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beaulesbian · 9 months ago

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Every once in a while I think again about the end of Thriller Bark and feel completely insane and ill about Zoro's sacrifice, FOR LUFFY, specifically (you know, the character Kuma's threat was directed at). It wasn't even that long into traveling together, a few months maybe, yet Zoro was ready to give up everything in that moment - in the chapter with Kuma appearing being titled The End of the Dream ! - to protect his crew and Luffy, so he could continue in his journey.

Since Luffy and Zoro met, they always understand how words and promises were imporant to them - with Luffy punching Helmeppo in ch. 3 for lying to Zoro. Zoro learnt how serious Luffy was about his dream, and soon he realized he backed up his words with actions as well - untiying Zoro and giving him his swords back - his biggest treasures. It meant that Zoro could be honest and honor-bound in the same way to Luffy, to gain this mutual respect and trust between them since day 1. To wield his swords to protect both Luffy and later their whole crew, and to step in a way between Luffy and danger.

He was being actually more upset that Sanji got up from the previous Kuma's attack and interrupted their fight - Zoro was trying to keep the whole crew safe by this exchange for Luffy's head - if Sanji was offering his life for Luffy half dead and without much strength left to fight for himself (he started the offering of his own life already believing he woudn't survive, with a "you should find a new cook"), then this very specific sacrifice would be meaningless to the crew (- if this arc was taking place post WCI, then it would turn out very differently, with the strength of Sanji believing in Luffy, but it wasn't his moment during this scene) - it would hurt them more than help them, because as much as Zoro was prepared to die as well, he was prepared to keep fighting until the last breath.

Zoro was thinking he might die - Kuma's words were pretty certain he WOULD die - but he still had the willingness and strength to take on the deal for Luffy, for his captain and his crew. ("if i die here, it just means I wasn't worth much to begin with" this line he says times and times again during the overall story, like in Rogue Town throwing Kitetsu and waiting if it would cut off his arm, up until standing against King in Wano "it's my power that was lacking", and all the other times he was questioning his worth - it's something he tempts the fates he doesn't believe in, to actually harm him, to take his strength away if he doesn't deserve to survive. and it's him saying he knows and accepts his own weaknesses - of not being strong enough (in comparison to Sanji in this example), and always fights through them.)

He threw away his swords, including Wado Ichimonji - literally throwing aside his and Kuina's dream, to compell Kuma into a duel (with the anime playing 'The Very Very Very Strongest' when Zoro bowed down and pleaded Kuma, offering him his head instead of Luffy's) so Kuma wouldn't go after the crew and specifically Luffy later - no matter the outcome if Zoro would surive or not.

And then, he was actually strong enough to survive taking his captain's fatigue, agony and pain! Possibly being the only one who could survive taking Luffy's pain.

Zoro could have back out when Kuma offered him the 'taste' of the pain, with the realization of the scale of the hurt with the very possibility of dying from it. But that wouldn't be Zoro now, would it? He accepted and took all of Luffy's pain so his captain wouldn't have to suffer or die, and when they found him afterwards, he still kept standing, tense with the fatigue but alive! (again, with anime adding the music of 'Luffy's Fierce Attack' to underline the importance between these two).

He was training for this since the beginning - to become stronger to shoulder the pain of his crew if necessary. (And not only that - he was preparing for that so another Kuina incident didn't have to happen). He was the first one to fight one of the Warlords before anything really began: his fight with Mihawk at Baratie really set the tone and his own goals to overcome - a glimpse to see on how much different levels the Warlords actually were in comparison to Zoro, Luffy and the others, and if they were supposed to beat them so Luffy could become the Pirate King, that always meant to be ready and to get even stronger than them.

(small spoiler for egghead, ch. 1102: seeing Kuma (a Warlord at that time) remembering this Thriller Bark event later, during Egghead arc, and thinking that even he might have passed out from the pain, makes it all the more meaningful that it was Zoro who took the pain and withstood it - establishing how high was the strength of his willpower, already before timeskip.)

There could be so many other nuances and details from these last few chapters of this arc, and even what this deal meant for the following arcs! Zoro was still in pain on Sabaody, and because of that the crew wasn't as strong as it could have been (not to say they would have a chance anyway, knowing what all was in the motion).

The next is the tragedy and beauty of LUFFY never finding out about this. Half of the crew knew: Sanji, Brook and Robin knew the details, but would never tell Luffy - and that shows their loyalty to both Luffy and Zoro (and Zoro's decision). Luffy woke up and first thing he did was to jump up and down, excited not to be weighted down by his injuries, and only seeing his swordsman being down with injuries so severe he was out more days afterwards, knowing that something else attacked them (him = Zoro), after he was passed out from the fight against Moria, brought down his mood (even if it's not much noticable, but the change into subtle worry is there in the few next chapters).

"I can't explain it either!" - meaning he was thinking about it too, possibly how weird it was for him to move normally after such long fight. We don't really ever hear/see Luffy thinking about something, except when it's mentioned how he came up with a solution or idea, telling us there's more to Luffy than just being straightforward in his goals and speech. With Luffy being sometimes very emotionally intelligent when he wants to be, he could have figured it out from all these other people in the room asking similar questions and deducing. Even Usopp was putting two and two togehter. We might never find out if Luffy actuallly knows or not. Luffy probably wouldn't ask Zoro directly, especially if Zoro wouldn't tell first and didn't want to talk about it

- because for Zoro, nothing happened! Nothing, that would compromise his and Luffy's first promise. For Zoro to become the Strongest he couldn't back down from the duel with Kuma (just like before with his duel with Mihawk at Baratie. When he's faced with something he swore to overcome, he can't back down or evade. Even back then Luffy understood that as he held back Johnny and Yosaku, but Sanji was perplexed how far Zoro (and Luffy) would go to reach their dreams). When Sanji was asking him in front of Kuma "What about your dream?" Zoro was still thinking about his dream- it was just that the context has changed, it changed into a journey. His dream is the most important thing, but it wouldn't mean much, if, when on his way to accomplish that, he would betray his other words and promises.

#I will never get over how this very important “nothing” happened!#the first draft of this was just a shitpost with one block of text. but it seems im incapable of not adding more and more on top of it #one piece #roronoa zoro #gif:op meta #monkey d luffy #monkey d. luffy #thriller bark #zolu #luzo #kuma #bartholomew kuma #mine #gif:op manga #one piece meta #gif:zolu #one piece analysis #everytime i go into the thiller bark tag and see posts blocked bc of the other ship. i take 10points of damage ://#can we talk about how this was zoro's deal for luffy? can we? i know theres posts about it. i made few too. but theres still not enough....#for how this moment was big. for how kuma had a memory of it even in egghead. and zoro was the only present one there (after the ursa shock #insane and ill about it yeahh never gonna shut up about zolu thriller bark #luffy one piece #zoro one piece #long post

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marvel-starwarsfangirl · 8 months ago

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Watching "Bad Territory" and "Paths Unknown" from a mental health perspective really dials up the angst. It's so obvious that the Batch all really need therapy and it's sad to see them all struggle. So much has changed over the past year for them and by season 3, the cracks really show more than ever. Because they're so used to the solider life, pretty much all of them, particularly Crosshair, internalizes their pain to the point of self-destruction. They don't want to talk about it and it affects all of them.

Hunter's inability to keep his squad together after Order 66 happens takes a big toll on him. He directs all his energy at Omega and losing her in season 2 really pushes him over the edge. Instead of talking about it, he begins to act more recklessly. Hunter also has to deal with seeing Crosshair get turned against him and choose that at the end of season 1. There's also a lot of guilt he probably feels about leaving Cross and seeing the Batch's numbers dwindle. Going back to Omega, she probably gave him something to hold on to. She gives him a purpose despite all the guilt and pain he feels.

Crosshair is the most sensitive of the Batch in my opinion. He internalizes a lot and holds on to it. He lets it fester and I think he does so much more Hunter. Omega is the only person he feels comfortable enough to be truly vulnerable around. He has his moments with Hunter, but it's not on the same level as Omega. But even with her, he's so haunted by what happened to him that he doesn't want to talk about it. He also deflects a lot, putting himself down or lashes out to protect himself. One of the reasons why I loved the meditation sequence is because he slowly begins to find peace of mind. That's really going to help him when he eventually opens up.

Wrecker had to become more mature and the voice of reason for Hunter. While he has his jokey moments, he's much quieter and reserved. He knows he has to be strong for Hunter, just like Omega is for Crosshair. There's something sad to see the most jolly and upbeat characters become more quiet and serious. It shows just how dark things have become.

Speaking of Omega, she's not ok. Between her past and whatever else she went through on Tantiss, there is a lot going on in that little head of hers. She feels guilty for leaving the other clones behind and she went through/saw some very bad stuff. However, she's neglecting her own mental needs for two reasons in my opinion. #1: she's trying to not worry her brothers. She knows her absence affected them. I can imagine she doesn't want to feel guilty about putting more stress on them. #2: she's trying to be strong for Crosshair. Crosshair is the most outward with his mental struggles because it manifests as psychosomatic tremors. That and he pretty much lost all hope after being imprisoned. Omega selflessly puts her own needs aside to be there for him because she knows he's hurting more than he says he is. But how long will keeping up a brave face last for our little sunshine?

I really think "Identity Crisis" will force many of these characters like Cross or Omega to finally open up. They can't hide it forever. Crosshair in particular will have to confront his trauma if he wants his hand to slowly heal. It's a long journey though.

If we compare the Batch in CW vs. TBB S3, it's crazy to think how much they've changed since then. They're all struggling deeply. However, they have each other for support and sometimes, that's the best place to start for healing.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter #tbb omega #tbb wrecker #tbb season 3 #the angst guys #its so painful #youre telling me that this all happened in like a year?#why do the showrunners wish to torment us?#i cant do this #please send our boys and sweet bean some extra hugs #they're not ok #and they need help

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wcbblife · 9 months ago

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pls literally anything kate martin it’s so dry out here 🙏🙏 maybe like kate x influncer reader or something idk

Sure can! We'll get through this drought together ✊ (Did I write too much? Yes. Do I regret it? No.)

Kate Martin x influencer/soccer player reader

How you two met: You play for the soccer team at Iowa university. So naturally, after the season ended you usually spend some of your afternoons playing pickup soccer at the local parks nearby to satisfy the itch to always be playing your sport. Another hobby you also like to do a lot is to record your journey. You vlog about your flights, your training, practices, your tips on how to have a balanced life between sports and studies, and some behind the scenes with your team members. You have a fairly large following of 500k subscribers due to your personality and engaging content. On one particular afternoon, your fiery competitive spirit and impressive skills are able to catch the attention of one particular person amidst the small crowd that always gathered to watch the simple matches. It was none other than Kate Martin. Once the match ended you had seen one of your teammates walk over towards you and Kate followed right behind her (since Kate seems so friendly i def think she hangs out with other athletes outside of basketball). As you packed your things, you felt a pair of pretty eyes staring at your every move. You decide to start the convo up by saying that you watch all her games because you love the way she plays. You watch as her cheeks get a little rosy and she goes on a cute little rant about how she watches your vlogs and videos and that, whenever she could, she would drop by to see your team play. You joke that you guys should hang up so she could teach you to play basketball before your teammate says that she and her girlfriend (who was someone you play with and against constantly in these simple matches) had to go. She leaves you alone with Kate and you bring up that you guys should definitely hang out and she brings out the idea of going to recovery together cuz why not since she will undoubtedly be busy with her own season starting. You agree and that’s the beginning of how you two started talking.

How you got close: So as mentioned above, you guys definitely see each other around the athletic and rehab center in the university. Since you practice off season, you prefer to be safe than sorry and attend your recovery session religiously. Thanks to this, you guys are able to strike up conversations here and there but they're never too long. Not until you need to get into the dreaded ice bath for one session after being inexplicably sore for days on end. You decide that it's the perfect time to get your camera out and record your funny reaction to it to later post it. While walking over to your doom, you come face to face with Kate. You shamelessly note that she was wearing really revealing clothes. She smiles and asks where you’re headed and you explain and she immediately asks if she could join you cuz she was going over there too. Once you get there you turn on your camera and explain to the viewers what was going to happen. While you did that, you felt Kate looming behind you. You stop the camera and ask what’s wrong and she gets a little embarrassed asking you cute questions about how the camera worked. You laugh and give her a little class while you two sit side by side while you show her the basics. She jokes that she would love to be your camerawoman and you don’t have it in you to say no. Not with the way she stares at you with her eyes. (Anyway before I get carried away) You set the camera up so that it catches you both while you get into the big tub of ice. She laughs as she watches you shuffle awkwardly towards the cold pit of despair and pokes at you with jokes about how you look rn. You shoot her a look and grab a handful of water to throw her way. She shrieks and grabs your wrist to stop you, letting her hold lingering a little longer than normal (you also note just how strong Kate is). Snapping out of whatever was between you all of the sudden with her touch, you look at the camera and think screw it, getting in hastily without double thinking about it. You regret it immediately, screaming and Kate doubles down with laughter. What she doesn’t expect is for you to yank her inside out of spite. In an attempt to stop herself from falling into the cold water, she holds a hand out towards the edge, but you’ve tugged her down enough for her to have no choice but to step over the edge and fall into the tub. This, however, leads to you being placed in another unfortunate position. She holds the edges of the tub, trying to adjust to the coldness, while single handedly pinning you to the edge of the metal tub. It takes a few seconds to register, especially with you looking up at her while she lets out short puffs of air, while her muscles on her toned stomach contract. Kate seems to notice this and moves back to the other side. You clear your throat and turn to the camera with a funny face while you ignore the rosy blush that has settled on Kate’s face. After this it was just a mixture of flirting and flattery between you too.

She went to see you often when you played and brought you snacks or just went to simply support you. It’s obvious you started to show up more recently to her games to watch her play in person instead of from your home. It’s hard to say if that was the reason, but whenever you went to her games she always showed off. Whether it was double-doubles or even one triple-double. When the games would end she would act all cocky and say that it was normal but you would see the blinding smile on her lips when you would tell her good job. What you liked was how the adrenaline crash would hit her (not in a bad way) after a hard and long game and win. She would be super soft and slow and be all cute. You once insisted on driving her towards her dorms because she was too tired and she insisted on putting on music. You let her ofc and what follows is her singing her heart out while lazily looking over towards you every now and then. She reaches over and uses your hand as a mic and you can’t help but laugh. After a few songs you notice how the playlist switches to flowers songs and Kate never lets go of the hold of your hand.

No question she loves being in your vids. She has also definitely made you do a challenge video about hot sauces (ik it’s random but she def would). Other than that, you both do a bunch of silly challenges together. She also gave you the idea of starting this new “series” of her just basically teaching you the basics for basketball and vice versa. This becomes a huge hit online. What goes on behind the scenes is different tho. On video, you guys seem strictly platonic and playful with you cracking jokes and making fun when you mess up really bad on one certain move. However, once the cameras are off Kate is more free and less tense. She is more touchy, especially when showing you how to shoot the basketball properly (Like you can’t tell me this woman wouldn’t wrap her arms around your shoulders to position your hands on the ball. Don’t even get me started with defense and the way yall would be so close). You (I) also find it lowkey hot whenever you guys are done with your little secession and she’s panting and sweaty. You lowkey like it even more when she gets out of the locker room showers all clean and fresh.

