#and the council is just generally unreasonable

[yourqueenb]

No, I’m pissed at you actually because I wouldn’t even be here in the first place if it weren’t for you

[queenie-avenue]

There's no solution for whatever this was.

💌 ⤻ THE ACADEMIC RIVAL, SEO MIN-JUN

—> when you come crashing into his life, his focus for his studies are lost.

⤻ reader is gender neutral, reader's race is not mentioned but it does take place in korea, stalking, obsession, slightly suggestive, possessiveness, stealing, damage to personal, slightly suggestive, property, encouraging suicide, mentions of academic stress and korea's expectation for its students, inspired by @moyazaika 's academic rival yandere (go check the fic out, it's amazing), a drabble for now but I will be posting longer fics of him

🦋 ⤻ archives.

In Korea, students are shown to be almost always studying. Many news outlets have covered multiple schools and how much pressure Korean students are going through with their studies. It's difficult, no one can deny it. Yet, some of these students just find it normal, they view studying as perhaps their only form of control they have in their world.

One of those such students is Seo Min-Jun, a student belonging to a prestigious private high school. Someone who is in his final year of high school, soon to graduate and take his university exams. Top of his class, the son to a minister in Korea's government and a rather popular film actress, and the president of the student council. He was destined for success once he graduated.

The moment he crawled out of his mother's womb, his fate was paved for him in gold.

That was, until you — the sweet scholarship student — showed up.

✧ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ✧

At first, he didn't understand you. Both of you were literally in your last year of school, but you waltzed in like you owned the place. At least, from his perspective. He thought you bland. After all, you got in from a scholarship. You may be smart, but were you as rich, or was your status in society as high as him? It didn't matter, he still viewed you as below him and didn't pay much attention to you, relegating his secretary in the student council to give you a tour of the elite private school that you should honestly be honoured to step your grimy shoes all over.

Sure, he'd never say these things out to you or anyone else in public. After all, he was still a model student, and he was taught to act humble. Key word: act.

He honestly didn't take an interest in you till he saw your name, above his, on the monthly test evaluations.

"What?" He muttered out, not believing his eyes. In almost every damn subject, you managed to score higher than him. He was almost always one mark off from you. His eyes shot to you, the you who stood there in your crisp and cut uniform on the other side of the crowd, looking up at the papers pressed onto the walls with a look of pride. What was that look of pride for?

Pride, something that existed strongly in almost every culture, and you had just ruined his.

Your life was never the same afterwards.

Letters of hatred piled in your shoe locker. They ranged from being written like some crazed man worshipping your feet like you were a god to someone who wanted to see you hop off the building of your school. The handwriting was typically crazed, but you could recognise whose handwriting it was solely because the both of you were in the same class.

As usual, the school board did nothing to help with that. And when you tried to accuse Min-Jun, the teachers especially scolded you for attempting to defame the student council president.

It got so bad that your things were going missing too, your homework — which the teachers unreasonably scolded you for even if you were user sure you placed it in your bag this morning — and then your notes too. Technically, they did return. They just returned torn up, and some were even burnt with mysterious stains on them.

One day, you couldn't take it anymore after receiving a death threat, and you stormed to the student council office, knowing that if you went to the general office, they'd turn you away again.

You would take matters into your own hands.

✧ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ✧

When Min-Jun first saw you enter the room, he was left breathless. Your blushed cheeks from running all the way here, no doubt, the way your uniform crumpled, his mouth was almost drooling. No, no. He refused to let himself lust over you in such a manner that you were a rival, for goodness sake! Not some... potential love interest. Though that thought did pique his interest but he pushed it down with any other thoughts he had about his rival.

"I can't take it anymore." You said, which shocked him. Was someone bullying you? Only he could do that! "I know it's you. I've seen your handwriting on tests before, I just know you're the one who's been planting those notes and stealing my things." You accused your one-sided academic rival.

He didn't bother to defend himself. What was the point? His family would protect him, the school would protect him, and most importantly, the student body would rip them to shreds if they ever tried to act out against him. He knew how cruel students could be. After all, he had seen all the outcasts almost drowned inside toilet bowls by bullies multiple times.

He could not have that. Having you tortured would mean he would not be able to have a proper rival. As much as he disliked you for being in his way, he preferred to keep things... somewhat fair.

"And your proof?" He inquired.

"I have all those notes stored in my bag." You hissed.

For some reason, the thought of you keeping those notes made his heart beat faster. Were you a freak like him too? Did you have such sinful thoughts just like him? You broke his twisted fantasy with your next words, though.

"I don't understand why you're doing this to me. It's- it's," you struggled to find a word for his disturbing actions, "ceaselessly cruel!" You finally exclaimed.

Cruel? What was cruel were your actions, driving him mad, making him lose focus on his work. Who were you to call him cruel when you made him like this?

He got up from his seat and approached you, causing you to fall back, landing on the couch that you swore was not there when the entered the student council room. Taking this chance, he pinned you against the seat, taking in every part of your body, your face, your eyes... everything. God, you were so perfect but so infuriating. Just why did you have to confront him?

"Are you that fucking naive to think that when you present the school with your proof, they'll do anything about it for you? That they'll go against me and my family for the sake of defending the poor scholarship student?" He hissed, grabbing your face harshly as you whimpered. He wished the circumstances of your whimpers were different; in his bed rather than on the couch of the student council office. Still, that did breed intriguing fantasies into his mind. "You think they'll do that for you?" He repeated.

"I-" you started, but you had no idea how to end.

"Exactly." He let go of you, almost smacking your head to the other side as he straightened himself, readjusting the blazer of his uniform.

"You should get used to the circumstances of your situation." He said which only made you shudder. "Let yourself out." He said cooly as he exited the student council room, "I trust you'll keep this meeting a secret." He said with an air of finality before sauntering casually towards the male bathrooms where he promptly slammed the door shut and sat on the toilet seat, practically fuming.

That look on your face, the scrunch of your nose, the furrowing of your eyebrows. You were so unfair! He could practically feel all his blood flush downwards as he thought of you.

Now that you knew he was the culprit, what would you do?

It didn't matter.

He would find ways to pester you and find ways to mark you as someone who could not be touched by anyone else other than him.

"I left another note in your bag. You should look at it. Or else."

[marvelstars]

I usually like to talk about star wars in general and I don´t like to demonize any character be it one of my faves or not but tbh some fan takes really make me mad, takes like:

"Ahsoka wasn´t being fair in her judgment of the Order"

I am like "The Jedi Council, Obi-Wan and Plo Koon included" sentenced her to face a military trial that most definitely was going to end in her execution.

Again, a 16 year old whose only support/family/people she knew in her life abandoned her to be executed by the goverment she fought for three years as a child soldier.

Sorry but considering this, any take she has on the Order, the obvious love she still has for Jedi´s ways, people and life but also the criticism is completely valid on her part and she should say it, in fact I believe she was quite calm in her reaction considering all of that.

Same with her warm dedication to Anakin´s memory as her "older brother" you know given he was the ONLY ONE who thought about getting her a lawyer and solve the mystery to keep her from being executed by their own government, he was her master and treated her like actual family and didn´t break his links with her after the Order expelled her on circunstancial evidence or thought she was wrong for leaving after all of that like Obi-Wan did.

There´s Jedi unreasonable hate and there is reasonable, based in the story criticism and this is part of it.

Another fandom take that really gets on my nerves is:

Anakin was a child problem for loving his Mom, his Mom was like a Jedi and understood she had to "let go of him"

I am like: Shmi was a literal slave whose only way to keep Anakin from sharing the same fate as her was to give him up to a bunch of strangers, Shmi didn´t know anything about the Jedi but knew being free was better for Anakin than being a slave.

Anakin loving his mother and missing her isn´t attachment, it´s normal for a 9 year old to miss his mother, he also had a right to be mad with the republic for allowing slavery out of convenience and with the Jedi for supporting the republic on this instance because it wasn´t jedi bussines.

"Anakin was an incompetent leader"

Anakin was one of the best Jedi leaders out there in the clone wars, that´s why He and Obi-Wan got the harder missions dealing with Grievous, who killed a lot of Jedi or Count Dooku who also killed Jedi.

He got the moniker "hero without fear" out of the sheer victories he got for the republic and the many planets he helped free from separatist attacks, he also established training for what would become the first cells of the rebel alliance.

He wasn´t just a competent leader, he was a brilliant general, recognized by his enemies and friends alike.

"The clones are not a slave army"

The Clones were purchased with republic credits by a Jedi Master, that makes both the Republic and the Jedi Order their owners, this is canon in Attack of the Clones and in the Clone wars.

They dont get a salary because they are merchandise, property of the republic and the Jedi Order.

The Jedi Order didn´t know about the purchase but the fact they didn´t say anything post fact about the clones being slaves doesn´t give them a good look as "peace keepers to the galaxy" they were more, in this instance, supporters of the status quo.

And no, nothing of this makes valid Order 66, the Jedi Order didn´t deserve to be anhiliated for all of this but the Jedi Order definitely were a flawed organization made up of people with virtues and flaws who unfortunately supported blindly a corrupt system. The Republic was the mother of the Empire after all.

I feel like sharing some of my problems with fandom takes, rant over :)

[the-derpy-duck]

The TFA universe is a fucking nightmare and I wish people would actually talk about it. Long rant incoming.

Don’t expect good spelling or grammar I’m sorry

Like the show didn’t even care enough to address how fucked everything was. Like all the little baby robots just don’t have names until they go through the military/boot camp, which doesn’t make a lot of sense as the whole point of basic training/boot camp is taking away one’s identity and individualization aka what a lot of cults and extremist groups will do to get people to go along with whatever they want them to, as it’s a lot easier for group think to occur when there is a group. The whole “small cog in a bigger machine” bullshit speech is literally just that but dressed up to look and sound pretty (propaganda). But half of the names given at the boot camp are insults and that’s really fucked up. And it’s almost implied that the other transformers recognize Bulkhead and Bumblebee’s names as being insulting in nature because when Sari introduces herself to Bumblebee it sort of goes like this:

“My name is Bumblebee” “I’m Sari” “Oh don’t be, I like my name.”

But that would also imply that the show was thinking about acknowledging how messed up its own world is and I don’t really think it is. I think that’s a joke, was meant to be taken as a joke, but could be read into as world building or something.

It’s been a hot second sense I’ve rewatched season three of tfa but from what I remember, Ultra Magnus was sort of a dictator? Like I know that there is some form of election, but the main way anything gets done is through the council of primes and in TFA it is established that “prime” is a military rank, and those who advanced to “prime” have to be approved by the council, which Ultra Magnus is the head of. He doesn’t have full dictation over it (he wanted OP to not be horribly punished) but he does have a sizable amount of control (op was still given a job and got to keep his rank). The election cycles are nonexistent as the only time anyone thinks of trying to replace Ultra Magnus is when he is on his death bed. So is it like the Supreme Court? The people technically elect a leader but the council that would decide on important laws and if they are constitutional is chosen by the leader, not the people, can serve until they die, and can do fuck all and no one will challenge them because they have the final say on the law? For a thing like economics or the Supreme Court it would make sense to have these be not elected officials for the sole purpose of “they wouldn’t be pressured by potentially not being re-elected and so they would be able to do their jobs without worrying if it would please the people.” A lot of things done to fix and adjust the economy will look really bad at first but it ultimately serves to balance everything. But the people in charge of the FED and other economic shit also don’t serve until they die. Long tangent to say, not a lot of democracy in this word.

