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matchstickdolly · 9 months ago

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So long, farewell! 💜 I won't be posting from this account anymore. To close it out, here is a roundup of my Lucifer fan works, as I think that's how most came to find me here.

You will need an AO3 account to read most of my stories; it's relatively easy to sign up if you don't have one. Though I'm gone from here and elsewhere in the Lucifer fandom, I will continue to read comments and attempt to reply to them, so please consider sharing these fics and commenting your thoughts on AO3!

LONG READS (20,000+ words)

A Refraction of Light

314k words. My giant post-S3 canon divergence that spans Earth, Hell, and Heaven. If you didn't like Lucifer's Netflix era (the last three seasons) or wished there were more power couple vibes for Deckerstar, you might enjoy AROL. Though I finished it in 2020, after S4 had aired, I think it works quite well as a S4-S6 fix-it for those who'd like one.

In Sorrow Thou Shalt Bring Forth Children

210k words. The 50 female-focused "blip" years Lucifer's finale conveniently left out, also several post-S6 chapters. Heavy angst surrounding family and spiritual trauma but aims to be cathartic by acknowledging pain. All that said, more humor and Deckerstar than you'd probably expect, given the CW tags.

Reins Series: Try My Reins and My Heart & As Certain Dark Things Are to Be Loved

35k words when read together. Porn with feelings/plot. Fun, sweet kinkiness that should be read in order. Dominant!Lucifer because I struggle to see the Devil otherwise and because Chloe deserves a fucking break in the care of her sex god beau.

In a Similar Vein

21k words. Funny, sweet, and absurd S1 divergence wherein Chloe becomes (very wrongly) convinced that Lucifer is a vampire. Alas, it is missing the last chapter.

Chloe KNOWS

20k words. Funny, sweet, sexy S2 divergence in which Chloe accidentally gets a devil reveal when she stumbles upon an ageless Lucifer in vintage pornography. Oops.

MEDIUM READS (5,000 to 20,000 words)

If the Shoe Fits & In the Family Way

14k words when read together. Alternate post-5B/S6. Feel-good, funny, fluffy, even sexy. Godifer and Mrs. G being good partners, parents, and Improvers of the Universe. If you need a sweet, positive fix-it for the end of Lucifer, these fics might fit the bill.

Rebound to You

12k words. Feel-good, funny, sexy AU where Lucifer is still the Devil, but he and Chloe didn't meet as in canon. Instead, they meet a couple of years later, after Lucifer has naturally gotten a phone and Chloe has divorced Dan and is now resorting to dating apps to meet people. Features a fun gimmick of Tinder-like chat logs (used sparingly, I promise).

Something More & Pump It Up

11k words when read together. These two canon compliant fics won't seem like they go together at first, but I promise they do (thematically). Both are pre-canon and about the subtle ways in which Lucifer and Chloe are an amusingly great match. They just haven't met (yet) to know it! The first story is sweet and about Jed and Chloe's relationship; basically a character study of Chloe as told from Jed's POV. The second is a bit of a sex farce about Lucifer watching Hot Tub High School after settling in L.A., but it's also porn with plot or at least a character study.

Not to Mii

10k words. Lucifer sticks around at the end of S3's "The Last Heartbreak." One thing leads to another, and you get strip Mario Kart. I promise it works.

The Fine Line Between Desire and Fear

10k words. Feel-good and silly post-5A divergence featuring a haunted mansion on Halloween. Almost solely Deckerstar-focused but also imagines a future where Michael is trying to redeem himself and earn Ella's affection; the only problem is that he's afraid...of a lot, actually. The irony!

Sweet and Sour

10k words. A comical Michael/Ella fic based on the 5A trailer. Turned out to be rather in-character for many aspects of Michael, so it holds up, I think.

Now That's What I Call Big Devil Energy! Series: Big Devil Energy & Satan's Got a Heart On

9k words when read together. Funny, sweet chaos. Lucifer being a completely over-the-top Devil in love.

All You Can Play

9k words but really more like 3k if you want the finished part of the fic. (First chapter can stand alone; don’t read past it if you don’t like unfinished work.) Chaotic humor, sex farce. Canon compliant missing scene wherein I will tell you not to hate the player (me) but the game (S3). The reason Lucifer isn't there to protect Chloe at the end of 03x04? He's with Lexy, the judge's soon-to-be ex-wife. This is that story. Featuring Chuck E. Cheese.

Bound by Iniquity

8k words. Dark 5A canon divergence from Maze's POV. Her dirty dealmaking with Michael backfires, big time.

Get Thee Behind Me

7k words. Porn with plot/feelings. Lucifer and Chloe try anal sex for the first time. Feel-good comedy ensues.

Baptized by Desire

7k words. Dark but sweet S3 divergence. Lucifer comes to believe he really is a delusional human while he's in the psychiatric hospital in "God Johnson."

Hells to Betsy

6k words. Answering the question of how Chloe afforded a large three-bedroom townhouse in L.A., especially once Maze moved out. Come on! Detectives are paid well but not that well!

Darkest Before Dawn

5k words. Sweet, funny, sexy wing fic. No wing oil, but there's a barrel of crude oil and Dawn dishwashing liquid. This is not an ad.

SHORT READS (<5,000 words)

The Dotted Line

4k words. Porn without plot. Lucifer is attracted to Chloe in anything, even undies from Target.

Checked Baggage

4k words. Porn with light plot. What if Chloe took up Jana's offer for a threesome, partly out of spite? Bisexual chaos that is still ultimately very much about Deckerstar.

Winging It & Made in His Image

4k words when read together. Both are chaotic sex farces that wax on about the Devil's dick. They must be read in order.

Reefer Gladness Series: Flying High & Baked with Love

3k words when together. Sweet fluff. Established Deckerstar getting high together.

Lunch at the Y

3k words. Porn without plot. Roughly set in a better post-5A world where Lucifer eats Chloe out in a dressing room because of course he would. That's a love language.

Those Who Favor Fire

2k words. Porn without plot. Roughly set in a better post-S3 world where Deckerstar have gotten their HEA and have been together for some ten years or so.

My God's House Has Many Rooms

2k words. S6's "happy" closeout is creepily vague to me. This story explores a horrific what-if.

Raising Hell

1k words. Porn without plot. An ode to the blowjob.

Use My Words Against Me

1k words. All dialogue, pure chaos. Caught up in yet another scandal, closeted Republican Senator Olin Graham asks the Devil for a favor. You'll only appreciate this if you know enough about American politics and aren't a fascist piece of shit. Sorry not sorry.

Earthly Delights on Borrowed Time

666 words. Post-S4 reimagining where Lucifer and Chloe are making things work.

The Perfect Help Meets

666 words. Dark, canon compliant one-shot about Lucifer's angst/depression as he tries to make things work with Eve, all while he's in love with Chloe.

Other Stuff

A softness came from the starlight and filled me full to the bone — Lucifer meets the comic A Softer World. Inspired by an old post by @casimania that can be found here.

General Fanvids — Deckerstar being painful and/or lovely, plus some Trixie because I love her character.

S6 Critical Fanvids — Just me making sense of S6's plot, which I cannot read as anything other than incredibly dark and anti-choice.

Crack Fanvids — Pure comedy and chaos.

Lucifer Season 6 Time Travel Visualizations — Lucifer S6 uses time travel without clearly laying out how it works. I made two visualizations to help explain the possibilities: one for the loop existing in a single timeline and another for the loop causing or being a part of many/parallel worlds.

Lucifer S6 Wiki — After Lucifer Season 5B and S6, I started digging into the writers’ interviews to understand what the hell had gone wrong. You'll find their answers to a lot of common S6 questions here. They’re real, er, interesting Hollywood folk, to say the least.

#lucifer fanfiction #lucifer fanfic #lucifer on netflix #deckerstar fanfiction #deckerstar

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fandom-imagines-stories · 4 years ago

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Monster

Dean Winchester x Reader

Words: 3497

The Deal S2 E3: Series Masterlist

Summary: Another shocking reveal rocks the Winchesters and the reader battles with what Lavina told her. Everything seems like it’s supposed to be until the darkness takes over her.

Notes: I experimented a bit with this one, so I hope you guys like it. Also, I have officially laid out the rest of this series, so I hope you are as excited as I am! Keep letting me know what you think!

Warnings: Plenty of angst, some sexual content (I don’t know if it counts as 18+, but it’s there, so ye have been warned) Mentions of suicide and torture.

The rage in his eyes was unmistakable. You’d only ever seen him give that look to a monster he was ready to kill. He didn’t know how right he was.

“Dean!” Sam boomed, putting his hand on his brother’s arm. Dean pushed him away aggressively.

“That’s not her, Sam.” He growled, taking a step towards you. The hatred in his voice made you flinch.

“She isn’t a shifter, Dean.” Jody tried to get in between you, but he kept getting closer. “She isn’t anything. I did every test.”

“Then you didn’t do it right, because Y/N is in hell!” He screamed, wishing that he could pull the trigger. But something inside him was stopping his hands from moving. “She’s in hell.”

“I was in hell.” You said slowly. “For a long time. But somebody pulled me out. She brought me back.”

“Amara.” Sam blurted, his eyes darting between you and his brother. “Dean, she brought mom back, she could have brought Y/N back, too.”

“Your mom, I saw her.” You tried to move closer, but Dean still had his gun up. “When that woman pulled me out, I saw Mary, but only for a second. And then it was just that woman and all of this... darkness. She said her name was Amara.”

Everyone was silent. Dean was frozen in place, weapon ready and mind reeling. Sam slowly walked towards you, finally able to get in between you and the gun. He looked down at you with tears welling in his eyes.

“It really is you.” He smiled and pulled you into his arms, lifting you off the ground.

“I missed you too, Sam.” You held onto him, partially to make sure he was real and partially because if you didn’t, you’d fall. You had almost forgotten how tall he was. Sam set you down, but kept his arms around you.

“I can’t believe this.” He grinned. He turned so that he was no longer in between you and his brother, who still hadn’t moved. You could tell from the look on his face that his mind was tearing itself to pieces trying to decide what to believe. You put a hand on his cheek and he didn’t jerk away. Just the touch of his skin lit up your body like wildfire.

“It’s really me, baby.” You smiled through your tears. “I’m here.”

Dean didn’t realize he had lowered his arm until he was tucking his pistol into his waistband. He covered your hand with his and he just knew. He knew that it was you.

“I…” He wanted to say so much, but he didn’t know how to say it. So instead he just crashed his lips into yours. You had been dreaming of this moment for centuries in hell and now it was really happening. He was here, holding you, kissing you, keeping the darkness of the world away. This wasn’t one of Lavina’s tricks. It was real.

