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tenthgrove · 3 years ago

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Hello, can I request La Squadra members falling in love for a civilian they see constantly? ex: the waitress from a restaurant they frequent, the owner of their favorite bakery. I hope my request is understandable, my english is basic.

La Squadra Falling for a Civilian

La Squadra x Reader (GN), Romantic, SFW

Formaggio- Formaggio is less guarded with his trust than an assassin perhaps should be. A fellow commuter on the bus or train, a reveler at the nightclub, just anyone he passes on the street really, are all people he would happily chat to if given the opportunity. He already has several friends who are civilians, and it's only a matter of time before one of them finds their way into his heart. Formaggio doesn't think about the possible consequences of having a civilian lover as much as he probably ought to, though sometimes late at night, unwelcome possibilities do occur to him. He'll be honest with you about his work, since he couldn't stand to be with you otherwise. He trusts you to keep a secret. If the rest of the team discovers your affair, Formaggio will defend your relationship with all his might, convincing them through sheer insistence that the two of you can be trusted not to let this be used against you. And for the most part, it isn't. Your relationship is uncannily normal, with plenty of dates and nights-in where the two of you can be together without the outside world having any say. There is one condition to all this, naturally. You have to take care of his cats while he's away on work. He never trusted any of the others to do it.

Illuso- Perhaps unsurprisingly, Illuso never really considered himself a relationship guy. Casual flings are a dime a dozen, but until recently it wouldn't have bothered him at all to hear he would never find love. Perhaps it was the fact you were a civilian that changed this. Spending so long around criminals had warped him, made him forget how to see the good in people and in himself. You had never known any of that life. You reminded him who he used to be. You mean the world to Illuso and he will protect you at all costs. He urges you to report any strange occurrences to him, stalkers, people asking intrusive questions, anything of the sort. The thought of someone finding out about you terrifies him, and it's that very anxiety that innevitably leads La Squadra to investigate. The first time Illuso ever shows tears to anyone in his squad, is when Risotto informs him he won't be stopping you from seeing each other. Illuso goes home to you that night and holds you close. He does something he hasn't in a long, long time. He talks about the future.

Prosciutto- Growing up, Prosciutto could never envision himself without a spouse. Children, either, if they were at all willing to have them. But once fate had brought him to Passione, he made a strict policy: no friends, no confidantes, and most certainly, no lovers outside of Passione. How quickly that went away when he met you! It was like the very fantasy of his future love had burst into reality just to greet him. He seized his moment, invited you to meet with him again, and soon after that you were lovers. For the longest time, he lies to you about his profession. Psychiatry, he claims, for the sake of an excuse not to tell you about the day-to-day details. But he thinks about the difference between his life and yours every day. He thinks a lot about how its going to be possible to settle down with you. The only thing he knows for certain, is that no matter what happens, he's going to make it possible. Only two of his colleagues know about the relationship- Pesci, as informed in a drunken, guilt-ridden confession, and Risotto, told shortly after in a private meeting with the both of you present. Risotto sighed, patted Prosciutto on the shoulder and told him he respected him, both an assassin as a friend. Though he urges you both to be cautious, he trusts you to do so. He wishes you all the best for whatever may come.

Pesci- If there's one thing Prosciutto considered fortunate about Pesci's faint-hearted personality, it was that he could not ever envision his brother chasing after pretty people when he had his back turned. Simply, Prosciutto hadn't considered someone like you coming along. A person so gentle and amicable, even Pesci would force his anxieties aside and confess his feelings to you. Pesci doesn't realise it, but he's the perfect lover- supportive and understanding, while equally ready to jump to defend you when the time calls for it. You discover fairly early on what he really does, since Pesci could never live with himself for lying, but you can tell in his eyes it doesn't reflect the real thing. It doesn't change how you feel for him. And as for the rest of the squad, Pesci is one of the few who is honest from the start. Before your first date, he goes to Prosciutto and asks for advice. Annoyed as he is that this has happened, Prosciutto realizes how good this could be for Pesci and his development. It's clear Prosciutto's own methods of installing some confidence into the boy haven't worked. Perhaps you'll have better luck.

Melone- With his primary function in the operation of his stand being to analyze people, it's only a matter of time before he finds himself developing a more long-term attachment to one of them. It doesn't matter if you were actually chosen to host his stand, or even if you were eligible. Melone is struck at once by your compatibility and eagerly starts a conversation. He charms you into accepting his number, and a Passionate romance begins shortly after. Melone hints to you that his true occupation may be outside the law, but for at least the first year he says nothing more about it, and convinces you not to care. Melone is an observant and entertaining partner. While he is not particularly fond of dates, nights indoors with him are always a pleasure. La Squadra rarely likes to pry in Melone's business, so the chances of them finding out about you early on are low. When it does happen, Melone tells them of you of his own free will in the hope you might become friends with some of them. The assassins are so chuffed with the innocent, strange specter of Melone's lover, they cannot help but let his secrecy slide.

Ghiaccio- It might be hard for an outsider to see Ghiaccio as the romantic sort, but deep down, a soulmate has always been his dream. Perhaps it's not the spectacle of romance himself but companionship, a person who understands and accepts him in the way nobody else can. Someone to spend his life with. Meeting you was an accident. He was fleeing from a hit by foot as the police approaches, when he carelessly bashed into you on the street. Despite his rude introduction you invited him into your nearby home and, realizing it was his best hope of escape, he agreed. Now that you are lovers, Ghiaccio dreams of nothing more than your warm embrace. He loves you unconditionally, and worries for you every day. When La Squadra discovers your affair, he's less in trouble for having a secret lover than for tackling whoever it was who spilled the secret to the ground. Now that the pair of you have Risotto's blessing, however, Ghiaccio is far less anxious about being with you. There's talk of you moving in together, so Ghiaccio can have his wish and hold you every night from now on.

Risotto- A lover in any context was never really on the agenda for Risotto, let alone one from such an innocuous background. Letting himself get close to you could only happen in extreme circumstances, most likely you finding him injured after a mission and treating his wounds, without the faintest clue where he got them from. Risotto didn't mean to get attached, but after that day he couldn't help but revisit you. Soon, you were meeting in secret as lovers. He does not dare be seen in public with you, but the nights you have inside together always leave your heart fluttering at the smallest smile. Still, Risotto worries about you constantly. A lover could easily be used against him, and he could never forgive himself for any harm done to you. Yet, he knows he could never bring himself to cut contact with you. The solution, he decides, is to ask you to move in with him and the squad. It will be strange, he knows, to have a civilian live amongst assassins, but it's the best way to protect you, and he trusts his men more than anyone.

Sorbet and Gelato- Having been together since the start of their adulthood, Sorbet and Gelato never anticipated a third person joining their relationship. Still, it was an unspoken truth between them that should the right person come along, they would be okay with it. They met you while they were undercover for a mission, at the end of which they pulled you aside and told them who they really were. Unlike most others they don't hold back on telling you the details of their crimes, but if you didn't run away on day one you're probably alright with that sort of thing. Despite how callous and brutal they are to most, Sorbet and Gelato treat you with the upmost sweetness. It's rare they get to show their kinder sides outside the team. On the topic of the team, they make no effort to hide their relationship with you. Nobody dares disrespect them enough to question it. It's true that your relationship with the pair may expose you to quite some danger, but don't fear. Sorbet and Gelato will protect you with all their souls.

#la squadra #la squadra di esecuzione #la squadra x reader #formaggio #formaggio x reader #illuso #illuso x reader #prosciutto #prosciutto x reader #pesci #pesci x reader #melone #melone x reader #ghiaccio #ghiaccio x reader #risotto nero #risotto nero x reader #sorbet and gelato #sorbet and gelato x reader

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whump-town · 3 years ago

Text

Give and Take

This one's for you @genevievedarcygranger

I couldn't even tell you what this is about but it's something? Like about Hotch? I'm pretty sure there is no plot so just buckle in or whatever. I don't know, this is weird

The key to building a profile, to standing before someone and piecing together the important parts of their character, is to figure which parts of themselves they give to you and which parts they accidentally show. Most people are fairly easy to read (which is the optimal word, really. No one wants to be profiled but most people don’t mind a little reading on them. Makes them feel special, understood). The thing about secrets, about people, is that they always carry their burdens. It’s like any wound, you naturally lean to protect what hurts. And when once you figure out what hurts, when you can spot the source of the blood you’ll find no matter how advanced a species humans pretend to be, we still have the look of a wounded animal. A dog backed into the corner of an alley. A lame cat waiting to see if swift justice will rain down.

And the wound being protected speaks measures but more importantly…

It’s the reaction-- what happens when the wounds been found and what they anticipate the reaction will be to it.

But, hey, that’s all complicated nonsense. Take it with a grain of salt. Honestly, people always tell you everything that you need to know about them. Especially when they have something to hide.

The first time that Aaron Hotchner ever saw a dead body he was twelve.

The river is unforgiving. That May had brought treacherous storms. Drops of rain that fell so hard, so roughly they’d leave welts on exposed skin. Children still marched to school with the threat of their umbrellas being snapped out of small hands and the wind pushing back clothing, trying to disrobe them as they fought against its pushing hand.

Two days of hard rainfall had the river spewing over the bridge in town. Spitting up its murky water like a well-fed newborn, leaving the fallen limbs of trees and dead fish to rot in the sun. By the time the storm blew over the children were as unsettled as the river itself. Jittery with energy, begging for release. So, out they went. Mothers called from their front porches, father’s leveled threatening fingers-- stay away from the river.

It’ll suck you in and it’ll never let you go.

Johnny Martin was three years older than Hotch. He’d failed kindergarten, first grade, and the seventh grade and was generally regarded as a pointless child, someone to look over. Nobody worth a damn fails that many grades, you know? Nobody worth giving a second chance to let alone a third and a fourth. Except it wasn’t that Johnny was intellectually any different than the other kids. It was just as simple as his father was a nobody, a heavy drinker, and his mother was a weak, dreadful sight. So no one ever tried. His teachers didn’t pay him any attention. No one did, really.

That’s probably why he drowned.

He was bloated, Hotch didn’t even know what he was looking at for a moment. There was a cut across his face, the skin raised around the edges that nearly made it look like pursed lips. A panting mouth. Then he’d seen the eyes, bulging and red. He hadn’t screamed, wasn’t even afraid. No point in wasting the energy on something like that. The real things worth fearing lived at home.

He never told anyone about Johnny Martin.

They found his body a little while after Hotch did. A group of twenty-somethings trampling through the woods with their artfully rolled joints wedged in cigarette cartons and the cheapest beer they could afford. He climbed up a tree, watched them call the cops, and take Johnny Martin away.

For a week, he watched everyone pretend like they gave a shit about Johnny Martin. Heard his English teacher profess some make-believe story and saw the tears glimmer in her eyes. In death, Johnny Martin became a whole person. For the first time in Johnny Martin’s entire life, he wasn’t a ghost, he was a boy. A living thing for which people felt remorse, for which people mourned.

When they’d never looked at him before.

Hotch wanted to know if that’s all it took. Is death really all he needed to become a whole person? For someone to notice the cigarette burns on his arms or to look at him? To notice him? Is absence the only way to be known?

He’s only told the general outline of that story twice. Once while drunk at a college party, one of the few places that sort of talk is welcome. “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen?” And they circle around to him. Expectant eyes filled with the reflection of the flames of the fire dancing. He’d been thinking about his father’s office. The sound of the gunshot filling the house. Walking slowly down the hall, still stepping around the weak points in the floor so that he wouldn’t make a sound. Standing there looking at the blood splattered on the roof.

They put heart attack on the official death certificate. Illegal, sure, but not as ugly as suicide. Besides, a man like Richard Hotchner’s reputation would be ruined by his final actions. That couldn’t happen. So he’d been given a hero’s goodbye. A veteran of the Korean war sent off to the sound of his widow’s sobs, his two sons standing like little soldiers.

But that sort of thing ruins the mood. Kills the vibe so artfully created by the warmth of the dying fire and the joints being passed around.

So he tells them about Johnny Martin.

They hang onto his every word.

When he tells Dave it’s a diversion.

He’s laying in a hospital bed, the morphine has him slurring a bit but he’s talking more than Dave’s ever heard out of him. The kid hardly makes a peep for the three months he’s been working with them and he gets tossed down a few sets of stairs and he’s suddenly impossible to shut up. Dave was just trying to fret over him, expressing some concern until Haley could get here to do the heavy lifting. He ends up with more than he bargained for.

“No, s’okay. I’ve seen dead bodies, sir. Promise.”

Hotch tells him about Johnny Martin, curates a similar story to the one he told that night around the fire.

He’s a good storyteller and, though Dave can tell which elements of the story have been shifted for his enjoyment there are truths in all lies. Dave wants to ask what Hotch means when he mumbles out that part about ghosts, he doesn’t catch the exact wording but the implication. His dismissiveness towards Johnny Martin “some people you never notice, they’re just ghosts and there’s nothing you can do to change, to be seen”. Dave doesn’t ask what Hotch means by that and he still manages to find his answer.

Hotch has this tendency to step back. All his manners and smiles are for flourish, Southern hospitality that allows him to nimbly work his way through a crowd. Secretly, he’s an introvert. He always finds his way to the corner of the room, back facing the wall and watching. It’s where he’s most relaxed, where he’s unnoticed.

A ghost.

But even ghosts can be found out.

Even ghosts give a little bump in the night.

Aaron Hotchner doesn’t actually believe in ghosts but for a week he thinks he might. It freaks him out so bad that he tells Derek but he’s lost so much sleep freaking out over this that he mostly just sounds a little crazy. The fact that he tells Derek speaks measures but before everyone else, Derek was who he relied on and Derek is who he falls back on.

There was a broken plate in the kitchen, a plate that he didn’t break because he’d only gone to the living room. He couldn’t tell what it was but there had been this strange scratching. Then the plate fell. Honestly, he tore off. Ran to his bedroom and to Haley and when she asked what that sound was he said he hadn’t heard anything. Though he didn’t tell Derek that part, he more or less crawled into Haley’s arms and laid there until he felt safe again. Until her half-conscious rubbing at his back lulled him back to sleep.

They didn’t die so at least it wasn’t a serial killer.

It’s a cat.

Hotch’s ghost is a cat.

An old mangy orange thing that Hotch reluctantly takes into the house, Haley names him Casper. Naturally, she can’t let it go. Her husband the bravely trained, frequently praised federal agent tucking and running because an elderly cat had managed to let itself into their home.

Derek asks her about it, the ghost, the next time they all go out for drinks and she makes him swear to secrecy but he tells the others.

Not that day, nearly a year or more later.

After New York.

Penelope Garcia stays up all night watching what she thinks is going to be her friend’s last hours. Watches Hotch get tossed like a rag doll by a car bomb, and land discarded out of the view of the cameras. Just gone and she’s torn between not wanting to know and knowing she has to look. No matter what she’s going to see, she has to go on. They sift through the recording, speeding up the time-lapse. She watches him slowly gain consciousness over a stretch of twenty minutes, all taking place in less than a minute for her. Sees him stumble as he tries to stand, sagging against a street lamp and gagging up nothing. His stomach was too empty.

He’s disoriented, limping around the road.

Then came Sam.

The kid who tried to kill Hotch standing over his shoulder, touching his arm, and so close, so dangerously close. She cries, sits there and cries as she urges Derek to be faster. What if he has to finish the job? Kate was moving around, they were both alive, but Hotch can’t protect her. He can hardly stand.

He screams himself hoarse.

As Derek runs up on them all he can smell is burning rubber and blood. He’s breathing oddly, too quickly and his ribs aren’t moving the right way but Derek can see Hotch. He’s right there coherently speaking, words clear. So it doesn’t matter, the blood-splattered out on the road and running down Hotch’s collar.

And then Sam…

And the ambulance.

And Kate.

Reid, Prentiss, and Rossi are waiting for Hotch when he steps away from Kate. Reid had seen how immobile Hotch’s right shoulder had been, how stiffly it had moved as Hotch struggled into his kevlar. Rossi had seen his poor coloring, the bruises under his eyes from his lack of sleep. The way the cuts looked against his face. Prentiss had been behind him. She always is, creepily just a step behind. She’d seen how awkwardly his right leg had taken his weight. She even rolled her eyes when she noticed he forced himself to stop limping once she saw.

But what they all knew, what they’d all seen was a clock.

Another timer dangerously close to zero.

You know what they say. The bigger the man, the harder the fall.

Emily can’t get the sound of his body hitting the ground out of her head.

Hotch gets a room, courtesy of the entire hospital still being cleared out, to sleep off the drugs they give him. Groggily he groans, wakes up enough to look around him and falls back to sleep.

JJ gets sick, it’s too early in the pregnancy to be morning sickness but they’ve all just had an awful night and she’s filled with this senseless guit. Can’t stop thinking about Hotch’s soft, sheepish congratulations. Why didn’t she just tell him? What did she think was going to happen?

9/11 left New York hypervigilant and even with the threat eliminated the team is asked to stay in one place. So they stay with Hotch, all crammed up on top of each other. Legs thrown over laps and blankets jerked like children, a group of adults afraid to fall asleep. It’s impossible to sleep so Derek tells them about Hotch’s ghost, filling the dark room with noise. Better than sitting here just watching Hotch breathe, waiting for each inhale. He exaggerates it, of course. Hotch is asleep and can't exactly defend himself. Not that there’s all that much he could say-- he spent three sleepless nights ghost-hunting a cat.

“He ever tell you about that ghost haunting him?”

The next morning, still groggy and his presence of mind making it impossible to not feel the pain but too heavy to really care, he doesn’t fight with Derek nearly as much as he should.

They take the case of The Angel Maker Part 2 and, for once, Hotch does what’s best for him. He takes time off, drives home to save his ears from the trouble of the jet climbing to proper altitude. He gets back on a Wednesday, the others are waiting (Garcia may or may not have tracked his phone). Climbs slowly out of the car, the shrapnel wound on his leg hasn’t healed yet, and doesn’t look nearly that scary standing in jeans he’s had to roll the bottoms of and a patchy beard.

Which is why he doesn’t wear jeans. Suit pants he can have tailored to fit both his waist and the length of his legs. The problem with Levi's or a pair of Wranglers is that one of those measurements is always wrong. So the waist is small enough but the length isn’t long enough. He has to compromise one of them and he typically caves in the length.

Garcia knits him a hat that winter. It’s black to match the rest of his clothes with a red little fuzzy ball at the top. He thinks he can accept the gift and forget it-- like the gloves Reid got him or the cigars from Rossi. That’s not the case. He wears the hat. In a mix-up, a crowd of suits, he’s much easier to catch with his little red fuzz ball sticking out over the crowd.

And he isn’t allowed to forget about Reid’s gloves. He’s guilted into those too and finds himself being ushered into cases where the weather will be chilly with his only access being that hat and a pair of gloves.

The parts of Aaron Hotchner that he gives without prompting aren’t necessarily not him. He is decently grumpy and a workaholic. The man can not take a compliment, a fact that Morgan and Prentiss love to exploit. He’s boring, repetitive. Anyone who has spent more than a week with him can testify to that. He just likes to eat the same foods over and over and isn’t too picky but he won’t touch uncooked cauliflower because it’s texture is weird. Like a bouncy ball. As far as spending time with him goes, another weird thing to learn is that he’s messy. Methodical, yes. Messy… at the same time. He does have a bookshelf and his books are organized but he’s also really bad for leaving his unfinished books out on tables like decorations.

