#also it's interesting that he points out tripping as a flaw of his powers being sealed. but he tripped over things before. this is not new
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
lotus-duckies · 2 years ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
cries in disabled
18 notes · View notes
thelustrousyellowdiamond · 3 months ago
Text
The Ending of the Story
OOC: Guys, I know I had said I'd update eventually, but mostly my interest has waned. For the sake of giving you all closure about what happens at the end, I'm just gonna jot down the bullet point version. If ya'll have further questions about some of my alternate plans and such, feel free to put those in the ask box.
It turns out that Obsidian is not being shocked by Yellow Diamond, but by White Diamond piloting the Diamond mech, while she is copying Yellow's powers. Obsidian tries to fight back as much as possible but is destabilized into Alexandrite and Steven.
White Diamond tries to kidnap Steven into her ship but Connie and Lion manage to rescue him. She also tries to kidnap Yellow and Blue as well.
Alexandrite pushes Yellow and Blue out of the way while the Diamond mech's foot crushes her and she completely loses her form.
Yellow, Blue, and Steven all fuse into Prismatic Diamond, a Diamond containing all colors in the rainbow and she fights with White Diamond.
The two Diamonds have a Beam-O-War with each other and White Diamond ends up getting corrupted, and Rainbow Diamond bubbles her.
Here is some concept art, although I do not feel quite satisfied with the look of Rainbow Diamond so if I had completed the story, I probably would have done something different.
Tumblr media
Some of my concept art goes back to 2018
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The Earth is finally safe, but Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl have been shattered. Steven's tears heal them, but I did actually have a version of the story that is longer that ends up with the fight going to Homeworld, and they are healed, but they have been rejuvenated and lost their memories.
Actually in the longer version, Lapis would have used her water powers to lift the Cluster out of the Earth, through space, back to Homeworld, and White Diamond would have been poofed
In either case, Connie's parents arrive, worried, along with Greg, and while they are relieved that their children are safe, Steven and Connie end up revealing that they were pretty badly hurt in the fight with the reveal of just how much blood was on Connie's sword.
Tumblr media
Steven and Connie's parents make the hard decision to move from Beach City, and even though the kids protest, ultimately the Maheswarens and Greg have the final say, however they are allowed a last day to pack up their things and say goodbye to everyone.
They all have a giant pizza party to celebrate the Earth being free, and Steven presents Yellow and Blue Diamond with the gift of two yellow and blue star shaped necklaces- telling them that even though their place is on Homeworld to sort things out in Era 3 and make a life better for their gems, they're now considered honorary Crystal Gems.
Many tears are shed as Steven is surrounded by a massive group hug.
Life is very hard for Steven after leaving Beach City due to missing his friends. But slowly over time, being away allows both him and Connie to heal from their traumatic childhood experiences, and they're both able to attend school together and get the professional help that they need. The Crystal Gems also make frequent visits to help support Steven as well, but he hasn't been back to the temple since moving.
Then, finally in the epilogue, Steven and Connie are engaged to be married. As young adults, not only do they revisit Beach City for old time's sake, but they also make a trip to Homeworld where Steven is able to see how much Homeworld has been restored.
At this time, he decides with Yellow and Blue Diamond that it's finally time to confront White Diamond and try to heal her. Their Pearls hold keys to the vault where she's kept so that the three of them all have to agree that it's safe to do so.
It is a struggle as a corrupted White Diamond emerges from the bubble, but with Steven's sense of adult maturity, his successful road to recovery, and the support of Yellow and Blue Diamond, the three of them are able to get through to her and finally accept herself, flaws and all. When she is healed, all four of them end up fusing into Prismatic Diamond (or you could call her Paragon which is a popular theory I've heard of)
Tumblr media
I don't think I made as many pictures of her, but here's an unfinished concept anyways
Paragon unleashes a healing waves of light over the Earth, and all corrupted gems that still have not been recovered by the Crystal Gems are cured by this wave. Seeing this, the Crystal Gems back on Earth unbubble every single corrupted gem, and they are restored as well.
The 4 Diamonds unfuse, and while White is hesitant to adjust to this new reality that she lives in, Blue and Yellow promise to be there to support her.
Yellow Diamond herself reflects on her past and the things she's learned though learning to love Steven and her fellow Diamonds and gems at the same time.
Here's an epilogue I wrote down:
Tumblr media
And that's it! Let me know if you want the bullet points for the longer version of the story where White Diamond does end up taking Steven, Yellow, and Blue to Homeworld!
24 notes · View notes
thisgirlnamedblusy · 1 year ago
Note
Hey! I got a half baked prompt for you! How about a Marilyn x dark!student reader who has powers (like psychic or whatever) that others know about but she also has a secret power of dreamwalking into other people's dreams, that no one else knows she has. In the waking world she comes off as this sweet studious girl but at night she wonders into other people's dreams when she's asleep and messes with them. For example: convincing her parents to buy her some toy when she was little, torment her bullies but also manipulates good dreams for friends.
She immediately is drawn to her new botany teacher and visits almost every night in her dreams. At first reader just weaves soothing good dreams for Marilyn who is an anxious new teacher with a new job. The more the reader falls for her, the more she manipulates Marilyn's dreams to be more...sexy lol. To the point Marilyn has a hard time looking reader in the eye, guilty that she has the hots for her student. After a more intense sexy dream of Marilyn violently taking "innocent" reader in her classroom, Marilyn loses it and kisses reader in the waking world. I'll let you decide how it all goes lol. Just no angst ending please. 💚
Yesss here it is!!! It's an interesting request, thank you very much!!! I hope you like it and sorry about the language mistakes!!! :)))))
In your dreams
Pairing: Marilyn Thornhill x Fem, Student! Reader
Warnings: Some smut, desire, slightly dark reader, manipulating dreams
Word count: 6.331
Summary: You were the teacher’s pet, the good and angelical girl in Nevermore, but the ability you have make you be like a monster… When you met Marilyn, you went totally crazy
N/A: Requests are open!!! Sorry about the delays, I’m working hard on your requests. I love you all!!!
Tumblr media
“I'll take the books Mrs. Green,” you said kindly, taking the books that you had used for literature class. The old woman looked at you and smiled gratefully.
“Thank you very much, (Y/N), you are always so kind...”
“I’m just doing the right thing,” you said, juggling all the books to carry them.
After that you left the class, ready to fulfill your daily tasks as a good girl. You were always like that, the quiet and obedient girl, the kind and angelic (Y/N).
Your psychic powers forced your parents to take you to a special school, Nevermore. There you weren't the only one with powers, you didn't stand out in anything, except for being the favorite student of all your teachers. That was something that the rest of your classmates didn’t like, at least the most lazy and unruly of all.
Precisely on your usual trip to the library, you came across the group that everyone in Nevermore called: the failed outcasts. A group of envious boys who lived in the principal's office. You enjoyed seeing their envious faces with each academic achievement, with each new A in your file.
“Hello, guys,” you said with a slightly mocking tone as you passed by them. The one who was the “leader,” Mark, got up from the wooden bench he was sitting on and faced you.
“What are you doing?” He asked. You shrugged, ignoring the boy and going on your way. Obviously he wasn't going to stop. With force, he grabbed your arm, making you almost drop all the books.
“Hey, be careful,” you said, shaking from his grasp.
“The one who has to be careful is you, (Y/N),” he said, threatening. You raised your eyebrows and blinked rapidly.
“What have I done?” You asked innocently.
“You know exactly what you have done...”
“Say hello politely?” You asked sarcastically. Mark, and two other guys who came over laughed. The gang leader grabbed you by the uniform jacket. You let yourself be grabbed, you didn't make any effort to let go that time.
“Shut up,” he hissed, pulling you tighter. “I'm sick of you always being the teachers’ pet...”
“I didn't know that was a flaw,” you said defiantly, having serious difficulties holding the books.
“In Nevermore we don't like smarties,” another boy said. The other two nodded.
“Yes, we hate those who think they are superior to the rest,” Mark reaffirmed, moving. Some of the books you were holding fell to the floor.
“I don't think I'm superior to anyone,” you said, shaking your head. “If you don't want to continue being useless, you should brag less and study more.”
“You motherfuc…” The boy said, pushing you hard, making you fall to the ground. You hurt yourself due to the falling and you closed your eyes. “Nobody laughs at me!”
“Don't do anything you might regret,” you said without much enthusiasm, still lying on the ground.
“I'm going to teach you a lesson right now!” He yelled, creating a flame in his palm.
“What's going on here?” A saving voice said. You turned your head, Principal Weems. You smiled
“Principal Weems, help…” You said with an angelic voice.
“Mr. Richardson, get out of the way right now!” She yelled at the boy who put out the fire and withdrew, glaring at you. “It seems that you like being punished, you already have fed me… To my office, now.”
After the boy left, head down, Larissa helped you up and to pick up the books.
“I'm so sorry, (Y/N)…” She told you kindly. You shook your head, dismissing it as important.
“It's okay, I'm used to it. I just wanted to take these books to the library and they blocked my way…” You said, putting on your best sad face. “I was just trying to help Mrs. Green”
“Oh, I know, dear, you are always helping so much. Don't worry about those brutes, they will receive the punishment they deserve,” Weems told you, resting a hand on your shoulders.
“Oh, no, you don't have to punish them too much, Principal Weems, those kind of kids never learn,” you said with a wide smile. The woman smiled at you and sighed. At school you were an angel, you didn't want to lose that reputation.
“You're too nice, (Y/N), be very careful,” she told you, smiling, before turning around and going back to the building.
You smiled evilly when no one was looking at you anymore and you opened one of your hands, where you had a small souvenir that you had just acquired. It was Mark's lighter. You took the opportunity to take it off when he pushed you. You played with it and put it in your pocket.
“I'm going to have a great time...”
Night came, and with it bedtime, your favorite time of the day. The lights were off and your roommate was looking at her phone in awe of her.
“Hey, Yoko, leave the mobile at once, or lower the brightness. It seems daytime,” you said amused while you lay on your back.
“Why?” Your roommate asked. “Does the glow of triumph bother you? My Instagram account already has 600 followers.”
You rolled your eyes.
“I never said it was a competition,” you said, throwing a shoe at your friend, who obviously didn't see it coming.
“Ow!”
“Turn that off, I need darkness to be able to sleep,” you said. Your friend frowned at you but with a sigh of surrender she lowered the brightness of her screen.
You needed to be in the dark, that wasn't a lie, but you were up to something, you were always up to something at bedtime. You looked at the vampire for the last time and looked for something under the pillow, the lighter.
You took it out and squeezed hard in one of your hands, concentrating as hard as possible.
“Good night Mark…” You whispered with a smile.
“Hey, come on, throw it!” Mark said, looking at a grown man. You assumed that he was his father.
It was an idyllic picture. Father and son playing with a baseball in the middle of what looked like a farm surrounded by forest.
“How cute…” You whispered, leaning out of one of the trees, looking at the pleasant family scene. “Wait a minute Mark...”
You moved your hand, causing the ball the boy threw to go with great force, and get lost among the woods.
“Wow, looks like I'm strong,” Mark said, looking in amazement at the range of his throw. “I'll go for it.”
“Ahh no, no way,” you said, smiling and disappearing.
When you reappeared, it was no longer you, but the boy's father. You shook your head and grabbed Mark's arm before he was lost in the woods.
“Wait, son, don't worry, I'll go look for it,” you said, patting his back. Mark nodded as you headed into the woods.
When you no longer saw the light of that countryside, you changed back to your original form, looking around.
There was nothing in that forest. Just familiar objects like books, pens, failed tests, and some very blurry people crossing from one side to the other. The trees made no noise as they moved with the wind, the only thing that could be heard were past conversations, blurred memories that ran through the boy's subconscious.
You returned to the open field, where Mark was waiting anxiously for his father.
“The show begins,” you said, extending one of your hands towards the sky. Day quickly passed into night. It was not a quiet night, the wolves howled from the woods.
Mark watched in astonishment as time passed and looked towards your position.
“Dad? It's already gotten dark! We should go home!” He yelled with a trembling voice.
The peaceful forest full of memories was no longer such, you had taken care to make it as dark as possible. You smiled.
“Come here, son! Run!” You shouted with the voice of the father. The boy hesitated for a moment, but he ended up entering the woods.
When he did, you closed the exit, moving hideously shaped trees. The farm was no longer in sight.
“Dad…” The boy whispered, who began to tremble with fear.
“Great, get ready, Mark…” You said laughing, transforming into a horrible giant spider.
With a slow and menacing step, you addressed the boy, who turned pale when he saw you.
“Oh my God… my God!” He yelled before running off. You went after him.
Along the way there were obstacles that you were placing. Mud puddles for him to trip over, monstrous creatures blocking his path… It was so much fun.
When you got tired of chasing him, you made a wall appear right in his path, which the boy collided with, falling to the ground.
A bunch of ghostly memories covered the forest. The worst memories, Mark’s worst experiences.
“No… No… Please… Stop!” He yelled, covering his ears. You kept getting closer, moving your hairy paws and pincers with a terrifying frenzy. “Noooo!”
“Enough…” You thought.
You opened your eyes suddenly. Your face outlined a smile. You dropped the lighter you were holding and got out of bed, barefoot, trying not to wake your partner. Making as less noise as possible, you opened the door a little. The hallway was dark. With a petulant movement you looked at your watch.
“Three… Two… One…” You whispered.
“Ahhhhhh! Help meee!” A terrified Mark crossed the corridor. He was completely sweaty and scared. Satisfied, you closed the door and went back to bed, lying down with a sigh of triumph, of victory.
Everyone at Nevermore believed that your power was clairvoyance. Your parents, like the experts on such outcasts, always said that you were a mediocre psychic, that your powers were too low for any of your predictions to be relevant. They were all wrong. You may have been psychic, but you didn't make prophecies, you didn't see the future. Your skill went far beyond. You could control the dreams of anyone you wanted.
You found out about it by chance when you were very young. At first you were surprised, but little by little you began to like navigating people's dreams. If your parents didn't want to buy you the toy you wanted so much, you would go inside their head while you slept, projecting cruel visions, horrible visions of the possible (not possible) consequences of not acceding your requests.
By the time you grew up, you had mastered the technique of getting into other people's dreams, and it wasn't toys you asked for, but much more complex things. In your normi school you were the weird one, the teachers' pet. Just like in Nevermore. Unfortunately, in the normi world, bullying was much worse.
By day you were the target of all the taunts and laughter, but at night you were the queen of the bullies' nightmares. Someone had to have psychiatric treatment to overcome the suffering they had when closing their eyes.
At first you did it for justice, to get revenge on those who hurt you. But little by little you began to enjoy the suffering you caused. You had to control yourself not to lose your mind. On the outside you were a good, obedient girl, but when you slept you turned into a monster. Although not everyone suffered under the control of your dreams. You always prepared pleasant and calm dreams for those you considered your friends.
All you needed was an object, something belonging to the person who would suffer your torture. Yes, little by little you were also becoming a kleptomaniac.
The next morning was quiet. Neither Mark nor the rest of his group approached you. They had no idea it was you, but fear managed to tame even the most bully.
You walked calmly through the grounds of Nevermore, without worries. You approached the old conservatory curiously. There was something different in that building, the door was open. Curiosity was one of your greatest virtues, but also one of your greatest flaws.
You approached slowly. You heard two voices. One was Principal Weems', the other you've never heard of before.
“I hope you have everything you need, Marilyn. If you are missing something, please let me know.”
“Don't worry, this place is magnificent.”
You leaned out in an inconspicuous way, capturing the attention of the two women.
Larissa was there, along with a redheaded woman you'd never seen before. She caught your eye right away. She was beautiful, she had an innocent face. Not even knowing that they were looking at you, you could blink.
“Oh, (Y/N), nice to see you. Come, I want to introduce you to your new teacher, Miss Marilyn Thornhill,” Weems said.
You approached slowly, without taking your eyes off the redhead, who smiled as she looked at you curiously.
“Nice to meet you, (Y/N),” she told you, extending her hand towards you. You cleared your throat, waking up from the state you were in. You smiled with your best good face and shook her hand in a friendly way.
“Same, Miss Thornhill,” you said with an angelic voice.
“(Y/N) is undoubtedly the best of all our students,” Larissa said, interrupting that little moment between you two. “She's a good girl, I'm sure she can help you if you need anything. Well, I have to go, I have a meeting with the mayor. (Y/N), can I trust you to help Ms. Thornhill?”
You nodded, without taking your eyes off the redhead, who was placing some boxes on top of her desk.
Larissa left the building, and you were finally alone with Marilyn. You couldn't stop looking at her, she seemed just perfect to you. You never had much of an interest in love, but maybe it was because you'd never met someone like her. Your heartbeat was rapid and your cheeks were starting to turn red.
“Do you need any help?” You said, shaking your head. The redhead looked at you and smiled kindly.
“I won't deny that I could use someone to help me organize all this,” she told you, sighing. You smiled and picked up one of the boxes, taking a look inside. There were little pots with lovely flowers.
“I guess you're the new botany teacher,” you said amused, taking out one of the pots.
“Are you a clairvoyant or something like that?” Marilyn answered you, in the same joking tone. You laughed and widened your eyes, nodding.
“Well, it turns out that I am,” you said, handing her the pot. She nodded, a little surprised. “Why are you here? Are you a siren?” You asked curiously.
Marilyn laughed and shook her head.
“Why you said so?”
“Well, I don't know, they say that sirens are beautiful…” You said murmuring. She leaned against the desk.
“Thank you, you're very kind…” The redhead sighed. “But I'm afraid I'm not a siren, nor a werewolf, nor do I have telekinetic powers. I'm normi”
You arched your eyebrows.
“Normi? Really?” You asked, maybe a little abrupt. Her expression cooled a bit, as if she had taken offense at your question.
“Well, yes…” She said in a low voice, going back to rummage through the boxes. You realized that she had not liked that question. You felt really bad, you had to fix it.
“Oh, no, I'm not saying that as if it were a bad thing, really it's just that…” You said exaggeratedly moving her hands to get her attention.
“It's weird, I know,” the redhead finished the sentence for you.
“But it's not weird in a bad way, I mean, it's okay, I mean... I'm glad you're normi, I mean, it's a pleasure to have you here...” You said messily, while you insulted yourself for every word you said.
Marilyn laughed, shaking her head.
“Don't worry, (Y/N). I understand that it may seem strange to you, I am not part of your world.”
