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ilikekidsshows · 4 years ago

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how much do you think Adrien and Marinette's relationship developed from season 1 to 3 ?

Very well, as a self-professed connoisseur of all things slowburn, let me go over the Adrinette development that has happened in the show up until the season three finale and educate this fandom on the subtle beauty that is the Adrinette arc. This is gonna be long, because, apparently, there's a lot of material to cover, because this relationship can fit so much development into it.

Let's go in chronological order (as far as I can tell). In 'Origins', Marinette first started becoming a stuttering mess around Adrien when he opened up to her about how he wanted to make friends, becoming infatuated with the sensitive side he showed. Meanwhile, Adrien is excited over the prospect of having made a friend.

In 'The Bubbler', Marinette only manages to get out an awkward "hey," at Adrien and Adrien mimics her, in lack of a better response. He barely seems to know her at this point.

Marinette begins her infatuation with Adrien by simply thinking about him and fantasizing about him. In 'Stormy Weather' we hear Marinette's daydream, fully fleshed out on the details of what their children should be named, but not sure what their pet should be. Adrien seems pleased to see Marinette, but doesn't seek her out, also maintaining some distance.

Then comes 'Mr. Pigeon'. Adrien finds out Marinette is into designing and is taken aback by her verbal floundering. He also didn't know Marinette's last name. When he introduces Marinette to his father, there's an awkward silence after, like he'd finished the sentence too early, because he did, he never said her last name. Adrien knew Marinette existed, and was interested to know more about her, but that's it. Meanwhile Marinette speaks complete nonsense to Adrien, unable to remember what words even are.

In 'Evillustrator' Adrien seeks Marinette out of his own volition, having the perfect conversation starter in her encounter with Cat Noir. He wants to know what she thinks of him. Meanwhile, Marinette manages to get full, coherent sentences out, but keeps saying contradicting things. Adrien responds to Marinette with a drawn out "okay," starting to learn to just go with it and, at the end of the interaction, pats Marinette's shoulder companionably as he leaves. He thinks they're familiar enough for him to touch her casually, he was just waiting for the chance because he’s so touch-starved.

'Horrificator' doesn't actually show Adrien and Marinette interacting directly outside the acting scenes, where Adrien is very receptive to having Marinette as his co-star, but Adrien gets to see Marinette at her best, helping people out and solving problems. This episode is where Adrien starts to form his opinion of Marinette as someone dependable.

In 'Animan', Adrien knows Nino likes Marinette and is fully supportive. He's convinced Marinette would be receptive to Nino just acting natural and not doing anything special, so he thinks Marinette is a kind and warm person. He has no reason to think Marinette is into him instead. Marinette fumbles around Adrien again, and this time Adrien doesn't react at all: he's used to it.

In 'Kung Food', Adrien rushed to help Marinette the instant he heard from Alya that Marinette needed help. Marinette manages to get her meaning across even as she fumbles. When they have a discussion about Marinette's uncle, Marinette doesn't stutter once, and Adrien holds Marinette's shoulders when he comforts her. They managed to keep to casual interactions during the episode because they have other things to focus on.

In 'Gamer', Adrien is very casual around Marinette, inviting himself over to practise the game and being pretty frank about his insecurity as Marinette's gaming partner. Marinette responds first in a way that devalues Adrien's feelings ("No, you're amazing, I'm bad"), but eventually gives Adrien the lucky charm as a gesture of accepting him as her partner, a gesture Adrien will treasure for several episodes to come. Also, this episode has more casual shoulder-touching from Adrien to Marinette. (Aside note: Cat Noir later mimics Tom's body language in the episode, so Marinette's parents really made a first impression that stuck.)

In 'Volpina', Marinette shields Adrien from Fu's suspicions, but does briefly entertain the thought that Adrien might be Hawk Moth. This could be part of her catastrophizing or realizing she doesn't know him well enough to know for sure. Marinette also saves Adrien from his father, for Adrien's sake, not even revealing her own involvement in the matter to get closer to him. Marinette just wanted to help him out.

'Despair Bear' has Adrien protect Marinette from making a scene and making herself look bad, something he'll do again later in 'Chameleon'. Adrien sees it as his place to interfere for Marinette's benefit in this way and he thinks about the possible repercussions Marinette might have gotten from accusing Chloé publically without evidence. Adrien also instantly gets the idea to ask Marinette to dance when she bumps into him and decides to just roll with him when Alya arranges them into the typical "slow dance" position. At the end of the episode we see the first instance of Adrien invading Marinette's personal space by leaning in to talk to her. All in all, Adrien is just very comfortable around Marinette in this episode.

'Gigantitan' is more about Marinette learning not to overthink, something she didn't entirely learn as she prefers to abort the entire mission rather than enter a scenario with Adrien she hadn't considered. But we see Adrien offering Marinette a ride home even when his bodyguard is impatient. He really wants to do a favor for her.

'Riposte' has the second attempt from Marinette to simply spend time with Adrien, after 'Gamer'. She went into a lot of effort to learn fencing on time for the try-outs. She accidentally compliments Adrien to his face, who is very grateful for the nice things Marinette said about him. Caught off guard, Marinette fumbles once more, but manages to recover. Adrien laughs in enjoyment of the occasion and Marinette shares the laugh. Adrien keeps showing how comfortable he is with touching Marinette when he tutors her. Meanwhile, Marinette is very flustered, but manages to focus on what she's doing, doing well enough for Adrien to notice.

Adrien also questions Marinette's call as the referee, not concerned with Marinette's possible negative reaction and Marinette does respond honestly, showing Adrien that he can trust her judgement. Adrien also gushes about Marinette to Kagami, when he insists that Marinette didn't deny her the point to be mean, and the affection in his glowing endorsement has Kagami immediately note that Adrien likes her a lot.

In 'Befana' Adrien admits that he always carries Marinette's lucky charm with him, which inspired him to make one for her as a gift. The episode even ends with him looking at his own charm fondly, as the narration brings up "the person giving (the gift)", signalling that Adrien is specifically thinking about Marinette, who gave him the charm.

When Adrien asks Marinette for a safe place to hide in 'Gorizilla', Marinette gets over her stuttering very quickly when she realizes Adrien is in trouble to help him. Even in the subway Marinette is able to focus on Adrien possibly getting into trouble at home instead of getting flustered again. Adrien sidesteps the concern by playing the situation down, reminding Marinette that he does, indeed, always carry the lucky charm he got from her with him. At the movies he's more upfront to her about the restrictions he's placed under and why the movie is so important to him. Also, at no point does he point out Marinette is in her PJs, even though he definitely noticed. He probably just thinks it's a Marinette Thing.

'Frozer' has Marinette go all out for Adrien's sake, not because she wants to be with him, but because she wants to see him happy. She gives him advice on how to pursue another girl and asks Luka out on a double date to be there for him. On this occasion Marinette also shows how she's not as selfish over Adrien here as she was back in 'Gamer', when she was very willing to rob Max of something he really wanted in order to spend more time with Adrien. Meanwhile, Adrien gets distracted from his actual date when he wants to make sure Marinette is okay. When Plagg accuses him of "going after Marinette", Adrien is surprised by the suggestion, and assured Plagg that Marinette is just a friend.

An interesting thing to note is that Adrien actually sounds uncertain in 'Frozer' when he calls Marinette a friend, the one time he does so (at least in the English dub). This is why, when Marinette asks him to go skating with her sometime, he does entertain the thought of it just being just the two of them (aka, a date). However, when Marinette assures him it would be a friendly outing with other people too, the moment passes, and Adrien forgets his doubts and agrees to a friend outing. Plagg put the idea in his head, and Marinette could have sealed the deal. This is another occasion where Adrien pats Marinette's shoulder.

'Troublemaker' is the episode where Marinette's self-sabotage really gets going, when she "reassures" Adrien that she'd never consider him attractive in a romantic way ever. Meanwhile, Adrien once again invades Marinette's personal space and implies he doesn't mind modeling if it's for Marinette as he invites her to a photoshoot and says he's glad to have her as one of his fans.

In 'Style Queen', Marinette is actually open with Adrien about her insecurities and Adrien reassures her, and he supports her in 'Queen Wasp'. He also says he'd be able to model for her if she made it in the business, repeating his desire to model for her specifically that he first stated in 'Troublemaker'.

In 'Reverser' Marinette panics when suddenly encountered with Adrien and having to explain what she's doing, but Adrien gets the gist of it, having learned to interpret most of the word vomit Marinette produces and astutely claims: "That's typical of you," about Marinette helping someone out and offers his assistance if she needs any.

In 'Maledictator', Adrien is brave enough to let Marinette know he disagreed with the reason she and everybody else was happy. He doesn't pretend to be fine with the "good riddance, Chloé '' party because, just as Adrien knew, Marinette doesn't judge him for being sad to see Chloé leave.

In 'Heroes' Day', Adrien admits he came to the picnic to tell Marinette just how highly he values her. He shows how much attention he pays to all the times Marinette has helped their classmates and gives the iconic line "You're our everyday Ladybug". Marinette manages to gather up her courage to kiss Adrien on the cheek in response. This is also a notable moment when Adrien opts out of the usual shoulder pat, implying the gesture is something Adrien does to cut away the physical distance between himself and Marinette, since such a thing wasn't necessary in 'Heroes' Day'. (This boy is touch-starved, guys!)

In 'Chameleon' Adrien starts trying to play mediator between Lila and Marinette but, when that didn't work out, he once again protects Marinette from making a bad call with an opponent out to wreck her reputation, but he also acknowledges that Marinette had been wronged and decided to personally support her by sitting next to her since she'd been having such a tough time that day. He just wanted to support her like a friend would.

'Backwarder' has Marinette try to take the easy route of confessing through a letter, which predictably ends up not going as planned. But, as Adrien said, he spent all weekend making sure he could help Marinette with something he thought she really needed help with. Adrien just really wants to be able to do things for Marinette.

'Weredad' gives us an interesting glimpse into how Adrien views Marinette in relation to romance, noting that he "didn't think Cat Noir was her type". He's most likely referring to Luka, since he's the only guy Adrien has seen Marinette with, and Luka is quiet, contained and thoughtful, nothing like how Adrien presents himself as Cat Noir. However, since Adrien doesn't consider himself a candidate, he does most likely consider himself more like Cat Noir than Luka, aka, not Marinette's type.

'Desperada' has one of Marinette's worst freakouts in a while. Adrien showed up suddenly, and Kagami challenged her directly by saying: "Are you here to watch your boyfriend practise?" Marinette also tries to shoehorn Adrien into every situation, be it a guitarist or superhero, possibly as a subconscious attempt to gain more control of the situation with Kagami. As Tikki said, Marinette has a troubled heart in this episode.

'Chrismaster' shows off the fact that Marinette has tons of presents prepared for Adrien in advance for different occasions. These were most likely prepared during the early stages of her infatuation, when she was admiring him from afar and fantasizing about him. Making presents "just in case" fits the fantasy model. At this point, she’s embarrassed over having done it.

In 'Startrain', Adrien immediately relaxes into sleep as well when Marinette falls asleep on his shoulder. This boy is touch-starved, guys, and Marinette's touch in particular calms and soothes him. Similarly, when Marinette wakes up in the middle of their nap, she settles right back to continue sleeping, no panic in sight.

'Stormy Weather 2' shows Adrien connecting Marinette's handwriting from the note on his homework with the valentine he got, and all of the misunderstandings together convince him he was mistaken. "She's just a friend who loves fashion," Adrien says with a downtrodden face, disappointed that Marinette couldn't care for him as more than "a friend who's also in fashion". He thinks of Marinette insisting that she'd never be into him, and of Marinette and Luka skating together, with obvious chemistry between them. And, in the end, when he says it's just someone with similar writing, he sounds wistful.

'Party Crasher' has Adrien insist Marinette is one of his guys, clearly missing her when he's hanging out with his school friends. In fact, when she does show up unexpectedly, he looks very pleased.

'Puppeteer 2' is an episode that sets up obstacles for Adrinette in addition to the misunderstandings listed in ‘Stormy Weather 2’. Marinette finds out Adrien is in love with someone else, and Adrien tries to share more parts of himself with Marinette, only for it to end very badly. Adrien has been getting braver about expressing himself to Marinette, but it's mostly been his opinions so far. In 'Puppeteer 2' Adrien tries to joke around with Marinette, only for Marinette to end up mortified and crying. This convinced Adrien that there's a part of him that Marinette won't be able to accept so he'll have to hold back with her.

Meanwhile, Marinette overcorrects because Manon, as kids are wont to do, keeps airing out all of her dirty laundry regarding Adrien, and so she convinces Adrien he's lucky she even kinda likes him. Adrien connects this with the fact that apparently his sense of humor is something that Marinette hates enough to cry over it.

The rest of season 3 stays on the course set by ‘Puppeteer 2’. Adrien still cares about Marinette immensely, even if he's convinced she doesn't like him nearly as much. He puts himself on the line to protect her from Lila in 'Ladybug', and neither he nor Kagami consider Marinette's presence on their outing third-wheeling in 'Heart Hunter'. Meanwhile, Marinette is pulling away, convinced Adrien and Kagami are the perfect match.

There you go, that's the Adrinette development, broken down step by step, during the first three seasons. As you can see, it's actually quite a lot, and some people might even notice more development tidbits.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #adrinette #lovesquare #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml meta #long post #popular

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marahope-things · 4 years ago

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I think the similarities that people are finding between Adora/Catra and Mara/Light Hope are less to do with the relationships being the same internally (as in, in terms of the dynamics between the two characters) and more to do with the fact that their stories deal with a lot of the major themes of the show, because the two pairings embody a LOT of the major themes of the show between them.

I don’t think it’s an accident or any kind of misrepresentation that the two relationships have parallels, but as someone who enjoys Mara/Light Hope A Whole Lot, while being pleased but more or less happy with how Catradora is presented in the show and not feeling a need to go beyond that, I want to unpick why, and what some of those differences are.

Partly because I think people make broad, thematic-level arguments about why a pairing is attractive to them, and for me, there are a lot of intra-relationship or interpersonal dynamic elements that have more bearing on why I like a ship. And it’s hard to frame in a positive light, but with Catradora, they already engage with some relationship dynamics that I’m a huge fan of (namely, rivalmancy, childhood-friends-to-lovers, and enemies-to-lovers).

The big similarities I see people picking up on are: The mind-control thing, and the "you deserve love too"/"you’re more than what you can give to other people" exchange.

And these are extremely valid parallels! They touch on two Extremely Core messages of the show! They’re very real! And you’re correct—those parallels do mean something about Mara and Light Hope, about their importance to the show and its message. Mara and Light Hope embody many of the show’s core themes, and I am glad people are starting to write about that!

But I find myself sometimes feeling like that’s… not quite the reason why I like the pairing. Y’know?

So, with the caveat that this is just my feelings about the pairing, and probably literally everyone who ships either Catradora or Marahope has a different opinion than me in some way or other, I want to discuss the major differences between Catradora and Mara/Light Hope as I see them.

Because we started liking these ships before we saw the themes that they’d be used to embody in the end, right?

Breaking it down

What Adora and Catra have is a rivalmancy, essentially—especially when they’re first introduced.

Even when they’re on the same side, they have a competitiveness to their dynamic, and part of what drives their split is that Catra, on some level, resents Adora for getting all of the things that she wants, but can’t have, because of (basically) Shadow Weaver—and then abandoning both it and her. It’s a rivalry between peers, fellow soldiers, and there’s a colossal amount of abandonment issues and emotional trauma involved as well. They’re also both close to the same age.

And they were raised together. They spent their formative years extremely close, and their split has a lot in common (probably intentionally) with painful adolescent splits that happen as people grow up, change, grow apart, and (sometimes) come back together. It’s quite moving!