The parts that don’t come readily, the parts that require reading or profiling or just generally bugging the shit out of him are decent too. He’s an optimist. He wants to believe everyone is good, redeemable. Partially because he needs himself to be and because he’s a hopeless romantic and an optimist and that’s an impossible thing to be in this line of work. But some people are just good and some people are worth a second chance (and a third and fourth). He thinks that one-day people will forget he exists-- what happens when the team doesn’t need him to be around? When there’s no reason he has to be invited out?

And then what?

Aaron Hotchner is afraid of becoming a ghost again.

#criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #derek morgan #david rossi #penelope garcia #emily prentiss #jennifer jareua #spencer reid

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thetruthaboutbeliza · 4 years ago

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The Truth

A thread of Beliza’s innocence.

To start out the Pilot for The 100 was filmed in July of 2013 and Season 1 started filming in August of 2013. This would’ve been when Bob and Eliza first became friends. It IS possible they had a brief fling during this time, however there’s nothing to confirm or deny that.

It’s believed that Bob started dating a girl named Jane Gosden sometime in 2014 and they broke up sometime in 2015. I had trouble finding information about Jane originally and the only source I had found online said they dated 2014-2015 however, that is incorrect. They were together for a few years and broke up some time after May 2014. Jane actually still has quite a few photos on her Instagram of her and Bob together and her with his family. She still interacts with Bob’s sister on a frequent basis as well. I’m still not 100% sure when they started dated but, they were at least together from 2012-2014.

Bob and Arryn met in April 2015 at Supanova in Australia. We know this by photos of them at the con together. Below you can see Bob in the green hat in the back next to Arryn. Barbara is also in the center there in light blue. There are a few other photos of Arryn, Barb, and Bob hanging out during Supanova.

Arryn and Miles Luna were dating from 2010 until some time in mid 2015 (either May, June, or July). They wrote blog posts confirming their break up in August 2015 and stated they’d been broken up for a little while but didn’t want to announce it until after RTX. In Arryn’s post detailing their break up it is important to note she cited Australia as a reason for their break up.

Everyone wants to attack Bob and Eliza for “moving on quickly” from their exes, specifically Bob from Arryn but, Arryn literally left Miles for Bob. Did they cheat? I don’t know. No one does. But she clearly fell for Bob during Supanova and decided to leave her family/friends/boyfriend behind and pursue Bob and a life in LA. Now it is important to note that she said she wasn’t moving until the END of September 2015. At that point in time she was ALREADY traveling quite frequently out to Vancouver. Vancouver is where The 100 filmed. Some of the cast had photos with her during this time, she was being tagged in posts with them and Bob, her and Bob were talking often on Twitter, and in some of her photos that were more “cryptic” (ie. photos of her at a coffee shop with her and someone else’s shoes) she mentioned something about “Aussies knowing how to do it right.” Bob is Australian.

So sometime in July 2015 she started traveling often to Vancouver. August 2015 she officially announces her split from Miles but stated they’d been broken up for a bit but didn’t want to tell anyone until after RTX and that she’d be moving to LA to “pursue her dreams” by the end of September 2015. This pretty much confirms that the Anon Twitter account TruevFalse was correct in stating that Arryn still lived with her ex Miles for a brief time when her and Bob started dating. We don’t have the EXACT date/time of them officially starting to date but they were clearly talking seriously July-Aug 2015 if she was flying out that often to Vancouver where he was filming. At some other point she later specifically stated that she moved to LA for Bob. I’m not sure if this was in stream or where she stated this but, I’ve seen multiple people cite that she said that. Confirming she broke up with Miles for Bob. That alone should stop people from automatically attacking Bob and Eliza for getting together quickly. Was it quick? Yes. Even IF that had been cheating like Arryn claims - they wouldn’t have been in a relationship. Having an affair isn’t a real relationship and getting married a few months after officially dating is still fairly fast - cheating or not - but, that’s not for anyone else to comment on. Plenty of people have done something similar - hell some people get married weeks after meeting someone. When you know, you know. But if you’re going to attack them automatically for moving quickly, “Eliza stealing Bob”, or Bob leaving Arryn for Eliza - then you should be equally upset with Arryn for doing the same thing previously to be with Bob.

On to the abuse allegations. She states that Bob was controlling and isolated her from her family and friends and that she had no friends in LA. But that’s 100% HER doing. As I stated, she literally LEFT her boyfriend/friends/family/job to move out to LA where she knew no one to be with Bob. If you’re telling me he forced her to do all of that before they were even dating - you’re crazy. I do believe she left to pursue a better future in LA but, her main motive for moving was Bob. From there he then invited her into his group of friends (The 100 cast) and quite often she was out with certain members of the cast WITHOUT Bob present. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a controlling/abusive relationship but, I have. Also doing any sort of research on the topic will come to a very similar conclusion: abusers/controlling partners do not want you to have ANY friends, they especially don’t want you hanging out with THEIR friends outside of them being with you, and if they don’t like someone they tell you not to be friends with them, associate with them, or hang around them. Arryn was with The 100 cast a ton, like I said, a lot of times she was with them without Bob around. She quite often did photoshoots when she was home in LA with a friend, and she was still constantly hanging out with Barbara. My reason for bringing Barbara up is a few. 1) Arryn claimed Bob specifically didn’t like Barbara and thought she was a bad friend. This *could* be true, who knows. But if we’re going by Arryn claiming Bob was controlling, then he would’ve told her not to be friends with Barbara. Period. Now yes, Arryn would’ve had to see Barbara on occasion for cons or while they were doing promotion work for RWBY but, he probably would’ve told her to limit her interaction with Barbara during those times and outside of that - not communicate with her. That is what an abuser/controller does. 2) My other reason for bringing Barbara into this is because of Barbara’s boyfriend Trevor Collins and his ex Emily. Emily has talked about the abuse she suffered from Trevor for years during their relationship. She was much younger than he was and when they started dating he was controlling/abusive. She specifically stated she was NOT allowed to be friends with his friends or talk to them unless he was around and that he cheated on her with a co-worker (Barbara) and that they manipulated her by calling her crazy while she had suspicions but they denied it. Now that sounds awfully familiar to Arryn’s story and it’s quite hypocritical for Arryn to know her best friend did this and then to hate Eliza for “doing the same thing”. Here are pieces of Emily’s statement/story. Did Arryn steal part of her story for her own? I can’t say for sure. It’s also important to note Trevor is part of RTX which Miles, Barbara, and Arryn were/are a part of and that the “friend group” Emily was referring to probably included Arryn but, I’m not 100% sure on that.

Another part of Arryn’s story was that Bob FORCED her to be friends with Eliza. So he can FORCE her to be friends with someone but can’t FORCE her to not be friends with Barbara even though she specifically mentions he didn’t like her? She said he forced her to be friends with Eliza even though he had told her he “hated” Eliza but, I’m not sure when he would’ve possibly hated her as Eliza and Bob have been friends since filming began. There’s never not been interaction/photos/hanging out of those two. They’ve always been adamant about being best friends/super close. And Arryn was often seen with Eliza, again, without Bob around. I could imagine Bob trying to force her to be friends/friendly with Eliza while he brought Eliza around but, it’s incredibly odd he’d somehow force Arryn to hang out with Eliza on her own.

On to the accusation of Bob being a biphobe and that he was not happy with her being bisexual. This one is just incredibly wrong for multiple reasons. Firstly, a few people defending Arryn have stated Bob has never shown any sort of support for Bisexuals or LGBTQ and that’s false. He’s actually been fairly vocal (to Bob’s standards anyways as he’s not very vocal on Social Media in general) about LGBTQ rights/support and has commented quite a few times about how proud he was to be a part of a show where they had a leading lady being Bisexual. Bob was also part of one of Australia’s first gay kiss scenes on tv. He went to Pride with Richard well before Arryn ever did and according to her statement she says “when he found out I was bisexual he was furious” but Arryn has always been openly Bisexual. She was constantly talking about it during on twitter during the time they were constantly tweeting each other back and forth before she officially broke up with Miles. There’s no possible way Bob didn’t know Arryn was bisexual before dating her. If he was biphobic, he simply wouldn’t have dated her, nor would he constantly be showing support for LGBTQ over the years. Arryn also frequently talked about being Bisexual still while they were dating. She was never not open about that.

Those above are some of the times he’s been vocal about Bisexual/LGBTQ rights/support. He’s also a fan of Tegan and Sara and has liked a few posts of theirs. Then we have the post from yesterday of Eliza talking about being proud to represent Bisexuals by playing Clarke and Bob taking the photo/liking the post.

With Arryn deactivating her Twitter I can’t go through and find all the times she was open about being Bisexual while with Bob but, here are two instances I could find. So she never stopped talking about her sexuality while with Bob.

One of the biggest holes in Arryn’s story is when she talks about how she got a rental property for her and Bob in Australia and after doing the paperwork and moving everything in, shortly after he dumped her to be with Eliza and that they stole the place from her and that he never intended for that to be their place. The first thing about that is there was never a place in Australia - the place in Australia that Bob and Eliza have was BOUGHT by them and is NOT the place Arryn is referring to. I was incorrect about this statement - I got confused and thought Arryn had said in her statement that the house was in Australia but, she said “The Hills” and I remembered seeing some fans attacking Bob for posting photos of their house in Australia on his cover on Facebook as “rubbing it in her face” and combined those in my head. So I apologize.

The place Arryn is referring to is the rental place in LA. I’m not sure how she made that error or why she didn’t correct it but, there’s that. So Eliza and Bob “stole” the rental home from her but, later on in her statement she confirms that she actually DID live in the rental house and that she left because she got spooked when fans found out she was looking for roommates since she couldn’t afford to live there by herself. She states that herself and plenty of fans have confirmed remembering seeing her looking for roommates during that time. Bob gave her the place originally, she couldn’t afford it and got scared, so she gave it back to him. That is the house where Bob and Eliza are currently staying at during quarantine in LA. Now according to Eliza’s story of when her and Bob got together she states that she had signed a one year lease with her friend Nina in Vancouver sometime in Feb. 2019 and in March 2019 when they were unpacking Bob came over and asked her on a date. Going back to Arryn’s story, this couldn’t be true since according to her they were having an affair for at least 6 months that she knew of and that her getting their rental house in LA in December 2018 was essentially for Bob and Eliza she just didn’t know that at the time. These photos from Nina’s Instagram/Stories confirm Eliza’s side of the story.

So Eliza was still with Nina until at least May 2019. It wasn’t until June 2019 that Eliza was officially living with Bob and they had gotten Panda.

If they stole this place from her, why did they not move in together until June?

Another part of Arryn’s story is about how she “caught” them together on camera while she was in New Zealand. That trip by the way, she was with her mother while Bob was home in LA recovering from knee surgery. She went on a trip with her mother (aka family that Bob isolated her from) while he was recovering from surgery. You’d think someone controlling would force her to stay and take care of them. Shortly after she “caught” them cheating, she publicly announced how much she missed Eliza and wished her a happy birthday via Instagram. So this was the “6 months” she was referring to, she “caught” them together, and then 6 months later in Feb 2019 he dumped her for Eliza. However, up until Jun 2019 (when they officially married/moved in together), Arryn was STILL friendly with them both on social media. Now I understand people want to say “well she was brainwashed by them, it makes sense”. Again, if you’ve been in a situation like this the moment you’re free from your abuser/s you cut the chord. It makes no sense she’d continue to be friendly with them both AFTER catching them cheating, AFTER he dumped her for Eliza and “stole” the house she got for them, and AFTER escaping her abuser. Giving her the benefit of the doubt and she did still feel the need to be attached to her abuser/s for a while after the break up, why was it that when she caught them cheating 6 months prior did she only claim she felt betrayed by one of her close friends and cut them off completely in June 2019 after Beliza announced their marriage? She had no problem cutting off the “betrayer” then.

The youtube video below is an interview featuring Barbara and Arryn May 14th 2019 where at she talks about the betrayal. She says she had a friend betray a huge amount of trust even though they thought they were close and the best way to deal with it was to cut them completely off. (This was clearly about Eliza and is around the 53:00 mark). Mind you, going back to her statement she claims Bob “forced” them to be friends. In this same interview she also talks about getting a therapist (around 10:49 mark) “for no reason in particular” and “doesn’t know what she even needs help with” other than her anxiety and feeling like she didn’t want to dump all her problems on friends and wanted someone to talk to. She talks very light hearted about it and in no way indicates that she’s seeking therapy for an abusive relationship or anything similar. While watching this interview, at (29:40) is where she actually confirms moving to LA with a significant other. Confirming earlier that she left Miles for Bob. She also says that she found most of her friends were through said significant other (Bob) and although she’s friends with them even though they aren’t together anymore, she doesn’t have too many friends outside of that relationship but, (again she’s very light-hearted talking about this) that it’s because she spent so much time around them that your friends become theirs and vise versa and that she “really doesn’t want to make friends because she’s comfortable being alone”. She later (around 42:00) talks about how pretty much ALL of her friends have been because of boyfriends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvBtaCp_5Ro&ab_channel=RoosterTeeth

Now then, in her other statement she mentions her relationship with Miles briefly because people brought up that she cheated on him. She states “they were consenting adults in their relationship and he was okay with me being with a woman”. This is only true to a degree - he was technically okay with it, however she cheated FIRST, she started making out with a girl while drunk and he saw it and him and his friends thought it was “hot”. Afterwards she asked him if it was fine and he said “yes because I’m right here and it’s hot”. He also basically implies that he’d be “okay” with his girlfriend cheating with another girl but not a man. This is all from HIS mouth. Not only is all of that completely derogatory to bisexuals (I’m bi just FYI), it cancels out her statement of them talking about her being with another girl beforehand and him being okay with it because they did NOT talk about it before. He simply said he was okay with her being bi.

Here’s the video: https://twitter.com/klarkbell/status/1294995706906849281?s=20 In her statement she also claims that Bob cheated on his previous ex (Jane) with Eliza. How would she know this first of all? And secondly, Jane is actually still close with his family. I can’t imagine she would be if he cheated on her. Especially because they dated for a little over a year where him and Arryn dated for over 3 years. Bob’s family cut off Arryn but, not Jane. It’s also a bit odd to me that Arryn’s mother is still friends with Bob’s mother. Terry is Bob’s mother, Bev is Arryn’s.

Next we have the video that stirred Arryn’s statement to begin with where she was on stream saying “the last two women I dated were batshit, actually most women are batshit” and then proceeded to say that she has a history of dating “psychopaths and narcissists”. These are all incredibly gross statements and if you find yourself claiming that ALL of your relationships are either psychos, narcissists, and/or batshit - you should probably check yourself.

https://twitter.com/klarkbell/status/1302700329138565122?s=20

She says she’s terrified of Bob, always has been and still is. However, she never once claimed he was physically abusive. I don’t know a single person who’s been emotionally/mentally abusive who has ever used the term “afraid” when talking about the abuser. The ex I had that was controlling and the ex I had that was mentally abusive both had a lot of issues, they were assholes, toxic, and terrible partners but, I was never once afraid of them. I’ve dealt with a narcissist (actually the ex of my partner who has bullied/harassed me, not an ex of my own) and while being a pathological liar is a trait of a narcissist - it doesn’t make you automatically a narcissist to be a pathological liar and/or toxic. Nothing she describes = narcissist. So it’s not okay that she uses that term to describe Bob or any of her exes. Talk to anyone who’s been physically abused and you’ll get the statement of them being scared and/or terrified. However, you’ll also get a vastly different reaction from them compared to Arryn’s on how they speak about the abuse they endured and their abuser. If you’re scared of someone after being abused, you don’t call them names, you don’t laugh about name calling, or about the abuse you endured (no, not even to “break tension”), you’re terrified - you’re scared of speaking out extremely vocally because of “what they might do to you”. I’d also like to mention it’s extremely rare for the abuser to dump the victim. They’re controlling/abusive to KEEP you around, they SCARE you to KEEP you around. Not dump you to be with someone else.

Abusive people also don’t just magically change/get better. They have a history of being this way and more often than not continue to be that way to future partners. Arryn claims Bob wasn’t supportive of anything she did, didn’t let her sing/do music, isolated her from family and friends, refused therapy. Yet, with Eliza it’s incredibly different. She’s always with friends/family and he’s often with them as well. She sings/does music as well and he’s supportive of it and everything she does including her foundation. And, he’s in therapy. They both are so she can figure out how to be a better partner for him due to his extreme depression/suicidal thoughts. I’d also like to remind you that Bob bought Arryn a new keyboard for her birthday one year and was supportive of her being in a friend’s music video in 2018.

Arryn was told at some point in a stream I guess about Bob going to therapy and she said something along the lines of “good for him although I doubt he’s changed”. If she didn’t think it was possible he could change, why did she say she tried to get him into therapy and he refused for years? Why would he refuse therapy but, go into therapy within months of being with Eliza? Since breaking up with Arryn, Bob has been incredibly vocal on social media about his mental health struggles where when he was with her he was fairly silent. He occasionally posted support for mental health awareness but, nothing compared to what he does now. Almost like his mental health got incredibly bad while dating Arryn and he was hiding it from the public/not allowed to talk about it.

I want to say that the abuse and harassment Arryn apparently endured from The 100 fans while dating Bob and even after is completely uncalled for and I do feel bad that she had to go through that. No one deserves that. However, it’s important to also remember that there is absolutely NOTHING Bob could’ve done to stop that. Nothing he could say that would force people to stop saying shit. People are going to do what they are going to do regardless. True fans, should’ve been happy for him and supported his relationship. No celebrity can control their fans and the few times some of them have spoken out about their fans doing shit like this - nothing happened or it made the fans worse. Bottom line is fans have a problem of feeling entitled and that celebrities/their fav should listen to them. People didn’t like Arryn and nothing Bob said was going to change that. It’s incredibly naive to hold anyone accountable for someone else’s behavior. Much the same as Arryn isn’t able to control her fans doing the SAME thing to Beliza now. Bob and Eliza have both always been very open about how they don’t approve of bullying, harassment, and that you should “be kind”. That alone should be enough for fans to know not to harass/bully someone. They’ve both received hate mail, death threats, been told it’s good Eliza had a miscarriage and they hope she’s sterile, had mail sent to their house, etc. and they haven’t openly talked about that. They haven’t “told fans to knock it off”. Hell their marriage was literally found out by fans before they wanted to announce it because they found Eliza’s number and called her. That’s crossing a line too and harassing them but, they STILL didn’t say anything publicly. They instead announced their marriage and just said “we ask for privacy during this time”. So it makes no sense that you’d expect them or ANY celebrity for that matter - to have control over their fans, “force” their fans to stop doing shit, and blame them for what their fans do/have done.

I do not believe that Bob is completely innocent. I believe their relationship was incredibly toxic and bad for them both and they probably brought out the worst in each other. I don’t doubt they had yelling matches and probably said mean things to one another. However, I 100% believe it was a MUTUAL thing. Arryn is NOT innocent or the victim/survivor and Bob is NOT the animal she’s making him out to be. It sounds more like she, not only felt betrayed by Bob and Eliza getting together, but that she was tired of their fans harassing her for years and continuing even after they broke up/got together that the only thing she could think to do was release a statement and throw Bob completely under the bus to save herself. If she’s painted as the victim and Bob the villain then surely the harassment will stop. Especially with how people blindly believe any statement released in regards to abuse or rape. After experiencing years of harassment she only decides to deactivate her twitter after people poked holes in her story and she realized not everyone believed her and she was STILL getting harassment. Again, she doesn’t deserve the constant harassment. I believe that is what pushed her to this point. No, it’s not okay that she’s lied and done this by any means but, I think she felt backed into a corner and lashed out. I can understand where she’s coming from, even though it doesn’t excuse it or make it right.