Jody insisted that the boys stay for dinner. Sitting there- Dean’s hand on your knee, Sam’s laughter in the air, Jody’s cooking piled on your plate- it felt like nothing had happened. You felt like you again. After a few hours of eating and catching up, the boys decided it was time to get back to the bunker. To take you home.

Sam let you ride shotgun. Dean even let you pick the music. They still just couldn’t believe you were back. Dean was worried that you would vanish any second, his hand keeping a tight grip on yours.

“Oh yeah! Alright! Take it easy baby. Make it last all night!” You sang, Sam and Dean being your back up singers.

“Make it last all night.” They echoed.

“She was an American Girl.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you belted every lyric. It took your mind back to that last night before the hound came. One last road trip, singing to Drift Away, and spending the night in Dean’s arms. It came flooding back like it happened yesterday. Every memory from your life seemed clearer now, having spent years locked in the back of your mind.

It wasn’t long before Sam had drifted off in the back seat and your eyes were growing heavier by the second. You had barely slept at all while you were staying with Jody and now the exhaustion of the past week was hitting you like a brick. Dean was quietly singing Still Rock and Roll to Me to himself when you finally fell asleep.

You’d been avoiding sleep because you were afraid of what nightmares would attack, but there was nothing. Everything was just dark and black and cold. And somehow that was so much worse.

By the time you woke up from the dark, Dean was pulling up in front of the bunker. You felt numb, like the darkness had seeped inside you and was gnawing at your bones. You entered the bunker without saying a word. Sam and Dean exchanging a look behind you.

“What happened?” Sam whispered. Dean shrugged.

“Nothing. She just fell asleep like you did. I imagine she’s pretty damn tired after rising from the dead.”

“Dean, we need to make sure she’s okay. I don’t even want to think about how long she was down there and-”

“Sammy…” Dean sighed, running a hand down his face. He looked at his brother with a hope that Sam hadn’t seen in him in a long time. “Y/N’s back. She’s really back, man, and I don’t want to screw that up again. I know she was in Hell for a long time and I know that’s gonna come with its own kind of baggage, but Sammy, I can carry it. If it means getting the woman I love back, then I will take on anything.” He let himself smile a little. “But can we just be happy. At least for tonight? Can we just celebrate that she’s here? Hell, that both her and Mom are back?”

Sam didn’t know what to say. He wanted to be happy, and he really was. He was overjoyed with the fact that you were back, but he also knew that all of those years of torment were still inside of you. They changed you and neither Dean or him could fix that. For now, he just nodded.

“You’re right. We should celebrate.” He pat Dean on the back as the two followed you inside.

While Dean and Sam went to the kitchen for some late night beers, you had made your way to Dean’s room; the one you once shared with him.

It looked the same, of course. While you were sure plenty had happened while you were gone, it was comforting that the bed and four walls were just as you had left them. One of the drawers in his desk was ajar and you caught a glimpse of something silver. Your hands were shaking as you took out your old picture box.

“He kept it.” You gasped, running your hand over the battered surface. You smiled as you looked inside, laughing when you picked up the picture of you and Sam with sharpie mustaches. It was odd to hear the sound of your own laugh again. It was so foreign and yet so natural at the same time. You tried to keep your tears from hitting the photographs as you continued to look through them.

“Hey,” Dean leaned against the doorframe, offering a beer in one hand and beckoning you towards him with the other. You put the box back in the drawer and gladly took the drink, feeling his arm snake behind you, pulling you closer. “How are you feeling? You seemed a little off in the car.”

“Oh I’m fine…” You tried to lie, but you knew he’d see right through it. “I don’t know, Dean. Everything feels so different and so similar all at once. I’m remembering all of these wonderful, amazing things that I blocked out a long time ago because they hurt too much to think about. But even with all of that, I still feel like there is something… wrong in me.”

“You were in hell, Y/N. That’s going to stay with you forever.” Dean sighed. You pushed away in frustration.

“But it's more than that.” You exclaimed. You grabbed his hand and placed it flat on your chest. “Don’t you feel that? Don’t you feel the dark that’s inside of me?” Dean’s eyes just stared into yours. The green eyes that were the one thing you held onto for 365 years. He shook his head.

“I only feel you, baby.”

You stared at each other for a long time, just taking in the other’s presence. You were the first to move forward, throwing your arms around his neck and pulling his lips to yours. This kiss was different than before. This wasn’t just a reunion kiss. This was needy and hungry and wanting. It was the kind of kiss that slowly unbuttoned your shirt and undid his belt. The kind of kiss that had you pushing him onto the bed and straddling his hips.

“Are you sure about this?” Dean suddenly asked, his fingers hovering over the clasp of your bra. “If you aren’t ready, I don’t want to-”

“Dean.” You interrupted, lifting his shirt over his head. “I have been waiting for this for 365 years. Just kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am.” He smirked, roughly pulling you back down to him.

Every touch sent a fire through you and every sigh against your skin burned, but it was a beautiful kind of pain. A pain that chased away the numbing darkness that you’d felt in the car.

Dean sat up, his arms locked around you to hold you in place. There was nothing separating you now and your skin was pressed against his, lips still moving against each other. He broke away first, letting his lips travel down your neck to your chest. You let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as he moved his hips up into yours.

You felt everything, from the grip of his fingers to the growing heat inside of you. If there was truly darkness in you, then Dean was the spark that would light your way through it.

When you both felt that familiar relief, you fell onto the bed with Dean’s face still nuzzled against your neck.

“I’m never letting you go again, sweetheart.” He whispered, kissing a soft spot of skin. You pressed your lips to his forehead. Maybe he wouldn’t have a choice.

“There’s no worse company than yourself when you’ve become what you have.” Lavina circled around you, joined by big clouds of darkness. “You’re going to tear them apart and then it’ll be too late.” She tsked, shaking her head.

“She’s right, you know.” Cas emerged from the clouds, but you knew it wasn’t him. He grinned at you. “I’d cut and run while you still can. You know, before things get ugly.” A hand reached out from the dark and grabbed your ankle. It dragged you to him before you could scream. Lucifer stood over you and in his eyes, you could see it. His face. You didn’t scream this time, though. Instead you kicked his legs out from beneath him and pinned his shoulders down with your knees.

“You can’t hurt me anymore and I’m not going to let you hurt them either.” You snapped. A blade appeared in your hand and you put it to his throat. “I’m not afraid of you anymore.” Lucifer chuckled darkly.

“Well we both know that’s not true, Y/N… Y/N...Y/N…” As his lips repeated your name, the dark clouds closed in on you, taking away any feeling of anger or fear and leaving absolutely nothing. “Y/N… Y/N… Y/N…”

“Y/N!” Dean screamed, breaking you out of the black.

Your eyes shot open and you were frozen in place. Dean’s eyes stared up at you with horror, his heaving chest rocking you up and down. You were sitting on top of him, knees on his shoulders and a knife at his throat.

“No,” You gasped, watching blood drip onto the blade.

“Sweetheart, put the knife down.” Dean said calmly. You dropped it onto the pillow and crawled off of him.

“Oh my god, she was right.” You cried, putting a hand over your mouth to keep yourself from screaming. “I’m so sorry.” Stumbling backwards, you grabbed the first article of clothing you could find. You slipped your arms into Dean’s flannel and slowly backed away from him. Dean moved cautiously, slowly getting out of the bed and walking towards you.

“It’s okay. Just calm down. Everything is going to be fine.” He soothed. You shook your head and kept moving towards the door, walking faster now. “Y/N wait!” He yelled after you as you took off. “Damnitt.” Dean grabbed his jeans and hurried after you.

First you ran into the bathroom and ran cold water over your face. You shouldn’t have looked in the mirror. All you could see were your black eyes.

Your shrieks of terror rang through the whole bunker, waking up both Sam and Mary.

“Y/N!” Dean yelled again, spotting you sprinting down the hallway. “Wait! Baby, stop! We can talk about this! Stop running!”

“I’m a monster. I’m a monster. I’m a monster.” You kept repeating to yourself until you finally found the place you belonged.

You slammed the door to the dungeon behind you, sliding a shelf in front of the door so no one could get in. Dean tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked, running to join his brother. “What happened to your neck?”

“It’s Y/N. She’s locked herself inside.” Dean put his hand against the metal. “Y/N, open the door, baby, please.”

“Get away from me!” You screamed. “I’m one of them! I’m a monster!”

“Sweetheart, you’re not a monster, just opened the door.”

“Damn it Y/N. Open the door!”

Dean winced, his mind taking him back to that night. Why did it feel like it was all happening again?

“I shouldn’t have come back. Amara should have left me down there.” You cried, sliding to the floor, pressing your back against the wall and bringing your knees up to your chest. “I shouldn’t be here. I’m one of them. I’m a demon.”

“Y/N, open up and we can talk about this.” Sam called through the metal.

“What’s going on?” Mary wondered. She was taken aback by the scene in front of her. Sam and Dean had their ears pressed against the door and Dean was only wearing a pair of jeans. She had been asleep when the boys and you got back, so she was completely in the dark.

“Y/N’s back and something happened with her and Dean and now she’s locked herself in the dungeon.” Sam sighed. “I’ll explain later.”

“Baby, please come out.” Dean begged.

“Let me talk to her.” The three Winchesters turned to the new voice, surprised to find Castiel standing there.

“Cas, what are you-”

“I came because I heard about a soul breaking out of hell and I thought it could be…” His voice trailed off. “Maybe I can try talking to her.”

Dean thought for a second, but figured there couldn’t be any harm in him trying. You and Cas had a different bond than you had with Dean or Sam.

Cas took in everything in front of him and couldn’t help but compare it to that night. You, shutting yourself out from everything while Dean and Sam desperately tried to reach you. Only, Cas wasn’t going to turn his back this time.

“Baby, please.” Dean begged, his voice quieter than it was before. You didn’t listen. Instead, you were rummaging through the cabinet, looking for a very specific blade.

“Y/N.” A new voice made you freeze. Putting as much distance between you and the door, you sank to your knees.

“Stay away from me!” You screamed. “Stay away! I’m not afraid of you anymore!”

“The hell is she talking about?” Dean asked, barely able to make out your words through the door.

“She’s talking about me.” Cas sighed. “More specifically, she’s talking about Lucifer.”

“What?” Sam visibly tensed and Mary’s confusion only deepened.

“What are you all talking about? Like, the Devil, Lucifer?”

“Yeah, like the Devil.” Dean ran a hand down his face. “Cas, you never mentioned anything about Lucifer taking your body for a joy ride to see Y/N.”

“I know, I couldn’t…” Cas inhaled deeply. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell you.” Dean grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall, his voice lowering to a deep growl.

“What. Did. He. Do?”

“Dean, whatever happened wasn’t Cas’ fault.” Sam exclaimed.