The only way to gain power in cybertron seems to be to either join the military or do a hyper specific job. Also how long has ultra Magnus been the leader? Was no one ever unhappy with how he lead? Sentinel Prime was but that was seen as a bit of a taboo. Also Sentinel’s Cybertron immediately turning into an Orwellian styled red scare nightmare was a choice. Establishing curfews during a time of potential war where the planet/country/city could easily be targeted for an attack isn’t in itself unreasonable. It’s immediately taken to 11 but the general idea of curfews makes sense. As well as reporting potential spys for the main reason that spy’s had been proven to have infiltrated the prime counsel thing. It goes to fear mongering almost instantly but the general idea isn’t bad.

Im interested to know how Ultra Magnus would have handled the situation because the show just sort of is neutral about him. He’s just there most of the time and tells OP not to try and be a hero. I want to know if he would have done something similar to Sentinel and I want to know if the show would address it. Because the general difference between UM and SP is that UM is better at hiding how much he manipulates power. He’s still a dictator even if he isn’t an antagonist force. He’s not a benevolent dictator because dictators, by definition, cannot be benevolent. If they were truly benevolent then the people would get a choice in the world that they live in.

All this to say, “dictator bad”

ALSO is there no trial system? Wasp just was sent to prison and they didn’t think to look into any of the evidence? Did no one think to maybe investigate the people who would have had the codes or spare keys for the locker things? Do they just send people into solitary confinement without any sort of hearing or evidence or was Wasp just waiting for his court date? Why does Optimus want Bumblebee to apologize to the guy who clearly doesn’t want to speak to him? He literally watched Bumblebee give an apology and a reasonable explanation for his actions. He wasn’t making excuses he was manipulated by a person who he thought was his friend and the main reason why he was able to be so easily manipulated was because the person in power was actively antagonist towards him. He did the right thing. He asked a person, who would have known how to make a report, how to make a report. If shockwave wasn’t the person who was in that roll then Wasp probably wouldn’t have been framed. And even if Bumblebees wasn’t the one who found the things in his locker, Sentinel still would have found them because Shockwave planted them. I’m sorry but asking a person how to make a report so you can go around the person who is acting aggressive towards you and holds a significant position of power over you isn’t the same as purposefully ruining someone’s life. Bumblebee was going off of evidence that was 100% circumstantial, biased, and highly questionable, that doesn’t automatically mean that he was trying to frame Wasp. If he had reported that he overheard a spy communicating with the decepticons and had reasons to believe that it might be Wasp, then I would assume that whoever the fuck would do an investigation and either clear Wasp or just arrest him because due process and fair trials is for babies. In which case, it still wouldn’t be the fault of a person who isn’t in control of anything. Blaming Bumblebee for what happened to Wasp is like blaming doctors for how expensive medical treatment is. He trusted the wrong person and that person used his trust against him. The people in power did not think to do an investigation into any of this. And even if the whole Wasp thing was open and shut why wouldn’t they look further into this? Maybe there was other spy’s? Did anyone think about that? No? It also isn’t Bumblebee’s fault that Shockwave got to the position of Prime. The security system and the people in charge of screenings didn’t pick up on the fact that there was a spy. That is not the fault of a random cadet who trusted someone. Shockwave’s actions and the people who died because of them are the fault of Shockwave. Bumblebee’s fuck up did help him not get caught, but it was also the closet we see to him being caught before he becomes a prime. If the people in the TFA world weren’t so fucking stupid then this wouldn’t of happened because maybe this hyper advanced world would have fucking security cameras. If they can figure out how to bend time and space then I think they can figure out how to install things that would record a conversation.

WAIT- doesn’t Bumblebee use something similar to that to figure out the decepticons plans and relay it back to earth? And they have computers that have screens so why don’t they have cameras installed?

Anyway, Wasp blaming Bumblebee makes sense. It makes sense that he is angry at him and it makes sense that he wouldn’t forgive him. That’s not the issue I have with this the issue is that OP also blames Bumblebee. Which I guess would also make sense as animated Optimus seems to be deeply rooted in the military and is a string supported of Ultra Magnus. It is stated in the first episode that he watches propaganda and repeats the military speech about being one big machine. He lies to save his friend and he sucks for that because his friend abuses his power whenever he gets the chance to and he knows this. Optimus lying for Sentinel is much more  egregious to me than what Bumblebee does because Bumblebee didn’t know that Longarm was a spy. I understand why Optimus would lie for Sentinel, he is a loyal friend and he definitely did blame himself for what happened. That doesn’t change the fact that he KNOWINGLY let a person who he knew to be irresponsible and who got others into dangerous situations into a position of power. I think Ultra Magnus knew that Optimus was lying and like- why are you people like this?

Bumblebee could have been called out for so many different things that he actually did. Like is he a bad friend? Yes. He treats Bulkhead badly, most of there interactions are just him insulting Bulkhead and Bulkhead never insults him back. If they both were insulting each other then I wouldn’t really have an issue but most of the time they are seen together it’s just Bumblebee being an asshole. He’s willing to abandon his team and objective to chase down Blurr, he doesn’t listen when people tell him not to do something and it often leads to problems. There are reasonable things to call Bumblebee out on but the Wasp thing doesn’t make sense. If Optimus wanted to address Bumblebee never taking responsibility for his own actions, then why not do that when a consequence is the result of Bumblebee’s actions in a meaningful way. What the hell was he supposed to do? He didn’t know how to make a report so he asked. This is one of the only times that Bumblebee stops to think and consider his options, he could have immediately began spying on Wasp and the other cadets but he didn’t. He wanted to pass it off to the right people who would be able to handle it.

Animated OP frustrates me because I come so close to liking him and then he does something that personally annoys the hell out of me. I get why he would lie for his friend who was manipulative and generally awful towards him but its still just like— you have seen the consequences of his actions. This is no longer just hurting you or him, it has maybe killed a person and he has not changed. Optimus thinks he can change but he has an obligation to not let him hurt anymore people and he just needs to tell the truth. It’s really hard to leave friends behind, I know that. Even when they hurt you and actively make your life worse it is still extremely difficult to let that relationship go. I appreciate how Optimus has issues in that regard. But it’s gotten to a point where Sentinel’s poor judgment and refusal to listen to others puts himself and others in danger. Optimus gave him the opportunity to continue to cause harm to others, and he really wants to sit here and say that Bumblebee was making excuses when he just wasn’t? And he never and would never be called out on this.

One last thing, Ultra Magnus and the rest of the high command clearly don’t give a shit about the cybertronians who were fighting (they were so willing to just kill Arcee for the activation code) in the war and also don’t ever try to investigate any issue further. Potential spy? Eh sure throw him into solitary confinement. One of our top cadets went missing and might have died but no body has been recovered? Well fuck, gotta just say she died and not look into it to make sure there wasn’t any malpractice.

So in conclusion:

The name thing both doesn’t make sense and makes too much sense

Ultra Magnus is kind of a dictator kind of not a dictator

Optimus prime spew’s military bullshit and propaganda and no one cares

Wasp is a dick, didn’t deserve what happened to him

Bumblebee is an asshole, he still didn’t try to ruin a persons life.

No one cares about investigating serious crimes and accusations

[pinkarachnia]

Lesbian Anime Review #12 - Revolutionary Girl Utena & Adolescence of Utena

Hey

That was funny revolutionary

How does one review a piece of media so foundational to everything else that it inspired?

Going into Utena, I felt like I wanted the show to prove itself to me. Why is this one always put on such a pedestal? When something is so universally acclaimed as this, it sets expectations so high it should be unreasonable for it to meet them.

And yet.

Utena serves as a reminder that sometimes we put pieces of media on a pedestal because they've earned gold.

In this show a girl transforms into a cow and the cow returns for the movie.

My biggest criticism of this show is it needs a flashing lights warning all over it. Some of the shots are really difficult to look at, which is such a shame considering how gorgeous the animation can be.

I don't know if it's possible for me to have an original thought about Utena. After finishing it and the subsequent movie, I spent some time listening to people's takes, impressions, and theories about it. I gained a lot of insight through that process. It helps that people have had a lot of time to dwell on this show and its meaning. When I finished it, I felt that I was still searching for more of that meaning. Utena doesn't try to explain what its themes and symbolism mean and a lot is left to the audience to interpret, but I got the distinct impression that it was supposed to carry a specific meaning, not something vague or nebulous. For a while this meant that I felt frustrated that after everything I still had lingering questions, as though there should have been answers I could have found, but by now I think I'm content. I found answers to the questions that needed answers, and what was left could remain unanswered and that was okay.

Anyway, Nanami episodes.

Utena is a show that has a serious plot with the duels and the student council and the absolute destiny apocalypse and all that, but every 4 episodes or so you're treated to a precious gift in the form of an episode centred around this little shit head.

She's the best character and she has ridiculous episodes that seem only tenuously canonical but I'll be damned if they weren't fantastic.

I really liked the part where she was pursued relentlessly by a group of elephants while she tried to acquire a rare spice to create a curry that will reverse Utena and Anthy's body swap.

RELENTLESSLY.

So this anime is about a girl called Utena who wants to be a prince because when she was a kid, a prince showed her kindness when her parents died and gave her a ring that would apparently lead her back to him eventually, and she thought that guy was sick AF.

Utena is good at sports and wears a masculine school uniform and all the girlies like her. She learns that the student council at her new school is fucked up and they've all got the same rings as her, which identify them as duelists. They have sword fights to determine who has the right to marry the Rose Bride, a girl called Anthy. Utena thinks this whole system is batshit, but she has to fight duel after duel because she just keeps winning and people keep challenging her. Anthy seems unnervingly chill about a lot of it, but also seems genuinely happier when she gets to be with Utena rather than any of the other freaks who are dueling for her.

Damn everyone in this show wants to beat up Anthy so bad! I mean, Utena doesn't but they're like girlwives so that's to be expected but everyone else loves smacking her around. I can understand why Utena's default response was to go protector mode, even though her attitude of wanting to protect Anthy and fight for her would be the thing that ultimately condemns them to inevitable tragedy.

Spoilers below the gifs!

The rest of this review is going to be messy. I'm not sorry.

At least one of the themes of Utena was unclear to me until after I had watched the movie.

I understood that the school represented adolescence in general and that escaping the school meant breaking free of that and becoming empowered with independence.

At the end of the series, Utena has a sword fight with the big bad, frees Anthy from her prison and presumably dies in the process. She had spent the whole series fighting for Anthy and trying to win her freedom, but the flaw in her thinking is that she never tries to help Anthy by empowering her. She destroys the power structures that were holding Anthy in place, but in the process she destroys herself, when what Anthy needed was for Utena to give her the strength she needed to leave on her own. Even after all the duels fought for her, Anthy doesn't have the courage to take that step by herself, and while Utena is fighting her evil brother, she stabs Utena, which might be the thing that ultimately kills her. Just like how Birdie Wing Season 2 stabbed me in the back after I gave season 1 a 10/10. Utena is dealing with a lot of her own shit this whole time too, which doesn't help her see through to the heart of the matter.