One last note, something I remembered: she specifically stated Bob was the reason she deactivated Youtube and stopped posting/being on social media as much. However, she slowly stopped doing that while with Miles and in her statement about breaking up with him said she’d be taking a hiatus from Youtube but, would be back. However, I think she just decided against that because she wanted to unplug and live life.

Now one of the major things everyone says is proof of her statement is that Bob has been silent. I’d like to remind you that usually guilty parties deny deny and are vocal. Bob’s silence is more proof to me that he’s innocent. He knows no matter what he says - won’t matter. If he denies it, people will say he’s lying. The victim/survivor wants to move on, they want to forget the abuser, don’t acknowledge them and just want to be happy. All of the things BOB is doing, not Arryn. I’ve seen people say “if he’s innocent he’d sue her for slander” however, how is that any different than the countless rape/physical abuse victims that don’t come forward or call the cops/take them to court? They don’t want to relive all that. They want to move on. The damage has already been done with her statement, same way as even though Amber Heard was proven a liar in court - the damage was/is done. Johnny still isn’t going to be able to work with Disney again, certain people STILL defend Amber despite the court findings/evidence. What would be the purpose of him denying it? The man is in therapy because he incredibly depressed/suicidal and looks so much happier/healthier in his marriage with Eliza. He just wants to leave it all behind. Denying it/suing her will just continue the lengthy process of moving on from everything and re-stir the pot. I’d also like to throw in there the fact that proving emotional/mental abuse is incredibly hard so it’s not like taking her to court over slander would really do anything. Johnny was able to fight his case because it was physical abuse and there was countless amounts of evidence/witnesses/documents/photos etc. Most people don’t have any solid evidence against mental/emotional abuse because it happens in person/in the moment. Unless you’re recording everything, you won’t have proof. It’s just he said/she said. That’s why the majority of Arryn’s statement was about cheating and not the abuse.

#tw abuse #trigger warning #beliza #arryn zech #bob morley #eliza taylor

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81scorp · 3 years ago

Text

21 tips for writing humor

This was not written by me. It was written and uploaded to deviantart Jan 13, 2017 by DesdemonaDeBlake.

All credit goes to her. I just copied and pasted it here.

There are many theories as to the nature, science, and reason for humor. It's an element of human behavior that seems objective in the skill that is required to execute it successfully, and yet just as subjective for how unpredictably it can hit every individual audience member. Today, I'm going to talk about the various forms that humor takes, and give you some tips for making your humorous story a success. To start with, lets look at what I will call the “five scales of comedy”. (Please note that the following is not intended as definitive list of the only sources and scales of humor in the world, only the ones that I have been able to identify within my own life, time, limited understanding, and culture. Also note that I will use the word “Humor” instead of the word “Comedy,” simply because I do not want this discussion on genres to be confused for the type of story that is opposite of Tragedy.)

The Five Scales of Comedy

A story or other source of humor can usually be found along the lines of five different scales. These are: High Humor vs Low Humor, Sweet Humor vs Acidic Humor, Distanced Humor vs Close Humor, Predatory Humor vs Reflective Humor, and Clever vs Ridiculous Humor. These scales stand apart from the sub-genres of humor (dark, slapstick, dry, etc...), and have to do with how the humor affects the audience. Note that there is no “best” type of humor; there is only humor that works in different ways and which impacts different sorts of people. So wherever you find your story in the scales, know that there is no need to change it unless you want to. Also, the names of the scales are just that—names. Just because your story falls into the category of “low” humor, doesn't mean that it is any less valuable than “high” humor.

Range 1: High Humor

Within the range of High vs Low humor, what we are discussing is the how large an audience we are trying to reach. High humor involves jokes and comical situations that are only understood by a very select group of people. An example might be a comedy series that focuses its humor on the experience of working in a corporate office (like … The Office), or perhaps political commentary. These are only funny to those people who have shared the experience or the political knowledge of the person generating the humor. Basically, the higher the humor, the more the entire set-up begins to resemble an inside joke. This type of humor is excellent for gaining the interest of select demographics who you may want to address. For example, if you only want to talk to nerds (I say non-insultingly because I am one and am proud of it), you might have lots of references to science fiction and fantasy.

Range 1: Low Humor

On the opposite side of the range, you have Low Humor. Low Humor deals with topics, jokes, and situations that are more universal to the human experience. An easy example of this is a fart joke. Everyone in the world farts, and most people are in touch enough with their inner child to think that it is funny if the joke is skillfully set up. Again, there is nothing wrong with low humor; and in certain situations it is even preferable. The lower your humor, the larger your potential audience can be. Other examples of low humor might be family life, slapstick, and situational comedy based on everyday experience. Shows like Spongebob Squarepants, for example, involve such a low degree of comedy that people of all ages, demographics, and locations across the world are able to find delight in it.

Range 2: Sweet Humor

The next range of humor, Sweet vs Acidic, deals with the intensity of the humor itself. Sweet Humor involves jokes, situations, and characters that require less pain and cynicism to appreciate. For example, a story that involves simple characters bumbling around, making mistakes, overcoming, and becoming better people for it would generally fall into the range of Sweet. We don't laugh at their misfortune (or if we do, its lighthearted and with limited consequences, like slipping on a banana peel), we laugh because their situations are joyfully amusing.

An example of this are the sort of jokes and humor found in Youtube “Lets Plays,” like those of Markiplier and Jacksepticeye. We don't laugh because of anything bad happening to these people (or the characters that they play); we laugh because they are eccentric, silly, and joyful in a way that also makes us feel joyful. This form of humor can be tremendously encouraging and uplifting to the types of readers who enjoy it.

Range 2: Acidic Humor

On the other hand, we have Acidic humor. Much like with food, most people have strong preferences and limits to how acidic (spicy, sour, or bitter) they like their humor. Acidic humor deals with laughing at topics that are increasingly serious or even tragic, such as death, illness, social injustice, etc... A popular example of acidic humor is South Park. Those of us who enjoy acidic humor will find ourselves laughing at topics that would otherwise likely bring us to tears. The power of acidic humor is that it helps its appreciators to cope with the difficult truths of life, and also to acknowledge problems that we are otherwise tempted to ignore because they are too hard to think about.

An example of an issue addressed in South Park is the elderly, their treatment, and our fear that we will face the same. Sure, when we watch an episode we laugh when the younger characters mistreat and abuse the elderly in the community. However, a conscientious viewer will then begin the chew on the issue, once the episode is over. We'll look at our own actions, and begin to wonder if our treatment of the elderly is just as bad. Because of the acidic humor, these difficult truths come to the forefront of our minds, we gain the courage to actually think about them, and we can even bring them up in discussion with others. This discussion can then lead to people changing the world for the better.

Range 3: Distanced Humor

This range has to deal with the necessary emotional distance we need in order to be able to appreciate a certain level of humor. Even with lighthearted humor like slapstick, which has very low acidity, the audience needs to be distanced in order to laugh. For example, if I watch Bugs Bunny wallop Elmer Fudd on the head with a mallet, it's generally pretty damn funny. I know that these characters are both flat cartoons with limited depth to their character, and that as non-beings they don't really feel pain. Therefore, I don't have empathy to Elmer's pain (because it is really non-existent), and I can laugh. However, if the show were to show me Elmer's life, how he's been a vegan but famine has caused him to need to find meat to feed his family, and how he struggles to even shoot at a rabbit because it makes him feel like he's betraying himself; then I'm not going to laugh if Bugs hit him with a hammer. I'm too close, and need emotional distance in order for my empathy to not get in the way of my humor.

Range 3: Close Humor

We do not need distance in order to find something funny. With close humor, the jokes and situations actually rely on how well we know the characters and how much we empathize with them. An example of Close Humor is Scrubs. In the show actually find ourselves within the mind of the protagonist, JD, and seeing the entire world through his eyes. He tells us about his insecurities, his genuine pain, his fears, and we actually really care about him as a character. Yet, we find humor in his minor misfortunes and even in his silly victories. The closeness of our perspective amplifies the events that happen in his life in a way that distanced humor cannot achieve. For example, when he stutters and says something embarrassing in front of someone he idolizes, we find ourselves giggling. If Elmer Fudd were to stutter in front of someone he idolized, we wouldn't laugh nearly so hard because we can't possibly understand the stakes of the moment or why meeting this person is so important to him. We need to be close to a character for Close Humor to work.

Range 4: Predatory Humor

With the range of Predatory Humor vs Reflective humor, we are discussing who will be the “butt” or target of the joke. (Note that a joke does not necessarily need a butt, as we will discuss later.) While often used in a negative way, in order to bully and shame others, predatory humor is not a bad thing in and of itself. Predatory humor can be used to tackle and harm negative constructs and ideas in our society. For example, Fairly Odd Parents used to frequently attack neglectful and abusive parenting. Note that the while Timmy's (the protagonist of the show) Parents were frequently the butt of jokes, they were also not the real target (just like parents in general were not the target). The targets were their selfish and non-reflective actions that had damaging effects on their son. We can use predatory humor to attack ideas, and point out the evils that are so often overlooked in society. The trick is to always keep vigilance of your own mind, actions, and motives to makes sure that you do not become a bully who targets the people themselves. Because even if someone acts in an evil way, bullying them will never cause that to change.

Range 4: Reflective Humor

On the other side of this range we have Reflective Humor, which serves to make fun of itself. Again using South Park as an example, the creators would often make their own beliefs and ideals the target of their ridicule. For example, it's fairly clear that the show speaks in favor of LGBT rights and for their being accepted as equals in society. However, they also go as far as to mock people who are so over-enthusiastic and pro-LGBT (to the point of hypocrisy). Another example is when the show begins to teach a moral lesson, the writers will often make fun of themselves through the character of Kyle for being so preachy. The effect of the show making fun of itself is two-fold. First, those of us whose beliefs South Park mocks feel like the show is being fair. Thus, we continue to listen to and respect the views of the creators, even if we don't always agree. Second, we trust the messages of a story more when it has the integrity to point out its own failings. Note that unlike with other scales, Reflective and Predatory Humor can actually be interwoven so that a joke or story makes fun of itself just as much as its target.

Range 5: Clever Humor

The last range of humor that we'll discuss is that of Clever vs Ridiculous. This range is fairly self-explanatory, but the core of its nature is what sort of punchline is delivered at the end of a humorous situation. Clever humor takes the audience expectation and amplifies or twists it to an unexpected place. You can see this in the work of comedians such as Louis CK and Demetri Martin. Martin, for example, has a humorous bit about doorways that say “Exit Only.” The joke then involves his compulsive desire to tell store workers that they underestimate the potential of those doors by about 50%. The delivery of the punchline is true and logical, but it such a way that it humorously exceeds audience expectation.

Range 5: Ridiculous Humor

Opposite of Clever Humor, we have ridiculous humor. This is when the punchline of a humorous situation is so absurd that we can't help but laugh. And example of this is the Spongebob Squarepants episode where he and Squidward get lost while delivering a pizza. They become lost in the wilderness and spend the episode becoming more and more so. Then, right at the end, Spongebob exclaims that they are saved because he's found a big beautiful boulder, the likes of which the pioneers used to ride for miles. And, to make matters even more ridiculous, the boulder works—driving just like a car. We find humor because the punchline is simply so grandiosely absurd that we can't help but enjoy it. Note that both Clever and Ridiculous humor require a great amount of skill and thought to pull off successfully, it's just a matter of your preference and your target audience.

The Five Sources of Humor

Once we identify what type of humor we are employing by using the scales, the next thing to consider is what makes our stories funny. This is something of a challenge, because we don't generally put much thought into why humor makes us feel the way it does. The humor either hits or misses, and we laugh or we don't. Making matters even more complicated is that there are so many theories as to why and how humor works—with everyone from Aristotle to Freud interjecting an opinion. But if we look at the particular sorts of things that make people laugh, we can improve how we use humor in our stories.

Source 1: Misfortune

Whether a cartoon character is slipping on a banana peel, or a character in a romantic comedy finds themselves in an embarrassing situation, the misfortune of others seems to be the most popular form of humor. This is why slapstick and funny home videos have been so prevalent in modern humor. Plato and Aristotle seemed to believe that this was because such humor made the audience feel superior to the characters being ridiculed (Superiority Theory). This seems especially true when we see unlikable characters (like the villain in a children's cartoon) experience misfortune in a comical way.

Though Superiority Theory has its place, I would assert that there is an alternative way that people enjoy misfortune. Perhaps the experience of slipping on a banana peel or being in an embarrassing situation is funny because of our own memories of experiencing the same thing or something similar. Freud and others theorized that humor was a release of energy (Relief Theory). Maybe our camaraderie with the character, mixed with emotional distance from the scene we are watching, creates a safe space to release our own stored feelings of pain or embarrassment. Thus laughter really does become a healing force.

Source 2: Absurdity

In his essay “The Myth of Sisyphus”, Albert Camus defines and explains the absurd.

“It's absurd” means “It's impossible” but also “It's contradictory.” If I see a man armed with only a sword attack a group of machine guns, I shall consider his act to be absurd. But it is so solely by virtue of the disproportion between his interaction and the reality he will encounter. […] Likewise we shall deem a verdict absurd when we contrast it with the verdict the facts apparently dictated. (29)

Though Camus is not talking about humor (rather the existentialist question), I think that the absurd is a source of humor. Audiences are often entertained by the absurdity of a situation. And by looking at Camus' explanation, we can hypothesize that this form of humor comes from the disproportionate contrast of action and situation. An example of this might be one of the last battle-scenes in Braveheart. In this scene, victory looks unlikely, the dramatic tension is high, and it seems to be the most serious moment imaginable. Then, upon being signaled, the protagonist's soldiers pull up their kilts and reveal their bare asses to the enemy. It's so unexpected and so absurd, that many people cannot help but to keel over laughing.

This scene is completely disproportionate to what we would expect to see in this dramatic a moment. The action does not suit the situation, but in a strange way it also kind of does—with the action juxtaposing itself against the situation. Perhaps, just like with misfortune, absurd humor creates a needed release of energy, connected to our own sense of existentialist absurdism. The absurd could then serve to release our feelings of despair in a positive light. The show, Rick and Morty, seems to be built on this connection between absurd humor blended with existentialism and nihilism. Of course, this is just a theory. What you'll want to focus on when writing absurd humor is the relationship of your characters' actions to the situations that they find themselves in. Are they lost in the desert? Have them climb a boulder and ride it home. The stronger the contrast between action and situation, the higher you'll make the potential for absurdity.

Source 3: Wit

Wit is the essence of Clever Humor; its the pithy intelligence that makes us laugh because of all the thought put into a situation. When we hear a witty joke or are part of a witty situation, we find ourselves moving in a forward humorous momentum, instead of the backwards and diagonal momentum of the absurd. But we don't stop at the expected location. For example my mother called me a few months ago, asking me if I was going to wish my brother a happy birthday. The expected response for this sort of set-up/situation is to answer “Yes” or “No”. But I went forward and beyond “No” by asking why she wanted me to congratulate my brother for being one year closer to death (I have an acidic sense of humor sometimes). This reply was much more thoughtful than what my mother expected, and pointlessly taken beyond the realm of reason. Therefore, she found it funny.

Perhaps there is an element of the absurd in any given amount of witty humor. It's as if we are taking extra steps to be as intelligent and rational as possible—ending with us standing somewhere close to the absurd. Using Camus' illustration of absurdity, the soldier with a sword wouldn't necessarily attack the machine guns, but instead go home, refusing to sacrifice his life to be a metaphor. You can see this sort of humor in Youtube series such as How it Should Have Ended. In this series, animators take a closer look at popular movies and then make efforts to enforce logic in worlds and characters that didn't have them. This includes having Severus Snape use his time-travel gizmo to go back in time and kill Voldemort before he became a problem—an action that is so logical that it erases the need for any of the Harry Potter stories to even happen. So when you create witty humor, look to take things beyond the realm of expectation—aiming for the absurdly reasonable.

Source 4: Anti-humor

Anti-humor is when something is so unfunny that it becomes funny, sort of like puns. As we find delight in the absurd and the unexpected, humor and jokes can begin to feel predictable. We begin to look for the solution in jokes, and we're usually smart enough to begin to be able to predict it. In this case, the expected becomes surprising. An example is the classic: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.” If you haven't heard it before, this anti-humor joke is actually kind of funny. A great example of this are the great collection anti-jokes found online.

You can take anti-jokes to the next level using extremely acidic humor. This is where you take serious, grievous, or tragic topics and use them as the punchline for your joke. For example, a joke about a fatal illness is not funny because the person making the joke finds that topic amusing (otherwise that person needs some counseling). A joke about fatal illness can be funny to some people for the exact opposite reason—because of how dark and unfunny it is. Again, I believe this ties into a release of negative energy while in a safe space, and the processing of difficult emotions. If you plan to use the extreme form of anti-humor, please note that many people have very legitimate reasons for not enjoying it. So be careful, and give your audience some sort of forewarning so that you do not spring something so emotionally charged on them without their consent.

Source 5: Familiarity and Value

When I was taking university writing classes, I had an extremely eccentric professor who had all sorts of mannerisms that were unique to him. In the moments when he was particularly eccentric and acting out of his true nature (which he was quite comfortable with), I would find myself laughing, even if the situation wasn't funny. I think others can relate to this, as we all love to talk about fun people that we used to know, and find ourselves laughing even when what we are remembering isn't particularly funny. We laugh because those people acting happily out of their own nature gave us joy, and so anything they do creates a laughter that feels akin to humor.

This mirth through familiarity can be accomplished in stories as well. In Bob's Burgers, for example, we really don't even begin to understand the humor until we develop an attachment and feelings for each individual character. Sure the situations are mildly amusing, but true laughter and humor doesn't begin until we know the characters, their likes, their dislikes, and who they are deep down inside. Once we know that, we laugh as each character acts out of their nature. When we see Louise (one of the protagonists) act with mischievous intent, we laugh even before we know what she's doing because we are happy that she is about to act out of who she really is. Note that this is a rather difficult sort of humor to pull off because you have to create a relationship between the characters and the audience before the humor will be possible.

General Tips for Humor

Tip 1: Create a patterned and uniform blend of humor for your story.

When you choose what sort of humor you plan to use in your story, the best way of maintaining audience enjoyment is to keep it constant. Just like when we watch a stand-up comedian, we begin to develop a taste and sense of expectation for whatever we are watching or reading. Over time, your audience will begin to really appreciate the flavor of your humor, and that appreciation will make your jokes increasingly funny (so long as they are creative and continue to be intelligently crafted). The pattern will also make all of your jokes seem, feel, and become purposeful. Your audience will enjoy this much more than if you seem like you are desperately trying to milk the humor from anything you can get your hands on (you perv).

I recommend you begin by analyzing the origins of humor in your story's world. Is the world simply absurd, with unseen gods of chaos just dropping coconuts on people's heads for pure amusement? Does the humor come from a specific character? A group of funny people living in a serious world that they must learn to cope with through humor? A funny narrator with a unique perspective on life? Once you figure out the origins, determine where your humor will fit on the scales (it doesn't have to be on any extreme, you can stay in the middle of the scales and still be hilarious); and then figure out the source.

Tip 2: Create a genuine story with genuine characters, in order for humor to gain the most power.

If we value stories in terms of how much people enjoy and remember them, the best humor stories are those with good plots and characters. This may seem counter-intuitive when your intent is to make your audience laugh, but think of it this way. If an audience wants just concentrated jokes, they will read a joke-book. Your audience is choosing to dredge through the murky waters of story in order to find the humor with more difficulty because they want a blend of story and humor.

An example of this is the movie,“Austin Powers.” Many people, myself included, watched these movies before we ever watched the James Bond movies that they were making fun of. And we enjoyed them greatly, and laughed the entire way through. Why? Because the characters and story, ridiculous as they were, were good enough that we actually invested our interest and emotions into them. As an added bonus, the story has become timeless and respected in its own right. Even if we face a future where nobody knows who James Bond is, the Austin Powers movies will be able to stand on their own merit because they are more than just jokes.

