#also this isn’t me saying the new characters weren’t important

[strawberrybyers]

i feel like it actually is important to talk about noah’s stance on palestine especially within the byler tag considering he plays a character within the ship that we talk about A LOT.

noah posting a video with “zionism is sexy” stickers is disgusting. it’s dehumanizing. the way him and his friend are smiling in the pic?? i’m sorry that’s not being “uneducated” or “young and stupid”. he knows what is going on in palestine (also in case you weren’t aware— what’s happening in palestine isn’t new!! palestinians have been suffering for decades!!) and he chose his stance on it. anyone that can defend and support a genocide lacks good morals and definitely makes me view them in a negative light.

i won’t apologize for being disgusted and repulsed by noah’s posts. he’s literally saying a mass murder of people is okay… and that’s not being hyperbolic because the truth is that supporting israel = the murder of palestinians. like that’s literally what is happening. funding and support to israel is giving the government more power to kill the people in gaza. it’s not a complicated subject the way people want to make it seem. that’s literally what’s been fucking happening and it is important to not remain silent about it. there’s no good enough reason to stay silent on a genocide. there are petitions to sign, phone numbers to call your local politicians, protests to attend, blogs to follow and posts to share from people who are posting updates of what’s going on, donation links to donate to and share… don’t let yourself or anyone else make you believe you can’t do anything because there are things out there that you can do that does make a difference. it may not seem like much, but it does a lot more than staying silent.

very unfortunate that noah has decided to share zionist views and maybe one day he’ll acknowledge and question why he supported the death and displacement of palestinians, but the blood is already on his hands and the world won’t forget.

[avelera]

I think the term, “flaws” as a necessity for writing well-rounded fictional characters is often misunderstood. It can lead to new writers thinking these flaws should be in a laundry list alongside their OCs hobbies, eye color, and favorite food.

All of the above traits shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. They all need to serve the story in some way, usually by illustrating plot, character, or themes in a way that enhances the story.

Saying a character’s flaw is that they’re “clumsy” isn’t really a flaw unless this trait stands between them and what they want in a meaningful way. Being clumsy is an obstacle for a dancer, or for a teenager who will be socially judged and derided in a meaningful way to the story. Even still, it’s a somewhat shallow and overused flaw.

What got me thinking about this is the fanfic characters I tend to enjoy writing are flawed people. The more flawed, the better.

I struggled to write Nicky and Joe in The Old Guard because they don’t really have any flaws. They’re never stupid, or selfish, or awkward, or mean. I couldn’t really write them until I wrote a story where the plot is that one of them gets returned by amnesia to his pre-character development Crusader self, back when he was prejudiced, quick to anger, and provincial in his world view. Then I had somewhere to go with them.

By contrast, Newt and Hermann from Pacific Rim are riddled with flaws, and it made them not only popular characters, but a blast to write. They’re rude, loud, snarky, selfish, self-involved, self-important, arrogant, and mean. They’re also both sincerely trying to save the world and willing to sacrifice themselves to do it if necessary. It makes them a wonderful mass of contradictions and it makes them feel like real people.

And recently I wrote about my desire to write Dream and Hob from Sandman as more like their comic selves, with all the rough edges and taciturn misanthropy and selfishness and rudeness that implies. I don’t want to write perfect people.

I saw a post that imagined Hob as passionate about returning artifacts stolen by the English to their country of origin. It was a very sweet post and fun, don’t get me wrong. But as a perverse creature, my first thought was, “Ok, but what if he wasn’t? What if he, as a former bandit and soldier for the Crown, wasn’t in favor of the artifacts being returned? What if he was the opposite?”

Now to be clear, I think it’s more in character for the brief glimpse of the Teacher Hob we see for him to be more worldly, more in favor of repatriation. I genuinely think that take is probably more accurate to the character.

That’s not the point.

The point is that I think one way to avoid creating these sort of perfect shiny soft characters with all the rough edges sawed off is to ask, “Ok but what if they didn’t do the right thing here?”

What if they don’t have perfect, up to date progressive political views on all possible topics? What if they weren’t always altruistic? What if they don’t always say just the right thing to their lover when that person is feeling down? What if they have moments where they’re stupid, selfish, insensitive, prejudiced, rude, awkward, or off-putting?

Personally, I think that’s how you get more interesting characters, who are more like real people and, more importantly, have room to grow or sometimes not grow in a way that better serves your story.

[discordantwritings]

Hello! First off, I just want to say that you are doing the lord’s work with your fics, so thank you!!!

Is there any chance you’d do a Cross Guild x Non-binary!Reader (afab) coming out to the fellas as non-binary? I have been having my own nonbiney struggles lately and I absolutely love how you write the Cross Guild! Totally down for nsfw or just somethin sweet.

Thank you so much again for sharing your works!! 💜

Coming Out to the Cross Guild

Warnings: None! Just fluff

WC: 600

Notes: as a fellow nonbinary I have also often thought about how characters would react so this was a nice write! Thank you sm for the compliments and the request I hope you like it!

“Can I talk to you guys about something?” Your voice came out more nervous than you wanted and three pairs of eyes settle on you.

“Of course babe.” Buggy answers first, draped over a plush love seat in your shared room. Your eyes glance over to Mihawk and Crocodile, both sitting at the large wooden desk that is scattered with all of the Cross Guild’s important papers. They nod, and as usual, you can’t quite gauge their emotions.

“So this is- So I’m-“ Your carefully rehearsed speech flies out of your head as the leaders of the Cross Guild pays rapt attention to you. “Do you guys know what nonbinary is?”

“Duh.” Buggy answers first and you knew he would know, so your attention is focused on the other two.

“Yes I have an understanding.” Mihawk answers, and Crocodile nods as well.

“Okay, good.” One hurdle down. “So- that’s me. I’m nonbinary.”

Your gaze flits between the three of them, heart in your throat as you desperately try and read all of their expressions. Logically, you know that none of them would hate you for this or think less of you. But at the same time anxiety claws at your stomach at some fear that they would look down on you or think less of you. But those fears are dashed when Buggy jumps up and practically tackles you in a hug.

“AH!” You have to bare down to not be knocked over by the flying clown.

“My brave little star! I’m so glad you trust me- us- enough to tell us.” Buggy is gripping you tight and you can’t help but giggle at his flashy show.

“That’s- thank you.” You hug him back as your eyes drift up to the other two. Unreadable as always.

“So you would like us to use they/ them pronouns and gender neutral terms for you?” It’s Mihawk who speaks first, practical and to the point.

“Yes. Please.” Buggy still hasn’t let you go.

“Easy enough. If I ever use a term of endearment that makes you uncomfortable, let me know.” Mihawk gives you a small smile and you feel at ease. Just one more left. You lock eyes with Crocodile.

“Easy enough.” Is what you get from him with a shrug. “I worked with Bon Clay for years I had to switch pronouns for that fool every other day.”

“Oh, yeah.” You weren’t sure what reaction you were expecting but there’s something about the way it isn’t a big deal to them that soothes all your anxieties.

“We have to have a party!!” And then there is Buggy.

“A party? That’s a little much…” You pat his shoulder.

“Well we have to get the news out!” He finally detaches from you, hands waving clearly already planning the party. Mihawk sees your worried expression and walks over to the two of you.

“I think he just wants an excuse to throw another party. I’ll make sure it’s actually respectful.” Mihawk firmly grabs Buggy’s shoulder and directs him to the door and the two of them chatter over event plans.

You stand there for a moment, thinking about how you’re going to go back to your every day life now and nothing has really changed, but you feel so much lighter. Nothing changed between the four of you and that meant everything.

“And one more thing.” Crocodile’s voice breaks you out of your thoughts and you lock eyes with him.

“Tell me if anyone gives you trouble so I can make them wish they were dead.”

And for some reason, that statement also makes you feel better.

[fanfic-inator795]

SPOILERS FOR “THE END”

Okay so, much like the ending of Amphibia, I’m sure this ending’s gonna be controversial for some people for being so bittersweet and for it also ending with the two BFFs splitting seemingly forever… but honestly? I fucking loved it.

While the penultimate ep felt slightly rushed and just a tad unsatisfying due to all they had to cram in and wrap up, I love that this show’s finale was ultimately focused on just Molly, Scratch, and the latter’s series-wide arc of changing for the better and “being brought back to life”, as the TGAMM show bible put it.

Having believed in the Wraith feeling since the start, I was afraid that the Todd reveal would feel rushed given that the crew lost the 3rd season of set-up they wanted, but thankfully it managed to feel fairly natural since - while Todd himself may have been a more subtle hint that you’d only notice if you were paying attention- again, Scratch’s arc and the clear changes we see from him are made known throughout the series. So by the time you finally get to the big payoff, it feels like a natural conclusion.

For all the info dumps we got, I also felt like the ep was pretty well paced as well, still having jokes that made me laugh so it never felt too heavy or melodramatic. I also love that all the major characters in Scratch’s life got to play a role in this one final adventure. I also love that - for as important of a role that Adia played in helping Scratch regain his memories - it wasn’t framed as Scratch choosing his old BFF over his new BFF, but simply Scratch choosing to be brave and live the life he always wanted deep down instead of continuing to run away/hold himself back.

As for what could be seen as the Most controversial bit - Scratch forgetting his time as a ‘ghost’ - I feel like this was incredibly well crafted too. Like anything else in TGAMM (and as Molly herself says) there’s still that spark of hope hinting at Scratch still remembering Molly and the impact she had on him. He’s going to live with those memories and the importance she gave to enhappifying in his heart, even when he doesn’t consciously remember these things.

What’s more, the show also subtly but beautifully emphasizes that even if Scratch won’t fully remember Molly and the others until he’s officially died, the time he spent and the things he did for others as a ghost still mattered - they’re still going to be remembered by Molly, the McGees and their friends, and I LOVE how they also brought back Scratch’s silly toboggan-sneeze curse as just another way a part of ghost-him is going to stick with all of them no matter what - no matter how far apart they are.

While I would have liked one final song (which, I guess we arguably did get that in the credits) I also feel like ending the show on Libby’s Maya Angelou quote was the perfect summation on the show’s core themes - to not just do good for others, but for yourself. To live your best and happiest life.

In my opinion, this truly was just a master class in satisfying series finales. We didn’t need any big final battles or a ton more drama, just one last beautiful character piece that isn’t afraid to be somewhat bittersweet in order to fully sell its message while also still being just as fun and enjoyable and lovely as the rest of the series.

Really, the only thing that makes me kinda sad is that Scratch never said goodbye to GhostShark - but hey, he’ll see him again eventually, and honestly my hc is that the Jeoffs are taking care of Sharkie for him in the meantime. Other than that, this was a 10/10 finale for me, absolutely no notes.

Now… obviously this was the finale that the TGAMM crew was always leading up to, I assume once they realized that they weren’t getting a s3 they asked Disney to give them one final ep to wrap things up. If that wasn’t the case though and this was always meant to be the s2 finale, I guess s3 would be about Todd slowly remembering his life as Scratch and eventually coming back to Brighton alongside Adia to help Molly stop Jinx’s revenge or whatever. But… eh, I personally don’t think that’s needed.

I think the show ended perfectly, leaving just enough ambiguous for fans to still imagine how Molly and Scratch’s adventures are going to continue one day while at the same time being super satisfying - probably the best series finale that we’ve seen out of any modern Disney cartoon.