“Eh, no, it's not strange,” you said, reassuring yourself when you saw that she didn't really seem to have bothered. She looked at you over her glasses, knowing you were struggling to make sense.
After that disastrous first meeting, little by little things began to improve. It was the weekend and that gave you time to get to know Marilyn better. She was a nice, friendly woman. You didn't make any more comments regarding the normies, or the obvious difference between her and the rest of the people in Nevermore.
You were enthralled, captivated by that woman. You couldn't say that you loved her, but you could say that you were interested in her, you liked her. Every afternoon you stopped by the conservatory and chatted about unimportant things. It could be said that you were something like…. Friends?
In an oversight of the redhead, you finally got something of hers, something that belonged to her, a small brooch with a rose that she used to wear on her dress.
Every night you closed your eyes and made relaxing dreams for her. She was tormented by the fear of being rejected, she always dreamed that she was fired, that they made fun of her for not being an outcast. Fortunately you managed to change that, you managed to relax her, let her be herself. The change was noticeable in the botany classes, in your talks after class. Your relationship grew closer and closer. You were tempted to tell her that you were the cause of her peaceful dreams, that self-confidence she had acquired. You couldn't do it, you knew you couldn't.
“The truth is that it’s very strange. At first I was very scared to come here. Such a different place...” Marilyn told you while you were watering the plants. Your attitude as a good girl, with the right eye of the teacher worked perfectly with that woman. She was very fond of you. “But the truth is that I feel much better, thanks to you.”
You turned scared. There was no way she could have caught you.
“Thanks to me?” You asked. The watering can you were carrying in your hand began to tremble, as did your whole body.
“Yes, (Y/N), you've helped me a lot…” She said, approaching you and holding your hand. Your body stopped shaking, it completely locked up.
“Helped?” You said with a sigh, noticing the warmth of her hand in yours. The redhead nodded smiling, without letting go of your hand. “How I helped you?”
“Well, you're always with me in the afternoon, you make me laugh… You know? I think I have even more pleasant dreams since I met you.”
You blushed, and even though you didn't want her hand, you had to, you were nervous to hear that statement that not even Marilyn herself knew how real it was.
That afternoon, that unexpected contact of her hand with yours was a turning point. You realized how much your strange interest in that woman, in your teacher, had increased. You couldn't say you didn't love her anymore, it was impossible for you to camouflage your feelings. You loved her, you had fallen in love with her hopelessly.
But it was impossible, you knew it. She took your hand, but it was just a gesture of innocent affection, there was no way that meant anything.
“Forget it, (Y/N), not even in your dreams…” You murmured in bed, whispering low enough so that your sleeping roommate wouldn't notice. Suddenly you opened your eyes, and a terrible idea flashed through your head. You took a small box that you had under your pillow and you opened it somewhat nervously.
There you kept all the small objects of your “victims,” everything you used to torment your enemies and calm down the people who were good to you. Mark's lighter, and Marilyn's rose brooch. You swallowed hard and picked it up, moving it around in your hand and watching it to see what your conscience was telling you.
Your partner moved in her bed and you, scared, put the box under your pillow again. But not the brooch, the brooch you squeezed in your hand before closing your eyes.
“Hello, Ms. Thornhill,” you said, peeking through the conservatory door. The redhead looked at you and her jaw dropped.
You weren't wearing your uniform, at least not the way you usually wore it. You weren't wearing anything under your jacket, only your bare chest was visible. Your skirt wasn't as long as it used to be either, you could almost see your underwear. Marilyn was staring at you.
“(Y/N)… I, I'm glad to see you,” she said, stuttering, while she was watering a plant. In reality she only watered the floor. The sight of your body and your suggestive clothing were distracting enough.
“I came because I had a problem with my homework and I thought you could help me…” You said, approaching the redhead, swinging your hips. She set the watering can down on the table and nodded nervously.
“Su, sure…” She whispered, trying not to look at your bare chest.
You laughed and moved closer, running your finger along her neck. She didn't know where to look. She slowly began to move back and you increased the temperature, undoing the only button on your jacket that was tied. Now the vision of your breasts was much clearer and Marilyn's eyes went directly to them, while she took small steps back to try to get away from you.
She wouldn't get it. You controlled that dream.
A chair appeared behind her, into which the redhead fell, while you sat on her lap.
“You turn me on so much …” You whispered in her ear. She just shook her head.
You took one of her hands and put it inside the jacket, gently taking it over your skin, over your breasts, over your belly. She no longer offered resistance. That was a good sign, the dream was pleasant, she didn't get so nervous as to be a nightmare. You laughed when you saw how her eyes looked at you, how her breathing became more and more disordered.
“(Y/N)…” The redhead sighed, her eyes closed. Now the hand that was free caressed your leg, your thigh, while her lips lightly rested on your neck. “(Y/N), I want you…”
You laughed as you gasped as you felt her breath on your skin, her hands now roaming freely over your body. Her lips went up your neck until they were very close to yours. You could feel that touch that you wanted so much. Her hips swayed as you could swear you could feel some heat emanating from between her legs.
You wanted to continue, you wanted so bad, but somehow you felt guilty. You have never used others’ dreams to satisfy your own sexual desires. Something in your little conscience told you that this was wrong, terribly wrong. You would have to wake up or you would be forever lost.
You woke up nervous, sweating. You held the brooch so tightly in your hand that it left a mark in the palm of your hand. You were horny, frustrated that you hadn't been able to finish your dream. There was only one small problem. That was not your dream, it was his. You looked at the alarm clock, wishing that time would pass quickly, that it would finally dawn and you could check if that unusual manipulation had had any effect.
“And that's it, have a good time guys,” Marilyn said when the bell rang. All your classmates got up in a hurry, wanting to enjoy some free time. Not you, you stayed seated, looking at your notebook.
Marilyn was able to leave the pots in their place and you cleared your throat, getting her attention. The redhead turned, but she glanced at you briefly. It was like she didn't want to look you in the eye. That made you think. It seemed that dream had some effect.
It was not a good thing. If it caused an effect like that, it was working. You had to be sure. You got up from the desk, picking up your notebook.
“Sorry, Ms. Thornhill…” You said, causing Marilyn to look at you again. She nodded, faking a smile. “I have a problem with my homework… And I thought you could help me…”
A sound of breaking glass filled the conservatory. Marilyn was holding a glass jar with a small flower, which shattered when you uttered those words. She was nervous, very nervous. You didn't care, you came over to help her pick up the crystals.
“(Y/N), no, you don't have to help me... You can, you can cut yourself... “ She told you. Her voice trembled. Her face was red and your smile was so wide that it was impossible to hide it.
“It's not a bother,” you said, picking up several pieces of glass.
“Tell, tell me, (Y/N), what's your problem with homework?” Marilyn asked as you walked away to throw the crystals into a trash can. You turned around and like in her dream, you undid the button on your jacket. Naturally you were wearing clothes underneath, but that gesture seemed to make the redhead very, very nervous.
“Well, I'm having a hard time finding some of the species you're asking for…” You said, looking for an absurd excuse.
Your teacher's face was a poem. Her body trembled, her cheeks were flushed. She didn't answer you. She seemed at a loss for words.
“Ms. Thornhill, are you alright?” You asked amused. She shook her head and turned her back on you.
“Oh, yes, yes... It's just... I'm a bit dizzy... It must be the humidity in this place...” She told you without looking at you. You bit your lip, but decided to stop.
“I'd better go then. Don't worry, see you tomorrow,” you said goodbye with your usual angel face.
It had been a success. Marilyn was nervous, she was unable to look at you. If she had considered it an unimportant dream she wouldn't have been so nervous, would she? You didn’t know. There was only one way to be sure. Continue. Keep perverting her dreams. You had given up doing it, but that curious reaction overrode what was left of your consciousness.
For the next few days, you continued your nocturnal misdeeds. You made it a little more subtle, a little more suggestive. In her dreams you kissed her, caressed her, hugged her. You had to use yourself thoroughly, avoiding that the situation was always the same. Your imagination was overflowing. You manipulated Marilyn's dreams in a thousand different ways.
In class she no longer seemed the same. She tried not to look at you, to ignore you as much as possible. You didn't know if she felt violent, or guilty. In her dreams she enjoyed, that small part of her subconscious that you played with agreed with everything she did, there was no resistance. You soon came to the conclusion that she did feel guilty, guilty of wanting you, of feeling desire, attraction to a student. You couldn't stop. The greater the love you felt for her, the more intense were the dreams you created. You had no limit, you began to fear for your health, you began to think that you were obsessed, that you had become addicted to those dreams...
“You have an angel face, (Y/N), but you're a bad girl…” the redhead said, while she pushed you violently against her desk, grabbing your hair tightly.
You turned, looking panicked. Marilyn was looking at you longingly, her eyes full of lust.
“But, Ms. Thornhill, I just wanted to know how to take care of the rose you gave me,” you said with an innocent voice tone.
“That's what you say, (Y/N)…” The redhead whispered in your ear, while she pulled down your panties. “You dedicate yourself to making me horny in class, showing off your tits, coming without underwear…”
“But, but I'm a good girl, I'm just very clueless, I forgot to put my clothes on… Please, don't punish me…” You said, begging. She laughed.
“Of course I'm going to punish you, (Y/N)… I'm going to take you right here, I'm going to take your delicious innocent pussy and claim it as mine… You know you want it…”
You bit your lip, enjoying the spanking she gave you on your butt. She was out of control, it was the best time for a few little questions.
“Do you want me?” You asked, gasping as her fingers trailed through your wet folds. The redhead gave a little pat to your needy center and she crouched down to your ear.
“Yes, (Y/N), I want you... I've wanted you since the first time I saw your beautiful body... You drive me crazy, (Y/N)...” She said moaning, while inserting two of her fingers into you, causing you to scream with pleasure…
“Do you…? Ahhh! Do you like dreaming about me?” You said between moans, forgetting for a moment the danger and risk of that question.
“Yes... I like it... You provoke me too much... I touched myself thinking of you, (Y/N)... Every night...”
That made you moan even more. It wasn't Marilyn speaking, it was her subconscious. If you had learned anything in all those years, it was that a person's subconscious was incapable of lying.
“Please, Marilyn... Fuck me...” You gasped, letting yourself be carried away by the pleasure you felt.
“Yes, honey... My good girl... Mommy's innocent girl...”
You woke up abruptly, noticing the already familiar sensation of that brooch digging into your hand. You were agitated, excited, but with the same frustration as always. They were just dreams, nothing else. You didn't notice her hands on your body, her kisses on your lips. Nothing of what you lived left a trace once you woke up. Just the feeling of helplessness.
It was still night and the moon was illuminating the room. You got up, wiping the sweat from your forehead. Your roommate slept peacefully, oblivious to the monster she had as a friend. You huffed and leaned out the window, feeling the cool night air slipping through the old glass.
There was no one outside, just trees and fallen leaves blowing in the wind. Soon that changed. A figure you didn't recognize at first appeared in your field of vision. It was Marilyn. The redhead walked quickly, looking everywhere. She was heading towards the conservatory. You followed her with your gaze and saw her enter the building. Her face was horrified, almost despairing.
It was night, there would be no one in the conservatory. It was the perfect occasion to pull the strings more, to play your perfect student card and get Marilyn a little more insane. You didn't care if you went too far, you had to be there.
You peeked through the conservatory door. Marilyn was nervous. She moved plants from one place to another, without much sense. It was pretty obvious that she wanted to keep busy.
“Ms. Thornhill?” You said softly. She turned with a start, placing a hand on her chest.
“(Y/N), my God, but what are you doing here? It's too late...” She told you, looking away from you as was the custom.
“I wasn't sleepy and I saw a light in the conservatory and well… Here I am…” You said smiling. She sighed and ran a hand across her forehead. She was sweating.
“You should go back to bed, honey…” She told you, turning her back on you. Her voice was soft as always, but she was shaking, she was shaking as if she was beginning to be afraid of you.
“I already told you that I'm not sleepy, what are you going to do? Watering plants? I can help,” you said kindly, picking up a watering can from the floor.
The redhead rested her hands on a table and leaned over it, nodding.
“It's… It's okay…” She whispered.
You watered some of the plants. She didn't move, she continued with her gaze fixed on that table. It was obvious that she was having a hard time. You looked at her out of the corner of your eye, beginning to be concerned about her condition. You were probably driving her crazy. You decided to stop tormenting her and behave like the good girl you were supposed to be.
“Hey, Marilyn,” you said placing a hand on her shoulder. “What's wrong?”
She shook her head. Her lower lip trembled.
You grabbed her hand and forced her to turn around. She wasn't looking at your face, she seemed to be crying. You brought your hand to her cheek, wiping away the shy tear that was beginning to run down her face.
“(Y/N), please… Stop… Don’t… Don't come close to me…” she told you, gently pushing you. You did not leave, you resisted in the same position.
“Why? What's wrong?”  You asked in a low voice. She shook her head, now yes, looking into your eyes. She sighed and moved her hands to your waist, holding it gently. You finally felt the warmth of her hands on your skin, through your clothes. It was real, not a dream.
“I… I…” She stammered, before pulling you towards her body and kissing you, kissing you hungrily. You froze for a moment, wishing it wouldn't stop. You played clueless, you didn't kiss back until you were sure it was really happening.
At last, you returned her kiss, playing with her tongue, letting her hands cup your face. She was passionate, hungry, desperate. After a few minutes the gasping began, but before your hand could reach her blouse, she suddenly jerked away.
“Oh, my God… I, I'm so sorry…” She said, shaking her head, horrified. You widened your eyes and frowned. “Please forgive me, (Y/N), I, I don't know what's wrong with me… I think I'm going crazy…”
“Marilyn…” You whispered, seeing the state the woman was in. You didn't know what to say. You couldn't tell the truth.
“Please, don't tell Weems, please…” She told you pleadingly.
You were immobile, thinking of the best way to fix everything. There wasn't, you had made poor Marilyn lose her mind out of selfishness, out of sheer desire. You only had two options, either confess, or move on without looking back.
The decision was made by itself. Closing your eyes, you threw yourself back into her arms, kissing her with the same intensity, grabbing her waist, not letting her escape.
“Marilyn, I… I love you,” you whispered in her ear. She looked at you strangely. Surely a confession of love was not expected. You didn't plan on declaring your feelings either, but you considered it better to talk about them than about your ability.
“But honey, I'm your teacher... We, we can't...” she said between kisses, while her hands ran over your back, your neck, your chest. “I've been dreaming of you for a long time… Every night I see you with me… This, this is not right…”
You nodded, unbuttoning her blouse. She let herself go, despite her doubts. You wanted her not to think, not to associate those dreams with you. The only way you could distract her was to love her the way you wanted, outside of dreams, in the real world.
“I've dreamed about you too, Marilyn… I'm crazy about you,” you said, passing her blouse over her shoulders, letting it fall on the conservatory floor.”
“We are going to get into trouble, (Y/N), we must stop before… Before we… Oh my God, who am I kidding… I want you too… I… I love you,” she stammered while you kissed her neck , slowly lowering until you meet the fabric of her bra.
“Nobody has to find out,” you said in a soft, affectionate voice, while you got rid of your jacket and your T-shirt.
“Nobody…” She repeated, losing herself in the sight of your bare chest, no fabric, no bra, just your skin against hers. “This is so wrong…”
“Please, Marilyn… Love me…” You said, unhooking her bra. The redhead squeezed you tightly against her, panting, desperate, wanting to touch your whole body. It was also a new experience for her. As much as they say, reality has nothing to do with dreams.
Moans soon broke the silence of the night. She kissed you, caressed you, while you did the same, enjoying, moaning, scratching. You had stopped being the good girl, the favorite student of all teachers. Now you were the crazy and unhinged (Y/N), who manipulated the woman she loved so that the desire was so strong that she could not contain herself.
Her lips were skillful, her tongue ran through every exposed corner of your body, while her hands scratched your legs.
“Please…” You whispered, as if it were a memory of her dream. Face down against her desk, naked, her fingers entering you eagerly.
You finally broke free, ready to make up for all the harm you had caused. Giving pleasure to your lover surpassed all the times you got into her dreams. Her moans were careless. Anyone walking by could see your head between your teacher's legs, her hand clutching your hair as she moaned.
When it was all over, and the confessions of love were the only thing that could be heard, you seriously thought about what you had done. You would have liked to act differently, to play fair. The fear that it would not happen was never stronger. You couldn't expect her to declare herself, she had to be on edge. You knew it wasn't true, it wasn't fair, but it was the right thing to do.
You would never get into her dreams again, there was no need. You really had her, that was more than enough, now you would have to deal with your conscience. It was easy to do, each of her kisses was worth each of the nights that the sweet and good (Y/N) turned into a monster.
82 notes · View notes
another-trans-nerd · 1 year ago
Text
This post is discussing why Mileven is unhealthy. Don’t like? Don’t interact.
Funky fresh reminder that mike referred to el as a superhero while max referred to her as someone with superpowers…..
Hmmm 🤔 almost as if mike only sees her as what she does while max sees her as her while still appreciating her for what she can do
And yet milkvan still is viewed as “healthy”?
To compare it to the book series keeper of the lost cities (spoilers ahead), it kinda reminds me of part of Sophie’s arc in the last book.
Essentially, she finally is officially dating the boy she’s liked for years (his name is fitz) but something is…off. When they do their telepathic bond excersises, she sees exactly how he views her in his mind: perfect. He sees her as completely perfect. While a lot of other protagonists might swoon, it just makes Sophie uncomfortable. Why? Because she’s not perfect. She’s made shitloads of mistakes. She’s almost started wars, she’s tripped a bunch, she’s been tricked, lied to, kidnapped, been impulsive, and more. She is complex and flawed and struggling, AKA she is a real person. Fitz doesn’t see her flaws, and therefore does not accept them. It makes Sophie wonder if he’ll still want her when he does accept them. It’s also been showcased in the books that fitz is shocked and enraged when Sophie does mess up, as if she’s not a sixteen year old with the world on her shoulders. He only sees her as the good she’s done and some imaginary picture perfect happy girl, so when things go wrong he lashes out.
