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gamora-borealis · 1 month ago

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hi callie i was wondering if you had any theological thoughts about phan vs jedus, im ex-catholic and kinda agnostic-atheist but i genuinely find your perspective on religion and christianity to be refreshing :)

oh thank you it is an honor to be asked 😭💖 this got really long so my answer is under the cut:

I had to go look the story of judas up again to refresh my memory on certain details because I feel like I'm mostly familiar with the simplified sunday school version in my head (I love theology/philosophy but sometimes the nuances of all the different tellings from each gospel get mixed up or forgotten in my head lol). If you want like, in depth info on the differences in the stories or arguments among biblical historians/academics about the historicity of his story I would recommend reading the Wikipedia article about Judas because it goes in pretty good depth and gives lots of citations and quotes like actual credible scholars that I read and not crackpot evangelical "historians" who try to claim that everything that happened in the bible is somehow 100% true and try to make all the gospels fit together when they actually contradict each other lol.

but essentially the main reason people even ship jedus is because in the text judas gave jesus a special greeting kiss on the cheek in front of the romans who were looking to arrest jesus to show them which guy they were looking for (he accepted a bribe for this). like I think it's more so a modern invention to make the kiss seem homoerotic or something, which like be my guest I guess lol I love making shit gay! some gospels claim he was possessed by satan, some claim he was just in it for the money, but I think it's agreed that he regretted it afterwards and didn't actually want jesus to die and so he killed himself (or had an accident after being very distraught).

but like, if you want to get real gay, john the apostle is referred to as the disciple "that jesus loved." although I have seen it pointed out that this is a bit biased considering that line is from the gospel of john which was written down by john's followers like a hundred years later. but still, also john was the only one of the 12 disciples at Jesus's crucifixion (along with Mary Magdalene who basically was a disciple but the church has tried to cover that up because she's a woman, and his mother Mary, and some other family friends who were also named Mary lmao). so like why jesus x judas and not jesus x john?? it kinda seems like childish "hehe judas kissed him GAYYYY" over like. the actual close relationships jesus had lol.

to be fair I don't think I've ever seen jesus christ super star or any other jesus inspired musical that may or may not have contributed to this ship being popular. but at least there is probably a narrative or subtext there that leads you to want to ship them, whereas in the straight up bible I'm like. idk lol.

but real talk like. dan and phil are so very like, drawn together by the universe coded (which in the kind of non-standard theology I ascribe to, God is the universe!) and are such an uplifting entertainment duo that bring joy and hope to so many people I'm like. If God and/or Jesus had to chose, would they choose this beloved real couple or the guy who betrayed Jesus and helped get him crucified??? Like please.

(also I could write an entire treatise on why theologically god is not homophobic lol I won't get into that, but whether that includes Jesus the historical guy who existed? idk he never spoke on that - though some people think he was accepting of a roman soldier who maybe had gay relationship with a servant but that interpretation is a bit iffy - but jesus did go against a lot of gender norms at the time by being a single nomadic teacher who hung out with single women and told men to leave their families and follow him and if we think of him as theologically supposedly being at the right hand of God in heaven nowadays then they would be on the same page lol).

To get actually theological about Judas though, there are people who believe that Jesus's crucifixion was a necessary in some kind of weird sacrifice for our sins situation (academically known as penal substitutionary atonement theory) which I just don't buy into that at all lmao even though it's very popular in Christianity, especially among evangelicals. so like some people might be like "well judas had to betray in order for Jesus to die which was a good thing" but I just straight up think that's a crazy thing to accept like why did God have to violently crucify a supposed version of himself and/or son in order to forgive people of their "sins" that is such a weird convoluted way of thinking but that's what happens when people insist on believing God is all powerful and then try to justify bad things happening. Whereas I'm a fan of the movement to replace the term "omnipotent" with "amnipotent" meaning God isn't all powerful but is all loving (and there are some better translations that actually support this there is a recent book about it by Thomas Jay Oord) and be like well sometimes bad shit happens that God doesn't support but God's gonna just keep trying their best!!! so like I don't think Judas had an excuse per se but also maybe Jesus was bound to be crucified anyways not because God wanted it but because he was like, building a movement to challenge the Roman Empire even though it wasn't necessarily a violent one (more like mutual aid, dual power type stuff rather than a direct, violent revolution - which some jews at the time understandably supported although it unfortunately didn't work out for them). But this is looking back at it from modern times. At the time you could say Judas sold out Jesus to the equivalent of the CIA or FBI or something, like even if he felt bad afterwards why are we shipping them... I guess people might be like "Judas had to do it for the plot it's tragic!!!" but for what other reason are we shipping them besides the betraying kiss on the cheek that was in a different culture lol

I did see some interesting arguments in the Wikipedia article about how most historians think Judas was real but some think he could have been an antisemitic invention by Christians, there's a very big messy history of Christians, like even in the scriptures, blaming Jesus's death on the Jews in a way that is just very antisemitic and probably not true so that's another interesting aspect to this as well.

Anyways this is my perspective as someone into queer, existential, process theology/philosophy that is ultimately pretty protestant despite me being a practicing anglo-catholic episcopalian who likes saints and catholic worship and some other catholic-y things lol (episcopalians are like the bridge between protestant and catholic lol). hope this big rant made sense, I got kinda hyperfixated and haven't had addedall today and have been procrastinating eating since before I started writing this so I better go do that now 😂

#phan #dan and phil #dnp

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qatheauthoress74 · 3 months ago

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Transformers One Spoiler Review

There are so many spoliers in this review. I am not kidding when I say go watch the film (five times at least) before reading this. Okay? Good.

I’m gonna be honest here. Growing up I wasn’t all that invested in the Transformers franchise as other kids were. I ocasionally watched a random episode of Transformers Animated or Prime whenever they were on TV back in the day but I wasn’t what you’d call a fan. All that changed after I watched Bumblebee (2018) on a whim and it changed my brain chemistry in the best way. Seriously, that film is still one of my comfort movies and I love it so much that I even began to write fanfiction again with several TF fics, including my Riding A Sunset story (https://archiveofourown.org/works/17648414/chapters/41617823).

But before Bumblebee, theatrical Live Action Transformer films had the infamous status of being bad to downright terrible for overusing bland human characters over the Autobots or Decepticons as well as being very inconsistent with their own established continuity. Not to mention making some characters act very out of character. Seeing a film like Bumblebee helped me believe that filmmakers are capable of telling a story that not only respects the lore but also genuinely cares about substance over spectacle outside of the well-made fight scenes. That was why I wanted to give Rise of the Beasts a chance when it came out but I was sadly a little underwhelmed. It is still better than any of the Transformer films Micheal Bay directed, but personally, that’s like saying the Eukrea 7 film “Pocket Full of Rainbows” is better than E7: Ao and the follow-up film trilogy, which isn’t saying much. Again, that’s just me and my biased opinion. Which is the whole point of this review.

But believe me when I say I did want to give Transformers One a chance. I was hopeful after learning it was going to be fully animated and would actually focus on the Transformers instead of some random humans. So, what kind of plot would the film be about it’s a prequel set on Cybertron?

Well…

Plot: The premise is the origin of the mighty leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons, Optimus Prime and Megatron, and how the two factions would eventually fight over control of their home planet, Cybertron. Both started as lowly miners unable to transform into vehicles like the other half of their race can and so are forced to work day in and day out in their underground home of Iacon City to collect the fuel source known as Energon. The reason they need to do so is because 50 cycles before the events of the story the leaders of Cybertron, The Primes, died in a war against an alien race called the Quintessons. After they were killed an important relic known as the Matrix of Leadership disappeared and it led to the Energon dwindling until it could only be found deep under the planet’s surface. Without Energon, the Cybertronians would perish, which is why Orion Pax (Optimus Prime’s identity before he became a Prime) wants to find out what happened to the Matrix of Leadership. The current leader of the Cybertronians, Sentinel Prime, is trying to find it out on the surface but has been unable to do so. D-16 (Megatron’s original name) would rather keep his head down but constantly gets dragged into whatever zany scheme Orion has come up with at the moment. Thanks to unintentionally antagonizing a Cybertronian named Darkwing the two get dumped into the lowest place imaginable and meet an overly talkative but friendly bot called B-127 (aka Bumblebee). There they discover a warped message from one of the fallen Primes, Alpha Trion, calling for aid. Orion sees this as an opportunity to find a clue to where the Matrix might be and convinces D and Bee to help him reach the surface and inadvertently brings along Elita-1, Pax and D’s former boss, who recently lost her job thanks to them breaking protocol to save another miner’s life. The four bots end up discovering Alpha Trion’s unconscious body and manage to wake him up. He reveals to them that Sentinel is not what he seems and tells them a horrible truth:

Sentinel was never a Prime and was the one responsible for killing the original Primes with help from the Quintessons.

And all of the Energon the Cybertronians have been mining was being given to the Quintessons by Sentinel as a form of hush money to keep them from revealing his true colors to the Cybertronians. The heroes later learn that he was also the one responsible for taking their cogs as newborns so they could never have the freedom to be anything else but miners. The story then goes to show how Orion, Elita, and Bee want to bring Sentinel to justice while D (who gets slowly consumed by his deeply suppressed anger) wants to seek vengeance against Sentinel for what he has done and kill him for his crimes. The story gradually unfolds as lines are drawn, and tragically, the beautiful friendship between Orion and D ends with them becoming bitter enemies under their new personas, Optimus and Megatron. The movie ends bittersweetly with Optimus inspiring his former fellow miners into becoming Autobots and bringing Energon back to the planet as soon as he was given the Matrix after he sacrificed himself trying to save Sentinel from D/Megatron’s wrath. He also gave the miners their T-Cogs back, restoring their freedom and autonomy. Optimus then sends a message to the Quintessons, telling them he and the Autobots will be ready to face them when they return. Meanwhile, Megatron forms a new faction consisting of the previous members of the dead Primes' High Guard and calls them Decepticons to remind themselves to never be deceived by anyone again.

Damn.

Characters/Voices: The film leans heavily on established lore from pretty much all of the comics, the Aligned Continuity, some Live Action stuff, and Transformers Animated. I wasn’t bothered by the celebrity voice cast. Don’t get me wrong, I will always choose professional VAs over celebrities anytime, but I genuinely thought everyone did a great job, especially Chris Hemsworth as Orion/Optimus and Brian Tyree Henry as D-16/Megatron. Henry said in interviews he was using his experience as an activist in college as inspiration for how resentful and angry D-16/Megatron sounded in wanting to change things and I say he succeeded. Hemsworth had done his homework by consulting with THE Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen. I personally like to believe Cullen shared his “how I became Optimus Prime story” which is summed up by how Optimus should “Be Strong Enough To Be Gentle.” The reason I think that is because I felt it in Hemsworth’s performance, especially at the end of the film. I loved how they gradually sounded more like Optimus and Megatron as the story progressed. Which is both amazing and heartbreaking at the same time because you could see from the start how close Orion and D-16 were to each other before learning about the truth. It gave me the same feelings after seeing other great friendships/sibling bonds like Vi/Power/Jynx and Moses/Ramses fall apart in Arcane and The Prince of Egypt. Also, was anyone else reminded of that scene from The Fox and The Hound Todd and Copper's promise of staying friends after seeing Optimus' flashback of his first meeting with D-16? );

Other standouts include Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. He gave the Prime a grand presence that almost reminds me of James Earl Jones as Mufasa from The Lion King. RIP.

Scarlett Johansen was great as Elita-1, but I already had zero doubts since she had experienced voice acting before this film.

Vanessa Liguori did a great job of giving Airachnid a sinister personality.

And I have no idea who this “Jon Bailey” is, but he certainly gave Soundwave an “Epic” voice that I liked. ;)

Steven Buscemi as Starscream was a delightful surprise, even if I learned way more about Starscream’s kinks in this film than I would like, but hey, if he likes getting hit and choked, I won’t kink shame him.

Jon Hamm made me hate Sentinel so much. Give him an Oscar, please.

Now, the one actor who I was a bit wary of was Keegan-Michael Key as B-127/Bee. Bee has quickly become one of my favorite Transformers thanks to Bumblebee (2018), and I was worried Key would make him unbearable to sit through. But as I said earlier, the script (and possibly the voice director) made Bee come off as annoying in a “doesn’t know better” kind of way that almost leans to obnoxious but more akin to a hyperactive young adult who’s happy to have friends. Heck, the film even knows his voice could get annoying and made several funny jokes surrounding it. Also, the film knew to only have Bee talk too much during scenes that were supposed to be funny. When it came to the more quiet moments Bee was able to take things seriously as well as the rest of the characters.

And yes, I noticed Steve Blum was the racer announcer and archive guard. He did amazing as per usual. No notes.