Mara and Light Hope aren’t peers in the same sense; you get the sense that they started out more like co-workers, and their eventual split only happens because Light Hope has their mind wiped and their ability to choose taken away from them (Catra, on the other hand, makes a lot of choices that put her and Adora at odds, often intentionally). The two of them work together and depend on each other, and they become friends, and their roles are complementary. Literally neither of them could do the other’s job, and they depend on each other’s skillset and resources to stay safe and fulfill their own duties effectively.

So they meet as fully-formed (relatively) people in a professional context and become closer, rather than being together for those formative years and undergoing a separation as they change and discover they don’t fit the same way they used to.

There’s also an implication that Light Hope may have trained other She-Ras in the past. I don’t know how long Mara expected her tenure as She-Ra to be, but it seems like that could be a lifelong commitment, once she’s been chosen. If so, then that could imply that Light Hope’s "age" (though I don’t know if that’s something anyone would even keep track of for an AI, because they weren’t supposed to change and “grow” like a person) is on the scale of centuries by the time she meets Mara.

And even if you headcanon them traveling to Etheria together immediately after Light Hope was minted, they’re still not really anything like Catra and Adora in their dynamic. The development of their relationship has a lot more in common with interspecies or human-AI relationships in sci-fi—Terminator, Andromeda, and Killjoys come immediately to mind.

I’m also intentionally including platonic relationships here, like John Connor and Uncle Bob in Judgement Day, too, because this is such an established trope, and touches on some of those Core Sci-Fi Questions that exist in the genre—about the nature of life, consciousness, sentience, individuality, and choice. It’s not just in a romantic context that you see humans and AIs ruminating to each other about what beauty is, why people find flowers “pretty”, what it means to have free will, to feel emotions, or to be an individual. Hell, you can even include Data from Star Trek in that list.

But it is also something of a trope for AIs to "fall in love" or develop special bonds with humans that they work particularly closely with, or for humans to fall in love with AIs (sometimes they go more Pygmalion with the latter and cast the human as the AI’s creator).

Which brings me to the core trope being engaged in Mara and Light Hope’s relationship, one that Noelle has actually alluded to in their remarks during the "Exit Interviews" streams:

Relationship makes Light Hope more than their intended purpose.

Memory and programming

In one of the streams, Noelle states that the writers’ room made the decision that something about Etheria "broke" the people who have tried to conquer it, and kind of made them part of itself (God this show has Star Wars all over it). He uses several examples, including Hordak.

Hordak, however you feel about him, develops a sense of individuality that makes his re-assimilation into the greater Horde impossible. Like Light Hope, he remembers things he isn’t supposed to, and on being presented with a physical reminder of Entrapta and his relationship with her, Horde Prime’s conditioning begins to break down.

Over the course of her arc, Mara comes to realize that being She-Ra means something more than her superiors have told her, and on realizing what her superiors are doing to Etheria, concludes that She-Ra, and all of Etheria, are being exploited and need to be protected from the First Ones. So, by betraying the First Ones (breaking her oath to them), Mara fulfills her role as She-Ra.

And Light Hope falls in love with Mara, something she was never supposed to be able to do. In the end, it is the memory of Mara that allows Light Hope to break through her programming long enough to allow Adora to destroy the Sword.

I know I brought up how AIs gaining sentience and self-will is a trope within sci-fi, but the best recent example that I can think of off the top of my head (and the reason I was able to articulate this at all) is actually The Good Place, with Janet.

In The Good Place, successive reboots are the in-universe mechanism that allows Janet to grow and change—but it’s her relationship with the other core characters that shapes who she becomes and what she believes. In fact, if she hadn’t been stolen and rebooted so many times in the first place, she never would have become who she did at all.

So: Like the rest of the cast, relationship makes Janet more than she was originally intended to be. Relationship makes Janet whole and fully alive. Light Hope’s story is, um, a bit more tragic, but I think the comparison works.

Catra and Adora, on the other hand, are dealing with a separate problem(/s): Catra’s pain and abandonment (and Adora’s self-abandonment) as a result of what they endured growing up, and the angst of childhood friends growing up and growing apart. It fits very squarely within the parameters of She-Ra as a kids’ TV show.

To boil it all the way down, their relationship *is* the problem. And it takes the whole show to fix it.

What’s suggested by the (sparse) textual evidence on Mara and Light Hope is that their relationship followed a more well-worn sci-fi path: By becoming friends with Mara, Light Hope learns how to be in relationship with another person, how to make her own choices, go against her programming as needed—how to have fun and appreciate beauty and being. Her falling in love with Mara is, metaphorically, her learning how to be alive in the world. Through loving Mara, she gets a glimpse of a world beyond being someone’s instrument, someone’s tool.

That’s part of what’s so heartbreaking and beautiful about them: In the midst of a situation that’s that’s built on deception, concealment, and coercion, where both of them appear to have been lied to or denied the entire truth by their superiors, where Mara, Light Hope, and the entire planet of Etheria are considered expendable by their superiors as long as they get their shiny weapon, Mara (who seems to understand that there’s more to life than duty and heroism) creates a space for Light Hope that is free from the constraints of her programming, to a degree. And as a result, Light Hope changes.

If Light Hope is a villain for her role in all of this (and this is complicated by the fact that she’s a programmatic being created for a particular purpose), then loving Mara is part of what makes her redemption possible. Her relationship with Mara makes her more than a weapon. In fact, it breaks her as a weapon.

And there’s certainly elements of that in Catra and Adora’s relationship, but it’s not the throughline that it is for Light Hope and Mara until you get to season 5—a full three quarters of the way through the show.

Love also doesn’t play as positive of a role in Catra’s redemption arc, really (where her parallels to Light Hope would be the most obvious), both because her villainy is something she explicitly chooses, and because her internal conflict and pain regarding her feelings for Adora are so much a part of her villainy. It only becomes redemptive in Adora’s struggle with the Failsafe—i.e. when we get back into the world of the First Ones, where most of the themes of "destiny" live.

So yeah. That’s the breakdown. I want to get into the individual tropes, but I’m going to have to save that for another day.

#marahope #meta #spop

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cavilliciousness · 5 years ago

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Title: About Time {Requested}

Henry Cavill x Reader

Words: 6.3k

Warning: Smutty, Smut, NSFW, Choking,

A/N: Eeeh, a request! So exciting. This is a bit long, I didn’t mean for it to be, but it is. Hope you enjoy it. Also, please excuse any typos or spacing issues, this is loosely proofread and edited.

Summary: You and Henry are really good friends, have been for eight years. You've wanted him for such a long time but never had the guts to make your move because you always thought you weren't good enough for him or the kind of woman he needed/deserved. He knows it and has waited for you to come to it on your own, but he is tired of waiting, especially after his long, frustrating day of work.

۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞

You sat behind your desk in your cubicle. It was yet another day of the same ol', same ol'. It was Friday, and you were thankful for it. It had been a long week, and you were desperately in need of a well-deserved break. Your mind drifted to your routine Friday night. Every Friday you and Henry had a Netflix-n-Chill night. One of you would go to the other's house with takeout. Whoever didn’t supply the food had to make sure the alcohol was stocked. You took out your phone from your top drawer and shot a message to Henry.

MSG: Netflix-N-Chill tonight?

You waited for a minute and no reply. Placing your phone on top of your desk, you tried to focus on the article you were supposed to be writing. You glanced at the clock on your desk; it read one-fifty. You groaned, closed your eyes, and rolled your neck around. You had four more hours until you could leave and you had no idea how you were going to survive it. You couldn't focus on the article even if it meant saving your life. Slumping back in your chair, you tried to get into the mindset you needed to finish the piece. Your deadline was Monday morning and you'd barely written a paragraph. You'd told your editor and chief that you were the last person who could write about advising on becoming a woman who made the first move and take charge of her desires. You didn't know the first thing when it came to that.

Hell, you'd been in love with Henry for the last umpteen years, and you still hadn't uttered one word about it. Instead, you pretended the opposite. When he told you about the women he went on dates with you kept a straight face and tried not to look affected when inside you were dying. When he asked for advice when he was having woman troubles, you tried to give unbiased advice when really you wanted to sabotage him at every turn. It was painful, but somehow you got through it.

You wanted to tell him how you felt, but you were afraid he didn't feel the same and worried that you just wouldn't match up to all the rest. He'd been with some stunning women, women who had perfect bodies according to the mass public and women who had so much to offer, like models, beauty queens, and actresses. You tried to tell yourself, of course, you had a chance. You knew you were a pretty girl your features were not basic, and your curves drew a lot of men to you, but you only had eyes for Henry. What was worse was that he had no clue. Your phone buzzed on top of your desk.

MSG Henry: Depends are you going to adhere to the true definition of that term?

Your heart skipped a beat, and your mind raced with the possibilities of what he meant. Henry's sense of humor was all over the place. He could mean it literally, or he could mean something else. You knew what you wanted it to mean. Chewing your bottom lip, you wracked your brain to come up with a response. After five minutes you'd still had yet to respond.

MSG Henry: Guess not. I don't think I can make it tonight, running lines with the cast going to do a test drive to the next scenes.

Henry was in the middle of filming Night Hunter, and he'd said quite a few times the psychological thriller had a way of messing with his mind sometimes. You understood from everything he'd told you about the role and the plot. You were looking forward to seeing it.

MSG: I understand. Raincheck.

Tossing your phone back to your desk, you groaned a little louder than you intended. An email popped up from your co-worker Liz. You opened it and saw an attached picture of Henry in what looked like a still from the movie. Sinking your teeth into your bottom lip, you flat out gawked at it. He was gorgeous, the filled-out beard and long wavy hair was one of your most favorite looks for him. You had dreams about running your fingers through it and using it to steer him while he was nestled between your legs. A shiver rushed down your spine and you a wave of arousal came with it. He was so handsome. You looked down at the message Liz wrote, "Wild, wild thoughts." You knew exactly what she meant.

By the time you got home, it was almost seven, and you were exhausted and so sexually frustrated. Deciding not to wait, you popped open a bottle of your favorite wine and gulped down two glasses as you prepared to hop in the tub for a nice long bath. Once you were seated, you enjoyed the hot water and floral scents of your bath oils and let your mind drift away on who else--Henry. Your mind ran back to his comment about "Netflix-N-Chill." There had been so many times you'd thought to just jump on him as he sat across the couch. So many times you'd wanted to barge in his bathroom when you'd heard him in the shower. It was amazing you'd been able to contain yourself this long. It took a lot of restraint and batteries.

After passing out in the tub, you got out only to realize that two hours had passed. You hadn't even realized that you'd dozed off. You grabbed the wine bottle off the kitchen counter and made your way to your bedroom, deciding to lounge in bed with the TV. You didn't even bother to change out of your robe and get dressed. As you flipped through the channels, you happened to land on a channel that was playing Batman Vs. Superman and it was coming up on one of your favorite scenes when Superman landed in the cave looking house, and he looked fierce as if he could destroy an entire city. You quickly pressed pause and stared at his clean-shaven face. Without thinking about it or looking away, you reached into your top drawer and found the one thing you'd been relying on heavily for the last several months. Once you perched against the headboard, you turned it on and focused on the vibrations and Henry's face on your TV.

It didn't take long for your back to be arched off the bed and your moaning to bounce off the walls and fill the room. You moaned loudly and slapped your hand to your breast and got lost in the sensations washing over you.

۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞

-Henry-

The day just wouldn't end. Just when he thought he was home free something always came up. First, it was yet another conversation of the direction of his character; then it was an impromptu improv session between him and a co-star, then it was retake after retake. It was late, and he was exhausted, hungry, and honestly very pent up. His friends had pointed it out several times that his responses had gotten shorter and shorter and he always seemed stressed, angry, or just plain out of sorts. He pretended like he didn't know what they meant, but he knew exactly what they meant. They were right, and he knew the reason why. It had been several months since he'd been with anyone. Months since he'd cut all ties with his latest pass time, hell he'd cut off all the women he'd ever spent any time with. Once he realized how he felt about Y/N, it didn’t make any sense. He'd always been attracted and secretly wanted her but as time went on and you'd struck up a friendship rather than a relationship he just decided to keep things as they were.

In the beginning, he didn't know if you felt anything for him; he didn't like to just assume that every woman he came across wanted him and actually shied away from thoughts like that. The more he saw you dating other men, he resolved himself to believing you just weren't into him. It wasn't until almost a year ago that he'd realized you did have feelings for him when one of her friends accidentally let it slip. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't happy about it because he was, but he was faced with a problem of how to breach the topic. Your friend Samantha told him you didn't feel like you deserved him or were his type. He thought it was a crazy reason and so far from the truth that he couldn't believe it. The more he watched you, the more he understood. He'd always known you were more reserved than the women he'd dated before. You didn't beg for attention from anyone men included. You never made the first move on any guy he'd ever seen you with and a lot of times he could tell you were awkward when you were complimented and told just how beautiful or sexy you were. At this point, he was tired of waiting for you to tell him how you felt; he was tired of waiting for you to make a move.

He parked in the parking lot of your condominium complex and grabbed his bag and the takeout bags from the backseat and made his way inside. On the ride up in the elevator, he rechecked his phone to see if you'd sent another message. When the elevator arrived on the twelfth floor, he finished off his email to his agent and tucked his phone away and grabbed the spare key he had. As he walked down the hall, a few people passed him, and he tucked his baseball hat lower to obscure his face. Once inside, he dropped his bag in the foyer, kicked off his shoes, and walked into the kitchen to place the takeout bags on the island. He saw the corkscrew and the cork and knew you'd probably had a stressful day of work. Walking toward your bedroom, he intended to knock, but as he approached, he could hear the muffled sounds of moans. Craning his neck to the door, he listened carefully. The moans got louder, he thought it was the TV, but when he heard a high pitched screech, he pressed his ear to the door. His heart was pounding, and he didn't know why.

"Aaah-mmmm. Yes."

That's not the TV, he thought. His instincts were to turn away and leave; he felt like he'd invaded on your privacy and was mortified for it. As he took a step to back away, it was then he heard it as plain as day.

"Oh, Henry!"

He stopped in his tracks and felt like he'd been hit by a train. The air rushed from his lungs, and the thought to leave was gone. Placing his hand on the doorknob, everything in him just wanted to walk in there and finally express himself. Before he turned the knob somehow, he got a grip on his desires and the fire in his belly. Clenching his jaw, he turned away from her door and walked back to the kitchen. He took out a bottle of Guinness from your fridge and gulped it all down without taking a breath. Once finished, he leaned forward and balled his fists. The thought of what you were doing behind that door was getting the better of him. He wondered if you were using your fingers or if you had a bullet or something more versatile. He wondered how long you'd been at it, if you always said his name, or if you were completely naked. He groaned and trekked back to the fridge and took another beer. Halfway through it, he decided he was done with this back and forth and waiting and he devised a plan.

Once he'd finished with the beer, he dropped both empty bottles in the garbage and walked back to your front door. He opened it and slammed it shut.

"Y/N! Are you here? Are you awake?"

He listened and heard a loud bang as if something dropped on the floor--or someone.

"Henry?!"

"Yeah. What's going on? Are you in the bedroom? I'll come to you."

"No, don't!"

He pinched his lips at the panic in your voice.

"I'll be right there. Give me a minute," you responded.

He walked back into the kitchen and unpacked the containers from your favorite restaurant and got the wine from the fridge. After a few minutes, you rushed into the kitchen in your black silk robe. He tapped into his acting skills.

"Hey. Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah, I um--I dozed off. Didn't even realize it."

"Are you sick?"

Shaking your head, no, you continued to avoid his eyes, "No, not sick, just feeling a little lethargic."

"That time of the month?"

"Nope." He knew instantly what time it was.