This dynamic is later confirmed when Sophie looks at some drawings via her other love interest, keefe. The art is beautiful and really realistic. More so it’s real. He doesn’t filter out any of Sophie’s appearance, like her posture and scars. He recognized the societally dubbed imperfections but doesn’t think she’s any less beautiful. The way he roots for her shows that he sees her for what she is: a capable and powerful person, but still a goofy and clumsy teen. He sees her, all of her, and still loves her fiercely. That’s what Sophie needed, that’s what makes her feel truly loved. Keefe knows of every scar, every mistake, and every problem Sophie has ever had, and he adores her even harder. So Sophie chose him (for now, the series isn’t over).
(I’m not being anti-sophitz, I think it’s a perfectly fine ship (though I don’t ship it myself), but it was fairly toxic the last book, with Fitz’s expectations and neither really being ready for a relationship)
My point is that milkvan is not healthy in the way mike sees el, and she knows it. She’s got darkness in her that mike never acknowledges or talks to her about. He sees her just for her special parts, like her powers, looking past the fact that she has killed people (they deserve it obvi, but like bro you should prob at least talk about the time she exploded like ten peoples brains). Max knows that el has powers, but encourages el to use them how she wants to for once, instead of self defense or for someone else. Max helps her claim ownership of her powers, making them a part of her not just who she is. She’s clearly trying to move past the mentality of doing everything for other people (mike) but goes back to it when it becomes clearer that mike sees her just for her powers.
El deserves to be selfish and have fun. The happiest we see her is when she is doing so. Mike never seems to accept that.
Mike is seemingly only like this with el, and only when they’re actively dating. He doesn’t pressure his other friends like this.
Mileven is an unhealthy relationship.
The duffers show us it’s unhealthy by comparing it to healthier relationships like elmax and how different they are.
Mike and El had a healthier relationship when it was platonic, and they will again when they (hopefully) break up next season.
El is caught in the same trap she’s been in since br*nner wired it into her brain. She equates her self worth with what she can do for others, and what the current presence in her life wants from her. It’s not her fault, it’s a result of her trauma.
Which is why she needs to be without a partner or major male presence in her life for a while. To learn to love herself regardless of what she can do for others, and without the influence of anyone else.
TLDR: milkvan needs to break up Jesus Christ
10 notes · View notes
secondfuckingguessing · 8 months ago
Text
Not April's fool
I feel like so much has changed recently. I feel so different. It's easier to let go. Easier to choose what to focus on. Now the halo effect of last week's concert is gone, but I still feel fine. Not all is lost. Not everyone turned into a drag. Not every friend turned out weird. I had to give up everyone I felt was part of my identity. And yes, I was fun. I wasn't always hurt or had to be judgemental. I have it in me.
Things that used to consume all my thoughts and provoke visceral reactions don't hold as much power over me now. I know better than to let myself go without trying to stop it. It never led me anywhere good anyway. I lost some weight. I'm more accepting of my reality, my flaws and my mistakes. They happened. I've dealt with people who hurt me and that impacted my life a lot over the last decade. Yes. That also made me grow a lot and I'm finally reaching a point where the growth is greater than the resentment. I don't miss those people anymore. I let go of ana quite peacefully, my last strand of thinking i couldn't afford to lose the few friends I had (even though I didn't even identify with them that much anymore). Quite honestly, it didn't change much in my life. It turns out I was putting in all the effort once more. She might not be doing it on purpose,but still. It has been going on for far too long. I was completely shut off from her life. It's quite clear now she's on her trip I knew nothing about. I was silly to think it was my duty to keep the whole thing going while she healed or whatever. She's doing that through other people. I was feeling let down much more often than happy about the relationship. I felt sensitive and judgy and I honestly thought there's something wrong with me. I can't like my friends. I can't accept the way real relationships work. I'm delusional and I should care less. Maybe I'm finally learning what reciprocity means. Bia showed me that. Even though we hadn't seen each other in probably 10 years, it felt more natural than with people I thought I was close with. Am I resenting ana right now? No. But I don't exactly miss her right now either. Our good times, of genuine fun have not been recent. It was becoming this heavy weird friendship with lots of things unsaid and a lack of will to really show up to the friendship. Getting older sucks when you groe in different directions. At least I am growing, i can't say what she's interested in besides pokemon. She seems a bit too passive for my liking.
I'm letting go even of the illusion of f. I'd like to have what we had. I feel more openness in me to live that, but it's not about him. He never made me feel special. He never seemed too committed. He was just going with the flow. I know i have so much to give to someone who shows he really wants to be there, here with me. I just never felt that from him. I'm starting to think he's with someone new. I'm not sure why. If that's the case, I know I'm never seeing him again. He won't make the slightest effort to and it's not like he was even before. I'm not sure I care anymore. I truly feel I deserve better. It's his loss, honestly. I'm not that invested into chasing him just to make things right inside. If he's that big of a loser, I'll let him be.
Also, giovana. I'm not that pisssed, I'm not that hurt. She is kinda phony. She's kind of too invested in her own image, her persona. That's kinda lame, doesn't matter how many international travels she does a year. That's lack of character. Even when she thinks she's saying the right things, it feels empty. She's pretending to be this, but really she's investing in what she feels brings her more value. It's transactional in the end. I don't admire this kind of behavior, she can go fuck herself. It's good to see I'm not that hurt anymore. It's not about me being rejected anymore. These people around me really are more than what i thought previously. I don't exactly like this other side of them. Genuinely. I wouldn't choose them based on that. Julia feels childish in a way. She's deluded by parties and going after what she wants like the world is opening up to her more than 10 years later. Even after I talked to her she refuses to see anyone else than her. Funny that the only person she gave herself to was her ex, and it wasn't a great dynamic either. I wish her luck on her maturing.
I feel less lonely, even though not much has changed. I feel kike bia is someone I could on if I needed. Not exactly a shoulder to cry on, but on practical things. Like if i needed company to get a dress. I don't know why that's the thought that popped into my head. I don't want to be this heavy person always hurt and complaining. I can deal with my own sorrows. I do feel different and I hope it stays and expands and turns into something even greater and more beautiful. I feel less insecure. I feel better. Healing rocks and I'm glad to know there are good people still around, even for me.
I hope this leads me great places and that I bump into good people.
0 notes
aussie-tea · 3 years ago
Note
how is s*ylvie not a mary sue?
I have been waiting YEARS for this question. (Well not years because Loki only came out (😉) like mere months ago, but you know what I mean).
To start off here's a definition of a "Mary Sue" so we are all on the same page.
Mary Sue: A Mary Sue is a type of fictional character, usually a young woman, who is portrayed as unrealistically free of weaknesses.
Now, the reason I was so excited to finally get a chance to answer this is because when there's a character I really love, the only thing I love to talk about more than their strengths is their flaws and weaknesses.
Because ALL good characters have them, and, to me, they just add to the loveability of the character. And Sylvie, despite what many people are saying, is certainly not an exception.
Tumblr media
One of the first flaws we notice about Sylvie is actually shown before we fully meet her. She is shown about twice in her first three main scenes that she is not the best strategist.
Although Sylvie is well versed in quick decision-making from her life on the run, she is still quite prone to errors in judgment. She gave the little French child a piece of candy which was a HUGE clue to her hideout which, ultimately, lead Loki and TVA to Roxxcart.
Sylvie would have known that the TVA would have searched the cathedral after she attacked that group of minutemen, and thus, would have easily found the child and the obviously period-inaccurate sweets.
The only thing I can think of to explain her actions was that the child caught her in the act, she worried they would spill the beans, gave the child candy to shut it up. A quick decision that didn't end up working in her favour.
Sylvie's poor strategies and planning are also shown WHEN SHE CLEARLY DIDN'T CHARGE HER TEMPAD FOR HER YEARS-IN-THE-MAKING-PLAN.
It's possible that the TemPad was only charged for the amount of trips Sylvie thought she would need. Hence, only one more trip out of the TVA after killing the Time Keepers. But even if this was the case, it shows an incredible lack of preparation on her part if things did go awry.
Tumblr media
This is one of the most interesting things about Sylvie that I really love; she seems to genuinely lack good strategist and sly behaviour. This hugely sets Sylvie apart from the most recognizable trait of our original Loki.
Apart from the finale, she is rarely deceptive when trying to achieve her goals. She doesn't ever try to pretend to be on the TVA's side, or charm her way in, or disguise herself as a minuteman.
No. Instead, she goes for the classic warrior approach; distract the enemy, and then use brute force to get to the Time Keeper's chamber and kill them.
TALK about under-prepared; homegirl legit at the time of her attack didn't even know that her powers were useless inside the TVA.
Tumblr media
I think Loki puts it perfectly:
Tumblr media
Sylvie isn't a good strategist. At least, not to the same extent Loki is. She's a fighter and often relies solely on physical skills to achieve her goals, often to her failure.
From this, we can deduct that Sylvie is impatient, reckless to a fault, and, often, idealistic about how her plans should work out. despite obviously not putting too much thought into them im sorry sylvie i love you but not knowing your magic wouldn't work in the tva is something i cant forgive.
These qualities (impatient, reckless, and idealistic) also weave themselves into her fighting style. I firstly want to be clear that I LOVE SYLVIE'S FIGHTING STYLE. Seriously, it's one of my favourite things about her.
Sylvie's a brawler, which is a product of obviously never being professionally trained like almost all our other MCU characters. What she knows, she's learnt on the street, her own personal battlefield.
However, a flaw of this is that she's is not as swift and quick on her feet as other character's like Loki.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
[Two gifs are pictured above.]
[First gif: Sylvie takes a swing at Loki with her sword. He dodges her attempt and locks her arms behind her back. Second gif: Sylvie lifts her foot to kick Ravonna, who grabs her leg and throws her to the ground.]
Both gifs above picture moments in this six-episode show where Sylvie uses her full body towards this one move. These moves leave her horrendously open to her opponents' advances, which ultimately leads to her being briefly overpowered in each fight.
The last point I'll make is, admittedly, a little bit of a sneaky cheat as I mention one of Sylvie's strengths, her perceptiveness, but I love this parallel so much I couldn't not include it.
So we all remember the kiss scene. Sylvie used Loki's emotions as a distraction so that she can get the upper hand in the fight. (Clarification: I do not believe the kiss was meaningless to Sylvie but I do also believe that one of the intentions with the kiss was for it to be used as a distraction.)
The thing is, how did Sylvie know that this would work on Loki? She's already known him to be incredibly aware of his surroundings and virtually impossible to trick.
The answer: she knows he's a Loki. And she knows she's a Loki. She knows that Lokis have a tendency to get easily distracted by their emotions which can cause them to lose focus of their surrounding.
How does she know that? Because it's happened to her before.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
It's canon, Sylvie knew the kiss would distract Loki because she knew he would feel the same way she felt when he comforted her in the Time-Keepers' chamber which thus made her blissfully unaware of Ravonna approaching.
All in all, Sylvie does have beautiful flaws and we love her for it, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Now, someone play John Legend's 'All of Me';
'Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections
193 notes · View notes
mysterylover123 · 3 years ago
Text
Mysterylover watches MHA: “TDBKDK Family Dinner #2: Anime Version”
Tumblr media
So yes last episode we did cover the first half of the family dinner. Now we’re covering part 2. BTW this music is BIZARRE. Why are we recapping all this angst with triumphant music?
Anyway so let’s talk about this arc in general. Since I already posted about the manga chapter, I’m not sure what to add about the anime episode other than “hey, music choice” or “line delivery”, but I’ve reread this arc a lot so I feel like I wanna analyze it instead.
Tumblr media
3. Let’s talk about Bakugou. Bakugou’s arc throughout most of the series has been all about learning to care for other people. Learning the “save to win” part of things. He comes to the internship wanting to find “what he was missing”. In the climax, he rescues Natsuo from Ending. But the odd thing is, Bakugou already showed in the Joint Training arc that he was capable of saving people now. So it wasn’t that he needed to learn to save.
What Bakugou got from this arc, many fans believe, was the realization that he mistreated Deku and needed to make amends. All Might at the start of the arc points out that Bakugou is like Endeavor. This comparison was probably one Bakugou was making since the Sports Festival when he overheard Todo’s Backstory Confession to Deku. And here, Bakugou witnesses exactly what being an obsessive, violent asshole who pushes their loved ones away to become the top pro will end up with.
Tumblr media
Complete alienation. A family who will never forgive him.
Tumblr media
And Bakugou, I believe, wants Deku’s forgiveness and friendship back. He pushed Deku away - he admits to bullying him and hurting him in Chapter 284. And he’s trying to atone for his actions. From this arc, Bakugou learns that he needs to make things up to Deku. He doesn’t say so explicitly, but that’s what most fans take from it. 
Endeavor can never truly make it up to his family, it seems, for all he did. Natsuo will never forgive him, Shoto probably won’t either. Now, currently in the manga Endeavor’s actions have spiraled out to pretty much destroy hero society thanks to Touya, so he’s become even more of a cautionary tale for Bakugou.
Tumblr media
What makes that even more interesting, though, is that Bakugou and Midoriya are two halves of one whole. So the same person who is an interesting foil and cautionary tale for Bakugou has to be one for Midoriya too. Given Deku’s current arc in the manga - pushing everyone who loves him away in an obsessive quest to be the best - it’s clear that Deku could maybe have benefitted from comparing himself to Endeavor too.
This hard-hitting examination of his own flaws is what makes Bakugou so compelling, especially in recent times. Unlike Endeavor, who seems to keep floundering back into the same mistakes, Bakugou just keeps improving. 
Tumblr media
Shoto and Midoriya mostly got New Cool Moves out of this arc, and less on the Character Development scale. Deku’s conversation with Shoto about being a “nice person” was something a lot of the fandom eviscerated him for back in the day (before the arc had wrapped) since Natsuo overheard it and felt bad about it. 
Tumblr media
Deku is a very forgiving person, I’ve never seen him hold a genuine grudge (he’s currently on a quest to save the Supervillain who kidnapped his soulmate, which is about as forgiving as you get). But while holding grudges can be bad, Deku’s mindset may also be problematic. Being too forgiving of evil done to you and others can also cause problems. Deku’s advice to Shoto was well-intentioned, but it had the unintended side effect of guilt-tripping Natsuo and making him feel like a bad person.
Tumblr media
Interestingly, even though Deku is the unofficial Todoroki Family Counsellor, he’s never really been able to help Shoto and the fam get through their trauma all on his own. “It’s your Power” was a great moment, but in the aftermath Shoto wasn’t sure what to do with it. He needed to go work through his own problems afterwards. Deku can’t magically fix all the Todo family’s problems, even though he’d like to. To some degree, given the Sports Fest and this arc, it seems like Shoto may need the help of both Halves of the Wonder Duo.
Fighting Bakugou forced Shoto into the position where he had to face his past trauma. His fight with Inasa revealed that he still holds resentment against Endeavor, and that resentment wasn’t something he could - or should! - just be zen about. So what’s Bakugou’s approach to being harmed by someone?
Bakugou has channeled his anger over Shigaraki abducting him into productive motivation. Maybe I’m letting my recent FMA binge watch bias me as to how the story is going to go, but my guess is that the message may be something like Winry’s story there. No need to forgive people who’ve done something terrible for you; instead, learn to channel anger into motivation and power. That seems to be how Bakugou is handling Shigaraki, and maybe it’s how he can help Shoto handle Endeavor too.
Tumblr media
Well, that’s not so much clear in this arc, but anyway. Back to Deku and Kacchan’s story. So Deku pretty clearly holds nothing against Kacchan for mistreating him (look at how cheerfully he interacts with him in this arc! Very, very shippy stuff, they’re every bit the Old Married Couple here). So if Bakugou needs to make amends to Deku, and Todoroki needs to channel his anger, what does Deku need to do?
Given the most recent arc, it’s clear Deku needs to learn to rely on other people. That’s his overall arc. In this arc, we see him doing the Evacuation portion, using BlackWhip to save lives. But we also see Kacchan saving Natsuo and Shoto beating Ending. When the Trinity work together as a team, they surpass the #1 pro. That’s probably why they weren’t able to do so before Natsuo was taken.
Deku needs Kacchan’s strength and confidence. Shoto needs Kacchan’s ability to channel his anger. Kacchan and Shoto both need Deku’s kindness and compassion. Deku and Kacchan needed Shoto’s cautionary tale to mend things with each other. Together, of course, they are the best trio. Who win, rescue, and save together. 
Tumblr media
in other words, The trinity need each other. Duh. 
167 notes · View notes
eidolonlathi · 3 years ago
Text
Aspects Concerning the Dynamics Between Gen and Takahashi
You just know it had to be Gen's idea to join the Sato squad. Takahashi didn't realize until the end it would be a trip with no return for Gen while for Gen this was a feature and not a bug.
Tumblr media
At first glance Takahashi seems to be the one with the ideas. It seems like this because he's impulsive and talkative but if you look closer, it's Gen's approval he's constantly looking for.
Tumblr media
And when it comes to heavy decision making and to defending Takahashi then it's Gen acting without hesitation. Neither standing under enemy fire nor Tanaka's legendary sour moods manage to faze him. No matter the pressure, Gen knows how to stay calm.
Tumblr media
That’s Tanaka Gen has on the radio here during the Grant Pharma operation by the way. Sort of sad that the two of them were shown to work perfectly together during that situation and only a few chapters later there’s this much tension involved.
Tumblr media
But always being the responsible and reasonable one can also be a burden. Back in the day, Gen’s first and only concern when joining Sato's group was the question if Sato really had everything planned out in a reasonable way. Gen doesn't care about morals, it's logistics he's concerned about.
Tumblr media
When he shows worry, it's due to the question if something got discarded too early. If it got wasted when it still could have been useful. He calms down when Sato reassures this is not the case but also, this looks like the behaviour of someone used to conditions of scarcity. 
Tumblr media
Related to this, it's interesting to think how Taka becoming an Ajin ended up influencing their dynamics. For Takahashi, it seemed to have fed into his already present impulsivity. It's easy to see this trait of his as a flaw but it's not that easy.
He shows a fundamental inability to see the immediate future. As if his experience of the future is a malevolent force that's forced upon you, happens to you without caring about your sensibilities. But once he turned an ajin these factors strenghten a feeling of invincibility.
A sense of invincibility that included Gen. Pointing to a tendency in Takahashi to see himself and Gen as a unity. A tendency shown in the moment of Gen's end: Gen had to spell out for Takahashi that him being an ajin would not mean Gen would be included in his regenerative abilities. Even in his last moments Gen’s first impulse was to ease Takahashi’s fears, one last time being the responsible and reasonable one for the wellbeing of the person he most cared about.