This is contrasted in the movie, Adolescence of Utena, which confused me initially because people had insisted that I watch it after the show and I assumed it might help me to understand more of the show, but it was mostly the opposite.

The movie is maybe an alternate universe, maybe a time loop. It's never elaborated on. The point is it's a retelling but a bunch of the parameters are changed. The relevant part here is that when Utena decides that she wants to help Anthy, instead of fighting her battles for her, she transforms into a car. Cars are used in Utena to represent the power of adulthood and the freedom it confers; the main villain of the series is almost always driving his car and uses it to manipulate and influence people. Utena turning into a car that Anthy can drive to escape the school was the exact thing she needed. From that point, Anthy becomes the protagonist of the film and is able to move forward herself. She is literally in the drivers seat, which is a kind of empowerment that Anthy in the series is never given. This is how I came to understand why Utena failed in the series.

I also liked that in the movie, Utena appears to go into it knowing she likes girls. In the series, there's a conversation towards the end where Juri is talking to Utena about her relationship with Anthy and Utena's response is to push back on the idea that she and Anthy have a romantic connection; she says that it's different from the way Juri feels about Shiori, that it's more "pure". In the movie, when Anthy is insisting that she's become Utena's wife after she wins a duel, Utena's response is that if they're going to have a relationship, they should move forward at a more natural pace. She doesn't deny that they could have a relationship, she just doesn't like that Anthy immediately shifts into wife mode the moment Utena wins a duel. But then they have a romantic dance and it's all good.

I haven't even talked about "all women are rose brides" and it's difficult to put into words how hard that hit me.

The imagery of Anthy in her rose bride outfit speared with a thousand swords holding her in place and the main villain talking about how actually, all women are just like that: items to be owned and preserved in adolescence without any power to choose or act for themselves. This show did so much.

And the Nanami development was unreal. The joke character who has an episode where she's despairing because she's convinced she laid an egg is the character who discovers that Anthy is being sexually abused by her brother. She's just had her own arc where she learns that her own older brother isn't blood related to her. He then comes onto her like, "this is what you wanted right?", and she rejects him. Nanami is repulsed by what she learns about Anthy and even more that Utena continues to live with Anthy while unaware. The way they grow her as a character is incredible. Thanks Nanami. Hit him with the 10 hit combo into command grab.

I could write another entire review just about Juri and her whole deal. Juri is the fencing club captain and she's crushing on the most toxic girl in the universe who's doing the whole Kaguya-sama bit where she thinks that if she tells Juri she likes her then she's losing at love, so instead she keeps getting into other relationships so that one day Juri might get jealous enough that she confesses first, but Juri just continues brooding and yearning. It's that toxic codependent yuri that everyone keeps talking about and this time I didn't even clock it when I watched the show, I need another lesbian to explain to me why people like Shiori. When I watched it, I just assumed she was a bitch! I was the Juri in the relationship, assuming Shiori was just an evil straight girl.

So yeah, everyone was right about Utena. It's one of the lesbian anime of all time. Ikuhara does it again. This guy really is my favourite director. This does mean I have some bias because I love all the things this guy does with his shows. I just need to watch Sarazanmai and I'll have seen them all.

Of course I'm giving this a 10; if not this then what are 10s even for? There's a lesbian sword fight in almost every episode. I'll be thinking about this show for the rest of my life. And I shouldn't need to remind you, but I cannot be killed. Zettai unmei mokushiroku.

Fuck, would it be too cringe to get that as a tattoo?

[coraniaid]

Last post on this topic for a while, I promise.

I saw that somebody tagged my recent post about Helpless as ‘anti-Giles’, and – while I can see how you might get that impression (I mean, to be fair, I did use the phrase ‘unambiguously evil’) – it’s not really what I was trying to drive at.  My problem is with the way that particular episode depicts Giles (and to a lesser extent with the broader fandom attitude towards Giles) not with the character of Giles more generally.

What I mean is: I think the version of Giles that exists in Helpless is basically impossible to reconcile with the character we’ve seen in the first two seasons of the show. The Giles of Prophecy Girl who was so appalled by the thought of Buffy dying that he wanted to “defy prophecy” and fight the Master himself surely wouldn’t have taken so long to stand up to Quentin Travers.  The Giles of Innocence who told Buffy that “all you will get from me is my support and my respect” certainly wouldn’t repeatedly drug her and lie to her face about it.  The Giles who spent all summer chasing down possible sightings of Buffy across the country after she ran away at the end of Becoming would not be so willing to risk her life again just to follow orders from a group of people he openly despises. 

And – because the show doesn’t ever come back and address what he’s shown to do in this episode – it’s also impossible to reconcile Helpless with subsequent episodes.  Nobody ever talks about it, at all, and so the impression is that it either didn’t happen or just wasn’t a big deal.  Giles was unfairly sacked, for some reason, by the Bad Watcher’s Council, and that’s all there is to remember.  (The fact that Giles worked for years for the Bad Watcher’s Council and would’ve happily kept on doing so if they hadn’t fired him goes similarly unremarked on.)

But I don’t think a Buffy who had been betrayed by Giles this fundamentally would go back to trusting him as quickly as she does.  If ever.  I don’t think that only a few episodes later she’d be in any hurry to talk to him about the manslaughter she’d unwittingly been involved in, or that she’d so readily listen to him as her unofficial Watcher when Wesley arrives.  As it is, she spends more time being upset by the fact Giles had sex with her mother this season than she does caring about the fact he almost got her and her mother killed.  That just doesn’t make any sense to me.

And, just to be clear: I really do like Giles a lot.  He is one of my favorite characters in the show.  I think the evolution of his semi-parental relationship with Buffy is really well done; I like his connections with Jenny and Ethan and the way he gets to play off of other characters like Snyder and Joyce and Wesley. I think he is generally a very good deconstruction of the trope of the wise and patient mentor.  I think that ASH’s performance as Giles in Season 1 is probably a large part of what got the show renewed for a second season.  I am, in fact, firmly pro-Giles.

What I don’t like is the collective willingness of the fandom to overlook all of his faults. To strip away everything that makes him interesting until he’s just “Buffy’s Nice Dad”. To afford him a level of tolerance and understanding that somehow never seems to extend to any of the women in Buffy’s life. To pretend that Joyce Summers is being ridiculous or unreasonable for blaming him for her daughter running away, even though it is explicitly Buffy’s calling as a Slayer – and the fact that Giles himself insists she keeps this secret from her loved ones – that makes the events of Becoming possible.  [No, Buffy doesn’t just run away because of what Joyce said to her: if that was the only reason, why did she also cut off all ties with Giles and Willow and Xander and her other friends?]  And, yes, to act as if the fact that Quentin Travers, of all people, tells us that Giles has “a father’s love” for Buffy is the only takeaway from Helpless, and to pretend that his actual actions in that episode don’t undermine that reading at all.

Joyce Summers can tell Buffy not to come back home if she leaves the house without permission – in the heat of the moment, during an argument, clearly regretting it the second she says it – and twenty-five years later the internet is still full of posts calling her a bitch and a terrible mother and claiming she wanted Buffy to leave.  Joyce can be compelled to burn Buffy at the stake because she’s possessed by a demon and this is still a running joke in the fandom two decades later (nevermind the time the season before when Giles was similarly possessed by a demon that tried to kill Buffy: that one doesn’t count, apparently).  Buffy can literally tell Giles that she doesn’t “see the point” of living in the world anymore after her mother’s gone and you all act like it’s a complete mystery why she might be depressed after The Body.  Buffy tells her mother she loves her every season, starting from the third episode of the show – the first episode we see her tell anyone she loves them – and you all pretend that it’s somehow a huge retcon when she still loves her mother four seasons later and that she misses her when she dies.

But Giles goes along with a plan that seems all but designed to get Buffy killed, hypnotizes her, drugs her, and lies to her face about it – not because he’s possessed, not because he’s not in control of his actions, but because the people who employ him tell him he has to – and … nothing.  There’s no outrage at all.  The fandom and the writers alike all agree to pretend it just never happened.  I look for any discussion of this, but you’re all just talking about how much more consistently written a character Giles is than Joyce (which … no, sorry, that’s obviously nonsense; the Season 2 Ripper retcon alone is evidence enough of that), and how he should’ve gotten to adopt Buffy after Joyce died (when … uh, Buffy was legally an adult??), and writing  fanfic after fanfic in which Buffy tells Giles he was more of a parent to her than Joyce ever was (nevermind that she says almost literally the opposite in Season 6, or that she didn’t even meet Giles until she was sixteen, after Joyce explicitly uprooted her whole life to try to find somewhere for Buffy to have a fresh start) and … honestly, I don’t get it.

I just don’t get why you all hate Joyce this much, or why the fandom collectively seems to judge her by standards it never ever applies to Rupert Giles.  When did we decide that the times Joyce hurts Buffy are a fundamental part of her character and that the times Giles hurts her can be safely hand-waved away and ignored?  Why was I not at that meeting?

Like I said, I don’t know.

But what I do know is that Joyce is practically the only recurring character on the show who was played by a woman in her forties.

[For reference, Buffy’s recurring female cast includes two centuries old vampires, a thousand year old ex-vengeance demon, her friend the still-active vengeance demon whose exact age we don't know but was active in the 19th cenutry at least and probably for centuries before that, an ancient and immortal hell-god from another dimension and a centuries old ball of green energy that takes human form.  Not one of these characters is played by a woman over 35.  In fact, only one of them -- in-universe, quite possibly the youngest one of them -- is played by a woman over 30.  

The adult woman with the most screen time after Joyce is Jenny Calendar, who is played by a woman who was 27 years old when her character was killed off. A year later, Giles starts a relationship with another woman called Olivia Williams (who the show and the fandom are both profoundly uninterested in: at the time of writing there are more fics on AO3 shipping Giles with Oz than there are fics shipping him with Olivia.). Olivia is played by a woman who was also 27 years old in the only season she appears in, the same season that ASH turned 46. She's also introduced by Giles as an "old friend", which is probably something it's best not to think too hard about.

The one other woman over forty to appear in more than one episode of Buffy was Lindsay Crouse, who plays Professor Maggie Walsh in Season 4.  She appears in eight episodes, anticipates fandom by calling herself an ‘evil bitch’, then dies in an incredibly stupid and pointless way.  That’s literally it.]

So maybe I do get it.  And frankly, it sucks.

[bard-llama]

WiP Wednesday: Toph and Zuko get married. For politics. Because why not?

After the war, Toph mostly stuck around in the Fire Nation. She didn’t have anywhere better to go, and she preferred to stick by her friends’ sides, rather than go off on her own. Not that she couldn’t take care of herself alone. But why would she want to? A great deal of the Fire Nation Royal Palace had needed to be rebuilt after the Day of Sozin’s Comet, and Sparky generously allowed the repairs to be made with earth. It meant that Toph could see – but it also meant that she could sneak around through the walls without anyone noticing. It was as she was hidden in the wall behind the kitchen listening to servants gossip about their Fire Lord’s marriage prospects that the idea came to her. 

