without complaint, turns back to look at Daisy one last time. When they nod to each other, it feels like a promise that this isn’t the end. 

I have always been firmly in the Skyeward camp, moreso because of the potential they had than the reality. I love the thought of Daisy having a complex relationship with a morally gray love interest, and I thought that was Ward, but it looks like that’s Robbie instead, and after watching that finale, I am here for it. All in. Ride or die. Bring him back in season 5, let’s make them endgame. 

Does Daisy Johnson need a love interest? No. Of course not. But what I really appreciate about this show is that none of the men in her life have been just her love interests. It’s not romance for romance’s sake - each relationship of hers that we’ve seen on this show has made her stronger, has made her the person she was always meant to be. 

And despite the fact that she and Robbie both have superpowers, there is such a quiet strength to the way they support each other, to the way they fight together, to the way they talk to each other. These are two people who have seen the worst in the world, who have been hurt and who have hurt others, who have believed themselves unworthy of happiness and love. These are two people who have seen the worst in each other but refused to turn their back, who have found the light in the other’s darkness, who have found happiness where they least expected it. These are two people who have finally found peace, and they found it in each other. 

[drdanwrites]

A Fantastic Time: A Fantastic Beasts Fan Fiction <3 <3

Hiya! Haven’t written a fan fiction in years, so I’m hoping people will like this. Please feel free to message me and tell me what you think. Let me know if I should continue. Be nice pleasseee!!! xxx

Chapter 1

The suitcase came out of no where and then the floor came faster. As body and concrete collided, Eliana looked back, the case was covered in a brown worn leather and there were chipped sections where the fabric underneath showed through. There were many places where the stitching was frayed and the gold clips were dull and darkened. Eliana sat up and rubbed the various parts that had been affected by the fall. She looked around, there were a few staggering people around but no one she could ask her burning questions to. Her first question was obvious, who leaves a suitcase in the middle of a pathway and her second question was, where was she? This questions was more easily answered than the first. Her first clue came to her senses, the sounds of water crashing softly against a solid wall with the smell of smoke and polluted salt water. Getting to her feet, she began to dust herself off and adjusted her scarf around herself once more. As she looked up, her last clue stood blatantly in front of her. Holy shit, I’ve found the Titanic, she thought and continued to stare at the vessels massive size. Wooden boards stood in front of her and ran over the platforms edge, bridging the gap to the ship’s doors.

“Okay.” Eliana said out loud to no one. “That’s a ship and I’m at a dock.” Her second questioned was answered. With a sense of accomplishment she turned around again to find someone, anyone who could answer her very last question, how did she get here?

****

Her Uncle’s house had always smelled of burnt toast. It was something that was blatantly noticeable the second the door was opened. Eliana was her Uncle’s carer and went to visit him every weekend. This Friday afternoon Eliana walked through the front door to find her Uncle sitting at his favorite spot at the kitchen table. She placed her bag on the chair next to him and began to remove her white coat. He had just taken a bite out of his black singed toast slice and  immediately picked up his cup of tea to gulp it down. After taking in a gasp of air to clear his throat, he looked up at her.

“Hello darling! How are we doing today?” Eliana pushed out her regular chair and sat down hard. She braced her head with her hand as she could barely balance the weight of her day.

“Trying to digest all the terminology of the day.” She leaned forward more, the information became too heavy for her to sit up straight. Her uncle chuckled as he sipped his tea again.

“You wanted to go to Veterinary school. Lord knows why, you don’t even like animals.”

“I may not like them, but they’re still better than people” The weight overpowered her and she laid her head down flat on the table, her arms folded in front of her. The joke made her uncle laugh even louder. He grabbed the walker from his side. Slowly, he proceeded to push all of his weight upon it and was able to stand. His left calf was void of muscle after a horrible accident when he was younger. This left him disabled and in need of help since his wife had passed 5 years ago. As he made his way to the sink with the dishes on the walkers tray, his left leg was stiff and seemed to act like a pirate’s pegged leg. He began to put the dishes in the sink, they clattered as they hit the steel bottom. Eliana sat up and looked over her shoulder.

“What are we needing help with this weekend, Uncle Oliver?” He maneuvered the walker to turn and face Eliana.

“The attic.” He said as he used his finger to point over to the square shaped door in the ceiling above the living room. Although the house was just one story, her Uncle Oliver was still lucky enough to have an attic to store the families belongings. Slowly he made his way to the living room to instruct her further. Eliana dramatically rolled her upper body in a circular motion and landed flat once again on the table’s surface. “Oh come now, I promise you it will be eventful.”

Eliana got up and followed her uncle.

“Eventful? What, have you been keeping a sitcom up there?” They both chuckled at the joke and Eliana pulled down the handle to the attic door and slowly lowered the latter to enter.