[revlischarm]

The other various outfits of Morro in Noodle Shop Ghost. Took me ages to finish this, but I’m happy with how it turned out!!

More info on the specific outfit details under the cut!

Sleepwear

- This outfit is Morro’s pajamas from the start of the series to current.

- The moons are both to represent y’know, nighttime, but also as a way of foreshadowing the Macaque connection in the later seasons.

- Morro let’s their hair down when they sleep

- The shirt text says “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” I think I hope I’m not fluent in other languages so I really pray that I got that correct. The shirt references Morro’s love of JTTW, and the character of Wukong within the book

- Morro uses face masks when he sleeps. Hey, if they have to have skin again, they wanna take care of it. Ish.

Work Uniform

- The outfit changes between seasons since Morro gets new looks, but the constants of it are the jacket and the gloves.

- Morro swaps out the hand wraps because he feels more sanitary wearing gloves. And because I feel like it would make people unsure about him handling food.

- Occasionally Morro will throw on other pants? But idk I wasn’t sure what to go with so I just did their final design clothing.

“Take Responsibility” episode

- Finally have a name for that fan episode I mentioned where Morro has a crisis!! Takes place in season 1. Thank you @randomcrapstories !!!!

- The only thing that’s different about the outfit here is the addition of the jacket, which I still haven’t decided if I want it to be a gift from MK and Mei, or Morro just straight up stole it. Still, it shows us the base design for the jacket as it appears later in the series!!

Theatre Outfit

- During the in-between point of season 3 and 4, Morro actually starts helping out Macaque with his theatre! Morro’s a stagehand; they do a lot of the special effects and such.

- This outfit is mainly just me putting Morro in cool looking clothes hehe

- It’s identical to Mac’s outfit in most ways! I changed the shoes tho, and the colors. And the patterns on the robe and sleeves are different too!

- Eyeliner because it’s fancy

Shadow Travel

- I’ve mentioned before how Morro is learning shadow magic from Macaque; the basics that Morro knows are kinda just like. Being able to hide inside of shadows, manipulating them on walls and stuff, and also those shadow portals.

- Macaque has a shadow form, and so does Morro. But this isn’t a clone form or anything, that will be its own design. This is just for like…idk. Shrouded in shadows and whatnot.

- I highlighted the two most important features of Morro in this au: the eyelashes and the scar. The scar is its own important thing; the eyelashes are just a style choice on my end.

Season 3 Lantern City Outfit

- This outfit is for that episode in season 3 with the third ring!!

- The jacket makes an appearance once again! Except now Morro has personalized it much more. Patches and pins and stuff.

- The gloves Morro has on were made by Sandy; Sandy didn’t want Morro to get cold lol.

- And ofc Morro’s markings on full display since they weren’t able to cover them in season 3

Uhhh I think that’s everything. I’m gonna do another one of these for Morro’s scrapped/bonus designs at some point too. So look forward to that!

[yamchaisawesome]

Rewatching Steven Universe more recently has made me appreciate Future a lot more.

We can tell from like the earliest episodes of season 1 that Steven feels kinda neglected and tries to help because that means that he’ll be able to spend more time with his family and validate his own self worth. I’m not saying he’s not kind- that’s still obviously the case- only that it also stems from feelings of neglect and insecurity.

By The Test, Steven kinda internalises that feelings of others around him are more important than his own. He feels cheated and lied to, moreover feeling babied and useless which he hates because of his aforementioned “my only worth is helping people” thing. However, he decides their happiness is more important than letting them know how he feels about the situation.

As the show goes on, we sort of move away from focusing on Steven as a character. Instead, the show starts using him more like a catalyst for the issues of the gems. This makes for a great metaphor for how we start viewing our family differently as we grow up the more we gain new information and context about them, but I digress. The point here is that while Steven gets better at helping people, the underlying feelings of insecurity and neglect are never really addressed. In all fairness, why would they? His newfound ability to help people has given him more connection with his family than he could’ve dreamed of earlier in the series and his self worth is satisfied.

This is all fine and dandy as long as he’s helping people, but what happens when he doesn’t need to anymore? Future.

Steven Universe Future is what happens. Now that Steven doesn’t have anyone to help, he fears things going back to how they were when he was younger. Nobody needing him to be useful means that they’ll just leave him behind like they used to, right? This is obviously irrational but you can see how this would happen to someone with Steven’s upbringing.

The main thing that triggers the conflict in Mr Universe is that Greg’s upbringing and subsequent counter reactionary parenting of Steven sorta led to this. Leaving him largely with the gems and outside of regular institutions that facilitate connection, like school, is the reason for his neglect and subsequent complexes.

School is actually brought up a lot in particular. Mind you, Steven isn’t uneducated. In the semi canon comics it’s revealed the gems (mostly Pearl) homeschooled him fairly proficiently, to the point where he performs as well as Connie in a standardised test. It’s more so what school represents to Steven: social connection and normalcy.

This is what he’s craved since the beginning, and future addresses these aspects of Steven’s character that weren’t really resolved in the original series.

[ica1]

Hello Hello! I hope your day is going great and you’re having a great Valentine’s Day if it’s already the 14th where you are! I’m new to the blog, so I’m excited to see what content you have!^_^

Would it be possible for me to request a Jouno x reader where the reader is Tecchou’s twin? Like they have the same eating habits, same triangles below their eyes, basically identical when there isn’t a crisis/mission, but the reader has logic close to Dazai’s level when work does come up

Reader during a meeting: (glances at Tecchou and sweatdrops) *how are we related…?* they say as if they weren’t drinking coffee and soy sauce five minutes earlier

Feel free to ignore the request. It’s your blog, you write what you find inspiration from and make sure you’re taking care of yourself!

Author's Note: Hello I know it has been a while since I posted something original but life has been a lot and I wasn't able to get around to do or finish some of these until now but I'm here now and I will be updating my rules for requests as well as who you can request with some characters from other fandoms. Also thanks for the request!

Jouno x Reader

Request or Not

Pronouns: Gender Neutral

Warnings?: None

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

HCS:

- Well this is fun...

- So as Tecchou's twin looking the same and having similar habits is only natural

- Although no one anticipated the extent of how similar you two would be when you and Tecchou first first joined the Hunting Dogs

- It was like you guys were the clone of each other

- Now Jouno already is constantly annoyed by Tecchou

- Imagine having to deal with double?

- His worst nightmare honestly

- Which begs the question of what is the difference?

-What sets you apart from Tecchou that caught Jouno's eye?

- The answer is...

- Missions

- Unlike Tecchou who sticks to his aloof personality no matter what

- Your logic seems to skyrocket during important meetings and missions

- Which makes you the strategist and the main problem solver in most important meetings and missions

- Which also makes you question how you Tecchou are related sometimes...

- As if you didn't drink coffee with soy sauce and strawberries with shichimi spice right before the meeting started

- This spike in logic during meetings/missions is what peaked Jouno's interest and what made him want to get to know you more

- After a while of getting to know each other the both of you started developing feelings for each other

- and boom confession happens and relationship officially starts

- Interesting and unexpected to the rest of your colleagues but accepted nonetheless

- You both weren't exactly open about it so they found out on their own

- Tecchou was fine with it when he found out like...

- "Congratulations on your relationship [Name]."

- "Thanks Tecchou."

- But as soon as he talks to Jouno...

- "Break their heart and there will be consequences." Tecchou threatened

- "Tecchou please..." You sighed

- "Relax I don't intend on it." Jouno said unphased

- Jouno tries to encourage that you eat things that aren't color coordinated because he is somewhat concerned

- While you don't stop eating color coordinated things you do eat some things that aren't color coordinated much to Jouno's relief

Oneshot:

You and Jouno were walking back to base after a mission of information gathering. Thanks to your plan the target who you gathered intel from didn't suspect that they were playing into your hands. Meanwhile Jouno was scanning the perimeter to make sure your conversation with the target went smoothly.

"I feel like eating something."

"Sure what would you like, my treat."

"Curry and strawberries with shichimi spice."

"You're going to eat something that isn't color coordinated?" Jouno sounded a little surprised

"I like the curry you got me the other day besides I'm still eating strawberries with shichimi spice so there isn't that much of a difference."

"I know but it's just surprising. Was the curry really that good?"

"I thought so."

"Well then let's stop by to eat at the same restaurant then. After all I don't believe there is any need to rush."

"Right then, it's settled."

You both went to the restaurant, ordered, and ate your food. Having a nice conversation you were both now walking back to base.

"I should try to convince Tecchou to try the curry sometime." You said thinking out loud

"Good luck with that."

"I honestly don't know how we're related sometimes." You sighed

"As if you don't drink coffee with soy sauce every day or sit down and watch ants for hours." Jouno said with a laugh

"Ants are a perfect model of leadership and loyalty, there is a lot I can learn from observing their behavior." You stated matter-of-factly

"Right, right, I remember."

"Wanna watch a movie after work?"

"Sure, my place sound ok?" Jouno asked

"Yes sounds perfect."

[chainofclovers]

Keeley made out with a woman on TV last night and the show tag is full of some of the most mean-spirited bad faith intra-fandom reactions to reactions and it’s so fucking disappointing to me.

Multiple things can be true at the same time?!?!

For the people who are annoyed that the “Keeley’s been bi this whole time” crowd is sad that people are taking the events of 3x5 as the only confirmation of her queerness…consider where that sadness might be coming from. Of course seeing Keeley making out with a woman is something to celebrate! Of course it’s a relief to see Keeley not only talk about attraction to women but actually pursue said attraction before our very eyes! But to say any of the previous textual references to her queerness weren’t good enough is to perpetuate the very same bi erasure that makes it so challenging for many queer people—of many orientations, and especially bi/pan orientations—to be taken seriously. It’s an understandable sadness, being reminded over and over that many fans of a TV show reflect a lot of the “real life” dynamics that make people feel less-than-queer when they’re single, or if they haven’t had same-gender experiences, or if they’re currently dating someone who isn’t same-gender.

For the people who are annoyed that the “Keeley is finally a confirmed queer character with a queer storyline” crowd are erasing the jokes and textual and subtextual queer references that came before…consider where that relief might be coming from. Of course the jokes and references were real and realistic! Of course they were valid parts of Keeley’s story, and would be valid even if she never kissed a woman onscreen! But queer people have been burned so many times by “representation” that never pans out, or feels totally flat and inauthentic, or is performed by people who are suddenly wooden actors who lack chemistry with their same-gender counterpart. It’s an understandable relief to see Keeley unequivocally experiencing real-time attraction to a woman who is available for her to explore that with.

You’re all correct. It’s true that Keeley’s bisexuality is a part of her one hundred percent of the time, including moments when she is literally in the middle of having sex with Roy, and she will always be the first character on Ted Lasso to express overt queer attraction. It’s also true that in a TV landscape in which queer stories are under-delivered and frequently disappoint queer audiences, the events of 3x5 are powerful and significant and add a very important new level to Keeley’s characterization.

I am so grossed out and sad that instead of celebrating a queer character’s decision to pursue a queer hookup (that is ethically complex! and takes place at an emotionally tangled time in her life! and is hot! and fun! and might end badly! and reflects real life in its messiness and hungriness!) for the many, many reasons fans might want to celebrate it, this storyline has become an opportunity for fans to ridicule each other about being fans in the “wrong” way, doing queerness in the “wrong” way, etc. For me personally, I’ve felt like Keeley was canonically bi this entire time and it did my heart good to see her pursue a hookup with another woman. Not everyone will feel the same way about it, and that’s okay.