“Yeah, but he knew about it.” He snarled. “What did he do to her?” Cas just looked at him with sad, guilty eyes.

“The worst things he could think of.” He said and Dean let him go, running his fingers through his hair. “Any possible way to torment her, he used it. He showed her you, impaled by Metatron and turned into a demon. He made her watch it over and over again for decades to remind her that everything she did was for nothing. That broke her more than any other torture, which he was also very keen on.”

“Okay, we get the picture.” Sam closed his eyes. He remembered vividly exactly what Lucifer was capable of and felt a deep weight settle in his chest. Dean’s eyes were still locked on Cas, but they were unfocused. Sam knew he was picturing every cut and every slice to your flesh.

A loud clatter from behind the door brought them all back to the moment. Dean released his grip and Cas and pressed his ear against the door. It was silent. A sudden panic flooded his system and he turned to Sam with wide eyes.

“Is the demon-killing knife in there?” Sam started to shake his head, but stopped suddenly, understanding what his brother was asking. A new surge of panic rushed through both of them.

“No, but there’s an angel blade.”

Now Sam and Dean were frantic, trying to get through the door before it was too late. Cas put a hand on Dean’s shoulder.

“Let me.” He said. The two stepped to the side and Cas laid his palm against the door. There was a loud thud and a surprised cry from inside.

The three men burst into the room, Mary close behind. Your wild, frightened eyes scanned the intruders, landing on Cas. Your hands gripped the angel blade tightly, hovering its point over your heart.

“Stay away.” You warned, but your voice betrayed your fear.

“Y/N, don’t.” Dean stepped towards you, but Cas put a hand out to stop him. The angel walked towards you slowly and you pressed your back into the wall, trying to get away from him.

“Get away from me. Y-You can’t hurt me anymore.”

“Y/N, Lucifer is gone.” He said cautiously. “None of us want to hurt you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to hurt you if you don’t let me kill this thing.”

“Y/N, put the angel blade down. We can help you.” Sam pleaded. Dean was ready to charge you and take the blade by force, but Cas kept inching closer and closer to you until he was crouching in front of you.

“I know you think that there is no saving you. That you have become so dark and corrupted that you are undeserving of life, but it isn’t true. You are still you. Yes, you are broken. You have been beaten down and destroyed too many times to count, but you are here. If you give up now, then you let Lavina and Lucifer and every demon in hell win.” Cautiously, he put his hand on the end of the blade. “But if you stay and fight through this, if you show them what’s really inside of you, then you will defeat them.”

He stared at you with the eyes of a friend who didn’t want to lose you again. You felt him gently pull the angel blade from your trembling hands and pass it back to Sam. You slowly started to uncurl your body, stretching out your legs and arms so that you could pull Cas into a hug.

“It wasn’t your fault.” You whispered and you felt his arms tense, holding you just a little bit tighter. Cas wrapped his trench coat around you, noticing the goosebumps forming on your bare legs. You had forgotten that you were only wearing Dean’s flannel. He stepped back so Dean could scoop you up in his arms, tucking your head under his chin.

“Never do that again.” He whispered, kissing your temple with the desperate desire to never let go.

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination; @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks; @kendahl0216

Supernatural: @desimarie12; @deandreamernp; @vicmc624; @halesandy; @livshaes; @d-whinchestergirl87; @mrspeacem1nusone; @crist1216

The Deal Series: @writeroutoftime; @ minninugget; @mia-ono; @erule; @ dannyo000

#the deal #dean winchester x reader #supernatural imagines #gore #torture #castiel #castiel friendship #lucifer #mary winchester #sam winchester #jensen ackles #dean winchester #jared padelecki #misha collins

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 3 years ago

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Top 5 Missed Opportunities in 400 Days

Hey, remember when TWDG Season One ended and we were a group of emotional messes? Remember when Season Two was announced and we were gonna get a DLC to bridge S1 and S2 together and we were extra excited for everything to come? Because I do.

To be fair, I truly did enjoy 400 Days when it first came out years ago, and it’s not like I hate it now or anything... I just can’t help but look at it and see wasted potential on every level-- the characters and their development, the stories, the impact our choices made for the future...

The concept of 400 Days-- a collection of stories that follow different protagonists and the situations they find themselves in within the zombie apocalypse that eventually connect to one another-- is a great one. I love the idea of mini-episodes that are all connected, and one choice you made in one episode affects the next episode you play... so what happened? Why does it fall flat now when we look back on it?

Well, a major reason for me is the fact that all four seasons of the main game are complete. When 400 Days came out, we didn’t have S2, so we didn’t know what our choices meant. That lead to us theorizing about what would happen if we got everyone to go with Tavia, or what would happen if no one but Bonnie went. Why was Bonnie the only one who agrees no matter what? What could that mean?

And we have those answers now, and it’s a let down... especially when it could’ve been so much better. That’s what I wanna talk about today. I wanna talk about what I think are the biggest missed opportunities in 400 Days.

5. Giving Shel and her dumb sister actual personalities

Of all the stories you can play in 400 Days, Shel’s episode is probably the worst due to the fact that she and her dumb sister lack any memorable qualities or personalities.... which is such a shame because this story also has one of the more interesting moral dilemma’s.

In this story, you play as Shel who is surviving in the diner/gas station with a group that consists of some of the cancer patients from S1. Remember them? They were with Vernon and helped him steal out boat? Yeah, they got away and apparently Vernon died and the group feel apart over the damn boat, but you don’t get much more than that.

Shel has this dumb sister who I can’t be bothered to remember her name because she’s that bland. Her sister is basically Shel’s personality. Take away her sister, and you’re left with nothing.

They’re going for the “Oh man, I don’t know what this world is doing to my dumb sister, it’s changing her, I don’t want her to have to do things like murder, I want her to have a normal childhood,” but that falls flat when they don’t give me a reason to care about them in the first place.

Like I said, the moral dilemma for this one IS interesting-- They catch someone who tried to steal from them. The man is injured pretty bad, and he can’t speak English, so there is no way for them to communicate with him. Roman, the dude who acts as the leader of our group, says that they can’t keep him here but they can’t send him back out there... and that means killing him.

So what do you do? Do you risk it by giving this man a second chance, give him some food and send him on his way and hope he doesn’t come back and do more harm? Or do you kill this man so that there is no risk in him coming back to do harm?

And you as Shel are the swing vote. That’s not an easy choice to make, plus you gotta think about how that choice is gonna affect your dumb sister?

Except it doesn’t really matter.... at all. No matter what you do, Roman still cracks down and wants to murder another member of the group who tries to escape, Shel’s dumb sister is still a brat who talks big but never does anything, and Shel is still a stale piece of white bread.

If they wanted us to care, then give Shel something other than her sister. Maybe they could’ve had her be someone who doesn’t really have a backbone, she tries to avoid conflict and is intimidated by Roman, she doesn’t speak up even when she should, and then her dumb sister could be the opposite-- Loud, take charge, wants to get more involved with protecting the group, isn’t afraid to stand up to Roman which causes him to take her under his wing and wanna turn her into a murder baby... which Shel definitely doesn’t want so what could she do to keep her dumb sister away from him?

If they wanted to tell the story of a woman worried her sister is going to grow up cold and ruthless because of the world around her, then tell that story. Show us that story, show us what happens when you agree to kill the man and now her dumb sister genuinely believes that murder is an easy solution to their problems, so when it comes to the woman who escaped, the dumb sister volunteers to kill her and Roman lets her... and you as Shel gotta decide if you wanna fight that by running away or just let it happen.

I dunno man, but Shel’s story is my least favorite of the bunch because I have no reason to care about either of them, and that’s a waste.

4. Nate’s a shithead so they should’ve used him more

Well, hello again, Nate... we meet once more here on T5F.

So yeah, I’ve talked about this crazy bastard on a previous list about characters no one likes, so you’re probably wondering why I’m saying that he should’ve been around more.

That’s the thing, I hate Nate. He’s gross, he’s brutal, and he’s uncomfortable with those crazy eyes of his... but he would’ve made for a fun antagonist in more of 400 Days, as well as in S2.

Depending on what episode you play first, Nate can either first appear in Wyatt’s story, or Russell’s. In Wyatt’s story, Nate is chasing down him and Eddie after Eddie accidentally killed a guy who was with Nate, and Nate here is chasing them down for some revenge. He eventually finds them, and who ever is left in the car as no choice but to flee, leaving the other behind.

Nate plays a more active part in Russell’s story, picking him off the highway and chatting with him on the way to the diner/gas station, and y’know how Shel has no personality? Well, I think I know where all the personality went because Nate’s got quite a bit of it. He’s one of the more memorable parts of 400 Days for a reason. He has a weird charisma about him, but then he starts talkin’ gross and almost gets Russell’s face eaten off by a walker and you get the idea that this man isn’t quite right, y’know?

Then we make it to the diner/gas station where they get shot at, and Nate insists on finishing this... as in, let’s go in and shoot whoever is shooting us. They sneak in, and the old man there says Nate is back to finish the job... which isn’t great. Nate acts like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but then suggests they kill the old couple using a line from the story Russell told her.... y’know, the story that’s kinda triggering for Russell.

At this point, Russell can either tell Nate off and leave, or he can stay where Nate will kill the couple right in front of him and claim that Russell is his boy and it is not great.

We know that either way, Russell gets away from Nate. We never see him again so he could be dead, turned, or alive. All I can think about is the fact that they created the beginnings of a compelling antagonist who could’ve bled over into S2 at Howe’s or even afterward. Like if we showed up at Howe’s and were locked up, only to find Nate locked up with us. Or maybe instead of Arvo, Nate could’ve been the one who stumbled upon Clementine and Jane and was overpowered and threatened by them... only for him to stalk them and confront them about what happened.

Either way, there was a missed opportunity to do more with Nate.

3. Focusing on the wrong things within Bonnie’s story

Alright, everyone’s favorite: Bonnie.

Bonnie is the only character in 400 Days who actually matters in terms of S2... and even then, her story doesn’t matter too much...which is dumb.

For me, Bonnie’s story is such a waste... like okay, right from the start they establish that Bonnie is a recovering addict, and I’m intrigued. The idea of an addict surviving in the apocalypse while trying to kick the stuff is interesting as hell.... but the story kinda just glosses over it unless Dee is insulting Bonnie by calling her a junkie.

No, the story we got was Bonnie breaking up a marriage. Great.

There’s this dude Leland who has a wife, Dee, but he and Bonnie are getting awfully snug with one another... so that’s real nice. Dee eventually finds them giving each other the look and breaks it up in a passive aggressive way before revealing she found a bag of supplies. This happens to be a bag that she “found” at the diner/gas station where Shel’s group is currently staying.