“You know how I like to keep the family history intact. I’ve got a ton of old artifacts up there. Should make for investigating.” Half way up the ladder now, Eliana turned back to her uncle who started to make himself comfortable in his trusty armchair, a good book sitting on the arm rest waiting for him.

“So I’m to spend my weekend organizing, while you get to stay out of the dust?” He wiggled his bottom deeper in the chair as if to prove a point. Eliana silently laughed to herself and continued to travel the rest of the way into the attic.

Once she had reached the attic floor, she ducked to avoid a giant spider web. She decided that the fastest way to get through all this garbage was to go to the back wall and make her way forward. Uncle Oliver had told her many stories about her ancestors. His stories mostly evolved around the strange happenings of her grandfather. She knew at some point she’d reach her grandfather’s trunk, something of legends.

Hours passed and multiple trash bags and been thrown to the floor below. Her uncle would cough in protest but Eliana would remind him how good it was to unclutter, especially his odd collection of magazines from the 1950s. Suddenly Eliana reached the infamous trunk. Excitement flooded her body as she quickly began flipping the clips. The clips were completely rusted and flakes fell at the impatience of her finger tips. The trunk slowly let out a low and ominous growl as she lifted the top. The dust that erupted caused her to cough several times and she fanned a hand in front of her face. When everything settled the only noise that could be heard was the small roar of the television uncle Oliver wasn’t watching. His snores melodically blended with the noise. Eliana’s eyes quickly scanned the trunk’s contents. Various old dusty books were stacked in no certain order. Papers and pictures lined the trunk’s insides and Eliana’s hand quivered as she reached to pull one off. The picture was of a group of children in black robes with a small emblem on the left breast. They all had their arms around each other, smiling as if someone had just blurted out a joke before the photo’s final flash. Eliana smiled along with them. As she put the photo aside, she could have sworn she saw the people move out of the corner of her eye. Shaking her head of that ridiculous thought, she turned back to the trunk and her hands dived down again to pull out various books that baffled her…

“Uncle Oliver?” A faint ‘yes’ was heard above the sounds of laughter from some sitcom.

“Umm who is Bathilda Bagshot? I’ve never heard of her? Was she just a random author from England?”  Uncle Oliver requested she bring the book down for him to examine. Eliana clambered down the ladder, the book in hand. Uncle Oliver took it and looked it over. He examined the cover with his hand, tracing the indented lettering with his fingers carefully. Turning the spine, he readjusted his specks on his nose as if he was focusing a microscope.

“A History of Magic.” He read aloud. He chuckled once and sat quietly for a minute. The silence was just long enough to become slowly awkward. He looked up at her after a time and smiled. “Grandfather use to collect such obscure books. He used to tell me he study this at his boarding school in England. Ha. Can you imagine?”

“Studied what? Magic? A history of it? Like Houdini or something?” She began to thumb through the book’s pages. Pictures and words blurred as the pages went from one side of it’s binding to another.

“Couldn’t tell you my dear. Father was somewhat of a strange one. Always seemed to be hiding something from your dad and I. Mother would never explain why sometimes odd things would happen with father. We just assumed he was a bit quirky. He was odd but he was a great father.” Uncle Oliver’s eyes could be seen scanning his memories. “There is always magic within us, he would say. Always wanted us to keep reaching for the impossible.” She adjusted the weight of the book, back and forth in her hands. “My favorite however was that Fantastical Beasts book he had. If you find that one, make sure you set it aside and read it. Such imagination. I believe the author was a lizard of some kind.” He laughed a little.

“A lizard wrote a book?”

“I believe the author’s name is Newt something.” Eliana rolled her eyes and proceeded back up the ladder.

Reaching into the trunk again she shuffled book after book looking for the title her Uncle had suggested. On top of a pile, sat the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander.  She laughed silently to herself at the name of the author. She opened the book to the middle and began scanning the content. After a couple of sentences she closed it. She put the book down on her lap and looked over to the opened trunk. Her mind began to try and piece her grandfather’s past together with the items she had found. What was a black Halloween cauldron for? As she continued to stare at the trunk’s contents, she noticed the edge of the trunk’s lining was rolled in the middle. She leaned over the trunk’s edge and pressed down on the corner. Her fingertips felt a crack behind the lining and quickly let go so that the corner rolled to its previous position. She looked closer and leaned in more, her torso practically inside the trunk. Curious, she peeled back the lining to find a cut out door. Slowly and carefully she tried to open the little door and eventually the door gave way as she pushed it sideways with her fingertips. White and thick cobwebs covered its contents but she bravely stuck her hand inside and pulled out an intricately detailed box. The box had a small handle and Eliana pulled it open slowly. Inside she found a necklace with two spheres surrounding an hour glass. She looked around her as if someone would pop out behind a box and bust her for having found something that her grandfather obviously wanted to keep hidden. After removing the necklace from the box, her fingers began to explore. As her fingers moved around the spheres, she noticed that they were  both on an axis and could actually rotate around the hour glass. She smirked to herself and her hands delicately pinched the sides of the necklace. Just as she was about to give the spheres a spin, uncle Oliver broke her concentration.