Tip 3: Be careful about dating yourself.

Speaking of parody and humor losing its ability to be funny, let's talk about references that date our stories. Humor at the expense of popular culture (movies, politicians, celebrities) is a fun ploy of high-humor. It's especially useful for nighttime comedy shows that will be lost to time anyways, within a couple years. When you are writing a novel, however, you are trying to create something that will last a bit longer than that. Additionally, novels take a lot longer to write than an episode of a late night comedy show. This means that by the time you publish and people begin to discover your book, they may not know who the vapid pop star you're making fun of is. Your humor will be lost to time, and your book quite possibly forgotten. Of course, I'm not telling you that you can't use this sort of humor, just that you should be aware of the risks it holds.

Tip 4: Mark every line that is supposed to be funny, and make sure that it is.

Nothing detracts from a story or from a spirit of jovial humor so much as an obvious joke that falls flat. It's like watching an acrobatics show. If the acrobat falls on their face too many times you'll either be embarrassed for them or you'll empathize and start worrying for their safety. Either way, you won't find the situation amusing. In your own personal copy of the manuscript, mark every joke for analysis of whether it actually succeeds and whether it serves to empower the story. Then, ask your editors, test-readers, and writing partner to circle every point that they genuinely found funny. Be sure to pick test-readers who fall into the niche you are writing for, as well as those who do not. If nobody but you marked a specific joke, then you need to either get feedback for how to make it funnier, or else cut it.

Tip 5: Write within your own expertise and authority.

This does not mean that you can't laugh at things, and poke fun at things that are outside your realm of expertise, so long as you have done your research. But consider the power of an insider making a joke about something that you are a part of vs an outsider doing the same. It would be like the difference between me calling most writers narcissists (as I am one, and know that it is pretty true in most instances) and a politician making a joke and calling writers narcissists. I mean, what right does that asshole have to judge us, even if it is true? The point is that your jokes gain power when you can tell them with the confidence of an insider. Not only that, but your audience who is a part of the group at the butt of the joke, will be much more gracious and feel far less attacked when the joke comes from one of their own.

Tip 6: Humor is personal

Humor is something that is highly individual to specific groups and people. For example, I do not understand, nor am I really able to appreciate most British or Spanish comedies. This is not because they aren't funny; they are just as valid and hilarious as every form of comedy that I do enjoy. The reason is simply that because of either how I was raised, my life experiences or because of who I am by nature, I can't enjoy them any more than I can enjoy olives on my pizza (seriously, I hate them). It doesn't matter how artfully these types of humor are composed, there is simply no effect akin to joy, amusement, or laughter when I come across them. In other words, the problem is me and not them.

All this is to make three points. First, it may be more difficult to find test-readers and worthwhile criticism for humorous work. Even if I'm really good at critiquing stories, I will not be able to give you any helpful feedback if your humor doesn't match with mine. And that isn't your fault any more than it's my fault. It's just a difference in taste. Second, humor is as personal and close to the heart as any other story or craft. When you create a joke, you are channeling whatever emotions and mixes of experiences have led you to the type of humor you have. So recognize the emotional bond between yourself and your humor.

The third piece of advice is for those on the other end of the spectrum, those experiencing the humor of others and perhaps trying to give advice. Please recognize that others' sense of humor is just as valid as yours. Whether their sense of humor is simple, complex, dry, witty, dark, acidic, sweet, or anything in between, it is their sense of humor and not yours. Be careful in how you voice any attempts at criticism, as there are few ways to break your friends' trust and confidence as completely as when you tell them, “That's not funny.” You might as well be telling them that their heart sucks, and they are a sucky person.

Instead, acknowledge the differences in people's humor, value it even if that humor makes you uncomfortable, and voice your criticisms accordingly. Try: “This joke wasn't successful with me, and might be perceived as racist/bullying/insensitive to some readers; so seek other feedback to see if it's just me.” You will voicing just as honest an opinion, without formulating a direct attack against the person who has trusted you with something so delicate to them.

Weekly Recommended Watching: Doraleous and Associates by Hank and Jed. (A free animated fantasy Youtube series that manages to successfully mesh several humor types with an over-arching plot. Examine how even there are plot elements that are serious and even sad, the series maintains its humor through well-balanced distance and wit. And if this form of humor does not amuse you, that is perfectly valid and your own unique sense of humor is still a valuable thing.)

#81scorp #21 tips for writing humor #comedy

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octoberumbrellas · 4 years ago

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Potential jobs/careers for the Hargreeves if they weren’t raised by Reginald

In which the (not)Hargreeves were raised in supportive environments where they were able to pursue their own interests and weren’t turned into child super soldiers

also this turned out way longer than intended (like 1500 ish) and I don’t really have creative writing experience so this may read like an essay

Luther: Physical Therapist

Luther would frequently go to the gym for stress relief or just for fun. He would practically become a personal trainer/support team for any of his friends who asked for advice at the gym. The coach at his high school frequently encouraged him to compete in weight lifting, but Luther decided not to because he thought using his powers would count as cheating.

He realized senior year of high school that he could continue helping people by doing what he loves so he decided to study physical therapy when he went to his university. At one point he switched to being a general sciences major but he switched back after a semester.

However, his love of science never faded. He’s become a regular at several science museums and planetariums in his city and the surrounding area. He’s considering going back to college for another degree so he can teach science someday because he’s always had a passion for sharing what he loves.

Diego: EMT (Emergency Medical Technician)

Diego didn’t realize that his good aim came from his powers until he was in middle school; up until then he figured that he just didn’t have any powers. He played t-ball when he was young before switching to baseball and playing through high school. Although he could have used his powers to do supernaturally well, Diego focused on utilizing his own natural talents, which earned him a spot on his university’s baseball team.

Although he considered going pro, Diego decided to become an EMT. He has a passion for helping others and knew that this was a healthy and helpful way to channel the hero instinct that he’s always had.

Even though Diego didn’t pursue a career in baseball, he still enjoys the sport. He volunteers to coach a kids baseball team on the weekends. He has become a significant positive role model for the kids he teaches. Now he occasionally uses his powers to entertain them with pitches that could never happen naturally.

Allison: Lawyer

Luckily, Allison was able to train her powers to only work for a certain phrase fairly early on, when she was around four years old. Her parents helped her come up with a phrase so they could take a break from having ice cream for dinner almost every day.

After a few unfortunate incidences of letting her powers go too far, she decided to be more careful and only use her powers when absolutely necessary. Allison recognized the importance of people using their voices for good so she participated in speech and debate teams and in student government throughout high school and college.

Allison studied pre-law before attending law school. She has taken on many high profile cases and plans to open her own firm fairly soon. She makes it a point to provide low cost or free services to people who may not be able to afford a good lawyer.

Klaus: Philosophy Professor

Being able to speak with the dead caused Klaus to have a lot of questions about the world, life, and the afterlife. His parents helped him to healthily cope with the ghosts around him; now he’s not afraid of ghosts and occasionally is able to help them. He excelled in school and graduated a year early.

Klaus worked as a medium and palm reader to have some extra funds while in college. All of the medium experiences were real but the palm readings were entirely made up (but were somehow always correct).

He double majored in philosophy and classics before pursuing his master’s degree and becoming a philosophy professor. He’s still a bit of a character, but what professor isn’t? Klaus is known for his thought-provoking lectures; students always try to enroll in his classes because they know that it will be a positive experience.

Five: Physicist

While he was very young, Five figured out that he could teleport; once he grew older, he made it his mission to find out how it works. He took as many classes as he could while in elementary, middle, and high school. Five studied physics at his university to continue to study the science behind teleportation.

After graduating college, Five got a job at NASA. His goal is to continue studying his power so that he can replicate it with machines to revolutionize the future of space travel. He’s begun considering whether or not he should attempt to time travel with his powers but he’s still considering the ethics of this.

Five’s other goal is to create the perfect cup of coffee. He worked as a barista in college to help him on this mission; the results were very mixed.

Ben: Book Editor

Ben discovered his powers as a young kid and was, unfortunately, terrified. He began keeping to himself and it took him a while to open up again. During those years to himself, he fell in love with books and literature.

When he began college he chose to study literature, but he switched to professional writing at the beginning of sophomore year. Ben worked at the school newspaper for his last two years of college and he has been working on his own novel on and off for several years.

Now he works as a book editor; this allows him to travel occasionally because he can work practically anywhere. Sometimes, Ben chooses to go somewhere remote so he can allow the thing inside of him to stretch out. He’s also trying to find and meet some of the other people like him so they know that they don’t have to be alone.

Vanya: Music Teacher

Vanya’s parents realized early on that she could healthily channel her powers through music. She enjoyed studying her first instrument so much that she now knows how to play eight, but her favorite is the violin.

She participated in band and orchestra throughout high school and continued on with orchestra through college. Although she didn’t declare a major starting out, Vanya decided to study music education after she began giving music lessons halfway through freshman year.

Vanya now works as a music teacher at an elementary school because she’s great with kids and understands that music can be a good way to channel emotions when you can’t describe what you’re feeling with words. She still does private lessons on the weekends and in the summer.

How they met each other (bc I still want them to be friends without the Academy)

Luther and Five

Luther and Five met in a general science class freshman year. They were in the same group for a project and quickly became friends; partially because they had a lot of shared interests, partially because their other group partner did practically nothing to help.

They rented an apartment together for the next three years. They accidentally discovered each others powers at the same time; while attempting to move a couch up the stairs to their apartment it started to fall, Luther picked it up to keep it from falling on Five as soon as Five teleported away. After that, they were happy to finally stop hiding their abilities. Luther and Five had a shared passion for space; Luther actually suggested that Five could apply his abilities to space travel.

Allison, Vanya, and Klaus

Allison decided to take piano lessons sophomore year, a friend recommended that she take lessons from Vanya. Allison only took lessons for a few months before she had to stop due to a busy schedule but they still hang out at least a few times a month. They met Klaus at a New Year’s Eve party when he offered to read their palms; they both declined but now they all hang out.

Klaus told them that he sees ghosts shortly after they met but they both thought that he was joking. Allison and Vanya realized that he was telling the truth when he manifested a ghost on their birthday junior year. Vanya was excited to share her powers with them but it took Allison a few months to be comfortable with sharing her abilities.

Ben and Diego

While Ben was working at the university paper, he met Diego while writing an article about the baseball team. They ended up in a class together the next semester and became pretty close friends. Even though they didn’t have a ton of interests in common, they both loved video games and would compete in Mario Kart competitions together.

Despite becoming close friends and celebrating a few birthdays together, they never told each other about their powers. Diego was worried that people would find out about his powers and assume he was cheating at baseball, meaning that he would be kicked off of the team. Ben was still not fully comfortable with his abilities and was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep them under control.

note: I know that it’s not likely 100% realistic that they would all end up going to a college or university because not everyone does. But it is a realistic way for people with different interests and from different countries to interact with each other so that’s what I went with. Idk I just like to think that they would all still be able to be friends without the experience of being in the umbrella academy to bring them together.

#repost cause it didn't show up in the main tag rip #tua #the umbrella academy #will have to spell check this later

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letsbenditlikebennett · 4 years ago

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Encounters of the Strange Kind || Ariana & Frank

TIMING: Before the last full moon during the nightmares POTW PARTIES: @frankmulloy & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: Ariana goes to watch a soccer match and bug her favorite bartender, Frank. Some nightmares brought to life make for a strange afternoon.

It wasn’t often lately that Ariana found herself with a free afternoon and as much had been preferred. Just when she felt like she was finally beginning to move forward again, Winn had to go and die on her, too. If she let herself sit in all those feelings for too long, she was almost certain she wouldn’t be able to find it in her to get up again. Moving was easier. At least that’s what she had kept telling herself, but now the erratic weather meant soccer practice was cancelled which means she wouldn’t spend the rest of her day coaching. She was far ahead on all of her projects for school and she didn’t want to bother Blanche or Grace yet again. The weather also meant a run with her dog was out of the question so she opted to drink beer and watch some soccer matches at Perfect Pint. It wasn’t the world’s best distraction, but bugging the bartender had always proven to be a good time. While the USWNT wasn’t playing, she threw on the Rapinoe jersey Athena had gotten her anyway. Something about channeling Rapinoe had always left her feeling a little tougher. Which was saying a lot because most days, she considered herself to be pretty badass.

Considering it was a weekday afternoon, Ariana found the bar wasn’t overly crowded, so she grabbed a seat in front of the women’s Olympique Lyons team’s match. While they weren’t her team, she remembered Kaden was a Lyons fan. It gave her some sort of deeper attachment to the game which meant it’d be more likely to hold her attention. She waved at Frank as she settled into her seat and gave him a wide smile. Confidence was key to no one questioning her fake ID. “How are you doing today,” she asked brightly before adding, “I’ll take a Guinness when you get a chance.” She hadn’t liked it at first, but it grew on her. She admittedly just said the first thing she looked at the first time she came here and just kept going with it.

Frank had always considered Perfect Pint a lesser form of Soul. Less sticky, less sleazy, less were the chance of someone kicking someone else’s teeth in—or maybe that was just his shift. Maybe in his absence the patrons that gathered at the latter establishment were perfectly pleasant, either way, the Irish bar was a welcomed breath of civility before the shit-storm the evening would no doubt bring. The presence of another gancanagh added to the ease of simply being as the pub owner exercised a control over his ability that even after all these years Frank had never fully mastered. His pheromones fluctuated to a rhythm of its own make, a song Frank was not privy to and struggled still to understand. But the shadow of a smile that threatened to break his mask of perpetual indifference came at the hands of one that, legally, shouldn’t even be allowed at the bar. They both knew this— that no matter what her ID said, Ariana was not 21, not the fact that he silently enjoyed her company. No drink was strong enough to make him admit anything so personal. But more than that, if he admitted it, then it must be true, and if that was true then so was the very real possibility that she was only hanging around him because of the reason that most people were. The same reason he slid people their drinks across the bar, why he was always so generous with his distance, why he didn’t smile when he turned to meet Ariana but rather regarded that she was there—of course she was wearing a fucking Rapinoe jersey—another body to warm the bar’s seat.

“Do you have an ID for that Guinness?” Frank said, with perhaps a little too much enjoyment, after the glass was already in his hand. “I get the pub is Irish but you know that American laws still apply right?”

Something about the chatter around the bar was much more comforting than the near silence of her apartment. Ariana was glad this place was close to her new apartment and that her fake ID never seemed to be extensively questioned even though it seemed fairly obvious Frank knew she wasn’t 21 yet. Plus, they always played the soccer matches so it always gave her something engaging to do even if she didn’t have someone joining her. As Frank asked for her ID, she pouted and dramatically pulled her wallet out of one of the pockets in her cargo pants. “You know, you keep not remembering me and my very iconic blue hair, I’m gonna stop tipping… okay, that’s a lie,” she responded with a small laugh as she slid her ID across to him. She gave him a pointed look as she waited for him to set her beer down. The urge to do a triumph fist pump was resisted. Instead, she motioned her glass up in a cheers motion and took a sip before commenting, “You never told me how you were doing. You haven’t seen any weird fish lately, have you?” She’d seen a few of them floating around along with some other strange things. Still felt like a good idea to check in and make sure everyone was staying safe amidst the crazy that was White Crest.

The threat of no tip was met with a slight upward lean to the corner of Frank’s mouth, which was more of a smile than most could say they’ve ever received from the infamously stoic bartender. The Guinness had already slid across the bar’s top to her awaiting hand before she had even pulled the ID out; the presence of the little card vaguely acknowledged though not such attention was paid to its content. “Fine,” he said, and he was fine, and was happy to leave it at fine, but of course, Ariana had a talent for catching his attention when he least expected it. Like, say, a remark about weird fishes. “This whole fucking town is weird.” Frank would be remiss to say that the amount of fog that blanketed the town was a common occurrence, not to mention the pair of bright glowing lights that peered eerily behind them. Logically, he’d sooner owe it to a pair of headlights, than anything stranger, which was rich coming from a guy with giant wings sticking out of his back. Logically, he also knew that no vehicle or trunk had lights that large, that moved so silently, seamlessly-- there was nothing mechanical about these lights. “Why? What have you seen?” A pause. The temptation was to close the distance between them, but alas (at least this time) habit dug down its heel, and so did Frank. “What have you been up to kid?”

Of course he hadn’t actually bothered to look at her ID which made Ariana laugh a bit. While Frank was never the overly talkative type, she did enjoy his mostly quiet company. It gave her something else to focus on when the game wasn’t enough to keep her thoughts from drifting somewhere darker. He was a bit of mystery though and fine almost never meant fine. She knew better than anyone because she’d put that brave face on every day for the kids and a little bit for herself. “I hate that word,” she stated plainly, “90% of the time it’s bullshit, but I’ll give you that one.” At least his response to the question about fish led her to believe he wasn’t completely clueless to the ways of this town. That made it easier for him to stay safe. “You know, you’re not wrong,” she agreed, “Some of it is good weird though, like the dog toys falling from the sky. My dog had a field day with that one. Still, probably a good idea to avoid the giant floating fish if you can.” For a moment, she could almost detect a hint of concern in his voice though he still kept his distance. She didn’t want to alarm him, so she shrugged and answered, “Honestly, I’ve seen a lot, but more recently it’s been the floating fish. Thankfully, they seem to mostly just kind of float by if you don’t bother them. I may be tough, but I’m not exactly eager to see if I can take on an oversized flying fish.” The answer to his next question was decidedly nothing good outside of school and work. Between ghost hunting, avoiding sleep, and her plans to turn Ace into a werewolf like her, she was decidedly not staying out of trouble. Not even a little bit. “Oh, you know-- work, class, typical young we-- people things. I opened up an Etsy shop, so if you need any custom woodwork or repairs, I’m your girl,” she responded hoping her answer sufficed even if she definitely left big bits of the truth out. She shifted in her seat slightly and a puzzled look crossed her face as all the TV screens in the bar went fuzzy. That was weird. It was a perfectly sunny day out so she couldn’t think of any good reason for the television picture to just go out.

For reasons too complicated, and probably too depressing, to dissect without the supervision of his therapist, Frank had somehow convinced himself of being able to care for little else beyond that which directly affected him. Now Frank was a great many things but never the uncaring type, and while he was a talented wordsmith (when he had the energy to be) he was, as was the nature of his species, a poor liar. Even to himself. So when “fine” was met with a reaction that was far from it, his heart—he was frequently surprised to learn, or be reminded, of its existence—reared its head, and fixed a tender gaze on the younger girl. He said nothing however, feeling that it was the wrong time to press, but he would remember the minor outburst, and keep it close to heart. While Frank himself was still challenged with admitting to the existence of the strange and unnatural, despite himself being one of those strange and unnatural things, to have Ariana confess to it so readily, and so casually at that, made it concrete, and real. No, the lights were not in fact a truck in the foggy distance, it was indeed a giant floating fish. That was normal now. He was part of that normal. So what happened then when a normal person has spent his entire life believing he was not? How does he come to terms with that? The answer: he doesn’t. He instead focused his attention on anything else, on anyone else. “Right, so that sounded decidedly unconvincing. Your fake ID is more convincing than…whatever that was.” He waited for a characteristically snappy response, but when she looked up at him—no, past him, her brows knitted together at whatever the TV was showing. “What are you…?” Nothing, the TV was showing nothing, and yet she seemed entranced, or at least concerned enough to be curious. This made him concerned, and by the way the few patrons that were in the bar were whispering and mumbling to themselves and each other, it was going around.