Hurrying to Zuko’s office, she burst through the wall (circumventing the guards in front of his door) and announcing, “guess what?” Zuko sighed, looking up from his desk. “What?” His voice was tired and it bothered her.  He’d been working himself half to death lately trying to mend relations with the Earth Kingdom. They were asking for totally unreasonable reparations and kept sending over ambassadors that carried huge sticks up their asses and it was annoying. It was embarrassing. Toph was rarely proud of being an Earth Kingdom citizen. But she was one – and a fairly notable one at that, given her family’s nobility and wealth. That was exactly why this could work. “We’re getting married.” Zuko was silent for a long minute, staring at her. “We’re… what?” “We’re getting married,” Toph said again. “Think about it. The Earth Kingdom has been being a serious pain in the butt. They want concessions from the Fire Nation. So what better concession than marrying the heir to the Beifong family? Marriage alliances are a time honored tradition, and it looks good for them if they can snag a royal with just a random noble, right? Meanwhile, it means you don’t have to marry any of those fucking courtiers, ‘cause peace with the Earth Kingdom is more important than their families’ advancement, right? Like, this is something your council could be convinced of.” Zuko was still just looking at her. “Well? Say something!” She chucked a pebble at him. He dodged. “You – you want to marry me?” he sounded genuinely baffled and she frowned in response. “Well, why not? You can’t say you’d prefer one of those ambitious noblewomen.” “Definitely not,” Zuko confirmed. “But I – you – seriously?” “Seriously. This is the solution to your problems, idiot. Why aren’t you excited?” Her frown was maybe a little reminiscent of a pout, but seriously. Where was the adulation and admiration of her genius? She’d just solved a big issue!

[oneatlatime]

The Storm

This post was delayed due to dumbass technical issues. I managed to save it from annihilation by the skin of my teeth, and learned an important lesson about saving drafts along the way.

Long time no blog. As it's currently storming where I am, I feel it's time to watch this one.

Aang in the opening credits has his tongue out like a dog on a car ride. Now picturing a car full of airbenders hanging their heads out the window.

It's been long enough since I watched one of these that I forgot that dream sequences tend to be tinted brown. Had a two second panic trying to remember the episode where Sokka learned airbending.

I wanted to see more of Gyatso but not like this!

Appa the morning person.

Hey Zuko's back. Haven't seen him in a few episodes. Pipi Longstocking hair is still doing him no favours. Also is he really pale this episode?

I feel like Zuko's intelligence varies wildly from episode to episode (usually to serve the plot) but this may be a new depth of dumbness: tell the crew to their faces that their lives don't matter. You know, the crew that prevents the thing you're standing on in the middle of the ocean from sinking. The crew that keeps you fed and actually going somewhere. That crew.

On the other hand, Zuko's method for creating mutiny may break a world record for efficiency. He's such a dumb smart guy.

I'm with Katara on this one. I don't like that swishing either. And if they're out of money, why were they in a market anyway?

And with a kick to the rear, this episode's 'violence towards Sokka for laughs' quota is filled.

Never before in the history of humanity's hubristic quest to tame the seas has a wharf ever been this clean.

And I'm with the crewman on this one too. Zuko's actions really do line up with him not caring about anything beyond his own concerns.

Talk about rock and a hard place for Iroh here. From what I've gathered, it's Zuko's ship, which means that Zuko's in charge of everything including keeping order. But, Zuko is also being unreasonable in the face of a very reasonable complaint from the crew. So Iroh has to pacify both while undermining neither, and not appear to be in command. Takes delicacy.

Appa gets a mooring! Also what is that cave back there?

I was hoping the show would bring this up! To anyone who isn't riding along on Aang's adventures, it sure does look like the Avatar disappeared when he was needed most, continued to stay gone no matter how bad things got, and then just reappeared randomly one day with seemingly no plan to set set things right. Did he reappear to fight the firelord? According to rumour, he reappeared to ride giant koi. What would the average person be left thinking? The fisherman is right. And Katara - will you please let Aang fight his own battles for once in his life?

Aang being the bravest person you know? Do you not remember this?

You know, this?

"That fisherman was way out of line."

Poor guy needs a blow dry. Should be possible, what with airbending and all. Didn't know that Appa had a goatee. Actually the facial hair in general in this show is pretty creative.

If this is going to be the exposition dump storytelling episode, we may all need an emotional support Momo.

These air scooter shenanigans are making me think that the first lesson airbenders learn is how to nullify motion sickness.

Is this the first airbending we see by someone that isn't Aang or Appa?

Someone's been taking fashion tips from Narcissa Malfoy.

Oh fuck off that's too much pressure for a kid. Nice Wisteria though.

Isn't the toys thing a thing in the real world? Something to do with the Dalai Lama?

If Avatars have to be told that they're the Avatar, that implies that they don't know instinctively. Theoretically, could an isolated avatar living in peace time go their whole lives without figuring it out?

Oh wise and learned council of airbenders, please tell me how relying on a 12 year old is going to save you from a war?

Baby Zuko! Baby scarless Zuko! He looks like just the prettiest little princess in these shots. Also, either this happened not all that long ago, or Zuko is majorly overdue a growth spurt, because he's maybe one inch shorter in this flashback. Also also, Pipi Longstocking hair doesn't work no matter how much hair you have to put up. Also also also, the whole reverse tonsure look he has going on in the present really downplays how round his face is. He's got chubby baby cheeks. Also also also also, if Zuko is as much of a prince as his title implies, he's right that he needs to know how to rule.

I have picked up over the course of this show the fact that the fire nation seems to prioritise aesthetic. But this is just ridiculous. And a bit on the nose too. A literal wall of fire dividing you from the commoners? Not even the commoners, the highly esteemed generals in charge of your war? How does this guy see or hear anything that's going on?

Katara asking Aang why he wouldn't be excited about being the Avatar seems out of character for me. Why exactly would he be excited about being catapulted to the number one spot on the fire nation's 'enemies of the state' list? It's not like Katara doesn't know what happens to people on that list.

Don't worry about these jerks. They'll all be immolated in a little bit.

Smelly kid jokes. That's some peak 90s comedy right there.

I love Gyatso. Solidly in Aang's corner and happy to advocate for his charge even against grumpy temple elders. Never loses sight of the fact that Aang is just a boy and needs balance.

This Zuko disrespecting old farts stuff is nonsense. Like when you get called in to HR for 'walking disrespectfully past Sherri's desk' or 'aggressive choice of footwear' and you know it's just because they're looking for a bullshit reason to fire you/force you to quit because the owner's nephew wants your job and they don't want to pay for severance or unemployment. If pointing out obvious flaws in objectively stupid plans is an offence worthy of an honour duel (I'm not even going to try and spell the actual name), then this guy needs to be dueled too:

He called bullshit too.

No

No no they're not actually going to

oh fuck no

hang on he doesn't have his scar yet is this going where I think it's going?

Back to idiot monks phew. Another rock and a hard place situation. Aang needs to be a normal 12 year old. The world needs a fully trained Avatar. The best they can do is a half trained 12 year old avatar. That would have ended well I'm sure.

Oh yeah just yank out the remainders of Aang's support system. That will certainly encourage him to quickly develop into a responsible adult, rather than an emotionally disturbed 12 year old with unmatchable uncontrolled powers. What were these monks thinking? Or were they thinking at all? Were they just panicking? Because only Gyatso seems to have his head on straight. Upset avatars destroy things - we've SEEN that - and these monks think the best way to turn Aang into the Avatar they need is to do something that will upset him probably more than any other possible thing? At least they didn't think to take away Appa too.

Katara's right. He does have a right to be angry. I like that this show gives the characters permission to feel.

Indulging my inner pedant for a minute, he never saw Gyatso alive again. His bones were in pretty good condition. Actually, given that firebenders killed him, why weren't his bones covered in scorch marks? Also, is that where all the other airbender skeletons went? Instant cremation?

The fisherman's right - the avatar did turn his back on the world. Aang's right - he did run away. Katara's right - not running away wouldn't have saved anyone. Kudos to a kids' show for not flinching from tackling topics that have no right answers. Yay nuance!

oh god here we go

Free life tip: If you ever see a dependent and/or child assume this position at the feet of their guardian, call the relevant authorities. Quickly.

And of course there's a crowd of hundreds too. Nothing like a little public mutilation of children to flex your power over the masses. This firelord's ego is so fragile.

So that's where the scar comes from. Also the firelord's line about learning respect casts a new light on when Zuko said he'd teach respect to the crewman at the beginning of the episode. Guess he was channelling the firelord.

Big repsect to Zuko for the above. He's never lacked in bravery. This is the opposite of the "shameful weakness" nonsense.

"Things will never return to normal." THANK YOU

Why is Zuko in such a hurry to go home to that anyway? Seems like the only person who likes him is his uncle, and he's travelling with him.

This is odd. I've always felt like I know Aang, and hearing his story this episode just confirms that I do know him, who he is, what makes him tick. And it lets me know him better. I've deepened an already deep understanding of who he is. However, I thought I had a surface (if jumbled) understanding of Zuko, but hearing his story this episode, and especially the final series of shots, the way they frame him as alone in darkness contrasted with brightly lit memories, makes me sure that I've never known Zuko at all. Who is this guy? I feel like this is meeting him for the first time.

There's also definitely something worth examining in the fact that Aang tells his own story but Iroh tells Zuko's (beyond the fact that Aang is the only person left who could tell his story).

Thank god some comic relief. Not a moment too soon.

I didn't know firebenders could do that. Judging by his face, I don't think he did either.

The judgmental energy in this shot is unparalleled.

"I'm not but I still don't wanna!" This old couple has some seriously good lines.

Appa saves the day once again, this time with an assist from the Avatar powers. I swear if Appa's existence was paired with Sokka's brain they could do the Avatar's job no problem.

Zuko apologises. That is good. But is it Iroh he should be apologising to?

"I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it." A lovely message to conclude a show on. But are we going to gloss over the whole 'father mutilates his son BARELY offscreen' thing?

Appa shakes!

Final Thoughts

This section could very easily devolve into increasingly hysterical ranting about the whole ZUKO JUST GOT HALF HIS FACE BURNED OFF AS A FORM OF COURT ENTERTAINMENT thing. Lord have mercy the fire nation is fucked up. To prevent that, I am going to share one thought, and only one thought on that fiasco:

this is the first time I've really felt that I'm not the target audience of this show. If I had seen this at 8 or 10 years old, I would have been appropriately mad at the firelord for doing such a bad thing, but it would have made perfect sense, because he's a bad guy, and they have to do bad guy things. It's what makes them bad guys. As an adult, with more knowledge in general, but especially about things like power dynamics and the long term consequences of child abuse, I am valiantly fighting not to spiral down a path of horrific implications because I want to be able to sleep tonight. From both a political and a familial point of view, there was no one (who wasn't 12 and frozen) who could have stepped in. It was the firelord who did it; it appears that there is no one above him in the fire nation hierarchy. It's Zuko's father who did it; good luck getting a kid to stand up to a father in front of an audience of hundreds in a culture that obviously worships a bastardised concept of respect (zuko tried though). Iroh couldn't (or wouldn't) interfere on either political or familial grounds. As an adult, seeing a child (because Zuko may be 16 in the show but that boy kneeling is BABY) stuck in such a situation, knowing there's literally no way to get out of it, no hero going to swoop in and save the day, no judicial process to dish out consequences, well that's hard to watch. And that's all I'll say about that.