Animation: I can’t stress enough how beautiful the animation for this film is. Industrial Light & Magic did an excellent job with the animation and I hope to see them do another Transformers film like this again. I loved the way Iacon City was designed.

The director, Josh Cooley, said the filmmakers were inspired by the Art Deco movement and you can see it from how the buildings look. It gives off a Metropolis meets Blade Runner in the best way. I also liked the way the roads and rail tracks would “magically” appear when someone was driving on them. And the way the planet’s mountains moved was also nice to look at.

And this is something that my mom liked while she watched the film was how Alpha Trion used sand to show the past and what happened to the Primes. (Who knew Alpha Trion was an Earthbender? XD)

One touch that I really like was when after the quartet learns of Sentinel’s alliance when the Quintessons you can see D-16 is sitting further away from the others and has his back facing them. A subtle sign showing the growing distance between him and the heroes. And the way his optics gradually changed from gold, orange, and finally to red was done very well.

Also, when Orion reunited with the miners he made sure to kneel so he wasn’t towering over them. It’s a nice way that show how humble he truly is compared to Sentinel and later Megatron.

And another thing was when D-16 shot Orion his left arm got destroyed. D-16 originally ad the Megatronus Prime decal Orion gifted him at the beginning of the film on his right arm, too. It truly feels like D-16 is destroying his old self in that moment.

Did anyone else notice that Shockwave and Soundwave initially had yellow optics and visors, but they were changed to red in the post-credit scene? They must've did it to match their new leader, which I'm sure Starscream was very "happy" about since he was originally leader of the High Guard and had red optics before Megatron. XD

I didn’t expect this film to get violent, but the shot of Megatron killing Sentinel by pulling him apart was brutal. The film did not kid around with its PG rating.

Nitpicks:

If I could complain about a few things I would say that I wished the film had a slightly longer runtime. At least 10-15 more minutes in the third act. I would’ve loved to see more of the final battle with the miners fighting Sentinel’s soldiers and Optimus vs. Megatron. I did mean it when I said Hemsworth and Henry killed it as Optimus and Megatron. But hey, if their performances were that good it definitely convinced me to go see the next film with them in it.

I would’ve liked to have seen other animals on Cybertron’s surface besides those metal deer but that’s just me.

Also, this is just a me thing again, but I kinda wished the miner characters (or minors XD) had more distinct voices. It’s just that since the Generation 1 cartoon, all of the Autobots were known for having unique accents like Ironhide’s southern drawl, Wheeljack’s Brooklyn accent, or Jazz’s smooth way of speaking. I mean, if the High Guard/Decepticons were allowed to have voices based on their original counterparts the Autobots should’ve had the same thing, ya know?

And how dare they tease me with namedropping “Medic Ratchet” but not actually have him appear in the film. I want my grumpy doc-bot. And Drift. I don’t think I saw Deadlock with the High Guard. Did anyone? I think I mostly just saw Seekers and Coneheads in the crowd shots.

HC/Theories:

The reason mining Energon was so dangerous had to do with Primus himself deliberately trying to halt it as much as possible. Think about it, Primus sent the Matrix of Leadership away before Sentinel could use it. I bet Primus didn’t want Sentinel to give Energon to the Quintessons which Sentinel ended up doing by making Cybertronians mine for it. Primus also probably made the mountains move while the group was on the train because we later learn it was full of Energon and not waste like Elita initially thought. Primus has been trying to undermine Sentinel’s plans all this time but probably couldn’t do too much damage as he didn’t want to hurt innocent Cybertronians in the process. And another thing to add is the fact that it looks like the planet itself is moving after Orion was dropped by D-16/Megatron so that Primus himself would bring him to the planet’s core and bring him to life as Optimus Prime because he knew the young miner was worthy of the Matrix.

I’m pretty sure Jazz became one of the first Autobots because he wanted to show his appreciation to Optimus for saving his life earlier in the film.

I like to think the reason why B talked so much in One was probably to make up for the fact that he barely talked at all in previous TF films. Though, there is another theory going around that in the next movie, the filmmakers are planning to make him mute which is why he talks alot in One. I seriously hope that WON’T happen because I’m sick and tired of Bee losing his voice so often. I know some later shows have avoided this, namely Robots in Disguise (2015) and EarthSpark, but I would seriously love the films to follow the same example.

Overall:

I love this movie a lot. I’m pretty sure if this was my first time seeing it instead of Bumblebee (2018) I think this would’ve altered my brain chemistry as much as that film did. If you haven’t seen this movie go watch it and if you have, go see it again. I WANT this movie to do well in theaters and not be a failure. The fact that it took us this long to get a film that captures the Spark of Transformers and be something both fans and newcomers can enjoy is nothing short of a miracle. We need Hasbro and Paramount to know this and Bumblebee are the kind of content we want to keep seeing and not the same movie with “Bayhem” over and over again.

Thank you. I’m already writing another blog about this movie soon. It’s going to be about why TF: One is a better Wish movie than Wish (2023). Trust me, it’ll make sense once I post it. XD

Keep on Writin’ and Rockin’

#maccadam #maccadams #transformers #transformers one #tf one #transformers one spoilers #tf one spoilers #transformers one review #tf one review

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dixonsstinkysock · 3 months ago

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"Je t'aime de tout mon cœur."

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader, Daryl Dixon x Daughter, (slight Carol x Reader???)

Era: Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol

Pronouns: She/Her

Warnings: Swearing, Violence, Descriptions of the Dead… THIS TAKES PLACE IN EPISODE 1 OF THE BOOK OF CAROL, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT AND WANT NO SPOILERS, DO NOT READ.

Word Count: 3,441

Chapter Summary: Carol, Reader, and Remy start their search for someone who’s been gone far too long.

A/N: This is (sorta) my first x reader fic. I’m super excited and nervous at the same time, I’ve worked very hard on this chapter so I hope it’s readable. Also this entire fic was inspired by @villifix !! They are so creative and are basically the reason I’m writing this 😭😭. Sooo Thank you so much for inspiring me! (and letting me use your character concept muah) I don’t know alot about guns or cars so bear with me here. One more thing, I feel like Carol is very protective over the reader and Remy in this, which is mostly biased because I think she’s hot and I want her to protect me…okay goodbye.

Click–clack..click–clack..click–

“Ow! Damn– ...Sorry.” You adjust the rearview mirror to glance at the 17 year old in the backseat– who should be asleep– instead messing with that stupid butterfly knife.

“What happened? I thought you were sleeping.” You mentioned, slightly annoying at the fact she’s still trying to perfect her knife tricks, over getting some rest. Carol looks back at the hazel-eyed girl, checking if the wound is bad enough to pull-over. “You’ll be okay Rem, it’s just a small knick. Be more careful–Please. We wanna bring you back home in one piece.”

“Right..I’ll be more careful.” Remy agreed, her voice small and soft, as if she’s a little..embarrassed. “Uhm..Mom, could we stop for a minute?” she asks with a slight country accent–an accent she got from being raised by a certain redneck archer. “I kinda have to pee..”

“Sure Angel Face, it can’t hurt us to take a short break.” You smile at her through the rearview and turn to pull onto a dirt patch on the side of the road.

Remy walks a little out into the brush–knife in its sheath–hidden a little under her purple zebra striped dress. You and Carol are leaned up against your car, a white, 2010 Toyota Matrix. “Have you noticed anything off about Remy recently?” You question, turning to face Carol. “It’s like she’s…I don’t know–Distracted?” Carol responds immediately, already having an idea of what the problem was.

“Well..We’ve been looking for Daryl non-stop and we’ve had no luck so far. Not so much as even a clue. She’s worried, I don’t blame her..I am too.”

Remy stands, fixing her dark brown-striped leggings. It’s quiet, the only sounds are the leaves rustling, a squirrel scurrying home with dinner. It’s almost peaceful–if you forget the dead are roaming around. Unfortunately, the smell is too pungent to miss, their throaty growl, the agonizingly slow footsteps or the sound of their decaying body separating as they drag themselves against the ground. Remy knows the feeling, knows the sound, the smell–it’s like being watched..being hunted.

It isn’t hard finding the lone walker, Remy gets closer to “put it out of its misery” as she says. She knows that the dead aren’t people anymore but she still prefers to give them the respect they deserve– for them to finally rest in peace…sometimes pieces.

Carol notices her first, itching to get back on the road and continue their search for their beloved hunter. You all pile back into the car, preparing for the long journey ahead. You look back at Remington–your daughter–she’s grown so much, so fast.

“You okay Rem? No bites?”

“Yeah, No bites.”

Turrrr..turrrr..turrrrrr

“You hear that?’

“Yeah..There!”

Carol frantically points to where the familiar noise is coming from– a motorcycle– specifically Daryl’s motorcycle but…No Daryl.

“Mom, is that–”

“Yes it is, buckle up please.” Of course, Remy is already buckled.. She doesn’t feel safe riding in a vehicle without a seatbelt– especially with her mother driving. You whip the car around, now following behind the bike– matching its speed, determined to find out where this random man got Daryl’s bike from.

Carol rolls the window down, leaning out of it to aim her handgun at him. Only wanting to do enough damage to where he stops– and is still able to be questioned after the crash.

BANG! SCREEEEEK!

Fortunately, the man is almost perfectly intact..besides the bullet wound in his shoulder. Also– lucky for him– You’re able to bring the car to a halt just before running him over. Carol gets out of the car, slowly, the stranger obviously isn’t going anywhere. She walks to the trunk, and pulls out her Weatherby PA-08, already loaded.

Approaching the injured man, aiming her shotgun–

“Where’d you get the bike?” Her voice is flat, but confident.

“W-Wait! Don’t shoot..please..” The man’s voice was shaky and unclear, almost on the verge of tears as he held his wounded shoulder.

“Where did you get the bike?”

You’re still in the car, not bothering to get out, knowing Carol can handle this herself. That crash was loud enough to draw a good amount of walkers– you hope to get out of here before then. Remy’s in the backseat twirling the ends of her short braids, a nervous tic she’s had since she grew hair.

Carol checks the man for any weapons, she finds a small hunting knife and a handgun similar to her own. No bullets. You decide to get out of the car now, wondering what’s taking so damn long.

“He know anything?”

“Yeah a little..Let’s tie him up. Leave him in one of those trunks over there.”

Walking back towards the car, Carol picks up Daryl’s bike, turning it in the direction you all were heading in the first place and walks it to the driver window.

“Follow me, there’s a junkyard a couple miles from here. That’s where he said he got the bike.”

“Alright, right behind you.” Remy climbs in the front seat, her mood lightened, knowing that we are one more step closer to finding the man who raised her.

You stop the car a few miles from– what you assume– is the place you need to be. Carol pulls up beside you as you roll your window down.

“I’m gonna ride up on that hill right there– Take a look at the place. Stay here until I come back.”

Around 5 minutes go by, when you see Carol riding the old death machine back towards you. “So?”

“I only saw a few people, but there might be more inside. Let’s walk straight in there– show that we’re friendly.”

“Sounds like a plan.” You start the car up, putting on your best poker face. “I’ll let you do the talking, people seem to trust you more.” You say, teasing Carol at the fact she’s so good at manipulating people..a little more than she should be. She gets the job done so maybe you shouldn’t complain too much.

“Ha-Ha Fine. I’ll do all the work, again.”

“Oh–Whatever”

You both laugh, and start heading towards the Camp. Carol gets off the bike, while you and Remy get out of the car, staying a few steps behind Carol and ready to move if need be. Her hands are up, and her steps are slow– an “I’m Friendly, Don’t Shoot” gesture. Clearing her throat she starts–

“Ahem…Hello..” The 3 men startle, spinning around and stopping what they’re doing to find out where the new voice is coming from. You notice a familiar crossbow in the hands of an unfamiliar man. He sets the bow down on one of the cars hood and picks up a new tire– walking away from the weapon. It felt like seconds..Carol attacking them after the man walked away. Before you knew it Carol had Daryl’s crossbow back, one of his arrows in someone's foot, and new information.

You decided to leave your old car back there, running low on gas and starting to overheat. You’d gotten lucky to make it that far. Carol decided to take the Mercedes Benz SLS one of the guys had just finished working on, the same guy who had Daryl’s bow.

“Sucks, we had to leave his bike back there…” Remy murmured, her voice back to being soft and small, her lower lip slightly jutted out. She’s always had a problem with letting thing’s go– worthless or not, everything means something to her.

The Boatyard was a waste of time. A couple beached, useless, boats aren’t going to help you in your search for Daryl, especially in getting to Europe somehow. You can tell Carol is getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Everytime you think you’re finally getting somewhere– it’s another dead end.

Getting back on the road with no destination– again– had tensions rising.

Carol was quiet, Remy was jotting down everything we had learned in her old tattered notebook. She’d been writing more, sometimes drawing, You’ve gotten a few peeks here and there when she falls asleep re-reading everything.