"Ah, I see, it's that other time," he responded with a nod. He'd teased her before about the way women got during their ovulation time. He'd always found it interesting mother nature's ultimate sabotage, especially if a woman wanted to stay away from children. She made it so your body worked against you. It was then he realized just what he'd walked in on. You were probably having the hardest time fighting it off.

"What're--what're you doing here? I thought you couldn't make it," you rushed out. You sounded as if you'd run a marathon.

"I couldn't, but I fought to get the hell out of there and here I am. Should I have not come? Did you have other plans tonight?"

He gave you an inquiring look keeping in mind what you were just doing. You looked at him and gave him an innocent look and shook your head before looking away from his eyes to look at the mountain of food containers.

"Nope, no other plans. Let's eat. What movie did you want to watch?"

You took a few of the containers and walked away to the living room. He chuckled under his breath and followed you with the rest of the food and wine.

You scanned the movies on Netflix and drank glass after glass of wine until you found an all-around movie, one with action, comedy, and romance. You both paid attention to the movie and joked between you, it was always comfortable with you, and he appreciated it. After a long day, you were probably the only thing that could help him de-stress. Throughout the movie, he initiated accidental touches that had you flinching back and looking away or smiling to yourself. When he took off his sweatshirt he pretended not to see you glancing over the exposed skin at his waist. He even pretended not to see you sink your teeth into your lip. It took everything in him to not react when he saw you suck your bottom lip in your mouth as you studied him when you thought he wasn't looking.

There were a few times when he thought you'd finally admit your feelings or give in to your wants, like when he reached over and wiped some sauce from your robe, or when his eyes dropped to your cleavage as he wiped the fabric, or when he unnecessarily brushed his butt against your hand as he passed in front of you. Still none of his actions elicited the wanted reaction, you looked like you were struggling yes, but still, you held tight to any confessions. That was when he decided to step up the tease. When you finished the last bite of your food, it left some sauce on the side of your mouth, he reached out and slowly wiped it with the pad of his thumb. It was meant to tease her, but as he did it, he was the one who had the most significant reaction. This was the first touch that he felt was intimate. In this moment he wanted you and didn’t want to play any games.

۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞

-Y/N-

You couldn't breathe, think, or move. You doubted he knew just what he was doing to you. He had to be clueless at the power he held over you. Your brain was mush, and you were dripping wet. You scolded yourself, in the rush to hide all evidence of your masturbation you’d forgotten to put on underwear. The fact that you were completely naked and filled with an unfathomable amount of need for him was too much to bear. You knew that if you got up the evidence of your arousal would be easy to see soaked on the couch. Pressing your knees together you looked away from Henry and back to the TV. You frantically looked around to find the wine bottle. From beside you, you heard Henry release a breath. You looked to him and watched as he rubbed his forehead and tipped the hat off his head. His hair was slightly tousled, and you just wanted to touch it.

"So how much longer are we going to dance around this, love?"

You barely heard the question you were so lost in watching his hair and the energy it took to fight your wants and ignore everything your body that was running on crazy hormones was telling you to do. You hated ovulation week it was hell, especially whenever you were around him. The fact that you hadn't even finished before you heard him come through the door made it that much worse. Your body was on high alert. Shaking your head, you looked at him and heard the words he'd spoken.

"What?"

"It's been years and years aren't you tired?"

You gaped at him genuinely confused what he was getting at.

"I'm confused--,"

"I'm tired, bollocks I'm exhausted, and that's just from tonight," Henry admitted.

"What are you exhausted about from tonight? What's going on? Work?"

"I'm exhausted because I've had to pretend I didn't hear you pleasing yourself while moaning my name all night. I've had to pretend I'm not picturing what is underneath that robe or how it would feel to have your mouth on my skin. I'm exhausted and have no idea how you're not after doing all this pretending for years."

The blood pumped in your ears, and then the ringing began. Your heart pounded so fast you thought you were going to have a heart attack. You couldn't think, all you could do was hear his words replaying in your head. You couldn't believe your ears. Not only had he just called you out like hardcore called you out, he'd eluded to wanting what you wanted. Your jaw dropped, and you looked away and around the room, unable to speak. What could you say? You knew what you wanted to say. Quickly your head snapped back to him just as his tongue peeked out to dance across his lips. Your mouth went dry. The moment stretched on for what felt like an eternity, neither of you spoke, neither of you moved. Just as you thought to Henry darted across the couch and crushed his lips to yours, delving his tongue into your mouth. He expertly kissed you and claimed your mouth as his, a claim you didn't dare object to. Instinctively your hand clasped the nape of his neck, and you allowed your fingers to sink into the hair there. Henry groaned on your lips and the wall you'd carefully built around all you pent up desires for him collapsed. Behind this wall was every dirty dream, filthy whim, deep dark desire, and every fantasy you'd ever had about him.

You climbed on top of him and straddled his thighs, deepening the kiss and bringing your hand to join the other entangled in his hair. It was soft, so soft. Henry's hands gripped your hips and squeezed. You could feel his length growing as it pressed onto the need between your legs. Moaning again you pulled his head back by his hair. His loud grunt was followed by a husky groan. You kissed, licked and nibbled his neck before biting on the lobe of his ear. In an instant, he'd flipped you onto the couch and pressed his muscular body on you. his lips retuned to yours as he took control of the kiss. His beard rubbing against your skin gave you a delicious chill down your spine that curled around to your belly and ignited into flames. You moaned and dropped your hand to the swell of his backside and squeezed.

"Christ Y/N!"

The sound of your name on his lips made the pulsating between your thighs increase and beg for attention. As if sensing what you needed, you felt Henry's hands trailing up your leg to the inside of your thigh before his finger slowly met the wetness that had trailed down to your upper thigh. Then his finger grazed across your aching lips and to the greedy bud screaming for him. You gasped loudly tearing your lips from his as you arched backward. Henry swirled his finger over your bud then delved between your folds, feeling you more intimately than ever for the first time. As his fingers met with your sopping core, he groaned and dropped his head to your neck where he gently bit the skin there.

"Fuck!"

Whimper after whimper begged him to stop the teasing, but he didn’t. He continued to use your wetness to slick around your need. You knew you were close.

"Is this how you do it? Hmm Y/N? is this how you please yourself while you think of me?"

You opened your mouth to respond, but nothing came out, all you could do was moan more. Henry's fingers sped up then slowed only to speed up again. He was teasing you. You didn't doubt he knew how close you were and wanted to toy with you. When you knew you couldn't take it anymore, you felt Henry slip a finger inside your desperate heat and sink it to the hilt before he added a second finger. When he pulled it back, he slowly pressed forward again your hand flung to the back of the couch and squeezed it feeling your orgasm begin to uncurl within you. Suddenly henry pulled his fingers from you and sat up. His hair was a mess, lips red from your kisses and eyes dark with desire. He placed his fingers in his mouth and sucked them clean. The sight was enough to send more heat through you.

"Bed. Now!"

The order was laced with urgency, an urgency you felt as well. Standing up, you wobbled to your bedroom and quickly glanced in the mirror and tried to fix yourself up as best as you could. When you got out the bath, you didn't lotion or do any of your beauty rituals and thought to do it to make sure he had the best experience possible but when you heard his feet trotting across the wood floor, you shook the idea out your head and hurried to your bed. When he walked in, he tsked.

"Since you're not in that bed already just stand right there," Henry ordered.

You stood at the side of the bed and watched him walk in your room. It was an action he'd done dozens of times throughout your friendship only this time nothing about the move was platonic. He stopped in front of you and touched the ends of the knot you'd tied and pulled on the material to loosen said knot. Anticipation gripped your heart, and so did the nerves. He'd never seen you naked before, and you were worried he wouldn't like what he saw. The robe hung just off your skin, and he used his pointers to trace up the material to your shoulders and pushed it off. Effortlessly the silk fell to the floor, leaving you fully bare before him.

Henry's eyes slowly drank in every inch of your figure from the swell of your breasts to the curves at your waist and hips. When his eyes stopped at the apex of your thighs, you bit down onto your bottom lip and tried to fight the urge to run and hide.

"God, you're gorgeous," his husky voice smoldered. Searching his eyes for any hint of a lie, you found none. You stepped into him and kissed him again. You doubted you'd ever get enough of his lips. Henry took control and gripped your hip and pulled you against his body. You groaned hating the feel of all his clothes. You grabbed onto the hem of his shirt and lifted, allowing your fingers to graze his abs.

"Too much clothes," you managed to groan out.

Smiling against you, he wasted no time pulling the shirt over his head. You looked over his torso and smiled; he was gorgeous and thicc. You loved his body, always had and the build he had for this movie was one of your favorites. Henry turned you so the backs of your thighs bumped into your bed and hovered over you until you sunk into your plush comforter. Henry climbed on the bed and laced kisses across your body starting from your hip to your belly button, then to your ribcage and your exposed breast. The second you felt his lips around your nipple you arched back and gasped in. Henry sucked your hardened numb in his mouth and suckled.

Mewls of pleasure escaped your lips, and when you felt his mouth on your other breast, you sank your hands in his hair and hugged his head to you. Before you had time to get lost in your pleasure, Henry pulled your hands from his hair and stretched them over your head and hovered over you once again. You felt cold metal around your wrist, but it didn't register. When you tried to pull your hands back, they didn't move. You looked overhead and saw he'd cuffed you to the headboard. Glancing back to him, you saw a smile.

"There is a toll to pay. Eight years you've hidden how you felt, eight years you've made us suffer, eight years you've lied. Your toll is eight."

Crinkling your brow, you pulled your arms again but to no avail, "Eight what?"

Henry parted your thighs and dropped his lips to your neck where he softly kissed you then traced the tip of his tongue down your body. When he made it to your breasts, he sucked your nipple into his mouth again. Your moans began again and but when you felt his teeth nibble the bud you gasped and pulled your head up to watch him wreak havoc on your body. Glancing up to you briefly you saw him smile.

"Eight orgasms," he cooly said before he moved his lips across your stomach down to your pelvis. You couldn't believe your ears or what was happening. The man you'd been in love with for so long and pinned for was kissing and licking your body and promising you orgasms, orgasms you didn't have to give yourself. Your anxiousness shone through with another yank of your hands. As Henry settled between your leg, she came face to face with your sex and examined you without touching. After almost a minute the anticipation coursing through you seeped to the surface, and you released a small whine.

"What're you doing?"

"You are so wet for me Y/N. It's beautiful." He kissed your pelvis, and you pinched your lips together to stop the sounds threatening to spill out.

Every kiss he dropped to your skin came closer and closer to where you wanted his mouth the most. Giving you one last glance and a cocky smirk, he kissed your swollen and needy pearl. This was no simple kiss; this kiss was slow and ended with him sucking your flesh into his mouth. You didn't even know it was coming, but when you arched your back, you felt your orgasm rip through you. As you came, Henry didn't stop; he only sped his movements and flicked his tongue against you. It felt as if butterfly wings were fluttering on you and it pulled away another orgasm from you. All that was heard was the sounds of your moans, whines and pants and the clattering of the handcuffs against your headboard.

He never allowed your body to cool. After your second climax slowed, his hand crept up to your breast and tweaked your nipple. You couldn't stop the loud whine that he pried from you this time, and honestly, you didn't want to. Part of you was embarrassed that after barley five minutes between your thighs you'd already came twice and on the verge of a third. You didn't know what you expected, but this wasn't it. For the next several minutes, Henry gave you two more orgasms before he lifted his lips from you. They were red and wet, and you wanted him more than you ever had before. You attempted to move to him, forgetting your state of confinement and groaned out your frustration. He smiled.

"You still owe four more."

"I can't."

He gave you a devilish smirk one that made your skin heat all over again. You bit your bottom lip just before he buried his head between your legs again. You arched your head backward and let your moans free, one after the other. He was clearly on a mission, and you were his captive and at his mercy. As his tongue quickly maneuvered bringing you to a whimpering writing mess when you felt him slip two fingers inside you that was it.

"Fuck, Henry!!!!"

You heard him moan and slurp against your skin, you wanted to watch but couldn't muster the coordination that action required, all you could do was buck against his mouth as he tried to suck you dry. When you looked at him, his beard was soaked, and he held a fire in his eyes that you'd never seen before. Henry rose off the bed and stood beside the bed. You watched him undo his pants and pull them off with his boxer-briefs. The first sight of him in all his glory before you had your jaw dropping. You'd imagined how he'd look hundreds of times. When you imagined it you could never get it right, you had no idea what to expect, but this was not it. Your imagination didn't prepare you at all. He was intimidatingly big and thick. He was beautiful. Henry's hands dropped to his length and slid up back and forth a few times. It was a mouthwatering sight.

"I've wanted you for so long, I've imagined how this moment would play out tens of times, but now that it's here--I'm not going to go slow. I fear I can't, love."

His voice was low and laced with so much emotion. You bit hard on your bottom lip, trying to keep your emotions in check. Henry walked back to the bed and climbed on and settled between your welcoming thighs. You were going to have a heart attack you were sure of it, and the thought of it made you anxious and even more aroused. Your hands kept trying to break free from the handcuffs, but each attempt failed with a loud clatter of the metal against your headboard. Every time you tried, Henry smiled, he was enjoying your struggle. Your eyes dropped to his protruding desire just as he placed it atop your pubis. The heaviness of his thickness made you moan in anticipation. You could see the moisture dripping from him and bit your lip again as your eyes met.

"Do you want me Y/N?"

You nodded your head instantly, not caring how it made you look. You wanted him bad and didn't bother to hide it any longer. Henry pulled back and slid the tip of his need across your aching sex, making sure he connected with your clit. You gasped and closed your eyes you knew it would be a matter of seconds before you came again if he continued this slow torture.

"I can't hear you, love. Do--,"

He lined himself up with your opening focusing intently.

"You--."

He then rubbed himself against you coating his thickness with your juices, again your hands pulled against the cuffs.

"Want--."

Henry slipped his length back up to your clit and forcefully nudged it.

"Aaah!"

"Me."

"Yes, fuck yes! I want you, Henry, I've wanted you for eight years, and I want you still. I love you!"

With a wild look and no more hesitation, Henry flicked his hips forward and sheathed himself within your cavernous heat. The shock of the action and the ripple of pleasure that erupted in you made you scream out and yank your hands at the same time yet another orgasm violently coursed through you. Henry grunted loudly but stilled his movements. When you looked to him, you could see the struggle in him, his jaw was clenched, and his chest was heaving. Circling his hips your thighs instinctively came together, Henry pulled them apart again and pushed them back to the mattress where he held them down. He groaned loudly, pulled his hips back, and snapped them forward again; the force made your breasts jiggle, prompting another moan from his lips.

"Christ! Mmmm, eight years Y/N. Eight years you've kept this feeling from us. Eight years!"

His hips picked up pace and gliding in and out of you at a maddening pace, one that was doing wonders with muddling your brain. Every time he connected your bodies, your body jerked with the feel of him stroking that sensitive spot within you. You felt your toes curl in a matter of minutes and that was the only warning you gave before you screeched out and rewarded him with orgasm number seven. Clenching around him, Henry sunk back onto his haunches and pulled your body down to him and sunk even deeper into you. You had no idea how you took him and weren't screaming bloody murder.

"Oh love, you take me so well, do fucking well!"

You nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing. As he plowed into you with reckless abandon, you didn't bother hiding his effect. You screamed his name freely and welcomed everything he gave. When he straightened your legs and held them in the air together lifted your backside off the bed, the change of angle gave him your eighth orgasm, one that had you squirting all over him yet again.

"Yes, Y/N, cum for me, come all over my cock!" his voice sounded as if he were on the verge of losing it. Henry parted your thighs again and leaned over you then grabbed your neck as he quickly delved in and out of your slickness.

"You're so tight. You feel incredible!"