An argument breaks out between Leland and Dee with Bonnie in the middle and it’s not compelling at all. You can just sit there and do nothing and it doesn’t matter, they continue to fight until Shel’s group spots them and they gotta run.

Bonnie ends up shot and falls behind, and we do get a cool scene where she has to make her way through this cornfield without getting caught. I do like that bit, it’s fun.

But then she gets away, grabs a weapon, and hits someone walking up on her... that someone happened to be Dee. Whoops. Dee calls her a junkie, saying she killed her, and then dies.

Now comes the big choice: Do you tell Leland the truth or lie to cover your ass?

While this is an interesting choice on paper, it doesn’t matter. Leland isn’t with Bonnie in the end no matter what, and Bonnie will always agree to go with Tavia.

Personally, I wanted the fact that she was a recovering addict to be more front and center. Throw Leland and Dee away, have Bonnie travelling on her own. Have her going through withdrawals, show us her struggle of still being hooked on drugs while surviving in the zombie apocalypse... have her stumble across Shel’s group and from a distance, she sees they have medical supplies. She’s so desperate that she sneaks in at night and steals as much as she can, but gets caught.

We could still have her running away through the cornfield with the drugs, she can still get shot and everything... but maybe she’s so desperate for them that she ends up killing one of Shel’s group members, and she sees just what she’s willing to do in order to get these drugs, and you can make a choice of abandoning the drugs and quitting, or taking the drugs and running away... and it could actually affect Bonnie in the ending and into S2.

Plus, her killing one of Shel’s group would help add to the debate in her episode, y’know?

I just... I wanted that story... not what we got.

2. The past is more interesting than the present

This goes hand in hand with #3, but applies to almost everyone else.

All of these characters that we get to play as have more interesting backstories that I was more compelled by than what they’re actually going through in their stories.

The first time we meet Vince, he straight up murders a dude who is pleading for his life, saying he doesn’t even know Vince’s brother. Like... okay, what the hell happened here? What happened to Vince’s brother that made her commit murder like that?

How about Wyatt and Eddie? They’re running from Nate after Eddie killed the guy he was with. They’re panicking, Eddie is covered in the dude’s blood, Wyatt doesn’t know if Eddie meant to shoot or not. You can tell they’re known each other a long time, too. They’re a couple of stoners who got themselves into hot water.

Oh and Russell? His story is interesting as hell! He was in a group where the main guy kept going on about how seven if the perfect number for a group, ya can’t break seven, and this group eventually started killing so they could steal, so Russell got away and is now on his way to find his grandmother’s place.

Once again... Bonnie is a recovering drug addict in the apocalypse.

The only one without an interesting backstory is Shel... which I guess is fitting. The boring character doesn’t even get a fun backstory, she just exists.

It’s not a good sign when I’m more interested in the past, y’know? Vince’s I can give a bit of a pass to because he killed that guy before the apocalypse broke out, and his dilemma takes place right at the start, and it’s done pretty well.

Everyone else though? I already explained Bonnie’s, but what about Russell and his seven group? We could’ve gotten that story of a group that starts out good, the guys gives his philosophy on the dumber seven, Russell meets that one girl... but then things start to grow dark when the group starts to become desperate enough to murder and steal, the guy keeps going on about the number seven so they can’t invite anyone in, and they can’t let anyone go... so Russell has to sneak away or something.

Wyatt and Eddie? Show ‘em there when Nate and his buddy show up. Give us the tension of “are these guys chill or are they planning something?” when Eddie gets into a fight with the other dude and ends up shooting him, Nate gets pissed, and they gotta flee. Wyatt doesn’t know if Eddie shot him intentionally or not, it’s a whole, thing and they can still hit the cop and do that whole thing, too.

I just... I think problem is the stories were a bit too compact and short, not giving the characters a chance to develop or the stories enough compel to them.

1. It doesn’t matter who goes to Howe’s or not and that’s dumb

Sigh..... so yeah, obviously this is #1.

My biggest problem with 400 Days is that is doesn’t affect much. Even Bonnie’s story doesn’t affect what she does in S2.

As for the rest, if you only got Bonnie at Howe’s, then the rest and their fate’s are unknown. But if you do manage to get everyone to go with Tavia, they are at Howe’s... the problem is, they show up in small cameos that literally do nothing.

Ya got Wyatt who walks past Clementine like “Dude you better hurry, Bill doesn’t like to wait” like.... what, am I just supposed to get excited and point at him like “oooohhh I know him! I know him! That Wyatt! Hehehehe!” because I didn’t do that...

Or Vince randomly showing up to catch Tavia smoking, or Shel and her dumb sister making a comment about Sarah, it’s just dumb.

And then Howe’s falls and their fates are left unknown anyway.... so it didn’t matter.

I’ll just say what most of us were thinking.... Why weren’t they the cabin group? No, seriously, why weren’t the 400 Day’s crew the cabin group? Because it was too hard given the fact that there are so many combos? That’s fair, but if that’s the case, then what was the point of 400 Days?

Did they just want to tell a bunch of smaller stories within this world but never actually planned on using them outside of fun cameos in S2, with the exception of Bonnie? That probably is the case... and I think my disappointment in 400 Days does stem from being in the fandom at the time and getting hyped to see what they would do with these characters, only for it to be this.

Not only that, but then I started to think about how they could’ve done with game but with the actual cabin group from S2. Luke, Nick, Pete could’ve had their own story dealing with Nick’s mom getting bit after they took in a bite victim.

Rebecca and Alvin could’ve had a story about their marriage kinda falling apart despite them trying hard, and this could help make her affair with Carver make more sense.

Carlos and Sarah could have a story that explains Carlos’ over protectiveness and as well as explore Sarah as a character.

Hell, give Mike a story.

Give JANE a story about her and Jaime so that her appearing outta no where isn’t jarring, and develops her and the reasons she treats survival the way she does.

There was so much they could’ve done with this idea... and to be honest, if we ever get another game in this series, I would love it in this style but expanded into a season where each episode follows a different character and tells a different story, but in the end they all end up connecting. There is SO MUCH you can do with that!

But alas..... 400 Days for me is full of missed opportunities and I wish it wasn’t.

---

Honorable Mentions

-Eddie only appeared in Wyatt’s episode and then disappeared until his death in S4.... Eddie’s great, should’ve been around more. -Would’ve been nice if the cancer group from S1 was expanded on, give more context to what the hell happened to Vernon and the boat, y’know? -a bit more development for Tavia would’ve been nice, as well... she just kinda shows up at the end and recruits who she can.

---

So what are your thoughts on 400 Days? Do you agree with these missed opportunities, or have any to add? Lemme know, it’s always fun to chat.

Have any suggestions for future T5F’s? Feel free to send ‘em in! :D

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Reasons Gabe’s Pretty Great, Y’all Are Just Mean

#twdg t5f #twdg 400 days #twdg vince #twdg wyatt #twdg shel #twdg russell #twdg bonnie #twdg nate #next weeks t5f inspired by reddit

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cheri-translates · 4 years ago

Text

[Analysis] S2 Gavin and MC

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for Season 2 content, which has not been released in English servers!🍒

I’ve received some worried Asks regarding the relationship between S2 Gavin and MC, so I’m here to try to alleviate your concerns 💙

Knowledge of S2 Gavin content is highly recommended before looking under the cut: Prologue // Throbbing Date // Main storyline // R&S // Stray Date // The Guardian Plan

Note: This post contains my own analysis AND an analysis from a Weibo user (who has given me permission to translate it). I have marked out which part belongs to her :) These are just our personal thoughts, so you’re free to agree or disagree! I’d love to hear about what you think about their relationship, whether via PM, a comment or an Anon Ask <3

What do we know about S2 Gavin?

1. He’s selfless

In [Prologue], Gavin is in terrible shape - he’s in agonising pain and is so weak that even opening his eyes is a struggle. Yet, when the red light on the bed starts blinking and he knows MC could get into trouble, he summons his strength to tell her to leave, in a voice louder than when he asked her to stay :’)

He also manages to cover the back of MC’s hand to assure her that he’d be fine. Remember - this is the first time Gavin is meeting MC. He’s mustering all the strength in his frail, tiny body to comfort a complete stranger.

In [Throbbing Date], Gavin does things without expecting expressions of gratitude. For instance, he gives MC his jacket in the rain and runs off even though there’s a chance he’d never get it back. He also leaves strawberry milk for her on the piano bench without a note mentioning who it’s from.

2. He’s righteous

In [Throbbing Date], Gavin engages in a 1 v 10 fight to save Minor from ruffians, even though they aren’t close. And it’s hinted that Gavin has saved him multiple times.

In [Main storyline], Gavin makes things difficult for MC by trying to catch her in a lie, but stops once she tells him the truth about what she’s doing in STF:

He doesn’t speak, but quietly gives me one last chance. Faced with such a Gavin, my heart sighs silently.

MC: I’m here because of a matter involving an Evolver artiste working under me

.…perhaps it’s my misperception, but his expression is no longer as cold as it was before.

Something similar happens in [Stray Date], where Gavin tries to drive MC to a corner by sending her hovering above the ocean with his Evol. MC even trembles for a while. However, she soon realises that Gavin is controlling the air currents around her very well to ensure she wouldn't fall.

While S2 Gavin may seem merciless and cold (e.g. he’s described as a sharp sword multiple times in [The Guardian Plan], his actions both stem from, and are capped by a strong sense of righteousness.

3. He has a soft spot for MC

It’s clear in [Throbbing Date] that teenager Gavin has a soft spot for MC, so I won’t dive into that.

In the [Stray Date] phone call, Gavin’s concern for MC’s well-being is obvious, and reminiscent of a very early S1 Gavin:

Gavin: …I heard them saying that a girl stood in front of everyone back then. It was you, wasn’t it.

MC: Uhm, I… was afraid they’d get hurt.

Gavin: This isn’t a reason to shoulder more risks.

MC: Actually, I did it without realising…

Gavin: …I won’t always arrive in time. If I’m not around next time, don’t use such methods.

A similar idea is brought up in the [Main storyline] call:

Gavin: …no need. As of now, our leads aren’t comprehensive, so we can’t confirm who is the person behind these transactions. Your company’s security measures are inadequate. It’s best to improve them.

MC: All right…got it.

In the [Throbbing Date] call, Gavin basically invites MC to return to Loveland High together at the request of Mr Keller, and she accepts. This wouldn’t happen if they were antagonistic towards each other.

Interestingly, them being on opposite sides seems to become an inside joke for them.

Example 1 - [Reunited Yesterday R&S]:

MC: I think given our positions, it isn’t appropriate to eat at the same table. Don’t you think so?

Gavin lifts his hand and casually taps the side of the bowl in front of him.