For Gen the entire incident of Takahashi turning out to be an ajin must have heightened already present feelings of resignation and lack of power. Takahashi already was meant to no longer be here, to be lost, saved only by chance, a chance promising new dangers of an almost unimaginable scope. Feeding into an impression that no matter how hard you try, it will never be enough to stop the arrival of new dangers and worries. Instead confirming the eternal necessity to be alert and behave in a reasonable manner. As usual for Gen, old patterns continuing, never changing.
Seeing Sato arrive and bringing with him the opportunity to disregard all concerns of old and instead offer the power to for once to inflict instead of to only endure as long as you accept the consequence attached to that path... I'm not surprised Gen grabbed the chance.
He might have have told himself it would have been a unique chance to ensure Takahashi would win back his rights he had lost when turning out to be an ajin. But Gen always must have known the inevitable outcome for himself. And in a lost corner of his mind, Takahashi knew too.
62 notes · View notes
inappropriatewenning · 3 years ago
Text
I keep trying to put a finger on why “the problem with jin guangyao is that he’s too ambitious” bothers me so much as an argument.  Because it’s one thing to say “he does really bad things to reach his goals,” but I often see the ambition itself cited as Why He’s Bad.  (I also see plenty of other reasons for hating him that I think are fair--he kills characters we like, he lies to characters we like, he eventually develops class solidarity with his father’s society rather than his mother’s...)
But “his problem is ambition” strikes me as a real misreading of the situation.
This is an incredibly ambitious world.  There are competitions left and right to test one another’s strength and skill. There are lists and rankings everywhere you look.   People duel each other routinely.   People strive to develop unique and powerful magic and fighting techniques.  The Nies strive for personal achievement with a toxic technique that almost-inevitably kills them.  Or heck, cultivating to immortality is a thing.  That’s ambitious!
(Readmore cut, because sorry sorry I get long here and a little incoherent. tl;dr: there are a lot of problems* with jgy that are adjacent to ambition but it’s inaccurate to say that ambition itself is the problem)
And it’s certainly legit, as a reader, to say “that’s all immoral,” or “that’s all missing the point of morality.”  It’s a fair thing to question!  Questioning the cultivation world is a big point in MDZS.  And then you can take a trip over to TGCF and meditate more on the moral dimensions of achievement and whether it’s better to be a lonely trash-picker or a prince who tries to save the world.  You could also distinguish between ambition for personal power (being a super cool strong cultivator who can kill lots of badguys) and political power (being a super cool strong sect leader who can direct public works to kill badguys).  That’s an interesting wrinkle and it’s probably worth looking at more some time.
But in MDZS I feel like the two people I see charged most often with “ambition (derogatory)” are Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng.  I’m not going to get into Jiang Cheng here, but...Meng Yao, man.
He has goals.  It’s true!  He has goals!  After his mother dies he attempts to enter his father’s world.  If you want to say that’s Bad Ambition, fair enough: again, you can say the sect world is morally flawed.  But in that case, I hope you’re also arguing that really it would have been better for little Wei Ying’s soul if he’d been left on the streets.  The only virtuous life is one of pure humility and suffering in the shitty old non-magic world. (Or is the argument fundamentally just that little Meng Yao from the brothel should have known his place...?)
Then, yeah, this is where most people would say things go bad.  For reference, I’m talking novel here, not CQL, but even in the novel the guy does bad things!  Murdery things!  Bad, bad, bad!  And haters are absolutely welcome to hate on the murdering, lying, etc.  MDZS is a hyper-murdery fictional world and we have our faves in it and we have characters we hate.  (...though tbh the only character i really hate is jin guangshan, i love pretty much everyone else even when they’re hurting each other, and i get really sad when i feel like i’m somehow supposed to hate character A because i like conflicting character B. but to hell with jin guangshan. there’s someone on an actual power trip, both personal and political.)
But when I see people say “oh the problem is JGY’s ambitious” rather than “the problem is he does bad things to achieve his ambitions” I feel like that’s...argh, such a serious misreading of the fictional world itself?  His ambitions are completely in line with the ambitions of all the other main characters!  Being his father’s son.  Navigating a difficult political world.  Not getting beat up or murdered.  The one thing that really stands out in-world is the innovative watchtowers, which, like.  Okay it’s a centralization of power, which you can maybe argue has proved a detrimental drive in human history, but it’s for the purpose of improving the general quality of life for people outside the cultivator class.
Well. Then there’s the other thing that stands out in-world: the ambition to leave the social class he was born into.  In-world, that makes lots of people angry.  But also when I pick things apart as a reader, it starts to feel like that’s...kind of what readers are blaming him for when they complain that “his problem is ambition.”  And there you are back at “Meng Yao from the brothel should have known his place.” 
Which I genuinely don’t think people intend to say, I’m not trying to be all GOTCHA YOU’RE BEING CLASSIST.  That’s a kind of fandom rhetoric I find harmful and unproductive.  But like...what are you saying if you say it’s bad for Meng Yao to be ambitious, and not everyone else?
* remember this asterisk from way up at the readmore?  it’s to say ahaha i lied there are no problems with jin guangyao he’s a precious angel who does nothing wrong not even once and he can have a little kidnapping as a treat
56 notes · View notes
ticklyfluffers · 3 years ago
Text
Sensitive Seeker-TF TK Fic
Repost of fan fiction of mine.
To think, it all started with just a simple gesture.
Thundercracker mused in how he had gotten to the scene he stood in now: Starscream shooting off blast after blast at Skywarp, yet the purple and black Seeker just treated the entire thing as some sort of game.
And, perhaps in some weird way, it was a game. As “‘playful” as a “self-respecting” Decepticon could be, he supposed. Yet still, he’d known he would need to separate the two (as always) eventually. Yet when to jump in was the question, as he was in no mood to have a shot of raw, stinging energy or a null ray being delivered to his facial region, should he intervene at the wrong time.
‘How did I get here, dealing with this?’ He questioned, inwardly groaning. It was a useless question, having already known the answer.
It had begun but a few short Earth minutes ago, at least, it had for him and Skywarp, yet for their Commander, it had begun but a few solar cycles ago (at least that measurement of time was fairly close to those used in this planet). Once again, Starscream noticed a, in his own words, “massive flaw” in one of Megatron’s bids to acquire more energy, and thus, just HAD to point it out and make sure everyone around him could hear it. This then led into the regular bickering, which led to the Seeker (once again) proclaiming he’d make a more suitable leader for the Decepticons, which led to Megatron “reminding” him of his place (once again), which resulted in a trip to the infirmary (once again).
And, while Thundercracker felt Starscream deserved to be told to keep his mouth shut, the blue Seeker found himself dreading what Megatron had planned for the Air Commander, as while it was Starscream’s punishment, somehow, in some way, it would affect his wingmates. Once again. Thankfully, it wasn’t overly extreme, mainly because Megatron had two locations of interest in mind, and probably declared that more worthy of his time than looking over his shoulder for his 2nd in Command’s potential assassination attempts. The Decepticon Leader had assigned Starscream and his wingmates to keep watch over the Space Bridge until the operation to seize control over the locations was completed or disregarded.
“And knowing our ‘glorious leader’, he’ll probably fail at this plan too.” Starscream grumbled to himself, arms folded over his chassis.
Thundercracker only sighed. Ever since he had come here, slag, back when was alerted of his duties, the Seeker had done nothing but complain over his leader’s orders. Of course, with a little “encouragement” from Soundwave (as in, alert Starscream he would be relieved of his wings for a good while if he didn’t do as he was told), their Air Commander (begrudgingly) accepted the assignment. Of course, now that they were here, Starscream had seen it as the perfect time to go ahead and start his tirade against Megatron again.
And suffice to say, it was beginning to get on his trine-mate’s nerves.
“Guard duty,” Starscream growled. “Of ALL the humiliating tasks he could’ve thrust on me...guard duty?!”
Skywarp began to shake, fists trembling until finally, he had finally reached his breaking point. “Is it possible for you to shut the frag up for at least a FEW cycles?! Is that too hard to ask?!”
Thundercracker was quite taken aback by the violet Seeker’s outburst. If anyone was being told to shut up, it was usually him. ‘Primus, he must be REALLY mad.’
“I’ll say whatever is slagging well please, thank you very much!” Starscream retorted, clenching his fists.
“Well go off and do it somewhere else away from me!” Skywarp argued back. “I’m getting sick of hearing that shrill dog whistle of a voice you’ve got!”
“Then get used to it, because I have no intention of stopping until I’m done!”
While he had no appreciation, let alone any sense of respect for it, since their arrival to this primitive world, some Decepticons had taken to using Earth expressions and terms in comparison to some more traditional, archaic language. The Casseticons were the worst out of these bots, outright using terms such as ‘dude’ and ‘man’, as well as copying much human cursing (a good portion of which humans based on their own bodily functions, to Thundercracker’s confusion). Skywarp, whether he had just decided that their regular curses weren’t enough, or he had been hanging out with Rumble and Frenzy on one too many assignments, decided to unleash everything that had been, as humans say, getting under his skin.
“Oh boo-hoo! You think YOU’RE the only one that doesn’t want to be here?!” the Seeker shouted, approaching Starscream. “This entire damn thing is your fault anyhow! You just HAD to go and run your mouth about how much Megatron’s plans suck and how YOU obviously had the better idea!”
“Because I do!” the Seeker Commander countered. “He wished to attack both locations at the same time, yet didn’t wish to better separate his forces into equal groups! Even if one was easier to access than the other, did he not think those blasted Autobots would just LET themselves be overtaken?!” he fumed, releasing a frustrated cry. “Bah! He had NO good reason to NOT send the Constructicons! There would’ve been no way that any of those slagging Auto-dorks would’ve stood a chance against Devastator! But NOOOOO! Apparently, they were needed elsewhere!”
“Because there was a crack in the hull,” Thundercracker interjected himself. True, he had little intention of getting involved, yet Starscream was forgetting one vital factor in Megatron’s decision. “The lower sections would’ve been at risk of getting worse and potentially breaking open. Then the entire Nemesis would’ve been flooded.”
“The pressure at the depths the ship’s at is far from enough to cause a breakage in such short a time!” Starscream argued. “We are situated in what the under evolved primates of this floating rock called the mesopelagic zone. True, we are away from the primary star of this current solar system, yet a majority of sea life in that area are perfectly capable of withstanding the water pressure. And they’re also organic, mind you!”
Skywarp scoffed. “You saying all that fancy mumbo-jumbo to make yourself sound smarter or something?”
“Hey, I WAS an accomplished scientist back in the Golden Era of Cybertron!”
“Of which you quit!” the purple and black Seeker countered. “And accomplished? That’s a fat load of shit, and you know it! I bet you only got a passing grade on whatever research logs you presented to those old farts running the academy!”
“Why you slagging piece of-”
“All right, both of you! That’s enough!” Thundercracker had decided that now was the time to step in, lest things start getting violent. Violence was an accepted part of Decepticon culture, seeing as many of their members had been forced to engage in it just to scrape by and survive via gladiatorial matches and other low ranking jobs (which didn’t house the most respectable of bots), yet the blue and black Seeker wasn’t in the mood in having to bring both of his wingmates into the infirmary because they decided to behave like a couple of Sparklings and duke it out.
That’s when the discovery had been made.
Thundercracker had pushed back against Skywarp’s chassis, yet he must’ve misjudged the distance between him and his oh-so-mature Commander (seriously, and he said Skywarp was the one who behaved like a sparkling). His servos made contact with the red and blue Seeker’s waistline, and that was when he and Skywarp heard it. It was a cross between a frightened gasp and an attempt to choke back laughter. Any anger between them had died that instant, replaced with curiosity and bewilderment. Their Commanding Officer was looking quite frazzled and on edge.
“Whoa, time out for a nano-second,” Skywarp said, lightly shoving Thundercracker off him. Nevertheless, he turned to him for confirmation. “You hear that too?” He then turned his attention to Starscream. “Hey, Screamer, what was that noise you made just now? And don’t say it’s nothing, I’ve got a witness right here!” Skywarp gestured to Thundercracker.
Starscream paled (even if there was no change of color) and stood there with wide, red optics. Nonetheless, he quickly straightened himself out and appeared to be cool and collected. “I was merely taken aback by Thundercracker’s sudden movements was all.” He explained, all the while trying to choose his next words very carefully. “You should be grateful he stepped in, lest I fire my null ray right in your face.” He glowered at the black and purple Seeker, hoping that his display would get his subordinate to back down.
But, as the humans said, no dice.
“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong-“ Skywarp began, taking a few steps toward, noticing how Starscream took a few steps back.
“And you are.” Starscream interrupted.
“But you seem a little nervous there.” The Seeker’s grinned. “All I’m asking is why you made that noise.”
Slag, Starscream thought. He wasn’t buying it. Ok, don’t panic. Just come up with another excuse. One that he surely couldn’t refute. “Well...it seems that my inner components are still a little sore from my last...disagreement with our all-wise and all-powerful leader.” He snarled that last part. Even if he were trying to get Skywarp off his back, it wasn’t all a lie. Hook had told him to take it slow for a few solar cycles for his internal repairs to mend the rest of him back together.
“Oh dear, are you ok?” Skywarp asked, an uncomfortable amount of mischievousness in his voice.
Slag. “Yes, I’m fine,” Starscream assured. “But...you shouldn’t touch me. In fact, I outright forbid it.”
Thundercracker analyzed the situation, looking back and forth between Skywarp and Starscream. He was puzzled at first regarding what had happened when he separated the two, yet given one Seeker’s predatory grin and the other’s excuses, it slowly dawned on him what was going on, as well as what Skywarp intended to do.
“Why?” He asked, taking a step towards Starscream while Starscream himself took a few steps back. “You took quite a bruising not too long ago. Maybe something is out of place or broken.”
“No! No, nothing is out of place or broken!” The SIC shook his head wildly.
“Are you sure? Because last time, you said Hook was a piss poor excuse for a medic.” Skywarp chuckled, raising his hands and spreading his servos out.
“Well, I think maybe he’s improved his craft these last few human weeks!” Starscream said, beginning to look around for any escape routes. “But...just in case, you shouldn’t touch anything! You could only make it worse!”
It was then that a familiar, magenta hue began to overtake the purple Seeker, Starscream’s optics widening in horror. “Why Starscream, I’m hurt! Do you think I’d actually hurt you?” He said coyly, optics fittingly red and devilish. “You’re my Commander, my trine-mate. It’s mine and Cracker’s job here to tend to your needs.”
Thundercracker gave a low growl, Skywarp knowing well how he hated being referred to by that name. Despite that though, he kept quiet.
“C’mon,” Skywarp cooed. Then, the magenta hue overtook his entire form, and in a flash, the Seeker was gone from sight.
“N-No! Stay away from me-“ Starscream shouted, yet was cut off when he felt digits traveling along his waistline.
“No need to be so tense.”
The reaction was immediate. Skywarp’s servos lightly stroked and scratched at the other Seeker’s ivory midsection, Starscream seizing up and doubling over, trying to get his “comrade” to release him.
“N-No! Stop it!” Starscream hollered, trying to grab at Skywarp’s hands. “I command you to-“ then out it came. “St-Sto-hoho-p!” A chortle caught in the middle of a demand (or was it a plea) to cease the infernal movements. Starscream had managed to wrench himself away from his assailant, but the damage was already done.
His terrible secret had been uncovered.
“No. Way.” Skywarp said. True, he suspected it, but to actually have confirmed blew his processor. “No. Fragging. Way!!!” He then pointed to his superior. “You’re ticklish!!!”
Now it was Thundercracker’s turn to be surprised, he looked at Starscream with bewilderment and shock. While it wasn’t a topic relatively discussed among themselves, he and the rest of the Decepticons would be fools if they didn’t acknowledge that their “hosts' ' shared more than a few qualities with the ones that had crashed landed on their planet millions of years ago. They were the only species to have similar civilizations to their own, same general body shape, they had an internal, skeletal structure that greatly resembled their own, lived as the dominant species on the planet (well, they were until the Decepticons and Autobots awoke), and fought and warred amongst themselves over the centuries. Yet when it came to the way their organic structure was put together, no one had an exact idea of how the human body functioned. Soundwave suggested gathering a few “lab rats'' and transporting them to Shockwave, yet so far, nothing else had come from that suggestion. Good thing too, Thundercracker felt such a thing was both unnecessary and, while he would never say it aloud, savage. But from what he had seen from Skywarp’s experiment, it seemed that they now were the ones to share the trait of ticklishness with the humans.
Starscream stood there, completely at a loss at what to say or do, processor scrambling to try and find something, anything, to keep the inevitable from happening. “I-I am not-AH!!!” He protested, only for Skywarp to teleport behind him and deliver a servo right in the crease where his hips met his waist. “Stop it!!!” He then aimed the weapon situated on his left shoulder in the other Seeker’s direction. “Try that again, and this null ray is going to blast you right in the face!”
Skywarp wasn’t the least bit intimidated. In fact, this just seemed to make him even more eager to go through with his plan. ”Primus, you’re acting like I’m going to kill you!”
“I’ll kill YOU if you get any closer! I mean it!” Starscream shouted, still aimed right at Skywarp’s head.
“Fine. Do it.” Skywarp laughed. “In fact, I doubt you’d be fast enough to hit me before I just warp out of the way.” He drew closer. “Well? I’m waiting.”
Thundercracker stood by, ready to jump in if things got too ugly. Starscream was cornered, he knew it, yet he seemed to be leaning much more into flight than fight. He looked to the blue Seeker as if trying to gain some support (or maybe a shield to use in case Skywarp made the first move), yet his optics mainly stayed on the third Seeker, trying to gauge what the next plan in his strategy was.
And it was then that Starscream made a critical decision. Frag it.
Immediately taking flight, Starscream transformed into his jet mode and zoomed off, leaving a long, cloudy trail as he departed.
“Oh no!” Skywarp declared, also transforming and chasing after his superior. “You’re not getting away that easily!”
“The slag do you think you’re going?! Get back here!!!” Thundercracker bellowed, yet either Skywarp didn’t hear or just outright disregarded his command, because he and Starscream flew off, leaving him alone.
Why did he always have to be the one to reign those two in?
“Aw, c’mon! I’ll go easy on you if that’ll get you to slow down!”
“NO!!!”
“I’m not going to hurt ya!”
“That makes it worse!!!”
“Don’t be such a baby!”