The roughness in his voice only pushed you farther and farther to the edge, the edge you knew that had no bottom and would result in you being hopelessly in love and completely ruined by him. Once over that edge, you knew you'd be ruined for every man that wasn't him.

"Fuck, yes, yes Henry, please!"

"Please what love?"

"Please don't stop, please!"

"Never!" He gently squeezed your neck as his strokes lost their coordination. You knew he was close and rose your hips to meet him as you clenched around him. His eyes snapped to you, and it was then you heard a deep predatorial growl rumble. You'd never been this turned on in your life and he knew it, you could tell. Henry used his free hand to swirl his thumb around your clit, and that was the last push you needed. Screeching loudly, you arched off the bed and wildly thrashed your hips against his determined to pull him with you over the edge. Henry's mouth dropped open, and you heard him moan loudly before a yelp took over. As you clenched around him, you felt him release every drop of his essence deep within you. Your moans and pants of pleasure intertwined as one just as your bodies were. He dropped his body to yours and tried to bury himself deeper inside you as his body began to shake. You pulled his hair, forcing his head back to kiss him, a kiss he eagerly returned with the same passion you felt.

After nearly ten minutes of Henry resting atop you still buried within your well-coated heat, you stirred, realizing you could move your hands. You hadn't even realized when he'd uncuffed you; you were too lost in the afterglow of the best sex you'd ever had. Your smile spread across your face, and soon joy filled you.

"I can hear you smiling," Henry breached.

You snorted and pinched your lips together just as he lifted his head to look at you.

"Going to tell me why or do I have to read your mind?"

"Try it," you challenged with a smile. You knew he loved a challenge.

"If I guess right you owe me another toll," Henry suggested.

Snorting, you shook your head and slightly shifted underneath him. The action made him suck in a rush of air then groan. You could feel him hardening inside you. Shocked you widened your eyes at him making him laugh loudly in the quiet room.

"My god, you're insatiable," you accused.

"You're smiling because that toy you have in that top drawer never made you cum nine times in a row and never left you feeling this satisfied. That smile is you realizing just how perfect we are."

You smiled again and rolled your eyes.

"Looks like another toll is due," he teased before he kissed you again this time slowly. He then gazed into your eyes and gently caressed your cheek.

"I love you Y/N, I've always loved you. I will always love you. You are more than good enough. "

Smiling again, you kissed him and rolled on top of him. It was going to be a long, toe-curling weekend.

Tags:

@mrscullisblog

#henry cavill #henry cavill smut #henry cavill request #about time fic

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backupblogforjg · 5 years ago

Text

The racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism and cruel tropes in Voltron

So, it’s the anniversary of the ending of Voltron. And I’m getting really, really tired of people saying that only shippers hated the ending. There were many issues with Voltron, and they were neither limited to shipping nor to S8.

So, I’ve decided to compile a list.

It gets LONG. Turns out there was a hell of a lot of racist, sexist, ableist and cruel tropes in VLD.

In fact, I had originally planned on writing a list of both the terrible tropes and the plot holes. But there just wasn’t enough room for both. The post is huge as it is, and with the plot holes, it would have been twice as long, so I had to focus on only one thing.

Salt, obviously. So, so, so much salt. I could turn a lake into a sea here. You’ve been warned.

RACISM:

1) The Alteans are genocide survivors. Out of all the Alteans, only the black Altean was used for a Reverse Racism story where she resents a teammate for belonging to the race that exterminated hers. The white Alteans are totally cool with him, and with his race in general, and only hate the bad people. But the black one had to be taught that hating people because of their race is wrong.

2) VLD Allura is also the only version of Allura who is black. In every other Voltron media (several different cartoons and comics), Allura is blond with blue eyes. All the white versions of the character get a happy ending, while only the black version ends up dying to save the world.

While "hero sacrifices their life to save the world" is not a bad trope in and of itself, it becomes bad when it kills off one of the extremely few black female characters in leading roles. You kill off a white male hero, there are 463278462387 more. You kill off the black female hero, you are kinda screwed. Making it worse, Allura had been portrayed as suffering from depression throughout the latest seasons, so that her death comes across less as heroic sacrifice and more as suicide.

3) The brown Cuban kid who dreamed of being a pilot, and never once in 78 episodes ever expressed anything but sheer love for an exciting life, in the final two minutes of the final episode ends up realizing that the place for him is a farm.

4) As told in interviews, Lotor was meant to be a bad example of mixed-race person, to contrast him with Keith as good example of mixed race person. Do I even have to point out how messed up this is?

5) Even before they became Space Nazis, back when they were still on the side of the angels, the Galra invaded and conquered planets. This is portrayed as totally cool when they happily name the prince after a "hero" who invaded and conquered a lot of worlds, and the peaceful Alteans think the guy is just as heroic as one of their greatest scientists. Apparently there is such a thing as ethically killing people to steal their land.

6) They whitewashed Keith, a character who is poc in every other iteration of Voltron.

I’m sure a lot of people are going to get angry here, claiming that I hate Keith. Let me assure you, I don’t. I love Keith, and I hate what was done to him. I hate that they took a traditionally poc character and went to frankly ridiculous lengths to erase that part of his character. Keith should be Asian, and it would be incredibly easy to make him so in VLD (seriously, all they’d have to do is update the freaking bios, an intern could do it right now in 5 minutes). But they refuse to do it.

A lot of people don’t realise that the surname “Kogane” in VLD is fanon.

I’m serious. Check his official bios page. Keith is not actually called Keith Kogane in VLD. Fans started calling him that in fanfiction, and it stuck, but it’s not canon.

In every other Voltron media, Keith is an Asian guy. But in VLD, they:

- went out of their way to always avoid giving him an Asian surname

- gave him a Texan father

- refused to confirm his race, even when every other character had a specific race. Again, check his official bios. All the other characters got a race, Keith gets “human.” It got so ridiculous it would be funny if it weren’t sad. It pretty much went like this:

Fans: Keith is half alien, but about his human half, what is his ethnicity? EPs: oh, we couldn't possibly say, because the story takes place in the future, and in the future, everybody is mixed up! So, Keith is HUMAN, we can't give him a specific race because there are no specific races in the future! Fans: ok. And what are the races of the other characters? EPs: Pidge is Italian, Lance is Cuban, Hunk is half-black half- Samoan, Shiro is Japanese. Fans: but Keith...? EPs: HUMAN! There is no such thing as race in the future!

Some people at least hoped that Keith's Texan father had Asian ancestry because he kinda looked like Shiro, who is Japanese. But the EPs confirmed that the resemblance was just a coincidence, they never meant for the dad to look Japanese.

At this point pretty much the only evidence that Keith is Asian is that he is voiced by an Asian person. But then, Josh Keaton is not Japanese, is he?

7) After whitewashing Keith, they claimed he is the best leader of Voltron, better than his poc predecessor, because he has Galra blood.

So, instead of bringing up any sort of legit reason to justify why Keith should be in charge (like his empathy or pilot skills), they go with "the half-white guy is also half space-nazi and that's why he should give the orders instead of the poc guy."

If you think I’m bashing Keith here, please ask yourself why you are getting angry at the person pointing out the whitewashing instead of getting angry at the whitewashing. Especially when, again, making VLD Keith canonically poc could be done anytime with zero cost and zero effort, and DW just doesn’t want to.

- Hunk, the half-black half-Samoan guy, was going to be killed and replaced as Paladin by a blue alien. The EPs were pissed when DW forbade them to, and complained in the interview about it.

SEXISM:

Every single woman who is ever put in charge ends up going insane, making terrible decisions that endanger her planet, or losing all of her authority.

Allura starts out as co-leader of Voltron and leader of the Coalition. Ends up as a foot soldier who takes orders from the new leader and his right-hand man, and is treated as a cadet by the Earth military.

HOMOPHOBIA:

1) Dreamworks, Netflix and the EPs very, very, very heavily promoted S7 as GLBT-friendly. The EPs gave whole interviews about the past relationship between Shiro and new character Adam, retweeted a ton of posts celebrating Shiro’s homosexuality, and enthusiastically sent tweets like "you are going to see more of Adam in S7! :D" from their personal accounts after they showed the episode that introduced him.

In S7:

- Shiro's homosexuality is so ambiguous that even the Brazilian voice actor didn't realize that he was supposed to be gay. Just by watching the show, without knowing the World Of God, you can’t tell he and the other guy were engaged.

- Adam gets about 30 seconds of screentime after that one episode they had already shown. Then he dies screaming in pain and terror in a fire.

A lot of people claimed that it was okay to kill Adam because Shiro was supposed to be our rep, not Adam, who was a brand new character we knew little about. And, out of context, that would be true. Adam was pretty much a NPC, why would his death matter?

But the problem here is the context:

- Shiro is closeted in S7, you need to read interviews to know he is gay. So, if only Shiro is meant to be the rep, they couldn’t even do that right.

- They very heavily marketed both Shiro and Adam as gay rep, and specifically talked at length about Adam in several interviews.

In THAT context, REGARDLESS of what you ship, killing off Adam revealed a complete willingness to manipulate the audience to the point of outright lying. Even if you hated Adam, even if Adashi is your NOTP, the clear evidence that the creators had absolutely no problem making empty promises was NOT a good sign.

2) The moment Shiro is revealed to be gay in interviews, he is practically quarantined from the Team.

3) Shiro is also given a Totally Not AIDS deadly disease.

Making it even worse, Shiro never actually gets cured in canon. We are told he is cured in interviews, but the show itself drops the topic entirely. Depending on where you lean in the Word Of God VS Death Of The Author debate, Shiro may be doomed to die.

4) A female villain is revealed to be a lesbian. 30 seconds later she gleefully tortures a little girl. Then she, too, dies in a fire.

(Fan outrage about pulling two Bury Your Gays in the Season that had been very heavily promoted as GLBT-friendly caused DW to retcon her death and bring her back in S8, but she was originally meant to die in the explosion)

5) Shiro ends up marrying a random character who doesn’t even get a name in the show.

ABLEISM:

1) Shiro's PTSD magically disappears offscreen. In interviews, the EPs claimed that he "got over it" between S6 and S7 because "he is a professional." Wow! Who knew being a professional magically cures mental illnesses!

2) Shiro is an amputee. The EPs admitted that they never put any thought into his status as disabled rep, they just wanted a character with a cool-looking arm. It literally didn't occur to them that making him lose his arm (TWICE! First up to the biceps, then up to the shoulder) meant anything. Also worth noting that Shiro’s new arm makes him look like the guy who tormented him.

3) Shiro is systematically robbed of his agency.

- He is the only Paladin who never gets to use his bayard.

- He loses his bond with Black for no given canon reason (and the reason they give in interviews makes no sense, they basically say that transferring his soul out of the Black Lion makes her stop loving him. But she still lets Zarkon fly her!).

I know that Keith is traditionally Black’s pilot in Voltron media (although that shouldn’t matter, because VLD made a lot of huge changes to the traditional status quo). But if they wanted Black Paladin Keith that badly, they could have given some non-insulting reason for it. For example, say “because Shiro has spent so much time within Black, their bond is now so strong that he will get absorbed again if he flies her again.” Or co-pilots in Black (if Pidge can co-pilot with Matt, why can’t Shiro co-pilot with Keith?).

- He is defeated not only by Sendak, but also by a bunch of random Alteans. He basically can’t win a fight anymore unless it’s played for laughs.

- His new robot Atlas is bigger than Voltron, but also much weaker, and can only buy a few minutes for Voltron to come save the day.

- Every single enemy he ever defeated comes back to be finished off by somebody else (even the friggin' Gladiator from S1 comes back in S8). In the epilogue, he retires in his twenties.

4) Narti, the disabled General, is fridged shortly after her introduction. For a while at least it seemed like her death had affected the remaining three Generals, but then it turns out that the "For Narti" line was a trick and they never actually planned on avenging her.

CRUEL TROPES:

1) They intentionally baited the fans by pushing the plot thread that Lotor would be redeemed. They named the episode where he defects "A New Defender," they kept saying in interviews that they come from Avatar and they are very familiar with Zuko *hint hint*, they showed his family as incredibly abusive and Lotor himself as desperate, they showed that Lotor was a victim of severe racism (he is mixed race, and as stated above, the Galra are Space Nazis and are pretty obsessed with blood purity).

Then, after revealing him to be a villain, they gave an interview where they practically dislocated their shoulders by patting themselves on the back as they gleefully bragged that "we made them think we would give them a Zuko, but we gave them an Azula!"

(Nevermind the fact that Azula herself was a 14-year-old child, not a monster, and that Aaron Ehasz himself confirmed that he always wanted her to be redeemed).

When fans who are survivors of child abuse told them that the bait-and-switch was really hurtful, they laughed it off, and claimed that Lotor was just beyond redemption. Then they proceeded to redeem Lotor's abusive parents, who were objectively much worse.

2) Shiro’s clone, who sincerely believed he was Shiro and always meant well, was dehumanised, demonised and discarded like his life meant nothing. His short existence was full of pain from literally the moment he first opened his eyes, as Haggar kept torturing him with migraines to manipulate him. In the end, she brutally violates him body and mind, and brainwashes him to force him to turn on the family he was so desperate to find in The Journey. He dies in incredibly questionable circumstances, without ever getting to learn that his family survived Haggar’s plans. He is victim-blamed for the things she forced him to do against his will with mind-control, and is never mourned because the only family he ever had writes him off as a “thing” and “evil.”

In fact, the horrific treatment of Kuron foreshadowed S8. The Medium article “It never stops at one - Why Voltron: Legendary Defender's tragic ending wasn't a surprise and why more DreamWorks' series will follow suit” explains how.

The tl;dr version is that, when a story posits that the circumstances of your birth determine the value of your life, so that good intentions and hard work mean nothing, and long-established bonds can be discarded with zero thought and care, and your very humanity can be revoked over something you have absolutely no control over, and the whole sociopathic disaster is celebrated as a happy ending... it really, really can’t end well. Not just for you, but for the entire cast.

#voltron critical #vld shiro #vld keith #vld lance #vld allura #vld lotor #voltron #voltron salt #takashi shirogane

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gothfoxx · 5 years ago

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Miraculous Ladybug, Male! Marinette x Lila, They were partnered up with in a project but they hated each other. They have settled their differences or they would fail the project.

(I’m using @virgil-is-a-cutie ‘s male!Marinette name for this)

When Ms Bustier said they would do the project in pairs Marin could feel the eyes of everyone in class glance hungrily in his direction. There was sure to be a fight for an easy grade. “Partners will be assigned at the end of the lesson so please pay attention!” The teacher informed them. ‘Ha!’ Marin thought as all the greedy vultures groaned and moaned about their lost meal ticket.

“That leaves Alya and Juleka as the last girl team and Lila and Marin as our last co Ed team!” Ms Bustier said way too cheerfully for someone that just sent a guy down the river. “Remember I want to see effort from both of you in your project for this lesson, think of it as your idea child. Raise it together with love and care!” The woman added a happy little half clap to emphasize her giddiness at the prospect.

Marin held back an eye roll that he was sure several other students could share. At least it was a subject he liked so if he had to do all the work he wouldn’t be struggling. The plopping down of a bag jars the bluenett out of his musings huh Alya left already and when he looks up he sees his nightmare hasn’t ended yet, “Hey~ Marin. So I guess we’re working together huh?” Lila asks feigning innocence and dripping artificial sweetness. When he doesn’t address her right away she tilts her head and pouts, if he didn’t know it was all an act he might have been swayed into being sorry.