“-ey..Helloo? Earth to Y/N.”

“Yeah? Sorry..lost in thought… Did you need something?” You noticed the pair of square sunglasses Carol found in the car, they look good on her.

“Just wanted to see if they had anything good in that glove box, the silence is making me itchy” Opening the glove box, you find a couple audio cassettes inside, different rock bands, pop, etc. You grabbed a random tape and handed it to Carol, still looking at all the other ones. Some lady with a high pitched voice starts singing. Obviously Carol is not into it and throws it out the window.

Another tape. An up-beat instrumental, again not a fan.

A third tape. You should’ve been carefully reading the names on the cassettes before giving them to her, but honestly, finding the right song wasn’t important right now. It’s a meditation audio, she hates it. Almost breaks the radio trying to get it out. With no luck, she decides to try and follow the instructions coming from the tape..taking a deep breath in..and then–screaming in frustration.

Kinda awkward but you understand, Remy decides to lay down in the back seat, trusting Carol enough to take her seatbelt off for the first time while the vehicle is still in motion. Carol hears a strange whirring noise, like a plane or a helicopter. She looks through the windshield up at the sky, searching for the object making that noise, not paying attention to the road. You look up right before it happens.

“Carol, Watch out!” SCREEEEEK!

She swerves off the road, after hitting the walker in your way– crashing into a tall Drive-IN sign.

“AHH! What the hell?!” Remy yelps in confusion, now squished in the floor behind the front seats. “Holy shit..Remy?! Are you okay?” You whip around to check your kid for any injuries– she’s fine– might be a bit sore later but thankfully nothing serious.

“Fuck..I’m sorry. Are you two okay?”

“Yeah, we’re good, are you?..”

“Carol, you’re bleeding.” You reach your hand up towards her forehead, there’s a 3-inch gash going from her hairline to right above her right eyebrow. It’s bleeding but not enough to be anything critical; you hope.

“I’ll be fine..Might have a major headache but I’m sure it’s nothing serious..” She takes another look in the sky searching for the plane again.

“What the hell happened? Why weren’t you watching the road?” You’re a little upset at the fact she put your kid in serious danger.

“I- I saw a plane or.. something above us. If we find it..” Carol looks at you as if she doesn’t need to explain anymore. She doesn’t, it’s like you two are connected telepathically, you get it. Remy’s up and in her seat looking at you two, a lost expression on her face.

“Y’know, It would be nice if you guys would finish your sentences once in a while, then maybe I’d be up to speed.” Carol gets out of the car to assess the damage done, while you turn to explain what you two were thinking.

“I think the radiator is fucked. We’re gonna be on foot from here.” You and Remy get out of the car, gathering all of your belongings.

“The plane went that way.” Carol points where she last saw the plane heading.

“Okay..Rem, you got your stuff?”

“Yeah..I’m ready.” She confirms after putting her bag strap over her head.

That noise is back..which means the plane is close. All three of you look up in hopes of seeing it. “There..that’s the direction we need to go.” Carol points at the plane again before it disappears behind the tall trees.

“Alright, we should hurry before it gets too dark. I don’t wanna be out here on unfamiliar grounds with the dead walking.”

You couldn’t make it before dark but it was better than nothing. After a few hours of walking, you three come across a tall metal fence– not knowing if it was electric you ask Remy to keep back a little. Carol moves forward to scope the place out, once she knows it’s relatively safe she gives you two the signal to follow her.

There’s a large trap on the right side of the metal gate, the gate looks stable..and powered, a good thing that whoever lives here has power, a bad thing at the thought of what they had to do to keep this place secure. Carol motions for you to get under the large trap, stepping over the previous attempting the same. Remy’s the smallest out of all of you; no one would expect her to be able to lift something that heavy.

“Okay, Rem get over here and pretend to get us out. Me and your Mom are gonna try and get this guy's attention.”

“Just follow what he says and we’ll be okay.” You reach your hand out through the gaps of the bars to caress her cheek.

“Yeah.. I got it.” She slightly smiles at you, reassuring you she’ll be fine.

“You ready?”

“Always.” You put your arm back into the bars and position it to look lodged under the rusted metal prongs, Carol does the same.

“HELP!..SOMEBODY HELP!” You two shout loud enough to attract the man.

He comes up from behind the cliff, pointing a light–and gun– at you three. “Quiet! You’re gonna draw them..” Carol explains what happened to our car, striking a deal with the man, spewing a bunch of bullshit like “Relying on the kindness of strangers”.

“Is it just you three?” Carol nods. “You swear?”

“Please..We won’t cause you any problems, I promise.” Remy being here made it a little easier for his guard to be let down; Him realizing she’s just a teenager.

“I’ll get you all fixed up..then you leave.” He opens the gate with some kind of remote. “One false move and I’ll shoot you.”

You and Remy are standing in the open barn waiting for Carol to finish cleaning up. Ash, the man who is helping you three, is standing right outside, gun in hand– waiting to shoot if need be. The power goes out unexpectedly, Carol stops what she’s doing and slowly looks over to Ash.

“What’s that?” He looks a little impatient and sighs. “Problems with my generator..happens from time to time.”

He walks away to go and fix the problem, trusting you three a tiny bit more, enough to leave you unguarded. Carol follows him out, still dabbing her forehead with the damp towel. Ash flips some switch on the generator and the power comes back on– a temporary fix.

“Have you ever hit a walker with your car?” Carol questions, trying to get him to open up a little. “No..” He gives a short response, obviously not wanting to engage in small talk with a stranger he just met, creeping around his walls.

“Hm.. You're lucky, I think I smashed the radiator” He shoulders his gun, not thinking of you all to be too big of a threat.

“You can spend the night here if you want..”

“Really?” Remy gives him a hopeful smile, excited to be sleeping within walls again.

“Yeah. C'mon you three can stay out here in the barn” He leads You, Carol, and Remy out to a quaint, small barn, a little ways from what you assume is his house. Remy walks in first checking the place out, she thinks it's kinda ugly, considering her face is slightly scrunched. You go to walk in after her but realize Carol isn’t following you two. It’s like she’s frozen in time, somewhat shaking, as she starts to tear up.

Ash walks towards her slowly, gently grabbing her arm before you can, snapping her out of whatever trance she was in.

“Hey..You okay?” She looks at you with a dazed expression, blinking away her tears and pulling herself together. “Fine...C’mon let’s get inside.” Ash shuts the barn door behind him, turning the main lights on. You see Remy standing in front of– what you assume– is the plane you all saw earlier. Carol walks up behind her, rubbing her shoulder.

“Alright, you can sleep in there” Ash states, turning on the lights of your room for the night.

“You fly that thing?” He looks at the plane, longingly, as if he misses it.

“The noise attracts the dead but it's worth it, just to get up above everything for a while everyday” Remy looks at him with a genuine smile on her face. “It’s pretty cool, I’ve always wanted to fly in a plane.” He gently smiles back at her.

“Alright.. There you go”. He gestures towards the room, clearly wanting to get this awkward moment over with. You, Carol, and Remy make your way into the small room, getting as comfortable as you can. There's a few heavy blankets in the room as well so, at least you’ll be warm for the night.

“Thank you..for everything.” You turn to give him a lighthearted smile, keeping up this facade. Ash shuts and locks the door behind him, finally you and Carol have a moment to come up with another plan. You need to get him on your side somehow, he knows how to operate a plane, he's useful.

Remy is already dead-asleep, she’s always been a heavy sleeper. Something that will get you killed if you’re not careful but she knows she’s safe, especially with you and Carol.

“So..What are you thinking?” You and Carol sit down on the floor next to Remy, speaking in your normal tones, knowing she wouldn’t wake up if a tornado came through.

“I’m not entirely sure..We need to find out more about him. Somehow we need to stay longer, do some digging.”

“Alright..we can think about it more tomorrow, I don’t know about you but those blankets look really good right now.” Carol smirks at you, but not without looking at the make-shift bed herself. It does look very comfy.

“Goodnight Y/N.” She moves to get under the blankets, and get in her signature sleep postion, you do the same.

“Night Carol..”

You can’t sleep, your mind is racing at the thought that Ash can help you find Daryl, and what you could do to get him on board with flying to Europe. You can’t stop thinking about all the negatives and everything that could go wrong while doing this, the plane won’t make it without a couple stops along the way–who knows what you’ll run into during them–, you could hit a bad storm and die in that death trap, you’d be putting your daughter at even more risk; flying into the unknown.

Is it worth it?.. Of course it is, it’s Daryl. You’ve made it this far you can’t give up now. You could never give up on Daryl, he’s done too much for you..for Remy. He’s family, you’d do anything for family–that’s what you thought when he first started going back outside the walls, looking for Rick after 10 years. Honestly It’d be a miracle if Rick was still alive but you didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Why would he not come back if he was still living, he knows where Alexandria is..Hilltop...

It feels like a long shot but if that’s what Daryl had to do to sleep at night, who were you to tell him no? You two made a deal, He would search for a little, but no more than a couple weeks at a time. That way he could still have a little peace in his life knowing that he’s trying but also spending time with his family, watching his kids grow.

The first fight you and Daryl had about the entire situation was stupid, the only reason it happened was because you were frustrated that you barely saw him anymore, that Remy barely saw him anymore. Daryl was frustrated because he felt like you didn’t want him looking anymore, that he should just give up, pretend like Rick never existed and move on with his life.

You made up barely an hour later, both realizing you shouldn’t be arguing at a time like this. Tensions were high and it was a spur-of-the-moment argument. Your brain is getting foggy now, thinking of memories with Daryl made your mind calm. You’re falling asleep, now less anxious than you were when you first laid down, eager to wake up tomorrow and continue your search.

Hope you enjoyed! Like I said I spent alot of time on this so super excited!! Chapter 2 coming soon!! 💚💚

(also if you would like to see Remy’s design I had in mind dm me!!!)

Translations:

"Je t'aime de tout mon cœur." -- I love you with all my heart.

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theotterpenguin · 9 months ago

Note

I really like the nuanced take about Zutara and why it makes some people uncomfortable and I can see both sides of it. I ship Zutara now but at first I didn’t and it made me really uncomfortable but I think it was just because of certain fan content I was coming across. Some people do portray Zutara in an extremely fetishized & creepy Stockholm syndrome way that makes Katara come off like some helpless damsel stereotype. It made me feel really gross thinking about as a young WOC but rewatching the show and seeing the true dynamic of these characters made me fall in love with them again. So I guess my feeling is that in canon i really love the dynamic but I hate the way *certain fans* twist it and refuse to acknowledge the racism & misogyny in what they’re doing

this is a complicated topic with many layers to it but first - i am sorry if you have ever felt unwelcome in the zutara fandom due to experiences with racism/misogyny.

it would be ignorant to claim that the zutara fandom is somehow uniquely unaffected by systemic racism or sexism, but it would also be disingenuous to claim that these issues only exist in certain parts of the atla fandom. racism, sexism, and general bigotry exist in every fandom due to institutionalized inequality in social structures. and to make it clear, i'm not directing this criticism towards you, anon, you are entitled to your own personal experiences, but i have seen a broader trend of people attempting to use fandom racism to moralize their position in ship wars, which is diminishing from the actual problem - the focus should be on acknowledging the existence of fandom racism/sexism, combatting implicit biases, and creating spaces that can uplift marginalized voices, rather than focusing only on optics in an attempt to gain moral high ground in a silly *fictional* ship war.

however, given all this, the reason that i am still in the zutara fandom is because i appreciate how many people in the fandom are dedicated to unpacking issues of racism and sexism and cultural insensitivity in atla's source material, which i personally haven't seen in many other sides of the fandom (that often sanitize what actually happened in the text to avoid acknowledging these issues in their favorite show). of course this is a broad generalization, but that's generally why i stick with the non-canon shipping side of the fandom because fans that are willing to stray away from canon are often less afraid to engage in critical analysis.

i also do think the zutara fandom has come a long way from the early 2000s when the show first aired. for example, when i first joined the fandom i had mixed feelings on fire lady katara, but i have since read some fanfics that have done an excellent job deconstructing some of the problematic ways that this trope could be interpreted and balancing respect for katara's cultural heritage and autonomy with the political and personal difficulties of being involved with an imperialist/colonialist nation. the fire lady katara trope, capture!fic, and other complicated topics/tropes are almost never inherently racist/sexist, but rather, their execution is what matters. and all this is not to say that issues of systemic racism/sexism do not still exist in this fandom, but it personally has not significantly negatively impacted my experience in the zutara fandom due to the wonderful content that so many other fantastic people produce, though everyone's mileage may differ with what they are comfortable with. anon, i hope that you are able to find a place in the zutara fandom for you! but i also know many people that have stepped back from other fandoms due to experiences with racism/misogyny, so i understand that decision as well.

on a final note, i think it's important to acknowledge that fandom doesn't exist in a vacuum and broader issues of racism and sexism are rooted in the media, the entertainment industry, and mainstream societal norms. while i do sometimes focus on fandom dynamics/discourse in my criticisms, i think it is equally as important to acknowledge how issues of prejudice and inequality are perpetuated through larger social structures, which is why it frustrates me when the atla fandom refuses to acknowledge the flaws of the original show, which has far more influence and social power over the general public than discourse over fandom tropes ever will. personally, i don't understand the phenomenon of holding fan-made material to a higher standard than mainstream media.