Here's a thought: did the avatar (not Aang, but the figure/concept of the Avatar) disappearing fail Zuko, and by extension the fire nation, as much as it failed the other three nations? And the natural follow-along to that thought: did the fire nation attacking the rest of the world hurt the fire nation as much as it hurt the rest of the world?

Aang made a mistake many years ago by running away. He gets to redeem himself by not running away and saving Sokka and the fisherman. Zuko made a mistake at the beginning of the episode by undervaluing the lives of his crew (to their faces, no less). He gets to redeem himself by saving the helmsman and letting the Avatar pass in favour of getting the crew to safety. But I don't think these stories are really parallel. Aang's natural impulse was the mistake. He learned from it, modified his behaviour, and did better the next chance he got. Zuko's natural impulse was to act as he should have. He was taught (violently) that this was incorrect behaviour, and modified his behaviour based on his father's teachings. This modification (not valuing the crew) is the mistake. In Zuko's case, learning from the experience and modifying his behaviour actually means unlearning the lesson he was taught and reverting to his former behaviour. Aang's natural state needed modification; Zuko's externally imposed behaviour needed to be forgotten. Not parallel.

Aang = hope is an interesting conclusion. It's only possible for him to represent hope because he dashed everyone's hopes by disappearing and staying gone. If the avatar had defeated the fire nation 100 years ago and prevented a war from ever happening, he would not have been a symbol of hope. I don't know what he would have been a symbol of, but it's the fact that he's been gone long enough for things to get really bad that makes him a symbol of hope in the present. So if Aang was always meant to be hope, then he was always meant to get frozen.

Aang = hope is also interesting in that it positions Zuko on the side of the enemies of the fire nation. If Aang represents hope to the world, and Aang represents hope to Zuko, then Zuko is not on the Fire Nation side of the conflict (whether he knows it or not).

The humour in this episode was minimal but very welcome. The old couple was heaps of fun, Sokka got a couple of good lines (although never enough - still waiting on a Sokka episode), and the juxtaposition of humour and very serious themes was artfully handled. It was never jarring or tonally off. The switching back and forth between the two story threads was well done too, especially how they tied in at the end.

I'm kind of annoyed that Katara got relegated to shouty defender of the actually-a-little-bit-guilty or Agony Aunt. She deserves better. I'm not at all annoyed that Momo filled the role of cuddle administration. That was lovely to see.

It didn't even occur to me to check if the art/animation in this episode was pretty. That's usually a primary concern with me, but I was too wrapped up in the plot to notice.

I can't believe a kids' show went there, but they did. And they did it well. This episode felt much longer than 20-ish minutes, in a good way. It was packed. Definitely going on my rewatch list.

[the5n00k]

1. Do you think that the chairman is pure evil?i mean he does his job without breaking his rulesghosts can do whatever they want, only they need to scare people, he could easily cause havoc in his world and in the world of the living, but he does not, although he could get enough of the suffering of people

2. Do you have headcanons for the chairman?I really liked the scratch headcanonsand sorry if you misunderstood me, I'm just using google translateI wish you a good day and good mood!

No worries and I hope you have a good day and good mood as well! I understood this very well actually, thank you for the ask!

I just hope you can understand me because despite being native English speaking I really Suck at it lol

I don't think he was pure evil at all, but he definitely wasn't good. His punishments for small missteps were wildly unfair and everyone lived in fear of him. You could make the argument that he needed that misery to live but even then, the whole system of meters and documents felt more like control than anything necessary. But he also wasn't unreasonable. He wasn't beyond giving second chances (except for the purple ghost from the first episode, I'm so sorry my love those puppies were too powerful 💔) and heard Scratch out several times when he was on thin ice. Him and the Council prefer order and organization than any sort of interference with the living world. It seems they didn't have a very high opinion of humans in general and had rules and codes in place to keep the living and the dead separate for whatever reason. I'm gonna guess because the mysteriousness of ghosts is what makes them scarier than being out in the open.

Overall I loved the old chairman! He was really cool and intimidating and his design is so good. What a cool character, sometimes I really miss him lol

As for headcanons I don't have that many but probably still way too many for a character with minimal screen time LOL

- this one isn't mine but I loved the headcanon that he talks with sign language with the people he likes. Or that some people can just understand his hisses like an ancient language. Kind of like how some people can just understand Harriet

- he's got this curious puppy energy that it seems like he'd rather let a unique situation play out because he's interested than shut it down. He wants to see what happens (can you blame him? I don't think he gets out much 💔 poor guy)

- since it's not the robe that gives the skeleton hands, it seems like he just Has them but I believe he was a normal ghost. Could be one of two things;

1) his hands just looked like that before (we've seen a lot of ghosts with unique design elements, so it's not out of the question)

2) he had the robe on for so long that the power got to him, stripping him of anything that would have made him recognizable before. The robe is removable and Scratch only puts it on when he needs to so he hasn't had it on long enough to affect him. But this guy had it on for eons, letting the power go to his head and strip him of self. Also the reason why the characters referred to him only as his status (The Chairman) and not his name before. Because he literally isn't the person he used to be, at least not fully.

- he had a one-sided relationship with Jinx. She really wanted to impress him and he just wanted her to go away. The reason why she was always so busy is because he kept throwing new tasks at her to keep her away

Hope these are good enough answers for you and have a nice day anon!!!

[bestfriend491]

Kill Okoye

Okoye x Yandere Reader

Summary: If you can't have her, no one can. Kill Bill mixed with Acrimony

Requested by Anonymous

Angst, Hurt No Comfort

Warnings: 5.k words, Murder, No happy ending, Referenced Past Sexual Conduct ( not smut), Mentally Unstable Reader, Violence, for mature audiences

Inspired by Kill Bill by SZA

(Lyrics in the story are in orange)

I'm still a fan even though I was salty

You sat in the palace common room, staring into the eyes of your ex. Okoye sat with her elders from the Border Tribe. This was different to the usual standing stance she normally took next to the king and his throne.

You smirked at her, eyeing her from across the room where you sat next to the throne. Your Aunt, Ramonda, and your cousin King T' Challa sat beside you, as the meeting that you considered ridiculous took place. 

You were being reprimanded for something so miniscule, and you thought that it was a bit unreasonable for Okoye to listen to her new side piece and tell the council about what you had done. You knew that you hated that girl the moment Okoye told you that she was dating again.

 All you were doing was marking your territory. 

"We understand that Y/n is of royal blood, and therefore there are certain rules that must be abided by that regular civilians would not have to conform to but even with that being taken into consideration, what Y/n has been doing to General Okoye and her partner ,Emwe, is completely unacceptable and needs to be punished."a Border Tribe elder spoke on Okoye's behalf.

You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but T' Challa was quick to stop you from incriminating yourself more than you already had over the past hour. 

"I understand that this matter needs to be addressed and prosecuted accordingly but the punishment that you are insisting on is far too harsh. Y/n is going through a lot right now and it has always been our way to hear people out and allow them to heal. I think that making sure that she no longer has contact with the general is essential but too much after that coul-" T'Challa said before being interrupted by you. 

"No longer has contact? I didn't even do anything. Last time I checked, wanting to speak with your ex has never been illegal!" You stood up to argue quite loudly. There was no way you were cutting off contact with the one person that you truly loved. 

Ramonda pushed you back down, giving you a stern, "Not now." Before one of the other elders pitched in.

"That is true Y/n but we are concerned that you don't really understand the true extent of your communication with her. Okoye has stated on numerous occasions that she is uncomfortable with the amount of 'talking' you want to do with her." 

"Has she said that this is what she wants? For me to never talk to her again? Or is it just you all making decisions without her input?" 

This started some chatter,  with some unpleasant Wakandan words being spoken by a few people, while Ramonda and T'Challa defended you. 

People were talking over each other so you couldn't fully make out every single word said but for the most part it was a lot of "Strange Girl," "Crazy." "evil" coming from the border and mining Tribe's representatives. 

"ENOUGH." said T'Challa, causing everyone to stay still, no longer talking. 

"As King, and as somebody who can attest to Y/n's character, I am not going to allow her to be punished in the ways that you all want her to be. Unless Okoye states otherwise,no contact and a new assignment is all I am willing to give her." You smiled at the king's words, appreciating him using his status as king to defend you. He rarely ever used it. He did not reciprocate that smile though, looking at you in disappointment. 

"Thank you." You mouthed. 

The king card didn't fully work though, so you were still required to be a certain distance away from Okoye at all times, but it was better than the jail cell that they threatened you with. 

"Y/n, do you agree to these terms?" T' Challa asked, as everyone stared at you. You didn't agree to these terms, as you'd need to move your work to cater to some of the rules stated, but your cousin looked tired and so did your aunt. 

You nodded begrudgingly. 

"Then let it be so." Ramonda said and the meeting was adjourned. 

You stood up, ready to approach Okoye, to speak with her alone, and explain your side of the story. But there was no chance, you were blocked by an entire line of people, and your aunt pulled you towards her immediately. 

"Y/n, please. Behave yourself. My son has just put his title on the line for you. At least act like you're going to listen." She said coldly. You didn't want to make her more angry, as you had seen her when she was really angry. It was not a pretty sight. So you took a deep breath, and walked towards the doors of the room to leave and go to your own house.

Hate to see you with some other broad, know you happy

It was only when that girlfriend stealer walked in, that you cracked a bit. You saw her entering the room that Okoye was still in, going towards her to hug her and kiss her, as if you weren't still in the area. 

This woman clearly didn't know who you were, if she had the nerve to do all of this in front of you. 

The only thing more infuriating about the entire ordeal was seeing Okoye's face light up at the sight of her. Seeing the smile that she only used to give to you, being given to her. 

You were angry, that was for sure. How dare she?

Hate to see you happy if I'm not the one driving

You were going to turn, to go and confront the issue head on. For her to not smile even once during that entire meeting in a room with you but to smile as soon as she saw Emwe was unacceptable. 

You would have done something about it then and there if it weren't for T'Challa instinctively blocking your view of the two and pulling the arm that his mother wasn't holding, directing you to move away from them. You didn't even realise that you were trying to approach them.

"Y/n, stand down!" He whisper-shouted, not wanting to bring attention to himself. 

So you stood down, as T'Challa told his mother to allow the two of you to be alone in a different room so that he could talk to you.

You were taken to your old headquarters. The ones that you used when you were still living at the palace.

You had been forced to leave  whenever Okoye was working there a few months ago but that was quite literally everyday so you had gotten your own place and moved out completely. 

It was completely empty now, more like a guest room. You sat down on your bed as T'Challa closed and locked the door. 

"Why have you locked the door?" You asked. 

"I have a feeling you are not about to like what I have to tell you, and it is best that you can not leave and attempt to attack Okoye or Emwe when I am finished." He said, sitting down next to you.

"Don't say that name in front of me." You winced referring to the girl you nearly attacked.

"Y/n. Although what I said there was partially true, you still need to realise that I am just as concerned if not more about your recent behaviour. It has been a year and you are still like this. I think that in addition to the terms agreed upon, I have no choice but to send you to be based in another country. It is what is best right now." He tried to put his hand on your shoulder, to reassure you, but you shrugged it off. 