He heaved a sigh to rivial a tiny god’s and puts on his ‘customer service’ smile, “Guess so. So do you have an idea for what we should do? I’m all ears!” Might as well jump to it and prepare for the worst. She surprises him by pulling out a piece of paper with some sloppy writing on it. “I might have one idea.” She beams, ew she can fake that too is that healthy?. “Oh cool.” Came his less than enthusiastic reply as he tried to read the paper, “So what IS the idea?” He finally asks after getting nowhere trying to read from the paper. Lila grinned and this time if was the kind her was used to, the sly cruel smile of a Predator on the hunt.

“I’m glad you ask Marin! It just so happens that my grandpapa’s work involved research of this area. We have some of his old journals at home. We practically have this done!” She boasted, and for a lie this one seemed rather...dumb to say the least. How was she going to get out of something so plainly’put up or shut up’? “So I guess we’re doing it at your place?” He remarks as he looks back at his notes for the list of suggested topics. A sound like a strangled cat catches his attention back to the brunette, she was red in the face and sputtering, “excuse me? Come again?” She wheezes between two steadying breaths. He’s confused at to what set her off but he repeats himself, “Are we doing the project at your house? Where the journals are?” And by golly she goes from looking mad to being embarrassed. “Oh, sure” comes the oddly soft response.

After school Marin texted his parents that he’d be home for dinner and prayed that if this was some kind of murder plot that they would at least start the search for his body quickly. The awkward silence dragged on until it got to be too much for the boy so he asks, “So what did your grandpa do?” After a few steps Lila answers with a grand sweep of her hand towards a front door. “You’ll just have to see, welcome to the Castello Rossi!” For all the grand showmanship it’s a very plain looking house, well kept but plain. “How nice, I like your plants.” Marin comments trying to be civil since they still have work to do.

As Lila opens the door with another grand gesture Marin is shocked to see how empty and impersonal it feels. Most of the front room looks unlived in with just two picture frames sitting on the mantle. “Mama won’t be home till later so let’s go to the office and get as much done as we can.�� She states, beckoning him to follow. The office is a stark contrast to the room earlier, stacks of important looking paper tower on the dark wooden desk, Knick-nacks and books fill the shelves, and family phones are scattered along the walls. While Marin is taking it all in Lila goes to a shelf in the corner and pulls out two worn out sketch books.

As it turns out Lila’s grandpa was part of a team of anthropologists that studied post World War I art and his books were a mix of notes on the how the war changed how the art had changed and sketches of people he had interviewed. It was all so fascinating and emotional. Marcelo Rossi had a way with words, Marin felt like he could hear the man’s voice narrate as he read entry after entry. They easily got most of their project done, the impact of WWI in everyday life, all they needed was a second source and they would be finished. All in all it was a not horrible experience, maybe if Lila could shape up they could really be friends like everyone wanted.

Ending 1: not so bad

Marin was surprised that in the week and a half that they had been working together to discover the Rossi family were well known in nitch circles of the anthropology and archaeological sciences. He had seen a picture of her great aunt recording the dying language of the Tihan people of Tiahana, gotten to read the musings of the eccentric late great-great-uncle Sal who studied prehistoric plants. They were amazing people who changed their fields, it was a wonder Lila depended on lies to get attention. When the day of the presentation came up Marin was excited to share what they had written, Lila even brought scans of the sketch books to pass around. Everyone else’s reports were pretty standard in comparison so when it was their turn they knocked it out of the park!

After class Marin walked out with Lila like he had done everyday for a week when to realized that he didn’t need to follow her anymore. It caught him off guard at how sad that made him, he liked seeing the real Lila under all the lies and faux confidence. Did they really have to pop their little bubble just because they didn’t share a goal anymore? “Aren’t you coming?” Lila asked tugging on Marin’s sleeve, “We need to celebrate, that report was definitely an A. We deserve a treat!” She declares, dragging the less than reluctant boy along with her. They announced their relationship a few days later to the cheers of the class.

Ending 2: how did it end up like this

Marin had gotten to know the real Lila over the week and a half they worked together. He had really gotten through to her as he assured her that what her family did was interesting and there was no need to hide behind her web of lie. She agreed to come clean to the class with Marin to vouch for her after the project. He was really proud of her and was planning on asking her to lunch together later that day.

Strangely when they walked in that morning in prep for the report Marin felt the burning feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head. Ms Bustier met them at the bottom of the steps, “Lila is it really a good idea for you to come in today with everything that you’ve done?” The teacher inquired with a grit of her teeth. A murmur rippled through the room as Marin realized the glares weren’t aimed at his mmm for a change. Lila paled and looked around the class before focusing back on Ms Bustier, “What’s going on? What do you mean by what ‘I’ve done’?” The brunette asks a bit nervously.

It was Alya that stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Lila. “You lied about everything, you made me think you were going to help me with my career! You just strung us along like puppets!” She roared, Juleka had to hold the journalist back from rush the Italian. “Alya sit down! I will handle this!” Barked Ms Bustier, looking very run down and already very tired for the time of day. If Marin though Lila was pale before then she looked ghostly now, her eyes looked huge on her face as she looked at the struggling Alya. “As you can see. It would be best if you spent the day with the principal. Your mother should be here soon” the teacher growled.

Just then Juleka lost her grip and Alya rushed forward making Lila bolt out the door. Marin braced his body, the same way he did when Manon tries to escape to cling to her mom, and grabbed Alya around the middle and kept her from chasing his friend. “Why are you stopping me! She lied, you know she lied!” Raved the girl trying to wrestle her way out of his grip. “She played us!” She snarled. “She played you like the cheap kazoo you are!” Marin responded in kind. “I told you before it was a problem that she was lying but none of you would hear me out, you asked for proof, you called me envious! But it’s now that I like her and she promised to come clean that you choose to see the truth!? Fuck you guys!” He yells, dropping Alya on her ass and running after Lila.

He finds her crying in the hall that leads to the principal’s office. Her eyes are red and puffy, it breaks his heart to see her scrubbing her face in an effort to make the tears stop. Kneeling down next to her Matin holds his arm out so she can curl up into his side. “Don’t worry about them. They never knew the real you. After all the talk they spout about friendship and loyalty and giving chances they never even tried to get to know who was under all the celebrity stories. They all dropped you without asking questions or giving you a chance. So don’t worry about them. You have me.” He promises, rubbing her back soothingly. They wait there a long time before Mrs Rossi arrives, Marin stays for the meeting holding Lila’s hand through the whole ordeal. With compromises on both sides Lila is allowed to stay in the school but she will be switching classes and seeing a councilor. After Marin walks Lila and her mom back to their car, it might not be the best time but he’s not sure when he’ll get the chance again, “Once you’re not grounded anymore will you go out for coffee with me? Or a movie, I don’t even know if you like coffee.” He rambles get stopped in their tracks when Lila leans over and places a peck on his cheek. “I’d love to” she smiles, eyes still a bit wet, before having to close the car door and drive away.

#foxx writes #lilanette #male!marinette #ml angst #no heroes au #ineedspellcheck

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rvmmm21 · 4 years ago

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Wendy loves Irene, but Irene doesn't know it yet? Soft stalker Wendy please...? ;o

wait a sec. how do you softly stalk someone. D: guise ngl i might take yandere off my thing cos i thought i was eugh but boy oh boy... some of the stuff you ask me. no wonder you guys are on anon lol.

also, soz this took so long. i’m done with exams so the stress isn’t making me write fast anymore. ):

...

To have it all just out of arm’s reach.

On Monday, Joohyun wears a pastel pink cashmere pullover over a grey jersey tank top and a pair of work slacks. Tuesday, she leaves in an elegant Vetements body-con dress with red-bottom heels. Day-off Wednesdays are for late morning coffees and messy hair buns on the way to the park after last night’s dinner with friends, and she sports a matching Adidas tracksuit; different colour every time. Although it’s undeniable she looks best when she dons her baggy black Balenciaga Political Campaign hoodie, sweater paws and all, with charcoal sweatpants, pin-rolled at the cuffs. Weekends are superior by far.

The pain is beautiful.

Every Sunday night, she steps out in washed-out flip flops, crinkled pyjama bottoms and a fuzzy hood draped over her head. The crease in her brows, the crinkles in the corners of her eyes and the upturn of her mouth gives away crystal clearly how she feels about taking the rubbish out to the bins. Her friends take up most of her free time, be it picnics under the shade of the mammoth oak tree just outside her apartment, sneaky ice lollys after a hard gym session, or a shoulder to cry on and a heart-warming smile. It is obvious Joohyun goes out of her way to make time for the people she cares about. Selflessness, grace and compassion frame her better than any painting in the Louvre.

The lament; absolutely gorgeous.

Her little quirks are too adorable to ignore; the way she’s her cosiest when she’s curled up with her nose in a book, knees pulled up to her chest and folded neatly into herself. It’s so cute the way she hides her flustered smile behind her palm, when she hastily wipes tears away after a devastating tv episode, her rose quartz blush when she spots a random couple kissing by the corner of the street. She’s her happiest after a warm shower, when she gets to put on her favourite Champion hoodie fresh out the dryer. She spends the rest of the day intermittently burying her snout into the tunnel of her sleeve and taking the deepest breaths she’s seen a person take, ever. Joohyun has a downright thing for good smells.

Speaking of good smells…

She breezes by the park bench sometimes, and the scent of minty vanilla crawls beneath her skin. Her laugh has every bone in her body aching with cherry blossoms and sweet cyanide; bright, airy, full of mirth. Her voice; soft-spoken. To press chaste kisses to strawberry macchiato pouts, to spend each day gazing upon ethereal features, to watch eyelashes flutter when she kisses her once again for good measure; she wants to adore absolutely everything about her. Seeing Joohyun upset and not being able to catch every crystalline drop out of those twinkling eyes twists the clamp around her heart several notches tighter. Doing everything at once or nothing at all, she’s endearing, and she finds herself willing to gamble everything she owns for a chance to get to know the woman behind the smile. The woman who’s had stars sewn into her soul by the galaxy itself. Even in the dead of night, Joohyun bathes her in her dazzling golden rays. Dilated pupils observe her world through rose-tinted lenses.

Seungwan glances down at the recycled notebook in her hands, gently flipping through the mindless doodles; some rushed, some immaculately detailed, depending on how long she was out for that day. Each sketch is labelled with bendy arrows and bullet notes, like a sloppy year 7 science poster; her outfits, colours, the weather, and several weeks’ worth of scribbled down medium espresso orders from the local coffee shop. Eyes roll fondly at that one time Joohyun mistook the salt for the sugar, sheer disgust and embarrassment stencilled onto her pretty features as she proceeded to order another one. So cute.

“Just waiting for my girlfriend,” she blurts absently, not actually having heard what the man passing by had asked her but churning out one of her automated replies out of habit. It was usually what they wanted to know, so it was usually the right answer. Some of the faces, the older ones, she recognises. They’re regulars at the park she sits at, probably getting their steps in.

Only half of her dreadfully practiced response is true, but Seungwan can’t bring herself to see why that’s a problem.

Because it isn’t.

Yes, watching Joohyun hurts her in ways unimaginable, but every day Seungwan sits across her residence, she is one day closer to figuring out how she’ll slip herself into Joohyun’s life. She’s already equipped with a handful of possible scenarios, all that’s left to do is pick one and strike when the iron is hot. So, till that day comes, she is more than content to just be here, park bench or not, rain or shine, and watch her do it all over again.

As pastel hydrangea clouds eclipse the sun, she concludes another chapter in her self-written bible of everything there is to know about the woman who’s yet to know her.

She inhales, slow and deep, imagining the vanilla mint fragrance stroking her lungs.

Joohyun is a waiting game, and Seungwan will wait as long as she needs to.

#red velvet #red velvet scenarios #wenrene #idk how to do this so this is just greasy stalker wendy #yikes #please someone explain to me what the heck soft stalking is #is stalking not just stalking regardless #kpop scenarios #girl group scenarios

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glitchkilldelphinixdj · 4 years ago

Text

Mild Discourse: Of All the Things (Thesis of Anger)

Foreward: This is usually to point out discrepancies of what some things were called out to me by a different individual whose name shall not be stated upon this. This was nearly a month ago when this shit ass "barring" happened to me on three places on a famous app which I will never mention also. I had cried in frustration upon after this shit issue.

I will only mention what the discrepancies are, since I have been noticing after screenshotting of the reasons I saw, were either a bit correct at some parts or incorrect. I'm not gonna show the screenshot either since it's best to not get any criticism. I will point out my own truth in reaction to the statements seen in the screenshot privately. Each one quoted sentence is of the said problematic thing about me, and the paragraph is how I am actually answering and reacting to the said problem as honest and fair as possible.

1 "My family is on the spectrum and doesn't act like you."

That's one thing that infuriated me the most because I am a high func autie with ADHD, but each individual with autism with and/or without comorbidities has a different personality and family background, depending on where they're from. I came from a family who had a military background, specifically the Greek Navy from my dad, plus my maternal grandfather worked as a naval CB in Korea during the Cold War for the United States, prior to his death in Janurary 2019. This sometimes explain my rough, coarse, militaristic personality (henceforth why Heavenly/Monster Triangle Sciences exist and Hellspire Sciences exist, two different military factions) a bit. Plus, being in a rural community in the Southeast United States, there's not much opportunity to socialize in real life, so I pretty much veer to the Internet for socialization since there's not many local individuals who I trust.

2 "You are self-serving and arrogant"

The only times I get into self-reliance is when stuff goes into dire situations. The arrogance is from all the bullies I had encountered in the past in school times when I was a kid. I had tried to play nice with others at least and try to thicken the plot of the HTS and HSS factions during my times here, henceforth a little of the militaristic behavior I have involving order. I also pretty much had faked some of my happiness or empathy because I am trying not to put in any facade of sadness within. I somehow come up obnoxious and rude at times because I'm trying to be nice, but it goes the opposite direction of what is intended.

3 "You need to see a therapist."

Not when the 'Rona is around. The only last time I ever saw a therapist was in Georgetown of last year in Spring once over to see what I have: Autism with ADHD and some instances of paranoia. Only people who have very serious problems would usually seek therapeutic help and interventions to improve themselves and I am not one of those individuals. I've only been to speech and occupational therapy in school as a kid until I was 12, so don't assume things out of the blue that I haven't even been to a therapist. I've taken Adderall to relieve of my ADHD issues before in school, but it made my mentality so fucked up and losing my creativity, so post-school, I had to find ways to regain my creativity where I lost it in school. That's why I made a lot more OCs than what others usually made because my creativity levels amped up after I graduated from high school, away from the bad chaos, some of them were remakes of my old OCs I did in middle school (Jamine being one of my bare examples), but the Adderall overtook me of my creativity.

4 "Why would a couple of characters do self-harm on a budding f/f relationship?" (trigger warning)

Do you mean that budding m/m relationship of two different male characters, the self destructive behavior clinged by it involving with the use my two female OCs, Munphine and Jamine (pronounced Juh-mine, Jamie for short)? Listen here, I already had pretty much stopped that shit a few weeks prior to the barring and several weeks after the barring cos it was getting a bit too boring and a bit out of context, so that shit is quitted out. Both these characters had bits of dark backgrounds, pretty much involving both of their families (Jamie, involved with the death of her father and also her mother Ryuke being buried alive in a metal coffin, Munphine, whose parents whose faces were beautiful had shamed her for having an ugly facial appearance and kicked her from her town, so to cover her mouth from others to see, she uses bandages to cope that.), in general. Or do you mean the one involving my stable B8 Ghost Variant Yellow Missingno OC, Vesparada, and some other female character a few months ago? If it's already stopped weeks and/or months ago, it's already stopped. Period.

5 "You bragged about treatment of a physical problem I had."

What I was meant to say was that a medicine is suppose to help the problem, not actually treat it altogether, though with some side effects. It was an unintentionally misspoken statement, because my mind was in dire thought mode and accidentally typed too fast. I shouldn't have stated about a said medicine in the first place. I wished I thought and knew better about that. I'll leave that behind.