#zutara #atla #atla fandom critical #atla critical #zuko #katara #racism #sexism #and i hope it's clear that i am not condoning racism/sexism in fan material - but i do think it's hypocritical to ignore the foundations #of this that is built into the source material #anon ask #my asks #my post

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myseungsunglove · 1 year ago

Text

The Mystery of You | Bc

Pairing: Chan x Reader

Warnings: language, mildly suggestive

Word Count: 3.8k

Summary: Chan and the reader really start to get to know each other over the course of the six days that span the time from their first connection to their fated meeting in LA. The reader also gets introduced to two other members of Stray Kids and starts to form a bond with them as well. Tensions between the reader and Chan are growing as the impending meeting at KCon approaches closer.

A/N: Part 2. For The Master of Flirting - It’s important to note that I will take into account Korean Standard time, I will be writing this part where all of the events take place during Central Standard Time. Also, this one really got away from me, but I really wanted to build that bond between Chan and the reader and create some tension before they meet in LA. Part 3 is gonna be a DOOZY so prepare yourselves, babes! I hope you guys like this one. It took me a lot to get the details all ironed out but it felt necessary. Next stop, LA!

◠ ◡ ◠᭚ιαᵕ̈

Feedback Welcome

「© August 20, 2023 by mysweethannie」

Tags: @hoeinthehouse @drhsthl @chrizzlaptop @dna-black-and-blue @lynlyndoll @hufflepuffanddurinsdaughter @staychansworld @slut4colinbridgerton @spearb-99

Sunday, August 13th

Chan called back as promised to let you know the details of your trip. He had literally taken care of everything. Your flight was due to land in LA Saturday at 12:00 pm. It was a pretty quick flight, only three and a half hours. Your hotel room had been booked and would be right down the hall from the boys. Chan told you that your room would be right next to his. He had your backstage clearance for KCon. You were going to get to stick close to the boys while they prepared and then be escorted out to a prime spot in the audience for the performance itself on Sunday night. You couldn’t believe all of this was happening. You had the time off for work which with their KCon performance falling on a Sunday, you wouldn’t need to take any time from the week before. You had taken the entire week after off, just as a safeguard.

After the details of the trip were solidified, you convinced Chan to get some rest. It was getting late for him. You figured he wouldn’t actually go right to sleep, but you didn’t want to be the reason he wasn’t rested. He could make his own choices outside of that. He knew his body and his needs.

Monday, August 14th

The morning of Monday, August 14th, things spiraled even more in this whole bizarre occurrence that you were still wrapping your head around. Chan had introduced you to both Han and Seungmin. The amount of time that you talked about Han and Seungmin to Chan when you guys really started talking on Sunday night after Chan got some rest was a little embarrassing. You had admitted to him that the three of them, him, Han, and Seungmin had been your first biases, and he asked you just about every question he could think about regarding that.

Chan thought the idea of a bias was intriguing and to hear about what it meant to you really fascinated him.You explained to him that for you, having a Stray Kids bias was never about a physical attraction, but rather a soul connection, at least on your part. You had been drawn to Han immediately through exposure to the Maniac performances popping up on your FYP. He was what got you into picking a few more Stray Kids songs. Maniac was your first love and Han’s performances of that song had just blown you away. The more you listened, Chan’s vocals in the background of the chorus had sent you into orbit. You didn’t know who these guys were at the time, but you were weak for their voices. You wouldn’t say at the time you biased Han or Chan because you honestly had no clue what a bias was then and really outside of their musical talent in that one song, you knew nothing about them. More was needed for a soul connection. That connection had only come once you actually started learning more about the group as a whole. Chan and Han were immediately your favorites and it wasn’t long before Seungmin and his heavenly vocals had snaked their way into your heart as well.

Chan had shared your first singing video shortly after this conversation of biases with both Seungmin and Han because he thought it was really something special the way you had explained what having a bias meant for you. It had resulted in the two of them messaging you separately almost immediately after he told you he showed them. Chan had shared your number with both boys unbeknownst to you.

Monday, August 14 - 9:00 AM CST

Seungmin: First of all, it must be said that you absolutely don’t suck so never say that again. Second of all, Hello, I’m Seungmin of Stray Kids, and I think your voice is incredible.

Han: As soon as we get a moment in LA, we’re gonna sit down and record some tracks. You’re so fucking talented, and if I don’t sample your voice, I may die. So now you can’t say no. Also, hi I’m Han.

These messages had both appeared moments from each other and you just sat and stared at your phone, absolutely dumbfounded. There was no way this was your life. You had started a conversation with both men, and it was like you had been friends with them for years. You had messaged with them and even talked on the phone with each of them a time or two over the next few days. The soul connection you had felt with these three once you had really gotten to know them when learning about Stray kids had proven to be more correct than you imagined once you really started talking to them and actually connecting. They say you pick your biases because you are like them in some way, and the more you talked with these three, the more you saw that you had a little bit of each of them in you.

However, the connection with Chan was deeper than with the other two. You were so much like Han and Seungmin in different ways so the conversations with them flowed easily mostly about music, but some about your interests and hobbies. But you were different enough from Chan that it’s like there was a tether connecting the two of you. A magnet drawing the two of you closer, both of you seeking the other out without even thinking twice about it. Endless topics of conversation flowing between the two of you as you got to know each other. You talked about everything from your pets to what you’d be doing with your life if you had been born in another time.

Eventually the topic of the second song you found of Stray Kids came up. This was the song that would eventually lead you to want to learn more about the group, so Chan had to know more about which one it was and why. The second song you were obsessed with was “Red Lights”. Chan really perked up at that, but when you told him you still had no idea who anyone in the group was at the time that you started listening to it, but you just really vibed with the song and that one voice in particular made your knees go weak. It’s when Chan had really got on your radar and had driven you to eventually start learning about the group. He had definitely asked more questions about wanting to know who had driven you to find out more about stray kids.

Monday, August 14 11:00 PM CST

Bang Chan: One voice in particular, yeah? Mine or Hyunjin’s?

You could almost hear the smirk in his voice even though you were messaging. He knew from previous conversations that you were absolutely in love with his voice, but there was a part of him that needed to hear you pick him over Hyunjin. You knew that wasn’t something that happened very often for him.

Y/N: *video sent*

In the video, you had set up the camera so that you were sitting on the corner of your bed, your fairy lights illuminating the background behind you in a soft, deep crimson. One knee was pulled up close to your chest, your right elbow perched on it as you looked into the camera and began singing.

I cannot breathe without you being right by side, I’ll die

So can you please come over closer

Hold me tight, right now

You had run your hands through your hair, looking a little desperate as you sang the first line. You knew exactly what you were doing and you felt daring and empowered.

Don’t show that to Han and Seungmin. That one is just for you.

Bang Chan: shit.

Then there was radio silence for several minutes. It was long enough to make you really nervous, allowing your bravado to slip. As you were about to start sending a string of apologies about crossing a line you both weren’t ready for, you notice Chan typing in the chat again.

Bang Chan: You are seriously one of the most talented women I’ve ever heard in my life. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Damn. And fucking sexy as hell.

You stared at the screen. Bang fucking Chan had just called you sexy.

Bang Chan: Shit. I gotta go, darling. Busy day preparing to leave for Japan. I’ll call you tonight, yeah? Say, 11 pm KST? So 9:00 am Tuesday for you? I should be settled in Fukuoka by then.

Y/N: Just gonna abandon me after saying that?

Bang Chan: God. I know. Trust me, I’ll be lucky if I can focus all day. Plenty to dream about on the plane.

Y/N: Good. Cause now I have to try to go to sleep with the thought that Christopher fucking Bang told me I was quote “fucking sexy as hell.” Also, I can’t believe Bang Chan just said he’s gonna dream about me on the plane. What is this life?

Bang Chan: Ope. Using the full government name. *giggles* of course I’m going to dream of you. Have you seen you? Damn. But, I gotta go. Byeom, darling.

Before you fell asleep you had received a message from Seungmin.

Seungmin: I don’t know what you sent Channie Hyung, but he has now watched it an embarrassing amount of times, quickly puts it away when anyone tries to look over his shoulder, and is constantly beaming. You’ve got this old man whipped and he hasn’t even laid eyes on you in person yet. We’re in so much trouble when that happens.

Seungmin: Also, Han and I have been working on what we want to sit down and record with you while we’re in LA. I’m so excited to share this with you!

Y/N: And you’ll never know what I sent Chan. ;p Now keep those little puppy eyes to yourself, eh? ANYWAY, I’m so excited to get to sit down with you and Han and record. Like, I still can’t believe this is my life.

Seungmin: First, eww. Second, leave my puppy eyes out of this. Third, it is your life, you deserve it from what I can tell so accept it and embrace, woman.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 6:00 AM CST

Han: I’m pretty sure I heard Channie Hyung mumbling your name in sleep on the plane. What kind of spell have you put on our leader? Also, I hope Seungmin told you about our plans because we are both so stoked. We’re having a hard time focusing on the stage we’re about to show in Japan. We’ll get in the headspace and I hope you love our stages. I know STAYS will end up sharing that shit far and wide, so you’ll have to tell me what you think!

Y/N: I swear, you and Seungmin are both menace’s to society. Haven’t you ever heard of privacy? Hahaha And yes, Seungmin shared about your plans. I’m beyond excited. I hope your guys concert prep and concerts are a raging success, Hannie. You’re an absolute rockstar, no matter what so I have faith you’ll kill whatever you're putting on stage.

Han: What do you know? Just know that I’m eyeing you suspiciously. Did Chan tell you something? Seungmin and I are a dream team. You’re lucky to be the target of our attention and torture. It means we love you.

Y/N: I don’t know a damn thing. Just look forward to getting to see whatever it is you’re hinting at. Also, aww what a twisted way to show you love someone. How cute.

Han: You’re a mess, you know that? Take the love. Embrace it. Roll around in it. It’s not going away. Speaking of going away, I got shit to do even though it’s already like 8 pm. I’ll yell at you later, bro.

Y/N: Okay bro. Don’t forget to eat and drink and maybe sleep some in there too.

Han: Okay, now you sound like Chan. BYE!

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 9:00 AM CST

“Heya!” you chirped as you answered the phone. You were never this peppy in the morning, but since it was Bang Chan you had been up and around for hours anticipating another conversation on the phone with him.

“Hey, darlin,” he said. He sounded as though he had an exhausting day. “Are you one of those crazy morning people?” He questioned seriously.

You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh hell no. I’ve just been up for hours because I had too much on my mind. And Han was texting me early this morning. I sleep like a degenerate, so we have that in common,” you teased.

“Hey,” he protested.

“Come on, you know I’m right.I don’t know you that well yet, but I definitely know that.”

“It’s not fair because I still feel like I know so little about you,” he whined. You heard him plop back on his bed or onto a couch, you weren’t sure which.

“To be fair, my every move isn’t all over YouTube for the whole world to see,” you countered. “I can’t imagine what that must be like.”

He sighed. “Honestly I kind of forget that all exists sometimes. I just try to focus on what’s in front of me. If I let that stuff get to be too bad, I lose track of my goals. I’ve been there before and I had to learn that the hard way,” he admitted.

“Hmmm,” you responded, encouraging him to continue if he wanted. “Yeah, I can only imagine.”

“We’ll get to that depressing story another day, I want to talk about you,” he continued. “I haven’t stopped thinking about that video for a second today, by the way,” he confessed.

“Yeah?” you asked. “I have it on pretty good authority that you maybe watched that video a couple dozen times,” you laughed.

“Hell yeah,” he chuckled. “Wait, fucking Seungmin. I may have watched it several times back again and messed with putting your vocals into the track. Maybe,” he chuckled shyly.

“Wow,” you whispered. “I don’t know what to say.” And you didn’t. You were at a loss for words with how obsessed with your voice he and the other two seemed to be.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just don’t refute the compliment,” he said matter of factly.

“Yes sir,” you smirked. You didn’t know how he would react to that, but you took the chance anyway.

He cleared his throat and you heard him inhale deeply. “God, don’t start something we can’t finish, y/n,” he practically begged.

“And what would that be, Christopher?” you asked innocently.