“Jesus H,” the dish rag draped over his shoulder, Frank sought for the remote and tried to turn it off, but the battery was either flat or the TV refused to obey. Logic supported the former, and logic made him reach up to press the button on the monitor itself. That was when water started leaking from the screen. Logic offered no sound explanation for that. Somewhere within the bar came a yelp as the water from one of the leaking TVs (was he seriously admitting to that?) short-circuited the juke box. No, Frank thought decidedly, it had been two weeks since he last fed and he was too fucking tired for this shit. “Yeah, I’m not cleaning that shit up.” He tossed the towel aside, stuck his head into the kitchen and announced his early finish. “No offence but I don’t think your game is playing kid,” he said and ducked out from behind the bar. Something wasn’t right, and frankly he felt no great desire to stick around, and owed to some strange endearment he’s found in Ariana, he didn’t want her to stick around either. “I’m heading out. Finish your Guinness. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

Normally, she would have been quick to comment on the fake ID remark. Ariana wasn’t sure just how serious he was, because would he really be serving her if he thought her ID was fake? Maybe he just didn’t give a crap which actually checked out to a degree. The water leaking from the TVs was far more pressing though. She was pretty sure electronics and water didn’t mix, so she took a step back. “TVs,” she answered as she pointed upward. How were they even doing that? She doubted there was any satisfying answer, but slowly scooted away from any electronics. After all she’d been through, she wasn’t about to go out by electrocution of all things. She took a big gulp from her glass of beer because frankly it was warranted with the current level of insanity. So much for having a nice escape from White Crest reality. It hadn’t been all that surprise to see Frank ditch the bar. She laughed a bit and commented, “I don’t blame you. Probably dangerous back there right now anyway.” The jukebox seemed to agree with her so she was glad he was seemingly away from any spots that may cause electrical shock.

While the TV situation was still concerning, Ariana figured she didn’t have much of a reason to stick around with both the game off and Frank gone. Beer alone wasn’t going to be enough to distract her from the whirlwind of emotions she currently didn’t feel like acknowledging. His offer to walk her home was unexpected though. She looked up to him and said, “Yeah, thanks, I’d appreciate that even if I am probably a lot tougher than you think I am.” She jokingly sized him up, but agreed her beer was worth finishing. “For sure gonna finish this bad boy. Can’t be out here wasting a perfectly good beer!” She was quick to polish off her beer. She refrained from burping as she set the glass down because as Celeste taught her growing up, it wasn’t proper table manners. Not that she truly understood why table manners were a thing humans cared about, but for the sake of blending in, she did her best to follow some sort of norm. “So we adding bodyguard to your business card now,” she joked as they left the now nightmarish scene behind. Thankfully, everyone else had also been quick to bolt, so she wasn’t too concerned for their safety. Every so often, a creepy face would flash on the screen and she muttered, “Wow, I fucking hate that.” She pointed down the block and said, “I live this way, not too far away and surprisingly decent rent. Not sure if you know the area well or not, but it really is a steal.”

“I am sure that you are.” Frank’s lips twitched as a genesis of a smile began to take shape across his mouth, one that came very close to becoming fully formed, until he too saw the ghostly face that haunted the TV screens. Fuck. That. Many of the pub’s patrons shared the same sentiment and a steady stream of people trickled out behind them, and for the first time (and hopefully the last) Frank was glad that he had the evening shift at Soul that day. A snort escaped his guard, harsh and full, a gleam of something mirthful reflected in his eyes as he turned them toward Ariana. “Depends on how much you’re willing to pay me,” he said and was only half joking. Bartending doesn’t pay a great deal, and there were many artefacts in his piece of crap apartment, including the piece of crap apartment itself, that would attest to this. The Bend wasn’t exactly known for its New England style living, but then again, neither was Frank.

“It’s nice.” He mused, quietly observing the shops that lined the streets and the plants and bushes that trimmed the sidewalks. Frank spied what looked like a stray dog toy tangled in the leaves of one of the passing bushes. Raining dog toys. That was normal too. Another thing he had to come to terms with getting used to. Not the fact that that particular thing happened, but the possibility of something similar, and equally strange and outlandish happening again. “I never really took the time to take in the streets. I mostly just come in for work, and then go to Soul and then go home. But this street, this place, I can see you living in it.” In the same weird way that you can somehow just sense that someone does not belong in a certain place, you can also sense when someone else belonged exactly where they were-- the latter was usually a lot more pleasant to observe. Walking next to Ariana, in the street she lived, Frank came to the conclusion that she looked like she was exactly where she needed to be; a place bustling with life, and events, and possibilities...even if it was a little strange. “It’s nice.”

Ariana noted the almost smile that Frank made though she didn’t comment on it. He was seemingly gruff, but she was pretty sure he enjoyed her company. Well, at least more so than the rest of the bar’s patrons. Which was fair, she was way cooler and far more adorable. As they walked, she laughed a bit at the mention of paying him. “Thankfully, I don’t need my own bodyguard, not that I could afford one. As it turns out, coaching kids’ soccer a few times a week doesn’t pay enough for a glamorous lifestyle. Not that I want one, but building a cabin one day would still be nice. If my woodworking really takes off, I may have a job for you.” They rounded a corner and something about the sky felt off. She ignored it and added, “I should warn, I’m good at finding trouble.” To be fair to herself, trouble often found her based on her species alone, but she definitely had a knack for following her nose right into some sort of White Crest nonsense.

It surprised Ariana that Frank hadn’t done much exploring the streets yet. While the more populated parts of town weren’t necessarily her thing, she did know the woods like the back of her hand. Or paw, depending on the day of the month. “Yeah, there’s a lot of good shops and restaurants down here. It’s a good area, I prefer the woods, but it’s nice living across the hall from one of my best friends. So thanks.” She was almost wistful for that cabin in the woods she was supposed to build with Celeste one day. Hell, she even missed the place she helped Ulfric build, but there was a sense of pride that came with having a place of her own. Plus, hiking with her school projects that were often bigger than her was a bit much. She’d been smiling softly when a strange smell hit her nose. She paused in the middle of the sidewalk and looked in the direction her nose was picking up a more animalistic smell. Before it could even register fully in her mind, a raging moose was charging them. “Shit,” she yelled out and pushed Frank out of the way as she barely dodged getting impaled by a fucking antler. “What the fuck,” she grumbled as she regained her balance and stared the moose down, letting out a low growl.

“Me too.” Frank’s smile hiked a little higher, and there was something knowing about it, like sharing in a secret that they both had, even if it was from each other. Though he did not necessarily indulge in the more cursed aspects of his existence, he always found that it was better to take it with good humour lest he drowns himself in self-pity; the latter being a significantly worse reality.

Frank spent the rest of their walk quietly observing the younger girl, his eyes squinted in a mixture of easy amusement and sharp curiosity. She spoke, a lot, and he listened, filing away pieces of information that he found useful or interesting: her relationship with the woods, her best friend, woodwork, how the three worked together to form an idyllic picture of the life Ariana wanted for herself. The pieces of information that went untold, fueled by a detailed history, alive and well as evidence in how she spoke. It made him wistful for a future that he never imagined for himself (he never tried to), and wanted dearly for her to have—her sudden stop elicited the same reaction in him, though it was obvious that she was sensing something that he wasn’t. Something he couldn’t. He heard the rumbling of hooves on pavement before he saw it, and even then he saw very little as a force, and a very impressive one at that, pushed him out of harm’s way, very nearly knocking him off his feet were it not for the swift sweep of his wings slowing gravity just enough for him to recover his balance—the product of instinct rather than any great skill. And then a low growl, unmistakably animal, and too near for comfort. First the ghost child TV, then the moose, now if he was about to get mauled by a fucking wolf Frank was going to lose his shit. Alas, there was just Ariana, and a very angry moose carving its way through the street before disappearing around the corner. No wolves to be seen…and yet. “Ariana, are you okay?” Concern coloured his words and made his touch more gentle as he reached out to examine her for any obvious injury. “Are you hurt?” And then finally, inevitably, “only in this fucking town.”

As she reoriented herself she swore she saw a flicker of wings on Frank. Ariana blinked slowly a few times and realized it must have been a trick of the light. Not that wings would be totally off base in this town, but the rest of their surroundings still felt surreal enough that she wrote it off. There was still a small lingering suspicion that maybe Frank wasn’t quite so human either. She’d have to observe him more carefully. She brushed herself off and answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. More startled than anything.” The moose kept running and rounded a corner. Maybe she should have been more concerned, but she simply didn’t have the energy to chase a moose right now. Not in this form. She figured she could shoot Kaden a text and let animal control deal with the seemingly pissed off moose. She stood still for a moment as he looked her over and kept her demeanor calm despite the internal ‘what the fuck just happened’ vibes she had going on. “I’m not hurt. Did only narrowly dodge becoming a moose kebab, but it be like that I guess,” she said with a slight laugh. “Yeah, that was super on brand for White Crest, but hey, neither of us turned into moose-pops today, so I’ll call it a win.” She was dying to ask about the wings, but she still wasn’t entirely sure of what she saw, so she’d file that one away for later. “To be safe, let’s keep moving in case he decides to come back for round 2.” She paused briefly as she started leading the way to her apartment before she finally caved and noted, “So… you were pretty good at catching your balance there.”

Ariana’s note was like a plunged blade, spearing through the glamour that he has tried so hard to maintain. Did it fall? Did she see? She couldn’t have. Frank’s wings were not little plastic accessories that you found hanging off some rack at some halloween store. They were huge, and not something that usually elicited such a casual response...not that he’s had many experiences to draw from. Yet at her remark, he prompted his face to smooth over any evidence of emotion, trying his best to manufacture the closest imitation to nonchalance. “Oh yeah? Thanks kid,” he said before allowing an edge of gentle humor pushed into the timber of his voice, “I mean I’d be a pretty shoddy bodyguard if I’m tripping over my own damn feet.” This made sense--even if Frank’s history of fighting recorded more losses than wins. “Maybe you should consider getting into the bodyguard business. That’s some arm you’ve got.” Needless to say, had it not been for Ariana’s quick reaction, his day would have gone in a very different, most likely more painful, direction. The reminder beckoned curiosity’s head to surface through the crack’s of his apathy, and despite the strangeness of the TV, the moose, he could not erase from his memory the distinct sound of a dog’s growl.

Curiosity also prompted him to vocalise his next words, but Frank was careful with them, lest he risked sounding insane in a town known for its strangeness. “After that moose, did you, I don’t know, hear anything weird? Like a growl?” Was he suggesting that he heard the moose...growl? Perhaps. But what was the more likely event: the moose growling or Ariana growling? Then again, little ghost girls were crawling out of leaky TVs and only moments ago they were almost ran over by a rampant moose and Frank himself had a literal silver tongue and giant wings stuck to his back, Ariana growling was hardly the strangest thing that happened in that afternoon alone.

“Fair point,” Ariana responded with a laugh. A clumsy bodyguard seemed like more of a hazard than protection. At the mention of having a strong arm, she shrugged. The full moon was quickly approaching so her strength was peaking though even during the new moon she liked to think her athleticism afforded her a bit more in the way of strength. “What can I say? My natural athletic prowess surprises yet again,” she answered with a laugh. It wasn’t entirely a lie and she was tempted to just throw out the fact she was a werewolf. She was almost positive she had seen the briefest glimpse of giant ass wings on his back when he stumbled from her push. It was unlikely he’d have anything against werewolves. She was trying to have a little bit more in the way of tact regarding this kind of thing, but was pretty much failing at that. Would there really be much harm in telling him? As stoic as he was, he seemed to have a soft spot for her. Not that she could blame him. She was adorable and she knew it.

As Ariana started to lead the way toward her apartment again, Frank mentioned the growl and she stopped in her tracks. Of course he heard that. Sometimes her instincts were stronger than her common fucking sense. If she was being honest, it was probably more than sometimes. She sighed and explained, “That wasn’t the moose. You did hear a growl. That was me.” She was already most of the way there to telling him, might as well go for it. “I’m a werewolf, that happens sometimes.” And there it was. Did this give her the ground to ask if she saw wings or would he just think she was crazy? She could probably chalk it up to weird teenaged Twilight daydreams if anything else. She watched Frank carefully, looking for any sign of how he was taking that little bomb.

In summation: little ghost girls were crawling out of leaking TVs, they were almost ran over by a raging moose, flying fishes were a thing, and so was raining dog toys apparently, and Ariana was a werewolf. The truth settled over Frank like a blanket and he was unpanicked and strangely unperturbed, though either would have seemed a more conventional reaction to the news. In fairness, that tends to happen when you have a tongue that is literally silver and giant wings sticking out of your back. She could have told him that she was Irish (considering how often she was at the Irish pub), and his reaction would not have differed greatly from that he had on now: raised brows, mouth slightly parted as if wanting to say something but unsure of what, and a pensiveness had settled over his eyes as he digested this new discovery. “You are…a werewolf.”

The first time Patrick told Frank that he was a fae, and that Frank was one too, he laughed (and then punched him again, but that could also be accredited to several other factors), and though the reality of his situation seemed entirely too impossible to be logical, his father’s explanation was the only one that made sense. Frank didn’t laugh this time, but was instead preoccupied with another thought: why was she volunteering this information? He was suddenly very acutely aware of his wings, and the effort he exerted to keep them hidden—like one who was suddenly very cognizant of their own breathing, and the mechanics of that unconscious process. She did see his wings, was the first thought, followed by a question of whether he minded that she did? Was he comfortable enough to let her know of what he was, as she apparently was with her secret? Was it ever a secret? It wasn’t as if the subject came up in a lot of their conversations to begin with. “A werewolf like…Michael J. Fox, werewolf?”

The news of her being a werewolf didn’t seem to come across as too much of a shock and Ariana was grateful for that. There was definitely some processing happening, but as much was to be expected. At least he wasn’t looking at her like she had five heads or something which meant he most likely believed her. “Yes, I’m a werewolf,” she said quietly. It wasn’t a secret, but shouting it from the rooftops would likely attract hunters that weren’t as understanding as the ones she knew. If she could help it, she’d rather not be a trophy on some asshole’s wall. She wanted to follow that statement with ‘you have wings’ because she was pretty sure she’d gotten a glimpse of them, but if she was wrong, he’d really think she was insane. At the mention of being a Michael J. Fox werewolf, her features contorted in confusion and she paused for a moment. “Wait, what?” Her head tilted as she looked at him in earnest and said, “I have no idea what that means or who Michael J. Fox is. The gist of it is I become wolfy around the full moon, have a good sense of smell and strength, and really like red meat. Oh, and I guess I growl sometimes.”

Well, fuck. There’s nothing quite like making an aged reference to remind you exactly of how old you are. “Michael J. Fox...like, Teen Wolf nineteen-eighty—you know what, don’t worry about it.” Although Ariana’s general description seemed to follow, more or less, the general formula of the werewolf myth Frank was familiar with, the strangest part of all of this was not that she was a werewolf but that he felt no distance between them since the discovery. No unease, or distrust; she was still exactly the Ariana he had come to know. The same Ariana who knew exactly which buttons of his to press, and the right words to say to coax a grin or a chuckle out of him, especially when he least expected it. In fact what he did feel was something more akin to relief. She wasn’t a fae but she wasn’t entirely human either—like him. A small part of Frank was almost envious of her. She was so comfortable with herself, she knew exactly what she was, and unapologetically so. She listed her traits with the familiarity and ease of a cook listing the ingredients of a well-known dish: no judgement, no prejudice, just simple facts. The same could not be said of himself. The subject of his fae heritage had always left a bitter taste in his mouth. One Frank washed down with cheap cigarettes and even cheaper alcohol, finished with a serving of good old fashioned denial. You know, healthy things. “You didn’t have to tell me that you know,” he said, “why did you?”

No one had ever really asked Ariana that question before and it left her a bit curious. Frank definitely did not seemed bothered by her revelation or afraid of her in any way which was good. It wasn’t like she’d ever hurt him. Still, she supposed other people were a bit more tight lipped about their species than she was. The fact of the matter was that she liked Frank and she didn’t believe he’d ever do anything to hurt her. She shrugged as they rounded the corner toward her building and she answered, “I don’t know, it’s not like a big secret or anything. I mean, I don’t like broadcast it for the world to know, but given everything today, I didn’t think you’d be too shocked. Plus, pretty sure you’re not a hunter… not that hunters are automatically bad. I’m friends with a few, but still.” It dawned on her she was growing more curious about what he was so she added, “Plus, you don’t seem too shocked. Do you have like some sort of background with this stuff?”

Frank kept his eyes forward, his expression betrayed little of his thoughts, but he could not deny the sliver of ice that slid down his spine at the mention of the word. Hunters. He didn’t know why that was. He also didn’t know why he started thinking about his father. Didn’t know why the word triggered the image of him to come to the forefront of his mind, and the fear that he saw in his eyes, or perhaps most frightening: the resignation in them. Most faes were immune to things that otherwise proved fatal to humans; difficult to kill if you didn’t know what you were doing, entirely possible if you did. Hunters would. Was that what happened to Patrick? Frank had never cared to ask, and thought little of that night since, until now. Not that hunters were automatically bad, Ariana had assured him. Frank offered her a smile (it looked off, but then again, it was Frank), though he wasn’t particularly eager to go out and test that theory either. He turned his gaze back down, and for a moment their eyes met. She knows. He lets out a sigh, his fingers raked through the side of his beard, unsure of how to put together the words he struggled to say even to himself in front of a mirror. “Er…yeah, you could say something like that. I mean not werewolves, obviously, you’d be the first, but other things.”

While it was still a mystery of how Frank knew all of this, he seemed to take it relatively with stride. At least, he wasn’t any more or less stoic than he normally was. Ariana was still curious to know if her hunch was correct, but he could tell her in his own time. She knew not everyone was as comfortable sharing their species as she was. Or maybe he was human and just didn’t try to make excuses for everything weird that happened in this town. She’d sworn she saw wings for a second there, but with everything else that happened, it was hard to tell. Either way, she offered him a warm smile as they neared her building. “Well, whoever said save the best for last was wrong then,” she joked with a smirk present on her face. She took on a more serious tone and added, “I know a lot of people here who have a bit of something extra, so if you ever find yourself in trouble or anything, let me know. Even if it’s not something you can throw a werewolf at, I usually know who to ask for help.” She stopped outside the front of her building and turned to Frank. With a small gesture, she said, “This is my stop. Keep an eye out for angry moose and let me know you make it home safe, alright?”

The invitation was a door and Ariana had so graciously held it open for him. All warm smiles and not even a glimpse of a shadow to hint judgement or malice or a well to use the knowledge of what he was against him. But Frank’s history shackled his feet and he didn’t move but looked at her with feigned ignorance. He’d as good as closed the door himself and every part of him wondered why. Simply, it was not Ariana he wanted to hide the truth from but himself. So he could play grumpy bartender a little bit longer, supplying banter and alcohol to underage werewolves and deny the responsibility of his supernatural inheritance. It was fucking pathetic, he knew it, and he swallowed the truth with a smile as Ariana was delivered safely to her front door. Although that was perhaps more her doing than his. “I’m not going to ask who or how you know said persons, but I will keep that in mind. Personally, I hope that it never comes to that.” He mirrored the gesture back to her, a reluctant grin cracked across his face in a way only Ariana could force out of him, “yes ma’am. You stay out of trouble kiddo.” Somehow he knew, as soon as he said it, trouble and Ariana were never too far away from each other.