6 "You had guilt tripped in someone's place multiple times."

Most of the guilt tripping was unintentional at most because it's either me trying to come up with at least a statement/sentence and/or if it was a dire situation involving a decision. Some auties, like me, do have some problems making decisions, and at times, I unintentionally chose the wrong decision without thinking twice, though I do mostly think twice before I speak at some non-dire times. Sometimes I usually am impatient to my peers because I'm just excited over certain fun things coming up within my sight. I mostly never intentionally guilt tripped, lest if it's anyone I hate to be fair. I do have occasional preconditions that sometimes come in also.

7 "You had shrugged shoulders on a relationship with two different individuals."

This is me after being told at to stop and the mild shrugging of my shoulders is usually saying a way of, "Okay, I will stop digging into the nitty gritty of a certain relationship and let them do their thing." , as per se. By the words of ebony and ivory, that means I drop my guard of thought and accept it. It's been hard and rough for me to have at least a bit of attention during an RP story. I know that was nearly a couple months ago and it's best not to bring that up, since that is just an old thing. I'm a person whom does go by the cross a bit, being Greek Orthodox and all, but I'm trying my best not to scare anyone from advancing their creativity.

8 "You have been playing around with a victim."

Could you at least please elaborate this said victim and who it was? I didn't know I ever even played around with a victim nor I would recall it. It would be better for me to acknowledge who it is. I cannot fully understand certain things sometimes, lest if it's fully elaborated and stated to me. Who was this victim and how long? That's one thing that I am asking of.

Conclusion: Here on out, after the barring, I have been playing about in my garden, taking care of my own pets and whatnot to live my fullest life. It's been a bit of zen away of what happened. At least I am honestly covering what had been said and stated to me why have I been nixed from these places to others, and telling my actual side to what they had said with my utmost, undivided attention. I pretty much rest my case what I am telling my side of the actual allegations against me. There is no cover-ups or lies whatsoever of what had I said. I am literally straight-up speaking this in my own words. This ends the conclusion.

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medigocrazy-blog · 4 years ago

Text

Dexamethasone- The Wonder Drug or The Desperate Hope?

Despite all the desperate efforts to control the spread of the virus SARS-CoV2, wiz getting on nerves of us, humans, as a very, very, social ;sometimes; toxic, species

Hello, I am Arjun and this picture is not me. Its been like 6 months into this pandemic and I have been eating all this junk you can actually say that this picture is me.Gosh, I was so excited for 2020 because so many exciting things were about to happen. Elon Musk was actually going to complete that Neuralink trial thingy by the end of this year and I could finally end my never ending struggle to take care of my> oh my god> numerous organ systems? my weight ? and my metabolism? any my eyesight? and my everything? Who the h*ll does that?

But no, its just not happening guys. I am pretty sure now because 2020 is just the worst year! let us just agree to that as a starter!

Can you guys like believe that we cannot go out for window shopping anymore?

I go out to buy milk and I have to wear this Halo master chief armored suit thingy.

Ordering from Starbucks is just a pandemic and one kidney away and I certainly cannot beat the Indian summer heat.

I am desperate, I am so desperate that Baba Ramdev doing Yoga at 4:30 in the morning actually makes sense somehow.

I am so desperate that my lockdown 3 AM anthem is :

Taoism talks about how you should go with the flow so thats what I am actually doing, I am finally going with the flow,

But it feels like this flow is actually going towards a falling waterfall and we all are almost on the edge now.

The International airlines are shut down You cannot travel to Ladakh or Goa with your friends and Emiway just featured Macklemore in his song? Like seriously? He went from worshiping M&M to MM? Half a million people have died due to the Coronavirus alone

Yemen is going through a civil war and one of the worst famines in modern history.

And for some reason Delhi is getting its ego drop by a series of Earthquakes.

Well, Thank You 2020, UNESCO just declared you to be the most confused year in the history of mankind. Like seriously, please decide what you want man.

Now, lets talk medicine.

Lets talk about the scope Dexamethasone potentially has, against Covid-19,

There has been numerous claims in the recent past to have successfully found a potential cure for Covid-19, But I was like meh; BUT I am pretty excited for this one which Oxford just released a statement for I think last night maybe.

The World Health Organisation also applauded the initial results of the study.

It is really interesting, the excerpt said that they are trying to publish the data as soon as possible which basically makes it a more trustworthy of a claim.

The study was an attempt to potentially use Dexamethosone (A long acting corticosteroid which can remain in the systemic circulation for as long as 3 days) as a DOC for the Covid19.

What are Steroids?

Steroids is a group of chemical compounds with extensive properties often used as a drug of choice for many life threatening diseases.

Some steroids ( Androgenic Steroids) are activated due to stress and leads to many anabolic processes inside your body for example "Muscle building", When you are like trying to get those gains so badly in the gym, what basically happens is you are stressing your muscular cells (also injuring) as a result of resistance training and then steroids are produced as a physiological response so that more and more protein is available for the muscle to repair (btw this is the reason why some bodybuilders using anabolic steroids, end up gaining exceptional gains over years of steroid use)

Some steroids (Glucocorticoids) can strongly suppress the immune system by either suppressing certain genes in various immune cells or by blocking the important enzyme activities. These steroids can act as Anti Inflammatory too which basically means these steroids counter any inflammatory response which can be physiological or pathological. This is the reason that if a steroid taken in the early phase of the Covid-19 disease (The mild symptomatic or Asymptomatic phase) can actually suppress the immunity to a certain point that the drug itself becomes counterproductive.

Some Steroids (Mineralocorticoids) maintain the mineral balance by salt retention, etc. Lets just skip this one.

Adrenal Gland produces Steroid. Them tiny glands you can see above the kidneys.

Now the immunity suppressing nature of Dexamethasone is also the reason why it cannot be taken as a mass prophylaxis drug, unless the patient is in a state of severe immune response to the infection and requires ventilation or ICU.

The exudate formed in the lungs become an overwhelming immune response to fighting the virus and becomes fatal by causing the patient to stay in respiratory distress and finally succumbing to death.

The Trials done by the Oxford University aka RECOVERY trials, said that :

"1 death would be prevented by treatment of around 8 ventilated patients"

"around 25 patients requiring oxygen alone as of now"

*The prognosis may potentially increase as with other combinations in the future*

The study is really interesting because the study population was relatively large ( around 11,500) ; The Cohort population was around 2100 and Control was 4300 which is really exciting.

How does Dexamethasone work against SARS - CoV2?

Dexamethasone is a long acting Corticosteroid and mostly suppress the genes of immune expression

This is the Mechanism of Action of the drug if you are interested:

Dexamethosone vs The Immune System :

The goal of this drug is to just deactivate the immune system which has gone kinda crazy over this virus.

The immune system (IS) basically starts acting like its IS and terrorizes the whole body like its Iraq or Syria.

Jokes aside, This drug can really do some great damage to the hyper super- immune response which is kind of self destructive as the disease progress. Let's try to understand HOW

Only Within 6 hours of single dose of Dexamethasone:

There is a decreased availabilty of lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes,

These cells start redistributing and becomes less available and inactive for almost a day or two.

Also there is a decreased adhesion of these cells to blood vessel walls due to Dexamethasone, Actually the drug is not letting these immune cells to cross the wall of the vessel and go to the infection site (which is kinda cool cuz' no immune response no problem right? seriously why didnt evolution think of this?)

SECONDLY < there is a > decreased phagocytotic capacity of the immune cells so that they do not eat up the virus and form further exudates.

Finally leading to the decrease in respiratory burst (It is the area inside a phagocyte where we burn the pathogen inside the phagolysosome usually, in the case of Covid19, later explodes and kills us, Dont worry the jokes' on evolution not us )

Now the first most remarkable thing Dexamethasone does is, that, it suppresses Macrophage activity.

Which is basically blocking the Arachidonic Acid Pathway, Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, Interleukin 1, Interleukin 6 and TNF

Explaination :

IL-1 goes to the brain and causes fever and normally increases the production of steroids by stimulating the hypothalamus, but since we are giving Dexamethasone (which is a steroid) there's something called as a negative feedback and it decreases the natural physiological production of steroid, causing the person to be severely dependent on steroids; and if the person stops taking this steroid, he can eventually die due to acute adrenal insufficiency, thats the reason why we should always taper the dose when withdrawing a steroid.

Now,

The Interleukin 6 usually activates almost all other immune system actions (Remember that respiratory burst is also decreased and hence theres no signal from the MHC I and II to activate the immune system either) but when it is suppressed by Dexamethoasone, it cannot activate the immune response like it normally would.

The second most important thing is that Dexamethasone down stimulates the cooperation between naive T cells and Interleukins

In Covid 19, Macrophage connects with the Naive T cells and there is a co-stimulation and can be two pathways. (depending on which interleukin is available for the naive T cell)

The first pathway:

In presence of Interleukin 4, these Naive T cells convert into T helper -1 cells which further increases Interleukin 4 and Interleukin 5 by positive feedback mechanism.

Finally causing the other cells of cell- mediated immunity, the "B-cells" to become active and produce antibodies which bind with the virus antigen and try to repeatedly neutralise it. (and kills us).

The Dexamethasone can potentially end all this suffering by attacking a gene known as GATA3 on the T helper 1 cell, (Remember Steroids suppress some immune genes it is just one of them) and hence GATA3 is suppressed, and therefore the chain is broken and there is no immune response ( yay, we alive now)

The second pathway :

If the naive t cell has Interleukin 12 available instead of Interleukin 4, it becomes T helper 2 cell, which produces Interleukin 2, which activates Cytotoxic T cells which produces some naughty proteins called perforins and granzymes.

These Perforin causes perforations in the infected cell and granzymes are then injected to that infected cell which makes the cell kind of commit suicide I guess ?. (and it kills us)

Dexamethasone acts on the T-bet gene on the T helper 2 cell which suppresses the further activation of immune response ( and hey we back to life again)

Now, ALL this information which just went over all of our heads is just the immune suppression of steroids, Lets not go in details with the EXTENSIVE collection of what Dexamethasone can actually achieve.

Please note the trials were done with Dexamethasone and not other corticosteroids mainly because of its wide availability, inexpensive nature, and most importantly because it is along acting Corticosteroid despite being the most potent among them

Dexamethasone also decreases inflammation

Explaination :

Our Cell membranes have a phospholipid bilayer, which is converted by PLA2( Phospholipase A2 ) enzyme to Arachidonic Acid. a) Arachidonic Acid is acted on By COXs ( Cyclooxygenases) to release PGE2F2, PGI2, Thromboxin A2 b) Arachidonic acid can be converted to Leukotrienes by LOXs (Lipooxygenase)

Dexamethasone can block the PLA2 enzyme and COX2 and COX1, by producing Lipocortin 1, and therefore there's no formation of Arachidonic Acid in the first place, and the whole inflammatory system goes down. (Kudos to the structure of Dexamethasone)

Please, keep in mind that we do need the immune and inflammatory response in the early part of the disease but as their actions overwhelm the healthy effects of the process, steroids can be used. Not too early, because it can actually worsen the disease if steroids are administered too early.

Some Side Effects which are to be kept in mind :

1. Withdrawl :

- Underlying disease which we were treating may rebound even stronger than before - Acute Adrenal Insufficiency - Pseudotumor Cerebri - Myalgias - Arthralgias - Malaise

2. Hyper use of steroid for long period :

- Fluid and electrolyte abnormalities - HTN ( more sodium retention) - Hyperglycemia ( gluconeogenesis) - Increased infection susceptibility (suppressed immune system) - Behavioral disturbances - Striae (fat redistribution)

While this is a serious concern for us as Indians, people are already stocking up Dexamethasone, price is most likely to spike up and things actually somehow do not work perfectly in India. Let's hope we learn from our mistakes in the past and just get this done and over with. PS - I will try to post more articles like this if I find something interesting regarding the pandemic. Thank you for the time. :) Feel free to contact.

Source: Dexamethasone statement by WHO

https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/16-06-2020-who-welcomes-preliminary-results-about-dexamethasone-use-in-treating-critically-ill-covid-19-patients

Oxford Recovery Trial Statement

https://www.recoverytrial.net/files/recovery_dexamethasone_statement_160620_v2final.pdf

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adoubleshotdepresso · 4 years ago

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And so it began.

I saw the light, and decided to be born. Not really, but I assume that’s how it goes.

hi, hello, my name is Em. There’s a few more letters to the name, but all my friends call me Em, so I thought it was appropriate to introduce myself as that, to you, the reader, whoever you are and wherever the hell you may be.

I was born in 1993, in Busan, South Korea. And that’s basically all I know regarding where I’m from. I was put up for adoption, and my parents adopted me when I was 12 weeks old. I don’t really have much to say about my time abroad, mostly because I was an infant and don’t remember, but also because it doesn’t make me who I am, and has not had any influence on who I am today.

So, adoption hey. You’d be surprised how many people you know are actually adopted. I know a handful myself, and I think it’s a pretty amazing thing. The first question I always come across is; “Do you think you’ll ever want to go back?” And “do you miss or want to find your biological parents?”. And look, depending on the day and how I’m feeling, the answers may vary. Slightly. But realistically, the answer is absolutely not. I have the best family anyone could ever imagine, and my parents are my best friends. I have an older sister who was also adopted from South Korea, Seoul. She’s 6 years my senior and is also one of my best friends.

My family is tight, yo. And we’ve always been that way. My mum is the most dedicated person you will ever meet. She puts her heart and soul into absolutely everything she does. I might be completely biased here, but I’ve never met someone who loves her family so fiercely and would do absolutely everything possible to make sure we are happy and well. She’s always the first person I call when I feel myself go under. She’s a pretty great woman. I know I can always count on her to be there for me and my family no matter what, and one day I hope to repay everything she’s given to me.

I’m so lucky to have a father like mine. He has always supported my decisions and even though some of them have been dumb, he’s never judged me for them. I mean, I get the whole “I told you so” every now and then, but that’s understandable. When I first started having issues with my mental health, dad didn’t really understand what I was going through, as he never really grew up with it nor had any involvement in the area either. But as I got older he really made an effort to understand me more, and ended up being my biggest support beam in my adult life. He’s the sort of person who tells you “I’m just a message away” and actually means it. At my lowest times, it’s nice to know he’s always got my back.

I have one sibling, my oldest sister, who is YOU GUESSED IT, one of my best friends. Our relationship has not always been easy, and there have been times when we wanted to rip each others eyeballs out, but now we’re both a bit older and understand each other better, we couldn’t be closer than we are now. She moved overseas for a while, met the love of her life and married him while still living in America. I went over there a couple of times to visit her, and to be a part of her special day, She’s been back home for a couple of years now, and though we don’t see each other frequently, I know I can talk to her about my struggles too. She’s had her fair share of mental problems, and she still gets through every day, and for that, she’s my god damn hero.

Now we’ve gotten the introductions out of the way, lets get into it. My childhood was pretty normal to be honest. My parents both had stable jobs, weren’t addicts or assholes whatsoever, so we always had food, hot water and a sweet bed to sleep in. Between my parents and their parents, we always had somewhere to go and never had to use babysitters or after school care, which is pretty extraordinary.

Primary school was whatever. And that’s about it. Girls are assholes, and boys were the most fascinating thing in the world. It was average, nothing that bad happened, and nothing spectacular happened either. But shit got real when high school started. For the first year of high school I attended a fancy private all girls here in town, and that was honestly the worst. Not the worst of my life, but for “back then” Em, it was pretty damn bad. I dealt with the usually bullying thing, and I think that’s when all my problems started. Which is kind of crazy because I was probably only about 13 years old when I started to develop depression and anxiety disorders.