"Best for me or best for you and your royal position?" You scoffed at him.

"Y/n I risked it all out there today! I am not banishing you or anything similar to that. I am merely telling you that you are not going to heal from this situation here in Wakanda where Okoye is. You need to leave. I'll give you your new work assignment and where you will be stationed,  tomorrow morning and by afternoon you will be on the next quinjet there. I won't argue with you about this."

He stood now, again putting his hand on your shoulder. 

"You have to get yourself together. This will be good for you. I really believe so." 

You sucked your teeth but didn't force his touch away. 

The next morning, you didn't argue when he told you that you'd be going to California to work at its outreach centre ,and you didn't even flinch when you were indeed flown off that afternoon. 

You weren't pleased with the new route that your life was being forced to take but your anger was not towards your cousin. 

It was to the person who kept denying you love.

As you sat in the quinjet, you smiled thinking about the one thing you were able to do before leaving. 

In Wakanda, Okoye was just getting back to her home, where she saw an envelope on her doorstep. 

She opened it to see your handwriting on a small sheet of paper. 

She read: 

My love,

I'm going to America for a while, King's orders. I want you to know that I love you, and I am willing to forgive you for telling your mistress about me. 

I.Am.Your.Number.One. 

ALWAYS. 

Remember that. 

I love you, and I will be thinking about you.

Your love, Y/n

You laughed to yourself thinking about the last words you left her.

I'm so mature, I'm so mature, I'm so mature

Got me a therapist to tell me there's other women

I don't want none, I just want you

"Y/n. You haven't talked about anything in 6 sessions. At some point I will have to report this to the King and tell him that you have not been progressing." Zakolee Maku, your recommended therapist spoke to you as you sat in her patient chair, angrily staring straight ahead. 

You turned your head towards her and looked her up and down. 

"I'm good, Mrs. Zakolee Maku. I do not need a therapist to help me solve my problems. I don't even have any." You spat out at her, much like you had been for the past half hour.

"I've already stated that just calling me Zakolee is fine and additionally, I am not a therapist, Y/n." She responded, still as calm as ever. 

"Except you are a therapist, Mrs. Zakolee Maku." You smiled, enjoying the back and forth between the two of you. 

She put her notepad down, something she hadn't done in the 6 different days you'd been forced to travel to this weird loft of an office to have a 'healing session' with her. 

They wanted you to believe that this entire thing was just her being a fellow Wakandan in America, helping newcomers cope with this new culture. 

You didn't believe a single word of that crap. You knew a therapist when you saw one, and she definitely was one. 

You didn't do therapists. As in ever. 

"I'm only here on Royal orders, or I will never be allowed back in Wakanda. I am forced to go to your office and talk about how I feel for 2 hours every 5 days. Wouldn't you describe that as someone going to a therapist by the order of the law?" You asked, wanting to see what she could say to defend that.

"Well, yes. But I am not only here to talk about your feelings. I want to know about you." 

"What about me?" You asked sceptically. 

"I want to know your story? Why are you here? What are the events that led you to being in this place that you seem to hate so much?" She asked , leaning forward to show you her sincere emotion. 

You laughed, taking the glass of water that was placed for you, taking a sip through your chuckles. 

"Doesn't all of that information come in a file?" You asked. She shook her head.

"I want to hear it from you. The person who can tell me the entire thing from their perspective." She answered.

"Where would we even start? There is so much to tell." 

"How much do you remember?" She asked, looking at you curiously.

"I remember it all. I remember every single day since my life started crumbling. So where do you want to start?" You asked. 

"How about the beginning." She said, 

"Okay." You cleared your throat, willing to share your story. 

You told Zakolee about how you had met Okoye, at Wakanda University, when she was dropping her friend off before the school year started.

She had tripped on your luggage, saying a few curse words as she got back up. 

You apologised repeatedly for hurting her, seeing that she had scraped her knee quite badly from the fall. You offered some help cleaning it, having a first aid kit in your room. So she followed you there, and by the end of the hour, the two of you were in your bed naked next to each other.

It didn't take long for the two of you to become a thing, her asking you out a few days later right before leaving for Dora Milaje training. 

The two of you travelled to each other's respective places, Okoye constantly complaining about the trip that it took to get to you. 

You were so in love, and her love was so good. You thought that you'd be together forever, so what was postponing your tertiary studies for a few years? Just until Okoye was of higher ranking and her life was settled. 

She needed your support and school was consuming most of your time, preventing you from giving it to her. 

So you dropped out of school, and spent all of your time revolving around her. 

You were there to heal her, talk to her, please her. 

It was more worth it when she proposed 6 months into the relationship. You were so happy that you finally grew the guts to go back home and announce everything to your family.

Unfortunately, nobody else shared your same enthusiasm, and your family shunned, forbidding you from communicating with them ever again. Saying that they didn't want your delusions of love to affect them. 

You ran crying to Okoye that same night, where she comforted you and held you.

She sold you a dream that night to make you feel better. 

She told you that as soon as things settled down, she would help you fix things with your family, and you'd be able to go to school again, and get the degree that you really wanted. 

She told you stories of your future, and how she'd have so much time for you. How she would give you all the love and affection that you craved from her.

You didn't realise that this was not realistic at the time, so you let yourself ease into her and had a great night with her. 

Years went by, Okoye officially becoming the general, and still, you hadn't even gotten married yet. 

You'd confront her about it time and time again, demanding to know why she had proposed so soon if she wasn't going to marry you even years after. 

She would dismiss you, and tell you that you needed to be patient. So you'd keep quiet for a few more months.

You never got back on good terms with your family, only seeing them when they came to the palace to see Ramonda and her kids. You didn't even go back to school. 

Soon, 7 years had passed and there was still nothing.

Your last straw was her telling you that she wasn't sure about the two of you anymore in the heat of an argument. 

After 7 years, she had the nerve to tell you that she wasn't sure about you. 

You were so mad that you broke it off at that exact moment. 

Further on, you loved seeing her beg for you to take her back, receiving gifts from her almost everyday. 

That stuck for about 2 years, until it all stopped, and you were left to wonder what in Bast's name was going on. 

To your horror, it was another woman. That's when you'd actually started losing it. Sending some rather unsavoury messages and sometimes threats to the both of them. 

As you finished telling her the entire thing, all she did was look at you. Trying to hide her clear shock, but not doing a very good job. 

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" You asked.

"No, I just have a few questions." 

"Go ahead." 

She looked down at her notepad, because she had picked it back up halfway through the story. 

"So you sacrificed your education for her, and got shunned by your family because of it." 

You nodded.

"But your file says that you've had a university degree for almost a year now" 

You shrugged. "I have, but that's not the point of it all. Were you even listening? It was the 7 years where I couldn't get that degree that still has me upset. It's the years of not talking to my family besides my aunt and her kids that makes me upset. It's the empty promises that never got fulfilled that make me angry."

"So you don't want her back, you just want an apology." 

"I've already gotten countless apologies. It hasn't changed my rage. Seeing her with someone just makes me angry."

 

"But it's been 3 years now. Don't you think that's long enough for her and you to start exploring the dating world again. Especially if you feel like she has paid for her actions. There are many people that could fill the void that she might have left in you, Y/n." 

"No! I can't have anyone else. I've tried to date around, but I physically cannot do it. And she does it so effortlessly. Like I was just nothing." 

"So you want her back, even though you broke up with her?" 

You rolled your eyes at the woman, who clearly wasn't understanding a word that you were saying. So you stood up ready to leave her fancy place. She rushed to stop you,

"Okay, I seem to have made an assumption that has triggered you. I'm sorry. Please just don't go. I think we can work with this. You've been here for a month, and you haven't had any of your past incidents happen so that's a start." She started to flatter you.

"Thank you." You said stubbornly as you went to go and sit back down.

For the rest of the session, you and the 'not therapist' actually started to break a few walls. 

You were finally talking, and unlike before, she was listening to you. 

3 months later, you were doing extremely well, and you'd finally found the courage to go on a date for the first time in nearly 3 years. 

You dressed in your best clothes and drove to the restaurant, but the moment you sat down, there was a growing feeling of unease in your stomach. 

This person that sat in front of you, although very beautiful, wasn't Okoye, and that was just something you couldn't handle. 

The more you tried to get through the dinner, the more you needed to leave. 

"I'm sorry but I can't do this." You said to the woman as you rushed out of there and drove back to your apartment in a complete daze. 

You didn't know what was happening until you had already packed your bags, booked a plane ticket back to Wakanda, gone to the airport, and gotten on the plane. 

All you could think of the entire journey there was, What were you doing?

Everything was going so good, you had settled into work and you hadn't attempted a stunt like this in months. You were finally starting to feel like you were in control, but suddenly all of that control was given to that one side of you. The one that was so lonely without Okoye. 

You got to the border of your home country, the furthest a plane was allowed to enter, and quickly took your bags and left. You were wearing a black cloak that you'd gotten years ago, so that and the night sky prevented the enter village from seeing you. 

For the first 15 minutes, you were sure that you were going to go to Okoye's house, maybe to try and do something reckless. 

Luckily, your legs led you back to your own home, where you breathed a sigh of relief. 

The next day, you stayed in your house, feeling overwhelmed by the thoughts of the previous day. 

You weren't sure what you wanted to do. You had no business even being back in Wakanda, and T'Challa would not be pleased. 

As midday kicked in, and you were sharpening some blunt and old weapons, your mind again got the better of you. And the irrational ideas started to form.

If I can't have you, no one should

I might

I might kill my ex

Not the best idea

Her new girlfriend's next

How'd I get here?

How did you get here is what you really wanted to know. 

You weren't the murderous type. But the thoughts kept coming. 

I might kill my ex

I still love her though

You loved Okoye. You couldn't kill her. But your thoughts and feelings were becoming quite convincing. 

Rather be in jail than alone. 

It was with this that you decided that you needed to let loose. Grabbing some wine out of a cabinet, you drank straight from the bottle trying to ration with yourself.

It wouldn't be worth it. 

I get the sense that it's a lost cause

I get the sense that you might really love her

You thought back to the many times that you'd seen Okoye and Emwe together. How happy she seemed with her there. You could tell that there was real love there. 

Would she take you back even if Emwe wasn't in the picture? 

What if you weren't good enough for her anymore? 

You needed to calm yourself down. So you went on a chat log on your Kimoyo Beads to read a chat that you'd had with her a year ago, when these same thoughts had been looming in your head. 

YOU: Okoye. Please stop ignoring me.

OKOYE: Y/n you threatened to kill me! I'd prefer to not speak to you while you are in this scary state.

YOU: I didn't mean it like that. I just want you back, sthandwa. 

OKOYE: I'm in a healthy relationship, and I no longer have feelings for you anymore. 

YOU: Could you at least pretend that you do. Just until I am over you?

OKOYE: NO. Y/n. Don't ever contact me again.

She had blocked you immediately after this. 

These messages calmed you in a sense, because that was proof that you tried. 

You had tried to stop, she just needed to play along and you would have been fine. But she wouldn't, so whose fault was it really?

The text gon' be evidence, this text is evidence

I tried to ration with you, no murders or crime of passion

With this, somehow your mind was able to defend wanting to do it. After all, Okoye was living a happy life, without you while you sat at home lonely. So you let your thoughts do as they pleased.