He huffed again. “Baby girl, you talk like that and I’m gonna say things that I’d much rather say in person for the first time,” he admitted.

You swallowed hard, a blush creeping up your neck.

“Oh,” you let out. That answer had caught you by surprise. “I’ll behave,” you promised. “Scout’s honor.”

He chuckled at that. “You’re really gonna be the death of me. Tell me about your family and where you grew up,” he asked. “Distract me, but also, I want to know.”

You proceeded to talk about where you grew up, what life was like growing up in the states, and learned that a lot of your raising wasn’t all that different from Chan’s despite being raised on the other side of the world. You looked at the clock and realized it was nearing noon.

“Whoa, Chan it’s late for you,” you said after you had stopped laughing about a story he had told you about him and his siblings when they were younger.

“Eh, I’ve done much worse,” he said dismissively. “Hell this is early,” he added.

“You have a concert tomorrow,” you said. “Don’t work too hard. I know you know your boundaries.”

“Thanks darlin’.”

“Of course, Channie.”

“I like that coming from you,” he confessed, a shy chuckle emitting from him. Sometimes you couldn’t believe that this shy guy was the same one who was flirting with you earlier and talking about not finishing what you started.

“I should probably go, anywway. Do something other than talk for hours to this cute guy I just met.”

“Oh, you should tell me about him next time,” Chan laughed. “Sounds interesting.

“Shut up,” you laughed. “Talk later, yeah?”

“God, you’re already starting to sound like me,” Chan groaned.

“To be fair, I’ve always sounded like this. I’m a midwesterner,” you joked.

“Whatever that means,” Chan teased like you hadn’t spent the better part of thirty minutes explaining to him what it was like living in the midwestern United States.

“Eh, watch it.”

“Go be productive, y/n,” he quipped.

“Ugh fine!” you relented. “Talk later.”

“G’day, darling.”

“G’night, Channie.”

The next two days proved to be busy for the both of you, neither of you really getting the opportunity to talk on the phone long. You had text back and forth often, sometimes sending voice messages and videos, but neither of you had long enough to have an actual conversation.

In the time that you had not had to talk with Chan, Han had been blowing up your phone with lyrics that he had written for you that he wanted you to record. He has even sent you a guide track. It was a beautiful piece that he and Seungmin had been working on together since Sunday in between their busy schedules.

Wednesday, August 16 3:00 AM CST

Bang Chan: Okay, I know I’m about to go onstage for the first night in Fukuoka, but I had to tell you for the hundredth time I can’t wait until Saturday. I’m about as giddy as a school girl. You can ask any of the guys. I’m a fucking mess. hahahaha I’m sure you’re sleeping like a good girl.

Y/N: Yah, focus on your performance. You’ve gotta blow away a bunch of STAYS with your charm and charisma, you can rizz me up AFTER the concert, eh? ;) and also, think again. If you’ve learned anything about me, I’m anything but good. ;)

Bang Chan: I’m running away now. I only have about an hour and I have shit to do before going on. Talk soon, darling. Oh and please don’t message Han or Seungmin. *runs away and hides*

Group Chat with Han & Seungmin

Seungmin: He’s red as a beat again.

Han: I like when you talk to Chan, he becomes so much nicer. I can get away with so much more. Keep talking, I gotta go cause some chaos while I have the chance.

Y/N: Don’t you dare, Han Jisung. You need to be focused on your performance too! What am, gonna become the resident mom of Stray Kids? Damn!

Seungmin: eww, no. Not that. Anything but that.

Y/N: Then go kick ass at this concert and stop bugging Chan! And hell, me too you little shits.

Seungmin: Truce.

Han: Truce.

Y/N: Good. Now, get out there show those JStays what you’ve got. I’m so jealous, by the way.

Seungmin: We’re both gonna make sure you get some specific footage from the concert tonight. You just can’t share it with anyone.

Han: ooooo secret secrets are so amazing.

Y/N: Damn, my life was really boring before Sunday.

Seungmin: you’re welcome.

Han: Glad to be of service. *runs off and grabs electric guitar that won’t be used at all for the concert tonight*

Y/N: Electric Guitar?!?!? Han Jisung you come back here. Are you play THE GUITAR IN JAPAN?!

You didn’t hear back from either man until after the concert. Yes, Han had played the electric guitar on stage, and when he sent you a video that their manager himself had recorded for you, you thought you had died and gone to heaven. He also sent you Seungmin’s performance and then teased you about Chan’s saying that it was a conversation you’d have to have with him. He didn’t promise you anything from Chan. Han Jisung was an absolute menace, but man were you glad that you could say he was a part of your life now. It still didn’t feel real.

Chan had sent you his performance as well. He’d called you immediately after the concertn on Thursday and there was a lot of flirty banter going on between you on that night. He teased you about how much he knew you were probably dying at his video and you sent him a video of you singing “Connected” that shut him right on up. You had recorded it Wednesday night randomly knowing it would probably come in handy as a good weapon against Chan. You weren’t wrong.

“God damn, baby girl. Using my own song against me. Shit,” he breathed out. You could tell he was trying to hold himself together.

“I’ve got plenty of weapons in my arsenal, babe. Don’t test me. If you do, better be ready for a fight,” you warned.

“Oh I’m more than fucking ready,” he growled.

“Sounds like someone needs to follow the advice of their own song,” you teased. “You know the part, “Diamond plated tension. Two minds, one direction. Craving the connection. Patience, babe.” you sang.

He went onto sing the next line, his voice laced with desire that was unmistakable.

“We’re pulling at each other like magnets. The rules are telling us to ignore them.Your moves they’re asking me for attention. Oh I’m losing it,” he sang back.

“I swear to god, Saturday can’t get here quick enough, Chan,” you huffed, the heat rising on your skin.

“Trust me, baby girl, I know. And on that note, I know this conversation wasn’t long enough, but I’ve gotta go,” he said. You could hear the anguish in his voice.

“Man, okay. No yeah, I understand. I forget you’re an actual star sometimes,” you admitted.

“I wish I could forget sometimes,” he mumbled.

You chose to let it slide, knowing you didn’t have time to unpack that heavy statement at the moment.

“We’re flying out early Friday and we’ll be in Korea for like no time at all before we are back on a plane to LA and then it’s time to see you,” he added.

“Saturday can’t come quick enough,” you agreed.

“It really can’t,” he echoed. “Alright, have a good rest of your Thursday, darlin’. I’ll text you when we’re heading to the airport. We’ll talk Friday about the details for Saturday, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you smiled. “Talk later.”

“G’day darlin’” Chan said, his smile evident even though you couldn’t see his face.

“G’night, babe,” you said and ended the all too short call.

Just one day separated you from meeting this man and your heart was racing at the thought. You had no real idea what to expect, but you knew it was going to be a whirlwind the second you landed in LA. Sleep evaded you for a while as the prospect of meeting Chan and Stray Kids clouded your every thought.

< Pt: 1 The Master of Flirting | Pt. 3 The Art of Meeting >

#bang chan fluff #stray kids bang chan #bang chan x reader #bang chan fic #bang chan fanfic #chan x reader #Bang chan series #The master of Flirting

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ruinofchimera · 3 months ago

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Hello! I really like your posts and analyses, I was the one who sent the anonymous ask asking you to talk more about Snape's relationship with Voldemort and what differentiates it from Voldemort's other relationships

I always felt something different in the dynamics between them, although some passages went unnoticed and I couldn't connect some points very well. That's when I saw a brief comment from you about the complexity of their relationship and how it gives goosebumps to anyone who dares to research further. I was intrigued and needed to read more from you about this, so I sent you the question

I came running to read your response as soon as I saw you posted it and... Oh, that was amazing. Although my approach to Snape is more romantic and sentimental (I'm in love with him and I love him, so I'm completely biased towards him), it's very rewarding to read a rational, intelligent, objective, direct and less biased analysis. You have given me incredible intellectual pleasure and it has been a real treat to read about. I love delving into everything surrounding this complex man and the complexities of his interactions with the most powerful and manipulative wizards of his time.

I can only think about how Snape was so exceptional that he became irreplaceably precious to the two most powerful wizards on both sides of the war. How he was the fundamental player in this war, as he gained the power to influence his two masters, who completely trusted him. Even so, as you discussed, it seems that he gained power of influence over Voldemort almost immediately, whereas with Albus it was built over the years. Of course, Snape always had more affinity for darkness than light, but he ended up being recognized by both.

(By the way, wasn't Lucius Malfoy another one who protected Snape almost immediately as soon as Snape was sorted into Slytherin? What do you think was behind that? Lucius saw Snape as just a brilliant but vulnerable boy? An easy target and promising for the Dark Lord? Or did he also see something more in Snape? After all, Snape was invited to Malfoy's mansion as a family friend and became godfather and private tutor to Lucius' son. What's more: could Lucius' opinion of Snape have influenced Voldemort? Or did Voldemort's predilection for Snape raise Lucius's opinion?)

Anyway, reading your response gave me a lot of new feelings and insights and I was hoping that the text would never end (unfortunately the text ended, but what I read will certainly be enough to leave me sleepless for a few nights). I really, really want to read more of your thoughts on this topic and everything you have to say, I can even pay for your working hours (ok, unfortunately I can't). But please feel encouraged to post your thoughts on them whenever you want, because from what you've said, you still have a lot more to say.

I'll probably only be able to think about it for the next few days. And by the way, why aren't there fanfics about this? People are missing out on something extremely valuable to explore. In the absence of fanfics, I ask you: what are your personal theses for the reasons that lead Snape to gain privileges with Voldemort? I just want assumptions, just what you think or what would make you satisfied as an explanation

Anyway, thank you so much again ❤️ you made my day and now my obsession is well fed (and much hungrier)

It’s a paradox—being in such a sprawling fandom, yet feeling like I’m wandering alone with my little reflections more often than not. So, isn’t that the sweetest bloody thing—hearing my take on Snape and Voldemort hit home for you? Got me grinning wide enough to split my face clean in half, and trust me, that doesn’t happen often.

When it comes to Lucius Malfoy and his role in shaping Snape into a Death Eater, unfortunately, I can’t say much. The trouble is, my memory of their interactions in canon is a bit hazy, so my perspective isn’t exactly reliable. It would probably be best to keep quiet about this amusing peacock lover until I reread the books, which is in my immediate plans. But then, when has better judgment ever stopped me from tossing a little fuel on the fire? I can’t resist the urge to stir the pot.

The way I see it now, Malfoy—who was a few years older and comfortably entrenched in the upper echelons of the wizarding world—would have no trouble sizing up Snape for what he was: a scrawny kid with a dangerous gift, a mind for dark magic, and, most importantly, not a single friend worth counting on. An outsider. Vulnerable. All ripe for exploitation. Lucius was sharp enough to realize that while Snape might lack the natural charisma to climb the ladder on his own, his brilliance in potions and the dark arts could make him invaluable. So, Lucius played his hand expertly.

But you’ve raised a compelling question: did Lucius’ influence on Voldemort shape Snape’s rise, or was it Voldemort’s favor that swayed Lucius’ attitude toward Snape? Likely a bit of both. I assume Lucius had a knack for spotting rising talents and knew when to cozy up to someone with potential. He could’ve easily whispered a few words to Voldemort in Snape’s favor, spinning the boy’s talents in the most flattering light. Yet once Voldemort started grooming Snape, you can bet Lucius would have fallen right in line, ensuring his regard for the young wizard was well-known. By the time the Dark Lord took a more personal interest in Snape, Lucius would have been perfectly positioned to ride that wave.

Still, I can’t help but think Malfoy would never have seen it coming: someone he deemed lesser rising so high. That kind of reversal must sting, don’t you think? Watching a kid who once lingered in the shadows suddenly become a key player in the very game you thought you controlled. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and I imagine it would gnaw at him, lurking in the back of his mind like a persistent itch he couldn’t quite scratch.

It’s a shame I never paid the proper attention to the dynamic between Snape and Malfoy in canon. I’m a sucker for Snucius content, though, and I practically pounce on any decent fanfiction featuring them. I’d happily indulge in anyone’s reflections and headcanons about their twisted relationship—it’s my not-so-guilty pleasure, and I’ll own that without a second thought.

Now we’re circling back to my favorite pastime—unpacking the inexplicable yet utterly breathtaking relationship between the snake and the bat. I have to say, your whole “romantic and sentimental” angle on Snape? Adorable. Though my own metas often resemble a cold vivisection—slicing things open to expose the guts and see how they work—don’t let that fool you: my personal view of Snapemort is as romantic and sentimental as it gets.