[keira-kaz2y5]

As much as I’ve loved the new episodes and old characters coming back (Shannon, Lola, Tommy, Norman)

Isn’t it kinda weird we haven’t had the wider 118 family scope? Like where’s May and Harry at? And Michael and David? Shouldn’t they be included in the “oh no Bobby and Athena’s cruise ship is missing” and like at least be introduced to abc? Maybe it’s just me but that was odd

And I love Karen but her scene was short (which is understandable) but then there was no other reference to her or Denny or the foster kids and the new baby at all? And we love Josh and Sue and my head says we probably got a scene with them already but also it must’ve been super short and likely only the first episode (cuz I remember it happening but super vaguely)

Like I know we will defo get them all in the next few episodes but surely it’s odd they weren’t in these first three given the dire situation?

Also May is acc so beautiful and funny and I love her character so much (—I’m almost the same age as the character, she’s a bit older —and she’s so pretty omg) like she’s my favourite character other than Buck/Eddie and she’s such an important role in the show and yet she isn’t in any of the promo and hasn’t been mentioned? (from what I remember)

Just a little heads up to that cuz I know they’ll be in other episodes but surely because of Athena’s near death moments it should’ve been included sooner am I right? Anyway yeh loved the new episodes cannot wait for more 118 content 💜

I hope Ravi, Lucy & Tommy are featured!

[cloudzzcore]

CLAY X Mysterious!GN!Reader (Part 1)

Reader is inspired by Carmen Sandiego and Vaggie!!

Warnings: Reader has a small amount violent tendencies (They have a spear disguised as a cane), Clay being a bit out of character, Reader speaks Spanish and English. Also profanity, I curse a lot, usage of Y/N.

Key -

(F/c) - Favorite color

(F/N) - First name

(L/N) - last name

A troll walked through Putt Putt village. They were dressed under their (f/c) jacket and large (f/c) fedora. Taking a look around they lean on their cane. Did anyone here speak any Spanish? They weren’t in the mood for speaking English.. No, they just didn’t feel like talking to people.

How’d they get in? They snuck in, That clown gate shit was creepy as hell. “Looks.. Different.” They mumbled, The trolls around them were a bit skittish but hey, It’s probably a normal thing for them.

Now what was the mission again? Oh yeah . A simple caper they were gonna steal some old coins from the old gift shop, a simple get in and get out—

“Hey there!” An Excited high pitch voice came from behind. “Fuck.” The troll mumbled. They were sticking like a sore thumb but for fucks sake!

Then they turned around to see Viva, the leader of the Putt Putt trolls, She had bright pink skin, yellow messy hair, the coleader Clay stood besides her. He had Lime green hair, gray skin and he was taller than Viva, He gave the new troll a raised eyebrow. “I’m Viva! It’s fantamazing to meet you!”

She beamed, The troll nodded solemnly. “Yeah it’s nice to meet you too..” They said awkwardly before they enveloped into a tight hug. “Oh hugs!-” They wheezed before they were released from the hug. “It’s not everyday we meet someone new, Right Clay?” She asked with a bright smile.

“Easy Viva, We don’t even know how they got in! No one saw them at the gate.” Clay explained as Viva paused, her smile faltering a bit. “That’s right! But like.. ¿Quiénes sois? (Who are you?)” Viva asked with a tilt of her head.

“Well.. I’m just passing through. My name isn’t needed.” The new trolls said with a casual shrug. “Well actually yes it is. You managed to get past the gate and you think we’re gonna let you just wander around?” Clay questioned, His tone full of suspicion.

Great. Suspicion was just what they needed. “Fine if my name is so important it’s (F/N) (L/N). Are you happy now?” They say, sounding annoyed themself before Viva gasps excitedly. “This is the person I was telling you about! That new thief that’s been stealing from the bergens!” She said before (Y/N) spoke up.

“I consider the term Antihero.” They say. “You steal from people! That seems like a thief but okay.” Clay grumbled while crossing his arm. “You just can’t be here!” He added. “My caper doesn't concern you, Green Bean, so if you excuse me, I’ll be out of here just as I got in.” (Y/N) then walked by Clay and Viva with a tip of their fedora and the tapping of their cane getting further away. “Wait! You just can’t walk away like that—!”

Clay called out behind the person before going to touch their shoulder. (Y/N) eyes narrow quickly, whipping their cane now out of its disguise. Their spear gleamed brightly under as they held it up to Clay's neck. “Woah!” Viva quickly exclaimed, unintentionally getting the attention of anyone around them. “Back up.” They warned..

Well that silent get in get out concept was out the window.

—

This might become a series depending if I feel like doing a part two but I do love this one, constructive criticism is always appreciated!!

3/30/24

[panlight]

Re: New Moon and the race to stop Edward’s suicide. I get that it’s Bella’s story and she needs to be in the action, but logically there were other options than flying her to Italy. Castle Volterra has a secretary; surely Carlisle could have called the castle and name dropped himself in a message for Aro. “Detain Ed until I can get there” and fly himself to Italy. Edward only does the sunlight thing to provoke them after they refuse to kill him. If they just arrested him, he wouldn’t be able to fight his way past every guard member.

 Alice says “You can lie with your thoughts and Bella in-person is the only proof that will work on Edward” but surely Alice could have taken a digital/early model camera phone pic with Bella in her kitchen holding a newspaper for the date and Carlisle could use it as proof (or cause enough doubt) to get Edward to come home. For the law, Carlisle has success in changing other humans to vampires and can make the promise to change Bella. It makes more sense for Aro to let the Cullens off bc Carlisle is his friend, and Alice isn’t there as the prize he wants. If he wants Alice later, he has to let everyone go home now.

 But then we don’t get to meet the villains until the next book and even then the ones in charge don’t roll in until the last book. Bella doesn’t get another “special me” moment by shaking hands with Aro for him to be impressed. It is better storytelling and drama for Bella to be in Italy and get the dire reunion with Edward, but the plot definitely could have been tightened up. As you’ve pointed out before, why was Rose never informed that Bella wasn’t dead after all when Alice stayed at the Swan house for two days? Maybe Rose still calls Edward but to say, “It’s pointless to stay away now bc Alice is there. She saw Bella jump off a cliff-“ and then Edward stops listening, spiraling in misunderstanding. That seems more in-character than Alice not keeping her family in the loop.

The whole climax of New Moon feels, to me, like she wanted to do an homage to Romeo and Juliet with the whole “he thinks she’s dead” miscommunication thing. I think she also had this very clear vision of Bella running through the plaza to get to Edward. As someone who dabbles in fiction writing, I get that. 

But it’s just a lot harder to pull off a miscommunication of this scale in 2006 with CELL PHONES than it was back in Ye Olde Verona. So it ends up feeling SO contrived. 

Harry dies so there can be a misunderstanding about a funeral and Jacob picks up the phone at Bella’s house?!? Who does that?!? 

Alice doesn’t bother telling anyone for several days that Bella is in fact, alive, so that Rosalie finally gets through to Edward to tells him Bella’s dead? 

Carlisle and Esme are away hunting, apparently, and also don’t have cell phones or at least no service?

I mean I get that in 2006 cell phones weren’t AS common as they are today, but the Cullens are stupid rich and like, import the latest models of TVs and expensive cars, I’m supposed to believe they don’t also have the coolest new phones? 

All of this involves characters acting in ways real people just . . . don’t. And like I get they are vampires but Jacob picking up the phone at Bella’s house is always going to be weird. Alice being in Forks for like two days before Rosalie finally gets ahold of Edward makes literally zero sense. And if all that STILL happens, then yeah, Carlisle calling Volterra as soon as he’s made aware of what’s going on and then flying there himself is the most logical thing to do and the easiest solution. No one has to convince him Bella’s alive if Aro just ‘arrests’ him and has Alec sedate him until Carlisle gets there or whatever. 

But Bella doesn’t get to run through the plaza and Alice doesn’t get to steal a Porsche so we’re not doing THAT. 

[c-t-r-l14]

I think enough time has passed for me to talk about this. Keep in mind that this is just MY personal opinion.

……

First of all, I just want to say that Saku is an absolute BEAST at writing—whether that be at writing scripts or his characters. His voice acting is incredible—he puts so much emotion into ALL of his work—and voice acts like rent is due—and this audio was no different. I have such a tremendous amount of respect for him and his work, always and forever.

That being said: This audio annoyed me to NO END.

Specifically, ALEX’S behavior annoyed me.

THERE IS AN EGREGIOUSLY LONG RANT ABOUT IT UNDER THE CUT‼️

Now, before any of ya’ll get all up in arms, I fully agree with everyone when I say that listener was most certainly in the wrong for how they acted in part 4. Not only did they accuse their boyfriend of four years of cheating on them with absolutely no proof, but they also invaded his privacy by going though his phone. I cannot imagine coming home from a long day of work and wanting to cuddle up with your partner, only for them to accuse of you something that you’d never do with no evidence to back it up. That must hurt, and I completely understand why Alex was so distraught by the way listener was acting.

HOWEVER, this whole incident only happened ONE TIME. ONE TIME over the course of FOUR YEARS of this relationship. Now, it’d be different if listener accused him of cheating many times. It’d be different if listener regularly invaded his privacy; it be different if situations like these were something normal in this relationship—but its obvious that it’s not. Alex mentioned many times in the breakup audio that listener usually isn’t like this—that they’re usually a calm and rational individual—which leads me to believe that them accusing Alex was a lapse in judgement on their part. A moment of weakness that stemmed from the trauma they had to endure by their last partner who also cheated on them. I am not at all saying that their actions are suddenly wiped clean from the face of the Earth because they have trauma—hell no. However, context in many situations is important—and this case is no different. If this was something that happened again and again over the course of four years, Alex would’ve left way sooner than this—this was the one and only time they’ve done this, and normally, people who usually have such a calm temperament don’t switch up very easily—which means there must’ve been a reason WHY they’re acting like this in the first place.

This brings me to my next point: Alex actively acknowledges the fact that this behavior was new for listener—so, if this is the case, why hasn’t he tried to get to the bottom of it yet? I’m not saying that he suddenly needs to morph into a Paleontologist—trying to dig up ancient artifacts to discover the secrets of the world or some shit—but I’m saying, if you KNOW that this isn’t normal behavior, why haven’t you at least TRIED to ASK what’s wrong them? You’d think that if someone you loved started acting differently from their usual temperament, it’d be a cause for a little concern, and would prompt you to ask them what’s the matter, but even in THIS AUDIO, it’s still very apparent that Alex still doesn’t know the reason why listener acted the way they did—because he is STILL SPECULATING on why what happened, happened! And yes, although he TECHNICALLY asked them, “What has been going on with you lately?” He said this as a response to listener catching onto the fact that he just told them that they weren’t the right person to be in a long distance relationship to their FACE. He said this in an accusatory tone, and I really don’t think he was actually asking for the ACTUAL reason why in that very moment. It’s just so very odd to me that he makes absolutely no attempt to try and figure out what happened to them—especially if this behavior is recent. Kayson is a really good example of this. In the New Years audio, he noticed that his listener wasn’t acting like their usual self—and he asked them what was the matter because he loves and cares about them. What ensued was a healthy conversation, where his listener was able to explain what was going on with them—and they were both able to come to a solution. Now, was Kayson’s and Alex’s situation the same? No, but the point is that Kayson recognized that there was something wrong his partner and actually made an attempt to get to the bottom of it because he CARED. Alex never did this, despite him saying how much he loves his partner.