But damn, you was out of reach

You was at the farmers market with your perfect peach

Now I'm in amazement, planning home invasion

Now you laying facedown

Got me saying over a beat

That night, you had a dream. You were at Okoye's house, and she was on the ground, looking up, while you held her spear next to you, listening to the sound of someone else approaching the house. 

I'm so mature, I'm so mature, I'm so mature

After that uneventful night, you ended up going back to California the next day. 

You had work, and your head was no longer fully consumed in homicidal thoughts and for a full 3 months, it all went back to normal. 

Your routine was work, healing sessions, sleep, repeat. 

You still had some crazy thoughts, but you were able to handle them with more rationality.

Got me a therapist to tell me there's other women

I don't want none, I just want you

If I can't have you, no one will, oh

I might kill my ex

Not the best idea

Her new girlfriend's next

How'd I get here?

I might kill my ex

I still love her though

Rather be in jail than alone

From the outside, you actually seemed quite back to normal. And that was exactly what got you an invite back to Wakanda.

After much consideration, the council had decided to give you the choice to come back to Wakanda since you had seemed to have made some tremendous progress. 

You accepted, and said a few goodbyes to the people that had been there for you in the States.

As you once again came into Wakanda, now in a quinjet rather than a regular plane, you couldn't help but think of the fact that you had somehow fooled everyone. 

You were nowhere near as progressed as they thought you were, even sitting there you were plotting and planning your final masterpiece of destruction. 

You had relented to the voice in your head that wanted to go out for blood, and now it had control of the steering wheel of your actions. 

You acted normal as people welcomed you back, excited for your arrival, not knowing why you had even been gone. 

A dinner for your return was to be held, and there is where you knew you would execute your plan.

Putting on a classy outfit, and following your aunt as she walked you into the event, you smiled and laughed when needed, scoping out the area for the person you really wanted to see. 

Off in the distance you saw her, with Emwe, as they chatted happily to each other. 

You rolled your eyes at this, not believing that she was still with the one woman you seemed to hate the most. 

"Y/n! It's not nice to stare." You turned to see your cousin coming to talk to you again. You tried to act natural, not wanting to make him suspect anything.

"T'Challa! I did not expect to see you tonight. Being the king takes up a lot of your time." You said, going in for a hug, just to keep your nice persona up. As you hugged him he whispered in your ear.

"I always know when you're up to something. I'm just here to stop you from doing it here, Y/n." 

And that he did. For the entire night, he watched you with sharp eyes, making it impossible to pull any stunts. 

You went through the entire event, never getting the chance to talk to Okoye, but you were completely fine with this, because you had no intention of stopping purely because of your cousin. 

You waited until everybody had left, and slowly, you started to follow Okoye back to her house. 

You kept a large distance, knowing that her Dora Milaje training would make it easy for her to hear you if you walked too close. Behind you was a dagger that you thought you could use. 

When she reached her house, you waited for a few minutes before going to knock on her door. 

She opened the door, very surprised to see you. 

"Y/n." 

"Okoye." 

"What are you doing here?" She asked you, hesitating as you pushed yourself into her house.

"I'm here to take what is mine." You declared, closing your eyes to gain the courage to do what you deemed necessary. 

As you threw the first dagger right through her torso without warning, she fell to the ground. 

But that wasn't enough. You took her spear from her tunic, expanding it and pointing it towards her, as she looked at you, with pleading eyes.

"Y/n are you on something? Why are you doing this?" She asked, barely able to stay conscious. You laughed, smiling at her. 

" I did it all for love. I did it all on no drugs. I did all of this sober. I did it all for us, oh. I did it all for love. I did all of this on no drugs. I did all of this sober. Don't you know I did it all for us? " you said as you lodged the spear through her heart. 

Connecting your bracelet to hers to see hers turn red, her heart rate took only 2 minutes to completely drop to nothing, as you pulled the spear out of the now dead body. 

You had finally done it.

I just killed my ex

You stood up, going to the door, to wait for the person you truly hated 

Emwe. 

She was on her way, you knew that because she was always nearby. 

Not the best idea (idea)

Much like before, you were right. She arrived and you did the same thing to her. 

Killed her girlfriend next

Now you had two dead bodies on the ground, staring into the sky. 

How'd I get here?

You sat down as you had in your dream, Okoye's spear next to you, as you waited for the voices to show up.

You were definitely screwed, but you had not even one single regret.

T'Challa couldn't fight to fix this, this time. Now it was just your fate, to suffer the consequences of your actions.

You let out one more laugh, slashing and slitting your throat as somebody opened the door.

I just killed my ex

I still love her though (I do)

Rather be in hell than alone

"I love you, Okoye." You croaked, the world turning black.

The End

Author's Note: I finally got my act together and finished this work. It was quite a crazy story but I thoroughly enjoyed writing this. (I'm not crazy I swear)

I'm going to hopefully post one more time before the new year, then I'll be posting as much as I can before I get busy with life again.

Requests are open for both Ramonda and Okoye. Nakia, Aneka and Ayo works will start next year, but you can also request for them too.

I have big plans for the new year. 🤭

I love you all. 💜💖

Have a good last couple of days of 2022.

[aeoki]

Atlantis - Clown: Chapter 5

Location: Yumenosaki Garden Terrace Characters: Yuzuru & Wataru Season: Winter

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Almost an hour later after Z. K. Amano Hashidate’s speech in the auditorium. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤYumenosaki Academy Garden Terrace (cafeteria). >

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): Student council president candidates can give a speech in the auditorium every day after school.

I suppose this would be a method the school has used to show their favouritism to the “idol course”.

The auditorium at Yumenosaki Academy is also a stage the idols can sing and dance on.

In other words, we, the non-idols, will have to give a boring speech on that stage, but the idols can put on a gaudy and delightful performance.

Naturally, I wonder who will be more appealing to the audience.

Yes. That’s right – it’ll be the idols.

The school has set the rules so that the barehanded non-idols will have to face off with those who are armed on stage.

This is unfair. You could even say it’s unreasonable.

The school’s motive is obvious. To them, idols are geese who will lay golden eggs for them – meaning, idols are all they need.

The other majority, the non-idols, are simply something extra.

There are other courses here at Yumenosaki Academy, such as the “general course”, “vocal course”, “theatre course”, and “producer course” I’m enrolled into.

But in the end, this is a school for idols and that was created by idols.

Thanks to ES’ existence and the idol's victory during “SS”, “Yumenosaki Academy’s common sense” is spreading to all corners of the country.

That is the “big wave” that’s taking place in this world.

I don’t think someone like me can stop such a gigantic tide but…

At the very least, I shall make those arrogant idols break out in a cold sweat.

I shall give them a taste of their own medicine, and tell them that it doesn’t matter how much they ignore us, as we’ll be right here.

That is all. Thank you, thank you. I thank you for the applause.

Oh. I’ve been told by my attending physician that I cannot speak for very long. I shall excuse myself here.

(I’ve somehow managed to pull off a double life by using such excuses.)

Yes, please enjoy yourselves. I shall be the one to pay for the speech’s afterparty, of course.

Hehe. Money is the one thing I have a lot of – You can depend on me in that regard.

Yes. Alright now, good day ♪

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): (*Phew…* Good job, Wataru. You did well, Wataru.)

(Good boy, good boy… No one will praise me so I shall do it myself.)

(What is this sense of fatigue?)

(I have zero reluctance when it comes to playing “female roles”, nor am I pure-hearted to the point I feel sorry for deceiving them all.)

(But when I think of how Himegimi looked in the auditorium earlier…)

(Ahh, I feel like tearing out my chest and screaming! What is this impulse I’m feeling for the first time!?)

The king’s ears are donkey’s ears! The king’s ears are donkey’s ears! The king’s ears are donkey’s ears!

Yuzuru: I see.

Hmm. Something did seem suspicious. I see what’s going on now.

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): …………

…Oh, um? Who may you be?

Yuzuru: There is no need for the act.

It’s all just a waste of time, Hibiki-sama.

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): …………

…Hibiki-sama? I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.

Yuzuru: If that is how you will act, then I too have ideas.

For the time being, I shall tie you up, take you to a secluded area, cut off each and every one of your fingers with a bradawl…

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): How terrifying! Alright, I give up ☆

Yuzuru: …………

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): H–How did you find out who I am? My transformation and performance should be perfect!

Oho? Is this that trick that seldom appears in fairy tales? The one where your lover will still recognise you even if you’ve transformed into something else?

Amazing! So this is the power of love! In other words, logically speaking, this means Mr. Butler loves me–

Yuzuru: Which finger shall I start with?

Amano Hashidate (Wataru): Hehehe! Please don’t ask me in the same tone you’d use when saying something like, “Would you like curry for dinner tonight?” Yuzuru Fushimi – what a fearsome child…!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[plutobutartsy]

since it's taking me forever to even get started on the briar outfit lineup i thought i'd share some notes about him and his clothes the same way i did with evie :3

@teaseat @admiralblue @swanconcerto

fancy rich boy with fancy rich boy clothes! his clothes aren't necessarily flashy or special but you can definitely tell they're high quality

his sense of perfectionism definitely carries over into how he dresses and he takes really good care of his belongings. you will not catch him in clothes that are wrinkled or ill fitting or otherwise flawed. he will die.

you'd think that would make him judgemental of how others dress but that's not the case! partly because he's aware of how stupid the rules he has for himself are and partly because he's too busy being self conscious about his own looks anyway :)

vampires are pretty temperature resistent if that makes sense? wether it's hot or cold doesn't really bother them too much so that doesn't technically have any effect on how they dress but in general the majority of them try to dress appropriate to the weather to not rouse suspicion

but as i've mentioned before they are sensitive to sunlight! long sleeves/pants/skirts, hats and sunglasses are all staples in most vampires' wardrobe

both of these are true for briar as well but he doesn't like sunglasses or hats lol he will wear them when necessary but he won't like it. that's part of the reason why he he wears his hair long: so it can block out the sun a little

he goes to a fancy vampire private school so they have a uniform there. surprisingly the school isn't too strict about students customizing their uniform a little or wearing it in a more unconventional way. for example you'll see lots of students wearing different shirts under their blazers or flashy accessories.

briar chooses not to do that. he is the most perfect boy in the entire world with the most perfect uniform. if he shows individuality he dies. the most he'll do is wear simple earrings and maybe like a ring or something

members of the student council get a bat shaped pin to show their authority and boy is he delighted!! not just because it's like a badge of pride but also because it's a bat omg!!!!

i said before that briar is OBSESSED with human made media about vampires and similairly, he's really into anything humans associate with vampires!! bats, silver jewellery, the colour red, gothic clothes and interior design etc.!! he loves it so he's like unreasonably happy that he gets to wear a bat pin to school every day lol

as expected he's dying to wear more goth clothes but again, his perfectionism is stopping him and individuality means death sigh so he settles for a more dark academia style

in general he really likes button downs. he likes how they feel and look and he finds buttoning stuff satisfying lol he would totally be the type to unironically wear silly hawaiian shirts if he was less strict on himself

vampires can turn into bats because you know!! it's fun :3 making clothes that shift with the wearer, wether they're a vampire, werewolf, shape shifter etc., is a whole profession!!

briar is so so so jealous of how evie and nate aren't afraid to express themselves with their clothes but fear not, they will help him get over his inhibitions :]

evie likes dressing nate and briar up in her clothes or clothes of the other, she makes them do fashion shows for her later lol

clothes sharing becomes a big thing for the tree later on, initiated by nate! in werewolf culture it's very common to share stuff and especially clothes with your loved ones and pack mates <3

[space-blue]

Thoughts on Caitlyn x Jayce and Vi x Jayce?