I’ve crossed paths with more than my fair share of people in this fandom who wouldn’t know canon if it came up and knocked them flat on their backs. They get gaslighted so fast it’s almost like they’re begging for it—like canon’s some blurry afterthought they just can’t be bothered to keep straight. So in my metas, I’m constantly fighting not to let the canon get tangled up in the wild mess that is my headcanon. I try to delve into the cracks and shadows, and find something that feels like truth. But up in my head? Forget about decent—this concept doesn’t even exist in here. My imagination is as twisted as the characters I’m dissecting.

Now you’ve signed up for this—my own romantic and sentimental take on Snapemort. So, Moon Prism, give you strength. Here we go.

The tension between Severus and Tom wasn’t just about power, it was about identity. Here was a boy who, like Voldemort in his youth, was shunned by the world, brilliant but unloved, wearing his heritage like a festering wound. Tom Riddle saw himself in Snape, and that, for someone as narcissistic as the Dark Lord, was the ultimate form of attraction.

Voldemort didn’t love Snape—he couldn’t love anyone in the traditional sense—but he could covet him. He could hunger to possess that fractured reflection of his own soul. In the end, Voldemort bends for Snape again and again, not because of Severus’s skill or loyalty, but because he sees in him something far more irresistible—himself. A shadow, a twisted echo of everything Voldemort despises in his own nature, or maybe everything he adores—who’s to say? The truth could be both or none at all.

Voldemort wasn’t merely grooming Snape for power; he was grooming him as a personal obsession. He wanted to control Snape, to mold him, to shape him into the perfect instrument of his will. But deep down, perhaps he knew he never fully could. And that only made the obsession stronger.

Maybe it’s a matter of souls, twisted and broken as they are. Maybe there’s something cosmic, some fucked-up string of fate that ties them together, a soulmate bond gone rancid. Or maybe it’s simpler. Maybe it’s just the raw, magnetic pull of power and cruelty, a dynamic that thrives on dominance, fear, and that unspoken tension. There’s something primal in the way Voldemort circles Snape, the way Snape stands just that little bit straighter in the presence of the only man in the world who can destroy him with a word. It’s all there in the pauses, in the quiet moments where one wrong move could mean death—or something far worse. That razor-thin line between obsession and control, submission and defiance. Could be that. Could be something else entirely.

That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? They’re never just one dull thing, never some tired trope you’ve seen beaten to death a thousand times before. It’s that constant churn of possibilities that keeps me restless, on edge, always hungry for more. They breathe life into the idea that stories can be unpredictable, that characters don’t have to fit neatly into boxes, that two men with such deep, twisted histories can be everything at once: allies, enemies, crooked reflections of one another. Maybe even something darker, something that defies the lines we’re so used to.

As for fanfics — you’re absolutely right. The world is sleeping on some seriously juicy material. At this point, I could devour just about anything that puts those two in the same room. Give me soulmate AUs where they’re bound by destiny, torn apart by the weight of prophecy. Give me porn without plot, where all their schemes, all their calculated moves, fall away until nothing’s left but raw need and lust, tangled up in shadows. Hell, give me crack fics where nothing makes sense, yet somehow—it still works.

I’m desperate for more of it—more fics, more theories, more art—because it’s never enough to stew in these thoughts alone. I want to see what everyone else has simmering in their heads, to be blindsided by a take I never imagined, to be pushed by a version of their dynamic that’s raw, savage, and utterly thrilling. It’s not just speculation—it’s about feeding the fire, stoking it higher, until we’re all swept up in the chaotic, breath-stealing storm that is Snape and Voldemort. Two men so alike they could rip each other apart or drag one another closer, and either way, you know it’s going to hurt like hell.

I know it’s a bit presumptuous to keep my hopes high for the sudden spawning of Snapemort content. Best to roll with the punches. Truth is, I made my peace with the constant oversight of these two in the HP fandom ages ago. If folks didn’t spare their enigmatic relationship a thought back in the early days, it’s hard to expect much now, especially with parts of the fandom becoming a bloody nuisance, twisting everything into some fanon nightmare. Ah, there’s my grumpy old man alter ego rearing its head again—apologies for that.

Still, your cravings—so much like mine— are like a rare ray of sunshine for me. I can’t help but hope you’ll stay just as obsessed as me, gnawing at the same bone, driven by the same hunger. After all, who ever said I’m noble?

#severus snape #tom riddle #lord voldemort #lucius malfoy #harry potter

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velvetjune · 3 months ago

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Alan Wake 2 Lake House DLC spoilers/review (also spoilers for Control):

Had a lot of fun with this DLC! It’s short (unfortunately expected this), but sweet, although I wish I didn’t watch the trailer for it. It would’ve been amazing experiencing this with no knowledge. As a massive Control fan, I was practically thriving off of all the reading and FBC style. I have some sympathy for fans of Alan Wake who might hate Control, but these games are far more than a crossover by now and moving forward. I can see how this wouldn’t work for people who dislike that.

Personally, Remedy has done well at connecting their stories without it clashing! The AWE dlc for Control was a mixed bag for me, mostly because the story wasn’t really there and the darkness mechanics were bland. This could be because I’m very biased towards Control, but this was a great example of how to merge the settings and traits of both games in an interesting way.

The marital and mad scientist drama was terrible in the best way. I was dying every time one of the Marmonts was “hmmm Wake says we’re going to die horrifically and become monsters, but im personally better than that.”

DR DARLING… <3 He should’ve had more appearances </3

After all the deserved hate directed at AI and producing content rather than art, it was heartwarming to see promotion for Poe. I don’t know the details, but she’s barely been able to release music over the last 20 years (some songs here and there), so having an entire area dedicated to her with links to a (fingers crossed) site about an upcoming Poe project was lovely. Lots of love put towards artists in this.

Ed being there was and thinking he was in an immersive experience was incredibly funny. I’d have to look it up, but was the manuscript page in his room detailing when he was taken HERE and not him dying to taken? Was this DLC happening during the start of aw2 or right before?

I’m in love with Kiran Estevez. She can be judgmental and tries to maintain a level of calm over the situation, but her disgust, fear, humor all shine through in funny ways. Hope that she, along with at least Saga, get to be in Control 2.

Only found this out after checking Reddit (which imo is too harsh over both Night Springs and this DLC), but apparently the Dylan part is skippable. It was SUCH a highlight of this DLC. The shifting environments, the Not-Oldest House, Dylan in the “panopticon” post-Control, etc. was surreal and captivating. Usually with set ups teasers, I don’t particularly care (e.g. the AWE dlc ending was alright!), but man. The way to get it was perfectly strange. Poor Dylan. Just like Control’s “hidden” ending cutscene, this really seems to put Control 2 in the wider NYC.

Having a “person who’s only seen Boss Baby” moment: thought of tma (the podcast) with the tapes, archives, panopticon, all the weird shit. It didn’t influence this game, but I was getting flashbacks to when I listened to it (stopped caring for it, but the first few seasons were fun in a creepypasta way)

I liked the calendar puzzles. I’m not a huge fan of puzzles in games, but these were easy enough to follow without dragging on. however I did spend five minutes confused just because I got Friday and Saturday mixed up :(

The boss fight was easy in story mode lol

Diana brutally killing the taken Jules was one of the only “gross” moments of Remedy’s games and it was great! It’s not much gore, but I’ll take it.

I accidentally pressed the option to instantly destroy (?) the painting :( So im so sorry to Rudolph and I’ll be replaying this dlc soon to see what the other option is.

For my problems, I was sad that the paint monsters were mainly annoying to run from (also they’re cute). I don’t know if it was an issue on my end or a bug, but even once I went to story mode, I still wasn’t finding healing objects until the last fight. The reason I switched to story was only because my low-ish health kept instant killing me by the Painted 😭 Maybe it’s because I haven’t replayed Alan Wake in a while, but this DLC was wildly difficult. If Remedy didn’t add a whole list of assists, I’d be more frustrated, but thankfully it’s there. The map also would keep question marks and loot up even when I interacted.

I prefer the Night Springs DLC, but this was a great look into Estevez, Control, and what art is. Now, Alan Wake 2 is officially done!

#lake house dlc #alan wake 2 spoilers #lake house dlc spoilers #my post #this is technically a review but I just wanted to talk about this dlc lol #fun dlc :)

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justyourcasualidiot · 3 months ago

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Just a rant about buddie maybe becoming canon in 911 season 8 and why it should take time for it to happen

Okay so most of us are expecting (more like hoping but wtv) to have buddie becoming canon this season. Season 8 is expected to be around 18 episodes or so, episode 4 comes out tonight (I have yet to watch it), but if it's really to become canon in s8, I do not want it to happen before the second half of the season and that's being generous. Don't get me wrong, I want them to get together as much as anyone, but if I see it happen in 3 episodes imma be real disappointed. As long as it happen, the longer it takes, the better tbh.

Now, why is that? Well, there's still a lot of things that needs to happen first;

Eddie needs to come out as queer (gay, bi, doesn't matter, as long as he comes out as queer and realizes he likes men)

Buck and Tommy need to break up (I refuse to have buddie start on a cheating scandal. God knows we've had more than enough of that storyline not just in media in general but in 911 as well. Not to mention Eddie literally just got out of one)

Both Buck and Eddie need to realize they have feelings for each other

And finally, they get together

Some of these can happen at the same time, like Eddie could realize he likes men by having the realization he likes Buck. Hell, that could happen before Buck and Tommy break up, giving us some good old jealous Eddie with "one-sided" pining and "unrequited" love (for now). Point is, as long as it doesn't start on a cheating arc, we're good.

If all this happen in 3 episodes, I'm genuinely going to be mad. It's just going to feel rushed and I'm pretty sure most of us would hate that. It needs to be a slow burn. The slowest slow burn ever seen. It could be beautiful.

Which is why I think they need to become canon at least during the second half of the season minimum. The latter the better.

That's not to say they can't have feelings for each other before that though. By them becoming canon I mean them actually starting a relationship. They can pine, they can flirt, they can have their own angsty moment thinking it's unrequited. But actually legit dating?? No. That needs time. It's just going to be better in the end.

If you were to ask me what my best case scenario would be, it'd pretty much go something like Eddie realizes he likes Buck (and consequently men, or vice-versa) while Buck is still dating Tommy, causing him to have to deal with his feelings while still trying to be supportive. Then Buck and Tommy break up for an unrelated reason (I'd like to mention that while I know a lot of people dislike Tommy, this is Buck's first queer relationship and I want it to be a good experience over all for him so an amicable break up sounds better to me but that's just my personal opinion on the matter) leaving Eddie kinda relieved but also trying to be good supportive friend. Then it's Buck's turn to realize he has feelings for Eddie. Cue some moments of pining and flirting, that can go on for more than one episode, ideally a few. While this happen, they can both talk about it with other people, like Buck with Maddie for exemple. Then something happen and they realize their feelings are mutual. Now, would they get together then or would they try to take things slow depends on how it plays out.

That's just how I like to imagine it happening. I'd love for it to last a while before they actually start dating, or at least before they make they relationship official enough to tell the others about it. But I might be biased because I've always been a sucker for a well made slow burn.

Anyways, those are just my thoughts on the matter, we'll see how it actually goes (if they become canon at all).

Still manifesting buddie becoming canon, if not dating then let at least one of them canonically have feelings so we can start going somewhere eventually

#buddie #911 on abc #eddie diaz #evan buckley #buck x eddie #118 #911 season 8 #911 season eight #manifesting buddie becoming canon #slow burn

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last-blue-hours · 5 months ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/last-blue-hours/758882672634445824/i-guess-i-have-to-formally-announce-that-im?source=share

Taekookers and Jungkook solos seem to be under this misconception that Jikookers are all Jimin-biased lol. I've realized this being so long in the fandom. But when I was new and getting to know BTS, Jungkook was the first one I gravitated towards and soon I became a Jungkook biased ARMY. And it was through focusing on JK and watching non-edited content + little clips that revolved around him that I picked up on something between him and Jimin.

I didn't stumble upon shipping spaces or videos that could have altered my perception, it was all authentic. And mind you that time every little BTS content had Taekook at the forefront of the things I used to see and was recommended the most. But whenever I'd watch him with Jimin, the way Jungkook himself would behave towards Jimin (whom I didn't even like then), I'd feel so weird, like I'm watching moments between two people that I'm not supposed to witness. Even the moments when he'd push him away, I saw only myself when I was in love with my ex-girlfriend who wasn't my girlfriend but just a close friend then. Everything that JK is, his personality, is so much like myself, I feel. And that's a major reason why he's my bias, other than the fact that he's so talented.

Definitely not every Jikooker is Jimin biased, in fact from my perspective I'd say quite a number of them are Jungkook biased. And I think the Jm biased Jikookers have gotten even less now because of what happened with Face and Seven (people feeling the company sabotaged Jimin while JK got heavy promotion). A lot of the people who became PJMs in 2023 are ex-jikookers.