But more than anything, one of biggest things that bothers me the most about Alex’s dialogue to the listener was his excuses for why they shouldn’t stay together. The way he broke things off with them is really sickening, to be honest.

When listener (rightfully) gets upset that they were the last to know about Alex’s job offer in NYC, a big life event that affects them both, he tells them, “I thought I knew you”. Which is odd. So—what you’re saying here is: because your partner acts out of their usual temperament this ONE TIME, you suddenly you don’t know them after FOUR YEARS together? I understand that them snapping at him was very jarring and surprising, given their usual temperament—however, just because they did it one time doesn’t mean that they suddenly morphed into a person who acts purely off of emotion. They are still the same person! Why is he acting like they’ve suddenly switched personalities because of the one time they let their emotions get the best of them??

Then when listener presents the idea of long distance, he tells them:

“Long distance? I mean, I think I could do it…if I was with the right person….”

…

What the hell is THAT supposed to mean? Is this NOT an out of pocket thing to say to the person you’ve been with for four years??

And when listener asks him something along the lines of, “So, we’re breaking up?” Or “So, am I not the right person?” This man had the actual AUDACITY to snap at them and accuse them of jumping to conclusions and even go so far as to denying that he was even alluding to it in the first place! If you weren’t alluding to it, what was the point of saying it AT ALL? And how the hell else was listener supposed to interpret that? This part really pissed me off because he was straight up gaslighting listener into thinking that they were in the wrong and that they were “jumping to conclusions”, when they had every right to react the way they did! And I find it absolutely insane that he scolds listener for jumping to conclusions when he is doing the same thing a well. He jumped to the conclusion that he doesn’t know the person he loved for four years because they let their emotions get the better of them. He jumped to the conclusion that listener would react terribly to the news of getting that job offer in NYC, and therefore, he waited who KNOWS how long to tell them about it. And, most importantly, he jumped to the conclusion that this relationship wasn’t worth saving because of just ONE SINGULAR ARGUEMENT. He cries and cries, saying how he loves them so much and how he doesn’t want to loose them, and yet does absolutely nothing to keep them around. He sobs and tries to comfort them, but also puts all the blame on them as well. Instead of trying to solve things with the person who he claims to be the love of his life, he instead makes flimsy ass excuses and tries to find all the reasons he could think of to leave. And for someone who claims to love them so much, he certainly gave up way too damn easily.

Look, it is very apparent that Alex’s passion is his first love—period. And I really do think that listener should do their best support him in his endeavors, but his dialogue in his audio was just full of excuses to make the breakup easier on himself, which is not only selfish, but a little cruel, too. He never tried to make things work.

If he would’ve told listener about the job offer in NYC sooner, there would’ve been a different outcome. If he would’ve told them that he was still feeling terrible after the whole argument, there would’ve been a different outcome. If Alex had actually made the effort to see what was the matter with listener, there would’ve been a different outcome. If listener would’ve handled their emotions in a calmer manner, there would’ve been a different outcome. Alex has a really big problem with keeping things to himself. It seems like he doesn’t communicate how he feels until it all bubbles over and he jumps to his own conclusions instead of actually talking it out.

It would’ve been a whole different story if listener refused to admit that they have trust issues, and refused to seek help, but that is not the case here. They were willing to work on themselves; they were willing do better. The only person who wasn’t willing to try was Alex. Listener did everything they could to get Alex to stay. Hell, they even proposed to go to NYC with him—just so they could stay by his side, and Alex couldn’t even find it in himself to even ATTEMPT to work things out with them. That’s what made this whole break up so goddamn sickening.

He made such a big point about “being honest ourselves” and “to not say things we don’t mean”, and yet the most dishonest person in the room is him. He makes such a big point about trust being one of the most important parts of a relationship, and although he is not wrong, EFFORT is was keeps the relationship going, and that is something that he clearly lacks. And in all honesty, if THIS is how he is going to act when he runs into problems and gets into quarrels with his future partners, then good luck on trying to maintain a long term relationship. Four perfect years, and all it took was ONE argument to make him leave. He just didn’t want to be tied down, thats it, and thats all. It pisses me off that he even tried to tell listener that this will benefit them both because “they will be with someone else who they could fully trust”, as if it’ll be different with anyone else. Trust issues won’t poof into thin air because you are with another person. He got cheated on himself and his ass STILL doesn’t know how trust issues work.

In conclusion, this whole audio was just Alex blaming listener for their breakup, him crying, making flimsy ass excuses on why the relationship will not work—giving up on the relationship before even trying to make things work, and him gaslighting them, too. And out of ALL the audios I’ve watched from Saku, Alex’s character was the FIRST one to actually give me the ick.

Listener needed reassurance and love, and they executed their feelings horribly. Alex has problems with communication, and maybe even honesty. He put all the blame on listener and made it seem like they were the one who made the relationship fail, all the while trying his best to not pass as the bad guy; but in reality, it was both of them who made this relationship end.

….

WHEW! That was A LOT!

If you made it all the way down here, I thank you so much, and I apologize for it being so damn long. I’ve been sitting on these feelings for a long time now, and I just needed to get them out.

Thank you so much for reading! ❤️

[wheelercurse]

Let’s put Mike’s monologue in context. And I don’t mean just its place in the story (that it happened thanks to Will) but look at the big picture. Its position in the whole season about truth and lies, but not in a black/white mindset. It’s more nuanced. 

It’s a season where characters sometimes lie, omit some truth, or are mistaken about what it’s the truth. They aren’t always completely honest for different reasons.

The season starts with a misleading scene. And we (the audience) will learn the truth of what happened when El does it too, who also was mistaken. She thought that she had caused the massacre. She had buried her memory thanks to her trauma. 

The following sequence is the narration of El’s letter. In this letter, El lies about her life in Lenora; she isn’t having a good time there. But also she said some things about her family that weren’t true, but she wasn’t lying about it. She just assumed things that weren’t true.: Joyce didn’t enjoy her new job,  Will wasn’t painting for a girl, and Jonathan wasn’t nervous because he was waiting for his acceptance letter. He has it already. 

So since the beginning, they’re telling us, “Watch out. Don’t take everything at face value.”

This season, our heroes sometimes lie, and our villains sometimes tell the truth. Or sometimes, the characters hide some truth. Even some characters gave long speeches where they were not completely honest. I already talked about one: El’s letter. But here are more examples:

Will’s speech in the van, when he’s describing his feelings as El’s. There’s some truth because the feelings are real but not from El.

Robin’s story about why she’s interested in Victor Creel. She started it with: “And I’ll tell you the truth, Anthony. These aren’t my clothes. I borrowed them because I wanted you to take us seriously. Because nobody takes girls seriously in this field.” it’s interesting because she’s telling the truth. Those clothes weren’t hers, and she used them so they could pass as students. Again there’s truth in there, but she’s also hiding something.

Steve’s speech to Nancy about his dream, which later he confesses was true, but he was omitting something. “It’s all true. But I left one part out. The most important part. You’re there.” 

Jason’s speech when he is sure that the Hellfire Club is a satanic cult. “I know what I saw. And I have come to accept an awful truth. These murders are ritualistic sacrifices.” He thinks he has discovered the truth but is mistaken. Again he wasn’t lying, but he was also not telling the truth.

Max’s letter to Billy. She’s not lying per se, but she’s saying all this like she’s suffering because she missed him. But that wasn’t the whole truth like Vecna told her. She was suffering from guilt for being relieved and happy that her abuser had died.

I’m not saying that all the speeches weren’t completely honest, but most were. One that was honest was Max’s when she admitted to Vecna that she wanted Billy to die. “You were just telling the truth.”

She completed her arc, and someone could say that Mike also completed his and told El that he loved her, but that would mean that his arc was about saying ily to his girlfriend, which brings me to another important point. In this season character’s inner conflicts were about learning, accepting or hiding some truth:

El has to learn the truth about the massacre and herself. She isn’t a monster (or a superhero)

Will was hiding his feelings for Mike.

Max has a hard time dealing with his guilt about the truth: She wanted Billy to die.

Jonathan lied about his acceptance letter because he didn’t want Nancy to throw away her dream.

Nancy also pretends everything is fine with Jonathan until she admits to Robin that she is worried about their relationship status.

So it’s not far-fetched to think that Mike’s arc was related to some truth that he was hiding or didn’t accept, especially when we had Will telling him this: “Sometimes I think it’s just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel. Especially to people you care about the most. Because what if they don’t like the truth?” and Mike nodding in a close-up.

What would it be the truth that he was hiding that he was in love with El? In that case, she would like it. That’s exactly what she wanted to hear when he couldn’t say it.

Some people would say, “well, the truth he was hiding was about his insecurities.” I would think they’re right, but:

They didn’t talk about their insecurities in a proper conversation.

It would be a good character development if we don’t have Will literally encouraging him to talk.

He didn’t use the truth motif when talking about his insecurities.

This brings us to another point.

First, when Mike told El his insecurities about how he was scared of losing her, and one day, she realized that she didn’t need him anymore, so it would hurt more. I don’t think he was lying. Mike is scared of losing people he loves, and he probably would have a hard time saying it because when he loses them, it hurts more. And you will say you’re contradicting yourself. But no, I think he wasn’t saying the whole truth like some characters because there were other reasons why he wasn’t saying ily.

Ok, now back to my point. The use of the motif. Mike used this word in three different scenes, and the curious thing is that his last statement contradicts the first two:

“Listen, the truth is, the last year has been weird, you know […] it’s Hawkins. It is not the same without you”

“But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she just needed someone. It’s not fate. It’s not destiny. It’s just simple dumb luck.”

“But the truth is, El, I don’t know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods [….] And I knew right then and there, in that moment that I loved you.”

He was telling Will how weird his time in Hawkins had been without him. And then practically said the same thing to El but tried to paint it more romantic. He also said to Will that his meeting with El was dumb luck, and he only knew that she needed someone. But in his monologue, he described that meeting as love at first sight. Also, how could his life have started that day when he was looking for his missing friend, the one whose town isn’t the same without him? So he was lying.

I think deep down Mike knew that he was lying, but he also kept lying to himself about his true feelings. But that’s an analysis for another day.

My point is that Mike wasn’t completely honest in his monologue. There were truth in his monologue, but not everything was true.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Pomegranate Ink: XXVII

Series Synopsis: Unable to heal but willing to fight, with a fiancé in Kyoto and a last name that looms over everything you do, you accept an offer to study at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech. What you did not know was that your salvation and your ruination alike would soon join you at the school, neatly wrapped in the form of a boy followed by death.