Not only did I lose trust in my “friends and peers”, I also lost faith in the teachers and the other adults who were supposed to be there for their students, and to protect them while on school grounds. Well, what a load of shit that was. After holding out for a year, my parents finally agreed I needed to move schools. I was accepted into another private school, but this time it was a co-ed school, and much smaller in size. All in all, it was a pretty good school, but unfortunately I was a very had teenager to please, and hated every single second I had to be there

I started skipping school, chucking sickies every week and avoiding homework, study and assignments. I found it very hard to concentrate, and because of the first year of high school education for myself was an absolute damn nightmare, I had zero interest in my education. I started smoking cigarettes and nicotine at some point in this time, and found it hilarious to drink until I vomited on myself. Looking back now, I should have realised it was something more than adolescent behaviour problems, but what kid goes, “wow, I’m extra cranky today, I must have clinical depression!”. So I kept on being an asshole to everyone around me, not caring about my studies and doing whatever the heck I wanted to do, which included going to parties, seeing boys and lying to my parents. I would tell them I’d be staying with a friend, but lets be real, I was really at a party, getting hammered and kissing lots of boys.

So, high school eventually came to an end. It felt like it was going for an eternity, but I look back now and I wonder where the time had gone. And I think that’s when I realised I was having some real mental health problems. I had a full time job at a chemist, and stayed there for many years, 10 to be exact. I loved my job for a very long time, and stayed there up until a couple of years ago. I don’t think it helped my mental stability, and close to where I resigned, I felt myself crying and having panic attacks in the back room of my work place. I wanted to call in sick every day, rather than go into work and have to face customers and certain staff. I wouldn’t blame work for what happened to me in the end, but I’m sure it didn’t really help either.

That brings us the last few years of my life. And did SHIT GET REAL, my friend. I’ve had the worst days of my life, but have also experienced some of the best. Some of the worst you say? How much time do you have? There’s been a few doozies, that’s for sure. I was in a relationship that started off beautiful, but ended up being the absolute downfall of my mental stability. So many things contributed to my depression, but I dare say the break up, and the loss of my grandmother definitely was the icing on the cake.

I’m not going to point fingers and blame someone else for what happened, but okay I am. The break up I experienced was enough for me to want to die. Literally. My grandma who I was very close with was dying, and my ex didn’t really care. We used to fight all the time, even at the beginning of our relationship, but it only got worse. And even evenB when I thought it wouldn’t get worse, it definitely did. I started drinking a lot, and abusing prescription medication, Valium mostly, but also some sleeping medication too. One day, I was feeling very low, and begged my ex to come back home. I told him every 10 minutes he didn’t respond to my calls or text, I’d take another pill. And I did. I also felt like it was necessary to extinguish cigarettes on myself. The physical pains of the burn was a welcoming distraction to the storm raging inside my head.

After that, it was all a blur. I overdosed a couple of times, some I was able to manage myself, but two more times to come I would need medical attention. The first time I was hospitalised, I called a bunch of friends for help because I thought I was about to die. I don’t remember making the call, and I hardly remember leaving my home in ambulance. Once I gained consciousness again, I was forced to go see a therapist even when I declined. And let’s just say, therapy is not my thing. I have tried again and again to go, and to find that connection with a therapist but never really got remotely close enough to ever trusting one.

The last few years have definitely had its up and downs. I bought a house a few years ago, the house my grandparents owned when I was growing up, and not long after I moved in, I met my parter. I had known him for a couple of years before we started seeing each other, and not long after that, I asked him to move in. It was only a few months into our relationship, but it felt right. You know when you know and I can’t really explain much more than that.

I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and say everything gets easier when you’re older, and your problems you experienced before seem to fade away, I’m here to tell you the truth what it’s like to live with a severe depressive and anxiety disorder. Not every day is easy, and sometimes, the bad days feel like they’re never going to end. It’s easy for some people to hop online, and talk about how easy it was to get out of their own heads, and all you have to do is look on the bright side of life.

Because no. It’s never as golden as what influencers try and tell you, and it’s definitely not as glamorous as you see and read online. Some of the worst days I have experienced have made me feel like there is no possible way out. So, hold onto your seatbelts, and grab your Kleenex, because shit is about to get real.

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momo-de-avis · 6 years ago

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As someone with a lot of mental baggage that I haven't cleaned yet, that I know would make a romantic relationship toxic its really worrisome when i see people with the same type of baggage jump into relationships, and not even bc they fell in love or something bc thats very different, just bc they are looking for one. Im like "honey,,, please analyze why you want this". (Of course this isnt in every case of mental problems)

nah, I know what you mean. there really is a pressure to ‘find somebody’ and not be alone and a lot of people just jump into whatever they are given. I used to have a lot of good friends who fell to that and in some cases, they pretty much... let their lives be changed forever. I’m not gonna say ruined their lives cause that sounds unreasonable, but I’m thinking of people who got pregnant on accident and got stuck to someone that was fucked up and they didn’t even like and now the only thing they regret is pretty much who the dad is

“please analyze why you want this” is EXACTLY the question you should be asking yourself. Like, I know so many people who got used left and right because they put themselves into a vulnerable position, bc they (and they admitted to this) didn’t know how to be alone (bc they’d been in relationships since the age of 13, and long-lasting ones too), and genuinely believed their worth diminished by being alone. like, sometimes it was a severe case of co-dependency, sometimes it was a bad case of being desperate to control someone else, it was just... insane. It was witnessing this shit that in a way made me become a teenager who just... didnt engage in relationships. Like, at 16 I was proudly saying ‘ill go through this without a single boyfriend’

Its SO IMPORTANT to assess WHY we want things, and WHY we think we need them. It’s such an important thing to do, to figure that out so we can understand what’s best for ourselves and realize what we want vs what we need. I applaud everyone who has the mental strength to say “I want this” or “I don’t want this” for their own personal reasons bc it can be a hectic journey figuring that out. Damn, I applaud you anon 👏👏

#Anonymous

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britesparc · 6 years ago

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Weekend Top Ten #373

Top Ten Thoughts on Avengers: Endgame

Spoilers ahoy!

It’s the end of an era as Avengers: Endgame is finally upon us. As I write this, I’m less than 24 hours out of the cinema and it’s still all percolating within my brain. This Top Ten, then, will be an almost stream-of-consciousness outpouring of my joy, sadness, and occasional twinge of disappointment at what is unquestionably a phenomenal end to the Infinity Saga, a satisfying sequel to Infinity War, and a whole lot of fan-service.

Like I said: SPOILERS AHOY.

“Five Years Later��: it was a long film. Three hours long. but crucially, it does not feel three hours. It feels big, weighty, epic, but it does not feel long. to say it’s considerably longer than the previous Avengers movies, it just flies by. In this way, it’s similar to the Lord of the Rings movies; breadth and depth but still a lot of pace.

“Move on”: the five-year time-jump was a little bit of a surprise (I didn’t think it would be quite that long), but it helped sell a universe torn apart by the aftermath of The Snap. What I was not expecting was for them to live with it. Okay, so the departed people came back, but won’t that cause its own problems? This is not the world we entered in 2008 when Tony Stark was blown up in the desert; it’s not even the world we left in 2012 after a stunted alien invasion of New York. Some people will have tried to move on, perhaps forging new relationships, just to find their old lovers returned. Younger siblings will suddenly become older siblings. People will have lost jobs and houses. It’s rather fortunate that, from the looks of things, Peter Parker’s entire class was snapped out of existence and then returned, otherwise he’d be a lot younger than his co-stars in Far From Home. Anyway, not just undoing the time-jump was a brave decision and sets the stage for some potentially interesting stories going forward.

“It has to be me”: I went in expecting deaths, and I was surprised. I was expecting a bloodbath, and it was actually relatively muted. I was surprised that Vision didn’t get resurrected, less surprised that Gamora (sort of) did, astounded that Nebula survived, and blindsided by Black Widow. I don’t think it’s just because she’s got her own movie out next year, but I honestly thought Black Widow would become the lynchpin of a post-Captain America Avengers team. Hey, who knows? Maybe she will…

“I really tried to bring her back”: this is actually my mum’s theory (she’s a big Avengers fan), but what if Bruce was successful? When he snapped his fingers, he wanted to resurrect Natasha, but claims he was unsuccessful. What if he’s wrong, and she is back, somehow? Perhaps compromised, perhaps changed? Maybe her solo film will be about bringing her back to the light.

“I knew it!”: I was practically crying with giddy joy when Cap lifted Mjolnir. The fact that Thor had expected it, and was actually pleased by it, was just delightful. But Cap’s fight with Thanos, armed with both his shield and Thor’s hammer, was just a fantastic piece of fan-servicing fantasy cinema. I kinda wished they’d gone whole hog and given him his own Iron Man armour to boot.

“Your majesty”: Thor’s development in this film was interesting, as he was almost used as comic relief. His depression made total sense given not only that he blamed himself for not stopping Thanos in time, but also the scale of the loss he’d suffered prior to, and during, Infinity War. All the same, it was a bit of shame to see the character he’d developed in Ragnarok rolled back a little bit, even if it does set him up for some nice solo adventures down the line (perhaps he’ll feature in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and I really hope Taika Waititi gets to make another Thor solo movie too). But considering how Loki stole the show in the first Thor and Avengers movies, and how The Dark World and Age of Ultron were a little disappointing (in different ways) in regard to the God of Thunder, the strength of Thor’s story arc and what’s being asked of Chris Hemsworth in the role is a huge improvement and bodes well for the future.

“I am Iron Man”: if I’d put money down, I’d have said Cap dies for-real in the film, but Tony gets his own stand-alone Logan-esque swansong. That was not to be; Cap survives, sorta, and Tony really does make the sacrifice play and die saving the world. Whilst I’m disappointed he didn’t get to say goodbye on his own terms, as far as last stands go, that was phenomenal. A great call-back to one of the most famous moments in the MCU, a brilliant use of his OP armour’s capabilities, and just a really cool image. Totally Tony, totally Avengers, totally the end. Sob.

“You gonna tell me about her?” Steve Rogers totally deserved his happy ending, and if he hadn’t somehow ended up with Peggy Carter, then I’d have been a little bit disappointed. But I just don’t buy that Captain America would choose to retire. Did he get stuck in the past? Did he decide to fight crime in the 40s and 50s? And if so, did he try to do anything about Bucky or Hydra? Or did he know that that future was his past and so, as Bruce and Nebula explained, he was powerless to change it? Regardless, the fact that what we saw in the film was, essentially, Cap quitting, it left a slightly sour taste in the mouth, even though him handing the shield to Sam was a triumphant passing of the torch. Oh, and one more thought on this topic: in the Russo brothers’ first film for Marvel (The Winter Soldier), Peggy says something about how Steve was even instrumental in introducing her to her husband (I paraphrase); I wonder if, even back then, the endgame (ho ho) for Cap was always going to be “go back in time and marry Peggy”?

“That really is America’s ass”: let’s not get too mired in the mud here, despite my “Cap don’t quit!” niggles. Because as big and epic and tragic as the film was, it was also hilarious. I really didn’t expect it to be quite as funny as it was (I’m not sure why, all the previous Avengers movies have been pretty funny). I was quite pleased at how much humour Captain America was given; his exasperated “I know, I know” when his younger self trotted out the “I can do this all day line” was another delight.

“Assemble”: just like Cap wielding Mjolnir, there’s a certain geeky thrill just to hear him say those words. But the army of Avengers emerging from Strange’s portals was a phenomenal sight to behold, and it’s really exciting to see where the MCU goes from here. Captain Marvel has essentially declared her domain to be space; likewise, Thor is off with the Guardians for the time being; Black Panther is busy being King of Wakanda; Iron Man and Black Widow are dead. So who do we have, the next time the Avengers need to Assemble? Sam Wilson’s Captain America; the Scarlet Witch; Spider-Man; And-Man and the Wasp; The Winter Soldier, maybe; I guess Doctor Strange; perhaps Valkyrie? And then save the big guns for when they’re needed? Anyway, it’s just fun speculating at this stage.

Okay, there we are, ten thoughts off the top of my head. It’s funny sometimes that a movie can be so bloody good but the thing that sticks is the niggles (like, where was Lady Sif at the end?! And I feel bad that they couldn’t find room for Paul Bettany just so he could get a lovely little pictorial send-off in the credits). It’s such an achievement, the likes of which I don’t think we’ve seen before and I wonder if we’ll see again. Just in the same way that Avengers united several heroes who’d (mostly) starred in their own movies, and we got to see them join up and interact in a way that cinema hadn’t shown before, Endgame gives us an epic series finale of a film, one that is dependent upon the 21 films that came before it and the hours and hours of character development devoted to its stars. Where do they go from here? Which heroes get their sequels, which new heroes do they recruit? Will we ever see more of Steve Rogers? Will a new generation – Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart – take centre stage? What will be the over-arching connective tissue that, in ten years’ time, leads to another epoch-shattering Avengers smackdown? And how – how, how, how – do they incorporate Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men?! I’ve no idea (well, I’ve got lots of ideas but they’re probably wrong) – but it’ll sure be fun finding out.

Oh, and there’s still no sign of Death’s Head.

#top ten #marvel #mcu #avengers #avengers endgame #spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers

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sol1056 · 6 years ago

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a bunch more asks waiting their turns so politely

These are all various asks about the likelihood of a remake, a rewritten season, or a spinoff.

1 could we get an alternate version 2 is a rewrite for S8 a viable option 3 would they change the ending for a spin-off 4 are single-episode edits possible for S8 5 will S7 reactions affect S8 6 how will DW get us to watch S8

Behind the cut.

With the shitstorm that vld became, would dreamworks ever take pity on us and remake some seasons of voltron that turned out like crap, or not even air, just release them as alternate versions on dvd? Im questioning the possibilities, not the probabilities, bc Im really not optimistic about that, I just wanna know if a show can do that and what would it take for the company to snap their fingers and be like "lets do it" (besides having money)

It’s not like frequent reboots don’t have precedent in other franchises; hell, comics do it on the regular. It’s also much cheaper to do a series of graphic novels or full novelizations geared towards an older audience. The problem there is that Dreamworks isn’t a comic book company or a publishing house; that part of the franchise would have to be farmed out to someone else.

My guess --- if another remake is ever a possible option --- it’d be several years down the road. The first version would be set aside as, say, the Y-7 version for kids and family, and then you’d find a new angle for the next version.

If DW got the impression there was a massive older crowd (say, 25-45) who would’ve eaten up a more mature, somewhat darker, version? Sure, why not try to grab that audience? I mean, look at the Castlevania series: it’s not pulling any punches on making clear it’s for adults. That would also require a different business model, since what adults like to buy for themselves is very different than what kids want. Skip the cake toppers, for starters.

do you think given the reaction to VLD S7, is a rewrite for S8 a viable option? I feel the fandom is divided about the general reaction to S7. If JDS and M can just [focus on the fanbase segment] that liked it, why [bother trying to fix it for those] that didn't?

Given what I’ve been seeing in terms of data from the season... I think they aimed to please everyone and ended up pleasing no one.

Pretty sure I’ve said something to this extent before: when you can’t please everyone, the answer isn’t to split the difference and piss everyone off. The answer is to pick your audience and give them the best damn story you can. The rest will sort itself out.

Let me put it this way: there are enough people who didn’t like S7 for the crummy animation, the OOC dialogue and actions, and the nonsensical storyline overloaded with a host of new characters that stole time from the actual protagonists. And there are also enough people who didn’t like S7 for queerbaiting the audience, killing off three out of four queer characters, and sidelining the one remaining queer character. There may be some overlap between those two sets, but taken together, those two sets are pretty much the dominant majority of the fan base.

I don’t know if that makes a rewrite a viable option, but it should be making a few execs think twice about letting the EPs/staff carry on in the same direction. I mean, you want a series to end on a high note, not an ‘omg that had such potential but boy did it self-destruct in the last two seasons’ note.