Sure! I see you want me dead, but I'll answer you.

I don't ship any of them

Either of those ships would get me hunted on twitter like a deer in open season (in a world that stubornly refuses to acknowledge bi people exist, or that nobody likes a fandom cop any more than a real life one)

I actually dig Jayce x Cait in the childhood friends to lovers sense, with their dynamic being influenced by both their age difference and their class one.

I mean, Jayce's arc is towards more politics, losing his sights and his purpose as he falls into the trappings of power, while Cait has been refusing to inherit those and her non-existant arc more or less goes towards accepting her connections as useful. You could really pull them apart from each other even as they go deeper into each other's original world.

Jayce wants more politics, more power, more authority, because he feels he knows the way ahead, and what they need (rampant progress). Caitlyn wants less and less involvement with authority, as every system fails her. Suffocating parents, unreasonable council, traitorous sheriff… she relies more and more on her own wits and resources to try and get to her (selfish, ultimately self interested) goals. All this bringing them to a clash of ideals. When each utterly fails, they could meet back in the middle. Realise there's a little bit of wisdom in both, and that they're ultimately failing by pursuing isolating individualism when they're both actually playing team sports. And also please just let Zaun go in the process haha.

But yeah, not my jam. I could see them have good things though, as they have great chemistry the few times we see them together.

Vi x Jayce? Very hard to spin. Kudos to anyone who manages. I usually headcanon that Vi flirts with him and Cait both as a first impulse, to get what she wants. I think spending her teen years in prison got her to use flirting and other sexualised attitudes in a way that's detached from romance/just a means to an end. If you can pull Vi from the caitvi's sticky clutches, I feel like Vi/Jayce in season 2 would definitely be a case of "two idiots having the same goal and enjoying smacking shit to get there".

Which sounds wildly unappealing for me. I'm generally not interested in any Jayce ships, and Vi imo would be better off being shipless for a while longer to find her footing as a character. I really don't know what to do with her as shee is at the end of the show.

Funnily enough I have way more fuel for the Mel x Viktor ship, especially after Mel is most likely left injured and marked by the gold spell etched into her skin. (headcanon disclaimers all over the place, of course).

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Nitpick November Day 28

It’s not critical in any sense to know this but I still wish we knew how James wound up as both Headmaster and General of Atlas. Having two high ranking positions cannot be easy and I imagine the decision couldn’t have been made lightly but we don’t know how it all happened and it annoys me. It also just makes it hard to read the situation in volume 7 when the council implies it has issue with James having two seats.

Is the council being unreasonable because they had to approve one or both? Should they have been having these concerns since the beginning of James put himself in one after the council or Oz put him in the other? Did one of his predecessors set up the Headmaster and General becoming one position? Not understanding how any of these processes work leave a lot of annoying questions that have to be filled in with head cannons and that is just annoying for me.

[lunarxdaydream]

The list of the invitees seemed endless even if Norval was aware that it was not. But the number versus being sent as the deliverer made it feel long. Even if he had split it with some of the generals. It was true that Norval had said that for invitees that Balmoral held an interest in that he should send a strong impression. The invitations themselves should’ve served as such. However, he hadn’t expected the deliverer to also be of note, “If I should leave a strong impression, whom better than those of my council?”

Nevermind how much travel and folks to see in addition to their responsibilities. ‘Get it done’ likely would be the response given. So is the temperament of the Beautiful Tyrant. Unreasonable with a variability like there are aspects. But truly, his job was more front loaded unlike the rest of the generals that had to deal with security, guests during festivities and the Unseelie itself. So it was fair…but that didn’t mean Norval wanted this either.

But regardless of his feelings, Norval was the Herald. If his king desired for him to invite and entice honored guests, then who was he to argue? It was a knock on his titling otherwise. So Norval carried a languid grace as he followed the Marshall of Foreign Affairs. A grace not quite like a fae’s and not quite his vampiric lineage.

Upon catching visage of the ruler of the Novian Empire, he could see why his liege insisted on sending a messenger. He would not want to affront someone with such sharp eyes. And it seemed Balmoral’s interest continued to come in royals with a 'steeliness’ as Norval might put it. A look he couldn’t quite explain but certainly felt the Empress possessed. A resolve that was held within her. Resolve for what? Now, Norval couldn’t be sure. But if it were anything like how his king held it..it was a promise to keep all that was theirs.

Norval gave a deep bow in introduction to her, “Empress Violetta, I thank you for allowing me an audience. I bring tidings from the Unseelie Court. An invitation, actually.”

He gave small smile offering the letter, “My king wishes to extend the courtesy to open a channel through a more…enjoyable outing. He would like to explore a potential connection with a well-oiled expanse such as the Novian Empire. No doubt only so because of a well-versed overseer such as yourself.”

Ink flowed in elegant scribble across the paper to seal her command. A confirmation to what should prove to be quite the promising result for a thorn long left in her former’s side. Frankly it is a win to silence away the irritation over the attack amidst the festivities. Latest reporting indicated nearly all had recovered well to return to their tasks. Two, in particular, continued to suffer side effects but none need to know. Far as the Empire is concerned, all as reverted as it should.

New games have been scheduled to entertain the masses as they entered into the winter. Temples filled to the brim with gifts to appease the celestials whom have granted them a bountiful harvest. And surely with the coming year, a new shift in alliance shall benefit the people in ways to cement a new beginning for her rule.

Alas whatever task she had considered in accomplishing next is put on hold as Elias announced the arrival of a guest. With a wave of her hand, the eldest Ardell withdraws, tucking the approved order into the inner pocket of his coat. The echo of footfalls ring against marbled ceilings; hues of violet and black hang across with just a kiss of sunlight bleeding through open curtains to reveal a cloudless sky in midday.

Truly a suitable day to welcome the unexpected.

“The Unseelie court.”, she repeats as one leg crossed another beneath the gown. The faintest of smiles graced her lips before standing from the throne. Guards fall into attention in unison as she neared her guest, each motion elegant and fluid as one would expect of a ruler of her standing. After all, to be anything less than perfection itself is failure.

“How considerate of him.”

Bracelets dance upon her wrists as she accepted the invitation to examine its state. Scent of heather and honey rising to delicate senses the moment the seal is broken to reveal quite an elaborate sight. A Hunt, it says. All ready this is beginning to sound like a promising venture to explore. To celebrate peace and yet, one cannot help but find interest in the potential of witness what prowess the Unseelie possessed with such a display. An event to serve a dual purpose if she had ever seen one.

“And I suppose the flattery is his as well?” The letter is extended to Aravis whom offered only a nod in understanding to what his task for the day would become.

“Do inform your King the Novian Empire is honored and shall be in attendance, including the Hunt.”

|| @thewolfisawake​ ||

[badmusejail]

Gaster and Surface Life / Human-Monster Relations.

I don't have any exact headcanon as to where exactly Mt. Ebott is, but usually place is somewhere in Washington state. I don't have anything against headcanons putting it elsewhere and I'm more than happy to use your headcanons instead--I put it in the USA because I live in the USA and have the best understanding of USA politics.

As is probably expected, the world didn't immediately take kindly to the arrival of the monsters, even with Frisk vouching for them. People are heavily divided on their opinions, with some people wanting to kill the monsters, some wanting to force them back into the mountain, some wanting to exploit or enslave them, and the few wanting to welcome them with the same rights that humans have.

Each of the monsters engage with the world in their own way, but the vast majority of important discussions only involve Asgore, Toriel, Undyne, and a couple other designated monsters, sometimes including Gaster.

It's an extremely tense and precarious situation, with monster leadership well aware of how easily things could go south and lead to a complete genocide of the people.

For this reason, Asgore in particular tends to be submissive, willing to comply with unreasonable demands if only to avoid bloodshed.

Undyne has her misgivings, but usually defers to Asgore's decisions. For all of her hotheadedness, she knows better than to make a scene at the wrong time.

Toriel, despite Gaster's negative opinion of her, is likely the most reasonable of the negotiators, working hard to find a fair solution for everyone involved.

Finally, Gaster himself is the most difficult, refusing to bend to humanity's worse demands, and standing with a bluntness in heavy contrast to Toriel's polite firmness.

He has refused to share his technology and research and has barred humanity from entering the critical parts of the CORE. In general, his appearances on the council are stoic and curt, a heavy undertone of aggression beneath icy formal responses.

On at least one occasion, he had to be escorted out by Toriel for becoming too aggressive.

His refusal comes not from a place of malice, but from a seated belief that if they fail to set proper boundaries, humanity's demands will only grow until monsters are no better off than they started. To him, standing their ground and refusing to allow any mistreatment from the very beginning is an absolute necessity.

In contrast, most monsters, including Asgore, take a note gradual approach, thinking that it's important that they emphasize their willingness to cooperate and that they're not a threat, and then working to improve the situation from there. There are monsters that support Gaster's methods, but he is by far the most vocal, stubborn, and famous of them.

This has made Gaster the biggest threat to anti-monster groups and a common target of those expressing their hatred.

He's been known to ignore the harassment when its directed to him, but tends to escalate quickly when other monsters are targeted in his vicinity. Asgore once had to talk him out of killing a few humans that were harassing him.

For as confident and unshakeable Gaster presents himself when formally speaking on the matter, in person he's a much different monster; rather nervous, easily cowed and surprisingly friendly.

Luckily for everyone, Papyrus is remarkably well liked among the humans and Sans is discreet enough that he hardly gets any attention. Woe be onto the unfortunate humans that target them.

Above all else, Gaster wants peace too, regardless of his general dislike of humans. But his opinions are heavily colored by past experiences and should it come to extremes, he would choose his people over humanity and would destroy every human if necessary.

He understands that it makes him just as bad as the humans that would kill them. He would do it anyways.

It takes Gaster several months before he spends any real amount of time on the surface, and he still retreats to his lab often. However, he does enjoy the vast offerings of the surface, and for as much as he hates humanity, he has a very difficult time hating individual humans he meets.

He's easily attracted by colorful lights and noises and is quite fond of the whimsical nonsense humans produce. Yes, he's one of the smartest monsters that ever lived. Yes, you can commonly find him fooling around in the toy aisle of the supermarket.

Asgore asked Gaster to retake the position of Royal Scientist, but Gaster declined. The role remains empty, with some discussions of putting a human in the role to help with relations. Gaster doesn't like the idea but he's willing to go along with it so long as it's a good human.

In the light of the Amalgamates, Toriel has forbidden research into Determination. Gaster does it anyways. However, he has not directly researched the Amalgamates themselves; though he would look into it if asked by Asgore, Alphys, or one of them.

Other than that, Gaster just lives on a day to day basis, trying to protect the people he loves and do the right thing.