Chapter Synopsis: After Naoya Zenin reveals some surprising news, you pay a visit to your family home.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Yuta Okkotsu × Female Reader

Chapter Word Count: 6.1k

Content Warnings: angst, misogyny, naoya zenin, forbidden relationships, canon-typical violence, character death, original characters included

A/N: i KNOW y’all have been waiting for this one 😩‼️ also can we talk about how long this fic is getting because it’s a little concerning atp

“Wow, the two of you look awful,” Naoya said, grimacing dramatically at you and Maki. Maki crossed her arms at him, but you did not react. “At least your face isn’t ruined, huh, Y/N? I’d feel a lot more annoyed if it had been.”

“I don’t see why that would annoy you,” you said.

Of course, Naoya had been in his study, the pretty notes of some song from a movie wafting through the air a sure indicator that he was bored and playing his piano again. His dedication to the instrument was one of his few redeeming qualities, or maybe it was not a particular respect for the craft but something else entirely that drove him to the incessant practice. Either way, it had been easy to find him, and since he was the biggest obstacle in your path at the moment, this was a good thing.

“I’m the one who stuck my neck out for you, you know,” he said. “Wasted about three months’ worth of paychecks on you, too, so you really should be thanking me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you said. He raised his eyebrows.

“You really don’t know? I thought that that was for sure the reason why you were here,” he said. “Is it not?”

“I came to go through the weapons’ warehouse,” Maki said. “Megumi gave me permission already, so don’t think of stopping me.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. If that’s what you want, then feel free to go right ahead and do it,” he said innocently. You furrowed your brow. The victory felt too easily won, but when he noticed your befuddlement, he only snorted. “Who am I to disobey my clan head?”

You tried to communicate with your gaze to Maki all the words you could not say aloud, not in front of him. Be careful. They’re planning something. He’s not doing this out of the goodness of his own heart.

She blinked at you slowly before turning to leave. I know.

“I came to listen to you play the piano, but I suppose I’ve done that already,” you said. “It was nice. I recognize the song — it was in that movie that came out a couple of years ago, wasn’t it? At the end?”

“That’s right,” he said. “You’ve seen it?”

“Yes, of course I have,” you said. “Anyways, that’s not what’s important. What did you mean when you said that you wasted your paychecks and stuck your neck out for me?”

“Always straight to the point with you, isn’t it? You might want to sit down for this one,” he said, standing up and patting his piano stool. You gave him an irritated look. He rolled his eyes and sat back down, obviously picking up on the fact that you weren’t going to take him up on the offer.

“You know that after that whole mess in Shibuya, the higher ups placed orders for the executions of Suguru Geto, Masamichi Yaga, and Yuji Itadori?” he said. You nodded.

“Yes, and they criminalized unsealing Gojo. What an idiotic joke,” you said. “Like Gojo isn’t the only one who stands a chance at saving all of us.”

“How hard would you laugh if I told you that there was a fourth person who they were going to send an execution order out for?” he said. Ice shot through your veins, and you suddenly felt very heavy. You didn’t want to ask him, but you knew you would. You knew you had to, even if the answer was in the question itself.

“Who else?” you said. He smirked, clearly satisfied with the distress in your eyes.

“Y/N L/N has been found to be in league with Ryomen Sukuna. She can now be considered a curse user and is therefore sentenced to death,” he parroted. “They were going to send Yuta Okkotsu after you, too. He’s your classmate, so you should know as well as anyone that that’s a fight you couldn’t hope to win.”

“In league with Sukuna?” you said, your tongue leaden in your mouth as you gagged on the taste of the name. “Did they—?”

Had they somehow found out about the Binding Vow you almost made? Was that why they wanted to execute you? Or was it something else? Was it because Sukuna refused to kill you? Had they confused reluctant need with genuine alliance?

“You pushed for the postponement of Itadori’s execution. That was all the proof they needed; well, in truth, even if there wasn’t any proof, they would’ve figured out some crime to accuse you of. You’re more resurrectionist than sorcerer, and the last thing the higher ups need is some brat of a girl running around and digging up graves at her leisure,” he said.

“That’s not how Composition works,” you said, still trying to come to terms with the fact that you were such a threat to the higher ups that they had wanted to put an order of execution out for you. The death penalty, by all rights, should’ve hung over your head at the moment.

“Maybe not, but you have to understand that for them, there was no use in putting an execution order out for any of your allies while you were still out and about, you see? Their executions would be meaningless as long as you were there in the back of their minds, capable of using Composition to undo their actions,” he said.

“Like I said, that’s not how Composition works. I can’t just revive people whenever I feel like it. I don’t even know how I did it the first time,” you said crossly.

“Then they should be even more pleased that they spared you, eh? Now there’s no chance of you bringing old Yaga back,” he said. “Not that you would’ve had one in the first place. I promised the higher ups I’d keep a tight leash on you. That’s why they decided not to go ahead with the order — I vouched for you. No one else. Just me. Remember this, Y/N L/N: your family did not say a word in your defense. When you were sentenced to death, it was me, Naoya Zenin, who spoke up for you.”

“My family didn’t even…they would have had me executed?” you said. What was this twist? How could it be that Naoya Zenin had been your greatest ally in that kind of a conflict? Had they truly abandoned you to that extent, or was there some other, greater endgame that they were plotting at? You didn’t understand. Or was Naoya lying? There was a chance, but in truth, you doubted he would lie about this kind of thing. It served him no purpose for you to hate your family, after all.

“Of course they would’ve,” he said. “They don’t care about you. Nobody cares about you. You’re mostly alone in the world, little L/N. What a terrible thing it is…and by the way, the Kamos didn’t mind too much, either. It was the Zenins who stood up for you.”

“You must’ve had a reason to do that,” you said. “I know you better than to think you did it just because you grew a sudden interest in fairness. Why did it matter to you whether I lived or not?”

“It would’ve been my money down the drain if you died,” he said. “I paid a lot to have you, you know.”

“You paid a lot to do what?” you hissed, your rational thoughts disappearing with this new reveal. “Answer me quickly, and enough with the word games. What do you mean by that?”

“Your mother is such a bitch,” he said, sighing loftily. “She cried and screamed at your father, begged him not to do it, but of course she went ignored. I used to admire how docile and quiet she was, but I suppose you had to have inherited that nasty temperament from somewhere, hm? Anyways, your father had your cousins drag her upstairs so that we could continue our discussion.”

“Naoya,” you warned him.

“That’s no way for a woman to speak to her future husband,” he said. “I’ll let it slide this time, but don’t let it happen again.”

“Future husband? What about Noritoshi?” you said.

“It’s amazing, the kinds of alliances men are willing to break when offered a large enough sum in return,” he said. “Your engagement to that bastard boy is all but dissolved at this point, which leaves you free to marry me instead.”

“That’s why you defended me,” you said. “Not because you cared about me, but because you only even wanted to marry me to strengthen your position in the clan. If I ended up being a criminal, it would reflect poorly on you.”

“Precisely,” he said, reaching over and tapping you on the forehead. “Gold star for you, little L/N. You know, I don’t prefer you all too much. Your pretty face and Reverse Cursed Technique are your only saving graces; what a relief, then, that you didn’t lose either in Shibuya.”

“Did they see some kind of benefit to an alliance with the Zenins?” you said, casting about for an alternate explanation, something other than the obvious one. “Is that why my clan did it? Did they engage us because they’re gaining some integral advantage from it?”

“Maybe you’re not that intelligent,” he said. “No surprise, I mean you are a woman after all. Let me put it for you plainly, girl: your father soldyou. There’s no other way to say it; I gave him money, and in return, he gave me your hand. That’s honestly all there was to it.”

Sold. You had been sold like some kind of broodmare to the highest bidder, passed from man to man like your heart had no place in the equation. Noritoshi. Naoya. Who was next? Which next suitor would give your family the upper hand? Did it even matter to them how you would be treated? Obviously not, since they had sold you to Naoya.

You hated them. You felt it deep within you, blossoming slowly but surely, a kind of anger that you could not fathom. You hated them. Your family, the ones who had locked you away for all of your childhood and were content with doing so well into your adulthood, too. Your family, the ones who had bound you to Noritoshi so securely that both you and he had choked from the constriction. Your family, the ones who had refused to heal Tullia. Your family, who had sold you to the Zenin clan. You hated them more than you had ever hated anything.

“I hope you remember what I taught you,” Naoya said, getting up once more and heading to the door, patting you on the head as he brushed past. “Three steps behind me at all times. Do you understand, or do you want me to simplify that, as well?”

You clenched your jaw, swallowing but making no motions to follow after him. “I understand.”

“Good,” he said. “I’ll see you later. Please be prepared; even if we aren’t married yet, I expect you to perform your wifely duties with passion.”

The door slid shut behind him, leaving you standing alone in the study, waiting there with nothing but your hatred to warm you.

You knew what he meant by wifely duties, and this should’ve frightened you, but all it did was make you irrationally angrier. So this was what you were worth to your father: three of Naoya Zenin’s paychecks. That was it. For just the price of a few paychecks, Naoya could claim you as his own. It didn’t matter that you were the prodigy of Composition, the daughter of the resurrection or the girl who brought someone back to life or whatever other ridiculous name that people deigned to ascribe to you as they saw fit. Y/N L/N, the girl worth three months’ worth of paychecks. That was what they would have to call you from now on. For just that much, you would be in Naoya’s service for the rest of your life. You would warm his bed, you would be at his beck and call, you would elevate his station, and you would always, always walk three steps behind him.

You didn’t want that. You didn’t want to be Naoya Zenin’s wife. You didn’t care that he had saved you from execution; it wasn’t as if Yuta would’ve ever executed you, anyways. Watching you die was not something he was capable of, just as the inverse was true. Maybe it was correct that Naoya had defended you when your own family had not, but considering your family’s track record, this didn’t mean as much as it should’ve. Your family hadn’t cared about you from the moment you had exorcised that curse on the balcony and ran away from the party with Gojo.

Gojo. You wished, more than anything, that he was there. You wanted him to give you one of his special hugs, the ones he only gave you because he was too paranoid to turn his Infinity off for that long with anyone else. You wanted him to put on some stupid movie and throw popcorn in your mouth and make fun of you when you failed to catch it. He wasn’t just your teacher. He had never just been your teacher. He was — he was something else. Your family. He was your actual family, and you found you missed him. You found you didn’t care what he did, as long as he came back. He would make everything better. Just by being there, he would make everything better.

But Gojo was gone. He wasn’t there to drag you from the situation, which meant it was up to you to deal with this mess your family had thrust you into. You were the one who had to save Gojo now, but how could you do that if you could not even save yourself?

You had to be methodical about it. There were so many powerful sorcerers in the Zenin clan, and since you had sworn off Dissection and fighting as a whole, you truly stood no chance against them all. Even if you hadn’t, even if you still had Tullia and were at your peak as a Grade 1 sorcerer, there were simply too many of them for you to be able to fight them in any way that mattered.

Yet waiting, too, was dangerous. With every second that you idled in Naoya’s study, you risked his return, whereupon you’d have to do as he pleased until the next time he left you alone. This was your one opportunity at escaping, and you had to seize it or give up and regret it forever. But that was something you could not do, so whispering an apology to Maki for leaving her, you opened the door and crept through the hallways of the mansion.

You could not even use your cursed signature detection which you were so reliant on, as it was another form of Dissection, so you were much like a blind mouse scuttling through the Zenin manor and praying you did not get caught. It was eerily silent, though, not a soul in sight, and you decided it must’ve been a stroke of good fortune and nothing more sinister than that. Breaking free from the walls of the building itself, you ran through the courtyard, crushing pink petals under your feet as you sprinted at top speed before someone detected your absence.