He arches his brows and looks at me, the temperature of sunlight in his pupils.

Gavin: As someone who always orders my favourite noodles, your words aren’t persuasive.

Example 2 - [The Guardian Plan]:

MC: I think I know what this documentary should express to the audience. Even with sword-like authority, the STF will always have justice as its supreme guide.

A sudden night breeze courses past, lingering around my wrist.

Gavin looks at me, his eyes deep.

But the corners of his lips suddenly curl upwards.

Gavin: Given your position, you shouldn’t be talking to me about justice.

I smile as well, extending a hand towards him.

MC: Gavin, it has been a pleasant collaboration.

On a professional front, Gavin and MC are on different sides.

Personally speaking, however, they aren’t antagonistic towards each other. While MC is intimidated by Gavin in [Main Storyline], she warms up to him fairly quickly. Gavin also warms up to her, albeit a little slower.

In [Stray Date], Mr Solitary Wolf™ flat out rejects MC’s offer to work together. However, in [The Guardian Plan], he trusts MC and agrees to go along with her plan without even needing to hear it.

Finally, I’ll let this scene from [The Guardian Plan] speak for itself:

Holding onto the letter, I turn around and enter the house. Gavin has his arms crossed over his chest, standing in front of a map of Loveland City, pursing his lips.

A young officer pulls me to a corner and speaks softly.

Young officer: The suspect isn’t here, but we found tools to create explosives. The situation has become more serious. No one dares to disturb Captain Gavin when he’s thinking about cases, so just ask me if you have any questions.

Without saying anything, I walk towards Gavin.

Gavin frowns and turns his head, the light flashing in his eyes akin to a cold, sharp blade.

When he sees that it’s me, his frown relaxes, and he speaks lightly.

[Translated Analysis from 今天鱼子酱也不愿产粮 on Weibo]

Gavin is unexpectedly cold to MC in his first S2 Moment, and it’s easy for players to feel shocked and uncomfortable:

Gavin’s Post: Revisiting the old haunt.

MC: I haven’t been there in a long time either.

Gavin: There’s no special need to go.

What makes this Moment interesting?

This Moment occurs after the Reunited Yesterday R&S

In the Reunited Yesterday R&S, the boss of Lynn’s Kitchen reveals that MC has a long-time habit (even till now), of eating there alone - sitting at the same seat and eating a bowl of beef noodles with extra chilli

So when Gavin posted the Moment, he already knew that MC visits “the old haunt” often

This means MC is lying in her response + Gavin knows and doesn’t call her out on it

From Ch 1 of the main storyline and the R&S, it’s not difficult to see that MC holds complex emotions towards Gavin - there’s a sense of alienation yet longing, a sense of reservation yet reluctance to part, a sense of pride and stubbornness. It’s as though something happened in their shared past that they are keeping secret.

As such, MC’s response could be her concealing how she feels towards this “old haunt”, which by extension symbolises their shared past in high school.

S2 Gavin is difficult to ruffle. So instead of simply calling her out, he mirrors MC’s indifference. If read this way, there’s actually an element of teasing in his response - not coldness.

What about the alternative Moment where he sounds cold too?

Gavin’s Post: Revisiting the old haunt.

MC: Is Officer Gavin on a mission?

Gavin: Just passing by.

In S2, Gavin and MC’s positions are diametrically opposed. MC enquiring about Gavin’s work i.e. the operations of the STF, would immediately set Gavin on his guard. His indifference is in line with his role as the captain of the STF.

[End of analysis by 今天鱼子酱也不愿产粮 on Weibo]

Fun fact: MC makes reference to the above Moment in the [Throbbing Date] call:

MC: …come to think of it, Mr Keller seems to miss you a lot.

Gavin: Mm. He invited the both of us to participate in a school activity.

MC: There’s no special need to go.

Gavin: …

MC: I’m kidding. If you’re the one inviting me, I’ll definitely be there.

🌪 IN SUMMARY 🌪

It remains to be seen how Gavin would react if/when MC does go against STF. We should find out in the next CN update, since Ch 1 of the main storyline ended on a cliff-hanger with the STF surrounding MC’s office :’D

Instead of feeling worried about it, I’m actually quite excited to see how things will progress :> Their relationship has so many more layers for us to discover - a shared past in Loveland High, how they navigate their clashing positions, how they work together as the power couple they are, etc.

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin

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shebeafancyflapjack · 4 years ago

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Defrost

Weather is starting to turn cold here so quick Wintry S2 fluff with a still kinda bad demon kitty.

Vicky decides to cause a snowstorm at the worst time, for Eleanor.

Michael was beaming. This was absolutely hilarious.

It was only his third ethics lesson and definitely his favorite so far, none of which had anything to do with what he was supposed to be learning. Presumably.

When he’d begrudgingly arrived, all of the humans had been gathered waiting for class to start, Chidi stood at the chalkboard tapping his foot, while Jason and Tahani sat awkwardly at either ends of the couch, as if it wasn’t obvious enough that they were having a ‘secret fling’ the rest of the dummies were too blind to notice.

There’d been an annoying twinge in his chest when there didn’t seem to be any sign of Eleanor, the one human who wasn’t afraid to sit near him and make these damn lessons somewhat bearable.

“She’s decided to skip today. Apparently the weather was far too good to stay inside when there’s good ‘Arizona style skin baking’ to do.” Chidi had explained with a groan when Michael had asked about his missing classmate.

The brief irritation and pettiness that Eleanor hadn’t asked him to ditch classes with her was quickly replaced by a burst of giggles, his hand moving to his mouth.

“What is so amusing?” Tahani asks, looking up.

“Oh, it’s great, trust me! I was about to warn you all; Vicky’s about to get Janet to mess up the weather so that we have a week of insanely cold snowstorms! Apparently something to do with Eleanor giving you ‘the cold shoulder’, yada yada,” Michael waves off, addressing the egocentric princess; “And...Ha! Eleanor is out there sunbathing?! Oh, that’s priceless!”

Why did he never think of that in all those reboots? Maybe because sending murder hornets after Chidi whenever the two of them tried to have a romantic picnic or soak them in torrential rain seemed too similar. But this was even better! If only he could take credit for it.

A flash of white outside the windows gets all the humans to their feet as they turn to see Michael’s words come to fruition. Heavy, sharp winds carrying the thickest of snowflakes begin whirling around and burying the ground outside in a quickly rising layer of powder.

“Oh, so THAT’S snow! Awesome!” Of course the Florida DJ hadn’t ventured far enough beyond his swamp city to see such weather before; “I wanna go eat it!”

“Trust me! You really don’t wanna go out in that, it’s not designed to be fun. I’m supposed to make some announcement to be broadcast in your homes later about a glitch and you all needing to stay inside.” Michael warns them of that.

Chidi turns on him; “And you said Eleanor’s out in that?!”

“Yeah! Imagine her trying to make her way back in that! She’s probably frozen solid already. That’ll teach her to skip class, right, Teach?” He raises his hand in the air.

Chidi leaves him hanging. As does Tahani. Not even Jason will indulge him.

Ugh. So much for a team. He drops his hand down as their stares on him turn to full on glaring.

“Tough room.” Michael puts his hands in his pockets.

“You’re supposed to not torture us anymore, you need to go make sure she’s okay.” Chidi tells him.

Oh, for fork’s sake. Why should he do that when Eleanor was gonna leave him to endure this dumb lecture while she got to relax and top her tan up? This was the best he was going to get to payback...as well as for the eight hundred previous defeats that he seemed to care less and less about each day.

“She’ll be fine! It’s only a bit of snow. And anyway, this isn't my torture, it's Vicky’s - speaking of which, Janet will be offline for a little bit as she’s supposed to be helping fix this, but it’s really just to make your quarantine more boring.”

See? He’s nice enough to fill them in on that and what thanks does he get?

“Okay then, I’ll go-.” Chidi starts towards the door.

Michael huffs and blocks the professor’s path; “No, you’re supposed to stay in...Plus your limbs might fall off from frostbite in five minutes.”

“You just said-.”

“I know what I said, she’ll still be fine...” Michael turns and stomps his way out the door, muttering under his breath; “...So long as I find her quick.” He clears his throat and exits into the snowy chaos.

It’s lucky his extra senses are able to help him find the path towards the beach, as the fog is getting denser along with the downpour. He snaps a pair of snow boots on to help him trudge through where his loafers don’t help quite as much, along with a long, blue coat flapping behind him. He doesn’t feel the cold as bad as the humans would, but it’s still a pain in the ash. It’s bad enough relinquishing control of his experiment, now his beautiful torture city is going to be wrecked by this wintry storm.

He hopes he wins some major extra credit scores in these ethics lessons for journeying out into this to help bring one filthy cockroach back...even if she was the most enjoyable cockroach to be around.

A claw reaches out to grip his ankle.

“AH, SHIRT!” He almost trips, at first expecting one of the ice demons to have taken off their skin and planning to surprise him; “Sven, is that you?!”

He glances down, seeing the hand still exposed through the snow on the ground, his sight adjusting to make out the fallen form, half-buried alive...well, close enough.

Oh. Crab.

He kneels down and digs the inches of snow away, exposing Eleanor’s shivering, half-naked form on the ground. Her hair is damp and her lips nearly bright blue, arms hugged tight around herself, her swimsuit possibly making her more cold than if she was wearing nothing at all.

“Eleanor? Eleanor, can you hear me?” He shakes her by the shoulder.

Flakes are caught in her eyelashes as she tries to open her lids, teeth chattering like those little wind-up novelty set he has in his cabinet.

“H-h-h-hey b-b-bud.” She says, smaller and weaker than he’s ever heard her; “C-c-care to t-t-turn up the...th-thermostat...a b-b-bit?”

About another twenty degrees Celsius?

Michael sighs, brushing the snow away from her hair, though more quickly falls on her. He knows he should take this moment to mock her, to take advantage of this rare opportunity to see her in true misery...But he’s pretty sure she’s going to pass out at any moment. And, damn it, has she always been this small?

He shrugs his coat off and swaddles it around her frame, trying to make sure every corner is tucked in against the icy wind, before he lifts her up.

Her head turns to find its way to the crook of his neck.

“Wow....H-h-how are you so warm? You made of f-f-fire?” She whispers, jaw still moving rapidly beyond her control.

“Yes.” Is as much as he reveals, for now.

He scoops her close in his arms, turning to go back to the clown house before spotting Vicky beyond some trees, possibly on her way to look for him.

Cursing inward, he turns and heads back towards the rocks near the beach.

“R-r-really not in the mood for a beach read r-right now, man.” Eleanor barely has the strength to stand in her giant coat burrito as Michael releases her near some boulders.