“Frag you!!!”
Back and forth the two Seekers went, Skywarp going back between promising to be ‘gentle’ with his Commander to outright declaring that resistance was futile, and Starscream shot back with threats of murder and dismemberment. All of which didn’t deter Skywarp a bit.
Seeing that the other jet was gaining on him, the Decepticon SIC went as fast as he could to where he was certain he would blow out his thrusters, yet he had to veer over to the side when Skywarp appeared before him via teleportation. He dove upwards, yet found his route blocked by the purple and black Seeker cutting him off via a barrel roll. Starscream went in the opposite direction, yet found himself cut off there as well, Skywarp just barely colliding into him.
“Hey, watch it!!!” he hollered. “You could’ve clipped my vertical stabilizer!!!”
“Then stop flying off and I won’t have to get drastic!” Skywarp shot back, yet inside his alt-mode, he was grinning ear to ear. Or at least he would be if he had any. “Try all you want, I’m not letting up anytime soon!”
“Then you’re going to be doing this for a long time because I have no intention of stop-” Starscream was interrupted by the horrific sight of Skywarp’s body being engulfed with magenta before disappearing from sight.
Oh, Primus. Oh Primus, no! Transforming into his root mode, Starscream looked around, panicking as he found himself surrounded by clear, blue skies, the sun shining high and bright. The intensity of the solar rays blinded him momentarily when he turned in that direction to look for any trace of his pursuer, yet this proved to be a fatal mistake. From beneath, the Seeker was rammed, his subordinate having decided to stay out of his line of sight long enough, and by the time Starscream realized his error, it was too late.
“Aha!!!”Skywarp seized him by the waist and immediately went to work. His servos went in and scrambled along the area he had attacked before, Starscream immediately seizing up and trying to contain the chortles that threatened to spill out of his vocals.
“S-Stop it!!!” Starscream shouted, twisting as much as he could to dislodge himself from the other jet’s hold, yet it seemed that whenever he made a movement, Skywarp just focused on another part of his midsection, the continuous switching of locations making Starscream’s processor be torn between staying still or continuing to writhe around. It was all so confusing and torturous! He was at a loss at what to do! “Stop!!! I-I comma-ha-nd you!!!”
“Hmm...nah.” Skywarp responded, continuing to scramble over the bends and angles of Commander’s midsection.
“I-I’ll kill you!!! Do you hear!? I’ll kill-” Starscream’s voice, unfortunately, chose that time to not cooperate with him. “G-Gah! N-No-hohoho!!! STOP!!!”
“Ah, there you go!” Skywarp congratulated. “Now, was that so hard?”
“Get off!!!” Starscream practically shrieked, both from frustration (and panic), yet also from the sensations that were plaguing his cerebral chamber, sensors lit a fire with horrid tingles and shocks. He only wished that they were of pain. “I-I can’t-'' he then nearly fell out of Skywarp’s arms before he was, unfortunately, caught, the torment continuing. “I can’t stay alo-ha-ft!!!”
“No problem!” Skywarp said, shutting off his thrusters. The two Seekers then began to plummet downwards.
“What in Primus’ name are you doing?! We’ll cra-ah-sh!!!” Starscream hollered, all the while trying to contain himself as Skywarp’s servos still continued to torment him.
As the ground continued to come closer and closer, Starscream braced himself for impact, yet found that it never came, magenta filling his vision before everything around him froze. He wasn’t a stranger to this phenomenon, yet it still perplexed and bewildered him that such an impulsive oaf had such an ability bestowed on him. The times were far and in between, yet whenever it happened, Starscream had gone into the strange dimension between planes of existence with Skywarp when the Seeker teleported both of them. The world looked the same as it had before, yet everything was still and silent. No movement, no sound, nothing. Nothing but their own, as if they were the only things that existed in this small pocket universe.
Then, as quickly as it began, it ended, both Seekers landing on the ground, yet far from at the velocity they were previously traveling at. The landing didn’t mean that Starscream was free, however, the lack of the need to look out below allowed Skywarp to fully focus now on the movements of his servos, which quickly went back to work.
“Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!!” Starscream commanded, yet he was quickly shut up as giggles threatened to pour out from his vocal processor. He then lifted up his arm in an attempt to, out of desperation, fire his null ray in the other Seeker’s direction, this proved to be yet another fatal error.
Once Skywarp shot his hand underneath to scrape at the cables and joint that linked Starscream’s shoulder and upper arm, he could hold it in no longer.
“Gah!!! Gah-hahahahaha!!!” Starscream released loud and slightly hoarse laughter from his vocals, using his other arm to push back against the other Seeker tickling at his underarm. “S-Stop!!! Stop it!! Sto-hahahaha-p!!!”
“Ha! Gotcha!” Skywarp shouted in triumph, spidering along the red area that rested above his white waist just below the arm joint, this forcing Starscream to retreat into himself and cease his attempts in getting the purple and black Seeker off him. “You’ve got no chance now! Surrender!”
“Hahaha, n-never!!!” Starscream shouted back, trying to turn the opposite way to keep Skywarp away from his side. “Ge-hehehe-t off!!! Get-ah!!!” Skywarp swiped a digit just underneath the area where Starscream’s chest protruded outwards, running the servo along the rim. “Don’t touch me there-AHH!!!”
Skywarp smirked. “Why? Does it tickle?~” he asked oh-so-sweetly. “So you admit you’re ticklish.”
“I admit nothing!!!” Starscream choked in between bouts of involuntary laughter. “I’m not tick-“ he tried to finish but was cut off by more chortles forcing themselves out.
“Then what do you call this? Just a WEE bit of sensitivity?” The purple and black Seeker asked. He stroked and pinched along the SIC’s upper chest region, dipping his hands in the small, square-shaped hollows that rested by his white shoulders, this causing said SIC to try and make another grab at his hands to stop the attack. Unfortunately, Skywarp used this opportunity to dive in under Starscream’s arms and begin scribbling at the joints and cables and whatever other components he could reach. Starscream howled with laughter the moment he felt the wildly moving digits, his arms hugging around himself and clamping themselves down.”Oh great, I’m stuck. Now, what are you gonna do?”
“Wh-Wha-hahaha-t?! You ge-hehe-t them out!!!”
“Can’t exactly do that with you holding my hands down, can I?” Skywarp asked, not letting up in the slightest. “Lift your arms up and I can get free.”
“N-No!!! You’re just gonna-hahaha!!! STOP!!!”
“Hmm...nope.”
Starscream was in, as the humans would say, stitches, his body torn between twisting around and curling up into a ball in a vain attempt to lessen the sensations plaguing him. He knew well that Skywarp would go for the same areas and perhaps others if he lifted up his arms, yet, as he found out, the seams of his underarms were deathly sensitive. It was the equivalent of either having Megatron rip off his limbs versus his fusion cannon blasting him right in the chest. Neither of them was exactly pleasant options. And he didn’t care if he would be called dramatic for making such a comparison! This was torture! He needed this to stop! He HAD to make it stop!
Yet he wouldn’t beg. Not to Skywarp of all mechs. That fool would never get the satisfaction of hearing him grovel for mercy!
And speaking of members of his trine, where in Primus’ name was Thundercracker?! Useless piece of scrap-
“All right, that’s enough!” a voice called out from high above, a blue jet zooming down and transforming, landing a short distance away from his fellow wingmate and Commander. “C’mon, Skywarp, you’re going to kill him.”
“Am not!” Skywarp protested. “I’m just trying to lighten Screamer’s mood here! And from what I’ve seen, my method’s working!
Starscream tried to protest, yet had taken to tightening his lips as much as he could, strained whines coming from in between gritted, grinding dentals. Still, he managed to make out some words (though it was NOT a plea!). “G-Get him off!!! GET HIM OFF!!!”
Thundercracker sighed, crossing his arms. “You heard him. Get off.”
“Aww, do I have to?” Skywarp whined.
“Unless you want a report regarding your insubordination, I’d suggest you do so.”
The purple and black Seeker huffed and begrudgingly stopped moving his hands, Starscream immediately seizing the chance to scramble away, standing up and dusting himself off. Skywarp began to rise as well, yet Starscream pointed one of his cannons in his direction, eyeing his every movement.
“He isn’t going to bother you anymore.” Thundercracker assured.
“I should blast you in the face JUST for what you put me through alone!!!” the Decepticon SIC snarled.
“Hey, I was just trying to get something out of you that wasn’t complaining!” Skywarp countered. “You think you’re the only one that wants to be here on guard duty?”
“I’d much rather be in the company of Megatron at the moment rather than you two!!!”
“Hey, c’mon, that’s enough.” Thundercracker began, trying to cool things down, yet his Commander wasn’t having it.
“I’ve done nothing wrong to even be here!!! I was made Second in Command by Megatron himself!!! And, like it or not, that means I have the full right to question and propose any sort of adjustment or improvement to whatever backward, ridiculous, and foolhardy mission he’s got in mind!!!” Starscream shouted, clenching his blue fists. “And if that’s not enough, he had to stick me with YOU TWO of all bots!!!”
“Hey, c’mon!” Skywarp shot back. “We’re the only ones that can fly besides those damn cone-heads! And Primus knows they won’t put up with your bullshit.”
“I’ve had it up to here with yours!!!” Starscream retorted. “I don’t know why I even continue to allow myself to work with you two!!!” he then pointed to Skywarp. “You are an immature, idiotic thug that has been graced with a power that you clearly do not deserve!!!” he then pointed to Thundercracker. “And you…” Starscream paused. “You...you...well...you didn’t get here fast enough!!! I was under attack by one of my own wingmates, and here you were, lollygagging and taking your sweet time!!!”
Thundercracker was somewhat taken aback. True, this was typical of Starscream, ranting and raving about all the unfairness of the world and how he was slighted by whomever he decided had insulted him, yet the blue Seeker felt a twinge of anger flare up in his spark. “I was TRYING to keep back to make sure you wouldn’t clip a wing or something. You were behaving quite...erratically.”
“That’s no excuse!!!” Starscream countered. “I am your superior, and thus, am your utmost concern!!!”
“I was-”
“No, I’m not done!!!” the other Seeker interrupted. “You know what? You’re just as useless as Skywarp here!!! Only you’ve got no discernable skills or anything spectacular in your arsenal. I lack Skywarp’s little ‘talent’, but I come packed with null rays that can disable and render any machine, Earth or Cybertronian, useless. But you? What, the typical blaster? And such an outdated model too!!! Perhaps even one of the cone-heads would be better suited to be here in comparison to-”
Starscream got out no more before he found himself tackled to the ground. Thundercracker was on top of him and, at a blinding speed, as if in response to the SIC’s remarks regarding his skill and prowess.
“What do you think you’re-” Starscream shouted, yet soon felt his shoulder cannons being removed from his arms. “H-Hey!!! Put those back!!!”
Thundercracker didn’t answer him, continuing his work until his Commander was relieved of his weapons. Then, the blue Seeker delivered a blow to Starscream’s face when the other Decepticon tried to rise. He was disoriented long enough for him to be seized from behind, Thundercracker having ducked his arms underneath Starscream’s own and lifted them up, holding them together with one hand clasping around his wrists, effectively keeping the SIC in place.
“Skywarp,” the blue Seeker began, voice low and emotionless, yet the other members of the trine knew well what such a tone meant when it came to Thundercracker. “He’s all yours.”
Skywarp beamed and made a motion of ‘cracking’ his knuckles (even if he had none). The grin on his face filled Starscream with the utmost dread and fear. “Y-You can’t do this!!!” he protested. “I’m your superior!!!”
“Yes,” Thundercracker responded. “A superior asshole.”
“A superior asshole that’s been getting on my and Cracker’s nerves,” Skywarp said, grinning. Thundercracker despised the nickname the other Seeker had given him, yet at the moment, what was at the forefront of his mind was his Commander’s “disciplinary” session. “And since we’re both done hearing you bitch and moan,” Skywarp raised his servos up, wiggling and making clawing motions with them. “We’re gonna hear you laugh it up instead!”
And then, he went in and continued where he had left off.
Starscream had no chance to brace himself, his focus torn between trying to get Thundercracker off of him and Skywarp’s advances. The purple and black Seeker dove down and traced his servo-tips all over the red and blue Seeker’s chassis, running along the curves and bends, dipping his digits in the vents situated on his chest, and down the midsection where his cockpit was located.
“N-No!!! No-hahahahaha!!! St-Sto-hahaha-p!!! Stop!!! I or-hoho-der you to STOP!!!”
“Not happening.” Skywarp responded, now skittering along the white waist.
“You-hoohoo dare defy an or-hoho-der from your Comma-hahaha-nder!?!”
“If said Commander is being a little bitch, then yes.”
“Th-This is ahahaha-assult on a supe-hehhehe-rior officer!!!”
“Fine then. Stop me.”
Starscream didn’t answer that, knowing well that, despite himself, he was effectively rendered helpless. Thundercracker wasn’t letting him go any time soon, and Skywarp was more than content to keep tickling the ever-living shit out of his Commander. He was completely at their mercy. But he would not surrender. He couldn’t! Not to them! They wouldn’t get one word out of him that was begging for mercy!
At least, that’s what he tried to keep in mind, all the while fighting against said pleas that were forming in his processor.
Skywarp continued to let his servos dance all over Starscream’s upper half, Thundercracker keeping him immobile. The other Seeker’s added weight made struggling difficult and sometimes near impossible, and the maddening sensations made his futile attempts to escape no better. Skywarp had gone for the SIC’s underarms, Starscream’s laughter raising in volume and his struggles increasing, yet Thundercracker held him firm. Skywarp spidered down Starscream’s sides and chest, even tackling the red sections that stood upward on his shoulders. The red and blue Seeker howled with laughter, Thundercracker keeping up his efforts to hold him tight. Despite his current predicament, Starscream could at least take comfort in that the three were clearly alone out here. The only downside to that was that it was Skywarp of all bots doing the torturing! That mech left no inch of his upper body untouched, making sure to give each and every portion of it equal attention. Odd that he would be so precise given how impatient and foolhardy he was.
Having decided that he had explored all he could in that area, the purple and black Seeker shifted his attention to Starscream’s hips, dragging servos along where it connected to his waist and squeezing the sides. The Decepticon SIC continued to release mad cackles from his vocal processor, Skywarp’s servos traveling down to his inner thighs, teasing the joints and cables he could reach. The purple and black Seeker went down the other jet’s legs and reached his knees, swiping servos behind the blocky sections that essentially served as ‘kneecaps’. He even dipped his digits in the vents that rested there.
Starscream was being driven mad, his frantic struggles weakening, though whether it was due to him losing strength or some part of him simply accepting his fate, he was unsure. Regardless, he was reaching his limit and frankly, beginning to lose his mind. “W-Wait!!!” the Seeker got out. “O-hoho-k!!! OK!!! You-hoohoo-’ve had your fun!!! Stop!!!”
“Not yet,” Skywarp said. “I’ve still got a little more of you to tend to.” he then turned to the blue Seeker. “Hold him tight. I gotta feeling this is going to send him over the edge.”
“What do you mean…” Starscream asked, yet trailed off when he saw Skywarp secure his ankles, the undersides of his peds and thrusters completely exposed. Oh no. Oh Primus, no! “W-Wait!!! WAIT!!!” Skywarp and Thundercracker were quite shocked at how loud their captive had gotten, both looking at him with wide, red optics.
Skywarp then smirked. “Oh my,” he glanced at one ped he had in his grasp. “This a particularly sensitive area?” as if to demonstrate, he ran one servo down the length of the side of it, Starscream trembling and straining to keep noises from exiting his throat. “Oh hot damn!” the purple and black Seeker looked to his comrade. “Look at this Cracker! Screamer here’s got sensitive tootsies!”
Tootsies? Was that a human word? Well, whatever. Thundercracker had to strengthen his hold on Starscream, the other Seeker growing even more erratic than before.
“Not there!!!” Starscream finally threw all pride and dignity aside and went to one of his desperate fail-safes: begging. “Please, not there!!! Anywhere but there!!!”
“Why?” Skywarp coyly asked. “Does it tiiiickle~?”
“All right fine!!! Fine, I admit it!!! I’m ticklish, ok!?! There, I said it!!!”
Skywarp stopped his teasing, yet still held Starscream’s ped in his hold. “And?”
“And…” the SIC couldn’t believe he was doing this. Megatron was one thing, but these two? He would NEVER live this down. “And…” he felt a servo place itself on the underside of the ped. “And I’m sorry!!! I’m sorry for everything I said!!! You’re not useless or idiots!!!” Starscream sighed, having gained both of the other jet’s attention. “It’s just...it’s just so frustrating.” He said, lessening his struggles. “Your position means nothing, and whatever contribution you have to give is treated little better than the ramblings of a fool. How nothing you could ever say matters…”
Starscream looked away from both of them for a second, his wingmates quite baffled and confused by what they just heard. True, complaining was one of the hallmarks of their Commander’s personality, yet it was quite a rarity to hear him display such raw honesty with them. It wasn’t a completely alien event, the two having heard these supposedly heartfelt (or in their case, sparkfelt) confessions before, but they were far and in between. Yet whenever they happened, despite their probable better judgment, they listened. And Starscream, even if he didn’t say it outright, acknowledged that they were indeed listening. These moments were always awkward and generally uncomfortable for all three of them, the mood not exactly being positive but oddly calm. And neither Skywarp nor Thundercracker could tell whether these were genuine or not. Their Commander was very much what the humans called a social chameleon. Oh sure, he had his distinguishing traits, yet it seemed that whenever he had to play a certain role (aside from a duplicitous usurper), he usually took it and made it his own. He could have solid strategies and plans, he could be deadly in combat and made use of his airborne advantage well, and when, rarely, Megatron’s plans aligned with his own, he would follow it to a tee. But whether all these were just an act to get what he wanted or a rare display of inner, truthful self (even if partway), neither of the Seekers knew. And in a way, Starscream would probably have it no other way.
Skywarp looked at his partner in crime, then to his victim. “You believe him, Cracker?”
Thundercracker was silent for a moment, Starscream looking up at him with wide, pleading optics. “I don’t know. You know Starscream.”
“Oh, you think so little of me, dear Thundercracker?” The SIC asked, seemingly hurt. “I merely let my own grievances with Megatron affect my sense of professionalism.”
“And?” Skywarp asked. “You sorry for being the King of the Assholes today?”