#wickedswriting #encounters of the strange kind #frank #// this was so fun and i love their dynamic #JT also sent me with that last line

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nobodyfamousposts · 5 years ago

Note

What if scenario after Lila is exposed but the parents of Marinette’s classmates being so disappointed in their children when they find out about the systematic isolation based on a bunch of lies that nobody bothered to double check. Alya’s family asking if she was sure she got her facts straight on her assignments for days to come, Max’s parents having him wear goggles to protect his eyes from any stray napkins, things to show their children how wrong they were to hurt someone without reason.

I just don’t see that.

I like the salt and spite and seeing the class getting a kick to the rear when necessary just as much as anybody, but these are their parents. And they are adults. So considering that we barely see any of them, I am going to assume that they are actually good parents who care about their kids as most parents do.

As such, I don’t think they’d be that petty.

Call their kids out on bullying, yes. Talk to them about not taking everything they’re told by someone as gospel, definitely. Try to urge them away from what they see as bad influences, certainly. But the parents would have to be downright jerks to talk to their kids like that instead of actually just TALKING to their kids.

Let’s instead turn this around and show what they have to be seeing. I’m going to go with Alya’s parents since she’s the one in the middle of this. Acting before the whole “lies being exposed” bit, because I think good parents would actually catch on to that sort of thing sooner and act on it.

They know their daughter’s interests. They know how much Ladybug and the Ladyblog means to her. They know how she can get about things she genuinely cares about. And they would listen to her when she tells them about things going on at school.

So when Lila first appears and Alya regales them with the claims Lila has been making, the two send a look at each other, figuring out pretty quickly that the girl is likely embellishing things. But it seems harmless and Alya appears really excited so they stay quiet at first. After all, they were teenagers once, too. They figure that the excitement will die down, the kids won’t take it too seriously, and the new girl will just settle into the class without much issue.

Then they hear about the interview Alya did of Lila for her blog. Now, they’re a little worried, because this could harm Alya’s reputation and her blog. The new girl came from another country and probably doesn’t know about the frequent akuma attacks or just how valued the Ladyblog is—both to Alya and the community that relies on it for accurate information. They can’t just TELL Alya that Lila is lying though since they don’t know the girl, so instead they subtly suggest that Alya may want to look up other sources to back the story before posting it. But Alya is a teenager and one who is confident to the point of being brash and acting without thinking things through. So Alya brushes them off as being overly worried, because in her mind, the question of whether Lila might be lying to her for any reason isn’t even considered. Why would she lie about being friends with Ladybug or all the other things she’s done? What benefit would there be to it?

So Alya leaves the interview and her parents can’t exactly stop her. They also figure that she’s young and the Ladyblog may just be the first trial run of her attempts at journalism, so she needs to figure these things out for herself.

There’s no point in continuing to press though because Lila disappears shortly after, not that they know why. So they shrug it off as a one-time thing and figure the interview isn’t major enough to warrant backlash and there’s nothing to worry about.

Months pass, fairly peacefully. There’s only some mention of the new girl calling the class during her trips, but nothing substantial for them to worry about. Up until Lila’s return.

Then Alya comes home and goes on about how Lila is back and how awesome it is. Her parents aren’t quite as pleased but figure it’s harmless—at least until Alya comments on Marientte taking issues with her return and how jealous and unreasonable she was in class over Lila being close to Adrien. They’re confused, because from their interactions, Marinette has generally been a sweet if somewhat eccentric girl. They could see her being jealous—anyone can be after all—but not willing to move to accommodate a new student with a disability? That doesn’t sound like her.

Well, Alya admits that the whole seating arrangement was changed because of Lila. With a bit of prodding from them, she confesses that it wasn’t even Marinette’s seat that Lila needed, and that everyone had chosen to switch seats around because of it.

This only makes them more confused. Why would Marinette be upset over the seats if she got to choose where she would sit?

This…actually makes Alya pause. And she somewhat guiltily notes that Marinette DIDN’T get to choose—that everyone else picked where they wanted to sit so she was left to the unchosen seat in the back. Alone.

They’re understandably displeased with this and calmly point out to Alya that doesn’t it make sense then that Marinette would be more upset about the fact that her seat was moved without her knowledge or permission and how she was the ONLY one in the class who DIDN’T get a say in where she got to sit?

Alya gives a little “yeah I guess, BUT…” and proceeds to explain what happened during lunch and how Marinette tried to claim Lila was a liar.

That goes in lines with what the parents first thought of her and makes sense to them. But Alya doesn’t get it because she likes Lila and her lying would make no sense. So when her parents point out that Marinette may have been right, Alya waves them off by saying that she had no proof other than her own word. Ignoring, of course, that Lila has no proof of anything either.

This comes to one of “those” points for her parents. They can either tell Alya she’s wrong and explain where she’s making a mistake—which might as well be a lecture, or they can be noncommittal and let Alya figure out her mistakes for herself in the hopes that she DOES at some point figure out said mistakes. They figure that in lecturing her, she’ll either blow them off or the lesson won’t stick. It’s one thing to have someone TELL you a lesson and another to actually learn it for yourself. Knowing how stubborn Alya is, they may just take it as her parents not liking Lila for whatever reason and become defensive. So as much as they want to tell Alya what they’re seeing, they instead keep it short and simple that maybe she should look into her facts and determine for herself who is telling the truth.

For Alya, she knows Marinette well enough to know that the girl is anxious, flakes out, and tends to jump to the worst possible conclusions for things. Lila on the other hand is awesome and amazing, and has no reason to make up stories to convince them. So Alya gives a laugh and says it’s not necessary because she already knows Lila wouldn’t lie to her.

Her parents glance to each other in uncertainty, but don’t prod further.

Imagine how things would continue from here. Alya is unknowingly in a toxic friendship that is slowly poisoning her and she can’t see it. Her parents see it and they worry, so they prod and ask, but Alya just waves them off. Slowly over time, she becomes more negative about Marinette until they can’t even be called friends anymore. Slowly over time, Lila’s “issues” grow and Alya is taking on more and more burdens because of it. And slowly over time, the tension and negativity starts to wear on her to the point where she is becoming overly stressed and it’s just downright unhealthy. The fact that she’s Rena Rouge and hiding this isn’t helping with matters, either.

She starts to push off her own responsibilities. Using Marinette or others to babysit her sisters without telling her parents beforehand so she can sneak away and spend time with Nino—which becomes less a matter of actual dating and more to simply get away and “de-stress”. Using people—particularly Marinette and then getting angry when those people either can’t or won’t be there in the way she wants. Even some behaviors that are downright bullying—to Marinette, sure, but more importantly (as far as Alya’s parents are concerned), to her sisters. And when her parents try to talk to her, she shrugs them off and blames others. Thanks to Lila, Marinette has been turned into a rather convenient scapegoat by this point. And the thing about scapegoating is that many people don’t even realize that they’re actually doing it or blaming someone unfairly. It’s just that there’s a situation, she was involved, and it’s so much easier to chalk it up to being due to her rather than address the problem—especially if she can’t be aware that there IS a real problem.

But her parents are.

A couple of months pass of this and finally things come to a head and they’re forced to put their foot down. Alya comes home one day from yet another overly stressful day at school, and when she enters the living room, both of her parents are there waiting for her.

“Alya, we need to talk.”

They tell her what they’re seeing. They tell her what she’s been doing. They tell her the effect she has been having on other people—them, her sisters, her friends. And they tell her what has been happening to her—how stressed and unhappy she’s been lately. Most of all, they tell her how concerned they are for her.

She tries to wave them off, but they’re not taking it this time. When they tell her some of the things they’ve been hearing from the school, she gets angry and makes accusations of Marinette telling them lies.

They point out that they haven’t seen Marinette in weeks since she last brought her over. And that is part of where they’re concerned—Alya hasn’t been bringing Marinette over anymore. Or even any of her other friends.

Alya has been isolating herself more. Hiding away in her room. Being increasingly snappish towards her sisters. Passing her twin siblings off to other people to look after so she can go on dates with Nino—which she never discussed with either of her parents beforehand and is an abuse of their trust in her.

She blows it off, thinking it’s just about her not looking after her sisters and that the lecture is unnecessary for something so minor. They point out to her quite calmly that it isn’t that she’s not looking after the twins, it’s that she’s telling them she will and then having someone else do it—and often someone that the parents don’t know, don’t trust, and did not give permission to do so. That’s dangerous. Not to mention it’s an abuse of their trust—meaning that Alya is lying to them.

THAT gets her attention.

“I don’t lie!”

“What would you call it then? You told us you would be here to do this and you weren’t. You told us we could count on you to watch over your little sisters and you didn’t. You handed off the responsibility to someone else and didn’t even tell us. We had to find out by walking in on one of your sitters trying to deal with the twins in the middle of a temper tantrum! If you wanted time to go on dates or were otherwise busy, why didn’t you at any point simply talk to us instead of doing it behind our backs?”

Alya really can’t respond to that.

“And then there’s your blog. We agreed to let you have it with the understanding that it wouldn’t interfere with your life or other responsibilities, but we find you’re running into akuma battles?”

“It’s just to get footage!”

“Alya, it’s UNSAFE.” Her father exclaimed.

“But Paris counts on me to get them information!”

“That does them little good if you’ve been vaporized in the process or turned into a french fry!”

“It was glitter.” Alya said with a pout. “And I’m the most factual source about Ladybug and akuma attacks!”

“No, sweetie. You really aren’t.” Her mother said with a sigh, much to Alya’s surprise.

They then proceed to explain to her just what she’s been putting on her blog. Theories of who Ladybug is that borders over the edge into pure conspiracy nonesense? The picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing? Videos of interviews with Lila and her false claims?

“You’re posting things without consent or without any evidence backing them. How is any of that factual? Or even news?” Her mother asked. “You saw what happened to Nadja Chamack when she took her interview with the heroes too far. How is that any different?”

“It’s the sort of thing one would see in a tabloid, sweetie.” Her father put it more bluntly.

Alya glared, scandalized.

“And that’s not even getting into the ongoing issues with this Lila girl.” Her mother continued.

“Oh, now you’re going to harp on her, too?” Alya asked, annoyed.

“Alya, have you at any point checked into anything this girl has said?”

“Of course!“

“Really?” Her mother asked, incredulously. “So you talked to Ladybug about the dangers of a civilian claiming to be her best friend when she’s being targeted by a supervillain? Looked up any of the many interviews with Jagged Stone where he expressly mentioned never having a cat? Or a lawsuit against any airline for allowing a preteen to get past security and onto the runway?”

Alya gaped.

“We knew from the start that Lila’s stories were a bit too unbelievable to be entirely truth.” Her father explained. “But we said nothing because we thought that either you would realize that as well or her stories would taper off. But it’s been months now and neither of those things has happened. The only thing that HAS happened has been you following a trend that has been increasingly unhealthy and worrisome.”

“Alya, we are concerned for you.”

“I’m fine!” She insisted.

“You don’t hang out with your friends anymore.”

“That’s because Marinette is bullying Lila!”

“Saying something you don’t want to hear and pointing out flaws in a person’s story isn’t bullying, Alya. Ostracizing that person, intentionally leaving her out of things while letting her know you’re doing it, and only talking to her when you want her to do something for you IS.” Her father replied. “Especially when her parents are going out of their way to ask us what we know about the situation and are rather intently discussing the matter of whether they should allow their daughter to remain in what they are referring to as a ‘toxic place’ regardless of how much their daughter is trying to defend you.”

Alya blanched. “Wait—toxic? You mean the school?”

“This is about you. And unfortunately, I can’t say they are wrong. Your behavior lately has been getting out of hand. And it’s not just your treatment of Marinette. We’re also talking about the way you’ve been ignoring and snapping at your sisters. How you’ve been ignoring your homework. How you’ve been posting things online that have been increasingly scandalous or untruthful, which could hurt people and get you in legal trouble. Not to mention all the times you’ve been sneaking out with Nino after telling us you would be here. And while I’m sure this Lila girl isn’t the root cause of everything, she certainly seems to be a key component to a lot of it.”

“Lila is awesome though!”

“Awesome doesn’t mean healthy. Or safe. Or good. What has this girl done for you that has you so convinced that she’s such a wonderful person?”

“She gave me an interview for my blog! And she looked after the twins loads of times!”

“An interview that you can’t substantiate. And looking after your sisters at a time when YOU should have been and when you didn’t tell us she would be, which explains why the twins were that much more unruly and out of control for the past few weeks with ridiculous claims of how they’re going to get to meet princes and never have to go to bed.” The mother deadpanned.

“And I thought the Sapotis excuse was bad enough.” The father grumbled.

“The point is, Alya, that you’ve been doing a lot of things lately that have been unhealthy for you and rather uncaring of anyone else.”

“That’s not true! I’ve been helping Ladybug!”

“I don’t think putting yourself in danger to get footage or posting a picture she expressly told you she was unhappy with would count as ‘helping’.”

“I’ve been helping Lila!”

“But does she really need your help or is she letting you think she does because it benefits her?”

Alya frowned, growing uncertain. “S-she’s been having trouble with her homework.”

“But she still has time to take on babysitting duties for you?”

Alya continued, resolute. “I’ve been helping Marinette to try to get with Adrien!”

“You’ve been complaining frequently about how much of a pain it is that Marinette is crazy about that boy only to turn around and push her to try to confess to him when she’s clearly not ready. Then she fumbles because of it and you act even more annoyed and put upon as a result. How do you think that makes her feel?” Her mother asked.

“If it’s that much of an annoyance for you, why not just let her move on from him? You said she agreed to help him on a date with another girl at the skate rink that one time, right? It sounds like she was trying to move forward. Why didn’t you encourage her if it would have resolved that issue and cause everyone less grief?” Her father asked.

“He’s her crush!”

“And crushes don’t always last.” Her mother replied. “Sometimes being a wing-woman means helping the person to let go of an attraction.”

“It also means knowing when to butt out.” Her father added, bluntly. “You’ve complained a multitude of times about how much of a pain her crush is. So did you ever stop to consider how much you’ve been contributing to it and keeping it going?”

“But she gets so jealous!”

“That would be all the more reason to let her move on when she’s trying to.” Her mother told her. “And the fact that she does get upset about something doesn’t mean you should invalidate her feelings as jealousy. She’s a teenage girl, just like you. Her feelings are complex and confusing, even to her. Instead of writing her off as jealous whenever she was upset about something, what would you have learned if you had listened to her tell you what she was feeling rather than assume?”

“But she was jealous!” she insisted. “Why else would she keep accusing Lila of making things up?”

“Maybe because Lila is.” Otis retorted.

“That’s not true!” Alya exclaimed. “She wouldn’t lie to me!”

Otis had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Based on what? From the moment you met the girl she was spinning tales as easily as spinning yarn. And you clearly never checked on any of her claims or you would have known by now.”

“That’s because I do know!”

“Did you ask Ladybug about it?” Her father asked.

“Well, no. But I’ve talked to her since then and she never said anything!”

“Not saying it isn’t true isn’t proof that it is. What about Jagged Stone?” He continued

“I can’t talk to him!”

“He’s put out interviews that are readily available. And doesn’t Marinette have his number?” Marlena asked her, causing Alya’s eyes to widen in shock at the recollection.

“She does.”

“So that means Marinette would know if Lila was lying about him.”

“But she never said he said—”

“Honey, she shouldn’t have had to in the first place.” Her mother said, sadly. “Marinette isn’t a journalist anymore than Lila is. If two of your friends have conflicting claims, shouldn’t you have proof that something did happen before you start demanding proof that it didn’t?”

Alya winced, remembering how she requested that evidence from Marinette without even checking on Lila’s first. Because no, she didn’t have proof that Lila was telling the truth. Nothing other than Lila’s word. And looking back, she couldn’t say there was a good reason that should have mattered more than Marinette’s.

“But why would Lila lie?” She asked, despondently.

“People lie for plenty of reasons.” Her father said, saddened. “Whatever Lila’s reasons are for lying are on her. Your responsibility is to protect yourself first and not fall for that.”

“We’ve been talking.” Marlene stated. “And while we don’t want to, we are going to ground you.”

Alya gaped up at them in surprise and hurt.

“You’re a journalist, so you know how important communication is. Furthermore, you should understand how it works.” Otis stated. “But you haven’t been communicating with us. Or with anyone. And it’s showing in just how long you’ve been letting things go on until they got to this bad of a point.”

“But things aren’t quite that bad!” Alya insisted, urgently.

“They are disrupting your life and your ability to function—as a student, as a friend, and particularly as a member of this family.” Her mother explained. “So you’re going to take the next two weeks to break away from all of that. No Ladyblog. No outings with your friends. No dates with Nino.”

“You are to also not spend any time with Lila.” Her father added. “We’ll be talking to the teacher about keeping you both separated for now.”

“In that time, we want you to see if you notice a difference in how things feel. You’re stressed, and we get that. But you don’t seem to really understand where it is all coming from or what healthy changes you need to make to deal with it. That can happen sometimes when there is just too much going on, so these two weeks aren’t to punish you. They’re to give you a break from all these distractions to focus on you and what you need to stay healthy and happy.”

Alya didn’t agree. She hated this. She hated all of it. When she first went to her room, her initial response was that her parents were being completely unfair. But she couldn’t say they were wrong. And while it was certainly a pain at first, the two weeks gave her a lot more free time to think. And the time being barred from hanging with either Lila or Marinette allowed her a break from the constant tension and stress of their little “war”.

Now she would have the time to actually try and look up the claims both Lila and Marinette have made. And while Marinette’s claims weren’t always able to be substantiated and may have been little white lies at points, it was ever more clear that Lila’s were entirely false. She’s almost beating herself up because how could she not have seen it?

But how could she have? She had constantly been busy, being dragged into one thing or another. Either her blog, or school, or Marinette’s boy troubles with Adrien, or her relationship with Nino, or Lila’s most recent grab for attention.

It leads her to go back over other things she had overlooked and disregarded. She also starts to reevaluate what all she has going on and what she really needs to keep in her life at this time.

Ultimately, this is going to lead to a change and a much different Alya once the grounding period is over.

Her parents won’t be happy about how much she’ll struggle and have to let go of to get her life back under control, but if it means a healthier and happier Alya, they’ll be satisfied.

#ml drabble #ml analysis #alya's parents #alya cesaire #lila sucks #good parenting

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the-creeping-shadow · 4 years ago

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Shade’s OCs

Here is a list with all OCs I have so far, including fandom and non-fandom OCs. Some of these might appear new to you (if you have been following me for a while); some might seem familiar. I offer this as a reference, but also as a way to talk about characters a bit. No facts are set in stone; questions and such are always welcome ^^

I’ll start with the ones I’ve already introduced here.

Fandom OCs/Fan characters

Anna Haas My Outlast fan character who exists in an AU based on The Murkoff Account. The result of the question “what if the baby was real?” that appeared in my head one day, Anna exists in several iterations depending on several factors.

Her introduction into the world was more than a little messy; the assault on her mother, Michelle, resulted in Anna being born way too early and spending the first months of her existence in NICU. Obviously she survived the whole ordeal. Under the care of her mother Anna turned into an overall friendly and optimistic child who is very close to her parent, albeit often worried about her given the trauma Michelle endured (which she tries to hide in front of Anna, but the psychological consequences still show up). She’s a headstrong person, determined to pursue any goal she sets for herself, and has a certain tendency to want to take on a leading role in whatever project or even game she is involved in. These traits carry over when she grows up. The past of her family very much interests her even if the truth about her father and her parents’ involvement in Mt. Massive end up taking a toll on her world perception. She becomes more reserved, perhaps even more irritable in certain aspects after the “revelation”, but sets on a quest to find out what exactly ended up happening to her father with a goal to find disclosure and a peace of mind - a dangerous endeavour perhaps, but one she considers worth the risk. The outcome of all this will ultimately depend on two major variables in her story...