Michael snaps his fingers, summoning an igloo behind the giant rocks, out of easy line of sight for any potential scouting demons, though he knows not many venture this far out - usually making it the perfect spot for his and Eleanor’s after-school study groups (aka the Make Fun of Chidi and Forget To Study groups).

“Oh, n-nice! An ice house for me to f-f-freeze in some more!” Eleanor’s quickly numbing face makes it difficult for the sarcasm to translate on her face.

Michael rolls his eyes and nudges her to get inside.

Obviously, it’s no mere igloo. It’s more like one of those ‘glamping’ - as Tahani would say and then lose points for using - pods or tents, essentially a portable mini-apartment with a sofa, a TV, a stove and a lit fireplace that doesn’t melt the walls. Because magic.

“F-f-fork...I t-take it back,” Eleanor exclaims, swaying as she clutches the coat around her and glances at the surroundings which are, of course, bigger than the outside would allude to; “This is pretty swe...Sweet set...”

Michael sees her begin to fall to the floor despite being no where near the large sofa. He catches her and hurries her over to the fireplace, snapping his fingers to ignite some more flames.

“Better?” He asks, rubbing her arms, watching her aura and studying her vitals.

Probably not the best thing for a human to get hypothermia, even when already dead. Especially so. The ones being tortured in the snowy Bad Place neighbourhoods looked rather happy, though that was mainly because their mouths were frozen in permanent smiles, the ice forever smothering their screams.

Eleanor nods a little, before shuffling out of the coat.

“T-that things too wet...So is this...” She gestures to her skimpy blue bathing suit, struggling to move her numb fingers; “Dude...gimmie a hand?”

A hand? Wait.

She wants him to...? Oh. Right.

His throat suddenly goes dry, which is ridiculous as he shouldn’t ever need to hydrate. Michael nods, moving his fingers to fumble the knot on her back, allowing the bra to slide off of her after a couple of minutes.

He hears her chuckle; “Wow, even demon boys still struggles to get a human bra off, huh?”

Michael feels the blush on his cheek, not having expected that to be a skill he would need to learn.

He watches her keep her back to him, pushing her bottoms down to her ankles before kicking them aside on the warm, white ‘carpet’ he made up for the igloo, before she shuffles as close as she can to the fireplace. Sitting bare naked and not seeming to give a fork that he can see every inch of her.

Thank Upper Management the whole shivering and blue-tinted skin doesn’t make her the least bit attractive...Not that she ever was...Gross, dumb human.

“Lemmie guess...Vicky’s latest idea? Why didn’t you tell me, man? I thought we were a team.” She berates over her shoulder to him.

“Hey, I was going to tell you and the others at class. It’s not my fault you decided to ditch without giving me a heads up.” He tries to look away as the side of her breast is in view when she turns and this...Damn it, why does she have to be so carefree and public with her nudity?

She smirks; “What’s the matter, dude? First time you seen a hot human naked you weren’t covering with scorpions?”

“Please, as if I care if your skins are covered or not.” He rubs the back of his neck; “You should be thanking me! I decided to venture out into this weather to rescue you, of my own accord, with no external persuasions needed!”

“Chidi told you to find me, didn’t he.”

“Yes, he did. But I could’ve said no and I didn’t. So...” He shrugs; “Progress?” Is it? He’s still new at this.

Eleanor suddenly starts to laugh and Michael can’t help but smile. He takes it that he’s right then. He notices that her face is still rather off-color, her lips now a shade of lilac, even though her shivering isn’t as violent as it was when he found her.

His chest aches, just for a second, as he remembers hesitating to come out.

How he’d been excited at the idea of Eleanor suffering from this...Why wasn’t it enjoyable to see it happening before him?

“Uhm, Janet’s gonna be AWOL for a couple hours...But I could get something to warm you up? Humans like drinking warm liquified chocolate when it’s cold, right? Or I could fill one of those bags with dangerously scalding liquid?”

“How about you just bring that internal fire of yours over here, bud?” She curls a finger at him, her other still wrapped around her shoulder; “You can be my hot water bottle while we wait this out.”

He isn’t sure what she means about that until he goes to sit next to her and, suddenly, Eleanor is grabbing his arms and folding them around herself as if he were now the wrap to make up her human-flavoured burrito. Her hands grip his, tight, bringing them around to rest around her stomach.

Michael shifts, awkwardly. He’s still getting used to the whole ‘hugging’ thing, which was mostly something Eleanor did as her own torture to annoy him, also Jason sometimes not having much of a concept of a personal space. It’s a whole other set of issues he thinks to put his arms around her when she’s completely naked. She has no qualms about leaning back into him.

“Awww, yeah, that’s nice. Demons make for good bean-bag chairs.” She smirks as she snuggles into him.

He isn’t sure whether to be flattered or insulted.

“Am I...helping then?” He asks, oddly nervous.

“Mmm hmm.” She hums, her heartrate steadying a little, as well as the pink returning to her lips.

The glow that fills Michael’s chest as he watches her smile in his arms, that sated buzz rushing through his stomach, is what he had expected to feel from seeing her be successfully tortured. Instead it had brought him some weird after-sad sensation that was new and frightening. And yet, helping her, making her better...That was the result that made him feel better?

Holy shirt....What was happening to him?

“You okay there, buddy?” Eleanor asks after a while, “You’ve got the look I used to have when someone told me they were bringing their toddlers out to lunch with me.”

He shakes his head; “S’fine....A-are you okay?” His hands shift around her middle, wanting to make sure she’s getting as much warmth as she can from him.

For some reason it matters a lot that she is. The softness of her skin beneath his fingertips is distracting him from working out what he’s heard in his ethics lessons so far that might explain this.

“Well, sat nude in an igloo, cuddling up to the demon who tortured me for three hundred years, isn’t quite the weirdest thing that’s happened to me in this place...but it’s also far from the worst.” She quips.

He feels as if he could melt now, that look she’s giving him making his essence fizz like a well-shaken soda bottle.

“Thanks for coming to get me...Eventually.” She says, moving a cold hand up to touch his cheek; “Damn, that touch would be good payback if you were human.”

“Sorry.” He smirks back; “I can’t help being a hot Architect, Eleanor.”

“And they call me full of myself!” She grins; “Whatever, we’re right and we should say it.”

That’s not what he meant but...Sure, he’ll take that.

“Actually...your face could do with helping mine warm up.” Eleanor’s thumb brushes against the corner of his mouth.

Michael frowns; “...Really? How?”

She smiles, a twinkle in her eyes; “Like this.”

She moves in close, before he can even comprehend her next action, pressing her lips against his and sucking, lightly, her tongue invading his mouth while her hand gently head his head in place. Michael freezes, to start, stunned in shock and confusion.

Do humans really do this just to...warm up? He wouldn’t be against the idea if that was the case, but...This is Eleanor Shellstrop in front of him, Arizona born and bred, almost ninety per cent of her actions were a pathway to sex.

Fork!

Michael pulled back, ignoring the softness of her lips, resisting the temptation to lose himself in...whatever that was.

“Ugh! Gross! Why do humans do that? Your food holes are for eating, you horny dinguses!” He makes a show of rubbing his lips on his hand.

Eleanor is laughing again; “Oh my god, you’d think I gave you cooties or something!”

“Is that a thing?! A human disease?! Do I need to disinfect myself?”

He starts to shuffle away but she reaches to grab his hand; “Relax, Mikey...It was just a bit of fun. Don’t worry, if you’re not into gross humans, I’ll be all good and pure and restrained...for one day.”

He gulps, feeling as though he should be relieved; “G-good. W-why would I ever want to...Again...I mean. Good. Thank you.”

Now he has to stop his eyes from looking at her again, now that she’s warmed up and dried, no longer shaking like a leaf and looking smaller than usual. She’s sat in the glow of the fireplace, giving him that smile she had every time she saw through him, saw who he was, always too impressed or pleased with herself to be angry at him.

Damn it, he should have left her to freeze.

You know you couldn’t do that. Not anymore.

She’s beaten you. Accept it.

“If you’re not gonna warm me up the fun way, the least you can do is snap us some hot chocolate.” Eleanor says, turning back to the fire and putting her palms up.

Michael sighs. Yes. That he can do, easy.

“And some dry comfy clothes....I wouldn’t wanna prolong your torture any longer.” She winks at him; “It’s only fair.”

#hellstrop #michael x eleanor #tgp fanfic #fluff #first kisses

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radishsnakes-moved · 8 years ago

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1) Sorry if I came off as rude or attacking you, that wasn't my intention, but I just think that calling shinoyama 'queerbating' is simply not correct. Yamagi's feelings for Shino were hinted at as soon as in ep 4 of s1, when he outright asked if Shino liked girls - girls specifically (why would he be interested in Shino's orientation if he wasn't intersted in him personally in the romantic sense?), then were made clear in ep. 7 with the heart grab scene and then further reinforced later on, by

2) showing Yamagi's evident disdain/jealousy every time Shino mentions girls etc. It was very obvious from the beginning that Yamagi is gay for Shino, so the only question left was whether Shino would ever find about Yamagi's feelings and reciprocate, to which episodes 45/46 gave us an answer. The 'let's drink till morning, the two of us' WAS, in fact, Shino's explicitly asking Yamagi out romantically. It just couldn't have been anything else in that context, when we know for a fact that Shino

3) does consider going out for drinks, two people only, as romantic (again, the AkiLafter scene in ep. 41, and Shino's 'don't you know what that is? go with her alone'). And then there's Yamagi's reaction - the wide eyes and the 'quit joking around, you don't even know how I feel' (plus his confusion about 'how Shino felt' later on when he talks to Eugene) which made it clear that's exactly the way it felt to Yamagi as well - as a date invitation, except he couldn't know back then that Shino was

4) serious. But Shino WAS serious - the fact that he grabbed Yamagi's hair out of his face to look him straight in the eyes before asking him out was a clear indicator of how serious he was. He wouldn't have given Yamagi false hopes otherwise, while being perfectly aware of Yamagi's feelings for him. And it's not only that, the entirety of Shino's body language towards Yamagi in all their scenes together in ep 45, his fond expressions, the looks and the smiles that we'd never seen on him

5) before that, the gentle tone of his voice, him calling Yamagi scary with evident fondness (it's actually a common motive in anime, to reveal that a manly man may not be afraid of enemies, war etc. but he's always afraid of his spouse), everything about those scenes screamed that Shino knew about Yamagi's feelings even before the big reveal and was totally on board with them. Ep 46 basically confirmed what was already obvious, that in the end, they both had romantic feelings for each other

6) and had Shino not died, they'd have ended up together eventually. They're basically as canon as an IBO couple can get and their not getting a happy ending doesn't make them any less canon (technically there's still a chance Shino could turn out to be alive, as they literally went out of their way to not show us his body). As for the other potentially queerbaiting couples, I don't think that orumika, gaeein or makugae are meant to be interpreted as romantic (even though I ship all three).