It was not a long journey to your family’s mansion. You made it in record time, your anger fuelling you all the while. Trapped. Killed. Sold.What hadn’t they done to you and the people you loved? Because it did not just end with you and Tullia. Your mother. Maki. Gojo. Your family had been involved in the torment of every single one of those people.

The days that your mother spent shut away for birthing the failure of the clan. The whispered insults and demeaning comments about Maki and what, exactly, she was good for. The endless missions and responsibilities and deprivation of human connection placed on Gojo’s shoulders. Your family had been there for every one of these things, and even if they were not actively causing them, they were at the least complicit simply by being bystanders and letting it all happen.

Why had you allowed it? Why hadn’t you stopped them? You should’ve. You had let your family harm those you loved for so long, but you couldn’t anymore. Not in good conscience. Not when you had already lost so many. Not when you could never get some of them back. Those precious few who you still had by your side…you would not let your family do anything to them ever again.

It was your father who answered the door. He no longer seemed as intimidating as he once had. Perhaps it was because you finally saw him for who he was, what he was. This was not a man who had raised you. He had never raised you. This was not a man who loved you. He had never done that, either.

“Y/N,” your father said.

“You can stand to say my name so conversationally?” you said. “I’m surprised.”

“What are you doing here?” he said. You could hear footsteps in the background; as always, the manor was bustling. It was once a stronghold meant to protect wounded sorcerers as they were treated, but now, you could not view it as anything but a prison.

“I should be at the Zenins, right? Because you sold me to Naoya?” you said. He was silent, and you laughed. “Of course, you don’t even deny it.”

“You’d be safer with him than anywhere else,” he said.

“Safer? Maybe from the rest of the world, but what would it matter when he is the one I should fear the most? Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t be safe there. Nowhere would I be in more danger than in the Zenin mansion,” you said.

“Is that why you’ve come?” he said. “To yell at me for selling you to the Zenins? It’s been done. I can’t undo it. I’m sorry if you grew attached to Noritoshi, but this is for the good of the clan.”

“There it is,” you said. “The good of the clan. Not for me. Not for the good of Y/N. It’s always about the clan for you, isn’t it?”

“The clan is my family,” he said.

“And I am your daughter! Is that not family enough, or do I not count because my mother wasn’t a sorcerer? You’re the one who loved her enough to marry her, so why do you not then love the product of that union?” you said. “Though, it’s not like I’d ever want to be loved by you, anyways. I’d rather live a life alone than ever be loved by someone the way you claim to love my mother.”

“What do you know about love?” he said, though he was as defensive as condescending when he did.

“Yuta Okkotsu,” you said, emphasizing every syllable of the name, watching in satisfaction as a myriad of emotions flickered over his face — confusion, shock, horror, disgust, and finally anger. “That is what I know about love. Do you understand now? I love him. I love that boy, and he loves me back. I will never be the perfect, untouched piece of cattle that you desire.”

“You — you dare!” he sputtered. “We were so generous, letting you attend that school, and you spit in our faces like this? Why, I ought to—”

“Lock me away?” you said. “Or will you beat me this time? You haven’t before, but you look angry enough to try. Go on, then. Do it. Do your worst, or at least attempt to. You won’t get very far, though, I’m afraid.”

“Enough with the insolence. Come inside and go to your room,” he said.

“You asked me why I came here,” you said, opening your palm and showing him the needles which sat there, glinting a silvery blue with the cursed energy Gojo had imbued into them months ago. “This is why.”

His eyes just about bugged out of his head, causing you to smile. For a moment, he simply stared at the brilliant points, and then slowly, he raised his eyes to meet your own. You arched a brow at him, waiting for him to react.

“You don’t mean to say…” he trailed off helplessly.

“That’s right. After everything, I’ve finally come for revenge,” you said. “I am the girl you created, the girl you forsook, and I have finally returned to collect what I am owed.”

“You can’t do this,” he said, shirking back, preemptively wincing, though you hadn’t done anything yet. “Y/N, you can’t do this. We aren’t violent. There’s no justice in killing us.”

“Like I said, I’m not here for justice. I’m here for revenge,” you said. “By definition, there’s no justice to that. But I realized something on the way here: just as you don’t care for me, I don’t care for you. Perhaps this isn’t just, but that’s irrelevant. I’m going to do it regardless.”

“Don’t. Please, don’t. Attacking us is meaningless. We are a family of healers,” he said.

“Really?” you said, narrowing your eyes at him, carefully aiming your first needle and then throwing it. “That’s strange. For some reason, I can’t remember you ever healing anyone.”

At first, the rest of the L/Ns didn’t understand what was happening. One second, they were doing whatever mundane task demanded their attention, and the next, they were on the ground. It was simple for you, because your father was correct in that one thing: not a single person in your family was able to fight. It was what made you an anomaly, that you had this strength which none of the others had. Even without using Dissection, even with just the latent cursed energy left in the needles from Gojo, you knew the human body so well that you could throw the tiny weapons to stick exactly where you wanted them to. It would never work in a fair fight, but this was the furthest thing from fair or a fight.

As you got through more and more of them, they began to realize what was coming for them. They’d try to run, or hide, but it didn’t matter. They weren’t trained sorcerers, so they could never outrun you, and you didn’t need your cursed signature detection to figure out where they were hiding. None of them were very good at it, and so it was all for naught. Just like your entire life had been up until that point, their attempts to avoid your wrath were futile.

Some of them cried. Some of them begged. All of them met the same fate. You felt little sympathy for them. Hadn’t you cried? Hadn’t youbegged? But they had just stood by and watched. They had shown you no mercy, so why would you show them any in return?

There was only one person you spared: your mother, who had never done anything, who could never do anything. The woman cursed to see things she could never defend herself from; you bore no ill-will towards her. Anyways, Gojo loved her, so you would’ve let her be just for that fact alone, even if she was the worst monster in the world. But in the end, she was as trapped as you were, so how could you muster up any hatred for her? She had done the best she could. You passed by her bedroom and left her alone to sob, deciding to deal with her later.

Dragging your father’s slumped over body behind you by the back of his collar, you paid no mind to the way his arms dangled awkwardly by his sides nor to the way his head lolled back and forth with every step you took. His legs skidded against the lush carpets of the mansion, but none of that was important to you. You didn’t care. He would be in a world of hurt when he woke up, but you didn’t care.

Tossing his body into the dining room where you had thrown the rest of your paralyzed family members, you waited for him to regain consciousness. It took a few seconds, but eventually, his eyelids fluttered open. He took stock of the situation, but obviously, whatever he saw must’ve disappointed him, as he opened his mouth to argue before realizing he could not move any of his limbs.

“I wasn’t the one who cursed those needles. Gojo was, which means that the effects will last much longer,” you said. “Don’t think about disobeying me now. I chose not to kill you, but I just as easily could choose to change my mind.”

“You said you wanted revenge. If you aren’t killing us, then what kind of revenge is this?” your father said. “And where is your mother?”

“She isn’t one of you, not in the same way, so I have nothing against her,” you said. “Why would I blame a woman who can’t even heal for failing to do so? It’s a lesson you all should’ve learnt a long time ago. Maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation right now if you had.”

“What do you want from us, Y/N?” your uncle said. He was your father’s youngest brother, a shallow man who was always so arrogant, walking around like he was the heavens’ gift to mankind. He thought that healing made him a god. You wondered if he still thought that now that he had been immobilized by one tiny needle. What kind of god would’ve let that happen to them?

“It’s simple,” you said. “Make me the head of the L/N clan. Swear you will obey me, no matter the situation, no matter the cost. Follow me with as much or more loyalty as you followed my father with, and I will let you live. I’m not an idiot, after all; I know how rare the Reverse Cursed Technique is, and how much better Composition is compared to the rest. It would be foolish for me to slaughter you all without taking that into account, so I’m offering you this way out, but make no mistake — I don’t need you. If any of you refuse, I won’t feel bad about killing you. If need be, I can kill all of you. It’s all the same to me.”

“You’re just a child. What would you know of heading a clan?” your uncle said.

“I don’t know anything, and I don’t care to learn, either. That’s not what’s important here. As long as you submit to me, you can continue to run your clan as you please. My only stipulation is that my orders take precedence. You must do what I say, when I say it,” you said.

For a moment, none of them said anything, so you raised one of your remaining needles. You did not even have to mime throwing it; the instant your relatives saw it, they all began to shout out their assent to your terms. You had no doubt that if they were not paralyzed, they’d be bowing as they screamed that yes, yes, they’d do it, they’d do it. They were just that brand of cowardly.

“Well, it’s easy to say things, isn’t it?” you said. “My dear uncles, you should be able to move by now, I think. Is that correct? Good. Let’s see if you were being serious about your pledge. Bring me my father.”

“What will you do to him?” your father’s eldest brother said. His son was your least favorite cousin; he had always teased you about how you could not use Composition like he could. You noticed that very boy on the ground beside him, a large wet spot in the crotch of his pants and snot all over his face. You doubted he would ever tease you again.

“Would you ever question my father like that?” you said. “I don’t think you would. Should I kill you for such a transgression?”

Your uncles didn’t complain after that, tripping over themselves to pick up your still-frozen frozen father, bringing him to your feet, setting him down in a kneel and then bowing before scrambling away from you, like you might change your mind at any second.

“Are you going to kill me now?” my father said.

“Hm. Should I?” you said.

“I know you want to,” he said. “Stop dragging it out. Just do it.”

“I do want to,” you confessed. “But that would be too easy. It doesn’t mean anything for me to kill you. I think this is worse, isn’t it? For most of my life, you hated me, just because I could not use Composition. Now, you’ll spend the rest of your life in servitude to me. It’s the best ending I can think of for someone as pathetic as you.”

“Are you serious about killing us if we disobey you?” he said.

“I am,” you said. “The next time I bring you someone to heal, you will heal them. If you ever — if you ever do what you did to Tullia again, I will kill all of you, and just as I don’t regret this, I won’t regret that.”

“We don’t deserve this,” said your cousin, the one who had pissed himself despite always being so bold in his youth. “We don’t deserve to live, but you’re letting us. You really are merciful, Y/N. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” you said. “Thank whatever deity favored you with Composition. The Reverse Cursed Technique is the only reason I’m leaving you alive. Otherwise, all of you would be dead by now.”

You knocked on your mother’s door gently, not wanting to startle her as she cried. Her wails grew louder before abruptly silencing, and you heard her feet shuffling as she made her way to the door and then opened it.

“Hello, mother,” you said. Her reddened eyes widened, still glossed over with unshed tears though they were, and then she threw her arms around you. You stood there unsurely, not used to the sight of an adult breaking down so thoroughly in front of you.

“Y/N, my Y/N,” she hiccuped. “They’re taking you from me. They’re taking you and sending you to that — that horrible creature! I tried so hard to stop them, but they refused to listen. Oh, Y/N, what will we do now? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Your life was supposed to be better than mine was.”

“It’s okay,” you said. “Nobody’s sending me anywhere. I’m the head of the clan now.”

“What?” she sniffed. “How is that possible?”

“It’s funny,” you said. “When a family’s members consist solely of healers, it’s surprisingly simple to defeat them, even if you’re by yourself, even if you can’t use your cursed technique.”