Kyniera the Imp A DOOM OC heavily inspired by the codex entries in 2016 and various headcanons I developed about the species’ biology. Not entirely compliant with the lore presented in DOOM Eternal, as she was created before the new game came out; so to some degree she might exist in some AU as well.

A determined survivalist long used to the harsh ways of Hell that are not that much friendlier to demons than they are to any other life forms (especially so if you are a low-ranked Imp - considered nothing more than cannon fodder), Kyniera is an Imp who has gathered enough experience and a certain amount of caution as a result to survive longer than many others of her breed. This, coupled with a growing sense of self-awareness that is present in older Imps only, makes her suitable to take the role of pack leader in any Imp group she finds herself in. If not leader, then at least someone who is confident enough to influence group decisions, especially when it comes to hunting. An unfortunate event has resulted in her, among other lower beasts, being captured by higher-ranking demons and carried off to a combat arena in the depths of Hell to fight against oftentimes stronger opponents for the sheer amusement of Hell denizens but also to test the physical prowess of the members of Hell’s armies, including herself. Kyniera, much to everyone’s surprise perhaps, has proven to be a particularly resilient Imp, showing good knowledge of how to use her innate fire ability and agility to her advantage, becoming somewhat of a “pet” in the arena. Not necessarily a good thing for the Imp as the arena masters and spectators were probably more curious to see how long she will prevail mentally, out of sheer sadistic delight. However, one losing fight convinces her to turn tail and run eventually - and she manages to escape the arena, overcoming her own fears. With a growing hatred towards the “higher-ups” and an unwillingness to die for anyone, Kyniera wishes to distance herself from all Hell politicking and solely focus her efforts on survival and hunting alone. An endeavour that may not come easy as she still ends up getting caught in the crossfire of intra-Hell conflicts between warring factions which ultimately sends her down a path that just may lead to a particular metamorphosis...

Non-fandom OCs

Synth Rex Synth is an old and powerful daemon lord* who rules over an entire realm. He appears to be a cheerful and playful person who interprets almost everything as a game of sorts. Whatever is said or even done to him, Synth will keep smiling and talking in a friendly and ofttimes jolly way. This demeanour keeps showing even if Synth is experiencing negative emotions - as a way to keep up his composure, but also as a way to “troll” people, especially so if they appear more hostile. With his mindset mostly revolving around the maintenance of his realm, Synth is willing to do a lot of things to ensure the prosperity of it. He can be described as a scholar of sorts since he enjoys reading and travelling throughout the multiverse to learn and explore different dimensions, the people, cultures etc. It's one of the more effective ways for Synth to occupy himself and prevent boredom. Other occupations may be training, alchemy, and watching individuals and events having managed to pique his interest, especially if they feature revenge. Unlike my fandom OCs, there is no set storyline for this universe. It’s more of an open world revolving around Synth’s realm and his family as well.

Elizabeth Morgan Elizabeth is a fairly old and mighty daemon and Synth's lover. Elizabeth is what one can describe as a willful and self-confident woman who will not let others influence her in a negative way or push her around. Charming, elegant, and equipped with experience collected over 712 years of her life, Elizabeth prefers to use social skills to go about many matters. This is further helped by her mind control abilities which she can use quite deftly, provided an entity is not more powerful than her. She will often meet others with an overall pleasant demeanour, polite, respectful, and decent, simultaneously confident and not afraid of speaking her mind. Greater slights against her or her family will leave a bitter taste in her mouth and will not be forgotten so easily. As a daemon, Elizabeth has no inhibitions about using her mind control abilities to further her goals. She can be a manipulative person who likes to use a person's mental weak points to convince them of acting or thinking in a way benefiting her. When talking proves to be futile, Elizabeth is still capable of defending herself and will not hesitate to do so: like others of her species, she possesses enhanced strength and the ability to shapeshift into a fearsome daemon form.

Shannon Rex [picture not yet available on Tumblr] Shannon is the first and eldest of Synth and Elizabeth's children. Shannon had had a shapeshifting "accident" at the age of three months, having transformed into an indescribable, amorphous shape which appears to be their daemon form, which significantly differs from the usual form. Ever since, Shannon has to struggle with shapeshifting slips a lot, though their powers are getting better as time passes and they become an adult. Shannon is an introverted and reserved person, somewhat taciturn. Serious and determined, Shannon mostly occupies themselves with books and training and might not necessarily be a person who is in for the "silly" type of fun. Having been raised by a caring, but strict father who has set a firm schedule for his child and having been around their father's subordinates a lot, Shannon is disciplined and generally well-behaved. Due to their problems with the shapeshifting power and initially slow telekinesis, Shannon tends to be insecure about themselves, constantly questioning their worth and might. However, with frequent training units and being the offspring of a daemon lord, it might just be a matter of time until Shannon actually becomes powerful.

Cynthia Rex [picture not yet available on Tumblr] Cynthia is the second and youngest of Synth and Elizabeth's children. Cynthia is a happy and jolly six-year-old child (there is a huge age gap between the children), always curious and with a tendency to ask a lot of questions concerning how things work and what they are. She also has a bit of a mischievous streak and will attempt to play pranks once in a while. Close to her family, she is pretty much seldom seen anywhere away from a family member unless she decides to explore her father's castle on her own. Around strangers Cynthia becomes quiet and will cling to whatever family member is accompanying her at a time. As a child she is unaware of a lot of things existing in the multiverse and has a generally optimist attitude, though she knows not to trust people she does not know, which is mostly because of her family frequently telling her that she should not trust anyone outside of her family and her father's subordinates. Cynthia has recently begun undergoing training units in addition to lessons, which often leave her tired.

Thetis The result of my fascination with sharks, the desire to design a mermaid based on the great white shark, and depicting sharks in a positive light while maintaining the fact that they are (majestic) predators by nature.

Thetis is a very curious and inquisitive great white shark mermaid. While Thetis tends towards the introvert side of the spectrum, she is still open to talking with others, always willing to learn new things. She meets others with a friendly appearance and will not, contrary to what might be said about sharks and shark mermaids, seek any hostile intentions whatsoever as long as she is not agitated or hunting prey. Even though she has no inhibitions about killing other living things (specifically prey), she does so only for the sake of self-preservation and would scoff at others for "wasting" a kill, or put differently, for killing and harming other living things for any other reason than self-preservation. Still, Thetis does enjoy the thrill of the hunt itself and will speak rather openly about hunting if it ever comes to that. Depending on which universe she is set in, Thetis may dislike humans (or other humanoids, depending) for all the things they are doing to sharks and maybe even mermaids. However, she would never actively go against any unless the human provokes her intentionally.

Xenia Used to be a fan character of mine before I decided to rewrite her entire story and include her as a non-fandom OC in my own multiverse. As a result there are still gaps in her story, though her personality/concept remains similar.

An agent working under Synth Rex among his ranks. Xenia has endured an excruciating, unhappy childhood that left her permanently scarred - physically and mentally. An escape from her world, after she has exacted revenge on her tormentors, was offered by Lord Rex, who had become interested in her story, promising a better future for her. While Xenia was hesitant to take his offer to work for him first, she accepted it and ended up in a better position after all, as she perceives it. Still, her life has left her bitter, cynic, and mistrustful. While she tries to keep up a good relationship with her fellow agents, approaching her is still difficult as she prefers a solitary lifestyle, slow to trust anyone. Her manner of speech tends to be sarcastic often. Xenia belongs to an unspecified human-like species, possessing powerful telekinetic abilities that have developed and strengthened as she grew up. It was this power that allowed her to turn her "fate" over.

*the depiction of the daemon might drastically differ from “canonical” mythological depictions in places. These characters exist in a multiverse created by me and thus adhere to lore created by myself.

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clockworkouroboros · 5 years ago

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Telling a Story // The Scarlet Empress

There are many essays, discussions, and works of fiction that all try to explain what Doctor Who is all about, but I believe that none understand or grasp the key to understanding this franchise more than The Scarlet Empress. In one novel, Paul Magrs skillfully tells both a fantasy quest and provides a hypothesis for the continued endurance of Doctor Who.

A central theme in The Scarlet Empress is that of stories. The alien world of Hyspero is a world of fairy tales come to life; the people there obey all the laws of storytelling. This is a world where bad guys will eventually get their reward and good guys will win in the end.

Even more than that, stories play a major role in the plot and the overall message of the book. The Scarlet Empress is a book about the joy of storytelling, the power that a story has, and the universality of all stories. Everywhere one looks, there are hints at this. Some are more on the nose than others, of course, but this book clearly hints at stories all throughout. This book features a band of ruthless mercenaries, an evil empress, pirates, djinn, and the power of love. It also features some less well-known ideas: guards with portions of a map of the entire planet tattooed on their skin, fusing into one symbiotic being with your lover, ancestors stored in jam jars, and a time-traveling London double decker bus. (Not to mention the driver of said bus!)

These stories, the book reminds us, have power. Look at the Scarlet Empress herself: referred to by a title, not a name, the fearful despot of Hyspero who remains shrouded by mystery and the legends of her cruelty. Or what about the Doctor and Iris, whose stories are interconnected and, perhaps, stolen from each other? Or the Lady; another unnamed character, one who invites mystery and intrigue, who inspires loyalty and devotion from the close-minded townspeople of Fortalice because of the enigma surrounding her. She has a story, but one we don’t find out. The band of mercenaries are a story, too: there are legends surrounding them, fact and fiction intertwined, but who’s to say which is which?

Which brings us to the heart of the matter: in The Scarlet Empress, the Doctor frequently functions as a cynic. This is an interesting choice to make in writing the character: this particular incarnation of the Doctor in this particular series is full of naive optimism. He assumes the best, even when the worst is thrown at him. (and those who have read these books know that the worst is frequently thrown at him.) The Eighth Doctor is full of hope and joy and possibility. So what could possibly make him the cynic?

Well. Iris Wildthyme could.

In the world of Doctor Who, Iris Wildthyme is a special case (Both the character and the audio spinoff, I don’t separate the two.) Iris is a particularly good example of writers (or perhaps just one writer, Mr. Magrs) thumbing their noses at the rules Doctor Who has built up for itself. Other writers have done as much, but none have managed it in quite the same way that Paul Magrs has with Iris Wildthyme. The trans-temporal adventuress doesn’t care for rules, and she shows it by stealing Doctor Who episodes and adding them to her own personal timeline. Or at least, she does in this story.

At least, that’s what the Doctor would say. The Doctor glowers moodily as Iris entertains Sam and Gila the lizard man with tales of her sordid past, tales that he informs Sam actually belong to him, like Iris has plagiarized his past.

But as the story continues, Magrs comes back to the same idea, over and over: Iris did do those things. Or she didn’t. It doesn’t really matter. For Iris, it isn’t the adventure that beckons her, the way it beckons the Doctor. It’s the stories she gets to tell afterward. With Iris, it’s all about the glamor. She breaks the fourth wall so often that it may as well remain shattered. She’s a character, and she’s aware she’s a character, so you can bet that she’ll do her best to play a part. (And we all know she wants the part of the main character.)

That too, however, misses the point. In the end, the stories don’t matter. Whether Iris stole them or actually lived them doesn’t matter. The content doesn’t even really matter. What matters is the storytelling.

That’s what The Scarlet Empress is about. It’s about storytelling. It’s about the power of stories. It’s about the joy in expression. Iris’s journals, which chronicle both her adventures and the Doctor’s (although they would all appear to be her adventures) are intended both as journals and as stories. They’re at least partially apocryphal, Iris admits. Did she stop the Dalek invasion of Earth in the 22nd century, or did the Doctor? And more importantly, does it really matter? The Doctor would say that it does. Iris would say that it doesn’t. And the reader is clued in to be sympathetic towards Iris, even if they also hold the Doctor’s opinion.

You see, what the Doctor fails to grasp is that all of this doesn’t actually matter. When he and Iris are captured by a group of anthropomorphic birds and made to tell stories, he fails to understand why they can’t just leave. He willingly shows them how to create a story: the science behind the art. All fiction is alike in some way, especially pulp science fiction. The plots are familiar, even with all of time and space at an author’s disposal. But the plots aren’t what make the story special. It’s the storytelling.

The anthropomorphic birds understand that. They don’t just want the stories, they want the Doctor to tell them the stories. “We like your voice,” they tell him. (Any fan of the Eighth Doctor understands perfectly.) Tellingly, they don’t want Iris to narrate any of “her” adventures. The birds are genre-savvy, just as she is, and they’ve picked up the fact that the Doctor is the main character. (Perhaps one could ascertain that Iris’s stories are lies from this, reasoning that the birds can hear the truth in the Doctor’s words. It’s silly, but it could fit with the main themes of the story.)

In all of this, then, the story of The Scarlet Empress isn’t actually the plot. It’s what lies behind the plot and around it, presenting it, prettying it up. It’s the presentation, the prose, the imagery, the dialogue. This is a joyful story about the beauty of storytelling, and it fully indulges in it. This is a story where the bad guy is vanquished, where the trickster genie is himself tricked, where the good guys survive. At the beginning of the book, Sam reflects that she’s been meaning to ask the Doctor if he’s truly happy. By the end of the book, it becomes clear: this is the type of story where everyone gets a happily ever after. Even Iris. Even the Doctor. (But only for a little while: this series has a truly astonishing amount of torture and trauma.)

Where is Iris and her story-stealing in all of this? I like to think that Iris isn’t actually stealing those stories. I’m not saying that all of them are true. I’m fairly certain, in fact, that most of her stories—even the ones that actually happened—are jazzed up, made more glamorous, more movie-star, more Iris. But if Iris is stealing her stories, what does that say about us? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and she knows it. What is Iris if not a fanfiction author who can’t help but write self-inserts? Her stories drip with this: in The Blue Angel, she saves the Doctor by taking him to the obverse, where he and Fitz and Compassion can live out a domestic AU. Her audio stories are parodies of different eras of Doctor Who, and the narration she provides makes it totally possible that these stories are straight out of her journals.

And this is why The Scarlet Empress is so amazing. This book doesn’t care about story-stealing. It understands that all fiction is going to seem repetitive at some point. What matters is that we find joy in the fiction we create and consume. It understands that we were made to be storytellers. And this book takes great comfort in that fact.

After all, that’s what Doctor Who is about. It was never about the plot. It was about the act of telling the story.

#emily writes #dw meta #edas #doctor who eu #eighth doctor #long post #been thinking abt this

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jawllines · 5 years ago

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Hi!! Just wondering if you ever had a chance to write that fake gf blurb!!! I know that was ages ago tho ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

i DID INDEED THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME! THIS IS VERY LONG AWAITED LIKE I WROTE THE FIC TWO YEARS AGO AND SAID I WOULD WRITE A FOLLOW UP THEN WAS THE DEVIL AND IM VERY SORRY THAT IM THE WORST IN THE WORLD.

Three solid weeks after their cabin expenditure, Harry was still stupidly head over heels for his fake girlfriend.

Y/N doesn’t leave like he had feared she would once they finished up and she’d bid him his favor. He’d expected that they would have gone home, she would throw in the towel and they’d become but passing friends again while Harry conjured up some story about their breakup. Figured that he might bump into her in another science lab and have to mute the twinge his heart gives at the sight of her soft features, lips pulling up into that smile he’d grown so fond over. Or even worse, he’d not see her at all, and while that would be good on his heart in time, the immediate thought of it sounds dreadful and abhorrent and just downright upsetting.

Yet none of those things happen. After that first night home, when she’d knocked on his door and told him she wasn’t ready to leave yet, offering up a cuddle and a horror film their fates had been set in stone. They see each other so frequently and go out and about either by themselves or with the others so often, that they might as well still be playing a couple. Hell, even when they’re at one of their flats without anyone else around they fall into calling each other pet names, climbing all over into each other’s laps, and -- if Y/N’s had a few bevvies in her -- will kiss pretty, splotchy purpled love bites to mottle the skin at his throat (but never would she venture to his mouth). It was easy as breathing for them. . .like they’d been together for as long as Harry had told his friends in the first place; maybe even longer.

Neither of them speaks on it or seal the deal though. Harry’s not even sure if Y/N likes him back or not, because while he could twist and turn her actions into loving embraces, longing glances, and passion behind those hickeys -- he knows she’s just a touchy-feely, lovie dovie type of person. Maybe it’s selfish of him to soak in all of these gestures and pretend that they meant more than they were, but that doesn’t stop him from doing it. It keeps him sane, to some degree, because it went from liking Piper and her being his top tier, biggest all-time crush, to Y/N being his whole world it felt like.

And it’s not even like he can chat with anyone about it! He’d gone and lied to all of his friends about being with her already, so he’d look like a right tosser to tell them the truth. They would all be so pissed at him -- brows set in deep furrows frowns dragging the corner of their mouths down. Would they even talk to him after? He’d started with the lie in the first place so that he could spend time wallowing in his own self-pity and laziness, so how could he very well explain that without seeming like an absolute dick for not just letting them know?

The worst of it though? When he can’t talk to his friends about something, he would instead tell Y/N but this time that just wasn’t an option. “Hey, so remember how we lied and said we were dating? Turns out I actually really fucking like you and can’t go a goddamn minute of my free time not daydreaming about kissing you, so what should we do about that? Try it out or am I just a friend? Jus’ lemme know for my own sanity’s sake ‘cos I’m proper stressed about this yeah?”

The thought of it makes him shiver from embarrassment.

All of it weighs heavily on him, as he sits beside her on the couch, watching her mouth curl and shape around her words as she tells him the intricacies of her shopping experience today. She’d gone with a few of her friends to the mall and they had all decided on a select few places to go, all of which Y/N had a weird feeling about, and all of which something odd had occurred. And he was listening to each of her points -- how the cashiers in the Helzberg Diamonds nearly got into a proper fist fight, when they were in Victoria’s Secret she’s fairly sure she saw a polyamorous relationship of at the very least seven, or even when she went to go purchase him a soft looking sweater she’d figure he would like (because his AC unit makes his flat the absolute zero and he loved it, actually, he's cozied up into it as soon as she’d handed it to him), a woman tried to fight her friend for a size medium when there were several other mediums. And he realizes, as he soaks in every word and revels in the way she speaks with her hands, blinks harder and shakes her head when she’s confounded by something -- he really is in love with her.

He can feel it, from the depths of his chest, worming around his heart and hugging it tightly. There’s something he just can’t explain about it; such an immense warmth that overcomes him and the ever-present need to reach out and touch her was heavy and persistent at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to bring her to his chest and hold her close; tell her again and again that she was incredible and how much he liked her and how much he wanted to ravish her in sweet kisses that would leave the both of them feeling gooey and warm. How was he meant to focus on anything else in his life when all he could think about was cocooning Y/N in a fort of blankets and keep her all to himself?

Harry doesn’t realize he’s leaning forward until Y/N’s words have slowed to a stop and her eyes go wide some, looking from his mouth to his eyes and back before between each pupil like she could find the answer of what he was planning there, “Harry?” Her voice is inquisitive, yet soft -- gentle as a stroke of a feather, “Are we about to -- are we about to kiss?”

Had anyone else said something like that, it would’ve torn him from the moment and he would have drawn back and been at least a little pissy that they couldn’t have done it like a movie. However, it was Y/N who was looking at him with these big eyes, both trusting and wanting to some degree, and his heart hammered in his chest. Like two sticks at a tympani, it rumbled and rustled as he kept his gaze held to hers, “If you’d like to,” he had murmured carefully although his voice trembled just slightly around the corner of his words, “If you’d like to, I would really like to.”