How she asks you out: After basically a few weeks of her popping up in your vids both of your fans suddenly notice you two getting closer and closer. One day you’re recording while walking to get a massage. You turn a corner and come face to face with what seems like a wall. You jump back when you realize you just ran into Kate. You turn the camera off and smile up at her. You ask her where she’s headed but something’s off. You watch as she doesn’t look at you and avoids any type of eye contact as she fumbles over her words. A laugh comes from you as you go up to turn your camera back on but she shocks you by snatching the camera away. You ask her what was wrong and she mumbles something you can’t catch so you ask her to speak up and even get on your tiptoes to lean into her space to hear her better. She tries again and you can faintly hear her asking you out on a date. To say you were shocked was an understatement but you would be lying if you said you didn’t feel something forming between you too after these weeks spent together. Ofc you said yes.

You guys go out to a cliche aquarium date (bc i love aquariums what about it). Once you guys get there it seems like something has lifted off her shoulder and she’s acting like a totally different person. She’s more touchy and a real charmer (shamelessly putting an arm around your shoulder and uses her height over you to her advantage. When someone gets too close she definitely stands next to you and the person to create distance and def had a sweet interaction with a kid I mean c'mon). She’s taking sneaky pics of you and trust she would kiss you under those tunnels with the blue lights and fishes, making her look so good after you both tiptoe around it all day.

How it is to date her: (keeping it on the DL is so sexy idc what anyone says) Although Kate isn’t a huge name like Caitlin, you both reach an agreement to keep it on the dl. That and the addition of your evergrowing vlog page. This being said, Kate would appear more in your videos and it’s not really a secret. She shows up in your study videos in the background, helps out with your workout videos, does Q&As with you, and when you're off season she definitely travels with you.

She’s a very caring person and def loves to cuddle after a long day. She also kisses the ground you walk on (You can’t tell me she doesn’t have photo albums of you and her). (Can I also say that she’s a tremendous kisser? TRUST that she will make out with you in a secret room in the stadium because she just can’t wait until you get home after a game). Kate is your personal cheerleader in games and would treat you like a princess after your games (she’s drawing a bath and brushing your hair and basically doing all the work for you while praising you on how well you did).

After a hard loss however it’s a whole different story. You can’t lie tho…It’s your favorite side of Kate. You can see it in her as soon as the buzzer sounds (especially after she scores a lot and still loses oml). Kate basically disappears into the crowd and into the locker room before you can catch her. After a bit of time and unanswered calls and text messages, you decide to walk towards the locker rooms and are surprised when you're tugged into a small storage room. Kate immediately gets to work and smashes her lips with yours and lets her hands wander around you. You just love the way her rosy cheeks look and how sinful her eyes were as she let them shamelessly look you over. Kate isn’t up for any talking tho. Her moves are sloppy and desperate, like she couldn't care less if someone busted you two right then and there. Whenever you try to talk and try to get her to calm down she just goes back and kick starts another makeout sesh.

#kate martin #iowa wbb #wcbb #kate martin x reader #caitlin clark #women's basketball #iowa hawkeyes

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yourfatherlucifer · 7 months ago

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Without Me (SM/JY)

Ex!Idol!Mingi x idol!afab!reader x idol!Yunho

Summary: You supported him through his journey, until he realized how famous he had become. Then he threw you aside like you were nothing. Unfortunately for him..you had a plan.

Warnings: none except mingi and Yunho fighting and this one shot being shitty

AU: None

Genre: Angst

WC: 1.3k

Nets: @newworldnet

Inspired by Without Me by Halsey

“Mingi! Look!” You shook the paper in your hand in excitement but all he could do was wave you off.

“I’m busy, Y/N.” Mingi readjusted his headphones and completely blocked you out once more.

You sighed in defeat. You had been working on your lyrics sheet for so long and when you finally finished it, you were excited to share it. As usual, Mingi pushed you away without another thought.

You wondered what got into him lately. He was the one who invited you to the studio to begin with. If he didn’t want you there, then why.

“Fine.”

You folded your paper and shoved it in your pocket and left the studio.

You remembered when the two of you used to be so happy together.

“Oof!” You slammed into someone’s chest the second you closed the door behind you.

“Oh my, Y/N, I’m so sorry.” It was Yunho.

You couldn’t help but smile at his voice, relieved to hear someone who was actually interested in talking to you.

You looked up to meet his eyes, his cheeks lightly flushed, “Hi, Yunho, I was just leaving.”

“Why? I thought you were excited to hang out with Mingi?” He genuinely looked confused but he knew how his member and best friend could be around you. Even he noticed the change.

“Um..He just..he doesn’t want me in there, I don’t think.” Your shoulders slumped as your voice slowly began to quiver. This hurt Yunho.

“Do you want to get something to eat with me, Y/N?” Yunho held his hand out to you with his attempt of a comforting smile.

Weeks had passed and you noticed Mingi was straying even further from you. He even stopped engaging in conversations with you unless someone else was around.

He looked so happy on stage and surrounded by fans but when he was around you, he’d turn sour and ignore you. It hurt so much. Did he even love you?

You even noticed how he’d flirt with fans on fancalls, the evidence being posted online for you to see. It would only give you tears.

There’s no way he still loved you. He never looked at you.

He even stopped inviting you to hangout with him and the members, or even just the studio. The boys had to invite you themselves and even then, he’d ignore you.

Every night was filled with you crying into your pillow. You stopped receiving goodnight texts from him several weeks ago.

Eventually, you gave up. You had to confront him.

“Song Mingi.” You stomped up to him.

“What do you want, Y/N?” He didn’t even bother looking away from his screen.

Your fists clenched in anger and his members stared in shock, too afraid to say anything. This was the first fight they ever witnessed between the two of you.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, dude.”

“Dude?” Mingi set down his phone in disbelief.

“Do you even love me?” Tears brimmed your eyes but you didn’t give up.

“What are you talking about?” His eyes grew bored and that pissed you off. He truly didn’t care.

“I’m literally the only one trying to keep us together, Song Mingi. You can barely even look at me!”

Mingi ignored the stares from his members and chuckled, “And? I’m not complaining, might as well break up then.” He shrugged you off like it was nothing and went back to his phone.

You couldn’t believe him.

“You..what?” Tears flowed freely down your cheeks, “That’s what you really want? After all we’ve been through? I’ve been with you since the beginning..and you get a taste of fame and all of the sudden you don’t love me anymore? I was there for you in your darkest times..”

Mingi nodded his head agreement, “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Goodbye Y/N.” He wiggled his fingers in a mocking goodbye.

“Fuck you, Mingi.” You stormed off without another word.

His members jaws were dropped in shock, “Mingi..what have you done?” Hongjoong mumbled.

Even Yunho wanted to run after you but he didn’t. He’d find you later and comfort you in peace.

It had been a year and you made your hot debut. You were thriving, you had your revenge planned since your breakup.

Fighting against the standards, you wrote a song, a song exposing your ex, Song Mingi.

The stage scared you, but it was time. To showcase your debut song, Without Me. But of course, Ateez was also showcasing their comeback after you. Perfect timing.

Your fingers were wrapped tightly around your microphone, the cheers finally dying down as the light focused on you.

You took in a heavy breath as you sang your revenge.

You were doing so good so far when you reached your chorus, the part you waited for, the part targeted towards him.

“Tell me how’s it feel, sitting up there? Feeling so high but too far away to hold me. You know I’m the one who put you up there. Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely? Thinking you could live without me.” You were seething as the lyrics flowed within you.

Yunho watched in amazement, he was excited for your debut. Even texted you everyday telling you how he couldn’t wait. He was the only one you kept in contact with.

He saw how Mingi couldn’t even watch. He knew the song was about him. He knew it was too late. He regretted his actions but he didn’t deserve you. Even Yunho told him that.

The day the two of you broke up, Yunho was pissed at Mingi. How could he let such an amazing thing slip right through his fingers? He even punched his best friend, something Yunho never would have done but he was angry. Angry at how horrible Mingi treated you. Treated you like you were nothing to him anymore.

Hell, you supported him all the way to his debut. You were there everyday for their training, every single day cheering him on. He was even jealous of how in love the two of you were but it was for nothing anyway. Not when Mingi let you go so easily.

Yunho couldn’t look at his best friend for days, he even had to pretend on camera that he still liked him.

Even his CEO didn’t blame him for hurting Mingi but he still had to talk with him, especially because of the busted lip he gave Mingi. The whole KQ company was like family to you, they were sad to see you go since you were there from the start.

Yunho watched as you fought back tears as you reached the end of your song. Oh how he wanted to run up there and hold you tight.

You bowed towards the crowd as the cheers erupted. While you wiped away the stray tears, you waved at your fans and walked off stage. Only to meet Yunho.

“Hi, Yuyu. It’s good to see you.” You hadn’t seen him in awhile, especially since you’ve been so busy preparing for your debut.

“You did amazing.” He stepped up closer with a smile on his face, hand reaching out to grasp yours, “I’m so proud of you.”

Mingi walked towards the voices, seeing how the two of you were interacting. He was jealous. Yet he knew fucked up. There was no going back. He couldn’t change the past.

How could he let you go?

“So, Y/N, I have a question.” Yunho’s cheeks were once again tinted with heat.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Your heart filled with excitement at his words.

“I’d love to, Yunho.” You squeezed his hand tightly, oh how you waited for this.

Mingi saw this coming, he had to right? If only he didn’t break your heart, you’d still be his.

Now he truly lost. His world had come crashing down. You were gone forever.

His best friend won you over.

You would never be his again.

#ateez x reader #x reader #Mingi x reader #song mingi x reader #Yunho x reader #Jeong Yunho x reader #newworldnet

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madebysoupy · 10 months ago

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100 years later I finally drew all of my AU Links

Say hello to my lads! They're going to be in a comic I've been scripting and planning for about a year now I think? I'm calling it Link and the Links, latl for short!

More info under the cut :]

(this is the old post, consider checking out the new version!)

(please don't tag as LU/Linked Universe!!)

The Plot

The Links find themselves in a mysterious forest that seems somewhat familiar to all of them yet none of them know where they are. Now they have to work together to find their way home. On the way they'll discover a thing or two about each other and grow closer!

The Cast

I could talk about these guys for hours, but to keep it digestible I'll make it short

A bit of info before I get into it - all of them are taken from different points in time after the end of their adventure(s)!

Birdie (Skyward Sword)

Roughly 6 hours after defeating Demise

The start of it all. Unbeknownst to himself and the others, the space they find themselves in was created out of his desire to meet the heroes after him. He feels terribly guilty about the curse and very much blames himself for the possible suffering of future heroes. His main goal is to check up on everyone and help where he can!

Grasshopper (Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask)

4 days after leaving Termina

Somewhat disoriented after his journey still, he tags along simply because he thinks Birdie is an idiot who would get lost without him. He doesn't talk a whole lot but he likes listening to other people's stories

Seagull (Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass)

6 months after leaving the domain for the ocean King

He's a real genuine pirate, yarr!! Or so he'd like you to believe. He talks a great deal about his strength and bravery, but really is just afraid and terribly homesick most of the time. He wants to fit in with Tetra's and her crew's toughness so much he might go a little overboard on the act in a way that may or may not end up biting him in the butt.

Choo (Spirit Tracks)

6 months after peace returned to new Hyrule

He wouldn't call himself a hero, in fact he'd say it's a miracle he made it out alive. Self-esteem and confidence really aren't his strong suits, he often finds himself dragged along and unable to say no. He is very friendly however, and if you just give him a little space he might even open up to you.

Wolfie (Twilight Princess)

4 years after defeating Ganondorf

Left Ordon after intrusive thoughts convinced him he was a danger to his village, now works at Telma's bar as a waiter in exchange for a room. He's responsible well liked, though he's not too fond of himself. He has some complicated feelings about the whole turning into a wolf thing

Apple (A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Link's Awakening)

Just a few seconds after Koholint disappeared

From one dream right into the next (sorta?) he's understandably disoriented at first. He pushes that aside pretty much immediately though, much more interested in getting to know everyone. He's a kind and soft spoken, weirdly wise sort of guy and near instantly becomes the heart of the team

Wallflower (A Link Between Worlds)

4 years after wishing upon the triforce with Zelda

Bitter doesn't even begin to describe this uh.. Pleasant fella. After being bossed around for the better part of his life he doesn't take orders from anybody and is this close to quitting his job as a blacksmith. He hates being stuck here, he hates these strange people, really there's not much he doesn't hate. But that can't be all there is to him...

Puzzle (The Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link)

1,5 years after waking Zelda II

Confused, disoriented, but still happy to help and ready for adventure. Though some of the others don't really like him around he's still just as friendly to everyone. Since he struggles to communicate he tends to stay quiet. He appears to be simple minded on first glance, but he'll prove to be a valuable member of the team.

Sprout (Minish Cap)

13 years after defeating Vaati

After his grandfather died he retreated into his house and dedicated himself to improving his blacksmithing skills to live up to his grandfather's name, he was quickly forgotten by his community and faded into obscurity. Now he may be the best blacksmith in Hyrule, so good that even the royal guard hires him, but among the general castletown population he's nothing more than a forest cryptid. He only leaves the house when he has to, carefully avoiding people. Not because they disgust him, he just has a major case of social anxiety!

Squire (Breath of the Wild)

3 years pre calamity

This absolute rascal couldn't be happier about his current circumstances. These unknown woods are his playground and all of these weirdos are his friends now! Though everyone's pretty sure he's a knight trainee, he insists that he's just a stable hand for the guard. His chaotic and carefree nature surprisingly doesn't get in the way of things as he's eager to help out wherever he can, seeing the whole journey as an impromptu camping trip.

Some funfacts :]

Most of them are neurodivergent in some way!

Birdie and Seagull have ADHD, Grasshopper and Choo are autistic, Squire gets the combo platter AuDHD and Wolfie has OCD

Additionally, Birdie has auditory processing disorder and dyscalculia, and Squire has dyslexia

A few of them also have speech disorders

Choo stutters and Puzzle has cluttering speech disorder

Apple has a weak voice, so after a while his voice gets tired and gets hoarse

Choo enjoys drawings and cartography, two skills that will be very important!

One of Seagull's hobbies is photography! He takes his pictobox everywhere

Wolfie also does entertainment at the bar from time to time! He sings or does card tricks

Sprout knows HSL (hylian sign language) because his grandfather was deaf

Seagull's piratey way of talking is 100% for show and painfully inconsistent

Wolfie speaks in a thick southern (in universe ordonian) accent but he's trying hard to mask it since he moved to castletown

Wallflower absolutely hates Puzzle

Squire's special interest is horses

Birdie is a bit of a doormat so he has the ideas but Wolfie is the one to actually get them through

A number of them are blood related (has nothing to do with the colours of their names in this post, I had to reuse some because there weren't enough orz)

That's all I have for you today! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! :]

If any of you have any questions about my Links or AU you'd like answered, my inbox is open!