7) As for Aston/Takaki, in their case I do interpret them as romantic without a shred of doubt in my mind; after all, there was a canon blushing and Aston promising to protect Takaki and his happiness was a clear-cut romantic trope, and they just seem like your typical Gundam couple, but I guess it was probably too early to establish that explicitly in canon, as Aston was most likely not ready yet to realize what his feelings for Takaki really were. Anyway, they fit into the pattern of s2's

8) policy of killing romantic couples off (followed by Naze/Amida, akilafter and shinoyama, and maybe Mika/Atra/Kudelia in the nearest future). But that's just Gundam for you, to destroy a love before it has a chance to bloom. It doesn't really qualify as queerbaiting to me, as they do this to hetero couples just as much. As for Gundam 00, I don't think that anything has been confirmed when it comes to characters' sexualities and such, but it was easy to figure out from the context. I've seen

9) a post in the general tags listing all the characters considered to be LGBTQA, so, from the top of my head - most of the named innovades are gender-neutral, from what I've gathered, with the exeption of Anew and Ribbons, I guess? The situation with Tieria is more tricky than that, though, as it's been made clear in the show that he identifies as a man, and that's how basically everyone sees and treats him; it's been also said a few times in the show that only men can be Gundam pilots and

10) I think it's about the physical build rather than how someone identifies (thus the theory about Nena Trinity being, in fact , an actual trans-girls; I've read it once on tumblr and it made a lot of sense within the story, but I can't find the post anyomre; I guess the blog has been deactivated), but then the official materias list Tieria as gender-neutral too, so it's really hard to tell, especially given the fact that Tieria has the means to produce spare bodies for himself and probably

11) decide their gender as well? So yeah, the whole situatuon with Tieria is as unclear as it can be, but one thing clear is that he identifies as a man in canon and is canonically in love with another man (Neil) even if he can't classify those feelings yet (as his letter to Lockon would suggest). I think it's safe to say that Lockon is bi; he says something about being nice to women in the show once and he clearly feels something special for Tiera (that even Feldt has noticed) and calls him

12) cute etc. I think it's safe to say Lyle is bi as well, as he literally hits on Tieria in the beginning (only to be immediately shot down, because there's already one Lockon in Tieria's heart). Setsuna is pretty much considered to be asexual (but not necessarily as aromantic, as he clearly feels something for Feldt in the movie). Alejandro Corner is gay; he's explicitly shown to be sleeping with Ribbons in the Special Edition compilation movies. There could be more, but it's hard to remember

13) everything on the spot (I should try to look fot that masterpost in the tags; hope it's still there). As for other Gundam gay couples I personally consider canon, there's Trowa/Quatre from Gundam Wing and Dearka/Yzak from Gundam Seed. Oh God, this turned out so damn long and now I'm feeling bad for bothering you and making you read all this, but those Gundam discussions are always so compelling (hope tumblr doesn't eat any of the messages; I had them saved just in case though).

Don’t worry about it; I’m always happy to discuss Gundam! Admittedly, I don’t get as heavily into Gundam as I’d like to; 00 is my favorite series, but I’ve only seen the main 50 episodes, not the movie(s). As for other Gundam series, I’ve only watched the original, Unicorn, about 1/4 of Wing, a tiny bit of Age and Reco, IBO, BF, BFT, and F91 (IBO and 00 being my favorites of what I’ve watched). I’m going to try and address every point in this, feel free to shoot another message if I miss anything important!

Admittedly, in the beginning I didn’t pay attention to IBO while I was watching. I tend to have a one-track mind when it comes to anime I like, and when I’m obsessed with one, I usually can’t bring myself to care about another, so I didn’t pick up a lot of things.

ShinoYama is, in my opinion, the least queerbaity ship in the entire Gundam franchise; I’d go as far as to say it’s completely canon, and honestly, I feel like it’s the closest we’ve gotten to a gay ship being treated exactly the same as a het ship. Yamagi obviously had romantic feelings for Shino, and Shino didn’t seem to consider it out of the question. Had he survived, I actually think they might have gone canon. Sorry if it came across as me dismissing ShinoYama as queerbaiting; I think they’re the closest we’ll ever get to representation!

It could be me caving to heteronormativity, but I feel like AkiLafter was made more explicit than ShinoYama in the “he’s being asked out on a date” department. It was handled similarly, but I still get a different vibe from it. I could be wrong, though!

Body language and wording are always a part of ships in series like this. And I feel like they were all leaning towards romantic in ShinoYama; they were heavily implied to like each other romantically. But again, it’s always just implied. None of the explicit kissing and “I love you”s that you get with things like Lyle/Anew and Naze/Amida.

I abandoned MakuGae pretty early on once Ein was introduced, so I don’t know a lot about what hints may have been dropped. And Ein and Gaelio weren’t around each other long enough for anything to be solidified. Orga and Mika, however, I feel are at least slightly indicated to have feelings for each other; it may be completely platonic, but there is such a strong emphasis on all the times that they hold hands, if one of them had been female it would have automatically been considered to be canon, even with the MikaKuuAto situation going on; which I could talk about for a long time, but in short, it’s pretty much canon, though with the KuuAto being a bit more subtle than MikaKuu or MikaAto (I am acutely aware of how Kuudelia said she loves Atra, though; that’s not something I can overlook, I’m just comparing it to the explicit MikaKuu kiss and Atra’s request to “have babies with” Mikazuki). MikaKuuAto is an entirely different subject that I’ll save for another post.

Aston and Takaki were very much hinted to be romantic. All the tropes were there, all that was missing was explicit confirmation; and there’s not a doubt in my mind that we would have gotten that had they been a straight couple. My issue with all of this, if you can call it that, is that the het ships are always made more explicit than the gay ones, however “canon” the gay ones may be. The only problem in my mind is that so many het couples have been made concretely canon, while the only gay one we’ve gotten is ShinoYama. And though there’s an equal amount of killing off between them, you’re still left with more living het couples than gay ones. Equal killing of love interests is like the difference between equality and equity; if you take an equal amount from someone with everything and someone with almost nothing, that’s technically “equal”, but the person with less inherently loses so much more than the person with everything.

I admit it’s been a while since I’ve watched 00, so I don’t remember much about it. Nena being trans isn’t something I ever picked up on, so it could have been made more clear. I definitely headcanon most of the Innovades as some form of nonbinary, but I always based “canon” for that around what pronouns are used for the characters; and in all of their cases, it was always he/him or she/her. With Tieria, it was mostly a headcanon spawned from the episode where he crossdressed to infiltrate that party, and how easily the female form and voice came to him; hell, on Wikipedia’s “List of transgender characters in media”, Tieria is listed there. Later in Season 2, though, he’s portrayed as being a cis male, so that somewhat threw my headcanon of him being a trans boy out of the window. I also heavily headcanon Regene and Revive as trans boys, though solely because of their voices. Really, though, the pairs like Regene and Tieria or Anew and Revive; they’ve been stated to share the exact same genes, so in same-gender pairings, neither or both of them are trans, and in different-gender pairings, one of them has to be trans.

I do think it’s implied that Tieria loved Neil, but again, it was never made as painfully explicit as things like Chris and Lichty, Anew and Lyle, Naze and Amida, etc etc. Tieria obviously cared a lot for Neil, and never really got over his death; but I still feel that it was never made as clear as those other ships whether the feelings were platonic or romantic.

As I never saw the movies, I didn’t know about the thing with Alejandro and Ribbons; if that’s a thing that happened, then I definitely have to see the movies. And though I never fully watched Wing, I did pick up on something between Trowa and Quatre, but still; Never hinted at as much as Heero and Relena.

Wow, my response ended up almost as long as your questions. You don’t have to worry about bothering me; I very much enjoy talking about Gundam! If I missed any points you made, don’t be afraid to send me another message~

#gundam 00 #gundam iron blooded orphans #gundam ibo #gundam tekketsu no orphans #g tekketsu #gundam wing #Anonymous

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aspiestvmusings · 8 years ago

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Do you think Toby will go back to gambling and it'll be Hayppy's fault because she needs approval and she can't give it him?

Hi.

I will quote myself from last year, s2, after their relationship reveal: Toby and Happy will both make little mistakes…especially in the beginning, and “mess up”, but they will both TRY their best to make the relationship work.

1. Yes, that is always a possibility. He might…relapse…once/for one time/occasion.

2. No. If he does…now or in the future…then its not “because of her/his need for more approval from her”

ETA: Read also This reply from Ermanda & This 2nd reply from Ermanda & This reply by Dannii & This reply from Cait on the same topic/to the same question. All good analysis/replies.

I will explain…my pov, in much more detail…under the cut (long post)

The key here is the difference between the two things - his gambling is an addiction..a learned bad habit. Her “coldness” is partly due to her different brain (and yes, also partly due to her sad past), but it’s not a “bad habit”. His gambling and the need to change it is different from her “shield” and the process of becoming a “warmer, more open” person and partner. That makes all the difference here. And that’s why I don’t compare their “sacrifices” and don’t say that since “he gave up gambling for her, she must give up her shield for him”..

I am no expert on addiction, I don’t know how it feels like (my “addictions” are different - workaholic, tv fan…), but I’ve read about it and seen it portrayed on TV. This is how I see/understand it: your/fandoms idea that Toby will relapse because he feels Happy doesn’t give him enough “attaboys” is just an “excuse” an addict finds. Turning to old bad habits and saying it’s because of “that reason” (the lack of something, someone elses behaviour)….is looking at a “symptom”, not the “cause/reason”

Myth: Gambling addicts are driven by their partners behaviors.

Fact: Gambling addicts often place blame on their loved ones in an effort to take the blame off of themselves but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the partner has anything to do with their problem.

I watch “Elementary”. They did a relapse story (drug addiction, relapse... one time...after 3 sober years, back to sober after that) I am also very well aware that an addict is always gonna be an addict, even if they’re in recovery…for the rest of their life (and never relapse). But I also realize that it is very easy to fall back to old ways for an addict/gambler. It’s is a never-ending, daily… “sobriety” struggle. But like with everything else… the strength and wish to not fall back to the old ways must come from the person himself (herself)… in this case Toby.

If Toby does fall from the wagon, and goes gambling, I do believe it is going to be a one-time-thing (one short phase, one time), and I would not say it’s gonna be because he feels that Happy is not appreciating his efforts enough. That is what he said, but there is much more behind those words - if he does it’s gonna be a mix of many “reasons” - the events of the past year (quitting old habits cold turkey, finally getting his dream come true - Happy “agreeing” to date him, then the Collins, INS/secret marriage and secrets mess, and the baby/no baby thing…) and the pressure of everything (wedding planning…because not everyone in Brooklyn that need some comeuppance might be good for him… so someone or something might make him think of his old ways during the wedding planning process) might get to him, and make him “break”.