If Toddy or Niall had seen this, they would’ve surely taken the piss. They’d always thought Harry to be some smooth talking lady killer but he would figure that’s the last thing he was. Maybe he’s got non-purposeful flirty eyes and he watches people’s mouths as they speak which has led one too many people on accidentally, but if he really likes someone. . .well, it isn’t as easy as complimenting their shirt. It’s something he mulls over so for days, weeks, months, and instead of being suave and calculated with how he pursued it he does it in a spur of the moment. He leans in as they tell a story because he’s so overcome with that feeling that it feels like he may burst.

“I want to,” she tells him and a wave of not only relief but sheer joy flutters through his body, “I’ve wanted to but I thought you liked Piper?”

“Liked, yeah but a sweet fake girlfriend of mine kind of pushed her way into my heart and planted her feet in my atria,” his lips quirk in a smile as her own do, “I -- one of the last night’s we had stayed there, Piper had come to our room. She wanted to hook up with me and. . .and well, hell, that had been my dream for how long? I used to get so upset that she’d never shown interest in me and then there she was, showing interest but I just -- God, all I could think about was you.” He scooted a little closer, his hand floating up to cradle her cheek and he sighed softly, “Then you came in all drunk and wanting a cuddle and it only cemented the fact that I like you far too much than someone should like their fake girlfriend.”

The smile that is stretching her cheeks, Harry only gets to see for a few moments, because after a second or two she’s leaned forward and smeared their lips together. It startles a squeak from his throat and a huffed laugh from his nose as he reciprocates the meshing of their mouths. Her hands skate against his forearm, gripping onto his bicep like she might be steadying herself before practically crawling her way into his lap and Harry accepts her more than willingly. He works with her, maneuvering his arms so that she was astride his thighs and he had one hand cradling her face as the other held onto the round of her hip tugging her impossibly closer to him.

It’s good -- fulfilling in a way he doesn’t exactly know how to describe apart from craving something for so long and finally having it. Her lips are warm and soft; they taste vaguely of the chocolate turtles she’d been eating earlier when she’d come over in the first place and he can’t help the way he suckles it into his mouth and nips at the plush skin. Their noses knock together and he can feel a puff of air warm his upper lip from her but she makes no move to part from him. If anything, she kisses deeper, using the tip of her tongue to gently flick at the seam of his mouth.

Harry parts his lips easily for her and Y/N wastes no time sliding her tongue against his own. He moans and it very clearly encourages her, her movements becoming even more confident than they had been previously. It’s in the way she moves so ardently that suggests to him that she has wanted to and as her hands reach to gently hold the side of his face with a few fingers splaying out across the skin of his throat, he wonders when it may have happened. Was it when they had first cuddled and he’d carried her up the stairs to their bedroom? Or was it when he’d given her that very first hickey? What if it even dated back to when they had met?

He knows when he’d wanted to kiss her the first time, though he doesn’t think past him knew at the moment. He would dare date it back as early as when she’d made him pancakes but that he’d often attributed to wanting to smooch her since she was acting so well. No, the first time he thinks he could have planted one on her and not felt one regret about it would be when she had bought those candles for him. Had gone out of her way to show genuine regard for him -- to do something so nice, just because he couldn’t sleep -- if he could have kissed her then, he’s sure he would have. He probably should have.

But that doesn’t matter, because here she’s sat, their tongues dancing and twirling around one another, heads tilting and the tips of their noses stroking together. It was playful and flirty and something Harry knows he’s going to think about long after they’d parted.

No matter how much he didn’t want to part, his lungs burned with the need to breathe and he eventually breaks away with a soft smack of their lips detaching. They’re both breathless, chests heaving, and when he looks down some he sees that her nipples had pebbled through the thin material of her shirt that beckons an interested twitch from his cock. Though the filthy thought that tries to slither into his brain is quickly muted by the way Y/N wraps her arms around him, hugging him close to her and nestling her face into the side of his neck, “I liked that.” She murmured, “Was getting tired of satiating my want to kiss you by giving you drunk hickies.”

Harry chuckles, moving his arms around her waist and stroking her back in soft, slow movements, “I hope those stay too though, I rather like them,” he admits and she giggles. Harry appreciates the comforting weight of her atop of him and he’s fairly sure he could nap like this, but he has to ask something before he can. Wouldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t take this moment to do so. “Y/N?” She hums in response, her face hidden still, “Would you do me the honors of being my real girlfriend? Not fake?”

She doesn’t miss a beat in her response.

“Of course I will, Dummy.”

#blURB #OR #BLURBS #Anonymous

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unohanadaydreams · 5 years ago

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Hello Mars! I wanted to tell you that your works are so good - I can read them all day))I also have a request! Renji / Kensei / Sado / Shinji / Uryū and/or any of the other characters found out that s/o is actually Quincy! Their reactions, emotions, what will be their relationship with s / o from now on) I will be very glad to read such your work) of course, if you have the time and desire to answer this request) xoxo

Okay, so I’m gonna assume we’re talking a human quincy like Uryu but this was SO fun, thank you for the ask! I maybe got a little carried away with how long they are so that’s why it took a while since it wasn’t something I had time to write in only a couple sittings!

Renji Abarai

Out of the shinigami on this list, he’s one of the most willing to start a relationship with a human with powers that he isn’t certain of as long as you’re trusted by the Karakura Gang.

His reaction is boisterous and borderline overkill, firstly because you kept something so important about yourself from him and secondly because his captain has well and truly drilled rules into his spine, and although he’s a natural rebel, he has lived the consequences of the Seireitei punishing those he cares about. His panicked first thoughts are his worry for you.

“I’ve brought you to my division, fuck.” He’ll say while gripping your arms with the inclination that if he lets go, the Central 46 will snatch you away.

He might have a knee jerk reaction of suspicion after the initial panic, but the more he lets the feeling simmer, the more he’ll realize it’s unfounded. You hang out at Urahara’s shop far too much for there to be something truly suspicious about you. (Urahara and Yoiruichi could map your natal chart)

He really thrives on affection and closeness in a relationship, so it becomes hard to keep everything going unless you are extremely determined and persistent; he is busy as a fukotaicho, he’s afraid for your well being, and he’s a bit hurt. He’s a romantic dork who wants a comfortable trusting love and the quincy bombshell? Not it. He feels like an idiot for not realizing what your powers were and for leading you into SS, a place full of people who fucking hate quincies.

The ball is in your court in terms of convincing him everything will be alright. Hint: resident soutaicho Shunsui isn’t intimidating to approach and has all the answers if you’ll agree to at least a sip of sake with him. He’s certainly not procrastinating on paperwork, just being accommodating ofc.

”Maa, of course, little sprig. The paperwork’s already done; Nanao-chan filed it on your first visit.”

If all goes well, don’t forget to get your hands ready for some serious massage work while you reassure him that you do trust him, that the Soutaicho always knew what you were, and to sooth the tension that’s been rooted in his body ever since you confessed your powers. He’ll want you near to him, so pack some luggage for a vacation to the SS if you don’t already live there; this ordeal awakened his insecurity BIG TIME.

Kensei Muguruma

To even be in a relationship with him, since he’s a taicho, you’d need to be in the SS a fair bit and it’s unlikely you’ve gotten away with keeping your powers a secret from those that matter. Shunsui knows, Central 46 knows, the Royal Guard knows. They’re not taking chances after Aizen and the Sternritter.

You’ll have to tell him you’re a quincy very early on in the relationship, because he’s not someone to let stuff like that slide; what’s your favorite meal, what’s your favorite band, how are you in SS all the time without being a shinigami assigned to a division?

As long as you’re honest and forthcoming fairly early on, I imagine he wouldn’t have much of an external reaction, other than to berate you for thinking it was such a big deal you tried to hide it. He’ll crush you in a hug and ask you if anyone in the Seireitei has given you shit for it while nagging you for letting that sort of thing affect you. Or was it in the human world? He isn’t above beating the shit out of a human. (In his mind, you must be insecure because people have hurt you over it in the past, like you’re some sad puppy.)

Internally, he’ll probably have to tamp down on the attitude he was old enough to inherit from those who fought in the quincy wars. He might tense up when you use your powers in the beginning, but after Aizen, he’s figured SS has learned their lesson on letting menaces operate freely. And, he knows you enough to be in a relationship with you, meaning he knows you pretty fucking well. You being a quincy doesn’t change things and he’s sort of pissed you thought it would but it’s early on and everyone has baggage so he’ll just be a little extra Tsundere™ for a while.

If, by some weird twist of fate, you were able to keep this information from him until well into the relationship, I think it would be a solid game over. Kensei doesn’t just hand out his trust to anyone and you lied to him/held back the truth about your powers but also about yourself. Not only that, but you didn’t trust him? You didn’t trust the person you chose as your romantic partner? You thought so little of him; thought of him like an enemy? He’s overwhelmed with how wounded and furious he is. Because you don’t distrust someone you love like that. He’s stubborn and hurt and will end things angrily and bitterly.

Sado “Chad” Yasutora

He has the absolute biggest non reaction. Uryu asked Chad about you, since he wanted to know who the other quincy in town was and assumed Chad knew. His friend was pretty shocked to find out Chad didn’t know but agreed to let you tell Chad and hopefully Uryu when you were ready.

He doesn’t know why you held back the information, but he’s patient and understands that some information is more precious than others and he’s really touched you trusted him with this piece of you. He loves and accepts every part of you. Why wouldn’t he? He would comfort you a lot and thank you for telling him, recognizing the intimate and vulnerable moment for what it is. He would probably tell you something about himself in exchange to deepen the moment and hope to make you feel more at ease.

He would make sure to tell you that he already knew and how and explain why he said nothing until you decided to open up about it. He offers to introduce you to Uryu, someone who you could relate to, and tells you about his friend, who he values, the quincy who he has trusted with his life time and time again.

Nothing changes, really. He’s relieved he can express his concern and worry about you fighting hollows now that he doesn’t have to pretend he’s ignorant to you being a quincy. He understands why you do it, but he still prefers frequent check ins while you’re on duty. Expect him to make you a little pack with emergency supplies and bentos with loving little notes everyday.

Shinji Hirako

Honestly, I can’t imagine you being able to pull the wool over Shinji’s eyes. If he can figure out that Aizen was up to no good before anyone else, he can find out that you’re a quincy.

He would be sly and subtle at first, trying to get you to admit it. Prodding at you with small jabs that make you wonder if he knows or if it’s a coincidence. He can’t find anything malicious about it, but it still sets off his paranoid tendencies that you’re trying to hide it. He has a lot of baggage left over from Aizen. It’s just something about trying to hide your powers that really sets him off. It hits too close to his past trauma.

If you didn’t ask him if he knew, he would confront you about it, a little annoyed you didn’t take the chances he provided. No matter your reason for withholding the truth, Shinji would be a little hot and cold after that, a little all over the place with his attention and affection because he can’t figure out if this was connected to something else, if there’s a pattern somewhere.

He would set up little traps and tests for a while, trying to catch you in other lies that relate to you being a quincy, trying to see if there’s a pattern or if you were just scared or insecure or whatever your reason was. Whether you catch on depends on how observant you are. After he’s had some sake and a hot soak somewhere to soothe his nerves, he’ll tell you a bit about what happened with Aizen, something that’s really hard for him to do, because he realizes he’s making this into a hunt without prey and he wants you to know why.

As long as you maintain a good standard of communication after this, things will be alright. Shinji may have had some adverse reactions, because he’s a very hyper analytic and paranoid man, but he’s also logical and can see when a pattern isn’t there. The majority of his tension over this is internal.

Take him to the human world and go indulge in some live music together, tell him that you’re happy he accepts you, and he’ll give a toothy smile and rub your noses together, acting like it was never a big deal in the first place before he blows a raspberry on your cheek and leads you to some of his favorite old haunts.

Uryu Ishida

He knows you’re a quincy, since all quincy are great at sensing reiatsu, and although his standard is to act aloof, he’ll be pretty excited that you are and that would manifest as really intense looks. He’s never had anyone but his grandfather and father to relate to, and his father hardly counts.

He wouldn’t be able to contain himself after a while and asks you about it before you could reveal anything. He understands you probably have your reasons, but if you’re in a relationship, he wouldn’t be able to hold back his curiosity or concern. Why would you possibly hold back this information from a fellow quincy? He can help you. He’s here for you. You can tell him anything and he’ll still be standing beside you; it’s you and him against the world.

He would love to spar with you, to talk about ways to improve and grow your powers, to fight alongside you and keep Karakura town safe, side by side. It’s sort of like a fantasy come to life for him. He always dreamed that there were more quincy out there and he can’t believe he’s so lucky to be dating a daydream come to life.

He would absolutely sew you both matching outfits. They wouldn’t be the exact same, but they would be extremely complimentary to one another. In fact, he would most likely make a small wardrobe for you both, for the different seasons.

He might be a little melodramatic about the whole thing and make little comments about how absolutely destined and fated you are to be with one another, but he’s certainly not with you just because you’re a quincy. Uryu is very honest and although you’re both quincy, you’re the person he loves first and foremost and it’s because of that, his feelings for you and your feelings for him, that make him feel so poetic about it.

#bleach headcanons #bleach imagines #bleach scenarios #antecedents675 #bleach asks #renji abarai #kensei muguruma #sado yasutora #shinji hirako #uryu ishida

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twdmusicboxmystery · 5 years ago

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How Emily’s Song Fits into TD Symbolism

Good morning! Okay, so this is something we’ve been keeping an eye on for a while. It’s something @wdway first picked up on, and we’ve seen it frequently this season. I’ve been hesitant to actually post about it because we knew so little. I usually try to watch something for a while and gather more info before I post about it, and that was definitely true here.

Even now, this theory is going to be very sparse, but it’s something I know you guys will like, especially since they used Emily’s song in the show last week. I have lots of people asking me about symbols in the song and how it’s connected (other than the obvious of promoting Emily, which the show is suddenly doing a LOT of; hint, hint 😉)

I’ll talk about this in three parts: Theme, Embodiment, and Proverb.

Theme:

We’ve started to notice a theme in which hearing, seeing, and speaking are all mentioned together It’s been happening a lot this season. And in truth, I think it’s been happening for many seasons (didn’t just start this season) but because we weren’t looking for it, we never saw it. I’ll explain why I think that in a minute.

We think it’s related to the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” proverb.

Let me give you an example. In 10x04, Michonne and Judith talked on their journey to Hilltop. Judith said she could be an extra pair of EYES and EARS if Michonne wanted to confide in her. At the end of the convo, she asked another question, which Michonne didn’t answer. Judith said Michonne was thinking on it. So she made the classic motion of zipping her lips shut.

So you see what I mean? Eyes, ears, and then no speaking. And we’ve seen these things randomly mentioned in dialogue or shown in some way a lot lately.

The reason I think they may have been around for a long time is because of these pictures:

One was taken during S3, the other during S4, if I remember correctly, and the actors never explained what they were doing or why the took the pictures in these poses. It comes across as they just goofing around on set.

I’ve always personally believed that, even if they don’t ever talk about it, the actors probably know at least something of the symbolism involved. Maybe they don’t know ever nuance of every single thing they film, but we know they’re very invested in their characters and their character arcs, so I can’t imagine they don’t ask questions about some of the random (symbolic) things that get put into the show. So I think they, at least the main characters, actually probably know more about this than they let on.

A good example would be 6x03. Remember Daryl went back to help Rick and then kind of randomly just went back to Sasha and Abraha. A LOT of people found his behavior kind of odd in that episode, and sometime afterward, a fan asked Norman about it.

He kind of hemmed and hawed and basically said Daryl didn’t go back just for Rick. There was more to it than that and it would make sense later. It never REALLY did. I think that was a foreshadowing sequence and Norman knew that, but wasn’t allowed to talk about it.

And these pictures (above) are good evidence of it as well. The actors knew this theme was present in the show, and they took a picture to illustrate it.

Embodiment:

So, the next thing we’ve considered is that perhaps this theme showing up so strongly last season and this season has everything to do with Connie and Kelly’s characters and the fact that they’re deaf. (Hear no evil.)

In fact, in 10x04, when the male Whisperer was skinning a walker, Alpha told him to be careful, because the ears are the trickiest part. And that was the same episode where we saw Kelly struggling with her hearing loss in a big way.

But let me back up. Before we knew Kelly was losing her hearing, which we only learned in 10x01, we were really just considering Connie. We were thinking that she could represent hear no evil and speak no evil, because she doesn’t do either (hear or speak, I mean). But she definitely doesn’t represent “see no evil,” because her eyesight is actually stellar due to her lack of hearing.

But.

We’ve long wondered if Beth will have vision problems when she returns. Especially given the “daddy always said bad moonshine can make you go blind” line in Still.

But seeing 10x04 with Kelly’s hearing loss opening sequence made me realize something: I think she’s hear no evil. Connie certainly qualifies since she can’t hear either, but we’re actually watching Kelly lose her hearing. Plus, she can’t really be “speak no evil” because we’ve heard her speak a lot. Connie is the only one whose voice (verbally anyway) we’ve never heard.

So I think Connie is speak no evil, Kelly is hear no evil, and Beth will be see no evil. Which is just more evidence that something about Connie and Kelly will either lead to Beth or cross with her arc in some way.

The Proverb:

Now let’s talk about Emily’s song.

The phrase “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” originates from a Chinese proverb that has to do with three monkeys, each of which represents one of the senses. If you trace it back, it shows up more recently in Japan, but probably originated in China. But the common thread is that it’s a Buddhist proverb.

In 10x04, we saw these little colored flags around Kelly during her opening sequence. I merely commented on the colors, but @frangipanilove made the comment that they looked a lot like Tibetan prayer flags. Not knowing much about such things, I googled.

Sure enough, these really do look like (very tattered) Tibetan prayer flags. I guess you often see them strung along paths in the Himalayas. They’re meant to bestow blessings on the countryside and on travelers, and they’re definitely a Buddhist tradition.

So we have the China connection (Tibet), the Buddha connection, and the more general religion/prayer connection.

I would also encourage you to google Buddhism and turtle, because the Buddhist tradition of turtles is very interesting. I don’t think it means any one particular thing, and I did fairly minimal research, but you often see the turtle being wise, surviving by outsmarting those trying to kill it, and sometimes saving others.

Sometimes it’s a symbol of time itself (if there are any Stephen King fans reading this, think about the end of IT—the book—because I’m fairly sure he took that from the Buddhist tradition of turtles).

Check out THIS LINK where it’s also associated with survival, carrying the world on its back, and even home.

So here’s how I’m bringing this all together. When Emily’s song came out, even when I first heard the title, I was a bit reluctant to read into it. Obviously there’s the turtle thing, which has long been a Bethyl symbol, but I wasn’t sure what to do with the monkey, and you guys know I’m always cautious trying to read into things outside the show.

This theory has formed very quickly and didn’t truly come together for me like this until we saw the Tibetan prayer flags and then heard Emily’s song in the show.

Bottom line: We think Beth is part of the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” theme. Her song is called the turtle and the monkey. She’s the turtle, and the monkey also points to the proverb. And her song was featured in the show last week.

Between that, all the filming they’re doing at the Grady location, all the publicity the show is giving Emily (she’s suddenly the subject of articles, clickbait sites, and is going to be on the TWD podcast soon) and even that Emily is posting interesting poems and lyrics, one of which mentions “the walking dead,”

(Thanks to Angela T.B. on Facebook for that 💖) I’m feeling all tingly. I think she’s VERY close.

Going into episode 6, we think there will be a lot of Consumed parallels, so watch out for those.

I also think the three monkeys could double as another example of the St. Nicholas/pickle story, in which three resurrection take place. (Pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I think the three resurrections will be Beth, Rick, and Zeke. Three people who are presumed dead but will all return, alive.)

So yeah. I’m kind of rambling now, so I’ll stop. But super-exciting stuff going on lately! Makes me happy. 😃

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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