Have a lovely day everyone!

#links meet au #tloz #legend of zelda #tloz fanart #tloz au #legend of zelda au #link #artists on tumblr #not lu #link and the links au #LatL au #my art #triangles #IT IS DONE FINALLY #Apologies for my handwriting also orz I tried #LatL #the lads #edited to show the updated version of the refs just in case

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esoteric-joke · 4 months ago

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Interview with Darling28

(#Interview1)

Welcome to the first interview of The Dear Writer Project and a massive thank you to the wonderful Darling28 for being so supportive of this whole idea since the beginning!

Darling28 about her writing process, her inspirations, her experiences with writers block and her future plans on writing:

What does your writing process usually look like and is it always kind of the same for every story you’ve written?

Oh interesting question. It's usually the case that ideas come from the simplest things and suddenly a complete plot is in my head within minutes or sometimes even seconds. At least the rough outline. Apart from that, my characters often like to take the plot for themselves and I just watch in amazement at what they let me write. I often suffer as much as the reader when I write because I let it flow out of me and often don't know what to expect. Most of the time, though, I have a specific scene in mind in the beginning, often for the middle of the story, and I can hardly wait until I finally get to the point where I can write it. The end of a story quite often involves a marriage proposal, I realise, even if I don't always intend to, but Louis and Harry in my stories are very stubborn about it.

But other than that, my writing process is pretty simple: get excited about a new idea, start writing immediately, often at a speed that makes my betas despair and end up questioning the whole story until I reread it myself and suddenly love it.

Do you have any sort of structured writing plan before you start writing or do you just write what comes to mind?

I'm absolutely far from structured. I have the problem that my best ideas about what to write next come to me when I'm driving and I have to memorise whole conversations or scenes for the rest of the journey. As soon as I've parked, I write it down as a note. But there's really nothing more than these few notes, no mood board or major characterisations, I just let myself go with the flow. I also think that would take some of the fun out of it for me personally, I love getting to know my characters over the course of the story and I don't want to plan everything in detail beforehand.

You said before that you write a lot, especially after you’ve got a new idea in mind. How much time do you invest in writing in your day to day life?

I actually write every day and usually around 3-4k. I think it takes about 3 hours of my time, but that's really just a rough estimate. I usually write already in the morning at breakfast before I have to go to work and then spread the rest over the afternoon and evening.

Our Souls Intertwined is your longest work at the moment. Was it also the one you wrote the longest on?

Our Souls Intertwined… I wrote this story together with freakingmeout and we took turns writing chapters, each of us wrote one character. Despite the length, I don't think we really needed much time to finish it because the other author is just as fast as I am at writing and often each of us had finished a chapter within a day. It was perhaps a little worrying in hindsight haha.

If it wasn’t Our Souls Intertwined, what work of yours did take you the longest?

Oh wow I think you've got me now and I can't give you an answer off the top of my head.

I'm guessing it might be Calm after the storm because that's my longest story that I wrote on my own. So it makes sense that it probably took me the longest to write.

But when I think about it, it could also be the current one I'm writing that hasn't been published yet. My last few weeks haven't been easy for personal reasons and I haven't had time to write and everything has stalled. I just started writing again a few days ago and am catching up.

She also told me that she sometimes drives her betas crazy with the amount and pace that she writes. On some Sundays she writes all day and sometimes feels a bit empty inside afterwards, she admitted.

What work of yours did come together the fastest?

I would say Men are shit. This story practically wrote itself and I could just let my thoughts, which I put into the story as Louis’, run free and didn't have to think about them any further. It was a great experience and I love this Louis so much!

Do you finish writing the story completely before you start publishing or do you start publishing whenever you finished a chapter?

For my first stories, I posted while I was writing. So I finished a chapter, had it proofread and then published it.

However, my only beta at the time had of course her own life and sometimes couldn't keep up with the speed at which I wanted to update again.

So at some point I started to finish writing and only then published it.

What worked better for you, personally?

Both definitely have their pros and cons. But I really liked publishing in the writing process. You get immediate feedback on what you've written, sometimes even ideas for the rest of the plot from readers' comments.

However, it would have stressed me out a lot, like in my situation the last few weeks where I couldn't write anything and had to make the reader wait for updates.

What inspires you in your day to day life the most?

The story often comes to me really quite by chance, mostly inspired by songs, not so much by the lyrics but by the feelings they convey, what lies between the lines.

Did you ever have a writers block and what helped you out of it / What do you do if you feel unmotivated?

Yes, I've had a writers block for the last few months and I've missed writing so much. But there's no point forcing yourself and for me it was best to wait until it felt right again. Before that, I didn't have anything like that as far as I can remember. Sometimes I just didn't know what to write next and got a bit stuck, but my advice here is: just start writing. Don't think, just do it.

And if I'm just unmotivated then I leave it for the day because I know it'll be definitely easier the next one.

What do you find most stressful/annoying/repetitive in the process of writing a story?

For me it's the hardest thing to end the story because then I'm usually so connected to the characters that it feels like saying goodbye to a dear friend every time and I'm actually really sad.

Oh and one thing that really frustrates me is that my Louis and Harry very often crash the chapter with sex. I love writing smut but sometimes they overdo it (okay it amuses me a bit too).

Darling28 also told me, that one of her favourite phases in writing a story is the getting-to-know-each-other phase. She said that she loves it because that’s when she feels like the characters come to life and the tension between them grows.

Can you tell me something about any future projects you’re working on?

I'm happy to tell you about future projects!

In addition to my many ideas for stories that I haven't started yet, I'm currently writing four open ones. Two with other authors and two of my very own. I hope that I will soon be able to present the readers with something new from me, because for me it is always the best thing to finally be able to share my work with the fandom.

For the next part of the interview, I asked Darling28 more specific questions about her works.

What work of yours is your personal favourite?

It's really difficult to name THE one. But I'll go with the three that come to my mind first, okay?

Calm after the storm, because I love their love in this story and I felt for both of them while writing it. It still touches me today.

Men are shit, because Louis is just chaos but so sweet at the same time. I loved describing his ADHD brain, letting his mind run wild. I wanted to give neurospicy people a story in which they can find themselves and feel understood.

True Colours, because I wrote this story for my friend and beta who wanted me to make Harry really suffer as it's usually Louis in my stories who has to go through everything horrible. I love the development of the two of them in this story. They heal together and I don't think there's anything better.

What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who isn’t familiar with your works and why?

I think that would be Paparazzi. That's the most popular one of mine and it contains a bit of everything but it's not as extremely angsty as others that I wrote. A bit of enemies to lovers, gay awakening, smut, fluff - what more could you want?

A lot of your works are based around complicated and complex topics like having a bad relationship with your parents, mental health issues and homelessness and everything that comes along with it. Why do you specifically choose to write about those topics?

I love the drama and the big emotions.

But also because none of our lives are perfect. Everyone has their own struggles and their own traumas and I love picking up on that. It especially touches me when readers find themselves in it, feel understood and heard. I think for some it's some kind of validation. It's wonderful to turn something very sad into something very good. As much as I love the drama, I also love the happy ending.

And of course it's also free therapy in a way. There's always a part of me in most stories.

The Magic Within You is your only story, that doesn’t really have any of those topics (besides of Louis’ tendencies to panic quickly). Why did you want to write something so different to your usual writing style?

The Magic Within You is a pure, cheesy Christmas story that was set up like an advent calendar when I posted it, but I think it can be read very well throughout the year.

I always find Christmas a difficult time of the year myself. Lots of people come together and I'm often overwhelmed. I especially wanted to give people who might feel the same way a cute story, offer some distraction and sweeten the day. I hope I succeeded.

By the way, I love how you mentioned the panicky side of Louis. So adorable.

Is something like an advent calendar planned for this christmas season too or was it a one-time thing for you?

No, I haven't planned another one, but never say never. Maybe I'll suddenly get an idea in October and start writing like crazy.

Actually, a sequel to The Magic Within You was planned for this summer but unfortunately I couldn't do that for personal reasons that I had already mentioned. But I definitely want to publish the sequel next year!

You wrote Our Souls Intertwined and Bring me to life with freakingmeout. How did that go?

Oh it's a totally interesting experience because here too we only had the rough plot, but because everyone wrote their character in alternating chapters it was always exciting for the other to see what would happen in the chapter of the other. Sometimes I sat there shocked or totally amused and had to think about how I was going to live through certain situations with my character. It's definitely anything but boring and you experience it as an author as well as a reader.

When I asked her if it feels like a roleplay kind of thing she actually confirmed that it does sometimes feel like exactly that.

Paparazzi is your most popular work. Why do you think this one in particular got the most attention?

I have absolutely no idea why Paprazzi is the most popular one. I often ask myself that but maybe it's really because it's not such a heavy one? But instead of looking for answers, I prefer to be happy that so many people like it.

Is there a work of yours that you’d like to get the attention that Paparazzi got or just more attention in general?

Oh yes, definitely. In my personal opinion, Holding On To Heartache has far too little attention. I know where it comes from, or rather I suspect that the tag 'suicide attempt' puts a lot of people off, but I still think it's worth reading. You can always expect a happy ending with my stories.

Is there a work of yours that you wouldn’t publish again in hindsight?

I must confess that I have already deleted my very first story. And I know that my betas and friends will kill me if they read this now. Because they kept stopping me every time I had a crisis about this story but I did it nontheless one day. I guess my secret is out now... oops. If you read this, please don't be mad!

But I'm actually thinking about revising it and publishing it again at some point.

Are there any characters in one of your stories that are inspired by people or animals you know in real life?

Yes... Bree in 'Paparazzi' is my friend and beta. But I don't think I realised until the later chapters that I was using her as a role model for this absolutely wonderful character.

For the last part of the interview, I asked Darling28 some personal questions that are more about the fandom and less about her experiences with writing.

Since when are you in the fandom and what made you become a part of it?

I am a Lockdown-Larrie haha. I was watching Tik Tok videos out of sheer boredom like probably so many others and suddenly a video with two guys popped up. It's this one where Harry is sitting on the armchair, Louis is sitting on the armrest while Harry is looking up at Louis, absolutely enamoured. I was just sitting there and I remember thinking: who the hell are these two guys that are so in love?

I read through the comments and searched the web for more informations. After that, my days were filled with watching all the YouTube videos and then making a Twitter account. I was absolutely down the rabbit hole and I don't regret it one day. At first I was in the lane of LHH (I mean, come on, just look at him) but then I listened to Louis music and he got my number 1 and never lost rank again. Also, the song Just hold on saved me, the lockdown was not a good time for my mental health.

Your favourite Louis and Harry Era?

LHH forever. If I had enough money I would bribe him to let them grow long again. Although I'd have to meet him first. My plan isn't finalised yet as you can see but yeah... I think you know now how serious I am, haha.

And Louis... Hedgehog and FITF. I just love when his hair is fluffy.

Your favourite movie H starred in?

My Policeman. Damn, I was broken after watching it but it's so good.

Who’s your favourite writer in the fandom at the moment?

One of my favourite authors is BoosBabycakes. I especially love their a/b/o stories!

And your all-time favourite fic in the fandom?

Oh, that's really difficult. There are too many good ones and I really need to think about it for a moment. But I would like to name a story that is not one of the fandom's always recommended ones.

Okay... I go with this one, it's definitely one of my favourite a/b/o stories, the nesting is so sweetly described and I think I really need to read it again:

You've Got A Higher Power, You're Once In Any Lifetime by BoosBabycakes

What makes you want to stop reading something?

If the story is written in first person or the plot doesn't make sense to me and I question too much in the story. Some stories are also too artificially drawn out for me. I don't like slooooooow burn. My attention span doesn't last that long.

Your favourite song at the moment?

Call me by Neeve, it's a small german indie band but I like them a lot.

Of course nothing beats Louis music, I hope I don't have to mention that, do I?

Do you have a favourite movie or a favourite series at the moment?

No, neither of them. I haven't watched anything for ages. I prefer to spend my free time writing.

What was the most unusual thing that inspired you at some point?

Erm I hope this doesn't come across as weird but Louis' bum and waist. For some of my a/b/o stories and ideas that I still want to write.

What is your favourite season?

Spring, when everything turns green again and starts to blossom.

She also told me, that she has hay fever and that sometimes it’s unbearable for her until autumn but she still loves spring the most, especially after the darker months.

Who would you like to read an interview from?

I don't have a specific author in mind but I'd like it to be someone with a smaller fanbase to draw more attention to them.

I wanted to make it a little tradition for every interview, that every writer gives every of their works a colour and a season. It’s just a fun little thing for the end of the interview I thought would be interesting. Thankfully, Darling28 thought it was a great idea too, so here are the results:

Captured Ink, Hidden Hearts - pink and black, spring.

Bring me to life - darkblue, autumn.

Our Souls Intertwined - dark red, late summer.

True Colours - rainbow, obviously, autumn.

Men are shit - pink and green, summer

The Magic Within You - ice blue and white, winter (on a sunny day)

Tainted Love - brown, winter

Calm after the Storm - purple, early spring

Tank tops and a phone call - red, summer (a very hot day)

Letters - dark green, last summer days

I'm with you - white and grey, autumn

Paparazzi - yellow, summer

Holding On To Heartache - black with golden sprinkles, winter

Paradise is in your own mind (Sequel HOTH) - dark pink, spring

You Sunshine, You Temptress - green, summer

Careless Whisper - dark blue, winter

A huge thank you again to Darling28. Thanks for understanding my vision and being so open and kind. I appreciate it so much.

#DearWriterProject #larry stylinson #author interview #fanfic #ao3 writer #ao3 #ao3 author #fanfiction #larry fic #harry styles #louis tomlinson

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ofoceansandtombsanew · 2 years ago

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My Chapter 51 Thoughts and my thoughts around ShimaMitsu in general

So @mapoeggplant had a really cool discussion thread on twitter and I wanted to contribute to it. But I got very longwinded and now idk if the pics in my google doc even loaded... so I decided to share my thoughts here on tumblr as well!

Be warned, this post is littered with manga spoilers so if you are an anime-only or haven’t caught up to the most recent chapters, avoid this post so you don’t have the journey spoiled for yourself ^o^

Mika realizing something is up with Mitsumiー Mika is definitely a character that surprised me in how much I ended up liking her! Everyone in S&L I think is a subversion of popular tropes in manga’s past where on the surface they look like a trope and then boom, sensei hits us with a reality check and explanation as to how they are. Mika is clearly the ‘mean girl in shoujo who hates the protagonist by virtue of crushing on the male lead’. *Worry not, I’m aware S&L is a seinen*

But her maturity and growth over the series? Astounding. From reconciling with her envy of Mitsumi, Nao helping her come to terms with the idea of Mitsumi and Sousuke dating hypothetically in the future and becoming such a good friend? Love it.

So I love how Mika is the first to really notice that something is off with Mitsumi in regards to Sousuke.