“King of the...what!?” Starscream began to protest, yet the sensation of Skywarp’s servo kept him in his place. “Yes!!! Yes. Yes, I’m sorry. I apologize. I apologize for everything that’s come from my vocal components.”
The purple and black Seeker looked and Thundercracker and nodded his head. “You know what? I believe him. How about you?” Thundercracker remained silent, yet when his hold was loosening, he noticed Skywarp look at him with a coy, calculating smile. “I think Cracker here forgives you too, Screamer.”
Starscream sighed in relief. “Yes, well...I suppose, as the humans say, to err is, well, human. But to forgive is divine.” He tried to get up, but still, found himself being held tight.
“Hold on there! Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.” Skywarp said. “I said I forgive you.” He then placed a servo on the underside of Starscream’s ped and dragged it down, noticing how his Commander’s face tensed up. “I didn’t say anything about letting you go. And neither did Cracker.”
Starscream’s red optics widened in terror, his fate had not been changed. “But...but you said that you forgave me!!! You have to release me!!!”
“And we will,” Thundercracker spoke up. “But, it would be bad form to leave Skywarp’s job unfinished, right?”
“Was that an actual joke from you?” Skywarp asked, genuinely surprised. It was just as, perhaps even rarer than Starscream’s “honest” moments, yet once in a while, the blue Seeker showed he was capable of humor, albeit mostly dry, but still, humor. “And yeah. I’ve only got one more place to cover. So I’d suggest you buck up and take the rest of it like a mech!”
Shit, Starscream thought, a part of him surprised that he had used a human curse. Still, the sentence had been delivered. He was doomed. “N-No, wait!!! You don’t understand!!! I can’t take it there!!! It’s too much!!! You’ll drive me crazy!!!
“Hmm...those are all rather bold claims. But you shouldn’t have told me that.” Skywarp said, eager to start his tickling torment up again. “Because now I’m going to have to see it for myself!”
And thus, Skywarp wasted no time in getting started, Starscream having no chance to maintain any semblance of self-control the moment he felt a servo quickly swipe itself back and forth on his ped. The reaction was immediate, Starscream having no chance to try and even contain himself. Skywarp traced down the entire length of the ped, the red and blue Seeker released loud and slightly hoarse laughter from his vocals, he desperately trying to twist his way out of Thundercracker’s grip.
“Skwarp!!!” Starscream hollered. “Ple-heeheehee-se!!! STOP!!!”
“Oh no, Mr. General Dickweed!” the Seeker answered back. “Forgiveness or no, you’ve been in dire need of an attitude adjustment all day today!”
“I sa-hahaha-id I was so-hohoho-rry!!!”
“And you lied to us about being ticklish. Shame on you!” Skywarp teased, continuing to scribble around on the underside of his Commander’s ped.
Starscream was in absolute hysterics, trying with all his remaining power to break free and escape his torment, yet it seemed that his fate was sealed. He was going to have to stay here and endure the continuous, soft, agonizingly light yet maddening sensations Skywarp’s servos created. Eventually, his struggles ceased, no longer having the energy to fight back. Or maybe, somewhere in his processor, he knew that he was fighting a losing battle and simply relented to those that currently had power over him. Skywarp then ceased tickling the peds, yet Starscream had no time to rest. Despite his hopes, pleas, and prayers (he hadn’t really considered himself a religious bot, yet he was singing praises to Primus at that moment in his head), Skywarp had discovered his Commander’s Achilles Heel. Literally.
“PRIMUS, STOP!!!” the SIC shrieked, living up to his name. Out of all the spots that could’ve been at the mercy (or lack thereof) of Skywarp’s servos, he knew well that one would be enough to make him go crazy. “YOU’RE KI-HIHIHIHI-LLING ME!!! I’M DY-HIHIHIHI-ING!!!”
Skywarp scoffed, yet he found this whole thing hilarious, his servos dancing along the lining of and inside Starscream’s thrusters. “Oh please. If anything, this is a spa treatment compared to what you usually get hit with from Megatron.”
“I’D RA-HAHAHAHA-THER TAKE THAT!!! OH PLEASE!!! PLE-HEEHEEHEE-ASE!!! I CAN’T TAKE ANYMORE!!!”
Thundercracker glanced down at his captive, taking a look at the Seeker’s ever-present smile he had plastered on his features, yet also of how hot he was beginning to feel how warm he was becoming. His internal systems had steadily been heating up from all the exertion of energy, yet the fact Thundercracker could now feel the heat himself signaled to him that Starscream was truly reaching his breaking point.
“Ok, I think that’s enough.”
Skywarp looked up. “Aw, why?”
“Is your processor malfunctioning? Feel how warm he is!” Hmm, now that he thought about it, Starscream DID feel like he was heating up the further along he went. Still...did he have to? “Skywarp!”
“Ok, ok! Fine!” the purple and black Seeker groaned.
Begrudgingly, he ceased the movement of his servos and raised his hands away from Starscream, who was still caught in the throughs of laughter. Yet after a few moments, said laughter began to soften and decrease, the Seeker resting in Thundercracker’s arms mainly because he couldn’t do much else. Despite there being no need to take in oxygen, Starscream was quite appreciative of its abundance, his vents taking it in and filtering out the heat that had been building up.
“Oh, and here you actually had me...going,” Skywarp said, gesturing to Starscream. “See? He’s fine!” The word ‘concerned’ was about to exit from his lips, yet the Seeker kept them back. Like the Pit he was going to say that. Starscream then glared in Skywarp’s direction. “See? Totally fine. He’s already back to his bitchy self.”
“You…” Starscream huffed, sounding as if he were short of breath despite not needing to breathe. “You think you’re VERY clever, don’t you?”
Skywarp shrugged. “On occasion, I like to think so.”
Starscream only narrowed his optics. “The moment I get my strength back up, your termination will be slow and painful.”
Despite this threat, the Seeker wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. “Yeah right. I stopped believing you after the...what was it, the millionth-and-first time you said that?”
“Well...who’s to say I don’t mean it the millionth-and-second time?” Starscream questioned, beginning to reach for his null rays, yet ultimately, had tired himself out too much to even move from where he was. As the human said, screw it.
“Are you all right?”
The Decepticon SIC looked up at Thundercracker. “Oh, so NOW you care about my wellbeing?”
“I stopped him, didn’t I?” The blue Seeker asked, pointing to Skywarp.
“And you’re also the one that restrained and let him torture me.”
“...touche.” he then began to rise. “Come on. On your feet.” he slowly hoisted his Commander up. “You’re still cooling down, so it’d probably be good to wait for a klik or two before you take to the air.”
Starscream didn’t argue with that, yet he went over to retrieve his arm cannons. Skywarp soon found the Commander’s eyes looking straight at him. Yet still, his cannons didn’t fire, though whether because he was too tired to do anything or he actually didn’t have it in him (at least at the moment), to shoot Skywarp was unknown. Yet the result was the same.
“So...now what?” the purple and black Seeker asked.
“What do you mean, now what?” Thundercracker asked. “We go back to our posts! Slag, we shouldn’t even be out here anyway!”
Starscream dusted himself off, trying to straighten out his appearance. “As soon as this is over, I’m punishing both of you.”
Skywarp mockingly gasped. “Aw, why?”
“Why?! You know slagging good why!!!” Starscream responded. “And by the time I’m done with you, a session with Megatron himself will sound exceptionally pleasant in comparison!!!”
“Oooh, that’s pretty big talk, Screamer.” Skywarp chuckled. “And just how are you going to do it?”
Starscream didn’t exactly care for how close the other Seeker was. “I...I’ll find a way. I’ll find several.”
“Of course, you do realize you’re not the only one with an advantage, you know?” And before Starscream could ask, he felt a poke in his side, the red and blue Seeker recoiling from the touch. “Y’know, I can’t help but wonder how the guys would react to this when I tell them.”
Both Starscream and Thundercracker were taken aback by what Skywarp had just said. “Why would you tell anybody?” Starscream asked.
“Because it’s adorably precious and funny.” The Seeker answered.
“You had better not!!!” Starscream ordered. “Or I’ll make your punishment even worse than Thundercracker’s!!! I’ll…” he then went over and fell at Skywarp’s feet. “Please don’t tell anyone. Please. I’m begging you.”
“Relax, he’s not going to tell,” Thundercracker assured his Commander. “Right, Skywarp?”
Skywarp folded his arms. “Only if Screamer takes back his punishment threats.”
Starscream relented. “Ok, yes. Fine. No discipline. Ok?”
The Seeker smiled. “And since you’re feeling so cooperative, I’ve been meaning to ask you some...stuff.”
Starscream did NOT like the sound of that. “What kind of...stuff??”
“Well, c’mon.” Before he knew it, the Air Commander found his trine-mate’s arm slung around his shoulder as if he were a long-time friend. “We can discuss it on the way back to the space bridge.”
Starscream groaned, not liking where this was going at all.
Thundercracker only looked on, still trying to swallow everything that had happened. Suffice to say, he found himself feeling rather...odd about it. And he could tell Starscream held this sentiment as well. Truly, it sounded unreal: he had just held down their superior while his wingmate tickled him into near insanity. Had he not seen it himself, let alone participated in it, he wouldn’t have believed it. Frankly, he was beginning to feel quite embarrassed about how he had sunk so low to be involved in something so childish, but…
“Oh, come on! It wasn’t that bad!” The blue Seeker heard Skywarp say. “You were smiling the whole time!”
“Yes, against my will!!!!” Starscream retorted, folding his arms and, for lack of a better word, pouting.
“But don’t you feel just a little bit better?”
Starscream’s red optics widened. “No! It-“ had he been human, he would’ve been red as a tomato. Odd how the meatbag’s skin changed at just the slightest amount of extreme emotion. “Hmph!!! Well...I’m not talking to you right now!!! Or in the next few Earth hours. Or tomorrow. Or the day after that. Or-“ he was interrupted by a poke, unprepared to contain the giggle that slipped out. “Do that again, and I WILL blast you this time.” He threatened.
“That makes a millionth-and-three.” Skywarp answered, unfazed.
Thundercracker continued to watch the two Seekers argue and banter with each other, noticing that, even if he would swear to Primus Himself that it wasn’t the case, since his tickling session, Starscream seemed...less irritable?
“Well, maybe that’ll be the lucky number. What’s that human saying again? Third time’s the charm?”
“I don’t think they have plus a million in there though.” Skywarp chuckled, Starscream huffing.
“Shut up.”
Thundercracker could only speculate. One could never tell with Starscream. But from watching him, he had a vague idea of what was going in his processor. And that he’d keep it a secret from everyone.
54 notes · View notes
pen-observing · 4 years ago
Text
I finished my fic with this theme and I did the brothers reacting to this. So how could I, an undatables enthusiast, not make this? It took a while but it’s here. Some brain cells were involved in the making of this post,,,, I guess?
MASTERLIST
How the undatables react/pursue you after Diavolo cheats on you while married
Diavolo:
Why is he here? Well you see-- why not
In the human world some believe that the ultimate proof of love is giving the cheater another chance, fighting to salvage a relationship
In all honesty, Diavolo never expects that from you, nor does he hope such a thing can happen
He curses himself for a momentary weakness. A prince, a ruler, so easily swayed and influence does not carry any nobility or respect
He may be the most influential, the most powerful- but he starts seeing himself as weak
He hides away from his thoughts in work, in new holidays, in friendships and partnerships and in excuses
He tries not to give those thoughts space to grow
But, the damage has been done
Diavolo’s worst enemy and worst critic, the one who judges him the most is himself
He knows that with this one deed (some may call it a momentary lapse in judgement) he has undone all the work it took years to build
He knows that falling into temptation is the biggest mistake he has ever made; especially because he cannot bear to have you hate him when he loves you so much
Diavolo has no guts to admit that after what he did, he believes he has no right to claim it face-to-face
So, he randomly visits Lucifer to see you, ask about you. He tasks Barbatos with keeping you safe. Little Ds are ordered to make your life easier without being noticed
Because of what happened, he doubts that he deserves the place and title of a King
And, you notice that the most- in the smiles, in the speeches, in the doubt and guilt that radiates off from him
The only way to salvage this and get back together lies with you. If you, after so much time can forgive but not forget. If you can wish to grow into a union once more.  
He goes along with your wish for divorce just as quickly as he goes for your wish of reconciliation.  
He does not force you, he respects whatever you decide.
Barbatos:
Probably the one which would provide the most material for gossip and speculation, in theory
In practice, it’s like a 500k slow burn romance
Here is why; Barbatos is a man of duty and loyalty to the person that hurt you. He finds no amusement in being the center of gossip nor does he wish for you to go through the dirt. Devildom is such a cruel place, you cannot even imagine what could come your way if the relationship was established early on.
Besides, it is even hard for you to not have Barbatos remind you of Diavolo once the relationship first breaks
Babratos gives you time to heal and move on before he does anything which can show his romantic interest
He knows how charming you are, he knows your habits and he knows that he must be patient before a true connection can be established
So, how does it happen? Well, after healing from Diavolo you naturally, through fate or the wonder of time, need to spend some time in the same circle
Obligations, work and friendships bring you together in a weird way
The balls and parties are something you must attend and because Barbatos knows you, he knows just what you like
The perfect place for you to sit which is neither too warm nor too hot, a place far away from people you do not like in their world but close enough so that you do not miss anything important or fun. For some reason, it always smells like your favorite scent too
The perfect place, the perfect tea, the delicious food with small hidden notes which do not give away his intention but do show his affection  
It just grows more and more unbearable  
The lingering stares, the short but warm goodbyes, the way his hands just brush against yours for a moment longer than usual when he takes your coat
It creates a magical attraction inside that long game, which, as expected, Barbatos is better at than you
You try to find him alone and, in those moments; inside the kitchen or under the stairs while everyone is far away dancing, it becomes just the world of you two
His tone is warmer, he is more direct. You sometimes, inside such short pauses, are able to exchange warmth. In conversations, in the longing looks, in the way his hand holds yours. In the way he gently takes your wrist, puts his hand on the small of your back to guide you back inside a world which is overabundant in fancy but doesn’t feel meaningful without him in it
Sometimes, it can even hold a soft kiss
But, it becomes torture. Enough is enough. His privacy starts to seem like secrecy to you for all the wrong reasons. As a human, you aren’t patient enough to wait 4 years until something, anything happens  
So, you seek him out at the next party. They’re too rare in your opinion now. You seek him out and find him on the stairs as he goes to complete another task.
Bravery or foolishness, it does not matter which of the two makes you stop him. Makes you ask him; when? When will this secrecy end?
In reality, it doesn’t really matter. He would probably kabedon you on the stairs (as a true gentleman! don’t get it twisted!)
He holds time itself in his hands and yet you asked him.  
He whispers: “All in good time, my love. All in good time.”  
And leaves you like that.
So, what is the good time?  
It is already the point where you forgot about Diavolo but; has Diavolo forgotten about you?
That is what Barbatos waits for. He sees no need to ask his lord such a thing. Diavolo notices it himself. How could he not? Diavolo also knows that he does not love you anymore.
So, the next time Diavolo comes to the kitchen and sees your favorite tea (the one he never drinks) he gives Barbatos the permission, the freedom to go pursue you.  
After all, it is time.
Simeon:
The most empathic out of everyone.  
The best choice even
Why? With him, you would only feel compassion and care.
Gentleness.  
There is no drama that could follow you when you turn to him.
He has not sworn loyalty to Diavolo. He is not his partner. He lives in a completely different realm.  
It is really the exact change that you need. At first, it seems so odd because you are used to a completely different world but; it is comfort. It is care. It is everything that helps you heal
In truth, Simeon’s instinct gravitates towards that. It gravitates towards making sure that you heal in all aspects. Physically, emotionally- most importantly- your soul should shine like it used to
After you start that process it brings long conversations where you two ponder over what it means to live and love. You discuss theories and opinions. Simeon has loved longer than you, he has seen countless love stories- he even wrote some.
This process can even inspire him to flesh out a new character
In actuality, Simeon warned both Diavolo and you with masqueraded words about what marriage truly means before you got married
So now, he doesn’t say ‘I told you so’ or ‘Why didn’t you listen to me’. He just hopes that you won’t grow to hate the whole institution and tradition that marriage is
And honestly? Simeon shows you unrequited love so, how could you ever think that with him?
Here, you will be the first to realize your emotions and you will probably need to act on them first as well
Solomon:
He is somewhere in the human world, inside a secret room of an abandoned castle just thinking of new spells when he gets a text from Asmo about what happened
Dramatic as fuck gasp while his potion drops to the floor and now the floor is pink
Solomon, with all the years that he has been alive, with all the pacts and mistakes he has made- still is more human than the rest of them
This does not mean that he will be the best at comforting you but he already packed the most important things to go and see you. Is that not enough to show immediate care?
Instead of comforting you by himself he spends time in the House of Lamantation, working with the rest of the brothers  
Time has passed, you both have changed so it takes a bit for him to get familiar with you again and to work out your habits
Probably tries to joke like: “Even if that red tree branch offered me to make a pact with him I would refuse for your sake.”
It shows that, despite all the flaws and morally gray actions, he stands on your side- not his
But, life inside that house has to move on. He can’t really stay calm and tied down to it for months and as he is preparing for his next trip- he asks you to go with him
It is a true change of pace. You will experience new things you never dreamed of. He can teach you magic. He can show you places in the human world full of it
He promises to make sure that you are safe
So you set off with him
It is a grand adventure. It holds both comfort and new things that only make you grow.  
It holds his teasing as well but he never lets anything bad happen to you
He realizes his affections before you but you are so busy taking in the world’s wonders that he keeps them a secret for just a while longer because you are so excited. Your eyes shine and he just knows you have new stories to remember and uncover at the same time
You don’t realize yours until Solomon makes it clear to you, in a sly way.
You stand outside of enchanted ruins. The sky is bright blue with pink lines. Solomon says: “And who would have thought that one of the most powerful witches got cheated on by the man who allegedly enchanted this ruin when he was young? Hmm?~”
And really, who would? You realize then how that did not even cross your mind. How could it? Here you are with Solomon on another adventure that sparked more love as the sky dances for your new story.
Luke:
Has it been years since you got married? Yes
Has Luke grown to love demons? Absolutely not. Are you kidding me?