“You killed all of them?” she said.

“I threatened to, but I didn’t go through with it. I couldn’t. I’m not that kind of a person, and anyways, they are valuable. This is how the L/N clan has survived for so long: they’re just too rare to kill. Well, anyways, it’s fine. They all swore to follow me, and if I ever get even a little suspicious that they’re planning something, I’ll force them to make Binding Vows with me. It should be okay, though — as I’m sure you’ve noticed, none of them exactly have backbones of steel,” you said.

“I see,” she said. You waited for her to reprimand you, but she did not. “So, then. What will you do next?”

“The rest of the students and I are working to unseal Gojo. I’ve given up fighting for good, so after this, I’m going to go join Shoko Ieri in helping heal the last of Shibuya incident’s victims while I wait for something bigger to come up that I can help with,” you said.

“You gave up fighting?” your mother said. “Didn’t you love it so much? I remember watching you at last year’s exchange event — the one, in Kyoto I mean. You looked so happy during your match against Aoi Todo.”

“Really? Because I distinctly remember being annoyed out of my mind during that entire battle,” you muttered.

“It was like you were truly yourself,” she explained. “You’re giving that up? Why?”

“I have to. I can’t use Composition if I keep using Dissection, and I’m not quite talented enough at fighting to justify giving up healing for it,” you said. “Even if we now have the rest of the L/Ns at our disposal, I still don’t want to ever be in the scenario where I’m fully dependent on someone else to heal a person I care about. Never again.”

“Alright,” your mother said.

“Just ‘alright?’ You won’t argue with me?” you said.

“No, I won’t,” she said. “It’s not my place. If that’s what you deem to be the best course of action, then that’s what you should do.”

“Thank you,” you said. “Yes, I do believe that it’s the only way.”

“I’ll support it, then,” she said. “I’ll support you. As forever. As always.”

“I really do appreciate it, mother,” you said. “What about you? What will you do now?”

“There isn’t much for me to do,” she said. “Do you think I could…no, never mind.”

“Go on,” you said. “I’m the head of the L/N clan now, you know. Whatever you want, you can ask me for it. I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”

“Can I come with you?” she said. “I know I don’t have a technique or anything like that, but I just — I don’t want to stay here anymore. I’ll help in whatever way I can. I can make food for everyone, or clean, or whatever it is that you all need!”

“You don’t have to do any of that,” you said. “You’re my mother, so you can come and go as you please. Besides, I’m sure Gojo will be excited to see you there once he’s been unsealed, so there definitely isn’t an issue at all. Of course you can come.”

“Do you really mean it?” she said.

“Of course,” you said. “I really do.”

Taking your mother by the hand, you walked with your head held high past the rest of the L/Ns. They were the ones who flinched now, their very postures dripping with deference as you strode by without so much as acknowledging them. You saw your father’s lips part in protest when he saw your mother following after you, but after noticing the severe look on your face, he pursed them once more and ducked his head.

“I am leaving now,” you said. “And I am taking my mother with me. I trust that this house will be maintained and that, should I need assistance, I can call upon you all.”

“Yes, Y/N,” your uncle said. “It will be done.”

“Good,” you said shortly. “See to it that it is.”

With that, you nodded at your mother, who hesitantly nodded back. Then, together, you both took your first steps outside of that jail-like place, the manor which had housed you in your worst times. There was a freedom in that walk which even you had never felt before, not to mention your mother, who was gazing at the sky with a newfound appreciation for it.

“It’s strange,” your mother said. “I didn’t realize how unhappy I was until now. I think I forgot what it felt like to feel happy at all. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” you said. “It does. I know what you mean.”

“Thank you for letting me come with you,” she said. “I know I wasn’t always the best mother, but I really do love you.”

“It’s fine,” you said. “I don’t blame you for it.”

“Ah,” she said. “I see. Thank you.”

“Stop thanking me,” you said. “It’s not like that. I just did what I had to do, that’s all. It’s the most any of us can do, so it hardly warrants such praise.”

“You know, Y/N,” your mother said. “You really are a selfless girl.”

“Do you think so?” you said.

“It’s your greatest virtue,” your mother said. “I won’t claim the credit for instilling it, but I hope you’re aware of it anyways.”

“If you say so,” you said dubiously.

She didn’t know what you had almost done, how willingly you would’ve tied yourself to Sukuna. You vowed to never let her find out, and then you vowed to one day do something that actually was worthy of that kind of praise, something that proved you to be the selfless girl your mother thought you were.

Maybe that would be enough to finally redeem you.

[bohemian-nights]

If nettles was a white girl like Alys, dumbyra fans wouldn’t say shit. Look at laena and daemon regardless of them being married in the books they hated the fact of them being together in the show and how they did there relationship was disgusting. I was really irked on how daemon and Rhaenyra had sex in the most disrespectful way like Laena was just laid to rest and she found if a way to get with her uncle!! Then disappeared for 6 years from court and act’s surprised that the hightowers and vaemond are plotting against them like YOU’VE DONE NOTHING BUT POP OUT BABIES FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS!!!!! I can’t stress how much I hate the whole Daemon loves Rhaenyra more than anything, if he loves her sooo much why did he do the following

1) steal her dead baby brother’s egg

2)called himself the “rightful heir” to the throne after she was named heir

3)called her dead brother “heir for a day”

4) left her to fight in the stepstones and ignored her for years

5) almost ruined her reputation by taking her to a brothel

6)left her alone at night in the most dangerous place in kings landing

7)left her again during her wedding where she almost got trampled

8)undermines her during the plot to take kings landing

9) ignores her calls during her labor

10) ignores her call to come back to kings landing

11) he literally chokes her when he finds out that Viserys never thought of him as heir

Like they gaslight themselves into believing that this is okay, it’s not

Now I do understand the age difference between nettles and daemon is very important she’s 17 and he’s 49 but I think that they are more healthier relationship. I feel that nettles is more patient with daemon and they have better communication, she’s not afraid to tell daemon like “hey you do realize that this is fucked up” and he grows more as a person with her. Nettles isn’t spoiled and doesn’t like to be spoiled much and daemon likes that. Rhaenyra can act like a baby sometimes and it annoys him when she gets like that.

Sorry for the big rant but I know when nettles is casted and when we see her actor she’s gonna get hate from people WHO SHIP AN UNCLE WHO GROOMED HIS FUCKING NIECE. I’m going to war for my girl Nettles.

This wasn’t a rant, this was a read👏🏽 I honestly think that if Nettles were white(hell if she were actually non-Black like how they try to insist she is because they don’t want a Negro with Daemon) then a good portion of these racist stans would have jumped ship already.

Dumbnyra has always been a disaster of a ship(in the show and the books which 99% weren’t shipping this trash until said show).

There were glaring red flags from the get-go (the 1st “romantic moment” Rhaenyra is underage), but because they are self-inserting (this includes the weirdo self-haters who are fine with throwing other “WOC” under the bus to live out their Aryan obey me or I’ll nuke you fantasies) into her and can’t relate to anyone who isn’t white they are holding onto this Titanic of a ship for dear life.

I'm glad you mentioned Alys. People may hate her now, but the moment she shows up on screen and interacts with Aemond I can guarantee that most of that hate(which is mostly from Hellmann's shippers who only like their insane crackship that they pretend is canon because it’s a self insert ship) will fade away.

With Alys there, who’s also white and is Aemond’s actual love interest, Helaena won’t be needed anymore. So they’ll drop her faster than a hot cake, do a 180, say who’s Helaena, and ole girl will become the new self-insert.

That’s not going to be the case for Nettles(and yeah sadly her actress is going to get a lot of hate so prayers to her).

If you guys don’t believe us literally go pull up any fandom with a Black woman as a love interest and see the bullsh*t and excuses that are written.

Every single time the actresses get verbally attacked(they get called literal racial slurs see Candice Patton-The Flash), the showrunners do them, and their characters(Kat Graham-Vampire Diaries and Nicole Beharie-Sleepy Hollow), the fans of said characters and ships get attacked(this fandom is already starting it), and there are a million and one think pieces on how her character “doesn’t need a man” or how the ship she’s in isn’t “good for her”(all while these same people excuse actual abusive relationships like Dumbnyra).

People always say oh it isn’t about race it’s actually about xyz, but if every time you are complaining when you see a Black woman as the love interest, yeah it’s about race🤷🏽‍♀️ You guys don’t like seeing Black women in romantic relationships especially with your faves. It’s the same song and dance and now they are doing it with Nettles under the guise of “caring.”

If you ship Dumbnyra(and I’ve seen several of these shippers drawing art that’s supposed to be romantic where Rhaenyra is a literal child) and then fix your mouth to say Daemon and Nettles relationship is somehow bad for Nettles and that people promoting it want Netty to be abused (translation: I don’t want my self insert to be left for a Black girl, but I can’t come out and say that so I’ll just pretend to care about this Black girl when I’m actually cheering on for her to be axed or played by a white woman, yes I’ve seen some of these ignorant people want Nettles to be white because the Velaryons were made Black🙃).

The dynamic between Daemon and Nettles isn’t anything like Daemon and Rhaenyra. The only thing they’ve got in common is that Nettles is young and even then she’s technically an adult and she’s probably going to be aged up to be Laena’s book age in the show. The moment that happens they’ll find some new excuse(I don’t want Nettles to look like a ho knowing damn well their self insert was out their chasing after a freshly widowed man and they cheered it on) why Daemon and Nettles shouldn’t happen.

Yeah, they did have a much healthier relationship and Daemon grows from his time with her(something he never did with Rhaenyra). He grows enough to put her ahead of everyone including his wife’s rule and his own safety(which is what Nettles deserves), but we are lost in the sauce. 100% it’s protect Nettles over here 🙌🏽

[magicwithineleteo]

Bestie you like Rina right? What's your favorite moment of them from each season? 💖

hi twin!!!

yes i love love love rina i’d say it’s my favorite ship from hsmtmts and honestly maybe top 10 ships in general <3

this is gonna be really hard bc i love their overall journey so much and i can’t name just one moment from every season so i’m gonna name a few per season bc i cannot choose lmao

also there are countless parallels i left out bc i forgot them

season 1:

- character introductions

okay this technically is an honorable mention but i still think it’s important, in the character introductions video, when asked if he’s intimidated by gina, ricky says…

No, actually. Can’t say she does.

i love this line bc everyone was intimidated by gina. she was new, a triple threat, an ultimate bad b who was confident in herself. and that scared the other kids. but ricky was the only one who wasn’t.

when asked about ricky, gina says…

Ricky intrigues me…and I don’t get intrigued.

AHHH??? sorry that just is so AHHHH

- skatepark scene

this scene, i’d say is arguably one of the most important scenes in the whole show. ricky is basically done w the show because he thinks that he’s ruining the show and if he stays in the show, nini will leave and she needs to be the lead, so he unofficially quits. he’s just been scolded(?) or idk nini ranted about how he’s ruining it and how he sinks. he goes to the skatepark and who does he see? gina. now i know her intentions weren’t the best at the time, and she at the time just wanted nini out, but that conversation is what kept ricky in the show, as he confirms a few episodes later. she literally was the only reason he stayed with the show, he was literally about to drop out for nini. she reassured him after him already doubting himself and not knowing what he was doing and nini being rude to him in front of everyone.