Pretty sure that back in chapter 47 it was established that all of the girls have noticed something was off with Mitsumi. But they decided to respect her privacy because if she wants to tell them what’s wrong, she’ll tell them and they want to give her the chance to come to them first. Though they did express they were worried she wasn’t truly seeming like herself.

And the reason Mika starting to connect the dots this most recent chapter is so ‘big’ for me, for lack of a better word, is because it really puts into perspective how Mitsumi has been handling the breakup.

Mitsumi breaking things off with Sousuke was definitely a mature move. I’ve even been in the same position of breaking things off with a relationship because of feeling like the way we loved each other was different and it would be best to go back to friends. Then spending 2 years chatting with my ex as if nothing happened before having an emotional breakdown about it and needing two weeks of space from her before I could function around her. And it feels like Mitsumi is doing the same thing with Sousuke. But by virtue of Mika spotting Mitsumi’s discomfort in sitting next to Sousuke and starting to question things, it really solidifies how Mitsumi is processing things.

Like, Mitsumi telling Sousuke she can work on her own and such when he proposed the idea when she mentioned wanting to work to get Maharu a new wallet. She wasn’t just brushing it off and being all chill, kumbaya. She was more than likely trying to avoid him because she isn’t really ready to just be alone with him yet.

So I’m hoping in this arc that Mika is going to bring up what she’s noticed to Mitsumi. Because since she’s already processed her feelings, if Mitsumi were to admit to her that she and Sousuke dated briefly before she ended things it wouldn’t make Mika spiteful or anything weird like that. If anything, I think it would bring them closer together because if there is anyone who would understand the Sousuke-failed-relationship/rejection love pains Mitsumi is going through, it would be Mika.

Mitsumi & Sousuke (and Yasaka)ー

As for Mitsumi specifically, I think that her relationship with Sousuke as present is a ripple effect of Yasaka’s statement back during the chapter Mitsumi rightfully called Sousuke out for not standing up for her when she would definitely do it if the roles were reversed.

Immediately after that, we see Mitsumi beginning to contemplate what she said, her perspective of Sousuke and she doesn’t really know how Sousuke was raised, his relationships with his family etc. Like, she knows there is some drama there, based on the school festival arc with the play and running into Sousuke’s childhood friends and mother but she also acknowledges she doesn’t know the full story and how Sousuke came to be how he is today.

While Yasaka’s assessment did give Mitsumi the idea that she should keep in mind how she was raised and how others were raised paints how they become in the present, she is almost like… overly internalizing that and trying to be overly conscious of Sousuke’s feelings. And even the feelings of Maharu. I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying Mitsumi is blaming herself for what they are going through since so far I haven’t really seen anything that would indicate self-blame. The closest you can get to that is her scolding herself for expecting Sousuke to come to her defense just because they’re dating.

When, in reality, while Yasaka is right Mitsumi should keep in mind that Sousuke and her have different frames of reference and she should be considerate of that… Mitsumi was well within her right to be upset that her boyfriend was letting some mean girls shit talk in her face and made no effort to defend her.

Then the next time you see them interact in chapter 45, she essentially brushes that under the rug. She apologizes to Sousuke for getting upset, he says he is going to turn down their party invite and they go their separate ways… But Sousuke never actually apologizes for not standing up for her which, at least in Mitsumi’s eyes, would solidify the idea that she was in the wrong and was expecting too much of her at-the-time boyfriend.

This overly considerate behavior Mitsumi is now displaying even went as far as not wanting to tell her friends about the breakup and everything that led up to it because she was worried about how they would perceive Sousuke and possibly give him some sort of negative treatment in response to how things went. Not to mention, she’d rather just bottle up her feelings than cause a rift in their friend group they’ve had since first year.

When she breaks up with Sousuke, she goes above and beyond in reassuring him they have and always will be friends. Which while that is cool because the hiccups aside, they have a pretty great friendship, Mitsumi isn’t really allowing herself to feel hurt by the breakup and thinks that, while even if a large portion of it is that she and Sousuke’s ‘love’ is different her actions thus far would imply she thinks it is on her for expecting so much. (So I guess there actually is a good portion of self-blame from her, even if subconsciously!)

And with the most recent chapter, Sousuke gets to see how Mitsumi is hiding how hurt she is by Maharu’s rejection of her gift and her outburst that Mitsumi is only thinking about herself and to me his expression is almost like a parallel to his expression in chapter 46 when Mitsumi broke up with him.

In chapter 46, Sousuke needed comfort. He’s worried about being abandoned or viewed as worthless because he wasn’t able to live up to the ‘use’ or ‘idea’ Mitsumi had of him.

This time, Mitsumi needs comfort and it’s like this moment has essentially confronted Sousuke with the fact that she isn’t as cheerful, mature and invulnerable as she has presented herself to him thus far. So while yes, Yasaka was right in how Mitsumi doesn’t know as much about Sousuke as she thought she did, the reverse is also very true in that Sousuke doesn’t really know Mitsumi as much as he thought he did.

Sprinkle all this into the fact that Sousuke is going through his own whirlwind of emotions regarding Mitsumi, their breakup and how he feels about her. He’s jealous of Ujiie and how close he is with Mitsumi, he feels left out that Mitsumi hasn’t really been including him in activities outside of school and he was pouty and perplexed in chapter 47 about her perspective of the breakup going far as to pout to Chris and Ririka:

And Chris rightfully being confused because he doesn’t get Sousuke’s reaction since back in chapter 42 he didn’t even really know if Sousuke really even liked Mitsumi romantically (as proven by how, when Sousuke told him about the breakup, he automatically assumed Sousuke was dumper and not the dumpee). Now he wants to be closer to her while Mitsumi is essentially going ‘I want to keep everything chill and normal but at the same time I’m still upset and trying not to be next to him for extended periods of time just yet’.

Fast forward to chapter 51 and Sousuke’s in Mitsumi’s childhood home and feeling out of place/out of his element. So this is all the recipe for him to confront his own misconceptions of Mitsumi and, hopefully, apologize for his part in the breakup and how he should have stood up for her. Which we do see him do later in chapter 50 when she isn’t present, but Sousuke has the self-awareness to know and bitterly accept that if Mitsumi hadn’t called him out before he likely would have let them continue talking poorly about her.

Maharu & Mitsumiー Now onto Maharu~ I’m fully looking forward to her part in this arc because it is very clear that she is dealing with insecurities regarding herself and her older sister. Mitsumi has been confirmed by multiple characters that she is essentially a prodigy in her hometown and her hometown is being hit with a very real-life problem the Japanese countryside faces. Like, it is to the point where schools in the countryside are shutting down because there aren’t enough students to justify keeping them open because the young people are leaving for the city, not returning and not raising their kids there (which most people aren’t doing anyway due to the decline in birthrates in recent years for Japan).

Mitsumi even went as far as telling Sousuke her thoughts that she might likely be the only one of her siblings to even leave their prefecture.

We don’t really know how much Mitsumi is discussed back in her hometown, but it must be enough to make Maharu feel the way she does. It is just unfortunately manifesting in taking things out on her sister rather than talking to her parents about how she feels or even trying to discuss it with Mitsumi. Hell, talking to Mitsumi about it first probably won’t even help things come to a positive conclusion. As it stands now, Maharu’s perception of her sister is that Mitsumi looks down on her for getting out of the prefecture and going to the holy grail that is the capital of their country for school.

She needs an outside perspective that isn’t ‘tainted’ by Mitsumi.

Mitsumi’s friends from Tokyo are out because 1) they are Mitsumi’s friends and 2) Maharu already is feeling insecure and putting them on a pedestal because they are Tokyonites and fancy people.

Her family is out because Mitsumi is essentially their pride and joy.

And the chapter end with Maharu running into Fumi and while I wanna say ‘Fumi, get in here and rescue this sibling relationship’-

Fumi would still fall under the category of ‘tainted by Mitsumi’ by virtue of being Mitsumi’s best friend, even if Fumi has been shown to be very close to the Iwakura family. So I honestly think it could go either way with Fumi trying to talk to Maharu and help her vent how she feels, but Maharu could easily do that and when Fumi tries to be reasonable Maharu could think that Fumi is trying to take Mitsumi’s side when she is just trying to help give Maharu some outside perspective.

So that would basically summarize all of スキロー thoughts with the most recent chapter sensei has delivered us. I’m loving it all so far and looking very forward to what happens next!

#look she's not writing #skip and loafer #スキップとローファー #スキロー #iwakura mitsumi #shima sousuke #shimamitsu #egashira mika #toyama fumino #iwakura maharu #manga spoilers #skip and loafer spoilers #skip & loafer #skip & loafer spoilers #animanga thoughts

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phantomoftheorpheum · 5 months ago

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The Bear Season 3 Thoughts

Okay, I first want to say that obviously these are opinions! They are subjective. This is also quite a casual compilation of my thoughts, I didn't spend a long time trying to perfect my wording, which I think will be pretty evident.

Anyway, I love The Bear, I remember watching that first trailer and I was so excited for season 1 to drop, I just knew it was gonna be my kind of show. This is a show that makes me laugh, cry, stress, etc. However, like every other show in existence, it's not a perfect show, and I think season 3 in particular showcased some decisions/issues that I'm hoping will be handled a bit differently in season 4. I have some popular opinions and some unpopular opinions, but that's everyone, right?

Just a warning, this is long. I have a tendency to ramble.

*Spoilers from 1x01-3x10 of The Bear

The Good Stuff First!

The Tina Episode!!! I loved "Napkins" and even though Tina's antagonism at the beginning of season 1 was already understandable, getting these layers of her home life, the foundation of her relationship and loyalty to Michael and The Beef, her fears for her job stability, her jealousy of the opportunities of youth, etc. was just incredible. And Ayo directed it beautifully! I have cried over Tina's emotions multiple times in every season. Liza is so fantastic and can give you so much emotional complexity with her face. Gorgeous job as always. I hope they continue to spotlight her in future episodes, because she brings such a lovely balance of determination, hopefulness, warmth, and humor to her scenes.

I also loved getting to see this side of Michael in 3x06, since what we last saw of him was so, so dark. I think it's very interesting to get to see Michael through various people's eyes, because they see and remember different sides of him. The way Carmy remembers Michael is different from the way Tina does is different from the way Richie does. And that's how real relationships are. We don't show every side of ourselves to every person. I also really liked getting to see Michael talk to someone who doesn't know Carmy about Carmy, because it made me realize that Mikey very much had as incomplete of an understanding of Carmy as Carmy did of him. I think it was already very evident that Mikey cutting Carmy out was something he did as an attempt to protect him (and likely also due to shame/not wanting Carmy to know about his struggles), we've been able to gather that since season 1. And in a lot of ways, it worked. Carmy got out. He excelled, and dreamed, and learned, and succeeded. But it also damaged Carmy a lot more than I think Michael ever realized. Carmy saw it as a rejection, as not being good enough, as Michael not believing in him, and he's been trying to prove him wrong ever since (and still, clearly, is). We might be able to see what Mikey did ultimately as an act of love, but that is not how Carmy experienced it, and that's valid, too, even though Carmy's desperation for validation (which is literally impossible for him to ever earn from Michael at this point) is not an excuse for how he has treated others around him. Carmy clearly needs to find a way not to only view himself through the lens of other people's validation (or lack thereof). Easier said than done, obviously. Anyway, 3x06 was fantastic in every way and it's my favorite individual episode of the season.

In what feels like an unpopular opinion, I actually really liked 3x01. I know it was a divisive episode, and I can see where the criticisms are coming from, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the nonlinear timeline, the minimal dialogue, finally really piecing together Carmy's journey. I just enjoyed it. I also appreciate the fact that The Bear isn't a show that is afraid to try things. Sometimes those choices will land more with the audience than others, but it feels very refreshing in an age where so much of what is made plays everything incredibly, exhaustingly safe. I don't think it's a show that has ever intended to speak to everybody, and 3x01 is a good example of that. On a personal level, it ticked a lot of boxes for me as an editor, and I found myself so fascinated by the choices and time/craft that I know went into them. This was not something you see everyday, and I liked that, but I can also see why some people didn't. It really requires a lot of patience from the viewer, and it's a shift from what we're used to from this show itself.

Richie, Tiff, Frank, and Eva. Richie is such a great character, and I really liked getting a little more of a glimpse of his family situation in this season. I hope there's even more in season 4 (I hope we get to see the wedding). The amount that he has grown, while not being a completely different or perfect person (struggling with his place in his daughter's life, self doubt still being big for him, how hurt he is by Carmy's words, his stubbornness in his fight with Carmy & disagreeing with him even when he agrees just to spite him, etc.). I love how his relationships with Natalie and Sydney have grown so much. I loved watching his scene with Tiff this season, because I think it shows how far Richie has come and how much he really loves his daughter and Tiff. I also think this storyline is so relatable to a lot of people. Navigating a divorce and a new relationship with children is tough, but it's something a lot of people go through. The fact that they seem to be making it work, despite how hard it is for everyone, is really nice. And I love the showcase of "Just because you love someone a lot, that doesn't mean your romantic relationship will or should work out." Richie is just a great, beautifully flawed character.

The return of Donna. In a season where a lot of storylines were left completely up in the air, getting some kind of emotional resolution with Donna and Nat felt really important. It's not that their relationship issues are fully resolved, obviously, but the tension of "is it even possible for Natalie to have any kind of relationship with her mother?" is finally addressed. It's never going to be a perfect relationship, but there is hope in it. I've also seen this episode criticized for "nothing happening," but I think a lot happened! It's just that it happened internally. And internal progress is just as important (sometimes more important), than external progress. Watching this episode felt very cathartic to me because I felt like we got to see Nat do what Carmy cannot (in this season), which is to look at her relationship with her mother, which is not a good one, and understand that neither she nor Donna will ever be able to change the past, but they can try to move forward. It may or may not work, but they can try. And Natalie can be brave enough to open herself up for potential disappointment (and hopefully establish healthy boundaries), because the risk is worth it to her. Loved that. Both actresses were also phenomenal in this episode, imo. This is another episode that requires some patience from the viewers, but I think it is richly emotionally rewarding if you let yourself just be in it.

Olivia Coleman (Chef Terry)! I feel like that's explanation enough.

Carmy & Marcus. Personally, I haven't seen people talk about this much, but I feel like Carmy's relationship with Marcus, while only getting a small amount of time, was such a key part of the season because of how they are alike and how they are different. They're characters who are both passionate about what they do, both have a tendency to get at least a little lost in it and neglect other things/responsibilities, but Marcus has this beautiful ultimately positive outlook on life that Carmy lacks, while Carmy has the knowledge and experience that Marcus really respects and hopes to one day achieve. I feel Carmy's kindest moments of the season come during his support/mentorship of Marcus. Carmy is able to instill more confidence in Marcus, and give him space to explore, and Marcus is able to look past some of Carmy's worst character flaws and appreciate his artistry and passion. Since Carmy is so low this season, him having these encouraging/supportive moments, where we see that he did pick up some of the really good lessons in mentorship from some of the chefs he worked with (and not just the bad), with Marcus felt very important to me. While we didn't get a full Marcus-centric episode this season, I thought he was very good when we did see him. I wonder if Marcus may eventually (like possibly at the end of the show, depending on how long it runs) get an opportunity to go to an esteemed culinary school. He's always shown a lot of interest in the experimental, techincal, and academic side of the craft, as well as the artistry, so I could see him jumping at an opportunity like that.