So if DW wants to do a Voltron spin-off, would they consider changing the ending to VLD to give Shiro the things he earned so this spin-off wouldn't be dead out of the water?

That would depend entirely on whether they’ve gotten the message that Shiro’s current status isn’t good enough for a significant part of the fanbase. If all they’re hearing (or all they choose to hear) is that it’s great to sideline one of their protagonists with no in-story explanation whatsoever, what’s to tell them there’s anything that needs addressing?

Additionally, if the entirety of the issue is Shiro --- and everyone else is just fine, thanks --- I’m not sure that’d rate as enough to warrant changing so much. More likely any spin-off would start some X length of time between, and we’d get an implied intermediary backstory (or even a mild retcon), and go from there.

Truth is, whomever gets the spin-off will (I really hope) be a better writer and not have to deal with intrusive newbie EPs. Even then, they’d be kinda limited on what they could do, given the spin-off does need to make sense placed against the first series. Then again, VLD hasn’t respected its own premise or continuity for the past few seasons, anyway.

So I guess there’s always the option to start with an episode that retells VLD’s ending... Kinda awkward, but not unheard of, to basically retcon a previous series out of existence.

I have no doubt DW is looking into what went wrong with this season. I know it might be a little to late to fix all of Season 8, but do you think they would have at least maybe the last few episodes changed to give a better ending to the show - or at least more respect to Shiro as a character?

Normally I’d say no. I mean, episode 1 should have characters making choices that in turn impact episode 2, and those choices prompt the events in episode 3... but that’s a logic VLD threw out the window somewhere between S3 and S4, and it’s only gotten worse since then.

In which case, oh sure, why not? It wouldn’t make any less sense than what they’ve already got planned, if S7 is any indication.

Could the reaction to season 7 cause any change the execs minds going into season 8?

One problem: this is a Dreamworks production, but it’s not a DW-owned story. It’s a franchise: there are other players involved. There are the two guys who first butchered GoLion into Voltron, Toei whose story got that embutcherment, Netflix as the distributor, along with Playmates and Lion Forge and other contracted partners. There’s a lot more people at the table than just DW.

It’s one thing for the EPs to say they messed up, and apologize. It’s quite another for Dreamworks to admit publicly their lousy (or nonexistent) oversight allowed the situation to happen.

Legal would have apoplexy, for starters. What wins you a franchise is often showing you have the confidence (if not sheer chutzpah) that you can do this job justice like no other. And then you hit S7 and must admit you hired people who made a complete hash of it?

If there’s anything that will cost the EPs any future roles of a similar position, it’s that they’ve put DW in a very uncomfortable position. Caught between a furious fanbase and overly-interested co-owners, someone --- or several someones --- are treading very lightly right now. They’re not going to forget the EPs are the ones who precipitated the whole mess.

I think we are in a unique situation where the fact that the EPs were vocal about [changing] VLD ... could be a blessing for us & DW. [But we know it] was changed, & DW's part seems to be more negligence than direct fault like the EPs. So DW can drop it or fix it, and a rewrite would be worth us sticking around, while restoring DW's name.

Again, that depends on whether DW is in a position that they can do so. I assure you they’d throw the EPs under the bus at the first opportunity, because that’s how the corporate world works. So their failure to do so is either because they don’t see the EPs’ actions as untenable (as far as we know), or because doing so would expose DW corporate to greater retaliation from elsewhere. (It could also be part of the agreement that these particular EPs are in place for the duration of the series’ production, too. Sometimes that happens.)

I still can’t get over the fact that the EPs were so blunt about having already had a script fully written when they asked to revise. From the Studio Mir leaks, we can guess at least some of the animation was already in production at least a year ago, or earlier. That’s a lot to redo.

Here’s something that only just occurred to me, when I listed the co-partners in this franchise: the Koplar brothers. These are the geniuses who figured they didn’t need to know Japanese to make GoLion into an american production; turns out they were geniuses on some level ‘cause it was a hit, anyway. They went on to produce Voltron: Fleet of Doom (1986), Voltron: the Third Dimension (1998), and Voltron Force (2011). If there is anyone at the table who’d be likely to have nostalgia goggles, it’d be the Koplars. This has been their ongoing story in one way or another for over 30 years.

Originally, the EPs said they weren’t tied to nostalgia; they weren’t going to redo the story as it was, but the story as they remembered. (I’d argue this actually indicates a stronger set of nostalgia goggles, but eh.) Their determination to get rid of Shiro has always felt like nostalgia goggles to me. Perhaps the Koplars were the greatest supporters of Keith as BP --- since that would respect the pattern they’ve followed, over and over, in all the iterations.

Considering the Koplar’s somewhat litigious background over Voltron ownership, they may’ve had the ability to overrule. So... if you want to bench Shiro, you pitch your work with the execs who are most likely to agree with you. And if you can do that in the window between the previous VP of TV retiring and a brand-new external hire coming on as VP... welp, you got permission, and the new VP may’ve signed off, not realizing the impact.

Which would put DW over a barrel, in some ways. If DW could’ve overruled their partners, the EPs never would’ve been able to make that end-run in the first place.

How do u think DW will try to get us to watch s8? They & the EPs have shattered our trust and the show is so messy its almost unsalvageable.

Stay to see X point's resolution? Yeah, we stayed many seasons for nothing, next.

We have more rep? Ex. blonde girl is autistic... So we should be scared for her too???

There's more queer rep? Yeah, we heard that one already.

Unless everyone responsible is fired and a new crew runs the next seasons?

I don’t know. I would hope the answer is ‘by giving us a story that makes sense, and creates closure for all the protagonists, and not just by making two of them emotional rewards for two other characters.’

At this point, there is only one thing that’s going to make Dreamworks change course: if the fallout from VLD impacts its other projects. If the majority of the VLD fanbase up and announced it would be boycotting She-Ra or Fast & Furious or Trollhunters on the grounds that DW screwed up so badly with VLD that it cannot be trusted... Then you’d see movement. If the PR got so bad from so many upset and angry VLD fans that major news outlets paid attention and started writing articles about the situation, that would also put a black mark beside Dreamworks’ name -- and then you’d see movement.

With the VLD toys a failure (for whatever mismanaged reasons) and a financial model set entirely on toys, fixing VLD now would be throwing good money after bad. Unless, of course, there’s an impact beyond just this single series.

Until Dreamworks can see the impact in some concrete sense, they have far more to lose from their partners than they have to gain from their fanbase. It’s just how it is, with corporations in late capitalism.

You want to make an impact? You tell Dreamworks ahead of time, and then you follow through: pick a week and go silent. Nothing about VLD, here or on twitter or anywhere else. No reblogs on She-Ra updates. Ignore the podcasts. Don’t click on the articles. That stuff’ll be there when the week is over, after all. Show DW what it’s like when a fanbase checks out, by doing it. It’s a short-term boycott, but the reason groups do boycotts is because they work.

#vld #voltron #sol thinks about stuff #random commentary

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41zero-blog · 6 years ago

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siocynder · 7 years ago

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Main Characters

People will tell you different things based on what works for them. Some writers plan the plot first, some plan the setting, and some plan the characters first. It’s whatever is comfortable for you. I know a lot of people say plan the plot and match your characters to it. But I’m the opposite. I find that if I do that then my characters just end up following along, instead of being immersed and part of the plot. A good majority of the time, the characters and a general outline come to me at the same time.

You do you. No one will tell you otherwise. Do what feels comfortable. If you get stuck, maybe just go back and rework some things. As a writer, you’ll have to get used to changing things. Changing names, changing personalities or characters, changing settings—heck!—changing your entire plot. I had to do this on my own rewrite after my editor got through it. That took forever to fix, but it was worth it in the end.

How do you make a Main Character?

You want to work on your main character, but you don’t want them to be some cookie-cutter, generic protagonist, i.e. not a Mary Sue or Gary Stu.

All right, first off: What’s a Mary Sue/Gary Stu?

Well, that’s when your main character is so annoyingly perfect in every way. They are loved by all, can never do any wrong, have all the powers they need, are incredibly talented and can do everything, but oh! They also don’t think they’re all that.

Did I describe any characters to you? Probably. Most likely because these characters are everywhere.

Bella Swan from Twilight? You guessed it. She’s a Mary Sue.

But she’s clumsy and she’s not perfect, Sio!

I know, but those don’t de-sueify her. Sorry folks! The thing is, many main female characters are Mary Sues. The author is trying to hide that fact by giving them a few flaws. Bella is beautiful and thinks she isn’t—cue generic beauty-insecurity trait. However, she somehow manages to get the attention of a lot of people in her new school, including a hot vampire boy, regardless! She causes jealous reactions from her female friends. She also—and I don’t know how—accomplishes to defy all odds against her, surviving several attacks and self-harming activities, and gets the boy in the end.

Now, these aren’t bad things, don’t get me wrong. Some people love these characters and you’re allowed to. Sometimes it’s nice to read something this simple. The issue is that these types of characters are becoming a norm and we aren’t learning to expand.

Clarke from The 100 has—what my friend and I would like to call—“classic protagonist syndrome”. I love this show, but even I know that Clarke is an annoying main character. Incredibly smart, incredibly pretty, gets the guys (and girls), and she somehow manages to make stupid mistakes, and no one ever blames her for them. That being said, the show seemed to realize what they were doing, and Clarke ended up being told off by all of her friends about her terrible choices and had to go through a redemption arc to prove herself.

Your main character can make stupid decisions, but please, oh please, do not allow them to just walk away with a “you did something dumb, but it’s okay because it all worked out in the end!”. NO! They did something dumb and now they should be reprimanded just like any other character that does the same thing!

Male characters can have the same issues. They’re perfect, they know sixteen languages, they get the girl, and they somehow are never questioned; all because they’re the main character and allowed to do these things that no one else is allowed to do.

People…your main characters are still human! They should have flaws. Self-deprecating flaws are fine, but there are plenty of other options that can be much more interesting to a reader. For example, have them be terrible with their powers. Have them struggle in school and mess up and be called out for it. Have them have anger issues or emotional issues in general. Real people aren’t going to make the right choices every time. Real people are going to be selfish sometimes and lie. Oh my god, make them fail. Make them fail so hard.

But, please, don’t make their plan fail because it was sabotaged. Just have the plan be a bad plan. Not everyone can make a good plan, people.

You know what’s even better? When you plan the plot issues around your character’s flaws. They need to go through a test that determines their honesty, but your character is a compulsive liar? Do it! It makes everything just that much more compelling.

Another thing, what’s with the overly-impulsive characters? I mean, impulsiveness is okay once or twice, but when they do it every bloody time? If you have a side character tell your main character not to do something multiple times because it’ll be terrible for everyone, please, don’t have your main character do it! There are other ways to get this terrible thing to happen. Maybe it’s an accident, maybe they’re compelled to. I don’t know, but if I read one more main character that just thinks, “I can do this because I’m the MC!” I’m going to burn the book. This is used too much and it’s simply because the writer couldn’t come up with a better way to do it.

Your main characters are not invincible.

In my own series, my main characters each have flaws that define who they are. Pride? Prejudice? Lack of emotions? Issues communicating? I’ve got all of those because those are human problems. My main character, Thalia, has trouble expressing her emotions. That causes a lot of issues for her and the group she’s with. They need to be able to bond, and they can’t do that if she doesn’t trust or like them. Do you see what I mean with making the flaws tied to the plot?

If you don’t have anything that makes your character somewhat undesirable, like dishonesty, jealousy, impulsiveness, etc, then your character might be a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.

Your female characters: You know…they’re allowed to think they’re pretty. They’re allowed to be pretty. They’re also allowed to be plain. Your character doesn’t need to think they’re plain but are actually pretty. This is a major Mary Sue thing to do.

Or the male characters: Slender, but they can still kick-butt because, look, they have muscle and can fight! It’s okay to have a clumsy male hero, who’s a stick.

You can also have a main character that’s not male or female at all! Make them agender or nonbinary. These shouldn’t be their overall defining trait, of course, but seeing as we want to get away from the average, always-seen main characters, this would be such a nice change.

Look, I’m not saying that a Mary Sue is a terrible thing. I’m not saying never do it, it’ll ruin your writing career. Sometimes a little Mary Sue-ness isn’t an issue. But that’s only if it’s in small dosages. Mary Sues/Gary Stus don’t tend to evolve in a story. Generally, they remain the same until the end. You want your main character to evolve.

They start the story not being able to communicate their emotions? Well, by the end of the series they should have a grasp on getting out some emotion. I’m not asking you to have them yell their declarations from the rooftop, but there should be a breaking point throughout the series that has them realizing they can trust people and what they’re feeling.

If you’re asking, “What is a cool character?” before “What is a plausible character?” then you need to start rethinking things. Your main character should be someone that you can meet on the street. It doesn’t matter what they look like. It’s the way they act.

Side note: Give them a voice.

You’ve built up this unique character with super interesting personality traits, and then they talk and think like they’re a computer.

Look, I get it. Writing a character can be really hard and writing in general can be incredibly difficult. It’s not an easy task. It takes trial and error to get what you really want. Planning a character as well as you can and digging in deep into their minds, will help you get into that character. You want to become your character in order to really make their voices unique.

Do they tend to think in circles? If they do, make this interesting. Otherwise, the readers are going to get frustrated with it.

Are they sarcastic? Well, why not make them think sarcastically too?

Are they an artist? Have them notice all the colors and details of things. Talk to artists to see what they notice in life.

You want this character to jump off the page with realism, not get dulled down by details and mediocre thoughts. If you reread your novel fifteen times or more (and you will have to do this, so make sure you really like your novel) and you’re starting to get bored of your own character talking, you might want to switch things up.

I always know I’ve gotten into character when the characters start talking and doing things on their own. I know where they need to go, but they’re the ones that are going to get me there. Not every writer will experience this, but it’s a possibility for you.

Now that we have that out of the way: How many main characters should you have?

My thoughts differ on this because it really depends on the story. Odd numbers are always the way to go. One, three, five. I have a book series in process with seven main characters. And this series I’m working on right now, with my co-author, has twelve. Whoa, I know, that’s a lot. But bear with me for a second.

You see, main characters are usually the ones that the story follows. Meaning, they’re the point of view, or the best friends that are always there with your number one main. Harry is the main character of Harry Potter, but Hermione and Ron are mains as well. They make up the trio. The more people you put into a novel, especially main characters, the more things get unclear (I’ve learned this the hard way).

I have twelve main characters in my series. That’s twelve people that the reader follows, and it’s really only the twelve of them—plus a few side mentions here and there, but they don’t matter all that much, and, of course, the villain. Now, if I had twelve main characters, plus the names of all their classmates, and their families, and their neighbors, and—well, you get the idea—that’s just too much for someone to take in. My series is told in third person, which means I get to sort of jump around from character to character. It allows the reader to get to know them better. They also aren’t going to stay together the whole time, so I need a way to show you what they’re all doing at different times. If this was just one person’s POV and I had twelve main characters…well, I’m sure that would be confusing. That one person would need to be in every scene and get to know each of them and that’s more headache than it’s worth.

Do you need seven characters as the mains? I did because the project is about the seven deadly sins, but if I were writing something set in a school where I really only needed one point of view, seven is just a little too much. I could maybe make it three.

So, in the end, it really depends on how you write your character, what you want them to stand for and be like. It’s your choice how many mains you have and how you create them. Nevertheless, you also need to think about your reader. Are they going to like this character? Are they going to be confused? Because, believe it or not, the reader is the one that makes your career. If they don’t like your characters and connect to them, your book will struggle. Do you need to follow all these rules? Of course not! But it’s best to keep it all in mind just in case.

Sio.

#writing tips #sio sit-down #how to write a main character #protagonist

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