He throws his little hat to the ground when he finds out
Never trust their kind.  That's what he says
Sure Diavolo had a noble goal once but after this? Once Luke’s good opinion is lost it is lost forever
Baby is very dramatic about the whole thing
How dare that evil creature hurt you? Luke was teary eyed at your wedding and he is teary eyed the next time he sees you  
But
He tries his best. He really does.
He doesn’t have wisdom like Simeon. But he asks him for advice.  
Best believe the only way Diavolo will taste one of his treats again is if Luke yeets it in his face 
Firstly, tumblr better fix their tags because it is unbearable! Now you may ask; yooo why is Barbatos’ so long? Cus thats my boo and he is the main reason I decided to write these reactions in general
558 notes · View notes
heniareth · 3 years ago
Note
Here's that ask I promised :D Some more questions for the OC ask meme <3
What is your character's biggest realtionship flaw? Has that flaw ever destroyed relationships for them before?
Companion they are closest to and why?
Thoughts on the Dalish?
What biases does your character have? (This can be in favor or against)
How does your OC react in stressful situations?
What do they like to ridicule and/or what do they find stupid?
Does your OC have recurring themes in their dreams?
What is your OCs proudest moment?
Did you create the OC to be like yourself, did they end up being like yourself, or are they very different from you?
(These are a lot again, it is so hard to hold back xD So take your time and no pressure as always :) Just excited to get to know more about your Astala <3)
Thank you for the ask!! I had this sitting for forever, life has kept me busy, but I'm so excited to give this a go XD And to delve into some aspects of Astala that I haven't given much thought yet, so that's exciting.
What is your character's biggest realtionship flaw? Has that flaw ever destroyed relationships for them before?
Astala's biggest flaw when it comes to relationships is her inability to let go of people. On a positive note, this trait manifests as a very strong loyalty. On the negative side, it will lead her to cry after relationships that have ended and pour over them to try and find out what went wrong. It can also put her or other people she cares about in danger; especially in her position as the de facto leader of the companions, this could quickly lead to the loss of a whole unit (aka the three companions you can take with you on missions + the Warden). Luckily, she has Morrigan and Alistair (and Sten and Zevran) who can and will point out when a course of action is likely to put them in more danger than they already are.
Companion they are closest to and why?
Ooof, this is a tough one. Ironically, the romanceable four. Alistair is practically second-in-command, even though I imagine he’d protest at the title. They work closely together and are therefore quite close. Astala admires and respects Morrigan, even when her opinions and advice goes against most things Astala believes in. She’s the kind of friend you know would hide a body for you. Leliana is a friend in the more “common” sense. She and Astala both have a thing for nice clothing, their morals are similarly aligned, and they just get along in general. And then of course there’s Zevran, who’s Astala’s love interest. Funnily enough, they both started off annoying the hell out of each other over various petty reasons, and it takes them some time to really see each other for who they are. And from that point on there’s no turning back and they fall hard.
Thoughts on the Dalish?
The Dalish are an interesting subject. Astala hadn't met any previous to the Blight (although her cousin Shianni imagined her dad, who she never knew, to be a strong Dalish warrior). So to see them live these relatively normal lives when she encountered Zathrian's clan was... odd. But on the other hand, their lives were everything but normal because they spoke elvish, worshipped the Creators, had halla and could go wherever they wanted. So the first thing Astala did when she got there was ask a metric ton of questions about everything. On the other hand, the way some of the Dalish talk about the city elves makes her sad. They have a point , the city elves would probably treat one of the Dalish similarly, and she understands the distrust in anything that so much as smells of humans; but she still finds the divide tragic. She also thinks the Dalish are a bit too proud for their own good; but then again, how else are you going to defend yourself against a world that threw an Exalted March against your forebears' homeland?
What biases does your character have? (This can be in favor or against)
Astala is generally biased in favour of elves, and in favour of whoever she percieves to be the underdog in a given situation. This can lead her to get duped (it hasn’t yet in my current playthrough, but it probably will at some point).
How does your OC react in stressful situations?
When in stressful situations, Astala generally tries to remain in control of it. To do so, she relies heavily on whatever companions she has at the moment and the resources available, both in the environment and on her person. She tends to try and talk things out, but also to make rash judgements, which uuuuuh can backfire (she's quick to draw her blades, for instance, and that does not exactly help to deescalate situations). She also has a tendency to just seize control. She also will give orders and will expect others to follow them. The companions look to her as a leader, so that works out fine. In Redcliffe, however, she did find that the militia men would listen to the mayor, and not to her. That was frustrating for both parties.
What do they like to ridicule and/or what do they find stupid?
Human nobles. Just the whole package. From their fondness of dogs and their dainty dances (which her father, who was a bann's servant, would describe to her and her cousins) to their pointy-ended shoes and their petty grievances (because when you have enough money to boss other people around, all your grievances are petty, right?). A surefire way to keep the younger kids entertained was to pretend to be a noble, let them play servants, and have them wreak havoc upon you as they got orders wrong on purpose and "stole" the "noble's" belongings. Afyer the Blight, that fondness to ridicule sadly wanes away and leaves mostly frustration in its wake.
Does your OC have recurring themes in their dreams?
Astala is a terribly heavy sleeper. If she dreams, she doesn't remember it come morning. She can therefore sadly not report any recurrent themes in her dreams as of now.
What is your OCs proudest moment?
Apart from the power trip in the Fade (she walked out smiling and continued to smile until Uldred turned into a pride demon), it was probably when she got her first job. She was 14 at the time and overheard some boys talking about how a merchant was expecting a big shipment and looking for new help. Up until then, she had been trying to get a job as a servant like her father, to no avail. On a whim she followed the boys, and lined up with the other hopeful candidates in front of the merchant's warehouses for a try-out (a selection process entailing an unpaid day of work). She proved herself to be strong enough to lift and carry crates, small and nimble enough to climb to where others couldn't reach, and above all she got extremely lucky. She was called back, first for one month, then for a trimester, then for one year and for another. And while Cyrion would have liked his daughter to have an easier and less dangerous job, he was proud right alongside her when she brought the first coins she had earned home.
Did you create the OC to be like yourself, did they end up being like yourself, or are they very different from you?
I created Astala's first version (which I mentioned in this post) based on a character that was very much an ideal; strong, kind, and above all, brave and adventurous. That first heroic version then got put through all the trials and tribulations of the story, and I was very much going with my gut instinct and not with a predetermined idea of the character when I tokk her decisions. So basically, this first versions had a good chunk of my morals and priorities. After the Deep Roads, that first version started getting depth; she reacted very strongly to having to shoulder the responsability of chosing a new king for Orzammar, for Ferelden, and defeating the Archdemon. From that point on, I started exploring why that reaction might have been so strong. Astala as she is now is the product of that exploration (during which she acquired some fears and pain points she shares with me. Examples are the fear of messing up, the sometimes blind loyalty or the need to shoulder all the responsability). Bottom line: she definitely has parts that are mine, some of which she acquired over time, but she's her own person. She's not me.
---
That was a lot of fun!! Thank you so much for the ask and sorry for the delay >.< But I'm very happy I finally came around to it, I always love answering these
31 notes · View notes
sapphic-sasuke · 3 years ago
Note
Hello, how are you doing these days? I'm back with another ask. Since we see the term 'potential' being applied to characters a lot now, do you think Itachi had any 'potential' to be an interesting character? It is a bit later that he became a mess of theme- and plot-related mistakes, but do you think in there's any basis in canon for him to have been a decent character? One that, if not complex, at least made sense? Thank you and have a great day!
OMGG HIII FAV MUTUAL i been okay these days so busy w my new job but good. howre u? 
I think Itachi had the potential to be an interesting character. Itachi’s character could have been extrapolated in so many different ways that seeing him shoved into a corner just ARGGH. there’s not much depth to him despite popular belief.
It’s crazy to me because part 1 Itachi HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL ARGGH. It’s like.. man the fear? The way all of the jounins and konoha just couldn’t match him at all! That build up was so nice. His confrontation with Sasuke where he chokes him. It’s so good!!!
I think the reason Itachi’s character fails so spectacularly is because of how the narrative wanted to warp him into someone who “wasn’t that bad” or “had good intentions to save the village but his method of action was flawed” (i see this argument a lot honestly) this argument is reiterated by obito and later naruto and kakashi. because itachi committed genocide to save konoha, he’s seen as morally grey despite the fact that the village he’s saving is highkey fascist and fucks over so many smaller, weaker villages (case in point, NAGATO!) konoha is LITERALLY a military dictatorship. there’s absolutely nothing good about that awful village and itachi killed his family for it
okay now back to my initial point, itachi killing the uchihas for konoha is fundamental to his character, it shapes him... but my god he would have been sooo much better as only an antagonist instead of someone in the middle. I understand that he was manipulated by the elders but Itachi as an antagonist would have still worked even after the plot twist of killing for konoha. He fails because his character sort of stretches out to shadow over everyone else. he’s painted out to be unbelievably strong and infallible even in death to the point it’s just laughable and it isn’t done well either because there’s no purpose to it. it does not forward the plot, it just feels like fanservice. he doesn’t fit into the story with the characters at all. it feels so forced, grating and awkward. suddenly these characters established to be the best of the best are tripping over their feet over a sick shinobi with eyes that are almost blind
His character isn’t that developed; his persona of being strong, deadly and calm is never questioned or challenged. He’s either this loving brother full of guilt or a perfect shinobi. It’s boring! Sasuke loves him when he finds out the truth, the hokages call him a hero and... that would have been a really good point to show how corrupt and horrific the shinobi system is but Itachi’s actions are never questioned! there’s nothing in the narrative in shippuden to make you believe that Itachi was wrong other than his regret (this is mainly because of how the Uchihas are viewed by everyone) And his regret is targeted more at making sasuke suffer than the killing of his clan.
Making Itachi a compelling character could have been done in so many ways so long as there wasn’t this suffocating attempt to justify him in the manga.
And I guess properly flesh out his motives. He kills his clan for konoha for Sasuke. Okay. He joins the Akatsuki to spy on them for Konoha. How would that have worked? If we’re going along with him being a spy, maybe we can be shown how he gradually loses all his morals, finds killing easier. Maybe there’s a moment where he’s surprised at how easy he finds it to fit in with Akatsuki. It would explain his torture of Sasuke more if his default reaction to anything that isn’t entirely numbing is violence. Maybe instead of everything being some greater manipulative bullshit, moments where he harms Sasuke are genuine lapses in control. He’s so obsessed with Sasuke he can’t even rationalise his actions.
(I’m still of the belief that him joining the Akatsuki as a spy was an awful plot point. It would have been better if he only joined the Akatsuki to amplify his villainous persona so Sasuke feels even more inclined to kill when he’s going around terrorising people. I feel like Itachi after killing the clan no longer caring much for Konoha, only Sasuke and a weird obsession for peace because that’s what he also did all of this for, would have been a far more interesting twist. He’s a very selfish character that gets interpreted as selfless for the “sacrifices” he makes because the shinobi think he’s right.)
We need to be shown just how horrific Itachi’s actions are the same way we were shown in part 1 Naruto. And other than the physical consequences, the mental ones too.
I guess what would make Itachi more interesting as a character if we went along with his canon actions would be to see his thought process more. This guy killed his entire clan—show us how twisted his mind can be. Show us how the guilt/self hatred/anger/apathy destroys himself until he’s quite literally begging Sasuke to kill him in his mind.
Rather than having his machinations work out, what if he fails? What if it goes wrong? We need more moments where he’s failing. Not beating legendary characters like Orochimaru. There’s no satisfactory release to Itachi, even in his death. It’s very bland.
I don’t think the plot twist of Itachi killing for konoha in itself was bad, it’s more the execution that was bad. Because we’re already shown in part 1 that Konoha is corrupt. The plot messes come from 1) the urge to make Itachi out to be infallible and righteous but deeply troubled and 2) the narrative trying its hardest to paint the uchihas out to be inherently evil and 3) the lack of accountability placed on individuals and more on “the cycle of hatred” ignoring that it’s these Kages in power who were perpetuating that system.
Okay so I will forever be salty at the direction Itachi’s character took. They took a mysterious older brother and turned him into a plot convulted mess with the worst fake deep quotes and annoying op attacks pulled out of his ass. almost damn well ruined Sasuke’s character too smh. So yeah bestie Itachi had sooo much potential. He could have properly been used as an instrument to show shinobi like the protagonists that Sasuke’s anger is valid and that the village they fight for is evil and not worth it or to properly allow the Uchiha to receive justice but nooooooo guys he felt bad :( and he loves sasuke :( and he was a spy for the village all the protagonists are from fighting terrorism in the shadows :( and the uchihas deserved it for rising up against the village that was discriminating against them :( clearly state sponsored genocide isn’t that bad :( yeah he tortured his brother and his spying did nothing to stop akatsuki but he tried :(
43 notes · View notes
ouyangzizhensdad · 3 years ago
Note
Do you think that making Chinese food is cultural appropriation? I'm white and started making some of the foods I saw in the shows I've watched since the untamed, but now I'm worried I'm appropriating the culture.
Hi anon,
As a fellow white person, I am also someone who needs to critically reflect on how I engage with different cultures. I can't give you the definitive answer you seek, the clear absolution from any potential wrongdoings; in its stead, I can only offer to share my current thought process on this topic. I’d still encourage you to seek other perspectives, and many people have written or spoken on this topic.
I believe we must first acknowledge that, on the terrain of the internet, discussions regarding cultural appropriation have reached a certain... extreme where some people view all forms of cultural exchanges as inherently suspect. They purport that so long as you stay within the bounds of ‘your’ culture, you will problematic behaviours. That perspective is inherent flawed. That is, it relies on a vision of culture as ‘bounded entities’ that exist in themselves. In reality, the ‘stuff’ that makes culture is emergent, existing only relationally, dialectically--it is a not a ‘thing’ that moves through time but an idea which is constantly negotiated and reproduced in relation to power and changing material realities to remain relevant and intelligible. The boundaries of cultural and ethnic groups are fuzzy, overlapping, and constantly being reworked and made meaningful. As an illustration, many of the food I grew up eating was influenced by ingredients and recipes immigrants brought in the 19th and 20th centuries, yet these dishes were understood as 'typically ours’. And it needs to be acknowledged that most of what is currently considered ‘white people food’ relies on ingredients that were introduced to our diet through colonialism and the violent dispossession of indigenous peoples (and, often, the current day exploitation of workers in the South and of migrant workers). No food can be truly ‘traditionally ours’, whatever the purported ‘we’ ends up being brought into the equation, and no eating behaviours can avoid the historical legacy and continuity of violence and power.
Of course, as people who exist in the world, we know that there are cultural differences. Bakhtin’s insights on language through the tensions between centripedal (ie towards uniformity, a common meaning) and centrifugal (toward diversity and change) forces can be expanded to help us conceptualise how we make sense of the way a ‘culture’ is perpetuated through time as something meaningful in our daily lives. Uniformity allows intelligibility, sense-making, but diversity and change are inescapable by-products of individuals and groups repeatedly going through life, meeting and trying to create intelligibility and sense together in a world that cannot stay the same. It is at the intersection of these two conflicting forces that something can be different yet considered the same--that we can create continuity out of change. But something perhaps less emphasized in Bakhtin’s discussions is how much power and material realities work on these forces. Power influences both centripedal and centrifugal forces, if only in orchestrating circumstances that shape how one encounters ‘different cultures’ or reproduces their 'own' culture.
We live at a moment where the world seems to have reached an apex of connectivity--where goods, people, ideas (and viruses) move across distance and borders at speeds that defy comprehension. Yet the way goods, people and ideas move (through which canals and systems? in which direction? to the benefits of whom? at the expense of whom? to what reception or use? in the service of which institutions and ideologies?) or are, inversely, incapable or unwilling to move, is influenced by power and material realities. It is inescapable.
In a roundabout way, what I’m trying to say is that it's useless to try to live life in 'your lane' by turning to a baseline 'culture' because we simply do not have a baseline culture to return to that is 'safe' from the influences of other cultures or the taint of the historical legacy and continuity of violence. So how do I personally reconcile that with how I engage with content that is produced from different cultural contexts, and how I engage with cooking food that is influenced by different cultural contexts? For me the guidelines I take into consideration are respect, attribution and avoiding forms of dehumanisation. These emerged out of witnessing how other white people have acted as well as critically reflecting on how I have acted in the past, and trying to do better (including of course, by listening to different perspectives on the topic). [just in case, warning for examples of racism/micro-agressions] I've been in China with white people who would praise the cooking we were eating in the same breath they were making jokes about dog meat. I've witnessed in Japan a dude decide not to come to an izakaya with Japanese colleagues, fucking off on his own to Akihabara instead, because he was disappointed he couldn’t talk about anime with them--too obsessed with the idealised version of Japan he’d created in his head to treat the Japanese people he met as people. The internet is full of white people telling you how to cook food from places they've never been and taking credit for 'popularising' that dish or 'making it better'. That's not even talking about the tendency for food to become a mark of a cosmopolitan, metropolitan identity in the West--the open-minded, the liberal, the traveler, the hip white person up with the times and beyond the mainstream. Hell, I've even seen people who act as if eating ‘ethnic’ food prepared by immigrants is the singular proof that they were people who cared about immigrants' well-being.
Food is rarely just about food, even when consumed at home. At the same time, we’d be remiss in all these discussions of power to dismiss how food is also one of oldest things we, as humans, want to share with others--including strangers. Feeding is nourishing and giving, eating is accepting into ourselves something made by others. Most people appreciate it when the value of a dish that holds importance for them is recognised by others--although, of course, many might understandably also resent that they have been discriminated against or mocked for eating that same food. Every time I’ve been invited in an immigrant household or at events with mostly immigrants, I’ve felt this sense of almost trepidation emanating from them, waiting for my reaction, and satisfaction once I was seen eating and appreciating the food they had served me--as if the acceptance of the food that was tied to their identity was a form of acceptance of who they were. Of course this can’t be disentangled from past experiences where other people might have been disrespectful, dismissive or outright racist: but the excitement they had in sharing food that had meaning to them and seeing others appreciate it was genuine.