The acting in general! Another season of fantastic performances! I really don't know what else to say about that.

The commitment to continuing to really flesh out side characters. Obviously the biggest example of this in this season is Tina, followed by Donna, but I love the small moments we get with characters like Ebra, Pete, Sweeps, Luca near the end, and even Fak (Neil).

Luca. I really like Luca and feel like he is a character with a lot of potential! I would totally be on board with him being a regular cast member. I think he has great energy and chemistry with everyone, and it was interesting to see the nerdy and less confident side of him (when surrounded by esteemed chefs), adding another dimension to his character. I feel like he already has a lot of potential to be involved in several storylines (Carmy's, Sydney's, Marcus'). I don't know if there's any chance of getting him as a regular in season 4, but I would love it. They did mention he's sticking around for a while, so I hope that's what that was foreshadowing.

A dive into Carmy's trauma/dysfunction. Okay, so I'm going to be talking a lot about Carmy in my critical section, so before we get there, I want to acknowledge what I liked about his arc (or half of one) this season. I feel like I get Carmy. I relate to a lot of his negative qualities. I, too, am a perfectionist with obsessive tendencies who has impossibly high standards for themselves. I, too, often get stuck in a negative feedback loop, where I avoid conflict and hyper-fixate on something else to justify it. I, too, struggle to open up to people in a meaningful way, to be genuinely emotionally vulnerable, and kind of shut down when I'm hurt. And I, too, know all of that about myself, can recognize it from a distant, theoretical standpoint, but still struggle to not fall into that kind of behavior when put under stress. I also have a complicated relationship with my older sibling, so there's that. I get Carmy. I have a lot of empathy for Carmy. I think he sometimes doesn't get enough credit from the fans for his positive qualities, because his negative qualities are massive, driving forces in each season. So, aside from the deep dive into the unhealthy ways we process trauma, here's what I think is positive about Carmy's arc this season- I think the writer's know what they're doing with Carmy, even if I don't totally agree with how they've paced it. For a little while, I was concerned that maybe they had lost sight of how to handle Carmy and pushed him too far, just as a character in general, but the last 2 episodes of the season reaffirmed to me that they are, at the very least, aware of how far they have pushed him, and they know exactly where they're going with him. Does that mean I agree with the pacing of this now? No, I still think this could be improved significantly, but at least it feels intentional. Maybe I'll change my mind when I see how things play out in season 4.

This is a show that cares. It isn't always perfect, but it always cares. One thing that I've seen as a criticism, I actually thought was perfect (maybe I'm the one reading the scene wrong, you can let me know your thoughts), but I saw people say that the details were sloppy this season, and specifically citing the fact that Sydney makes a fennel salad in season 1, but is served something else by Carmy due to a "fennel allergy" in this season. When I saw this in the episode, I thought it was brilliant attention to detail, because my reading of the scene was that there is no allergy, Carmy just says that so he can rebel against Chef David's orders and serve the dish the way he wants to. I assumed the fennel allergy was chosen by the writers specifically because, if we notice, it is a confirmation that Carmy is lying. I still think that's the point, but maybe I'm wrong.

Another thing I really respect about this show is that I don't think they make really many (or any) of their creative decisions based off of fan response. Now, don't get me wrong, I think there is a lot of value in flexibility and willingness to adjust when something isn't working or when it receives solid constructive criticism. I respect being able to raise your hand and say, "hey, you're right, that wasn't the best," and make a change. But I also really respect not allowing loud opinions to fundamentally change the story you're telling, just for popularity points. I think The Bear, due to a lot of attention on social media and the awards circuit, has grown past the audience that it is really made for. There are a lot of people watching (or trying to watch) who absolutely never would have if they didn't see so much chatter about it online. And that's fine! I have certainly tried shows out of my comfort zone for the same reason. Some worked for me and broadened my horizons, and some didn't. But The Bear does not seem to care about adhering to "popular" tropes, storylines, filming style, editing style, etc. just for the sake of mainstream validation. When it does do those things, it very much feels like it does so because the creatives behind the show want to, not because of external pressure. And that's going to alienate some people. That's not always going to land well. It's probably going to come off (or even just be) pretentious sometimes. But I would always rather watch something that was clearly a passion project, even if I don't really get it or it ultimately doesn't really work for me, than something designed specifically for mass appeal and without a soul. So, to me, this is a huge net positive.

The Less Good Stuff

Let's talk about the elephant in the room- "To Be Continued..." The double renewal for season 3 & 4 clearly changed their approach to the pacing/storytelling this season, and I'm not personally convinced it was for the best. I love that there's going to be a season 4, and I love that they got an opportunity to leave some big things unresolved because they knew it wasn't going to be the end, but... this really is just 3A and 3B and the fact that it ends with "To Be Continued..." means they absolutely know this, too. I guess it's better that it's an intentional choice, but it does make season 3 feel incomplete, and it doesn't really stand up on its own. It may be 10 episodes, but it is half of a story. That's not necessarily a bad thing (I think this isn't usually such a problem once it ages, because people who are watching in the future will be able to jump from season 3 straight into season 4, and it won't feel as grueling), but it is a different thing from the first two seasons. And I don't love it. Personally, I think they could have paced some of the storylines a bit differently, so we were closing a few more smaller arcs out to give the end of the season a sense of resolution, even with big things hanging over our heads. The fact that the season has left nearly every storyline completely up in the air is a bit much, imo. I think season 3 is the weakest individual season so far, and it's really all tied back to the pacing.

Okay. Time to tackle Carmy. I love Carmy. I actually, really do. He's very flawed, very layered, and feels like a fully realized human. However... I am, quite frankly, tired of Carmy being so low. I know he's the main character, and therefore a lot of the driving drama centers on him, but he's been in a downward spiral for (imo) a bit too long now, and I just need... some little ray of hope for him. The season 2 finale felt like a low, but then all of season 3 just got worse. And I am tired. I think this pacing is on purpose, but I am too tired, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. I will say, the last two episodes gave me some hope that he has seen the light (a little). I hope it will not take the entirety of season 4 to mend some of these fences and face some of his actions (I don't expect him to suddenly be a different person, but I don't want to spend 10 episodes of season 4 with him only dealing with stuff head on at the end), because he genuinely becomes difficult for me to like, despite all the empathy I have for him, by the midpoint this season. Again, I think they meant to do this, but I also, personally, think it's a little too grueling. And if this is the pacing they wanted to go with, I think it would have been nice to see at least a few more glimmers of Carmy's positive qualities, to remind us why we like him in the first place.

Carmy & Richie, Carmy & Syd, Carmy & Claire, Carmy & Nat. I think one of the reasons I'm struggling so much with Carmy throughout is that absolutely none of his closest relationships make any positive forward progress this season (this is part of the reason I feel like the Carmy & Marcus scenes were so important, because he doesn't get a lot of other vulnerable moments with anyone else this season), and, again, I think it's just a little too much. I understand that Carmy basically shutting himself off from his life is part of the arc, but I think that could have come across and still moved at least one of these relationships a little bit forward. I get why they didn't want to resolve Carmy & Claire yet (they knew they had season 4 and based on the falling out they had, there really did need to be time away from each other). I get why Carmy & Sydney are in a rough place, it's important for her storyline, and so I get that, but... Carmy & Nat are also not communicating this season. I feel like even at serious low points in previous seasons, Nat would still tell him what's what. And here's the thing, I get that she's distracted and has her own stuff to deal with, but it still stretches the believability a bit for me because the restaurant is her job, too. It's not as if she is working elsewhere and having a baby and just doesn't have time to deal with Carmy. His behavior is literally central to her job and having negative impacts on literally everyone around her. That she would just bite her tongue when this puts her and nearly everyone she cares about in a precarious position just feels off. In this season, everyone who would normally confront Carmy about his choices basically just completely give up on that after 3x02, and this feels to me like a choice made for the plot, not necessarily reflecting the established character relationships. But the big one for me that doesn't land is Carmy & Richie. Because they are handled by being separated entirely. I wish they had more scenes together. Would those scenes probably be arguments? Yeah, okay, mostly. But the fact that they basically don't speak after 3x02 takes one of the best dynamics of the show out of play for an entire season. Personally, I think Carmy & Richie reaching at least some stable ground this season could have really improved things, and given us some sense of resolution, when so many other storylines are up in the air. Even if they didn't clear the air entirely, but they came to a kind of grudging truce, that would have helped, imo. Even if all of Carmy's other relationships were still on the rocks, if we got a really cathartic, vulnerable moment between Carmy & Richie, I think it would have helped inject just a little more hope into this season.

Too many Faks (AKA, too much of a good thing). I love Fak (Neil) and I even like Ted, but I think Sammy was a bridge too far. Not only was the choice of guest star a bit too jarring, imo (it just feels like he's in a different show from everyone else? and unlike the other cameos, I was never able to let go of the fact that I was watching a celebrity), I think they spent way too much time on it. I did like the duck bit, but overall, it felt tonally off. The extended scenes about "haunting" didn't really hit with me, and I feel like Fak (and/or the Faks) is at his best in small, strange, chaotic doses. I didn't mind their uncle, though, because his scene didn't take that much time. When we finally got around to the "haunting" conversation with Carmy (about Claire), I felt like I finally understood why this whole thing was even a thing, but I also felt it was just a clunky/poorly paced way to do it. A ton of set up for minimal payoff.

Sydney. Okay, before you get upset with me, this is not me saying Sydney is bad this season, this is me saying I don't think they've totally done her character justice with the writing and pacing of this season (the, "this is really just 3A," thing strikes again). I have rewritten this section over and over because I'm really struggling to put into words what I mean here. I think the closest I can come is- I want more of Sydney's screen time to be about Sydney. I feel like a lot of her time this season went to scenes that were in service of other character's arcs. And it's not that I don't want any of those, like of course her relationships with other characters are important, and of course she can be in a scene that is mostly about someone else and that scene also be furthering her arc, I just felt like her individual arc was a little stalled out, and (basically same complaint as Carmy's, except for Sydney is much more enjoyable than him this season) due to how they paced this, it felt a bit too slow to me. However I have a lot of hopes that season 4 will be more Sydney-centric and faster paced in a lot ways, both in what we see from her, and how her choices (I am assuming that she will take the job, though I hope she doesn't leave The Bear forever) have a huge ripple effect on the other characters. I hope that means in season 4, we'll have more scenes where other character's are in service of Sydney's storyline and not the other way around. I think I completely get Sydney's storyline in 3, I just don't love the pacing of it (how many times can I say that I don't agree with season 3s pacing?). But I am so hopeful for Sydney in season 4. I think there is a ton of potential for a big showcase of Sydney growing, exploring, struggling, failing, persevering, and just generally discovering what she really wants, and I'm excited for it. I really love Ayo, and that last scene of Sydney this season gave me chills, so I am ready to see what she delivers in season 4.

The editing/pacing of the finale. Obviously I find a lot of the storylines too dragged out and slower than they should be, I've mentioned that a lot, but this is a more specific complaint about the last episode. As much as I praised The Bear earlier for having an artistic and creative vision and not compromising that for mainstream appeal, I definitely felt like the dinner at Ever could have been a lot shorter. It almost felt like, "hey, we invited all these real chefs and we don't want anyone to feel slighted, so we have to make sure to really feature all of them," and while it did relate to things Carmy & Sydney are feeling/thinking, it just dragged quite a bit. I also think some of the better lines got buried by so many different people making so many different points. It was slow. And hey, maybe this is one of those moments where the show isn't for me, and that's okay, but it doesn't make me like this scene any better.

Lack of warmth. I think one big thing missing from a lot of this season is the warmth that the first two seasons exude. Some of this is literal, the color palette at The Bear has shifted to mostly cool tones, so there is a visual coolness, but also the chaos feels cold. The chaos in the first 2 seasons had an endearing (though still stressful) quality to it, but the chaos in season 3 is largely just stressful. Again, I think this is an entirely intentional choice. It wants the atmosphere to feel clinical and impersonal and detached, it is reflective of Carmy's mental state, but the loss of that vibe just makes the show less fun, imo. And yes, the show is not about fun, but the higher highs of seasons 1 and 2 gave some much needed levity and contrast to the lows.

The Stuff I'm (Theoretically) Neutral About

Claire. It seems like everybody on the planet has a strong opinion about Claire. They hate her, think she's the worst/most boring character ever. Or they love her. Or they feel the need to fundamentally pit her and Sydney against each other and use one to tear down the other. Or they complain about her even existing. I don't mind Claire. I don't love Claire. I don't hate Claire. I still haven't passed judgement on Claire as an individual character. That feels like an unpopular opinion to have. Is anybody else neutral on Claire? I think she plays an important role to what they decided to do in season 2. She is Carmy's dream girl, she's been Carmy's dream girl for years. I think Claire is the living, breathing example that we get to see in real time of how Carmy romanticizes people that he feels intensely emotional about, and fails to see fully realized versions of them. He did it to Mikey, and then he does it to Claire. Imo, she seems "perfect" and 2 dimensional in season 2 because we only see her through Carmy's eyes, and he's romanticizing her and their relationship. I don't mind that in season 2. And she's barely in season 3 (even when we do see her, a lot of it is flashback and so is still solely through Carmy's eyes), so I don't feel like I can make any new judgments of her character. I think she genuinely is a nice, lovely person, and whether or not she interests me as a character is still up in the air. If she begins to play a larger, more present role in the narrative individually, then I'll expect them to reveal more layers to her. For now, I'm neutral. I'm not super for or against her. This kind of leads into my next point, which is-

Shipping. I'm not against shipping for this show, and romantic love is a dynamic that is great to explore. I'm just not personally all that invested in romance in this show in general. So, like, I love it from the standpoint of how it reveals things about the characters (like the scene with Richie and Tiff where we see Richie's familial love overcome the pain of his romantic love not working, or the lovely background stuff with Tina and her husband) and how it fits into character's overall arcs, and I'm open to exploring different romantic dynamics with different characters, I just don't feel super strongly about who those characters should be. It's very much on the back burner of my mind. I think they're definitely setting up Richie & Jess for something in that regard, that feels like a question that needs to be answered (even if the answer is no). I can see little hints towards several potential relationships, and I'm willing to walk down any path they want to go in this regard, as long as the show stays what it is and doesn't become a clichéd romantic drama (I don't think it will), but I just don't have strong feelings around this. That's open to change, but that's where I'm at right now.