If he does at some point gamble again - in any form - then it is his choice to react this way to something (eg. her behaviour), instead of dealing with it differently…like as a genius behaviorist he knows is better - by talking about the issues that really bother him… (we saw that while he wanted a big wedding, and more attaboys, and he knows it’s not her style and personality… he never asked for it from her, never let his feelings known to her… he only talked to Paige about his wishes...or only responded when Happy brought it up, but he should know that people aren’t mind-readers, and that if he wants his wishes to be considered, he has to let her know. We saw where it lead with the big wedding… it might’ve taken a push from both Toby, and especially Cabe, but once she was aware of his “needs”, she (after a consideration) was willing to give him what he desired.)

So, let me be Ray here and say “the ball is in Toby’s court right now.”

IF he does gamble, or even think of gambling, but will not do it, I believe the key here will be Happy, and her support. She is not gonna leave him/his side - even if she might be upset, and hopefully she’ll be emotionally ready to give him the support he needs to get past that phase (if it happens…) cause in s2, 2x18 she didn’t know yet how to help him with the problem, in s3/now she is much more ready…if it should happen. The whole S3 story line has been about making her more ready, emotionally…

Here are two important things to remember:

It is not Happy’s fault if Toby gambles…again.

It is not Toby’s fault if Happy closes up/”talks with her hands”

External factors are always an excuse, not a reason. Yes, expectations are very human “feeling”, as as other emotions. But truth is… all decisions come from within, and saying “she/she made me do it..because he/she did or said this/that” is simply using an excuse… (this applies to everything relationships related between humans)

I think the problem most people have (”thanks” to romantic books and films that sell the fairytale idea of “ideal” love) is that in a relationship you should get as much as you give. Because while yes, normals/humans need to feel “loved”, but anyone going into a relationship with certain expectations, and thinking “I give so much, I wish she/he would give as much” is gonna be disappointed, and hence so many couples break up. It is about giving…without expecting anything in return. Even if you feel you need to get more in return…at times. It should always be about giving…as much as you are able to…however little that is… and not expecting certain “responses in return”

Know your partner, and appreciate them with all their flaws (ps: gambling is an addiction that is why she had the “right” to ask him to stop. But just like she is annoyed with his babbling and love confessions, and he is upset about her lack of appreciation… these are things that “annoy” them about the other a bit.. but also the things that they love, in a way, about the other. (see 2x21 end) Those things are not things that have the “right” to ask the other to stop completely doing. they might express their dislike of these behaviours - her with his sweet talk, him with her coldness, though).

Also: Quintis just needs to sit down, and have a talk. An honest discussion, open communication, where they both say what they need, and what they can bring to the relationship. They are not unhealthy, they do not need to break up. They just need to keep working on their relationship, and if he needs more “attaboys” he should not be afraid to ask for them…at the moment when he needs them (it seemed OOC for me that he, a brilliant behaviorist, even after he’s been told endlessly - 1x16 by her, 2x04 by Patrick, 3x01 by her - still doesn’t seem to know how she is like, and how she shows her care…but it was needed to get the message of the ongoing S3 Happy/Quintis storyline across), not expect her to be able to read cues as well as he does.

In Toby’s case we have to look at is own insights into his character. Like 2x19, when we learned the following: “Trust me - kids with that behavior - the things Toby did as a teenager - are scared. And when they grow up, they not only crave the comfort they lacked as children, they want to feel that they can provide comfort themselves.” He needs “comfort” from her, but more than that he needs to be able to provide “comfort” - it is part of his character. Even if at times he feels he should be appreciated more.

And also…remember what we learned about Toby in 1x20 - that one of his “childhood demons” is that he doesn’t believe he “deserves” anything good. So, when things are good, and he is “maniacally happy/thrilled”, he “self-sabotages”. The whole s2 ep 2x18 plot about how finally having everything he wished for (relationship with Happy) made him so happy/thrilled, and he didn’t know what to do with the “happiness”…as he doesn’t think he “deserves” it, so he turns to his “safety net” - which was gambling. Meaning: while it is possible that his feelings of not being appreciated enough by her might make him turn to old habits, then we leaned last year that being super “happy” can have the same effect.

But you, and most are missing the meaning of the 3x11 gift exchange scene, and everything else about s3. But no, I don’t think that writers should make it “easier” (less cryptic) to understand - never go the simple route, always try to make the viewers catch up with you, instead of explaining everything and leaving nothing to be figured out…

Yes, the season and the show is far from perfect, and it would greatly benefit (like all network shows) if it didn’t follow the old “formulas” so much, and do the storytelling in a bit different way. But there is a difference between a “bump” on the way, and in things being hopeless. And while for most of the fandom the message and the meaning of S3 - which the Nicks told us what it was gonna be – the characters emotional development, and their emotional journeys…. focusing on those parts, instead of other parts of their stories and relationships – it doesn’t mean that it was badly written or ruined.

#anon #SPOILER #QUINTIS #Toby Curtis #Happy Quinn #TEAM QUINTIS #TEAM SCORPION #message #reply #question #answer #season 3 #season 2 #CBS SCORPION

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trickfootpike · 6 years ago

Text

leaving storybrooke.

ever since the cancellation was announced, i’ve been trying to figure out how to put into words all that once upon a time has meant to me. at first i was like, ‘i’m gonna keep a draft and write down all the thoughts i have about ouat until the finale & give my whole sordid emotional tale!’ but that......was a bit much for me also trying to finish up the semester at the same time. then i thought i’d go for a seven-day countdown - also not the smartest idea to try and pull off during finals week. so here i am on the day of instead.

so what up once upon a time. how you been doin’.

rhetorical question, i know how you’ve been - you and me, we’ve been together since day one. actually a little bit before, because you first drew my interest from a magazine spread the summer of 2011. you fell right in line with my being raised on my mom’s love for the 10th kingdom, and right after i’d grown out of reading the sisters grimm as a kid. i watched the pilot and fell in love by the end of the first scene, and realized i’d found something to stick with me when the clock struck 8:16. after an unsuccessful first confusion with tumblr, you’re what drew me to the platform after ‘skin deep’ aired and i needed to scream. the day that filming vids from the season 1 finale were shared and we all realized that joe & farming meant a lot more than they did 30 seconds ago was nuts, and i was a mess when emma kissed henry’s forehead and broke the curse.

an even bigger mess when the tv cut out right in the middle of rumple revealing why he’d thrown that vial down the well and i had to go digging for the full end of season 1, but y’know that’s not sentimental or shit, that was just annoying and that’s not what we’re here for today.

then s2 came around and we exploded exponentially. between ‘ask if we have avocado’ and the main cast growing and you getting on netflix, we went from a little dinghy to a whole fleet. you could mention once upon a time and people would actually know what you were talking about, and it was easy to make friends between everyone groaning about how many random breaks the show got that year. it was still marked by the same disagreements that were started in s1, but joining the ranks were the starts of ship wars - tho looking back at it now, i don’t actually remember being as much of an issue then. they were there, yea, but not an overwhelming issue; i actually don’t remember them becoming publicly ugly until marketing surged up for s3 and press articles started pitting them against one another. but i also view that time through rose-tinted glasses, so who knows.

besides that, tho, i remember s3 fondly. it started with what i believe would be found in photoshop’s toilet, and ‘going home’ was beautiful and the culmination of 2 and a half years of love. the nonsense died down when ‘quiet minds’ aired and there was actually a mutual agreement of respect towards everyone who mourned neal’s death. i’m gonna admit, you kind of lost your luster there for me for a while after that though. baelfire had been so intricately involved with the heart of the showing, and his death just felt like that heart was being ripped away.

but s4 was still wacky and enjoyable, and the finale made me so excited to see henry back in his spot of ‘only believer in a cursed land’ but with a twist. actually, deviating from that - i loved how every almost finale was about henry in some way. whether it was breaking the curse, him being pan’s real goal, operation mongoose, him acting out his mourning of his father and getting the world to believe in magic, or him getting the curse to break one last time and heading off to an epilogue that was, finally, his own story -- henry was the even greater heart of you and that was never forgotten. he got the most continuity in his development, and a lot of us got to grow up along with him in storybrooke, maine. i was 14 when i started this show, barely starting my freshman year of high school. 7 years later, and i’m going to be starting my senior year of college. henry was bleeding heart, stubborn optimism that just refused to die out.

it wasn’t any mystery about why he ended up my favorite character.

so where was i - oh yea, finales and going into s5. which... existed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ hey bleeding heart and stubborn optimism may not have only been henry’s character but the personification of my relationship with you, but even the stubbornest glasses half-filled have to admit when you get an off year. the ball got dropped on dark swan, making an arc that could’ve been all about reconciling the grief emma felt for her childhood with her still trying to fully open her heart to her family, but y’know. the hets sell. i actually liked the underworld arc, but i was so burnt out from the first half that i couldn’t really get invested as i could have with a solid first half of the season. s6 was a much better improvement on stable quality, and the final battle is still up there battling for one of my favorite episodes. and then... end of book one. onto the epilogue.

i’ve always meant it when i’ve said that i feel sorry for everyone who skipped out on this last season. season 7 has been amazing. with the majority of the fanbase gone taking the bad apples with them, i haven’t felt this much peace in the community since season 1. everyone left were the people who had fallen in love with the heart of the show. the new characters were amazing - alice jones has made me cry, i still am so thankful to this last year for finally giving me a version of hook to genuinely love, because i hate missing out on a good thing but hook prime was just not a character i could get on board with. and everyone i’ve seen who started watching the season later has fallen in love with it too. it’s a good thing, it’s a love letter to the heart of the show, and it shows how much the people behind it have grown since s1. there were six years of mistakes. like, no doubt about it, there were just straight up mistakes. but they grew from them and kept working it until they knew how to make good on them. and i’m grateful for that, to see them learn and grow right along their audience, their characters, and this incredible piece of spiteful optimism that is once upon a time.

so. that’s how it happened. 7 years of once upon a time, of growing up from an awkward teenager to a child who can drink trying her best. there’s a lot more, like the friendships i’ve made or the relationships i fell in love with, but that’s the core of it. i am very grateful to have loved a show with so much heart in it, that was never afraid to be embarrassingly emotional or completely heartfelt about the concept of hope. there have been a lot of things that weren’t entirely genuine, but i think that the bookends of season 1 to season 7 were. this was the little show that could. and i’m very glad that i could have even some small part of it.

#shut up em #this is deeply emotional and embarrassing but hey that's once upon a time

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