“Eliana, come, let’s make tea and continue this tomorrow.” Without thinking Eliana quickly put the necklace in her back pocket and collected the Newt book. Before she left she shut the trunk and locked it.

After helping Uncle Oliver into bed for the night, Eliana flung herself onto her bed with a bag filled with her study material. Reaching down, she pulled out her Vet terminology book and opened it to where her notepad and pen was. A couple hours past and the vocabulary became ancient text that she kept trying to decipher. She could feel the bags under her eyes slowly pulling down on her face and she ran her thumb and pointer finger across them to try. As she removed her hands a gold glint caught her gaze. Turning towards the nightstand, the gold text of the old book caught the light and shimmered, beckoning Eliana to open it. It didn’t take much convincing for her to stop studying and start reading something more entertaining. Shifting herself deeper into the bed’s comfy paradise, she opened the book and began to read. The words filled her head and she starred intently at the contents. What was this book playing at? Werewolves? Mermaids? What the hell was a Billywig? Eliana never got to meet her grandfather and now more than ever she wish her Uncle’s stories had some truth behind them, she wanted to know why he had such an obsession with magic. That’s when she remembered the necklace and delved deep into her pocket and brought it out. It’s chain was ridiculously long and she realized she could probably wrap it around her three times in order to make it a normal length. Placing the chain around her neck, she let her fingers drag across it’s chain, feeling each and every notch. When her fingers reached the spheres, her fingertips immediately felt at home at their sides. Rubbing her fingertips back and forth she could feel the sphere longing to spin. Slowly she started to spin the spheres, something inside her wanted to see them spin as fast as they could go. Quickly, she snapped her fingers against the sphere’s edges and watched as everything, including the necklace, began to blur.

****

Then she wasn’t there anymore. The bed, the room, the house, nothing was the same and she found herself tripping over this suitcase, in the middle of a port, God knows when or where. This brought Eliana back to her first question. Who owns this suitcase?

Click.

Slowly and unsure of the noise, Eliana turned around and looked down at the suitcase. The clasp on the left side had become unhinged and was sticking upright like a flag pole. Kneeling down next to the case, she slowly pushed the clasp down again until she heard a firm click. After a beat, the clasp flung itself open again and the right side followed. All the blood from Eliana’s face drained to her toes as the case began to open. As the cover began to fall to the ground, in what felt like slow motion, Eliana felt a strong tug. The sensation was as if she was falling and flying at the same time. Suddenly the port and ship had been left behind and Eliana was falling down a wooden ladder. She quickly stuck out her elbows to try and catch herself but instead she fell to the ground with a booming body slam.

“Ouch…” Eliana groaned into the floor as she lay in her imprint on the wooden floor. All around her were the sounds of clattering glass and banging of metal buckets against each other. She slowly lifted her torso off the ground with her hands and began to cough and sputter from all the dust debris. Once she was sitting on her knees, she looked around at her surroundings. Shelves upon shelves covered the walls, each containing a row of glass bottles or metallic rusty buckets. Odd tools sat on the work benches on either side of her and she used the closest one to help her get on her feet. Books of weird looking recipes, plants and a black cauldron met her gaze as she started to walk. Reaching the end of the work bench immediately to her left was a door way. Eliana cautiously peeked her head out.

“Hello?” She called out. Eliana wasn’t quite sure what to do in this instance, for surely if she encountered anyone inside a suitcase, she would instantly go insane. Hadn’t she already gone insane? She was inside a suitcase, she fell inside a suitcase and was now walking around inside it. This suitcase had a shed in it. Was she high? Was she hallucinating? Had her uncle accidentally put one of his pills into her tea before bed? A million questions came to the front of her mind, so quickly and so intensely, that she almost didn’t notice the sea monster lion creature passing by the door. As her vision came into view and the creature locked gazes with her, Eliana knew she was having one bad acid trip. Somehow, someway, someone had slipped acid into her system and now she was having a crazy episode. The sea lion’s stance told Eliana she wasn’t welcome and it began to slowly advance on her, never losing eye contact.

“WHAT. IN. THE. ACTUAL. HELL.” Eliana drew a deep breath in after every word that fell from her lips. The animal started towards her slowly and patiently. Eliana knew exactly what behaviour it was mimicking and she quickly realised she was running out of space to retreat in the shed. As she continued to step back, her heel caught on the bottom of the ladder and she flung her hands back to balance herself against it. The sea lion thing was now in the door way and getting ready to pounce when suddenly that flying and falling notion struck Eliana. The image of the sea monster cub pouncing at her blurred, she could feel a hand grasp her shoulder and pull.

“Merlins’ Beard where did you come from?!!”