My Season 4 Hopes

The Bear. I have some specific hopes for the restaurant. I think it's quite evident that things can't stay the same. What Carmy is trying to do is completely unsustainable. I do hope the restaurant is able to stay open (like it would be quite sad to lose the place, after so much work to keep it open and improve, etc.), but I also hope it goes through some major changes, obviously in the way it's run, but also in the way it looks. There's a gorgeous shot of Richie and Carmy in the penultimate episode, with Carmy in the kitchen and Richie in the dining room, and it is absolutely stunning. And it is also absolutely blue. Ever's light is very cold as well, and I don't mind that for that restaurant, but when we meet The Beef, it's this warm, chaotic, dirty, ugly mess. But it's also got a soul. The Bear in season 3 feels soulless, a lot of the time. And the shift from the warm yellow dominant tones of the first two seasons, to the cool blue dominant tones of season 3 creates this kind... unwelcoming feeling to viewers. Sure, it's intentional, absolutely, but I hope it isn't just going to be like this moving forward. I think the restaurant needs to stop trying to be Ever, stop trying to be all these other places Carmy has worked at, and get to some middle ground. Not quite The Beef, but also not quite The Bear (as we know it right now). Which, honestly, is what Carmy needs as well. I think there's a lovely opportunity to physically shift aspects of the restaurant to match Carmy's internal journey, which will hopefully have some positive movement in season 4.

Sydney-centric plot! As previously mentioned, I have a lot of hopes for how Sydney's storyline is going to go, and I hope we get to see more elements to her story, because even though she had a lot of screen time, so much of that is devoted to just building her frustration, but very little outside of that.

Cicero episode. Oliver Platt is awesome, and with the little bits we got about Cicero's money troubles, and how much he loves the Berzatto kids, I think I would really enjoy a Cicero episode.

A second character focused episode. There are a lot of options for this, but I want at least two episodes that spotlight character who we haven't gotten to see too much of yet.

Carmy sees the light, and not in the season 4 finale. I just think we need to start building him back up ASAP (doesn't have to be linear progress, but I gotta see something), because his season 3 was completely grueling and exhausting to watch.

Richie & the wedding. I love Richie's dynamics with his family, and I think this would be really fun. Particularly since it might be a chance to see a lot of the main characters gathered at a non-work related event (I don't know how close Tiff is various characters, but based on the Christmas episode, she has some kind of relationship with a lot of them, plus Tina mentions going to a Berzatto Christmas in season 1). The wedding feels like it could be an incredibly fun bottle episode.

If you're still here, hi and thanks for reading my very informal, very off the top of my head thoughts. I definitely feel like this season has been quite divisive and while I certainly have my criticisms, I feel like how they stick the landing in season 4 (or don't) will, in the more long term view, ultimately play a big part in how I feel about season 3.

As always, shoot me an ask if you've got thoughts to share!

#the bear #the bear season 3 #the bear fx #the bear spoilers #the bear season 3 spoilers #text #long post #extremely long post #my thoughts #some of y'all said you wanted this (maybe you'll change your mind when you're in the middle of my ramblings) so here it is!

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space-is-dabest · 7 months ago

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[Things I think might happen in the new volume of FENCE, FENCE:challengers long shot]

Since we're heading to the State Championships,there is a lot to happen. Usually,every arc in FENCE contains two volumes, and even though I find it hard to change,I guess there is a possibility to the states Championships holds like,3-4 volumes,or even the usual two with more pages each(Its unlikely,but then again,there is two much to adress)

I guess Aiden,after Harvard and Rahul's "meeting," won't give a damn about the competition. That will upset Harvard,wich I believe will be the beginning of Harvard criticism towards Aiden and finally,the beginning of their love journey.

I get the feeling that we're gonna see Robert Cost at the event,he'll be watching Jesse and that's gonna create some pressure towards Nicholas,making him lose some matches (I believe some people will sense it and realize that might be something wrong and associate with Robert's presence)

I feel like we're getting close to the truth about Nicholas being the son of Robert coming out. It might not be in this volume,but I'm almost sure It'll show up on the next.

I guess we will see Nicholas' mom for the first time. I don't know if the championship will happen in Bridgeport,but if it does,I'm almost sure she will show up. And if she sees Robert,well.... you guys pretty much know what can happen

If Nicholas starts to lose some matches due to Robert's presence,I guess that might have some consequences on Seiji. They're getting close even more,so now I think Seiji is going to worry about Nicholas and realize that is something is wrong.

Seiji is going to beat Jesse,but that's not the main *event*,let's just put it in that way. Nicholas and Jesse will eventually fence together, and I know that,despite Jesse being the best,Nicholas is going to show some of his talent,and that might alert other fencers (and the folks present) that he's special.

#fence comic #nicholas cox #fence posts #seiji katayama

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marengogo · 9 months ago

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Silver Lining - What If #7 : Solstice & Equinox

Listening to This is V - As Friday is Tae Day

[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]

🐺 — 🐺 — 🐺—

Hello my Dearest Gurls, Bois and Enbies.

It’s been a while since I made an actual post right? Oh and, for the time being, forget about that chapter 2 post, every time I resume writing it, I think about the present state of this fandom and I get so VEXED that I close the file soon after … so yeah, there’s that So, here I am, wanting to share something I thought of yesterday, something completely delulu but quite fun at the same time.

AS ALWAYS, before we get off on DeluluLand, here is a message from our conductor *clears voice*: “Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, I trust I’m finding everyone well and ready to embark into this new trip. As today’s destination is particularly delulu and rather wishful-thinking-esque, I highly suggest bringing the toughest, biggest and shiniest tin hat in your possession, as well as your best clown clothes, with you when you disembark. Now, alas, the temperature is undesirable cold, the skies are pretty foggy and the waters are pretty rough, nonetheless, I do hope you still enjoy the journey, godspeed, this was your captain”.

And now that we are all readily equipped let me welcome you without further ado to:

Jikook Travel Vlog Theory by Marengo!

This isn’t a discussion about what I think the vlog will contain, but more of when I think it/they might be released, or rather, if I were jikook, which I’m obviously not, hence this being a delulu post, I would do it in the way I am about to explain. BUT FIRST, let’s see what knowledge we currently have available:

CONNECTICUT, JEJU, BUSAN, SAPPORO

Now, we know for a fact that they went to Connecticut and Sapporo to film this vlog, as eventually mentioned by JK on Suchwita. In Connecticut no thanks to an asshole we saw them with GoPros and also on their way to, and from, Sapporo, as always “courtesy” of airport warriors. So we have no doubt about those.

Jeju was a rumor that some k-jikookers had began some time last year, which was shutdown as quickly as it came out, but which, none other than our dear Tae confirmed a few months later when he made his Chuseok post on IG. BUT the question is; is the Jeju trip part of the Jikook Travel Vlog?

Last but not least is Busan. Admittedly, Busan is a super filler, guessed and projected destination as we don’t have any sightings of the both of them together last year. In fact, we only have confirmed sighting of JK with his 97 friends, thanks to a local restaurant. YET, yours truly Marengo feels that there might be something worth looking in there🕵🏾‍♀️. Considering that they are both from Busan, city that they don’t seem to despise, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think that they would want to add it to their travel vlog … but would nobody notice them walking around the big city of Busan? I highly doubt it. Yet more shocking things have been known to happen, so who knows right?

But Marengo - you might be wondering - what’s with the title of your post then?! … WELL

You might remember the terms Solstice & Equinox from a very distant Science/Geography lesson in your memory, their definitions are not very complex, but do not worry, it is not in my interest to shove my geeky ass upon you today. What you need to know is that we basically use this particular “occurances” to practically determine the beginning of each season. We have 2 Solstice (Winter and Summer) and 2 Equinox (Spring & Autumn), which usually occur, give or take one day around the same time of the year as follows:

WINTER SOLSTICE - DECEMBER 20/21

SPRING EQUINOX - MARCH 21

SUMMER SOLSTICE - JUNE 20/21

AUTUMN EQUINOX - SEPTEMBER 23

… So, if we follow my VERY DELUSIONAL REASONING we would have 4 DATES (or time periods) and potentially 4 DESTINATIONS.

This year's Spring Equinox has been “taken over” by VHOPE so I don’t think that we would get anything, and even though Jin will be back with us on this year’s Summer Solstice, I doubt he would be promoting right off the bat (like ... I would think he would need time to adjust a bit … BUT WITH BANGTAN WHO KNOWS RIGHT???) … Which is why, in my head, the first VLOG would come out around this year’s Summer Solstice and proceed gradually as follows:

SUMMER SOLSTICE - JUNE 20/21 2024: CONNECTICUT VLOG

This was clearly a summer themed vlog, they were on a yacht, we saw their naked backs, thanks to Jimin, basically it screamed SUMMER

AUTUMN EQUINOX - SEPTEMBER 23 2024: JEJU VLOG ??

This was part of Tae’s Chuseok post, which as we know is a fall korean celebration so yeah, basically it screamed AUTUMN

WINTER SOLSTICE - DECEMBER 20/21 2024: SAPPORO VLOG

For those who don’t know Sapporo is known for it’s snow before the beer 🤡. It holds an annual winter festival which unfortunately the boys were too early for but …, so basically is screamed WINTER

SPRING EQUINOX - MARCH 21 2025: BUSAN VLOG ????

I got nothing for you y’all 😬😬😬, I’ve never been to Busan and once again other than being their birthplace, I couldn’t tell you if there’s anything related to Spring in Busan, but who knows, it might be a … beautiful place to visit in SPRING???

As you can see, the Solstices are rather certain, but the Equinox are hella shaky. YET if you think about it, what would be happening SUMMER SOLSTICE 2025?

ALL THE TANNIES WOULD BE BACK HOME.

… And there you have it.

Now obviously this is all baseless theories, as we have been left to go off on nothing 🤡 and for all we knows they could drop it ALL TOMORROW 🤡 or even make it a weekly thing in May 2025 before they get back to us 🤡.WHO KNOWS RIGHT? THE POSSIBILITIES STILL REMAIN ENDLESS I’m afraid,

If you ask me however, If they did anything other than what I just rambled on, they’d miss out on making this a very instructive and seasonal thing 🙄😒 … BUT, again, THAT’S JUST ME.

Anyways, time to leave DeluluLand y’all, before the wrong people, or worse it’s inhabitants, find us!

Always respectfully yours 💜🫰🏾

Marengo.

#Marengo’s Silver World #Jikook Travel Vlog #Jikook #The Four Seasons

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lover-of-mine · 8 months ago

Note

I had a theory I wanted to share but bear with me while I get to it.

Thinking about how now we know for sure Eddie & Marisol are actually having sex regularly got me thinking about how Eddie & Shannon's problem was never their sex life and wondering how/if that plays into Eddie being with Marisol? Because we know things never seemed to click with Ana both emotionally and physically but they are clicking physically with Marisol up until the whole nun thing after which Eddie seemed to be like "well I guess we'll break up now" but didn't seem too devastated by it? If anything he felt more like someone in the beginning of relationship not someone after months of dating & then moving in together. Which of course they decided to slow that because he realized they were going too fast but he said he really wants this time to work out but I'm not seeing a convincing reason why? They're friendly sure & having good sex I guess but what's their emotional connection? How close actually are they? I'm having a hard time understanding it. But this is only his like 3rd ever relationship right? He doesn't have a lot to compare it to & so maybe because he clicked in a way he didn't with Ana that maybe reminds him of what he had with Shannon? Except he & Shannon were best friends, they had a deep emotional connection in addition to a pretty good sex life. So I don't know but maybe Eddie is thinking they needed to move in because it would help them get closer and now maybe they need more time or something? We know he hates dating and feeling like he needs to perform so maybe it's like this is the first woman since Shannon he's able to/enjoys sleeping with so he figures that must mean something more? And I love the idea of he's never considered men being an option before and him now starting on that journey or realizing he did like men or at least Buck and he's now realizing Buck could be an option, like any of those theories and then realizing maybe what he's actually missing in his relationship with Marisol he already has with Buck and realizing he can also have that good sexual part of it (not that he has to but it does seem important to him) too. Because for all of the problems that he & Shannon had they did love and care about each other. I like to think if she'd lived they would have still gotten divorced & actually settled into a solid friendship with each other. But that's neither here nor there.

Is this a crazy stretch? Maybe. I'm just trying to make sense of it all. And I'm a Buddie girlie at heart always so it makes me feel more hopeful.

No, I'm actually with you here. I think Ana was just the first person he thought he could latch onto back then, and she was pretty and nice and Chris liked her, so he thought he could learn to love her eventually. I mean the show does imply that eddieana had sex. I know we like to joke they didn't, but the show very much does imply that with the "you really like to dress me up" "and the other thing" comment at the store before the first panic attack. But they weren't clicking emotionally and we didn't see them connect physically, so Eddie was just "sticking it out". Shannon, the sex worked and I did know how to talk, I don't think you can fight the way they did if you don't know each other. Shannon knew exactly how to disarm Eddie. How to say the thing that would get him questioning his actions. So even if we didn't get to see a lot of moments in their marriage where they were just happy, we know they had good sex and we know they knew how to talk. With Marisol he seems to be connecting with her physically, but he can't seem to connect with her emotionally, because we don't know anything about Marisol because the impression they are giving is that Eddie doesn't know a lot about her. He could have thought that the shock of moving in would bring them closer and then make the relationship better, there is an argument to be made there. And like, he says he really likes her but his brain went to the break up route and he didn't seem that devastated about it. It is canon information that this is Eddie's 3rd relationship, assumed 3rd person he slept with. So he doesn't have a lot of reference points. Which is why he keeps chasing Shannon. But I also think that enough pent up sexual energy can make people see more in a relationship than there actually is, good sex doesn't equal a good relationship (just look at Buck and Taylor and the way they had the chemistry but lacked everything else). But Shannon worked because they had both the friendship and the chemistry. If Shannon was still alive I think they would very much learn to be friends for Chris' sake and eventually settle back into the friendship and figure out who they are together while better equipped to handle what's being thrown at them. But he's lacking the communication aspect of a good relationship with Marisol. He doesn't have the friendship. He does have the friendship with Buck though. And I guess having sex with men in general never occurred to him (but as a demisexual Eddie believer I think sex is not something he worries about a lot unless it's actively creating problems in his life like in merry exmas and you don't know me, both episodes who contain the two sex scenes that lead to problems in the relationship, and it is an interesting way to create problems on Eddie's relationship by calling back to that conflict with Shannon that eventually led Eddie to let Shannon back in but literally led to him kicking Marisol out, also interesting that he sneaks Shannon out of the house and leaves Marisol alone in it) so he never thought about having sex with Buck specifically, but I don't see how Eddie could go "oh maybe I want to have sex with men?" and not instantly attach that to Buck too, because he's Buck. Considering the way I don't think Eddie knows how to qualify who Buck is to him, but does have Buck stored away as the person he trusts the most, I think that attraction to men would instantly attach to the safest person, and that's Buck.