I’ve known bts and somewhat witnessed the inner workings of their fandom for a very long time. Although for some time, I have seen myself in the category of a lurker. I didn’t have the time to actively be a part of it. Now, I have crawled out of the woodworks, on time for the travel show.

It was jimin who caught my eye but it was jungkook, whose introversion, so similar to mine that I saw a sort of fondness growing and settling deep within me. I was there when km’s relationship began to take shape, something very undefinable still since we’re just spectators but I can pinpoint the exact moment when a lot of people could just tell. We just knew. Jungkook was the more obvious one, his face shows a map of his heart. We didn’t have jeonlus or satellite jeon for no reason, they were exaggerated but it was fun while it lasted. And what you said about your experience with your ex-girlfriend (I hope what you had with her was good for however long it lasted), the more you feel for someone, the more overwhelming it is to be around that person. Often times people misinterpret it as something malicious, which is what happened with Jungkook. And the kid was also going through a very sensitive developmental and transitional phase of his life. People are still unkind to that Jungkook.

I don’t like saying this but so many are in some ways living vicariously through km’s relationship while having an internal struggle as they project their own insecurities onto it. It’s such a shame how misery is thriving in these spaces on both sides. And why many jm biased jjkers have become solo stans. Another reason being, as you pointed out, how hybe handled jimin and jungkook’s solo debut. Hybe proved to be very incompetent while handling jimin. And the resources they did give Jungkook, it was to push an idea of a certain image, a regurgitated image of a popstar we have seen being already exhausted in the music industry. They didnt get the memo of what made Jungkook golden. That’s just what was off about the whole album. I’d like a better creative team for him.

And I do think a lot of jjkers are just people who are equally interested in jungkook and jimin as individuals. But yes there are a lot of jungkook biased jjkers. Us.

#shin answers #jikook #jungkook #jimin

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theamityelf · 10 months ago

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Have you ever noticed that whenever people do protag switches it's always dr1/sdr2 or sdr2/ndrv3 but never dr1/ndrv3? I feel like that has unthought of potential. May I ask how you think that would go in both cases?

Ooooooh, I love it. Let's see. Let me try not to let my character biases factor in here, lol. (And you can obviously ask for elaboration on any of this, because clearly I'm not going to be super focused. Pretty much just stream of consciousness.)

In all scenarios, at least some of the deaths would happen differently, to different people, by different people, etc.

The Shuichi in THH scenario depends so heavily on which character he attaches himself to right away, lol. Unless we mean Kaede in THH?? Okay, that gets its own section. Yeah, let me section this...

Shuichi in THH

Like I said, this one depends on which character he attaches himself to right away. It could be Hina for her positivity and energy; she's probably the closest to Kaede, there. It could be Taka, who is also high energy and has the added bonus of being called the Ultimate Moral Compass. Shuichi really wants someone to be decisive and strongly believe in something when he feels he can't, and I can see Taka being that person for him. Where Shuichi's scared of doing the wrong thing and hurting people, he can feel assured that what Taka believes is generally going to be right.

Also great because, for all his passion, Taka's actual observations about the school are generally very surface level, so having Shuichi tag along will give him more information to report in his booming voice, while Shuichi gets to chill in his shadow.

When Taka and Mondo have their sauna showdown, I think Shuichi wouldn't go to bed when nighttime comes; he is more loyal to Taka than the nighttime promise. So he'd see the whole inception of the Ishimondo friendship, and I think it would take him a while to trust Mondo. There would be definite "Are you sure about this guy?" energy between him and Taka once Mondo is rolled into their friend group.

And due to Shuichi's overlap of being unfailingly loyal and super harsh when someone brings it out of him, I think the moment Byakuya talks crap about Taka, Shuichi would be the entire Byakuya Hate Squad.

Toko and Genocider would be interesting, because I think Shuichi's fear of convicting someone and ruining their life or getting them killed would interact in an interesting way with the prospect of Genocider Syo, who has gotten away with tons of murders because no one caught her...but then also Toko, who is just a temperamental artist who doesn't want to kill anyone and I bet Shuichi's read "So Lingers the Ocean". I think Toko and Syo would be a reason for Shuichi to confront his feelings about punitive justice. They're practically two diametrically opposed arguments in one body: Syo kills because she likes to, she doesn't regret it, she will keep doing it if no one stops her, but Toko has no choice but to be involved in it, etc. Idk. It's still a bad look for DID representation, so maybe we can take or leave that whole plot thread, but it would do interesting things for Shuichi's character, thematically.

He and Kyoko would work together frequently on investigations (in more of a parallel play kind of way) but not really develop the same bond of trust that she had with Makoto. They trust each other's competency, but beyond that they're not especially close.

Also, when Junko reveals this is a battle of hope versus despair, he would tear apart her whole argument. Like: No, this is a battle of whether subjecting people to absurd conditions might make them hurt each other, and the answer is obvious. Grow up.

It'd be interesting, lol.

Kaede in THH

In this case, I think she'd start off fully believing that someone is going to rescue them. She meets Byakuya and she's like, "Perfect! There's no way someone won't come looking for this guy. This will all be over soon." Since the situation in THH is more grounded than in V3, I think she wouldn't be nearly as serious about getting out until after the first motive. And even then, she's not the one who starts the killings; I still think that would be Sayaka.

I don't think any of the THH motives would really get Kaede, so she might not kill anyone.

I think she would flirt with Chihiro. She would think Chihiro is the cutest thing, and she would say so, and Chihiro would blush profusely. I think those two would get really close, and Kaede would encourage Chihiro, in Chapter 2, that they're already strong in their own way, which would cause them to really focus on using their talent to help the group.

She would also flirt with Mukuro, for however long that lasts. And she would be excited about Sayaka; another musician!

I think Kaede would absolutely match Toko's energy so hard. Toko would definitely have crap to say about her looks and probably her proportions, and Kaede would throw it right back. Honestly same deal with Syo. They would be the toxic yuri to end all toxic yuri. (This is my first time saying "toxic yuri". Did I do it right?)

I hope she makes it long enough to see the music room. She would have a field day with Junko.

Makoto in V3

Finally, this. Wait, actually...

Makoto in V3 replacing Shuichi

Yeah, it occurs to me I have to split this one, too. Okay. I think if Makoto were in Shuichi's place, he would also partner up with Kaede. I think when the whole "tunnel escape" sequence happens, he would suggest that they go to bed and try again tomorrow before everyone reaches the "Screw this forever!" threshold.

I like to imagine, as a result of this, trying the tunnel escape would be a daily thing for a while. Just a scheduled thing that the group regularly does together, much like breakfast. They might give up on it after Chapter 1 or 2, but I just imagine it lasting longer as an activity than in canon.

He wouldn't notice the bookcase thing, so whatever Rantaro was planning would happen. I think, in that chain of events, Makoto and Kaede notice Kaito's little gathering taking place and go see what's going on there, someone spots Rantaro opening the bookshelf or just sees the bookshelf opening, and they reach the conclusion that the mastermind (or Monokuma) is making their move, resulting in a kerfuffle in which Rantaro is killed. Something like that.

I'm not saying who killed him just now; the sequence of deaths is its own thing.

I like to imagine that Kokichi calls Kaede and Makoto the team's mom and dad.

I think Kaito would be unsatisfied with Makoto's manliness, but I don't know that he'd invite him to workout sessions like he did with Shuichi in canon; I think, where Shuichi reads to Kaito as actively unconfident and in need of boosting, Makoto more reads as overly apologetic and easily manipulated/malleable. And depending on how long Kaede survives, I think Kaito would be less likely to treat Makoto as his sidekick than to just say that he, Kaede, and Makoto are all a powerful trio. (Maki does get roped in eventually, but it starts with them.) After all, Makoto isn't an accomplished detective; he's just a normal guy doing his best. And even when he does a really good job, it doesn't make Kaito all that insecure. The vibe is just different. (An Ultimate Detective effortlessly surpassing Kaito's efforts versus an Ultimate Luckster surpassing Kaito's efforts through high efforts of his own.)

The lack of Shuichi means the group does not have a detective. I think a result of this will be that Kokichi would be a bit more active in guiding the protagonists towards clues.

Maki still falls in love with Kaito, and she's also super protective of Makoto, mainly because he's short and can't take a hit. (If Kaito ever punched him, he would pass right out. But I don't think Kaito does punch him.)

Whenever Tenko talks to him, he reflexively apologizes. It's a running gag. His narration will be like, Why am I apologizing? and This was a pretty weird conversation...

Makoto in V3 replacing Kaede

Now, in this case, I'm imagining Makoto manages to trip out of the locker, does a full tumble over Shuichi, and bumps his head on a desk. Just full disaster stuff right off the bat, and Shuichi panics like "Are you okay??" and checks his head, makes sure he didn't bump it too badly, etc. I'm specifying this because Makoto won't be as energetic right out the gate as Kaede, but I do think Shuichi would really like and trust him if he stayed with him for longer than a second, so this is a contrivance to make sure Shuichi stays with him for longer than a second. Some luck, if you will.

(It might not be totally necessary; if they wake up in the same room, it makes sense for Makoto and Shuichi to stick together through the introductions. But this is just to make sure, lol.)

In this version of Chapter 1, they try the escape tunnel a normal amount of times and then give up on it, never to attempt it again (until Electrohammers).

Shuichi notices the bookcase, and they do set up the cameras, but there's no shot put ball trick. Rantaro dies a different way (likely orchestrated by Tsumugi) and the cameras are crucial evidence in the trial that follows.

Because of the steps needed to get to the camera plan, there's a running gag where Miu sees Makoto and Shuichi as her subs. Kaito sees Makoto and Shuichi as his sidekicks. (In this version, the nightly workouts do happen.)

Kokichi tries to make Kaito jealous of Shuichi's closeness with Makoto. (Kind of like, "Why would Shuichi need you when he has Makoto?")

In both versions, I like to think that Tsumugi relates to Makoto on the basis of plainness...or competes with him over it, to his confusion.

And in both versions, I think Makoto finds Angie really cute at first and they hang out a few times, before she starts the Student Council thing. He's kind of her friend. When he doesn't join her, it lowkey hurts her feelings a lot, but she expresses this by casually calling him a heretic.

Aaaand, in both versions, Makoto is the only person Kaito can best in the arcade games.

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danmeiconfession · 8 months ago

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My thoughts/rants aren't very coherent so just take it as me rambling instead lol .

Although sj's treatment of lbh was awful, lbh is still sj's direct disciple and the matter of his discipline rests on sj, so it's awkward for outsiders to interfere. it's not right but hey neither is slavery or child marriage so them's the works.

LBH was free to leave Qing Jing Peak at any time - but perhaps not in his own mind. This is interesting bc imo him and sj never had a relationship where sj was gaslighting lbh into staying. in fact i'd say sj made it plenty clear he found lbh to be an eyesore but maybe in those years sj had some intermittent spots of mercy lbh latched onto and then just never gave up hope.

Unless, Well looking at SV canon and how the system didn't penalize sy for the medicine + carriage ride after sy explained his thought process, it wouldn't surprise me if those types of events happened with sj and lbg. if sj had to bring lbh out on a night hunt he prolly made sure lbh was patched up + looked presentable so he didn't ruin the cohesive aesthetic of his peak haha and well NYY is always a weak point. these things definitely wasn't usual but likely happened often -enough- for lbh to get his hopes up over and over .

As modern people, we of course abhor the way that LBH was treated and SQQ comes off as abusive and a slimy lecher. But by the standards of his own age, everything he's done is perfectly acceptable. In traditional Chinese philosophy, the teacher is like a father, and a father and a teacher can do whatever they want to their child / pupil. Even in modern China, teachers have been known to get away with beating their pupils. In the UK (where I'm from), it wasn't so long ago that teachers could cane their students and no one blinked an eye about parents beating their kids. Slavery, child marriage, selling your wife or daughter into prostitution, all of that was totally legal in ancient China.

I always thought it was strange that OG LBH fixated so much on SQQ that he tortured him so horribly, but there's no mention of him doing the same to everyone else who ever wronged him, no matter how small. I think being pushed into the Abyss the last straw but I also think the reason he so hard-wired to think of his Shizun as this unfeeling man and tortured him limbless is because He got rejected so many women like him but the one man he chased relentlessly for years for his eyes to even graze him he look the other way which is why I think his eye got taken out ?

After the loss of his mother, lbh expected to find a new family in qjp and a new parental figure in sj. The greater the expectation the greater the disappointment. obv jiumei is not in the right condition to play mother hen to anybody. | ಠ ∧ ಠ | but lil bingbing didn't know that and arguably maybe he understood his foster mother was treated bad bc she was a servant but he couldn't understand why sqq, an immortal cultivator, is so hellbent on bullying some unknown kid.