That’s why I was stoked when she casted you. Outsiders keep everyone else on their toes. I mean it. You kept us real.

It’s probably better to have someone up there who can actually keep time. That 5 and 6 stuff?

You don’t need Carlos to tell you how to move. He bites other people’s styles. You have your own.

- homecoming car scene

this scene is monumental in the shows history bc this is where rina was officially born i’d say. this scene literally changed the trajectory of the show. firstly, the rina cue was born. he once again says that gina isn’t scary or intimidating.

Let me guess, you pictured a raw iron gate and a bunch of gargoyles?

Kinda. You’re not that scary.

then he confirms that he stayed in the show solely bc of her

I kinda owe you a thank you, actually.

For what?

You’re the reason I stayed with the show. That night at the skatepark? You set me straight, and it’s been a big deal for me, the Troy thing.

Well it suits you.

[…]

You know I…I meant what I said…at the skatepark about you having your own style. I don’t even think I knew how much I meant it when I said it.

and then in the next episode he says that he can’t forget anything that happened at homecoming. WHEN SHE SAID ALL THAT AND THEN KISSED HIS CHEEK

- when there was me and you

gina was the only one who supported his acoustic idea and he played it for her and SERENADED HER. the entire season and show people have been rude to ricky (nini, ej, his parents, miss jenn) and gina is the only one who consistently supports him <3

not only does gina like ricky but he’s also her first friend at east high, the first person she broke her walls around.

at this point, ricky isn’t chasing after nini anymore. and gina isn’t chasing after the lead anymore. they’re both free to just be.

ricky only starts to pursue nini romantically again after gina leaves. because what was he gonna do about his feelings when gina was leaving forever ?? and he was focused on gina too, constantly texting her and trying to talk to her after she stopped showing up to school. he only started liking nini again or focusing on his old feelings because gina was out of the picture and they didn’t think they’d ever meet again. which is why the next section is :O

- stick to the status quo

this was a BIG deal because ricky really thought he’d never see gina again and to see her onstage , performing , was a big shock. she kept re emphasizing how this was her last time seeing them and how it’s one night only.

Don’t blink, you’ll miss me.

The disappearing Gina act.

One night only!

ricky knew she wouldn’t be back so there was no point to do anything with his feelings, because he buried them down after thinking he’d never see her again. what was the point of confessing to her that he likes her if she wasn’t gonna be in his life anymore? she pretty much cut communication with him after she left so there was no point. so he focused on nini and confessed to her.

we later learn there’s more that happened that night.

but now, ricky is with nini and gina gets a surprise offer by ashlyn to stay with her for the next semester.

BOOM SEASON 1 ENDED

season 2:

- valentine’s day conversation

god this scene is so packed .

ricky and gina’s relationship is based on understanding. they say things in this scene like

Valentine’s day is kinda hard for me this year, and I thought of all people, you would understand.

You did?

Yeah well..my mom’s been my valentine every year since I was 4. I guess I thought she would send me a stuffed bear as kind of our tradition. Um, but I just got off the phone with her, and it sounds like she forgot. But she works crazy hard hours. So…

Yeah, I…I get that. Um, missing your mom.

I knew you would. Sorry, there’s just some things I tell you that I don’t really tell anyone else.

Yeah, no, I think we do that for each other.

this conversation reminds me of the one they had in thanksgiving which is also a direct parallel of gina coming to ricky’s home and them understanding each other like no one else where this happened…

Is everything okay?

Yeah, yup…okay, no. I guess my mom has a new boyfriend and it’s just a lot. Sorry, I hate to be a downer.

Look, I…I get it.

No offense, but I’m not sure you do.

Let me guess, you’re mad that everyone and everything because just when you’re getting used to things changing, they change again. Am I close?

A little bit.

[…]

Do what makes you happy.

ricky and gina are incredible because he’s the boy who hates change and she’s the girl whose world is always changing, and they find solace in each other.

- opening night flashback scene

this scene also is so pivotal!! we see gina confess to ricky that she would’ve pursued him had she not moved away. this scene is so beautiful. we also see ricky later regret not stopping her.

You were amazing out there, Ricky. I mean, Breaking Free?

Um, guess so.

Trust me, I’m a theatre person. You guys made some magic.

Yeah, it was actually good to get something right, for once. I guess you have that feeling all the time.

I don’t do anything right the first time, Ricky. My thing is that I just keep pushing. And I never quit.

I know you don’t.

So, I guess I just wanna say that…um…sorry this is so stupid, I don’t know why I’m crying.

Say it.

I wouldn’t quit on us if I wasn’t moving away…So now, I’m gonna give you a really tight hug, and then I’m gonna walk away with my head held high. Okay?

Okay.

AH THIS SCENE IS SO PACKED

firstly, gina supporting ricky again, telling him what a great job he did.

gina says here that she doesn’t do anything right for the first time. this quote itself foreshadows her romantic ending. because in season 3, she has her summers of firsts. first boyfriend, first kiss, etc. this was her first confession too. and it didn’t go the way she wanted it to.

ricky was so gentle w her and is always so gentle when she’s crying :’)

but this scene explains why ricky and gina don’t really speak much. gina confesses to him as the plane was crashing and is staying away from him for herself and out of respect for him and nini’s relationship.

ricky knows that gina likes him, but just got with nini. he doesn’t know what to do, especially since gina is staying now. he pushes down his feelings for her now to focus on nini. he tries to keep their relationship the same by going to her for advice, but she sets the boundary of not confiding in her about nini. he respects her wishes and really doesn’t speak to her for the entire season. and by the time he is single again, even if he wanted to pursue gina, she was already having a thing with ej. there would’ve been no point. he was stuck with his feelings, trying to juggle his dying relationship with nini, repressed feelings for gina, his dad and miss jenn dating and his mom and todd dating.

they both were going through a lot this season. gina literally almost leaves salt lake because she’s so heartbroken.

- second chance

skipping to the end of the season, the entire song of second chance is just so rina coded.

ricky sings

But there is something in this summer wind, a moment to begin again.

and reiterates in this song

Begin again, begin again, begin again.

they all sing

What can make the tide turn? What can make the fire burn? A second chance is all.

they’re saying that the thing that can change the tide and ignite the fire is a second chance.

(also insert the lamp between rina thing here)

ricky also says

Here’s to second chances.

season 3:

- start over

ricky literally says before he goes to camp

This summer is all about second chances.

and then gina says this to him

Can we just start over?

Yes, definitely.

[…]

We’re in a new place, we’re different people now. We can start fresh. No drama, no chocolates. Summer’s supposed to be fun, right?

Yes, totally agree. Summer of fun!

this was so important.

obviously gina is currently happy with ej and even though she has lingering feelings for ricky, she’s excited to have her friend back and is focused on her relationship with ej. ricky is being finally free and is just enjoying himself. no thoughts in his head whatsoever <3

- what do you know about love?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

so earlier ricky was appointed to play gina’s jilted ex who still has feelings for her, and he actually does have feelings for her. gina is currently mad at ej and has old feelings for ricky too. when asked to perform this song and “have fun torturing ej”, this masterpiece was born.

the chemistry is insane the tension is there ricky is WHIPPED gina is swinging him around 10/10

then after, val describes ricky as heartsick and gives her psychological analysis on him

and then later ricky confesses that he wasn’t completely acting when pretending to be in love with gina

- color war events

1. firstly they spent the day together and had lots of fun

2. ricky helped gina set up the little promposal for ej and i think this scene really shows how far ricky’s grown.

in season 1, ricky, while i love him infinitely, purposefully sabotaged nini and ej’s relationship because he loved her. he tried to split them apart and then eventually stopped. in season 3, ricky is in love with gina, however he wants to see her happy and recognizes that currently, ej makes her happy. so he helps her set up this canoe thing for her and watches her surprise ej. he just wants to see her happy, whether it’s with him or without.

then he goes to his bunk and cries

I can’t believe I let color war slip out of my fingers.

You mean Gina?

he’s upset that he didn’t pursue her, that he shouldn’t have let her just leave. he regrets what he did.

this also parallels the quinceñero episode when gina cries seeing ricky and nini.

also both of them saying “you’re the best”

honorable mention- the coat check scene being a direct parallel of homecoming and showing ricky being gentle with gina again after she broke up with ej and ricky being gagged when he sees gina

- kristoff lullaby

this song is so them<3 and lucaya

every single word applies to them.

What do I know about love? Everything I thought I did, you’ve gone and changed it kid. You’re what I know about love.

ricky looks at gina as he sings this part.

AHHHH

it’s perfect for them because she did change his idea of love. like i said earlier, she’s helped him grow. he went from loving nini selfishly, holding onto her desperately because she was his only constant and he would do anything to keep her with him, to loving gina selflessly and purely wanting her to be happy and to thrive, with or without him. he learned to be able to let go because of nini. he had to let her go because he loved her. now he loves gina with no pressure or anything.

it’s him finally letting his feelings out, he’s repressed them the entire time, whether it be because he was with nini or because she was with ej. but now, under the character of kristoff, he’s letting his love be.

and i think that’s so beautiful.

- you’re a yes

gina’s whole confession was so so important and everything about it was perfect to me.

a lot of people thought that ricky should’ve been the one to make a speech but gina making it makes sense. she didn’t confess right the last time (because she doesn’t do anything right the first time) as well as the fact that she was the one who was in a relationship and ricky was respectful of it. he didn’t want to say anything to her because he didn’t know if it was too soon for her to move on or not. it had only been a month since she and ej broke up. gina had to make that choice herself. not him.

i’m gonna go into depth about her confession:

He’s wrong.

Sorry? Who?

EJ. He said we all saw this coming. But I didn’t. Not that night in your car after homecoming, or when I made you that hat at Thanksgiving and the floppy little ears looked so dumb, but..it was honestly one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. God, Ricky Bowen, you have been a surprise since the day we met. You weren’t the plan, you were never the plan. Plans change. And, if you want me to shut up, I’ll shut up but, I don’t have maybe feelings for you. You aren’t a maybe. You’re a yes. And I like to know where people stand with me so now you know where you stand with me. And so, I’m going to walk out of here with my head held high, and I’m never gonna look back again. Unless you stop me.

Wait.

[They kiss]

okay so now we’re gonna go line by line bc this is genius lyrics

obviously the parallels in the beginning, gina references season 1

You weren’t the plan, you were never the plan. Plans change.

this references 2 things, #1 being ej and gina’s conversation in season 1

What happened to the plan? I think I’m missing it because I’m still the understudy, and you seem pretty happy, so what changed?

Nothing…everything? I don’t know.

So you care about Ricky?

And what if I do?

and also tim’s feelings about rina

And, if you want me to shut up, I’ll shut up but, I don’t have maybe feelings for you. You aren’t a maybe. You’re a yes.

this directly references gina’s breakup with ej, because she says that maybe isn’t good enough for her right now.

And so, I’m going to walk out of here with my head held high, and I’m never gonna look back again. Unless you stop me.

Wait.

directly references her first confession

So now, I’m gonna give you a really tight hug, and then I’m gonna walk away with my head held high. Okay?

Okay.

last time, ricky let her walk away, but this time he didn’t repeat his mistake. and he stops her and he kisses her <3

the end! that was my very long unnecessary post <3 i love rina thank u for asking twin ilysm