Beyond situations of clear cultural sharing, where we get closer to what appears to be ‘cultural appropriation’, I believe that we cannot act as if there is something inherently sacrilegious in the idea of adapting recipes or using a specific ingredients in new ways--that’s centrifugal forces at play, and they have provided us with many dishes we love today: from immigrant creations like butter chicken to things like spicy kimchi. We cannot work with the assumption that people will only react with hostility at the idea of other people cooking the food they grew with, even in ways that are different from how they’re traditionally used and are thus “not authentic”. I still remember an interaction I had in a Korean grocery store, once upon a time when I lived in a metropolitan city. A man in front of me at the cash register who had been buying snacks and chatting with the employee in Korean looked at my stuff and suddenly asked me if I knew the name of the leafy green I was buying. I wasn’t necessarily surprised because I had overheard in the past customers and employees commenting in Korean about being surprised about the ingredients I, a white person, was purchasing, thinking I couldn’t understand them. I confirmed to him that I knew I was buying mustard greens. He then asked me what I was planning to do with them, and I explained that while I didn’t think it’s a traditional or common way of using it, I personally liked to add them to kimchi jjigae because it compliments their bitter/strong taste and I like leafy greens in my soups and stews. He said it was interesting, and that he was kind of impressed. The employee chimed to tell me I should be honoured at the compliment because the man was actually a chef who owned famous Korean fusion restaurants in the city. That was clearly someone who took Korean food very seriously and clearly had a certain degree of suspicion regarding how white people interacted with it, but he was also curious and interested in seeing how I approached ingredients without having grown up eating them.
Another point of contention is also that we cannot ignore that food is a sensual experience and that, while tastes are greatly influenced by our environment, they are not solely so. I grew up hating most of the food my parents would serve me, and started cooking in my early teens to avoid having to eat it. Before I started cooking, I would often just eat rice with (in hindsight horrible) western-brand soy sauce instead of the meal my mom had made. When I ate Indian food for the first time during a trip at the ripe age of 16, it blew my mind that food could taste like this. Of course I never wanted to look back, and with each years I discovered that a lot of Asian cuisines fit my palate better than what I grew up eating or other cuisines I had tried. When I was a teenager we visited my mom’s friend in France and I hated what she served us so much I’d simply choose to nibble on bread, prompting her to try to stage an intervention for my ‘obvious’ anorexia. Yet, being in China made me realise ingredients I thought I hated had just been cooked in ways I disliked. Do my taste buds absolve me from any need to think critically about how I interact with food? Of course not. But sometimes the reason we want to cook certain recipes and foods is just that it tastes great to us, and we want to reproduce the recipes we enjoyed with the ingredients and the skills we have. Or, really, sometimes we just want to try new tastes because we do a lot of eating throughout our lives, and it seems a waste to limit ourselves to a narrow number of dishes for decades to come.
So that’s where I currently am in my thinking about this topic, as a white person who cooks dishes influenced by a number of different places but who is also not trying to cook in a way that is necessarily authentic. Some things that I keep in mind that you can ask yourself now that cdramas and cnovels have made you interested in Chinese cooking is: are you taking this as an opportunity to support immigrant businesses when getting your ingredients? are you supporting white creators when looking for chinese recipes (some suggestion of youtube channels: Made with Lau, Chinese cooking Demystified, Family in Northwest China, 西北小强 Xibeixiaoqiang, 小高姐的 Magic Ingredients)? are you being respectful (not reproducing harmful stereotypes in how you talk about chinese food and the people who eat it)? do you use your interest in Chinese food to create a narrative about China and Chinese people that denies them, in some way, of their complexity and humanity? are you using your interest in Chinese food to create a narrative about yourself?
In conclusion I will leave you with a picture of some misshapen baozi I’ve made.
Tumblr media
63 notes · View notes
princesssarisa · 3 years ago
Text
How "Cinderella Monogatari" Could Have Been Better
I've just finished watching the 1996 anime series Cinderella Monogatari ("The Story of Cinderella"). I'll share my overall thoughts on it later, after I've overviewed a few other versions of the fairy tale. But for now, I'll say that I liked it very much. That said, it does have its flaws. Below are the handful of changes I would make to improve it.
1. Have Cinderella's father be presumed dead through most of the series.
It's awkward to have Cinderella's father still be alive, and not a weak henpecked husband, but merely away on business. Why would Duchess Dalbin so extensively abuse and degrade her stepdaughter knowing that the girl's devoted father will eventually come back? I would have preferred for the Duke to leave on his business trip, and then, a few weeks later, have the family receive the news that his ship was wrecked in a storm and that he's missing and presumably drowned. Only at this point would the Duchess start to abuse Cinderella. This could also add a layer of depth to the Duchess's character. She could be portrayed as genuinely in love with her husband and distraught by his "death," and afterwards she would exclude Cinderella from the family because Cinderella reminds her too much of him, similar to what the 1997 version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical implies. But in the final episode, the Duke would come back and reveal that he survived after all: he's just taken this long to recover from his injuries and find a ship home. So we'd still have the blissful family reunion the actual series gives us, but with even more emotional weight.
2. Give Duke Zaral consistent motivation.
I like the series' addition of a "Greater Scope Villain" (to quote TVTropes) in Duke Zaral. But at least in the English dub, his motive seems to change completely at random from "Marry his daughter Isabel to Prince Charles and become the real power behind the throne" to "Murder Charles and force his parents to surrender the kingdom." This could be easily solved, though. Simply place the episode "The Disturbing Painter" (his first real attempt to kill Charles, when he tries to have his portrait painted by an artist who traps his subjects' souls in the painting) after the episode "Traveling Toward Happiness" (where his daughter Isabel runs away with her true love) instead of before. Since the series makes it clear that Zaral really does love his daughter, it would make much more sense for his murderous turn to be caused by losing her, especially if he found out that Charles had helped her elope. To quote TVTropes again, it would be his Villainous Breakdown, and it would give him a real character arc.
3. Cut the episode "Prince Charles's Secret," where Cinderella and her stepsisters are forced to work as maids in the castle.
While of course it's funny to see the stepsisters forced to do the same chores they usually heap on Cinderella, the context is ridiculous. If a wealthy duke like Zaral wants maidservants to spy on Prince Charles, why doesn't he just pay real working-class girls to do it? Why on earth would he insult a family of his own social class by tricking a duchess's daughters into visiting the castle only to have them forced into servitude? And afterwards, why does no one ever mention it again? Realistically, wouldn't a trick like that cause a scandal? The whole scenario is contrived and would be better off cut.
4. Make Cinderella less of a damsel in distress.
Now there's no shame in a heroine not being a fighter or needing to be rescued. But it's still a tiny bit tedious to see Cinderella repeatedly being captured or endangered and Charles repeatedly being the strong one who rescues her. Even after he teaches her how to swordfight in "Lets Get Rid of Those Bandits," she never uses the skills she learned in that episode again, particularly not in the finale when she's captured by Zaral. I say remove Charles from some of the episodes where she's endangered and have her rescue herself instead. Have her use the fencing skills Charles taught her throughout the rest of the series, particularly when she's kidnapped in the finale. Not that she needs to use a sword, but at least she could defend herself with a stick or some other improvised weapon. In the climactic battle with Zaral on the clock tower, I'd have Cinderella and Charles fighting him together rather than just Charles. Again, I'm not saying there's any shame in being a damsel in destress, but it would be more interesting to see Cinderella defend herself at least a little bit more.
5. Have the stepfamily rip Cinderella's dress before the ball, as in the Disney version.
The scene where they rip up her invitation to the ball is already a blatant knockoff of the Disney dress-ripping scene, but without the same power. So why not take the imitation all the way and have them rip her dress as well as the invitation? This would also enhance the next scene where Fairy Godmother Paulette works her magic. In the actual series, the fact that Cinderella is already wearing a fancy gown and Paulette's magic just brings its style more up-to-date is slightly underwhelming. We lose the sheer magic of the dress transformation that other versions of Cinderella have. If her dress were in tatters, this would be rectified.
6. Don't have Charles fall in love with the "mystery girl."
Cinderella retellings that give Cinderella and the Prince most of their romance arc before the ball always have a dilemma: what to do with the plot point of the Prince not knowing his beloved's name or where to find her after the ball? Some versions have found good solutions; this one is mediocre. After his series-long slow-burn romance arc with Cinderella, it's awkward to see Charles become enamored in one night with the girl at the ball, whom he doesn't know is Cinderella. Even if it is just because she "reminds him" of Cinderella, whom he thinks will never speak to him again because he lied about his identity, it still seems ever-so-slightly fickle. I'd prefer to have him only regard her as a friend with whom he can confide about Cinderella. Then, after the ball, instead of being depressed about her disappearance, he'd be depressed because Cinderella "never showed up" even though he invited her. But Alex and Hans would mistakenly think he was moping over the mystery girl and set out to use the glass slipper to find her.
7. Give the stepfamily a gradual redemption arc.
Maybe this is what the series was trying to go for, because there are assorted episodes where Cinderella does especially valuable things for her stepfamily (saving Jeanne's life when they're lost in the woods, learning to swordfight and guarding the house against the bandits, risking her life to find healing herbs for her dangerously ill stepmother, etc.) and momentarily earns their respect. But in every new episode, they're back to abusing her. So in the last episode, it feels very abrupt when they start being nice to her after she's betrothed to Prince Charles. If it were played for laughs like in the 1957 version of the Rodgers and Hammertein musical, and they were clearly only sucking up to her because she was the princess-to-be, it would feel less awkward, but it's not played for laughs. It feels as if we're supposed to see it as a genuine, heartfelt family reconciliation, which is completely unearned. And then when Cinderella's father the Duke comes home, they all reunite as one big happy family and the Duke never even learns that his wife and stepdaughters abused his daughter while he was away!
My solution? Put much more emphasis on Cinderella's gradually earning her stepfamily's respect over the course of the series. Don't have them forget the great things she does for them; have call-backs to the fact that she saved their lives, risked her own safety for them etc. Show them increasingly torn between their jealousy of her and their growing respect and gratitude toward her. While they would still have a final "Kick the Dog" moment by tearing up her mother's dress and her invitation to the ball, I'd show them feeling very guilty as they ride away in their carriage afterward. Maybe Jeanne could ask Catherine if what they did was right, and Catherine would reply that they had no choice, Cinderella looked too pretty, the Prince would have ignored them if he had seen her, etc.; but clearly she wouldn't be so sure. Then, after Cinderella reunites with Prince Charles, there could be a scene similar to the opera La Cenerentola, where Charles would publicly berate the Duchess and her daughters for their treatment of Cinderella and threaten to punish them somehow, only for Cinderella to declare that she forgives them and beg her fiancé to pardon them. This would move them to tears and they would finally, profusely apologize to her for all they had done. And when the Duke comes home, Cinderella's choice not to tell him about their abuse could be emphasized as her way of showing faith in their repentance and giving them a second chance.
I realize that all this would probably take up more than just a few minutes of the final episode. So because we've already cut the earlier episode where the stepsisters work as maids at the palace, I suggest we add a new Episode 23, in-between the actual series' second-to-last and final episodes. This entire episode would take place between the slipper-fitting and the royal wedding, and it would open with her reunion with Charles and end with her reunion with her father. Everything in between would be devoted to her reconciliation with the stepfamily. This would be a much more believable, satisfactory conclusion for them than what the actual series gives us.
It's a good series, but with these changes, in my personal opinion, it would be even stronger.
25 notes · View notes
oodlyenough · 3 years ago
Text
ranking the spider men
a couple of months ago I played the playstation spider-man games (base, DLC, and the miles morales follow-up). for some reason this kickstarted me on an academic quest: rewatching every major spider-man film, from tobey maguire's first up to far from home, to determine my One Definitive Peter Parker.
i'd seen all of these films before, when they were first released, with the exception of far from home.
disclaimer: as a perennial Fake Fan, i'm not a comics person, so rather than trying to score against some kind of comics gold standard, this is based on my personal taste and against my own conception of who peter parker/spider-man is after a lifetime of cumulative pop culture consumption.
also this is ungodly long but i put it under a cut to try and spare you. sorry mobile users RIP
#5. andrew garfield
listen... i saw these movies in theatres when they came out. did i hate them at the time? not really. did they leave an impression? also no. i'd like to think i went in to the rewatch with a fairly open mind. if anything i think i was bias in their favour because i did and still do find andrew garfield the only attractive peter parker on this list, lmao.
wow! they were bad!
i like when he saves that kid from the car on the bridge. also, as mentioned, i think he's hot. that's pretty much the whole list of positives.
this peter parker is a douchebag. he behaves like symbiote tobey maguire in sm3 unironically. he starts the second movie by bantering while a truck mows down countless cars and then swaggers onto graduation stage late to tongue his girlfriend in front of the school because he's a Cool Guy. he has a skateboard montage to coldplay. he uses his powers to stalk gwen, and she is, for some reason, flattered by this instead of extremely disturbed that her superpowered ex boyfriend is stalking her.
the common take i see re: garfield is that he makes a good spider-man, if not a good peter parker, because he's quippy and kind of a little shit. to which i say: i mean.... i guess. he certainly is a sarcastic quippy asshole, so if that's what you want from spider-man, uh, here he is! but i very rarely got the sense this spider-man was doing anything because he felt he wanted to help people, power and responsibility blah blah. his quips and banter comes at the expense of actually helping people, and i just -- like -- can't get behind Dark Edgy Peter quipping at people he literally intends to murder lmfao.
"it's not his fault he had bad material", you might say, which is sort of true; he probably had no chance when meanwhile you had execs sending each other emails about how wouldn't it be cool if spider-man had snapchat. but the end result is still a peter parker written in a way i just hated, and a performance that left me almost nothing to like.
#4. yuri lowenthal (spider-man ps4/ps5)
in almost the exact opposite of my beef with #5, my beef with this peter is that he is too nice. like, literally unbelievably so, to the point it makes peter feel disingenuous. this is a failure in the writing of the game beyond just peter, imo -- it so badly wants Our Heroes to be beyond reproach that it doesn't let them have any interesting flaws, or make mistakes and have to deal with them, and it guts the emotional response i might otherwise have had. it felt like insomniac's approach to writing character flaws was:
Tumblr media
but instead of hitting people with his car, peter drops helicopters on new york.
a great example imo is the scene where MJ is sneaking into the sable base to interrogate one of the scientists, and peter swoops in, sensing she's being held at gunpoint. peter takes the guy's gun away, the guy PANICS, walks backwards, trips over his own feet, falls over, and knocks himself unconscious, like a slapstick comedy. MJ is mad that peter ruined her scoop, and it leads to them fighting. but... this was, frankly, a totally reasonable thing for peter to do. he didn't even touch the guy, so as the player, it's hard to hold this against him.
we also have a whole nightmare sequence where peter blames himself for doc oc's downfall, but there's really nothing in the story that gives peter any actual culpability -- he helped when it was reasonable to do so and backed off/gave warnings as soon as it wasn't. this peter is never allowed to cross any kind of lines or make any serious mistakes, which means his anguish over these half-mistakes was hard for me to take seriously.
also this peter fucking loves cops!! holy shit!! this is the most pro-cop piece of media that isn't directly about cops i have ever seen. where's the unlockable Thin Blue Line suit
but i had no issues with lowenthal's performance, which i thought was really good, and there were certainly lots of scenes and moments i really liked. my favourite is probably the scene where, as spider-man, he teaches miles how to throw a punch. thought it was great. at least i do believe this peter wants to help people. (maybe too much. maybe leave the grieving stranger alone at his father's funeral dude you're being weird.)
#3. jake johnson (spiderverse peter b parker)
i originally called this guy joshua jackson before being corrected by @firstofoctober. in my defense, jake johnson and joshua jackson are the same name.
anyway, i like this guy a lot. funny, enjoyable performance, coherent arc, fun to watch.
he's mid-tier because he has limited screen time compared to the rest of the list, and because it feels a bit apples to oranges to compare him to what is otherwise a list of origin stories and whippersnappers. (i know playstation peter is "old", but he's like... 22 "old".)
#2. tobey maguire
my man tobey... the thing about the tobey maguire movies is that certainly for me and probably for a lot of people my age, they really set the foundation of what i expect from spider-man in general. so it's hard to remove that from the equation and be totally unbiased.
however, i gotta say, even rewatching 20 something years later, i had a blast.
i think tobey maguire's peter is incredibly good at being the dweeby underdog. if anyone on that yellow school bus full of 30 year olds was going to get bullied, it would be tobey's peter. he's funny in a dorky way and he seems pretty sincere most of the time. the Great Power Great Responsibility line is a meme at this point but as a theme it's certainly embodied by this peter. when he's a jerk it's usually because he's Learning a Lesson or uh... because these movies are 20 years old.
his spider-man on the other hand, while likable, isn't especially funny or quippy, and isn't as believable as an action hero -- he still sort of just feels like a dweeb in spandex. which doesn't really bother me honestly -- i find it endearing, and gives his trilogy and his spider-man an underdog feeling that the highly polished MCU can't recreate -- but i can see where someone might find it lacking.
#1. tom holland
Tumblr media
there's lots to criticize about the MCU but tom holland as peter parker is one of its bright spots. he's earnest and genuine and funny, both as peter and while bantering as spider-man. he's good in the emotional scenes. he's believable as a high schooler, which i think helps a surprising amount; both andrew garfield and tobey maguire had a very How Do You Do Fellow Kids vibe in their school scenes. his peter really feels like a kid struggling with a lot of Responsibility, and that activates my extremely underdeveloped maternal instinct.
i LIKE that the mcu sidestepped yet another spider-man origin movie where we watch uncle ben die for the 3rd time in like a decade. i'm not really that precious about remixing some of the basic concepts, especially for a character we've seen so much of that i am able to make a list like this. people talk a lot about mcu peter being in it for the wrong reasons, etc, but i think his intro in civil war & like the entire plot of homecoming totally defeats that argument.
most of the criticisms i have of tom's franchise are criticisms i could make of any movie in the MCU and are a consequence of having a shared ~cinematic universe~. the stakes are never going to feel the same in a world where there's a superhero every six feet. he's always going to have to share screentime with the cameo character from the mothership. there's going to be questions and plotholes and characters hogging the limelight and discrepancies between directors.
and listen. here's the thing about the tony stark issue: i don't care. most pithy text posts about Class Traitor Peter are misreadings at best and deliberately misleading at worst. but that's a whole other 5,000 word essay and i don't care to relitigate civil war and endgame in 2021.
anyway i know probably about two people read every word of this bc it's ungodly long and everyone else just skimmed to get angry at my rankings ✌🏻 i had fun rewatching everything tbh and i look forward to seeing Spider-man Too: 2 Many Spider-Men in theatres this December
40 notes · View notes