Also, why does it bug Binghe that much? Why was it brought up against SJ during his trial in Proud Immortal Demon Way? Maybe it's just critical research failure on Airplane's part, but in ancient China, visiting prostitutes was completely normal. Men could have multiples wives and concubines and sleep with their servants and go around to the local brothel. Visiting a prostitute was just a leisure activity.Like, t says something about Binghe's obsession with SQQ in PIDW that he's fixated on SQQ's alleged bedroom habits?

Of course we modern people and Luo Binghe have a right to be mad, but justice in ancient xianxia China is... putting it lightly, biased... This is a world that shrugs off almost any crime if your position is high enough.

100% LBH is right to be upset, but the problems run much deeper than SQQ, their whole world is rotten. Him being mad about SQQ yeeting him is kind of confusing, he's legit to be hurt about it but any Cultivator would have killed LBH on sight when he was revealed to be a demon, and a heavenly one at that.

Which is why i'm forgiving with Shen Jiu because why judge him from a lens from the modern viewpoint because on top of the shitty things that happened to his life him being an abusive teacher isn't really so damning when the entire Cultivation worls is corrupt??? In a way the original PIDW was a hypocritical abuse apologism story with the mentality that any abuse against the protag was unjust and wrong and any abuse he committed whether disproportionate or targeted at people who never did anything to him was righteous or deserved was a criticism of the stallion protags and that it was never equal to begin with Shen jiu never deserved such torture they were never on equal footings to begin with. Yeah, he was vicious but it hypocritical. I never took Shen Yuan being with Binghe as a reward but a punishment for being such a troll and idol-obsessed that he ended up with Bingmei dude. Sorry if ending up with a mentally ill man and one who sa him and only cared for his own needs during the act with no regard for their partner and i'm breaking yall illusion with this toxic ship.

Considering what went down with LQG and SJ when they where disciples it does seem like there is a lot of bullying. If PIDW is like other Xianxia novels, or even historical dramas then there is probably a lot of underhanded sabotage by students against one another. Many cultivation novels with sects have kids fight over food and resources and if you can't cut it then you leave or you languish. A peak like SQQs may well have such things as part of their education because it's a strategist and scholarly peak, any student who couldn't figure out how to sabotage rivals, curry favor with the right people, manipulate, info gather, and navigate dangerous political situations on top of doing well in normal studies wouldn't fair well in such a place. - I doubt this to be the case in canon as SQQ is supposed to be a scum villain but its fascinating to speculate.

In a way Binghe is weird he thinks more in terms of a modern person I guess in a meta way? Because... He isn't special .It always strikes me as funny that LBH apparently like, idk, despite also being native to the culture is upset by it? as if he wanted more from specifically from SQQ? bc he wanted SQQ to find him special? meta hand-of-god type stuff where LBH accidentally has a more modern attitude bc of the way he was written?

Hell, his 300 wives scream self-enforced heterosexuality. like some DEEP repression and distraction.Ur telling me this guy fought more powerful sect masters, demon lords, survived assassinations but the mean teacher deserved prolonged torment.

If only Shen jiu played up the role as a mother things wouldn't have escalated lol. Freud should study Binghe though cause damn his mother issues run deep. His father though he doesnt give a damn and is detached from him but when it comes about the jade pendant youre basically finished. feeling the hots for ssq was part of the mommy issues lbh had lmao

#svsss #scumbag self saving system #shen qingqiu #shen jiu #luo binghe

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flower-boi16 · 5 months ago

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My opinion on Stolas might be a bit different from most people who openly voiced their hatred towards him.

Honestly I wouldn't say he's evil, but I also won't say he's a saint either. The guy just honestly needs a bit of a wake up call that yeah, he kind of was looking down on Blitz by calling him his little imp plaything and what happened in Ozzie's. To truly think about how the way he treated him and being called those things would lead Blitz to thinking that he doesn't love him.

And to be blunt... it seems more like he in love with falling in love. Let me in explain. The guy was trapped in an unhappy marriage where the only light in it was his daughter, so of course he might wanna look for an escape of sorts. Something akin to a knight in shining armor saving a princess from an evil witch, taking her on his steed and living happily ever after.

But the problem here that in pursuit of that fantasy, he's also neglecting Octavia. So what I'm hoping for is for the call out to come from her and that would be the breaking point for Stolas, that he really wasn't the innocent party in this as he thought to be and take the steps to truly improve and find a way to make it up to Blitz.

The thing is, that is exactly what Season 1 was trying to do. Season 1 Stolas was a man who made many mistakes that ended up hurting others, he was consumed by his own lustful desires and in the process he hurt the ones he cared about.

Part of what makes Loo Loo Land such a fantastic episode is that Stolas goes through some level of character development in that episode; he realizes that he made a mistake that hurt his daughter and, he decides to fix it by taking her to a place that she likes, even if he probably doesn't care for it.

It shows that he has more dimension beyond being a horny twink. Season 1 knew that Stolas wasn't a great person but it still gave him redeeming qualities to make him at least reedamable. I don't Season 2 Stolas (as a person) is irredeemable, but Season 2 really took everything that made Stolas interesting and threw it out the window.

The fundemental problem with how Season 2 is handling Stolas is the season's insistance of painting him as the vitcim in every situation he's in; I've said this many times before but it bares repeating; anyone who was hurt by Stolas' past actions is demonized by the narrative. Stella is turned into a one-dimensional bitch so Stolas cheating on her could make him look sympathetic. Octavia is told to cut her father some slack because he's "trying his best" even when the series shows us the exact opposite. And Blitz is told that he just hates Stolas for being a prince and is frammed as jaded and biased by the narrative even when he has no reason to think Stolas loves him given everything Stolas did to him in Season 1.

Every problem Stolas has as a character began in The Circus, where it decides to add in that "Stolas just wanted genuine affection and thought he had that with Blitz" thing, which came out of nowhere and directly contradicts what Season 1 first established, it's such a weird change in his character and feels completely different to what Season 1 gave us. It's a retcon because it doesn't line up with what was set up in the first season.

And this, in a vaccume, isn't even a terrible idea for a character, it could be interesting on it's own, but it contridicts what was previously established and turns Stolas into an UwU soft sad boy.

I don't really think that they are going to call Stolas out, at all. From what I've heard there are leaks that say that Octavia was tricked by Andre and Stella into hating Stolas, so he is now being frammed as a victim again.

Stolas had the groundwork for being the best character in the show but bad writting turned him into the worst. And at this point I don't think there's any fixing him at this point, it'll just come across and as too little too late.

#vivziepop critical #hazbin hotel critical #vivziepop criticism #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #anti stolas

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autumnmobile12 · 1 year ago

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I’m hoping that as Nocturne continues, that there might be some eventual parallels between Alucard and Richter.

I’ve mentioned in another post I don’t really like Richter. I’m not going to reiterate the entire thing, but the long and short of it is I found his character unnecessarily mean-spirited. Some of his dialogue really rubbed me the wrong way and I didn’t find his lines all that funny. But it’s this specific line to Tera that sealed the deal with me disliking him.

“And you just happened to stumble upon it one day while you were out picking flowers?”

Um, what the fuck? She raised you, gave you a safe place to grow up, has been a surrogate mother to you, and has shown you nothing but kindness and support, and you’re going to talk to her like that? What an asshole.

And this is the difference between Richter and Trevor’s characters. Trevor is an asshole, but did he ever talk to Sypha or her grandfather this way? No. Did he talk to Alucard this way? Well…yeah, but also observe Alucard also woke up snarky and began insulting him from minute one, so we can argue they are delightfully matching each other’s energy with a vengeance.

But I’m not gonna lie…for the first two seasons, I also didn’t like Alucard’s character all that much and for the same reasons. I’m a little biased as I generally don't like protagonists who are just mean for no reason. We all know someone like that in real life, whether they’re a relative or a co-worker or a boss, so why deal with it in fiction? Okay yeah, I get that it’s often part of a character arc and symbolism for growth and finding maturity. I understand why storylines like this are necessary, but I’m still gonna hate the little shits for the duration they’re assholes.

So Alucard…the way he treats Trevor in the first two seasons is also pretty crappy behavior.

“I imagine one sacrifices a chicken, and divines the location of the book you want from the intestines. Maybe Belmont has a crystal ball in here you could ask. …. Your ancestors were apparently mentally ill hoarders. I fully expect to find family cats mummified under some of these shelves. Unless your family preferred to eat them.”

You’re gonna talk to your comrade like that…in his own home…where his entire family was brutally slaughtered by a mob....possibly right in front of him? Yeah, real charming, Alucard. And this is the tone for his character in the beginning. There is the point where Sypha calls him out and tells him to stop testing Trevor, but I think there’s another element at play. “…and he’s a drunk and he’s self-destructive and anyone trying to hold on to him may as well be dragged down with him.” He isn’t just testing him, he’s judging him and he’s already decided he’s a useless drunk who got lucky and happened to win a few fights.

All right, now that I’ve dragged him through the mud, I’m going to pull back and assess the wider perspective of Alucard’s full character arc. Alucard’s growth follows the line of the spoiled brat who experienced hardship and had to grow up because of it. I think Alucard lived a very sheltered life before his mother died, and his actions and dialogue in the Belmont Hold are the strongest indicator to this. We clearly see he’s disgusted by the trophies and the history of murder against the vampires, and he is not shy about voicing his contempt towards the family’s entire purpose. He’s right, though. With the presence of the infant skull in the display case, we do get the very subtle nod that the Belmonts, for all their claims of virtue and protecting humanity, have also committed atrocities. He does have a right to his anger against Trevor and his family.

But what’s absent from Alucard’s character here is the fact he doesn’t seem to consider the atrocities the vampires have committed against his mother’s people. To the vampires, humans are food, livestock, and a lesser species. Godbrand brutally murders several humans in his flashback with no clear intent on actually eating them, so he kills for sport. Cho torments the humans in her court by amusing herself with duels to the death that only she can win. Not a humane way to treat the vampire equivalent of livestock. And exactly how long does Erzsebet Báthory keep those girls chained up while she drains them of blood?

Why does Alucard condone what the vampires do to humans and at the same time condemns the Belmonts for hunting the vampires?

The answer: I don’t think he did because I don’t think he was fully aware of these scenarios. Think about it, he had no knowledge of Dracula’s Generals and the only thing he talked about regarding his father was the tragedy of his madness and how killing him would be destroying centuries of knowledge. I think Dracula wanted him to have a peaceful life and fed him the more rosy-colored version of their history. Maybe he intended to tell him one day, and that day kept being put off by the sentiment, “He’s a boy. Let him continue to be a boy.”

Alucard lives his peaceful childhood until it comes to a screeching halt when Lisa is killed, so I honestly think there is an innocence behind his upbringing that gave him a very clear bias against the Belmonts that was completely justified in some elements and not so much in others. There’s also the point that he keeps referencing Trevor as a drunk, which is very much condescension. It’s not until Season 3, after he’s experienced his traumas and has fallen into his own slump of grief that his attitude towards Trevor changes. There’s still ribbing between the pair, but it’s not the same cutting remarks that we saw back in Season 2. Alucard walked a mile in Trevor’s shoes, and that mile was bitter.

...

So where I stand with Nocturne: Richter has started off in a way similar to Alucard. He lost his mother at a young age, but aside from that, he grew up safe and loved in a stable home, has a good relationship with Tera and Maria, and has otherwise led a relatively peaceful life. Even in the midst of the French Revolution, they don't seem like suffering peasants. Like Alucard before his world truly went to hell, Richter also didn’t have a full concept of what real hardship looks like. This is apparent when he’s all confidence and bravado, going around and yelling he’s the ‘last of the Belmonts’ and he ‘kills vampires’ and “Who’s next?” And then Olrox shows up and he cows him right back into the scared, little boy he’s pretending he’s not.

And so not only is there a parallel between Richter and Alucard, but there is also a big one between Trevor and Annette. Both of them have suffered through their own individual hardships, both losing their loved ones in some of the most brutal ways imaginable, but those same hardships gave them their pride and their poignant maturity and cynicism in how they see the world. Granted, the difference between Trevor and Annette is she never lost her purpose or her will to fight despite having been dealt the worse lot of having been born a slave, but still…Trevor never ran away from his nightmares like Richter did. Even though Annette and Trevor have their moments when they are scared, both of them stood up and said, “Fuck it, I have a bastard to kill and if I die killing them, so be it.” They don’t give an absolute damn. They took their pain and they wore it like armor.

“Killing you was the point. Living was a luxury.”

“If I let my past terrify me, I’d never be free of it.”

…

Compared to them, Richter is a spoiled brat who has yet to grow up.

And I think Alucard’s going to be right there with him saying, “Don’t worry. I was like you once and we’ll get there together.”

#castlevania #richter belmont #alucard tepes #trevor belmont #annette #castlevania netflix #castlevania nocturne #parallels #character analysis #character development

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