But the question is how they are gonna handle his sexuality. I don't know if they are ever gonna explicitly label him, or Buck for they matter, on the show, but on a meta level Buck is being thought of as bisexual and they are adding to the pieces that are already there to make Buck a bisexual man. I have no idea where Eddie's sexuality is going. I can give you an argument for that man to be demisexual and/or demiromantic with the last episode. The fact that he didn't know that aspect of her killed his boner and his excitement with the relationship. So much so he had to go back to the getting to know her step. But is the show ballsy enough to have a character like Eddie be demisexual? Are they ballzy enough to make the womanizer bi and the single father ace? I don't know. Probably not. I think Eddie has a complicated relationship with sex. Is it the religious trauma? Is the demisexuality? Is it both? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ I also think that that complicated relationship with sex makes it harder for him to want to date, because dating comes with expectations. He's clearly not romance or sex repulsed, but he does have trouble connecting on a deeper level with these women. He doesn't have trouble connecting with Buck. I think if you plant the attraction to men seed with him, his brain would fill the empty space with Buck. Kinda in the same way he keeps trying to match these women to Shannon. So he could get there. He can absolutely get there. I see this being a route to be taken. I don't know if the show is brave enough to do it though.

#i have many questions about how they're gonna handle eddie being queer if thats where its going #because i cant get a read on that man's sexuality keowksokossos #i mean demisexual works beautifully but at the same time i keep thinking #this show is not brave enough to actually do this #like no way they would give us a demi/bi relationship between two men who truly love each other #that's an unrealistic expectation kskapskslspskps #but i am curious #911 #911 spoilers #911 speculation #i really need a tag for asks #anon 😌

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fortheloveofwonderland · 2 years ago

Text

A War of the Heart - Chapter Two | Luke Alvez x Fem! Reader

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Summary - things quickly come to a head between you and Luke when he forces you to talk about the past.

Category - heavy angst | smut | eventual happy ending

A/N - I watched this episode (1202 Sick Day) while I was writing this fic and I still can’t remember if Hotch was actually in it or not. So for the sake of this we will assume he was.

Content Warnings - slight argument?, swearing, build up to smut, shower sex, slightly dominant Luke, making out, mentions of masturbation, some Spencer x Reader, penetrative sex, use of “good girl”.

WC - 3.6k

Chapter Two

Present - Los Angeles, California

Hotch made a rule of not pairing you and Spencer up on cases, for obvious reasons. Most of the time you found yourself paired with Tara as the two of you worked great together. But since you and Luke had history he thought you were the best fit for him to be partnered with on this case, much to your chagrin. Of course you couldn’t make a fuss about it so silently you climbed into the passenger seat of the car while Luke got in the driver's side and the two of you headed for the crime scene.

For the better part of the journey the two of you remained silent but you knew it was only a matter of time before you needed to speak. There had been a lot of things left unsaid between the two of you and the sooner you got it out the less awkward the whole situation would be. But where would you even begin? Your mind was racing over so many things you couldn’t pick a starting point so instead you just stayed silent and stewed on them, much like you’d been doing for the last thirteen years. Eventually, it was Luke who finally broke the silence.

“So you and Reid, huh?” He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye as he drove.

“What was that?” You frowned at him.

“What was what?”

“The tone.” You pulled a face, turning a little in your chair.

“What tone?” Luke frowned now as he took a left turn.

“So you and Reid, huh?” You deepened your voice, doing your best Luke Alvez impersonation which made him scoff.

“Was that supposed to sound like me?”

“I think it was pretty accurate. There was definitely some judgement in your tone.”

“No judgement.” Luke shook his head.

“But…”

You saw Luke pull a face and roll his eyes, his grip tightening a little on the wheel

“But…he doesn’t seem like your type.” He shrugged.

“You don’t exactly have a well rounded knowledge of my type, Alvez.” It was hard to force yourself not to call him Sarg. You’d barely ever used his name back then.

He’d once told you hearing you call him Sarg was a massive turn on and you used it to your advantage. It drove him wild hearing that from your lips so there was no way you’d slip up and use it now.

“True. But I’m just surprised is all.”

“Admittedly I do usually have a habit of going for pretty but dumb guys.” You shot him a look, a smirk tugging at your lips.

“Ouch. That’s cold.” He put one hand to his chest but he laughed all the same. “So you’ve upgraded to pretty and a genius?”

“It would seem so.” You glanced out of the window at the LA traffic that was prolonging this conversation.

You’d give anything for this to be over, to close your eyes and have it be this morning again and being introduced to your new team member and it not be Luke Alvez. Mostly because, and you would never admit this out loud even under torture, it was so unfair that age had caused Luke to grow impossibly more attractive. The occasional grey hair peppering his jet black locks and the small lines around his eyes and mouth made him look distinguished. His muscles seemed somehow more prominent and you’d be willing to bet he worked out just as much, if not more, than when you served together. He’d literally aged like a fine wine. And that was just so, so unfair.

“Pretty, smart and I can only assume jealous?” He gave you a slightly amused look to which you frowned. “Oh come on, you were so quick to say we were friends. What did you think I was going to say by the way? Oh I was her boss but we were also lovers.”

“Gross, don’t use that word.” You scowled, prompting Luke to laugh. “Spencer can be…insecure I guess. I didn’t exactly make things easy on him, I lost count of how many times he asked me out before I finally said yes. I just didn’t think it would help matters for him to know about us.”

“Right, so I have to just pretend that you and I don’t have a history so your boyfriend doesn’t feel insecure?”

“Please.”

After that the car grew silent again. You turned your attention out of the window and focused on the buildings you edged past in the slow moving traffic. The GPS display told you that you weren’t far from your destination, but how long you would sit in this jam was anyone’s guess.

It was almost fifteen minutes of silence as Luke plodded the car along and was finally able to put his foot down and drive more than five miles an hour. As the journey picked up, Luke shot you a look out of the corner of his eye, unable to contain his thoughts any longer.

“Why didn’t you call?” He mumbled, almost as if he didn’t want you to hear him.

“Huh?” You turned back to him with a frown.

“Last time I saw you, you said you’d call. You never did. And as you’ll recall I gave you my number but you didn’t give me yours.”

“We had fun.” You shrugged, sighing a little. “But that was in Iraq. We weren’t going to make it in the real world. It was just…a deployment thing.”

Luke frowned at you, a hint of hurt in his eyes which you tried to ignore.

“A deployment thing?” He scoffed. “So telling me you loved me, was what? A lie? I don’t think you’re that good of an actress.”

“No offence, Alvez,” you suddenly snapped just as Luke pulled the car to a stop at your destination. “But you knew me for all of nine months. You do not know me as well as you think you do. You were scratching an itch. I was lonely and touch starved and you were…you were…”

“I was what?” He shut off the engine and turned to you, anger pooling behind his eyes.

“You were there.” You shrugged. “Let’s not pretend what happened between us was more than it was. It was just sex Alvez! Thirteen years ago! I’m with Spencer and he’s great. We have a shot at being the real deal. So you don’t get to show up here and rehash the past when that’s all it is. The past.”

You went to turn away and reach for the door handle to get out of this car that had become stifling all of a sudden but before you could, a strong hand was on your shoulder, firmly pulling you back.

Luke’s eyes were wild, looking at you like he’d only ever looked at you a handful of times before. A lump formed in your throat and you swallowed.

“I’m not going to tell your precious boyfriend about us, ok? But don’t you dare sit there and tell me everything we had was a goddamn lie! I know you, Y/N, much better than you think I do. I’m sorry if my presence has thrown you but it’s thrown me too! How was I to know you worked for the BAU? You haven’t spoken to me in eight years! I’m happy for you and Reid, but I can’t just pretend you meant nothing to me and that seeing you again isn’t opening a lot of old wounds. So don’t fucking lie to me and tell me I meant nothing to you and make me feel like it was all in my head. Because it wasn’t. You don’t get to sully my memories.”

You watched as he exited the car, throwing open his door and slamming it shut behind him, causing you to jump a little. You continued to just observe while he headed towards the crime scene tape and flashed his credentials at the beat cop manning the scene, not once turning back to you still sitting in the car.

Maybe you hadn’t been fair to him. Maybe it was excessive for you to make out he’d meant nothing to you when in reality he’d meant everything to you. The term love of my life seemed too cliche but it was probably most apt to describe your feelings towards Luke. And what scared you most, was in seeing him again all of those feelings had come rushing to the surface like they’d been there the whole time.

In truth, Luke Alvez was the only man you’d ever loved. And it was becoming clear he may be the only man you ever would love.

***

2010 - Diyala, Northeast Baghdad

“So what happens when you leave?”

Another copter rattled the walls, this one louder than the last. Had to be a Bluebird, maybe even a Blackhawk. You couldn’t give it much thought though given your current situation.

Luke had talked you into a second shower of the night although it hadn’t been all that difficult. Now as the two of you stood under the flow of water, Luke’s strong body was pressed up behind you, his hands running up and down your hips and his lips peppering kisses over your neck.

“I don’t know.” You replied. You’d done nothing but think about what your reassignment would mean for the two of you but had yet to come up with any answers.

“I love you.” He spoke against your wet skin, arms now snaking around your waist to pull you closer as his hardening cock pressed against your lower back.

“I love you too.” You breathed.

It wasn’t a sentiment the two of you shared often, so you knew he must be really worried about your reassignment to say it now. The first time Luke had confessed his feelings to you had been during sex, right before he’d come he’d mumbled those three words against your lips. Afterwards neither of you mentioned it and you’d carried on as normal.

It wasn’t until almost a month later when the two of you had been alone in the gym on your compound in the middle of a workout when he’d glanced over at you from his treadmill.

“You never said it back.”

You looked over at him with a frown from your own treadmill.

“What?”

Luke huffed out a breath, hitting a button on his machine and waiting for it to slow to a stop. You did the same and came to meet him in front of the machines. You both had sweat rolling down your faces, Luke’s wife beater clung to his solid chest with perspiration. He looked utterly delicious.

“I told you I loved you and you never said it back.” He didn’t make eye contact with you and it was the most unsure you’d ever seen him.

“I’d hoped it was implied.” You shrugged your shoulders and he finally looked up at you.

“Implied in the way you ream me any chance you get?” His lip twitched at the corner.

“I prefer the term “flirty banter” but yes.”

Luke chuckled, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was around before he stepped closer to you and cupped your jaw.

There were a handful of people who knew about your relationship, only those who needed to know. Both Reynolds and Luke’s neighbour Martinez were privy, mostly because you had to kick them out if the two of you wanted any alone time. But if the captain was to find out, it would be the end of you both. Sex between soldiers happened extremely often, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t against the rules. Especially when one of them was in a position of seniority.

“Tell me you love me, cariño.”

“And if I don’t?”

He chuckled again, eyes darkening. His hand moved from your jaw to the back of your neck, gripping it hard and pulling your head back roughly. You gasped, feeling the all too familiar heat spread between your legs and wanting him to take you right here and now.

“Tell me you love me. I won’t ask again, private.”

“Fuck,” you swallowed thickly, his fingers digging into your neck and making your knees quake. “I l-love you, Sarg. Of course I love you.”

It was the first time you’d ever said that to someone before and you’d meant it with your entire being. Since then you’d only ever said it a handful times, as had Luke. Which was why you knew exactly how he must be feeling in that moment.

“I can’t imagine doing this without you.” His breath tickled your flesh and caused you to push back against him, mostly for fear you would collapse. His hold on your waist grew stronger, holding you upright. “I wish we could just leave, go back to the states and have a chance at something real. I’d marry you tomorrow, you know? I’d give it all up and I’d marry you and buy us a nice little house in the suburbs and we’d have kids and dogs and we’d be so fucking happy.”

“But we can’t.” You felt strangely emotional, tears welling in your eyes at his words. “Because we made the decision to fight for our country. And we’re both too stubborn not to see that through.”

He turned you in his arms and you immediately noticed the tears in his own eyes. He moved you backwards until you were flush with the wet tiled wall. He pressed his body up against yours and held your face in his large hands.

“I want more than this.” His nostrils flared slightly. “This isn’t enough for me anymore.”

“Sarg,” you shook your head. “I am going to Afghanistan. I love you but I loved the army first.”

“If you go,” he choked a little as he spoke. “If you go, I don’t see a way we can be together.”

“I know.” You agreed. “But I’m not giving up everything I’ve worked so hard for, for anyone. I’m sorry but my career will always come first.”

Luke surprised you when he chuckled dryly.

“And ironically, that’s one of the things I love most about you. I would never stand in the way of your career Y/L/N, you know that.” One of his hands moved down to toy with the ring hanging around your neck wistfully.

“And that’s one of the things I love the most about you.”

He let go of your necklace, suddenly slamming his hips against yours and thrusting you back hard into the tiles, a complete one eighty from how soft he’d been just moments before. You knew well enough that Sergeant Luke Alvez hated to be vulnerable, even with you, so his change in demeanour didn’t surprise you.

He moved his hand down your body, beneath your right thigh and tugged your leg up, practically throwing it around his waist. Seconds later he roughly thrust inside of you, causing you to gasp loudly at the sensation. Luke was certainly not small and although you’d been expecting it, it didn’t make it hurt less. But god how you loved the pain.

He buried his face into your neck, unable to look at you any longer for fear he may actually cry. Luke had always been more comfortable communicating with his body, letting his thrusts tell you all the things his words couldn’t.

And at the moment, his message was loud and clear. You belonged to him and you always would. No matter what happened, a piece of you would always be owned by Luke Alvez.

***

Present - Los Angeles, California

You and Spencer had a very strict no fraternisation while on cases rule. The two of you only ever hooked up when at home, not wanting your relationship to get in the way of work.

The only problem with that was it had been a month. It had been a month since you and Spencer had been alone together, a month since the two of you had been intimate, the longest in your six month relationship. And maybe if that was the only thing, you could have waited until you were home. But it wasn’t the only factor.

Luke’s reappearance in your life had thrown you through a loop, but not only that, had left you frightfully horny. You couldn’t look at him without thinking of those long, hot Iraqi nights spent between the sheets with him. The way his fingertips felt on your skin, the way his lips felt pressing kisses all over your body.

It wasn’t fair on Spencer for you to use him for sex because you were craving your ex. But if you didn’t find yourself outside of his room that night, knocking on his door, you feared you may have ended up at Luke’s door instead.

You’d tried not to give in. You masturbated three times in a desperate need to banish Luke from your sordid thoughts. But it wasn’t enough. And so you found yourself outside of Spencer’s room, ready to break your one rule.

When he opened the door he was wearing just a pair of boxers and an old CalTech t-shirt. His hair was messy and his eyes a little bloodshot, telling you he’d been sleeping.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” You chewed on your bottom lip.

“It’s ok.” He offered you a sleepy smile. “Is everything alright?”

“It’s been a month.” You shrugged, giving him your best sultry smirk. “I’ve missed you.”

You watched the way his Adam’s apple dipped as he swallowed a thick lump in his throat. His eyes moved down your body, raking up and down your skimpy shorts and tank top. When they settled back on your own eyes, the tiredness had vanished.

“We’re on a case.” He croaked, his voice cracking a little.

“Exigent circumstances.” You shrugged again. “It’s been a freaking month.”

For a second, Spencer looked as though he may argue with you and send you away empty handed. He swallowed again, looking over your shoulder as if to check no one was around, before he took hold of your wrist and pulled you inside his room.

As soon as the door was closed behind you, he attacked you with his lips, the most ferocious kiss he’d ever bestowed on you. It was so much more like the way Luke always used to kiss you, that desperate and hurried passion, as opposed to the gentle way in which Spencer normally kissed you.

It wasn’t long at all before you were helping each other out of your clothes and dragging him towards the bed. Usually Spencer would spend a long time pleasuring you with his fingers or his tongue before you got to the main event but you had no patience for that tonight.

He tried to kiss down your chest, heading south down your body to eat you out, which usually you would have been all for. But not tonight. You gripped his face as his tongue swirled around your nipple and pulled him back so you could kiss him, parting your legs and hooking them over his thighs. His hard cock nestled between your legs and you grinded against him.

“Please, Spence,” you spoke against his lips. “Please just fuck me.”

“Are you sure?” He mumbled.

“Yes. Yes, it’s been too long.” You arched your back, helping him line himself up.

He pulled back from the kiss and looked down at you, questioning you with his eyes as if to make sure this was what you wanted. But you’d never been surer of anything.

Spencer nodded his head, placing his hands either side of your head on the pillow for leverage as he pressed himself between your legs. He was slow in his movements, inching his way inside of you delicately and you wanted to scream at him to fuck you harder. But you refrained and let Spencer set the pace. At least at first you did.

It was only a matter of minutes before you started thrusting up to meet him, digging your fingernails into his ass cheeks. You moved your lips to his ear and nibbled on the lobe.

“Spencer for the love of god, fuck me like you mean it.” You growled into his ear.

Spencer hissed a little at your words, surprised by your request. But he didn’t deny it, he’d never deny you anything. As if some kind of switch flipped in Spencer, he grabbed your thighs a little roughly and moved them from where they were around his waist to over his shoulders. His eyes were practically black as he looked down at you, taking hold of your hips as he began thrusting hard and fast.

You moaned so loudly the walls practically shook. You didn’t know Spencer had this in him, maybe you should have said something sooner. The way in which he roughly fucked you was so reminiscent of Luke you couldn’t help but let your eyes flutter closed and picture him on top of you. You’d promised yourself you wouldn’t, but once you saw his face you couldn’t stop.

“You’re so good for me, Y/L/N. So fucking good for me.” His voice rang out in your ears. “My good fucking girl. Tell me what a good girl you are.”

“I’m your good girl, Sarg.”

You came in record time, only just biting your tongue from calling out Luke’s nickname when you did so. Spencer looked suitably proud of himself when he pulled out and rolled down next to you in the bed.

“Damn, I didn’t know I was that good.” He chuckled, pulling you close so he could kiss your forehead.

The tears pricked at your eyes as you snuggled against his chest to hide your face from him. What the hell were you playing at, thinking of Luke while Spencer fucked you? You were in over your head, Luke’s presence had fucked with your mind. It would get easier, you promised yourself it wouldn’t happen again.

Taglist -

@carolinesbookworld

#luke alvez #luke alvez x reader #luke alvez x fem! reader #luke alvez x fanfic #luke alvez fanfiction #luke alvez smut #luke alvez angst #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction

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lynzishell · 11 months ago

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✨23 Faves of 2023✨

I've been tagged on a few different versions of this throughout the month. For mine, I've decided to take 23 moments from my story and share them in chorological order. 💖TYSM for tagging me @hannahssimblr, @jarakio, @rebouks, @theosconfessions, @bloomingkyras, @igotsnothing 💖 I'm sorry if I missed anyone... I'm usually better at keeping note of who tagged me but I dropped the ball on this one and had to search through my mentions lol!

Alright... let's dive in shall we?

✨First up: Looooook at baby Phoenix 🥹 hehe! This was the first time he visited Mt Komorebi and the first time he saw snow... sparking his love affair with both. If you listen carefully, you can hear Wolfgang yelling in the distance, "Yo Penis!" (I miss that nickname. Special thanks to Becca for never letting it die 😅)

✨Ahhh The Bluffs -- I think this is my favorite lot in game, and look how stunning it is at sunset! This is from Phoenix's 18th birthday... aka that fateful night when [redacted] was [redacted]

✨Just me being obsessed with San Myshuno... particularly the Spice District. This is from Phoenix and Dawn's movie night... back when they were still just friends/co-workers.

✨Eeee this moment still gives me all the feels! When these two finally crossed the line from friends to lovers.

✨This one doesn't need a caption... just look at them... and the vibrant colors... 😍

✨The moment they became official

✨Falling in looooooove

✨I don't know why, but this is actually my favorite pic of them

✨Greta returns...lol! It was actually unintentional how well these two match the environment, but it made taking screenies so fun!

✨My second favorite pic of these two... *sigh* just look at them

✨Enter my Asher obsession... I can't tell you how happy I was when I found this pose because this is exactly how I envisioned him entering the room... against the door frame all leaned over and relaxed... even the way his feet are crossed and his left arm just hangs... it's just sooo HIM.

✨I mean... ahhh! I love him! and Lex too lol... we don't see much of her in my story, but these two have been BFFs since middle school. She's super sweet and funny.

✨Atlas and Asher, my loves. There's so much in this scene for me... I had such a clear picture of it in my mind looong before I created it in sims, and I was pretty happy with how it came out. And the song I used was very purposeful (even if I never state why lol) This moment here was actually quite self-indulgent if I'm honest.

✨Yep, still obsessed with these two lol! I just love this shot... the colors and the way they're holding each other. This is actually the desktop background on my laptop lmao

✨I had soooo much fun making this post!! Omg this song is so fkin good! I'll probably reblog this post on New Year's just for funzies 😊

✨Back to Phoenix and Dawn as they prepare to move in together... Had to get a shot of the fountain before saying goodbye to the Spice District

✨Ahaa and here we are.. beginning the journey up Mt Komorebi! I think this little bridge is my favorite spot along the way. It's really cool, and I got lots of great screenies from all angles. I really like this one.

✨Love how this shot came out! We all know this moment, yeah? Right before Dawn [redacted]

✨Yay! Celebrating the fact they made it to the summit... enjoy you two, you earned it!

✨Me carefully side-stepping the sad posts... love this moment of the two of them reconnecting... with the water and the city in the background... I just think it's nice.

✨Relaxing in their favorite summer spot... I love all the blues

✨I really like this shot from Kiyoshi and Kaori's wedding, with only their ceremony in the distance in focus, and the vibrant colors.

✨This seemed like a nice one to end on. I love the snow falling out the window, and the way Dawn is lit up by the candles. And I know there are mods to get rid of the z's when they sleep, but tbh, I kinda think they're adorable lol

Thank you to anyone who took the time to go on this little journey with me! If you made it to the end, please help yourself to a cookie 🍪 and know that I adore you!

My story will return on Jan 1st yay!! 🎉

I'm not going to tag anyone because a post like this doesn't need a tag! If you haven't done this yet, PLEASE do! Revisit your work from the year and share your favorites with us! Let's all go into 2024 feeling excited and inspired 💖

#23 faves of 2023 #phoenix realta #dawn stephens #asher goode #atlas stephens #kiyoshi ito #kaori nishidake #ts4 #sims 4 #aries outtakes

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rocketturtle4 · 1 year ago

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The Eclipse Takeaway - It's about the kindness

Alrighty folks I hadn’t decided whether I was going to write this post or not because all of ya'll already know the show is great, but right now I feel like doing it so might as well.

@wen-kexing-apologist @plantsarepeopletoo @thegalwhorants @grapejuicegay @dropthedemiurge you all enjoyed my eclipse journey so tagged in case you want to read this

I already did a much more self-indulgent post of how Akk affected me personally but I wanted to talk a bit about how much the kindness in this show resonated with me.

The Stairs Shot

The first time I was utterly struck by the kindness of the show was with this moment with Khan and Ayan on the stairs

After watching Khan spy Ayan with first Akk and then Thua, combined with his previous warnings to Thua, on how dangerous Aye was, I full expected this confrontation to BLOW UP.

The framing of this initial shot and the power dynamics implied by this difference in height did nothing to temper those expectations

And yet…

It doesn’t blow up, and not just because Ayan keeps a level head, but because Khan never loses his in the first place. He approaches the conversation softly, mostly trying to make sure that Ayan isn’t toying with Akk or Thua’s feelings and then apparently giving him his blessing to date Thua, even as Ayan correctly notes that Khan wishes to date Thua himself (even if he can’t admit that out loud.) This scene also resonated with me for the way, as both parties speak with kindness they move closer onto the same level (literally) as Ayan moves up the stairs.

The kindness makes them more equal.

This got me thinking about the way kindness to used in so many parts of the show to connect our isolated characters in together.

Khan being Bruce Wayne

Khan choosing to reach out to Thua via an anonymous internet friend is a beautiful example of this kindness, not for how it helps Thua (who I’ll get too) but for how it helps Khan. The closeness he gains through anonymity to check in on Thua and try to keep him safe makes him realise how much he wants to be able to do this in person. Which in turn leads to him prioritising Thua over his prefect responsibilities when he goes to the rally and reveals his identity.

Khan choosing kindness once, makes him more able to choose kindness again.

Uncle Dika

It is clear from the beginning of the show that Dika’s presence had a pretty clear impact on the school when he was there, at least for our main cast. Akks visceral feelings of betrayal at his absence come from the belief that someone he trusted has abandoned him for (he believes) no reason.

Dika’s kindness is seen again in the moment in episode 7 when Khan is acting out different characters (specifically the teachers) for his friends to guess and when he acts as Dika his words and actions are unbelievably kind and EVERYONE knows immediately who he is enacting despite the length of time it has been since they saw Dika (it’s also realistic enough to trigger poor Ayan)

Ayan himself is obviously a wonderful example of his uncle’s kindness with every flashback we see of them (and Chadok and Dika as well) is irrevocably altered by Dika’s kindness even though, with Dika’s death, we see Chadok’s regression and fear forcing him back into a space of repression and unkindness.

Ayan

Ayan is undoubtedly the heart of kindness in this show and it was so unexpected to me that, given what he knew from the beginning about Akk and his Uncle’s death, he continues to choose to be kind. This kindness is shown throughout the show to be the means of far greater change and persuasion than any other tactic used (Fear, Anger, Defiance, Hate, Financial Enticement, Neutrality etc.)

We see this with the World Remembers Gang, when he successfully gets them to leave their location with a quiet suggestion that they’ve done enough that day (Leading Akk to even more suspicions whoops)

We see this with Khan in the above conversation and again later with his encouragement to Khan to tell Thua the truth

We see this with Thua and the way Ayan notices he’s not okay and sets up the conversation with his mum. Ultimately, in my opinion, it is Ayan’s kindness that convinces Thua to fight for the change (regardless of what you think of his methods) where all the other pressure he was under only left him to sink down, Ayan’s kindness causes him to rise up.

Akk

Before I talk about Ayan’s kindness with Akk, I want to talk about Akk’s kindness with Ayan, because their entire relationship comes about (in my opinion) because even as they are suspicious of each other, they do remain fundamentally kind. We see this in the early stages most clearly in this moment

And when Akk asks the teachers to be responsible more managing Ayan.

But even before this, the sitting together in class and the volunteering to help train him in the martial arts class weren't steeped in malice. Yes, these things were about keeping tabs (and maybe wanting to be close for unacknowledged reasons) but regardless of complicated motivations Akk takes these things seriously and does not use them as a chance to bully or otherwise make Ayan’s life at school more difficult (think semantic error style) even if he wishes Ayan would just follow the rules already.

Additionally a key moment of understanding and softening between them comes from a moment of pure human kindness, when Ayan see’s Akk feeding the dog.

This friendliness builds up because as Akk remains kind, despite his suspicions, Ayan responds with kindness despite his suspicions (and actual knowledge of Akks actions)

Ayan again

Ayan’s support of Akk through all this is incredibly central to the story so I’m not going to go into it in detail. His kindness towards Akk extends to the point of covering up his wrong doing as he sees Akk for who he is and prioritises Akks mental safety over finding out the truth of his death. But all this came about because throughout their initial antagonism, harm was never Ayan's primary intent.

Another moment

Another moment which struck me on my initial watch through was this moment

Where Akk apologises to The World Remembers gang even as he follows his orders and takes away the things they’re using to protest. (I think it's around episode 10?) The shock and confusion on their faces as he does this, and their immediate relinquishing of their things compared to their loud anger over his removing them on other occasions (when in the past he stepped forward not with apology but instead with anger) highlights to me how he has changed, and how his new kindness de-escalates the situation (in much the same way Ayan’s had some episodes earlier).

Related thoughts on the Isolation of the Characters

The isolation of Akk, Thua and Khan at the start of the show is a grounded foundation. Akk is desperately scared of being perceived as weak (in terms of his authority and management - this later is added to by his fear of being gay), Khan is desperately scared of being perceived as Gay, Ayan is isolated as a newbie and Thua is isolated as an ?out gay person in the school. (Thua’s identity seems to be known by his classmates but not his teachers so not sure on the details here but he is definitely isolated). It is these characters reaching out to each other in kindness, and continuing to reach out to each other in kindness despite the difficulties that arise as their identities shift and grow that results in positive change within themselves and within the school.

Brief mention of Thua

Just to officially state my opinion on the record I am absolutely including Thua as part of this without caveat, he is the most isolated character and his change is wrought by Ayan’s kindness causing him to wish for change. His anger came from a place of hurt and I don’t view his actions as more extreme than Akks, especially as neither the banner or the fire were likely to hurt anyone. His goal of drawing attention to the wrongdoings of the school made sense and though it was NOT driven by kindness, it was pushed on by the desire to have a kind place for all people, (especially LGBTQIA+ people).

Forgiveness

I loved how everyone in episode 11 got to be angry, Thua at Ayan, Ayan at Chadok, Khan and Wat at Akk etc. They were allowed to have these emotions and express these emotions and in doing so they didn’t end their relationships or loose their friends. Everyone’s anger was used to create understanding because THEIR ANGER WAS MET WITH KINDNESS.

The forgiveness of ALL our teenagers in the final episode underlined this theme of kindness with the welfare teachers standing up for Akk and Thua, The World Remembers gang forgiving the boys because they sincerely apologised and were regretful.

And of course Akk coming out to his parents.

Final thoughts

Kindness isn’t perfect of course, in some ways Akks parent’s kindness lead to his own warped self image and Ayan’s kindness to Thua in part lead to some of the not kind choices he made.

Many shows have examples characters choosing not to forgive and that is a valid and healthy choice (one we could all stand to make more often). I’m not saying that always being kind to everyone is the right choice, and it’s certainly not a sustainable one.

Instead I’m highlighting how this show used kindness in defiance of isolation, in defiance of jealousy, in defiance of anger and in defiance of hate.

For the record, rating wise this show got 97% making it equal third overall out of 77 BLs and counting. I loved it for so many reasons and I honestly can’t wait to watch it again.

#The Eclipse #The Eclipse the series #Rocket4reviews #roc reacts to the eclipse #rturts is wondering #long post

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